CTMH: March SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to another Stamp-Of-The-Month Blog Hop!  This month we have over 50 CTMH consultants participating.  If you've come from Traci's blog, you're on the right track.  We're creating with the fabulous set called, Potential.  Here's what it looks like:

The inspiration for my card came from this photo I found on Pinterest:

It came from a blog called Simply Stamped.

Here's my card:

And I decided to decorate the inside as well.

I made the base out of Kraft cardstock.  All the patterned paper is from the Pemberly Level 2 paper pack.  The flowers were cut with the Cricut and the stamped images come only from this month's set.  I discovered that the Tapestry Velvet Rub-Ons match these stamps exactly!  There are more images in the rub-ons, but all the stamp ones are there.  How fun!  I used the Dark Chocolate rub-ons for the flourishes under the flowers.  The brads are from the Copper Designer Brads set.  Initially I had stamped the sentiment on the front with Chocolate, but I didn't really like it, so I over-stamped with Desert Sand and am now happy with the result.  The edges are all sponged with Desert Sand and the inside image is stamped in the same colour.  I hand-stitched around the outside with embroidery floss, using CTMH's fabulous ruler to get perfect spacing, and then tied some Colour-Ready Seam binding Ribbon around before attaching it to the base.  I think this is my new favourite ribbon!

Now you're ready to move on to the next blog and see what wonderful things Gina has created for you.

Happy Creating!

Guatemala: Wrap Up

Things have been pretty busy and it was hard to get posts done the last couple of days in Guatemala.  I apologize for not getting something up until today.  Yesterday I was so tired, I did absolutely nothing.

I am extremely grateful for all of you who have been keeping our team in your prayers.  We had an amazing last couple of days, despite having some sick team members.  On Friday we saw 832 in medical and 145 in dental and on Saturday, we smashed our record with 954 patients seeing a doctor and getting meds, and 155 people getting dental work done!  This was with a number of team members under the weather and some even needing to take breaks in the bus.

Thursday was such a neat day.  We were in Parramos, where another Canadian organization called Loving Arms, is working.  It was further out of the city and we saw a lot more traditional dress.  Here are a few photos from this site.

The view out our pharmacy door, a play area, and on the other side of the fence, a playground!

This little cutie gave me big smiles after my camera went away and 

when I saw him later in the day we played peek-a-boo.

Chris counselling with a grandma and her granddaughter.  She had lots of questions.

Friday we were back in the same slum as on Monday, except we were on the other side.  The area is split into two and no one crosses over.  The church we connected with on Monday, with Pastor Gorge (pronounced Hor-hay), hadn't been successful getting into this side of the slum.  Our clinic was a huge stepping stone for them.  It was also a more dangerous area at night.  We were safe in the school, but were warned not to venture too far away.  Again, it struck me that these beautiful people live with such fear and hardship.  It really doesn't seem fair that as I write this from the comfort of my home here in Canada, that the faces we saw will shut their eyes tight and pray that the bullets won't fly tonight.  I am also grateful that we were able to give them vitamins, parasite meds, blood pressure and diabetic medications along with so much more, even melatonin for sleep.  At least we could address that.  Pastor Gorge said that they only know "gringos" who come to do business with the drug lords and the fact that we would be there just for them, serving them, was such a huge step forward.  I am grateful also that our clinic will help his church to reach out the people of this slum.  That will have much longer lasting effects than the medications we handed out!  Here are some photos from this area:

The view from the second floor of the school.

Even when you're poor, you still want your home to look nice.

Chris and I took this photo on the roof of our hotel on Saturday morning.  Guatemala City in the background.  Clouds were low so they covered the tops of the volcanoes.

If you would like to see more and get more of an understanding of what happens on our trips, as well as see some incredibly photographs, you have to go see what Tim has written and posted on the Speroway blog.

Thank you again for all your support and prayers as we served in Guatemala last week.  We felt them each day and know it was because of them that we were able to see close to 5000 patients.  Love you all!

Guatemala: Days Two and Three in Photos

Here are a few photos from the past two days.

The view from our Pharmacy room on Day 2.

This is how lots of people here keep out unwanted guests, broken glass.

Houses perched on the edge of a cliff, a very normal sight.

This was the sight that greeted us on Day 3.  Hundreds of people already waiting for us.

A little cutie, all too eager to smile for me.

How some of our patients got home.  They crammed as many people as possible in that truck, 

even at least one more after I took the photo.

Today was fabulous, just resting and relaxing and having fun together.  Tomorrow we head out for another clinic, and now it's time for me to go to sleep!

If you want more great stories and amazing photos, check out the Speroway blog that Tim is writing.

Until next time.

