Well,
Today is my last day in Guatemala. It has been a very interesting 53 days here with its ups and downs. This past week we worked entirely in the school at Palencia with a team from Houston. It was actually a pretty small team of 9 people who were older than our previous groups but boy could they work hard. New toilets were put in the school which was great, and they were able to paint a beautiful new mural on the basketball court and in the playroom as well as paint inside the bathrooms. On top of that, we did clinics for the first 4 days as well.
On Friday, we were supposed to go to a beach with black sand, but because we still had some work to do, the team leader decided we should stay. I actually was really happy we stayed an extra day, since it was only a beach. But since we stayed, I was able to work with the kids in the computer class. It is amazing how much they are learning. These kids are working on Powerpoint presentations at age 8! I definitely remember not even doing Mario Teaches Typing at that age. God has really blessed a school which wasn't even open only a few years ago. Now there are 85 children attending there as well.
Also, last year I really wanted to sponsor a child at Palencia, but since I couldn't work during the school year, it wouldn't be possible. But since this year I will be working, I really wanted to finally sponsor one. The kid I decided to sponsor actually was the last kid at the school who was not sponsored and I was able to meet him on our last day at Palencia. It was so awesome to actually meet the kid I would be supporting; I realize that is such a unique experience that most sponsors do not get to have. We worked on his Powerpoint presentation together, and he even was rewarded a little prize for having such good conduct. I was so proud of him. It is such a small sacrifice to help change the life of a child...I just wish I was more wealthy so that I could help sponsor a whole classroom of kids and help give them so many more opportunities in their lives. But being able to be used by God to change the life of only one precious child is good enough for me.
The Palacios family that I am staying with (Tito, Brenda, Alejandro, and Pablo), have a nanny named Amelia. She used to live in a very poor part of Guatemala, but was able to get out of it and ended up working for the Palacios to afford an education. She has been so fun and today we had the special treat of being able to go to her younger sister's Quincenera. It was such a special treat because we Gringos were invited as special guests. I was actually happy that we were able to go to the Quincenera of a poorer family than some wealthy one because we got to see how much work they put into such an event for a girl they love even though they have so little. It was a nice event and they gave us food and everything. Actually, Amelia's mother even gave us special gifts for coming. It was amazing that she would give us presents when she didn't even know us and she had so little already. It was so special and meaningful.
The last night that we were here, Tito took us out to this amazing steak place where we stuffed ourselves with awesome food. We gave a few little tokens of our appreciation and then headed back to the house where I now sit finishing up my blog.
This trip has been a very interesting experience overall. I can't say that it met my expectations, because they were very difficult aspects about it that I did not expect to have to deal with. But I believe that God will use and is already using these situations to force me to rely on Him more and realize that when His people pray, He really can move mountains.
The faith that these people have for God's providence is truly awe-inspiring. Considering their humble budget, they accomplish so much in helping the people while still providing a comfortable experience for the Gringos that come down here. It is honestly hard for me to wrap my mind around the trust they just thrust into the lap of God, believing that He will take care of it in the way the He chooses to. For someone who plans and analyzes things as much as I do, this is quite the radical concept. But I think it's about time that I grow up a little and take the plunge into the hands of God.
I'm reading a book called, "In the Grip of Grace," by Max Lucado. On the title of the book it says, "Your Father always caught you...He still does." There are a lot of unknowns coming up in this next year for me. Unknowns about my job, future relationships, med school, living arrangements, and life in general. If I tried to plan it all out like I would like to, it would overwhelm me and all come crumbling down anyway. But Tito reminded me today that I am always in the hand of God and He will never let me go.
Thank you all so much for keeping track of my adventures while down here in Guatemala. I have learned a great deal, met literally hundreds if not thousands of people, and experienced so many rich things that I can cherish and store up in my heart forever. Thank you all so much for your prayers and thoughts and comments. I pray that in some way, this blog blessed you or at least made you think.
Right now my family is currently dealing with a death in the family of my Uncle Walter. It was not a sudden thing because he had been sick for awhile, but it has been hard on my family especially my dad. He was very close with this brother and I know that this has affected him differently than any other loss. I will be flying to California to be with him and the rest of my family on Tuesday (the day after I get back to the States). Please pray for strength for us and the right words and actions to best help the situation. Please pray for healing and time for my father to actually grieve for his loss. Thank God that Uncle Wally was a Christian, and when he passed away, he was looking towards Jesus, his Maker and Savior.
Well, this has been a long post and I still am going to write a letter to Tito and Brenda (in Spanish), so I better get to it since we leave at 5am. I am going to post pictures soon when I get back to the States for you to enjoy and see my little sponsor child, Angel. Once again, thanks for everything, and it has been an amazing journey which I have been privileged to share with you all.
Verses of the blog:
"Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.
-Psalm 139:7-10
God is at work! In Guatemala and around the world! Thanks again and God bless!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Office Space
Well,
The past week was a much slower one. We spent the week working at the office. Normally this is somewhat of a boring time for us. Luckily, I had a little task of making a presentation about nutrition, diabetes, and hypertension to help explain and hopefully prevent some of the health problems which are becoming very rampant. Stephanie, a nurse from Whitworth who is also an intern here, helped me make a nice little slideshow, which of course had plenty of Spanish grammatical errors which Tito pointed out. We also alphebetized the whole pharmacy and separated the antibiotics into families which was good for me to learn.
Unfortunately, since I spent most of the week in the office, there aren't many interesting stories to tell you. However, on Saturday I helped Brenda (Tito's wife) cook two dinners for the team that just arrived from Houston. During this process I had quite the humbling, yet hilarious mistranslation experience.
I was talking to Brenda and I TRIED to ask, "Cuando vamos a hervir los fideos" which means "when are we going to boil the noodles." However, instead of fideos I said fondeos and Brenda just busted up laughing as soon as I said it. She was like doubled over for 10 minutes and told their nanny Amelia about it and she just died. Finally, Tito came home and Brenda told him. He obviously cracked up too. Apparently instead of asking when the noodles would be boiled, I asked, "When are we going to boil the butt cracks?" Wow. Talk about a misunderstanding.
No, my Spanish foibles don't stop there. Only two days later, Brenda was showing us pictures that her kids had drawn. They were precious pictures of the kids with Tito and nice little cards about how much they appreciated him as their dad. We were looking at these altogether and I tried to say to Brenda, "Those are treasures." Unfortunately, my faulty Spanish struck again, and struck hard. Instead of saying "those are treasures," I said the word troseros. Brenda looked at me with this shocked expression and started pounding her fist in her hand and jokingly said, "I should slap you for that." Tito laughed and informed me of the obvious fact that I did not say, "Those are treasures." Instead I again said, "Those are butt cracks."
Needless to say, that's not the most flattering thing to say about someone else's kids' works of art. Luckily, I have known the Palacios for long enough that I wasn't thrown out on MY butt crack and we could just chock it up as another funny mistake by a silly gringo.
Anyways, this week we are working in Palencia doing clinics and doing a VBS in the afternoon with kids. It is really fun to get a chance to play with the kids. They are so happy to play and are learning more about God.
I am definitely getting pretty homesick now, and I miss my friends and family and the States in general quite a bit. We really don't appreciate the freedoms we have in the States (especially if you have a car). Anyways, thanks again for all your prayers.
Please also pray for my family right now. One of my uncles is in the last stages of liver failure and my parents are with him now trying to make his departure to see God as comfortable as possible. Luckily, he is a strong believer and he knows what joys await him. Anyways, gotta take a shower and hit the hay.
Tenga cuidado con los fondios, (You guys can figure that one out by now... :)
Justin
The past week was a much slower one. We spent the week working at the office. Normally this is somewhat of a boring time for us. Luckily, I had a little task of making a presentation about nutrition, diabetes, and hypertension to help explain and hopefully prevent some of the health problems which are becoming very rampant. Stephanie, a nurse from Whitworth who is also an intern here, helped me make a nice little slideshow, which of course had plenty of Spanish grammatical errors which Tito pointed out. We also alphebetized the whole pharmacy and separated the antibiotics into families which was good for me to learn.
Unfortunately, since I spent most of the week in the office, there aren't many interesting stories to tell you. However, on Saturday I helped Brenda (Tito's wife) cook two dinners for the team that just arrived from Houston. During this process I had quite the humbling, yet hilarious mistranslation experience.
I was talking to Brenda and I TRIED to ask, "Cuando vamos a hervir los fideos" which means "when are we going to boil the noodles." However, instead of fideos I said fondeos and Brenda just busted up laughing as soon as I said it. She was like doubled over for 10 minutes and told their nanny Amelia about it and she just died. Finally, Tito came home and Brenda told him. He obviously cracked up too. Apparently instead of asking when the noodles would be boiled, I asked, "When are we going to boil the butt cracks?" Wow. Talk about a misunderstanding.
No, my Spanish foibles don't stop there. Only two days later, Brenda was showing us pictures that her kids had drawn. They were precious pictures of the kids with Tito and nice little cards about how much they appreciated him as their dad. We were looking at these altogether and I tried to say to Brenda, "Those are treasures." Unfortunately, my faulty Spanish struck again, and struck hard. Instead of saying "those are treasures," I said the word troseros. Brenda looked at me with this shocked expression and started pounding her fist in her hand and jokingly said, "I should slap you for that." Tito laughed and informed me of the obvious fact that I did not say, "Those are treasures." Instead I again said, "Those are butt cracks."
Needless to say, that's not the most flattering thing to say about someone else's kids' works of art. Luckily, I have known the Palacios for long enough that I wasn't thrown out on MY butt crack and we could just chock it up as another funny mistake by a silly gringo.
Anyways, this week we are working in Palencia doing clinics and doing a VBS in the afternoon with kids. It is really fun to get a chance to play with the kids. They are so happy to play and are learning more about God.
I am definitely getting pretty homesick now, and I miss my friends and family and the States in general quite a bit. We really don't appreciate the freedoms we have in the States (especially if you have a car). Anyways, thanks again for all your prayers.
Please also pray for my family right now. One of my uncles is in the last stages of liver failure and my parents are with him now trying to make his departure to see God as comfortable as possible. Luckily, he is a strong believer and he knows what joys await him. Anyways, gotta take a shower and hit the hay.
