Mission Trips: Country Club Christian Church

  The view of the countryside from the farm.

If you’ve been reading the blog, you’re aware of the massive amount of over-the-counter drugs we’ve brought with us to Nicaragua. After we packed all those pills, I was thrilled at the number of people we’d be able to serve – it seemed like so many bottles and boxes! (It especially seemed like a lot when we were all lugging the 50-pound bags through airport security.)  

 Last night, and again this morning, we spent a great deal of time separating out all of the different types of medicines and putting everything into little baggies with directions on how to take them written in Spanish. Our goal was to put together 400 bags for families to take home. Each bag contains two toothbrushes and toothbrush covers, tooth paste, directions on how to brush your teeth correctly, soap, a packet of either ibuprofen or acetaminophen, a packet each of adult and children’s vitamins, antacids and bandaids.   

When you break everything down into little packets of each item, it’s a little disheartening how very little of each thing we are able to give the families. Maybe a month’s supply of vitamins, just a handful of Tylenol, a few Tums tablets. I keep reminding myself that having a little is better than having nothing; that they will share between families if someone runs out of something vital; that there will be other groups coming to this area with more supplies, including another group from Country Club Christian Church in June of this year which will hopefully come back here to Guadalupe. Still, it’s so hard to understand the inability to run down the street for something you need.   

Speaking of streets, the roads here are unbelievable. In fact, they’re practically impassible. Deep grooves and large holes are more prevalent than smooth areas. There are steep hills, and of course the roads aren’t paved. To complicate matters, they are narrow, so it takes some maneuvering when cars, or rather trucks, meet. (Most cars would be unable to navigate these caminos peligrosos.) And, most of the people travel on foot, so there is constant swerving to avoid someone walking along the sides. Even young children Caroline’s age (3 ½ ) wander along the roads, sometimes barefoot.   

Many people travel on bicycle and some us were even surprised to see that horses are used frequently as a method of transportation.  In addition to horses, there is an assortment of other animal life. Chickens and roosters roam the grounds here at the farm and in the yards of homes across the village. I asked if they were wild or if they belong to particular families. Kayon told me that each family probably owns a few chickens, which they use for eggs and perhaps eventually they use the whole chicken for meals. Because they wander around unfenced, I wondered how anyone knew whose chickens were whose. Apparently – and perhaps this is common knowledge – chickens instinctively always return to their homes. There perhaps is some wing clipping or something involved, but there apparently isn’t any worry about missing or lost chickens. The chickens and a big beautiful rooster which live here at the farm aren’t at all phased by our presence. They’re practically domesticated, as close as they walk to us. Oh, and the idea that roosters only crow early in the morning? A myth. The one here squawks all night and all day long.   

We’ve also seen lots of cattle, a sloth, many dogs and bats. On the way here we passed a sign with a snake on it, as if to indicate to watch for snakes crossing the road. Fortunately, we’ve not seen any of those yet!  Today Ken, Carty, James, Debbie and I are working at the farm, while Kamille, Jane and Sue, our medical team, plus Carla, Carol, Nancy, Linda, Mary, Lance, Carolina and Kayon are in the village conducting the medical clinic.

This morning, Debbie, James and I finished putting together more of the home health care bags, while Ken and Carty have been working on improvement projects at the farm’s bunkhouse. We are anxious for a report from the medical team, as they were concerned the first day would be chaotic.   

The weather here in Guadalupe is amazing. It’s comfortably warm, with a nice breeze and very little humidity. In the night last night many of us were even chilly. We couldn’t ask for better weather, and it will be a major shock to our systems to come home to freezing temperatures in Missouri and Kansas. (Maybe it’s turned into spring while we’ve been here?) The temperatures, in addition to the natural beauty and the slow and peaceful pace here in Guadalupe make it a very tranquil place. If we weren’t working so hard, I might think we were on vacation!    

PS: Carol wants George to tell Matt that she found a place to purchase a hammock!