"Eat Your Vegetables!!"

Malnutrition is a huge problem here, especially in the rural areas of Guatemala. But it' now pretty personal to me because of the children that attend my classes. One of the little girls was bleeding when she went to the bathroom. We took her to the hospital, and I thank God that there was a visiting pediatrician. She told me that this little girl's intestines were impacted with waste (or poopoo as we would call it...) She now had fissures from the internally tearing. She was not eating enough fiber in her diet. The father said that she 'refused' to eat vegetables and fruit and because she hardly ate anything (wonder why....) when she wanted a snack she got chips or other junk food. Also, she doesn't drink enough water but her father did say that she drank 2 or 3 glasses of cola daily. This is also a common problem here. Many suffer from headaches and when I ask them how many glasses of water they drink daily the answer lets me know that dehydration is also a problem. Especially since we live up in the mountains. We thought for awhile that the people here are short in stature because of their genes but one of the main reasons is that they are malnourished. More protein and fresh fruits and vegatables are needed but they have come to love what has been imported for the most part into their country: chips and pop. And it cost the same for a small bag of chips as for a piece of fruit, but they want the chips. Some of the children that attend here have rotten teeth due to the pop and sugar. So we now give the kids more fruit and less cookies. But I think I will begin to be more inventive with their snacks. I heard you can actually substitute beans for the oil in some cookies or brownies. Sounds weird....If anyone out there has a good nutritious recipes for kid's snacks, drop me an email, okay??

Our First Surgery Week In San Lucas

A medical group from Kansas City came to San Lucas for the first time bringing a container full of medical supplies including anesthesia machines! Oh how good God is to bless us with all that we need to provide surgery to those who need it! And the parish raised the funds to renovate the operating room, I hardly recognized it from when we first arrived here. The medical group was so kind and provided the space, equipment and anesthesiologist for our surgeries. Thank you, everyone of you! We hope to see you in the future :) From what I remembered, they were averaging about 15 surgeries a day! They worked hard and some days were very long. But they blessed those who couldn't have those surgeries otherwise. I have to admit that a bit of melancholy came over me when I first entered the operating room while a surgery was in progress. I perused the mayo stand and back table where 'my instruments' would be and had to really think hard to remember some of the instrument names. But, like riding a bike, it came back. I had the opportunity to assist a local Guatemalan doctor with some general surgery. I was so grateful. I hope with all my heart that I will have more opportunities to scrub, not only with Will, but other surgeons here and from the U.S. I so desire to keep up my skills. Now that we have 2 anesthesia machines, the Guatemalan surgeon from the capital said that he will bring someone to run the machine and I can assist! Answer to prayer.........

Tropical Storm Agatha

Life can change in an instant. Here we are standing with Dr. Tun on the top of what used to be his relative's homes. You can see in the background the top of another home. I wish you could see the landslide. It looks ominous even now. And now that there are no trees holding the soil in place, with the next downpour, it can only get worse. Only a few blocks down an entire family was buried alive with only their 16 yr. old daughter surviving. We are hoping the church can contact her and we can provide a home for her. The next picture above is one of many 'derrumbes' (landslides) in the street to San Lucas where we volunteer. Again, it's not hard to predict the continuing downpour of not only rain but soil that will erode as we begin the rainy season here. One blessing is that the people now have wood to cut. There are trees in the streets for miles. The next picture is a town close to San Lucas. The landscape is horrendous now. It was once a finca, or coffee plantation. That was then. Now it looks like another planet. Only gigantic boulders and rocks which tumbled down from the volcano Toliman with the gushing rainwater and leveled the homes where the workers lived. Veronica lost her grandmother and grandfather in the landslide. This finca is gone forever and the jobs and the homes of their workers. The force of nature can be terrible. The government promises that the people will receive land for rebuilding their homes. And where will that land be?????Next to another mountain? That's the only type of land around here. Who knows if we end up having to construct more buildings for future use. Will and I have already planned in the past to store food for our neighbors should the roads cut us off from getting to the stores. We have been supplying water to the people in Agua Escondida. They lost their pipes in the storm. Infact, three villages close-by have no potable water. Our friend in a town below us said that his hotel is now a refuge for those that lost their homes. And they are cut off from the surrounding areas because of the landslides. So now we are watching and listening to see how we can help others..........