T’was a lovely day.

Our plan for now is to settle accounts with money and items brought to support the mission here, write notes of thanks, and pack.

Tomorrow a group of us is going back into the ghetto to transport an elderly man with a broken leg up and out of the ravine, then we vaminos to the airport. Our plane leaves at twoish, and at the moment flights are on time. I hear Raleigh is getting snow, so arrival is a bit dozy…

Much to do and time’s a-wasting.

Over the coming days, team members are invited to share their stories, recollections, and items of importance to them. So much happened in the moment (I would assert that we all lived more ‘in the moment’ this week than most anytime in our normal routines), that it will take a long time to unpack and sort out. Stay tuned.

Today was our last day in the ghetto for an official work day.

The dental clinic was operational and even efficient today. We started with Dr. John leading silly songs with the children, and it devolved into the Hokey Pokey before we broke into prayer for the day. The spirit at Mandarina definitely started on a positive note.

There were many broken-hearted staff and team members, and many toothless smiles this week. One kid lost 14 out of 20 teeth, another lost 13, another 10. Most extractions were limited to 3-4 teeth, but many mouths were in rough shape with abscesses, infection, and chronic rot. The ‘dental fear’ that these kids experience (not uncommon to most people) is like a passenger in a boat who doesn’t swim, and the other person is rocking the boat. That’s the role Dr. John and this team has stepped into, rocking the boat with hidden purposes. Of course, our purpose is for the patient’s good – but they don’t necessarily know it in the moment.

Other members of the team went to continue window installation, paint rooms in the new school, play with children, and do home visits in the community. An assault was apparently interrupted, a robbery thwarted, a mind changed, and children loved. Another good day. Much more to say as far as details, but for now this is the limit of energy. Have a great night, more to say tomorrow.

This morning’s group devotion was about hope. I skimmed through it, still munching my Export Only Cap’n Crunch, and nodded in general agreement. Today we were heading into Mandarin, the newer school in a different barrio. We were briefed on the situation, that there is less of a history of presence in this neighborhood, and there is much more tension. We took our adventurous bus ride to the end of the street and descended into the ghetto under a beautiful sky. There definitely is a different atmosphere to this area, noticeable from sky level.

The Mandarin school is a very large, multi-story concrete building. In any other place, it would be nice riverfront property. However, this river is an environmental disaster of human waste and garbage. Toilets are plumbed right out the side of buildings and into the ravine, as is every other drain. Garbage from yesterday, today, and a generation ago is piled along the sides and spills over collapsing hillsides. Today the stench was not unbearable, but on hot days it will be another story.

Today’s chores were a new dental clinic in this neighborhood, some painting at the school, moving furniture, and playing with children. We met with Tita and Kate after loading into the school, and heard the story of the school. Tita related how the gang leader in the barrio had come to Christ, and offered one of their houses for use as the school – for a very very low price. He’s currently serving time in prison, and has a court date coming up. She said that he was considering whether to return to the neighborhood; he thinks it may be part of God’s plan for him, but it’s difficult because the gangs are itching to get back in ‘business.’ One of our group asked if it would be safe to return. Tita replied, “Oh, no. It’s not safe. But it’s safer than being out of God’s will.”

We prayed together, commenting afterward on how it’s possible to have hope in some of these situations. Tita replied, “If there is life, and there is God, then there is hope. Yes.“

From there we got on with the work. We set up the dental clinic in an un-renovated room in the lower level of the school, and began seeing patients. Little reluctant children were triaged, invited in to get treatment, and commenced to screaming every step of the way. There was not the open, warm, ready-to-hug energy we saw at the other school.

It was wrenching to hold children while they scream and cry in pain; even though the results are going to be wonderful and healthy, they’ll get to eat without hurting and have their permanent teeth come in straigher, that’s tomorrow. Today is the hard part. Nearly every patient before lunch resulted in most of us in the room crying. There was a little girl in terror – the needle hadn’t touched her yet, and she was writhing as if being branded. A boy came in with multiple oral problems and developmental disabilities; it turns out that this is his first week out of his house in ten years on earth. He was calm and cool until it was his turn. He’ll be so much better tomorrow, but dang that was tough.