Tenga cuidado con los fondios, (You guys can figure that one out by now... :)
Justin
Saturday, July 18, 2009
A little break...and a birthday
Well, we finally have arrived back in Guatemala City after our long, hot, sweaty, and awesome adventure in San Miguelito and San Pedro la Cocona in Punta de Palma along the Gulf of Honduras. Last year, I went to this place and traveled an hour and a half along a dirt road in the back of a 4x4 in the rain of a legitimate jungle, only to take a trail of muddy tears to a village called Lampara, which looked like something out of Indiana Jones. This time, our trip was not nearly as long, and most of the people actually spoke Spanish which was really nice. I worked in intake again with two women from the new team from Eastpoint Church in Spokane. I really enjoyed this team and they were very cohesive with one another and really knew why they were there.
The children played on the soccer field (per usual) and I played a little bit with them on our set up day. They set up the ball for me, one kid politely hocked a loogey and the ball and stomped on it, and I was ready to go. Since I have always claimed myself to be an aquatic mammal and not a land mammal, I expected to completely miss the ball and fall flat on my back like Charlie Brown. Luckily, my foot actually connected and the ball went flying through the goal. I felt bad though cuz I almost clocked the kid playing goalie in the face.
Throughout this clinic we saw 75-80 patients per day and just did it in one fell swoop because it was too hot to try and do two separate sessions. We started at about 9 and finished at around 1:30 or so. The last day we measure the temp and it was 107 degrees in the sun and 114 degrees on top of the truck we were loading. It was tough work and I was sweating like a stuffed pig in the extreme heat and humidity, but it was really worth it. It was incredibly sad, however, to see some of the faces of some of the people. A lot of these people do not have more than $100 worth of possessions to their name, a statistic which is staggering to me.
Although I don't work in dental, I saw for myself that the dental situation in these remote villages is nearly non-existent. Some of these kids have probably never brushed their teeth before, and thanks to the advancement of modernization with junk food products such as Coke and other sweets, their teeth just rot. I was shocked when I was talking to one of the women and she had only one bottom tooth. All the rest had rotted out. Some children's teeth were blackened with cavities, and others were broken in half and merely shards. I have heard from the dentists that it is so sad because these people need a lot more work than they can give them. They have had to limit themselves to a policy of just one extraction or filling per person, due to the sheer time and volume of people we see. A lot of the patients need a whole mouth worth of fillings. Brian told me awhile back when he was working in dental that one older patient was having their tooth extracted and when the dentist pulled it out, it practically disintegrated and she had to go digging in the gums for the rest of the remnants of the root of the tooth. (Sorry for those who are grossed out easily). We seriously take something so simple as a bi-annual teeth cleaning and basic preventative dental education for granted.
Another thing which shocked me about this round of clinics was the amount of children that came in and the ages of their mothers. Almost all of the people I saw come through intake were women with at least 4 sick children in tow and usually one having a little snack from his mother right in front of my face :/ Brooke, one of the women who helped me in intake, noticed how strong these women are in the face of such adversity. They have to deal with such difficult life situations and do not seem to be phased by the immensity of their situation.
At first, in San Miguelito I was confused with my patient lists. Five kids would show up with their mom, and several of them had different last names from their mother and from each other. I didn't realize until I asked one of them, that the reason they all have different last names is because they have different fathers. Of course, in most cases, the father was nowhere to be found with his sick children. One time, a woman came with her children of all different last names, and then a few patients later a man of the same last name as one of the kids showed up, separate from his children. Apparently, it is common for the women to be empregnated by several different men...and it doesn't seem like they observe the concept of alimony checks. Maybe they have a communal type system of help, but these women, for all the mouths to feed and love to provide, show a remarkable amount of resilience.
Another shocking thing was the young age of the mothers. There was one case that really took me aback. A women came in with five children and she was only 20 years old. When I asked her how old the oldest one was, she said 7. She has been having children almost every year since she was 13 years old! After awhile, I had to make it a habit to ask 13 year olds if they were pregnant, which was a sad thing to have to make part of my intake routine. Yet despite this seemingly hopeless situation to me, these mothers clearly loved her children and were there to get them help.
Personally, this past clinic was a very important one. Since I have been here, I have been having some trouble with my personal relationship with God and feeling close to Him. Since my last trip was so life-changing, I had placed the same expectations on this trip...waiting for some revelation from God or some epiphany of faith. For the most part, I haven't really had any until this past clinic where I was able to relax next to the beach in time off and could actually ask God for guidance.
One thing God led me to ponder about was the fact that while Jesus was on the cross, He was thinking about THESE people. This 20 year old mother of 5, this old man bent over 90 degrees from osteoporosis, this drunken man who is probably the father to 10 different children throughout the village. Regardless of your belief on predestination, as far as we know, Christ died for ALL of these people, no matter how black their teeth are, how promiscuous their sexual habits are, or how much they smell of human feces. He knew they would lead these seemingly impossible lives. While we stand in awe at how little material possessions these people have, how much more awful is the lack of hope and the pure love devoid from their lives.
Tito talked to me about his OB/GYN rotation in med school and how they would work at these clinics for the prostitutes in Guatemala. He said he saw and smelled some of the worst things he has ever experienced. But hearing that makes me think, as digusting and calloused as these people may be, we cannot just act like they don't exist. Sometimes such problems appear to be just abstract feature stories we hear about on 20/20, where the reporter merely seems like a story-teller recounting the tale of some fictional tragedy. But these problems are REAL. And these people cannot just change the channel to their lives.
Everybody has their own charities or methods of humanitarian efforts that they pursue, and as nice as it would be, we cannot all give money to every poor child we see flash across the screen. But doing this kind of work has made me realize that as much as we would like to live in a bubble of self-satisfaction and prosperity, we cannot ignore the plight of our fellow man.
If you don't already work with the homeless or have never been to a soup kitchen and have some extra time, why not give it a try. I'm not saying we need to sell all our things and become the next Mother Teresa....I HATE it when people shove charities down others' throats as if they know exactly how they should serve others. Every person is given their own social responsibility and that is between them and God. Plus, different seasons in life call for different service. But if you do have a chance or an extra night free, why not see a world very much different from your own and serve the people who you may not love, but Jesus died for to save.
I am actually kind of shocked that I am writing this because this message is totally a conviction to myself. Throughout this trip I have struggled with feelings of selfishness, ignoring the reality of these people's lives and exhibiting a lack of faith that prayer for these people will accomplish anything. Often I get so focused on my specific goal or task that I ignore the process it takes to get us there. Luckily, God has started to change my heart, but that would be my prayer request for now. For whatever reason, I have kind of had a crisis of faith throughout the trip, saying all the Christian things about prayer and love, but not really believing or feeling them.
Well this post is a lot longer than I expected, but blogs are supposed to be about self-expression and rambling, right? Thank you all so much for your support, and I can't wait to see many of you again. Oh, it was Brian's birthday yesterday and we went to TGI Friday's and he had to stand on a chair while everyone sang....public embarrassment which he absolutely hated....but I absolutely loved. :)
Verse for the day:
"Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite our friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'"
---Luke 14:12-14
The children played on the soccer field (per usual) and I played a little bit with them on our set up day. They set up the ball for me, one kid politely hocked a loogey and the ball and stomped on it, and I was ready to go. Since I have always claimed myself to be an aquatic mammal and not a land mammal, I expected to completely miss the ball and fall flat on my back like Charlie Brown. Luckily, my foot actually connected and the ball went flying through the goal. I felt bad though cuz I almost clocked the kid playing goalie in the face.
Throughout this clinic we saw 75-80 patients per day and just did it in one fell swoop because it was too hot to try and do two separate sessions. We started at about 9 and finished at around 1:30 or so. The last day we measure the temp and it was 107 degrees in the sun and 114 degrees on top of the truck we were loading. It was tough work and I was sweating like a stuffed pig in the extreme heat and humidity, but it was really worth it. It was incredibly sad, however, to see some of the faces of some of the people. A lot of these people do not have more than $100 worth of possessions to their name, a statistic which is staggering to me.
Although I don't work in dental, I saw for myself that the dental situation in these remote villages is nearly non-existent. Some of these kids have probably never brushed their teeth before, and thanks to the advancement of modernization with junk food products such as Coke and other sweets, their teeth just rot. I was shocked when I was talking to one of the women and she had only one bottom tooth. All the rest had rotted out. Some children's teeth were blackened with cavities, and others were broken in half and merely shards. I have heard from the dentists that it is so sad because these people need a lot more work than they can give them. They have had to limit themselves to a policy of just one extraction or filling per person, due to the sheer time and volume of people we see. A lot of the patients need a whole mouth worth of fillings. Brian told me awhile back when he was working in dental that one older patient was having their tooth extracted and when the dentist pulled it out, it practically disintegrated and she had to go digging in the gums for the rest of the remnants of the root of the tooth. (Sorry for those who are grossed out easily). We seriously take something so simple as a bi-annual teeth cleaning and basic preventative dental education for granted.
Another thing which shocked me about this round of clinics was the amount of children that came in and the ages of their mothers. Almost all of the people I saw come through intake were women with at least 4 sick children in tow and usually one having a little snack from his mother right in front of my face :/ Brooke, one of the women who helped me in intake, noticed how strong these women are in the face of such adversity. They have to deal with such difficult life situations and do not seem to be phased by the immensity of their situation.
At first, in San Miguelito I was confused with my patient lists. Five kids would show up with their mom, and several of them had different last names from their mother and from each other. I didn't realize until I asked one of them, that the reason they all have different last names is because they have different fathers. Of course, in most cases, the father was nowhere to be found with his sick children. One time, a woman came with her children of all different last names, and then a few patients later a man of the same last name as one of the kids showed up, separate from his children. Apparently, it is common for the women to be empregnated by several different men...and it doesn't seem like they observe the concept of alimony checks. Maybe they have a communal type system of help, but these women, for all the mouths to feed and love to provide, show a remarkable amount of resilience.
