| Guatemala Mission 09 |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by Dave | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saturday, 08 August 2009 12:11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Dave’s Journal Read Dave's daily account of events for a jam packed week of ministry inGuatemala in May of 2009! Dave accompanied a team of 12 young adults, many of whom are in pre-med studies in the Denver area. Mission goals included: funding and participating in a wheelchair distribution, putting up a home for a family with young children, distributing groceries to families living in extreme poverty, and working with a medical clinic in a a small Mayan village. Sunday, May 17 - Arrival We landed in Guatemala City not much after the scheduled 7:10PM arrival time. Customs officials did a more thorough job of checking the contents of our suitcases than in the past. A few of us were waivvd through the "nothing to declare" line without being ordered to open our suitcases, but most had to submit suitcases to investigation. We were thankful that Michelle and Harmony were not required to open their suitcases containing a lot of medical supplies for the Hands of Hope Medical Clinic. We had been told that the customs officials frequently take away medical supplies being brought in. We felt badly that Julie wasn't able to make the flight with us. Julie had been in Louisiana and hadn't been able to make a flight to Denver in time to catch her flight from Denver to Dallas, and subsequently to Guatemala City. Latest word is that she will be able to catch a flight in time to arrive tomorrow evening. Chris Mooney, Bethel Ministries Director, and Dick Rutgers were there to pick us up at the airport. We arrived at our hotel in Chimaltenanago without any noteworthy incidents. Richard, Will and Luke share the one and only triple occupancy room, so we designated that as our prayer meeting room (it being the largest room). After a short team prayer meeting, we all headed for our rooms. Tomorrow will come mighty early-we leave at 4:30 AM for Mazatenango, not far form the Mexican border, for a wheelchair distribution. If its anything like last year's distribution, I expect it will be a truly wonderful day. Monday, May 18 - Wheelchair Distribution in Mazatenango! As it always does, 4:00 AM came mighty early. Turns out that Sarah is the only one with an actual alarm clock. So I asked her to knock on doors at 4:00 AM to ensure that we are all up. I actually woke up a number of times before 4:00; at some point the local roosters began lending their assistance to the waking process. At 4:30 Chris Mooney and Dick Rutgers arrived to pick us up. I rode up front with Chris in his large van. An early morning highlight was seeing nearby Mount Fuego erupting off to our right as we drove along in the pre-dawn darkness. We could see the brilliant red-orange glow of the lava at the top of the mountain. We arrived in Mazatenango around 7:00 AM. The truck transporting the wheelchairs and associated accessories was already there. Our distribution was held at the facilities of a non-profit organization called Fundabiem. Fundabiem is an organization with numerous facilities each providing physical therapy services. Our wheelchair distribution today was done incooperation with Fundabiem. I understand that one of their volulnteers actually came up with most of the people who came in for wheelchairs today. We had a great day. Seven of us were part of a similar distribution last year and so that seemed to help us get the hang of selecting and fitting the wheelchairs quickly and efficiently. By around noon, we had served 57 people! It was a rewarding experience to hear the expressions of gratitude and see the smiles on the faces of these dear people. I remember one lady in particular who went around to all of us who were nearby and gave us her hugs and expressions of thanks. The fact that it was quite warm (ok, hot) and that I was drenched in sweat didn't seem to faze her or any of the others with their gracious embraces of thanks. These wheelchairs truly make such a difference in the quality of life for the recipients - I love being able to be a part of making such a difference in someone's life.
Chris and I found a break in the action and discussed some financial items. Chris is very appreciative of the teams that come down to minister. Teams generally provide financial sponsorship in order to make activities such as wheelchair distribution and home building possible. In our case, we had provided $3,000 to cover the costs for this distribution - 50 wheelchairs at $60 refurbishing cost each. We got back to Chimaltenango around 5:30, a tired but happy bunch. We ate dinner together at where else, but Pollo Camperos. Its been a great day and a great start to our mission trip here in Guatemala. Michelle and Tiffany went with Chris to pick up Julie at the airport. So as of around 9:00 this evening, the group is all here at last! Tuesday, May 19 - Home Building in Chimaltenango Today we put up a house! Howie, an ex home builder and math teach from Vermont, and Juan, a Pastor affectionately called Juanito because of his small stature, led our construction efforts. Juan is a good natured man with a quick and friendly smile. I think we all felt much affection for him by day's end. Not only is he a Pastor, but he is a man of practical building skills who has greatly helped many people. Howie was also very likable and great to work with. Since Juan spoke limited English, and we spoke limited Spanish, we got most of our instructions from Howie. I was very impressed with Howie's ability to field numerous rapid fire questions on the fly and keep us all runing like a well-oiled machine.
