April 27-May 3 mission trip diary

DAY 1 (Saturday): Safe Travels

Six volunteers from Four Friends International arrived in Guatemala City at noon and traveled by van to Jalapa during the afternoon. Four were from Alabama (two from Marshall County and one each from Madison and Jefferson Counties), the other two from California and North Carolina. Interestingly, these six volunteers were members of six separate churches.

DAY 2 (Sunday): Church Support

Morning worship took place at the Los Pinos mission church. We were greeted there by a new pastor, Marcos, and by several old friends. A pleasant surprise was the paving of the road that passes by the clinic. We were told that the government approved 1000 meters of paving for Los Pinos, and the community chose the clinic as the site. Now there are 500 meters of paving on each side of the clinic. This will eliminate the dust problem as vehicles pass by and will make the clinic easier to locate in the community. (“It’s at the center of the paved road!”) The choice of the clinic as the focal point of the paving project reveals how proud and grateful the Los Pinos residents are to have a free medical clinic in the community.

We spent Sunday afternoon at the clinic at Los Laureles, preparing for tomorrow’s medical care. Evening worship was at the adjacent Los Laureles mission church. Pastor Filiberto directed the service, and we were reacquainted with our dear Christian brothers and sisters there. We first met many of them over seven years ago, and now they are as much a part of our Christian family as those in our home churches.

DAY 3 (Monday): Mucho Patients!

Over 200 patients were waiting inside and outside the church when we arrived, eager to receive medical care. As usual, the group included those with acute symptoms, many with chronic medical problems, and others desiring parasite medication and vitamins. By the end of the day, 347 people had received care, a record number for one day.

The morning’s first patient was a young man who was involved in a motorcycle accident two weeks earlier, injuring his lower leg and ankle. He had been treated in the local emergency room the day of the wreck, but no X-rays were ordered. After removing his posterior splint, we discovered an unstable mid-tibia fracture and a surgical ankle fracture. His leg was re-splinted, and he was referred back to the hospital for proper treatment. This is just one example of the episodic and often substandard medical care offered in Guatemala.

Two of our volunteers, Sarah Rose and Catherine Lanier, were in Monjas today, a 45-minute drive from Jalapa. Sarah, a nurse, and her husband Larry served there for two years (2014-2015), ministering at a Christian orphanage, before moving back to California four years ago. Sarah, accompanied by her younger sister, was able to reunite at last with the orphan children and her former co-workers.

DAY 4 (Tuesday): House Call

Today the team once again provided medical care at Los Laureles, and 203 patients were treated. In addition, mothers from the dump brought their babies to receive their weekly allotment of diapers and supplies as part of Operation Amalia, a ministry of Four Friends International. It is amazing to see the improvement in the infants’ hygiene since the inception of the program a year ago. Praise God for Leeah and Jackson Harcrow, who supervise this ministry on an ongoing basis!

Immediately after lunch, we visited the dump to hand out refreshments to the workers and residents there. A series of fires has decreased the population for now, but this trend will most likely not last very long. Pray for the people there. They are viewed as “third world citizens” within this third world country, the least of the least. And pray for the Matthew 9:36 Project as it continues to move children from the dump into schools.

The most gut-wrenching moment today was a home visit in the Los Laureles community. A thirteen-year-old girl came and asked us to treat her mother, a diabetic who was “very sick.” We were taken to a lady’s house, a kind and caring non-relative, who had opened her doors to this sick mother. Upon entering, we saw an emaciated, lethargic 35-year-old woman named Veronica. She was lying in bed and moaning in pain, apparently in her last days due to end-stage kidney failure. She had recently been released from dialysis care and discharged to end-of-life care. In her case, sadly, this is in the back room of a neighbor’s house. We prayed with the mother and her daughter, provided dressings for her sacral wounds and analgesics for pain, and promised to return tomorrow with some adult diapers. The scene was made all the more touching because the daughter has no father or siblings to support her. She will need the community and the church to come to her aid in the coming days.

