HELPS Trip #3 - Tejutla

HELPS Trip #3 - Tejutla

Wednesday, March 21, 2012, was the longest traveling day I've ever experienced in my life. Explaining logistics would be boring, but you should know it took us 13 hours (which included over 6 buses; healthy mix of both mirco-bus and auto bus) to arrive in Tejutla. Very little food and rest during this day lead to some grumpy, exhausted Johnnies arriving to the HELPS medical team, stationed in a hospital on a hillside with a beautiful view. We arrived only just in time for a hot, delicious lasagna meal and rewarding reunion with Casey, Connor, and the rest of the friendly faces of the HELPS team.

Our Endless Journey

Connor gets busy in the operation room

Christy "Triage-ing"

Our experience with the Tejutla Crew was truly unique. Having joined a crew 1/2 way through their work week, the system of admittance, scheduling, and clinic were already well established. This actually made fitting in easier for us. More translators are always good news for medical teams; Justin and I posted up one-on-one with a doctor and their respective clinical teams. I worked a few hours with Pediatrics, a few with OB/GYN, and a few with clinical. I saw for the first time a live ultrasound of an unborn baby… life-changing. I met more incredible people on this mission, many of whom were coincidentally from St. Cloud, MN! I worked primarily with Dr. Steve Jameson and Dr. Eric Barth, both of whom were very patient, informative, fun gentlemen. I had a really great discussion about faith with Pastor Jim Tetlie (thanks, Jim!). Sonia Russ, my favorite translator, has the biggest heart and the greatest sense of humor.  Mrs. Christy Rice is the best Triage-r I've ever seen. Also, shout out to Dr. Jim O'Neill (one of those terrible 'Tommies') and Judith Scott for compiling "The Guatemala Dictionary; for interpreters/heath care providers." We have a copy, and it will come to use in future missions!

Learning from Dr. Barth

Sonia translating for Dr. Jameson

The person that liked the mission the most, however, was without a doubt Kurtis Nusbaum. Originally, our plan was to stay for only Thursday, then leave Friday for two days at the beautiful Lake Atitlan before returning Kurtis to the airport. After the first day, Kurtis asked if we could stay one more, which of course we did. 

Playing hacky-sack for the first time in years with the
high school translators

Kurtis was put in charge of controlling the Triage line. This included organizing the lines bursting full of people; basically crowd control, and occasionally occupying the attention of little kids. To some this might seem a mundane task, but when it started hailing on the first day and there was a stampede of people trying to squeeze into the doorway to the hospital, Kurtis and the rest of Triage were essential. Not only that, Kurtis's Spanish improved immensely over only 3 days of working at Triage. I hope he has the opportunity to return to a place like Guatemala with a medical team later in his life.. he seemed to cherish every moment. 

Kurtis, Sophia, Sonia, Me ... taking a break from translating

Thursday and Friday came and went quickly. Tejutla 2012 was filled with the typical medical team upper-and-downer stories, hopes and failures, celebrations and defeated looks. I met a 17-year-old man who couldn't (and wouldn't be able to) see out of his left eye after a fatal car accident. Several young women were unaware of their pregnancy. A 93 year-old woman made it from a village several hours away from Tejutla, and a young man of 5 had never learned to talk because of a severe but fixable ear infection in both ears. Many times we cannot help these kind of people. We try to send them to a specialist at a nearby hospital, but many cannot afford the medical expenses. More often than not, we send them away rather satisfied with a routine check-up and bottle of antibiotics, while the real health problem while persist due to their lack of ability to pay for it. This is difficult to consider sometimes, but for risk of sounding cliché or oversimplifying… at least it's SOMEthing for them.

A beautiful Saturday morning awaited our much shorter trip from Tejutla to Lake Atitlan - Panajachel. We gave out hugs and said our goodbyes, promising a brief reunion with the team in Antigua for the HELPS banquet.

View from Panajachel Hotel Room

Lake Atitlan was a short-lived, fun adventure. We arrived in Panajachel, small city next to the lake, at around 3p.m. We took a brief adventure exploring the shops, went out to eat with a perfect view of the lake, explored the beach at night for an absolute crystal-clear view of the stars. I gotta get back to Lake Atitlan ASAP. Before hitting the sack, we shared drinks with Chris Buckshaw, a young entrepreneur who recently started a company called "El Camino VolunTours". His idea is to populate the idea of an alternative "break" experience, what he calls "a volunteer vacation." He's spent his last few years bringing several groups to experience a true cultural exchange  by organizing humanitarian projects in Guatemala and Nicaragua. His program seems to be popular and growing; it was refreshing to talk to another young ambitious entrepreneur (please feel free to check out www.voluntours.ca for more info). We wish him the best of luck with the future of his project!

