tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34820392262322766942024-02-19T00:10:13.417-08:00Adventures in PeruStephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-11075679355946694722011-04-07T16:24:00.000-07:002011-04-07T16:26:29.977-07:00It's been a long time<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >April 7, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I know its been a while since you have heard from me and there's no need for explaining, but I'll feel better spitting it out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Wednesday morning Rach shared her morning devotion with me and made me want to share what I had been repeating in my mind. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I told her that previously I decided to make a list of reasons as to why i hadn't blogged. I REALLY wanted to know. My list began with surface excuses: laziness, no computer, not enough time, etc. As I kept adding to my list, the reasons became more realistic and true. I realized that my frustration, disappointment, and true feelings where coming out. I was upset at the fact that I felt fake when I would blog. Yes, much of the stuff I had written was true, but it was more of a "fluffy" version --words written down to please my audience. The true knitty, gritty stuff is what I kept inside my journal. I felt that because I have an audience I would be judged for what they would read. I wanted them to read what an "ideal" mission experience is like. I wanted to write a "better" me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I desired to sound intellectual, witty, and eloquent --not what I found in my journal. Being able to write like people that I admire had become my goal and I didn't want to accept any less. In reality I wished to be someone else and I wasn't excited for who I was. I'm simple minded and with few words. Yeah, I can sit down and talk with anyone about superficial things, but when it comes to deep discusions... let's just say I loose my words. I struggle with publicly announcing my thoughts and feelings. When I want to come up with something smart to say, I have to run it and rerun it several times in my head before expressing it out loud . For example, what I'm writing now was a discussion I had with Rach and it's a discusion I played in my head several times before spitting it out. It takes time and I don't like it. I want to live life and be able to write and speak about my thoughts as if it where easy as breathing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >So without really knowing these feelings, I stopped blogging. I merely made excuses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >As a child I grew up talking about daily things; our discusions never centered around intellectual topics. We never sat down and had a family discussion about Mozart or world polotics. It's not a horrible thing, but I wish I was better at having those types of discussions. I wasn't accepting that part of myself. As I journaled these thoughts, I felt God telling me that there was no need to worry or fret. He accepts me for who I am. Accepting my method of thinking, I decided that God would be the one to grant me wisdom as I live through different experiences. To make things even better, Wednesday morning Rachel read me this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >God made you <i>you-nique</i>. Secular thinking, as a whole, doesn't buy this. Secular society sees no author behind the book, no architect behind the house, no purpose behind or beyond life. It simply says, "You can be anything you want to be."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Be a butcher if you want to, a sales rep if you like. Be an ambassador if you really care. You can be anything you want to be. But can you? If God didn't pack within you the meat sense of a butcher, the people skills of salesperson, or the world vision of an ambassador, can you be one? An unhappy, dissatisfied one perhaps. But a fulfilled one? No. Can an acorn become a rose, a whale fly like a bird, or lead become gold? Absolutely not. You cannot be anything you want to be. But you can be everything God wants you to be.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" > Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life</span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Society makes me think that I need to be an eloquent writer and deliver no less. But I'm not and God is ok with that. And so am I.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Each of us is an original. Even when it comes to writing or speaking or whatever it may be.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" > Galatians 5:26 (The Message and a little of me)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-51409505292435809582011-02-02T13:20:00.000-08:002011-02-02T13:21:48.819-08:00Lots of rain along with some action<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The past week it rained almost every day. Along with the rain came cooler weather, and I have loved every bit of it. Not only did we get rain, but we also got a lot of action.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" >On the first morning of rain we heard “parto” coming from outside our fence. “Parto!” A man was standing outside our fence yelling “birth.” It was 5:30 AM and the girls got up to get ready for the new baby. Unfortunately, I had just battled a fever that same night so I wasn’t feeling strong enough to help out. All I know is that while the mom was in the room hooked up to an IV it was raining cats and dogs outside. I never heard a thing, not the mom yelling or the baby’s first cry. I was a bit sad, but I knew that it wasn’t going to be the only women giving birth in our clinic. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >As the days came so did the rain. It would not let up. Due to the rain we didn’t see very many patients. All the roads where full of <i>barro</i> (mud), making it very difficult for patients to come and for us to leave the clinic. There were some nights when we were unable to attend VBS because of the bad roads.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The birth wasn’t the only exciting thing we saw. I got to witness a circumcision of a 6 year old boy. Due to an infection he had he was unable to urinate and it was causing him lots of pain. The only way to help was to remove part of the foreskin and give him his antibiotics. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >This week we should be having two other women coming in to give birth. I’m super excited! And this time I’m not missing out. So hopefully next week I can update my blog to let you know how it went.</span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-31071390369385682952011-01-19T08:15:00.000-08:002011-02-02T13:46:59.505-08:00Los Mangos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfz2HsiXltYyylF_a7Nsgjmmawb_gjNW800pVuYg2rDoJWPz0RbRCwdPQQ4v2pqwVzmsPJ96xNTAkkxxPmrhxWSu_lqpqKADx2qg0BRsMKN7Vh4pRQ48vEH1-GecKqZkmnnBG79Cr_BUXH/s1600/_DSC0121.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfz2HsiXltYyylF_a7Nsgjmmawb_gjNW800pVuYg2rDoJWPz0RbRCwdPQQ4v2pqwVzmsPJ96xNTAkkxxPmrhxWSu_lqpqKADx2qg0BRsMKN7Vh4pRQ48vEH1-GecKqZkmnnBG79Cr_BUXH/s320/_DSC0121.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569211133509095026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhescC8URHwnyZf0WoZINftdKIiJmg_pBby7RdvemMvbVyoYntmRaRa4G0hdJwoMP2Fuiq7DAZ8yayuskax5NbZykIOhErn3YgV1PsSAMVUMs88hnSxE8-p_1sqqX1eyJuOOdL9RXsftjTq/s1600/_DSC0056.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhescC8URHwnyZf0WoZINftdKIiJmg_pBby7RdvemMvbVyoYntmRaRa4G0hdJwoMP2Fuiq7DAZ8yayuskax5NbZykIOhErn3YgV1PsSAMVUMs88hnSxE8-p_1sqqX1eyJuOOdL9RXsftjTq/s320/_DSC0056.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569211128875700578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjP1ZtN6UvYhoe5JcWAEfzMflsrCHSdvKTLTMsYYOV9cYUQqxkB-YixrWVQQ13iupA1rlw9SZyTA1bpxXLPzyMYboSMfisf6vcyflbHsQrEsNrbD3JNZVAz8AxEkoGTWkDW-3StNvTvHI/s1600/_DSC0026.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjP1ZtN6UvYhoe5JcWAEfzMflsrCHSdvKTLTMsYYOV9cYUQqxkB-YixrWVQQ13iupA1rlw9SZyTA1bpxXLPzyMYboSMfisf6vcyflbHsQrEsNrbD3JNZVAz8AxEkoGTWkDW-3StNvTvHI/s320/_DSC0026.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569211121873782514" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCl9njpQLwqYTZPUYlm7mL3_nuS3_aR52FQlrjvNi5MQ-Q-nUBN2kt9-JhZlGOYgTM5MDJXEiTiQbivXC7O31qKCApz0GAwW4lZ_sT8Bq0UQIDLwMf3mDsNj2Az1PjCLfyoXwnfbmSTOFD/s1600/_DSC0082.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCl9njpQLwqYTZPUYlm7mL3_nuS3_aR52FQlrjvNi5MQ-Q-nUBN2kt9-JhZlGOYgTM5MDJXEiTiQbivXC7O31qKCApz0GAwW4lZ_sT8Bq0UQIDLwMf3mDsNj2Az1PjCLfyoXwnfbmSTOFD/s320/_DSC0082.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569211116789176658" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZiEhxkN9ouEF4dB_RVme6AXPQQzFXQrrr9iZSfBwqEF_a7F53GWLcdatETIpbbKDwC4sLl3S_JoxBPbot5PMoDlL1MUptmc3t2sj05tkfAlFSNzi720IBuO9rhcy7_eFFUvOOdTNOiZ0/s1600/_DSC0023.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZiEhxkN9ouEF4dB_RVme6AXPQQzFXQrrr9iZSfBwqEF_a7F53GWLcdatETIpbbKDwC4sLl3S_JoxBPbot5PMoDlL1MUptmc3t2sj05tkfAlFSNzi720IBuO9rhcy7_eFFUvOOdTNOiZ0/s320/_DSC0023.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569211108619493842" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXutH7AeHvp18hMV0XSDLLDIuo5Q5b3slmHdhEqpqWBItKE2LEs0-e4w3zOgA8axJKJIBGeM3Ksisb84dHtVtpUld8Wpfx09TXDU4176B6buDd5yhERQraukvIfSNwbJOuYGFMy0FlOBw4/s1600/_DSC0046.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXutH7AeHvp18hMV0XSDLLDIuo5Q5b3slmHdhEqpqWBItKE2LEs0-e4w3zOgA8axJKJIBGeM3Ksisb84dHtVtpUld8Wpfx09TXDU4176B6buDd5yhERQraukvIfSNwbJOuYGFMy0FlOBw4/s320/_DSC0046.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569207891723413154" /></a></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrV9uIpKiOBtNfsGW1jUCYIi4k6cmK6wCctPlSj6Kbo8HBBMbuLeOXALKw25dHDW4kH6Z9hYRxjyPkVO_wRZ0HU2EcOpNloKhFi22qpA1tVzg5ZE_SRRm5AY7Z5MDF6sqCT570VxAo7fVK/s1600/_DSC0039.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrV9uIpKiOBtNfsGW1jUCYIi4k6cmK6wCctPlSj6Kbo8HBBMbuLeOXALKw25dHDW4kH6Z9hYRxjyPkVO_wRZ0HU2EcOpNloKhFi22qpA1tVzg5ZE_SRRm5AY7Z5MDF6sqCT570VxAo7fVK/s320/_DSC0039.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569207890739141426" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrrMNqBTC22MMbF5ixJpKJbAhMrfqdQ_8hWLtl3uf8Qo0GPcRGkrmSt9sZoIlewKRXC_PM8KNrkYlk5NR1rRtNKj-ABpalW5TPaWiKsbKOqwdLQoOCx17MkrR9HDxboMhZZv_5b3_EFgA/s1600/_DSC0036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrrMNqBTC22MMbF5ixJpKJbAhMrfqdQ_8hWLtl3uf8Qo0GPcRGkrmSt9sZoIlewKRXC_PM8KNrkYlk5NR1rRtNKj-ABpalW5TPaWiKsbKOqwdLQoOCx17MkrR9HDxboMhZZv_5b3_EFgA/s320/_DSC0036.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569207887086695042" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">January 10-14, 2011</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">This past week we were at Km 6, La Gran Villa de Manantay or Los Mangos, holding a medical and evangelistic campaign. It’s been one of the busiest and tiring weeks of my life. But at the same time I have been blessed in so many ways. From Monday to Friday we have been pulling 8+ hours attending patients with dental and medical care. Our team may be small but we sure know how to work hard.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">Considering we have a clinic at Porto Carrero we couldn’t stop attending patients there. So we had to split up the team. Luis, Rachel, and Dr. Cecilia stayed at Porto Carrero and the rest of us worked at Km 6. When the morning shift was through the team at Km 7 joined us for the afternoon shift. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">In the dental side Lauren and Rebecca were cleaning/extracting teeth left and right. In the pharmacy Anthony and I were handing out meds like crazy. We were trying our hardest to keep up with the Doc. Once the shots started coming in all hope was lost. Ha ha. While Anthony handed out the meds I devoted my time to giving shots. Shot, shot, shot… It seemed like it would never end. I averaged 30 shots a morning. And the numbers would only increase in the afternoon when both doctors would prescribe multiple shots. I was giving shots to patients in my sleep.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">Between shots I had to find time to do different procedures, like: scraping out infection from wounds, bandaging wounds, taking out nails, washing out tons of ears, taking out and putting in sutures, and the occasional translating. And I would always have those patients who would be like, “Doctorsita [little doctor] please explain to me how to take this drug.” Always going, going, going. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">I was always thankful when Rachel would arrive in the afternoon. We have been working together since day one and this whole separation thing was not cool. But when we were together we were invincible. Keeping up with the Doc wasn’t so impossible. While she gave a shot I could be giving one as well. I don’t want to boast, but the Doc has turned us into machines when we are in the pharmacies.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">If there was ever a question on a drug: the dosage, how many days to take it, its effects, what it was for, etc. We knew the answer. Of course there were those times when we had no clue and we had to ask the Doc.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am BEYOND grateful for all that I have learned from working in these campaigns. And for all that the Doc has shown and taught us. Thank You!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">It’s not over yet. Once we closed and packed up the pharmacy we had to meet up at the tent to gather all the kids. It was time for VBS. In total there was about 50 or more kids. We would start all together with songs. They loved to sing and that was the most entertaining part of it all. Then we would split them up in two groups: 8 and up and 8 and under. The older kids would study out of a booklet with Dr. Cecilia and Rebecca. The rest of us worked with the younger kids. We would sing, tell them a story, and then do a craft relating to the story. Once the kids program was done we would join the adults for their program. The hard part was trying to keep the kids quiet while the adults listened.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">In the adults program we would sing, listen to a small message, have special music, and then at the end Domingo would have the main topic for the night. Occasionally I would give the 5 minute health chat. I did topics like: how to make a healthy salad, washing your hands, drinking water, etc. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">When the day was done, we were all exhausted and ready to hit the bed. Once my head touched the pillow I was out and when my alarm would go off, I felt as if I had just laid down.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Blessings:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*The patients who thank you after you give them a shot. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*The smiling kid after you show him the large piece of wax you washed out of his ear.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*The strength God supplies you with to continue on.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*The meals of each day that the hands prepared. Boy would we get hungry by the time 2PM rolled around.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*All the smiling kids at VBS.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*The nice people who would offer you a free ride, food, cold, water, etc.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*The mom who thanks you for her kids medicine</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*Our team working hard and together</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*The home we could retrieve to when it was time to rest</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span">*And many more blessings</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-44122640428426434632011-01-19T08:06:00.000-08:002011-01-19T08:15:17.410-08:00Struggles and Searching for the Truth<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Traveling in a bus during vacation gave me a lot of time to think. Time to think about where I was, where I used to be, and where I plan to be. Mentally and spiritually that is. As the scenery would pass by in front of me different moments in time would pass by inside of my head. I went far back as to when I was a child and dreamed of becoming a doctor. The days when anything seemed possible in a worry free world. I reminisced about the days at WACA (Wichita Adventist Christian Academy) when I met new friends, gained new responsibilities, but yet still young enough not to have to worry. Then my mind took me to Loveland, Colorado where the circle of friends only got bigger. I was away from home for the first time in my life. At first it wasn’t easy, but as soon as I got the hang of things, life was as simple as pie. Of course there was the occasional drama and stress over homework. The stress had a good purpose, because with good grades you could get a scholarship for college.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" >College. One of the best things that has happened to me. A wonderful environment called Union College where you can blossom and work hard to become what you’ve always dreamed of. More new friends who are dreaming of the same career, study groups, clubs, and so much more. If you desire to leave the country and serve God, you can do that too. Here in Peru I have a new family and friends. I’ve experienced so much and have learned even more.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'courier new'; ">All this time I’ve been blessed in so many ways. I have been taught to love my family, to love my neighbor, and to love my God. Growing up as a Seventh Day Adventist I’ve been surrounded by many good people who have taught me all I know. But all of a sudden I have hit this strange hole in the road. Unfamiliar with it I don’t know how to do deal with it. I don’t even know how to pray about.