On Moving Mountains

1/19/21

We find ourselves in rural Guatemala again. Hot in the day and cool in the night,  It’s the end of the dry season here.  Today the nurses and some administrative personnel at the hospital went up into the mountains to distribute food to some local widows, purchasing their pine needle baskets- the only source of income for some of these women.  Some are put to use as holders for eggs, keys, etc.  Others are sold to members of short term mission teams that come through and the monies used to support the project.

I stayed back today with April and the kids, attending to various urgent needs that present to the hospital.  Among those needs was a baby boy I’d seen yesterday.  April and I were walking down the main drag here when we were approached by an indigenous woman and her little girl.  The woman, who held a small bundle in her arms, had that all too familiar look of the terror that grips a parent who just knows something is not right with their little one. The bundle was a baby.  The baby, wrapped in multiple layers of clothing, was said to “have a fever”.  I figured the mom had just over-bundled the baby and needed to let the kid air out a little- and that was true to an extent. 

The hospital was closed for outpatient visits.  It was Sunday.  It was hot.  I said to go to the government hospital.  The woman began to cry.  April convinced me to bring the family in for a glass of water and an exam.  She is the better half, for sure. 

We made our way to the hospital together.  It turns out that the over bundled baby was a 10 pound 5 month old with a fever and cough.  The child clearly had a developmental delay - in no small part from malnutrition. This was not good.  Mom had nothing.  She’d spent what little she had getting on a bus and traveling an hour to see us.  Also not good. Her little girl with her, about 8 years old, was an unforgettable smiling ball of joy.  

After stripping off the kid’s layers and giving him some Tylenol, the fever broke.  My exam said that the child had a lung infection.  I opted to treat the child with an injectable antibiotic as well as oral antibiotic.  But then what?  Seeing the child improve some, we decided to help the family with food and a bus fare and have them come back the following day.  I wasn’t sure if the money would disappear.  Would the family disappear as well?

I was pleased today when the mother, her countenance now much brighter came in with a much better appearing little one.  We repeated the antibiotic dose and hope to see him back tomorrow. Will they return tomorrow?  Will the antibiotics work?  Time will tell. 

Sometimes I’m not sure what the purpose of a day is.  Sometimes it is very clear. I am convinced that God “owns the cattle on a thousand hills”.  It’s all his.  My time.  My resources.  They aren’t mine.  And sometimes he drags my whole family across the world to treat a random poverty stricken kid with pneumonia on a Sunday in spite of me.  That’s God’s economics. It’s how he loves a disabled child from a remote village and his mother and beautiful big sister. It's how he loves you and how he loves me.

Psalm 50 v 7-15

10 

"For all the animals of the forest are mine,

    and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.

11 

I know every bird on the mountains,

    and all the animals of the field are mine.

12 

If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

    for all the world is mine and everything in it.

14 

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,

    and keep the vows you made to the Most High.

15 

Then call on me when you are in trouble,

    and I will rescue you,

    and you will give me glory.”

Life and times in Guatemala

Life in Guatemala has pretty much been a hodgepodge of medicine + ministry + family.   We're really in a remarkable growth phase right now, see hundreds of patients in the outpatient clinics each week interspersed with the occasional emergency patient, birth, and veterinary issue.  Our prayer for this month is that we would grow in the Lord and grow together as a family.  True to form, I feel the good Lord has proven himself faithful.  

We've had a couple opportunities to give the boys and our house helper driving lessons - which pretty much means the boys drive up and down the air strip.   Henry and Pete are pretty good at it.  I'm sure they will be reaching the pedals before we know it.

A couple of weeks ago, one of our friends' cattle cut it's Achille's tendon - or whatever that thing is called in such a creature.  For better or worse, we managed to sew it up and put a pretty stout cast on it.  Many thanks to everybody who kept it from kicking me in the head.  Also, a quick apology to our friends who more likely than not would rather not be pictured in this blog post- sorry.  The cow had no complaints about the publicity.

We're really blessed with wonderful nursing staff.  Much like in my clinic back home, they have become friends and valued partners in the medical mission work here.  

At a very deep level, we are grateful for the downtime between clinics here.  It is a rare opportunity to get bored (and therefore creative), build stuff, and just be together as a family.  We've been so thankful for our visitors - both sets of grandparents have come as well as some very kind people associated with a generous foundation that helps to support the work here.

We've also had the rare opportunity for our kids to join in the work with us.  They get grossed out some times, but overall we hope it's a beautiful opportunity to "bring your kid to work" and introduce them to compassion, dealing with people, medicine, prayer, through it all. 

"And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?"

-Jesus

(Mark 8:36)

Back to it...

Well, we've been in Guatemala for about 3 weeks now.  I apologize for the lack of updates, we'll try to do better!  We've become acclimated (mostly) to the slower pace of life. We continue to run outpatient clinics most days doing bread and butter general medicine and pediatrics as well as emergency cases.  