We got Kurtis to the airport in the nick of time. After enjoying a lunch and saying our goodbyes, we left Kurtis for his journey back home while we headed to Antigua for a few days to enjoy the plush compliments of HELPS International's hospitality. I especially loved this mission's banquet, where I had the great pleasure of meeting Steve Miller, the founder and President of HELPS International. He is a man of big ideas and endless giving; its a wonder what the world would be like without men like him. Thanks again to all members of the Tejutla 2012 trip… our short time spent together was a blessing… hope you come back next year!

Welcome St. Pat's Parish… and Kurtis!

Welcome Saint Patrick's Parish of Edina, MN!

After so much traveling during the past weeks, it was good to finally settle in back at the monastery again. We didn't have much time, however, before we were blessed with guests. While our friend Casey was visiting for a few days, we prepared a "pseudo-schedule" for the Saint Patrick's Parish group from Edina, MN, that visited the following week. This pilgrimage trip included several fantastic people, including always  smiling Cappy Moore, the director, and my Mom and Aunt Ann! We made sure that we had a full, fun week planned for the crew before meeting up with the whole crew on March 12 at the Guatemala City airport.

The Cave

There was some hiking involved

Because Justin and I have already become very familiar with Cobán and the surrounding area, we were the point-men for the group's tourist activities and excursions. Aside from the many prayer groups, masses, and community meals that were already arranged by Cappy and Father Pedro, Justin and I accompanied the group out to several cool spots in Cobán, including San Jorge Mount (where my profile picture is on Facebook), the marketplace, the monastery's farm, and a day-long excursion to a local aldea for water-filter distribution. Everyone from St. Patrick's brought along gifts for the people of the aldea. My mom even brought a portable printer for printing off photos for people in the community. It was very special observe a group like that visit an aldea for the first time. 

Enjoying an aldea meal

Hair ties were popular with the little Qui'Chi girls

On Friday, we were joined by our good SJU friend Kurtis Nusbaum. Kurtis was looking for an alternative place to spend his spring break, and he thought it no better idea than to fly down to Guatemala and help us with our work. He arrived in time to join the Saint Patrick's group for the most exciting excursions; more specifically, that of Chicoy Cave and Semuc Champey.

After another crazy Saint Patrick's Day filled with green beer and green jello, Justin, Kurtis and I rose late on Sunday March 18 to plan an early trip out to Semuc Champey. We were leaving a away early because we were interested in going swimming and spelunking in Semuc's beautiful caves (not for the feint-hearted). We planned to meet up with the group the next day at the Semuc Champey pools. 

We stayed in Lanquin that night at a fun little hostel called "Zephyr Lodge." Everything with Zephyr works on the "tab" system: I have since found out that the "tab" system and I do not get along very well. Early the next morning, I woke to find a not so kind tab to pay and a very sick Justin. Damn! After I paid my astronomically high bill, Justin stayed back while Kurtis and I jumped into the truck to Semuc.

Tarzan 2012

I really hope that Justin gets another opportunity to do the Semuc Caves, because it was probably the most unique tourist experience I've had since coming to Guatemala. Mix images of the cave scenes from "Indiana Jones" and "Tom and Huck," and you get a slipping, sliding, swimming, jumping, climbing experience… all with a lit candle in your hand to guide the way! Our tour included several other young people from Europe. Our guide, Marcos, showed us every ledge we could jump off and every little cave-made slide. This show even continued outside the cave, where we swung on a giant tree swing out to the river. The last big challenge before the actual Semuc Champey pools was to jump off a bridge about 20 meters above the river. If someone tells me to jump off a bridge… I guess I will do it! And I was the only one that did.

Semuc Champey was as wonderful as I had heard. It's basically several pools and little waterfalls of very warm water.  Marcos showed our group all the cool places to dive and slide down, although not everyone decided to participate. We also met up with the St. Patrick's Group and Justin (who they had picked up, and was at the time sleeping like a rock). We stuck around the pools for a few more hours before departing for Cobán once more.

