At prayer group tonight we went back and looked at some of the prayer requests/struggles and praises that we intern girls (and Alleen!) have been sharing for the past few months. It was so incredible to listen and laugh at them all because in their own way they have all been answered. Those of us struggling with homesickness aren't too anxious to go home for Christmas because that means our time is halfway over! And others who were seeking time and energy to spend with our Peruvian friends have been going out with them to dinner and to hang out and talk. I had been praying about getting an interview at UAB for PA school and don't you know I've got one! December 14th....so now I am thinking about that and what it could be like if I got in. But if that doesn't happen I am completely content coming back home for a few months, working and then applying again!
I'll be home soon. December 9th. :) I'm excited about getting back and visiting with folks but I need to buy my return ticket for next summer, which makes me pretty sad! I love it here! I am content and I'm finding my place and purpose in the mission and working in the clinic is wonderful. I am so excited to see everyone though, I miss ya'll!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Long overdue
It has been a few weeks since my last update....partially because I have been away from Trujillo and internet for much of it but also when I am back here I am exhausted and don't feel up to writing! I am sick right now and not leaving my bed which has left me no excuse but to update this thing and catch up with people (which I have been terrible about...sorry.)But apparently the Lord has now provided some time for me to do that ;)
Two weeks ago I went with a group of Peruvians and Americans from Larco Church to the region of Ancash in the Andes. Our purpose was to conduct a study and investigate the presence, influence and attitudes of people there towards the Church. We started our journey on the western side of the Andes near Huaraz, and later traveled to the other side of the Cordillera Blanca to the cites of Huari and Chavin as well as several other pueblos. The people group from this area are known as the Southern Conchucos, their main city is Huari which is at about 10,500 ft above sea level. Supposedly there are only 0.24% Evangelicals (about 700 total). The majority of the Roman Catholics (95% of the S.Conchucos) are cristo-pagan syncretistic. During our time there we took observations and talked to local folks in order to gather information. The week that we were there was during a festival so the towns were swollen with people and activity...we got to see some parades and costumes and all the folks in their best dress. We also went and met several missionaries of different evangelical denominations who are serving in the area.
I have to say that one of the most memorable experiences of the trip was a visit to a remote village outside of Chavin called Iscog. The pueblo is a few hours walking outside of the town and is only accessible by foot (or burro if your lucky). We started out from town accompanied by an caballero of 78 yrs of age...drunk as a skunk unfortunately but despite his age and condition (...ahem)he had no trouble with the terrain (unlike myself! I blame the altitude...) so we walked up up up the mountain passing through a few little stands of trees and homes with cuys (guinea pigs) and snotty nosed kids and drying hides. The valley was very dry and it has not rained there in months...a problem considering this is a herding and farming community. Eventually we reached the top and the school at Iscog but there was no one to be found at first except for a few curious kids who just wanted to play some ball with us. Everyone else was in the fields or with the animals. We had a young man who was wearing blue jeans and a graphic tee walking along and talking with us for a while. (Young people in the Sierra want to modernize and dress like Westerners...but they always stick out to me here because they are wearing rhinestone jeans and everyone else is in more traditional wear...often bright beautiful wool outfits for the ladies) Anyway eventually a man came down to talk with us for a while about the community and what they think they need. They have been desperately pleading for rain. We ended up in a circle...the Peruvians and Americans, even the snotty nosed kids. Everyone. We held hands and asked God to send rain. We asked in Spanish. We asked in English..and then we asked in Quechua too.
Wouldn't you know that once we left and started to walk back to town big fat drops started falling from the sky.
The same day we returned the interns boarded a bus for Ecuador to renew our visas. We stayed in Cuenca, Ecuador for a few days and also visited Cajas National Park (it hailed!!) before heading back across the border. It was a good time to rest and relax and get ready to go back to work. Although I have to say the 70+ hours in buses and combis over the past 2 weeks was starting to get to me!! :O If you want to see all my pictures you can always access them by by going to my Picasa albums.
