Smiles and Sign Language

Today started off a little rough, about half the group woke not feeling great. Luckily we were able to load up on medication and work our way through the day. The construction crew went back to Pastor Juan's village to build a house for one of the locals. The sun was hot down on the ground, I can't imagine how hot it must have been for the team members that worked on the roof. To build this house we finished setting the cement floor, put up the roof, and put up siding. The easiest way for us to communicate with the locals was through smiles and hand gestures. At the clinic, we treated a record of 265 people in about 6 hours. For many, this was the first time they had medical attention, so they were nervous. A simple smile was able to help calm some of their nerves. Tomorrow is our last day in the field, pray that we will have another successful day :) - Ami and Taylor for the team.

March 13 El Cipres

Finally our suitcases have arrived tonight! Much needed vitamins were attained through this discovery. Today, our medical team saw 130 people at El Cipres with many more people being dewormed. A lot of scabies cases were reported, along with a bunch of wounds that needed treatment. Yet again, there were stories that stuck out to us. One was a boy with a swelled foot due to infection. An older lady with diabetes had a discolored ulcer on her foot, and it's probable that she will lose it in the future. There was a 9 year old with Herpes on his armpit area. Also, a 70 year old had a bullet stuck in his head. This was due to his defending his daughter from a man who was loco.

Through the excruciating job of mixing the intense cement by hand, the amazingly effiecient construction groupo was painstakingly able to complete tres floors, all in the Santa Ana region. While Neptali finalized the floor, we were able to go throughout the community along the river to view the dwellings of our neighbors. One particular shelter stood out when looked upon. Once we cometh closer to the building where people lived, we realized that the shelter which we had looked upon was actually constructed from only cardboard. We immediately felt for the family that dwelled here.
Gustavo has been concentrating very hard at holding down the bench at the little pulperia near to our site of work. Today he worked especially hard when he picked up a pala full of cemento. Through all the great things that were accomplished through the extremely hard work, Mincho was to blame for all of it. Tomorrow we will be consructing columns for Pastor Juan in front of the church so he can have a roof over the place where the kids can play.

Señor Benjamin de la Perkasie