All Things Culture

Today our Medical Evangelism Training interns arrive in country to start their 6-week stay here in Guatemala.  They will head directly to language school with our good friends Hugo and Elbia at Centro Bilingue Amerindia in Quetzaltenango where they will stay with local families and study Spanish every day for a week.
Next weekend we get to spend a few days together with Roger McKown and talk about missions, cross-cultural evangelism, language and all things culture.  Roger is a wealth of knowledge and we enjoy his take on things.
All of this to kick off a month of immersion into the local cultures and mission work here in Quiche and Suchitepequez.
So be praying for our students as they adjust and learn about cross-cultural outreach.

Happy Mother's Day!

It's Mother's Day here in Guatemala.  We anxiously waited for the pre-dawn fireworks and serenading that usually ushers in this day, but were pleasantly surprised that they waited until sun up this year to tell mom how much she is loved. 

We did have more patients than expected, seeing as most schools are hosting festivities for kids and their moms today.  Those that did come were so sweet to bless us women folk with gifts and flowers.  I got a pineapple, a papaya, a mango, 2 apples, 2 pears, and bag full of freshly picked peaches and plums!  Our dental team got some more goodies and flowers. Maria the dental assistant said, but I'm not a mom, they said, "but some day you might!"  This is a day that women in general and moms in particular are honored and blessed; it was so kind to be included in the mix! 

So Happy Mother's Day to all you ladies out there, whether you are a mom or might be some day or are just loved!

Clinic in Saquilla

So our day started out pretty normal except my friend and area physical therapist, Jennifer hitched a ride out with me to mobile clinic out in Saquilla for a change of pace.  She had in mind working on some education material but ended up helping take vital signs and registering patients when the rest of our team called to say that they had been in a fender bender and would be late. Thankfully everyone was fine and made to clinic eventually. We were grateful for Jennifer's help to get us started.
So, after a slow start we got patients back for consults and dental work.  While Tomas took the truck for a check up Enrique was working double time as pharmacy, lab and translator--it was a crazy day! I used the little Kiche I know to get through a few consults---not too bad. We saw the usual diabetics in various stages of control, a young lady with a pelvic mass, a young mom afraid she might be pregnant after losing the second of two babies from premature labor, lots of bronchitis and some pneumonia.
It was a good day, and one of the patients stopped to say thank you--for the prayers.