Two weeks ago I went with a group of Peruvians and Americans from Larco Church to the region of Ancash in the Andes. Our purpose was to conduct a study and investigate the presence, influence and attitudes of people there towards the Church. We started our journey on the western side of the Andes near Huaraz, and later traveled to the other side of the Cordillera Blanca to the cites of Huari and Chavin as well as several other pueblos. The people group from this area are known as the Southern Conchucos, their main city is Huari which is at about 10,500 ft above sea level. Supposedly there are only 0.24% Evangelicals (about 700 total). The majority of the Roman Catholics (95% of the S.Conchucos) are cristo-pagan syncretistic. During our time there we took observations and talked to local folks in order to gather information. The week that we were there was during a festival so the towns were swollen with people and activity...we got to see some parades and costumes and all the folks in their best dress. We also went and met several missionaries of different evangelical denominations who are serving in the area.
I have to say that one of the most memorable experiences of the trip was a visit to a remote village outside of Chavin called Iscog. The pueblo is a few hours walking outside of the town and is only accessible by foot (or burro if your lucky). We started out from town accompanied by an caballero of 78 yrs of age...drunk as a skunk unfortunately but despite his age and condition (...ahem)he had no trouble with the terrain (unlike myself! I blame the altitude...) so we walked up up up the mountain passing through a few little stands of trees and homes with cuys (guinea pigs) and snotty nosed kids and drying hides. The valley was very dry and it has not rained there in months...a problem considering this is a herding and farming community. Eventually we reached the top and the school at Iscog but there was no one to be found at first except for a few curious kids who just wanted to play some ball with us. Everyone else was in the fields or with the animals. We had a young man who was wearing blue jeans and a graphic tee walking along and talking with us for a while. (Young people in the Sierra want to modernize and dress like Westerners...but they always stick out to me here because they are wearing rhinestone jeans and everyone else is in more traditional wear...often bright beautiful wool outfits for the ladies) Anyway eventually a man came down to talk with us for a while about the community and what they think they need. They have been desperately pleading for rain. We ended up in a circle...the Peruvians and Americans, even the snotty nosed kids. Everyone. We held hands and asked God to send rain. We asked in Spanish. We asked in English..and then we asked in Quechua too.
Wouldn't you know that once we left and started to walk back to town big fat drops started falling from the sky.
The same day we returned the interns boarded a bus for Ecuador to renew our visas. We stayed in Cuenca, Ecuador for a few days and also visited Cajas National Park (it hailed!!) before heading back across the border. It was a good time to rest and relax and get ready to go back to work. Although I have to say the 70+ hours in buses and combis over the past 2 weeks was starting to get to me!! :O If you want to see all my pictures you can always access them by by going to my Picasa albums.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
He's out and about
Terri and I went to find Sr. Leon today and found him in the market begging for some change. We wheeled him home and took his glucose changed him and talked for a while, then we read Psalm 121 which we also sing in church sometimes...he has been trying to teach us new songs in Spanish because we have been singing in English when Percy isn't there! Sr. Leon's vision is bad and he can no longer read but he was reciting the Psalm as I was reading (in my terrible accent!)
Salmos 121
1ALZARÉ mis ojos á los montes, De donde vendrá mi socorro.
2Mi socorro viene de Jehová, Que hizo los cielos y la tierra.
3No dará tu pie al resbaladero; Ni se dormirá el que te guarda.
4He aquí, no se adormecerá ni dormirá El que guarda á Israel.
5Jehová es tu guardador: Jehová es tu sombra á tu mano derecha.
6El sol no te fatigará de día, Ni la luna de noche.
7Jehová te guardará de todo mal: El guardará tu alma.