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'courier new'; ">Two weeks before Christmas break I was really struggling. Not wanting to deal with the confusion I pushed my feelings away, only to make me irritable at small things. I figured, “Maybe I’m just tired and I need a break. Hang in there Steph, break is almost here.” Break came and went and I only felt worse. It was in a bus when I found what was missing and what was irritating me. This truth that is in my mind is no longer in my heart. All these great things that I know have lost their meaning. The passion is gone. I got scared. All these years of knowledge and truth, is all just a waste? I felt like a horrible missionary portraying to be a Christian. How can I do my job here in Peru if I don’t have the passion for the truth?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'courier new'; ">I decided to talk to a friend about it. Funny thing was that we were both feeling the same way. It’s somewhat of a blessing for me. I was able to talk with her and relate with her. We pretty much came to a conclusion that we both want to search out this truth. We know the passion is deep inside us somewhere; we just need to find it. So I made a very specific prayer to God one morning.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" >“Lord, I want to know the truth. I want to search it out and study it. I want to have the passion for it and share it with others. However, I have no idea where to start.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I opened my Bible randomly and landed to John 15:1, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardner.” </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'courier new'; ">I was encouraged by the passage and asked the Lord to continue guiding me in this search. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'courier new'; ">I’ve been following a 3 Track Reading Plan in search for the truth. I know that it’s in His word and that with his guidance I will have that passion once again.</span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-75807298160602982252011-01-07T15:45:00.001-08:002011-01-19T08:06:20.576-08:00Uno Mas<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">December 4, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">Second Sabbath at Km 8. This Saturday we had many more members attend the service. We had at least 6 adults and about 15 kids! We more than doubled our membership. It was oh so beautiful. I had the greatest time leading out children Sabbath school with Lauren and Rachel. The other wonderful part was the fact that Chris, Jonathan, and Lyn decided to join us for our service. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; "><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">For Sabbath school we learned about the time when Jesus calmed the storm for his disciples. The kids loved the story and to remember the story we built origami boats. When that was done we all learned Psalms 56:3 For when I am scared I put my trust in you. From the smiles on all the little faces I think Sabbath school went well </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; ">J</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; "><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; "><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">We continued our service with songs, offering, and more singing. Then Lyn had the sermon for us with Dr. Cecilia translating. It was wonderful! I enjoyed this service very much and as far as I could tell I think the members did too. Once church was done we all got ready to head towards Ivan Sick. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; "><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">Gady, from Ivan Sikic, had invited us to their 4<sup>th</sup> year church anniversary. Considering we are cheap we all (6 people) crammed into the smallest taxi and headed to Ivan Sikic. They prepared us a delicious lunch and treated us with great hospitality. We introduced Lyn to everyone there and they all became good friends with him. When we finished eating we headed to the church to get seats for the concert. We arrived an 1 hour early, hoping that they would start early. Ha ha. What were we thinking? As usual the program started an hour after it had been scheduled. At this concert we heard members from different churches sing with beautiful voices. And to our lovely surprise, they later called us to give a special music. So we did, then they said, “uno mas” one more.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; "><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">By the end of the program we had sang 8 times. We did duets, trios, and then all of us together. It was a lot of fun singing and listening to others perform. At the end of the concert we all enjoyed home made cake </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; ">J</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; "> It was pretty yummy.</span><span style="font-family:"Courier New";color:red"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-50142501585688820702010-12-01T09:20:00.000-08:002011-01-07T15:44:48.487-08:00Rabbit rabbit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXRbhHo7JK-eZN_To2LXOAF2B6YiktlD5z-Ea5_dr7oTs3Qmb6AR7QCC9zZhiY5bgQaP-zIqLUFCSZt5eT9MBu32TuQxiRznakGIO4umevbZFh_KIWpVPpdtqi4dThRhBBQ-WWGgjk5Ovr/s1600/IMG_0597.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXRbhHo7JK-eZN_To2LXOAF2B6YiktlD5z-Ea5_dr7oTs3Qmb6AR7QCC9zZhiY5bgQaP-zIqLUFCSZt5eT9MBu32TuQxiRznakGIO4umevbZFh_KIWpVPpdtqi4dThRhBBQ-WWGgjk5Ovr/s320/IMG_0597.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559591379843261634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjk3gsPidsVK9dnmhfwwNdERvR-ivmetX938biqePeZ2PDfx55Qho-vYCP1Bg0QbEEghCxwUYQTSK2MYyH2I-GmsFjj-lnh6nGacBPAtnpgxzknUuXFz2RIYGqQuHcPyMJ9tS9luZ2uxM/s1600/IMG_0588.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjk3gsPidsVK9dnmhfwwNdERvR-ivmetX938biqePeZ2PDfx55Qho-vYCP1Bg0QbEEghCxwUYQTSK2MYyH2I-GmsFjj-lnh6nGacBPAtnpgxzknUuXFz2RIYGqQuHcPyMJ9tS9luZ2uxM/s320/IMG_0588.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559591377842305234" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">December 1, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">The first day of December. I can’t believe how fast time is flying. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">I just wanted to write about our friend Vilfredo. He’s the little boy that came to us a week ago in a very bad condition; very dehydrated and malnourished. Well since that day he has gained 2 more kg and he’s looking a lot better. His cheeks are fuller and his skin isn’t peeling anymore. His hair looks fuller and he’s got more energy in his little body. From speaking with his mother we know that he’s now eating solid foods and drinking his milk at least 4 times a day. Lauren even caught a picture of him smiling </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:"Courier New";mso-hansi-font-family: "Courier New";mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;">J</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Courier New';">It just makes my heart smile every time he comes in. I will continue to update his progress as time goes by. </span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-91820579297920831852010-12-01T09:19:00.000-08:002010-12-01T09:20:47.441-08:00New neighbors too<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">November 28, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">This evening we went out to meet our neighbors and let them know of our Tuesday evening event. We walked to the nearest house to ours and talked with anyone that we could find. Everyone that we met and talked to was very nice and hospital. They all offered us a seat and even a little treat. We sat with them for a good 15 minutes and just chatted. We swapped names and they told us about their families. After our visitations there was one man in particular who touched my heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">His name is Pedro. Thankfully, it’s a very easy name for me to remember. When we first arrived to a fenced area we called out, “Hola?” We then heard a funny voice answer back, “Hola.” We smiled at each other and walked in. We found a man who looked like he was in his fifties – we later found out he was 75 – just working away. He had a shovel in his hands and was clearing away weeds that were starting to grow around his plants. We told him what we were doing and we immediately hit it off. When we asked him what he was doing he got very excited and began sharing with us all his hard work. He even gave us a tour of all that he had done. He showed us his papaya trees, his planted wheat, rice, aguaje tree, yuka plants, and so much more. He even explained how he would gather some of his produce. After his tour he invited over to his house for a little treat.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">At his house we enjoyed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">curichi</i>. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Curichi</i> is a popular frozen treat amongst the Peruvians. It is aguaje juice poured in plastic little bags and then frozen. As we ate our delicious treat we admired his small yet beautiful house. He had a fence around his home with beautiful flowers at the entrance of his home. Of course, all the flowers he had planted and cared for himself. Looking inside his house, it was very clean and organized. We also got to enjoy listening to him talk about his story. It was actually very entertaining. When he would talk about his dogs he would act out exactly how they would act. You would have to been there.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">After enjoying his presence, I remembered why I loved doing this. We have the chance to meet all these people and add them to our lives. Just by listening to their struggles and victories in life is such a blessing. It teaches me how to connect with others by sympathizing, laughing, or being excited with them. I’m excited for the many more families we have left to visit. </span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-43464869524466941522010-12-01T09:18:00.000-08:002010-12-01T09:19:53.571-08:00New home = New church<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">November 27, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">First Sabbath at Km 8. When we were told that we had to lead out church at Km 8, I was scared and sad. This meant that we would no longer be part of our current church </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New";mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New";mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings">L</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"> All the people we had bonded with would no longer be part of our Sabbath experience. And I had never lead out a church before… <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">But that’s the point of being a missionary. Sometimes you have to do things you’ve never done before and trust God that He’ll lead you. So that’s what I decided to do. I said, “God, I have no clue what I’m doing, but I ask that you guide us and bless us.” <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">So that week we planned out a church service. We prepared hymns, special music, offering, Sabbath school, a sermon, and more. We also let our patients know that we were going to have church that upcoming Sabbath. By Saturday morning we had the whole service written on a piece of paper.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">The service went a little like this:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Rachel had the welcome, announcements, and opening prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">We sang four hymns and broke into two groups to have Sabbath school. Cecilia took the adults while Lauren, Rachel, and I took the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">We then sang some more.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Cecilia had the offering call and the children’s story.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Rachel, Lauren, and I sang a hymn for special music.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">I had the sermon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">We sang our closing hymn. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Cecilia closed the service with a prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">It went well, not as we had planned, but I do believe God still blessed. We had a total of 7 people come and join us; three adults and four kids. We’ll continue letting our patients know that we have a church service on Saturdays along with Bible studies in the near future. We want to reach out to our community both medically and spiritually. </span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-73170096463791698062010-12-01T09:17:00.000-08:002010-12-01T09:18:54.439-08:00My favorite day<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">November 25, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Thanksgiving day. I am very grateful that we were given this day off so that we could celebrate my favorite day of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Being in Peru didn’t change the fact that it’s still my favorite. Yeah things would be different, but being here has opened my eyes to new things to be grateful for. Being in Peru has given me a deeper meaning of Thanksgiving. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">We started our day by collecting money from everyone and then heading shopping for the food. Lauren and Rachel left to buy the turkey while Jenessa and others left to buy the rest of the stuff and pick up the mail. We were very excited to see what our families had sent us in the Thanksgiving packages. So now I just want to say thank you to all the parents who made our Thanksgiving meal possible and delicious.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Lauren and Rachel returned with a complete, pail, dead turkey. Lauren being the master chef took the responsibility of cleaning it out and preparing it for the oven. She pumped milk into to it, added the seasonings, and wrapped it up. She had planned to prepare it and then send it to Campo Verde so that someone could roast it. When the rest of the gang arrived we all filled the kitchen to help out with the other preparations. Some peeled potatoes, others chopped veggies, and some stirred deliciousness over the stove. We were a team of busy bees while listening to Christmas tunes. When the food was about done Hanna, Rachel, and I decided to decorate for the special dinner. We laid out the tablecloth and plates that Mrs. Downey had sent us. They were decorated with very cute and funny turkeys. Thanks Mrs. Downey </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:"Courier New";mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New"; mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">J</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"> We then cut out leaves of different colors and hung them off the rafters. It turned out so beautiful, we were very proud of ourselves.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Unfortunately, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">chicos</i> didn’t get the whole day off. However, when they finished working, Hanna and I joined them in a game of soccer. Considering it had rained earlier that day everything was muddy and slippery. Let’s just say that by the end of the game Hanna and I were ready for our showers. Oh and I forgot to mention that I scored my first goal </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:"Courier New"; mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New";mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">J</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">All cleaned up I joined the rest of my family in the other house. With all the food laid out in the middle of the table it made me so happy just walking in. We had invited everyone that is part of our new family. In total it’s almost 30 of us. As we finally all arrived, Jenessa offered a prayer for the food and we all sat to enjoy our wonderful feast. We had: turkey, stuffing, cranberries, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and many more yummy things. When we were about done eating we all went around the table and said what we were thankful for. It was such a wonderful day!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">Like I said before, being here has made me very grateful for many things that I would normally take for granted.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*Running water<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*A roof over my head<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*The food of every meal<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*The rain that we receive to cool us off<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*Our protection<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*My good health<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*Moments to relax and take a breath<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*The smiles of our patients<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">But I will never take for granted my families at home that love and care for me. The mission here and everyone that makes it possible. The love of our God.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-65734832707865058072010-11-22T18:04:00.000-08:002010-11-22T18:06:36.615-08:00Slinky worn out<span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>November 16-20, 2010:</strong><br />This week has been tough. Yeah there were good days but there were also some hard ones. I write this because I feel it’s important to write down when I have a bad day and when I have difficulties. I may seem to be strong in tough situations, but there are definitely moments when I break down. I’m human too and even the small things can get to me just like anyone else.