By mid afternoon we had the house up. Amazing! We mixed a lot of sand, rock, and cement with water, poured the floor, and put up the sheet metal on the roof and sides. The Mother, Carmen, was so thankful. Her husband is away working hard to meet the families needs. If I understood correctly, he is only able to come home every 15 days at which time he brings his pay home for the family. Their two young children, Maria and Victor,were delightful.
After we completed our work, Carmen told us her story - Chris interpreted for us. She was a little girl back during the Guatemalan civil war. Her family owned land, but fled to the mountains in fear for their lives. One day her father came down from their hiding place in the mountains to the market to purchase food for the family. That day he was killed along with a number of others while at the market. This dear lady's family then fled to Mexico where they lived for many years (14 or so I believe).
While in Mexico, she married the man who is now her husband. His parents and a number of siblings had also been killed in the war. They have now been struggling for some time to just obtain the basic necessities of life. They are paying a monthly payment to someone who has set up favorable payment conditions for the land they now live on. When they first came, they had put up some plastic to serve as a shelter from the rain. They are now excitedly looking forward to living in a shelter without needing to set out buckets all over the place in an attempt to stay dry during the frequent rains. What an awesome feeling to know that we had such a pivotal role in bringing such blessing to this struggling family! The Denver students raised much of the money needed for the erection of this home via various fund raising activities.
Wednesday, May 20 - Grocery Distribution We had provided a little more than $400 to Bethel to purchase groceries ($440 actually) for 13 or 14 families. Even though we see a lot of poverty and hear a lot of sad stories when we visit homes on grocery distributions, I enjoy meeting the people in their homes and personally ministering to them.
For the first few stops, we were accompanied by a local pastor who I believe is from right here in Chimaltenango. I agree with Chris' approach to include our grocery distribution as an extension of the local church's ministry. The pastor is thus identified with this ministry of love, and is available to provide on-going support and ministry. We made several stops in the morning. Two were especially notable.
One family had recently purchased a small plot very near to Chris's home. Chris and Donna live in a beautiful rural setting at the end of a very long and bumpy road. Chris had noticed a family under some plastic sheets for a couple of days. We met with the family. Grandpa and Grandma were there along with a Mother and two children - a girl, approximately 10 or 11, and a boy, probably around 9. They had been walking a long distance (guessing around 1-2 miles) for their water down in a neighborhood. What a long haul for all their water needs! Chris told them that they could go to their home for their water. I would estimate Chris home to be about a quarter of a mile away tops. As the pastor talked with the family, we learned that the grandparents were believing Christians and that they take the children to church. The mother and father (who was away at work) have not been attending for a couple of years. The pastor strongly encouraged the mother to resume attending church.
Woman at the Well A subsequent visit was to "a woman at the well". This dear woman has 5 children - her husband has abandoned them all. She lives in a pre-fab home that Bethel has put up for them. She is really struggling to meet her family's needs - they don't have sufficient money for food. They eat mostly tortillas, made from corn.
We took turns dropping a bucket way down into a deep well and cranking it up with water for her. Her children will be really happy when they return from school to find their blue water drum is now half full! They normally have to fill the bucket an amazing 20 times per day. This family has another real hardship that is common to most rural Guatemalans - finding increasingly scarce fire wood for cooking. This lady's children must now walk a long way to a mountain to gather the firewood.
