Jungle Trip - Post 1

Sorry if it's been a few days since we last posted, but we have a good excuse. Saturday and Sunday were our normal clinic days in Canilla and San Andres. Monday and Tuesday we were in San Pedro Somethingorother (I don't think gringos can actually say the word). It's a village of about 250 people in the northern end of the department of Quiche (an area called Zona Reyna). Other than by foot, there really isn't any way in or out of this area with any reliability at all (the people in the village only know of one person who even owns a vehicle).

We took five planeloads of equipment and medical people in. Clinicians included Heidi, Leslie, Katie, and Hannah Ficker, Beth (our Family Practice resident) and Charlie (our new 4th year medical student). Along to handle logistics and other issues were Duane, Matt, and Bev. Preaching and ministering were Armando and Tomas and for pure entertainment value was Isaac. (Isaac was SUCH a good baby all day on Monday!!!!)

There were lots of stories, but we'll try to tell most with pictures. The first pic is of Aaron, David, Matt, and Duane fueling the plane for the first trip. The second is from the air on the way out (it's only a 15 minute flight, but it's to an area with no roads, water, or electricity). The third is Armando (just to the left of Duane - the only gringo) preaching to the crowd. Fourth is a picture of our clinic building (and housing) - a brand new building in town. You can see in the background that this village lies in a valley between two long mountains. The only way out for the people is on foot over one of these mountains and back down to another little village. It's a full day's walk over grueling terrain on narrow muddy trails that even a four-wheeler can't get through.

And the last pic is what passes for a road around there. At least this section is relatively flat and wide (enough so that the photographer felt comfortable standing in one place long enough to snap a picture!)