The Unexpected

I guess one thing about living here is that I don't really feel like I ever know what to expect!!! 

These past few months have been full, lots of adjusting to new ministries, never knowing what a week will hold, or even what's at the end of a road.  There are many times when I'm fine with the unknown and unexpected, but there are other times when it's hard or tiring! 

A few things recently . . . 

I was driving to Monterrico to spend a little time with a friend who was staying there.  I drove with the other nurses to clinic on Thursday like usual, and then using my GPS, I started off for Monterrico.  After a hour and a half or so I thought I was close to my destination.  I turned a corner and in front of me was a river with cars on wooden boats and a person telling me I could pay and get on the ferry right away without waiting.  I was so confused, I had no idea that the road didn't lead all the way to where I was going. One problem was that I had no money on me, and there was no ATM.  So, the guy said that there was an ATM on the other side and I could get money out once I crossed over.  When I realized I really had no other option I drove my car onto the boat behind the pick up truck watching it sink lower into the water.  We made it down to the other end of the channel, about 15 minutes.  I explained that the guy on the other side said that I could get money out of the ATM to pay them, only to find out that the ATM was about a 5 minute car drive away.  The guys were all very skeptical but pointed me in the direction of the bank.  Part of the way there, I realized they were following behind me on a moto and then followed me to the bank so they could collect their payment. 

This was the ferry I had to drive onto and off of . . . scary!!!

Add captioBut this beautiful view awaited me at the other side!!!! The black sand beaches of the Pacific Ocean!

Another day I was on my way to clinic just like any other day.  When I got there, 2 vans were full of people and supplies waiting to drive off.  I was 30 minutes late without realizing it and as soon as I arrived we left for a day of clinic in a little village about an hour away.  I still don't remember having a conversation about leaving for the day, so I felt quite disoriented with the unexpected surprise of the day.  

We had lots of patients that day!!!

Another missionary nurse and I decided to visit the Mayan ruins of Tikal.  When I realized that the towns of Puerto Barrios and Livingston, towns on the Carabean Sea, were not far off of our route and we could visit there on the way.  When we arrived at the small hotel, I asked the owner where we could see the sunset.  He said that the best place was from the water and offered to let us go out in his kayak.  We took off and thought we were supposed to follow around the island.  So, the water in the bay where we were was mostly calm, as we started to get more into the ocean the water got a little choppier and water was coming into the kayak as the waves crashed against the kayak.  We laughed about it and then a few minutes later the waves were coming stronger and more water and it was now about half full of water and had sunk down a little more into the water.  Then, a big wave came, tipped us to the side enough to drop one side below the water causing the kayak to be submerged just below the water.  We never fell out, but we had basically sunk.  So we paddled with all our might to the shore of overgrown bushes and trees.  Since we had no phones with us, we memorized the hotel number on the side of the kayak, tied it up the tree, and started walking to the closest building.  Sadly, that building was abandoned and surround by barbwire.  We could see people just on the other side of the pier portion of the property.  So, we climbed through the barbwire and asked the Guatemalan family on the other side if we could use their phone.  They were laughing as we talked with them, but imagine, 2 white girls with bright orange life jackets and paddles emerge from an abandoned property, I started laughing as well!!!  The hotel owner's wife shows up, walks out into the ocean in the dark and drags the kayak back through the water to the shore where we were.  Then, we put the kayak on top of a car and drove it back to the hotel.  The misunderstanding was that we were just suppose to kayak out 500 feet into the bay and turn around to see the sunset, not keep going like we thought.  I expected to be banned from ever coming back to the hotel, but quite unexpectedly, we were invited back!!! 

The abandoned pier with the barbwire that we climbed through - this was the next day after the crazy kayak adventure!

Beautiful lake . . . we had to jump in after hiking around Tikal all day and it felt so good!!!

Visiting the Mayan ruins of Tikal

Last week I went on a trip with the clinic called Salud Que Transforma to a remote area 8 hours drive from the city.  There we have to use a generator to have any electricity and the dentist ended up having to finish up taking care of the last patient in the dark because we ran out of gas for the generator. 

Working in the dark!

Clinic at "La Perla"

The nurses!!!

Introducing - new ministries!!!

Just a little bit about the new ministries that i'll be working with here in Guatemala!

