Day 2

2009 Mission Trip to Guatemala

Guatemala Team in ActionGuatemala PT Team in ActionGroup Demonstration

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 – Today we split into 2 groups again for the morning. Half of us went to the Shalom school to talk to 9th graders about medical careers, goals and motivation, and exercise and hygiene. Many of the students were shy at first but with some encouragement we were able to get them to participate with the exercises we were teaching them as well as answer some of our questions (with the promise of candy of course). On our way out, a class of 4th graders was playing a game for their PE class of “Gato y Raton” and we were all openly welcomed to play.

The other half of us went to the children’s hospital. Rachel Zoeller gave a presentation on Hemophilia and Asthma to the staff at the hospital. In the afternoon, we all went to the University. The 2nd year PT students presented on vertebral disorders and the 1st year PT students presented on Laser therapy. It was a great privilege to speak to the students and faculty, and to learn about the similarities and differences in our PT programs.

After the University, we all went to the soup kitchen, The Lord’s Kitchen, and served over 500 people there. Donnie Dalton and Maria Jose (our hostess and translator) had the great privilege of leading 2 men to Christ. And a few of us prayed for a man struggling with drug addiction. It is amazing to see the utter poverty that the Guatemalan people live in every day, yet, they are so joyful and grateful for what they have. The final destination of the evening was an authentic Guatemalan restaurant called Kacao. Guatemalan cuisine “fue excellente!”

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