by elfaro | Apr 21, 2014 | Sin Categoría
When we had our medical team in February from Maranatha, optometrist Dr. Dario Aldana was hard at work for two reasons. Firstly, there are always a lot of patients that need their eyes checked for glasses. And secondly, Dr. Dario was searching for candidates for an eye surgery team that he was planning for March in El Faro. Cataracts and Pterigons are common eye problems here in Guatemala that have an operable solution. Many people in our area of Guatemala don’t have the means to afford a surgery and sadly lose their sight completely. Just because someone has lost sight, however, doesn’t mean that they still can’t receive the operation.
This was the third eye surgery team at El Faro and we couldn’t have been more blessed by such a wonderful group. Dr. Dario, Dr. Bob, his wife, Susan, Mary, Mayra, Brittni, Cindy, and Larry made up the incredible team this year and God was able to move through each one to touch the lives of so many people.
The doctors do not charge for the operations and bring down donated medicine and surgery equipment. Located in one of the apartments in a dorm here at El Faro. 8-10 patients are seen on a daily basis and then spend the night with a family member at our facilities. The following morning the patients are awoken by huge smiles from the team members as they take off the bandages to see the improvement and to give the follow-up instructions
On the last day of surgeries, a woman showed up who was deaf, mute, and now blind due to cataracts. She communicated through touch with her son and she knew she was going to receive an operation for her eyes. The team was scared not knowing how she would respond to the initial injection to begin to numb the eye. She didn’t move an inch and laid down calmly allowing the doctor to prepare her for surgery. The next morning when she was having her bandages removed there wasn’t a dry eye in the room as she looked at the doctor and began to sign to her son that she could see. Being quite the personality, she pointed to her other eye to tell the doctor that she was ready for her next operation.
May of the patients had lost jobs and had spent years confined to their houses. As the walked to the dock by themselves, all of them had a new sense of pride and a new hope that they didn’t have when they first arrived to El Faro. We are so thankful for this beautiful team of such talented people who helped change the lives of so many.
To see pictures of the Fort Hill Eye Surgery Team, please click HERE
To see the video of this team, please click HERE
by elfaro | Apr 21, 2014 | Sin Categoría
Many of the people in Guatemala that have operable disabilities never have the chance to receive a surgery that can ultimately change their life. El Faro had the chance to partner with our wonderful friends from Medical Mission Group this past month for our fourth surgery team. From our first mission with them, our relationship with the Children’s
Hospital has been wonderful thanks to our dear friend Dr. Velasquez. Dr. Velasquez is one of the head surgeons at the hosptial and the staff graciously opens up their doors to us each trip to use their facilities and nurses, something that very few places would allow.
We had patients travel from far and wide just to have the opportunity to see if they could qualify foan operation. One group of three families traveled two days to El Faro after hearing about the free operations and all Three of their children had the chance to be operated.
The first day ofscreenings gives the doctors a chance to see what type of cases there are and also to help build the weekly
schedule. This yearwe ha cleft lips and pallets, hernias, masses and cists, burns, and gallbladders that needed removal.
Throughout the wonderful team of surgeons, nurses, and volunteers worked diligently on the many patients that came through their operating doors. Some of the MMG doctors had been here before and it was nice being able to work with them again. As for the rest, it was nice getting to meet new people and see their gfts and action.
One special case included a young boy named Axel. He is 12 years old and had a mass on his face since he was young. Now a teenager, his facial problem has begun to affect him in his studies and self esteem. He was a wonderful boy to be around and the doctors were able to operated to reduce his facial mass. Because he was one of the patients that traveled from so far, he spent the last night at El Faro with his family and the doctors. Because of the way he touched so many lives, all of the surgery team pitched in to buy him a playstation, which they gave o him on the last night.
At the end of the week the team had performed 58 procedures on 45 patients. El Faro is so thankful for the wonderful team at MMG and the partnership that we have.
To see more pictures of MMG, please click HERE
To see the video of the surgery team, please click HERE
by elfaro | Apr 21, 2014 | Sin Categoría
Maranatha Chapel is a small church from the outside with a huge heart for missions on the inside. Their impact worldwide is evident through the number of missionaries and projects they support around the world as well as the diverse cultures that make up the church. El Faro is truly honored to be able to host them each February as we team together to provide medical care to the villages around El Faro. This year was their eighth consecutive year doing this medical trip, but as always, it was unique in many different ways. Fifty people from the states traveled to Guatemala where they teamed up with an additional fifty Guatemalan volunteers, doctors, and missionaries to stay at El Faro as a base and go out into different villages to set up medical clinics. The clinics are set up as the following:
-Patients line up to be seen by a nurse in triage who marks down what medical needs they have to designate which doctor to go to.
-After triage, each patient will pass through a tent to receive both vitamins and a parasite pill. Many patients going through triage show a concern for their children who have worms, so this is a important tent to help ease the parents concerns. -Next the patients are led to the doctor they were assigned to according to their needs. This year we had an amazing group of doctors including dentists, general medicine, pediatrics, optometry, and dermatology. -After visiting with their doctor, the patients drop off their prescription at the pharmacy and are sent to the spiritual clinic while their prescription gets filled. -At the spiritual clinic each person and family has a chance to receive prayer and learn more about God. It is a beautiful opportunity for people also to talk about their personal problems with people they can trust and who care for them.
-In addition, we have special tents set up for additional activities. 
The beauty salon is a place where women and children go in to get not only to receive a lice treatment, but also a chance to get pampered. Each person get their hair washed, the lice treatment, their nails done, and then once the lice treatment is washed out, they get their hair down complete with ribbons, bows, and flowers. 
