Buenos dias, amigos y amigas! Ya hemos estado aqui por casi un mes, pero solamente ahora estoy escribiendo. Disculpame, por favor. Nuestro viaje era excelente!!!
Hey everyone. Our apologies for not writing earlier. Lindasy and I have been back about a month now, and we are back to the grind. Lindsay is down in Charlotte this month on her pediatrics ICU rotation, and I am in Chapel Hill taking a dermatology elective. Fortunately, the remainder of the year will be together. Anyhow, we wanted to let everyone know that we made it back safely, and that we had a fabulous trip. Thank you all for your support and prayers as we ventured out into the unknown. We will write more later about our experience now that we've had some time to really think about it, and we will also add more pictures to the blog entries for your viewing pleasure.
Again, thank you to all of you for keeping up with us and for supporting us. It was a huge source of comfort to know that we had friends and family at home who were joining with us on aregular basis. Take care and many blessings to you all!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Centro Cristiano Para Sordos
Our time in Bolivia is rapidly coming to an end. It has been an incredible opportunity, and we have been blessed to see many different facets of God´s work here in an among the people; and we have thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the culture and getting a small glimpse of the beautiful country. We leave Bolivia on Thursday to meet up with Rory and Brett Sallach, as well as Chuck and Angela Barrier (friends from med school), and Anne P. Johnson (Lindsay´s former Sunday school teacher). However, before signing off for a while, we would like to tell you about an organization that we were fortunte enough to go and visit today. It is called the Centro Cristiano para Sordos - The Christian Center for the Deaf.
Centro Cristiano para Sordos is a Christian boarding school for deaf children, serving children from all over Bolivia, and offering schooling up until the 5th grade. It was founded by two missioneries in the late 1970s, who had been serving in Bolivia since the mid 1950s. The school has grown since that time, and is currently serving approximately 30 students, as well as deaf faculty, groundkeepers, and crew. The current director of the school is the daughter of the original founders , and she is here with her Bolivian daughters, (one of whom is Lidia, who offered us Spanish lessons while here with HOH), as well as her mother (the original founder).
There is a large deaf population here in Bolivia, but there are no other boarding schools available for these children, where the children can be prepared to integrate into society. The Centro provides not only room and board and school education, but also incorporates Christian teaching, church services, and Christian counseling for the children as well. It is truly an amazing work that has been undertaken, and the rewards are evident as the children grow, learn, and mature.
We were able to play with the kids today during their extended recess break, and we also toured the grounds and viewed the new projects that are underway (new boys and girls dormitories, etc.). The school is almost self-sustainable with crops, a private well, and room for livestock. This provides great opportunity not only for reducing the costs, but for developing a strong work-ethic and responsibility within the children as well.
While the majority of the children have families that they visit on holidays, at least five of the children are orphans, and have been "adopted" full-time by the Centro. The love that the faculty and staff have for the children is self-evidnet, and it is a great encouragement to see their good work. If you would like more information about Centro Cristiano para Sordos, they are in the process of developing a website, but their email address is as follows: ctrsrdos@albatros.cnb.net.
Thank you for reading along with us, and thank you for your prayers and support. We will try to update again over the next two weeks, but we might be without good computer/internet access until we return home on the 5th of June. Blessings to you all!
Centro Cristiano para Sordos is a Christian boarding school for deaf children, serving children from all over Bolivia, and offering schooling up until the 5th grade. It was founded by two missioneries in the late 1970s, who had been serving in Bolivia since the mid 1950s. The school has grown since that time, and is currently serving approximately 30 students, as well as deaf faculty, groundkeepers, and crew. The current director of the school is the daughter of the original founders , and she is here with her Bolivian daughters, (one of whom is Lidia, who offered us Spanish lessons while here with HOH), as well as her mother (the original founder).
There is a large deaf population here in Bolivia, but there are no other boarding schools available for these children, where the children can be prepared to integrate into society. The Centro provides not only room and board and school education, but also incorporates Christian teaching, church services, and Christian counseling for the children as well. It is truly an amazing work that has been undertaken, and the rewards are evident as the children grow, learn, and mature.
We were able to play with the kids today during their extended recess break, and we also toured the grounds and viewed the new projects that are underway (new boys and girls dormitories, etc.). The school is almost self-sustainable with crops, a private well, and room for livestock. This provides great opportunity not only for reducing the costs, but for developing a strong work-ethic and responsibility within the children as well.
While the majority of the children have families that they visit on holidays, at least five of the children are orphans, and have been "adopted" full-time by the Centro. The love that the faculty and staff have for the children is self-evidnet, and it is a great encouragement to see their good work. If you would like more information about Centro Cristiano para Sordos, they are in the process of developing a website, but their email address is as follows: ctrsrdos@albatros.cnb.net.