Another shocking thing was the young age of the mothers. There was one case that really took me aback. A women came in with five children and she was only 20 years old. When I asked her how old the oldest one was, she said 7. She has been having children almost every year since she was 13 years old! After awhile, I had to make it a habit to ask 13 year olds if they were pregnant, which was a sad thing to have to make part of my intake routine. Yet despite this seemingly hopeless situation to me, these mothers clearly loved her children and were there to get them help.
Personally, this past clinic was a very important one. Since I have been here, I have been having some trouble with my personal relationship with God and feeling close to Him. Since my last trip was so life-changing, I had placed the same expectations on this trip...waiting for some revelation from God or some epiphany of faith. For the most part, I haven't really had any until this past clinic where I was able to relax next to the beach in time off and could actually ask God for guidance.
One thing God led me to ponder about was the fact that while Jesus was on the cross, He was thinking about THESE people. This 20 year old mother of 5, this old man bent over 90 degrees from osteoporosis, this drunken man who is probably the father to 10 different children throughout the village. Regardless of your belief on predestination, as far as we know, Christ died for ALL of these people, no matter how black their teeth are, how promiscuous their sexual habits are, or how much they smell of human feces. He knew they would lead these seemingly impossible lives. While we stand in awe at how little material possessions these people have, how much more awful is the lack of hope and the pure love devoid from their lives.
Tito talked to me about his OB/GYN rotation in med school and how they would work at these clinics for the prostitutes in Guatemala. He said he saw and smelled some of the worst things he has ever experienced. But hearing that makes me think, as digusting and calloused as these people may be, we cannot just act like they don't exist. Sometimes such problems appear to be just abstract feature stories we hear about on 20/20, where the reporter merely seems like a story-teller recounting the tale of some fictional tragedy. But these problems are REAL. And these people cannot just change the channel to their lives.
Everybody has their own charities or methods of humanitarian efforts that they pursue, and as nice as it would be, we cannot all give money to every poor child we see flash across the screen. But doing this kind of work has made me realize that as much as we would like to live in a bubble of self-satisfaction and prosperity, we cannot ignore the plight of our fellow man.
If you don't already work with the homeless or have never been to a soup kitchen and have some extra time, why not give it a try. I'm not saying we need to sell all our things and become the next Mother Teresa....I HATE it when people shove charities down others' throats as if they know exactly how they should serve others. Every person is given their own social responsibility and that is between them and God. Plus, different seasons in life call for different service. But if you do have a chance or an extra night free, why not see a world very much different from your own and serve the people who you may not love, but Jesus died for to save.
I am actually kind of shocked that I am writing this because this message is totally a conviction to myself. Throughout this trip I have struggled with feelings of selfishness, ignoring the reality of these people's lives and exhibiting a lack of faith that prayer for these people will accomplish anything. Often I get so focused on my specific goal or task that I ignore the process it takes to get us there. Luckily, God has started to change my heart, but that would be my prayer request for now. For whatever reason, I have kind of had a crisis of faith throughout the trip, saying all the Christian things about prayer and love, but not really believing or feeling them.
Well this post is a lot longer than I expected, but blogs are supposed to be about self-expression and rambling, right? Thank you all so much for your support, and I can't wait to see many of you again. Oh, it was Brian's birthday yesterday and we went to TGI Friday's and he had to stand on a chair while everyone sang....public embarrassment which he absolutely hated....but I absolutely loved. :)
Verse for the day:
"Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite our friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'"
---Luke 14:12-14
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Off to the Hot Place!
Hey everyone,
Hope everyone's fourth was full of fun and pyromania. This post is going to have to be short because we just finished a clinic again in Palencia yesterday and tomorrow we are going to leave at 5:50 am to head to our next clinic which we will have a 6 hour drive, 30 min boat ride, and 1 4x4 ride to "the hot place." I went on this same type clinic last year which was the one with the crazy mud and jungle type conditions with monsoon rain. It might be raining, it might be hot, it might be humid. You never know. What we do know is we will be doing clinics for three days at the hot place and possibly painting as well. The clinics in Palencia went well; I re-earned my spot at intake because I picked up the pace a little bit, but I don't know what I will be doing for this next one. My Spanish is still improving and I have learned such new words as "oozing," "secreting," "open sores," "udders," and other very useful conversation pieces.
Just a fun and amazing little fact. At our second clinic in Concepcion when we went back for three days we had a pastor's training and a VBS. During that time, several hundred kids came to the VBS, and around 700 people came for medical, dental, or vision treatment. PRAISE GOD! A lot of people heard the Gospel as well, and we hope that our work there made an impact on them to understand the love of God. 700 people is a whole lot of people for only 3 days under an organization comprised of only 5 people on the staff payroll. It is amazing what God can allow us to accomplish down here.
Personally, I have been having a lot of convicting revelations recently about various weaknesses in my life. It has been difficult, but I think they are very important lessons for me to learn, and ways for me to learn more about the necessity of an ever closer relationship with God.
Anyways, please pray for us as we go on this next adventure. The clinics to these places are the more tiring ones, but these people will not get any medical or dental care if we don't go there. Thanks again for all the continuing prayers. While I love this country and these people, I'm definitely starting to miss my peeps in the states! God bless and remember to scrub behind your ears.
Tenga cuidado de los ubres, (Be careful of the udders),
Justin
(I'm trying to practice my new Spanish vocabulary)
Hope everyone's fourth was full of fun and pyromania. This post is going to have to be short because we just finished a clinic again in Palencia yesterday and tomorrow we are going to leave at 5:50 am to head to our next clinic which we will have a 6 hour drive, 30 min boat ride, and 1 4x4 ride to "the hot place." I went on this same type clinic last year which was the one with the crazy mud and jungle type conditions with monsoon rain. It might be raining, it might be hot, it might be humid. You never know. What we do know is we will be doing clinics for three days at the hot place and possibly painting as well. The clinics in Palencia went well; I re-earned my spot at intake because I picked up the pace a little bit, but I don't know what I will be doing for this next one. My Spanish is still improving and I have learned such new words as "oozing," "secreting," "open sores," "udders," and other very useful conversation pieces.
Just a fun and amazing little fact. At our second clinic in Concepcion when we went back for three days we had a pastor's training and a VBS. During that time, several hundred kids came to the VBS, and around 700 people came for medical, dental, or vision treatment. PRAISE GOD! A lot of people heard the Gospel as well, and we hope that our work there made an impact on them to understand the love of God. 700 people is a whole lot of people for only 3 days under an organization comprised of only 5 people on the staff payroll. It is amazing what God can allow us to accomplish down here.
Personally, I have been having a lot of convicting revelations recently about various weaknesses in my life. It has been difficult, but I think they are very important lessons for me to learn, and ways for me to learn more about the necessity of an ever closer relationship with God.
Anyways, please pray for us as we go on this next adventure. The clinics to these places are the more tiring ones, but these people will not get any medical or dental care if we don't go there. Thanks again for all the continuing prayers. While I love this country and these people, I'm definitely starting to miss my peeps in the states! God bless and remember to scrub behind your ears.
Tenga cuidado de los ubres, (Be careful of the udders),
Justin
(I'm trying to practice my new Spanish vocabulary)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy Independence Day!
Hello everyone,
Well it's been yet another long while since my last post. A lot has happened since I posted last. We finished our clinics in Palencia, the school the Tito and La Mision is now in charge of keeping running. The team from Wenatchee who helped get that school up and running was so happy to see all the new buildings that have been built within the past several months. It's amazing how that school went to being a ghost town like 4 years ago, to doubling it's class size and filling all the rooms with children. I'm sure it was so amazing for them to see the transformation. All the children who go to the school are supported by sponsors from the states as are all the teachers.
I worked as a translator again for Dr. Weber Jr. and it was a good time. A lot of work and thinking each day, but it was really good and gave me some invaluable medical experience. It was sad to see the Wenatchee team head back to the states, but it was great to be able to work again with such a wonderful group of people.
Next, a team from Pacific Northwest University (a DO school in Yakima) came with Dr. Robyn (the dean of students), Dr. Snyder (an ER doc), Teresa (a dental hygienist), and a group of several first year DO students. It has been really fun getting to know them and hear about their first year in medical school. I must admit after seeing a lot of them use their skeletomuscular manipulation skills on many of the patients and even to those within our same team, I am getting more and more convinced to become a DO. While it is not the best route for more competitive specialties like neurosurgery, for family practice, third-world medicine, and more patient care focused fields, Dr. Snyder said I "would do myself a favor" if I pursued DO instead of MD. One of the students, even with her only one year of school, was able to use her manipulation skills on one of the patients at our recent clinic, and after her back cracked she looked up at her and said "GRACIAS!"
On Monday we traveled back to the clinic at the mountainous valley city of Concepcion. This time I worked in Intake collecting patient data. Then the next few days I worked in the pharmacy. There were some interesting cases and we had a lovely woman who was able to pray with the people and give them these little hygiene packs with a verse inside which she explained. Also, a large team from Texas was with us from Stone Briar Church in Dallas which is the church for 6000 people and is under the pastorship of Chuck Swindoll. They were a very nice and fun group and since we had 50 people in our whole team, we were able to have a VBS for all the kids in the city. I wasn't out there but they said that like 500 kids showed up, but when they handed out toys, it was like a mad house and they had to run away cuz the kids were so desperate for the toys.
This has been an interesting aspect to missions which I am learning more and more. As much as we want to give these people everything we have or every donation we got to every sad child we see on the street, you have to be so careful. You have to teach them how to interact and share with the rest of their community. If you merely throw toys at them, they only learn to hold out their hands and say "Gimme," which is not a mindset you want to spread around the country.
At times when I am caught in the rapid business aspect of the clinic of trying to get the job done, I forget about the reason why we are here: to help the people's need of healthcare and use it as an avenue for spiritual care and sharing the Gospel. Dr. Snyder gave an awesome lecture on spiritual healthcare and the importance of it for overall health. I was reminded of the importance of spiritual care when I noticed Dr. Oswaldo on his knees holding the hand of a young woman and praying so fervently for her. I found out later the story. She was fourteen and was having some stomach and nausea issues. Then they found out that she was pregnant. She was pretty upset and the man was not going to be part of her life. I know that this situation would be difficult to deal with in the states, but I couldn't imagine it in such a poor community. A baby having a baby. Another woman told us that she had a son who was 2 years old. She was 50! Then we were wondering how many kids she already had. I gave an educated guess of 12 kids....and I was right.
