Happy Spring!

I love Spring! So many new plants and flowers growing back after a long cold winter or a dry season. And the different birds visiting the area or coming back home. It gives us a reminder of the new life we  believers will experience when Jesus raises us up at the last day.

Beautiful orchid of the coastal area that blooms in the dry season--Encyclia cordigera var. rosea

In the "Land of Eternal Spring" we still have some seasonal changes that mark the calendar for us. Right now we are in the dead of dry season still, so it's hard to see much going on in the plant world, but our butterflies and bees are busy, and bird activity is very high with visiting migrators and nesting resident birds. And we can't forget the sompopos-- the flying ants are nesting and will soon start swarming and be eaten by the locals!

Crimson Patch butterfly

We also welcome our Spring Break teams from the Christian colleges back home. This year we hosted Harding University Physician Assistant program and Lipscomb University for two weeks of well-child checkups on the kids in our ABC child sponsorship program. A big thanks to our visting health care providers who donate their time to help our patients and teach future medical and dental professionals!

Nicole and Megan with a healthy family.

Our welcoming committee at the Chichicastenango Iglesia de Cristo

Harding PA program stars!

Mactzul II Iglesia de Cristo hosting several congregations' ABC kids for their check ups.

Julie, Olivia and Megan getting the warm welcome.

Olivia turned 21 with us--great age for a first birthday cake face plant! 

First one since before the pandemic!

Loralei becoming a pro at pediatric blood pressures.

Nour multitasking at the vital signs station.

Hannah showing everybody how it's done.

Lipscomb Unversity team

Gracias, Nicole Mount PA-C, Sarah Tipton, PA-C, Julie Copeland, PA-C, Alan Bradshaw, PhD., Nathan Russell, DDS, Andrew Marshall, DDS, Tim Silvas, DDS, Eric Lander, MD, Brian Cress, MD, and Elizabeth Bernard, PA-C! 

An added bonus with this team was a visit from Ken P'Pool from Meadowbrook Church of Christ who came to see the delivery of 100-lb bags of corn to each of the ABC children's families. The church had a great Christmas campaign through their children's and youth ministry to raise the money to help families with one of their main food expenses. It was a long, tiring week of delivieries and home visits, but they were met with lots of thankful smiles and coffee invites. Gracias Meadowbrook Church!

Ken and I after a long day at clinic.

One of the many truckloads of corn that went out to the ABC families, thanks to Meadowbrook Church!