A View of Trujillo Through Video and Journalism

We were blessed to have a group from MS College to visit in May to do a story about the medical clinic, all because Marcus is a graduate of MC.  It was great fun to spend time with Tracey Harrison, Robbie Followell, Marlo Kirkpatrick, and Ethan Milner and we appreciate their hard work in putting our story together.   They really were coming to Peru to do a story about Grace Bateman Greene, who also is an MC graduate and started Peru Paper.  It is such a blessing to have some great photos and video of the things we see day to day, and we are thankful they took the time to come visit!   

Here is the link to the article that was written about Marcus and the clinic in the MS College Beacon:  


MC College Beacon: Doctors Without Borders


A link to the videos:


Doctors Without Borders
From Physical Care to Spiritual Care

The story about Grace Bateman Greene is so inspiring, and we are so thankful to know her and the ladies that are part of Peru Paper.   Here is the link to her story: 
http://www.mc.edu/beacon/feature-stories/peru-paper


A video with a look around our city, Trujillo, Peru
Exploring Trujillo, Peru


Another video I love about the ladies of Peru Paper:
What Good Is It, My Brothers and Sisters...


There is no way to watch this without tearing up... these ladies are so precious, and are so grateful for the work they have through Peru Paper.  To order or find out where they are sold near you, check out the website at https://www.perupaper.com.

Daily Sighting

Nila checking out the new sign to advertise for the new ultrasound machine at the clinic!  There is a lot of excitement in Wichanzao that this service is now offered in the area.  Here, ultrasounds are used for testing a variety of medical problems, as it is more cost effective and easier to have an exam by ultrasound  than CT scan.  

Happy Father's Day

Today, I am very thankful for this man

and this one too

My dad and I have a little inside joke about calling each other "a good person", and certainly I feel that way about my precious dad and my sweet husband.  But the most important thing about saying they are "good"  isn't really that they are filled with goodness, but that they both have a love for Jesus Christ and serving Him, and that is where the goodness comes from.  I am so thankful to have a husband and a dad who have been willing to do so much more than necessary in caring for a family, but to be spiritual leaders for us and show us a glimpse of God as our Father.  What a blessing for our family!

And here are some photos from the Fiesta de Padres at Sam and Luke's school this week.  They had a  little program, snacks, and games.  From what I hear, they all had a great time, aside from a few tears that Sam shed when he was on stage.

Allen Smith and his daughter Mary Allen.  I just noticed Marcus and Allen look kind of like twins that day, but I'm sure they didn't plan to!

Banana Pudding

• Thinking about what to cook for a Father's Day dessert, I decided to try banana pudding. This recipe is from my friend Ginger, but it also makes me think of our friends the Sara and Brad when we have this, because Brad likes his banana pudding without the bananas.  Then it makes me think of Candace, who uses the Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding recipe from Paula Deen, and it is mighty good, too!  

• 
  
• 1 box vanilla pudding
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup milk
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1 container cool whip
• 1 box vanilla wafers
• bananas
• 
  
• Mix the milk and pudding mix.
• Mix the sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, and cool whip.
• Stir together with the pudding. 
• Layer with vanilla wafers and bananas.
• 
  
•  Now, I've made banana pudding plenty of times in Mississippi, but I have not made it in Peru.  Sometimes finding ingredients here is not easy, but I thought surely I could make this work.  And I think it worked - but this is how:  I had to make my pudding homemade.  They do sell packets of vanilla pudding here, but, evidently there is a problem right now with the pudding company and there was NO vanilla pudding mix in Plaza Vea (our store sort of like Wal-Mart - except the check out line takes ten times longer, I PROMISE).  The homemade pudding was not difficult and turned out just fine, and was easier than going to the other grocery store to look for the pudding mix.  We don't have a car - so a quick trip to the grocery store really isn't possible.  Then I had to make my own sour cream, because they don't sell sour cream in Peru.  To do this, you mix heavy cream with vinegar and let it sit for a long time and do something scientific.  Then, there is no cool whip, so I whipped heavy cream to make the whipped cream.  They do sell some little packets of "chantilly" that you can make sort of like cool whip, but the cream is better.  And they don't have vanilla wafers either, but I used a similar cookie that is very pretty too.  And actually, I didn't have to be the one to make the sour cream or the whipped cream, because we have sweet Taylor living with us this summer, and I taught her how to do that part.  I'll write about her later!  Just a little info on how I cook here!

Daily Sighting

Lydia, Sonia, Senora Teodocia, and Marcus

One of Marcus' patients invited all of us for lunch today, as a way of showing her gratitude for being cared for by Sonia, Lydia and Marcus in the clinic.  They were able to provide her medical care for little cost and helped her pay for treatment in a local hospital.  We were served cuy, a Peruvian delicacy (aka guinea pig).  It was actually quite delicious and a special treat to spend time with her family.  Please pray that Teodocia and her family may come to have an understanding of the gospel and know Christ as their Savior.   

