El Salvador 2013: Day Five, So Rewarding

As I write this we are driving home from December the 1st, an area previously known as Somalia. If you've read my posts from previous years, you have heard about this place before. We hold a clinic here every year. It's a slum, right in the heart of San Salvador. It was a challenging day because not only are the people the most needy, but we start to run out of medicines. And yet, we are able to brig smiles and love to a community who so desperately needs it. We were able to help 1,019 people in medical today. Those same people, and more, got food, clothing and other items as well. 

Above is a typical home, up together with whatever they can find. They struggle with malnutrition and parasites and lots of others. 

What really gets me each year is just how thankful they are when we come. The community leaders had a couple of plaques made for us and when they gave them to us and thanked us with hugs, there were lots of tears. It's hard not to feel their emotion and appreciation when you see it smiling out of their eyes. It makes you feel equally grateful to be a part of this mission. 

Thank you, too, my readers, for following me on these experiences each year. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement and constant support. I really do feel it. And thank you for putting up with my departure from crafting. We'll be back to it in the next post. :)

Thank you again!

El Salvador: Day Four, Another Record Broken!

I say it every day, but wow, it was quite a day!  We were in a community called Zaragoza. We set up in the mayor's office again, after having to move out of a very tiny space in the library. Once we got it all worked out, everything went smoothly. We saw a record breaking 1,049 patients in medical and dental did 210, although a lot of their cases were pretty complicated. 

As the doctors started to see patients, they noticed a lot of stress and trouble sleeping. Turns out the gangs run this community. They have enforced a curfew of 7pm and anyone caught outside after that time could get shot!  I can't imagine living with that kind of fear.  

One of the prescription sheets I received tugged at my heart and made me tear right up. 

It may be hard to see, but this woman's husband was killed on the job just two months ago. He fell out of a tree. She is now a widow, with a disabled adult child to look after as well as her three-year-old grand daughter. There is no workman's comp. or any kind of widow's benefits here. She has no way to make money for her family. These kinds of stories break my heart. I am so grateful we could be here to help her know that someone cares and that Jesus hurts for her as well. We could make her feel better by giving her medication and vitamins. I don't want to forget her. She is why I am here. 

El Salvador 2013: Day Three, Record Breaking!

Wednesday was a crazy day, and that's putting it lightly. We were back in Tepecoyo again. We visited this community last year so it was nice to be back. Pharmacy had a nice big room, with lots of space. 

We worked hard, VERY hard, seeing a record of 1,014 patients in medical and 234 in dental!  There has only been one other day, in all our trips, where we broke 1,000. The best part of this clinic day was that we saw every person who wanted to be seen. Not one was turned away, and that, no matter what the numbers, makes us feel even better. 

Here are a few shots I took at the end of the day. The first are of the school we were in. 

The mayor presented our group with a plaque. 

And when we got home we skyped with our kids. 

Loved seeing their faces ... even if they were being a little silly. 

We had a day off today and are looking forward to two more clinic days before flying home. Our team is healthy, which is so great!  Please continue to pray for health, strength and energy. And thank you again for your support and encouragement. 

El Salvador 2013: Day Two

It's 6:30 in the morning as I write this. I am ready to head down to breakfast. We need to leave a half hour earlier today because traffic is causing us to arrive late at our clinic sites. To be honest, I'm tired, really tired; and I can't wait for our day of tomorrow. Yesterday was a hard day for me. We had some definite perks, though. Our clinic was held in a place called San Jose Villaneuve. I think I got that right. We were in the mayor's office instead of a school and Pharmacy lucked out. We got air conditioning!!  It wasn't as cool as you would have at home, but only because our door was open all day. This was such a treat since we were closer to the shore where it is hotter. No such treats today, as we head to another hot location. It made working so much easier an since I had a spell of not feeling well in the morning, I was incredibly grateful for it. 

We saw 823 patients in medical, a record-breaking 220 in dental, 111 pairs of reading glasses were handed out and there was more food given out after the medics stopped seeing patients!

We also had the opportunity to help a very sick 2-month-old who had a super high fever. Here's a photo of Chris getting a dose of acetaminophen ready. 

She was so adorable and so sick. She ended up getting an injection of antibiotic and we hope to be able to follow up with her. We're going to try to get the mayor to find out how she is. 

Anyway, time is short and if better get moving. Thank you for your prayers. We need energy and strength today!

El Salvador 2013: Day One is Done

Wow, what a day we had yesterday!  We visited El Congo, a community that has never had an NGO visit to help them. There were speeches by the mayor and they sang our national anthem!  The drive was gorgeous, winding along mountain top road, with a valley on one side and a stunning lake on the other. 

We saw 805 people in medical, 181 in dental and handed out 171 pairs of reading glasses. 

It was a great day with so many people needing our medical attention. I got to meet a 104-year-old man, whose only issue was eye pain. He was so sweet. 

It is so rewarding to know that these people finally know that there are other people out there who care about them. 

Here are a few photos I took at the end of the day. 

El Salvador 2013: Ready to Start

We are almost ready to start our first clinic day. As I write this, I am about 20 minutes from boarding the bus. 

Yesterday we packed our medicine bins and bagged some drugs and vitamins in record time. 

We have already had some challenges on this trip, which happens every year. Our truck, carrying items we had stored in Guatemala, was denied entry at the border. So, a pile of dental equipment and medical tools will not be here. Our team here was busy purchasing new items like a generator for the dental team and other dental units (at a cost of $5000 each) had to be brought down with us on the plane. Medical equipment had to be purchased as well. As for pharmacy, our bins had to be replaced and it was challenging to work with new ones that are different and much bigger. Hopefully we will still have room for them on the desks that serve us as tables at our sites. 

On another note, it's been exciting to see our team work together so well!  The people on our trip are workhorses!  They 105,000 vitamins yesterday and we were done before 4pm!!  That doesn't include the parasitic and other meds they also packaged up. It's all done. What a wonderful feeling!

As we go into today, pray for strength, health, and energy. Pray also that I have a better sleep tonight!  Thank you for your support and encouragement. 

If you want to read another blog about our trip, go to Speroway.com and click on blog. 

El Slavador 2013: We're On Our Way ... Almost

It's time again for another trip with Speroway to El Salvador. I'll be posting as often as I can so you can share in our experience and see how your support is helping us. 

Right now we're killing time at a Wendy's near the airport. Our flight times are flipped compared to our last trips, which is bitter sweet. It means we can spend time with our kids before we leave and they'll be awake when we get home. But it also means that we won't be arriving at our hotel until after 10, and we just discovered that our flight is delayed. Sigh. Oh, the joys of air travel. 

I just thought I would share some photos of how we are passing the time. :)

I'm going to miss these two. 

Next post from sunny, warm, and precious El Salvador.