GuatemalaMedicalTeam2207
Nutrition & Hygiene Station
After registering and receiving their Christ bracelets, 2-10
patients were gathered in a group and taught the following while waiting to see
the doctor: that when we have Jesus as
their Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in them.
We want to take care of our bodies, since we are His temple and so we
can serve our families and the LORD for a long time.
Jesus said, “…the saying, ‘One sows and another reaps’ is
true” (John 4:37). We came, planted seeds of the gospel and medical care
through this mission trip. Learning about healthy food and hygiene are vital to
caring for our physical bodies so we can carry out His purposes through us.
Food is a big deal in Guatemala as it is in every country.
The staples of black beans and corn tortillas are supplemented with eggs, some
chicken, seasonal local vegetables, avocado and local as well as imported
fruits (like oranges). The ancient diet
of beans and corn provides complete protein, since beans are lacking in the amino
acid methionine that is provided by cereal grains such as corn, rice, and
wheat. Corn lacks lysine and tryptophan,
which beans have. One doesn’t need to
eat these complimentary proteins at the same time, like we used to believe.
On mission trips to Central America, we always see quite a few
patients with diabetes - mainly type 2 - but we saw two with type 1, including
a young man requiring insulin instead of the oral medication he was taking. The
diet is very heavy in carbs. The usual
tortilla intake is 4-8 tortillas with each meal. Learning to eat fewer tortillas and more low
carbohydrate vegetables can be a challenge, especially financially for
many. There are also high sugar
beverages such as horchata, Koolaid-like fruit-flavored drinks, soda and large
amounts of sugar added to coffee.
As with children in the U.S., Guatemalan children are
tempted to eat candy as snacks and then aren’t hungry for meals, resulting in
poor growth and cavities. Some of the
children also drink sweetened coffee from a young age, so moms need to be
reminded to avoid this practice, especially from a baby bottle. Breast-feeding is the norm, but children may
continue drinking from a bottle past the recommended age of one. We had one mother who mentioned her five-year
old was still taking a bottle! Drinking only
from a cup after age one was new information for her, and she was grateful for
this advice.
Because there is little nutrition education, basic concepts like
what foods contain protein are taught when they come to clinic. It is also important to dispel myths such as
that toasting tortillas lowers the carbohydrate. Having a wonderful interpreter who can
translate our explanations into words that fit their culture is indispensable.
Though their physical health and nutrition concern us, our chief
purpose is to show Christ’s love when sharing information and care. We encouraged believers in their faith and
planted seeds that may yield a harvest we won’t see in this life. As the apostle Paul stated in I Cor. 3:6, “I
planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” They may not remember everything we taught
but will remember that God inspired helpers from thousands of miles away to
come and be Jesus’s hands and feet.
Making tortillas in the new kitchen
Our welcoming committee
A lunchtime discussion
In the pharmacy
Our host with five translators
Nutrition & Hygiene Station
After registering and receiving their Christ bracelets, 2-10 patients were gathered in a group and taught the following while waiting to see the doctor: that when we have Jesus as their Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in them. We want to take care of our bodies, since we are His temple and so we can serve our families and the LORD for a long time.
Jesus said, “…the saying, ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true” (John 4:37). We came, planted seeds of the gospel and medical care through this mission trip. Learning about healthy food and hygiene are vital to caring for our physical bodies so we can carry out His purposes through us.
Food is a big deal in Guatemala as it is in every country. The staples of black beans and corn tortillas are supplemented with eggs, some chicken, seasonal local vegetables, avocado and local as well as imported fruits (like oranges). The ancient diet of beans and corn provides complete protein, since beans are lacking in the amino acid methionine that is provided by cereal grains such as corn, rice, and wheat. Corn lacks lysine and tryptophan, which beans have. One doesn’t need to eat these complimentary proteins at the same time, like we used to believe.