Look before you Leap

The following day, Tuesday March 20, the St. Patrick's group headed back to Guatemala City early to catch their flight. I know that they really enjoyed their experience, and I'm glad we were able to show them what our part of Guatemala has to offer. As they were mounting their return journey to Houston, Kurtis was helping us set up the skeleton to our now existing site for the monastery, www.resurrectionpriory.org. This moment was certainly a long-time-coming, but we could not have done it without Kurtis. His experience with writing HTML code was absolutely invaluable to our starting the site. Now, our ongoing process is gathering current news and the events concerning the community, and to eventually try to expose the site's usefulness to parishioners, guests, and the community itself. Once again, we couldn't be at the point we are today without Kurtis. Kurtis, if you are reading this, THANK YOU!

Kurtis and Me at Semuc

Anyway, after a day's work on the website, we settled our plans for the next few days. Kurtis showed strong interest in getting involved with the HELPS medical trip that was already underway. Our only obstacle? The HELPS site (Tejutla) was on the other side of the country. We faced potentially 12-hour journey.. by which we weren't completely sure of our exact route. Our plan? Just keep on asking for Tejutla.. and eventually, we'll get there. Early the next morning, we hit the road!

***** means 5 Star

 We left Dangriga with ample time to make our launch out to San Pedro. San Pedro is a small tourist island off the coast of Belize City. San Pedro is known for being expensive, but it also has the best nightlife in Belize. Normally, Justin and I wouldn't find ourselves within 1000 km (sorry America, but it's the metric system everywhere else in the world), but this time we had good reason: we were going to visit my parents at the ***** Phoenix Resort. Upon arrival we were greeted with a refreshing cold drink, a penthouse-like hotel room overlooking the hotel pool and Caribbean ocean, fluffy cloud-like beds, and, most importantly, my loving parents.

Justin and I spent just under a week (Monday - Friday) with my parents on San Pedro Island and the surrounding area. Every lunch and dinner we went out for fantastic food, and every day we went on some sort of adventure planned through various agencies. On our first day, we went snorkeling and swam with sharks, sting rays, barracuda, and turtles.  Our guide was excellent. He would clap his hand a certain way to get our attention underwater, and then he would audibly announce interesting information about the sea life above water, but so we could still hear. He even had us each hold and touch a friendly 12-foot nurse shark and pet a tame sting ray on our head! It was a magical first day.

Yep... house in the middle of the ocean

Little Cabin on our private island

Our second day in paradise was as good as the first. We went on a fishing excursion with Oliver and Brian. While I didn't catch anything on this excursion, I did SPEAR something! That's right; when we didn't get our fill of fish for the day. Oliver took us snorkeling for lunch. He used a long metal spear with a rubber band sling to spike a few snapper and redfish. Spearfishing is thrilling not only because of the hunt, but also the danger behind doing it. Any time you go to retrieve a spear, a Moray Eel could possibly strike out and bite your thumb off! Also, after you have a catch, the blood trail from the fish can attract sharks. Oliver even told us a story about a tourist that volunteered to hold his "catch" bag. He ended up having to fend off a Hammerhead shark from taking a nice chunk of flesh out of this woman. "She was about walking' on water when dat shark came 'round!" he laughed.

We enjoyed a delicious fish meal on a remote residential caye (island) near our fishing spot. It belonged to a father-son family close to Oliver. The island had two quaint beach houses, adorned with front porch on the bottom and an attic bedroom that overlooked the sea. The whole scene was something off of a postcard. I'll never forget it.

View from Little Cabin

Our third day involved a small airplane ride to the mainland for a long ride out to Mayan ruins and cave tubing. While this day was certainly fun, the "car-won't-start" situation, long hours spent traveling and the strange-natured tour guide we had made for somewhat of a drawn-out adventure. Even so, the Xunantunich ruins were quite interesting, the howler monkeys sounds were crazy, and the Cave tubing (just like it sounds) was quite relaxing and unique. 

