Mission Completed…

Hi Guys!

I trust by now that everyone has returned to the everyday grind that is life in the US.  Many thanks and congratulations for a job well done in Amatitlan!  You guys were amazing and I am always totally amazed by the diversity of the teams but how their is always the common denominator of wanting to help the people of Guatemala!  You leave there feeling like you leaving family behind; you can tell your friends and family about your experience, but they can’t possibly comprehend it.  I think one of the young ladies that was on the first mission that I lead into an extremely remote area of the Peruvian Andes summed it up best: “It’s like you have a secret and even if you tell someone, they just don’t get it”.  It usually takes me a couple of weeks to readjust to our culture: Some of the things that used to irk me, now simply don’t mean a thing and aren’t worth the energy to be bothered by them and other things that I guess I simply tolerated or shrugged off, now REALLY irritate me.

You can be proud of what was accomplished in Amatitlan.  We did 16 orthopedic cases (and could have done more with sterile instruments), 20 General/GYN/OB cases and the dentists treated 100 Patients.  This is in addition to the distribution of clothing and supplies to the pediatrics and maternity wards, maintenance work done in and supplies donated to the hospital and the dozens of other random acts of kindness that occurred, often with no one but the individual performing the deed knowing about it.

Many thanks to Ramon and Awilda for allowing MOA to be a part of their Buckets of Life program. I know how hard Ramon and the team worked to make it happen. Visiting the village where the buckets were donated truly drove home just how incredibly blessed we are!  I would love to see Ramon and Awilda’s good work grow in future missions!

Again Guys, thank you for your donation of time, effort and financial support to make the mission happen. I am truly blessed to be associated with and surrounded by fantastic individuals like yourselves; as I told you in GUA, you make me strive to be a better person!

May God bless you in everything you do,

Humbly,

Ed Atwell, M.D.
(AKA El Jefé)