Others of the team got to painting the building, and after lunch they went out to help someone move furniture. This was heavy work in narrow, steep, uneven streets. Another group took a few dozen students out to a field to play ball; again, the students were not as open as we had seen in Limon. After several different games, the children warmed up and really enjoyed their time together.

A home visit was made to a couple residents, with prayers and communion shared with an elderly man who has hardly been out of bed in a year.

In all, a productive, if emotionally draining day.

I would be totally remiss if I wasn’t honest and admitted that I was a bit apprehensive about the lack of dental experience on the team going in to work in schools with children aged 4 to 14.  However, to my total surprise and delight, both days have gone off without a hitch, and not without challenges that would task the most experienced of teams.  Sure, I would love to think and profess that my experience and outstanding leadership was responsible, but it is further testimony to our Lord that “less is more”.   We treated young children, teenagers, behavior management cases, children with fears and tears, and even had a “local” mother sneak in with a wisdom tooth needing removed!  Of course I said I would try (even though I only work on children in my practice), and with God’s grace, it came out in one piece.  I have never been prouder than to have served with our group.  Yes, we touched many teeth, but we touched many, many hearts on many, many children, and no child left the clinic without knowing that we loved them, that Jesus loved them, and that God had a plan for them.  In other words, THEY WERE SPECIAL, and they knew it.

The day ended unfortunately with a little boy with such bad teeth, and with so much infection, that getting adequate anesthesia was almost impossible.  As we removed the 4 diseased teeth, he screamed and screamed and screamed, but sat perfectly still for the very difficult extractions, and I learned later at the team meeting, when I was saying how badly I felt that I had hurt this child, another team member spoke up saying there was not a dry eye among the dental staff, and they knew what it was doing to me as I did what I had to do.

Did I mention how great this dental team is this year?

-Dr. John Pfefferle

The Children Light up our Day by Jaime Kivett

When we pulled into La Limonada today, children greeted us and walked up to the school with us, hand in hand.  The scene outside of Limon School was amazing, children filled with the spirit and love of Christ.

Their eyes as big as quarters, filled with love, grip onto our legs, tackling us, hungry for the love we have to offer.  Many of the children had been through the dental clinic on Monday and smiled pointing to their mouths.  Most of us started our day by serving the children breakfast accompanied by playful interactions, hugs, brushing teeth, shoulder rides (with almost all of the men) and I had a special secret serenade by an extra special nina (little girl) of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

The Dental Clinic was pumping with Christian music and small groups of children.  I tried to keep the kids busy with games-Bubble Gum Bubble Gum in a Dish (Boca Boca in a dish), Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky and teaching them a camp chant Boom Your Dynamite! while some of the children were getting their teeth extracted. One little guy was so nervous that he snuck out and ran home, his mother ended up bringing him back to the clinic and he ended up doing so well.  We told him he was mucho fuerte (very strong) and brave!  God was working in and through us the entire day because the children were amazingly patient and calm.  The Dental Team rocked and we fulfilled our mission with heavy hearts and tears for the day.

The van is built for 12, but with creative seating we can pick up and drop off a busload of folks. Which we did at the beginning and end of the day. While it’s plenty exciting (scream-worthy), we got there and back safely.

Today was our first real ‘work’ day at LaLimonada. We had a dental clinic setting up at one of the schools, shopping, some home visits, and the plan nearest my heart: scoping out a couple construction projects for the newest classroom. After we arrived at the ghetto, we made our way to the school. The roads stop about 1/4 of the way into the ravine; after that it’s all foot or motorbike traffic. The team unloaded at the parking area, then we carried all supplies by 2-legged mule to the school. It’s only a few ‘blocks’ in distance, over the sewage ravine on a narrow concrete bridge, past a pack of guys huffing glue, up a hill, and to the nicest building in the area. It’s quite modest, but for the neighborhood it’s bordering on lovely.

