Sunday

Went to church this morning and have had another delicious meal at Villa Milagro. Have said goodbyes and waiting to load the bus to go to the airport. Flights from Lima are scheduled to leave after midnight. Please keep us in your prayers that we all have safe flights this afternoon, tonight and in the morning. We've had a wonderful trip, but all looking forward to seeing our families tomorrow!

Aulanda McFarland (Melbourne Arkansas)

Seven days, over 1600 patients and yet still lots of people who need our help, but yet with God's guidance we have been able to help so many through healing ,smiles, hugs and most of all sharing with them the love and the word of God.

No words can describe the awesome beauty of the country and the people who live here.
As always on each mission trip I have had the privilege to be able to go on....prayers have been answered.

Please continue to remember the people of Cajamarca and Villa Milagro in your prayers.

Aulanda

Pam Willett-- Sturkie Arkansas

Another beautiful day. Today we saw the workers at Villa Milagro. They are such sweet, kind people with beautiful familes. It's bittersweet having to leave tomorrow.....I'm ready see my family, but the people hear need so much. They are all so grateful for everything you do for them, but no more grateful than I am for been given the opportunity to come here. I have truly been blessed. This was my first mission trip, but will not be the last! Pray for our safe return.

Love to all my family & friends. See you soon!

Pam

Saturday from Jan Louck (Arlington Texas)

What a wonderful day! This team was truly arranged by God. I have had a wonderful young man--Julio--who has translated for me all week. He is a youth pastor and definitely fits the profile. He has taught me a lot about Peru and it's customs. I've had the privilege of teaching him about the human body and medicines. He has translated very faithfully, even when questions I asked were probably uncomfortable to him. During this week, Julio has led 6 people to Christ and has witnessed to many more. To date, the team has seen 1,207 people and provided 1,580 services. Many seeds have been planted and God will reap the harvest. We have laughed, cried, sung songs, and had wonderful fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ that God brought together from 4 different states. I thank God for the opportunity to serve Him in Peru with such wonderful, sweet, crazy Christians. Our life is anything but boring! Praise and honor to our Heavenly Father.

sick people update

Dr. Upchurch is back and among the living...we called him Dr. Upchuck, but apparently it's not original as he says he's been teased and called that since he was little, but we thought it was totally appropriate in this instance. He's feeling much better and will be able to see patients in the morning. Thanks for the prayers. Doyne and Martha have left for home...flying out of Lima tonight and expect to land in Little Rock around noon tomorrow...do you suppose they will be able to land? Keep them in your prayers to have safe travel.

from Linda McIntosh (Arkansas)

Today was an absolutely amazing day at a little church in the mountains. On the ride there we saw farmers plowing the fields with oxen and a wooden plow. It is a alfalfa harvest and everywhere we went we saw the donkeys loaded with the fresh cut alfalfa. When we arrived at the church we were lulled into a false sense of an expectation that we may not have very many patients. There were no patients lined up outside. Within an hour we had so many patients that 20 people had to wait till after lunch to be seen. By the return trip back from lunch, the people were lined up in both directions. We finished by seeing 424 patient contacts. Exhausted but blessed by the end of the day, we have provided approximately 1580 services to 1207 patients in 5 days. The hugs, kisses and appreciative smiles are worth it all. God has blessed us as much as the people we have treated. May God be Glorified in all that we do.

from Jennifer Blankenship (Mt. Olive Arkansas)

The view from Cajamarca: tight waistbands and tall straw hats, busy fingers spinning wool on a string, tiny donkeys carrying burdensome loads of cut alfalfa, wash water running down dirt drains by the road, smelly livestock market all day Monday, tiny Peruvian infants wrapped over colorful shoulders, dusty plastic shoes made from old tires, tall mountain peeks dotted with terraced fields, and bumpy vans crammed with gringos. Tired gringos.