At the end of our visit, Chris did something he rarely does - he asked us to take up a love offering for this struggling mother and her five children. We passed a hat and I think everyone on the team put some money in it for her. This dear lady gave us all very strong hugs of gratitude as we left. Michelle was the last to leave the home and later told me that sheheard this precious woman sobbing as she left. Oh the inequities of this life on earth. Money that amounts to little more than spare change for my fellow American friends and me can make such a tremendous impact for a family of five here in Guatemala. Earthquake! Back at the hotel, I was sitting on the sidewalk leaning up against the building working on my journal when the ground below me suddenly began moving me from side to side! It took me a moment to figure out what was going on. I quickly realized that I was experiencing an earthquake- a new experience for me. I quickly got out from beneath the overhang above my head and into the open area. As different members of our group came out of their doorways, I told everyone to come out of the building. But the earthquake was over as quickly as it had come. Our California girls, Harmony and Julie, had experienced minor shakes before and didn't seem neary as impressed with the experience as the rest of us. Later I found out that these small quakes occur fairly frequently. It measured 5.1 on the Richter Scale - the epi-center was at the coast. Thursday, May 21 - Hands of Hope Medical Clinic Today we switched gears a bit - we invested the first of two days with the Hands of Hope ministry. Their hired driver, Darby, picked us up at our regular breakfast spot, Pollo Camperos, at around 8:00AM. Darby is a national Guatemalan who actually does more than just drive as it turns out. He has been with Hands of Hope for 11 years; he used to drive their medical bus around to the people back in the days before the medical clinic. The road to the village with the medical clinic has now been paved-last year the road between the highway and the village was unpaved and full of bumps and holes-driving was done at a very slow speed. Although the new highway might appear to be a sign of progress, we were told that it really didn't change anything for the lives of the extremely poor living on dirt floors inside of shacks. Actually in some way, it made matters worse as the simple naive people were now being taken advantage of at times by an increased number of hucksters making their way to the village. We arrived at the clinic and met Anita. She was already engaged in a busy morning. A dentist form Minnesota was at the clinic for a couple of weeks, so dental treatments were being provided along with all the medical treatment. We met the staff and Anita's husband Gregory, and had a quick group prayer to officially start the day together. We split into small groups with the idea of rotating assignments throughout the day. I was in a group (Stephanie, Breezy, Will and Richard) who went with Darby to build a couple of beds. Turns out that many children sleep on the dirt floors and develop alot of respiratory ailments due to sleeping on damp and filthy dirt floors. The wooden beds we made were basically wooden platforms designed to keep the individuals nearly a foot up off the floor. We had material for two beds which we put together in an hour and a half or so. The clinic has a system for determing who receives the beds. I'm not sure what all goes into the selection process, but I believe it involves some sort of minimal contribution on the part of the recipient. While we were making the beds, a second group of our team members were doing assessments in homes with Gregory.
Meanwhile back at the clinic, a third group of our team members was hoping to shadow the Doctor and learn more about the treatments and process of treating the villagers. They were also hoping to provide some assistance with some treatment tasks, such as nebulizing children. Apparently things were a bit too hectic for more than just one or two members of our team to really do much with the Doctor. One case that was hard to think about involved a 3-year old little girl who had fallen backwards into a pot of scalding liquid. She had 1st and 2nd degree burns form her mid back down to her legs. They had to scrape off damaged skin which of course had to be excruciatingly painful. Gregory took several of us around to visit some homes-two of which were homes where we delivered the two beds we had just made. You really have to be there to fully comprehend the living conditions. Photos won't fully describe them. When standing in a dark and damp room with dirt floors, chickens running around (and of course using no discretion about where they leave their little deposits), and then when considering how difficult it is for the people living there to earn a sufficient income to provide for even their basic necessities and it becomes easy to realize how difficult it is for these dear folks to stay healthy. And then in combination with a lack of understanding of basic hygiene issues... Gregory told of one story when he had been at a home. The family members all washed their hands before they ate just as they had been taught. The problem was, they washed in the same barrel of water from which they then proceeded to draw drinking water. The folks at the clinic really do have their work cut out for them in helping the Mayan villagers. We had to carry the beds the equivalent of 2 to 3 blocks over undrivable paths full of ruts, rocks, and wet spots-not to mention the chicken droppings. At one of the homes, the family had a fair amount of corn in the home. We were told that this is basically all they eat-they grow the corn and make tortillas from