On mission trips to Central America, we always see quite a few patients with diabetes - mainly type 2 - but we saw two with type 1, including a young man requiring insulin instead of the oral medication he was taking. The diet is very heavy in carbs. The usual tortilla intake is 4-8 tortillas with each meal. Learning to eat fewer tortillas and more low carbohydrate vegetables can be a challenge, especially financially for many. There are also high sugar beverages such as horchata, Koolaid-like fruit-flavored drinks, soda and large amounts of sugar added to coffee.
As with children in the U.S., Guatemalan children are tempted to eat candy as snacks and then aren’t hungry for meals, resulting in poor growth and cavities. Some of the children also drink sweetened coffee from a young age, so moms need to be reminded to avoid this practice, especially from a baby bottle. Breast-feeding is the norm, but children may continue drinking from a bottle past the recommended age of one. We had one mother who mentioned her five-year old was still taking a bottle! Drinking only from a cup after age one was new information for her, and she was grateful for this advice.
Because there is little nutrition education, basic concepts like what foods contain protein are taught when they come to clinic. It is also important to dispel myths such as that toasting tortillas lowers the carbohydrate. Having a wonderful interpreter who can translate our explanations into words that fit their culture is indispensable.
Though their physical health and nutrition concern us, our chief purpose is to show Christ’s love when sharing information and care. We encouraged believers in their faith and planted seeds that may yield a harvest we won’t see in this life. As the apostle Paul stated in I Cor. 3:6, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” They may not remember everything we taught but will remember that God inspired helpers from thousands of miles away to come and be Jesus’s hands and feet.
Our host with five translators
Our treatment team
Nutrition education in the chapel
DAY 5 June 11 2022
Day of Saving
We’ve always been told quality over quantity and today was exactly that. We had a total of 31 patients with 31 hearts that touched our spirits. Today was an important day for some of those individuals who came to seek treatment. As a team there is nothing short of going to pick up a patient and bringing them to the clinic, or even going to buy insulin for an individual whose life depended on it. For us, it was something that we didn’t even think twice about. And just like Jesus dying on the cross, he didn’t think twice about it.
Affording and coming upon insulin is not selective to the U.S. This has been an issue for some time and for some individuals it is their lifeline. We had a patient today who, after we ran all of our tests available, we found to be in desperate need of insulin. Not being able to afford it, they* didn’t know what they were going to do. Selflessly, as a team a decision was made to not only offer this insulin to a patient but to go and get it for them and deliver it in hopes of helping them. God acts selflessly for us in many ways, and this was one way we could act as He did.
Have you ever refused to believe a diagnosis or that something actually happened? Many patients become in denial with a new diagnoses or education that could benefit them. There was a patient who was in denial of their diagnosis and shook off our education and instruction; but their spouse was next to them the whole time listening intently and stating “yes, we are going to do this”. This patients spouse was ready to do anything to help promote a healthier life style for themselves. Like many times, we are in denial that how could God possibly love us after things we have done in our life. But like this patients spouse, He is always by our side, guiding us on the way.
There is something so sweet and innocent about children who find comfort in your presence. Today we had a young child who found joy in being in the presence of so many people willing to take care of them and play with them. Granted, they probably had no idea what was going on and why they were at a medical clinic, but they found the joy in being there. (They even gave hugs to several team members) This child can remind us that we are God’s children, and we can find peace In His presence now and forever.
Some didn’t need to be given medicine but they needed to be heard. Sitting down without being in a rush and listening to someone’s story on what is going on in their lives is a treatment on its own. When we sit to pray, we are in no rush and that can be therapy enough.
*Neutral pronouns used here to protect the patient’s identity.
DAY 4 June 10, 2022
This is day three of our clinic. We have had patients come through who have diabetes, though they hadn’t been previously diagnosed; a young-ish woman with severe rheumatoid arthritis; a woman injured in a motorcycle accident. People don’t complain; they are grateful for any help we can give them. When we know patients will have a difficult time getting home (after spending much time traveling to the clinic), we make an effort to send them home in our team van. And as always, prayer is always a part of our healing efforts.
