2017 was a very good mission trip. The medical, dental, and construction teams were able to accomplish all that they had wanted to. No mission trip is without hurtles and this one was no different, but in the end, it is how the challenges are handled and all of the teams responded to them to save the day.
The Dental team was out in the villages in record time, providing fillings, cleanings and 
extractions. Unfortunately, the expensive portable generators that were purchased all 3 decided to stop (all three of them!) so we were reduced to only extractions at the end but we stayed easily busy nonetheless since it seems there are an endless supply of teeth that need to be extracted there. Probably of even greater benefit was the ability to spend some time with the people to educate them on nutrition, hygiene, and overall health. We take for granted how much of that is known by us but completely foreign to third world people. With regard to the generators, I have again brought the Aseptico units back with me to see if they can finally repair them in a way that lets us use them as intended. Three years and three return trips for repairs is more than a little discouraging.
Our only major hiccup was our hotel, the Hotel Emmanuel, which was new to us and was a very poor experience, but hey, it is a mission trip, right?! We have taken steps to make sure something like that doesn’t happen in the future. In fact, for next year we are contracting with the nicest hotel in the area to house the entire team as well as providing some of our meals. For those that have been it is the Hotel Toliman which is where we had our nice dinners in the past. That will be a really nice change for next year.
Promoters, the facilitators of all of our interaction with the local people with regard to health care, were flawless as was the cooperation with the hospital. The Medical Team was able to do all the 
surgeries that were planned but still had hoped to be even busier. They were able to lengthen the surgeries on several of the patients where they had even greater needs and were able to get more done at a heightened level. Surgeries they were doing this year were some that had never been able to be done in the area prior to this. One addition to our group was our sonographer, Wendy. She was vitally needed when the surgical team needed her talents and then found herself with spare time between those moments. She was able to turn downtime into prime time with her photography expertise. What amazing photos she created and from my perspective that was and equal blessing!
Another wonderful addition was the return of Katie Wallyn to a more active role with the teams. 
She came in before we arrived and inventoried the supplies to allow us to fill in the gaps where needed. This is always one of our major challenges since other medical teams come into the hospital between our visits and use supplies just like we do. Having someone onsite that looks after this for us was invaluable. Katie also was in charge of all of our construction projects and this year we had more than ever. The hard work ethic of our team was no surprise to Katie so she made sure we had plenty to do.
Here is what we were able to get built this year:
In four days, we had two teams that built two houses, two kitchens, and a bathroom. These teams were composed of seasoned workers as well as medical and dental volunteers assisting with the laborious tasks of tear down and rebuilding.
To help understand the plight of the people we are assisting in San Lucas, here is a little insight into the lives of the families in this year’s projects.
1. Josefina & José Luis (“Juarez house”): They are a married couple that are renting land down by the lake. Josefina has a lot of health problems and diabetes (even though she is in her 60s). José Luis is 75 years old and cannot find work because of his advanced age. They live with their 
daughter Monica who is a single mother to 2 daughters. Monica is the main bread winner and probably makes about $2 a day washing clothes. You can imagine how hard life is for them with trying to put the 2 girls through school, pay rent, buy food, and then also deal with Josefina’s health problems and constant need for medicine. This house was to be built for the whole family and they were more than thankful that they got to finally tear down their all-metal home that leaks when it rains and is like an oven in the sun. They could have never done this for themselves!
2. Petronila & Rodrigo (“Campa family house”: Anyone who came to 
San Lucas last year would remember the deplorable state this married couple’s kitchen was…..and they probably remember the spiders and bugs that were everywhere as we tore the kitchen down (remember a cockroach crawling up Katie’s pants!! ). Anyway…this married couple’s home is also in the same deplorable state and they waited over a year for our team to return. The husband has a benign tumor on his back which makes work difficult and they also barely earn enough each day to eat. They were so excited to see us return!
3. Lorenzo: We also built Lorenzo a house last year and for all who helped, they will remember the small kitchen poor Lorenzo had to sleep in with all his belongings while we rushed to finish his house. This year we will build him a 
simple kitchen and also did some retouches with the house (some of the trimming between the outside wood boards have twisted and lifted off). Lorenzo is also a widow who unfortunately lost his eye sight due to glaucoma. Even though he is in his 70s, Lorenzo is completely home bound because of his blindness. He has had many visits throughout the past year from friends and everyone has been impressed and thankful with the house we did for him last year. He was extremely happy to see us all again!
4. Zotera & Alberto (“Zotera kitchen & bathroom”): An elderly married couple who (as you
can see from the pictures) are very poor. The husband Alberto is suffering from dementia and the wife Zotera is struggling to make ends meet (she fell and broke her wrist 10 years ago and could not afford an operation of 10,000Q). The children offer little support to this elderly couple.
As with all mission trips, we have brought the lessons home with us and resolve to make the next one better than before. All of the missionaries came home with a feeling of satisfaction and can be proud of the 2017 efforts. Already we are at work on 2018. The dates have been reserved for January 27 – February 4th, 2018. We are also currently pursuing a global grant for $40000 to upgrade the operating facilities at the hospital so hopefully that will be in the works soon. We had a great team and trip. Thanks and more thanks to all who were involved.
The dates for next year are January 27 – February 4th, 2018. Please pray for preparation and readiness for that trip as well!
Blessings!
Byron