This trip was pretty fun and the group of us five gringo interns (Annie, Kevin, Brian, Ellen, and myself) were able to bond a lot. Primarily through our various bathroom escapades and stomach issues. :) Brian and I went shopping in Panajachel and basically spent our life savings. Actually, that's a lie, since the exchange rate was so good, we don't have to spend that much. Mix that with my continually polished bartering skills and you've got a shopping paradise.
One thing you can keep in prayer is that I have been perpetually sick for the past week and a half with a cough. I lost my voice for awhile and was up one night coughing. It got to the point where I had to use a nebulizer. I felt like I was back in my old chubby-cheeked asthma days. Then I smelled the wonderful scent of chewable Amoxicillin tablets and Augmentin liquid and boy did it throw me back to my sickly days as a child. I realize that's pretty sad, but most of my childhood memories surround medications and steroidal pills like Prednisone which blew up my cheeks like a balloon and converted me into a devil child. :) But I slept 10 and a half hours last night which was really great and Tito is going to give me some new really good medicine.
Anyways, we are about to eat this absolutely bomb soup called Tlalpeno with avocados and other amazing Guatemalan things (though it is a Mexican recipe). I have been cutting a lot of vegetables for Brenda lately. I realize more and more how much I love doing menial tasks like cutting vegetables and washing the dishes. I hope that gives me some points with the Misses in the future. :) Anyways, hope everyone's fourth of july is going well and when you are close to blowing up your hands with fireworks...think of me. (I know my dad is :)
Verse for the day:
"Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? " --James 2:5
Trips like this and I'm sure with every missions trip it forces you to think: what if God decided to have me born into one of these poor families in Guatemala? What if I had 9 brothers and sisters and we all got perpetually sick from the smoke in our house, parasites in our water, and the hopeless prospect of never being able to escape this depressing estate? What if I was born a woman into an extremely patriarchal society, or into a country where they would sell me into prostitution? But no, God chose to place me in a home with a loving family, plenty of opportunities for the future, relatively no financial worries and burdens, and a knowledge of Christ and His saving grace. But the majority of the world doesn't have this.
So what do I do? What do I do with this position that I was born into? Just having a glimpse of these people shows me the responsibility that we as Americans have to each other and the rest of the world. God didn't place us in affluence to just sit back, look at our worldly, emotional, and spiritual possessions with a smile on our face with sweet satisfaction. Yes, we should praise God for what He has given us, but I believe this verse and so many others echo the responsibility to share the Gospel and use our resources to DO something. Rolando was telling the team that their mission to the people of Guatemala is three-fold. The team who comes and works, the team who supports financially, and the team who prays. It has been great to meet many people from the states who don't just want to sit on their pile of accomplishments and blessings, but want to DO something about it. I know many people think changing the world is just a pipe dream for bleeding-heart idealists, but this trip has shown me I don't need to settle for this pessimissm. The world CAN be changed. We just have to recognize the blessings we have and the inherent responsibility which follows to our fellow mankind.
Well time to sign off. I will probably post photos tomorrow. I think we might be going to climb an active volcano tomorrow which should be fun. (I know Mom and Dad are probably freaking out at the prospect of this). Well happy Fourth of July again everyone. I'm gonna go watch Madagascar with the kids! God bless!
Well it's been yet another long while since my last post. A lot has happened since I posted last. We finished our clinics in Palencia, the school the Tito and La Mision is now in charge of keeping running. The team from Wenatchee who helped get that school up and running was so happy to see all the new buildings that have been built within the past several months. It's amazing how that school went to being a ghost town like 4 years ago, to doubling it's class size and filling all the rooms with children. I'm sure it was so amazing for them to see the transformation. All the children who go to the school are supported by sponsors from the states as are all the teachers.
I worked as a translator again for Dr. Weber Jr. and it was a good time. A lot of work and thinking each day, but it was really good and gave me some invaluable medical experience. It was sad to see the Wenatchee team head back to the states, but it was great to be able to work again with such a wonderful group of people.
Next, a team from Pacific Northwest University (a DO school in Yakima) came with Dr. Robyn (the dean of students), Dr. Snyder (an ER doc), Teresa (a dental hygienist), and a group of several first year DO students. It has been really fun getting to know them and hear about their first year in medical school. I must admit after seeing a lot of them use their skeletomuscular manipulation skills on many of the patients and even to those within our same team, I am getting more and more convinced to become a DO. While it is not the best route for more competitive specialties like neurosurgery, for family practice, third-world medicine, and more patient care focused fields, Dr. Snyder said I "would do myself a favor" if I pursued DO instead of MD. One of the students, even with her only one year of school, was able to use her manipulation skills on one of the patients at our recent clinic, and after her back cracked she looked up at her and said "GRACIAS!"
On Monday we traveled back to the clinic at the mountainous valley city of Concepcion. This time I worked in Intake collecting patient data. Then the next few days I worked in the pharmacy. There were some interesting cases and we had a lovely woman who was able to pray with the people and give them these little hygiene packs with a verse inside which she explained. Also, a large team from Texas was with us from Stone Briar Church in Dallas which is the church for 6000 people and is under the pastorship of Chuck Swindoll. They were a very nice and fun group and since we had 50 people in our whole team, we were able to have a VBS for all the kids in the city. I wasn't out there but they said that like 500 kids showed up, but when they handed out toys, it was like a mad house and they had to run away cuz the kids were so desperate for the toys.
This has been an interesting aspect to missions which I am learning more and more. As much as we want to give these people everything we have or every donation we got to every sad child we see on the street, you have to be so careful. You have to teach them how to interact and share with the rest of their community. If you merely throw toys at them, they only learn to hold out their hands and say "Gimme," which is not a mindset you want to spread around the country.
At times when I am caught in the rapid business aspect of the clinic of trying to get the job done, I forget about the reason why we are here: to help the people's need of healthcare and use it as an avenue for spiritual care and sharing the Gospel. Dr. Snyder gave an awesome lecture on spiritual healthcare and the importance of it for overall health. I was reminded of the importance of spiritual care when I noticed Dr. Oswaldo on his knees holding the hand of a young woman and praying so fervently for her. I found out later the story. She was fourteen and was having some stomach and nausea issues. Then they found out that she was pregnant. She was pretty upset and the man was not going to be part of her life. I know that this situation would be difficult to deal with in the states, but I couldn't imagine it in such a poor community. A baby having a baby. Another woman told us that she had a son who was 2 years old. She was 50! Then we were wondering how many kids she already had. I gave an educated guess of 12 kids....and I was right.
This trip was pretty fun and the group of us five gringo interns (Annie, Kevin, Brian, Ellen, and myself) were able to bond a lot. Primarily through our various bathroom escapades and stomach issues. :) Brian and I went shopping in Panajachel and basically spent our life savings. Actually, that's a lie, since the exchange rate was so good, we don't have to spend that much. Mix that with my continually polished bartering skills and you've got a shopping paradise.
One thing you can keep in prayer is that I have been perpetually sick for the past week and a half with a cough. I lost my voice for awhile and was up one night coughing. It got to the point where I had to use a nebulizer. I felt like I was back in my old chubby-cheeked asthma days. Then I smelled the wonderful scent of chewable Amoxicillin tablets and Augmentin liquid and boy did it throw me back to my sickly days as a child. I realize that's pretty sad, but most of my childhood memories surround medications and steroidal pills like Prednisone which blew up my cheeks like a balloon and converted me into a devil child. :) But I slept 10 and a half hours last night which was really great and Tito is going to give me some new really good medicine.
Anyways, we are about to eat this absolutely bomb soup called Tlalpeno with avocados and other amazing Guatemalan things (though it is a Mexican recipe). I have been cutting a lot of vegetables for Brenda lately. I realize more and more how much I love doing menial tasks like cutting vegetables and washing the dishes. I hope that gives me some points with the Misses in the future. :) Anyways, hope everyone's fourth of july is going well and when you are close to blowing up your hands with fireworks...think of me. (I know my dad is :)
Verse for the day:
"Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? " --James 2:5
Trips like this and I'm sure with every missions trip it forces you to think: what if God decided to have me born into one of these poor families in Guatemala? What if I had 9 brothers and sisters and we all got perpetually sick from the smoke in our house, parasites in our water, and the hopeless prospect of never being able to escape this depressing estate? What if I was born a woman into an extremely patriarchal society, or into a country where they would sell me into prostitution? But no, God chose to place me in a home with a loving family, plenty of opportunities for the future, relatively no financial worries and burdens, and a knowledge of Christ and His saving grace. But the majority of the world doesn't have this.
So what do I do? What do I do with this position that I was born into? Just having a glimpse of these people shows me the responsibility that we as Americans have to each other and the rest of the world. God didn't place us in affluence to just sit back, look at our worldly, emotional, and spiritual possessions with a smile on our face with sweet satisfaction. Yes, we should praise God for what He has given us, but I believe this verse and so many others echo the responsibility to share the Gospel and use our resources to DO something. Rolando was telling the team that their mission to the people of Guatemala is three-fold. The team who comes and works, the team who supports financially, and the team who prays. It has been great to meet many people from the states who don't just want to sit on their pile of accomplishments and blessings, but want to DO something about it. I know many people think changing the world is just a pipe dream for bleeding-heart idealists, but this trip has shown me I don't need to settle for this pessimissm. The world CAN be changed. We just have to recognize the blessings we have and the inherent responsibility which follows to our fellow mankind.
Well time to sign off. I will probably post photos tomorrow. I think we might be going to climb an active volcano tomorrow which should be fun. (I know Mom and Dad are probably freaking out at the prospect of this). Well happy Fourth of July again everyone. I'm gonna go watch Madagascar with the kids! God bless!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Yes...I'm still alive!
Well,
I realize it has been a long time since my last blog post. Since the last one we have traveled to infinity and beyond Guatemalan style to a small, rural town called Concepcion. Unfortunately at this place the people mainly spoke the Mayan language of Katchiquel. Therefore, we needed a double the translation and twice the patience.
