29 de junio-thursday!!

well, back in Xochis again today. we started out with a lovely trip and finally figured out how to get to the xochis combi stand on our own. we can walk there now and it's a good 15 minute walk and then an hour ride to the city. a combi, is what they call the mexican buses that i described. i'll have to get a picture of one of them. sorry i don't have more to download!! today wasn't as busy. we always feel like we help our a lot at Xochis though because dr. carmelo really enjoys the interaction and the patient flow. he made announcements for us that we were doing children physicals. we gave all of the childrens suckers that i bought at the store!! they were so afraid of us though. it was a good time for all of us girls to quiz each other and review some pharm and micro. we're getting a better handle on treatments and what to use. today i diagnosed someone with scabies, a little three year old-i hope i was right!! what was really sad about the kid wasn´t his scabies, it was his teeth. his front four teeth on the upper set were completely rotted out. his aunt was with him and i tried to explain to her how bad this was and that he needs to see a dentist, as this can easily cause a systemic infection. i´m not really sure why it was so bad in this young child and just those four teeth-any ideas my dentistry friends?

today was really great though to speak with Dr. Carmello (Valtierra Lopez) about the current situation of the clinic. it was a great discussion and i´m glad he shared all that he did. we all wanted to get an idea of what his needs are and how the presbytery can be of more support. right now they are in a huge need of a roof and that is by far the number one priority, it will cost about $4000 to replace it. he would really like an autoclave, more medicines, and eventually a lab and sonogram machine, among many others. there is a not a single one of these things anywhere in Xochis and all of the patients have to go all the way to ometepec for treatment. he told me a very long story about how he came to be in the clinic. i´m very impressed with his hard work!!!

when he got to the clinic, it had been built in 1980 and wasn´t in use for 5 years. there were no windows, bathrooms, floors, or even paint. the medicines that were sent for him to use were so rotten and old that he couldn´t use them. he said "it was a home for drunks and dogs". he basically started from scratch, and built his own windows and bathrooms. he´s done a great job working with what he has but would really like a nurse or other doctor. he says nobody wants to work there because the money isn´t there. i feel really bad for him and hope to talk to the presbytery about the situation-as they were excited to get our input- and see if anything can be done. he´s planning on going to acapulco for a one year refresher course next january and isn´t sure on his returning plans. the current situation of the clinic is basically almost unsuitable to work in. the vision was a great one but now hopefully somehow he can get some more help to encourage the functioning of this MUCH needed facility.

all of us girls have been very impressed with his skills and what he does with what he has to work with. he seemed very up to date on his eye diseases, mike noted while he was there. how much more he could do with a lab though!!

even more impressive was his translation of the entire old testmant. he said it has taken 15 years and he is in his final revision. he is truly an intelligent and remarkable individual. we took a video of him reading from genesis and have a copy of the written language from genesis. his most important work right now is getting the word of god into the hands of the amuzgo people. can you imagine, we are so used to having an old testament in our language-it´s hard to imagine not being able to read the Bible in your own language. what a precious gift he has given to the people of this region!! i pray that God will continue to work through him in Xochis and through the new Old Testment. please pray that he will be able to find a publisher willing to print it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

whew, seems like enough for today!!!

for His glory!!