My Blog Fodder: September 2007

Day 5

Good day! The lights have stayed on throughout the night and the room is nice and cold. It’s about 6:05 and breakfast is at 6:30. I woke Dede so we could get ready but she says breakfast is at 6:45. I don’t think so but we better get their at 30 after to be safe. Lyn and Phillip are outside and they’re heading to the kitchen as well. I guess, if we’re early, well be in good company. We made it to the kitchen and breakfast is indeed at 6:30. Nothing like bad information to start out your morning.

Everyone makes it inside and Mike prays over the meal. He said we have to get moving; long day ahead of us. We enjoy a nice meal of fruit, Tampico and…all together now… Gallo Pinto. We all have grown to love it really. I was gonna get more eggs but I was too tired to move. Mike stood up and opened us up for devotion. Johnson was the speaker of the day. He talked about being strong, not giving up and knowing that God is coming soon. It was really good. Lot of amen’s! We all gathered and prayed for the trip and headed out. We’re going to Las Cruses today. It’s where we built the church a few years back. We love that city. MAD told us that they have done an awesome job. The pastor there is gone but a new man has taken his place and step everything up a lot. We can’t wait to see it.

We all go back to the rooms and get ready to leave. I put on my basketball shorts because I didn’t want to get concrete on my pants. Maybe this time I can stay bug bite free. We head out to the bus and load up the all the toys. Jenny found a new Med Pack that we hadn’t used yet. Thank God cause we we’re low. We head out and take off. Dede and I always wear our flip flops out to Las Cruses. It’s a hour and a half drive up and down and the last thing you want to do it wear big heavy shoes. We pack our boots into BAS truck and take off.

The drive up was breathtaking. We made it up the mountain and saw some of the most beautiful sites you could ever see. I tried to catch up on my writing and Dede took the pictures. She got some really good shots. I can’t wait to see them. Mike is in front of us in the pickup and the rental van is behind us. Everyone is together but we can see each other because of these big dirt trucks. It’s a two lane road and going around someone is a feat of strength. We were actually on the Pan-American highway. I thought that was cool. After about and an hour and an half BAS pulled off and started down a dirt road. We were expecting it this time but it was a shock when we first saw it as well.

Well, welcome to Las Cruses, The Cross’s. We can’t wait to see what they have done. And oh my God… the church looks great. It’s painted, there’s a garden, a walkway and two little benches with Iglesia Nueva Vida painted in the front. It is simply amazing.

Everyone who has been there is overwhelmed with how much it’s changed. Ben has to snap us out of it tell everyone to come and help unload. We get it all unpacked, get the layout from MAD and get it going. Today we have three different projects going on at once. We are rebuilding two out houses that the locals moved. It was in the middle of the property and they want it off in the corner. Can you blame them. Also, in addition to the medical / dental clinics with pharmacy we are going to help finish the front patio to the church. As you can see in the picture it’s all dirt right now. We can do that, right? We sure can.

We set everyone up in their places and get ready to open the clinic. I’m on crowd control duty and I hope my Spanish it good enough. We’ll see. The outhouse project is underway and the concrete is being mixed. Let’s open the clinic. We see our first four patients and it’s off! Just like before we see the people who the local church leaders call from their list and I take them to the nurses one by one. The nurse will see one person for every ticket they come with. Depending on what they have sometime you have to treat everyone. If the children have parasites you have to give the same meds to everyone in the house. Many times you can go ahead and treat everyone. They’re in front of you, we have plenty of meds. Just do it.

After about an hour Mike comes around to check in on our progress. We have seen 51 patients and he is pleased. “That’s right where you want to be,” as he walks off. He is doing so many things at once it’s hard to understand how he keeps it all together. Then you see Debra and him talking and you see the anointing on them both and it all makes sense. Almost all of the women have UTI’s and most of the kids have worms. The women don’t have very good hygiene and they wear clothes that are too tight. Bacteria starts to grow and infections begin. The most of the kids don’t have shoes and they walk on the nastiest of grounds. The parasites get into the bodies and multiply.