From here, this will be my perspective – there are lots and lots of stories from today, from pulling teeth and feeding children, playing games and generally being the Love of God in a practical way. But those stories are others’ to tell. There’s enough material to fill up a book – and that’s just today. There are pictures of this neighborhood on this very blog, as well as on Lemonade International’s and lots of other sites. Still, it’s nearly impossible to appreciate from a photo. The scope, size, depth, and smell of the place simply does not translate. Here’s a shot from a bridge over the ghetto, it gets a portion of the mile long scar in the city.

After we loaded the supplies in for our school (dental equipment, school supplies, and gifts from the States), David and I (the “construction guys”) headed out to the site that needed some new windows. We walked the 5 minutes up the alleys to the tin shack which is serving as a classroom for the older kids.

Monica, the teacher, led us into the courtyard of the school. The building consists of a little bathroom behind a shower curtain, a courtyard with no roof, and a 20′ square classroom. The entire thing is made of corrugated tin and rough 2×4′s. Power is distributed via a pair of skinny wires draped from alley post to building post to switch to bare light bulbs. There’s no ventilation, and in the summer daytime it’s impossible for the students to focus. So we’re going to cut some window hatches that can be secured at night – every space that can be entered will, and everything of any value stolen. More on the actual project tomorrow, when we get to do the work.

From there, we were hoping to go buy supplies, but got rerouted to the grocery run instead. David and I went with our driver, Leah, to the local version of Sam’s Club. We met Tita and a few of her assistants, and set out to get some supplies. Each of us took a big flat cart – 7 carts total. I wondered about the wisdom of this, since we spent a half hour following the people with the lists around with empty carts. But when they started filling up, they REALLY filled up. We had crates of chips, spaghetti, oatmeal, juice, meat, and other sundries. This was the food for both schools in the ghetto – for a month. We made our way to the checkout after a couple hours of rounding up food. The checker and two helpers jumped to ringing up the order, but it still took over an hour to get through the line. The bill amounted to about 24,000 Quetzales (equivalent of $3,000 US), and distributed the boxes between two vans. Here’s Tita’s van loaded down with supplies for Mandarina.

From there we returned to the school to load in the boxes at Limon, where our dental clinic was underway. Dr. John and his team were busy caring for kids, pulling teeth, and provided toothbrushes – and more care. The kids soaked up hugs like mad. We had lunch of sammiches that the team made Sunday night, and split the team into two groups to go on home visits. We went to Michael’s sponsored family, and visited with the mom – his sponsor child (9 years old) was out selling fruit to help support the family. Mom shared some prayer requests, and we prayed together and exchanged some gifts. Around the corner and up the hill we stopped at Alicia’s home, one of the children my family sponsors. After a brief introduction, she ran up and hugged me – it was so joyful! This scene was repeated dozens of times over the day, with sponsors meeting their children – in person, with hugs, tears, and smiles.

While there was abundant joy, it was wrenching to see the living conditions. Some homes were masonry or concrete construction, some were tin shacks on uneven concrete or dirt. Some were spartan but tidy, some were utter squalor, full of flies and stink. All were dark. Utter heartbreak to see little children running about, knowing nothing of carpet or their own bedroom, glass windows, heat or air conditioning, or even a fridge in the kitchen in most cases. Nevermind luxuries like an occasional shower or bath.

From our brief visit and prayer with Alicia and her family (her little brother asked us to pray for his pets and friends), the construction team again parted ways with the main team. We climbed the 125+ steps out of the ghetto to get to street level. Here’s the view from halfway up. Limon School is the pink building in the middle of the photo.

