New Normal

Hello from Guatemala. I'm sure we are not the only ones trying to figure out how to live life in these weird times. We've been watching the news and social media constantly trying to keep up with the latest recommendations and restrictions here and in the States and wondering how this will translate into day-to-day life.  Guatemala is only starting to have cases of corona virus show up--as of yesterday we had 61 cases and none registered as community-acquired yet. I'm sure that will change soon. 

Part of the new normal is wearing masks while in public. I made us some so we wouldn't waste the medical ones. I think this is a wise thing as many people with the virus are asymptomatic or mildly ill only. Love your neighbor and protect each other!

Thankfully we are healthy, apart from the seasonal allergies that plague many of us. We've had a lot of people asking how things are here in our neck of the woods. Well, we have a lot of the same restrictions everyone else does, like no public events or gatherings. Churches no longer gather and schools are dismissed. Thankfully, we are pretty well connected by internet and phone to be able to worship or praise or communicate in groups relatively easily. Weekly markets are closed and daily food vendors only sell til noon. Supermarkets are allowed open but have long lines. No dine-in restaurants allowed, but most are delivering food which is fun.  Borders are closed and no commercial international flights are allowed. We also have restrictions on the work sites that can continue open.

Streets are pretty empty around here. But a church with a sign painted on their roof, "Jesus Loves You." What a great reminder.

One of the means of public transport here.

But the thing that has pretty much shut down the country is prohibition of public transportation (buses, minivans, shuttles, pickup-taxis). In this country the majority of people travel via public transportation. And we have a strictly enforced curfew--everyone except for cargo and fuel transporters must be off the streets by 4:00 in the afternoon until 4:00 a.m. This makes for a very short work day as your last 1-2 hours are spent trying to avoid traffic issues and accidents. Anyone who is still working takes off at 2:00 so they can try to walk or find a ride home before curfew. Those who can't go to work or work from home--and most are informal laborers without contracted salaries--are justifiably worried about where they will find the money to buy food for their families.

On the clinical side this all has severe ramifications for us of Health Talents International. Almost all of our staff and patients use public transportation so they are unable to mobilize. Several of the smaller communities are blocking entry to their towns if you are not a resident there. We have no surgical or medical/dental teams coming until July due to border closings and obviously a  reluctance to travel by most people now.  And yesterday, the President announced that starting today and during Holy Week, there would be no travel permitted between departments (states). This has caused us to temporarily suspend our clinical services and puts us in a difficult financial situation as well. Our payroll comes from funds raised from visiting teams, elective surgery and dental fees we charge and the income from our mobile clinics. We are heavy-hearted at the thought of not being able to attend to our regular patients. But at the same time many of those same patients are in the high risk category with chronic illnesses and we would be unable to adequately separate them from our sick visit patients as we operate on a walk-in basis. So maybe it is for the best.

Walk-in clinic--triage would be difficult when there's nowhere to separate people and many are not forthcoming with symptoms, to avoid public backlash.

So for now we wait and pray for our world, our family, our staff, our patients and those who are struggling with corona virus illness. We ask for your prayers as we look at ways to restructure this ministry and live the "new normal," and for you to consider financially supporting our virtual fundraiser One Hour at a Time--trying to cover part of the payroll expense of our staff once we are able to mobilize again.

Planted my mustard greens just in case things get difficult in market!