While we have seen some pretty bad these people are in better health then any of the other clinics we’ve done. The church has really tried to help establish some healthier living standards for the people. They have taught the people the difference between things that can be reused and things that shouldn’t. They have tried to get shoes for the kids and taught the important of clean hands. One of the ladies wants to help produce some pamphlets with even more heath tips. That would be a blessing here. As Americans we see things like this and immediately assume that the people know better but choose to live this way. That just not true. The Bible says; “My people perish for lack in knowledge.” Outside of introducing them to Jesus they best thing we could do for these beautiful people is teach them to how change their own environment. If we simply move them to a better location and dump tons of money at the problem the same circumstances will soon repeat themselves. It’s about education not relocation.

At the two hour mark we have seen an 86 year old woman with pain in her joints, another elderly women with decreased circulation in one leg and an infection in her eyes. While it was awesome to see older people is was very sad to see them in this condition. We prescribed them the proper meds and walk them over to the pharmacy. Mike asked how we were doing and said he was taking a few people over to see Marvin. Marvin is a man LifeLink found when they first came to Las Cruses. He is 50 years old and two weeks after he was born he developed a fever and the doctors sent him home. Within days his body begin to lock up and muscles started to die. From that point on his mother has taken care of him. He said he gonna take another group over later on.

While their gone we start to prepare for lunch. We’re gonna shut everything down and all eat together. The dentist has been working like mad woman. She has seen about 11 per hour since we got here; and some of those are multiple extractions. She is almost done with her current patient and has 15 more waiting in chairs just outside the bed sheet we’re using for privacy. We let them know that the ladies in charge know that the nurses and dentist will be breaking for lunch and they communicate it to the people. When I walked back over to the nurse they only had four more people to see and Mike was still gone. Looks like we might get done a little early. All four of those patient get seen and Mike is walking up the street with the group. You can tell they are still processing what they have just seen. I asked one of the ladies what they thought they said; “I still have some growing to do.” Is amazing the faith of these people. We stress out of the smallest of things. Where we see poverty they see a great change for God to do something amazing.

Joyce goes to the pharmacy and gather a bag full of medications for Marvin and his mother. We set it aside and plan to take it to her after lunch and we shut the clinic down for 30 minutes. We get the other guys and pass out the best turkey sandwiches the world has ever known. We share stories and look at what has already been completed while we eat. One of the outhouses is already up, the nurses have seen 160 people, the dentist has seen over 16 patients and removed countless teeth and two thirds of the concrete is poured and is drying as we speak. Ben starts to tell us how much never expected to see all this in 3 days. Things are moving at lightning speed and it’s all God.

After we eat everyone heads back over to their places and get ready for part two. There are considerably less people at the nurses’ station this time. I think we may be over the hump for the medical side. I go to check on the pharmacy and they all say that they not feel nearly as tired as they we’re yesterday. I asked Mike where everyone else was. He said that this little village only has about 300 people in it and we passed out 300 tickets. So between the dentist and the medical clinic we have seen almost 2/3’s of the people. People are slowly coming in a few at a time to see the nurses but the dentist is still pretty backed up. Mike decided to close it down. Everyone who is waiting will get seen but no new dental patients. She now has 12 people waiting. The young lady who’s taking the dental tickets says that she has collected all 30. Soon after that the lady taking the tickets for the nurse station say that all the registered people have been crossed off. That’s it. No more registered patients are coming. At this point we still have 2 hours to go and the other projects are still full steam ahead. So… we made a decision… if people some up… let’s get them in here. Slowly over the next hour or so we see maybe 25 more people. No tickets!... No problem!

