Catching up on the week. Glenn helped with the ABC celebration, while I went to clinic to help Lisa and Josephina on Monday. We had 32 patients and everyone worked together so that we could join the group in the afternoon.

Edison and his mother came to clinic as they prepare for a second operation to have his cleft palate repaired. He is a little guy that Sheri has written a lot about on her blog. She continues to work with the mothers of these babies to help them through the pre-operative preparation required before surgery.

At the ABC celebration, a little girl from La Palma came up to me and clearly wanted to be friends. At first she just wanted to sit by me, but within a few minutes she had curled up in my lap. I asked her if she was sleepy and she said, yes. She had probably played hard and had very big day.

Tuesday we all met at Clinica Caris and worked to clean up the clinic, inventory pharmaceuticals and prepare pill packs for upcoming clinics. Kemmel had planned a special lunch of pizza and cheese cake (from the Cheesecake Factory no less!) Needless to say, we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

Today was a day off for Sheri, Glenn, and I as we all still needed to pack for our trips home. Lisa covered clinic. Tomorrow we will reciprocate and go to Chuchipaca.

Marilyn Grows

Dr. Lisa, Sheri, and I were very happy today to see Marilyn and her mother return to clinic at Mactzul I. Marilyn was initially seen during the November Medical Mobile Trip as a 3 month old premie who weighed 6 lbs. Today, one month later, she weighed in at 9 pounds! Her mother was relieved to know that she is growing. Baby seemed quite content and this picture is worth a thousand words.....their doctor is happy, too! We thank God for answering prayers for this little one.

ABC Clinic in Mactzul V

Clinic today was for children who are in the ABC Program in the Mactzul V area near Chichi. Glenn was measuring the height of this little sweet girl...she finally smiled for the camera. I think at first she may have been a little sceptical of this tall, gringo guy. The second photo is one of many that we took of the darling children that came to the clinic with their mothers and fathers. All in all, there were a total of 64 children seen today. If you don't know about the ABC program, check out the details on HTI's website. For only $30 a month you can support a child and help a family in one of the churches of Christ in Guatemala.

To Lake Atitlan via Xela

Yesterday, we updated our blog with a picture of beautiful Lake Atitlan. We headed there for the first time a week or so ago driving along the Inter-American highway from Chichi. The scenery is beautiful, so we drove and talked and drove some more and realized we hadn't seen a sign for the lake. Suddenly, we saw the city of Xela (two hours from Chichi......been there and recognized it)! After a turn around and more than an hour later, we arrived in Panajachel. Now Glenn wants a GPS for Christmas or a good back seat driver! Anyway, we enjoyed eating fresh fish at a restaurant overlooking the lake and checking out the town before we returned home.

Spiritual Care for the Community

Today we had the opportunity to attend an all day church service at Xepocol, a local congregation in the mountains surrounding ChiChi. There were approximately 600 people including those that came from surrounding churches. As you can see it was held under a tent like structure for shade.

Many people came from surrounding villages by bus, trucks, cars and walking. Acapella came to sing from the town of Quiche. They were very good and several of their members are related so they travel as a family plus Dad is a preacher.

Gaspar, the gentleman pictured above who is a leader in the church and is one of HTI health promoters, assisted in the meeting. It was a good time to talk with many of the people in the congregation and for them to start to know us better. On the way home, Kemmel gave a ride to people who needed transportation. I rode in the back of the pickup with several younger women and children, while a few more mature Guatemalans rode in the cab.

Every Job Counts

Daniel and his sister Mercedes, ABC/Scholarship students, spent the week with us in Montellano. At last count, Daniel and his sister had made 3048+ packages of multivitamins. These will be ready to give out to the many patients in the mobile clinics.

The Eye Clinic finished today with 21 surgical procedures completed and many patients seen on consult and provided with medical treatment. As we talked tonight, even though it was a small group this trip, it was also a blessing to work and praise the Lord each night together. This group enjoyed singing and we spent more time than usual in the evening learning new songs and singing old familiar tunes. As we all leave and travel our separate ways tomorrow, most expressed the hope of returning again to serve these people who have such tremendous faith and trust in God and in those he sends.

Eye Surgery at Clinica Ezell

We are enjoying a week of eye surgery in Montellano with five team members from the states and a very supportive Guatemalan staff. Dr. Meredith Ezell is our ophthalmologist and here she is removing a patch from Maria, a 47 year old woman that has bilateral cataracts and hasn't had sight in a year. Maria laughed and then she cried. It is always fun to be a part of these early morning events! She hopes to return in March to have surgery on her left eye.

We were preparing Pedro for surgery when his wife arrived. He was so excited to see her. I ask him how long they had been married and he said for 62 years. He was 19 and she was 15. They have 10 children and 15 grandchildren. She walked with him back to the outer doors of the OR and waited patiently in the post-op area for his return. It is now nearly 7pm and she is still at his side.