Surgery Week One: Complete

Surgery week was such a success!

I must mention that within a little less than 4 days, 125 Mayans received prescription eye-glasses, and 26 patients received cataract surgery. These surgeries will forever change their lives.

Mayans travelled from all over the country to come to our clinic and receive the gift of sight. It is so humbling to be a part of something like this.

By the end of the week, I ended up conducting the eye exams as well as translating and helping with patient flow. Glory to God for people who are willing to train me. My friend Syed (seen below wearing my knit hat lol) helped teach me how to conduct exams so that he could focus on using the auto refractor machine. This enabled us to see more patients. If I do say so myself, we were quite a good team.

As most of you know, I hardly ever meet a stranger. So naturally, I got really attached to the team members that worked at our clinic last week. If you remember from an earlier post, I mentioned that a number of them were devout Muslims. I had such awesome conversations with these folks, got to know them, served them in the exam rooms, played basketball, football, shared meals, got to wash their dishes. Augh. My heart is so sappy at times it even drives ME nuts.

Either way, the experience was absolutely amazing. I still feel the loss of the team, but that will fade. I am so thankful for this experience. It is beyond explanation.

Here are some more photos from the week:

New Friend :)
 Our skin contrast looks way cool.

A family that came for eye exams. I am a stinking giant.

These are the two Spanish to Quiche translators that I worked with this week in the eye exam room. They were worth more than their weight in gold. They facilitated communication with the patients, and I am so, so appreciative!

These are two waaaay cool dudes.  On the left is the team coordinator for an organization called Humanity First. He's from Guatemala. The other gentlemen is Tahir, a guy I had so many conversations with about Islam, Christianity, life, culture. Amen. At the end of the day, I'm still a Christian, and he, a Muslim. This being said, seeds were planted, and it was a privilege to get to know him and hear some of his story!

Side note for Christians:

Something really stirred within me last week while I was working with this team.

This medical team quickly thought to pray for the patients we were seeing, served with financial generosity,  and provided both food and drink to the clinic volunteers. In regards to clinic work, they kept close inventory of everything they took so as to make sure to return what was taken.

Something struck me.

If we truly believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and that Jesus really did die and now lives, why aren't we acting like it? The disconnect between our actions and stated beliefs seems as vast as the ocean is deep. As a people group in general, we are really missing the mark. 

As Christians, I commonly see us resorting to, not responding in prayer.

How often do we hold on to our money so tightly our knuckles become pale? Never mind that over 80% of the world's population lives on less than $10 a day.

How could these team members set aside specific time to pray 5 times a day while we battle for even 10 minutes alone with our Lord?

Are we seeking for opportunities to give, or do we do whatever we can to avoid those who may burden us? We pass people all the time. We see them in the grocery store, at the coffee shop sitting alone, we pass them at church and decide not to talk to them. 


We have a million and one needs we could be meeting, and a million and two excuses for not meeting them.

It bothered me that, in a lot of ways, this group of non-Christians looked a whole lot more like Christ to me than some Christians I'm familiar with. Myself included.

Instead of having to bare the sight of Qurans being burnt in the name of "Christianity", perhaps we can just humbly learn to be more like Christ for the sake of those around us. In doing so, we can invade this dark world and advance His kingdom.

If you're a Christian, I encourage you to please take it seriously. Follow after the God of the Bible and stop serving yourselves; the world is watching.

Un par de fotos pa' ustds.

I found this fuzzy purple plant thing. I thought it was picture worthy!

My kitchen :)

Some kids I play basketball with. My novio happens to be attempting to steal my backpack. It's about as big as him!

During my first surgery week, I stole away to spend some QT with this cutie. Love her. New life is so beautiful.

One of my favorite meals here! Tamale <3 

This is my backpack on a normal errand day. I definitely walked around the city with three dozen eggs on my back...

Well... this is the playground for the kids at the school. Also, this is a man in dress clothes taking a little cat nap... who knows. 

My lunch the other day. Huevos Rancheros. Egg whites, white cheese, guacamole, roasted tomatoes, refried black beans, and toasted tortillas.

