“If You Have Done it Unto the Least of These”

What would you do if you could not afford medical care, dental care or food to feed your hungry family? Serving Him volunteers traveled to San Raymundo, Guatemala in April 2011, bringing some welcome
assistance for some of the poorest people in Central America.

Dr. Harris made his third trip to Guatemala with the ministry organization Serving Him, along with 53 other team members who brought medical and dental care, food, and stoves as tangible examples of God’s love. Members of the team included dentists and physicians from Dallas, Texarkana, and Temple, Texas; one dentist came from Nebraska! Assisting the medical/dental teams were a variety of other volunteers, including Dr. Harris’ wife Carol, daughter Leslie, son‐in‐law Stephen Watson and dental assistant Kim Cooper.

Dr. Harris worked in the dental clinic three full days, and enjoyed one day of traveling in the remote areas with a “stove team.” Many of the indigenous people of Guatemala cook over open fires inside their small homes of tin and plastic. This results in poor health for the families, wastes
valuable wood resources and creates a burn hazard. Serving Him volunteers installed over 50 stoves during the week, providing safe and efficient cooking for the families who received them. A number of organizations have targeted the open‐fire cooking issue in Guatemala, so there are a variety of stoves available. For more information on the type of stoves that Serving Him volunteers install, visit Helps International (http://www.helpsintl.org.)

Stephen Watson was deeply impressed by the poverty he witnessed as he traveled each day with the children’s ministry team and the stove installation teams to visit families who live high in the mountains surrounding San Raymundo. Guatemala is home to the Maya, indigenous people who have lived in Central America and Southern Mexico for 4,000 years. Each village has its own patterns for textiles, and the traditional wrap skirts and brightlyembroidered tops are worn by women of all ages, from tiny girls to the oldest grandmothers. But their brightly colored clothes provide a stark contrast to their dismal living conditions, with little food in the dry season and open-fire cooking as the norm. The children’s ministry team enjoyed bringing laughter and fun, and most importantly bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ! Stephen’s team included a translator, Antonio, and three students from Grace Bible Church: Natalie Arauco, Joel Shepherd and Nathan Shepherd. Carol and Leslie Harris also worked on the children’s team; this was their second trip to Guatemala. The team painted faces, sang songs, and presented Bible stories in four different locations during the week, accompanied by a local pastor and his family. Fun!

Back in San Raymundo, under the guidance of Dr. Cam Nelson of the Cooper Clinic, Serving Him partnered with a local church to provide a health fair with a variety of services: dental screenings and education, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure evaluations, and general medical screenings. Assistant Kim Cooper stayed busy examining patients, utilizing a folding patio lounger for the dental chair! Patients whose screenings indicated health concerns were referred to the medical/dental clinic where Serving Him volunteers could follow up with the appropriate treatment. Over 200 people visited the 1st Annual Serving Him health fair!

Team members all left pieces of their hearts in beautiful Guatemala, and came home with a renewed sense of humility and gratitude for the blessings of home and family. Plans are already underway for a return trip to focus on discipleship for local pastors and the translators, whose passion for the gospel and their love for their people and country inspired everyone who worked with them.

Many times during the week, our Guatemalan friends tried to express their gratitude. But in the end, the Serving Him team members were the ones who receivedthe biggest blessing.

“Thank you for sharing your beautiful people and country with us! Hasta la proxima vez!”

For more information on Serving Him, please visit their website: www.servinghim.org

Dr. Harris, his wife Carol and daughters Laura and Leslie traveled to Guatemala in April 2010 with Serving Him International, a medical/dental ministry group that also has ongoing projects in Romania and Moldova.

After arriving in San Raymundo, the team quickly got busy setting up the clinics and begin seeing patients within 12 hours. Patients lined up outside the hospital at dawn, hoping to get a number and be among those who got an appointment with the physicians or dentists.

Dr. Harris worked with the dental team each day providing emergency services and restorations to a variety of men, women and children who could not afford to see a dentist otherwise. Each patient paid $7 for all the care they received! Carol assisted Dr. Harris at the dental chair, and also worked at a variety of other jobs, including sterilizing instruments, distributing vitamins and medicine at the pharmacy, and performing skits in the children’s program. Leslie quickly found her niche in the children’s ministry with singing, dancing, crafts, puppet shows and face painting. The children followed her around like the Pied Piper! Laura utilized her nursing skills in the busy hospital, caring for the post-operative patients.

One unique feature of the Serving Him ministry is the installation of stoves in the homes of the indigenous people, who commonly cook over dangerous open fires inside their small homes. Descendents of the Mayas, many live in dire poverty in the mountains outside of the city. The most common income source is hand-made firecracker factories in their kitchens! For a small fee, the families can purchase a stove kit, which the teams built in about one hour. The stove was invented by some resourceful American friends to conserve natural resources and provide a safe and healthy method of cooking. The stove includes a vent pipe, which sends the smoke out the roof instead of retaining it inside the house! All the Harrises enjoyed their days out on the stove teams, making friends with the beautiful Guatemalan people and leaving them a lasting gift.

Laura and Dr. Harris were veterans on the trip; they first visited San Raymundo in 2007 when Laura was still a nursing student. While this was their first trip to Guatamala, Carol and Leslie have both enjoyed mission trips to other parts of the world, including Ukraine, Honduras and Mexico.