Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
DENTAL TEAM DEPARTS; OTHER WORK CONTINUES
The dental team completed their work on Saturday, March 29. In three days, they treated 67 patients and did 4 exams, 25 cleanings, 92 extractions, and 93 fillings. They had planned to “close shop” at about 4 PM, but they were told that 5 more patients had come, and they all needed extractions. They finished with these five, but there were 5 more, and then more. They finally finished at 6:45 PM.
Since Charlie, Randy, Karen and Dave are leaving today, I asked them for a few summary comments.
Dave - " It's a marvelous thing to see what God can accomplish if people are willing."
Charlie – “Once again the Lord has joined, through His grace and love, the people of Quimistan and our missionary groups. You would think that after all of these years that He could do no more, but I have been blessed beyond compare. God is good. Let us thank him for our friends.”
Karen – How can I summarize in 2-3 sentences my feelings about an experience of a lifetime? As always, I have been blessed beyond measure. God is so good and He uses the beautiful people of Quimistan to show me His perfect love. “
Randy –
“ 1. The joy and encouragement of serving God with fellow Christians.
2. To expectantly watch and know the seeds planted by the team will grow and spread in Quimistan and home.
3. The amazement of what God can accomplish when we go forward in His strength and not our own.
4. How thankful I am for this team’s attitude and gifts. It was a joy to serve with them.”
Lee, Tommy, and Dave completed installation of the new ceiling fans in the men’s dorm room. They will do the same in the women’s dorm room next.
Bruce and Jim began installation of shelving in the Light of the Valley elementary school. The main difficulty was getting our supplies and us over a 10-foot- high gate, since no one has a key for the lock.
We have two men assigned to our team as translators. One is named Arturo, who is 45-50 years. His native home is Bolivia. He and his family lived in Miami for several years, and he worked for a mortgage firm. Last year, he and his wife moved to Santa Clara, which is about 30-40 minutes from Quimistan. They wanted to move there since that was his wife’s native home, and they wanted to start a new church in Santa Clara. They have done this. Arturio is the minister and he talks about this with a lot of passion. When they established the church, they had about 10 attendees. Now, they have about 30, many of them children. Arturo has become a good friend to us.
Jim
Since Charlie, Randy, Karen and Dave are leaving today, I asked them for a few summary comments.
Dave - " It's a marvelous thing to see what God can accomplish if people are willing."
Charlie – “Once again the Lord has joined, through His grace and love, the people of Quimistan and our missionary groups. You would think that after all of these years that He could do no more, but I have been blessed beyond compare. God is good. Let us thank him for our friends.”
Karen – How can I summarize in 2-3 sentences my feelings about an experience of a lifetime? As always, I have been blessed beyond measure. God is so good and He uses the beautiful people of Quimistan to show me His perfect love. “
Randy –
“ 1. The joy and encouragement of serving God with fellow Christians.
2. To expectantly watch and know the seeds planted by the team will grow and spread in Quimistan and home.
3. The amazement of what God can accomplish when we go forward in His strength and not our own.
4. How thankful I am for this team’s attitude and gifts. It was a joy to serve with them.”
Lee, Tommy, and Dave completed installation of the new ceiling fans in the men’s dorm room. They will do the same in the women’s dorm room next.
Bruce and Jim began installation of shelving in the Light of the Valley elementary school. The main difficulty was getting our supplies and us over a 10-foot- high gate, since no one has a key for the lock.
We have two men assigned to our team as translators. One is named Arturo, who is 45-50 years. His native home is Bolivia. He and his family lived in Miami for several years, and he worked for a mortgage firm. Last year, he and his wife moved to Santa Clara, which is about 30-40 minutes from Quimistan. They wanted to move there since that was his wife’s native home, and they wanted to start a new church in Santa Clara. They have done this. Arturio is the minister and he talks about this with a lot of passion. When they established the church, they had about 10 attendees. Now, they have about 30, many of them children. Arturo has become a good friend to us.
Jim
Saturday, March 29, 2008
A Routine(?) Day in the Dental Mission
Charlie Wyont set a record yesterday. He extracted 22 teeth from a 42-yr-old woman. He said that he had never extracted that many teeth from a patient at one time. This type of situation shows the importance of the dental health program, especially the oral hygiene training. Also, it is indicative of the overall health of the Quimistan population.
When I asked Randy about his day he said "Oh, it was pretty routine". I think that Randy is being too modest. The dental team successfully treats some very serious dental problems under less-than-ideal conditions. These include inadequate lighting, no suction, no x-rays, and dental chairs that require them to stand all day ( 8-10 hours).
The rest of the team rearranged their work priorities because of the delay in material delivery. Tommy, Lee, and Dave continued their electrical work. Bruce and Jim started work on shelving for Pastor Anna.
I saw an amazing transformation today. While Bruce and I were working on the shelving, Francisco, the AP child that he and Maxine are sponsoring, showed up. Bruce changed from an impatient curmudgeon to a patient, doting grandfather figure. Bruce integrated Francisco into our work applying glue and nailing. Bruce chided me for not starting the nails straight, which made Francisco's work more difficult. After a few minutes, several boys showed up to help. Francisco was obviously proud to be working with his sponsor.
Jim
When I asked Randy about his day he said "Oh, it was pretty routine". I think that Randy is being too modest. The dental team successfully treats some very serious dental problems under less-than-ideal conditions. These include inadequate lighting, no suction, no x-rays, and dental chairs that require them to stand all day ( 8-10 hours).
