Day 2 - Saturday (Feb. 11) – Construction

The construction crew had an extremely productive day. They completely painted 3 homes. They assembled all of the windows for 3 homes. They completely installed the door and windows for one home. They completed the stucco for one home. In addition to all of that, they fixed a truck that broke down and they taught 2 children how to play the guitar. (One of the boys received a guitar from a missionary three years ago but never learned how to play.)

Day 2 - Saturday (Feb. 11) – Village Medical Clinic

The VMC traveled to Trial Farm area where they treated 238 patients. In addition to the standard medical screening Dr. Fry provided OB/GYN services. Many women benefited from this service. There were over 480 pharmaceutical scripts filled for antibiotics, blood pressure, diabetes, GI, vitamins, pain killers, and other medicines. One unique situation reminded us of a magic trick. Dr. Moody pulled a flower button out of a little girl's ear. While the button was not as valuable as a coin, the girl benefited far more than she would have from a quarter. Additionally, we were were able to refer one young lady, who had a cyst, to the doctors at the Orange Walk/Northern Regional Hospital and we were able to drive her there to be seen by Dr. Mangat that same day.

The Ear Wash station helped over 125 people and even got a bug out of someone’s ear.

Additionally, we gave away 100 reading glasses and 135 sunglasses. In order to do this, the team had to stand for 4.5 hours.

Day 2 - Saturday (Feb. 11)

We started the morning out at 6:30am again -- a little earlier for those who jog, ride bikes or other crazy stuff like that. Breakfast was eggs, bacon and toast; a little lighter than those pancakes from yesterday.

After morning devotions, we all gathered for a group picture. Everytime I was ready to snap the shot, someone else came. Finally, all were gathered and we took two pictures. We broke up and started loading the vans when the last two wandered in... oh well, we almost had the whole team in the picture.

The surgical team loaded up to head to the Orange Walk/Northern Regional Hospital. The village medical team loaded up to head to Trial Farm which is very near the hospital. The construction crew loaded up to head off to San Victor. And the logistics team joined all of the groups (kind of like the Levites).

Day 1 - Friday (Feb. 10) - Assessment Team

The Assessment team had a very productive day. Not only did they screen 160 people today, they also did follow-up care from surgeries that another church medical mission trip completed last week.

At this point, they have Saturday and Sunday completely booked for surgeries. However, they have openings for Monday and Tuesday at this point.

Also, during the assessment, they saw several patients returning from previous years.

In addition to the assessments, we were able to give away 91 pairs of reading glasses, 85 sunglasses, and an entire box of Spanish Bibles.

God Sighting - Thursday

I mentioned in the post yesterday that we had an incident with a key being broken off in the lock of one of the vans. However, I failed to point out the serendipitous blessing associated with that mishap...

After the key was broken off, we were going to have to wait quite a long time to get a replacement key from the rental car company. However, it just so happened that the owner of the cave river tour group that we use for the fun day was there. He knew of a local locksmith that might be able to use the broken key to create a new one. He drove the key parts himself and returned shortly after with a key that unlocked and started the van!

While not a huge miracle, it was certainly a nice blessing.

Day 1 - Friday (Feb. 10) - Morning Activity

We started out early this morning with breakfast at 6:30am. After filling our bellies on pancakes, we went out in the heat to enjoy a morning quiet time. Afterwards, the medical team loaded up the vans and headed out to the Orange Walk/Northern Regional Hospital.

We were greeted by lines of people waiting to be evaluated. Some were there to have stitches removed from the medical mission team that was here last week from a different church. Others were here to be evaluated for the first time. While working in the waiting room you get to hear many different languages. Of course, you expect to hear Spanish and English but what is surprising is that you also hear German! There are many Mennonites farmers in the area whose heritage is from Germany.

While the medical team was working at the hospital, the pharmacy team was busy repackaging vitamins and medicines in smaller packages for distribution at the village medical clinics.

And the construction crew was out reviewing the construction sites and obtaining required materials. This year the goal is to complete 2 houses and recreen many windows.

And while everyone else was busy doing this important work, the logistics team was getting the air conditioning working in the vans. Given the heat and humidity down here, that is a critical task!! :-) Additionally, the logistics team went out to the airport to pick up the rest of the team who should be arriving shortly.

Day 0 - Thursday (Feb. 9) - Arrival

The Advance Team arrived today. Our travel was uneventful, which is the way you want travel to go.

The day started early with the team arriving at the airport at 5:15am. As a result, several team members slept during the flight.

Once we arrived in Belize, several team members realized their mistake of wearing a heavy shirt under their Belize t-shirt. We were welcomed with the heat and humidity of Belize. Quite a change from the chilly Cincinnati weather.

After grabbing a quick sandwich, the team loaded up in the vans and drove to the hospital for a quick look around. The surgical team was excited to learn that the operating wing has been remodeled. And there is other construction work going on in the hospital compound. Our departure from the hospital was delayed a little as one of the keys to the one of the vans was broken off in the lock. Now I won't name any names, but let's just say one guy has been getting a lot of grief for his herculean grip! ;-)

From the hospital, we drove to Tony's to unload the medical supplies and many of the team members. However, this year the group is so large that we are spread out in three different hotels. In fact, this year we have 72 team members that include 11 doctors, 16 nurses and 3 pharmacists. We have 28 people on the village medical clinic team, 24 on the surgical team, and 14 on the construction team. As you can imagine, we are expecting great things from these large teams.

Well, it is 9:10pm here in Belize. Everyone else has wandered off to bed -- between the long travel day and the heat and humidity, everyone was pretty tired. The day starts at 6:30am tomorrow so I better wander off as well.

I have added some pictures from the day. As I get pictures from other team members I will add them to the albums. So take a look at the picture albums for regular additions. Buenas noches!