Surgery week summary coming early this week :)

Mi Sabado Gigante

Hey, everyone!


Happy Saturday.


I am currently working on a summary post of last week's surgeries. It is taking a little more time than anticipated. Do stay tuned if you're interested, but in the meantime, I have a photo post!


Things are going well this side of the Americas.


Last night I had a girl's night of sorts with my roommate and two missionary girls that live about 10 minutes away. It was extreeeemmmmeellyy fun. We ate delicious food, talked for hours, then watched Pride and Prejudice (DON'T JUDGE!) I've actually never seen the movie. My heart melted at least 5 times. Oh, to have a Mr. Darcy!


We stayed up pretty late, woke up this a.m., ate pancakes, and had coffee together. Then my mini-adventure started.


I have fotos to share, of course:
Today, I took a little boat taxi (like in the picture below) to a hotel on Lake Atitlan. It’s kind of a gringo hang out, but I go there to rest because they have DELICIOUS tea, a hammock, and a view that would make any grown man cry. 


It was sunny, mid 70s, no humidity, with a beautiful breeze. 


I was listening to a sermon about how important it is to GET AWAY sometimes and pray like Jesus did. Seclude yourself, if you will. I got inspired. Today was my attempt at seclusion… and it was successful in every way.

Once I got off the boat and walked down a long dock, I got to this set of stairs that leads to the cafe/ balcony area:

On the top of the stairs, I found some CUTE KITTENS!!! I sat on the ground and played with them until the super nice waiter named Domingo came and asked me what drink I wanted to start with.

I ordered Hibiscus tea (below). It is popular here and quite refreshing. Caution: It is super deeply pigmented, so it stains just about anything that looks at it wrong.

They even sent the tea down from the kitchen with liquified sugar to sweeten my tea to my liking.... Just icing on the cake.

This is my hammock, my tea, and my view of the volcano.

 I spent a while reading "Captivating" by Stasi Eldridge. I got some quality reading done. No music, no voices. Just wind enough to sway my hammock and the sound of the waves lapping against the shore below me.

Here is the view from the top of the stairs:

After I caught a taxi back to town, I bought this coffee at a local coffee shop near the port. They import the beans from all over Guatemala, then grind it right in front of you.  It is delicious. In fact, it is currently zipped up in my backpack, and I can still smell the aroma throughout my room. Beautiful. I am way strapped for money, so the gal behind the counter gave me much more than I asked for at a low price. God is good!

Thanks for letting me share my Saturday with you guys. 


I can't help but think sometimes, "Man, this is so, so awesome. I wish I had a physical person here with me to share this with." One day.


I love you all.  


[My next adventure may be on Monday when I attempt getting to San Antonio on the back of a pick up truck that boards at the local grocery store. Wish me luck!]


Stay tuned :)


Codi

For your information.

Tadaaaaaaa! I present to you: Kefir!

In order to obtain the OPTIMAL amount of probiotics in my GI tract here in Guatemala, I make a fermented drink called:

KEFIR [ Key-fur]


It's basically a drinkable science experiment of sorts. How do I make it, you ask?


Step one: Find 3-5 grains of Kefir bacteria... they look kind of like little puffy seeds
Step two: put said "seeds" in the bottom of a glass jar
Step three: Pour milk into the jar 
Step four: Cover milk jar with a breathable material (Naturally, I used expired surgical gauze)
Step five: Leave milk jar at room temperature for 24-48 hours
Step six: Separate the seeds from the liquid by straining the grains and putting them into another jar
Step seven: DRINK your Kefir! You can refrigerate it and sweeten if you like, or even include it in smoothies. I put honey in mine.


According to some researchers:
-Kefir may help prolong life
-Kefir may positively effect the liver, gallbladder, circulation, heart activity, metabolism, oxygen supply to the cells, and blood circulation to the brain
-Kefir grains may slow down or even reverse the growth of a wide variety of cancers in animal trials
-Kefir may lower cholesterol levels. Because Kefir is quite literally fermented milk, this fermentation causes increased production of short-chain fatty acids, which decrease circulatory cholesterol
-Kefir contains several major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly found in yogurt (e.g. Lactobacillus Caucasus, Leuconostoc, Acetobacter species, Streptococcus species, Saccharomyces kefir and Torula kefir)


So....Go get some Kefir, ya'll!