The rest of the team rearranged their work priorities because of the delay in material delivery. Tommy, Lee, and Dave continued their electrical work. Bruce and Jim started work on shelving for Pastor Anna.
I saw an amazing transformation today. While Bruce and I were working on the shelving, Francisco, the AP child that he and Maxine are sponsoring, showed up. Bruce changed from an impatient curmudgeon to a patient, doting grandfather figure. Bruce integrated Francisco into our work applying glue and nailing. Bruce chided me for not starting the nails straight, which made Francisco's work more difficult. After a few minutes, several boys showed up to help. Francisco was obviously proud to be working with his sponsor.
Jim
Friday, March 28, 2008
OUR SECOND DAY IN QUIMISTAN
We rose at 6 AM to prepare for another exciting day. Randy and Charlie, along with Lorraine, Maxine, and Karen, will continue their dental work. They saw 17 patients yesterday doing extractions, fillings, cleanings, and oral hygiene training. This is Randy's 7th trip to Quimistan and Charlie's and Karen's 4th trip. Over this period, they have provided dental care , including fluoridations, for several thousand people.
Bruce, Lee, Tommy, Dave, and Jim will continue their repair work around the mission complex, and to construct book cases.
Additional photos are on a separate blog.
Jim
Bruce, Lee, Tommy, Dave, and Jim will continue their repair work around the mission complex, and to construct book cases.
Additional photos are on a separate blog.
Jim
Thursday, March 27, 2008
HERE WE GO IN QUIMISTAN
The mission group safely arrived in Quimistan yesterday. The group is composed of :
Randy and Karen Wyont – St. Paul UMC – New Ellenton
Bruce and Maxine Eberhard- First Presbyterian – Aiken
Jim and Lorraine Kelley – First Presbyterian – Aiken
Dave Gibbs – Philadelphia UMC – Harlem, GA
Randy Shelley – St. Johns UMC – Aiken
Lee Coulter – First Presbyterian – Aiken
Tommy Thompson – Trinity UMC – Aiken
Roxanne Turnipseed – S. Aiken Presbyterian – Aiken.
Randy and Charlie are local dentists who closed their offices to volunteer to come to Quimistan to serve local residents Thursday – Saturday. Karen, Maxine, and Lorraine are serving as dental assistants.
Tommy, Lee, and Dave started several plumbing and electrical repairs to the mission facilities.
Bruce and Jim determined material needs to construct shelving for a local elementary school and the Agape Church. Materials were ordered.
Roxanne is performing her normal duties of being a diplomat, tour guide, boss, mother hen, queen bee, ethics advisor, linguist, and banker.
Jim and Tommy
Randy and Karen Wyont – St. Paul UMC – New Ellenton
Bruce and Maxine Eberhard- First Presbyterian – Aiken
Jim and Lorraine Kelley – First Presbyterian – Aiken
Dave Gibbs – Philadelphia UMC – Harlem, GA
Randy Shelley – St. Johns UMC – Aiken
Lee Coulter – First Presbyterian – Aiken
Tommy Thompson – Trinity UMC – Aiken
Roxanne Turnipseed – S. Aiken Presbyterian – Aiken.
Randy and Charlie are local dentists who closed their offices to volunteer to come to Quimistan to serve local residents Thursday – Saturday. Karen, Maxine, and Lorraine are serving as dental assistants.
Tommy, Lee, and Dave started several plumbing and electrical repairs to the mission facilities.
Bruce and Jim determined material needs to construct shelving for a local elementary school and the Agape Church. Materials were ordered.
Roxanne is performing her normal duties of being a diplomat, tour guide, boss, mother hen, queen bee, ethics advisor, linguist, and banker.
Jim and Tommy
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Mission Team on the Move
A team of eleven left Aiken before 5 AM this morning on their way to Honduras for a 10-day mission trip. This photo captured everybody but Randy and Lee on the church bus just before departure. The team will arrive in Quimistan late this afternoon and will be busily engaged until time to return. The photo below shows Randy and Charlie checking to be sure that the trunks with dental supplies are in the stack of fifteen trunks the team is taking to Quimistan, as the teams typically have done. Each team member is assigned one or two trunks as part of their luggage allowance, limiting their own luggage to one piece
plus perhaps a carry-on. The trunks contain clothing, medicines, a few toys, and miscellaneous needs, and the challenge is to stay just below the limit of fifty pounds for each one. The trunks return to Aiken empty so they are ready for the next mission trip. Our prayers go with the team for their safe journey, effective ministry and building of relationships, and growth for everyone in contact with the mission effort.Allen
Thursday, March 13, 2008
New Mission Trip Starts March 26!
A group of eleven will meet at 4:30 AM on March 26 for an early start on their mission trip to Quimistan, Honduras. Four will be there for what has become an annual dental treatment ministry, and the other seven will work on various projects that are emerging as the cooperating church there extends their own ministry to the neighboring communities within the Quimistan Valley area. The blog that began with the January team visit will be re-activated by the March team, so you might want to check back toward the end of this month to catch up with what's going on down there. Jim will be the blogmeister for the team, and Tommy agreed to be the photographer who will capture the human interest photos.
When you see something on the blog that you'd like to comment on, be sure to submit that comment. The team will be blessed to know that folks back home are following their ministry with interest.
Allen
When you see something on the blog that you'd like to comment on, be sure to submit that comment. The team will be blessed to know that folks back home are following their ministry with interest.
Allen
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