Visiting a New Area

Sorry we have not blogged prior to this time.
After returning from the holidays, our computer proceeded to stop connecting to the internet and shortly thereafter stop working. We just got a new computer this past weekend.

During the past two weeks we have had the opportunity to drive to the area that has been chosen for expansion by HTI sometime in the future. Kemmel, Neva and I drove to the towns of Zacualpa and Joyobaj. The areas for medical evangelism are the mountains shadowing these two towns. The area looks somewhat similar to the foot heels of the Rocky Mountains . The surrounding area seems a little more arid than Chichi and the mountains are covered with trees and small fields of corn alone with the homes of the indigenous people.

We return a week later for a medical and dental clinic at Chuchuca a town "high" in the mountains. This was the first time to have the clinic after several month due to the rainy season. We were in pickups using low gear most of the way. On the way up the mountain I mentioned that during the rainy season it would be easier to use 2 mules and a cart similar to the people of the Sudan. After arriving to the clinic I saw they had a trusted horse ready for me in case we needed it for the trip back down.During the clinic we saw approximately 45 patients. almost all were women and children with various health and home problems. The people have very similar problems as what you would find in the U.S.

Sherry and I saw one women that her motivating reason to come to clinic was she was afraid, she did have a minor medical condition but, we spent most of the time attempting to reassure her that God was watching over her and when she felt afraid to pray. We prayed with her prior to her leaving us.

Neva and Josephine evaluated a women who only weighed 56 pounds, having lost nearly 30 pounds since the last visit. The concern was that she has some type of cancer. Again this is a great opportunity for them to talk to the patients about the gift of Jesus Christ in our lives and how we will spend eternity with him in heaven.


We were overwhelmed by the great need in this community for health care services and the response by the people of the Church to the clinic. All of the patients were actually from the church of Christ, as it was only announced there. We can only imagine what the response will be when we are able to go on a more frequent basis and open the clinics to everyone nearby.

Home for Christams

We are safe back in the states and are enjoying visiting with family and church friends. I have had a little difficulty adjusting to the finer foods of the American cuisine, some medication should help this. Neva is visiting her parents this weekend and I am home with our favorite dog Sandy. I will have time to meet with members of our church family.

It snowed this afternoon for several hours with only a trace of accumulation, wow it was beautiful ( sorry I did not have the camera). I'm sitting in Panera Bread a wifi hot spot and they are playing Christmas caroles

My Christmas list is much shorter this year and is only 2 pages single spaced for those of you who are following our blog and want to buy us a little something. Just kidding, you know after a while when we are slightly older our wants and needs list become very minimal. Frequently the only thing we want and really need is quality time with God, family and friends.

PS. We will not be celebrating with firecrackers or hosting a precession as our Guatemala friends will be this Christmas season.

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.