Bruce C. McArthur, DDS

Peru Sunday Travel

admin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:29:08 +0000

We loaded up the bus early this morning and headed for Trujillo. The trip is far smoother this year than before… The road is continually being improved. We had a nice fast trip, which gave us time to go to the beach in Huanchaco. There are many boats made of reeds – long pointed bows curved high out of the water. They paddle them kind of like a kayak. For the equivalent of a dime you can walk out on a very long pier and get a great view of the town along the beach. We had a nice lunch at a seaside restaurant, and now will head off for the airport. Sigh…

Loading the bus we will take to Trujillo (note burro on right)

Beach near Trujillo – Huanchaco

Lunch at the beach near Trujillo

Dessert sold on the roadside

Final Full Day in Cascas

admin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:04:28 +0000

Some of us went to church today at the Seventh-day Adventist church next to the clinic. Some of us preached the sermon… Ok, only me. It was a great honor to be offered to speak, and I enjoyed it!

The afternoon was time to relax and get geared up for our trip home. After dinner we were invited to a “neighborhood watch” group. This is an interesting group that acts to watch and protect the community, especially where the police cannot cover well. There are about 60 members who watch over an area with about 1500 inhabitants. They are given some authority by the government to apprehend and punish certain petty crimes. Some punishments given include time spent doing manual labor.

Tomorrow we have rented a bus to take us and all our gear back to Trujillo. We will leave Cascas at 7:30am, and hope to get to Trujillo in time to see the ocean and have lunch there before loading all our stuff on the plane for Lima. We should be in Lima a little after 6pm, and then a midnight departure for Los Angeles. Then on to Denver by Monday afternoon. It’s been a really wonderful trip!

Meals are always special!

Serving end of our buffet table

Ner getting lunch

The mayor is on far left, pastor of the church far right

Clinic Over!

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:55:50 +0000

I am writing this while sitting on top of a hill behind the church and clinic. The call it “Mount Zion.” It is about a half hour hike up a very steep trail… Or you can wimp out and ride in the magic bus (our 60′s vintage VW) on a very narrow road. Guess which I did!

Last case of the week

He looks better now!

Team on Mount Zion

Cooks prepare picnic dinner at top of the hill

Town of Cascas; note Catholic church in center of town

Church and clinic in center of picture, taken from top of hill

We met on top of the hill they call “Mount Zion”. Our fantastic local cooks got there first and boiled water over an open fire for hot chocolate and tea. They made us pita sandwiches, some with pb&j, some large ones stuffed with avocado. The avocados here are really amazing – just super tasty! We also had bananas and tangerines. After dinner they lit the bonfire and we had a few speeches. Then the fun part – a singing contest! They sang some songs for us, then expected some in return. It was lots of fun to hear somewhat familiar songs in a different language!

Watching the sun set over the valley and the lights come on in the little town was really beautiful. A great ending to a great mission experience!

Cascas at night

Last Full Day of Clinic

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:43:46 +0000

We were on TV today! I noticed a guy using a small video camera, like one proud parents take to their children’s school programs. I’d never have guessed it was for TV! We didn’t see the spot, just heard about it.

As I was sitting in our room typing this a band marched by! I have no idea what that was about, but it was very loud and you could hear it for a few blocks as it marched on.

Tomorrow we only work a partial day; we have to inventory everything and pack up all the equipment we are taking back with us. It will be hard to shut down – there is always so much more work than we could possibly do!

After Lunch

Perrito y Amigos

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:16:27 +0000

Another long day! About the same number of patients… Did I mention the oral cancer case we saw? (I can’t remember if it was yesterday or today!) We also saw a young boy, maybe five or six, with an open cleft palate. We are going to send both of them to the “big city” for advanced treatment.

We used the puppet a lot today. It is “Perrito,” a puppy, but with a full set of human looking teeth. With a great big toothbrush it is a fun teaching tool. An added kick is that he will squirt water when you squeeze a hidden bulb- the kids loved that!

Only one full day left!

Perrito

Cherryl y Perrito

More Perrito

Perrito y Amigos