A Note From Dennis

A FEW WORDS FROM THE DOUBLE D.
Ok, a few notes of a more somber nature on our trip this year. Thanks for the humor, Bo, but I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t add a few notes of my own as well. :o)
As you all know, this was a very healing trip for me last year, as I hope it continues to be for anyone that chooses to join us. One cannot experience the culture and the poverty of these people, and the deep, sincere gratitude for the smallest of acts, and not be affected and encouraged to keep on doing this. As I said during our dinner that Friday night, thank you Jeremy and Melisa for planting the seed in Peggy’s heart several years ago which grew into us making the trip last year, and the continuing mission to return as often as we can.
As you’ve already read, this year contained several more “firsts” for us, not the least of which was the birth of baby Marco. I must make a few comments on this event. When Randy and I were going through the supplies at St. John’s Mission outreach center, a month before the trip, we each grabbed several things, just on a whim, that caught our eye. One was a bulb syringe, another was a neonatal stethoscope, and then there were the bags with the “hygiene kits”, including towels and washcloths. As we prepared for the impending birth of Marco, I took a number of these hygiene kits to obtain clean towels and washcloths for his first bath and to help soften his new “bed”. I got the bulb syringe that Randy had grabbed, and lo and behold, there was the neonatal stethoscope among the supplies! We could have done it without these and other items, but I thought it was pretty neat that we had grabbed them somewhat fortuitously.
I cannot help but marvel at the miracle of birth, as it has happened for eons without the modern technology we have all become so accustomed to. It really drives the point home when you are witness to such a birth in a small clinic in a remote little village in Guatemala. We all have our own beliefs, but I truly believe God was watching out for Marco and his mom that day. So many things could have gone wrong! First, her water had broken that morning, in a very un-sanitary environment, as is common in this part of the world. She had progressed in her labor throughout the day, and then walked nearly a mile or better uphill most of the way, to come to our clinic, knowing that a medical team happened to be visiting from the United States. She sat there while Jamie examined her two daughters, and only then did she happen to mention, oh by the way, that she was in labor and could we check and see if she had time to get to the hospital! She didn’t want to go too early because they would turn her away if she was not ready yet, and it was nearly an hour away by car.
Her labor progressed quite normally, and quite gracefully, I might add. We barely heard a peep out of her, even in hard labor. We were able to get hold of her husband and he arrived literally just minutes before the birth. I was grateful for the one piece of technology that we did have in the room—a fetal Doppler! I was able to monitor the HR during contractions to make sure there weren’t any decels. Thank God, there were none. Everything was progressing smoothly and normally. We continued to try and prepare for any complications. We started an IV with fluids we just happen to bring—since last year we had to use 10cc flushes to save a baby from dehydration. We got a dental syringe with lidocaine, the only thing available, (and this was because the dental team was there that week as well), in case an episiotomy was needed.
Had the baby been breech or any myriad of other complications, the outcome could have been very different. But after about 2 hours, baby Marco arrived about as text-book as one could hope for. All without the fancy monitors and sterile instrument packs of a modern delivery room. We placed him in our “receiving table”, a large Tupperware tub lined with clean blankets donated by another group, proceeded to get him cleaned up and dried and stimulated enough to get his circulation going well. The cheers that went up in the hallway when he made those first cries was incredible! I will never forget that sound. It was like scoring the winning touchdown in the super bowl. The word had spread quickly and many from the other groups, and even Ivan, were all gathered waiting for the first news. I could feel the excitement in the hallway and the power of their prayers for all concerned. And yes, I was bawling!
It was so touching watching as mom and dad became acquainted with Marco, and the love that was evident as his dad gave him his first bath. I am told that this is not a common thing in this culture for the father to be so involved. Some are, but many are not. It was an experience I will never forget. Then we had to get back on the bus, and only an hour later, Jamie and Jen, and I think was it LA??, took them home. I was like—wow! You’d never see that happen in the states! As much as some insurance companies would love to see it, I had to pray for them that nothing would go wrong in those first hours with baby or with mom. But as I say, this is the way it happens in so much of the world—not in a high-tech sterile delivery room with millions of dollars in technology and equipment, and most do just fine.
I can’t help but think about what would have happened had we not been there that day. Would she have gotten someone to drive her the hour to Chimaltenango in time? Would she have ended up having the baby at home? There would be no one at the clinic at that time of day other than Jen. So many things could have gone wrong, but everything went right in this instance.
The daily volume was such this time, (I’m sure a result of having some regular care 4-5 days a week), that it allowed Randy and I and others to check out some of the other activities of the week. Randy got to help with the widow’s house one day, LA, Randy and I, and Jodi from South Dakota, got to go into the village, wander the streets and pass out toys to the kids, (and believe me the word spread FAST!), and we checked out the widow’s house, got to meet them, and visited the widow from last year, who is still doing well. It was very humbling to see the conditions these people live in. the shacks they live in, and yes for the most part they are just shacks, are little more than spare lumber and corrugated tin. Yet they are all so happy and gracious to us visitors. I sometimes feel guilty when I think of all the material things I have, and these people and millions around the world, have barely enough to eat or cover their heads at night.
Some of us were also privileged to witness the dedication of the widow’s house this year. This was another experience I will never forget. The widow and her daughter were so pleased to greet us all and offer us soda and crackers. God only knows how long they had to work to obtain several bottles of soda and packages of crackers! But they eagerly went around offering these as a small token as we “toured’ their new home. A nice new cinder block house, no bigger than most of our kitchens, and it was probably one of the nicer homes on the block now! Attached to it was her mother’s house, and the small wooden shack of a kitchen with the only ventilation for the smoke from the stone hearth being the cracks in the walls between the lumber. We met the rest of the extended family, and then the South Dakota group posed for pictures in front of the house, along with the widow and her family. They had also given them gifts of blankets for all of the family, and then a prayer was said and benediction was sung. I was again moved to tears as the widow continued to pray for several minutes afterwards, eyes closed and continuing on in her soft voice, crying herself at times. There literally was nary a “dry eye in the house”, or outside it I should say. Such a difference was made in her life and the lives of her family that week! WOW!!! I was humbled to be witness to this and be a part of it.

