Posted by Leslie
Jun 17
Since our last posting, which was Sunday, we have completed four days of clinics. We spent two nights out and when we returned we did not have internet service. So, here is a summary of our four days:
Monday - we drove in our five "suburban like" SUVs, and one pickup truck fully loaded with LOTS of people and stuff for six hours to a village near Lake Atitlan for our first clinic. It was really rainy and we had to fit a lot of people in a tiny room. Our team totaled 40 people with the Guatemalans and Americans, so we are a LARGE group!! After the clinic we drove another hour to a church in San Pedro where we spent the night. We got caught in a celebration of the local school where there were about 300 students running through the streets carrying torches with tin cans attached to them. That was a celebration that we certainly have not experienced at home!! The bathrooms in the church where we stayed were a bit of a challenge, but we had a GREAT time!! A group of ladies from the church worked tirelessly to serve us and we are truly grateful for their hospitality!!
Tuesday - our clinic was in the church where we spent the night and we saw around 139 patients. All of the activities going on during the day included: playing with kids, being in the counseling stations, filling prescriptions in the pharmacy, fitting folks for eye glasses, prayer walking, three doctors seeing patients, and a dentist pulling lots of teeth. We saw lots of beautiful views of the lake and some of the girls were suprised with the gift of hot showers that night, which was NOT expected!! Needless to say, we were very thankful!!
Wednesday - the clinic we did was pretty small, which was good since we were returning to Guatemala City, which was about 5 or 6 hours away. The drive was along very narrow roads with lots of turns. We could tell that they had lots of rain during the tropical storm because of the roads that were closed down to one lane and tons of mounds of dirt and rocks everywhere!! We were very thankful to return to the ministry center safe and sound!!
Thursday - this was our biggest clinic yet, and we aren't sure we have ever seen so many children in one place!! They had a great time coloring, getting their faces painted, making gospel bracelets, making balloon characters, receiving tennis balls, footballs, frisbees, bubbles and lots of gum and candy!! Our team worked together so well during this very busy day, making sure that all needs were covered! We have prayed for unity among our team and have really seen the Lord answer this prayer!! There was a large group of Guatemalans celebrating the reopening of a bridge that washed out during the recent storms with singing, dancing and lots of excitement!!
So....we are back at the ministry center now and are looking forward to a great tourist day on Friday!! We sure do appreciate your support and prayers for us while we have been here on our journey!! We could not be doing this without you!!