Jennifer

from Naomi

We had a really good day except for our eye doctor, Dr. Upchurch. Please keep him in your prayers...he's had the stomach bug all day. We're hoping he's able to go back to clinic tomorrow.

from Casey and Charles (Arkansas)

Hello everyone. I just want you to know we are all doing well. This has been an eye opening experience to me and I am thankful that the Lord has blessed us with all He has. Casey is missing Leah and Josiah and can't wait to see them. Casey and I have seen and learned a lot. The people are really nice and very thankful for all that you do. The food has been wonderful along with the friends that we have made. It is amazing how so many people can come together as a team that had never met before and serve the Lord. Hope all is well at home.

from Linda McIntosh (Des Arc Arkansas)

What a blessed day! We went to a home for single mothers and children and saw approx. 300 people. The children are absolutely beautiful! Their dark eyes and sweet appreciative smiles are worth all the hard work. It is heart breaking to see the poverty and know that the majority of their illnesses are due to parasites and that if they only had clean water this might be alleviated. A woman today told me that she needed to see the eye doctor because she couldn't see to read her Bible. It was such a blessing to see her smile wshen she received the glasses that allowed her to read again. As I prayed for each patient today, a woman prayed with me in Spanish and she continued to pray after I said Amen and I understood, even though I don't speak Spanish, that she was thanking God for the doctors and the workers who came to take care of them. It brought tears to my eyes to hear her prayer. It has truly been a blessing for me to watch what God is doing here.

Thursday--from Pat Jackson (Texas)

Having a wonderful time here at Villa Milagro in Cajamarca Peru. We have seen a lot of Peruvian people with various needs. Our team of doctors, dentist, and optometrist, as well as other professionals in the medical field have been busily accommodating the needs of many men, women, and children here in Peru. It has been a blessing to see God work through this mission team. God is an awesome God!

Wednesday--Dr. Alan Upchurch (Texas)

The natural beauty of God's creation in this place is astounding...exquisite flowers, lush greenery, and majestic mountains. The Peruvian people are simple, genteel, and loving. They are truly thankful for the things that really matter: our loving God, family, food, shelter, and health.

It has been a joy to watch God begin to reveal his purpose for sending each member of this team. I am certain that this mission will alter the course of life for some of out team members.

I can't thank you enough for your prayers for us...this ministry is a wonderful avenue to share Christ's love with the Peruvians and allow us the privilege of observing the the Holy Spirit in His work here.

God bless you and we will see you soon. Alan

last one

Seven new posts (including this one) for today...may need to go to older posts to read all of them. Also, still working on putting on new pictures.

from Linda McIntosh (Des Arc Arkansas)

What a blessing to be here! Lot's of hard work, but so rewarding. We have seen mostly children, but a lot of adults that look so much older than they really are. The children are malnourished, with parasites, stomachaches, headaches to the point of losing their hair. We have found a woman with a grapefruit sized tumor in her abdomen, a person with abdominal pain with melena that needs a colonoscopy, a child with a horrible heart murmur that cannot run and play with other children due to shortness of breath with clubbing fingers. I realize we are here putting bandaids on things that need surgery to repair, but I feel hopeful yet. I hope that we are bringing the hope of Christ to a suffering nation. I was praying for a mother and her older child with a 3 y/o in between; I was holding on to the mother's hand and the oldest daughter's when I felt the baby reach and grasp my hand to hold on too. It melted my heart. As the babies were crying today, I would begin to sing and they immediately calmed to the words of "Jesus Loves the Little Children." God has a language we all understand and it is LOVE. We share it with smiles, hugs, songs, and prayer. To God Be the Glory for all He is doing Here!

Sue Dowdy (Texas)

Being a "1st timer" to Villa Milagro has been a true blessing. Our Lord brought together a wonderful group of servants that truly want to make a difference in the Peruvians lives--physically but more importantly, spiritually. I've never seen a group work so hard and "mix" so well to accomplish His purpose. I just want to thank all the faithful prayer warriors that daily lift us up...it is a true honor to serve Him in Peru with this wonderful group of believers.

from Duane Metcalf (Texas)

What an awesome experience to be able to touch the lives of these people here in Cajamarca. I met some great people than care enough to join us in this very needed mission. Elbert and I have received so many blessings from so many children and adults. The children will melt your hearts and I can tell you they left an impression in my heart. We have been very busy every day and when we get back and have a time of fellowship, it is nice to hear so many stories from everybody. And, I'll also say I have never slept so well, too. I thank God for guiding me to come to this place.

from Murf (Texas)

What a beautiful place...Villa Milagro...God has blessed me with opportunities to serve Him by giving Bibles, toys, love, and encouragement to the precious Peruvian people. Thank you for your prayers. I look forward to sharing with you soon, in person, the many wonders of God's work.

