Having Our Ups and Downs

 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, while Stanley barricaded the garage (now sanctuary) doors to stop water.

Stanley, our awesome Emergency Room and Outreach to Homeless Nurse, generally evades any cameras being pointed at him, but believe me, he used every tool and towel at his disposal to block the North Sea pouring into Holland. And it worked!

Merg

During the downpour, the church here hosted its Saturday afternoon “Club de Ninos,” a time of fun songs and games for children in the neighborhood. There were kids from ages four to 16, all having fun together. Dr. Elry had the crowd break into groups to converse with the visiting nurses. That led to card games, guessing games, and formation of new friendships. We carried on until dinner was ready.

Today (Sunday) we had a change of pace and drove to Volcan Pacaya, a 45-min. drive from our church, with the goal of climbing the volcano. At the base of the volcano the majority of us rented horses to carry us up, and to carry fewer down after our adventure. Oh, we didn’t lose anyone, just a few horses. Rentals can be one-way up or down, or round trip. Round trip made sense to me! Who really wants to slip and slide down a mountain of volcanic rock! You may be interested (horrified is probably more accurate) to know that of the 37 volcanoes in Guatemala, and of the 3 that are active, Pacaya is one of the active ones. Pacaya is a source of geothermal energy for the country - what better use for an active volcano! - and its most recent eruption was in 2021. Pacaya also brings in a lot of foreign exchange for the country. We were told over 80,000 visitors annually climb the same path we took today. Many of them are tourists.

While it’s not possible to climb to the crater, we got to a mid point, almost 7500 ft, where there was a gift shop selling - what else? - lava. Believe it or not, some of our group actually paid money for lava, when it was all around us for free! Well maybe some human help was needed to turn it into jewelry, magnets, keychains and other original handicrafts. Since we were hungry after that climb, we had a nutritious and filling snack of roasted marshmallows. Our guide brought a bag and some small sticks and roasted them in a volcanic “hot spot.” At the hot spot we noticed several dogs hanging around for a handout. Dr. Elry’s comment was that the dogs are probably diabetic by now. What a great adventure!

We returned “home” in time for a delicious lunch and either a nap or some goofing off. Church begins at 4:30 every Sunday. Today we enjoyed hearing Dr. Elry lead our worship service in Spanish, of course. His sermon was based on the Epistle reading, Romans 8:26-27. The main theme was that God is God, and humans are not God, though many of us think we are. Pastor Elry’s messages often are aimed at the spiritual and moral decline in modern society, with specific advice for those Guatemalans who put material possessions, alcohol, and neglect of the family ahead of God’s will for their life. Of course, that message applies to our country as well. 

His other theme was directed at churches that equate salvation in Christ with the “good works” of avoiding alcohol, smoking and dancing. Though avoidance of alcohol and smoking may be good for the health, they are not to be equated with achieving salvation in Christ. Faith comes through hearing the Word of God. Thank you, Pastor Elry. Your dedication and message are making a difference in your community! The church was packed today with forty neighbors, in addition to our team of ten.