For those of you who don't know, this is the basic setup of how things go. We traveled on Wednesday to the city of Concepcion to set up the clinic. The drive takes about 3-4 hours total and we (the Guatemalan team) take a group of gringos from the states (in this case an awesome team of church-goers from Wenatchee, Washington). I had worked with this team last year and it was really great to see so many of them again. Dr. Dave and Dr. Susan Weber are the leaders of this group (Dave is a retired radiologist and Susan is a retired family practitioner). They and their church have done SO much to help support Tito and his ministry over the years. This time, their son Dave Jr. came who also a radiologist. (Quite the family huh?)
Anyways on the trip over through the grassy hills and knolls of Guatemala we stop at a restaurant which is completely un-Guatemalan called El Rincon Suizo which means the Swiss Corner. It has great food and I always get bloated on meat and tortillas when we go there. This time was not any different.
Concepcion is a small village which has a lot of people who work very hard and who cook a lot with wood in their homes....thus leading to respiratory problems, musculoskeletal injuries, and overall poor nutrition. The government doesn't really do jack here for the people's health care which is why we go around offering these free clinics to the indigenous people of Guatemala.
The clinics consist of several different facets and jobs to be performed: primarily there are doctors such as the Guatemalan doctors who see patients and prescribe medication that we bring with us. Some doctors are Guatemalan and speak Spanish and others are American (such as the Webers) and use translators. There is also a dental team that perform cavities, extractions, and other things. Also, there is a vision station where patients can hopefully be fitted with glasses. At some sites, there is construction such as at a school where we are building more classrooms for the kids. In addition, there is a group that works with the children to play, make crafts, teach them songs, and generally show the love of Christ to these little ones. hopefully leading to them sharing this with their families. Finally and most importantly, all these services as great as they are, are merely a vehicle for spreading the Gospel to people who otherwise may never have heard of Jesus or the immense love of God. Therefore, we have wonderful bilingual counselors who talk and pray with these people, sharing the love of Christ, and helping to carry the burdens that plague so many of these people.
We worked at Concepcion Thursday and Friday and left on Saturday. Everyday we drove a half hour through the beautiful hill scenery of Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is a large lake with 5 volcanoes surrounding it, some of which are active (though not spewing forth toxic pyroclastic clouds of doom....yet). Actually, despite the ominous foreboding of a natural disaster, this lake is gorgeous when it is not foggy and (I have been told) is competing for one of the 7 Wonders of the World in the "Lake with Volcanoes Surrounding It" category. It is currently in 13th place but you can go online and cast your vote NOW. Get Guatemala on the map and give it some lovin'!
When we were not doing clinics, we stayed in a hotel in Panajachel, a very touristy city on the edge of Lake Atitlan. The last day we were there, we went shopping in the street markets. The Wenatchee team often buys souvenirs in Guatemala and sells them when the return to make money for the school they support in Palencia. Therefore, they wanted to put my translating and bartering skills to the test in this crazy Guatemalan, tourist paradise. Lucky for me, since a tender young age, my father taught me the ways of the bargain with our annual trips to the Indian reservation to buy "legal" fireworks. We would always worked the system and my dad made sure to teach me tricks of the trade such as mentally establishing a price before going into the lions' den, acting like you have met the vendor before and have requested them to your friends so they should give you a good price, and (this is my favorite) the omnipotent walk-away technique. If they are desperate and you start to walk away saying others will probably meet your price...boy does their price drop. Anyways, my skills were taxed to the limit, but I'm pretty sure we got some good deals.
As for the clinics, it was so rewarding because we saw so many patients (though it took awhile since the language barrier was two-fold). Dr. Susan describes this process as asking the Spanish translator a simple question like have you had a fever, who in turn talks for awhile to the Katchiquel translator, who in turn asks the patient (which sounds like a bunch of clicking and choking fits), who in turn, clicks back a long-winded story about completely extraneous information about their family and what they had for breakfast last Tuesday. Now the Katchiquel translator relays this information to the Spanish translator, who eventually filters the information to the American doctor down to a single, "No." Obviously, the process can take a very long time, but at least the job gets done and the people feel like they have been helped. We saw over 400 patients in two days at this clinic and many prayed with our counselors and knew more about the Gospel when we left.
The children had made little popsicle sticks into crosses and decorate them, which was a very interesting and poignant sight to see. I have pictures of this which I will post tomorrow. It is such an interesting juxtaposition to have a cross in the hands of a child who speaks a completely different language, leads a completely different life, but has the same basic human needs and wants as I would ever have. And Jesus loves that child just as much as any of his other children. I asked one of the girls holding a cross if she knew who it was about. And she whispered in this cute little voice in Spanish, "Jesus." I just hope that the Holy Spirit spoke to her heart in only the way that it can and that she truly will come to understand what that means for her and for her whole city.
As for my personal jobs in these clinics, I have been translating for Dr. Dave Jr. seeing a lot of patients. Dr. Dave Sr. is doing ultrasounds which is very helpful and encouraging for the people to see and learn more about medicine in that way. Translating for Dave has definitely been a challenge and understanding the people is sometimes very difficult, but it has been an invaluable experience for me. Over the course of the past week, I have learned how to collect a patients medical history, discover symptoms, diagnose, and explain to the patient the subsequent treatment. More importantly, I have learned how to say several useful words in phrases in Spanish including "constipation," "warts," "Do you have burning while urinating?", and "When was your last menstrual period?" Also, I have learned to delicately ask if there is any possibility they could be pregnant (even if they insist that they are single) and to somehow politely tell them that they need to lose weight to help their problems. (Hey I just translate what I'm told to say, okay?)
Anyways, it has been a great experience, which has really helped not only my Spanish, but my understanding of the workings of medicine actually in the field.
Well this should whet the appetite of you starving readers out there (mainly my parents...who have written more words in this blog in their comments than I have written posts). :) Anyways, please continue to pray for the people down here and the ministry of the Gospel to them. As much as I would love to become a doctor, the only true Physician is the one who can save their souls. A little bit of anti-parasites may stop an infection, but it won't give them eternal life.
Brian arrived yesterday, and it has been good to spend time with an old friend. Though we are definitely going to have to work on his Spanish. :) He is waiting to use the computer so I must sign off but I will post pics tomorrow. Sorry if there are any grammatical errors above, I didn't have time to proofread. Blame Brian.
Dios te bendiga (God bless you)
Justin
I realize it has been a long time since my last blog post. Since the last one we have traveled to infinity and beyond Guatemalan style to a small, rural town called Concepcion. Unfortunately at this place the people mainly spoke the Mayan language of Katchiquel. Therefore, we needed a double the translation and twice the patience.
For those of you who don't know, this is the basic setup of how things go. We traveled on Wednesday to the city of Concepcion to set up the clinic. The drive takes about 3-4 hours total and we (the Guatemalan team) take a group of gringos from the states (in this case an awesome team of church-goers from Wenatchee, Washington). I had worked with this team last year and it was really great to see so many of them again. Dr. Dave and Dr. Susan Weber are the leaders of this group (Dave is a retired radiologist and Susan is a retired family practitioner). They and their church have done SO much to help support Tito and his ministry over the years. This time, their son Dave Jr. came who also a radiologist. (Quite the family huh?)
Anyways on the trip over through the grassy hills and knolls of Guatemala we stop at a restaurant which is completely un-Guatemalan called El Rincon Suizo which means the Swiss Corner. It has great food and I always get bloated on meat and tortillas when we go there. This time was not any different.
Concepcion is a small village which has a lot of people who work very hard and who cook a lot with wood in their homes....thus leading to respiratory problems, musculoskeletal injuries, and overall poor nutrition. The government doesn't really do jack here for the people's health care which is why we go around offering these free clinics to the indigenous people of Guatemala.
The clinics consist of several different facets and jobs to be performed: primarily there are doctors such as the Guatemalan doctors who see patients and prescribe medication that we bring with us. Some doctors are Guatemalan and speak Spanish and others are American (such as the Webers) and use translators. There is also a dental team that perform cavities, extractions, and other things. Also, there is a vision station where patients can hopefully be fitted with glasses. At some sites, there is construction such as at a school where we are building more classrooms for the kids. In addition, there is a group that works with the children to play, make crafts, teach them songs, and generally show the love of Christ to these little ones. hopefully leading to them sharing this with their families. Finally and most importantly, all these services as great as they are, are merely a vehicle for spreading the Gospel to people who otherwise may never have heard of Jesus or the immense love of God. Therefore, we have wonderful bilingual counselors who talk and pray with these people, sharing the love of Christ, and helping to carry the burdens that plague so many of these people.
We worked at Concepcion Thursday and Friday and left on Saturday. Everyday we drove a half hour through the beautiful hill scenery of Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is a large lake with 5 volcanoes surrounding it, some of which are active (though not spewing forth toxic pyroclastic clouds of doom....yet). Actually, despite the ominous foreboding of a natural disaster, this lake is gorgeous when it is not foggy and (I have been told) is competing for one of the 7 Wonders of the World in the "Lake with Volcanoes Surrounding It" category. It is currently in 13th place but you can go online and cast your vote NOW. Get Guatemala on the map and give it some lovin'!
When we were not doing clinics, we stayed in a hotel in Panajachel, a very touristy city on the edge of Lake Atitlan. The last day we were there, we went shopping in the street markets. The Wenatchee team often buys souvenirs in Guatemala and sells them when the return to make money for the school they support in Palencia. Therefore, they wanted to put my translating and bartering skills to the test in this crazy Guatemalan, tourist paradise. Lucky for me, since a tender young age, my father taught me the ways of the bargain with our annual trips to the Indian reservation to buy "legal" fireworks. We would always worked the system and my dad made sure to teach me tricks of the trade such as mentally establishing a price before going into the lions' den, acting like you have met the vendor before and have requested them to your friends so they should give you a good price, and (this is my favorite) the omnipotent walk-away technique. If they are desperate and you start to walk away saying others will probably meet your price...boy does their price drop. Anyways, my skills were taxed to the limit, but I'm pretty sure we got some good deals.