8Jehová guardará tu salida y tu entrada, Desde ahora y para siempre.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Leche Condensada
We have a diabetic patient at the clinic who came in recently quite ill and we had to send him to the hospital. He has been out for a week in his home on bedrest and Percy and Terri and I have been visiting him daily. Sr. Saturnino is elderly albino man with advanced diabetes. He cant walk or feel anything below his knees. I can't hear any breath sounds until the upper 1/3 of his lungs because they are full of fluid! Still haven't figured out how he was released in that condition...but thats another story.
He has 5 siblings an estranged wife and several children in Trujillo, but they have been reluctant to care for him because they want to inherit his house (not that there is much to it..)We have been bathing and changing him in hopes that he will be able to regain his strength. This has been a wonderful and interesting experience....singing Psalms in Spanish while taking care of him. Today he was asking us all about why we are here and what this was gong to cost him! We go through this every few days, but today Percy wasn't with us so I was on my own with the spanish. It went well though, I was able to explain first of all that it was gratis (free!)and that we were interns with the Presbyterian church. Also that we are here working in the clinic and helping the church serve the community. He said "Oh que bueno que bueno...la iglesia presbyteriana.." I proceeded to tell him no we weren't here serving the church, we are here to serve the Lord! He is quite the interesting character to say the least.
Today we were very busy in the clinic and didn't get out to visit him until 1 in the afternoon or so. Terri Patty and I walked in to see him up in his chair for the first time. At first I thought he was drinking an Ensure and I was wondering where he got it. Oh no. Not Ensure....leche condensada. Sweetened condensed milk..for the wheel chair bound diabetic! What happened to the diet counseling...the daily glucose checks? After expressing our firm and clear disapproval of his binge Sr. Saturnino commenced to tell us that it was ok and his body was accustomed to it! Everything in moderation! :O We have our work cut out for us I guess.
He has 5 siblings an estranged wife and several children in Trujillo, but they have been reluctant to care for him because they want to inherit his house (not that there is much to it..)We have been bathing and changing him in hopes that he will be able to regain his strength. This has been a wonderful and interesting experience....singing Psalms in Spanish while taking care of him. Today he was asking us all about why we are here and what this was gong to cost him! We go through this every few days, but today Percy wasn't with us so I was on my own with the spanish. It went well though, I was able to explain first of all that it was gratis (free!)and that we were interns with the Presbyterian church. Also that we are here working in the clinic and helping the church serve the community. He said "Oh que bueno que bueno...la iglesia presbyteriana.." I proceeded to tell him no we weren't here serving the church, we are here to serve the Lord! He is quite the interesting character to say the least.
Today we were very busy in the clinic and didn't get out to visit him until 1 in the afternoon or so. Terri Patty and I walked in to see him up in his chair for the first time. At first I thought he was drinking an Ensure and I was wondering where he got it. Oh no. Not Ensure....leche condensada. Sweetened condensed milk..for the wheel chair bound diabetic! What happened to the diet counseling...the daily glucose checks? After expressing our firm and clear disapproval of his binge Sr. Saturnino commenced to tell us that it was ok and his body was accustomed to it! Everything in moderation! :O We have our work cut out for us I guess.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Getting out of my box
We had a great time this week with a small team from IPC Savannah. I got out of my normal clinic routine and helped with campaigns in Larco and Arevalo Chruchs, as well as in the new church at Parque Industrial. We were also able to see patients in the clinic Thursday and Friday. The team consisted of Paul Carpenter (pharmacist), Ryan Moody (internist and pulmonologist) and Frankie Daniell. Frankie and Paul were able to help us replace the current roof over the stairwell and waiting room which was really in need of replacing because when it rains (although not often!) the water flows leaving streaks on the walls and puddles in the clinic. But not anymore! So it was a great week, I learned how to listen to the heart and lungs and we will no longer come to work with water on the floor!
This week was a great opportunity to get out of my “box” at work—literally I work in my little room in triage in the morning and don’t really leave. Although I love my work there it is good to sit in with the Doctor when I have time later in the day. These opportunities lead to chances to get to know patients and their stories, for example....
