A blessed Friday.  Almost all of the team left early headed to climb a volcano – Pacaya.  I am told they had a good time.

The afternoon was spent with dedications for the building team while the medical folks did another few hours in El Rodeo which is where they were yesterday.  Everything went very well for both teams.

Lisa and I spent the morning at a private hospital in Antigua.  One of our team members fell Thursday afternoon and gave us a good scare.  Long story short – Dr. John Gissal was on site within a few minutes and he then went with him to meet Dr. John Nicely who then took him to the hospital.  The end result was a fracture of the hip with the diagnosis being eight weeks of rest.

Lisa and I went to bring him from the hospital this morning as he was discharged around 11:00AM.  He is on crutches but is resting well in the mission house.  Pray for his flights home tomorrow.  (We did not post this last night as we were waiting for his wife to be told by him today)

We had a share time tonight before supper and it was a blessed time.  This has been a really great group!  Several have already followed Don Redder’s lead and signed up for next year’s trip.

Thanks for checking on us.  Pray for us as we fly home tomorrow at 7:45AM, 8:45AM, and 1:47PM respectively.

Our Thursday was a long day.  The medical folks got back to the mission house around 8:00PM after seeing 587 folks in the clinic.  What a day of ministry for them!

The building team completely finished all 20 houses which means they are now ready for the dedication.

We will update on Friday night as to the day’s activities and bring the week to a close.  Thanks for checking on us and for your prayers.

As I am typing this blog, I am sitting next to two guys that seem to enjoy giving me a hard time (Teddy and Spencer)… luckily it doesn’t bother me one bit. Anyway, today we traveled to a village in the mountains where they literally have built their houses into the side of the mountain. They cancelled school for their kids today so that we could set up our med clinic in the school courtyard. I got to see quite a few patients on my own today which was nerve-racking, but at the same time very fun. One patient had part of his jaw removed by the oral surgeon, it was quite amazing. The people of this village were so appreciative of everything that we were doing, and it has been such a great learning experience and blessing for me to be here. God has been so good.

Betsy

My experience for the day was very similar to Betsy’s except that rather than providing medical care I was translating for the medical staff. The village we were in today was one of the poorest villages we have ministered to all week. The houses are literally built into the side of the mountain (we gained a greater appreciation for the building team who has been climbing the mountain to build houses all week). The view is absolutely spectacular and the people are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met. This week has been an amazing week and every day bring new surprises and adventures!

Emily

I also was with the Medical group.  Today was slower than Mon & Tues.  Since we were in the same village as where the building team has been we had the opportunity t take a walk through the village and see some of the houses the team had built already this week.  We also got to get a glimpse at how these people live-doing laundry outside, women carrying firewood on their heads, meat hanging in the market, etc.

There was also time to play with the kids-blowing bubbles, doing the Hokey Pokey, and more.  They love to play and have the biggest smiles and are so easily entertained. They hang out every day at the clinic where ever we are.

The Guatamalan’s are very grateful for anything we do.  They appreciate getting the little things like vitamins, Tyl, parasite nd  cough medicine.  There are a lot of lessons to be learned from these people who have so little, but are so happy, gracious and thankful.  Many of he things we have seen are minor, but there is one patient that will stick out for me-a 38 yr old female who said she had a breast lump.  I expected to find a cyst and instead found a very large breast mass-this would not be good in the US, but here in Guatamala is probably a death sentence.  She will be in my prayers for a long time.

This has been a great spiritual experience already between morning devotions and clinic.

Kristie

All is well!  Everyone is doing great.  Another good day of medical (207 patients) and ten houses have been completely finished including the installation of the light.

I plan on getting the insights of some others on this blog Wednesday night.

Pray for us.  Thanks for checking on us.

Long but good day.  The medical team saw 400 folks while the building team finished five houses (only the doors & windows were installed as we forgot hinges – give Bob Harvey one job to do and he will mess it up every time!), have two more ready for the concrete and an eighth one ready for the metal.

The medical team dealt with a lot of wind and dust.  However, they just worked through it.  I think the dental crew was real busy.

The building team had to navigate some fairly steep hills but the biggest problem was very soft dirt and a ditch that was waiting for any slip!

Everyone is well.  Thanks for praying!

Quick update – everyone is up, enjoying breakfast and getting ready for our morning devotional.  Pastor Bob is preaching this morning.  Half of the team will then head to medical while the other half go build.  Pray for us and we will update tonight, Lord willing.

This entry is coming later than I had anticipated but they say better late than never – sorry!  The Lord blessed and we had a good Sunday.  Normal day with a praise and worship time led by Carla Mast.  We have a full band and they do a nice job.

About half of the team went to a church service where Pastor Bob was preaching and the other half went to one where I was preaching.  It was then off to Antigua for lunch and shopping.  Everyone got back around 4:45 and after supper we enjoyed an evening of worship with a local band leading worship and Dr. Tico Vargas preaching.  Great evening!

It is almost 10:00PM here and the medical folks are busy counting pills and getting ready for tomorrow.  It rained here today but is was not a frog strangler.  Maybe that was the rain for the week!

Again, thanks for praying and thanks for checking on us.  All is well with everyone.  Blessings!

Quick update – everyone (Bubbas & Yankees) arrived safe and sound with luggage and all.  Will update later tonight of today’s activities – pray for us!

Obviously, I did not post again yesterday.  Kelley Pugh is the one to blame!

The Friday trip to the zoo with the children from Amor del Nino was an “experience” for our team members.  They could not leave the village as early as they wanted due to the sand/rocks for the final six houses blocking them in.  The traffic in GC was horrendous so they were a little late getting to Amor del Nino.

They had a great time in the zoo even though much of the area was dark and it was very, very crowded.  However, the children had a blast.  It was a night worth remembering for those children.  The team got slow service (very unusual here) in a fast food restaurant on the way home and finally arrived between 11:00 – 11:30PM.  Tired puppies!

Meanwhile, the sand and stone for the cement was very late arriving to the village.  However, the Lord blessed and we were able to get three houses cemented.  God is in control!

Yesterday was great!  We completely finished all 26 houses.  Each home was dedicated and each family received a gift bag which included a copy of the New Testament.  Mark Mast said they were the most meaningful dedications he has ever been a part of in Guatemala.

We are about to go into a church service here with Pastor Josue Chavez preaching and Danny Rossi translating.  Dr. Rex and Kacia Veldhuisen will be leading our worship today with Micha Gerber being the video guru.  Then it will be shopping and lunch in Antigua and then our closing share time early this evening.

Thanks for reading this entry.  I apologize on behalf of Kelley Pugh for it being so late!

Yesterday was a crazy day.  The group that went to Amor del Nino got back to the mission house really late so I need to speak to them before giving an accurate update.  I will do that at some point this afternoon/evening.

Everyone/everything is great.  Thanks for praying.  Check back later today for the details!