Thank you so much for your support for our Guatemala 2025 trip! Your generosity is amazing and greatly appreciated. 

We were able to see almost 1,000 people in 4 days of clinic. This year we worked in “Garbage City” in Zone 1 of Guatemala City. For safety purposes, our hours were limited, but the need was great. The people in this area live, work and survive in the mountains of trash that come from all over the country. They are discriminated against by the health system, the educations system and the majority of society. And they are beautiful in the eyes of God and of His people. 

The lame walked; the blind saw; the hurting were loved. 

We had multiple disciplines working on the team. The medical team served many acutely and chronically ill adults and children. One of our PAs diagnosed a 3 year old with diabetes. Thanks to one of our partnerships in the country, he will be able to get care through a local pediatrician. 

Our PT team worked with a woman who hadn’t walked in 2 years. By the end of her session, she stood up from her wheelchair and walked across the room. They also worked with a six year old little girl who fell into a large pot of boiling water a year ago. The scars down her legs and arms were extensive, thick and growth limiting. Not only was the team able to give her an exercise program to help through her growing years, but we were also able to refer her to our partner, Centro Moore, for surgery. A plastics team from the US will perform her surgery in April. There were multiple children we were able to connect with Centro Moore for life-altering surgeries. 

The vision team brought sight to hundreds with prescription glasses Global Vision 2020 and readers from Restoring Vision. The dental team pulled teeth, cleaned teeth and handed out so many toothbrushes. The children’s team brought smiles, giggles and absolute delight to so many tiny faces. 

This year, we had a trauma/grief counselor on the team that worked with chaplaincy. She was able to listen, to speak, to love several of the brutally traumatized women. One of these included a woman who had been shot 17 times. To hold someone and listen can bring more healing than all the offered medication. 

The medical director of Centro Moore told me that this population doesn’t get touched. People do not look them in the eye and avoid them at all costs because of where they live and what they do for work. She said the people would not come to our clinic no matter what medicine, glasses or supplies we were giving away if we made them feel as their own countrymen made them feel. One of the PT team members experienced this first hand when she reached towards a man to help with his medical issue. He backed up looking very unsure and nervous. She reassured him that she wanted to help. His eyes welled up with tears as he said, “No one ever touches me.” She wrapped her arms around him at the end of the session and hugged him close. 

We go and do so little for such a short period of time, but Jesus multiplies what little we have. He heals in ways that go beyond the scope of medicine. He uses a smile, eye contact, a touch, laughter and delight to heal hearts and soothe souls. And sometimes, out of His goodness, He uses our smiles, our eyes, our touch, our laughter and delight to accomplish His healing. 

With so much gratitude,

Corrie Reed