Saturday Early

Saturday 7/17/10

At Breakfast I spoke to an internist who said in the last two days there have been four people on the team with gastro problems but nobody is on IVs…just problems. Some team members also have aches & pains from some of the work. But there is still enthusiasm and helping attitude in the team.

A medical student said that Friday worship was the first one he had been able to attend because they had been so busy in surgery each day with the first two days even going until midnight. He wished that we could arrange the schedule to make worship and sharing available to those that had to be in surgery until late the first few days since he enjoyed hearing what was happening in other areas and the worship. Logistically, we have to get all the surgeries in which the patients may need a few days recovery in the first 3 days so that our recovery room is still up.

At breakfast this morning, as a stoves member I exchanged information with the internist and we began to understand more of what is happening in this area of Guatemala. Patients report pain in the head and back(they carry 100 lbs of dirt, gravel and needed supplies on their backs or using straps that around their foreheads and load on their backs), knees and feet (they navigate these rolling mountains to get from their houses to other’s and to their fields that are often an hour away; there are small buses and tuk-tuks that provide public transportation but few have cars or motorcycles or bicycles), stomachs (they drink water that is not filtered from pipes that provide water at only certain times of the day. Because they do not know when the water will flow, they leave their faucets open so that the large basins can catch the water they need; much overflows and goes on down the mountain),and eyes and lungs (they have open fires in their homes burning constantly so that they inhale smoke in their daily lives. One man reported that he was depressed because he was driving a truck and was in an accident; he lost the product that he was carrying as a result; he is responsible to pay back 18,000 Q for the accident. He needs to feed and care for his family and sees no way to overcome this. They report that they are depressed but when asked if they have any suicidal thoughts, they do not, because they say: God will provide. What faith in the face of difficulty.

Phones are cheap and most families have one. They cost $20 and they renew the minutes by new chips. The signals are strong here. There are no home phones; in the areas where we are helping we seldom see a bathroom in a house, there is electricity in some houses but it would never pass codes that we are used too. There is no running water in the houses. There is mud all around. But the views are spectacular. After we finished putting in the stoves in each of the houses we asked if the family wanted to pray with us. We would bless their houses and the stoves that we had together installed and the food that will be cooked on the stoves. We thanked God for the opportunity to meet the family and play with the children. Many on the mothers and fathers cried and expressed their deep thanks for our coming to their community Guatemala and ask that we return.

Knowing the history of this area of Guatemala where many were killed and there was great fear among the people with the end of the revolution only in 1996, we are building bridges and trust among people and things are improving. This is my third year on this trip on the stoves team and I am struck by the improvement in the conditions of the animals and particularly the puppy dogs. My first trip the dogs were skin and bones and very scared. This year the dogs, cows and horses all looked healthier. In fact our van went by an area where there were several large, fat pigs grazing and enjoying the sun. One day the fattest pig was sound asleep with his head in a bucket. We missed the picture but the image remains. The Guatemalan people of this area are a long way from being as satisfied as that pig, but their situations and lives are improving with God’s help and our hands.

Dental, Downs, and Extractions by Mark Grimes

Our Dental Group had a long and demanding week. These professionals went about their work with the enthusiasm that all of us have. When I asked them what was meaningful to them during the week, it took them a few minutes to step out of the role of the professional and begin to let their hearts see and feel what they had actually contributed to this very needy society. As far as the statistics go, they saw more than a 125 patients and pulled more than 130 teeth. While the professional said, “we just did some extractions,” the heart of the dentist and her assistants was revealed as they started describing their many patients. As she told the story of the Downs syndrome patient that was so terrified no one could touch him, tears came to her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She told about how they worked with the patient to calm his nerves and help him to stop crying and relax. Suddenly I was now talking to the person who happened to be a dentist. Once she made that transformation from her professional mode, I saw that she too began to realize the enormity of the contribution that she and her assistants had made to the lives of these people. Yes, maybe just an extraction to most, but an escape from pain for each of those patients.

Most of us have never experienced what it’s like to not be able to run to the dentist to get that tooth taken care of. To the people in this small, remote town, surviving seems to be more important than an aching tooth; that is until the pain becomes unbearable. Many become so desperate to ease the pain they end up pulling their own tooth with a rusty pair of pliers. Others will continue with the pain of an abscessed tooth until it becomes life threatening. Either way, they suffer enormously.

So, our little dental group made a tremendous difference in the lives of each of the patients they saw. That would be 125 lives changed in one week. A 125 people that can now sleep, eat and live without the pain that had been so persistent. A 125 people that may not have the most beautiful teeth but at least, they can now smile again, thanks to a few loving and caring people who happen to be in the dental field. Thanks for changing lives; thanks for putting a smile back on the face of these wonderful patients; you made a difference.