"SAUL Was a King"
Kathy and I have just returned home from another trip to Guatemala. It has only been a few years since we sat together on the front porch with Dr. Al Perkins and made plans to add orthopedics to HSM's ministry in Guatemala. We have lost track of the number of trips there but not the blessings of each trip. The doctor who I was introduced to on our first trip has become a good friend and our families have become one. This trip was special for us, as it was our introduction to their latest child and Kathy's namesake, Katy Sucely Barrientos.
Our group remains small, the two of us, our son Mitch who is now in his first year of PA school and Krista MacDonald, a PA and an always necessary interpreter. Al has accompanied us on most of our trips but has missed a few lately. I think he is nudging us out of the nest. We performed about 15 cases this trip and continue to take as much donated equipment as we can gather and carry. We continue to work toward our original goals of teaching arthroscopy and improving the orthopedic services provided by Dr. Barrientos. I am not discouraged by our slow progress in these areas as I now realize that more than anything ours is a mission of encouragement and hope.
Our most recent trip coincided with the ophthalmology teams first week. Each day that I walked into the hospital, I saw long lines of people awaiting their eye exams. Knowing that Mark Henry and the surgical team would soon follow; I could not help but be impressed, knowing the amount of effort involved and the good that would come of it all. As we prepare for each trip we occasionally question the cost, the work involved and especially the time away from the practice. There have been times that we have had doubts about the benefit and the need. This trip was even harder given the loss of friends and family this past year
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ENTER SAUL.........a two year old who arrived a few days before us from a remote jungle village. He had a disfigured hand and a contracted elbow from a burn he sustained at two months of age. His mother had gone off to the outdoor kitchen when a candle caught his mosquito net on fire. The burns to his face and arm were treated briefly in a hospital closer to his home and he returned to his village. His burns were only moderate, but the scars on his hand and elbow caused severe contractures. As he continued to grow, the scar tissue tethered his hand, drawing it to the back of his forearm. Barbara, a missionary from Pennsylvania who has been in the field for 37 years, discovered him there. She brought Saul and his mother to Chiquimula to be treated by Dr. Barrientos. The two of us were a little overwhelmed by the complexity of his deformity. Our decision to proceed with his surgery there was based on our skepticism that his parents had the capacity or means to travel further for surgical treatment.
During the first surgical procedure we released the elbow contracture and
separated his hand from his forearm. Three days later, we separated his thumb and two of his fingers and applied skin grafts from his thigh. The attached photographs include Saul’s hand at his first dressing change. The skin grafts have taken but we do not yet know his function. Time is on his side. At his age, he possesses phenomenal ability for his hand to grow and be functional.
The day of our departure we went to say goodbye to Saul. We sat in the hospital with his mother and father, who had just traveled two days by bus to join them. We learned that Saul was their only child and that his father was a farmer between crop seasons. As they had no money, we were concerned that they would not be able to stay the needed time for Saul to recover. Saul's father told us that the bus fare to their home was about 16 U.S. dollars,” if you do not eat.” As we sat there and talked with the young couple, we could sense their despair. We left them a toy and a blanket for Saul, an envelope and I think a little bit of hope. I often think about the stories told by you and Harold of the early beginnings of His Servant’s Ministries. Kathy and I would like to thank the servants of HSM for giving us stories to tell.
Keith and Kathy Belhasen
The new Saul:
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"Seeing Through GOD's Eyes"
kay, I just wanted to tell you that this was an awesome experience for me to go to Guatemala. I worked with Dr. Rooney on a daily basis and saw all the work and passion he has for the people of Guatemala. This trip has brought me closer to God and has brought a sense of peace in my life. I enjoyed helping the people down in Chiquimula and am ready to go back. Just to see the smiles on the peoples faces when receiving their glasses was a sight in itself that they could see again. They are so appreciative of us and that just melted my heart. I was touched with it all, at the hospital, at the village we were at and even in the missionaries already down there. The children at the village we went to were so excited and I was blessed with what I saw and did for those people of that village and at the school. I was touched though, when I saw all the children in the children's ward at the hospital. My heart broke for all those kids and I wanted to take them home with me. God gave me the grace to go around and lay hands and pray for each child that was there that I could. It broke my heart to see them sick and malnurished. There was 3 children that really touched my heart, one was a set of twins who were 2 years old and how malnurished they were.
One weighed 10 pounds and one weighed 8 pounds. It broke my heart to see them laying there and=2 0being sick like that. The other one was a 4 week old baby that was brought in to the hospital that was sick. The lady who found the baby had found it on the side of the road along with the babies twin. The baby was so malnurished that I wanted to take it home with me. It was very sad to see that, but I thanked God that the lady who found the baby took it in. I praised her for God's work that she was doing to have the heart to take in the babies. I met lifelong friends and am excited to be able to converse with them through emails.
The work that we did down there in Chiquimula was God's work and that He was all in it. The highlight, well all was highlights, was when we were able to go into the mountains and to a small place for worship and praise. The music ministers from the church that we went to, came up and worshiped to us through music. I have never felt the presence of God as strong as I did until that night. That is when the peace came over me and I knew that God WAS in charge of everything!!! It was a different but awesome experience that I have never experienced so string before. It was a perfect night!! The view was beautiful and all of the country down there was a view from God's perfect picture of His creativity. I know that I am to go back there again next time. I praise this ministry that God has blessed you=2 0with being a part of.
Thank you for praying for us and giving God the glory through this ministry. I am so privelaged to work with Dr. Rooney and excited for more mission trips to come. God has called me into the mission field and this trip has confirmed that. I have done other mission trips in the states, but nothing compares to overseas missions. This was my first overseas missions and definitely will not be the last. I pray daily for God's work to be done everywhere and you never know, God may be calling me to Thialand as well. I am praying for God's direction on this and would love the opportunity to go. God will make it happen if He wants me to go. Thank you again and God Bless you!!!! Penny
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