Once again, I apologize for not posting for a few days... So here we are again with another long entry to catch you up on our trip!
Day5:
We went early to arrive at our next clinic location in order to set up pharmacy and get all of our doctor's stations determined, placed, and organized. We met our interpreters and the rest of the people that we would be working with and who would be helping us through the next few days here. We opened clinic a little before 9:00am and ended around 6:30pm. We saw almost 100 patients. Today was a busy day for our nutritionist especially as we soon recognized the amount of people suffering from diabetes in this area of Guatemala. It was yet another amazing day spent serving the Lord.
Day 6:
This morning wasn't as early as yesterday, but it was still early! When we arrived at clinic this morning, we were able to start almost immediately because of our organization and preparation that was already done the day before. Today we had some of our younger team members assisting the doctors, and even performing blood sugar tests for patients! This brought great joy to not only the young members who were excited to help and learn, but also for the doctors who found joy in teaching. As you probably have guessed by the talk about blood sugar, today was also full of talks and tests for and about diabetes. We all are so thankful for our ability to be there with a specialist who was able to help them, but also that all of our team members had Christ-like attitudes when it came to talking to them about their lives. I have no doubt that everyone gave 110% every day to each patient that we saw. Once again, we were blessed through the blessing we were to the people here.
Dag 7:
It is our final day of clinic today and we were on the bus at 6:15 this morning in order to make it to clinic on time today. We are an amazing breakfast on the bus to clinic, and we were also surprised with breakfast at clinic as well! We started clinic around 8:30am and ended at 1:00 in order to have time to pack up and move onto our next location. We were able to see a little over 60 patients today , even in that short amount of time. After we finished our lunch, goodbyes, thank yous, and loading on the bus, it was 3:00 when we hit the road. We then were on the road until about 11:00pm (after making some stops for food and such). We then unloaded the bus and went straight to bed! It had been a long day, but every second was a blessing.
Day 8:
Today was our final day here in Guatemala. It was a day full of fun and laughter. Today was the day that we participated in common tourist activities. We woke up early to take a nice walk to see some amazing scenery. We then headed into town and spent the entire day shopping and sight seeing! Today was a very special day because not only was it our last day together, but it was a great day to spend wth each other as well as members from another mission team that we were fortunate to be able to spend the day with as well! We visited sights such as The Cross on the Hill, Choco Museo, and a coffee plantation where we did not only each lunch, but we also were able to purchase some fresh Guatemalan coffee! When we arrived back at "home," we were greeted by some of our close friends from our first clinic location during this trip. Seeing them again meant a lot to all of us! We then all ate an amazing meal, sang songs, and talked about our experiences on this trip, as well as the plan for the next day.
It is now time for us to sleep so we can be ready for our day of traveling home! Thank you for all your support before and during our trip! Please continue to keep us in your prayers! God's blessings! ¡Dios te bendiga!
Friday, August 5, 2016
Monday, August 1, 2016
Days 1-4 in Guatemala
¡Hola!
We have now arrived at a location with wifi, and a lot has happened since I've posted last, so find a comfortable seat because this is going to be a long one!
Day 1:
We all arrived at the airport at 4:00am and arrived in Guatemala at around 12:30pm. We then met our amazing host and guide at the airport. We were blessed by getting through customs rather fast when we arrived! We then met our bus driver, loaded up the bus, and left Guatemala City to go to our first location. When we arrived at the church where we would be hosting our clinic, we walked into the sanctuary where patients were already waiting for us to arrive. We greeted the people and met our other hosts, a pastor and his wife (who is an incredibly talented cook, by the way!) We began to set up the clinic and the pharmacy after meeting our sweet and talented interpreters! Immediately after we felt ready, we began seeing patients. Everyone on our team was a very important link in our chain, that day especially. Everyone from the doctors to the translators to the pharmacy workers and the child entertainers had a very successful and eventful first day. We ended that day with an amazing meal and evening devotions.
Day 2:
We woke up bright and early to partake in breakfast, coffee, and devotions at 8:00am. We shortly began clinic after finishing up our devotion. Before we ate yet another tasty meal, we took a walk around the neighborhood where the church is located. We visited a very kind lady at her home where she was making her delicious homemade tortillas. We returned to the church, ate lunch, and continued clinic. Coloring pictures with crayons was the top hit for the day with the children! Once clinic was finished, some of our team members taught our interpreters how to make paper airplanes, and before we knew it, they were standing on a balcony on the second story of the church flying their paper airplanes and seeing who's would fly the farthest. After a fun filled day, we had time to relax and debrief before we ate dinner that night. We then closed with an evening devotions and went to sleep.
Day 3:
We woke up early again and continued clinic. This being Sunday, we attended the church service and also were blessed with the opportunity to sing to the songs "Here I Am, Lord" and "Thy Word" while accompanied by a team member who played the ukulele for us, and has been our entire trip! We sang "Here I Am, Lord" in English, but we sang the chorus of "Thy Word" in Español! After church we spent our free time playing ping pong, playing piano, singing, playing and teaching ukulele, receiving massages, and talking with our translators before we said goodbye to them. We ate dinner outside, saw a shooting star amongst the beautiful scenery of the lake behind the church, and closed with a devotion. The Bible passage for the devotion was from Psalm 100, which was also one of the readings shared in church earlier that day! At the close of the day, we tallied the number of patients we saw and we concluded with 243 patients that day!