<br /><br />This week we had a medical campaign at our new home. We had a lovely pharmacy with medicine, a consultation office, and a dental room all ready to go. As soon as the word got out that we were having a free medical campaign the flood of people poured in. Once again women were bringing in their 7 kids and other relatives. It made me happy to be able to attend to so many families. However, we quickly ran out of vitamins and worm medicine. This alone began to frustrate me…<br /><br />The new doctor is very nice and she speaks English. It’s really nice being able to communicate in both languages if I wish. So far she has taught me a lot. She’s allowed me to sit with her as she sees patients, shown me how to do different exams, shown me what to look for and what is not normal in patients.<br />We saw many different cases. Some people just had headaches and tummy aches, but some were in worse shape. As usual we gave many shots to help with pain and severe infections. There was one case in particular that tore my heart.<br /><br />It was Friday and a young man came in with his aunt and her baby. The mother spoke very little Spanish because she was from a jungle tribe. Her one-year-old baby only weighed 3kg! That’s about 6 pounds. His skin hung on his little bones, his face was sunken in, and he moved very slow compared to a healthy one year old. His skin was peeling severely and in some areas it was losing its pigment. Rachel and I were shocked. We had never seen anything like this, only in our schoolbooks.<br />The Doctor asked questions and found out that his only diet to that day was his mother’s milk. He was very malnourished and dehydrated. His condition was so severe that we had to do something quick. We figured that the quickest way to help him out was to give him electrolytes and an antibiotic through an IV. Trying to find a big enough vein was impossible. We finally found a vein in his foot that looked big enough to do the job. Rachel and I were sweating bullets because we were so nervous. Sure we had both learned to do IV’s. Yeah we had poked a few people, but they were all healthy. This baby was severely dehydrated and did I mention he was a baby. We had never imagined ourselves starting an IV on a patient such as this.<br />I was the first to attempt. As I stuck the needle into his skin it felt like rubber. It was hard to put the needle in and even harder to thread the catheter. Fail. Luckily the vein on his other foot looked like it would do. So Rachel went for the second try. Once again, no success. Our needles weren’t small enough and we didn’t have the right tools to do the job. Luckily for us Doc arrived and took a look at him.<br />We finally ended up buying him Pediasure and Complex B, hoping that with better nourishment he could improve. I also accompanied the mother with her baby to the laboratory in Pucallpa. They took his blood, feces, and urine to run tests. The Doc wanted to see exactly what he had. We have yet to know what the results are. We hope that by Monday we may have them.<br /><br />We were told that from now on we would run a clinic in the mornings and then have public health classes in the evenings. The public health would be a variety of things: lectures at the clinic, visits at home, activities, and much more. Then every Saturday we are going to lead church service. On top of all that we began to plan our water, food, and transportation.<br />So many new responsibilities, new difficulties, new things to get used to. I couldn’t help myself but feel a little overwhelmed. Is it ok to feel like this? Yes I can be flexible, I’ve done it before. But when you get hit with a huge sack of potatoes it tends to hurt a little. Well, that’s how I feel.<br />I’ll just break down the details.<br />Thankfully we have running water. The catch is that the water falls at random times; times that we don’t normally shower and that’s when we really want it. So we turn on the water and fill our two buckets so that we may have water to shower with, drink, and cook with. We have one bathroom and it’s almost full. There are a ton of mosquitoes and as far as I know, they love my blood. There are only three small rooms in our house. One is the boys room, one is the kitchen, and the third one holds four girls. Not the easiest or most posh living conditions.<br /><br />I’ve realized that Friday evenings and Saturdays are my hardest times. I miss vespers at UC and I really miss my family and friends on Saturdays. Saturdays here are never restful. There is always something that we must do: lead out in Sabbath school, special music, sermon, and so on. Then As soon as4pm rolls around we are completely in charge of JA. All the games, activities and messages has to be done by us the missionaries. It really burns you out. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy leading out. But I can’t do it EVERY Saturday. I feel like I never rest, not even on the day that God gave me. Once again, is it ok to feel like this? I know missionaries are to do it all, but we are humans too and we get tired too.<br /><br />Even though I try hard to be happy it feels fake. The smile on my face is only a mask. I don’t know if I’m burning out. I probably am. This past week I’ve really been missing home. My family, friends, the fall, the cool brisk weather, I miss it all. I think it’s hitting me now especially because its getting closer to the holidays.<br /><br />I guess what I’m trying to say is that I know I’m going through that really hard part of being an SM. Many student missionaries have probably felt this way. I don’t ask for sympathy, just for understanding and prayers. Only God can supply we enough strength, patients, and passion to continue on.</span>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-48429343022527235672010-11-11T08:15:00.000-08:002010-11-11T08:16:18.760-08:00Fixing our new home<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">November 8, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Today Rachel, Lauren, and I worked at Km 8. We cleaned the three bedrooms: swept, dusted, and made sure the beds were cleaned. We were told that the new doctor lady was arriving this week. I’m not sure when that day will be. But I’m very excited for her arrival. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Our new home has no running water, one toilet, no shade, lots of dirt… there is a lot of work to do. It will not be easy, but we will do our best to improve our new home. The only thing holding us back is the money, of course. However, I have complete trust in God that He will provide.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Sadly, Rachel wasn’t feeling her best. And things only got worse towards the evening. On our way home she threw up. After thinking about it, we believe it was the bad mango that caused her to feel sick. Now we pray that this will pass, that she will regain her strength, and that our Rachel may return.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">So what I do know:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*Our new mission is to clean up our new home and get it get ready for us to live in it. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*This coming Sunday we will start a medical campaign. Sun-Fri.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">November 9, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Tuesday. Because Rachel wasn’t feeling well, it was only Lauren and I who went and worked at Km 8 with the chicos. While the guys worked hard making frames for the walls and doors, Lauren and I sawed planks of wood. These planks would then be hammered onto the frames to make the walls. For an hour we sawed about 15 planks.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">We then went and had lunch at a restaurant nearby. We were served horse soup. The soup itself was very tasty, but the horse was not. We then had a very delicious dish made of: rice, tomatoes, potatoes, and onions. The dish is called Lomo. Loved it </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New";mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New";mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings">J</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"> It was a very nice and clean restaurant. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">As soon as we finished lunch we headed back and started working again. This time Luaren and I had a technique figured out. We worked much faster and more efficient. We sawed about 90 boards in 3 hours! Of course towards the end of the day I could feel my arms and back weakening. When we finished working we headed towards to Pucallpa. Lauren and I used the Internet while the chicos picked up supplies for the next day. An hour later we were on the road back home. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">It was a good workday. I truly feel like I’ve accomplished a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"><o:p></o:p></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">November 10, 2010:</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Wednesday. This time it was us three girls back at it again. Thankfully Rachel was feeling much better. Today we did less sawing and more nailing. Our first job in the morning was to finish the shower. Lucho, Lauren, and I worked on it for about two hours. Our new shower is pretty much a small black box “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">La cajita negrita.”</i> The wall frames are made of wood and wrapped around the frame is a thick black tarp. The floor is made of wood and that’s it. The plan is to bring in a bucket of water and shower with that. Or we might later work on rigging the solar shower that Rachel has. Like I said our new home has a lot of work that needs to be done. But its turning out really good and we all have great ideas for improvement. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">I really like this work. It feels so fulfilling because I will be living inside of the walls that my hands have been building. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">After the shower was done we did some cleaning. The Doctor then stopped by and brought us lunch. We ate, rested, read a little, and then headed back to work. This time we all worked really hard in finishing the three rooms. Two teams worked on nailing the planks to make the walls. All I have to say is that my partner Daniel is a machine. I wish I could have recorded him working. He worked so fast and well. A third team worked on finishing the doors and a fourth team worked on the electrical wiring of the rooms.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Another reason I really like this work is because I’m learning a lot of new things. Construction of houses has always interested me and now I can actually learn and do it. Of course I can’t really build a house in the USA with the skills I’ve learned here. Houses here are much more simpler and faster to make. But at least I have learned the basics.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">We had another long day of work. But our hard work paid of. We were able to finish the three rooms! It felt so good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-49840120915473394872010-11-11T08:11:00.000-08:002010-11-11T08:15:21.117-08:00Elvita meets Yerbas<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">November 06, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Yerbas and Elvita. This Saturday instead of our usual church service we had a special program set up. My church, Yerbas Buenas, had invited the church members of Santa Elvita to join us for the whole day. As we pulled in it was so awesome to see all of our benches filled with members. I even noticed some new faces </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:"Courier New"; mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New";mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">J</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"> We first started with some hymns and shaking of hands. We then split into our groups and started Sabbath school. Jenessa, Hanna, Rachel, and Rebecca led out the children’s class. I led out the youth’s class and Doc led out the adults class. This week we studied about David and Bathsheba and we discussed the difference between Urias and King David.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Once we were finished with Sabbath school we went straight to the church service. We sang some hymns, picked up offering, had special music, and so on. At the time of special music there were three groups that sang. First us SM’s sang “How deep the Father’s Love for Us,” the children of Elvita sang a hymn with two part harmony, and we had a duet from Yerbas. We then listened to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Hermana</i> Welfa as she gave the sermon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Once church was done we all got together and had my first Peruvian potluck. Our house prepared pasta and tea. Others family brought food like rice, beans, chicken, and juanes. We all sat outside and enjoyed sharing our food. Once we were all done eating we went back inside the church and watched Gifted Hands in Spanish. After the movie we started JA (Adventist Youth). However, it wasn’t only the youth, the whole church participated. We sang, played, games, and listened to a small message from the Doc. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">It was a very wonderful Sabbath, but I must admit it was a bit tiring. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">When we got home I had the Doc take a look at some of my cuts and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">manchas</i> (spots). I was told that I have a type of fungal infection on my face that’s causing the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">manchas</i> and staph which is why I have infected wounds. So after relieving some puss from one of my cuts he told me to take antibiotics and ibuprofen. I can now truly relate with the people that I help in the medical campaigns. Ha ha And no worries, I´m doing very well and I´m in good hands.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; ">Later that evening, Rebecca, Jonathan, and I accompanied Jenessa to a Quincenera she was invited to. I had my expectations of what it could be. I don’t know why I even bothered ha ha I had told myself to leave all my expectations behind a few weeks ago. When we arrived to the home of Angelica her mother sits us down and serves us all “chicken” soup. I wasn’t hungry at all, but I didn’t want to be rude so I started to eat. Before I knew it I had scooped out a chicken heart, the aorta and everything. Ha ha As the people around me where starring at us eat I couldn’t just toss it to the dog. So… I did it. I cut the heart in half and ate it. Yuck. Not the best thing in the world. Oh well ha ha. As we continued to eat, I noticed that some of the meat looked different. It didn’t quite look like chicken. Before I put it in my mouth Rebecca tells me, “Steph, I have guinea pig in my soup.” And then I’m like, “What?!” ha ha I looked at her bowl and she had an entire guinea pig head in her soup. She showed me the brains and everything. I couldn’t help myself from gasping and laughing. I tried really hard not to look disgusted. I didn’t want to offend the family. And before I could say anything else, I saw Rebecca eat the brains and anything else she could. Groose! Ha ha I couldn’t believe it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Other things we found in our soups:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Chicken feet (Johnathan’s bowl), chicken kidneys (Rebecca’s bowl), and the butt of the guinea pig (Jenessa’s bowl).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">It was an eating adventure for sure. Rebecca the food explorer ate it all ha ha. I ate the vegetables, rice, and chicken heart. That was all I could do. We then moved outside to where all the other people where at. We sat and listened to the evangelical band set up their audio. An hour passed and nothing had happened. Then it started to rain so we all moved inside the house and sat. Two hours had passed and nothing yet. We were so tired and we wanted to go home REALLY bad. But we hadn’t seen Angelica and we didn’t want to be rude by leaving. Finally, after sitting for four hours, the ceremony began. It was the longest ceremony I had ever been to. There was a lot of repetition, SUPER loud music, and much more. Then when it came time where everyone could go up front and congratulate her, we went and told her happy birthday and then headed out the door. I was super bummed that we had been there for five hours and I never got to try the cake. Ha ha As we were about to get in the truck the mom comes out and says, “Wait, wait, I have food for you.” So we went inside and waited a little longer. I didn’t mind waiting for some cake. Then she came out of the kitchen and handed us all plates of food; rice and more chicken. She told us that this was the food that everyone was going to eat after the games. Games? How much longer was this party going to last. We thanked her for the food and her hospitality and then left. There was no way we could stay any longer. We were beyond exhausted.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Upset that I didn’t get any cake, all I could do was laugh and get in the truck. I was relieved just to be going back home.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Boy what a long day. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-88090117186379044932010-11-11T07:58:00.000-08:002010-11-11T08:11:18.169-08:00Substitues!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64lcQjrSuBXAcRhSREKQDe9QspmIw6siz8V77mrXfpuWQdnMWArmN3k31aAtMUib8pVG7fNu7TUI9pxtujwbneM7gkXg6GdLC5jRVcX1-af_I3gW2IhdSeph5-NYp2jlung10kl03qAey/s1600/IMG_0515.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64lcQjrSuBXAcRhSREKQDe9QspmIw6siz8V77mrXfpuWQdnMWArmN3k31aAtMUib8pVG7fNu7TUI9pxtujwbneM7gkXg6GdLC5jRVcX1-af_I3gW2IhdSeph5-NYp2jlung10kl03qAey/s320/IMG_0515.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538325082519240402" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQi3qYzBfUnBct7nwrBlsaaUwyUqcy2GY1-py4DxvhngGk3ZmiT_NVvU_i_V_QucQmWIUzNbMhvUJGc1o64fSw_2dlE7ZYMb6uH3KrE_Ks4FTgO69r5ZAkPmDmKzbVhPxkJQDSuBWkQwd/s1600/IMG_0513.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQi3qYzBfUnBct7nwrBlsaaUwyUqcy2GY1-py4DxvhngGk3ZmiT_NVvU_i_V_QucQmWIUzNbMhvUJGc1o64fSw_2dlE7ZYMb6uH3KrE_Ks4FTgO69r5ZAkPmDmKzbVhPxkJQDSuBWkQwd/s320/IMG_0513.