Week 1

(I apologize for the formatting problems...I'm still trying to figure this blog out.

Well I have been here almost a week. When I arrived, Tito was on a trip, so Brenda and Tito’s mom picked me up from the airport. (For those of you just starting this journey with me, Tito is the doctor who is in charge and founded this medical missions organization. I live with him, his lovely wife Brenda, and their two sons Alejandro and Pablo. They adopt me as part of their family and it is such an awesome relationship dynamic that we share. However, my new hair is definitely not something the Guatemalans envy. Brenda was like “you had such beautiful hair, why did you paint it!” (In truth, it’s kinda of starting to grow on me...I can see more horror on my mom’s face now).

Naturally, when I arrived at the Palacios home, there were black beans and steaming tortillas awaiting me. The next morning Brenda and I went to pick up Alejandro and Pablo from their school. It was so neat to see how they have grown and that they still remember me as their big brother. (One of many since different gringos are always staying with them). At least THEY appreciated the hair. Alejandro’s first word was, “WOW.” They are both speaking English so much better, especially Alejandro. The rule for him is that he only speaks to me in English.

One of the first mornings, Tito took me to a conference that he had to go to for credits for continuing his medical education like we have in the States. I guess this requirement for Guatemalan doctors just started recently. The conference was held at a restaurant and was a short presentation about seizures, their different classifications, and effective treatments. It is always so interesting to me to see the universality of both my passions: Christianity and medicine. One of the biggest reasons I am entering medicine is the fact that what I learn in med school is what people are learning throughout the world, though in different languages. Nevertheless, we all are working to make the human condition better through treating and healing diseases which plague us all, regardless of what culture and country we are from.

This past week was spent primarily in the office working to prepare for when the teams of gringo

s come down over the next several months. I was pleased to find that the organizational system we

made for the pharmacy for the most part has endured these past two years--a feat which is quite rare here. Most of the time,

because interns are constantly coming and going, there is not much consistency when we try

to organize things. However, I still created a hefty job for myself compiling all the medicines we bring on the clinics into a master list that you only have to look at one list to figure out where the medicines are.

While this is my third time, it is definitely a new experience. Many of the people that worked with La Mision when I was here have moved onto other things. There are two new Guatemalan doctors who are in their last year of school before residency and a new dentist who just graduated. While I definitely miss my old motley Guatemalan crew, the new staff is nice and I hope we have a great time working together.

This trip I really wanted to make a concerted effort to continue working out once in awhile down her

e. So, even though it was humid, I made up my mind to turn on that darn treadmill in my guest room and get to running. Well, that lasted a good 20 minutes before my knees hurt, I got lightheaded, and was sweating up a storm. Pablo and Alejandro just stared at me and laughed. Sweet little Pablo tried to help encourage me by turning on the TV to some Spanish Disney Channel teeny-bopper show, but to no avail. Then I thought it would be a good idea that since I wasn’t doing a great job running,

I would still try to do some push ups and sit ups. Well, as you can see from the photo of my room

, there is not exactly a ton of space for calisthenics. Plus the tile floor proved difficult for a variety of reasons. The worst of which was that the deluge of sweat I was excreting created a slippery mess on the ground that several times almo

s

t caused my hands to slip while doing push

ups nearly breaking my nose. While that would have been an interesting beginning to this trip, I guess God decided to spare me that embarrassment.

Today, however, God decided NOT to spare me the embarrassment of some pretty horrendous tummy troubles. Normally my problem with changing to the Guatemalan diet is “estreñamiento” or constipation. However, after having two meals of chinese food yesterday and

taking my weekly dose of anti-malarial pills, let’s just say that my problem got fixed...in spades.

Yesterday, an all female team arrived of women who have been coming down here the past 11 years or so. They did a Bible study with some teachers and are going to help with a clinic. It is so incredible to me to see their commitme

nt to Tito, his family, and all the people of Guatemala. Brenda and I spent the majority of the day in the kitchen cooking the biggest vat of spaghetti sauce in the world, while Pablo enjoyed playing Michael Jackson songs on my iPhone.

It has been so wonderful to be back with these gracious and faithful people. It always strikes me how integral prayer and faith is in their lives. Prayer for them is like the breath they breathe. And it’s not like something to cross off their “Good Christian Checklist.” It’s something that they truly believe God protects them, answers them, and provid

es for them through prayer. They look for and see God’s hand in everything. It’s always so convicting to my faith since often I honestly don’t believe in the true tangible power of prayer. Today was a beautiful new experience because we had our church service and then went to a pool for the baptisms of people in the church. I

never get over the awesome concept of the global church and how God is the same everywhere.

Well, it is time to sign off, but thanks again so much to those of you praying for me. I feel so comfortable and at peace, which was one of my biggest prayers for this trip. Things are going to start getting crazy around here over the next 6 weeks with new teams coming and clinics to be done, but I am so excited. Gracias a Dios.

