Happy Thanksgiving!

Sometimes we feel like the Pilgrims with the New World locals taking care of us!

We want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving, hoping that you will get to spend some time with family of friends sometime tomorrow or this weekend.  Since we live in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving Day, Thursday is a regular work day for us.  But we have plans to eat dinner with Sheri on Friday night and share some good old UnitedStatesian favorites together.  We have to confess that there will not be any turkey on our table, not because of lack of turkeys in this country, but because Kemmel is not a fan of turkey or dressing...alas we will be having ham, sweet potatoes, broccoli and rolls--yummy!   We did enjoy some pumpkin pie from a bakery in the city this weekend, after first being told that they no longer had any as the "season was over".  The girl at the counter came back and said, "we still have one!"  So, we will keep it simple on Friday and have Rice Krispie Treats which are a real treat for us as Rice Krispies and good marshmallow are only to be found in the city.
Thank you, Lord for your generous blessings in our lives and for our family and friends back home and here in our Guatemalan home who love and support us!

'Tis the Season

It's November, which around here means church conference season.  The "conferencia" is a phenomenon something like small-town homecoming meets tent revival.  The season starts in late October and usually goes 'til February or so.  Typically they are hosted by one of the older or bigger congregations and involve 2-3 days of preaching, singing and fellowship time. There's a lot of visiting and eating going on!  We try to arrange our clinic schedule so all of our staff can attend at least one of the days with their family.  Over the last several years there have also popped up several youth conferences, kind of on a regional basis, which is great for the young folks around here.  But there has been a nationwide Con-Jovens (Youth Conference) every year on All Saints' Day.  This year it was down at the sweltering coast in Rio Bravo, Suchitepequez and a lot of our staff attended. Everyone from up here in cool country talked about how much their feet swelled and fear of Chikungunya virus from all the mosquito bites! Sounds fun!  What's funny is they always ask us if we are going to the Youth Conference.  I guess we should be flattered! But, no thanks!
This week we are helping host a men's leadership seminar with the Paxot II and III churches.  The speaker is Fernando Rosas from Mission, Texas.  He is the father-in-law of our Dr. Sara Castellanos and she and Mario are enjoying the visit with brother Fernando and his sweet wife Juanita!
Here are some pics of the various events lately.

Actual traffic out in the wee town of Mactzul VI as people arrive from far and wide to worship and fellowship. (photo credits: Iglesia de Cristo Mactzul VI)

They filled the auditorium and said they gave out 1200 meal tickets.

Soup's on!

That's a lot of tamalitos!  A tamalito is like a tamale without the filling--it's an alternative to tortillas epecially for a large crowd.  Notice the cooking pit behind.

Do you know the way to... Rio Bravo?  As they counted down the days to the Youth Conference, the coordinators would post directions and pictures of landmarks on Facebook for everyone to find their way. (photo credits: Confrasur)

Communion time at the Youth Conference.  Check out the two-man tray of cups.

Leadership conference for areas congregations.  We invite 1-2 elders or preachers from the local churches to attend. (photo credits, Gaspar Chan)

Hermano Fernando Rosas

Home

It's been a while since we posted an update.  Back in September we made an unexpected trip to the States to be with Kemmel's family after his step-dad Duane passed away.  We had been planning a trip back to visit our sponsoring churches Eastside Church of Christ in Colorado Springs and Meadowbrook Church of Christ in Jackson, MS, but were so blessed by both congregations to use the time to spend with family and help Kemmel's mom get adjusted.
While we rearranged our travel plans it became apparent that we would incur some extra expenses because of the flight changes. We decided it was just something we would have to deal with.  But out of the blue, we got word that someone had given some money anonymously to help cover our extra expenses! What a relief  it was to us and we are grateful for the generosity of this person and the faithfulness of God to supply our needs.
While we were gone, we missed being with the visiting team from Memorial Road Church of Christ. This team always comes in the fall, and helps us knock out the last set of well-child checkups for the ABC program kids.  We were pretty concerned about leaving our staff and team in a lurch like that, but were so pleased to see how everyone worked together to make it happen.  We are especially grateful to Sheri and Maury for picking up extra responsibilities of staff and financial management while we were out.
When we got back, we spent the morning in Guatemala City running errands before heading home.  As we were walking back to the hotel down a busy street, we passed a couple from the Chichicastenango area (as evidenced by her outfit).  A few seconds later we heard them shout out, "Dra. Lisa!"  Turns out, the man is a patient of mine.  He said they weren't sure it was me, but recognized Kemmel.    It's good to be missed!  If home is where your heart is, we are blessed to call lots of places home!

Everyone Loves a Parade!

