the joys of internet.... just within my grasp.

As many of you may not know the internet has been in the process of being fixed for the last 3 months that I have been here. Each week it will be fixed at the end of the week and at the beginning of each new week... I DON´T HAVE ACCESS! To make matters worse I have given the house computer numerous viruses trying to use my USB to transfer info!

However, Today a man came to check out the situation. After wandering around the neighborhood for a bit he informed us that our neighborhood was inaccessible. We would not have internet any time soon. However, on his way out he seemed to have spotted a potential problem, it seems as though somone build somthing RIGHT infront of the receiver and it blocked our access for 5 MONTHS!!

He´s going to call tomorrow with the final answer.

Back from a Project

I just have arrived home from a two-week project. The first week was in a beach town called Playas the second week was in the Galapagos on the Island of Santa Cruz. This project has probably been one of the best that I’ve been involved in. We had a team of 20 volunteers; one from Canada and the rest from the states and the team dynamics were great. Everyone got along really well together, which can seriously improve the quality of a clinic. We were actually separated in two groups, one at the hospital doing surgeries; we had 2 general surgeons and 2 surgical specialties, as well as an Ecuadorian surgical team that was volunteering with two Ecuadorian med students assisting on surgeries. The other group was running clinic in town.

For me there were a couple of really great perks to this project. First, we had a photojournalist volunteering, he works freelance with lots of newspaper experience, shooting for the New York Times and other large news agencies. We had some really great conversations, and I got a break from translating twice to be on full picture duty with him, which was extremely fun. Second, Matt and Emily my really good friends from home where volunteering on this project.

There are many more stories to come with this project, but I will have to fill them in one step at a time.

The President

On the way to the Milagro hospital to take pictures of the facilities and pick up supplies, we say Dale Correa the president of Ecuador who was in town.

September wrap up

September shaped up to be a busy month, as I was involved in the planning process for the October Playas/Galapagos project. I have been working with Jone Hernández on the coast of Ecuador, unlike other MMI nationals that I have worked with, MMI isn’t Jones fully time job, she and her husband have their own Architecture firm in Guayaquil. So, she runs her projects on a volunteer bases, will less time to donate to the projects. Working with her has been a really great experience for two reasons. First, she networks a huge amount with the community. MMI almost always works in collaboration with local churches; however, on Jones projects she finds creative ways to really pull the community into the project, in many different ways. Second, I get a lot more responsibility in project organization when I’m with Jone, so I learn a lot more about the in’s and out’s of being a project director, both pre and during clinic.

With that said, I have really been enjoying being a more involved part in project organization, which has gotten my wheels turning about the possibilities of being a project director some day.

Manabi Ecuador

July marked my move to Ecuador. I’m still doing the same things with MMI, just helping now with the projects in Ecuador instead of Peru. When I arrived I headed straight off to the Province of Manabi, which is on the Coast. Part of our team was surgical and the other part clinical. The surgical side stayed and worked out of an operating room in Portaviajo while the Clinic traveled to different cities each day. This project I translated for a doctor in the traveling clinic, which was something I didn’t know if I was quite ready for, but I think I managed all right.


In this specific part of Ecuador they have a very high number of clef-lip/clef-palette patients. In our time there we saw 19 patients with this condition and did 9 reconstructive surgeries. I was able to take photos in one surgery and I was completely blown away by the procedure. Our surgeon, Richard Topazian fixed the cleft lip, the surgery was about 1.5 hours. It was a process of cutting deeper into the lip and nose to firmly attach the skin. This patient in particular, 6month old Luis, had what is called a “full complete” meaning the lip is disconnected in two places. We preformed the first and less serious of 3 surgeries this Child will need to fully repair the defect. The first to correct the lip, second to repair the cleft pallet on the inside and third will be a series of plastic surgeries to reshape the mouth, as it still looks deformed after the first surgeries. The plastic surgery phases are something that usually will never be done.

in my bubble

Oh how I've failed! jaja. I have been so busy on my trip home that I hardly look at my email, let alone write on my blog. How pitiful! I return to Ecuador next Monday. I'm sure at that point I will be able to catch up on the events of the summer.

Arequipa Connections.... Part 1

Last week we had a project here in Arequipa. This was a very interesting experience because we were a much larger group then I have been accustomed to, 61 volunteers! The team was split up into 3 different groups Clinic, Hospital and Youth, who worked in collaboration with Young Life Perú. I think that this has been one of the most impactful and challenging projects that I have been on, primarily because I had admittedly lost my passion for working on Projects. Yes, unfortunately I went to Clinic each day deeply discouraged. I had been translating for a doctor and many of the cases that came in we didn’t do hardly anything for. I couldn’t shake the feeling that all we were offering was a pharmaceutical bandage. However, as it has been in this epoch of Perü God definitely lined everything up to both encourage me and teach me a valuable lesson.

God reminded me that no matter how jaded our view becomes; he can work in all situations. For me this project was disheartening and I couldn’t see past my own nose to any unusual success story. However, after the project I was offered a different perspective and looking back, I am able to see how the hand of God was working and even though it was all around me, I never saw it at the moment.

I had to report a story for MMI Happening, and so this is what I wrote about, whether or not it gets published we will see, however this is my story:

Arequipa Connections
I recently had the opportunity to work as part of a multi-faceted project here in Arequipa Peru, we had a wide age demographic as well as diverse working groups as the team was split between Hospital, Clinic and Youth work. For the most part this was a regular project: surgeries were completed; teeth were pulled; glasses and medicines were given out. Upon seeking out some of the more in depth stories I was confronted by an interesting realization had by one of the Medical Students, while working in the Clinic. She told me that over the course of the weeks the biggest lesson she learned was “if I was going to make a difference, it probably wasn’t going to be medically.” This sounded a little opposite of our goals on projects but with a little explanation I started to gain a solid understanding, as well as respect for this point of view. She shared that the things that encouraging her the most were watching and engaging with the people she served beside. She discussed how the Medical reality of MMI’s work allows a rare opportunity for people to share their personal feeling. This honesty developed domino pattern between her clinic co-worker. They would be touched by the vulnerability of the patients and would run to each other to share the details. This union opened many door to interesting conversations about life beliefs and they were all able to challenge and encourage each other in their ideas and faith. Listening to her talk reminded me of something that I was told just before I left for Peru: “Don’t go thinking your going to make a difference, go being thankful for the opportunity to watch God make a difference.” Here was one situation where this proved true. Because of my friends observations and perspectives I was able to see how God used Peruvian Patients to wined an intricate web of connections between volunteers. This has encouraged me to not be discourage that sometime all we can offer is a pharmaceutical bandage, if we keep our ears and eyes open we can see what’s happening behind the obvious, we can catch a glimpse of how Gods working in hearts.

Im thankful to my friend Andreanne, the medical student, whom God sent here just at the moment I needed her; for a multitude of reasons. Through her God succeeded in showing me that sometimes we just need to be shown things from a different perspective. However, also she has been the last straw that’s made me acknowledge the absolute necessity of Christian community! This is something that for my first month of life in Arequipa, I lacked completely.

As I look over all that has happened in the last month and a half I can hardly fathom the turns my opinions and attitudes have taken, just through the people that God has put in my path. This is definitely going to need another blog entry to explain, so stay tuned and I’ll try not to let it go undocumented.

PS→ I often struggle with “the semi colon” If you can offer some advise on its uses and abuses (my misuses) don’t hesitate!