An Uncommon Experience We have completed five days of clinical practicum at the clinic in the village Llano de Animas, and these have been the most amazing days in my life. The learning experiences acquired were unexpectedly diverse. We provided care to patients with pediatric illnesses, adult illnesses, post-operative care (i.e., suture removal), OB-GYN, immunizations and tropical diseases. However, this would not have been possible without the gentle guidance of the nurses at the clinic and of Dr. Elry. I tend to think that there are many knowledgeable individuals in the world, but few are actually able to impart their knowledge to others. Dr. Elry is one of those one-of-a-kind people, whom you wish you could spend more time learning from. He has been a great teacher to me and the students.  One of the toughest jobs was performing an assessment of a child's throat. Despite how often we would show the child how to stick the tongue out, the child still would not do it and he...

Shortly after sipping on the best coffee in the world (i.e. Guatemalan coffee), we read a devotional about allowing God to renew our minds. And so it was. On this first day of clinical practicum, our minds were exposed to multiple and unique learning opportunities in a place least expected. We worked alongside the healthcare staff at a public health clinic in a village up the mountain from Lake Amatitlan. The seven nursing students were placed in different areas of this small clinic: the consultation room (which was staffed by a pediatrician), the immunization & family planning area and the medication dispensary area. It was amazing to see the level of organization of the clinic staff members given the few resources that they had. We struggled the most with learning how to read a mercury thermometer – turned it left and right, up and down until we saw that silver lining. We also learned that blood pressure would only be checked for patients 14-years of age and older as the clinic...

The dynamic team below is hosting us -- transporting us, feeding & housing us, teaching us and protecting us -- while we're in El Salitre, a poor community on the shore of Lake Amatitlan, approx 80 km from Guatemala City. We stay in dorm rooms above the church "La Santa Cruz", actually a converted lakeside home donated by a well-to-do family when the lake became polluted and less than desirable for water sports & tourism. Lis provides delicious, safe meals for us with help from a few church women. Elry is a M.D. and Lutheran pastor who gave up a successful career teaching medicine at the university in G.C. in order to begin a mission outreach in this poor community. Five days a week Elry and Lis have organized activities for the youth. Saturday is "Kids' Club" from 2 - 7; Sunday afternoon is worship, followed by catechism. Three other days, children come for tutoring, catechism, and to learn to play the recorder (flute). The days always end wit...