Guatemala CUAA Nurse 2324

 We have met many lovely people during three days of clinic, two church events and one excursion up Volcano Pacaya. The immediate neighborhood around the church where we work is an amalgam of homes all built by people who saw the opportunity to build a dwelling on land that was not owned by anyone else. The narrow-gauge railway of a fruit company was no longer being used. The fruit company wanted to deed the land to the government; the government did not want to improve the land; the matter went to court, and in a short time, the abandoned strip of land began to be built upon by people from near and far. We’re told the people there came from El Salvador, from the south coast of Guatemala, and many other places in between. Unlike many parts of highland Guatemala, these are not members of any Maya-dialect community. The residents are not farmers since there are no plots for subsistence crops. The homes start as huts made of scrap metal and wood; but as the residents accumulate some savin

Our students, dressed for church service. Nice! Our group at the volcano stopping point, with flag of Guatemala. Uh oh! Stanley’s kids gave him a pink bandana as a sweat band, daring him to wear it! Our group at the Volcano Pacaya Park Welcome Center. A lunar landscape - lots of lava. Samy, our hosts’ son, with Maria, church volunteer.  One of several overlooks on the path up the volcano.                                                   Coming down the rocky path.                                                       Selling rocks. Enterprising! Our group descends from our adventure. Stats from Becca’s Apple Watch, round trip from park entrance Becca’s hike up and back. Wow!  

 Day Three and Four Dear Family and Friends: Yesterday (Saturday) was our “Finger in the Dike” moment. After a busy morning of clinic, the last patients gone, we enjoyed lunch, took a one-hour walk to see homes in the neighborhood, and then the downpour started. Guatemala is experiencing its “rainy season,” when there usually is rain for a couple of hours in the afternoon from May ‘til September. Yesterday there was the unusual flooding downpour for several hours. We started “bailing,” that is, sweeping water pouring in from the street down the hall to the drain that carries storm water out to the lake by the church. Fortunately, the church (formerly a nice lakeside “chalet” that was donated to the church) is built for such occurrences. All the rooms (formerly garage, now sanctuary; kitchen; formerly bedrooms, now clinic exam room and pharmacy) are built several inches above the hallway that leads to the drain. Keegan and Jack grabbed brooms to keep the water moving down the hall, whil

  Dear Family & Friends. I hope you’ll enjoy this chronicle of our MOST Ministries mission trip to Guatemala with senior students from the CUAA School of Nursing. Several of us on the team will contribute their stories and impressions. After a “false start” to our trip, we are on our first travel day, routed through Dallas to “La Aurora” airport in Guatemala City. God is good! Though we were disappointed to delay our travel a day when our plane for Miami was discovered to have a flat tire, we got some extra rest at home. Dr. Z says the team will still complete all their required 42 hours of clinical work available with Dr. Elry in Guatemala. Our prayers this morning were answered in an awesome way. One of our team left her passport in the car that delivered her to the airport. After many attempts, she was able to speak with the driver (her father) who turned around and met her at the “departures” door at the airport. She managed to check in and get through a VERY busy security line