Medical Team 2011

This was a day of “lasts.”

We had our last clinic. Sadness! We have all enjoyed clinic immensely and I will definitely be missing it. I have learned so much from each day of seeing patients. From taking hundreds of blood pressures, to learning about meds, to pondering diagnoses, we very rarely had what could truly be called a down moment. I am so grateful for each and every one of these experiences.

We also had our last day in the jungle. Bitter-sweet. Honestly, eight days and seven nights of crazy heat, bug bites galore, and only ONE shower is not something that has me bouncing for joy. But I will put up with all of that any day to be able to spend time with the people out there. At the same time, I am saying this from the comfort of a soft bed after taking a hot shower and climbing into clean clothes. But seriously, God gives grace for whatever location to which He might call you.

Today was the last day of our team sanity…or wait maybe that was yesterday. Ummmmm. When the team starts saying things like “I have a whoops seat,” when they are trying to say that they have leg room, and when my leader hands me a lime and says that it still has plenty of tomato juice in it, that is the time to be slightly concerned. Maybe heading home was a good idea after all.

Tonight, as I lament all or our “lasts,” I am reminded of all of the “firsts” that we enjoyed on this trip. I need to remember to not be so sad that it is over, but instead be thankful that it ever happened. Awesome moments are now indelibly implanted as amazing memories.

Ruth, for the Global Encounters medical team

Looking over the rooftops of the little village where we held our last clinic

Nathan talking with patients waiting for their turn at the clinic and showing Bible stories in Ch'ol on his laptop.

We got stuck behind some Chiapas road construction... and we thought construction stops were long in the US!

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I think today was probably the most exciting twenty-four hour period of this trip so far! I can’t believe so much fit into such a short time. We began the day by leaving our post in Carranza for a short break from clinics to do some sightseeing and fun, but before we left, we got to see a partial pig slaughter (video coming soon).

Our first stop was at Misol-Ha, an amazing park with gorgeous falls. But the falls weren’t just pretty; they were so much fun! We jumped off a big rock and went sailing through the waterfall into the lake underneath. Talk about fun! Then there was also a little cave to explore and see a mini fountain and lake in the middle of the mountain. We then drove to Palenque for a lunch that was delicious; unfortunately, our portions were a bit too large and not even the guys could help clean the table. We then headed out to see another waterfall. On the way we got to see some beautiful scenery and beautiful birds like the yellow-bellied flycatcher. As we drove through one little village, the truck in front of us was full of Federalis who were tossing candy to all the little village kids. It was quite a site. The next waterfall was even prettier than Misol-Ha, but very cold. There was another missions team there from a church in Pennsylvania, and it was nice to meet fellow Christians.

We then spent the night at a jungle hotel near Xaxchilan so we could head out early for a day of more sightseeing. Oh yeah, and we saw a tarantula on the road to our hotel. Needless to say, after a day like that, we slept well that night.

Abby Rogers

The team: Abbie Auslund, Elizabeth Fox, Ruth Fox, Nathan Terrell, Abby Rogers, David Carnley, Grace Curry, Steven Curry

Misol Ha

Ruth jumping through the falls

Abby Rogers takes the plunge

Ruth, Abbie, and Abby at Las Golondrinas

Another view of Las Golondrinas

Steven and Nathan inspecting the tarantula

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The town in which we are staying for the next couple of days is where we ended up doing clinic today. It is a fairly large village with, in some ways, more conveniences then others. Carranza is located on a main road, has several pharmacies, and is dotted with little stories. But even in this place of what is to them prosperity there are still so many needs. Two cases from our clinic stand out in particular.

The first was a young man. He came in with what his family called a lump on his back. Not only was this “lump” on his back, it was also coming through in the front! Our doctor said that it is actually a tumor growing all the way through his body. How does a person live like that for so long? He is in need of surgery, and soon.

The second case was a little boy. He was born six years ago, a normal healthy baby. By they time that he was about two he started losing his vision. At three, he was totally blind! After going to a larger town to visit a doctor he was given antibiotic eye drops and told to go back home and wait. Our doctor examined him more closely and discovered that what the little boy most likely has is a tumor on his optic nerve. This is operable! In other word, this once hopelessly blind little boy could regain his sight! In fact, Nathan and Dr. Rivas are working with his family to get him to a children’s hospital in Villahermosa for an operation.

These are just a couple of reasons why we are down here. These people live day in and day out with so many problems. It is just life to them. They desperately need medical attention, and more than that they need spiritual attention. This is why medical missions.

