Global Outreach Website

Jun 24

So far I have not written much about the actual clinics. On Monday we traveled 5 hours into the north section of Guatemala, and once we got off the highway the vegetation was lush and beautiful. For Monday through Wednesday we worked in the area of Guatemala called Malacatan. On Monday afternoon we held clinic at San Pablo, on Tuesday in San Jorge, and on Wednesday in Quetzali. On Wednesday night we traveled back to the ministry center and on Thursday morning we drove about 40 minutes to host a clinic in Amatitlan, which is a Guatemalan county. We saw 91 patients on Monday (I stand corrected from my previous post), 94 on Tuesday, 72 on Wednesday, and 91 on Thursday. Our team of 10 saw a total of 348 patients. It surprised me that we actually saw more patients than the larger team did--they saw a total of 281 patients with their team of 23 or 24.

On Thursday we had the privilege of also hosting an eye clinic. On the preceding days the eye clinic had gone into the field with the other team.

Our teammate Melissa is a pediatrician and she had the opportunity to see patient along with the staff doctors of MMM. It seemed that God brought many children who needed to be seen, and Melissa was there to serve them.

Patients had many different health problems from pain to eye infections, high blood pressure to emotional issues, and the doctors did their best to address their issues with medicines that were available and to give them good counsel. While the patients waited for their prescriptions we had the opportunity to pray with them and share the good news of Jesus. Many of them shared their family and relational issues and it was our privilege to pray for them.

We had team members playing with the Guatemala children, working in the pharmacy, running the prescriptions to and from the pharmacy, and managing the flow of patient from waiting area to the doctor to the counseling stations. We also had people praying for the patients and community. With a small team we all worked hard for the full clinic of about 4 to 6 hours.

Tonight I had the opportunity to visit with my sponsor child again. I have been sponsoring him for about 4 years with a monthly donation and I first had the chance to meet him last summer when I first came to Guatemala. This time his brother came with him to meet me. I had a gift of shoes and socks for the brothers. My good friend Laura Powers and family just began sponsoring Luis Renee’s brother Rudi. She sent socks and shoes for Rudi, I had a nice time learning more about them and their daily life in the Guatemalan Gymnastics Academy. They both could possibly be on the Guatemalan Olympics team in the future.

Luis asked for prayer that his father, who is estranged from the family, would grant him permission to compete at the state level. He has qualified but he can’t compete without both parents signing off on it. He also asked prayer for his mom’s job. Her manager is upset with her taking off work to drive her sons to the Gymnastics Academy and she could lose her job. The boys spend weekends at home and weekdays at the Academy.

There is much more that I would love for you to know, but time does not permit. I need to start packing up to head back to Atlanta tomorrow.

If you would consider going with me next year, I would love to hear from you!