Med Clinic #1

All but one of us was able to make it to the medical clinic last night.  Jessica got sick yesterday and it was a little touchy yesterday but she seems to be recovering today.  No one else has been too sick so far.

We journeyed into the mountains yesterday for our first medical clinic.  The weather was beautiful and much cooler than in La Bendicion which was very welcome.  This village had a lot of children.  It was not very large.  The road to the school was difficult so some of packed the meds and supplies in on our backs.  Later the vans made it down.  Unfortunately this would set the stage for some vehicular drama later in the night.

The village clinic was not too busy most of the night a steady stream of people.  We played soccer and frisbee with the kids there which eventually gave way to a full blown soccer (por should I say futbol) match.  The Gringos held their own and won the game about 6 to 4 but the score was not really kept closely.  We had a great goalie in Brandon (not me) the son of Marguerita some of you know who has cooked for us in the past.

The jesus film marked the end of the soccer game and we all broke for supper while the movie began.  Brandon (me) ate some food from the village on accident so I am praying that comes out all right.  The Jesus film went as usual and then followed with singing and testimony and then preaching from Hermano Jesus.  Several women and children and one man gave their lives to Christ.  A group of young boys was especially interested.  Several men were close in their eyes you could see the battle verses pride and individualism which was holding them back from their encounter with God.

We packed up to head for the night.  It had rained, but not too much.  We had taken three vans up to the village due to the extra staff.  Estuardo’s father-in-law Max led us up in the first van.  A narrow patch of road beside a wooden gate was very steep and slick.  The van lost traction and the rear slid into the gulley on the side of the road.  Stuck!  We began the effort to push the van out of the gulley and up the hill.  In the process we blew one tire, the one stuck.  a little more thinking and planning, and strategic rock placement and we went back to brute strength and pushed once again.  This time with success.  Now to change the tire and get back on the road.  We made it back to base without incident, except for a short stop with  the masked militia of San Martino, but they are the “good” guys.  So we were off without much trouble.

All slept well last night and we are enjoying a little relaxation before our next trip out tonight.  See the slide show for pictures of the trip last night. Click on view all images. Sorry we couldn’t get this to embed. So you have to follow the link.