July/August Mission Team from Boise, Idaho
July 29-August 15, 2010
Teri and Monica Lee setting up the optical area in Tilali
The recent team definitely experienced local lifestyle and their diverse mission goals. The team consisted of two nurses from Montana, as well as eight youth and four adults from Boise First United Methodist Church.
Tilali Eye Clinic-a very happy patient on the right & equally pleased Dr. Pressman on the left
They spent two days in Tilali doing an eye clinic with local medical staff at their health center.
- Learning how to thrash grain from their next door neighbor
Then all 16 of them went on a camping adventure while working in the community of Calahuyo.
Team Leader, Steve Hanson, working alongside Calahuyo Pastor, Narciso
During the five days they were there they did construction on the local Methodist Church, adding stucco inside and out of their adobe structure. The group was the first “gringo” group to have ever visited and they developed some wonderful relationships.
Ian and Jacqueline are totally in jest we assure you! All were very hard workers!
It was especially fun to watch the friendships build between the youth, as they played soccer, baseball, & American football, and taught each other Spanish and English.
Medical team in action from L to R: Dr. Scott Pressman, patient and his daughter, local nurse, & Yessica, Iglesia Metodista Healthcare Promoter
They also had an eye clinic and one day of Vacation Bible School centered on the theme, “How to Care for God’s Creation”
- Everyone showing off their new toothbrushes after lots of practice using them!
with a focus on caring for our health (dental education and toothbrushes for all) and caring for our environment (picking up trash in the community).
The community clean-up as part of Vacation Bible School
A most sincere thanks to each and every one of the team, they were all hard workers who pitched in to cook, haul water, clean, shop, interact with the community, mix and apply stucco, and so much more.
Incredible Machu Picchu!
Before their return to the U.S.A., the group all hiked to Machu Picchu, some via the conventional Inca Trail, others via the Salkantay Trail.
- Jacqueline, Bev and Mary hiking the Salkantay Trail
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April Mission Team from Boise, Idaho
April 17th-May 2nd, 2010
Health Clinics
The April group came in with our stongest medical team yet, with two dentists, two MD’s, two nurses, a physician’s assistant, and others with experience in the medical field. In turn, we were able to offer a wide variety of services at our clinics, including opthamalogy, gynecology, dentistry, and general medicine.
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The Dental team kept themselves incredibly busy, seeing an average of 40-70 patients at each clinic…and pulling hundreds of teeth!
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All of the doctors worked with our local healthcare promoters (and even a local dentistry student) at the clinics in order to give them firsthand experience with many of the common health problems in their communities.
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Always with a focus on prevention, and not just treatment, both children and adults at all of clinics learned and practiced proper teeth brushing techniques!
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The Opthamology department also saw hundreds of patients and those who needed it were sent home with reading glasses and/or sunglasses.
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In general medicine, the doctors and physician’s assistant saw/treated just about anything and everything you could imagine! They were even able to give health screenings to 70+ children at a school in Bolivia!
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People at the clinics also received information about back care and learned some basic stretches and exercises to keep themselves healthy and limber!
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As always, the teams end up sharing much more with the local people than just medical care. Here, Patty is keeping kids who are waiting to be seen happy by teaching them fun new songs!
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The team also provided a great service to each community we visited by assisting with the organization and distrubition of donated winter clothes and jackets to each of the clinics. These items will be essential in helping many impoverished children make it through this winter healthy!
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March Mission Team from Boise, Idaho
March 21st- April 3rd, 2010
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Dental Clinics
The team held five successful dental clinics in various villages in Peru and Bolivia. Our Idaho dentists, Jill and John, teamed up with our local Peruvian dentist, Paola, to provide dental extractions, fillings, and fluoride treatments to a large number of patients.
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Health Education
In addition to dental treatments, at each clinic those waiting to be treated also received education about dental health and proper teeth brushing techniques. Furthermore, we were blessed to have a physical therapist, Barb, on the team to teach individuals about back care basics and simple physical therapy practices for strength and prevention of injuries. 
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Train the trainer: Educating Healthcare Promoters
We were thrilled to have a large number of our local healthcare promoters present at our clinics in the various villages and were able to provide additional training and education to each of them on dental health, prevention of cavaties, and proper teeth brush techniques. The healthcare promoters were then able to put their newly learned information straight to use by teaching the children and adults waiting to be seen about how to maintain good dental health.
Our dentists with six of the Bolivian healthcare promoters who received training on dental health.
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Sharing and Connecting with Local Churches
The team was blessed to take part in a wonderful Palm Sunday service at one of the village churches outside of Copacabana, Bolivia. Both Delaney and Savannah had a great time interacting with the local children, and the men put forth an excellent effort singing hymns in Aymara with Pastor Juan!
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February Mission Team from Boise, Idaho
Feb. 17th-March 2nd, 2010
Vacation Bible School
The mission team hosted vacation bible schools for local children. They read Bible stories with the children and engaged them in a variety of games and crafts.
Exchanges and Sharing with local churches
The team visited many of the local Methodist churches in Perú and Bolivia. Pastor Steve presented each of the churches with banners made by the youth of the Boise Methodist Church.
One of the greatest gifts for the mission teams and the communities they serve is simply the opportunity to get to know one another, share a meal, or even a little bit of jumprope amongst adults!
Health Clinics and Education
The mission team helped put on 3 health clinics in Perú and Bolivia. Community members were able to have visits with a dentist and ophthalmolgist, as well as receive educational information on nutrition, eye care, and oral health.
Water Project
While in Cusco, the team helped to make water buckets with instructions on how to create potable water. These buckets were then donated to a local village whose water supply was affected by the recent flooding.
Lake Titicaca Border Mission 
Greetings,
Love seeing the pictures of the mission teams etc. We think about you constantly and are keeping you in our prayers. Our time in Peru/Bolivia was life changing, we thank you for making it possible!!
Nancy and Charlie Rountree
By: Nancy Rountree on May 3, 2010
at 2:41 am