Xunantunich

As mentioned before, the rest of our time was spent looking at the shops, eating at fantastic restaurants, and checking out the local area. From having drinks at a "swim-up" bar on Caye Caulker (neighboring island community) to getting painted during the Mardi Gras celebrations in town (we were even told not to wear nice clothes all day that Tuesday, for risk of ruining them!), it was the stay of a lifetime. My favorite "nightlife" occasion happened with the Chicken Drop. While the chicken never shat on our boxed numbers, the mere entertainment of watching a bunch of drunk gringos yelling idiotically at a scared-shitless (literally) chicken.

Before long, our weeklong dream in paradise came to a close. My parents departed for the airport as Justin and I headed back to Dangriga for one more night at Terrance's house before hitting the long trek back home to Cobán.

A Belizean Welcome

Where did March go? I've stepped away from my blogging duties for what seemed to have been a few moments, but now I find myself a month and a half behind on recounting my latest adventures. Several momentous occasions have occurred between then and now, but I will keep my recount as brief as possible to get you all up-to-date on my experiences in Guatemala and beyond.

The Tecpán medical mission came and went, and soon enough, it was already 5:30a.m. on the morning of Saturday Feburary 18. As I climbed into Maricio's truck for the long ride back to Guatemala City, I mused over the daunting day of travel we had ahead of us. Our goal was to reach Puerto Barrios by nightfall.. and we still needed to retrieve our passports… from Cobán. 

We were all over the country in one day

In our rushed effort to arrive in Guatemala City for the 8:00a.m. medical team bus a week ago, Justin and I had forgotten probably our most important traveling item: our passports. We couldn't leave the country without them. It made for quite the long travel day the following Saturday…

-2 hour bus trip from Tecpán to Guatemala City

-5 hour bus trip from Guatemala City to Cobán

-3 hour microbus trip from Cobán to El Rancho

-4 hour bus trip from El Rancho to Morales

The last bus to Morales was twice as long as normal, as we got a flat tire which took an hour to fix. The bus was filled with people, standing in the isles, sitting in the seats. It was a sauna by the time we were on the road again. As soon as we arrived in Morales (about an hour outside Puerto Barrios), we checked into the only hotel in the area… $25/person. Even though this is a bit spend for our tastes, we didn't mind. Finally.. a place to lie down! Needless to say, we slept soundly.

Justin made a friend at Terrance's house

Our next travel day wasn't as bad, but we started out later that we had hoped. By 1pm, we found ourselves in a water taxi across to Belize from Puerto Barrios. We caught the first bus up the coast from Punta Gorda, our arrival port. We were rewarded with a truly Belizean experience upon just mounting the bus. A group of young Belizean fishermen sat next to us at the back of the bus and invited us to a taste of their Rum and Sprite. One thing led to another, and soon enough we were invited to their house in Dangriga, a small fishing village between Punta Gorda and Belize City, our ultimate destination. Since we weren't going to make the launch out to San Pedro Island that day, we accepted their offer. Free lodging is free lodging! Many may consider this decision dangerous, or downright foolhardy. I can't say that it wasn't a risk, but we spent several hours with these guys (who were accompanied by a girlfriend), and it was apparent they meant to ill-will. Traveling does sometimes involve taking risks, and this is a risk that paid off ten-fold. 

We spent our whole Sunday evening in a true Garifuna village (please see my "Livingston" blog for information about the Garifuni people). Glen, Terrance, and Willie were the names of these locals. They lived in structures that were reminiscent of Galveston beach houses from memories of my youth. Big, tall stilts held a 3-4 bedroom house with a big living room in the middle. We learned some words from their own Creole-like language ("Baka- tone" = "back of town"), ate a delicious homemade chicken meal, shot pool and drank Guinness at the local tavern, and slept on a less than cozy but "it's-the-thought-that-counts" mattress. Price tag? Free. 

Playing in the living room with the kids

Glen and Terrace refused to let us purchase anything, even though we did force them a few beers for them at the bar. We were treated so incredibly well, I can't thank them enough for the hospitality. In hanging out with them, we discovered that they own their own island about 30 miles off the coast, next to Tobacco Caye. Here, Terrance and Willie will bring tourist groups out for a night on the island, which is adorned with a full bar, a few beach houses, outhouse, and a fishing shack. We promised to make it back for a trip out to the island sometime, but I'm not sure when we will be able to make it. Someday!

The next day, Terrance walked us down to the bus station. Before leaving, we sat down for lunch and insisted that we buy Terrance a meal for all the hospitality he showed us. He picked the cheapest thing on the menu. We ate and enjoyed each other's company before departing. Another very special traveler's experience of pure hospitality.

