From Curt: the Medical Mission in Mexico

The Rocky Mountain Ministries (RMM) was started 15 years ago by Curt & Karen and Mark and Larry, four friends for many years who had always sort of wanted to go on a mission trip. After piggy-backing on a group from Indiana that went to Honduras, we decided that we had plenty of friends and contacts to do some trips of our own. We formed RMM and enlisted doctors, nurses, a dentist, general help, construction and evangelical volunteers and went to Honduras for 4 years. We shifted our trips to rural areas in Mexico where we had great contacts and support, and continue to serve there. There have been personnel and time changes through the years, but generally we go to the Guymas/San Carlos area (6 hours south of Tuscon) for 10 days in Jan/Feb. We have gradually built up a portable canvas medical clinic which we erect in remote villages to provide general medical services and Christian encouragement. This year's trip had 41 team members going down, and 25 more volunteers from San Carlos Community church. Roughly 250 locals were seen daily for medical assistance, glasses (reading and sunglasses), Bibles and spiritual encouragement/prayer and a kids program. The construction team built a large shade cover over a gathering area at Casa de Esperanza, a large home that hosts mission groups working in the area, operated by close friends of ours.           

 A typical day has us traveling an hour or so to a village, then unloading and erecting the doctor's tents, triage and nurses shelters, the pharmacy, the banyo's (potties), generator, glasses area and whatever else we need, in the space of about 20 minutes. But first, we have a group prayer for safety, the team and especially for the people we see.                                                                               

 

Unloading and reloading for the next village/ next day is fairly well choreographed with everyone pitching in.

We've become pretty good at putting the tents and canopies up! Practice makes perfect..lol

Mark, in the white hat, is the master organizer and Jefe of the operation. He really does a terrific job!

The folks are first welcomed, and get signed in. Our greeters are great encouragers.

It's not unusual to have some long, hot waiting periods, but the people are wonderfully patient and thankful for the opportunity to get the free medical attention, plus a bible and glasses if they wish.

I typically oversee the triage area, though this year Mark and I did more roving as we had more EMT's than usual.

We were also blessed with a great group of pharmacists and helpers. We also had a super IT, whom we housed in the pharmacy to handle our computer needs for records, etc.

The nurses area is warm, efficient and very busy, including several interpreters to help out. We have quite a few interpreters and bilingual team members.

This year we had 4 great doctors, who never complained, rarely took breaks, smiled, prayed with their patients and let God's love shine through them. Dr. John, in action.

Dr's Patterson (shown) and Benda ( our medical director and fellow board member ) have been stalwart partners in the mission since it's earliest days.

The kids are really cute, and really enjoy the kids programs. Note the sweatshirts in 80 degree weather.

The glasses service is perhaps the most popular, with us giving out several thousand pairs on the trip.

Doctor's row... Pharmacy on the far end, nurses on the right. Every venue is different, and the layouts often change so we go in before the rest of the team and decide on that day's placement of things.

Once it gets rolling, things really start to move.

Headed back to Casa de Esperaza to eat, shower and get ready for the next day.

Adios Amigos! Vaya con Dios!

Señor Curt

P.S. Karen had recording dates for her newest CD, so had to take a rain check this year.

Volunteering at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Curt and I have both signed up and attended training to be volunteers at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This is the amazing place, about an hour north of Rockport, where the endangered whooping cranes winter every year. At one point, in 1941, there were only 21 "whoopers" in the world, and because of their protected status and great efforts on the part of conservationists, there are about 550 in the world today. At Aransas we have most of them: 304 adults and 34 chicks. Standing at 5 1/2 feet and having a wingspan of 8 feet, these are pretty magnificent birds! (Interestingly, as large as they are, they weigh only 15 pounds!)

Curt has attended more training sessions than I have, and yesterday was the inaugural run of his guided van tour... And he did a terrific job. Naturally! We filled the van (15 passengers), and we all learned a great deal about the National Wildlife Service in general, Aransas NWR, specifically, and the wonderful diversity of flora and fauna there. Here are a few shots of our tour yesterday, and some taken on a previous visit for one of our training sessions. I'm sure you'll be able to see that it's a pretty spectacular place!

On the way in and out of the refuge, we did see a flock of Sandhill cranes. They're a little smaller than the whooping cranes and not quite as striking to look at, but still a wonderful treat for birders everywhere:

First stop when we go to volunteer is to sign in at the volunteers' workroom. It's a great space with lots of educational resources. Since some of the volunteers live on the refuge in their RV's, the workroom also has kitchen and relaxation facilities, restrooms, showers and laundry facilities.

Then on to the Visitors' center to greet the other staff and volunteers who were working:

While Curt was making final arrangements for the tour, I cruised around the Visitors' Center and took a few photos, so you can find out a little about the whoopers.