As for the clinics, it was so rewarding because we saw so many patients (though it took awhile since the language barrier was two-fold). Dr. Susan describes this process as asking the Spanish translator a simple question like have you had a fever, who in turn talks for awhile to the Katchiquel translator, who in turn asks the patient (which sounds like a bunch of clicking and choking fits), who in turn, clicks back a long-winded story about completely extraneous information about their family and what they had for breakfast last Tuesday. Now the Katchiquel translator relays this information to the Spanish translator, who eventually filters the information to the American doctor down to a single, "No." Obviously, the process can take a very long time, but at least the job gets done and the people feel like they have been helped. We saw over 400 patients in two days at this clinic and many prayed with our counselors and knew more about the Gospel when we left.
The children had made little popsicle sticks into crosses and decorate them, which was a very interesting and poignant sight to see. I have pictures of this which I will post tomorrow. It is such an interesting juxtaposition to have a cross in the hands of a child who speaks a completely different language, leads a completely different life, but has the same basic human needs and wants as I would ever have. And Jesus loves that child just as much as any of his other children. I asked one of the girls holding a cross if she knew who it was about. And she whispered in this cute little voice in Spanish, "Jesus." I just hope that the Holy Spirit spoke to her heart in only the way that it can and that she truly will come to understand what that means for her and for her whole city.
As for my personal jobs in these clinics, I have been translating for Dr. Dave Jr. seeing a lot of patients. Dr. Dave Sr. is doing ultrasounds which is very helpful and encouraging for the people to see and learn more about medicine in that way. Translating for Dave has definitely been a challenge and understanding the people is sometimes very difficult, but it has been an invaluable experience for me. Over the course of the past week, I have learned how to collect a patients medical history, discover symptoms, diagnose, and explain to the patient the subsequent treatment. More importantly, I have learned how to say several useful words in phrases in Spanish including "constipation," "warts," "Do you have burning while urinating?", and "When was your last menstrual period?" Also, I have learned to delicately ask if there is any possibility they could be pregnant (even if they insist that they are single) and to somehow politely tell them that they need to lose weight to help their problems. (Hey I just translate what I'm told to say, okay?)
Anyways, it has been a great experience, which has really helped not only my Spanish, but my understanding of the workings of medicine actually in the field.
Well this should whet the appetite of you starving readers out there (mainly my parents...who have written more words in this blog in their comments than I have written posts). :) Anyways, please continue to pray for the people down here and the ministry of the Gospel to them. As much as I would love to become a doctor, the only true Physician is the one who can save their souls. A little bit of anti-parasites may stop an infection, but it won't give them eternal life.
Brian arrived yesterday, and it has been good to spend time with an old friend. Though we are definitely going to have to work on his Spanish. :) He is waiting to use the computer so I must sign off but I will post pics tomorrow. Sorry if there are any grammatical errors above, I didn't have time to proofread. Blame Brian.
Dios te bendiga (God bless you)
Justin
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Family Time and some Organization
I have been here for 5 days now and it already feels like I have been here for longer than that. I'm not exactly sure why. It was such an odd feeling settling back in because it didn't really feel like I had left. Since they just finished a pretty intense clinic by the time I got there, we have been spending a lot of time relaxing with the family.
Also, the kids have been home from school on a vacation so we have been spending some quality time playing and stuff. I definitely have missed the tasty little corn tortillas they have here or "manna from the sky" as Derek referred to them before. My dad would be proud because we watched one of his favorite movies "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in Spanish which was fun. It actually was pretty good, especially as far as Brendan Fraser movies go.
Sunday we went to church and then afterwards Tito took us out to TGI Friday's. Then later we celebrated another doctor's birthday at his new house. It was absolutely insanely huge and had a view of the entire city of Guatemala. I have never been here for a birthday and it was a lot of fun because relationships are so important here and it was cool to see how many people from different places came. It seems like everyone in Guatemala knows each other or something.
I have missed Tito and the rest of the Guatemalan crew and the way we joke around. It has been kind of different without a male Gringo partner in crime like I had last time, but Brian will be coming in less than a week and I am excited.
While it's been fun to spend time with the family, I admit I've been getting a little bored because I'm ready to be put to work and do something. Luckily, I was able to help reorganize the pharmacy system again, but I have a feeling that it's not really going to last long. The Guatemalans have a certain way that they like to do things and this poor little Gringo can't stand in the way of their progress.
However, we start a clinic tomorrow and after that I'm probably going to be begging for a break, though I don't think it's going to be as physically intensive as others in the past. I will be translating for the doctors coming down from Wenatchee. I am really excited to see this team again because they were so nice and helpful.
Well Tito's yelling at me to do something so i'm gonna sign off. I'll have a verse for later. Thanks for commenting and keeping track of what's going on!
Also, the kids have been home from school on a vacation so we have been spending some quality time playing and stuff. I definitely have missed the tasty little corn tortillas they have here or "manna from the sky" as Derek referred to them before. My dad would be proud because we watched one of his favorite movies "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in Spanish which was fun. It actually was pretty good, especially as far as Brendan Fraser movies go.
Sunday we went to church and then afterwards Tito took us out to TGI Friday's. Then later we celebrated another doctor's birthday at his new house. It was absolutely insanely huge and had a view of the entire city of Guatemala. I have never been here for a birthday and it was a lot of fun because relationships are so important here and it was cool to see how many people from different places came. It seems like everyone in Guatemala knows each other or something.
I have missed Tito and the rest of the Guatemalan crew and the way we joke around. It has been kind of different without a male Gringo partner in crime like I had last time, but Brian will be coming in less than a week and I am excited.
While it's been fun to spend time with the family, I admit I've been getting a little bored because I'm ready to be put to work and do something. Luckily, I was able to help reorganize the pharmacy system again, but I have a feeling that it's not really going to last long. The Guatemalans have a certain way that they like to do things and this poor little Gringo can't stand in the way of their progress.
However, we start a clinic tomorrow and after that I'm probably going to be begging for a break, though I don't think it's going to be as physically intensive as others in the past. I will be translating for the doctors coming down from Wenatchee. I am really excited to see this team again because they were so nice and helpful.
Well Tito's yelling at me to do something so i'm gonna sign off. I'll have a verse for later. Thanks for commenting and keeping track of what's going on!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Bienvenidos a Guatemala!
Well even through all the trail of tears that was the route provided for me by American Airlines, I arrived safely in Guatemala. I also made a few friends along the way who I commiserated with about the terrible service of American Airlines and how we would never fly it again. Our flight was delayed an hour though because somebody somehow brought on a carry on and then didn't end up being with it so the flight crew was frantically looking for this thing. Meanwhile, I only found out about this because the kid next to me spoke Spanish and translated the confusing message which was never said in English, leaving many people on the plane completely in the dark as to what the heck was going on. In American Airlines Customer Service World, this is entirely acceptable. And then they have the audacity to charge for peanuts. (Okay I'm done ranting about American Airlines).
It was so wonderful to be greeted by Tito's smiling face as he and Rolando picked me up. We went to the new office for La Mision, had some lunch, restocked some meds, and went back to Tito's house. It has been remodeled and looks awesome. Anyways I need to get to bed. Sorry this post is so short, but know that I am finally where I need to be and absolutely loving it already. PS I thought that I was going to have to sacrifice seeing Transformers 2 in English while I was down here, but luckily Rolando invited me to sneak out of some work and see it in English opening day. I screamed with delight when he told me that.
Verse of the day:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." ---John 14:1
It was so wonderful to be greeted by Tito's smiling face as he and Rolando picked me up. We went to the new office for La Mision, had some lunch, restocked some meds, and went back to Tito's house. It has been remodeled and looks awesome. Anyways I need to get to bed. Sorry this post is so short, but know that I am finally where I need to be and absolutely loving it already. PS I thought that I was going to have to sacrifice seeing Transformers 2 in English while I was down here, but luckily Rolando invited me to sneak out of some work and see it in English opening day. I screamed with delight when he told me that.
Verse of the day:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." ---John 14:1
Welcome to Miami...Bienvenidos a Miami (Will Smith)
If I didn't know any better, I would think I was on a Brandler family vacation with all the travel mishaps that have already gone down. I'm wondering if my next stop is Wally World.
We arrived at SeaTac in reasonable time, a remarkable feat for the Brandlers, especially when we had to get up at 4:30 am. I think Mom just didn't go to sleep and did a few more loads of laundry for kicks. Anyways, we arrived to the American Airlines ticket counter and my confirmation code wasn't accepted. "No biggie," I thought. One of the pleasant attendants will take care of this. Oh, little naive one. I handed the rejection slip that the self-service think spat at me to the attendant and asked if she could check out what was going on. She looks up my flight status and says curtly without a beat, "Your connecting flight to Dallas has been canceled" as if I should come to the airport fully assuming that such an event is normal, especially when traveling internationally. Maybe she knew the Brandlers' travel track record and decided to start the painful process early. I was a little peeved since I checked last night and requested a long time ago to get text notifications if my flight status changed, but American didn't send those to me until like half an hour before my flight would have left, which obviously would have been the ideal time to receive such a notice. Also, I had checked several times online about their baggage policy and was looking forward to it being free. You could imagine my dismay at the deceptively friendly-looking sign indicating a $15 charge for the first bag and a $25 charge for the second.
Then I made the mistake of asking why my flight got canceled. I think those airline ticket people assume normal human beings keep track of the weather throughout the country because she scowls at me and snaps, "There have been 80,000 thunderstorms within the past 12 hours in Dallas! Nobody is going in or out of there. Go to the full service line to reschedule your flight." I look to my right to see the venomous serpent that was the full service line and quickly realized I probably would not be getting to Guatemala anytime soon. After waiting through the line, a slightly less abrasive attendant told me the situation and starting trying to figure out ways of getting me to Guatemala. She was mainl telling me options for leaving the next day, which I really wanted to avoid. She releases an annoyed sigh and begins to figure out was of getting me there today. After a few false hopes, she finds one from Seattle to Washington DC to Miami to Guatemala City, which would probably get me to my final destination circa the year 2012. Finally, she got a flight to Miami which would arrive 10 pm Miami time but would not leave until 11:50 am the next day. Not seeing any other options, I took her offer and began to say goodbe to my parents. (I say began becasue the Brandler regime of saying goodbye involves a strict procedure consisting of at least three hugs and a minimum of five look backs to wave, a dance or two for show, and throwing the okay sign).