HELPS Trip #2 -Tecpán

Our trip to Tecpán was short, but not painless. We scheduled a 3a.m. bus on Sunday February 13 to Guatemala City to rendezvous with the next medical team. Needless to say, there was very little sleep involved in this Monja Blanca adventure.

Hotel Barceló was unsurprisingly luxurious, and we sighed relief as we hoped down on the plush seats of the HELPS charter bus. I chatted about the McDonalds-eque frequency of Sarita Ice Cream (a Guatemalan classic) with Casey on the way there.

The Hospital in Tecpán was very different than San Cristobal. It lay in the middle of some hilly farmland surrounded by the beautiful mountains of Chimaltenango. Tecpán was known for being very cold, but Justin and I didn't find it too much different than Cobán. We lucked out again on our living situation: after changing rooms a few times, we found a small kitchenette with two empty cots in it. We spent the week there, which was gradually filled of "masculine smells" (my socks/shoes, Justin's running clothes). After helping Casey and Connor with a few "set-up" tasks and discussing plans, we determined that Justin and I would be heading out with our first "stoving team" tomorrow with Maricio.

While it would take too long to explain the ONIL stove in depth, here is a link to a picture of one: http://66.147.244.91/~onilstov/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Richard_and_stove_small1.jpg. The basic idea of the ONIL stove is to make the cooking process more efficient for the user (i.e. gather less wood to heat stove, stove ventilates normally omnipresent toxic smoke, etc.). On every HELPS mission, 3-4 teams will deliver on average 4 stoves, which are usually accompanied with a water filter (same ones I distributed in the fall) and another different stove for heating large cauldrons. If you would like to know more detail about this product or process, please refer to this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_e0vOfjvH0.

Justin and I worked as the translators on these teams. At first, I was nervous; this would be the first time I would truly be the only bilingual person around for miles! I worried in vain. It was a very fun and easy position to have, and I never had any bad translating situations (I DID bring, however, my pocket Spanish-English Dictionary just in case).

Of the 5 days we spent with this HELPS mission, I went with the stoving team three of the days. They needed translators, and I wanted to go wherever I could help. For the most part, I was also blessed with more-or-less the same people every trip. I got to know John, Carol, Page, Victoria, Theresa, Jimmy, and many others, all fantastic team members and fun people to be around. I especially liked getting to know Luis (pictured left, grey polo), the Spanish-speaking HELPS team member that accompanied us on all the trips. He has worked for HELPS for over 8 years and has installed over 4 thousand stoves. Needless to say, he knew the process really well, and we learned quickly from him.

Every house was different. Some big families; some small families. All were very thankful. I enjoyed getting to meet the aldea families and representing my team by being able to speak Spanish to them. While process was repetitive and meticulous at times, I can still recall every step I took to build the 12 stoves I was a part of. I also met many niños along the way…

Page gets help building chimney

Jimmy and Victoria set-up the chimney prior to Luis's drilling of the
Tin Roof ceiling

With the three days completely filled with stoving, I spent the other time in Triage. This too was rewarding, but in a different way. As a Triage translator, you are a part of the important process of the patient's admittance to the doctor. We spent a good 8-9 hours a day taking in the same questions, writing down information and notes for doctors, and taking patients to various parts of the hospital according to their problem (Eye patients see Optometry, General Consult see the Clinic, hernias or growths see pre-surgical consult, rotted teeth see the dentists, etc). Thankfully for this mission, the patients were all given tickets if admitted. If someone did not have a ticket, they were not allowed to pass to the clinic. This made our jobs easier (thank you Caesar!)

This week sped by for both Justin and I. As we reflected on our blessings of the past week on the bus ride back from Guatemala city, we realized that we were most thankful for the friendships that we gained with the HELPS staff. As a tradition for the whole week, several HELPS staff members went out to grab ice cream, burgers, tacos, etc., about a couple hours after dinner. The "night snack" gave us time to unwind from the day, get to know each other, and enjoy each other's company. I can't wait to spend another week with Crazy Jaime (pronounced "Hi May"), outgoing Virginio, jolly Romeo and his beautiful wife Aida, mild-mannered Maricio, "El Caesar," and of course, Connor and Casey. I'll see all of you later this March!

