Día Cuatro

Today was our first official day of ministry in Playa de Oro. When we first arrived to the village we were disappointed by the lack of people at the school but word quickly spread and kids and families began to flow in to play and be seen by the doctors. Our entire group worked hard and accomplished a lot today. Some of the things we did include...

• A couple of the guys are working on roofing one of the rooms and it is looking good

• The painting crew is making headway and one full room is painted

• The water project is continuing to move along with the help of our partners at Healing Waters

• We had a meeting with the board of education to help the boys with the transition to the new school

• We spent time with the kids, coloring, playing soccer, and conversing.

I was excited to be back to our clinic today. Even though there was nobody waiting for us slowly people started trickling in. I found that people trust us and they have come back asking for help. We are blessed to be able to provide the medical care to these people. The numerous smiles and “gracias” we heard makes the day more meaningful. Hope to do it more in the days to come. The complete team with pharmacist and nurse today made it more joyful to work. -Dr. Tony Oliver (2nd trip)

I am so blessed to have returned to Guatemala for a third time. I have made so many friends with the children of the village and, luckily, this time I was able to see many old friends again. In addition, I met new children and found new friends in them. Today, we played, had a little VBS lesson and spent some time coloring with the children, in addition to so much else. I couldn’t help but see God in all of the children. They were so excited to do anything with us and found joy in everything we did. It was also wonderful to see how selfless they were; they shared what little candy they had and were quick to check on each other when one got hurt. It is very humbling and encouraging to see how much happiness and laughter these kids are capable of. I can’t thank the Lord (and my parents) enough for allowing me to go on this trip again. I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for us for the rest of the week. - Lauren Crouch (3rd trip)