Well, Jenny tells me that I need to participate in our blogging so I thought I would show some pictures from my recent trip to Guatemala. Eric Harris was kind enough to take me to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (where I served my mission) to participate in a medical mission. We worked in conjunction with the medical school in Xela (the mayan name for Quetzaltenango). We worked from Monday through Friday and we were able to have a day to hang-out and explore in Antigua, a beautiful city near the capital of Guatemala.
The picture above is of one the many volcanos in Guatemala. I lived at the base of it for 6 months during my mission. One of the beautiful things about Guatemala is the drastic change in scenery due to the elevation changes. Xela sits around 9,000 ft. and is filled with pine trees, yet the coast looks tropical just like you would assume. This second picture is of the same volcano from the costal side
This next image shows the people of San Francisco El Alto lined up to be treated. San Francisco El Alto is a small town about 45min. from where we were staying in Xela, and sits at the top of a mountain. You'll notice the "tipica" clothing the women are wearing. Most of the people in this town survive by making this clothing themselves and selling it at the local market.
This is the group of volunteers from the states with a few of the patients.
Yes, in case you are wondering....that's me and that is a tooth in my hand. Oh, and yep I was the one pulling it too. Ssshhhh....don't tell her that it was my first time. It went well, I mean, the tooth did come out. Actually, Eric and Kevin taught me a lot about dentistry and allowed me to participate when it was appropriate.
These next two pictures will most likely not make any sense to you unless you have done this yourself. Most of you probably don't know what "Jowlers" are or perhaps as Eric says, "Shaky Face!!!" I know you are going to go and try this after you see it so please make sure to put at least one photo on your blog of yourself looking as stupid if not more stupid than I do. This is how it works... loosen your face up and then shake it as fast as you can and then take a picture. This is how we entertained ourselves in Guatemala, after our work was done of course!