PS:


Just so you guys can get into my brain a little bit. Every time I look at my Kefir jar, all I see is this.....

Just saying.


Love,
Codi

Holaaaa de Guate!

Helllooooo, Everyone! Some pictures for you all:

This young man is such a JOY!! I call him two things: 1) Mi novio mas pequeño - This is a kind of slangy way of saying "My little boyfriend." I'm pretty sure it's Puerto Rican slangy, so it probably makes no sense here. 2) Mi Sombra- this one literally means "My Shadow." You might be able to guess at the name significance here... Every time I walk from the clinic to the school where the exams are taking place, he attaches to my leg, puts his arms around me, crawls on my back, kisses me on the cheeks, something. We play all manner of sports and talk about our parents. This physical affection thing is one aspect about this culture that makes my heart a little gushy. For those of you who know me well, you know I am affectionate to the point of moderate nausea. Suffice it to say, I fit in well here :D

This is kind of his "default" pose. He says he looks like a man :)

This is the room I stay in most of the time and that's my new friend from Pakistan. He made fun of the South. Apparently making fun of red-necks is international... who knew, lol. My job this week is English to Spanish translating, conducting pre-screening interviews, dishwashing, and organizing patient flow for the medical team (I'll explain this a little later). The point of this picture is to show that nurses have the coolest jobs ever. Not only do I get to participate in the medical sides of the job, kids get to sit in my lap when they aren't tall enough for the machines. This picture makes my heart glad!

This is a guy I get along with tremendously well. All my friends may be thinking something like "Yeah, I bet you do, Cody." (Given his physical appearance) BUT He's actually a Muslim from the States. I think it is insane the number of Muslims I come into contact with everywhere I go. In fact, I think about 90% of the team members who are down for surgery week are Muslim.  I've been having some pretty awesome conversations with the team members. Who knows why I'm here. For Guatemalans, for international medical team members, for Americans. Who cares. I'm just staying obedient.

Mi Sombra, his cousin, and me outside of the clinic <3

For those of you who prayed, THANK YOU. My day went super smoothly and ALL of the GLORY needs to go straight back to GOD who gave me a tongue that functions kind of well in other languages. The reason that I mention that I am specifically an English to Spanish translator is because many of the patients I am working with speak Quiche only. This is a Mayan tribal language that is quite different from Spanish in many ways. Soooooo what happened was, the medical team spoke with me, then I spoke to a translator who speaks Spanish and Quiche, and in this way we communicated with our patients. I would say about 50% of the patients speak Spanish and Quiche, and the other 50% speak Quiche alone. I had no idea how much went into just one day of exams and surgery. I also worked with patient flow and organized a systematic way to exam patients efficiently (a very nursey type of job, love it!) I conducted the interviews with the patients and discussed their general health, and more specifically their problems with sight. Let me Tell you, I heard a lot of stories. From sewing needle accidents, to a guys getting punched in the street... and many more, but the others are definitely on the sad side. I was so busy today that didn't eat lunch until about two.

I thought this was a kinda funny story:

We had a pretty cute/stylish 20 year old come to get his eyes checked because he explained that he was in need of glasses. After interviewing him and conducting an eye exam, we gave him some options to see which glasses worked best for him. Although he could see a little better with the glasses we finally found, he was very concerned that he looked like Harry Potter in them and politely declined. Who knew Harry Potter even reaches to remote villages high in the mountains of Guatemala...

God is working, folks. Pray for this team. Pray for the patients.

I love ya'll.

Codi

Aventuraaaaa...Not the band.

Today was so eye-opening. I will never be the same. I'll have to give myself time to process everything before I write about it. Stay tuned if you're interested.


I will officially be translating tomorrow, and I may be slightly nervous. I've never done anything like this before. Nursing, I am nice and comfy with. Four years of learning, practical experience...But translating...yikeeeeeeees! If tomorrow is a success, I am telling you now that it is God through me and nothing more.


