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