This past week I had a 13 yr old boy from Clementina come in with his mother (who is having her 6th child in December). I was really interested to see what was going on with this kid. In triage he said he had dizzy spells, and strange headaches, heartburn especially after sodas, numbness on his right side, general malaise…and a lot of other seemingly unrelated issues. Terri and I guessed gastritis and a parasite, according to Dr. Mario’s diagnosis I think we got it! Jeisson is 13 years old, and his Dad is in and out but not really around or involved. This kid has been the doorman in a combi (public transport van) for 3 yrs. That is to say he has been working a man’s job since he was about 10 years old, and is not in school. His income is possibly the biggest contribution to his household—I'm not sure about his Dad. Such a little grown-up, but still runs over to his Mom in triage while I am trying to get his weight and whispers something about being embarrassed about his dirty socks and smelly feet in her ear. He is still young and innocent enough to have a childlike heart, but I am sure he has experienced many disappointments, hardships and broken promises in his short life so far.
People and stories like this are too common to be considered or bothered about much, or at least be out of the ordinary. But this kid stuck with me for some reason. This week he and his mother came back into the clinic for a check up and I invited him to come with Terri and I to climb the Cerro behind Clementina for a good view of the city. We went on Saturday morning and had a great time. The clinic is only a 3 or 5 minute walk away from the fringe communities where people like Jeisson live, but unless you go out there often you tend to forget how they live. A few examples being the men sitting outside their homes drinking at 10 am. Thankfully, this is frowned upon (at least for the moment) by Jeisson and his little friend Juan Marco who promptly informed us that they were borrachos (drunks). Thank you boys, we didn’t pick up on that one ha. But really can you imagine the bitterness that these kids must harbor if their fathers are like that? The kids have to quit school and work to provide for their siblings or pregnant mother. Then after a few years of living this tough stressful reality they turn to the same outlets that their fathers did....drinking or drugs or women. Don't forget about the countless sick small children playing in the dirt together, alone without supervision. When the kids get thirsty, they all drink directly—and I do mean directly…they put their whole mouths on the newly acquired water spigots. Unfortunately, on top of their mouths being all over the spigot, the city water as it comes to Clementina is unclean and unbeknownst to these kids harbors the bacteria and parasites that make them sick. There are 4 access points in the community I believe. They are quite lucky to have access to water, I was surprised to see the nice concrete fountains. When I asked how they got these so quickly I was told that they are stealing the water by tapping into a city source. I am sure they will have to pay some exorbitant price for that water later....
Anyway, all this to say I am glad I got the opportunity to get to know Jeisson, Juan Marcos and his little dog, Como Tu. I don’t want these any of these observations to be taken as judgmental or ethnocentric. By no means are they intended to be such…we all have our own faults and problems. If anything it is remarkable how their lives can progress and bloom when given the opportunity. We live very different lives, but for some reason I can't help but identifying with these kids...and seeing what they have to experience makes my childhood innocence die a thousand little deaths all over again. So...It's good to get outside of your box...hike and talk a little...learn a lot about who it is you are serving and what its like to be in their shoes, however smelly.
This week was a great opportunity to get out of my “box” at work—literally I work in my little room in triage in the morning and don’t really leave. Although I love my work there it is good to sit in with the Doctor when I have time later in the day. These opportunities lead to chances to get to know patients and their stories, for example....
This past week I had a 13 yr old boy from Clementina come in with his mother (who is having her 6th child in December). I was really interested to see what was going on with this kid. In triage he said he had dizzy spells, and strange headaches, heartburn especially after sodas, numbness on his right side, general malaise…and a lot of other seemingly unrelated issues. Terri and I guessed gastritis and a parasite, according to Dr. Mario’s diagnosis I think we got it! Jeisson is 13 years old, and his Dad is in and out but not really around or involved. This kid has been the doorman in a combi (public transport van) for 3 yrs. That is to say he has been working a man’s job since he was about 10 years old, and is not in school. His income is possibly the biggest contribution to his household—I'm not sure about his Dad. Such a little grown-up, but still runs over to his Mom in triage while I am trying to get his weight and whispers something about being embarrassed about his dirty socks and smelly feet in her ear. He is still young and innocent enough to have a childlike heart, but I am sure he has experienced many disappointments, hardships and broken promises in his short life so far.