When we reached the street level, we waited for Tita to take us for construction materials. When she arrived, we hopped in and started into town, stopping frequently to chat with students and former students. We paused longer than usual with one group of uniformed kids, and I heard Tita say, “Yes, he’s right here!” Turns out the student was Daniel, the other child my family sponsors! If I believed in coincidence, this would be a doozy. His mother and sister were there as well – it was an incredibly happy surprise for all of us.

On the way from there, Tita remarked, “I don’t want to get used to miracles.” She said she sees them often – even daily, in the feeding of so many children at the schools. I asked, “Did sponsor money pay for those groceries today?” She said yes. I was overcome with emotion, suddenly feeling a part of the miracle. The chores of picking up groceries, carrying boxes and paying large sums of money (she did this anyway, before there was an organization of support) – suddenly it transformed from an ominous task to a privilege. Isn’t it miraculous that so many people care about kids they’ve never met (in most cases), and that you can feed 300 children per day for about 10 cents each?

I think it’s pretty freakin’ cool.

We returned to LaLimonada with construction supplies in time to catch the end of a game of Ultimate Frisbee the team had underway with the kids. The field, which is impossible to see from the school even though it’s a block away, has a surface similar to that of the moon. Rocks, gravel, and about 4″ of dust. Very playable though, it turns out!

After the games, we walked back from the school. Most of us were human monkey bars, and I was never without a youngster on my back or arms.

Pretty cool day if you ask me. 5 to go!

-Gerritt

Hard to believe that today at 4am I was in North Raleigh and by 1pm I was touching down in Guatemala City.  It has been a whirlwind of a day … in a good way.  Tita, Leah and Kate picked us up at the airport and chauffeured us to the mission team housing quarters.   The driving here is interesting.  All I can say is buckle up.

People spent the afternoon catching up on sleep or contacting loved ones.  Technology is amazing as many were facebooking, skyping and twittering.  The house is pretty well stocked with food for the week.  However, we had the opportunity to go grocery shopping; some how we managed to bring home more stuff (water, soda, chips etc).

I am ashamed to admit but we managed to find a 13″ tv at Tita’s and relocated it to our house.  Everybody is up there right now, as was I before heading down to write this. No matter the outcome of the game, we know we are to keep the unity

Tomorrow, we get started.  It was appropriate today as I read Joshua during my quiet time.  The verse that hit me was Joshua 3:3  “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.  Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.”

Tomorrow, 12 of us head into an area we’ve never been before.  Oh, we’ve heard about it and what God is doing there but tomorrow we are going ourselves for the very first time.    The key for the Israelites was the fact that God went ahead of them (ark of the covenant).  The leaders reminded the people to look for God …. when they saw Him they were to move out and follow Him.  They could go confidently because He knew the way and they were to follow!

I am excited to MOVE OUT and FOLLOW HIM;  going confidently with the promise Jesus gave the first Christ Followers, “and surely, I am with you always to the very end of the age”

Good night!

I am excited to join the team tomorrow at 5am.  This is my first mission trip out of the country.  It will be very special for that reason alone.  However, there is an added bonus, my brother is coming too!  What an incredible blessing this will be for the both of us.  Our wives, Kim and Danielle, went in October of last year and were transformed by the whole experience.   Christ used that time to love on the people of La Limonada as well as grow each mission team member closer to Him.   Our team is excited to see God move once again.     We have our plans of what we’ll be doing in the schools, homes and medically.   I know God has so much more in store than what we know.  Our prayer is that we put aside the watches, iphones, schedules etc and be open to where He takes us.  He will provide all we need to minister in the situations we’ll face.     May His Kingdom be glorified through it all giving people faith, hope and love.

Well, time to think about relaxing for a bit and then off to get some sleep.  Talk to you from Guatemala.

We had our last planning meeting this evening, and it was good to see most everyone there. Our resident dentist was out rounding up last minute supplies, but the rest of us gathered to pack suitcases and go over last-minute details.

We’re all ready and rarin’ to go!