Dia Ocho - El Grupo de Medicos Regressar a Gualan

Day 8 - The Medical Team Returns to Gualan.

It was so great to have the whole team back together again! We had a great dinner together and got to hear lots of stories about La Union. We also told a lot of stories of what life has been like here in Gualan.

Tomorrow we get to sleep late! We will go to the house blessing ceremonies and then do some touring of other home sites in Gualan and Zacapa.

Other than our reunion, our day today was more of the same. More work on the electrical wiring. Mucho mas digging of the septic. Everytime we met the goal, they decided it needed to be another foot deeper! One house had sandy soil, the other one, shale. Five different men took turns with the pick axe, breaking the rock and throwing it up out of the hole with a shovel.

The medical team saw another 53 patients in their half day clinic, totalling 376 patients in 3-1/2 days. Incredible! If you get a chance, ask someone from the medical team about the travel and the accommodations. They have some great stories!

In addition to this work, Trish, Mary and John painted the entire interior of the church and its bathroom in the last two days. If you ever need detail work done around your toilet, call this team of professionals! They've perfected a down and dirty method to complete it in record time!

Day 7 - Sharing Loaves & Fishes

Here in Guatemala, we see a lot of strange sites. One of the first puzzling images of the day, was Dwight cutting a pound bag of Twizzlers licorice into bite size pieces at the breakfast table. He wanted to make sure he had enough pieces to share with the kids at Los Limones. In addition, he had a bag of goldfish crackers that he wanted to hand out to the children, who are so hungry for food, attention and love.

I didn't put it all together until much later, but when I opened the "La Biblia para Niños" book to read to the kids, the story "Los Panes y Los Peces" was what I started with. Sandra, the niece of Beto, heard me slaughtering the Spanish pronunciation and rescued the children by reading the story for all of us. After reading about how Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, the children got a snack of licorice and fishes. It was great to see how the Guatemalans and the Americans worked together in construction projects, in teaching kids about the miracles of Jesus and to hear how the medical team again saw 115 patients. It is amazing what God can do with us when we all work together.

We have just one more day to finish our work projects. Friday we will dedicate the homes. The medical team will rejoin the rest of us tomorrow in the afternoon. We look forward to their return to hear more about the work that they have done.

Thanks so much for your comments! We all sat together before dinner and read them together. They really lifted our spirits after a back-breaking day of digging septic systems. :/

Day 6 - More Constuction and Medical Care

Day 6

Construction workers helped pour the cement floors the the 2 homes we are building. Work was also started on electrical and a sewage pit. The children again appeared in droves and were treated to coloring, balloons, and scripture. The home home owners are very excited about their new homes and have worked very hard and are very thankful for our help.

The Medical team saw 93 patients. Stomach problems, rashes, and lice seem to be the main problems. Yesterday we had to go to pharmacy to buy extra supplies to treat the conditions we are seeing. Kent was able to come up to the clinic and his pharmacy skills were greatly appreciated.

Each family that visits the clinic gets a bag of beans and rice, as well as a health kit. They are much appreciated.

The ride to and from the clinics are very interesting. Driving up dirt mountain roads in the rain is quite interesting.

Please comment on our progress, we look forward to your comments each day. They are private, only we can see them.

Please continue to keep us all in your prayers.

Day 5 - Long Day

Sorry Followers, but today's blog is going to have to be short and sweet. Long, tiring, and rewarding day.

The build teams finished the roof on the church in 1 day, an incredible accomplishment! I'm told Jack Baker is a machine. Others went to homes. They finished the roofs, wired the houses, and tomorrow will pour the floors. All had a great time playing with the children who were running to the work sites as soon as our bus drove in.

Lori and Mark went up to assist the medical team up in LaUnion. Dr. Ernie and staff were able to give medical care to over 115 patients in very poor conditions. They were only supposed to see 75. It was incredible to witness! The children have a large number of medical conditions and are really need a lot more care than what we can be provide. We ask that you keep them in your prayers.

Again sorry for the short post, but here are a few pictures.

I was asked to post a message that all miss home and their families very much.

Day 4... A day of Worship,visit of the work sites and separation

Hola!

Today we enjoyed an incredible day of worship at Resurrection Lutheran Church. The service was all in Spanish. Although challenging for most of us, it was incredible. They just so happened to preach on the very same Bible passages we did last weekend at FIL. Matthew 25:14-30.

After lunch we visited the work sites. The children came out in droves. The living situations are, to put it mildly, terrible. The children were so happy to see us. We have never seen so many smiles. In spite of their situation, there is much hope and faith within them. For us it was very hard to witness how little they have, but we have faith the God with take care them. That is why we are here.

Lori was here in November of 2008, and although changes have been slow there is progress.

