Southern Comfort

We finished a surgery trip which completed 53 cases. The focus for surgery was for ENT, Plastic and General Surgery. The majority of team members were from the south, Alabama,Georgia,Tennessee and other states. This was the first time for many of the members and once they were assigned, they were busy at making the whole body work to the glory of GOD.

I know you have heard this before but the cases seem more difficult because of the amount of time span people have lived with the illness affecting them. Regardless God used his people to repair/remove thyroids, cleft lips, cleft plates and hernias, lumps and bumps.

It is so great to work with a group of Christ focus people who put others first. The last evening one of the anesthesia team members stated he was so move to see the staff praying with/for patients prior to going to surgery, he was going to offer to pray with patients when he went home.

We have attached some photos and one is of Rosario, one of the nurses scrubbed on a surgery case. This was her first time and she stated she really enjoyed it and I promised she could scrub again with us in October for GYN cases, when her schedule allowed.

In 2 weeks, we pray to test out of the present section of Spanish which has more verbs than Carter had pill for the aches and pains of life. It will be good to move on and expand our understanding of different tenses for speaking.

In Christ love

Glenn & Neva

Home in La Antigua

We returned from an eye surgical trip at Montellano, were approx 46 patients shad cataracts removed or overgrowths of tissue removed from their eyes. The staff group was a small in number but very efficient and we were able to translate when needed. Neva and I had a chance to go with Dr. Walter to a medical clinic and evaluate some patients.

Next week we return to Montellano for an combo Plastics/Ent/General surgery. One of the nurses, Shery, in ChiChi, her home church is sponsoring a 2 year old for a cleft palate repair. She has as us to assist with the coordination of the visit, paying the bill and transportation. We are really looking forward to the trip, Neva knows a few of the people on the trip. Should be an encouraging trip and a chance to meet more christians from the states.

We are in school for this week and are focusing on reviewing the section so we can test out and move on- please pray for us the God put spanish works in our brain and on our tongues.

Love
Glenn & Neva

From US to Guatemala

Sorry it has been awhile since we have written. In May we went home to visit parents, and church friends. Megan has visited her academic studies and came home a few weeks prior to her internship starting in DC for 2 months then on to San Francisco for 1 year. Jess was working and busy planning wedding details with Brooke. Neva’s parents are doing well per se, Bob needed a partial knee replacement and is doing well post-op. Marje continues to be feisty as usual.
When we returned to Guatemala, Megan came with us for approximately 10 days and we visited many of the ruins in Antigua. Neva and Megan acquired some ameba but, this was corrected with medication.
This past week was very busy as we had Spanish school in the afternoons and in the mornings I went on a local medical mission trip to 2 villages surrounding Antigua. Preston Crest Church, in Dallas Texas has an annual trip to Antigua the first week on July. Dr. Raul, Physician/Evangelist supported by Preston Crest Church ; Neva and I have grown fond on him and his wife. Dr Raul invited me to attend clinic with him when I was not in school. Four people were baptized and countless of contacts were made. Approximately 1,000 were seen and evaluated for medical, surgical and denital problems. It was very encouraging to see the combination of medicine and evangelism. This is the great example Christ used in the Bible.

Love Glenn & Neva

Dia de Madre-Mother's Day

Dia de Madre (Mother's Day) is a grand celebration in Guatemala We were surprised by the special events of the day when we arrived at church. Each women received a rose and the church had been decorated very festively by the children the day before.


Children young and old had a gift for their mothers (and husbands for their wives when children weren't present) as seen in this picture of the preacher giving his mother a gift. All mothers received a Guatemalan bible cover, which fit Neva's bible perfectly. The members laughed and clapped when I spoke a few words to Neva in Spanish after being prompted to do so by one of the members. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the special program of the day.


After the service, it was time for a tipico Guatemala meal of pepian con pollo
(a special sauce, chicken, veggies and rice) plus tortillas. All the women and children were seated and waited on by the men (a practice which I personally can not find in the Bible:) but it was the custom of the day. We had a lot of fun and there were lots of laughs. We went home feeling very much a part of our new church family.

Onto Grado B

With the tremendous help of GOD, we have passed our test on the first part of our Spanish lessons, Grado A. Neva being more gifted of tongue than me passed her test last week and I passed mine today. The next session is mostly working with verbs (verbos). There are approximately 501 verbos and we hope to learn them all (just kidding).

Enclosed is a picture of our teachers (maestras) who have patiently taught us during these past weeks. Notice they are now smiling as opposed to crying, this is a good thing, muy bien. On the left is Sandra (my teacher) and on the right is Blanca (Neva's teacher). We appreciate both of them so much for putting up with us for four hours each day and for the program at the Christian Spanish Academy, which is an wonderful way to learn a new language.

April Surgical Trip

The Bible, Guatemalan angels, and Garfield.

Who would believe you can do surgical cases using the same grounding pad all day--it's true. Hopefully AORN will provide a grant to complete further research on this subject. Regardless we completed 85 surgical cases with only minor issues. We had great people working in the surgery area and Rick was in charge of sterilizing the instruments and supplies. One of our surgical teams kept "borrowing" our supplies but at least they were using them.
Above is a picture of one of the "little angels" that had surgery during the week. He was sleeping peacefully after a little Demerol. One image that will remain with us for some time is of his young father kneeling at his bedside praying for him. We had a very committed group of nurses and assistants working in the post-operative area. The 12+ hour days went so fast. There is no way to tell someone of the joy that comes from serving on one of these trips. The June surgical clinic is coming up quickly and there is still an urgent need for nurses. Please consider coming to Guatemala!

God works in ways we can only imagine.

Stop the Clinic: A Midday Baptism

We had the honor today of attending a baptism with other members of the church of Christ here in Antigua. Dr. Raul, a member of the church, was conducting his weekly clinic at the building when Paola, a 25 year old woman expressed her desire to be baptized. Dr. Raul stopped the clinic, gave several members a call, and we all drove out to a nearby village where there was a pool (from hot springs). It was such a moving experience, as Paola's mother, sister, brother, and her young son were there to watch her baptism. We were told that her mother had prayed for a long time for this to happen. She cried as Paola came out of the water. It was also a time for Dr. Raul and the minister of the church to witness to others who were at the pool. Dr. Raul told us later that the church in Antigua has had from 3-4 baptisms each of the past several months! In like manner with HTI, Dr. Raul and the ministry staff address not only physical needs at the clinic, but also hold a devotional and teach the message of the gospel of Christ to those in attendance! After Paola was baptized, it was nearly 4pm. We returned to Antigua, where Dr. Raul still had 10 patients waiting to be seen.