What a busy trip!
We certainly felt the prayers of everyone as we (the surgical team) flew in from different areas of the country and met in the Guatemalan airport and managing to find everyone! Especially when we had to get the remaining medical supplies through customs. They searched through each bag, checking all expiration dates, carefully inspecting the dental fluoride three times and insisting that we had medicine we didn’t have. Finally they let us and all the supplies through. After the five hour bus ride and a wonderful dinner we were all ready for bed to start the first day of surgeries/dentistry.
Sunday, we started the day with beautiful worship in English and Spanish, followed by a
sweet time of devotions and breakfast, of course. The hospital’s clinics were closed which allowed us to stretch out a bit. We had everything set up from the night before and were able to hit the ground running! In the dental clinic we were able to take a slower pace, seeing 38 patients, but able to spend more time with the patients and getting to know the team. What a blessing Erin is! Having a dentist that is fluent in Spanish is such a help and so very calming to the kids. The kids that were waiting were always entertained by coloring, hygiene teachings or wonderful kids’ worship songs led by Kelly and Bethany! The kids loved it!
Monday everyone was feeling the long day of travel and the start of the first of the late nights. But when we began our day at 6 am with worship led by Rudy, everyone present came alive, energized and filled anew by the Spirit. We enjoyed another wonderful time of devotions. It’s so amazing seeing everyone come together and talk about their struggles or even how the work here is moving them. The LORD is definitely at work in both team members and the people of Guatemala.
The dental clinic was hopping with 58 patients, some needing simple sealants, some needing fillings, some needing multiple extractions. Despite everyone being crammed into a small and very hot room, the day went smoothly! We even had a few new volunteers to try their hands at dental assisting! Despite everyone feeling the heat and tiredness from the day, we ended in song. It was such a great and rewarding day, I can’t wait to see what the LORD has for the rest of the week! – Dr. Sarah
