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Friday evening, June 14, 2002 CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY PICTURES

Beautiful:

The trip.

The Panamanian people.

The country, the geography, the scenery.

We can’t believe the week is about over, and we’ll be heading out of Volcan at 0600 tomorrow. The people of Bongo have been incredibly warm, loving, helpful, and friendly. We feel like we’re part of their family, and they’re now a part of ours. We are one in the Spirit.

“Adios? No! Hasta luega!”

“Good-bye? No! See you later!”

They threw us a party on the Clinic porch this afternoon. There was singing, ukulele playing, and gift-giving. There were a couple tears and lots of hugs.

We visited the town of Cerro Punta, up at 7000 feet on the side of Volcan Baru, this afternoon, and we couldn’t believe the mountains, valleys, lush vegetation, and enormous quantities of flowers.

What a week!

What a trip!

What incredible people!

Beautiful.

UPDATE – Thursday, June 13, 2002 CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY PICS

This update will be a bit different. Several of us will share our individual thoughts and comments. Please read and enjoy…..

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Before we start, there now is a phone number that can be used to reach us here. It’s actually Clay’s cell phone that he had re-programmed here to a Panamanian number so it can accept incoming calls while we’re here. He’ll have to get it programmed again when we’re back in the USA. You’ll pay the long-distance / international charges when you call us.

So, if any of you want to call one of the Team members here, we’ll have the phone turned on, and the direct-dial number is:

011 – 507 – 628 – 2601

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Gary,family and friends at oceanView-it is beautiful here and the people are great. I can do without the teranchula. See you soon Love,Cheryl

Greetings to everyone !

What a blessing to be here serving God! I see Him in the eyes of all the beautiful people here. The days have been very busy in the “eye clinic”. Pat and I have fitted over 100 people with glasses. How wonderful it is to see the smiles on their faces when they can see well to read, probably for the first time in their lives. Thanks be to God! Hello to Florida Retina Institute and loved ones at home – I am doing well – the fruit is so delicious!!

Grace and peace to everyone! Love , Carol

Day # seven in Panama and I can see Gods’ love in the smiles on the faces of each patient we see. I look forward to serving Him where ever whenever needed…..Clay Smith

Hola,

Panama is such a beautiful country, and the people at the clinic are all extremely patient and thankful. We have a wonderful array of different types of people in our team. Our money can also go extremely far as buying an ice cream cone only costs 25 cents. I sincerely hope I can get back into the U.S. seeing how I kinda sorta purchased ten machetes. The airport security already stopped me three times in Miami and made me take off my shoes and get patted down. I understand the need for the airport security but the fact that I was the ONLY one in the team to get checked that many times and that thoroughly makes me wonder… Am I really that sinister looking? Oh well.

Later,

Charles

Hola…amigos y todo de mi familia…I am having a great time here in Panama. This is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited. The beautiful countryside continues to remind me of the power that God holds. He has surely worked through this team, and continues to open our hearts to realize what an impact our work has on these people. I hope everyone is having a great summer….hope to see you soon….thanks for all of your prayers………Mackenzie

Hola amigos – this is a most beautiful country; even the poorest of houses has beautiful flowers around it – impatiens grows along the roadways and the hibiscus is spectacular. The views on the way to “work” are wonderful - we can actually see the Pacific Ocean (the gulf of Chiriqui) in the distance. Having left a drought behind us in Florida we do not mind that this is the rainy season and we have rain some part of most days (the mornings are usually clear – great sunrises.} Working in the eye clinic makes me dearly wish we could help those with cataracts – there are so many and there is not much we can do for them. Those we can help – even a little - are so grateful. Hasta luego – Pat Vannier

Hey everyone- I can only try to explain to everyone that is not here how amazing everything in Panama is. The land reminds me of a cartoon where everything is so green and the countryside looks like someone hired a landscapest. The people that we have met are so amazingly nice. I still can’t get over how welcoming and friendly everyone is. Every time I see someone knew I smile and they smile back as if they have known me there entire life. Anyways, everything has gone great and I still can’t believe how fast our time here is going. My favorite part of the trip so far is having the children that hang around the clinic try to teach me Spanish as I attempt to teach them English.

Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Jamie Doster

Hello all-They say a picture is worth a thousand words. We probably have a thousand pictures, so you can imagine all the things we have to tell you. Can’t believe only one day left, but it will be good to return home to all of you. Thanks for all your prayers and support. Adios Brenda

Hola from Vulcan…just a short note to everyone with extra special thoughts to Allison, Emily and Larry! My journey so far has been wonderful…the scenery is beautiful as well as the people who live here. The work is fulfilling and the loving people with the church have been a delight to work with. Rosa’s red lips are a morning treat and the local musical talent make me want to dance…so I do! See you soon. Love to all! Gayle

I have participated in five medical missions to Bongo , Panama. All of them have been wonderful and spiritually moving experiences. This mission, however, has been special in at least two ways. First, I have been able to see many improvements in the health of the children in Bongo. Also, this has really been a great group of people to work with. I look forward to more medical missions in the future. Rufus Jennings, M.D. a.k.a. Dr. Rufo.

Greetings from Panama. What a wonderful week. Today four of us visited the school, grades 1-6. The school is next to the clinic in Bongo. See you Saturday with many stories and pictures to go with...Jennifer

Wednesday, June 12, 2002 CLICK HERE FOR WEDNESDAY PICTURES

One person can make a difference.

Mirna was a young woman with a 6^th grade education in 1981 when some government officials came to the Bongo area. They were looking for someone to enter training to begin providing basic health care for the region. She was selected.

Sent away to an "Internado" (boarding school) for a year, she learned many important methods and concepts. She was returned to Bongo to begin her work. For the past 20 years, Mirna has toiled in the poverty and heat of tropical Bongo to improve the health of her family, neighbors, and friends.

Now being paid $200 per month, Mirna is the heart of the Bongo Clinic. She mops the floor, she passes out medicines, and she vaccinates the children. She finds a way to vaccinate every child, even if it means getting on her horse and traveling to some faraway shacks. She talks to mothers about the nutrition of their children, and she hangs posters about domestic violence on the Clinic walls.

Because Mirna has been there for the past 20 years, nobody in Bongo dies of tetanus, nobody becomes crippled because of polio.

One person can make a difference.

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Today, we saw 42 children and 65 adults in the Clinic, and we fitted glasses on another 55 Panamanians. The rains arrived about 2:30 this afternoon, and Beto had to move the bus up to the top of the hill in front of the Clinic again so it wouldn’t get stuck in the mud.

At first, we felt somehow negative about having to walk up the muddy slope to the bus when we finished our work, but then we noticed the dozen or so patients who were headed down the dirt/rock road on foot. They were going home after spending much of the day traveling to see us. Somehow, walking to the bus became a very easy task.

Walking a couple hours to the road, and then catching a public bus for an hour, and then walking to the Clinic from the bus stop, and then waiting hours to be seen by the American doctor – now that’s something to get negative about. But, of course, none of the Panamanians did.

Tuesday evening, June 11, 2002 CLICK HERE FOR PICS

This is the rainy season.

However, so far today, it’s only sprinkled.

That’s probably just another little miracle in Central America.

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Eight-year-old Irvin Morales came to the Bongo clinic to see “Dr. Rufo” during a mission trip in February 2001. He was a likeable, sweet boy, and he had a small lump in his right groin area. It was a lymph gland, and he was given a course of an antibiotic, hoping that would take care of his problem.

Irvin was brought back to the clinic by his mother the next time Rufus returned to Bongo, August 2001. The lump was much bigger, and the two Panamanian doctors that saw Irvin during that six-month interval just tried more antibiotics…..in spite of the growing mass on his leg. With the help of Marcos (the local pastor), Rufus composed a very official-looking letter directing what Irvin needed, i.e., an excisional biopsy to make a definitive diagnosis.

When Irvin made it to David, the largest city nearby to Bongo, a Panamanian doctor actually acted on Rufus’ directions. The mass was excised; a diagnosis was made. Although Irvin’s mother does not know just what diagnosis was officially placed on her son, he was subsequently sent to Panama City, where he had various tests and was told that “it had not yet spread.” He was given a couple courses of some type of chemotherapy that caused some of his hair to fall out, and then was sent home to Bongo.

With his big scar nicely healed now, Irvin was his usual happy self today. Rufus was quite pleased that this young man had actually received some of the care he needed, and that he now had no lumps or enlarged lymph nodes anywhere.

Although we don’t really know just what his ultimate prognosis may be, he certainly has a better outlook than he did last year.

This was one of those miracles that can happen – sometimes by “coincidence” – when a medical mission team just happens to be in the right place at the right time.

Coincidence? No, probably not.

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Today, we saw 36 adult and 32 pediatric patients in the Bongo Clinic, and we fitted 34 people with glasses. There are a lot of smiles around here – both the Bongo patients and the 13 missioners. This evening, Jamie talked about letting our lights shine, both here and after we return home to our normal routines.

