Back in Guatemala Again This Week!

So yesterday we left the house at 3:30 a.m. and arrived at our hotel in Chichicastenango around 7 p.m. or so-- talk about a long travel day! But we do it every three months so I'm not sure why I'm always so surprised...

Anyway, "we" is me, Micah (now four months old), and my mother-in-law Mary Jean Bell, who is just sweet and crazy enough to come down here with me mostly to help out with Micah. I am so grateful for the company-- not to mention the help! What a blessing.

This morning we got up after variable amounts of sleep (Micah and I actually did much better than Mom... she's not nearly as used to the noise around here as I am!), hit the market for a little while, then went to Church where Pastor Don preached another one of his really good messages. Seeing so many old and new friends up at the Church here is one of my favorite parts of the whole week. I can't believe how blessed I have been to know so many amazing people who have dedicated so much of their lives to serving our Lord.

After Church, we grabbed a quick PB and J here at the hotel and then I was off to the races in clinic! I never have any idea what to expect there-- sometimes we've worked until after 9:00 p.m. seeing patients. Today there were only 14 or 15 that signed up, and I totally "struck out" with scheduling surgeries (only scheduled 2). I really got to see quite a few patients that simply needed reassurance that they did NOT need surgeries that had been recommended. These women were by far the happiest of the day as they left with a weight seemingly lifted from their shoulders.

A few other patients I was actually able to diagnose and help with creams or other medicines or just advice or education. So it was really a great clinic day although the patient-to-scheduled-surgery ratio was a little higher than most surgeons like it!

Please pray for our patients scheduled for tomorrow-- Elvia and Valbina. Also feel free to thank God for making it through customs once again without any hassles! I was able to bring in quite a few (like, at least 20) laparoscopic instruments for Tom to use-- they X-rayed all of our bags but didn't seem to have a problem with anything.

Here's some random shots from travel and our day today... just to add a little color to this post! Will try to keep you updated tomorrow. Thank you all again for reading and praying with us.