Thank you for reading along with us, and thank you for your prayers and support. We will try to update again over the next two weeks, but we might be without good computer/internet access until we return home on the 5th of June. Blessings to you all!
Friday, May 04, 2007
El Hogar Jenuam
During our afternoons, we have been blessed with the opportunity to work at a local orphanage about 2.5 miles up the road towards the mountains. An elderly Quechuan woman cares for the eight children at the home, and the father-figure at the orphanage is a Bolivian police officer who helps with the children when off-duty. We have been trying to visit the children a few times a week, and have been able to provide them not only with companionship, toys, and toiletry supplies (toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, and lotions - thanks to Josh and his friends at Curves!), but at our last visit we also provided medical consults and arranged for follow-up with the Bolvian pediatrian at the hospital for those that needed further medical attention. Sadly, the majority of the children have lice and parasites, but we were able to help purchase meds for them.
The eight children are beautiful, and they serve as a constant reminder of God´s rich blessings. Despite what they lack, these children are easily the most well-behaved, receptive, and appreciative children we have ever met. They greet each volunteer with shouts of "Tio" and "Tia" (Uncle and Aunt), and they are quick to hug and be hugged. They are always eager to talk, to play, or to simply sit and read, and they are always appreciative of our time. They have an incredible knowledge of the Bible and are eager to share their faith. They are truly God´s children, and despite their hard circumstances, they are being raised in His light and are blessed.
The eight children are beautiful, and they serve as a constant reminder of God´s rich blessings. Despite what they lack, these children are easily the most well-behaved, receptive, and appreciative children we have ever met. They greet each volunteer with shouts of "Tio" and "Tia" (Uncle and Aunt), and they are quick to hug and be hugged. They are always eager to talk, to play, or to simply sit and read, and they are always appreciative of our time. They have an incredible knowledge of the Bible and are eager to share their faith. They are truly God´s children, and despite their hard circumstances, they are being raised in His light and are blessed.
¡Bolivia!
Lindsay and I arrived into Bolivia around 11:30 pm on Saturday, April 21, after a wild scramble to find a flight - our original flights with Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) were cancelled, and the airline did not bother to advise any of the passengers of the change. However, God is good - and apparently wanted us here - because He opened doors for us that had previously been shut and made for a safe and "uneventful" trip into Cochabamba, Bolivia - including a late departure from San Jose, a 25-minute layover in Lima Peru in which we had to rush through customs and go to another terminal to catch our already-boarding flight, and an enjoyable night in the La Paz airport awaiting our next flight that was scheduled to leave at 8:00 am. In all honesty, none of the trip should have worked, but God-willing, we made all of our connections, flights were available from La Paz to Cochabamba (despite the huge demand and lack of supply since LAB went under), and miraculously, our bags made the 25 minute transition in Lima, Peru!
Hospitals of Hope is a beautiful hospital located in the town of Vinto, a suburb of Cochabamba, Bolivia. We are living in a guesthouse about 150 meters from the hospital with three other volunteers.
Our good friend, Josh Watson - who is graduating from UNC SOM and moving to Ohio where he will begin his med-peds residency at Ohio State - also came down for a week to join us in our adventure. It was a true blessing to have him here, and it afforded ample time to discuss future plans for further mission trips when we are all fully-certified physicians! It will be exciting to see where God takes us all in the future.Bolivia is a beautiful country with majestic mountain ranges and wide, rolling valleys. There are close to 40 indigenous tribes that live in Bolivia, the most prominent near Cochabamba being the Quechuan. They speak a tribal dialect, but many of them also speak Spanish. Culturally, Bolivia is a completely different world from Honduras - the people are much less dramatic in their speech, and seemingly more reserved in general. However, the people are lovely, and we are enjoying our time among them.
HOH, is essentially an American hospital in Bolivia, although it is staffed and operated by Bolivian-trained physicians - which allows for continuity of care when volunteers are not present. American doctors come down on trips to teach and instruct and improve the level of medical care offered; but generally speaking, this hospital is by far and away the most impressive medical facility we have seen during our time in Central and South America. We have already taken part in multiple laparoscopic surgical procedures (lap choecystectomy, lap Nissen, etc), and other fairly advanced procedures are performed here on a routine basis.
That being said, we have less to offer here than at the other clinics where we served. As such, our time in the hospital has been spent learning from the physicians, occassionally serving as translators for other volunteers that do not speak Spanish, and attending lectures and labs (IV placement, ABGs, ambulance services/paramedics, etc). However, there are ample opportunities to get involved with the local people and to provide a service - of which we will discuss more in the next blog entry!
On a quick note, Lindsay and I are both quite sick with sinusitis; and I also have some GI bug which has kept me bed-ridden for the past three days with nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. However, God is good, and we have started the appropriate treatments and are slowly improving. Please keep Lindsay and me in your prayers, and pray for a continued godly medical ministry through HOH.
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