February Goes Fast

As I write this entry on a day that hasn't appeared in our calendar for the last four years, I couldn't help but to turn to Justin and say, "Damn, February was fast!" And it truly did. We've done a crazy amount of traveling over the last few weeks, and our pocketbooks show it. With each place, however, we've been able to gain yet another unforgettable memory, and I still find myself having the time of my life.

After returning from Antigua, Justin and I spent two weeks at the monastery… the only full two weeks in all of February that we'd be there. During those two weeks, however, we accomplished huge steps with computer donation project. After several trips to and from the sites (which is about 45 minutes away), we have over 25 computers set up and delivered in two different schools. We have about 10 more to clean up and install, and then (save the "instruction on usage" part) we are complete. The delivery and physical installation project took longer than you'd expect, but we had help. Not only did Giovanni come to help with programming, but Casey and Connor (lead volunteer coordinators from HELPS) assisted us with our project. After the January HELPS mission, Casey and Connor decided to visit Semuc Champey (tourist hotspot near Cobán) and then preside in the monastery with us for a few days.

(ASIDE: Anyone that makes it to Cobán, you've got a free place to stay and eat! Gotta love Benedictine hospitality).

Setting up our Computer Army

Casey, Justin, Connor, Me

They got to see the "inside edition" of what living in a monastery is like. We even had a classic American Super Bowl Party in the Gringo Room! While visiting with Connor and Casey, we determined that we would try to help translate for one HELPS mission per month if our schedule could swing it. This included us giving the green light to the then upcoming February HELPS mission in Tecpán! Our experience with the last HELPS mission was so in-depth, effective and priceless, that we are doing our best to make HELPS a major part of our service work here. 

Alan shows Bernie his "new work shifts" on the schedule

Connor and Casey left to prepare the next medical mission in Tecpán on Wednesday, February 8. We had further work to complete during the following Thursday and Friday, so we planned to meet them at Hotel Barceló at 8:00a.m. in Guatemala City on Sunday February 12. In the meantime, we completed more computer work with Giovanni and Fr. Bernie, and prepped for another week of intense medical mission work. We also got a cool tour of Alan's Cardimom farm (Alan Kress, friend of Father Bernie, has a farm very near the schools receiving our donated computers).  Prior to leaving, we met up with our friends Guiseppe and Sasha for dinner at a Cuban Cuisine restaurant. It was great catching up with them prior to heading out for another big adventure.

Lots o' Cardimom

HELPS Trip #1 - San Cristobal

Orphanage Outreach, Day 1

HELPS International Trip #1 - San Cristobal

The hour long drive from Coban to neighboring city San Cristobal seemed to take forever. While Justin and I rode in bed of Bernie's pick-up truck, I was plagued by a massive headache and longing for a place to lay down. As we arrived at the hospital, the scene outside was enough to make me forget my head-pains. For at least a half-a-mile leading up the hill to the hospital, a long lane snaked down an old, washed out road. It was apparent that many of the Guatemalan queuers had camped, maybe for days, seeking the first-class medical attention that HELPS has to offer.

As our truck rolled up, the members of the line turned and began to applause our arrival. Justin and I were humbled beyond belief; it was a significant foreshadowing of what we were about to experience during the week.

Meeting The Team

The hospital was kept in a "base camp" about the size of a football field. Surrounding it was a tall fence adorned with barbed wire. The actual hospital would be considered derelict in the United States, but for Guatemalan standards (and for what we wanted to accomplish with it) it worked. Many rooms were missing door handles, ceiling tiles, and functioning lights. Our living space, which was smaller than a St. Thomas Hall dorm room, had lights that didn't turn off and was missing a significant amount of ceiling tiles (steam room at night, refrigerator in the morning). As we explored the hospital and tried to find people who could use our help moving things, translating, or setting things up, Justin and I played the role of unexpected guests (recall that Erin, our contact, was not in attendance). 

"Hi! I'm Thomas Joyce." …  "Yep, I'm from Minnesota, too! I'm volunteering here for a year through a program called the Saint John's Benedictine Volunteer Corps." … "We're staying in Coban; in a monastery called Resurrection Priory, actually." … "No, I don't think I want to be a monk, but it's been a very enlightening experience! I'm just a volunteer."