it. Obviously, this does not make for a very balanced diet. The lady of the home insisted on paying us with several ears of corn. We felt badly about taking the corn, but have learned not to deny the dignity of the person wishing to provide us with some payment as an expression of gratitude. When my group returned to the medical clinic, we found several of our girls busy treating the children for head lice. First they shampooed the hair with a special shampoo to kill the lice eggs (nits) and then combed the hair with a special comb to remove any remaining lice and most of the nits. We ate the lunch that the clinic had prepared for us, and then traded places with the girls doing the lice treatments. After everyone had finished eating, I helped by combing the lice and nits out of the hair of several little girls. Almost surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the combing. I find that I enjoy personally meeting and connecting with the people to whom I minister - it is much more rewarding to me than just writing out a check to help someone. Friday, May 22 - Painting a Local School and Care for the Sick Darby picked us up around 6:45 and took us to Pollo Camperos for breakfast. Then he took us to the school near the medical clinic. Our first order of business was to visit each class and hand out small plastic bags of hygiene products. Each bag included a wash cloth, soap, toothbrush and shampoo. Greg had arranged for a young man, Micah, to interpret for us. We went from class to class where one of our group would pull each item out of the bag and hold it up while Micah explained its function. I'm not sure whether some of the younger children understood everything being said since their native language is Cetchekel, not Spanish. After we handed out the personal hygiene products to all the children, some of us painted the interior of the school director's office. We were actually helping out a group of high school students who had been tasked with cleaning and painting the interior of classrooms as part of their graduation requirements. Others in our group worked with the children with some crafts that the CCU students had brought. Our CCU students also produced a soccer ball or two and some jump ropes. The water supply to the one and only faucet in the school ran out before lunch. In order to keep our brushes and rollers from setting up with paint over the lunch hour, we took them all back to the clinic to clean them. After lunch we returned to the school and we all started in on painting the exterior front of the school. We painted the top portion of the walls a light blue and the bottom a dark blue. Greg said that the darker blue is the national color of Guatemala. Greg and Anita came to the school later in the afternoon and seemed very pleased with the work we had done. After our work was completed, Greg took several of us to meet a family living near the school. The mother there had an abusive husband and many children (8 or 9 I believe). Greg told us that she had been extremely distraught when she became pregnant with yet another child because she simply could not care for another child. Greg and Anita had arranged for a couple from Ohio to adopt the child and provide a good home. When we arrived, the mother came to meet us holding a little baby girl, her granddaughter. Upon closer inspection, we noticed that the baby's right eye was matted shut. Greg told the grandmother to quickly bring the baby over to the school where Anita could take a look at her. While still at the school, we met Amelia, a young Christian Mayan girl of about 15. Last night, Anita had rushed Amelia to the hospial with what had been initially been thought to be appendicitis. The dotors at the hospital diagnosed her with appendicitis and prepared her for surgery. After she had been prepped and was awaiting final anesthesia, the head surgion came along and directed that she be sent away since they had too many surgeries to perform! She could come back another day he said. As if her appendix could wait!! Greg had then called me last evening and asked us to pray for her when this happened. Well, we had prayed and let me explain how God answered. Anita had then taken Amelia to another hospital where they did further investigation - investigation that the first hospital had not bothered with. The doctors at the second hospital discovered that the real problem was a large kidney stone located just behind the appendix. This was the real source of Amelia's acute pain! If the first hospital had removed her appendix, the real problem would have remained. Amelia was then given morphine for her pain and is scheduled to return to the hospital for surgery to remove the large stone on Monday. God used the lack of care provided by the staff at the first hospital to protect Amelia from an unneeded surgery based on the first hospital's misdiagnosis, and then placed her under the care of doctors who provided the needed testing and diagnosis. Even while I enjoy seeing yet another example of God's care for His own, I feel some anger at what I'm told is the frequent lack of care provided by Guatemalan doctor's for poor Mayans. Praise God for Gregory and Anita and the care they provide for these dear people! Gregory and Anita are hoping to obtain more medical equipment for the Hands of Hope clinic, such as ultrasound equipment, which may have enabled a proper diagnosis to have been made at the clinic. Follow Up Report: In the days and weeks that followed, it was determined that the stone was too large to safely remove via surgery. Amelia was in terrible pain and in serious condition. Once again, God answered prayers on her behalf. Final tests indicated that the large kidney stone has simply disintegrated!!