Tuesday night from dentist, T.J. Randers (Texas)

God blessed us with another beautiful day today and another opportunity to serve the people here. Just as the day before, I was again impressed by the patience and appreciation expressed by those we have seen and cared for. I really hope the care I am providing is helpful and always pray for God to guide my hands. The children are so beautiful and innocent and pure and it is truly a privilege to have the opportunity to help those that might not otherwise have access to care. Unfortunately, I am living up to my Spanish name "El Dolor" (the pain)--but it is always wonderful after treatment when the children give me a big hug and it almost seems like they have forgiven me for what I have put them through. The team here is awesome and what a great thing for the people in this area to have access to top quality health care opportunities. Of course, we all feel like we are getting more out of this experience than the good we are doing, but I guess blessings can go both ways. My prayer for tomorrow is that I can provide the best care possible dental-wise, and that through this the people can also find a source of comfort through the gospel they arer being exposed to. I am thankful to be here, although I miss my family more than words can express and look forward to sharing love to my neighbor--my Peruvian neighbor--as the Bible tells me to do.

Tuesday night

Sorry about not writing sooner, but now also having problems with internet connection. Have finally found a computer that works...maybe I won't jinx this one...and yes, new computers would definitely be nice! I'll start with report from Monday. Monday started a little precarious when on the way to Monte Sion Baptist Church (where we were holding the clinic for the day) David was stopped at a road block about 3 blocks from the church. He didn't have his wallet, but he and Celso, the Peruvian who was driving the vehicle behind us, explained to the young police woman that David would go back and get his driver's license later, they let us on through. David later returned to Villa Milagro (where we stay) and retreived his wallet, but the road block was no longer in process when he came back through. Later in the middle of clinic, 4 young police women came looking for the runaway bandit. David showed them his Arkansas fishing license as Uncle Doyne had taught him to do, and they were pleased. We ended up treating the officers to some dental services, Susan even brushed their teeth. (hope to post photos.) Now we have new friends who may come in handy to know at the next road block.

On a more serious note, we saw lots of patients and everyone was busy. I would like to say a special thanks to Dr. Allen Upchurch, an eye doctor from Texas. I've never had an eye doctor with us on a mission trip, but he was truly sent by God for this trip. He's been on several mission trips and says he usually will see about 5 patients in a whole trip with glaucoma, but he saw 5 just in the morning yesterday. One was a 30 year old nurse who rode the bus for 4 hours to see us after she heard we were going to be in town. She was having problems with her eyes being blurry. Dr. Upchurch diagnosed her with a rapidly progressive type of glaucoma and she will be blind soon if she doesn't receive laser surgery. She has eye drops to control the problem for now, but keep her in your prayers that she will be able to get the surgery she needs. We have seen many other interesting and sad things, but have messages from others for now.

one more thing

Also, I need technical help...OK, I need other help too, but right now I need computer help. We have an older laptop here that I'm writing on now, but it does not have an sd card slot that I can download my pictures from. I have a laptop that I brought with me that does and I wanted to post some pictures on the blog site. We have wireless access here and my laptop says it is connected to the wireless network, but when I try to bring up a web page, it will not go to the page. Can anyone help me, please!

Monday morning

Oops, I was so tired last night I didn't realize I had commented on my own post instead of creating a new post. Have had a good night's sleep and one cup of coffee, so will try to do better today...although there's not enough time to write now...the breakfast bell is ringing. We are going to Monte Sion Baptist Church to work today, which is about a mile or two down the road, so no long drive this morning. Everyone is anxious and ready to get to work and we have plenty of supplies to do the job...I think. Will catch up later. Naomi

We made it to Lima safe and sound with all our luggage and so far, all our team...have got one wonderer so we~re threatening to tie a lease on already. All our flights made it one time...small miracle with people coming from North Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas...Dallas and Houston, and we all made it within about an hour of each other. Will be going back to the airport about 11 to flight to Cajamarca around 3.