 

DAY 5 (Wednesday): New Staff and New Needs

The team moved to the Los Pinos clinic today, where 247 patients were treated. Thankfully, our Guatemalan nurses and office workers have been helping us all week. Without their assistance, it would be impossible to provide care for so many people. The nurses are Lilian, who has been at the Los Laureles clinic since it opened in August of 2015, and two young nurses, Dora and Lorena (pictured above), who have recently joined our staff. They are replacing Rosario, who has retired, and Alejandra, who returned home to be with her sick mother. Three new office workers, all of them older youth from the church, are also working each week at one of the clinics.

Jeff Fowler, one of our volunteers, spent the entire day with Gustavo, our trip coordinator, who showed him future opportunities for ministry in the Jalapa church and its three mission churches. Included are: (1) a third pastor to help Filiberto and Marcos; (2) housing for the pastors at Los Laureles and Los Pinos; (3) purchase of land for church facilities in El Terero; (4) a fourth mission church in two poor mountain communities near Jalapa; and (5) a long-range plan to build and operate a Christian school within the downtown church complex. It is amazing and humbling to see the vision of these poor Christians, desiring to reach out to those less fortunate than themselves. Unfortunately, Four Friends International, with two clinics to support, does not have the resources to help them accomplish these worthy goals. Pray that other churches, organizations, and individuals will partner with the Jalapa church on an ongoing basis to help them carry out this vision.

Jeff and Gustavo, as promised, brought diapers to Veronica today, only to learn that she died last night. Her casket, a small pine box, was in the front room of the home. Next to it was a cardboard box with a slit in the top for donations for funeral expenses. Already today, the community and church are reaching out in love to her daughter. Tonight, an offering was collected for her among the volunteers. Please pray for this young girl, that God through His people will embrace her in the difficult days ahead.

There was a youth event at the downtown church tonight. Connor Reece, who has worked with the youth on past trips, had some games for them and then led them in a Bible study. Twenty-nine youth and youth leaders (below) attended the event. The night was topped off with pizza, soft drinks, and candy.

DAY 6 (Thursday): Chinese Food in Jalapa

The clinic at Los Pinos today was unusually slow, which gave the volunteers more time to spend with each patient and some extra fellowship time with their co-workers. In the afternoon, when the clinic was without patients, we decided to close a little early. Just at that moment, however, forty-five patients showed up within a ten-minute period, so we continued for another hour until everyone had been treated. This rapid influx of patients is common in Guatemala, especially in the afternoon when both lunch and school are over.

In keeping with a recent tradition, we treated the clinic and church staff tonight to a meal at a local restaurant. This year they chose Chinese cuisine, and we nervously agreed. Some of us Americans ate there, while others made their way to Domino’s Pizza later. The Guatemalans, all of them, really enjoyed the meal. Afterwards, they shared gracious parting words to us, as well as hugs, smiles, and tears. The bond between us is hard to put into words. Its source is the love of the living Christ, uniting us in spite of our geographical and cultural differences (and in spite of differing food preferences).

DAY 7 (Friday): Departure

It’s been a great week. 903 patients were treated, all receiving free medication. Hundreds of bonnets, knitted by ladies of Arab First Baptist Church were handed out to the very young and the elderly. (To say they were a hit is an understatement, as the picture above illustrates.) Old friendships were renewed and new ones made. In the past week we have been both encouraged and challenged, confident that the mission is working out God’s purpose but keenly aware of opportunities for service that lie ahead.

We’re all on planes now, somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico. Laura, Connor, Jeff, and Randy are headed back to Alabama, Sarah to California, Catherine to North Carolina. But, as always, a part of us remains in Jalapa, Guatemala and its surrounding mission communities. The Lord willing, we’ll return in October with another medical and church support team. Until then, continue to pray for these wonderful people and for the ministry of Four Friends International.

Four Friends International North Alabama Golf Classic

When? July 13, 2019, 8:00 am shotgun start

Where? Chesley Oaks Golf Course in Fairview, AL

Format? 4-man scramble

Cost? $500/team ($125/person)

Goal? to provide medical care at both clinics for the remainder of 2019 ($250/day for both; $125/day each)

Each $250 donation to Four Friends International provides a day of medical care at both Los Laureles and Los Pinos (i.e. $125/day each). This includes medications, clinic staff, and utilities. Our goal is to be able to provide care the entire year at both clinics six days each week. To date, we have received enough funds to continue care through July 11. Thank you for your gracious support of this ministry.