Wow - what a day. Many team members felt today was the highlight of our week. We visited a new village that was very remote and poor. Many homes were constructed of sticks or corrugated steel with no bathroom facilities. We were fortunate enough to work in a newly constructed elementary school, but our attendance was light given the fact many of the residents were working to harvest crops for the weekend markets. We saw 85 people in total, a number we felt a little discouraged about, but then God did two remarkable things.
In our last batch of patients came a new mom who couldn't understand why her baby's head was swelling. Hydrocephalus (a condition where spinal fluid does not properly flow from the spinal canal to the brain) is not well known in poor and uneducated areas, so she did not realize the significant danger her daughter faced (i.e. brain damage). Our doctors were able to make a referral to a local hospital for emergency surgery to correct the issue.
Our next miracle came after we closed the clinic. We had five cross necklaces left that we had been giving out to the children this week. Jean asked Mike to give them to five children who had not come to the clinic. A short distance from our clinic five children were playing that appeared ideal candidates for our final gift. Four of the children came forward to accept their gifts, but the fifth stayed on the ground. Through a translator, we asked if he didn't want a cross and were told that he was unable to walk. What we saw next was shocking. The little boy, Wilson, used his hands to drag his body along the ground. We asked if he would like to see the doctor, but he said no and started making his way down the path to his home. It's hard to describe the emotions we felt seeing the suffering this boy endures.
Fortunately, we were able to locate his older sister and learned his story. He was abandoned at birth by his mother and was taken in by a loving family who had raised him for the last ten years. His sister carried him to our clinic for an examination by one of our Guatemalan doctors.
After examining Wilson the doctors felt with intensive physical therapy, and perhaps surgery, he could walk again! What a joy to see what the gift of a cross could bring to this boy! We are working with a leader in the community and the doctors to obtain the necessary care and ask you keep Wilson in your prayers as we ask God to perform a miracle.
Here's Wilson after his exam with a few gifts from our team, including the Cross of Jesus around his neck.
We will make one final posting tomorrow before returning home. Thank you for your continued prayers.
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