As usual, that’ll be the hard part.

Tomorrow, we’ll be up early, and we’ll be looking for another little miracle in Bongo.

UPDATE - Monday evening, June 10. CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES

This is the rainy season.

But, we awakened this morning to a glorious blue sky, and the clouds didn’t roll in until well after we made the bus trip to Bongo this morning. The scenery is incredible! The lush green mountains and valleys sure seem like God’s country to us.

There were 20 Bongo folks waiting on the porch of the Clinic when we arrived. We moved in quickly, began registering patients, and were soon in operation.

With Rufus, AKA “Dr. Rufo,” seeing smiling children in the back room, and Arlen and Clay working the adults through the middle room, the patients flowed through. Today, we saw 36 pediatric and 56 adult patients, treating nearly all of them for parasites, many for back pain and headaches, and a couple dozen for respiratory infections. Pat Jennings checked blood counts on the kids, and Carol Williams and Pat Vannier fitted eyeglasses onto 70 happy customers. Faces beamed when the world suddenly became more vivid as a pair of new glasses landed on those noses.

There were lots of hugs and smiles.

This first day was quite a success.

This is the rainy season, but it didn’t start raining today until almost dinner time!

Sunday evening, June 9, 2002

This is the rainy season.

Before getting into the real substance of this update, we must report on one incident from Saturday evening.

Just as Cheryl Jordan was in the midst of a very serious discussion of having “enough” faith, a huge tarantula strolled into our dining hall / meeting room. He walked casually along the edge of the floor, but was spotted by Jennifer, who whispered to Arlen, who released a small gasp that directed everyone’s attention in the direction of the poor critter. There were shrieks and groans, and Carol Williams actually limbed up onto the table top. After some great close-up pictures, the spider made a move. We will not disclose just how he met his demise.

It took a few minutes for the mood to return to seriousness again.

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This is the rainy season here.

Sunday morning began (again) with breakfast in our “Tarantula Dining Room.” We were dressed and in church for the 10 AM service. Their usual organist didn’t show this morning, so Brenda Stauffer was drafted into the job. Our group of 13 nearly doubled the attendance at this service.

Clay served as the interpreter for Pablo, who delivered a message of welcome to the group, and discussed being called into service.

After lunch, we loaded all our supplies and medicines into the bus and headed for Bongo. The nice paved road eventually turned into dirt, and we arrived at the Clinic. After finding Mirna to unlock the building, we moved in. The old (expired) medicines left by the previous medical team (10 months ago) were set aside, the dirt and spiders were cleaned off of the three shelves in the farmacia, and we organized our meds and supplies. We’re ready to go to work.

This is the rainy season, so it began raining while we were there. Our bus had to drive up to the top of the dirt road since they would not be able to get up there after the rain had turned the road into mud. When it was time to leave, we all had to run and slide up to the top of the hill. We were a bit dirty for the ride back to Volcan.

This is the rainy season. It’s pouring.

TRY CLICKING HERE FOR PICTURES. (it may not work)

Saturday afternoon, June 8, 2002

This is our first attempt at updating our web site from Panama.

We left the Church parking lot right on time yesterday, 4:00 AM. The ride to Miami was uneventful, and the American Airlines folks spotted our CCUMC yellow shirts as we entered the airport. The 11 from New Smyrna Beach met up with Rufus and Pat Jennings within five minutes. The AA bellhops took us immediately to the “International Priority” line, and we were at Gate E31 awaiting our flight a full hour before its departure.

From the crystal clear waters of south Florida, we flew over Cuba, and a little more than two hours later we spotted the northern coast of Panama. Panama City is on the southern side; we landed at the International Airport within a few minutes. Immigration let us through quickly, and we were on a bus to catch our next flight. The old military airport that was in the Canal Zone now serves as the National airline’s (AeroPerlas) airport.

With all our supplies and a full plane (30-passenger), we were told there was too much weight, and we would have to choose bags to leave behind. Since we knew we had an extra day, we left all but our own personal luggage, i.e., all our medical supplies and clothing for the folks in Bongo, trusting that AeroPerlas would fly it out to us the next morning. We had to pay 25 cents per pound to fly this 750 pounds of “cargo.”

The flight on the twin turbo-prop, which looked pretty much like a flying box, was a bit bumpy in the Central American afternoon cumulus build-ups and rain, but it was only an hour and we were in David (pronounced da-VEED here) by 5:30 PM.

