Final Numbers and Wrap Up

I've said it before but I will say it again. What a great week it has been here in Cusco, Peru. We finished the medical campaign on Thursday seeing another 184 patients with 164 requesting Bible studies. Amazing. The sad part about Thursday's clinic was that we had to turn away about 40 people because we had to close early to set up for a seminar we were hosting on Thursday night. Remember, we were going to the village of Corca for a clinic on Thursady but the bus strike prevented us from doing so. Thursday's cliic at the church building was an unadvertised, impromptu clinic and we could have seen well over 200 people if time allowed. The great news for the week was we saw a total of 968 patients with 802 of them requesting Bible studies and followup. That is 83% of patients seen! As we begin, and continue, some campaigns back in the States I pray the receptiveness will be just as strong.
As for Friday, we took a sight seeing day to some remote areas of the Cusco region. Some of our team went to Machu Picchu while the rest of us that had been there before went on a day hike, yes hike, through a couple of small villages that featured some ancient ruins and other historical sites. I took quite a few pictures, but I promise they will never fully represent actually hiking through the remote Andes Mountain villages and ruins. We hiked at elevetions between 10,500 and 12500'. For those wondering, the Birmingham area probably averages about 300 to 600' above sea level, in the low areas. I admit the uphill parts of the hike we a little trying on my lungs and the downhill parts wrenched my knees a little. But, I stayed at the front of the line, my heart stayed inside my chest cavity and I finished as good or better than this 46 year old probably should have.
As before, this experience was awesome. But as the week has come to an end, I am ready to go home and see my family. I want to thank everyone who supported this mission, at church and at work. I am blessed to have a church family and work family that affords me the opportunity to take part in such efforts.
Today we will board the plane in Cusco, fly to Miami and return in B'ham on Sunday. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel.
　
　
......'til next time!

Controlled Chaos

Controlled chaos is the phrase for Wednesday. When we arrived at the church building there were already well over 100 people in line. As we found out from two of the earliest patients, they got in line at 4:30 AM to make sue they would be seen today. A lot of other people got in line early, so by 8:00 AM when we arrived...they were just a little bit fired up. We relied heavily on our security guards once they arrived, to explain to the crowd that if they didn't act orderly, we would not even hold the clinic. Needless to say, order was restored and our day began.

To make matters more difficult for us, we were going to close an hour earlier in order to pack up supplies etc. needed for Thursday. So, I originally only gave 220 passes for people to be seen. See, we were going to leave at 7:00 AM on Thursday and travel to a poor village called Corca, and conduct a medical mission clinic there for a few hours then travel back to Cusco. As Wednesday morning progressed, we found out that all of the bus, taxi and public transportation drivers would be going on strike Thursday morning at 6:00 AM until Friday morning. We now had no 'safe' ride to the village and we would have to cancel our plans. At this point, we issued more passes, satisfied a lot more of the crowd, and I am proud to say we saw a total of 275 patients, with 248 either studying the Bible or requesting Bible studies. That is an unbelievable 90%!

I did find out from some of the local people that this church is known throughout the city and community as, The Church that Helps People. What a great reputation to have been developed in just the short 4+ years these missionaries have been here.

Even though we are sad we cannot travel to the village of Corca on Thursday and help them, we will be open for a clinic at the church building. So it will be business as usual until 1:00 PM or so. What a Great day. Actually what a great week, it has been!

.....'til next time.

Another Great Day

Wow! Tuesday was another great day. I'll go ahead and report that the clinic saw 278 patients with a few more that were seen twice for multiple issues. even better news is that out of the 278 patients through the door, 219 requested Bible studies and/or more information about the Church. Many studies are held on sight but a lot of follow up will be needed and I know the local missionaries are extremely excited about that.

All of the doctors, specialists and volunteers are working non-stop and at the end of the day are tired as ever. But, I notice evryone has a smile on their face. It is definitely one of those good tired feelings, I expect Wednesday to be even busier. I'm not sure how we can see any more patients, but I know we will try to if we can. Once again thank you on behalf of everyone of us volunteering here in Peru for your continued support

.....'til next time.

What A Start

Monday was a great start to the medical campaign. As I expected, a lot of people came by to see the doctors. I expect more Tuesday and forward. As for the numbers, the clinic saw 231 patients on Monday. Out of that number, 171 requested Bible studies and to learn more about the church. If Monday was any indication of things to come for the rest of the week, the missionaries here are going to have mucho followup to do. But, that is a great thing.

I haven't had time to take many pictures yet, but I will try to post some as I take a few to illustrate what we are doing here. Thanks for all your continued prayers and support.

....'til next tine..

It all Begins Today!!

Everything got set up at the clinic yesterday ready for today and hundreds of patients. We were able to have a nice dinner at Fuego, where I had Alpaca steak and I also tried some Cuy as well. That's Guinnea Pig for most people. I'll have to say I only tried a couple of small bites. There isn't much meat on the bones and you about would need to be starving to death to work that hard at getting some of it to taste. Oh yeah, it didn't taste like chicken. It tasted like rat. Not bad however, just won't be my first choice.
After dinner we got got back to the hotel a little after 9:00 PM tired and ready to go to bed only to have a puppy crying outside the window for the next hour or so. I guess me being exhausted took over as the next thing I remember it was this morning.
So here we are on Monday morning getting ready for a great, but long, day. The rest of this week will probably fly by as like any mission trip I go on, we start early, run hard and fast all day, and end late. It is a great feeling to help a lot of people and show the love of Christ.
.....'til next time.

Well after a long nights sleep, hot shower and a good breakfast, I am ready for a good morning of worship with the local congregation. Then we will start the mad dash of setting up for the medical clinic we are hosting this week. A lot of work goes into the planning, preparation and set up for this program. The local missionaries work extremely hard, and when us "volunteers" arrive we jump right in and help pullmit all together. It truly takes the entire team to lead this effort.  This is my third year here and am excited to get the week started.

To back up a little, we all arrived safely and the altitude (almost 12000 feet) has not been extremely hard on anyone, so far. I do have the normal headache, but not as bad as in the past. Hopefully this will continue. I look forward to sharing the daily events/ conditions we encounter with this blog each day.

Please continue to pray for all of us here, the local missionaries, the entire effort and all of our families back home.

....til next time.

So Far So Good to Peru

Well to let everyone know, we have made it safely to Miami and had a nice late lunch at TGI Fridays. Now the fun part of travel starts as we hurry up and wait about 6 more hours until we board the next flight to Lima. We are set to arrive in Lima at 5:45 AM eastern time and then to Cusco at 8:50 AM Saturday morning. I am hoping to get a little nap before as I cannot sleep much on a plane.

....til next time.