Dr. Joe taking a break

After introducing myself as such to a nice lady named Ruth, she got excited, "YOU are from Saint John's?! Oh, just wait till Dr. Joe hears this." Immediately, Ruth took me to the dentist's area, where she introduced me to Dr. Joe Wenner (SJU Class of '68). "You're from Saint John's? Come on over here!" Joe put his arm around me and told me that I'd be working with him for the week.. 

"This guy is working with us! He's a Johnnie so he'll definitely work hard!" Here I am, thousands of miles away from Collegeville in the midst of the Guatemalan mountains, and yet I cannot escape that wonderful thing that is Johnnie Pride. Dr. Joe introduced me to his whole team, with whom I spent the whole week with. Joe's mentor, fellow hunter and Stearns County member Dr. Bob of Albany, MN (just north of Collegeville), mild-mannered Dr. Wilcox, and Dental Assistants Stacy and Ruth composed the rest of the crew. After meeting everybody in Dental, I was thrilled to have been established with a fun, high energy group. I knew it'd be a great week!

Room and Board

As mentioned previously, or room as quite an interesting predicament: no windows, ceiling tiles gone, lights don't go off. Instead of keeping the lights on 24/7, we choose to pull the LCD lights out from their sockets (now instead of external Wal-Mart light, we had "crack" room darkness.). Still, our room was a lucky break for two reasons: 1) we got a room to ourselves. 2) we were the safest room in the hospital. Just outside our room stayed a whole platoon of Guatemalan soldiers hired to protect the hospital campus. While we weren't worried about a riot/rebellion, I suppose it is comfortable sleeping knowing that 15 AK-47's stand between you and the rest of the world. 

Another perk of the HELPS trips for us specifically is the food. While I'm not completely disappointed with what the monastery has to offer to eat (I had a fantastic lunch of burger and greasy enchiladas today, in fact), we do love having that flashback to the classic American diet. On this trip, we enjoyed a constant flow of hot dish/casserole, tomato soup / grilled cheese, spaghetti, Special K bars, Oreo Cookie Dessert, etc. Meals are an incredible event for us every day at those medical missions. There's nothing like going to bed early with a satisfied stomach.

Dr. Thomas the DENTIST

Monday through Friday, I stuck close with the dental team, learning a lot from Dr. Joe and Company. Our first two days were "outreach missions" to a local orphanage in San Cristobal. On the first day, Justin and I worked as the Dental frontline: we brushed the kids' teeth, applied fluoride, and assessed which teeth needed to be filled or (more likely) extracted ("Extracted…NOT pulled!" -Dr. Joe). From our station, the kids would wait in a long line to see the dental crew for extractions. Word spread throughout San Cristobal, and soon enough we had adults lined up for examination, too. In all, we saw around 40 some patients the first day. Occasionally, Dr. Joe would come up to us and say the following,

"Isn't this great?! We're really doin' it. But they keep on comin'. Back to work! YOU tell Brother Paul... he NEEDS to get down here. We're doin' REAL work down here! You tell him!!!"

There you go Brother Paul. You're being called out by a Johnnie dentist. Remember... I'm just the messenger.

Justin examines some small molars

Us with Mother Mary of the Orphanage

First Brush

Taking a break

On the second day, Justin stayed at "triage" (gathering information about and admitting patients),  at the hospital. The crew was a bit smaller this day- Stacy, Dr. Joe, and a pretty translator named Paola from Guatemala City. I was left as the only guy on the frontline. After cleaning teeth, examining, and diagnosing extractions for over forty people, our queue was full. Starting at around 11:30a.m. that day, I began my hardest job I've ever had to perform with HELPS: turning people away. Because word spreads fast, many city-goers would come to the orphanage hoping for a free tooth extractions. I had to explain in Spanish countless times that the outreach clinic was full, and that they might try the line at the hospital (fully knowing that was probably full, too). I stood fast for three hours as dozens of hopeful faces slowly slumped away in defeat. I hope to never have to experience that again.

Nearer the end of the day, I observed a few extractions and fillings, and even helped translate between patient and dentist. On one particular occasion, a little 3 year old girl came into the operating room. As soon as Stacey boosted him up to the seat, she began sobbing uncontrollably. Dr. Joe took one look at her and realized he couldn't extract anything now… she'd have to "go under" on Saturday (with this HELPS team, each doctor/dentist is allocated 6 surgery times, this little girl was lucky enough to get one of Dr. Joe's slots). While Paola was explaining to the little girl's mother that they would need to get to the hospital for the little girl's operation on Saturday, the little girl continued to sob loudly. I couldn't stand it! I picked her up and her arms grasped tightly around my neck. Pretty normal human reaction, I'd say, but she still made my heart melt. 