We also have a photo session where families are able to take a photo together and then take the printed photo home. For many this is the only photo that they have of themselves and we have seen how people go home to hang them in thieir houses. 
The construction team is always working hard throughout the day and this year the brought smiles to many of the children of the villages. The team constructed two full swing sets and fixed things at the schools. Another very important place is the children’s ministry tent. There are always a multitude of kids that while their parents get seen get very antsy. The children’s tent is always full of songs, laughter, story telling, and lots of other activities to keep the children busy and having a good time. 
The first day we traveled to a village that we went to the year before. Creek Chino. It is a forgotten village as it is located next to a very popular tourist site, Livingston. There is much poverty and a huge need for medical attention and we knew that we needed to return. The second day we took on a challenge to actually set up a medical clinic in the large town of Livingston, only accessible by water. This was a challenge because being such a large tourist attraction there are lots of people and they only have one small medical clinic that is very limited in what they can treat and provide. We set up clinic in a public boys school and at the end of that day we had seen a total of 800 people. The third day we traveled to the village of San Miguelito and we ended the medical trip like always with a clinic at El Faro. In just four days we saw a total of 2300 people, the most we have been able to see in one medical trip. We are so thankful for all of the doctors and volunteers who took time off to help those who are sometimes forgotten in Guatemala. Lives were not only changed physically, but also eternally.
To see more pictures, please click HERE
To see the video from the team, please click HERE
by elfaro | Feb 24, 2014 | Sin Categoría
A church from Illinois very near and dear to our hearts is Cornerstone. Every team they have brought down in the past has been diverse and unique and in January that was no exception as they came down with their youth group. The group in total had 17 and included youth, the youth leaders, and parents.
They hit the ground running on the first day by splitting up into two groups and walking through the village of Punta de Palma to bless selected families with Eco stoves, water filters, and moringa trees. Each time brought the stoves, set them up in the kitchen of the house, and educated on the importance of using these special stoves that require less wood and emit less smoke into the houses. In addition, these families were also given water filters for clean water and the youth group planted moringa trees in their gardens.
The Cornerstone youth group also had the opportunity to go to Livingston and do a dental clinic and photo booth. While the dentists and their Cornerstone assistants were working on patients inside Miguel and Laura’s house, missionaries to Livingston, another group was outside taking pictures of families and printing them out. Scott Orr, a leader who has brought down past teams, said, “It was truly special to watch the students jump right in and start to work with the people of Livingston. They were more open than most adults I have seen.”
Another day the team made homemade rice krispy treats in order to take them to the garbage dump for the kids and their families. Every Thursday a church in Puerto Barrios makes and donates meals to the families and on this Thruday were able to help by bringing a dessert and also minister to the children through coloring books and games. It was a eye-opening experience for the whole team to witness the families that live in the dump. Katrina Bruder, a youth on the team, commented, “My eyes have been opened to the poverty here and the fact that we don’t see that all that often in the States, or if we do we are too quick to turn a blind eye to it. God has been challenging me to be more aware and compassionate towards those in need and others around me.” We are so thankful for each person that came on this team and know that God continues to use them now back home in Illinois. We look forward to seeing them again in the future!
by elfaro | Feb 24, 2014 | Sin Categoría
What’s that you see up in the jungle up in the trees at El Faro? It is the new high ropes course that has only been opened since January, but already had huge success. It started with a dream to build something that could challenge individuals, help them face fears, and also build unity in the groups that come to visit El Faro from both Guatemala and the United States. God was able to put the right people together for this project including our missionary friend from Argentina, Marcelo Hanko, who has built these in the past as well as Alejandro Petersen who has worked at camps in the states on their high ropes courses.
Not only is the view from the top of the course incredible, you see the forests surrounding you, as well as the mountains and also a view of the ocean. I felt a great sense of peace standing at the top. The course was challenging but was extremely fun pushing myself to do things I didn’t know I could do. Throughout the course I felt a connection with the people I was participating with through encouragement and instruction. This is such a great addition to El Faro! I am in love with every inch of this place. Ryan Buck, Oklahoma
After the completion of the beautiful course, Alejandro stayed on as a missionary to serve as guide and liason for groups participating in the course during their time at El Faro.Alejandro was raised in Guatemala City but served for two years at the Doe River Gorge Christian Camp in Tennessee at their ropes course. The El Faro course includes the actual ropes course, low elements, and soon a zip line. It will enable El Faro the challenge and encourage local youth, missionaries, and visiting groups with activities geared towards building trust, overcoming fear, learning team work, and increase personal accountability. Alejandro says, “These activities also help to demonstrate individuals and teams how to walk by faith, not by sight. In addition, there is the element of just plain fun in a wonderful jungle setting!”.
When I first toured the ropes course, I was struck by it’s first-class construction and daunting challenges. When I strapped into the safety harness, I came to appreciate the support of outstanding staffers and cheering spectators. For me, the swinging tires were the hardest challenge, though I did not attempt the fearsome “x” challenge. I am determined to work out harder this year so that I physically master all of the existing challenges, including the “x”. As far as the “leap of faith” that’s now under construction, we’ll have to see….Steve Ephraim, Iowa
What makes the El Faro ropes course unique is that it was built by God’s grace and blessing through the donations to build it, the people he sent to draw it up and build it, and now how people are being affected by it. “We didn’t have any idea how to build it, but God has given us wisdom, grace, and blessings,” Alejandro adds with much pride.
So far every US team that has come has come to El Faro this year has gone through the ropes course and it has quickly become a highlight of their trip. We are excited to see how God will continue to transform lives here at El Faro and in now in this unique and adventurous way!
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