Chiquimula-September 4-10

Along the Way

This week we are in Chiquimula with a group from Hirsche Smiles. Most of them are from Colorado, one from Texas, a few from Utah, and one from Tempe, Arizona. Lee and Peggy Olson, their son-in-law, Wes, and Ken Allen came to the Tio Juan Clinic on Friday to work on Future Missionaries from Quetzaltenango. They started in the morning and we finally left the clinic at about 3:00 in the afternoon. Lee and Peggy came last April with Rich and Lee Ann Call and and worked in the clinic for a day before they went to Chiquimula to work in the villages. The Tomkinson's went with them to Chiquimula and left us to work in the clinic. So this year, we are here with them and the Toblers are in the clinic while we are gone.

Paul was happy on the road to have his wheat thins his sons brought him. They cost about $8 if you buy them here.

We are staying at the Benson Institute with the Olsons and the rest of the crew are staying at a local hotel. It is very hot here but our rooms have air conditioners.

Paul at the Benson institute setting up an
appointment with a future missionary

We stocked up at the local Wal Mart (Piaz-here) and so we have breakfast (cereal and juice) and we will make sandwiches for our lunches to take to the villages and someone brings us a cooked meal at 7 in the evening. Last night it was chicken noodle casserole, salad and rolls and banana cake and very good. I was on the first kitchen crew and we washed the serving dishes in a huge outdoor space probably built for washing clothes and the water we used was rain water collected in a pool by the sinks. We used laundry detergent for soap--very interesting. We hope the ladies who cook our food wash the dishes again before they bring our next meal in them. Hopefully I will remember to take some pictures this afternoon. More later . . .

Sunday we went to church in Chiquimula. It was fast Sunday and I was able to understand quite a bit of the testimonies. We spent the afternoon at the Chiquimula hospital pulling teeth.
Paul helping a little girl use the saliva sack

We thought this room with the records all stacked up in was interesting.
There were two rooms like this with records piled high on every counter.

We wondered how long it would take to find someone's record.

Monday we drove up and up long , narrow, steep rocky roads to get to a village. Our clinic was set up in a school. It had been raining and I slipped in the mud trying to carry stuff to our clinic. Great beginning and quite typical for me. As my kids know I am very good at falling. The electricity was out and we didn't bring a generator so we pulled teeth most of the day. They finally brought us a generator but didn't bring any gas. Finally at the end of the day, we were able to do a few fillings. When we break for lunch, I actually eat two peanut butter sandwiches, chips and cookies because I am so hungry. Not my usual half a sandwich. I am wondering what I will weigh when I get home. We had some kind of enchiladas in fresh tortillas tonight and chocolate cake and it was all quite tasty.
Tuesday we drove to another village high up in the mountains and we drove through the road in the ruts. There were definitely more ruts than road. It was another beautiful drive.

The men all liked to ride in the back of the pick-ups

The scenery is spectacular. It began to rain in the late afternoon and we were going to quit early because there have been a lot of mudslides in this area and it can get quite dangerous. However, after about 20 minutes, the rain stopped and the sun came out so we were able to finish. We usually get back down to Chiquimula at about 5:30. We split up into two groups with 3 dentists in each group and we always get back before the other group. I would feel a little guilty except that there are usually no more patients by the time we finish. Each day we come with a couple of bags with toothbrushes, blankets, and stuffed animals to give away. We have to try to figure out which of the women have babies.

Everyone likes to watch what is going on in the clinic
through the windows . . .

Even the men


There were a lot of cowboy hats in this village.
(dinner tonight-mashed potatoes, yummy warm grated carrot salad (which I didn't eat) and some kind of steak and some layered jello)

Wednesday we drove up an even steeper and narrower road which I wouldn't have thought possible. The road was mostly made of rocks. We climbed to pine trees and then further up to banana trees and tropical greenery. They have had more rain this year than they have had since 1949. Everything is very green. As we drove toward the village we kept seeing truckload after truckload coming down and we were sure they were fleeing the dental visit.

We found out it was kind of a holiday where the families go down to the city for a handout from the government of money and fertilizer.

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When we got to our destination, another school, there weren't very many people. It was slow but steady all day.

All the pots in this area were blue striped
This is a common sight

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Cute brother and sister with new toy

and family with a new toy and blanket for their baby

We were very blessed that the rains always came at night instead of the afternoon which made our drive back to Chiquimula much safer. That night we ate beans and hot dogs over baked potatoes and several of us didn't feel very well that night and the next day. It would have been a good meal to pass up. We were going to come back Thursday morning, but when Paul found out they were going to Esquipula to work in an orphanage, he decided we would go work with them until noon when we would have to start back to get to Guatemala City before dark. He has always wanted to see Esquipula.

Parade down the street of Esquipula

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Esquipula has a famous cathedral which is very beautiful.
In it, there is a statue of Christ carved out of dark wood and is known as the Black Christ.

The orphanage was very nice and very well-kept and clean.

The children were delightful.

More rocks than road.

We worked until noon and then went through the cathedral before driving back to Guatemala city through Chiquimula for a McDonald's hamburger. I studied most of the way home. We were very tired when we arrived home. I was very glad I made a few meals before we left and had enchiladas to warm up.
Friday morning we had an early morning appointment with Elder Martino and then Spanish Class from 8:00 to 9:30 and then on to the CCM to diagnose missionaries. After that we had a zone conference with all the senior missionaries and Paul and I were asked to bear our testimonies. Elder Clark spent most of his time talking about our marriages.

This ocurred at Elder Clark's suggestion!

When Paul bore his testimony, he said he knew this mission had stretched him because sometimes he snapped--at me. The meeting ended at 3:30 . We shopped on the way home and Paul went out to the clinic and I rested. That evening we went to dinner with the Hirsche Smiles group and had a great time. We enjoyed our time with this group. They were all so helpful and welcoming. It was really fun to get to know Peggy and Lee Olson. Paul and Lee are very similar in their outlook and talents. Peggy is a very classy lady and cute and fun to be with. A big plus--Lee actually told Paul he ought to take me on a cruise when we get back home and that cruises were a lot of fun. If our children can find babysitters, we would like to take them all with us. What fun that would be. We would get to have all our children and their spouses to visit with for a week and none of us would have to cook meals or do dishes.
Today we went to the clinic and worked on future missionaries from Petan. Ken Allen came out to help us. He has been such a help to us this wek. In the afternoon Paul went to lunch with Ken while I baked bread, made freezer jam (thank you Brian for the sure-jell), and a lemon pie. We had the soup I made last week and fresh bread for dinner. I love left-overs. I'm about ready to drop and Paul is in working out the schedules for next week. We have a big week ahead of us working on the missionaries from the CCM

I couldn't resist putting this in. How many times in your life are you going to see a big red truck on the highway with a white horse and a motorcycle inside?