a day away

 
 
 
 
Monday the 8th of December, was a national holiday in Peru. So our clinic staff went to a small
village a few miles out of town, where there are some places to eat and swim. It's a little hotter and brighter there, getting away from the coast some changes things a lot. We played volleyball then had lunch, climbed a hill, then came back to town. I was pretty sun-burned and covered in dust. But we had a good time.

Thanks Orland Park crew

Last week the folks from Chicago came down to build some more on the pastoral house for Wichanzao church, and also Dr. Dave Beezhold helped us in the clinic and one day we went to a community named Palmeras I. We worked several hours and the good doctor may have set a record, seeing 42 patients in about 4 and a half hours. (most of the kids had the same symptoms, some type of virus going around, he said)
Here is a photo of Elizabeth, who helped us in triage, and Dr Beezhold with Lora seeing patients.

Another day in Clementina

Last Saturday the youth and young adults of the three churches organized an afternoon in Clementina doing outreach. It is great because this was not the mission's idea, and we had hardly any involvement. They had a young medical student( in his last year) seeing patients with mild complaints, they passed out clothes and shoes which had been collected weeks before, and played games with the kids. Here are some photos. God is blessing out folks with vision and zeal for reaching out to others.

Jail time

Yesterday I went with another missionary, not part of Peru Mission, to visit the women
prison here in Trujillo. It is located a few miles past our clinic in an area called Milagro. Micah Tuttle goes every Wed. to teach a bible study along with some women of his church. I was surprised at how small it seemed. There were about 10 ladies, mostly middle aged, who came to sing a few songs and listen and participate in the study of Mark. Afterward I briefly shared my testimony along with two other Americans. It was a very low security facility, and the inmates were wearing street clothes. But everyone was friendly and welcoming. Next door is the men's prison, which Micah says is very different. Much larger and more hostile. However, one of the ladies expressed the desire to visit our clinic, and it seems when they need medical attention they just tell the guards and one of them accompanies her to the health care facility. So, perhaps we can become the clinic of choice for these inmates one day.
We will see.
Otherwise things are well. Susan is teaching again after a brief hiatus while her parents were here. The kids are doing good with school, and enjoying Dorcas, our Pervian helper who teaches them Spanish, art and music.

Moving again

Next week the Ferguson family will leave us and return to Texas to begin the
next phase of their adventure. They will prepare to become church planters in
Calgary, Alberta Canada. Shortly after we plan to move about 100 yards into
their house; for a few reasons. Their house is bigger, the rent is about the same, and
the landlord seems more reasonable, and the house is more secure. We will miss having
the Fergusons here, but God had his plans for us all.
Last week the Second Pres. team from Greenville, SC was here doing some sanding,
painting, and electrical work at the church in Arevelo. Also a RN named Sharon came and a future nurse? called Maria. They helped us in the clinic some and also two Fridays ago when we went back to the market for another campaign. Below are some photos. Thanks Sharon and Maria and all the folks from Greenville.

A day off in Peru

Today is Monday the 28 of July, the Independence day in Peru.
So we are going to the beach with the Bradfords for lunch in a few minutes.
Things have been slow at the clinic, but the construction continues
on the second floor. Bob Peck is here these weeks putting our doors on and
hopefully soon we can move on up there and start using our new space.
Last Friday we had a little campaign at the central market in Wichanzao.
It was supposed to be from 9am until noon, with a MD, basic triage of weight, blood
pressure, temp, and some free meds to give away. At nine we were still in the clinic
packing up and no doctor had arrived, so I called Dr. Raul, our Friday doctor.
He says he has meetings that day so Dr. Mario will be coming instead. Dr. Mario shows up about 9:30 tired, because he had worked the night shift before, and did not know
we had a campaign scheduled for that day. But being the great guy that he is, he willingly agrees to help out, until about 12:30. About 1:00 we start packing up
but Mario did not finish his patients until 1:30, and then we were all hungry.
Things went so well we decided to do it again this Friday. The Lord is blessing us in our attempts to reach the community, even when we plan or coordinate as well as I would like; more and more we are attracting new patients and becoming known and trusted in the community. In fact the church has been offered some more property in another neighborhood, and Pastor Juan plans to open a small chapel there for preaching. His Truth marches on.

