Best Photos

OK - now that I've sorted photos - I thought that we'd publish some of the best photos and submit labels for each of them.  Feel free to submit your photos or your suggested labels for the ones that I submit.

This one is called:  Mi amigo neuvo (my new friend)

Uses for extra Team Food

To the Dream Team,

I thought you might like to know what we did with some of your extra food today.  When we planned your meals, we made up a menu and then bought all the food that we thought we would need to supply the given menu.  We had a few things left over that we didn't use - and had just begun to talk about what we would do with the food.

Today the woman came in who underwent an enucleation of her right eye.  She had suffered some kind of injury with a shotgun, and had lost the sight in her right eye.
Her eyeball was shrunken and hard, and we had to take out the entire eye.  She came back today to have her patch off and check to see how her wound was doing.  Here is a picture of her right after the operation that we did on Friday with her new prothesis.

Maria Luisa and I told her that she ought not be doing heavy lifting or straining.  She is a conchera - which means that she stands in the mangroves all day and searches for shellfish (like a clam, but a little different shape).  It's hard work, many of the people who do this work smoke - not so much because they want to - but to keep the mosquitos and flies off of them, and it doesn't pay very well.  They get paid for the number of concha that they are able to gather - if they don't bring back any concha, then they don't get paid at all for their day of work.  It's kind of the bottom of the barrel kind of work.  The water is dirty - and we told her she couldn't work for at least a few days.  She didn't say much - so I ask her if she could survive without working for a few days.  She said that she has four kids and no one to help her take care of them (obviously a single mother) - which meant no, she wasn't going to be able to not work.  So - we came up with a brilliant little idea.  We put together a care package for her to take home so that she and her family could eat for a few days, and she wouldn't have to work.  She lives in a place called Campanita - which is two hours away in a motor boat.  I had the privilege of going down and getting to put the box of food together.  As I went downstairs with my empty box, Maria Luisa was talking to her about the Lord Jesus, and our patient was crying - I haven't had a chance to talk to Maria Luisa yet to see how that conversation went - but I will tomorrow.  So - are you not just THRILLED that because you didn't eat all the food that was on your menu - this poor little lady got a box full of food?  How great is that?  We were able to give her a frozen whole chicken, about two pounds of little pieces of cut up ham (that would have gone in a rice dish for you - that you didn't eat because we had ceviche), two bags of rice, a bag of sugar, one and a half liters of cooking oil, three liters of milk, a jar of coffee, a bag of chocolate (for hot chocolate), one kilogram of black beans, a bag of lentils, six bags of oatmeal, two packages of Ritz crackers, six bars of soap, some napkins and four rolls of toilet paper.  The only thing I'm kicking myself about is - I forgot that we had some frozen loaves of bread - I could have crammed a loaf or two in the top of the box.

But - IS THAT NOT THE COOLEST THING THAT HAPPENED WITH YOUR FOOD?  Aren't you glad you left it behind?  It was so much fun packing up that box of food....  Today you fed the poor.  She is a quiet woman, and doesn't say a whole lot - not really very expressive.  She was waiting out on the porch of the Clinic when Angelita and I brought the box of food out to her.  We had Gonzalo take the box out to the road to the car in which she was leaving - and she gave Angelita and I each a big hug before she left.  I don't know what the total cost of the food in the box was - but it couldn't have been very much - but it certainly was a blessing to this young woman.  We have asked her to come back on Thursday or Friday, because she had a bit of secretion from her wound - I'll let you know how the spiritual side of things transpires.....

Thanks for making it possible to give a little blessing to this hardworking and tired woman - you've made her week a whole lot easier.

Blessings and God's protection to each of you,

Jane

The Team thanks Zicks!!

Our team all enjoyed beef, venison, alligator and more types of jerky courtesy of Zick's in Berrien Springs.  We are thankful for this gift as it helped give us the energy necessary to complete the many many tasks that we finished.

Here is the team in Otavalo showing off the last of the jerky!!

Safely Home!

Home safely.
We arrived 30 minutes early into Chicago Midway on Sunday morning. Trip was very smooth and all is well!
Thanks to all for their prayers.