A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO END MY TIME IN CHIAPAS....

SIBAL.  MARCH, 2016

Sibal is the village where Pablo is the official Pastor for a 5 year period.  Pastors often have many churches and small congregations to pastor, and must travel from place to place.  He and Jan spend time there, especially for holidays, like Easter.  We spent the last 3 days there for some Holy Week activities.

Sibal is 3 hours from Ocosingo,

up,

and then down,

down a winding, narrow, 2 lane highway where the brush over grows the road and people drive On the wrong side of the road in order to straighten out the curves.  The last 2 hours is on a one lane gravel, bone jarring, head whipping road.  

It is in the lowland, in the selva, and is usually hot country.  However, it rained and was very cold for 2 of the days!   We hunkered down, read, watched TV and wrapped ourselves in blankets, trying to stay warm.  We did not bring anything for the cold.  

But Sibal now has a satellite for WiFi, amazingly!  However, there is no cell service, and only one phone in town, at the one and only little tienda.  If a person receives a call, a loud speaker announces the persons name and they come from their home to the store.  There are chickens and pigs

and horses and cows in everyone's yard and strolling the dirt paths.

Other idiosyncrasies about Sibal:  there is hot water in the outdoor shower, but the water to all faucets, toilets, and shower is only turned on in the morning and evening for a few hours.  Other times of day, there is NO water. My bed was a wood frame and the slats did Not conform to my body.  

There were plenty of blankets!  And there were lots of mosquitoes!  I prayed that none carried dengue, Chikunguna, malaria, or Zika!  

The church brothers (there are no women elders) are very polite, and take good care of us.  They enjoy Pablo's company and his counsel.  They plan and talk in Tzeltal and laugh heartily, hooting all the while.

Music plays over the loud speaker to call the people to church.  Nice touch.  

We made a campfire right outside our door

and we laughed and talked some more.  I didn't understand a thing, but the intent, along with peace and beauty of the place and the moment, was evident.   The moon came out and gave us hope that the new day would be clear for the all church event early in the morning.

This morning the sun came up brilliantly, and the day was exquisite!  The event was on!  The whole church, maybe 100 people, piled into the back of trucks for the 15 minute ride thru the jungle to a lagoon,

newly accessible by a gravel road laid just last year.  Prior to that this whole area and the lagoon was on,y accessible by foot or horseback, or canoe on some small waterways opening to the lake.  The road ended at the lake, a stunning beauty surrounded by trees and brush, with islands that are un developed ruins.  

They had made a small clearing, built long benches, and carried chairs.  

We had a wonderful devotional service with prayer,

songs, and a message by Pablo.

 The sun, the surroundings and the worship was overwhelming,

especially knowing this was my final place for this visit.  I cried.  It is very hard to leave.  One of the brothers has a row boat

and paddled several of us around the lake and onto the islands.  Really nice.  I really wanted to swim, but none of the Tzeltal people were swimming, so I refrained.  

The event ended with everyone bringing lunch and eating there in the woods:  tamales, empanadas, chicken, etc.  

An unbelievable, stirring day.   I'll be heading home tomorrow.  I have slept in 7 different locations, making a move 11 times while in Chiapas.  Tomorrow I will sleep in one more bed before heading "home", first to sleep at my daughter's and then to sleep in my bed at Joy's house!   I am still homeless.....    Thank God for friends and family.

MEDICAL STUDENT CARAVAN, MARCH, 2016

Just thought I would give you a little report on the first ever, Med Student medical caravan, conducted for 4 days, March 14 through March 17, 2016.  Dra. Ana Vasquez, Dr. Pam Pyle, and Randy Duvall were leaders and organizers.  The group consisted of another Family practice physician, Dr. Dana Bradshaw, and Pediatrician, Dr. Jackie Cotten,

9 first and second year med students, 3 nurses and non medical people.
All in all it was a very positive experience for patients, med students, and participants alike!  
The patients were served very thoroughly and were very pleased with the specialist services.  

Many were seen by the gynecologist AND the pediatrician, or the pediatrician AND the general physician.

Nearly ALL were seen by the Oculista. 
Guadalupe, Para Medico, joined us and saw patients all week.  Patricia saw patients as needed most of the week, as did Gerardo.  They advised and consulted, as well, for the week. Carolyn Vogel, nurse in residence, was asked to see patients on the final day, when 150 patients had already checked in by 9 AM!  The patient count, as usual, went

up daily.
The students were assigned to a physician each day, and a job (labs, registration, triage, glasses, etc).  They then rotated through the jobs and doctors so that all got equal opportunity to learn and experience.  They were delighted to be shown various maladies, learn blood sugars and blood pressures, etc.   The students were fun, respectful, enthusiastic, and VERY positive about the conditions in Chiapas, the people and their plight, the clinic, and their experience this week. They also realized that had a long way to go to become physicians!
The glasses project (providing regular glasses along with readers) was hugely successful!  The young man who is involved with Lions Club has traveled with them numerous times to provide this service.  He brought a borrowed auto refractor, a small, simple machine to check eye measurements, which then were matched easily to already measured glasses.  