The second outhouse is built and Johnson is on concrete watching duty. I hear clapping coming from the dentist area. She’s on her last patient. Things are winding down. From the corner of the property we hear the sound of metal clanging. I look over and see Mike looking on. A couple of us walk over to check it out. It’s an old school blacksmith hammering a metal rod use to break rocks from the local quarry. He lives next to the church and helps with a lot of things. He is ripped from years of rock and metal work. Mike tells us that these guy work extremely hard for a living and ask us if we want to see the quarry they pull the rock from. We say sure.

About 400 yards down the road we come to a flat mountain wall that looks like it the middle was bulldozed many years ago. Mike said that is exactly what happened. He told us that we were standing right in the middle of what use to be the middle of the mountain. It has been mined over the years and used for buildings. A little further down we see several “work areas” where the locals come and systematically pound out rock and either resale or use the stone. They climb to the top of the ridge, about 250 feet, and in about 12 foot sections hammer our stones.

The work is hard but they don’t complain. We head back to the church and everyone is done and it’s time to pack up. We load up and clean the area. Mike wants to take the whole group to see Marvin. We make sure the place is very clean and we take the walk over to Marvin’s. Marvin and his mother live in the alley next to the church.

The group walks up to the tin and stone shack they call their home. Marvin’s mom is standing inside looking out the windows calling for us to “come on in.” Come in to what? This is a dirt plot with rusty metal pieces and cobweb laden walls. But to her... it was home. We muster enough strength to walk in but none of was were ready for what we saw. To the right there is a raised fire pit filled with random sticks from the ground outside. In the front there is a stone wall with shelf to hold the four pots she owns. The fly’s have completely covered the pieces of mango that were left out. Through a crack in the makeshift roof you can see the top of the “home” next door. The other room to the left is what really brought the reality of this place to life.

The front of us lies a bent and frail man. Between his disfigured body and his unintelligible slur it’s difficult to continue watching him. The only thing more devastating than his body and surroundings is his own prison cell of a chair. Confined to rigid wooden chair; this room and the plot just outside is all he knows of the world he lives in. His body, permanently tense, gives him no rest and little sleep. His mother lifts him up and takes him outside twice a day; everyday. She lays him down gently on the floor and goes back in the house to get his chair. He is about 60 pounds and his chair is another 40. Both are stiff, immovable and extremely fragile. His spine is curved to the point that only his head and legs even touch the chair but still she takes him outside. She baths him, feeds him and prays over him for hours. He loves the Lord and never complains about his lot in life. He would perfectly happy in his home with his mother and their bible; but still she takes him outside. She has a basketball tumor on her body that weight about 30 pounds. Mike says it’s from lifting him; but still she takes him outside. The nurses say it might have started as a hernia but now it’s gotten much worst.

You would think a women in her situation would fall to her knees and scream at the top of her lungs;” God, why are you so unfair!” Some of us would even call such an act; justified… but she doesn’t do that. Instead she uses her knees for another reason; another reason altogether. She falls to her knees and thanks God for everything that He has done. She thanks God for Marvin and every breathe he has. Why? Because she loves him; it’s just that simple. Mike says that there are many times when they have come over to see them both and she is down on the ground praying and praising God. He immediately not to come back for at least a few hours. Not because she wants her privacy but because when she talks to her God; it’s an all day things. She is a praying woman. You would be too if you knew what happen a few months ago; but that’s a story for another day.

We ask Marvin’s mom if we can take him outside and her face lights up like she’s just won the lottery. “Yes, yes of course!” – “Si, si por supresto!” A few of the guys pick him and feel the stiffness of his bones and know that the slightest push would break him in half. They handle his 50 year old body as if he was a newborn being released into his mother’s arms. A couple of other guys grab his chair and are almost brought to tears; not only because he is caged here day in and day out but because his mother, in her 70’s with a 30 pound tumor, lifts this chair in and out every single day. Marvin is outside and everyone is looking. You can’t help but look. Your first reaction is pity until he speaks. He looks up and see Mike and says; “Marco! Hola Marco!” “He calls me Macro”, Mike says and in a second you see the humanity of Marvin in a whole new light. This is not an unresponsive hospital patient who has little to no idea what is happening around him and can never respond to the kindness you are showing him. This is a human being. A beautiful, fully alive human being who fully rejects being labeled a “vegetable.” He forces every “Those people choose to live like that and nothing you can do will make a difference anyway.” naysayer to come to terms with their words and make a decision about the way they think.