Saturday, May 23 - Visit to Hermano Pedro and Grocery Distribution Today we were allowed to go to Hermano Pedro, the hospital/orphanage in A highlight of the day for me was the two stops we made on the way to Hermano Pedro. Chris took us to two homes to deliver groceries. Delivering groceries is one ministry that I really enjoy. Its an opportunity to provide some desperately needed food and to spend some time just getting to personally know some dear folks. Our first stop was at Carmen’s new home. We all enjoyed seeing the family again. Howie had been by and had even put in a couple of windows. Of course I had to hold little Maria for awhile. Seems so long ago when my girls were little like her. Then it was on to the lady with the blind girl. For some strange reason, no one seems to know the dear ladies name. So we all just end up referring to the family as the lady with the blind girl. The family is just barely hanging on. The mother has been ill for several years and cannot work. Two of the younger three children go to school (thanks to help from Dick). The oldest daughter (about 23 years old) works, but most of her money goes to pay the rent. Basically, they have one week’s earning left after rent for the remaining monthly bills. It was such a blessing to be able to give them the much needed groceries. As we heard about their extremely difficult circumstances, the thought seemed to hit several of us that we should take up an offering for them. So we did; Richard passed his hat and we were able to provide them with a significant boost. Dick told us that Sunday, May 23 - "Love the Child" Home for Children, and the Church of the Miraculous Fish! We checked out of our hotel in Chimaltenango early this morning and said goodbye to Chris Mooney. Steve Osborn and his hired driver, Darvy, picked us up and we headed out for a quick breakfast and church. Yes, this is the same Darvy that we have enjoyed getting to know while working with the Hands of Hope medical clinic. We ate at, where else, Pollo Camperos. But this time at a new Pollo Camperos in San Lucas. The menu of course is the same, but fortunately they have a good breakfast menu. While we ate breakfast Steve took the van to their nearby home and soon returned with about 12 of the children. It was good to see familiar faces – Letty, her sister Dora, Tea, Gladys, Hannah, Jose, and others. Steve took us to the “Church of the Miraculous Fish”. This was also Steve’s first time there, he had just recently met one of their members. I was glad we attended. The message was actually delivered by someone other than the Pastor; it was delivered by one of the ladies in the church who was obviously filled with zeal and passion. The Pastor’s wife interpreted the speaker’s Spanish into English for us. The message was about Caleb and his unwavering faith in claiming the promised land. The church was being challenged to exercise this same kind of faith in reaching their vision; a vision for reaching out to the poor and needy in their city. The church members are asking God to enable them to purchase the land next door. The church members then went outside to the wall between the church and the next door property and prayed for God to remove it and provide the land. The vision is to build a school for the poor children to attend. I absolutely love seeing people with this kind of faith. It is so refreshing to see people live and walk by faith and to trust God to do what only God can do. I’m sure that the church does not have the resources to make this vision become reality. But they know the God who does! I am looking forward to hearing more about this church in the future and what God is doing in their midst! The Pastor invited anyone in our group who wished to come up and share a few words. Steve translated for me as I shared what I hope were words of encouragement. Then Jess also shared some encouraging words. Afterwards, the Pastor showed us the model of the school they envision building. I was curious about the church’s name, “The Church of the Miraculous Fish”. I was told that their name comes from the account of the disciples’ miraculous catch of fish in response to Jesus command to cast the net on the right side of the boat after they had fished all night without success. These dear folks are actively looking to God to provide a miraculous catch as they fish for men. After spending the afternoon with the “Love the Child” children we headed for Monday, May 24 - Visiting the Mayan Ruins Today we enjoyed a free day; our last day before returning home. The team has worked really hard since arriving here a week ago; it seems like every day has just been packed. I’d say that everyone has earned a day to unwind and relax a bit. Steve and Darvy picked us up and we traveled to see some Mayan ruins located within an hours drive or so. After a couple of hours of looking at the ruins, we enjoyed a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant. Then back to Finally, we headed to a hotel in
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated on Friday, 21 August 2009 03:25 |