Day 4: (today)
We left our first location at 8:00 this morning and headed to our second location. We spent most of the day on a bus traveling to where we will soon be setting up our clinic once again. We stopped at Walmart and then stopped again for lunch and enjoyed ice cream as dessert! We then continued on our way to finally arrive at the hotel around 2:30 in the afternoon. After a long day of traveling, it was such a blessing to be able to spend time together while relaxing in the pool at our hotel. After swimming we headed to the hotel restaurant for a delicious meal followed by devotions and singing songs once again!
This trip has been such an amazing and humbling experience. I feel that we are not only a blessing to the people, but the people are a blessing to us. Our guide who is from Guatemala said something today that stood out to me. She said, "MOST stands for Mission Opportunities Short Term, but they are not short term blessings. Your service and work with the people of Guatemala is a long term blessing. Mission Opportunities Short Term, for long term blessings."
¡Buenos noches!
We have now arrived at a location with wifi, and a lot has happened since I've posted last, so find a comfortable seat because this is going to be a long one!
Day 1:
We all arrived at the airport at 4:00am and arrived in Guatemala at around 12:30pm. We then met our amazing host and guide at the airport. We were blessed by getting through customs rather fast when we arrived! We then met our bus driver, loaded up the bus, and left Guatemala City to go to our first location. When we arrived at the church where we would be hosting our clinic, we walked into the sanctuary where patients were already waiting for us to arrive. We greeted the people and met our other hosts, a pastor and his wife (who is an incredibly talented cook, by the way!) We began to set up the clinic and the pharmacy after meeting our sweet and talented interpreters! Immediately after we felt ready, we began seeing patients. Everyone on our team was a very important link in our chain, that day especially. Everyone from the doctors to the translators to the pharmacy workers and the child entertainers had a very successful and eventful first day. We ended that day with an amazing meal and evening devotions.
Day 2:
We woke up bright and early to partake in breakfast, coffee, and devotions at 8:00am. We shortly began clinic after finishing up our devotion. Before we ate yet another tasty meal, we took a walk around the neighborhood where the church is located. We visited a very kind lady at her home where she was making her delicious homemade tortillas. We returned to the church, ate lunch, and continued clinic. Coloring pictures with crayons was the top hit for the day with the children! Once clinic was finished, some of our team members taught our interpreters how to make paper airplanes, and before we knew it, they were standing on a balcony on the second story of the church flying their paper airplanes and seeing who's would fly the farthest. After a fun filled day, we had time to relax and debrief before we ate dinner that night. We then closed with an evening devotions and went to sleep.
Day 3:
We woke up early again and continued clinic. This being Sunday, we attended the church service and also were blessed with the opportunity to sing to the songs "Here I Am, Lord" and "Thy Word" while accompanied by a team member who played the ukulele for us, and has been our entire trip! We sang "Here I Am, Lord" in English, but we sang the chorus of "Thy Word" in Español! After church we spent our free time playing ping pong, playing piano, singing, playing and teaching ukulele, receiving massages, and talking with our translators before we said goodbye to them. We ate dinner outside, saw a shooting star amongst the beautiful scenery of the lake behind the church, and closed with a devotion. The Bible passage for the devotion was from Psalm 100, which was also one of the readings shared in church earlier that day! At the close of the day, we tallied the number of patients we saw and we concluded with 243 patients that day!
Day 4: (today)
We left our first location at 8:00 this morning and headed to our second location. We spent most of the day on a bus traveling to where we will soon be setting up our clinic once again. We stopped at Walmart and then stopped again for lunch and enjoyed ice cream as dessert! We then continued on our way to finally arrive at the hotel around 2:30 in the afternoon. After a long day of traveling, it was such a blessing to be able to spend time together while relaxing in the pool at our hotel. After swimming we headed to the hotel restaurant for a delicious meal followed by devotions and singing songs once again!
This trip has been such an amazing and humbling experience. I feel that we are not only a blessing to the people, but the people are a blessing to us. Our guide who is from Guatemala said something today that stood out to me. She said, "MOST stands for Mission Opportunities Short Term, but they are not short term blessings. Your service and work with the people of Guatemala is a long term blessing. Mission Opportunities Short Term, for long term blessings."
¡Buenos noches!
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
The Form of a Servant, the Attitude of Christ
Welcome to our Guatemala Medical Mission trip blog! We are all packed and ready to head out to serve the Lord through medical knowledge and spiritual hunger. Before we take off, while we are there, and when we return, we need and appreciate the support you provide through your prayers. Some of the team members are experienced in the mission and medical field, and some of us are going to be embarking on a new journey! Your prayers are appreciated for not only the team members, but also the team leaders, the translators, the people we will be serving, and all the people of Guatemala as well.
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