Mike beings to tell about Marvin’s infantile fever and the paralysis that followed. His mother cuts in the sadness of the story and says; “Marvin is celebrating his 50 birthday in a few weeks and you are all invited.” The crowd all laughs and applaud. How they cherish his life convicts us all to see things so differently. Mike says he will be there and will bring cake. As Marvin’s mother translates Marvin moves his rigid body with pure excitement. Almost in response to his joy he being singing. His mother takes the cue and joins in with song and accompanying clap. “Joy. Joy. Joy in Jesus…” The sing about having joy in Jesus and being with Him on the other side with new bodies. It is more than enough to make you cry and cry we did.

After a while we moved Marvin back inside and said “see you next time” to his mother because “good bye” hurts to much. This is Dede and I’s third year and this is why. The faces of the people you touch stay in your mind and never let go. As we walk about Mike has a short talk with Marvin’s mom and tells her that he is going to send her to get the tumor removed. She says; “Well, who is take care of Marvin?” He tell her that the ladies from the church are willing to step in and help. They talk for a short while and Mike leaves. I think she will go. It’s time.

As the group is walking back towards the church I go back inside to take one more shot of Marvin. He hears me coming, leans his head back and smiles. He is a man after my own heart. Till next time, Marvin. Till next time.

Everyone is hugging and waving as we prepare to leave. Is by far the most impactful day many of us have had in a long time; let alone on a mission’s trip. The vans are fill and we are on our way. The ride is about an hour and a half and we are all quite tired; not to mention dirty. We intended on leaving a lot earlier but better late than never. It gets dark quick around here and we still have to pass through the “City in the Clouds.” (That’s really it’s name.) It’s a small collection of villages located on top of the mountain between Las Cruses and Managua. The further we get the mistier it becomes. We are latterly driving through and around clouds. The only thing we can see are the tail lights in front of us, and we lose those from time to time. The only saving grace is that it’s not raining. It rained one year on our way back from Las Cruses. You wanna talk about miserable and scary all at the same time. OMG! Well after about an hour we make it down the mountain. No thanks to the giant concrete trucks with the bad breaks going about 10 KPH. We make it to the hotel, unload the trucks and head for the showers. Too bad the power is off, I really wanted to see my bed before I crashed into it… oh well… hope there’s nothing there.

Dinner is in about 30 minutes and we still have debrief. MAD are so overwhelmed with the amount of work we got done they head out for ice cream. Listen, this ice cream down here is quite nasty but something about being here and being this hungry makes them oh so delicious. We all head for dinner and enjoy a special meal. We get spaghetti and meat sauce. Can you say; Yeah!! We eat like… we like we haven’t had spaghetti in a while. After dinner we all head over to the debrief. MAD are very pleased with everything that has happen and we even given Bethany, BAS’s oldest daughter, a special award. She has been a huge help to us this week. Thanks Beth!

After the debriefing some people head for the people and some head for bed. I’m one on the bed-headers. Good night. It’s been a long day and I need a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow is one of two free days. Half of the group is going to the canopy tour. It’s an awesome sight to see. It’s an attraction where you zip line from tree top to tree top. At one point you’re almost 100 feet up. Wow! This is actually the same location where the Predator was filmed. Nice. Well, Dede and I aren’t going. She doesn’t like the height and I don’t want to go without her. We are planning on going to the market to buy a few things. Friday is the joint market day but this way we get an extra day. Sweet.

Well, I probably won’t blog the market days bit I will shot up a final wrap up of the trip. Even after we get back I might still have some other stories to share. Well, see. Anyways… good night.

Nes

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Day 5

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