Because my flight to Miami didn't leave for at least 5 hours, I couldn't check my bags yet and since my dad had to get to a meeting with the pastor, I sat there alone with only my 100 pound collective pile of crap to keep me company. My parents looked back several times (I told you), and my dad took pity on me and my lowly estate and canceled the appointment to take me out to breakfast.
During breakfast, I was mentally preparing for a 13 hour adventure with all my gear in Miami airport and was wondering what I would be doing with all that time. I definitely penciled in at least an hour block in my busy schedule to call American Airlines and complain about their abysmal customer service. Luckily for them, we thought of having me stay at a hotel and got booked at Days Inn.
The flight was fine and I was in the exit row with more leg room, but the man next to me for some reason incessantly needed to get up, even when I was dozing off thanks to my four hours of sleep I had acquired the night before. Maybe he was trying to avoid deep vein thrombosis, I don't know.
I arrived in Miami that night and quickly figure out that Spanish was the primary language of Miamians. I got a shuttle and arrived at my flea bag hotel accompanied by a haggard 50 year old bartender woman who was kind of a Debbie Downer about everything. (Writing this post I'm wondering if I should become a sociologist instead of a doctor).
After checking in to my hotel and peering around at my seedy surroundings, I asked the clerk where I could go to eat. He told me there was a Subway, McDonald's, and IHOP up ahead the road, but that the breakfast at the hotel was terrible and I should go somewhere else. If an employee tells you it's bad, you KNOW those will be some of the sketchiest scrambled eggs ever.
I dropped my stuff at the room and made the foolish decision of going down the block to get some food. Obviously, walking alone along the non-lit street at 11 at night in a seedy area in Miami was probably one of the poorer safety decisions I've made in my life. Neither of the places were open and so I ran back to the hotel in fear that I was going to get shanked in the lower back at any moment. A few stray cats were back at the hotel to greet me with their soulless beady eyes and I quickly went to my room and locked the doors in every manner possible.
After ordering pizza and swatting at the legion of flies that were swarming around me (probably putting my anti-malaria medication to the test), I checked out the four channels that came in, updating myself on the latest tirade about Letterman's comments about Sarah Palin. I finally fell asleep and awoke the next morning to rejoin my haggard bartender friend on the shuttle. Now I am waiting for my flight.
This whole time I have been trying to get a hold of Tito or someone down in Guatemala through email etc. and have heard no response. I'm assuming that he knows something is up since I didn't arrive when I was supposed to, but then again, you never know with the typical Guatemalan casual approach to everything. I'm just praying that I don't show up in the Guatemalan airport with only the emaciated stray dogs to greet me. But you all know my impeccable street smarts and travel savvy... :/ Let's just hope this isn't my last post if you know what I mean.
Verse of the Day:
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of [Miami],
I will fear no evil, for you are with me." ---Psalms 23:4
We arrived at SeaTac in reasonable time, a remarkable feat for the Brandlers, especially when we had to get up at 4:30 am. I think Mom just didn't go to sleep and did a few more loads of laundry for kicks. Anyways, we arrived to the American Airlines ticket counter and my confirmation code wasn't accepted. "No biggie," I thought. One of the pleasant attendants will take care of this. Oh, little naive one. I handed the rejection slip that the self-service think spat at me to the attendant and asked if she could check out what was going on. She looks up my flight status and says curtly without a beat, "Your connecting flight to Dallas has been canceled" as if I should come to the airport fully assuming that such an event is normal, especially when traveling internationally. Maybe she knew the Brandlers' travel track record and decided to start the painful process early. I was a little peeved since I checked last night and requested a long time ago to get text notifications if my flight status changed, but American didn't send those to me until like half an hour before my flight would have left, which obviously would have been the ideal time to receive such a notice. Also, I had checked several times online about their baggage policy and was looking forward to it being free. You could imagine my dismay at the deceptively friendly-looking sign indicating a $15 charge for the first bag and a $25 charge for the second.
Then I made the mistake of asking why my flight got canceled. I think those airline ticket people assume normal human beings keep track of the weather throughout the country because she scowls at me and snaps, "There have been 80,000 thunderstorms within the past 12 hours in Dallas! Nobody is going in or out of there. Go to the full service line to reschedule your flight." I look to my right to see the venomous serpent that was the full service line and quickly realized I probably would not be getting to Guatemala anytime soon. After waiting through the line, a slightly less abrasive attendant told me the situation and starting trying to figure out ways of getting me to Guatemala. She was mainl telling me options for leaving the next day, which I really wanted to avoid. She releases an annoyed sigh and begins to figure out was of getting me there today. After a few false hopes, she finds one from Seattle to Washington DC to Miami to Guatemala City, which would probably get me to my final destination circa the year 2012. Finally, she got a flight to Miami which would arrive 10 pm Miami time but would not leave until 11:50 am the next day. Not seeing any other options, I took her offer and began to say goodbe to my parents. (I say began becasue the Brandler regime of saying goodbye involves a strict procedure consisting of at least three hugs and a minimum of five look backs to wave, a dance or two for show, and throwing the okay sign).
Because my flight to Miami didn't leave for at least 5 hours, I couldn't check my bags yet and since my dad had to get to a meeting with the pastor, I sat there alone with only my 100 pound collective pile of crap to keep me company. My parents looked back several times (I told you), and my dad took pity on me and my lowly estate and canceled the appointment to take me out to breakfast.
During breakfast, I was mentally preparing for a 13 hour adventure with all my gear in Miami airport and was wondering what I would be doing with all that time. I definitely penciled in at least an hour block in my busy schedule to call American Airlines and complain about their abysmal customer service. Luckily for them, we thought of having me stay at a hotel and got booked at Days Inn.
The flight was fine and I was in the exit row with more leg room, but the man next to me for some reason incessantly needed to get up, even when I was dozing off thanks to my four hours of sleep I had acquired the night before. Maybe he was trying to avoid deep vein thrombosis, I don't know.
I arrived in Miami that night and quickly figure out that Spanish was the primary language of Miamians. I got a shuttle and arrived at my flea bag hotel accompanied by a haggard 50 year old bartender woman who was kind of a Debbie Downer about everything. (Writing this post I'm wondering if I should become a sociologist instead of a doctor).
After checking in to my hotel and peering around at my seedy surroundings, I asked the clerk where I could go to eat. He told me there was a Subway, McDonald's, and IHOP up ahead the road, but that the breakfast at the hotel was terrible and I should go somewhere else. If an employee tells you it's bad, you KNOW those will be some of the sketchiest scrambled eggs ever.
I dropped my stuff at the room and made the foolish decision of going down the block to get some food. Obviously, walking alone along the non-lit street at 11 at night in a seedy area in Miami was probably one of the poorer safety decisions I've made in my life. Neither of the places were open and so I ran back to the hotel in fear that I was going to get shanked in the lower back at any moment. A few stray cats were back at the hotel to greet me with their soulless beady eyes and I quickly went to my room and locked the doors in every manner possible.
After ordering pizza and swatting at the legion of flies that were swarming around me (probably putting my anti-malaria medication to the test), I checked out the four channels that came in, updating myself on the latest tirade about Letterman's comments about Sarah Palin. I finally fell asleep and awoke the next morning to rejoin my haggard bartender friend on the shuttle. Now I am waiting for my flight.
This whole time I have been trying to get a hold of Tito or someone down in Guatemala through email etc. and have heard no response. I'm assuming that he knows something is up since I didn't arrive when I was supposed to, but then again, you never know with the typical Guatemalan casual approach to everything. I'm just praying that I don't show up in the Guatemalan airport with only the emaciated stray dogs to greet me. But you all know my impeccable street smarts and travel savvy... :/ Let's just hope this isn't my last post if you know what I mean.
Verse of the Day:
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of [Miami],
I will fear no evil, for you are with me." ---Psalms 23:4
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Provision
Well,
I told you all that I've already started to get addicted to this thing. I haven't even left yet and I have another post for you. This is actually because something really exciting happened today, less than 13 hours from when I will depart on my trip.
I had been receiving generous donations from people after I sent out my invitations with the newsletter, but I still was quite a bit short of what I needed to pay Tito for my stay down there. Once the benevolent cash flow had started to slow to a trickle I resigned myself to the fact that my parents were going to have to compensate the rest of the fund so I could go and that I would pay them back when I got a job when I returned.
Despite my lack of faith, my mom kept on telling me that God would provide for me somehow. Today was an answer to that. I got three cards in the mail, one of which was overnighted just so it would reach me before I left. Those three donations covered the last entire THIRD of my trip cost and then some. It was truly amazing. I was blown away, and I knew that as soon as I bounded up the stairs my mom was going to be grinning ear to ear with an "I told you God would provide" type of smile. Of course, my cute mom never failed to deliver and that's exactly what happened.
I can't thank you all enough for donating to this cause. I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. I thought I should get the missionary experience of having to rely on God to meet financial needs. Even though my parents assured me that regardless of the funds I would still go, it really caught me off guard as to how at the very LAST minute, God pulls a fast one on my doubts and took care of business. I know that doesn't mean that I will always get what I think I need or want, but today was truly a testament to the mysterious, yet unfailing faithfulness of God. Props to you full-time missionaries out there who fully put your faith in God to take care of your monetary funds.
The verse for today would have to be:
"My God will use His wonderful riches in Christ Jesus
to give you everything you need."
--Philippians 4:19
There is also a quote from a book by Max Lucado (whom I'm sure I'll quote again in the future). It says that "God's faithfulness has never depended on the faithfulness of His children. He is faithful even when we aren't." That was definitely true today and I have a feeling that it will happen numerous times over the course of this trip and in your lives as well. Trusting in God is definitely an easier-said-than-done type of thing, but that never should discourage us from doing it.
Thanks again for listening and I hope you enjoy these posts.
