Getting My Priorities Back

Hello Everyone from Guatemala,

I have so much that I need to share with you, both to thank the Lord for, and well, just plain to get it off my chest. You know when I was a Firefighter/Paramedic in the States, I used to see things that at the end of a shift really weighed heavy on my heart. Thankfully when I got home Riechelle would always welcome me home and then say, "Tell me everything you did today." For me to have her listen and to tell her what I did or saw released me from having it weigh me down. I guess that is why sometimes I tell you the things that happen to me here. I need someone to just share with, and then it’s OK.

Over the past year we have hosted 18 medical teams and all while building a dorm, a home and an Emergency Room. In between and during teams I also take all the emergencies that would have gone to the government hospital 1½ hours away. Last week we had a team here from Maine and the last day I woke up at 5:00 AM to get ready to take them but I could not move. I could not speak correctly, and couldn’t think clearly. I thought, "Oh my God, I have had a stroke. Dear Lord, I don’t have time to have a stroke right now, I have to get this team to the city." I honestly was scared to my core.

Riechelle took the team to the bus station and put them on the bus and they all made it to the city fine and David Alvarez took over and took care of everyone like only he can do.

I slept for the next 24 hours straight and when I awoke I knew I had not had a stroke but I was very tired. I called a lady doctor who I know and she came over and said, "Bryan, you are totally exhausted." She said, "It is as if you were intoxicated and your body has just shut down." I said, "OK, great give me something for it, I have to get to the city." She said, "Oh, no you don’t buddy. You need to rest for a couple of days." I said, "OH, OK," (thinking when she is gone I’ll do what ever I want). She gave me some oral hydration fluid and the next day I felt much better. But, when I tried to walk to the bus stop I almost passed out. I returned home and went to bed and slept another 12 hours. When I woke up I realized that those of us in the medical services tend to think we are invincible and nothing can happen to us. But the Lord had to let me hit the wall and get my bearings you see. I did it again. I got so busy working for Him that I forgot why I was working.

You see, I was so busy and tired from working all day and then seeing emergencies at night that I began to look at patients as non-persons. Just people. Hurry up and fix them so I can get more work done. Then it happened: I hit the wall. Now don’t start feeling all sorry for me, I am fine, but for some reason my head is as hard a rock and the Lord has to let me hit the wall to stop and smell the roses, and more importantly remember why I am here on this earth and it is to Love Him. Not work huh? But the flesh wants its own way.

I started wondering why I am here in Guatemala where it is so hot I sweat from the time I wake up 'till I go to bed and not even a Mac Donald’s to go to for a fine dinning experience. Well last night I had just got to sleep about midnight and the ambulance came rolling in. A poor girl writhing in pain from what appeared to be kidney stones. I gave her a pain injection and they took her to the government hospital. Two hours later they brought me a 17 year old girl who had her jaw broken by some guy hitting her with a beer bottle. I was so tired, I could hardly think and again I thought Lord "why me?" How did I get into doing this work? When I got up this morning, Sunday I had patients waiting on me and another man who had fallen and broken his ribs and could not breathe.

When I finally sat down to get back to my e-mail, I realized it was Sunday. So, there I sat feeling sorry for myself, thinking, "How much more can I take?" What a whiner huh? Then I heard a lady running up the driveway screaming for help. I ran out to meet her and she was carrying her son in the rain. He was struggling to breathe. He has asthma and I have taken care of him before. This time he was so tired trying to get air in his little lungs. He was skin and bone and had huge eyes that looked at me as if to say "Please Help Me". I carried him inside and listened to his lungs and he was hardly passing any air. I quickly gave him two Alupent treatments with a nebulizer and he started to respond but still had difficulty breathing. Thank God, one of the teams had brought me some bronchial inhalers and he finally began to breathe and get air. After he was done with his treatments and was ready to go, his mother who is normally very shy and quiet, started to walk out of the ER and then turned around, came back in and hugged me. She said, "If you were not here, our children would die, Gracias and Dios Le Bendiga (Thank You and God Bless You)."

I don’t know why this hit me so hard but I closed the door and went to my desk and just wept. I said, "Lord, how do you put up with me? All I do is ball and squall and complain and you send someone to speak your love to me just when I need it most." I realized what a privilege it is to serve the people who have no one else to help them. I think I may actually have a glimmer of the feeling Jesus had when they came to him when they had no one else to go to or help, or more importantly no one else cared about them. That is why we are here, to care for those who no one else cares about. What a privilege huh?

So, I am almost back 100% and should be ready to kick in the after-burners tomorrow. Thank God for His goodness and strength.

I do have a very happy answer to prayer I want to share with you all. Remember I told you how much we needed a shuttle bus to transport our teams from the city to here? Well so many people responded with love and prayers and those who could send what they could to help us. I have a buddy in Chicago who is a very smart businessman. The Lord has blessed him and his family and these folks give to the Lord like you can't believe. Well we found what appears to be the right shuttle bus and when we started to send the money, the sales guy wrote back and said that he had already sold it. I wanted to shoot him (In Christian love of course) but then I realized it was not the right one God had for us. Well, we finally found a better bus for about the same money and before I know it my buddy Phil bought it and had one of his men drive it from Los Angeles to Mexico and it is now at the Guatemalan Boarder! All I have to do is pay the duty and the money you folks sent to me is enough to pay the duty, so Wednesday I may have my new Shuttle bus with AC and nice comfortable seats for the teams to ride the 5 hours to our home in. And guess what?: My dental team comes in Thursday. Talk about Gods timing huh?

So how can I not be thankful to God and people like you all who help us to take care of these people? I just don't know how to say thank You Enough!

One last thing. While seeing about 300 patients one day at a medical clinic in a church, a mother brought this little girl named Kimberly to me. She had the bubbliest personality you could imagine. She was a hot wire and made everyone glow who was around her. She looked at me and asked me if I could fix her lip because she said it bothered her, and then wanted to hug me. You just could not be around her and not fall in love with her. The next time I think I have it tough I will just look at Kimberly and remember her attitude and I will get my priorities back in line. Thanks Kimberly!

God Bless,
In His Service,

Bryan & Riechelle

Junglemedic Missions
Rio Dulce, Izabal
Guatemala Central America

E-Mail: Bryan@JungleMedicMissions.org
Web Site: http://www.junglemedicmissions.org/

This page was last updated 10/30/06