Post by Nancy Besa
Photos by Peter Obetz
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It’s Sunday morning in Antigua and the church bells are ringing. All week long we heard them at various times throughout the day – I never could quite figure out the schedule or significance. In historic churches throughout the city people - including myself – are filing in for mass. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this mission that I felt that this was just the place, for me, to take pause and reflect.
In a mere six days our team screened and treated 500+ in the village and 180 in the ENT clinic; 
performed 80 surgeries; and fit and distributed 110 hearing aids. Those pretty darn impressive numbers. Adults submitted themselves, and parents, their children, to our care. Through our skilled translators, we did our best to explain procedures, but you just sensed that sometimes they didn’t quite understand, but consented because, for whatever reason, they trusted us. And now we were done.
The locals have been painfully patient 
with my limited Spanish skills – speaking slowing and often repeating themselves. This morning I did my best to keep up with the priest, hoping to glean just a little from his rapid-fire Spanish. Following the scripture readings printed on a flier in the 
pew, I was actually able to identify the Gospel. It was a story from Mark about the leader of the synagogue by the name of Jairus. He came up to Jesus lamenting that his daughter was dead. Jesus’ reply was, “Do not fear; only believe.” Jesus then went to Jairus’ home and said, “The child is not dead but sleeping…little girl get up.” Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. Do not fear; only believe.. It was then that it hit me that people of Guatemala – some of the poorest people in the world – lived 
not in fear of their circumstances, but in the belief that there was hope. In short, they have faith. That is why they trusted us with their children. That is why they traveled for hours by bus to see the American doctors. That is why,
even in the direst of situations, they seemed content, even happy. It doesn’t matter your religious beliefs – Christian, Jew, Atheist or otherwise - it is impossible to not respect and admire their tremendous faith - faith in God, faith in one another, faith in us and faith that we will return once again.
Nancy and Peter,
Thank you for all that you did -- the photos and blog captures so much of what we saw and felt last week.
Many, many thanks.
Posted by: Deborah | June 30, 2009 at 01:16 PM