Birth Day

We spent the day Sunday in Mactzul III celebrating the 15th birthday of one young lady, and the the baptism of her and 3 of her siblings. Her dad, Diego got up and spoke and was so proud that 7 of his 10 children have decided to follow Christ so far. It was a festive and worshipful day with lots of family, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ present. Here are some colorful photos.

 

Irma Alejandra escorted by her brother Juan Carlos

Prayer time over the birthday girl and her siblings as they start out their new life in Christ

Women's Health

One of our clinical focuses in our ministry is Women's Health.  In Guatemala, the overall health of women can be negatively affected by numerous factors: chronic malnutrition, illiteracy, young age of first sexual activity, high childbirth rates, high maternal mortality rates and high cervical cancer rates. Here is a list of services that Health Talents offers.  Currently our staff serves in over 30 communities through local churches, in addition to our central base clinics, Clinica Caris and Clinica Ezell. Our hope is to continue expanding in the future.  If you would like to contribute to this work, just click on DONATE and it will take you to the Health Talents International donations form.  Thank you!

Medical consults  (Mobile community clinics, Clinica Caris, Clinica Ezell)
General medicine
Pap smears and GYN consults
Prenatal care

Dental Services (Mobile community clinics, Clinica Caris, Clinica Ezell)
General consults
Teeth cleaning
Fillings
Dental prosthetics

Bible Seminars for Women

Community Education Program
Bible study classes
Menopause
Mental/Emotional Health
Nutrition
Diabetes
Sex Education/Abuse Prevention
Prenatal education (Nutrition, Warning signs/Emergency planning, Breast Feeding)
Family Planning
Dental Hygeine

Gynecological surgery at Clinica Ezell
Fully equipped surgical facility and volunteer GYN specialists from the U.S.

Roughing It

Well, we are half-way through our ABC communities with the sex education material (twelve total).  Whew!  It is getting easier as we go, and we really have to give a shout out to our health promoters for translating during the class.  This past Saturday we went to Las Cuevas and gave the classes to the kids from there and La Palma (about 35 total between the 3 age groups). It was a spectacular drive as the trees there are in autumn mode, which helped the 2 hour ride pass quickly.   The church building was certainly big enough for two simultaneous presentations (boys and girls), but they only had ten chairs and a dirt floor and no electricity.  The kids and parents were very accomodating and stood most of the time, sharing the chair space between kids.  We didn't get to use the projectors, but thankfully our computers had enough battery life to last, and we had the kids sit up close to us to see the screen.  The parents were very attentive and thankful for the presentation, which is always encouraging.  One of the men even spent some time after with the guys teaching and encouraging.  When we give this talk in some of the remote communities, we always wonder if it is going to well-received or even necessary.  But it seems like they are the most thankful and tell us of the concerns they have for their kids.   So, on we go.  We should be done by the end of March.

Plastic Surgery and Gyn Week at Clinica Ezell

It is surgery week down at Clinica Ezell.  Health Talents is hosting a team of Gyn and Plastic surgeons and it sounds like they have been busy.  Sheri is down there with the families of the cleft lip/palate babies and has some great pictures on her blog www.sheriinguate.blogspot.com.

In case you don't know where Clinica Ezell is, it is in Montellano, San Miguel Panan, which is in the department of Suchitepequez down on the Pacific coastal plane.  That means Hot, Hot, Hot!


Sheri will be back on Friday, bringing with her Dr. Katy Farrell to work up here in the cool country.

New brother in Christ

After clinic yesterday in Zacualpa, Tomas, Enrique and Ruben had the opportunity to follow-up with a man they and Gaspar have been evangelizing for awhile and had the privilege to take a side trip to the river to for a baptism.   No time like the present!!  We welcome this new brother in Christ and look forward to continue building a relationship with him!

Family Practice Rounds

Here is a small sampling of the patients we met this week. 

• 84 yo man looking a referral for colostomy take-down surgery.  He had prostate surgery 3 months ago and suffered a bowel perforation.  He was transferred from the private hospital to the national hospital for repair and ended up needing two more surgeries to correct the injury.  Since then he has formed a fistula between his bladder and bowel.  When I examined him the colostomy looking remarkably well cared for, but his prostatectomy wound had opened up exposing the muscle below.  After spending way more than the family could afford, they were desperate to find a good surgeon who would not gouge them on future surgery.  We referred him to Dr. Tom Hoak at El Buen Samaritano hospital and were relieved to have hope for a good outcome.
• A 23 yo woman came in with headache and nausea for one week.  She missed her period last week and was wondering if she might be pregnant. She was nervous because she had delivered a baby in August, who later died from SIDS at the age of 2 months.  She was tearful and smiling when we showed her the positive pregnancy test. We prayed for her and her husband and protection for new baby, and she left with a beaming smile on her face.
• A 53 yo man came from 3 hours away referred by an acquaintance for suspicion of diabetes.  He presented with all the classic symptoms: thirst, frequent urination, blurry vision, fatigue. He has one brother who "used to be diabetic".  But they threw me a curve when they said the blood sugar reading today was only 101 (normal).  I went to confirm  with Manuel and he said, "Noooo, five hundred and one!"  We spent time going over diet and medications and seemed relieved to have found a diagnosis.  Sheri spent time with his family going over the diet in-depth.  Before leaving, they brought me a beautiful bouquet of mixed flowers! 
• 17yo girl who presented last month with galactorrhea (milk production) and irregular periods for about 6 months.  No headaches or vision changes. She returned today with her labs showing an elevated prolactin level.  The milk production has stopped, but we will repeat the level in a few months.  Unfortunately she will probably need an MRI which will be expensive.  If if comes to that we will talk about referral through the national hospital system for further workup. 

God is good to give us staff and medical supplies to attend to our patients' needs, but he is also so faithful to work beyond our limitations and heal and comfort in difficult cases.  Thank you, Lord!

Week in Review

It's been a busy week of clinics and education and church activities.  Here are some highlights.

Our week got interesting when a group from the Mactzul 6 church came by to meet with Kemmel and brought us a chicken/alarm clock!  This guy is headed for the chicken-and-dumplings pots soon! 

 

Guess who???  Everybody loves Kemmel!

We were in Paxot II this week for Sex Ed classes--Lisa with the girls and Kemmel with the guys.

Kemmel and Cesar with the boys' class.



The older girls introducing themselves and their moms before class.

Mactzul I invited us out to their promotion ceremony for their church.  It was a mass Bar Mitzvah of sorts for the kids moving up to the youth group.  Here are the younger kids looking on.

This was a fired up bunch of kids!

Mactzul I's newly painted class room.  "Welcome to the house of learning"

The proud new members of the youth group with their new Bibles gifted by the Church.  In front are Tomas and Nicolas who are two of the Bible class teachers. 

We were invited to the first birthday party of the daughter of some friends of ours.  She got cake presents and a pinata to celebrate.

Our sister-in-Christ, Josefa went to be with the Lord this weekend.  Pray for her family as they remember her and miss her.