Lunch is a convivial time for the team. The translators, church staff and the team always break together for a delicious lunch prepared by “the church ladies,” for a short discussion of any changes to clinic procedures that should be made, and to learn a new hymn in Spanish. Today we sang “How Great Thou Art,” which is “Senor mi Dios”
Our Daily Bread
We are well fed! Our breakfasts and dinners are prepared for us at the Mission House. We eat our lunches at the church, prepared by the women of the church who are knowledgeable about our diet needs to help us stay healthy. We actually are better fed than most of the people of this community. The staples of the diet here (in this rural area and the town) are tortillas three times per day, black beans, rice, fruit and some vegetables. The protein consumption of subsistence farming community is low, consisting of eggs, some cheese, and occasionally chicken.
Until recently, the church kitchen was a traditional kitchen that one would find in the home of a farm family in Santiago Zamora: a brick or baked-mud wood-burning stove with a griddle (comal) to cook tortillas and with a couple of openings to accommodate pots for soup, rice and beans. The church kitchen did not have adequate ventilation for the smoke from the stove. It was aggravating the cooks’ eyes and respiratory systems. This year, the old kitchen was demolished and replaced with a “modern” brick stove designed to heat better with less firewood than the old one. The prep room next to the kitchen now has electricity to power a blender and refrigerator. We’ve heard that the women who used the kitchen practically cried as the old kitchen was torn down. Change is hard for us all!
DAY 3 June 9, 2022
The Team, in front of the trilingual Welcome sign
About the church, Iglesia Redentor del Mundo: This church was founded in 1986 and is the location of a K-6 Lutheran school, currently with 49 students and 7 teachers. Most of the families in this community and in the church, are subsistence farmers. They grow their own corn and beans; and they grow cash crops of coffee, peanuts, sweet potatoes and more.
Pastor Edmundo Auger was the original founder in 1985 of Lutheran Bible studies in this community. The church and then the school grew out of those studies. The public school in Santiago Zamora in those days was limited. The Lutheran church began a preschool and Bible studies, health & hygiene assistance, and a feeding program for the children in the community.
In 1989, the church opened the first trilingual school in the Department of Sacatepéquez, offering instruction in Cakchiquel, the local Maya language, and English, in addition to Spanish. After beginning with Kindergarten and grades 1-6, Jr. High grades were added in 1993, but had to close twenty years later because of funding challenges.
Now the church is working to update the physical plant to modern standards, with funding help from “LeadaChild” and other Lutheran congregations. New classrooms, bathrooms, and a school kitchen have been remodeled. With the Covid shutdown, teachers visited all the students regularly to give math, reading, and Bible studies. Pastor Steven Massey has been the church pastor for three years and says the church families and teachers are happy to see these improvements.
The plan for the future is to complete all seven classrooms
needed for the elementary school. After that, there are plans to build more
classrooms on the second floor of the school.
DAY 2 June 8, 2022
The Mission House is a short fifteen-min drive from the location of our clinic in Redentor del Mundo (Redeemer of the World) Lutheran Church, Santiago Zamora. Today is Day One of our clinic: we need time to organize the layout: registration; triage & treatment; nutrition education; pharmacy; and opportunity to sit with Pastor Massey to receive the message of the Gospel. We also assign our translators to the various staging points of the clinic. Today’s traffic through the clinic is light, on purpose, to help us get our rhythm. Today is because it is limited to church members & families. Tomorrow, ads on Facebook and other media should drive a larger group of patients.
DAY 1 June 7, 2022
The Dallas/Ft Worth airport, shortly before our plane departs for Guatemala.
On arrival, a two-hour van trip to the Mission House in Ciudad Vieja, Guatemala, at the end of a long day. Our meals and overnight accommodations are in a beautiful setting, at the base of three volcanoes, of which one is active. When not sleeping, eating, or showering, we fill bags with OTC medications to hand out as needed by Guatemalans who attend our clinic.
Our Mission Location: the church at Santiago Zamora
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