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538325079180127250" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTy1e3Vc7fRSoyobPUWfyT3Xeh_UshjZx8fWaEJHwmK_oulz_g4fzjRciOAt2GvwW6G8cxDX1Tw4zEPwnqpVyYZmFdssByQUWghBINnuvh_srmKnmg9KhXNWll5S4RstVK_6VtkImbzqw/s1600/IMG_0504.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTy1e3Vc7fRSoyobPUWfyT3Xeh_UshjZx8fWaEJHwmK_oulz_g4fzjRciOAt2GvwW6G8cxDX1Tw4zEPwnqpVyYZmFdssByQUWghBINnuvh_srmKnmg9KhXNWll5S4RstVK_6VtkImbzqw/s320/IMG_0504.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538325073546521314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM7ornM20FbTe_8e4F0YIFCdehhD7z3CEuD4iOH9jhIGF1JTX9uI8Z6pzJaZGm1GMZoIolOlXC3Tro87q_woXOIZQ68buEf902JDfPWtSpQtfQODdQUiDAlVPsE-h4SKCT1RaZV3ftWqa/s1600/IMG_0495.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM7ornM20FbTe_8e4F0YIFCdehhD7z3CEuD4iOH9jhIGF1JTX9uI8Z6pzJaZGm1GMZoIolOlXC3Tro87q_woXOIZQ68buEf902JDfPWtSpQtfQODdQUiDAlVPsE-h4SKCT1RaZV3ftWqa/s320/IMG_0495.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538325069410082258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIWFPpN869uhJM6t-fpTdobu1dRXIOfZQgtzA6BZ2ZEovr6lWxtgaU6HCGijXEquarxIsaSzPTApjiWkbMv1AJkDdiCpdPlcocw2-_U-AlViU5EuuK08ORH9XrdV1XvAmvXl1_-QBG5_y/s1600/IMG_0493.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIWFPpN869uhJM6t-fpTdobu1dRXIOfZQgtzA6BZ2ZEovr6lWxtgaU6HCGijXEquarxIsaSzPTApjiWkbMv1AJkDdiCpdPlcocw2-_U-AlViU5EuuK08ORH9XrdV1XvAmvXl1_-QBG5_y/s320/IMG_0493.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538325066276637634" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">November 2-4, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">We taught! Because Jenessa left to Lima with Hanna and Chris Kusay (I have no idea if that’s how you spell his last name), Rachel and I had to be her substitutes. Wow. What an experience. I am positive that I couldn’t handle doing it any longer. Let’s just say that I am very happy with my position </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:"Courier New"; mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New";mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">J</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">There were two different schools we had to teach at. One was at Santa Elvita and let me tell you, I saw some crazy stuff. In a 1 hour period I saw everything. Kids fighting, jumping on you, touching you, screaming, running around, crying, things unthinkable… The ages were from 5-8 and the majority of them were 5-6. At first I thought that they were acting this way because we were the substitutes, but Jenessa later told us that they are almost always like that. Wow, power to you Jenessa.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">So at Snt. Elvita we were supposed to teach them their numbers in English, Rachel and I split the class into two groups. We hoped that this would lessen the chaos. It did for about 3 minutes. I taught the 7-8 year olds the numbers 20-30. And Rachel taught the 5-6 the numbers 1-10. It took us an hour to teach them ten numbers. It was a different adventure for sure. We left the school completely exhausted. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">We then had to teach Yerbas Buenas. A completely different world. I couldn’t believe it. These kids were so well behaved; we actually loved teaching them. They paid attention, participated, and all around were great students. We also taught them English. In fact, we taught them how to present themselves, how to say goodbye, how to ask and tell time, and 10 different foods. We got some much done!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">Overall, this was a completely new adventure for Rachel and I. And there was never a dull moment. Even though some kids made us want to pull our hair out, we just loved the little hugs we received at the end of the day. And it made things better. I really fell in love with several of them. We both learned many new things. Things like:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*Education is a very important thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*It’s not as it seems.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*Sometimes you have to be firm, even with the cutest kid.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*If you promise them something, they will NEVER forget<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*Kids will be kids<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">*You just got to love them </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family:"Courier New";mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New"; mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">J</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-58999565637832517342010-10-29T15:40:00.000-07:002010-10-29T16:15:09.099-07:00Nueva Tunuya<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5ia-Xf0p4O2hsHkYod-AYjOzA_7oxTL0LJbQC4V9g5Cr-OAYFWDRysN4quXNzgYgVl8H2mXfN_NCJMHPKkHNvGkbrwoFQy8KUSbMBCr6Rco2WgmecNrtyyGh8TpMGthpmq41jHFp_hpy/s1600/IMG_0477.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5ia-Xf0p4O2hsHkYod-AYjOzA_7oxTL0LJbQC4V9g5Cr-OAYFWDRysN4quXNzgYgVl8H2mXfN_NCJMHPKkHNvGkbrwoFQy8KUSbMBCr6Rco2WgmecNrtyyGh8TpMGthpmq41jHFp_hpy/s320/IMG_0477.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533606686304375826" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEpSQPcC0dZf1ZioCn-OtGEQ3aPFq4OSLAs-ThQp5jwJB3paxZQYESc2rMMofwqbBTxQVvlRrOl27bx8Hi8UKgGi6CXLeZ2m8v_zOSZk7Sv9DsuFymYd1T7LpET1Hx-6PSOesBM8R86eG/s1600/DSC03408.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEpSQPcC0dZf1ZioCn-OtGEQ3aPFq4OSLAs-ThQp5jwJB3paxZQYESc2rMMofwqbBTxQVvlRrOl27bx8Hi8UKgGi6CXLeZ2m8v_zOSZk7Sv9DsuFymYd1T7LpET1Hx-6PSOesBM8R86eG/s320/DSC03408.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533606678297097266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PvPr7gLMU6r2myR0CHr9cgegEqPO4SIFy6JLR0VMD0ZGgvpYhTBIlvK_jR6suPS41LmXnhZsCggy0yqIH7HMZWAiDfXsyjnfIC7hlZg24wkLlMP4UrRig1wFszNWUUfj0y4nPoOtm6dE/s1600/IMG_0466.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PvPr7gLMU6r2myR0CHr9cgegEqPO4SIFy6JLR0VMD0ZGgvpYhTBIlvK_jR6suPS41LmXnhZsCggy0yqIH7HMZWAiDfXsyjnfIC7hlZg24wkLlMP4UrRig1wFszNWUUfj0y4nPoOtm6dE/s320/IMG_0466.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533606675067026194" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpd65CRHJHXloCNmtU_CN4XO-ZVfsE7PFW4VeqmdqWqyZZchzZfBt8rSdg0b4tGsUPz_6oe5gIuumreUx_I3Je69H5AQV8c0NvZt_28Cvk48soacqfo98xF1aFpL5NeCig837VcXDkqI-H/s1600/DSC03370.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpd65CRHJHXloCNmtU_CN4XO-ZVfsE7PFW4VeqmdqWqyZZchzZfBt8rSdg0b4tGsUPz_6oe5gIuumreUx_I3Je69H5AQV8c0NvZt_28Cvk48soacqfo98xF1aFpL5NeCig837VcXDkqI-H/s320/DSC03370.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533606670572955362" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEVyC4Ll5SX0ea1xtlmDgfrAyD0yczPnXFERxOGJCgBwUTKwJ-eSNBM3Bw8vTb0pF1AoF_xf08FVjG_-Mg8PR7d2R2xRyN8FppEZCGa88b49hXwgLKWu_ILPdbTqHHe5i7gj9ZUvt7EHq/s1600/DSC03363.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEVyC4Ll5SX0ea1xtlmDgfrAyD0yczPnXFERxOGJCgBwUTKwJ-eSNBM3Bw8vTb0pF1AoF_xf08FVjG_-Mg8PR7d2R2xRyN8FppEZCGa88b49hXwgLKWu_ILPdbTqHHe5i7gj9ZUvt7EHq/s320/DSC03363.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533606662613911106" /></a><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">October 24, 2010:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Sunday clinic in Nueva Tunuya. Last night Rachel and I packed all the meds and equipment and even got to bed at 9 PM! We are doing so much better! We knew the Doc had said he wanted to be out of here by 7 AM, so we wanted to have plenty of sleep and be ready to go. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">It was 7 AM and Rachel and I were ready to go. However, our new addition to our family wasn’t ready to go. This new addition that I mention is a 22 year old Toyota van. She/He has many names, but to me she is known as Gordita. After a long push from all of our guys she was ready to do her job; transport the team. We loaded all of our trunks full of meds and gear onto the truck. Some of us went in the truck and the others loaded into Gordita. As I proudly sat inside our new friend, we made our way towards Nueva Tunuya. The ride was pretty smooth considering we were driving through a dirt road. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We finally reach our destination. Janessa and I are sent to make an announcement to the whole town that we have arrived. Through a large intercom our voices are heard announcing to everyone that we are offering free medical and dental care. We tell them to invite their kids, grandparents, friends and neighbors. With the announcement done, we head over the towns clinic and start to set up. Rachel and I unpack our pharmacy in a small, but very clean room. There was a table, chair, and long bench that worked for our benefit. We had been sitting for only five minutes when the patients start lining up with their prescriptions in their hands. We worked from 9AM to 1PM handing meds and giving shots. It was a very fast paced morning but not much excitement. No procedures, no ear cleanings, no surgeries, nothing interesting. We had our lunch break and ate some chicken, rice, and beans. While we ate the ground around us was getting very muddy by the rain that was following. When we finished eating, Rachel and I left with Caleb to grab more meds that we had run out of. The muddy road was an adventure of its own as we made our way home. We quickly grabbed our meds and headed back to Nueva Tunuya. The truck was doing really well and only slid a couple of times. It was actually all Caleb, he was doing such a great job driving and controlling the truck. When we were ten minutes away from the clinic we saw a motor car stuck in the mud. Instead of colliding with him, we decided to squeeze by him on the right side. Unfortunately, we ended up sliding right into a small ditch. This left our truck tilted to the right so that our left tires had very little traction. Caleb tried to move forward: fail. He then tried to put it in reverse: fail. We were stuck and there was no one around to help. So at this point Caleb went looking for some type of wood that he could put under the tires. Unfortunately, that didn’t work either. Finally, after about 20 minutes, a man and his wife came passing by. Thankfully they decided to stop and offer some help. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I jumped into the driver seat while Caleb and the guy started to push the truck. They pushed and pushed: failure once again. After many failed attempts I asked the guy if he could give me a ride to Nueva Tunuya. Without any hesitation he made room for me and we were on our way to the clinic. When I got to the clinic I passed the news to the Doc and I then went in search for a vehicle that could pull the truck out. With the help of the town leader we found an owner of a Toyota truck that was willing to pull us out. As three young guys jumped into the truck I headed back to the pharmacy to help out with the meds. After 30 minutes Rachel and Caleb had returned safe and sound with the truck. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We continued on with the clinic and finished at 6 PM. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">At the end of the day Rachel and I visited an elderly lady that was suffering from a bed sore. This 90 year old lady had hardly any muscle left on her body; she was mainly skin and bone. The bedsore was on her back and it was pretty deep all around. There wasn’t much we could do. So we dressed it and left them with material that they could use to continue dressing it. We also told them that it was very important to turn her on different sides frequently. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Around 6:30 we were on the bumpy and muddy road headed home.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">It was a fun, adventurous, and great day!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Other things that happened in the past three weeks. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">*Rachel and I operated on my wart. We surgically removed it. And it is healing very nicely.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">*We had a puppy named Oso. Unfortunately, he was sold and is no longer with us :(</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">*We also had a monkey for the first week after the robbery. Unfortunately he died and is no longer with us :( R.I.P. Martin the Monkey</span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-62019767157312308362010-10-10T16:06:00.000-07:002010-10-10T16:20:02.571-07:00Up the river along with pirates<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 4, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Because yesterday everyone was electing Ucayali’s president, we were unable to by meds and get our transportation for today. So today we will continue to pack and wait. I ended up getting the best birthday surprise ever! We had tostadas, cake, piñata, and dancing. It was such a blast! They even decorated the place. We then had to pack the meds. We didn’t get to bed till 2 AM. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 9, 2010: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I still can’t believe what happened to us… <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Yesterday (October 8, 2010), about noon, we loaded our stuff into the boats and headed out towards home. Hanna, Rachel, Laura, Doc, Shirley, and I were in one boat. The rest of the gang was in the other boat. We were exhausted from the jungle beating (mostly the bites from the insects) yet excited to be going home. All was going smoothly and we had been traveling for about three hours. All of a sudden I heard a big bang! I was sitting in the very front with Hanna right next to me. Rachel was sitting in front of us, near the bow of the boat. When I looked to my left I saw a small metal, grey boat. In this boat I saw four men and one of them was jumping on our boat. The two men I got a good look at had double barrel shot guns. At this point Rachel had jumped towards Hanna and I. With her head down, she grasped onto our legs tightly and began to shake in fear. The one on the boat, who I assume was the leader, began to scream demands at our driver. He demanded that the boat get moved to the shore. He also stared to yell, “No me miren!” (Don’t look at me) At his command I closed my eyes and put my head down. As he continued to yell at us, I held on tightly to Hanna and Rachel, while telling them to close their eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">With his gun pointed in our direction, he started asking for money and anything valuable. Afraid to be shot, I kept my eyes closed and raised my arms over my head. I let him feel in my pockets. Of course he found nothing. He searched the other girls and then asked for cell phones. I knew I didn’t have any so I didn’t say anything. Hanna kept telling him, “No tengo nada, no tengo nada!” (I don’t have anything). As he was searching us, there was another guy towards the back of the boat going through our bags and asking for the Doc and Shirley’s money. Everyone forked over what they had. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The guy with the painted face, the head honcho, started to yell questions, like: Where are you coming from? What are you doing here? Do you have guards? Where is the other boat? Are there soldiers on the other boat? I never spoke a word and neither did anyone else except the Doc and his wife (Shirley). Shirley, at this point, was in tears and pleading for our lives. The painted guy would get mad at her and tell her to shut up. He would tell her that they weren’t going to do anything to us.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">This whole time, I’m praying HARD. I’m praying for courage, strength, and most of all for our lives. I was telling God that my life was completely surrendered to Him. If it was God’s will for me to go, I would be ok with it. But I would prefer to stay alive and safe. I prayed this for everyone in the boat. As soon as I prayed for strength, I had this powerful feeling come over my body. It’s so hard to put in words, but my heart rate slow downed and I felt calm. “At times God may not calm the storm, but He will calm His child.” I strongly believe in this quote. When I would get a chance I would whisper to Rachel and Hanna, “Be strong, God is with us.” Not one moment did I let go of their hands.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Towards the end I heard one of the guys say, “Come on, lets go.” His voice sounded a little worried. Laura, in the back, saw the guys quickly grab Rachel’s, Hanna’s, and my bag and toss them in their boat. All that I had was in my back pack. Clothes, Bible, journal, water filter, bedding, and more. They were even so low to steal Rachel and my Chaco's. Seriously. Once they had all our stuff they zoomed out. When they had asked if we had soldiers on the other boat, the Doc told them that we had angels in the other boat. I strongly believe that we had angels in both boats. When the robbers saw the other boat they quickly took off without getting near to it. When they were gone I opened my eyes and only embraced my friends tighter. I immediately thanked God for keeping us safe and alive. We cried and only held each other close.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The rest of the trip was full of challenges as well. We encountered a spot were we thought they were ready to attack us for the second time. Down the narrow part of the river we ran into boats that had completely blocked the way. The whole time we were racing against the sun and hoping to get to the dock. We are convinced that the sun had set later than normal. Considering that the thieves also stole our gas, we were in another pickle. When we were nearing the dock our boat ran out of gas. So we decided to pray. When we finished praying for gas, our boat started up again and then took us all the way to the dock. God definitely worked miracles that day.