Corazon De Amor 

This clinic is about 5 blocks from my apartment in zone 3 of Guatemala City, in a community that is close to the garbage dump.  The clinic is run by Dr. Layla, who is a Guatemala who grew up in zone 3 and who now faithfully serves the people who live in the garbage dump communities.  Her husband is a Pastor of a church in a nearby community!  On a normal day, we see about 35 patients come through the clinic.  When a medical team came and we had a few extra doctors and nurses, we were seeing 200 patients a day! She does not charge for visits or medications, all the money and supplies to run the clinic comes from donations!
My teammate Alaina is also a nurse, and in May we will begin some community health teaching projects alongside of the clinic!!!  Our first topic will be prevention of mosquito born diseases as rainy season will be coming!
It's been exciting to see the Lord connect me to this ministry and open the doors for me to work with them!  I look forward to being a part of all the Lord is doing through this clinic!!!  I will mostly be working at the clinic on Monday and Wednesday and doing community health teaching on Tuesday.

The street leading to the clinic, Corazon de Amor

The outside gate

Courtyard shared by clinic and a school - the clinic is the green building

Inside Corazon de Amor, overflowing with people!!!!  

Salud Que Transforma

This is a clinic that is about 1 hour away in the city of Palin.  The clinic is run by Dr. Erick, who is also the Pastor of a church in the same community.  The clinic is staffed by Guatemalan doctors, dentists, and nurses, and is open 24/7.  They also have a nursing school that meets every Saturday for a year, as well as community outreaches 3 times a week.  The community outreaches have been my main area of involvement and I really enjoy that!  A community outreach involves a couple nurses, a doctor and a dentist going to another community within maybe an hour radius and holding clinic in a school or church.  Then, once a month, there is a small group that travels up to the rural mountain clinics to hold clinic in very remote areas with little access to health care.  There are some individuals who live there and they have trained so that they can provide basic medical care and education!  

There is a small fee associated with medical/dental visits, but all medications are then free.  They still depend on lots of donations to keep the clinic running, and pay salaries!!!

It's been wonderful to work alongside of the nurses at this clinic!  We have many laughs when I end up driving my car to one of the rural clinics because there always seems to be some sort of adventure that goes along with it!!!
I'm currently committed to work with this clinic on Thursdays and Fridays.

A view of Salud Que Transforma from the church.  The clinic is the 2 story building on the right side of the photo.  You can see that the volcanoes are much closer to this town than where I live in the capital!!!  To the left is Volcan Fuego, which is the active volcano that you can see a gray cloud of ash coming out of the top, and from this clinic you can hear rumblings when it's erupting!!!  Next to that is another volcano, but it's hidden behind the clouds, that one is inactive!!!  To the right is Volcan Agua, also inactive!

Just a few of the amazing nurses I get to work with!!!

Starting an IV at a community outreach

Both clinics have so many other things happening as they try to improve the health of their communities.  They both have water treatment programs to provide clean water at a lower cost, as well as programs for children to provide a meal, a Bible lesson, help with homework, and medical care!

Most importantly, these clinics desire to provide excellent healthcare, and serve the people with dignity, while also helping them to understand that their ultimate hope and healing can only come through faith in Jesus Christ!!!

Trips to the mountain clinics

I've been so thankful to begin working with Salud Que Transforma who has a wonderful health ministry!!!  I was thankful to be able to join them on their monthly trip to the Quiche area of Guatemala which is an 8 hour trek kinda northwest of Guatemala City!   

Unfortunately I do get car sick =(   The first day was the worse as we drove the first 6 hours through constant windy roads.   The second day we only had 2 hours to drive and about half of that was on dirt roads so we were going fairly slow.  I pray that I can continue to travel there on a regular basis and find ways to prevent the car sickness!!!

The clinic is on a working coffee farm called La Perla!  The yellow building you can see in this photo is the clinic!  Salud Que Transforma has been able to train a nurse from this village and she works in the clinic daily!  The interesting story to this coffee farm is that during the Guatemalan civil war this was a very dangerous area and one of the most violently attacked areas by the Guerrillas.  The Guatemalan Government stationed troops here at this coffee farm, in fact we stayed in what use to be their barracks!  After that, the area became safer and many people started moving in from surrounding areas.  The people who now live in the area speak a few different Guatemalan dialects. because they come from different areas!   Many of the women in this area don't know how to read, they often don't know their ages or their birthdays, and they live without electricity and with dirt floors.  

The second day we drove to a second village about 20 minutes away.  On the map that they showed me this village was straight north, however the road was anything but straight, instead it was up and down a few mountains!!!  At this village there are two nurses that have been trained by Salud Que Transforma who are able to provide some minor medical care and medications.  

Above is a photo of our group with the 2 nurses from the village.

I found out about Salud Que Transforma through my friend LyMarie who is working with them!  

It's been fun to work alongside of her!!!