Guatemala: Days Two and Three

Wow, what an amazing two days we've had!  I was so tired when we got back after dinner, I went right to bed almost.  No time for posting.  Now, since we'll be having a day off tomorrow, I have some time to write again.

Yesterday we went into another slum area.  Our big bus wouldn't fit down all the streets to get to the school, so we had to carry almost everything down a very steep hill.  The entire community was built right into the side of a hill, it seemed.  Even the school.  Street level was the top, and we had to just keep going down steps to get to other rooms.  If I have time to post photos, I'll show you the view outside the windows in our pharmacy space. If you've been following me on my facebook profile, you've already seen it.  This was another area run by drug pushers and gangs.  Chris even walked up to the truck and discovered some people being arrested.  That was a little exciting.  There is a very good reason that we have police with big guns along with us each day.  Rest assured that we are never in any real danger while we do these clinics.  The communities we visit are so happy to have us come, they would do anything for us and we don't feel any fear.  But, we do need to get out of there before dark.  There was something really neat in this community.  A group from Quebec had started a way for the gangs to negotiate.  There is a special room, just for that purpose and as a result the crime has gone way down here.  Awesome!  We saw over 700 people yesterday.

It was a successful day, and I spent a lot of it on my feet.  By the end of the day, my feet and legs were incredibly sore and I mentioned it to one of the medics.  She diagnosed me with shin splints.  Yes, the kind of thing athletes sometimes get.  It's very painful and so, I've had to adjust what I do.  I'm staying drugged up on Ibuprofen, and my legs were wrapped in tensors all day.  It was very hot today and the tensors made me even hotter.  As I type this, I'm sitting on our bed, with ice on my shins.  Tomorrow is a day off, so I'll be sitting with my legs up and will hopefully be feeling much better for Friday's clinic.

Today we saw over 800 patients again.  It was very busy and I spent a lot of the day sitting and bagging up drugs so those filling prescriptions could do so easier and quicker.  We had something happen that we didn't expect.  Someone started copying registration sheets and selling them!  We had such a crowd waiting for us when we arrived and once they figured out we weren't going to be able to see everyone, they took matters into their own hands.  It's always hard when we have to deal with things like that, and then turn people away.  We were an hour and a half drive away from the hotel, so we couldn't stay to treat everyone.  I firmly believe that we saw the people we were supposed to.  There were so many sweet faces today, and they were full of smiles, especially the kids.  Such a pleasure to serve them.

It's getting late and I really need to get to sleep, so I will try to post some photos tomorrow, either in the morning or after dinner.
Thank you for your prayers and support.  I would love to hear your comments and thoughts, so please post.

Until next time.

Guatemala: Day One

We've finished our first clinic and boy, does it feel good!  829 people saw a medic and received vitamins, parasite meds and the medicines they needed.  115 people had dental work done, extractions, root canals, restorations, and cleanings.
Our team in the pharmacy is now a well-oiled machine, as one new person put it.  A lot of us have done a number of these clinics so once we get back into the groove, it's old hat.
There were some stories of people who really needed our help today.  A woman whose son was shot by her son-in-law, who escaped, needed not just medicine but prayer as well.  I just heard tonight at supper about a 6-year-old girl who had genital warts, in her mouth.  I should explain that we visited a slum in Guatemala City.  The gangs and narcs run the streets at night.  There are homeless kids who have been snatched up by these guys and now have no hope for any kind of positive future.  12-year-olds are turning tricks on the street.  It breaks my heart that some of those sweet smiles I saw today will be broken tonight as I sit typing this.  It doesn't seem fair that I and my family are so blessed while others have to deal with respiratory problems just because the houses they live in have no doors so they breathe in dust from the street all day and night.  It doesn't seem fair that while my family has a safe community to live in, there are others who can't sleep because they hear gun shots all night.  It doesn't seem fair that we need to come down here to do these trips because there is so much need.  I hope and pray that my fleeting smiles were enough to show Jesus' light to those people.  Do they know we care about them?  Love them?  Hope that their lives can be somewhat better by what we did for them?  I'm sure they do.

Sorry about going on like that, but it's my heart on my sleeve.  Maybe you'll understand a little of why we keep doing this over and over.

Here are some photos I took today.

Our pharmacy area today was VERY small, but we made it work.

And some of those precious faces: 

As I mentioned last night, if you'd like to get updates quicker, I've been posting photos on my Facebook profile. I'd love to have you join me there.  For some reason I can't get Facebook to work right now, but if you can search for me, Krista Posthumus Ritskes.  You won't be able to see anything unless you are my friend.  When you send me a friend request, please mention that you're coming from my blog.

Until next time!

Guatemala: We're Here & Raring to Go!