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Exhausted and in shock, we unloaded the boats and headed towards the police station. Shoeless and confused I attempted to gather my thoughts together. At the station Doc filed a complaint and we then headed home. It wasn’t till midnight when we arrived home. This whole time Jenny had been calling and communicating with our parents. We made some ramen (because we hadn’t eaten since breakfast – we were starving) and for the next two hours we were all making phone calls and receiving them. We wanted to make sure to tell our families that we were alive and safe. I didn’t get to bed till 2 AMish.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Now I just continually thank God for my life. This has strengthened my faith, but I hope I don’t have to go through something like that again. My new prayer is that we may be able to get things figured out with insurance, our stolen belongings, and stolen documents. And that God will take fear away from our hearts so that we may continue to serve Him.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The three days of medical campaign in the villages was wonderful. Yeah it was super rough with the conditions, but to see the smiles of the people was worth it. Not only the smiles, but their friendship and hospitality was amazing. Many times we had to ask villagers if we could borrow their kitchen and they never hesitated to share with us. We made so many friends and it was sad to leave them.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">They taught me a few phrases of their native language, introduced me to different fruits, showed us where to bathe, and all around helped us with anything we would ask for. I wish to go back into those villages and spend more time with them. The only things keeping me back are the millions of man eating bugs and of course the robbers. Every single one of us has more than 50 bug bites. Not even joking. There were three main bugs that feasted on our blood. There were big water flies, tiny mosquitoes that were quick and hard to kill, and HUGE mosquitoes that were the size of dragonflies. I wish I could post pictures of the week, but the camera with all the pics was stolen </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family:"Courier New";mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New"; mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">L</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Today, I went to church and tried my best to not think about what had just happened. If I did, I would break down in tears. After church we went back to the detectives and looked at pictures of different criminals. Then when I got back home I was able to talk to my family and let them know what had happened. It was very relieving to talk to my family and let them know I was ok.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-87984468188180326282010-10-04T15:33:00.000-07:002010-10-04T15:43:11.445-07:00More fires then some rain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHGo_NkiFPU_p73G87jOHYO_59aKgFkX0Nn5hzSRASAV7rG01ptC0sRq-OdgyxU7-NXTlEMe0kG673_rcEheGt64X9tH8ViQeefj1wJAyURTbIA36TiTOpGDW3XUC8g-3_P6LtY6iphlR/s1600/DSC04452.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHGo_NkiFPU_p73G87jOHYO_59aKgFkX0Nn5hzSRASAV7rG01ptC0sRq-OdgyxU7-NXTlEMe0kG673_rcEheGt64X9tH8ViQeefj1wJAyURTbIA36TiTOpGDW3XUC8g-3_P6LtY6iphlR/s320/DSC04452.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524324698973785938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlDqL8EWbuOn7TtljU_Zpir-0C9VkoaSeAMUuEU2Sn3shWxxXtMxxg-Gzy60v37kKlrHkZQ3zQKbtb2JT5fc4Ea80q41UZRcpRXQ3TZ9b5ly5i1WziNu7GpaGceYsYrSlEf5-XLSZk05r/s1600/DSC04464.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlDqL8EWbuOn7TtljU_Zpir-0C9VkoaSeAMUuEU2Sn3shWxxXtMxxg-Gzy60v37kKlrHkZQ3zQKbtb2JT5fc4Ea80q41UZRcpRXQ3TZ9b5ly5i1WziNu7GpaGceYsYrSlEf5-XLSZk05r/s320/DSC04464.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524324693647608210" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieWe-ZArDOgmtq4k3zArRuBNRkfq_x1BYm1m5tBN52EqCyHkvm80vw5u-LZWIl6A2AsCat46ghoyDUG9E12vZtVwKmWFbCGrfPFQdAcPnA8lvSkfhbjYIBxtHq7gyEVlxjW9jlszaoLVae/s1600/DSC04423.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieWe-ZArDOgmtq4k3zArRuBNRkfq_x1BYm1m5tBN52EqCyHkvm80vw5u-LZWIl6A2AsCat46ghoyDUG9E12vZtVwKmWFbCGrfPFQdAcPnA8lvSkfhbjYIBxtHq7gyEVlxjW9jlszaoLVae/s320/DSC04423.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524324691784091058" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiFb6qgOWDuEkj3X46Cp4dqLERtcAdBuKMKE4yO-5v1qOSQY7M0XAs39IrHzovu_mVv15DrJm7MIItti7cNFPL8Jl4tTjqAKsUK2ZmDMRcs4lMKlQqlisJbtfNmTwQGTOotHJnYlWMtM2Z/s1600/DSC04420.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiFb6qgOWDuEkj3X46Cp4dqLERtcAdBuKMKE4yO-5v1qOSQY7M0XAs39IrHzovu_mVv15DrJm7MIItti7cNFPL8Jl4tTjqAKsUK2ZmDMRcs4lMKlQqlisJbtfNmTwQGTOotHJnYlWMtM2Z/s320/DSC04420.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524324687196131666" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2tgv3xtsQIieh0JRa1f-D6Wkc7QkVnGZRhSrkbxkc02H2BbDAHgUO5LEDva-2SxIdYZH7XYp3n7JOBNcvUlHnW4XPQMGUA_G5KdLg7kGIll47s7byMFVQEIpkcoJsy1Pp7641e-2YxzW/s1600/DSC04405.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2tgv3xtsQIieh0JRa1f-D6Wkc7QkVnGZRhSrkbxkc02H2BbDAHgUO5LEDva-2SxIdYZH7XYp3n7JOBNcvUlHnW4XPQMGUA_G5KdLg7kGIll47s7byMFVQEIpkcoJsy1Pp7641e-2YxzW/s320/DSC04405.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524324683597306818" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">October 2, 2010:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">SABBATH!!! Yahoo! My beautiful day of rest (so I thought). Today we went to the church of Ivan Sicke, because this will be the place where we’ll be doing our public health teaching. We had Sabbath school, church service, and a wonderful lunch at a friends house. They served us soup, fish, and some yummy fruit juice. We also had to stop by the premature baby’s home to follow up. She looked better, but we still had to give her another shot. It was 4ish when we arrived home. We were welcomed by two massive fires behind our house… <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We threw on our fire fighting clothes and went at it. Shirley told us that the fire started up again in the jungle around noon and was too big to put out. So it got out of control and spread like crazy. Bucket after bucket we battled with these fires. My legs, back, and shoulders ached. But I had to go on. I couldn’t let my team down. Between 5pm and 1am we went out four different times to battle fires. We would put one out and think it was completely out. However, some how an ember would catch something on fire and the flames would quickly grow out of control.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">This Saturday has been one of the most exhausting Saturdays in my WHOLE entire life. I went to bed exhausted and defeated with body aches. Almost everything behind our house was ash. There was hardly any grass left for our cows to eat. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I can’t believe that we have been fighting fires four nights in a row. I want rest. God please send some rain and finish this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">October 3, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">IT RAINED!!! Yeah, it’s been SUPER windy and chilly, but it’s raining. I’m so ecstatic. God answered our prayers! Today we went shopping for food in Campo Verde and then celebrated our day off in Pucallpa. We went to an internet café and then had pizza at the same pizzeria we tried to go to on Friday. It was such an awesome and relaxing day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">The Doc told us that if the weather is better we might pack up and leave tomorrow. However, if it stays windy and rainy we will have to leave on Tuesday.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-36926974542247975512010-10-04T15:19:00.000-07:002010-10-04T15:32:48.730-07:00Clinics and Fires<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhicgcgn7273QpF0-5Nm2nbXK_IpLgDrK0NJlK6coUcvdk8ibHP3vHOMRFI6_JIIVf3P4N-qTTUt40f5aVeR3lSuGsqLBm3Um9nJtCo5scajtsf4ECUOHM26B5gzYi5WvH1K6kqo9L1GGv/s1600/DSC04402.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhicgcgn7273QpF0-5Nm2nbXK_IpLgDrK0NJlK6coUcvdk8ibHP3vHOMRFI6_JIIVf3P4N-qTTUt40f5aVeR3lSuGsqLBm3Um9nJtCo5scajtsf4ECUOHM26B5gzYi5WvH1K6kqo9L1GGv/s320/DSC04402.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524321914657285394" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPTJwkEw_cGjF-eb5OiPysS2V6Tj1C5jfWK9lfjDzn36tA2EVULU_4JgJ-92nwTPnsxSXL_kK7hEbFoSJ-qutUJ8nn7pPdE4RdeiVAXcf4L6FdQKN52jWD2OneBdzyICO85ljvgOKdMFt/s1600/DSC04401.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPTJwkEw_cGjF-eb5OiPysS2V6Tj1C5jfWK9lfjDzn36tA2EVULU_4JgJ-92nwTPnsxSXL_kK7hEbFoSJ-qutUJ8nn7pPdE4RdeiVAXcf4L6FdQKN52jWD2OneBdzyICO85ljvgOKdMFt/s320/DSC04401.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524321902845609570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq54S9dAuzXz6QuP7AD0sai3YytUS0cH6NSax7BIaANeWcCi70I8g_4p_4f3aG4c9mFkZAG-ZkbMcJkVCXU7wbRqGWKIUXiEkqswPHlu_pSbiCBgDbUVT9PIa1tZEjZiAiZoLkno-qMtOb/s1600/DSC04398.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq54S9dAuzXz6QuP7AD0sai3YytUS0cH6NSax7BIaANeWcCi70I8g_4p_4f3aG4c9mFkZAG-ZkbMcJkVCXU7wbRqGWKIUXiEkqswPHlu_pSbiCBgDbUVT9PIa1tZEjZiAiZoLkno-qMtOb/s320/DSC04398.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524321898007030770" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEKRoqhd7EgxoH7HW1mQ7bSjOfAyuCyKZy5FhGZxPWl7U8qM6CMo5pA2lGCXZR-OEpwnmXI1QTr7g1xCvXtDT9Qs3AVWgB6lmpMt7nAKOUHzkPnOkAiudBeSaVQdgcJpFXvIj0U7Qylk7/s1600/DSC04356.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEKRoqhd7EgxoH7HW1mQ7bSjOfAyuCyKZy5FhGZxPWl7U8qM6CMo5pA2lGCXZR-OEpwnmXI1QTr7g1xCvXtDT9Qs3AVWgB6lmpMt7nAKOUHzkPnOkAiudBeSaVQdgcJpFXvIj0U7Qylk7/s320/DSC04356.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524321891782658194" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6M3Lz0Cfo_4etJ8P088WO5tCoi-mZ_c2jcyivjM-JcvqhzSEFgdyGZHk_Hatp8E78VHiG2aRz45QvEZygWYFwYqB8t41n_eU4U66K3BzJGEVj43kLdtkKsyFM70K5JR9sqkY8x97-F8q/s1600/DSC04374.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6M3Lz0Cfo_4etJ8P088WO5tCoi-mZ_c2jcyivjM-JcvqhzSEFgdyGZHk_Hatp8E78VHiG2aRz45QvEZygWYFwYqB8t41n_eU4U66K3BzJGEVj43kLdtkKsyFM70K5JR9sqkY8x97-F8q/s320/DSC04374.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524321888094884818" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">September 27, 2010:</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">So I thought that two weeks ago was my first clinical experience. Nope. That was today. The OFFICIAL clinical day took place in Pucallpa.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Last night we all got together and had a big meeting. In this meeting leaders were chosen, responsibilities were given, and some details were discussed. It was a lot. But when is it never a lot. The same night Rachel and I were up till 1 AM packing up meds and setting things up for this big medical campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">At 6 the next morning I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the whole crew. We all packed up the truck and headed to Pucallpa. Half of the crew left in taxis to Pucallpa. Meanwhile, the rest of us had an adventure riding in the truck to Pucallpa. Caleb, after learning how to drive stick two weeks ago, drove to Pucallpa. He did such an AWESOME job! I told him to think of it as a video game. The closer we got to Pucallpa, the levels would get harder. Then the boss of the video game was following the Doc on his motorcycle in Pucallpa traffic. However, tonight Caleb battled against the ultimate boss; following the Doc on his motorcycle at night in Pucallpa traffic. Every time I ride with Caleb I have complete trust that he will do a great job. And he always does. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We arrived to an empty house that contained a medium and large room. Both Doctors set up their tables in the medium room and then pharmacy and dental set up in the large room. It was a bit crowded, but bearable. After 30 minutes we had a crowd surrounding outside the building. At first I worked on triage with Hanna. I took many vitals and talked with many patients. I would also then be called here and there to translate. I felt like I was running all over the place for about 5 hours straight. It got a bit tiring. I was working nonstop that I had forgotten my hunger. When 3 pm came around I finally got a chance to take a breath and eat a very late lunch with the whole team. We had some delicious noodles and salad. Immediately after eating my lunch I was back at it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">This time there were more people doing triage so I jumped back in the pharmacy and passed out meds with Rachel. At this point Doc was flying through his patients and Rachel and I were sweating buckets trying to keep up him. Which is almost impossible. The funny thing is that we didn’t notice how soaked we were in sweat until after we had finished. We were so occupied with patients that we didn’t even have time to think about our own bodies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Even though I feel like we have worked like horses, it was a good day. I met a lot of nice people, saw new things, and I was enjoying my time. Yes, it was crazy at times, but I can see God really working in me. I’m loving this service that we are doing! I just pray that God will continue to provide me with strength and His love. We were told that this particular campaign is two weeks long. So I need a lot of strength </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">J</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Oh and I forgot to mention that around 7 AM on Sunday the new doctor arrived. Dr. Shiar, will be joining us for two weeks. He’s really cool and nice. I’m glad he has joined our team momentarily. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">September 28, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Second day. Today went a little smoother compared to yesterday. We showed Anthony how things work in the pharmacy, we found a better way to organize our meds, and we had more supplies. I still ran around here and there; translating, doing triage, and pharmacy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We headed home a little early to say goodbye to Dr. Dianne and Mary. We had our last soup supper with them and then they were off to the airport. We counted our number of patients and recorded our clinical stats. Once that was done we headed over to the pharmacy to unpack everything, take inventory, and then repack. We finally got to bed at around midnight. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Procedures done today:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Toenail extraction<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Ear cleanings<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Scraping out puss and infection from an open leg wound. Then dressing it up again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">September 29, 2010:</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Day three. As we arrive we see a large line of people waiting to be attended. We quickly unpack and start our day. The same lady with the huge wound on her leg came in and we scraped out more infection and then wrapped it up. Today we finally learned the names of the helpers we’ve been having. Gady is the lady who helps with dental registration. Veronica and Xiomi help with pharmacy. Daniel helps with medical and dental patients. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We were seeing patient after patient. It felt as if it would never slow down or stop. Then all of a sudden the doctor says that we need to speed it up because there is an emergency. A friend from the base had called for help. A fire near our house had gotten out of control and it needed to be stopped before it reached any closer. So, the doctor saw a few more patients and we vamped up the speed. We were trying our hardest to deliver our best service to our patients in such a fast pace. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">At 4 PM we were driving towards home. When we got home we all threw on long sleeve shirts, jeans, and bandanas. Then we all jumped in the shower to soak ourselves. We filled a big container of water and headed towards the jungle. In the jungle we found the rest of the locals fighting the fire with water and machetes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I couldn’t believe it. We were literally jumping in there, dumping water, stomping out fires, and slashing at the flames. We were finally able to put it out after three hours of battling. We went back home, had a small supper of fruits, had a team meeting to discuss improvements, showered, recorded stats, and repacked meds. It wasn’t till 1 AM when I closed my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Lord continue to provide me with strength. It is only because of you that I’m still standing and breathing.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">September 30, 2010:</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Day four. Today really felt like it would never end. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Last night in our team meeting we had all agreed to have breakfast at 6:30 and to be out on the road by 7:30. We had to stop leaving at around 9ish, it wasn’t fair to our patients. So, today my day started at 5:30 AM in the kitchen making breakfast. At around 8 AM we were in the clinic ready to go.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I did ear cleanings, gave shots, helped in triage, translated, dressed wounds, and so much more. Thankfully, Anthony had caught on very quick and was a lot of help. I knew that I could stop in the pharmacy and take care of a procedure or translate for someone. I knew that Rachel and Anthony had it all under control. We could be backed up with 20 patients, but they had it under control. Today we saw a premature baby come in who really looked like it wasn’t going to make it. Very sad. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Tired and exhausted we arrived home to find out that another fire had started up again. We put on our crusty, dirty fire clothes and jumped on the tractor. We fought for about 2 hours until we were able to control it. We headed home and showered and got ready for bed. All of a sudden we hear, “fuego!” Out again we go. It took us another 2 hours to battle the flames and put them out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">It wasn’t till midnight-ish that we were finally asleep.