This is one of the nurses helping us take care of the patients!  It's good to have nurses from the community working in the clinics!  It's hard to change beliefs and health practices in these areas because they believe what is traditional and not always willing to listen to teaching new practices.  Sometimes it helps to have somebody from their village reinforcing what we are teaching!   

It's similar with sharing the Gospel.  They have a mix of beliefs that come from their families and tradition and don't believe in the one true God.  

We pray for opportunities to talk with them about the truth during our time with them at the clinic!!!

Taking a little break to get to know some of the little kids running around the clinic! 

These red fabrics represent the typical handwoven material worn as skirts in this area.

I was also able to go on a second trip with Salud Que Transforma to a clinic in Coban, an area of Guatemala just north of Guatemala City.   This clinic is also on a coffee farm, the owners live just up the hill from the clinic and help the clinic run so that their workers and the families nearby have access to health care!

I drove my car on this trip which meant NO carsickness!!! 

This drive was about 4 hours through windy mountain roads to the turn off, and then an hour on windy dirt mountain roads!  These mountains were quite steep, but we hardly got to see our surroundings as we arrived in the dark and then the next 2 days were so rainy and cloudy that we could hardly see the beauty around us!  The rain meant that the steep roads were muddy, and we were a little concerned about my car making it up and out on the roads.  

However, with much prayer, my car made it and we didn't get stuck!!!   

We saw lots of patients while at this clinic!  I was reminded of the lack of personal space =)  There were about 100 people crowding into this area at the beginning and waiting to get checked in and then seen.  Since it was raining, everybody wanted to be under the roof.  I was having a hard time concentrating and taking blood pressures with everybody pushing in around me and talking.  There was some space and so I asked them to move back.  They looked at me funny, kinda moved back after about the 3rd time asking.  Then after lunch there was just this line of patients waiting to see the doctor.  Some people were cutting in line and so they just kept standing closer and closer together, eventually there were about 8 women all squished together just standing there waiting!  For me it would have been uncomfortable, but totally fine and normal for them!

This sweet little guy is malnourished.  He's already spent time hospitalized for malnutrition, but since discharge he hasn't been gaining much weight.  The nurses that work with this clinic were going to track him and try to do more education with the mother.  Malnutrition is a big problem in Guatemala, praying that this little guy grows and develops normally!!!

Language School and Guitar lessons and Volcanos

Wanted to give you an idea of what language school has been like!!! 

I had one-on-one instruction with my teacher, Mirza.  Every day i'd sit across the table from her and we'd chat about various things from our days to our families and friends to God to things happening in Guatemala and around the world.  Sometimes we'd chat for about 30 minutes, sometimes 2 hours.  Then I'd usually read some from a book to work on reading and pronunciation.  Then we'd review some grammar.  I'd have to make up some sentences to reflect the new grammar rules, and then do some exercises to practice.  Then she'd assign me some type of homework to do at home that evening.  For the month of November I had classes 4 days a week for 4 hours.  It was an intense month with some days feeling excited about learning, and other days having no interest in being there.  

our day at the zoo - enjoyed going with my teammates and their teachers as well!!!

Across the street from me is also a seminary with a music seminary.  I realized after a month here that they offer some private lessons.  Since I've always wanted to learn to play guitar, I thought I'd give it a shot and started taking lessons once a week.  That means I've also had to practice guitar in the evenings!!!  It's actually been a great combination - language school and guitar!  The guitar reminds me that it's a process and that I have to take things one step at a time.  Although I really want to just start playing all sorts of songs on the guitar, I can't, I have to take it slowly and learn step by step.  The same with language.  It takes time and I have to be patient with the process and allow it to come step by step!!!  

Along with sitting in class learning, we were able to do a few fun things outside of the classroom.  We went to one of the museums, the zoo, have cooked a few times, and watched a few movies.  Plus, I drove my teacher to her bus stop every day, so it did give me some extra time to chat with her on the way . . .and no worries, she continued to correct me all the way to her bus stop =) 

I've had a few exams which included filling in the blanks, writing essays, and an oral exam. 

Yesterday I passed the final level at the school.  I know a few areas that I need to work on besides just generally improving my communication skills!  

I do feel ready to start working in the clinic and put my spanish to the test!!!  

I'm thankful I've had this time in language school, but also excited to be finished!!! 

making tortillas!!!