There we were met by Beto, our driver, and Elajandro, our all-around helper, and we loaded on our 20-passenger bus and headed for “home.” We arrived at the Iglesia Metodista Evangelica de Volcan at 7:30 PM, “only 16 ½ hours” (with the one-hour time change) after leaving New Smyrna Beach.

The team moved quickly into the living quarters: sets of triple-bunks with a bathroom/shower for the hombres and an identical room for the women. These are actually pretty nice. After a brief team meeting and prayer, an exhausted bunch of missioners hit the bunks.

Saturday morning started with roosters crowing by 4 AM, but we didn’t roll out of bed until 6 or 7 AM. After breakfast, Beto took the bus back to the David Airport to get the bags we had left behind, and they were actually all there! We have all of our supplies.

Volcan is one of the “richer” areas of Panama, and nearly all the homes here have electricity and running water. There’s a Super Market, a bakery, a hardware store, paved roads, and several restaurants. We’re told that just a 30-minute bus ride takes us to Bongo, where we will work this week and where poverty and a nearly-complete lack of medical care makes life pretty tough.

This day, Saturday, is our trip’s official “tourist day,” and we drove to “Sitio Barriles,” or the place of the barrels, where we toured an ancient Indian ruins, said to date back 4000 years (well before the Mayans were here).

This is the rainy season here (until about November). A drizzle began about noon, and it poured for the past couple hours…..just as we finished our Sitio Barriles tour. Some team members caught up on some sleep this afternoon, and this evening’s plans call for a relaxing dinner and an early retirement. We’ll attend church in the AM, and go to Bongo to set up our clinic and “pharmacy” in the afternoon. The team members are getting in some good “bonding” time, and we’re all looking forward to meeting (and trying to help) the good folks of Bongo this week.

The “Café Internet” in the hotel next to us has nice computers, but their Internet connection must work at about a 10K speed, so we may not be able to send any pictures…..

UPDATE - JUNE 5, 2002

The team gathers to pack all the supplies, drugs, donated clothing, old eyeglasses, etc. Last minute thoughts and questions are prepared and asked. It's time to go. click here for picture.

UPDATE - May 5, 2002

Second official team meeting at the Stauffer’s home.....

It’s interesting to hear what different people think about and worry about, and to see the enthusiasm growing. The first-timers are understandably a bit nervous; the veterans are excited; all see these endeavors as acts of faith.

UPDATE - April 2002

Team members’ names are drawn from a hat; time to call the first official team meeting.

An unexpected medical problem suddenly causes two team members to withdraw, and their spots are taken by those “next on the list.”

Everyone is gathering T-shirts, eyeglasses, hats, and sunglasses to give to the Panamanians, as well as various drugs and supplies to be used in the clinic. Vaccinations are underway: hepatitis A and B, tetanus, and others. The web site address is secured (www.CoronadoMissions.org), and the site goes under construction by Jennifer.

The AeroPerlas tickets, for the roundtrip flight from Panama City to David, are purchased, and the contract is signed with American Airlines for the Miami flights. Several drug companies are asked for donations of drugs and supplies; many forms are completed, mailed, and faxed. Rufus notified Arlen of an organization (Blessings.org) that supplies drugs at a fraction of the usual cost for medical mission trips, and a large order has been placed.

UPDATE - March 4, 2002

Meeting tonight at the church for “any interested parties;” about a dozen people..... and several others who could not make the meeting but have expressed an interest.

Bargaining with American Airlines on prices from Miami to Panama City.....

Many emails and telephone calls between Arlen and Rufus.....

UPDATE - December 2001

The decision is made, and we’re committed to a trip to Bongo! Now it’s time to start the real planning: finding team members, dealing with the airlines, soliciting supplies and donations, paying bills, having meetings, getting shots and drugs, and building up enthusiasm, faith, and courage!

UPDATE - November 2001

After numerous telephone calls, Arlen discovered contact information for Dr. Rufus Jennings, of Fort Myers. One telephone call to Rufus definitely created much interest, and the search for details was on. Rufus has taken the Bongo area under his wing the past few years.

Bongo, a poor, rural area in western Panama (near Costa Rica) is a beautiful, tropical area with few tourists and lots of poor people and inadequate medical care. UMVIM built a small medical clinic there in 1986, with running water, electricity, and toilets! The Panamanian government added some improvements there in the 1990’s, and a government doctor uses it on certain days. However, if one does not have a Social Security card (by having a real, full-time job), one is not eligible for medical care by the government doctor (unless one can pay cash, which, of course, most citizens can’t do since they don’t have real jobs......or money)