Partner Teams Treat Hundreds

Gus Nixon, Hands of Healing Team Member

Chuisamayac and Paquila: two Mayan villages tucked away in a Guatemalan jungle about an hour drive from Mazatenango along a heavily eroded, unpaved road. This is where the Hands of Healing team of fourteen ministered on October 14–21. The team of medical professionals from FUMC Hurst and Anona United Methodist, Largo, Florida, provided medical, dental, and vision care to approximately 604 patients during four clinic days. Each day was filled to the maximum and the absence of regular health care and general hygiene practices was apparent. Not indigenous to this region, the Mayans were brought here from the north to work in the coffee and sugar cane plantations. Most earn less than $400 per year. Medical attention is likely only to come from teams like ours. The need is great and there will never be enough resources to fill the on-going needs of these people. We are constantly reminded of our good fortune and the need to give generously in order to fulfill the commandment, “Feed my sheep.”

-Reprint from First United Methodist Church of Hurst News - Vol. 3, No. 14, November 3-16, 2006