We touched down in Guatemala yesterday, after having our flight delayed for de-icing. Our connecting flight in El Salvador waited for us and all our bags made it on board, too.
 We have the largest team we've ever travelled with, 41 Canadians and with our Guatemalan friends joining us we're up to almost 50 people! That doesn't include the translators who will join us tomorrow.
 Today, we did an amazing job getting things prepped. The dental team made sure their equipment was working. The medical team got their supplies together and then helped where they were needed. The distribution team had lots of help sorting through boxes and boxes of clothing and other items. Our pharmacy team bagged vitamins and other meds. We did so well that every last vitamin has been put in a bag of 30. Usually we have to do more of them during the week. We even prepped our parasitic medication, albendazole. How many children's chewable vitamins? 54,000, all bagged in just 4 hours!
Now, after spending the rest of the day in Antigua, and getting to know each other better, we are ready for a good night sleep. We hit the ground running tomorrow morning with our first clinic site.
I'll try my best to post some photos tomorrow. But if you'd like see some sooner, you can send me a friend request on Facebook. I've been posting on my profile page quite regularly. Just tell me you were on my blog. Here's a link to my profile. I hope it works. http://facebook.com/krista.posthumusritskes?refid=7&pos=1. I'm doing this on my phone, so we'll see how it works. Until next time!

Guatemala: Almost on our Way

We touched down in Guatemala yesterday, after having our flight delayed for de-icing. Our connecting flight in El Salvador waited for us and all our bags made it on board, too. We have the largest team we've ever travelled with, 41 Canadians and with our Guatemalan friends joining us we're up to almost 50 people! That doesn't include the translators who will join us tomorrow. Today, we did an amazing job getting things prepped. The dental team made sure their equipment was working. The medical team got their supplies together and then helped where they were needed. The distribution team had lots of help sorting through boxes and boxes of clothing and other items. Our pharmacy team bagged vitamins and other meds. Wedding so well that every last vitamin has been put in a bag of 30. Usually we have to do more of them during the week. We even prepped our parasitic medication, albendazole. How many children's chewable vitamins? 54,000, all bagged in just 4 hours! Now, after spending the rest of the day in Antigua, and getting to know each other better, we are ready for a good night sleep. We hit the ground running tomorrow morning with our first clinic site. I'll try my best to post some photos tomorrow. But if you'd like see some sooner, you can send me a friend request on Facebook. I've been posting on my profile page quite regularly. Just tell me you were on my blog. Here's a link to my profile. I hope it works. http://facebook.com/krista.posthumusritskes?refid=7&pos=1. I'm doing this on my phone, so we'll see how it works. Until next time!

CTMH: Guest Book

We are busy getting ready to head to Guatemala on Saturday, but I really wanted to put up a post about artwork before my focus changes to our trip.
We've had some issues with our photos and photo storage and so I've been going through some old photos and sort of streamlining how they are organized.  I know, not something I really need to be doing right now, but sometimes I just need a break from all that's spinning around in my head!
Anyway, I came across these photos of Close To My Heart's 3-ring binder.  I made this to celebrate my dad's 66th birthday.  We had a big party for him.  Why on his 66th?  Well, I'm sheepishly hanging my head right now, we never got around to planning a party for his 65th.  Better late than never, right?

Here is the front.  I used images from a couple of stamp sets, the majority from the June 2010 Stamp-of-the-Month, Wonderful Friend.  The sentiment is from a set called A Little Everything, I think.  The colours of inks and papers are based on the Back Country paper pack.  Most of this is cardstock, but you can see one strip of patterned paper on the front.
Below are photos of the inside, where I stamped more images from the Wonderful Friend stamp set and used a line stamp from Comments.  People wrote messages to my dad on all these pages.

And of course I had to decorate the spine and back as well.  All of that is Olive cardstock stamped with Olive ink.  I also used Outdoor Denim cardstock and buttons with hemp, Cocoa cardstock and Barn Red cardstock.  The stamping on the front is done with Cocoa ink and some Outdoor Denim in second generation.  These four colours are used for the stamping inside as well, all in second generation, except the lines.  I love how it turned out.  My dad did, too.
Most of these items are now retired, but I hope this still inspires you in some way.

Until I post again from the Country of Perpetual Spring,
Happy Creating!

New Email Subscription

Just a quick post today, before I head out to pick up my kids from school.  It came to my attention (Thanks, Jacque!) that my email subscription wasn't sending out my posts.  I'm not sure why that was, so I just set up a new one.  If you'd like to get my posts delivered directly to your inbox, just pop your email address into the box on the right.

We're just 10 days away from heading to Guatemala!  I do plan to post one more time before we leave and while we're in Guatemala.  Hopefully the internet will be a bit more reliable than it was last time we were there.  We're staying at the same hotel, so fingers crossed!