He brought more than 500 pairs of glasses and as many sunglasses.  We were able to give SO many people corrective lenses.  

Little boy, Oscar, with new glasses

This would be a project to think about as even an expansion to the clinic medical services.  I will contact Lions Club.  The refractors can be purchased for about $2500, but I think we could charge for the glasses and recoup that money easily.  The Lions Club has freely available, already sorted, marked and bagged glasses.  

3 albino children in one family.  They received much needed glasses and sunglasses 

The group brought a TON of medical supplies, 8 huge bags.  They, unfortunately, asked permission to bring the supplies through, and nearly lost all of it!  Ana had to offer herself up for jail in order to get most of it through....
The consultas took longer than normal, as the specialists provided exams, procedures, and a great deal of teaching, with each other and with the med students.  I think all benefitted from this, though the normal process was delayed and patients had to wait longer for their consults.  

Poor scabie baby

Valeria, a little girl with Down syndrome is a frequent visitor to the clinic.  She examines my ears!  She knows how to do it!

It took some organizing and discussion to come up with a good charting system.  A pre printed card was used in addition to the usual paper chart.  I liked the idea, though it did make extra work for providers to chart.  The information, however, was Inputted into the computer and placed on an Excel sheet , so that a lot of interesting statistics were made available. 
All in All, I would say that this would be definitely an experience to repeat. 
Carolina todavia en Chiapas.  

PUERTO ESCONDIDO. A LITTLE RUNAWAY...MARCH SOMETHING, 2016

What a delight!  Jan and I talked ourselves into a little holiday, between groups.  We researched and found a truly hidden treasure in Oaxaca, one state over from Chiapas.   12 hour bus ride brought us to the little town of Puerto Escondido in the dry state of Oaxaca.

  It is on the Pacific.

 The town is dusty, typical.  The beach is exquisite!  It is untapped, there are No tourists here, but for backpackers, surfers, old hippies, and a few Europeans or Canadians who,live or rent here.  The hotels are small, quaint, a little tacky, simple, CHEAP.

  There are no elegant hotels lining the beach.  The beach is free and stretches for miles and includes a beautiful inlet/Laguna where the surf is lower.  

The beach is wide, and has lots of small palapas, restaurants, right on the sand.

 The umbrellas and chairs are free if you buy a water or a Coka.  Food is fresh, inexpensive.  

We ate meals for 100 pesos (about $6) for BOTH of us.  Our cute little hotel/apt. Cost $84 for both of us for 3 nights!  

We walked, sat, and ate on the beach, and watched the magnificent sunset every night over the water.

 We swam and jumped the surf, and shopped the local market.  

We read and read and read.  

Ahhhh.  Really nice respite.  

REPORT ON CHIAPAS, FEB, MAR, 2016

Well, my time in Chiapas is near an end. How the 2 wonderful months have flown!  It is bittersweet returning home.  Part of my heart remains. But I really miss the daughters and grands and I am looking forward to condo hunting!  

Here find a few photos.

It was a productive time, with several medical groups, ending with a team that included medical students, a first.  

We attended many, many sick people, as well as those with routine ailments.  We saw patients with sky high BP's and blood sugars.

 We saw patients with eye, skin, GI, orthopedic conditions. We saw TB, Dengue, Chikunguna, and other unknown ailments.  We next want to obtain an ultrasound machine, an auto refractor for checking eyes and using pre checked prescription glasses,

and a machine for doing more lab tests. 

 We also traveled to several mountain villages

to explore teaching opportunities for the children and their very young "teachers".  

Quite an eye opener.  We also traveled to several other lowland and highland villages with Pablo's church work.  

We are now in Sibal, a low village, in the Lacandon jungle,  where is it usually hot, for part of Easter week.    But a Norte blew in and it is COLD and rainy.  We only brought our summer clothes for 3 days. 

We had communion yesterday on Palm Sunday, in the little mission church in Ocosingo before driving the 3 bouncy hours over a mostly gravel, rutted , barely single lane mountain road to Sibal.  Pablo preached about the king coming in a humble way, on a donkey.  The people here can identify with this. 

We attended a wedding,

a funeral, and a baby dedication.  We ate a lot of beans and tortillas. I did NOT find a vacero o caballero....despite the fact that Pablo announced in several villages to the "brothers"(elders of the church), that I was soltera and looking....

We brought the med students to the small (Veinte Camas, 20 Beds), which is in dire straits.  There No meds.  The single ultrasound machine is not working.  They are not able to do any simple surgeries as they used to .  It is a travesty.

I did have some down time, reading, walking, writing.  Jan and I did a little 3 day runaway to a beautiful, unknown beach town in Oaxaca.  

I am refreshed, despite the significant inconveniences in a culture such as this.   The country is in a lot of turmoil and so much is sad and bad.  But its people for the most part, are humble, grateful, loving, and at the mercy of the government.  

Being flexible, rolling with the punches, taking the challenges in stride, and trusting in the Lord are Mandatory!  We have been safe and healthy.  We have been served.  

Muchissimo gracias! For your interest, your prayers and your support.