One of My Favorite Patients

Wilma is 7 years old.  Her family was very concerned about her.  She had fever, a hot swollen mass under her jaw that resulted in a lack of interest in food.  She had been to several doctors in Belize City, Orange Walk and Chetumal.  She was not getting better.  But she was still smiling.  A careful bimanual exam of where the swelling connected up inside revealed a blocked and infected submandibular salivary gland...sialadenitis!!!...Am I claiming to be a medical genius?  No, I am claiming to care about giving patients the same thoughtful care that I would want my family and friends to have.  Am I claiming to have an especially kind heart? No, my heart requires constant renewal.  I am claiming to want to love because He loves me.  Also Wilma's beautiful smile and gentle manner make it very easy.

The "Grandmaster" of Rap Poetry Graduated from jacob's Farm

From Daniel who has week-daily sessions with the residents based on his training in YMCA's Restore Minitries:"One of my clients at Jacob's Farm just stepped out on the water that is the "boisterous" waves of the world. Yesterday, Leroy Young graduated from the program. 123 days crack-free. This Sunday, he is going to celebrate his first "Father's Day" with his 20 year old son and 17 year old daughter. I was there for their reunion 60 days ago. They had not spoken in 11 years. There were tears, frowns and smiles. It was miraculously joyous. There was forgiveness. There was an incredible embrace of roles that had never been fulfilled or 'played out' before. For the last 63 days this little fractured family has been communicating daily and a miraculous healing has been unfolding before my eyes. Give God praise and glory and gratitude for this little family. And lift them up this Sunday for the best 'father's day' ever. There will be waves and storms, but pray that Leroy and all of us, keep our eyes fixed on the source of all calm." (Leroy went down for the altar call and gave his life to the Lord 9 weeks ago at Central Assembly of God in Belize City when Daniel and the residents went down for the Sunday service.)
(We do not receive any financial support from Belize Project or Christ Presbyterian Church but we have received generous donations from many members of Christ Pres.)

Our Jobs in Belize; Save the Clinic

     I fear that I have made many of my postings on the esoteric side and people won't have a clue about what we are doing and about the needs down here. Just wanted you to know I am not lolly-gagging around here writing sonnets and taking photos.  We are in need of some financial assistance for the sake of many villagers and employees! We are working hard in heat above 100 degrees and are seriously wanting to continue. PLEASE READ ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING AND SEND A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO THE GLOBAL FOUNDATION,  P.O. Box 58328, Nashville, TN 37205 with notation 'for the Butlers' or "for Noah's Workshop."  We, the Butlers, are Noah's Workshop, under the umbrella of Global Foundation; (PLEASE DO NOT SEND OUR DONATIONS TO THE BELIZE PROJECT-we were under their umbrella only for short term work)