Friends, Family, Fun and Ultrasound!

We have had a LOT going on the last couple of months, and there is no way one blog post can cover it all, and I haven't been posting about all of the big things going on here for a little while.  So, here goes for an overview:  

My sweet, sweet sister sister and brother-in-law Katie and Talmadge came for a visit in April.  It was so great having them here - we miss them terribly!!  We didn't do much but live our everyday lives while they were here, but, oh - we did have Easter with an Easter egg hunt at the orphanage and one at our house, too.  And we took them away from the desert of Trujillo for one day to visit Ottusco, a little village in the mountains.  And of course we loved all of the treats that they packed FULL in their suitcases!  We loved spending time with them, and were so sad to see them go.  Our kids love them so much, and would have been pretty happy to have packed up to move home with them!

Katie and Talmadge on the way to Ottusco

The day after they left, we had Ben and Nicole Kilman visit.  They were such an encouragement to us, and encouraging to our friends, too!  Marcus and Ben were able to do some medical campaigns in some of the poorer areas further away from Wichanzao, where there is little or no medical care available.  

Ben and Nicole Kilman

Medical campaign in Clementina

Clementina - one of the poorer areas out from Wichanzao

Also, while the Kilmans were here, there was a group from MS College visiting for a few days.  It so happened that a crew was coming to interview Grace Bateman Greene, of Peru Paper, for next MC alumni magazine.  It worked out that Marcus also graduated from Mississippi College, so they did a little story on him as well.  When it comes out, I'll be sure to post a link to it.  We loved hosting Tracey Harrison, Robbie Followell, Marlo Kirkpatrick, and Ethan Milner for dinner, along with our mission team.

Interviewing Marcus for the MS College alumni magazine, The Beacon

We had the most fun making friends with Dr. Ross Stone, also of Tupelo.  He spent April and May working with Marcus in the clinic, and he added a lot of fun and energy to our team.  We appreciate him choosing to spend his last two months of medical school with us all.

Ross Stone, Lydia Rice, and Marcus

There was also a precious mother's day program in May at the montessori school where Luke and Sam go.   Sam sang a little duet, all in Spanish!  I was so proud of him!

The clinic has been very busy, with Marcus and Dr. Julton seeing patients daily, along with two other part-time doctors and a full Peruvian staff.  The biggest praise is there is now an ultrasound machine!!  They are so excited to have this in the clinic - it is used to diagnose all sorts of medical issues (things that in the US you would have a CT scan or other tests for diagnosing).  We have been working towards raising the funds for this, and along with several individuals from Independent Pres Church, Memphis and other special friends, this has been made possible.  Praise the Lord for providing this gift to the community of Wichanzao!  This will be a blessing for several reasons:

1.  People in this neighborhood and outlying areas can go to Bethesda Medical Clinic (the name of the clinic in Wichanzao) much easier and less expensive than getting transportation to downtown Trujillo.   

2.  They can have the tests completed earlier and receive the results faster than going to a hospital or clinic in Trujillo.

3.  They can have the ultrasounds done for a much lower cost than in Trujillo.

4.  By having the funds donated to buy the machine, the clinic can begin making enough profit off of the tests to help provide self-sustainability to the clinic's overall finances.  (even with the cost for test being very low - s/35, about $12)

5.  Two of the doctors working in the clinic were already trained to administer ultrasound testing, and were eager to start using these skills.  

The training for the sonogram machine

There are still other ongoing projects, but this is the major one for now!  There are more stories about patients all that goes on in the clinic on the medical ministry blog at http://www.perumission.org/medical-ministry-blog/.

Amidst all of these events this spring, we hit quite a slump of exhaustion and weariness.  So, it was time for a family vacation, and thankfully our team encouraged us to leave quickly before the summer busyness hit with lots of short term teams.  I may need to write more about this trip later - it was wonderful and such a blessing, and beautiful!  But I will say our adventures in getting there just weren't quite the same as loading up the minivan and driving to Florida.  

We continue to be reminded of God's love, mercy, and forgiveness through the ups and downs of serving here.  Thankfully, there are a lot of "ups", but sometimes it feels like we are on a roller coaster, which goes down and upside down too!  We are learning and growing, and praying for the Lord to use us no matter what condition we feel like on the inside or look like on the outside.  No matter what, God has been gracious to never have us doubt that we should be here right now.  We are sinners saved by grace,  just like we always have been,  just holding on to the hope we have in Christ, and praying for Him to let some glimmer of light shine through us each day, so that these beautiful people of Peru may come to know Him eternally.  

Daily Sighting

Just when we start to feel normal here, we open our door and see this in the park outside our home.  This group claimed they were taking pictures for fun, and the instruments were for props only.   We aren't sure who was staring more,  us or them?