Guest Author Post: From Amy Newell, Summer Volunteer

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to share a little bit about my first two and a half weeks here in Mexico. Please feel free to pass this along to anyone who might be interested. I've spent the past two weeks in a little village called Yax (pronounced Yosh). Yax sits in the valley between two mountains which are the homes to two completely different groups of people. On one side are the Zapatista sympathizers and on the other are the people who agree with the Federal Government. Needless to say these two groups of people don't exactly see eye to eye but we served them both without discrimination and we never had any problems. Yax is also the former home of the Wycliff Bible Translation Jungle Camp. It i s a quiet organized village with grass streets, finished wood houses, and a beautiful river running along side it. It is also the home of the majority of the Feliciano Family.

Over the span of 2 weeks over 60 volunteers came together from all across the US and Mexico: Washington State, Chicago, Pittsburg, North Carolina, Virginia, Mexico City, Tuxtla, and Ocosingo to organize and run the Medical Caravana. We set up 12 consultorios in which doctors, nurses, dentists, and Mexican paramedics along with various other translators and assistants saw over 4,350 patients in 10 days. We also dispensed over 15000 dollars of medicine to these same people through our fully functioning pharmacy that was in the same room that was our kitchen, dining room, and Church.

The time in Yax was great to reconnect with old friends from former years in Mexico and to also make new ones with the other volunteers and the local community. The first week I got to translate for my dad in one of the consultorios and also worked some in the kitchen washing over 60 sets of dishes by hand over and over and over. We also had vacation Bible School for the local 30 or so kids. We sang and played games, told stories, and made some crafts. On the last day all the kids were given yo-yo’s and oreos and then tooth brushes. Tzeltal (which is the native language in Yax) Bi bles were given out to the men and women of the congregation in a special ceremony at the end of the week.

The second week was spent translating again, but then I became the Oculista which means I was in charge of fitting reading glasses to the people who needed them. It was amazing watching the expressions on the women’s faces as they were able to thread a needle for the first time in many years, and the expressions on the faces of the men who now were able to read their Bible’s again.

Throughout the two weeks working in the consultorios was a blessing knowing that these people were finally going to get the medicine that they needed to get well. But at the same time that it was great to see all of the successes often times there was nothing that we could do. It was heartbreaking to have to send people away empty handed because we didn’t have the right medicine or the right technology to help them. It was equally heartbreaking to see the young girl with severe burns all over her body which were extremely infected and to know that the only thing that could help her would be the surgery that her family could not afford. Or to tell the family of 8 that they all had worms, amoebas, and scabies and only if they change their lifestyle and take the medicine that they wil l get better. By the end of the second week I was feeling really depressed and the stench from all of the sick and sweaty people made me want to vomit. I remember lying in my hammock and crying thinking about the overwhelming sense of helplessness that was surrounding me. But then I realized that it is for all of these people that we are building the clinic in Ocosingo. It is for them that we come back every year and get covered in cement to finish another little piece of the huge project that one day will be Las Manos de Cristo. This clinic will be able to serve so many people in this area whose only medical treatment prior has been our Caravanas. They will be able to receive care without discrimination or fear of the government. Whenever I get depressed about the situation here I try to remember that things can and will get better.

Many times it’s hard not to get caught up in the beauty of the surroundings, or the sickness of the people, and many times we forget the reason we are here. But I have been constantly reminded these past two weeks that I am here to love the people of Chiapas Mexico and I am here to serve them with all of my heart.

I have another month here working mainly with construction groups on the Clinic but the entire time I will be thinking about the seven year old boy who got hit the eye with a machete and who needs surgery who remove his eye so it will stop getting infected and won’t infect the other one which would cause blindness. I will be thinking about all the people that were given worm and gastritis medicine. But I will also be thinking about ways in which this Clinic will really help the people here in Chiapas.

It has been an amazing two weeks and I can’t wait to see what’s coming up next. God has truly blessed all of my time here and I know that he has so many more things for me to learn. Please keep all of the hurting sick people in your thoughts and prayers and the next time you go to the doctor for a checkup think about how you would feel if it was the first doctor you had ever seen in your entire life and be thankful that we live in a country where health care is at least accessible.

Love and Peace to you all,

~Amy~