The only "true immersion experiences" I've ever had with Spanish are visiting Costa Rica in high school and everything that comes with dating a Puerto Rican. Beyond that... not so much.


Pray, please.


Some fotos:

So.... this is my bleach bucket. In order to eat anything here, I have to first bleach it, then scrub it, then rinse it, then peel it, then cook it (except fruit). That's what I get for being a sickling. I have a super limited diet here because of July's health bonanza. Money is super tight these days, so I don't get to buy a whole lot of veggies anyways. The tomatoes you see were a gift :) Funny how your perspectives can change over time. Today I received two tomatoes and was exceedingly grateful. In the past I have received an iPod as a gift and was barely (if at all) moved. I'm a work in progress.

...and here we have it folks... My dinner tonight. If you want the recipe, it's pretty easy.
1/2 cup boiled white rice + 1bleached avocado. Smush it all together. VOILA!
Not that exciting, I know. Oh, also I had some purified water and powdered milk...YUMMMMMMMM. For those of you who live in the States, please try not to sin in the envy department. I don't want to cause anyone to stumble.
[Please note that my earplug kinda looks like a tiny green rocket ship. Admit it, it's kind of cute. I have those in my possession because I think the Germans that live upstairs take tap dancing lessons... at midnight. lol]

That's it for me tonight. I'm gonna get my read on, take my vitamins, and hit the sack early. I have to wake up at 4:30ish tomorrow. Hellloooooo, early morning! :D

LOVE,

Codi

Mi Primer Dia!

 I took this picture from my taxi boat. Some of the cities you can visit around the lake are much more accessible by boat.

Hey, guys!

I just got back from a delicious dinner with a staff family from the clinic tonight. They invited me into their home, and it was wonderful. It was much needed. 

Today was my first day at the clinic. Plans have already changed :) What's new?

1) Turns out I am not going to be serving as a nurse my first week. I will be translating for an American team that arrives tomorrow. My official job as translator starts Monday when eye surgeries begin.

Today there was not too, too much for me to do at the clinic since it mostly consisted of a lot of patient triaging and consultation (all done by the visiting medical group.)

So........

1) I talked to a bunch of kids 

2) Played a ton of soccer

3) Loved on some babies

4) Played tether ball (SO MIDDLE SCHOOL!)

5) Engaged in 2 hours of surprisingly intense basketball with people from Argentina, Ghana, Mexico, Guatemala, and more! Some people spoke Spanish only, some English as their first language then some Spanish (to varying degrees), some primarily spoke their own tribal language then Spanish... It was a little confusing. It felt a little Tower of Babelesque.

I met some pretty awesome younger kids today. Hopefully I can get you some pictures and stories within a week or so. This week to come is going to be filled with watching the blind healed. Those who walked around in darkness are going to see light... I'm praying this can happen not only in a physical sense but, more importantly, in a spiritual sense. I cannot wait to see what God does. Physical victory is for naught without a Savior.

Kind of funny story:

Naturally, I learned a lot of basketball terminology today. I had the strong urge to scream "Rebound!!" or "Shoot!!" or use the word "Pack"(when someone from the opposing team blocks and/or steals a pass just as it's leaving the ball handler's hand). I learned that when you "pack" someone, here it's called a "Tapon [tah-pone]." Welllllll... what had happened was... Someone got packed, and I screamed a very similar word...

So basically it went like this.... 

-The player from my team packed someone... 

-I screamed the word "Tampon [tahm-pone]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Now, If you are an English speaker, this word may look familiar...that's because it's the same in Spanish as it is in English... You know, like Tampax....like the feminine product......

I immeadeatly thought... REAL cool, Cody. Way to be the ONLY American person in sight screaming "TAMPON!!!!!" at the top of your lungs for no apparent cause or reason...

Good times in Guatemala.

Well, I am sore beyond belief from all the sports today. I'm hitting the sack early tonight. Tomorrow I'm heading to the market and a home church here in Pana. I am working full-time, Monday through Friday this week. Going to be an exhausting and wonderful endeavor!

I love you guys,

Codi