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">October 1, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Day five. Our last day in Ivan Sicke. We arrived early and gave it all we had. We saw the same stuff that we had been seeing the past four days. Kids with infections, fungal problems, rashes, colds, and of course </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">bichos</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> (worms). Adults with hurting bones, body aches, headaches, and of course </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">bichos</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">. At 3 pm we decided to have our lunch and pack up the clinic. While we were eating we discussed our next week of clinics as a team. We could either stay in Pucallpa or travel up the river. We calculated the cost of meds, supplies, foods, and transportation. In the end we decided to travel up river and visit different remote villages. I’m so stoked! <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">When everything was packed in the truck, Rachel, Lauren, Jenessa, Hanna, Caleb, and I decided to shop for a few things in Pucallpa and to eat at a pizzeria. We felt that we had been working really hard and we just wanted to treat ourselves. We got all our shopping done and then headed to the pizzeria. Just as we had ordered I get a call from Shirley (the Doc’s wife). In a frantic voice she tells me that we must head home immediately. A fire has started up again behind the house and the Doc is alone with only one other worker. We no hesitation we cancel our order an fly home. Literally, we were driving so fast, it felt like we were flying. It was almost 7pm when we arrived home and started battling the flames. After an hour we put it out and headed home to have some ramen for supper. Before I could even get a bite of my ramen, I hear, “fuego!” AGAIN. I put my bowl down and headed out AGAIN. It took another hour until it was gone. We went back home, ate my ramen, showered, and went to bed around 11pm. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-20039054849713340832010-09-19T14:31:00.000-07:002010-09-19T14:57:05.244-07:00Holy Macaroni!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">This morning at around 8:30 one of our patients pulled in to kilometer 38. The Doc had told us on Friday that we would be having a surgery at 10AM Sunday morning. This patient that had pulled in very early was her. Rachel and I had our breakfast and then headed to our house to prepare for the surgery. In our house we have the pharmacy and a small room called the lab. The Doc said that we would be removing the tumor in the lab. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We cleaned up the lab, wiped down the 1 hospital bed we have, and started to prepare the surgery equipment. At exactly 10 AM sharp the Doc was cutting at her lower back. He made his incision and had me hold his retractors so that he could reach in to pull out the tumor. To tell you the truth, this was the first surgery out of 6 that I started to feel queazy in the stomach. I began to sweat, my head felt funny, and I had to keep looking away cause I was afraid of passing out. Thankfully, this feeling went away after five minutes. When he had taken the whole tumor out we handed him the sutures and we were ready to close up the incision. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">He puts in the first stitch then looks up at me and hands me the needle and kelley clamp. Surprised, I look at him and say, "Yo?" he smiles and nods yes. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Sweet!! I come over to his side and I sow her up :) It was cool and crazy at the same time. The particular stitch that I did was the one I had practiced over and over. And it was the same one that I watched the Doc use on every patient. When I did this, I just did it with very little thinking. Crazy! I had always dreamt of this moment and at the same time I had dreaded it. I was afraid I would be too scared and shaky; that I wouldn't know what exactly to do. But with the Doc's confidence I could also be confident in myself and do what I had learned to do.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I love it! I want more ha ha </span></div><div><br /></div>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-35207856001880004522010-09-17T15:49:00.000-07:002010-09-17T16:06:17.625-07:00Clinicas!<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">September 13, 2010:</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'courier new'; ">Mini clinic – to get our feet wet. The medical group worked along side with the dental group in kilometro 21. Some people came in to get their teeth checked and others came in with fevers, headaches, and diarrhea problems. We signed them up to either see the dental group or the Doc.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Many of our patients had children that were sick or not feeling well. They were having problems with fevers, vomiting, or diarrhea. The majority of adults had problems with dizziness and headaches. In total we had like 10 people. So it was very slow.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I assumed that there would be a huge line wanting to be seen by the Doctor. However, I had forgotten that we were in a very small village and most of them were out working while we where there. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">The dental group had about 12 people signed up to be seen. Unfortunately, they were only able to see 6 of them. Some who had signed up didn’t want to wait to be seen and decided to leave. We where there for about 4 hours. I think that for our first clinic it went well. Doc says that tomorrows will be busier and with more people; a more realistic clinic. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">September 14, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">First Clinical!! Way different from yesterday. Yesterday was only half a day (10am-1pm) and today we worked from nine to one, then two till 7. A total of nine hours. We started by registering people to see the doctor. I would ask for their name, age, birth date, if they were allergic to anything, if they were taking any meds, and so on. Then after getting their symptoms and problems I would take their blood pressure.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">The hardest part of it all was writing down their names. I could almost never catch it the first time and then spelling it was a total different story. Ha ha Bless their hearts, they were so nice and patient with me. At times I just had them write down their own names. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">After an hour had passed Pastor Puma came over to help. All this time while I was registering Rachel was at the pharmacy (a table near the doctor with our one box of meds behind her) handing out the prescriptions that the people would hand her. I let Puma take over the registration and I went over to help Rachel out. One of the first things that the Doc told us a few week ago was, “Never hesitate to ask, especially if it concerns a patient.” So, we took him up on that. Considering it was our first real clinic we had no idea what his chicken scratch meant. So every three patients we were asking him, “What does this say?” <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We hated having to ask him so many times, but we knew that it had to be done. Going over the meds the week before really helped us out decode some of the meds. If we knew what the problem was, we could figure out what med he had prescribed. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">One thing I’m sure about. I like the registration MUCH more. I could talk with each person one on one, interact with them, and at least get to laugh or sympathize with them. Giving meds is such a fast paced process: read the prescription, look for the meds, pack them, write out instructions, and then tell them the instructions. Hardly any interaction. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">At some points of the morning the Doc would ask for a med and we would have to shake our heads and tell him that we didn’t have it. He would shake his head and move on. We felt so worthless and stupid. But then again no one showed us how to pack or what to pack. He gave us a short list of maybe 15 meds and that was it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We had our 1 hour lunch break. We snarfed down some food and then went into our pharmacy to restock on meds that were running low and then we grabbed extra meds that he had asked for earlier that day. At two we were back at it. In the afternoon it got a tiny bit easier. We also got to see our first tumor removals. One was on a mans forehead. It was really big. The tumor was the size of two grapes. Then the second one was on a girls hand. Hers was harder to get at because it was much deeper. After their surgeries Rachel and I administerd our first shots. I gave the man his shot on his butt and Rachel gave the girl her shot on the arm.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Now, at night in my bed, I’m super exhausted. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep. My mind is very restless. So many errors, so much improvement, so many knew things. I’m a bit overwhelmed… <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">But I guess its only my first full day.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">September 15, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Clinic day #2. So yesterday was only half a clinic even though we worked for 9 hours and had 99 patients. Today we were at a new location; Santa Elena. Yesterday we were at Santa Teresita. Because of an unexpected accident we had to start late and we arrived at our destination at 2pm. This time we had a better place to set up our meds and administer them to the patients. We weren’t all crowded in a small room. In fact, Rachel and I had a large table, plenty of room behind us to place our stuff, and the doctor had his own little room. With his own office it gave him more room and it gave the patients more privacy. What was also really handy was the extra room we had to work with. It was a small room with two beds. Rachel and I used this room to give butt shots.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We did the usual of giving out the drugs and asking questions. However, by the end of today I feel like we are much better at reading his handwriting. In only 15 hours we have improved our decoding by 30%. We ended the night with a surgery done on a 4 year old girl. She was so precious and it hurt us all to see her in pain. As the Doc gave her anesthesia she screamed at the top of her little lungs, Lauren held her knees down, Doctor Diana held her arms down, her mommy embraced her baby and tried to calm her, and Rachel and I stood nearby with the tools ready to assist. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I wanted to cry, but I knew I had to be strong. As the Doc worked hard at removing the tumor, mommy cried for her little girl. I now truly know that when a child is in pain, the mommy and daddy are hurting too. Probably more than what we children realize. I love you mom. Thanks for all the hurt you have endured for me and for your endless love. I miss you tons. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">September 16, 2010:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Clinic #3. Things have definitely improved. I got better sleep last night and was able to work better. Oh I forgot to mention that these last three days I have been battling the cold. I have no idea where it came form. It’s so annoying because it hit me hard on our first clinic and it has slowed me down. Luckily, I have Rachel and many friends who watch over me. I’ve been taking medication, loading up on the vitamins, drinking tons of water, and staying away from any sweets. Thankfully, today it wasn’t too bad. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">When I think that my brain has no more room for new material, I’m always fooled. Today the Doc showed us new things. We were administering different meds, dosages, shots, and so much more. Rachel assisted with a vaginal exam and an infected penis. Hope no one minds reading this ha ha. I administered anesthesia on a middle finger and pulled out its nail for the first time. I also learned how to irrigate ears.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Holy Macaroni! I was shocked with how much, ear wax, crud, puss, and so much more could be stored away in an ear canal. My first two ears belonged to two little boys. A 7 year old and a 10 year old. They were complaining of pain and so when the Doc took a look, he found a blockage of ear wax. I was then put to the task of cleaning them out. I first started by poking a hole in stool softener pills and then squeezing the liquid in their ears. I had them lay down for 15 minutes so the stool softener could work its magic. I then took out a huge metal syringe, pulled in some water, then pumped it in their ear with some pressure. The two boys were easy. But then came my challenges. There was a young girl who had a horrible ear infection mixed with tons of wax. I was to remove as much of it and then wash her ears out. When I removed good size chunks I washed her ears with an iodine solution. Finally I had an elderly fellow who couldn’t hear because he was so clogged with crud. I irrigated both ears several times and got a lot out. At one point he said, "Hey, I can kinda hear you." When I couldn’t get any more out I decided to add more stool softener and had him lay down again. I then gave it another go and was able to get more out. However, when I looked in his ears again there was still white stuff deep in his ears. It was impossible to get it all out. So I asked the doctor to take a look, he shook his head and said there wasn’t much we could do. Meanwhile Rachel was by herself doing the meds. Sadly, we had to let him go home because we were backing up with tons of patients. I felt so bad because he was in so much pain and I was so close to getting it all… <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We ended the night with two surgeries. A long and difficult hernia removal and a 2 minute tumor removal. The Doc is incredible, he can do anything he puts his mind to. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be there for the hernia surgery because I worked on packing up and getting things ready for departure. At 9pm we arrived home exhausted but with higher spirits than the night before. We came home to some delicious homemade GLUTON! Our beautiful friends Jenessa and Hanna had prepared supper for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">What I’ve notices as clinics go by:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We pack more meds</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We have less questions<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">More responsibility is given to us<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We learn new procedures <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We come up with more efficient tricks (the Doc is all about efficiency 24/7)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Tonight’s quote form the Doc </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">“Buen trabajo chicas, trabajaron duro, aprendieron mucho, y hay mas que aprender!”</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> (Good job girls, you’ve worked hard, you’ve learned a lot, and there is more to learn) There were hard times, but overall its been a GREAT day. </span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-21422592420573505062010-09-13T15:53:00.000-07:002010-09-13T16:12:33.518-07:00When the lights go out<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbg5Zge80J-Uciu-TiG8plUAWQdrbSnASkOmwHwfrZv6R5JIqtp3V3SdXtJPyVyBLeAAw19b_fywr6VFsyo4HP4bxox1AC56rlKsn4oU65rnHdMnxXV6TuTM6TN8vkau93y-LL4jbmUHP/s1600/DSC_0764.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbg5Zge80J-Uciu-TiG8plUAWQdrbSnASkOmwHwfrZv6R5JIqtp3V3SdXtJPyVyBLeAAw19b_fywr6VFsyo4HP4bxox1AC56rlKsn4oU65rnHdMnxXV6TuTM6TN8vkau93y-LL4jbmUHP/s320/DSC_0764.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516537680658526962" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXldVrAxC2RR-ZRvStMygYTDzlAHoR7_w_TSPOtwiUf5V8XGLA2hCr1vFHrXKrxXe_-ZA0YPlacwlbhuVrxTBq9nl51_0v6sI0ctbHVok3P4zIuRWyyg7qNlrKmu32prwLIKitkI46tAlr/s1600/DSC_0752.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXldVrAxC2RR-ZRvStMygYTDzlAHoR7_w_TSPOtwiUf5V8XGLA2hCr1vFHrXKrxXe_-ZA0YPlacwlbhuVrxTBq9nl51_0v6sI0ctbHVok3P4zIuRWyyg7qNlrKmu32prwLIKitkI46tAlr/s320/DSC_0752.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516537665723384114" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">September 12, 2010:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">No electricity = no light and no water. Luckily for us today was Sunday and we didn’t have to worry too much. Considering that Sunday is our day off, the chicos weren’t with us, some of the team had left to Pucallpa, and some of us girls stayed back. So when it came to make meals we only had to feed six people. Having no water to cook with made it a bit difficult. But since it was only us eating, we decided to finish the leftovers from breakfast. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">In the middle of the day with nothing to do, we decided to have a kill fest. We removed everything from our dinner table and brought out the fly swatters. Bernie told us that there are 3 plagues: flies, ants, and cockroaches. Right now we are in the plague of flies. We were fed up with them landing on us while having lunch, so we had to do something about it. 1, 2, 25, 40… they were dropping like flies ha ha. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">We were swatting left and right. With a hint of insanity in our laughter we were unleashing destruction on our first plague of the year. When the numbers began to drop we brought out prey to try to lure more. After a good 30 minutes we got tired of waiting for more to land on our table. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">Don’t worry. We didn’t leave our yucky mess on the table. We swept the remains off the table and off our floor. We finished the clean up with a thorough wipe of the table. We made sure to use Clorox too.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">To our dismay, the second we sat down to enjoy our clean table the swarm of flies began to fly in. We give up. The plagues cannot be destroyed, we just have to endure them.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">With no water, no fans, and 100% humidity we were all bathing in our sweat. We yearned for water to bathe in and to drink. The little water we had in water bottles was diminishing fast. We had to make sure to ration it through out the day.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">Later in the evening as the sun began to set we decided to play some volleyball. At this point the heat was leaving with the sun. We began to feel a little better. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">For supper we had leftovers. Lauren and Rachel also treated us with homemade peanut butter oatmeal cookies. They were so YUMMY!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">At night the Doc and others attempted to start the generator. Failure. So they finally ended up going to a neighbors well and drew up some water to last us for the night.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">The fun was only beginning. In the complete darkness of our base Hanna and Caleb decided to do some experimenting with their cameras. Soon we had all joined in the fun. We had our headlamps out and we took many cool pictures in the darkness. There were many laughs and so many silly moments. It was the MOST fun I had had with no electricity. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";">Who says that you can’t fun without electricity. This team can sure turn a disaster into a time of joy </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New";mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New";mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;">J</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Courier New';"><br /></span></p>Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-78893428645604661622010-09-10T15:14:00.000-07:002010-09-13T15:51:51.955-07:00Inventory, Poking, Sutures, Oh My!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UdGD5cRrd-o53-Avi_Z7a9Iu25KRCgANDLqyLn9x0dHTc-MvPRAipY_LgPNDoH0cDpo5WC3HkHExZF0k_gMNoDfyNWWaNCTVxrMUzfTySjYCAsQ_OvuYqm9FOWerd-MiTqVuCmvLTBQy/s1600/DSC04332.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UdGD5cRrd-o53-Avi_Z7a9Iu25KRCgANDLqyLn9x0dHTc-MvPRAipY_LgPNDoH0cDpo5WC3HkHExZF0k_gMNoDfyNWWaNCTVxrMUzfTySjYCAsQ_OvuYqm9FOWerd-MiTqVuCmvLTBQy/s320/DSC04332.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516534065196021874" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJUXuRndkRE_aRIUPa6TVYnr28PPWDafGxFzWq3XcNq8Th0oSJZmSecsXEW1jsV4rMLxWyujksB-JaxaOJhg0nMqQOJADqBN_g4JbyUAvJEjxhyBV1NmElaU-9lQaK3_ERXbOButlX54K/s1600/DSC03345.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJUXuRndkRE_aRIUPa6TVYnr28PPWDafGxFzWq3XcNq8Th0oSJZmSecsXEW1jsV4rMLxWyujksB-JaxaOJhg0nMqQOJADqBN_g4JbyUAvJEjxhyBV1NmElaU-9lQaK3_ERXbOButlX54K/s320/DSC03345.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516534057302839186" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcxio4BjFgdj90fb1ONxUoElBnFdjlZZr2muyJJsVEsB8W6iPk9Xw7NiVtis3OcbHYb9EDvLtO7bI_1vtu-qerIqgkJk6rDdx9VNkF6-BH23eaAVK0ep2wQTjsT4ypaZ19SO34XkhUUcx/s1600/DSC03340.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcxio4BjFgdj90fb1ONxUoElBnFdjlZZr2muyJJsVEsB8W6iPk9Xw7NiVtis3OcbHYb9EDvLtO7bI_1vtu-qerIqgkJk6rDdx9VNkF6-BH23eaAVK0ep2wQTjsT4ypaZ19SO34XkhUUcx/s320/DSC03340.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516534043660219986" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhje08CCyAluDEZJuIGUyWOsL6_LHYaSNr7Qg43GnUzNOPHmyYmvERxvrEdQpbx-wKe2AeD-ozSxsgT2lx4pddGLi1YFGi5dMetp9O7Vfv2ZqTzi5dSh0N_b9Vig73tIXJxEJmmEZuGyfQV/s1600/DSC03333.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhje08CCyAluDEZJuIGUyWOsL6_LHYaSNr7Qg43GnUzNOPHmyYmvERxvrEdQpbx-wKe2AeD-ozSxsgT2lx4pddGLi1YFGi5dMetp9O7Vfv2ZqTzi5dSh0N_b9Vig73tIXJxEJmmEZuGyfQV/s320/DSC03333.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516534037029541570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22-J69VK32GFqb4JpdFwcVCGA-sFSkF1mnyT6Fyjj_uq9mmKBch5UMCQ9D8FEG0Dn3F3vGx9DbWSXnF7CBFct6OZBys-S8afTGPJoAReLZSFOEG0U_lY_gTB-IFY-sonCVVECVXf03aKT/s1600/DSC03328.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22-J69VK32GFqb4JpdFwcVCGA-sFSkF1mnyT6Fyjj_uq9mmKBch5UMCQ9D8FEG0Dn3F3vGx9DbWSXnF7CBFct6OZBys-S8afTGPJoAReLZSFOEG0U_lY_gTB-IFY-sonCVVECVXf03aKT/s320/DSC03328.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516534029977025138" /></a><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">September 10, 2010:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">This past week has been “Training Week” for both dental team and nursing team. And when I say nursing team I really mean Rachel and I. The dental team has been learning about anesthesia and extractions. On Monday and Tuesday they had lectures and videos to watch on all the procedures. Then on Wednesday and Thursday they where able to apply all that they had learned. They practiced the anesthesia on themselves and then pulled teeth out of a pigs head.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">While the dental team poked each other in the mouths, Rachel and I did some poking of our own. First we went over IV’s and then practiced on each other. When our arms were tired from being poked we asked the dental team if they would volunteer. Gladly they did </span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">J</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> Following IV’s was injections. At first Rachel and I thought we were only going to have a lecture over the injections… nope. We first went over the technique and then we stung each other: once in the arm and then in the butt. The needle prick wasn’t bad, what really hurt was the sterile water that went in. Boy, that sucker really stung! <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">At first Rach and I didn’t know why it stung so bad, but then we later learned that the water had no electrolytes, so of course it was going to sting. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">The Doc let our poor bodies have a rest and told us that we could wait until the next day for anesthesia. Thank goodness. Ha ha. So the next morning we went over the two types of local anesthesia we would be performing. We had a lecture over deep wound anesthesia and we practiced digital anesthesia on each other. We both chose our left ring fingers and numbed them up.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">They got so fat and heavy. The feeling was so weird that it made our stomachs a bit queasy. Not only did we learn how to numb cuts but we also learned how to sow them up. The Doc showed us three different sutures and then the dentist (Dr. Fillmann) taught us how to do them. We learned the simple suture, the Pak suture, and the no-scarring suture. We did all of our sutures on the pig head that the dental team had used for their teeth extractions. I never imagined myself doing such a thing… Holy cow! It was so AWESOME!! I’m so addicted to it. That night I couldn’t stop thinking about it and going over the sutures in my mind. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">When we weren’t poking each other we were diligently working in the pharmacy doing inventory. And when we weren’t doing either of those things we had our noses in the med book studying the meds in the pharmacy. The Doc wishes us to know as much as we can about all the meds. He told us that we are his right and left hands, so if he’s busy and something comes up we are to take charge. That’s a lot of responsibility… more than what I asked for. But I guess in the long run it will help us a lot. I just pray that God will lead us both in all that we do. </span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">The inventory alone was a battle we feared we would never win. There was so much stuff in there and very unorganized! We had everything from Love Lube to children’s chewable vitamins. It was our job to go through every single thing and count it. Whether it was capsules, tegaderms, or vials everything had to be counted. So much!! We had to separate things in categories, label drawers, and remove the expired stuff. It took us a total of 38 hours to finish it. But when it was done we jumped and shouted for joy </span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">J</span></span></span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I have been told by the Doc that our first clinic is this coming Monday. I’m so nervous. He told us that we would learn how to package up all our tools, meds, and supplies for the clinics. And that we would be able to apply all that we learned on real patients! I’m excited but at the same scared to hurt someone or disappoint the Doc.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I’m super excited for the time when we pack up and start the traveling. Which I think will happen here in a week or two. But at the same time I’m really bummed to leave behind our new friends. Hanna and Janessa will be located at the base and I will miss them dearly. It’s so AMAZING how all of us SM’s have bonded so closely in just a week! We’re a tight knit family already. And it breaks my heart to know that we won’t be all together all the time. And the locals that have been teaching us the Peruvian ways will also be staying at the base </span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">L</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> I wish we could all travel together…</span></span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Well I guess you can’t always get what you want. But I know God will bless both teams; the mobile and base.</span></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-51217864773776235302010-09-10T15:04:00.000-07:002010-09-13T16:18:32.970-07:00Busiest sabbath of my life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCkUCarqt4-Rh8ZbJ6iafT0OOIWhzw56Qob8DhSBT_XmHZPxFIcp9uAFLvzs-iJYZc0iZwyyClOzaAHwQ2de15wsQqLhM7N3t8RJTEk3CK5v6Q6KD7bklMJ9gtje9Yal5IvPIHhcPXyNzH/s1600/DSC04319.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCkUCarqt4-Rh8ZbJ6iafT0OOIWhzw56Qob8DhSBT_XmHZPxFIcp9uAFLvzs-iJYZc0iZwyyClOzaAHwQ2de15wsQqLhM7N3t8RJTEk3CK5v6Q6KD7bklMJ9gtje9Yal5IvPIHhcPXyNzH/s320/DSC04319.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516530025828756498" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aqpjQFmYr438i8SJHNQIrsXqkkpC3J9EsTpLaozXXihLZwa5IKH-Lb90o_q26nPeuiAUZS5fuNvXm2fdzS8YjD7WHj7Oso6dw9rs7cH8ZFRFRWsxvZfm49DODJMXbKitkYDHJxxsVMYU/s1600/DSC04329.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aqpjQFmYr438i8SJHNQIrsXqkkpC3J9EsTpLaozXXihLZwa5IKH-Lb90o_q26nPeuiAUZS5fuNvXm2fdzS8YjD7WHj7Oso6dw9rs7cH8ZFRFRWsxvZfm49DODJMXbKitkYDHJxxsVMYU/s320/DSC04329.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516530015512710066" /></a><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Courier New"font-family:";"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">September 04, 2010:</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Courier New"font-family:";"><o:p>The busiest Sabbath of my life started with some yummy pancakes. After our wonderful breakfast we headed towards Yerbas Buenas; our new home church. I went with Rachel, Chris, and Hanna. We had sabbath school and then followed by a really good sermon from our evangelism leader Puma. He’s an INCREDIBLE preacher and I’m so excited to be working with him! Rachel, Hanna, Chris and I sang “Pass me not oh gentle Savior” in Spanish for special music.</o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Courier New"font-family:";">When church was done we went back home to have lunch and to rest up a little. Then at 4:30 we were back at the church for JA – Joventud Adventista (Adventist Youth). We lead out two games: sword drill and 20 questions. We did another special music and this time we sang Mighty to Save. We sang some songs, played more games, and then finally watched a video on codependency in relationships. It was almost 7pm when we returned back to the base. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Courier New"font-family:";">We snarfed down some pancakes and headed out AGAIN for some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">juegos sociales</i> (socaial games). When we arrived to Santa Elvita we were greeted by many kids very excited to play. We played many fun games, had a wonderful meal, and finally ended the evening with some goodbye words for our friend Bernie.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Courier New', serif;"><b><br /></b></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-79940102214733758412010-08-31T09:31:00.000-07:002010-09-13T16:19:25.591-07:00More new comers and fiestas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCgfL_NvEJNBZSXFmZVay16A2Zl_8MT37yL1tCTcCDYfiWtau6KOUPsSrKUe4uxusOttXNShXeqP657xG6S8ZTtiYI5xqRaFNggQs7sSJzSXo0bOaadOvYEMvxAk2md3YFyw12J1G9Ch4/s1600/DSC04282.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCgfL_NvEJNBZSXFmZVay16A2Zl_8MT37yL1tCTcCDYfiWtau6KOUPsSrKUe4uxusOttXNShXeqP657xG6S8ZTtiYI5xqRaFNggQs7sSJzSXo0bOaadOvYEMvxAk2md3YFyw12J1G9Ch4/s320/DSC04282.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511619040732021378" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbyt0doURhQ1eLVnkNnsQJzIjRCA-1rRW49icEjgnnyJewXDxytWttyqxCkMPlyYg3jeyAZG0k49x6xvSqMimb5XjbkVW8Yu7SNBCxZCUGYPXNBakAOVxdfB-Sxy8kPUFT4Uh6KONVb_O/s1600/DSC04280.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbyt0doURhQ1eLVnkNnsQJzIjRCA-1rRW49icEjgnnyJewXDxytWttyqxCkMPlyYg3jeyAZG0k49x6xvSqMimb5XjbkVW8Yu7SNBCxZCUGYPXNBakAOVxdfB-Sxy8kPUFT4Uh6KONVb_O/s320/DSC04280.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511619023729925282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7AY_vgu05WEviZ8TF-x-JE0-O0796xak23eiRtCbH6gb23uIHM8GJVQ4voqWfbilNtTKQr2nqDbbYvRfuONvpe9PcYwTqo6Ogft-_a-jG-txU6M2ABkyiHbsWSy-otddF7ayZ8EWYaYC/s1600/DSC04273.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7AY_vgu05WEviZ8TF-x-JE0-O0796xak23eiRtCbH6gb23uIHM8GJVQ4voqWfbilNtTKQr2nqDbbYvRfuONvpe9PcYwTqo6Ogft-_a-jG-txU6M2ABkyiHbsWSy-otddF7ayZ8EWYaYC/s320/DSC04273.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511619019721994866" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLGqM3-WFCDNJ2E2-H_C17ukgrXpS5WulX_NofztY4_UMmQmOg2V3g4AO_VD3axPRcJu1axECxx31n8IQV9aIHKdfaCB5O6hrQelbgp8Z_KaQa35b9DPKJ3qD-Qo-e8DXhkJ4do20ezeQ/s1600/DSC04261.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLGqM3-WFCDNJ2E2-H_C17ukgrXpS5WulX_NofztY4_UMmQmOg2V3g4AO_VD3axPRcJu1axECxx31n8IQV9aIHKdfaCB5O6hrQelbgp8Z_KaQa35b9DPKJ3qD-Qo-e8DXhkJ4do20ezeQ/s320/DSC04261.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511619011299276258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWkt5ucPyapLmGbQJPx0CDuhMx3VTYs1tDWpw5NJUqteqqzKzyJrb6lpGf7dyfjlt_SHpnzH3vwp05PRvqcHOXnLhHB2brp4OUwt3vUwxbYug6ujOrdoy6LWSWxf6zYUc3EoV5W6M33g3/s1600/DSC04259.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWkt5ucPyapLmGbQJPx0CDuhMx3VTYs1tDWpw5NJUqteqqzKzyJrb6lpGf7dyfjlt_SHpnzH3vwp05PRvqcHOXnLhHB2brp4OUwt3vUwxbYug6ujOrdoy6LWSWxf6zYUc3EoV5W6M33g3/s320/DSC04259.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511619000497576306" /></a><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">August 28, 2010:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">It was a beautiful Saturday and we were in charge of many things. By in charge I mean that we had the whole children’s Sabbath school prepared. It was so much fun. Rachel played her uke and we all sang along with the kids. They have so much energy! They were singing so loud that you could hardly hear Rachel on her uke. She is doing so good on it and I know she’ll be a pro by the time we go home! We also had the story and some colorig activities for them. And then for church us three girls had special music. We sang “All Who Are Thirsty” in three part harmony whil I accompanied on the guitar. The Doc then finished the service with a wonderful sermon on Esau and Jacob.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Two new boys arrived!! We are no longer alone and there are more to come. We showed them around, told them as much as we could, and then we let them go to bed. They did arrive at 11 pm.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">August 30, 2010:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Today at around 6 in the morning the ladies came in!!! Boy were we excited. As we walked towards the other house my whole body was filled with joy as we saw our new teammates. We showed them the house and the rooms. Once they had moved their stuff into the room we chatted for a little while and we then let them nap. We remembered how exhausted we were when we first got here, so we wanted to make sure that they could relax and rest up.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">After a couple of hours everyone was awake and together. We decided to go to Campo Verde to have a tour. The fun part was when we had to fit 7 people in one motocaro. We had the boys on the back and five girls in the front. Three girls were sitting and two others were on laps. Rachel and I were the ones nominated to sit on laps. It was quite the ride. The motorcar definitely did not go as fast as is it usually does.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">In Campo Verde we showed them the bakery, the produce store, internet café, and the plaza. It was a great bonding time. We walked around and got to know each other by asking many questions. The boys were generous to buy a large bottle of Inca Cola for all of us. When we arrived back at the house we all sat down, had some Inca Cola, and began to chat. Us girls had the greatest time just chatting it up. We talked about our families, summers, traveling, school, and so much more. The boys later joined us and we started playing games. We played a round of UNO and then we finished up with a game of 7 up 7 down. It was such a blast! What made it so cool was the fact that we decided to speak only Spanish while playing. That way we could all practice and learn together. As soon as we finished our last round one of the locals walked in to tell us that the feast was ready.