FOUR FRIENDS CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC
This large advertisement was parked just outside the clubhouse, reminding the participants that a portion of their gifts will be used to fund the Four Wheels Clinic, our mobile unit in Guatemala. If you look close enough, you can see that the van was equipped with the Cardboard Driver Package.
Ted Green was among the volunteers who worked the course that day. He was omnipresent, making sure the golfers had refreshments and cold drinks.
At the end of 18 holes of competitive golf, prizes were awarded to teams and individuals for their stellar play. Above, Ron Hunt steps forward to thunderous applause to accept his gift.
AUGUST MISSION TRIP TO JALAPA
On August 15, four volunteers left Birmingham and traveled to Jalapa, Guatemala for a few days of medical missions and church support. This was the trip that was rescheduled from May, when labor protests forced a postponement. Below are Randy Poe (left) and Ben Hale (right), two ministers from Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, who were part of the team. If all goes as planned, this Birmingham church will send a medical team to Jalapa in 2023. In the middle is Gustavo, who has been our trip coordinator for over a decade.
On Thursday night, our last day in Jalapa, we treated the clinic and church staffs to a dinner at a local restaurant. Below is the group photo. I wish I had an hour or two to tell you about these individuals and their tireless work for Christ. Suffice it to say, they are faithfully carrying on the ministry of Four Friends International and the work of the church every week of the year, not just during our visits with them.
At that dinner, they presented Four Friends International with a plaque, commemorating seven years of medical ministry at the clinic in Los Laureles. In August 2015 the first patient was treated there. Since then, over 45,000 patient visits have occurred, each person receiving free care and medications in the name of Jesus Christ. Below, Nurse Lilian, who has served at the Los Laureles clinic since its inception, presents the plaque to Four Friends International.
During the week, we visited all three mountain communities that are served each week by the Four Wheels Clinic. The leaders of the the community of El Chorro allowed us to use the local school as the clinic. Below, Mynor and Patti are registering patients who have come to be treated.
Our translators and their families have become dear friends over the past 11 years. Their service is invaluable, and they handle it with such patience and grace. One of our regular translators is Amalia, who lives across the street from the church in downtown Jalapa. Below is a picture of Amalia's daughter.
At the mountain community of El Divisidero, we used the community center (in the background) as our clinic site. To the right of this picture is a middle school. Below, students are doing group exercises during recess.
The children are adorable! Below is a beautiful girl at one of the clinics. She's wearing a hand-woven bonnet, thanks to Nora Smith and the ladies at Arab First Baptist Church.
This young boy (with cheeks like a man) was brought to the mountain clinic at El Divisidero. There are so many children in these areas, and we hope to conduct a VBS for them next year during one of our trips.
Laguna del Pito is the third mountain community served by the Four Wheels Clinic. This is the line of patients that awaited us as we arrived. The lady in the foreground was patient #176. She waited patiently for over three hours to be treated.
Below are the medications for the mountain communities. They are purchased monthly and stored on shelves at the Los Laureles clinic. $1000 is allotted each month to restock these medications for the Four Wheels Clinic.
Four nurses serve each week at the clinics. You've already met Lilian, who works at Los Laureles and lives in the apartment at the rear of the clinic. Working and residing at the Los Pinos clinic is Imelda (foreground), our newest addition to the nursing staff. Cleydi (background) alternates between the two clinics. Vanessa (not pictured) is the nurse for the Four Wheels Clinic.
These twin boys also came to the clinics to receive vitamins and parasite medications.
This mother, who lives two hours away, brought her young boy to Laguna del Pito. He has a serious heart defect, and she has been told by physicians in Guatemala City that he has only a year to live. She is providing us with records so that we can obtain a second opinion regarding his prognosis and treatment. Please pray for him and his family.
Here is a close-up of the plaque that was given to Four Friends International by the Guatemalans.
Another look at the large number of patients waiting at Laguna del Pito. To the left in the foreground is Pablo, who serves as the driver of the Four Wheels van and as nighttime security guard at the Los Laureles clinic.
Between Jeff Fowler and me are Tony, our driver for the week, and Amalia, one of our translators. Both of them have vibrant, magnetic personalities and warm and caring spirits.
ODDS AND ENDS
1. The next trip to Guatemala will occur during January or February of 2023. Hopefully, we will be able to take a team of volunteers again. Details will be forthcoming.
2. Thanks to a very generous gift designated for this purpose, the Four Wheels Clinic has been funded for another year. The residents and leaders of the mountain communities were so very pleased when they heard this good news.
3. We revisited the city dump last month. Our Operation Amalia Project continues to provide diapers and supplies to babies whose mothers live and/or work at the dump. Twenty babies receive these infant supplies on a regular basis.
4. As of today, Four Friends International has received sufficient funds to operate the clinics at Los Laureles and Los Pinos as well as Operation Amalia through January 2023 and the Four Wheels Clinic through December 2023. Thank you so much for your faithful contributions to this ministry!
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