Homeward Bound

Our PCI Team in Huehuetenango

Goodbyes suck. They suck when you leave your family and they also suck when you leave your Guatemalan family as well.

We met with our PCI team at a small cafe and had a nice breakfast and said our goodbyes with Bal Maria, Paulina, Yasmin, Mishel, Dali, Wendy, Henry, Juan Carlos, and Danilo. Throughout the last 2 weeks we have been working side by side with each other in our clinics, capacitaciones, and during our long drives to remote communities. They have been patient with us during our bad Spanish and times of speaking English. They will be continuing the work as we head back to the US. We will miss them and look forward to working together in the future.

La Familia Lopez Guevara

Next we said goodbye to Arnoldo, Abesaida, and Paty (now 5 days shy of her due date). Staying with the Familia Lopez Guevara means becoming family. You share the trials of the day with each other, the challenges ahead, and all get stuffed to the ears by Abesaida. All of our thoughts and best wishes are directed toward Paty having a safe labor and healthy baby son.
We boarded a bus owned by the Los Halcones (The Falcons) company and took the 6 hour bus ride back to Guatemala city to the Hotel Ciudad Vieja. It feels like a luxury resort after the hotels in Santa Eulalia and Todos Santos and we are ready to put our feet up a little. 

Josh and David

At dinner we met with two graduates of Rafael Landivar Medical School who have stayed with us in Portland, Natalia (plus her mom) and Bonnie. Bonnie has fully graduated and is doing HIV research while she prepares to take the USMLE and apply for internal medicine residency in the US. Natalia is completing her thesis, also planning on taking the USMLE. What a treat is was to spend time with two Guatemalans who have lives with us in Portland, as we prepare to head back home.

Meeting in Guatemala City with Natalia and Bonnie

As we head home via Houston, we took some time to thank Suzy for her efforts in leading us through the last two weeks, navigating the challenges of working in Guatemala, making personal connections, delivering real care, and trying to make things a little better.