I can’t begin to describe what a feeling it is to be able to make such a difference in someone’s life. Yeah, we make a difference in people’s lives every day in this job we do. But to have the privilege to be able to help these people of this tiny village, and do the things we did in the medical clinic and Mama Carmen’s for the week, was by far some of the most rewarding times of my life. Thanks to the fundraising and donations, we were also able to present Jen with $2100 in cash for the clinic for supplies and meds, and $1100 to Mama Carmen. I later found out that this will be especially helpful to her, as the local government has decreed that unless she adds another story to her house, they will take some of the orphans from her. The South Dakota group, on hearing this, decided to forgo their “last night out” at Santa Domingo with us, and instead gave the money they save and then some, to give Mama Carmen a little over $1000 themselves! What a blessing to her! This woman is truly a saint in human form. She takes in all these kids, feeds the homeless in the area, goes to the garbage dumps by herself at night to take the kids there some food and offer them a little compassion, (which is no safe area at night for an elderly woman alone by far!). The “bad guys” seem to appreciate what she’s doing though and leave her alone. If I could only have the faith to do the things she does. What an incredible lady!
In closing, I have to say it was a pretty amazing trip again this year, not to mention the wonderful hospitality of our hostess Lidia at Dona Isabel, the wonderful food each day, the fantastic dinner at Santa Domingo, and the spectacular view from the top of Volcan Pacaya. And we survived the Tuk-Tuks!!!! That was an added bonus!!
All I can say is this—if you ever get a chance to take a trip such as this, don’t think twice! Yeah, it cost us airfare and hotel, but how many pay much more than this every year for our own vacations! To have a chance to truly help those who have no resources at all is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Don’t pass it up!! :o)

PS: ER Abroad will once again be planning to return to Guatemala. Possibly a trip in Oct., and definitely again in Feb. next year. We appreciate any support of supplies or donations so we can continue to bless the clinic and Mama Carmen, and possibly other orphanages in the future.