Two years ago Pastor Morales was sharing with several of us as we walked through Sacajvilla about a medical team that had visited a tear or so earlier and how much success they had. The needs are abundant and the clinic saw many illnesses that needed simple medicine. The impact on the community and the respect it earned the local church were both amazing. About a year later, while walking that same path with Pastor Morales he turned to me and said it would be a good idea to try and get another medical team to visit Sacajvilla. After much prayer and and seeking His direction on when and where, the Lord has opened the door for a medical clinic trip in November of this year!
The relationship with the community of Sacajvilla is growing with every trip we make. The amazing agricultural community is set in the midst of the mountains outside of Guatemala City. The region is predominantly Mayan. The Mayan people are the indigenous people of Guatemala and make up nearly two-thirds of the total population in the country. They are mostly a simple people group living off the land as much as possible and yet, they are still very under-nourished as a whole.
Many people here in the US are familiar with a Guatemalan or two and have noticed that most of them are small in stature. The main reason for this is not a genetic requirement for the region. It is mostly due to what is called "stunting." The cause for this stunted growth is lack of nutrition in the first 1000 days of life. The majority of the Mayan people experience this condition as they are struggling to make it each day with enough food for their families. Even in the midst of all the crops surrounding their homes, the people of Sacajvilla are still very hungry as most of the food grown around their homes is taken into the city and sold. Much of the Mayan people work theses fields across the country to support the export of fruit and vegetables sent to the city or even to the US. For example, next time you grab a bunch of bananas at the market look at that sticker and notice that many of them say Guatemala!
This past November walking that same road with Pastor Morales I committed to bring a medical team the following year to do a clinic. The vision had begun to come clear in my heart and now we needed to take some first steps toward obedience. November 3-10, 2012 we are hosting a medical clinic in Sacajvilla to serve the needs of the people in the village and schools. We are in need of a full medical team for this trip. We need four to five doctors who will guide the clinic and offer their services to the people. In addition we need five to eight nurses and practitioners who will support these doctors and offer additional services and training during the clinic. We are in need of a pharmacy team to help with collection, transportation and distribution of medications during the trip. We are also looking for some physical therapy folks who will help with several handicapped members of the community. The time we have walked through the paths in this village has allowed us to see much need for medical care and general medicine to impact in a major way the health of the community.
In addition to the medical team, we will be hosting along side Jerusalen Church and the mission church they have planted in Sacajvilla, a FBI! The church in Guatemala is very successful at the Festival Biblical Infantile - VBS for us from the US! The exciting aspect of the trip is that we will be hosting the entire event at a school on the main road in the village. It is highly visible and a major point of contact for the entire village. The relationship with the leadership of the school has proven to be a vital aspect of reaching the needs of the community.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We need to staff this medical team with some quality servants who will help further the impact of the church in Guatemala and open doors of hope in this community. The opportunity is amazing! The privilege of utilizing this facility and in this location is definitely a movement of the Lord. We need to take advantage of this opportunity and provide the best we can to the people of Sacajvilla. If you or someone you know would be a good fit for this team please connect them to One Way through email or the website. We will follow up and look forward to the Father developing an amazing team! Come on and go with us as we reach the world and teach His Word!
In His Grip,
JT Turner