    The Medical Clinic in Patchakan, Corozal District, Belize was started in 1993, the dream of Tom and Helen Lacey.  Many long-term and short-term nurses and doctors have provided quality care for Patchakan and many villages in the area.  People are now coming all the way from Corozal and even Orange Walk for medical care here.  This is somewhat astounding as the largest government medical center in Northern Belize is in Orange Walk.  I am the only full time doctor here now.  When full time docs go away, the patients gradually dwindle but now the daily load is picking up.  Though I was originally invited to be here long term by Dr. Wiley Smith, this visit I was told by MTW that I could stay at the clinic until the end of June but when they saw I was able to do the work and they saw that they had no MTW docs coming they invited me to stay.  They want to know if I can stay until the end of July and want to know long it will take me to raise more funds to return quickly.  At a staff meeting last week a portion of the board stated that the clinic would close after I left.  There are thousands of open patient records.  So many would be left without medical care.  Also very importantly,  some wonderful staff would be without jobs.  I am working on some possibilities that would allow me to be here much of the time but to have some cross coverage. Also, delightfully, several patients have offered without request that they would donate to my being able to stay.
      I am seeing a wide range of patients and problems:  hypertension, diabetes, rashes-mainly scabies and fungal, worms, acute respiratory infections, asthma-especially with the dust and cane burning the way it has been, wounds-dog bites,  failure to thrive in infants, tabino fly bites with allergic rxns, a drunk man who said he was “stoned in battle” (sounded better than he was drunk and a rock slashed his lips deeply and I did some pretty good plastic surgery :)  ), tooth pulling accident resulting in torn gums, boy who fell from tree and gashed his head,  typhoid fever, dengue fever,  urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases,  diabetic ulcers, depression,  one bipolar dual diagnosis patient, internal and external otitis, bronchitis, etc, etc.   Currently, I am seeing about 16 patients per day.  It would be good for me and assistants to see about 40.  Pastor Arturo Ku is available in the waiting room to help people deal with spiritual and family matters, and I am able to follow up on these as patients come on in to see me.
     I learned how to use the ultrasound machine also and checked a pregnancy-taught by our great nurse Estela.  This is rewarding work. I love this work more than any I have ever done.  Yes, I am called.
    I am generally at the clinic from 7:30 until at least 1:00, often 2:00 or 3:00 Monday through Thursday,  except on Fridays when they just do a half day and beginning yesterday I also been working on Fridays.  I have also gone on home visits with Anita in the afternoons at times. 
     I have also done a training session at the prison on suicide and self mutilation.  I have consulted on issues and seen patients from Jacob’s Farm.  So this is a more than a full time occupation for me especially considering the after hours emergencies with which I deal.
     I have also done a training session at the prison on suicide and self mutilation.  I have consulted on issues and seen patients from Jacob’s Farm.  So this is a more than a full time occupation for me especially considering the after hours emergencies with which I deal. 
     I have spoken at Help Age which is basically like our YMCA/ Senior Centers in the U.S. My talk was on recognizing Alzheimer’s in a loved one. It was very well received and brought at least one new patient into the clinic. The situation for residential care for dementia: non-existent except for Ladyville.  My Belizean friend in Nashville, Carla Jenkins Hausepian, is a psychiatric nurse, who has been trained in care of Alzheimer’s patients and trains caregivers. She is working with the center in Ladyville.  She comes down intermittently and has the npo, Bridging Belize. We have been discussing what more can be done for dementia patients and their families. 
     Daniel has definitely been working more than full-time also, doing daily (weekday) groups in Restore Ministries from the YMCA program based in Nashville with the men at Jacob’s Farm Rehab.  He is called throughout the day to assist Ismael with needs and emergencies of all kinds.  He is teaching two of the men how to use a computer.  He has also done chapel/assembly for Cornerstone.  All the while, he is trying to keep up with doing videos for Jacob’s Farm and “Farming God’s Way” with Alfonso Vallejos, an amazing man and the oldest brother of Ismael, who farms using the old organic Mayan techniques.  He and Pete have learned some of the farming techniques by assisting Don Alfonso with his watermelon patch.  I love to sit and talk with Alfonso about Mayan medicine in which he began his training with his grandfather, who was a Mayan doctor, at age 12.  Unfortunately, he never was able to finish because his grandfather passed on. 
     Pete has been doing home school.  He is just about to finish the Narnia series.  He is reading "My Time with God" as his devotional.  He has started the Russian language and has pasted the Russian names of things on them which looks very nice with the Spanish shower curtain.  He is working on some pre-algebra and geometry.   God ordained the perfect friends for him, an 11 yo and 6 yo brothers whose 12 yo brother died about 1 month after Jake.  He has gotten to be the big brother he has always wanted to be and use the kindness and rough housing he learned from his big brothers while Christian and Rylan have had a big guy to get them active again.  Pete is also in charge of watering the horses, handed down by the Arends, a missionary family who left 2 years ago, not his favorite thing as it is strenuous carrying heavy buckets but he is getting muscles. 
     A last word:  I have located some original Belizean artists and would like to put together a Mayan feria (fair).  The Mayan arts are being lost at an alarming rate.  Hope we get to do this sometime.  
 [The photos below captioned (left to right): Me enjoying a day at the clinic; Front of the clinic; Denny & Bonnie Scharine; Antonia's Birthday Party- Pete,  Daniel & Alfonso;  Fellowshiping with the Scharines, Pete, Anita, Mrs. Lacey, Hilario, Marcela; Rylan, Pete & Christian caught playing soccer in the hallway; Pete studying; Patty-the receptionist, medical records keeper, & PR person & me in the clinic; Diana Chan, mother of Christian and Rylan, with her niece; Chan and Vallejos family; field trip to the clinic; Lucy-the cook, Marcela-the housekeeper, Hilario-the handyman and nightwatchman, 
Estella-the RN and midwife; Pamela-the director, Patty, Dr. Marc (a short term, 1 wk doc), Pete, Hilario; the first and third place winners of the national high school race at my/the clinic's first aid station; Hilario and Daniel; Denny, Pete, Bonnie, Garry; Fighting wild fire next door; Patients on a cold day (60 in am) at the clinic with Mareya, the nurse tech and pharmacist with Dr. Marc; Anita and Mrs. Lacey;  Pete with Chris; Junior and Amigo; Me, Mareya, Anita and Dr. Mark at the pharmacy.]

Our Jobs In Belize in Photos

             

                              

 Sonnet to the Living






Alabaster cattle, living tombstones
grazing milpa-covered Mayan moundlets.
Scholars speak of bygone glyphs, mystic tuns.
Clever theories; drought, war, pestilence met.


Name spoken little more, Jacob Keegan
Resonates in head and heart while he sings
his intercession to our sing’lar Holy One
We daily don his love, a portion of the King’s.