Ruth, for the Global Encounters medical team

Ruth and Abby preparing meds for the day

Grace, are you sure you know what you're doing with those?

Taking blood pressure... we do this a lot

Consultation with Dr. Rivas currently in progress

Signing people in for the clinic

I'm not sure how much you can see of it, but this is the boy with the tumor protruding front and back.

Rashes like this, covering the entire body, are very common. Many of them are fungal and a simple anti-fungal med can alleviate so much pain and misery for these kids.

While most of the team was busy with clinics or installing water filters, Nathan set up a sound recording studio and worked on recording the voices for the Acts video in Ch'ol.

Walking the streets of Carranza

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We drove. And drove. And drove some more till we got to Palenque to pick up the doctor and his wife. And then we started driving again. And guess what? We drove. And drove some more. And drove over 156 topes (yes, we counted). And finally, after a five-hour trip, we arrived in Ch’ol. And then we set up camp. Oh and we got to install a filter. Fun stuff. We were all wiped out and ready for bed that night.

Abby Rogers

Spot where we stopped for lunch. People were getting a bit stir crazy.

Fox Sisters

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Tuesday, August 16th

Today was a nice break from the busy day at the orphanage yesterday. We all love the kids, and enjoyed every moment there; but practically a whole day watching at least 21 children, all under the age of 16, can be rather draining. So this morning was sleep-in morning and get packed morning. We began sorting our supplies and looking through things like amounts of food, clean blankets, clean pillows, paper towels, and most importantly toilet paper! Training in the use of a banana leaf is something that I am more than willing to put off a little longer. You really get a feeling for the true value of toilet paper when you are in the jungle.

Once everything was laid out for packing we began food prep for the week. Fresh clean water is a rare thing in the jungle, and any filtered water is used by the locals for drinking and teeth brushing, NOT for washing anything. So we washed and sterilized all our fresh vegetables and fruit before chopping and bagging them. Then we counted to make sure we had the correct amount of Ramen Noodle packets, and we were almost set! You get used to the same kinds of food in the jungle, that’s for sure! No, Grace Curry has been doing a fabulous job of making us good food within the parameters of limited cooking resources.

After we finished all the team packing we turned our attention to our personal packing. Flip flops, tennis shoes, breathable clothing, t-shirts, bug spray, bug spray, bug spray, deodorant, deodorant, deodorant, and did I mention deodorant? Oh ya, if you forget that, you might as well forget trying to live with yourself, or your team members. It can be pretty bad after a day of sweating outside and then an evening of sweating inside, and then another day of sweating outside, and you get it.

Pretty soon we were done, and it was time to prepare for Gabby’s 4th birthday party! She is the second of Nathan and Julie’s three precious girls, and as blonde haired and blue eyed as you could wish. Nathan and Julie invited a few international families that they knew in town, the Terrells (their parents), Yasmina (a language school teacher) and her family, and the Med Team. We set up tables, chairs, balloons, and a huge duck pinata in the back yard of the Terrell’s property. Ruth, Christi, and I deep fried some kind of special pinwheel pasta that puffed way up and turned into crunchy chips when it was done. The chips were amazing!! They were super crunchy and puffy and salty and delicious. I am determined to find that pasta in the States and make some for my family.

Gabby’s birthday party was very fun, with lots of new people to meet and talk to, lots of good snacks, and a pinata! The little girls went at if first with little effect, and so the little boys got a try. They didn’t do much better, so the big girls were passed the bat. Elizabeth took a turn, and we were all very amused to see one of our team leaders swinging a bat at a big paper duck. And then we began to imagine her swinging that bat at us if we misbehaved, and we decided it was someone else’s turn at target practice. Brittany was the one to give the fatal wallop, and the candy and toys soon disappeared into the kids baggies.

After the party we, as a team, went to downtown San Cristobal for a late dinner and fellowship. There was a really good taco place we were planning to go to, but it just happened to be closed today only. So we changed plans and went to a place called Salsa Verde, which was amazing! Your particular taco filling is delivered to you on a plate, and then you are given a huge stack of fresh made tortillas to make your meal complete. There was also a variety of salsas, some caramelized onions, lime slices, and chopped fresh cilantro to garnish the tacos. SO good!! Steven ordered us some lemonade, and also a sort of iced tea made from hibiscus flowers. The tea was called jamaica (pronounced Ham-Ica) and was pretty good! I mixed it with lemonade and a slice of lime, and then it was really good!