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Today was a special day for many Peruvians. It was a holiday. So the doc decided to make a huge feast and invite everyone. So we were able to eat delicious food, introduce everyone there, and get an introduction to what this whole mission is about. We then continued celebrating by going to a lake and have some fun. The boys played soccer, the girls volleyball, and then we all finally ended up in the water. In the water we played “Mata jente” (murderer) and attempted to catch small fish. Mata jente is like dodge ball, but in the water. And it was even more of an adventure when we had to pack 23 people in one Toyota truck to go home.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">As soon as we got home we all hit the showers and just relaxed. After getting hit with so much dust with soaking wet bodies, it felt so NICE to be clean again. We attempted to make phone calls to the families, but sadly, the phone would not cooperate with us. It was a wonderful day and I’m now so HAPPY to have more people here to share this adventure with. </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Courier New', serif;"><br /></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-81270869225806440272010-08-27T12:54:00.000-07:002010-09-13T16:20:00.813-07:00Fear, new friends, and rain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAUGBZQFqiNLOlBT0FokSipz3baG6WLEZ1Dt5MWKKLe8lW0N-J8Dxp4292AnUfKUu1RFmzpx6rRLeTYooE-K0Ad8_08QLMtESBQ42rVzJ7eMo44Im5m8oqfGIpkaPe7IwLb8RWuekvunX/s1600/DSC04170.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAUGBZQFqiNLOlBT0FokSipz3baG6WLEZ1Dt5MWKKLe8lW0N-J8Dxp4292AnUfKUu1RFmzpx6rRLeTYooE-K0Ad8_08QLMtESBQ42rVzJ7eMo44Im5m8oqfGIpkaPe7IwLb8RWuekvunX/s320/DSC04170.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511608720197537442" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOMVnOHugrlKd6Ury0Z087I0EYHmdnKUocGT4iGtyjBeTJBAtn6GnG7tj57Sx1kyT7OX329Osa9F4RK0bOnKOpvXv2rX0x3lIFCGkewJf0sldDVnKplaKE39yHo6qlI6RuUU4M2lhmXJV/s1600/DSC04250.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOMVnOHugrlKd6Ury0Z087I0EYHmdnKUocGT4iGtyjBeTJBAtn6GnG7tj57Sx1kyT7OX329Osa9F4RK0bOnKOpvXv2rX0x3lIFCGkewJf0sldDVnKplaKE39yHo6qlI6RuUU4M2lhmXJV/s320/DSC04250.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511608712254717266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeg6YZaAtGn5h-oZmbSxdymsLBld6gzwFf5TOOWMW_bSo6382Xy76P5anTFW0Fub4YT77ip8IcDZjDHTmSEC2B7jMkK_g3oKkKy0bzxS7JoWG9VM2mcUCTmUy3RTtyxSmOYq6MLTyTr67c/s1600/DSC04230.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeg6YZaAtGn5h-oZmbSxdymsLBld6gzwFf5TOOWMW_bSo6382Xy76P5anTFW0Fub4YT77ip8IcDZjDHTmSEC2B7jMkK_g3oKkKy0bzxS7JoWG9VM2mcUCTmUy3RTtyxSmOYq6MLTyTr67c/s320/DSC04230.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511608702503702466" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_mbR0pKEjvpNLpAx_aBDfw5aXL7dNvUwUPL_5UPYU2rapqy4aV4HAaKZ36ODgPBvRZbVLxJvPYdPylUjSRdqVBOVp2dFCoE_-Y7sgyfqaWLVuRcCL7DVruWaQVPQgRXqOedNCoa72pOX/s1600/DSC04228.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_mbR0pKEjvpNLpAx_aBDfw5aXL7dNvUwUPL_5UPYU2rapqy4aV4HAaKZ36ODgPBvRZbVLxJvPYdPylUjSRdqVBOVp2dFCoE_-Y7sgyfqaWLVuRcCL7DVruWaQVPQgRXqOedNCoa72pOX/s320/DSC04228.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511608683304607970" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2jqCpjYjzwMshJaFgZpY-qiLrWKGhtIjt10YXcybmW8f_k4ViIC-CDibknideuDN-TC-OH86titGtHFlnvVmXcq8iUOXkwOGR_aWaqS0OsfDULw4YFdm16uAtjD5Fb_GZqgaEneNDM0Cm/s1600/DSC04185.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2jqCpjYjzwMshJaFgZpY-qiLrWKGhtIjt10YXcybmW8f_k4ViIC-CDibknideuDN-TC-OH86titGtHFlnvVmXcq8iUOXkwOGR_aWaqS0OsfDULw4YFdm16uAtjD5Fb_GZqgaEneNDM0Cm/s320/DSC04185.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511608674028732338" /></a><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">August 22, 2010: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We woke up early to go to the airport with the Doc. Planning to pick up the new girl. She never showed up so we headed back to the base. On our way to the airport, the Doc mentioned about some “ghost” like things going on in the house. He mentioned that past volunteers had told him about their concerns. He wanted to know how we were doing and if we were ok. So thinking about it, I too remembered hearing things. However, in the past I had always used logic to answer my wondering thoughts. So I told him that all was good and we weren't concerned.</span></span></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Sadly things wouldn’t be the same after hearing that. Going back home, I couldn’t fall asleep. I heard things and slowly fear began to take over my mind. I had never been so terrified in my life. I took out my Bible and read Psalms to find solace and peace. I read and prayed for about two hours non-stop until Rachel awoke. When Rachel she was up I didn't mention a thing. We showered, did our laundry, and went along with our day.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new', serif;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">August 23, 2010: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Last night was HORIBBLE! I couldn’t sleep at all; fear had taken over me completely. Even though, I knew God was the Almighty I still feared the unknown. This alone frustrated me! Why was I still afraid even though I knew that God is the all POWERFUL. Thoughts in my head along with what was going around me scared me to death, so bad that I cried out to Rachel. I asked her if she could sleep with me. The great friend that she is; she came and joined me. Then with Rachel by my side it only took 30 minutes for me to fall asleep.</span></span></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">When morning came, I tried my hardest to erase what had happened the night before. I wanted to go on with the day and be myself. I didn’t want the actions of the night before to distract me. So I put on my “tough girl” armor. Little did I know that I was completely distracted and I was exploding inside. On the outside I appeared as if nothing was wrong. This is something I am very good at. Considering I grew up suppressing my true feelings, I have now mastered it and can fool anyone into believing that everything is ok. At times it is necessary for one to do this, but I know that it’s not always the healthiest thing to do. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We ended up telling the girls of what had been happening. They comforted us and we didn’t speak of it again for the rest of the day. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">However, when I no longer could contain the chaos in my mind I burst into tears. Knowing that I couldn’t control them, I left the house to be by myself. Crazy me, it was dark out. But I was so desperate to be alone to tell God everything. To </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">really</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> tell Him how I felt about it all. I let it all out. I cried like a baby. When I could finally compose myself I went back into the house. I thought I had it all together.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Bernie could read me like a book. She saw the distress in my face and asked what was wrong. I told her and everything came pouring out. I cried and I didn’t care who heard me. I was a wreck and I needed help, guidance, something. Thanks to Bernie and Rachel, I was able to get it all out and find some comfort. We decided to have worship at our house and then to sleep at her house. Worship was an answer to my prayer. It was the exact message that I needed to hear. Anxiety cannot ruin my mission that God has for me. God is stronger than anything and all I need to do is trust in Him. I need to keep a positive attitude.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">As of now, I plan to sleep in Bernies house until all the other volunteers return. I need to let my anxiety diminish. Fear is what the Devil is using to distract me. He knows that I’m ok with being far from my family for a long period of time. He knows that I’m trying my best to learn how to live in these conditions. So I guess, he had to come up with a different approach. Well, it still won’t work. God is much bigger. He is my fortress, refuge, and the One in whom I trust. Plus I have great friends who are here to support me and remind me of God’s promises. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">For those who are reading this, I just ask one thing. Pray for this fear to leave my heart. Pray for us here and for the rest of the volunteers on their way. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new', serif;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">August 26, 2010:</span></span></b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Today we went to kilometro 21 to finish up with the health presentations. Our new friend that takes us to 21 is one of the nicest guys. His name is David and he is the most punctual guy I have met. Wednesday I had promised to take one of the ladies to </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">la posta</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> (clinic). This young lady, with much chitchat and trust has now become one of my friends. She is 18 and has a baby that she loves dearly. Shortly after arriving at 21 Kayla and I headed towards </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">la posta</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">. So unfortunately, I wasn’t able to help out with the beginning of the health presentation. When I returned with my friend I found the girls at the school with a crowd of children. After they finished the hygiene, hydrating, and water talk I jumped in and helped with the nutrition lesson. Teaching is not as easy as it looks. We tried our best and now we can only hope that they learned something that they will be able to teach to the rest of their families.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We later went to Campo Verde and bought a few groceries. Then Rachel and I went to out favorite chill spot. There’s a fruit stand near kilometro 38 where we can buy fresh coco, oranges, snacks, and other goodies. Our favorite things to get are a cup of freshly squeezed OJ and a baggy of rosquillas. Rosquillas are a crunchy snack made out of yuka. We talked to the lady who owns the stand and we quickly became friends. The cool thing is that her name is Lady. So she is </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">the</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> Lady ha ha.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">When we finished celebrating Kelsey’s birthday and Rachel&Mitch’s anniversary, we headed back home. As we headed home the wind picked up its speed and the black clouds rolled in with thunder. A few seconds after we had entered the house, rain began to fall. I have never seen drops so huge and seen so much rain fall at once. I was tempted to go dance in it, but I was too afraid to get struck by lightning. Even crazier, it began to hail! It was quite the storm.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We finished the evening with a wonderful cooked supper. We made tortillas and a yummy vegetable soup. Our parents will be so proud of us ha ha. We are truly learning how to cook</span></span><span style="Courier New"font-family:";">!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Courier New', serif;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Courier New"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482039226232276694.post-51939367942970701582010-08-20T14:59:00.000-07:002010-08-27T12:03:35.004-07:0033 Mosquito bites later...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFKpLayl4LAU8k15q3gUt_-xuAzI4BApOEpwHWJjh5GdgVSN2ROUspe0531y2oP5UoyFJgyTzJ903syXnB9YG63t51JxhL6t2oqt66VnkmKXhI7MNp4NBJyXpJZ1wyLZitBYluilgjkay/s1600/DSC04163.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFKpLayl4LAU8k15q3gUt_-xuAzI4BApOEpwHWJjh5GdgVSN2ROUspe0531y2oP5UoyFJgyTzJ903syXnB9YG63t51JxhL6t2oqt66VnkmKXhI7MNp4NBJyXpJZ1wyLZitBYluilgjkay/s320/DSC04163.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507626036896900754" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-KsEoNpXEqo/TG8EsEU-hKI/AAAAAAAAADI/ITQVPxS6w3Y/s1600/DSC04162.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-KsEoNpXEqo/TG8EsEU-hKI/AAAAAAAAADI/ITQVPxS6w3Y/s320/DSC04162.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507626024419886242" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-KsEoNpXEqo/TG8ErjwH14I/AAAAAAAAADA/UDPLhdj-M2E/s1600/DSC04125.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-KsEoNpXEqo/TG8ErjwH14I/AAAAAAAAADA/UDPLhdj-M2E/s320/DSC04125.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507626015675373442" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-KsEoNpXEqo/TG8ErHOoUVI/AAAAAAAAAC4/ChCjC4QLivc/s1600/DSC04118.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-KsEoNpXEqo/TG8ErHOoUVI/AAAAAAAAAC4/ChCjC4QLivc/s320/DSC04118.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507626008018702674" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">August 18, 2010:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Today we went to kilometro 21 with Cindy. Dressed in scrubs and tennis shoes we headed over to the site at 9am. We had been told what it would be like, but it still didn’t compare to arriving there in person. We first turned into a long and bumpy road. At the entrance of this road was a billboard sign with a picture of a truck dumping off a load of trash near a huge pile of garbage. The dirt road was filed with potholes and the closer we got the stronger the smell got. As we were nearing the houses we saw many women and men picking up plastic, glass, aluminum, and other recyclable items. And among the workers were flocks and flocks of vultures with your occasional pig with its snout in a pile of trash. We also saw many dogs. However, these dogs were EXTREMLY filthy and they actually looked somewhat healthy. And by healthy, they weren’t so skinny that you could see every rib, they looked well fed.</span></span></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">The stench was worst at the middle of the piles of garbage and it’s a smell with so many mixes of horrible smells. It was sour, moldy, rotten, and so unexplainable. As we neared the first houses the smell was there, just not as strong. We did notice that as we went farther in towards the other houses the smell would disappear. Cindy told us that on hotter days the smell is almost unbearable. Cindy had promised many of them that she would bring them Bibles, so today we were there to pass out Bibles and to meet the different families. A number of families here aren’t your typical family. Some consisted of an older sister in charge of her younger siblings, a 17yr old with a much older man, a mother and father with a 13yr old pregnant daughter. Half of them spoke Spanish and the other half were from an unknown tribe that spoke no Spanish. The only way to get to them was to have their kids translate.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">A great majority of the adults don’t know how to read and not all the kids go to school. So, it’s not that easy to explain to them about having a healthier lifestyle. Just from being there one day, we could see that this was no little project. One needs a lot of time, dedication, patients, and love towards the village to see some progress. Sadly because I’m part of the traveling team I don’t know how involved I’ll be with kilometro 21. There was so much that I saw that I don’t even know where to begin and I don’t think I have enough time to write about it all. Their houses are built from trash that is collected there, filthy dogs and pups roam around everywhere, the children are barely clothed and also very dirty, there are no bathrooms, the water that they use for everything is unsanitary and very brown, and the majority of them seem very content with the conditions that they are in.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">To tell you the truth I kind of left the village hopeless. However, after a lot of thinking, I realized that I’m not here to turn a whole village around and save every child or pup that I see. I’m here to love them for who they are and if I can somehow get through them and show them a few things about a healthy lifestyle – I’ll be content. I want to love them just like Jesus loved everyone he encountered while he was here. No matter where they live, what they eat, or how they smell.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We finished our day with a little chill time, cooking supper (first time), and finally with </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">culto </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">(worship).</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">August 19, 2010:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">The one crazy thing that happened today was this: one of the guys cut his hand, bad. When working with a table saw he got his middle finger tore open to the bone. Rushing into the pharmacy with his hand wrapped you could see the pain in his face. The doctor followed him with another six guys behind him. At first I was shocked and didn’t know whether to go into the crowded room and ask the doc if he needed help. Once many of the guys cleared out Rachel and I went in to ask if he needed assistance. We handed the doc his instruments and then he was set. It was so bloody but at the same time so fascinating. I watched him sow tendons back together and finally sow his finger shut.</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">So intriguing. I want to know more, learn more, and hopefully I’ll get to help the doc out in many more situations like this.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Oh and later that evening as I showered I counted every bite on my body. So far if you ask Rachel, I'm winning by like 20 or more ha ha. I don't like winning. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Courier New', serif;"><br /></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Stephanie Rivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12129290681484220427noreply@blogger.com0