In Christ,
Justin
PS If you still haven't donated and were planning on it DON'T WORRY! I still can use money for the airfare which was covered a few months ago by my dad. I just didn't want anyone to be upset if they were planning on giving me money and thought that the option was now gone. That option will most likely always be open. :)
I told you all that I've already started to get addicted to this thing. I haven't even left yet and I have another post for you. This is actually because something really exciting happened today, less than 13 hours from when I will depart on my trip.
I had been receiving generous donations from people after I sent out my invitations with the newsletter, but I still was quite a bit short of what I needed to pay Tito for my stay down there. Once the benevolent cash flow had started to slow to a trickle I resigned myself to the fact that my parents were going to have to compensate the rest of the fund so I could go and that I would pay them back when I got a job when I returned.
Despite my lack of faith, my mom kept on telling me that God would provide for me somehow. Today was an answer to that. I got three cards in the mail, one of which was overnighted just so it would reach me before I left. Those three donations covered the last entire THIRD of my trip cost and then some. It was truly amazing. I was blown away, and I knew that as soon as I bounded up the stairs my mom was going to be grinning ear to ear with an "I told you God would provide" type of smile. Of course, my cute mom never failed to deliver and that's exactly what happened.
I can't thank you all enough for donating to this cause. I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. I thought I should get the missionary experience of having to rely on God to meet financial needs. Even though my parents assured me that regardless of the funds I would still go, it really caught me off guard as to how at the very LAST minute, God pulls a fast one on my doubts and took care of business. I know that doesn't mean that I will always get what I think I need or want, but today was truly a testament to the mysterious, yet unfailing faithfulness of God. Props to you full-time missionaries out there who fully put your faith in God to take care of your monetary funds.
The verse for today would have to be:
"My God will use His wonderful riches in Christ Jesus
to give you everything you need."
--Philippians 4:19
There is also a quote from a book by Max Lucado (whom I'm sure I'll quote again in the future). It says that "God's faithfulness has never depended on the faithfulness of His children. He is faithful even when we aren't." That was definitely true today and I have a feeling that it will happen numerous times over the course of this trip and in your lives as well. Trusting in God is definitely an easier-said-than-done type of thing, but that never should discourage us from doing it.
Thanks again for listening and I hope you enjoy these posts.
In Christ,
Justin
PS If you still haven't donated and were planning on it DON'T WORRY! I still can use money for the airfare which was covered a few months ago by my dad. I just didn't want anyone to be upset if they were planning on giving me money and thought that the option was now gone. That option will most likely always be open. :)
Monday, June 8, 2009
11 Years in the Making
Hello everyone,
After three weeks of procrastination and watching mindless sensationalized TV shows, I have finally forced myself to write my first blog post. As you can see from the picture to the right, I made it through graduation weekend in one piece and lived to tell the tale. It was definitely surreal being down on the floor of the Spokane Arena instead of the stands, since this was the fourth Whitworth commencement I've attended. I kind of felt like it was someone else's graduation... but no, it was definitely me down there staring up at B-Rob, sweltering in that gown, proudly adorning goggles and a stuffed plush sperm on my head.
Emily, John, and Bauer threw a great grad party for me afterwards, and it was wonderful to see so many friends stop by. And while I was half-expecting the whole backyard to go up in flames, Dr. Mike's pyrotechnic display with rubbing alcohol was a sight to behold.
I have been exposed to Whitworth for so long that it was very hard to say goodbye. This year marked the Brandler family's eleventh year at Whitworth and so much has happened over those past eleven years. And while I think Whitworth should at least name a wing in the new science building after us for the trillions of dollars my parents have pumped into that school, the education and friendships I have gained while at Whitworth were more than worth it. I could not have imagined going to a school that I loved more. Every year was a new adventure and I cherish every day spent there. Even though academics were strenuous and getting punched in the gut with -10 degree weather before 5:30 morning practice was at times horrifying, it made such wonderful memories of college that I wouldn't trade for the world. Even my freshman year, when the swim team was a mushroom cloud of drama like the Real World: Spokane, it was so great to see God's faithfulness over these past four years and how He brought me and my friends through it.
It was definitely odd saying goodbye to friends, because it seemed like the end to any other school year. But it wasn't. It was really difficult to cope with the reality that I may never see some of these smiling faces again, or at least for a long time. Nevertheless, various events of my senior year showed me that it was indeed time for me to move on from Whitworth. But thankfully, I can move forward with a heart full of wonderful memories of crazy bus trips, slip n' slides, and the sighting of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile (that's right it was in Spokane...and I saw it...and chased it).
Well that's enough sentimentality for a few dozen Hallmark cards. Now I am on to a new excursion. Thank you so much to all who donated to my mission trip this summer. It was greatly, GREATLY, appreciated. I am leaving this Thursday, June 11 at 7:10 am....yikes that's early. Because I have fallen prey to the greasy, mind-atrophying grasp of Post-College Vegetative TV Watching, even getting up and going to the bathroom has felt like a victory of productivity for the day. But for someone as continually busy as me, this time of relaxation has gotten me pretty antzy and ready to start doing something productive again.
I am excited to return to Guatemala and serve these amazing people, this time hopefully with a little more Spanish proficiency. I don't really know what determines if you're fluent in a language, but I hope to be as close to it as I can by the time I return August 3rd. I will not have internet access when I am on the jornadas (clinics) but we will when we are back in Guatemala City.
I thought it would be hard to keep this thing updated, but now that I am finally writing, it's actually pretty fun blabbing on about whatever comes to mind, hoping (though not expecting) anybody to listen to my incessant drivel. (I can see my sisters' journalistic editorial brows furrowing right now at the excessive length of this post...I've always been the longwinded one of the family :).
Well I hope you all keep track as often as you can, and I promise that future posts will be more spiritually and intellectually stimulating. I will try to think of a Scripture verse which pertains to each post. The verse for today's post would have to be:
"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth." --Proverbs 26:15
I think you know what that has to do with... :/ But I guess I better shove my hand in that dish while I still can because our eating schedule in Guatemala (in the words of the venerable Derek Weyhrauch) is more like "interrupted fasting."
But last summer, even when I was knee-deep in mud, trying to push a wheelbarrow of concrete, almost too exhausted to stand, I couldn't stop smiling. For me, these trips capture the essence of our purpose here on earth: to worship God through serving humanity. And I have a feeling that this time around the smile will only get bigger.
Thanks again for listening,
En Cristo,
Justin
After three weeks of procrastination and watching mindless sensationalized TV shows, I have finally forced myself to write my first blog post. As you can see from the picture to the right, I made it through graduation weekend in one piece and lived to tell the tale. It was definitely surreal being down on the floor of the Spokane Arena instead of the stands, since this was the fourth Whitworth commencement I've attended. I kind of felt like it was someone else's graduation... but no, it was definitely me down there staring up at B-Rob, sweltering in that gown, proudly adorning goggles and a stuffed plush sperm on my head.
Emily, John, and Bauer threw a great grad party for me afterwards, and it was wonderful to see so many friends stop by. And while I was half-expecting the whole backyard to go up in flames, Dr. Mike's pyrotechnic display with rubbing alcohol was a sight to behold.
I have been exposed to Whitworth for so long that it was very hard to say goodbye. This year marked the Brandler family's eleventh year at Whitworth and so much has happened over those past eleven years. And while I think Whitworth should at least name a wing in the new science building after us for the trillions of dollars my parents have pumped into that school, the education and friendships I have gained while at Whitworth were more than worth it. I could not have imagined going to a school that I loved more. Every year was a new adventure and I cherish every day spent there. Even though academics were strenuous and getting punched in the gut with -10 degree weather before 5:30 morning practice was at times horrifying, it made such wonderful memories of college that I wouldn't trade for the world. Even my freshman year, when the swim team was a mushroom cloud of drama like the Real World: Spokane, it was so great to see God's faithfulness over these past four years and how He brought me and my friends through it.
It was definitely odd saying goodbye to friends, because it seemed like the end to any other school year. But it wasn't. It was really difficult to cope with the reality that I may never see some of these smiling faces again, or at least for a long time. Nevertheless, various events of my senior year showed me that it was indeed time for me to move on from Whitworth. But thankfully, I can move forward with a heart full of wonderful memories of crazy bus trips, slip n' slides, and the sighting of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile (that's right it was in Spokane...and I saw it...and chased it).
Well that's enough sentimentality for a few dozen Hallmark cards. Now I am on to a new excursion. Thank you so much to all who donated to my mission trip this summer. It was greatly, GREATLY, appreciated. I am leaving this Thursday, June 11 at 7:10 am....yikes that's early. Because I have fallen prey to the greasy, mind-atrophying grasp of Post-College Vegetative TV Watching, even getting up and going to the bathroom has felt like a victory of productivity for the day. But for someone as continually busy as me, this time of relaxation has gotten me pretty antzy and ready to start doing something productive again.
I am excited to return to Guatemala and serve these amazing people, this time hopefully with a little more Spanish proficiency. I don't really know what determines if you're fluent in a language, but I hope to be as close to it as I can by the time I return August 3rd. I will not have internet access when I am on the jornadas (clinics) but we will when we are back in Guatemala City.
I thought it would be hard to keep this thing updated, but now that I am finally writing, it's actually pretty fun blabbing on about whatever comes to mind, hoping (though not expecting) anybody to listen to my incessant drivel. (I can see my sisters' journalistic editorial brows furrowing right now at the excessive length of this post...I've always been the longwinded one of the family :).
Well I hope you all keep track as often as you can, and I promise that future posts will be more spiritually and intellectually stimulating. I will try to think of a Scripture verse which pertains to each post. The verse for today's post would have to be:
"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth." --Proverbs 26:15
I think you know what that has to do with... :/ But I guess I better shove my hand in that dish while I still can because our eating schedule in Guatemala (in the words of the venerable Derek Weyhrauch) is more like "interrupted fasting."
But last summer, even when I was knee-deep in mud, trying to push a wheelbarrow of concrete, almost too exhausted to stand, I couldn't stop smiling. For me, these trips capture the essence of our purpose here on earth: to worship God through serving humanity. And I have a feeling that this time around the smile will only get bigger.
Thanks again for listening,
En Cristo,
Justin
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