We also recieved great news that 40 families from La Union that lost there home and land in mud slides are being transplanted into new homes and land in Los Limones over the next year. Many of these families have been dealing with terrible living conditions for the past several months. Worst than what we witnessed today.

Our medical team left us today for La Union. We would like you to keep them in your prayers as they endeavor into the unknown on a first to be seen mission of care in that area. Please pray for Dr. Ernie, Nancy, Joy, Bev, Teresa, and Janet. The bonding amongst the team over the last 2-3 days has been incredible. To lose our fellow brothers and sisters today was very hard on us all.

We have included a few pictures below of what we witnessed today.

Please keep us all in your prayers.

Our incredible bus driver, Gelver and his wife. I'm convinced he learned to drive in Boston considering his amazing driving skills. This is a rare picture in that we actually got him to smile!
Here are just a few pictures of the children and living conditions that we encountered today:

Day 3 - Mountains & Valleys

5:30 A.M. Lori races around knocking on doors. Let's go! Vamonos! We want to see the sunrise. Group hiked the cobblestone streets of Antigua up to the top of Cerro de la Cruz. From this mountaintop we could see the city of Antigua. At the top we met some new friends, including a 5-month old boy named Ezra. Mary had selected a reading from the book of Ezra 3 for our devotion today, so again we saw God's hand at work. Have any of you ever met someone named Ezra?!? More than a coincidence, we think.
In her devotion, Mary shared her appreciation for the foundation of her Christian faith. It is this foundation that gives all of us the strength to continue this mission. This same foundation gave us the patience to endure the heavy traffic through Guatemala City and the long journey to Rio Hondo. Our driver, Gelver, is a miracle worker. He can get this bus through tight squeezes, tight curves and seems to know a lot of other motorists, honking his way across Guatemala. We'll see if we can post a picture of him for you.

Day 2 Antigua - Out of Many, One

Today our devotion focused on how God has placed Open Doors before us in Guatemala. We focused on the Ask, Seek, Knock passages in the book of Matthew. We are so grateful for the opportunities that God has given to us to help others find the narrow gate that leads to salvation.

We learned today about the history of the Guatemalan people so that we would understand them better. We learned about Mayan culture through their music,(see photo of Teresa playing a flute with our museum tour guide) the history of some of the buildings, and how Mayan religious beliefs have influenced their culture. This helps us understand what common ground we share. We also learned about how the coffee industry impacts their culture. We had many opportunities to interact with families who make their living by selling woven textiles that depict different aspects of their culture (see the traditional Mayan costume of our guide). We learned how much the Guatemalan people of both Mayan and Ladino descent value work. There are few panhandlers or beggars in this society. The people work hard at their crafts, whether it be with wood, leather, textiles, etc. so that they have something to sell. They do not want to take any handouts, but work very hard to produce and to sell their handiwork. The woven textiles that tell the story of the Guatemalan culture remind us of how the Lord has built His church, weaving together the many different talents of His people into one body that can share His story!

Day 1-Traveling in Grace

Today began with most of us arriving before the day began to catch our bus from First Immanuel. After asking for God's Blessings for our drivers, pilots and crews, we began our journey. We departed ahead of schedule and arrived at O'Hare ahead of schedule. By God's grace our flights departed on time, arrived on time, all connections were made and we arrived in Guatemala City On time. Thank you for your prayers regarding our clearance of the medical supplies through customs. All of our bags and boxes of medical supplies, equipment and personal luggage were waived through without any delays. All 17 of us are here! Our buses were waiting for us and we quickly checked into our hotel. We were able to bridge the language gap with our broken and/or rusty Spanish and enjoyed a popular Guatemalan lunch of fried chicken at Pollo Campero. Tomorrow our cultural education begins with a visit to Antigua. We will see volcanoes, Cerro de la Cruz, learn about how Guatemalan life is impacted by the coffee industry, learn about the indigenous Mayan peoples and see ancient ruins. We will stay at a Luthern Center. A good night of sleep after our long travels is sounding very good about now.

Trip Background

Here's some background on the trip for those who may be interested in following it...

The mission trip to Guatemala will take place January 29-February 7, 2009. Our group is comprised of 15 First Immanuel members and 2 people joining our team from other churches.

The group will be focusing on multiple projects:
Sharing the Gospel in deed and word; construction of two cement block homes for families selected by their congregation; replacing a church roof; operating a Medical Clinic in the mountain community, La Union;
Distribution of food to the poor in a community still devastated by summer mudslides.

We have a lot planned for our 10 days in Guatemala. Please pray that we will be open to the Lord's leading, so that we can adapt our plans to His plans. Thank you!

Fil Guatemala Mission Team

Official Site of FIL Guatemala Mission Trip

Here are pictures of the 2 families and the homes we are planning to replace