At the hot seat

Stacy comforts a tired patient

Dr. Bob and Ruth hard at work

Wednesday was a lot more fun and less-stressful. I stayed with the Dental Team at the hospital all day. I'm not sure of exact numbers, but we must have seen at least 75 some patients. I worked as the primary translator for the two dentists, which pretty much made me the official "hand-holder" for little kids (another very heartwarming experience). I was amazed at how tough some of these kids were.. and the mothers were even tougher! I saw a Guatemalan soldier wince in response to getting a quick extraction, whereas I saw a Qui'chi' mother's gums get dug into by medical tweezers and not see so much as a flinch. 

While most patients were tough, I did need to help hold down a few as well. Needless to say, we were absolutely exhausted at the end of the day. 

"We're Done!!" -Stacy and Dr. Joe

Dr. Schwegler helps a family out

Justin helps at Triage in Tactic

Thursday and Friday consisted of assistance at another outreach location: a church near Tactic (about 30 minutes from our hometown Coban). The dentists set up their stations in a very new, clean parish gathering building and saw around 150 patients in two days. On Friday, a team of doctors also assessed, assisted patients and distributed medication. Justin assisted the doctors with Triage in another building close-by, while I remained with the dentist's team, doing a mix of everything I had done in the first two days (applying fluoride, translating, "Toothbrush Use 101", etc). As before, work became stressful at times with pushing patients and limited "instruments" (NOT "tools" -Dr. Joe). Still, everyone kept a great attitude and persevered.

Dr. Bob and "Legendary" Jon Cain prep for another extraction

A Good Day's Work

On Friday night, the whole crew enjoyed a delicious banquet held in the hospital hallway. I exchanged contact with several new great friends like Casey and Connor (HELPS post-undergrad volunteers staying the next few months… our friends and contacts for future trips!), Lance from Texas (great music taste), Ana, Paola, "Sweetheart" Luisa (translators from Guatemala City), Peter, The Cain Family, The McMillan Family, the whole Dental team from MN, and many others. At the end of the night, a few marimba players came to the hospital, and a big dance floor manifested itself. I did my best to attempt the salsa dance without liquid confidence (I may or may have not looked very, very foolish). A fun night regardless, and a great way to end such a rewarding week.

Paola tries to teach me salsa

Lance and Margarita tear a rug

On Saturday, January 28, Justin and I left the hospital, reassuring the team that we would meet up with them in Antigua for the celebration banquet. We wished to make a return trip to Coban, however short, to freshen up, settle down, and relax.

Sunday, January 29, my birthday, was wonderful. I woke at noon, and did very little except for play and listen to music. Justin brought me brunch in bed- a delicious grilled cheese and potato chips. In the evening, we headed out to Casa de Acuna for a delicious pizza meal. Our friend, Guiseppe, served us all the best; he brought out a special drink for me to try (his own invention, called "Piensamiento" or "A Thought"), and even did the embarrassing "Ya Quieremos Pastel" Guatemalan Birthday song. I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend my birthday.. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Cullen and Luisa hit the dancefloor 

Joe preps his big bag o' coffee for back home

On Monday and Tuesday, Justin and I traveled to Antigua to spend time with the San Cristobal HELPS group one last time. On Tuesday afternoon, we took a bus to the top of one of Antigua's surrounding mountains. There, I enjoyed a fine lunch (paid for by Dr. Joe) and a fantastic view of Antigua's valley. In the evening, we attended the HELPS Banquet. In all, I believe an estimated 1,800 people were medically assisted in some way by this HELPS crew, and over 60 stoves were installed in the local communities (more on STOVES in the next HELPS International blog entry). I was even surprised by the presence of Kelly Bechtold, friend and CSB student studying abroad in Guatemala, whose uncle Dr. Boyle was involved in the HELPS mission. Afterwards, a few of us went out for some quick drinks, dancing and good times at MONO LOCO, a local Antigua hotspot. All-in-all, in the few days of Antigua and week in  with this medical team were wonderful moments that have been permanently imprinted in my memory of Guatemala.

The Team