Here I am, Send Me.

This is my new friend Becca, she is here as a translator. Remember how back at the beginning I was lamenting about not having friends here? Well, God has surely answered that prayer. I have lots of friends, and Becca is definitely a Kindred Spirit. 

What a week. we sure had fun in the clinic this week. Not least of which means that Becca and I have the same sense of humor, and use it accordingly.

We took a day to do the girl's health talk at Mocohan. We had about 20 girls from 9-13 years old. They were split up a bit according to age, which helped us to tailor the talk to their respective maturity levels.
The kids seemed interested, the older kids more so than the younger. (The boys were playing soccer outside the window, which was a little distracting to them.). We brought in our old friend Birtha, who we renamed Beatriz la Matriz, which is "Uterus" in Spanish, and added her new friend Mama Pecho (a breast). It was quite hilarious to hear the girls talking about Beatriz on their way out.

We addressed the issue of puberty. Unfortunately, it happens to us all, and we must deal with it. (Oh Eve...).

Many people here have no idea what happens during this period. They don't know that their bodies will change, and that it is normal to have menses. When it happens, they think they are dying. Many of the parents don't know much about their bodies either, which is why we have been giving them health talks as well.

The ministry is going to be packing my last week here with many more of these health talks. We will be doing the same one in almost all the schools. It is going to be crazy fun!

This past week we had a few days of clinic with a very small team from Canada. Half the team went to do a work project, and a doctor (Christy's Dad!), a pharmacist, and a med student came to help in the clinic.
I spent my time in the pharmacy with Isaias and Elvin.

Elvin and Cesar are eating lunch while waiting for Isaias to show.

Isaias brought his son along too, and we attempted to "train up a child in the way he should go" - converting him to a love of all things medicinal. It wasn't too hard, he thought it was the greatest thing in the world to count out the number of meds needed for a prescription.

This little Chica desperately wanted to help in the clinic, so she came and watched us for a while.

Since I wasn't in on the consults with the doc, I didn't get to hear many stories, but from what I heard, we had a lady with newly diagnosed cancer who was not doing well at all. The doctor put her in for a referral to an oncologist, but did not sound very hopeful.

We also heard from the woman we visited last week who was supposed to go to the hospital to give birth. She did go to the hospital but there were complications and she was sent to Guatemala City, where the baby was delivered safely. We are planning on following up with her this coming week.

Right now I am sitting, looking out the window with coffee in hand, feeling sad that my time is drawing to an end.
Guatemala has become home to me. It has reached in and hooked my soul.
I know I'll be back.
I also know that there are many things to look forward to this summer at home in the States. I will enjoy my time here while I can, and when God tells me it's time, I hope I'll have ears to hear where he wants me next.

 Isaiah 6:8, "And I heard the voice of the Lord calling, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am, send me.'"