It's that time of year again.  The 15th of September is nigh! This is to Guatemalans what the 4th of July is to us United Stateseans (that's what they call us in Spanish by the way--Estadounidenses). The streets are alive with color and music and exitement as people watch with pride as their kids pass by in the school parades.  The secondary schools from the area all march through town today and tomorrow is reserved for the the elementary school kids.  As you can imagine, there are some serious repercussions for traffic.  We learned a long time ago that it was pointless to work on the day before Independence day as you end us just sitting in a traffic jam all day.  So we get a great two-day holiday!!!!  Here are some shots from our morning around town taking in the sights. 

Everyone looking for the best place to watch the parade go by.

Chichicastenango Plaza--just waiting....!

The smart kids leading the pack for the ITEC school.

Dance of the Bull attire--traditional dance of  Guatemala

Guys on stilts.  Notice the meat market guy is hoping to get some business today--got his little red flag out--that means "fresh meat today".

Parade marchers making their way down the highway to the soccer field.  Check out all the toy and snack vendors.

Cool band uniforms!

And the traffic..... These poor traffic cops are having a heated discussion with one of the bus drivers who wants to double stack the traffic "so people can get through faster".  Never mind the angry drivers that will be coming down form the other side of town.

They did manage to keep the street open for ambulances.

Dental Clinic Upgrades

As we mentioned earlier, we have received some generous donations toward dental equipment.  So, we have decided to invest in a larger, but quieter air compressor that will operate both dental clinics at Clinica Caris, as well as central suction, rather than individual units, which gives us more suction power to be able to do oral surgery procedures.  We are hoping to have them installed and ready for our visiting oral surgeon, Dr. Robert Lamb, who will be working with our two dentists and teaching at the end of this month.  Here are some pictures of the construction project.

Dra. Sandra Aldana and assistant Maria Chan attending a patient in Clinica Caris.

Dra. Aura Alvarez and our intern Heidi Gonzalez with their patient at Clinica Caris

Our old, but rugged compressors.  Working hard still, but showing signs of giving up the ghost!

Kemmel and Gregorio working on plans for laying the tubing for the new compressor and central suction unit.

New breaker box for the equipment.  Here's something funny:  around here they call the the individual breaker switches flipones (flee-PON-es).  When you hear it in Spanish it takes a second to realize it's from the English "flip on".

Politics as Usual

Things are getting crazier by the minute as election day gets here tomorrow.  This year has been full of grassroots activity generating a nationwide call to expose corruption in government.  After endless strikes, road blocks, and manifestations, Guatemala managed to  make the Vice President and even the President step down and face charges of taking bribes in a customs fraud scandal.

Downtown during the nationwide strike last week that led to the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina this week.

All of this is taking place while twelve different political parties campaign for their candidates for president, congressmen and mayors.

These are just the presidential candidates!

Word on the street is that the people are pretty disgusted with all politicians right now and aren't excited about any of the choices on the ballot.  Despite the lack of interest, the politicians have managed to drum up the appearance of support by funding large rowdy caravans and rallies and obnoxious political songs and adds blaring on the loud speakers attached to cars roaming the streets. We even saw a boat parade on Lake Atitlan last week!


Nothing's sacred when it comes to political posters. Lightposts, cliffsides, guardrails, even roadside death memorials are fair game around here.

Two party boats rented for at least a couple of hundred people who filled the docks and marched through town in several lake side towns. 

 It will be so good when this place gets back to normal. Should be interesting tomorrow--be praying for peaceful turnouts.

Special Guests

This month we have been enjoying the visits of two special guests.  Our first one is Samantha Adcock, our physician's assistant intern.  She is studying at Harding University and will graduate in December.  We offer an rotation here to any of the Harding senior PA students who speak Spanish.  She has done a great job seeing our patients and learning about the health care system here in Guatemala. Last week she went with her host family to visit someone in the national hospital and got to see first hand the scaled-down approach to inpatient care  (especially in the intensive care unit).  

Samantha, second from the right in the OR down at Clinica Ezell.  

Sam and Lisa in the cornfield.

Our next visitor is Michelle Goff of the Iron Rose Sister Ministries.  Michelle came down to teach a women's seminar for local area church members, covering the book of Philippians and the reality of depression and anxiety in a Christian's life and ways to address it.  We really appreciate her approach to teaching with lots of group participation and interaction.  Several women have commented on how much the material has opened their eyes and helped them see how God's word is applicable and reliable in our world still.

Michelle and Lisa in the cornfield!  Michelle jumped right in to clinic with  us on Saturday and prayed with patients after their consults.

Michelle and our translator extraordinaire, Maria Panjoj.