People and stories like this are too common to be considered or bothered about much, or at least be out of the ordinary. But this kid stuck with me for some reason. This week he and his mother came back into the clinic for a check up and I invited him to come with Terri and I to climb the Cerro behind Clementina for a good view of the city. We went on Saturday morning and had a great time. The clinic is only a 3 or 5 minute walk away from the fringe communities where people like Jeisson live, but unless you go out there often you tend to forget how they live. A few examples being the men sitting outside their homes drinking at 10 am. Thankfully, this is frowned upon (at least for the moment) by Jeisson and his little friend Juan Marco who promptly informed us that they were borrachos (drunks). Thank you boys, we didn’t pick up on that one ha. But really can you imagine the bitterness that these kids must harbor if their fathers are like that? The kids have to quit school and work to provide for their siblings or pregnant mother. Then after a few years of living this tough stressful reality they turn to the same outlets that their fathers did....drinking or drugs or women. Don't forget about the countless sick small children playing in the dirt together, alone without supervision. When the kids get thirsty, they all drink directly—and I do mean directly…they put their whole mouths on the newly acquired water spigots. Unfortunately, on top of their mouths being all over the spigot, the city water as it comes to Clementina is unclean and unbeknownst to these kids harbors the bacteria and parasites that make them sick. There are 4 access points in the community I believe. They are quite lucky to have access to water, I was surprised to see the nice concrete fountains. When I asked how they got these so quickly I was told that they are stealing the water by tapping into a city source. I am sure they will have to pay some exorbitant price for that water later....
Anyway, all this to say I am glad I got the opportunity to get to know Jeisson, Juan Marcos and his little dog, Como Tu. I don’t want these any of these observations to be taken as judgmental or ethnocentric. By no means are they intended to be such…we all have our own faults and problems. If anything it is remarkable how their lives can progress and bloom when given the opportunity. We live very different lives, but for some reason I can't help but identifying with these kids...and seeing what they have to experience makes my childhood innocence die a thousand little deaths all over again. So...It's good to get outside of your box...hike and talk a little...learn a lot about who it is you are serving and what its like to be in their shoes, however smelly.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
1º Charla de Salud
Yesterday we held the first of what I hope to be many "charlas de salud" (or health chats) for the women involved in Peru Missions microfinance ministry-Sinergia. There were at least 40 women all crowded into Sinergia's office space (and out the door) watching and listening as our Obstetriz, Sonia spoke about womens health and other..ahhgm, hygiene issues. I was amazed that not only did these women take time out of their day to come but they listened attentively and had lots of questions. I am really looking forward to more of these and enjoyed the opportunity to participate in something that will directly impact the health and lives of these women. 
Tengo música!
Today we were out on a campaign in Parque Industrial and I was talking to this little boy who of course wanted to play with anything and everything and he got a hold of my stethoscope. So I help him put it in his ears and let him listen to his heart. I asked him what he heard and after thinking for a minute he replied "Tengo música"-I have music! 
Karina and I outside of the church in Parque Industrial. She has been faithfully volunteering to help in traige with patients- registering people and taking money or giving out tickets. Not the most fun job and it can get hairy when we have large campaigns. I am so grateful for our Peruvian friends and staff, they are all amazing and I have so much to learn from them. Mil gracias amiga!
Karina and I outside of the church in Parque Industrial. She has been faithfully volunteering to help in traige with patients- registering people and taking money or giving out tickets. Not the most fun job and it can get hairy when we have large campaigns. I am so grateful for our Peruvian friends and staff, they are all amazing and I have so much to learn from them. Mil gracias amiga!
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