We are working hard to navigate the maze of governmental red tape so that we can increase our scope of care here.  We continue to pray for God's timing that this would be much sooner rather than later as we have numerous pregnant woman who are seen and managed for prenatal care here weekly.  One of our greatest needs is to have Anesthesia available daily and we continue to pray and wait for this.  We recently received a gifted ultrasound unit and digital X-ray plate from The Ivan Bowen Family Foundation for which we are verygrateful.  The ultrasound gives crystal clear images and the Xray unit is so simple, even I can use it!

Last week 8 year old Julia came to see us after having experienced severe abdominal pain in the night.  She had previously seen a small government clinic with few resources and was given pain medicine and sent home.  After a brief examination with the new ultrasound machine, I was able to clearly identify her obvious surgical emergency.  This is usually seen on CT scan, but the ultrasound image was quite ​clear.  While we cannot yet take this girl's appendix out here, I was able to get her the needed antibiotics, an accurate diagnosis, and send her for appropriate care.

Yesterday,  I met 15 year old Louís.  He fell while riding his bike early in the morning.  His wrist was obviously deformed following his injury.  Until recently, no reliable xray unit existed within a 2 hour drive of Canillá.  Unfortunately, he had a similar situation occur 2 years ago, which required a 2 hour drive to a large government hospital and surgery.  This was such an expense to his single mother and disabled sibling that the mother was unable to afford food for a week.  Rather than transfer for xray, I literally shot my first x ray ever on his wrist using the new digital xray.  This new device is awesome!   The xray device is foolproof- even I could shoot a reliable film for this kid (please no snappy commentary from my rad tech friends!).  We were able to take care of Louís' fracture here and his mother was more than grateful for the time and money we were able to save her . 

"The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.

    The world and all its people belong to him."

Psalm 24:1

 In the downtime from the hospital, we're learning some good life skills like driving - no better time than for a 6 year old and 4 year old, right?!!  And of course enjoying playing with some baby puppies here on the compound has been a favorite for the kids.

 The kids were able to see first hand where our milk comes from when it shows up in jars at our door :-)  They even milked the cow and learned it was not quite as easy as it looks!  They were also able to help with the butchering of a cow - we do have quite a few pics, but I'll spare you.

 

Of course most of the days are spent playing with sticks and boys being boys!  homemade swords and guns in this pic....

We were so honored to be here for the arrival of this sweet treasure!

Hope and Plaster

I first met Samantha* during a Saturday clinic in Canillá. She was two weeks old then, the smaller of two twins born recently at government hospital which is two hours away driving.  At times, this trip is impossible to make during the rainy season.  Her father held her tenderly as her mother lifted her traditional Mayan dress to reveal her left foot, which was turned so far inward that the sole of her foot nearly touched the inside of her shin.

Samantha had been seen at a government hospital for her clubbed foot, but was turned away.  It may have been because of her dark skin, or maybe the surgeon was not interested in a client without the resources to pay for the procedure.  At any rate, she was told to come back in a few years.  This would have been disastrous.  

Thankfully, we learned to manage clubbed feet in fellowship training.  Taking Samantha's little foot in my big hands, I carefully wrapped her leg in plaster cast material until her foot became straight, the angle of the knee was just so.  I worked with one of our new nurses to form the cast until it hardened.  Her father looked satisfied, hopeful that his daughter would walk and play with the other children some day.   

We continued this process week after week, each time with more progress.  Samantha will see a surgeon this week. This time, the needed surgery will be quick, easy and will produce a lasting result that will benefit Samantha for a lifetime.  It is a blessing to be able to touch lives like Samantha's.  God spoke life into Samantha, he speaks all life into motion and for Him this is not hard to do. Nothing is difficult for Him.  

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

*Patient's name has been changed.  Photos taken with parents permission.

One foot in front of the other

Well sometimes when you serve on the mission field, or really at any and all stages of life, you get a real hodge-podge of "stuff".

We have been reminded many times lately of Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Amen to that and our God is good!  And it is a daily reminder that every goal and purpose we have is only to bring HIM Glory.  Our daily to-do lists sometimes are different than that of the Lord's.  When we keep our eyes set on knowing and serving Jesus, everything else that needs to fall into place does. 

We have had more sickness in our family in the last month than we've had in a long time.  Don't worry, we're shaping up fine and I'll spare you the pretty details.  We spend most of our time raising kids, working in clinics, and doing various and sundry tasks that have to be done in order to get the hospital in working condition (there are lots of these).  In Guatemala, you can't just call the car guy or the roadwork guy when the power steering goes out or the road washes out from in front of the clinic, for instance.  So, lots of hours get nibbled up doing these odds and ends.  

