Fun In & Around Antigua (+ Photos)

The girls go ziplining near Antigua; one of the surrounding volcanoes.


By the stables Finca Filadelfia; on the terrace with volcano in background.


The Latte Lover Girls' Club.


Saying we worked the entire time would be stretching the truth - note: photos! Upon arrival in country, Steve slept in while I visited a coffee plantation/"resort" outside of Antigua in Jocotenango. 5 of us ladies decided we'd like a birds eye view of the area, best served by ziplining! Whoooo! Hooo!

Photos:Share the Gifts & the Love

Raxruhá:In the kitchen getting lunch; Nina & Easter's birthday celebration.


Peeking inside the clinic; Volunteers take a break with dental humor.


Kids show off the school supplies we donated. Thanks to those of you who sent funds or supplies!

Clinic Photos: Patients & Volunteers

View of the working clinic; Medical providers Melissa & Joyce with Guatemala volunteer/translator


Donated reading glasses help a lot thanks to sister, Laura; new girlfriends/patients.

Giving Thanks

In the end, although we gave of our time & talents, we're better individuals for the experience & nourishment we receive back multi-fold. God has given us our own special gifts/talents & it's our responsibility to share them with others! We were infused with the generosity & love of the local people and we came away better ourselves.

Thanks to several patients & organizations who donated products & supported us: Dag & Jim of Crest/Proctor & Gamble, Dr Er-Jia Mao, Scott Keene of Burkhart Dental, Tidi Products; Tom & Laurie Perricone/Chesley, Maureen Searle, Evanthia Nanou, Arian & Harold Giesholt/Lane, & my sister, Laura Benjamin (who mailed me 2 dozen reading glasses!)

Photos: In Clinic

A satisfied dental patient with Nina & Dr Steve; New reading glasses.


Patiently waiting for their name to be called to enter clinic; Pastor Andres with Dr Steve attend a dental patient.


Waiting his turn to see the physician.

Local Routine

We entered into lives where a daily routine of a family's survival includes a basic multitude of mouths to feed, clothing to wash, corn to grind, seeds to sow, tortillas to prepare, dirt floors to sweep, water to fetch, babies to carry & keep healthy. We attended to dental abscesses, rotted teeth, smiles filled with blackened cavities, headaches, backaches, stomach pain, eye damage (from sun & dust), blurry vision, to name a few maladies. Others were a bit tougher: a leg so infected, a little boy couldn't walk, a man with severe flesh burns & holes due to electrical wiring malfunction, an verbally & physically abused young lady.

Photos: In Church, Getting Acquainted & Clinic Set-Up Sunday

Paula reads Spanish books to the children; Upon arrival volunteers bring supplies into the clinic.


Young men share time together.


Children at church service; children have a special presentation song for us.

Sunday at the Nazarene Church

Our Guatemala team of 27 arrived for a 10-day medical-dental volunteer work stint in Raxuhá (Rah-shoe-HA), a small town in central Guatemala, Alta Verapaz. We were warmly welcomed by Pastor Antonio & wife, Rosemary. Sunday churchgoers filed in slowly over time and after all the usual ceremony, a group of children sang & performed for us. Afterwards, we got busy moving church pews & setting up a temporary but functional "clinic". On Monday, the crowds drew near & started a line that didn't quit till our last day, Friday.

Photos: Around the town of Raxuhá

Waiting in the shade, the juice vendor is a big hit; Paula makes friends with the watermelon vendors at the local market.


The local market gets underway early; To market via different modes of transportation.

March Volunteer Work in Raxuhá, Guatemala 2011

Arriving in Guatemala always seems to me as a time-altering landing some centuries past - when the dust kicked up from dirt roads trails behind the walker like constant exhalation of smoke puffs; when the roosters cackle nightly in juxtaposition with yipping dogs; where colors are so intensely vibrant they make your eyes hurt; when people carry loads on their heads, backs or strapped to their foreheads typically destined for pack mules or horses; where travelling a few miles to the nearest well or river is where precious liquid silver, water, is drawn.