During dinner we talked about what the upcoming week was hopefully going to look like, and did a check on how everyone was doing. We also had a couple of little kids come by and try to sell us things. We were sitting close to the front of the restaurant, which is in a central part of the downtown shopping area, and they could see us from the street. It is so sad that these little children, some as young as 7 or 8, are working for their parents in the streets, and probably not getting as much school as other children (if any school at all).

Once back to the Terrell’s home we had a short devotional with team leader Steven, and then made our way through our last shower, for a while at least, and then to bed. Getting up early tomorrow to head to the jungle for more clinics!

Abbie Auslund, for the Global Encounters medical team

The strange paste wheels

The pinata!

Elizabeth gets ready to attack the pinata

Get the candy!

Gabby opening her presents

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Today we headed off to the orphanage in Teopisca to take care of the kids so that the orphanage director and his wife could have a day off. They currently don’t have anyone to watch the kids to allow them to go out with each other. They have around 20 children of varying ages between 2 to 14. We got there around 10 and didn’t leave till 5:30. We were able to just hang out and play with all the precious little orphans for the entire day. David and I played more than our fair share of futbol (soccer). The girls painted some of the children’s faces, made them lunch and played various games with them. We taught them about how God is the Creator through a lesson on the 6 days of creation, songs, a craft and the story of Jonah.

It was a long precious day allowing the director and his wife to have a well deserved day of by watching the children. We left there feeling tired but glad to have had the opportunity to be with the kids for the entire day.

Steven, for the Global Encounters medical team

Ruth playing on the trampoline with the kids

Tracing the kids' feet for some new shoes

Abbie and Grace teaching a lesson

The kids liked our prop box!

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For church, this morning, we drove out about an hour to an orphanage a couple of towns over. A couple and their three kids run an orphanage of about 20 children. They have a small church service there every Sunday. There was a time of preaching, which allowed all of us to get in more Spanish practice, but my favorite part was when all of the orphans got up and sang. Hearing twenty little voices, all with tragic and sad backgrounds, lifted up to praise God, was truly a treat.

After the service, we played around with the kids till lunch time. We bounced them on their trampoline, played soccer, taught “pato, pato, gonzo” (duck, duck, goose), and in general just laughed and had a good time with them. Those kids soak up love and attention like sponges. It was hard to leave them, but we are going back there tomorrow to play with them again, so it wasn’t too bad!

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening cleaning up last week’s jungle gear and planing out next week’s jungle supplies. We also just had some time to spend together as a team and regroup for next week’s new challenges and demands.

Several of us were talking about the fact that we have only been down here for ONE WEEK! That seems so strange, considering all that has been accomplished over the last seven days. But when we serve such an amazing God, ANYTHING is possible. I am greatly looking forward to all that God has in store for us for the next week.

Ruth Fox, for the Global Encounters medical team

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Today we packed up everything and prepared to head back to San Cristobal after our four days in the Tojolobal area. We split into two teams with all the girls, Stephen, and Grace in one team and the other team of Nathan, David, Dr. Rivas and his wife, and Eunice.

While Nathan’s team headed straight to San Cris, the other team took a small detour to see the falls at Chiflon and swim there. After four days in the jungle without a shower, the water felt amazing despite the cold. We then climbed all the way up the stairs to see the top of the waterfall. To see that much water coming down with that much force was a reminder to me of how powerful our God is. By the time we reached the last platform, we were pretty much soaked from all the spray.

We then went back to San Cris and made it in time for dinner. Julie Terrell knew exactly what a team coming out of the jungle needed: salad. Although I miss the gorgeous Tojolobal area, it is nice to be back.

Abby Rogers, for the Global Encounters medical team

The waterfalls at Chiflon

Going for a swim

The team girls. Thanks for taking the picture, Steven.

More of the waterfall scenery

Strange jungle fruit

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This morning we drove about 45 minutes to a village way out in the mountains. They have very little access to medical help. Ruth started taking down names for the clinic before we even made it to our clinic location (which turned out to be a small wooden shed). Total number of patients seen for the day was somewhere around 100.

While Dr. Rivas and the team saw patients, Nathan and Steven installed water filters and I kept busy as the “receptionist” for the medical clinic. This is sooo different than running front office for a surgeon in CA! To understand this one, first get rid of all computers, desks, and most of the equipment. Replace scrupulously clean offices with a dirt floor, a table, and a couple of chairs in a shed. Replace English with Spanish and Tojolobal. Add in hot sun (and a tan or sunburn) for part of the day and pouring rain for the other half (that includes rain coming inside the shed). Imagine the pharmacy packed in two coolers, a dog under the table, and people in traditional Indian garb waiting to see the doctor and you might have a pretty good picture of the scene. Oh… and biting ants. That was the part I didn’t like. The rest of it was great.