We're thankful to have met lots of really great people down here. The kids are doing well and have made great friends.  April and I have spent quite a bit of time in clinic.  When we're not in clinic, we are usually homeschooling the kids.  I think Abbi has hit her stride finally with that and the boys are getting the hang of phonics.  I've been doing some teaching sessions with the nurses at the hospital. They are young but have excellent potential and are bright, kind people (they are very patient with my broken Spanish).  Getting to know them better has been a highlight of our time here.  We've been covering riveting topics such as IV fluids and Diabetes.  More to come!

                               A precious child eating corn on her mom's back.                            

                                                                                                   

Casting a newborn with clubbed foot.  We are very grateful for the funds from the EV Free Church in Charles City, IA which purchased a cast saw and was in God's perfect timing for this little one.

Dr. Luís and our team helping to fix the road in front of the Chiminisijuan Clinic.  We provide an outreach clinic weekly here, and in the rainy season the roads become very difficult to travel.  A couple weeks ago, during a downpour we actually were stuck (the truck was literally stuck in the mud) and we had to wait out the rains and for our "rescue" vehicle to be able to arrive.

Abbi playing chess with friends!

A rare family photo (with not so rare funny faces) - will we ever have a normal family photo, I'm beginning to have my doubts.... what is 'normal' anyways!!!

Abbi and I making Chicken Tikka Masala and home made naan - delicious!

Peter and I doing wound care on a patient with chronic wounds from a disease called Scleroderma.  The deformity and necrotic digits are a complication from this disease called Sclerodactyly.  We happened to be visiting when April was seeing Pediatric patients and were able to help out.  Shorts and flip flops are not our usual clinic attire!

There are many items that have been provided for the hospital to serve and care for the patients.  This walking boot and crutches are just one example of these blessings!

The nurses have become big fans of James (Santiago or "Santi" for short!)

The kids are enjoying learning Spanish and working on crafts with our friend María.

We are blessed to have an above ground pool on the compound.  The kids really enjoy getting cooled off on a hot day.  Look out swim team, here they come!  We loved getting to know a sweet couple, Martha and Tom, from Texas during their stay here.  They come every couple of years to service and certify the airplanes.  Their passion for the Lord and stories were so encouraging!  And it was nice to have some "Grandma and Grandpa" love for the kids :-)  We do miss our family greatly and are always thankful for the 'family' God gives us while here.

"We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.  May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.  He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.  For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins."

Colossians 1:11-14

A Little Bit of Everything (our life in photos)...

In the last few weeks since our previous update, a lot has gone on.  We had the great pleasure of hosting some dear friends from Iowa.  We ran eye clinics here in Canillá as well as San Andres.  You can see some of the happy recipients of glasses in the photos below.  A LOT of glasses were given out.  The most remarkable were those (both young and old) who had seen so poorly for so long that they really lit up when looking through a new pair of glasses.  It really was heart warming.

Abbi and her friend Keziah had a nice time with us at the clinic in San Andres, handing out coloring pages and crayons to the other kiddos waiting to be seen in clinic.  They also got a chance to go hang out with the kids at the local orphanage.  I think they enjoyed showing off their nail painting skills as much as the kids enjoyed getting their nails painted.

James is happy 99% of the time.  He turns 1 year old this month - where has the time gone???!!

I would be the big white guy.  I'm usually at least 2 feet taller than the patients.  Hide-and-seek is difficult here.

Our optometrist friend Riley fitting a little girl with glasses.  Not only was the team able to run many eye clinics while here, but he also held an afternoon of training the nurses at the hospital.  They learned how to use the auto-refractor and find which glasses a patient might need.  This is one of our goals of working in the hospital here in Guatemala, not only to provide medical care but to train nurses and eventually medical students.

We found a huge frog in the backyard.  The boys had a good time with it.  Abbi was a little less excited.

 The local market - Fridays and Saturdays.  Our shopping list usually consists of mangos, bananas, papaya, pineapple, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, watermelon, cantaloup, avocado, limes, green beans, potatoes, oranges, apples, strawberries, cilantro, jalapeños.... the list goes on.  

The hospital continues to come together...

 John 10:10 "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Colossians 1:11 "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen!" 

We spent a day at Mariposita - a local facility that cares for special needs children - doing a whirlwind eye clinic.  James (also known as Santiago here locally - or Santi for short) made friends with a few of the workers there.  He especially tends to make friends wherever we go.

We are blessed with wonderful nurses and staff and lots of precious pediatric patients.  The children are enjoying these knit hats, which were lovingly made by one of the teachers at our kids' school back in Iowa.  Thank you Mrs. Ovel!

April and one of our patients hamming it up for a selfie :-)  We try to take turns at the clinics when the kid's schedules allow....

There's no better way to beat the heat than fresh squeezed orange juice and a hammock!

Well, that pretty much sums things up.  We'll keep you updated as time goes on!