And here are a few more animals found on the refuge:

Soon it was time to greet all the visitors, load in the van and begin the tour:

First stop was where you can often see alligators. This one fellow accommodated us nicely:

There were lots of opportunities to see interesting sights, both plant and animal-based.

Between stops, Curt kept us informed and entertained as another volunteer, Shauna, drove us around the 15-mile loop.

This is the amazing tower at the far end of the loop. From the top you can see for miles. The sunset photos and the picture of a wounded whooping crane were taken on a previous trip to Aransas NWR.

Curt did such a great job that nobody (except me) had any idea that it was his first tour until he confessed at the end. He received a rousing ovation from all the participants.

Opportunities like this are just one more reason why we love this part of Texas so much. Though we're already getting excited about being "on the loose" again this summer, we're also looking forward to returning to Rockport in the fall. 

Teaching Music to Kids After School

Hey, dear friends and family,

I've been so busy living life that I haven't had much time to write about it. But since I woke up at 4 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep, I thought it would be a perfect time to post another blog entry. I know many of you are tired of checking in and seeing the same thing day after day...so here's the next chapter!

Shortly before Christmas I put an ad in the paper offering private music lessons. One of the calls I received in response was from a young woman, Jessica, who is the Executive Director of Odyssey After School, a non-profit after-school enrichment program for kids in grades 1-6. Jessica had written and been awarded a grant for a music program which, according to the terms of the grant, was supposed to start in January. But she hadn't found a teacher yet. I got the call and visited the facility on the last day they were open before the Christmas holidays and loved what I saw! This is no simple babysitting service. It's truly a quality program in a beautiful facility (former elementary school), with highly qualified and caring staff. 

Jessica and I visited and I toured the campus. We both felt that it was a really good fit, so on the first day back at school in January, I had an official interview with Jessica, Wes and Nikki, the administrative staff. We all felt very comfortable with each other and decided it was a "go." Of course, when you're working with children, there are the necessary background checks, so we had to wait for all that to be completed. But it all came through in short order, and within a week I was established in my office next to the central office and began planning music lessons for the kids.

The music program is specified to introduce the children to Music Around the World, so each time I teach a lesson, I provide a theme. On a very large wall map we point out the country that we're highlighting, and in the hour I have each class of 12-13 children, we do music activities and an art/craft project from that country. Just up my alley! I'm having a blast, and the children seem to be really enjoying it as well.

This inconspicuous entry opens the door to an amazing program:

About 160 kids from grades 1-6 come after school every day. Grades 1-3 walk over from the new elementary school next door, and grades 4-6 are bussed over from their schools a little farther away.

They're greeted warmly by their Odyssey teachers, and the first order of business, of course, is FOOD!

Each day they receive a healthy snack to provide energy for the activities to come:

 

Here are Miss Nikki and Miss Shelly ready for the arrival of the hungry horde:

Then the kids have activity time, either outdoors on the playground if the weather is nice, or in the gym. Afterward they spend time in their individual classrooms, with their teachers helping them with any homework assignments they may have from their regular school day. And the last hour of the day is enrichment time. That's where I come in. In addition to music, there are all kinds of other activities available (sewing in a whole classroom equipped with sewing machines, cooking, gardening, caring for animals....there are chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits, etc.). There are also frequent field trips to local places of interest: the library, tennis courts, walking trails, etc. On days when the regular school has early release, the Odyssey program goes from noon to 6 p.m. Then the children get to take longer field trips, such as bowling or a movie.

The first thing I did was put up a bulletin board to let the children know that the music program was about to begin:

Here are a few shots of me working with first and second graders on rhythm activities, as we talked about the Brazilian rain forests:

And the colorful tree frogs the kids made to live in the rain forest:

And here are a few photos of the facility:

The main office:

The library/ media center, complete with reading loft:

My favorite... The chickens!

These girls are Rhode Island Reds, the same kind we used to raise in Montana when our children were small. They lay beautiful brown eggs, which the children get to gather, but the staff get to take home. Delicious!

Mr. Wes, the Program Director, is a favorite wherever he goes:

So that's where you'll find me on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. It's a great place to be! As I work with the different age groups, the plan is to provide rhythm activities for first and second graders, keyboard skills for third and fourth graders (we'll soon be purchasing keyboards) and strings (probably ukuleles to begin with) for the fifth and sixth graders.  We're already making plans for the expansion of the music program for next year...perhaps a beginning harp curriculum! 

Odyssey is a terrific place to work. I've always loved working with kids; they have such a fresh way of looking at the world!

Well, it's almost 6 a.m. now, so it's time to see if I can catch a few more winks of sleep before the day begins in full force. Just as some of you are getting up! Have a great day!