The sad part of the day, for me, was visiting an old, old man at his house. He was too old and sick to make it to the clinic, so Nathan and I went and visited him at his house to see if there was anything we could do for him. He’s was so frail that medication probably would have done more harm than good, especially since most of his complaints were the irreversible effects of a long life of hard work. He was blind and mostly deaf, and hardly spoke any Spanish anyway. What broke my heart, though, was seeing the Catholic shrine in the corner and realizing that he probably didn’t know the Savior. This man will be in eternity soon and, between physical inabilities and language barriers, there was no way I could communicate the Gospel to him. It was so sad… but at the same time it increased my desire to share the Gospel with those who CAN hear and CAN understand… before it’s too late for them.

- Elizabeth, for the medical team

Getting the clinic started by taking down names

Nathan and David explaining and demonstrating the water filters

So when the sun gets really intense you hand the umbrella to the patient and have them hold it over you while you take blood pressure, etc. It works!

Abbie taking the blood pressure of one of our younger patients

Here's the pharmacy in a cooler plus dirt floor plus dog under the table version of a medical clinic.

Waiting in line for a turn with the doctor

Chicken pox? At first we all thought this little guy had the chicken pox until his mom said he'd had the rash for two months. Poor little guy! He was so miserable.

Abby Rogers taking blood pressure

Steven the mighty umbrella holder... actually, for not being medical, Steven has been a huge help. We couldn't do this without Steven, Grace, and Nathan.

A very small portion of our patient list for the day

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Today the team went to a neighboring town (pueblito) called Palma Real. We held another clinic in their local church building which was a concrete structure with a tin roof and dirt floor. Today, unlike yesterday, we had quite a few people come for a consult with Dr. Gerardo Rivas.

Ruth, David, Grace and the “Two Abbys” were able to see some interesting cases that some people had. One person had a hole in their heart that caused blood to leak into the opposing chamber causing poor circulation throughout the whole body. This particular woman was a bluish color due to her poor circulation in her body. Another very interesting case you just don’t see every day was a woman who had leprosy! So we laid hands on her and prayed…..Gotcha! Ok we didn’t lay hands on her and pray but the doctor was able to identify the problem and let her know the proper course of action she needed to take. In all we had about 85 people come for a check up with the doctor and we were able to distribute the appropriate medicine to the people who needed it.

Not being a medical professional or student, I went about installing water filters in the town to help the people with their health. Being the first day in that town we were able to install about 5 systems which is pretty good for just showing up and people jumping on the opportunity.

The most interesting thing for me was being able to talk to some Christian brothers and sisters at a house after installing our last filter. The pastor of the church told us the history of the Tojolabal Christians in his area. He himself was kicked out of a town called Justo Sierra some years back for converting. He didn’t give up on his town though and would return to the town to evangelize. Over all there came to be about 40 families that became Christians in that time. However, afterwards the people in town became very upset with what was happening and with the starting of a church there. The Christians were told that they couldn’t have church meetings and physical persecution ensued to the extent that the Christians in town were very afraid to have open church services. At one point the authorities in town corralled the Christians into a basketball court and one by one dragged them out and beat them till as the pastor said “blood ran on the concrete.”

In time God showed them His mercy and protection and delivered them. Many eventually moved and started another town not far away and are much more prosperous than they were before. Now even Justo Sierra has a established church and the people don’t walk in fear but openly share their love for the Savior. There are still a lot of people who are closed to the Gospel, but God is blessing the believers of the town of Palma Real.

It was encouraging for me, Ruth and Abby Rogers as we heard first hand from people who were persecuted for their faith. I could say many more details but this blog post is long enough as it is. Remember to pray for the persecuted church not only in the indigenous parts of Mexico but for all our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are in peril every day for their faith.

For the Global Encounters 2011 Medical Team,
Steven Curry

The team listens as Dr. Rivas works with a patient and Grace translates

A family for whom we installed a water filter (with the filter in the background)

Our host, Nathan Terrell, and one of our main contacts in the Tojolobal area

So... life in the jungle is interesting. This is the dishwashing party.

This should give you an idea of the beautiful area where we are working.

And the sunset that finished off another day of medical clinics in Chiapas

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