I continue to be fascinated by the volcanos and absolutely love that I can see 3 of them out my window!!!  Recently I looked out my window in the morning and saw Volcan Fuego with huge ash clouds coming out of it!!!  It continued for the rest of the day and that evening I could see red streaks of lava running down the sides!  For those 2 days the sky was perfectly clear giving me amazing views!  I know that volcanos are dangerous for those close by, but I'm thankful that I can enjoy their power and majesty from a safe distance!!!  My mom and I are planning to climb Volcan Pacaya when she arrives here in December!!! I've climbed this volcano 2 other times, but excited to hike it again!!! We will be taking marshmallows with us to roast at the top because we are certain to encounter some hot lava =)  

Volcan Fuego and the constant cloud of ash

not my photo - but this is what is looked like at night!

such beauty always pointing to our all powerful God and His stunning creation!!!

A land of great contrast

As I write this blog I'm sitting in a beautiful outdoor mall with an ambiance that sometimes has me questioning where I am at the moment.

In contrast, just a few days ago I was walking the streets of a slum area called La Limonada where about 60,000 people live and most have no idea how they will survive from day to day.

In contrast to that, I spend the weekend before in Panajachel - a town where many Mayan families come to try and sell anything that will give them an income for that day.  While they are just trying to earn a few dollars for the day, my friends and I paid to go zip lining over the beautiful forest overlooking Lago Atitlán, 3 volcanos, and majestic mountains.  When those Mayan families are done for the day, they then have to climb those beautiful mountains to return home.

This is pre-ziplining!
None of us took our cameras, and deeply regretted it afterwards!!!

However, these are just a few of the stunning views we could see as we zip lined!!!

And a one of the suspension bridges we crossed by foot!

This was our last challenge after zip lining.  Crossing the swinging steps.
It was way harder than it looks!!!

I wrestle with these contrasts daily.  I wrestle with how to process the overwhelming number of people living in poverty.

I wrestle with knowing if there is anything I can do to help, or why I'm even here.

During the Synergy conference I attended, I was thankful to connect with many others asking the same questions - both Americans and Guatemalans! I liked how they helped to give the big picture of the hurts, healing, and hope that has happened, and continues to happen here in Guatemala.
In contrast to being overwhelmed and feeling hopeless, I can trust in the plans of our good God.  He knows and loves each one of us more than I could ever image and I know that He is both hurting with us when we are hurting and working out His plan which is beyond our comprehension!!!

Some of the graves at the National Cemetery

Looking over the area affected by the mudslide

A day of celebration!!!

I was able to attend a very special celebration in September - it was a day to celebrate the completion and printing of the New Testament being translated into one of the Mayan Indian dialects here in Guatemala.  A Wycliffe translator has been working on this Kaqchikel New Testament for many years, and it was amazing to see the faces of people as  they held in their hands for the first time ever a Bibles in their native language!!!  We went to every home in this town offering them a Bible!  There were hundreds of people celebrating this day and praising the Lord for the completion of this Bible translation!!!  Please pray that the people of this village will read this Bible and will be saved!!!  I could write forever about the amazing things that happened on this day, but hopefully these photos will help sum things up!!!

preparing to hand out Bibles to every home in this town!

receiving a Bible in her heart language!!!

team of translators!

look at the size of those pots!!!
 these ladies worked hard to help prepare lunch for hundreds of people!!!

Trip to San Marcos

Why not go to San Marcos - it's only 6 hours away . . . on non-stop curvy mountain roads that take you up to over 9,000 feet and then drop down to around 7,000 feet.  I arrived in San Marcos after feeling miserable for the last 4 hours of the trip, a close-call emergency stop that allowed me to get out of the car just in time, and my head spinning for the rest of the day after getting out of the car.
However, it was worth it, I was really thankful to have a few days there in San Marcos, and the ride home was much better thanks to extra medications and ginger!!!
My teammates were training a group of 16 women how to make and use puppets.  I went along to help in whatever way I could, and I learned how to sew together the puppets ahead of time so that I could help the women through that process!
The women were teachers in a center for Compassion (the organizations that helps sponsor children) where over 250 children spend 8 hours a week!!!
We were hosted by a wonderful family who took great care of us and was really fun to get to know!  One of their daughters is currently studying at the Bible school across the street from my apartment, so I look forward to seeing her from time to time here in the city!
I enjoyed spending some time in fresh air and in a small town where everybody knows each other!  We went on a few morning walks through the mountains which were amazing, and we were able to go to a hot springs.  The hot springs were in a valley - way, way down into the mountains somewhere.  Probably one of the top 5 most beautiful places I've been considering the steep drop offs we were seeing as we drove down the mountain, however, the fog and clouds were covering most of our view, so sadly, I really couldn't see the beauty that was surrounding me.
Here are some photos from that trip:

morning hikes

 

attempting to make tortillas - mine were just never quite right!

sharing meals

finished products - the puppets!!!

children at the Compassion Center

hot springs - so wonderful!!!