A busy week with All Saints

It's Saturday night and we just finished a medical campaign with a group from All Saints in Austin, TX. Drs. Morgan and Williamson and nurse Catherine were busy all week helping us in the clinic
while three others were destroying some old parts of the house next door to the clinic so we
can expand there, and also sanding and painting our soon to be finished second floor.
I feel many folks were helped and we even spent one day out in a very poor settlement
called Palmeras 3.
We had one very sad case however. Ronald, a taxi driver and member of our church, brought us
a family with a twelve year old boy in the back of his station wagon. The boy had a large tumor
on his femur which has been growing for about a year. It is an osteosarcoma if I recall correctly.
Dr. Morgan explained that there is really little hope at this stage and helped to prepare the parents for the child's imminent death and prescribed some pain meds for him.
Sometimes we face difficult situations where we can only do so much. It is difficult but
we trust in the Lord's goodness and mercy to be evident where his gospel is proclaimed.
Pray for people like this who are suffering and pray that we can provide comfort and hope
in the Lord.

May is over

 
May was a busy month, and now that June is here we are ready for another busy month.
Before I forget, here is Rebekah with Olivia Baker. The Bakers are on furlough for a year or so
mostly back in Texas, but traveling around too. We have been staying occupied with more school, some traveling, and
meeting new people. This week we have three gentlemen from Virginia. One, Dr. David Davis, will be
working in the clinic the next three days.
Two more teams are coming this month, doing some construction and also some more medical work.
Blessing in the Lord to all

Clinic paint job

I just realized that my last post from two weeks ago did not get posted.
I must have closed my browser before it finished uploading or something.
Anyway, as the photos show below the clinic got a new coat of blue paint.
Back in mid April Drs. Pete Forney and Mike Coker were here from Texas.
Dr. Forney is a Gyn and he did a few surgeries in a local hospital and attended
patients in the clinic. Dr. Coker is a vet and he helped me scrape off the old paint
and together with my three oldest children, and Sam, Gillian, and Heather, some current PM interns,
we painted the upstairs and downstairs of the outside. Thanks to the docs for
visiting. Right now we are open for the summer, so if you are a MD and looking
for a fun-filled week at Wichanzau, come on down.

upstairs in the hallway

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter

 
Our first Easter in Peru was a nice one, except for Caleb who was a little under the weather.
The Arevelo church where we attend had a breakfast before the worship service and about 90 people came.
Later for lunch the missionaries, interns, and some guests from Lexington, VA met at the Bakers.
After that there was an egg hunt for the kids. Lauren was not sure what to do, but she did enjoy the candy
inside the plastic eggs. Hope all of you had a joyous day in the Lord.

Done traveling for a while

 
We went to Lima last week to finish getting our identity cards for the kids.
Now we can stay here for four years, with some minimal paperwork done yearly.
It feels good to know we don't have to make anymore trips soon.
Lauren is not a good traveler, and I am too cheap to get us a decent hotel.
I have started working at the clinic now and things seem to be going fine.
Hopefully this week we will collect the equipment from customs and start setting some
of it up at the clinic. My dad's sunday school class has offered to replace the computer that was stolen last month.
Also we have picked up some more support from another church. God proves himself faithful everyday,
sometimes I just fail to notice. Spanish is still a struggle, and I predict another year
before I feel like I can carry on in a conversation well. You know me, I can barely
keep one going in English, much less Spanish.
dale and the family

some challenges

February has been a difficult month. We traveled to Ecuador to fulfill our visa obligations for the children's resident visas, but found the country shut down for two days when we arrived
for a national holiday. So our 2 day trip became a four day trip. It was full of bus rides and vomit from Lauren. However, Guayaquil is a nice place.

Then last week our house was visited by some men early one morning. They broke through our front door and took our new desktop computer and monitor while Caleb and Jacob watched through
bleary eyes. It was about 5am. I came downstairs and escorted them to their taxi, slowly realizing
we had just been robbed.

The heat is hot, and sleeping is getting harder. Our fears of another break-in combined with
the weather have made for some long nights. We would appreciate prayers for our encouragement, faith, and joy. The good news? God is on his throne and is renewing our hope in Him.
nos vemos,
dale

Been a little busy

We moved in our house Jan 5 and we are still unpacking some.
It takes a while to find where to put all our stuff, and we were constantly
running out of closet space or shelf space. I have bought many small tables and
bookshelfs from the part of town called the "mayorista"
It is a little dirty and smelly in places, but the prices are good.
It's like a game to see how many tables and shelfs you can stack up on top
of a taxi and tie down.
The Twin Lakes group has come and gone and it was great.
The Peruvian kids had a blast, and the missionary kids did too.
Our kids are adjusting well; probably better than me and mom.
Happy New year to all and keep praying for us.