Let the dead bury these unlucky dead,                                                 
Men of science and worldly scoffers deem.
Digging with ill machinations of the head,
Time and Love limited, n’er washed by the Stream.


Where have all the Maya gone; long time, no?
Where has my Jakey gone, long time ago?


More vibrant than human breath, living near us
Yet on Holy Ground, still felt by some of dust.   
                 

Some Co-Workers for Christ

(from left to right: Pamela Patt, Clinic Director; Patty Nah, receptionist, medical records, PR; Pete Butler, mascot, Helario, night guard, Dr. Mark, pediatric oncology fellow and volunteer for one week at the clinic)  We took this photo to remember our time of bonding in a vicious game of Mexican Train.

Educators at Leisure...

Bananas in the Backyard

 

We have 4 banana groves in the backyard. They are ready to come in on the porch to hang as green bananas when the stalk has turned black.  They hang until they are yellow and then are ready to eat.  There are also grapefruit, avocado, orange, sour orange and tangerine trees.   Really one can live on the produce growing wild in the backyard and we often do.  We just freeze them all and blend them up in to a smoothy.  This page shows a "siamese" baby banana.

Presbyterian Day School

The history of Presbyterian Day in Christo Rey Belize and their current needs; a video done by Daniel.
http://www.youtube.com/user/simplydanielb#p/a/u/1/EXmsKqbwQ0o

Video of Presentation Daniel and Residents from Jacob's Workshop Done at Orange Walk HIgh School

http://www.youtube.com/user/simplydanielb#p/a/u/0/owivMtFOgyk

Great New Friends Came in the Second Week of March

Sometimes you meet a new family whom you would want to always have as neighbors.  Sometimes they are only neighbors for one week.  The Reimers are such a family: Godly, fun, knowledgeable in so many areas.  Pete had a great time with Chris and also playing games with his older sibs, Rachel and Ben.  I enjoyed working with Dave and talking with Marion.  Daniel enjoyed talking with them all.  We miss them!

MANNA: UT & Vandy Students Work To Build Jacob's Workshop

 Students from UT & Vandy associated with Manna Project International teamed up with Jacob's Farm & the Belize Project to build another dorm for residents at Jacob's Farm. Manna's vision is to establish a global network of Manna Project communities where young adults live and work alongside one another in underserved communities to initiate positive change.  In early March they came for supper at the Blue House of Noah's Workshop.  When they had finished their week here and virtually finished the dorm, we all celebrated together at a Mayan pig roast at Jacob's Farm.

Jacob's Farm

from L top: Bozo the puppy; Alfonso Vallejos making suggestions for Jacob's Farm; Pete and Nikita, Bozo's sister with chickens in the background.

Jacob's Farm is a rehab farm started in 2006 where men with addictions can go "to wrestle with God" as Jacob did in the Bible.  It is a great group of men with whom Daniel is enjoying working as a Restore (YMCA) group counselor.  Most are believers and everyone, believers and non, are struggling.  It's an interesting and diverse group.  We really enjoy going out there; it's about 2 miles from our house.  Nikita, the puppy, as you can see above has a large abdominal hernia.  It may be umbilical and disappear with time but I have discussed with the guys what to watch for.  Obviously, Pete loves the puppies.

Learning Organic Gardening the Mayan Way

Ok, so maybe we do have more to learn from the Mayans than they do
from us.  I guess we knew this before. We just wanted to help them remember their value as brothers and sisters in the Body.  Don Alfonso Vallejos has the most beautiful black dirt I have ever seen. He is in constant communication with the Lord about how to care for the land and there is no doubt that he is "Farming God's Way." He treats the earth with care, explaining that one can only burn once and that ash will provide useful nutrients for the soil, but that further burning would damage it.  Never plowing because of the loss of moisture it causes, he uses very simple tools.  He plans his crops in the area of the natural fertilizer of the washim tree; it provides nitrogen and potassium.  Over the years, many environmental groups have come to him for wisdom regarding farming.  We are fortunate to live next to his many acres and he has been teaching us and allowing us to help him.  We have begun with watermelon planting.  Holes were dug and soil loosened in rows, with the holes being about 5 feet apart.  When this was accomplished, the holes where filled with water one evening then again the next morning.  That evening, 5 watermelon seeds were planted in the walls of each of the holes.  The holes were then lightly covered with adjacent natural "mulch" so the "babies" would not get too hot.  Everyday without rain, the seeds were watered.   After about 3 days, we began to see the first little leaves popping through and then removed the topping mulch.  They were watered daily until they were about 1 1/2 inches tall then the topsoil was replaced around them.  They continue to thrive. (Photos L to R: Don Alfonso, Daniel & Pete; holes for watermelon seed; washim trees-2 photos; Daniel and Pete loosening dirt for holes.)