christmas 2009

 
here in MS, we've had snow, and time to visit some friends and other folks,
a special time in Corinth with the Bradfords was nice for us and our kids
see our picasa photo page for more!

back in Pearl, MS

 
 
 

Last night after visiting with Paul Adams and family we came back to Pearl, to our mission house, and the kids played out back in the snow. We are having a nice break and enjoying our time with family and friends.

some recent photos

 

 

 

 

headin home

Not for good, just a vacation of sorts with family and friends.
We depart Peru Nov. 16 and return Jan. 21 or 2010. That makes two years here without a visit back to dear ole Mississippi. We hope to visit some supporting churches, spend the holidays with family, and raise some more money. We have lost some support due to the economy and such. Our last team left last week, so I am ready for a break for a while. But even now we are thinking about the big Memphis IPC group coming next Feb. Things are well at the clinic, but my partner of a year and a half, Lora Karraker, just left, so I have to stand on my own two feet now. She was a great help in the admin side of things. Our kids are almost ready to start a new year in home school, but probably we won't start until we get back in January. Hope to see some of you then.....

Winter in Peru

Winter is almost over here, and Spring is just around the corner, according to the locals.
We are ready to see the sun again, because winter here generally means cool temps and lots of cloudy days when we rarely see the sun. It is calmer here now as the "summer team" season is over and we are just business as usual. That means we are focusing mostly on the clinic operations and I even managed to find time to buy a car. Lora Karraker will be leaving at the end of Sepember, and lately she has been cranking out the ideas and policy changes to help make the running of the clinic top notch. Susan and I are still searching for cheap tickets to get us back home this November. We plan to stay 2 or 3 months to visit family and friends, and also raise more money, as our support level has fallen lately. We hope to visit some new churches and old, giving reports and raising more support. The kids are very excited, as November will mark our 2 year anniversary in coming to Peru.
Hope to see most of you there!

drs. dale and dave

 
 
In the months of April and May we had two visiting doctors. The first was Dale Hansen from Memphis, who is now in his radiology residency. Dale came for a month and helped us everyday in the clinic. He was referred to us by the IPC in Memphis group. Then in May David O'byrne came to us from Guatemala, where he was studying Spanish. He met Alleen Mclain there and she convinced him to visit us. Here is a photo of Dave with the crew, and of Nila with our functioning electrocariogram machine.

some perspective

Last night Dr. Marcus and Whitney Ueltschey from Tupelo, MS left after spending a week with us. We had a few days of free health care out in the neighborhoods, and spent most of the time in the clinic. With the addition of Dale Hansen, a young MD from Memphis, we saw quite a few patients. Also, another young MD from New Zealand showed up, and he might stay around a month or so to help us. So, obviously God is blessing us with help and support. However, April 24 we were robbed at gunpoint at the clinic around closing time. It has happened before, and we took some extra measures at security, such as a metal gate a few feet inside the main entrance which locks. After eating my lunch I exited and did not pull the gate closed behind me, when just outside were two men with guns, they pushed me back inside and rummaged around for 5 minutes or so looking for money. They took one of our laptops, about 400 in soles, Dr. Dale's watch and wallet, my cell phone, and not much more. Really, they could have done a lot better, but obviously they were not thinking clearly. Anyway, my point is God is good.
Just when we get discouraged and wonder if its all worth it, he sends more people, more patients, more money, and we know we must continue. (later that same day I got an email notifying that a large donation had been sent in to the medical ministry!)

Last Monday, during our free campaign, I gave out ticket number 50, to the last patient we had time to see, and she begged me to see her mother, who could not walk.
So Whitney and I walked with her to her house to check it out. She is a 75 year old with advanced Parkinson's perhaps, or severe arthritis, who lays in bed most of the day. Sitting next to her is her husband, 85, and completely blind. This lady, with children of her own, basically stays around the house to keep her aging parents. Whitney showed her some PT exercises to help her mother, and later Percy our chaplain found a wheel chair to donate. It is a very sad case for me, a home with no joy or happiness. So I thank God for the chance to help them a little and worry not about my small misfortunes. We hope to follow up with this family in the future, and minister to whomever God sends our way.