Third Time's a Charm

Well, here I sit in the Houston Airport, awaiting to return to Guatemala for my third trip. If any of you remember my last journey, the mere fact that I have made it this far is a great improvement from what happened last time on the way down.

Last time, my parents and I arrived at the airport with all my gear ready to head off to my second Guatemalan adventure. This enthusiasm was only to be greeted by a cantankerous Continental check-in lady who curtly informed me that my connecting flight to Dallas was cancelled due to thunder storms and that there was no way in or out. Naturally, I was quite dismayed but anticipated her reassurance that they would figure out other routes to my final destination. However, I have learned time and time again with airlines to NEVER expect even the most basic of customer service. She just stared blankly expecting me to just turn around and go home as if nothing ever happened. To spare the gruesome details, I will just say that I did get another flight which went all the way to Miami, where I spent the night in a sketchy motel and almost got shanked walking this shady street to a Subway, and left for Guatemala the next morning.

But that was 2009. This is Guatemala Trip 2011 and so far things are going much more smoothly. I mean I should be thankful that I am still around considering I scheduled this trip two days after Judgment Day was supposed to happen! Silly me.

The past three days were spent feverishly packing, desperately shoving every scrub shirt, nasal cannula, and glucose strip that I could muster into my bags. While I am so grateful for all the donations I received from people, never before have I had to mash so much stuff into such little space. You know you are getting to be a good packer when you no longer see two checked bags, a carry-on, and a personal item as four individual pieces, but rather as one cohesive organism in which all parts must share the burden as a whole. By the end, I had manhandled over 150 pounds of stuff into two “knee-closed” suitcases, an obese swim bag, and a ridiculously heavy 29 pound “personal” item. However, the true cherry atop this Ghetto Packing Cake was my layering of clothing and items on my person, most notably the rain jacket stuffed with 12 protein bars and 8 Cliff bars. I looked like the Michelin Man and a Beverly Hillbilly all rolled into one and needless to say, TSA didn’t know what hit ‘em. I think I single-handedly held up the entire Sea-Tac airport as I had to perform luggage disimpaction at security, only to be irradiated as I had to “assume the position” in the back-scatter machine.

After waving goodbye to Mom and Dad at least 7 times, I was off to the gate. The flight to Houston was pleasant for the most part, as I spent the flight next to this lovely elderly couple who apparently were REALLY living up their retirement. They were just returning from a cruise to Alaska, and planning to go to Costa Rica soon after another cruise around the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, they were probably going to cancel their trip to China, but this would give them more time on their sailboat with their toy poodle.

While the flight was pleasant, the pilot made up for it by conducting one of the most frightening landings I have ever experienced, in which the tires squealed as we lurched from side to side while this girl in the back screamed.

We finally disembarked, I bid adieu to my new AARP comrades, and began my four and a half hour layover in Houston. After consuming a mediocre chicken wrap, I successfully spilled grease on the crotch of my pants, providing the lovely notion to the terminal that I had voided on myself. Since there was essentially no shame left in my game, and I did not want to suit up to lug all my stuff to the bathroom, I decided to do what any other self-respecting person would have done. I took my Nalgene and poured some of the water onto my crotch to help wash out the grease so it would not stain. I can see the horror on my mother’s face right now. I can’t wait until 20 years from now when I am done with medical school and in awkward situations like this I can say to gawking observers, “Don’t worry, I’m a doctor.”

Within the same vein of disconcerting things future doctors do, Saturday night I decided to do one last crazy thing with my appearance before I start medical school and have to look professional the rest of my life. With the help of a soon-to-be Gene Juarez graduate who shall remain nameless, I decided to take a page from my college book and once again personally test the old adage to see if blondes really do have more fun. As you can see from the picture, we still didn’t quite get me all the way to Thor quality locks, but it definitely looks a lot better than my previous Bozo the Clown rendition.

While Dad and Mom were expectedly aghast when I pulled off my hat to reveal the glorious new do, my mane apparently was not too jarring to deter this friendly Nepali man named Bishwa who just sat down next to me and asked how to set up his new iPad. While leading him through a crash course in downloading iTunes onto his ancient Dell computer, he randomly asked me if I was a Christian. I said yes, and lo and behold, he told me he was a pastor from Nepal who was traveling around for conferences in the States. It’s always so awesome to me how God’s people are spread throughout the world and we all have that common ground to share with one another. And hey, now if I ever want to go climb Mt. Everest, I’ll have a place to crash!

Well, I will soon be boarding my flight into Guatemala City. I would post this to my blog now, but unfortunately Houston is not as generous with their free Wifi as SeaTac is. Thus, I will post this when I am settled in Guatemala so you will know that I got in safe and sound.

Thank you all so much for your support. I greatly appreciate those who have been praying for me and for this trip. Please continue praying especially for safety since there was an issue with a drug cartel group in northern Guatemala the week before I left. While this incident did not occur in an area where we do clinics, it is still important that we remain vigilant. God bless and I look forward to sharing exciting stories with you all in the future!