July 2008: Medical Mission from St John's Cathedral in Jacksonville, Florida

A medical mission sponsored by Saint John's Cathedral of Jacksonville, Florida visited Guatemala for the second time this year. However, this was their first visit to Xela.
The team visited the village of Santa María de Jesús on Tuesday, where they were welcomed by an experienced team of mid-wives who were trained by our parish priest, Padre Roberto Armas. Padre Roberto is also a medical doctor, he was the co-coordinator and primary physician for the mission. Laurel translated for the after-care team, which provided information to the patients concerning their treatment and medications. The mission group from St. John's Cathedral, assisted by the mid-wives treated over a hundred patients.


On Tuesday the we visited Chuatuj (near the border with Mexico). Chuatuj is a small, friendly village, still without running water. The hospitality of the people and the mayor was more than impressive. We were served an exceptionally delicious steak lunch.

The team treated over 160 patients throughout the day. Before we left the sector mayors presented each team member with a beautiful individualized Certificate of Appreciation. We were also provided with a police escort for the 2 hour drive back to Xela, since we were traveling after dark.

On Thursday the group from Saint John's Cathedral had a productive meeting with Padre Roberto considering the future relationship between God's people in the cities of Jacksonville and Xela. One of the topics discussed was Padre Roberto's dream of establishing a community center for the elderly at our church.

A typical day in the life of the medical mission team from St. John's Cathedral

Travel and Accommodations

Medical and other mission teams visiting Xela stay at COFA, a Catholic family retreat center. COFA is similar to hotel built around a flower filled courtyard.

Medical mission teams sometimes travel for up to three hours from Xela to visit remote mountain villages, or other cities in the region. Travel is in 15-18 passenger mini-buses with supplies carried on top under a tarp.

Setting up

When the medical team arrives at a site the first half hour (mas o menos) is used to determine how to best control the flow of patient traffic, and set up the stations. Sometimes the clinic is conducted in one room, other times it may be in school building where each classroom can be a separate station. Setting up the pharmacy is always the most time consuming operation.

Registering Registration begins shortly after the teams begin setting up their stations. There are always long lines of people waiting to be seen. A Guatemalan volunteer from the church, or the community, is the best candidate for this task. The registrar fills out a form listing the reason the person is seeing the doctor and conditions the doctor needs to know, such as allergies, pregnancy, etc. The registrar then directs the patient to the doctor/dental waiting area.

Doctor's Station
When the patient first arrives at the doctor's station a translator reads and translates the registration form for the doctor. The doctor then interviews, examines and treats the patient. Further treatment instructions and prescriptions are listed on the form which the patient (or team escort) takes to the pharmacy.

Pharmacy

The pharmacy team then fills the prescriptions, placing all medications in a bag. The patient (or a team escort) then takes the medications to the after-care station. The pharmacy also keeps the doctors informed of which medications are running low.

After-Care

The final station is After-Care where a nurse, or trained team member, helps the patients (through a translator) understand when and how their medications are to be taken or applied. The after-care team also insures that the patient is aware of any other treatments or diet the doctor prescribed.

July 2008: Medical Mission Team from the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota

From Monday June 30 to Sunday July 6 we participated with the Guatemala Medical Mission from the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota. The team of 24 doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, translators, and medical & dental students served over 2,500 patients in Xela and surrounding mountain villages.
The team's webpage describes their mission: "Every year a team of volunteers from the United States and Canada participate in this Christ centered mission. The team members pay their own travel and lodging expenses and help raise money for the mission expenses. This working mission can be very demanding but is a wonderful opportunity to interact with a different culture and help people in great need.

The Guatemala Mission team experiences the beauty of the country of Guatemala and is touched by the people we served. God’s people are the same all over the world. We leave each year with a feeling we had done some good and that we were spiritually enriched. We greatly appreciate the support and prayers of those in the Diocese of North Dakota and many other donors. The Lord works in many ways to draw us together and further his work in the world."

Laurel and Audrey translated for medical and dental teams (a different team each day). Edgar also assisted by registering the long lines of patients and recording their medical or dental complaints. Our parish priest, Padre Roberto Armas, is also a medical doctor. He and Dr. John Baird, from North Dakota, organize the annual mission.

On Sunday morning the team attended the worship service at our parish, San Marcos Episcopal Church. After the service the they departed for a few days of R&R in La Antigua Guatemala before returning to their homes in the USA and Canada.

June 2008: IAS Summer School and Tutoring

From June 2 through the 27 Laurel taught summer school at Inter-American School. He taught two students simultaneously in two subjects: eleventh grade American History and ninth grade World Geography.

Beginning at the same time Donna began tutoring three IAS elementary school students in our home (one student at a time). She will work with them through the summer.

April 2008: The move to Xela

On Saturday, April 5, we moved to Xela from Villa Nueva, Guatemala. Edgar's brother moved our furniture in one of his comercial trucks; he, Edgar, and their nephew did all of the lifting and moving, out and in. The drive from Villa Nueva normally takes about 4 hours (using the southern, less mountainess, route).

Victor and Scarli Valazquez, our neighbors and best friends in Guatemala, drove Donna, Audrey, Novali, and Laurel up in their van. Unfortunately, the van broke down about 45 minutes out of Xela. We sat in the chilling rain for over 4 hours waiting for help to arrive. Help was in the form of two of Scarli's cousins and their husbands. They brought us a hot meal (chicken, etc.), then after a short visit drove the girls in one car to our new house in Xela. Laurel and Victor remained with the van which was towed by an SUV that belonged to Scarli's cousin. The cousin took Victor's van to a repair shop near his house, and loaned Victor one of his cars for the week. When Laurel and Victor arrived at our new house all of the furniture was moved in.

The first month in our new house, we explored our neighborhood. Everything we need or want is within walking distance: Our church (across the street); a modern shopping mall; several restaurants serving a variety of cuisines; and of course McDonalds, Wendys, Dominoes, etc.; a Spanish school; a beautiful park; the sports stadium; and the mercado, a typical Central-American market of stalls selling everything from meat and vegetables to hardware and shoes.

The things that are not a short walk can be reached by public transportation (minivans packed to double capacity) which costs less than 15 cents, or a taxi for about $3.00. There is a very large shopping Mall about a mile away, it even has a casino! The Mall has a food court and an Hiper Paiz supermarcado, just like a super-Walmart (actually it is now owned by Walmart).

The Inter-American School is also over a mile away, but transportation is provided by the school for the teachers.

Audrey and Novali plan to spend about two weeks each month with us, until Edgar can find a job in Xela. He comes up on the bus every weekend that she is here.

Below are some photos of our church.

Padre Roberto, our priest