08.02 Thursday - first clinic in Tojolobal

Comitan to Tojolobal/Plan de AyalaAfter a good night's sleep at the home of the very hospitable Mauser family, we all loaded up to finish our journey into the Tojolabal jungle. "Jungle" in this case refers to forests of pine trees that remind me more of the Rocky Mountain states in contrast to the banana tree rainforest jungle of the Ch'ols. Both are beautiful in their own separate ways and it astounds me that there can be so much variety of scenery within a small region. Obviously I'm a midwesterner.  :-)Shortly after arriving at our new home of Plan de Ayala we began our usual routine of getting the med clinic underway. We got permission to use the gazebo in the town square, and people quickly began showing up to be seen by Dr. Rivas and Reuben. The clinic ran at full capacity for five and a half hours and saw 98 patients. Whew! A few of us non-medies had the fun of helping out with intake (name, age, blood pressure, pulse, crowd organization) thus allowing our true medies to focus more on seeing patients, pharmacy, and other important details. One thing I personally enjoyed doing in between intake of new patients was praying with the patients on their way out after seeing the doctor.In the meantime, a crowd of kids gathered to play soccer and American football. These kids were talented! They definitely gave our team a good workout. Since we were short on translators (Ron Mouser only, because Steven had to run a sick Grace back home for recovery) we weren't able to do a kids' story, but broken Spanish, sign language, mime, and the international language of smiles were in full use by all of us. I love watching God use each person on this team and seeing their personalities and love for Jesus shine in all of the various opportunities we've experienced. Each one brings something unique that complements the team dynamics.The evening ended with a demonstration of swift justice when many of the town men and teen boys jailed a local man for an alleged attempted offense. Deliberations will be held later, but they wasted no time taking the first step. You never know what to expect from day to day here! God keeps directing us day by day and gracing us with His very real presence. "Go" has so many different applications and it's a fun adventure keeping up with Jesus' leading both here in Chiapas and wherever we will find ourselves after this trip is over.-Amy