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Dear Family and Friends
The eleven of us are back from our International Samaritan medical mission trip to see to the health needs of the very poor of Guatemala City. They scavenge for food and recyclables in the city garbage dump. For most it is not by choice, but a generations-old class of Guatemalans.
We flew there on Wednesday with 23 checked hockey bags (read:BIG) packed with medicines, medical supplies, sports equipment and other items. We collected our bags at the Guatemalan airport and were then stopped by Customs and told we needed to go through a security line and inspection; something we have never had to do. Apparently, a rule was enacted in mid July regarding incoming goods and we were told the paperwork was not complete and could not bring the bags into the country. Andrew (our group leader) made a few frantic calls and tried to reason with the young lady in Customs who didn’t want to lose her job by letting us slip by. We retreated to the hotel and left Andrew to deal with the bureaucracy, and were under the impression that we would have our bags by the next afternoon. Everyone unpacked and we took a loose inventory of what we had in our personal bags (which were never searched...) We had brought a respectable supply of supplies, instruments and meds to begin seeing the children in the morning. Andrew and I sat down with a Guatemalan drug company rep and ordered a conservative amount of medicines that would get us started. We still did not have the bags Thursday afternoonwere most likely out of our reach.
I believe this is when our “mission” truly began - to do whatever we could with what we could get. We placed another order for meds from Christian and continued to treat the Coll School kids (K-6) and the munchkins at the Santa Clara Nursery (infant - 5 yrs). This group of near strangers became a team and was determined to achieve what we thought would be impossible without our “stuff”.
To borrow a phrase, no child was left behind. Over three days of activity, we managed to see and treat over 600 schoolchildren and many more families who live and work in the garbage dump. Typical treatments included medications for respiratory and gastrointestinal issues, pain relief, allergy, skin conditions and breathing treatments for asthmatics. Our translators worked tirelessly to insure complete understanding - definitely worth their weight in
antibiotics!
It is hard to imagine that this is the only life they know - they are a basically happy and very loving people who are very appreciative of our efforts. There are no whiners here - they waited patiently for their turn in lines for triage, health, eye exams and pharmacy as the sun shone down.
Sunday morning included mass at the very beautiful Jesuit church and then back to the airport for our trip home. The Gospel told the story of Jesus explaining that how we treated the child in His arms was how we treated Him. It was very appropriate and a lovely way to look at our time there. In Guatemala, families praying the Our Father during mass link arms around each other - another beautiful expression of the priority they place on FAMILY.

It was a good lesson for us - it made us examine what we really need to provide relief and comfort to the Guatemalan poor. You could have all the meds and extras, but without the people willing to GO, it is worth nothing. Thanks to all of you that assisted me in financial and material ways. I am proud to have been there and honored to have served with my old and new friends.
Central American Ministries is now International Samaritan. (www.intsamaritan.org) and will hopefully be helping the poor in Egypt in the near future. Their website is worth the visit,
just as my visit to Guatemala was worth every cent.

I am changed, again.

Love from Barb