Yellow Jersey

In cycling, the yellow jersey is worn by the leader of the race. The jersey makes it very obvious who is the leader of the pack because it stands out so well.

Yesterday I went into a war zone. Last week a tornado ripped through a small town less than an hour away from Longmont. A good friend of mine lives in the town and fortunately was not seriously effected by the storm. However, several homes belonging to members of his ward were completely destroyed.

I decided I needed to drive up to help out for a few hours. Ground zero had been closed off to everyone for several days after the storm so that inspectors could enter the homes and determine if they were safe. The neighborhood had only been open for a few hours when I arrived. Hundreds of people with trucks and trailers where there to empty out the houses and get them ready for demolition. At some homes, there was a very obvious common thread...the yellow T-shirt proclaiming, “Mormon Helping Hands.” I couldn’t help think of the yellow jersey.

Guatemala

Last week I traveled to Guatemala with a friend from dental school (Mike Lindman) and a friend from his ward (Jeff Newton) to provide dental services to an orphanage. We mixed the trip with a bit of business and a bit of pleasure. I wish I could tell you all of the things that occurred, but the following is a brief travel-log. (More photos and videos will come after I get them from Mike and Jeff. My camera broke after the third day)

Saturday February 23
Arrived Saturday evening to Guatemala City and stayed at a Holiday Inn.

Sunday morning we went to the local LDS church only to find it was Stake Conference. We got on the bus with the rest of the members of the ward to travel together to the conference. After the conference we checked out of the hotel and drove to Panajachel, which is a two hour drive west of Guatemala City and sits on a beautiful lake surrounded by volcanoes. See map below. After arriving and setting up the dental clinic in a one room LDS church, we visited the orphanage for the first time. We were instant heroes as Jeff had brought soccer balls and soccer shoes for the kids.

View Larger Map

Sunday night we slept at the branch presidents house. It reminded me of my days in Brazil while serving a mission. Early Monday morning we started working on the orphan children. Each one of them laid on our make-shift chair (a round table covered with a sheet and pillow) while we examined their mouth. We fixed the teeth that could be fixed and extracted the teeth that couldn't. Jeff did a great job jumping back and forth to translate for us and assist where he could. The process was slow, which made me really grateful for my trained assistant back home. We were able to see most all of the orphan kids on Monday. On Tuesday we opened our services up to the members of the branch and the community. We had a manageable steady flow all day.

It was interesting to me that the condition of the teeth between the orphans and the public. When we opened the clinic up to the public on Tuesday, we saw significantly more decay and tooth problems. It was immediately apparent and obvious that one segment of the population had access to sugar and the other segment did not. The orphan kids had relatively good oral health. They also didn't have access to candy and sweets like the other kids did. Many of the kids outside the orphanage would beg and cry until they could get candy, or the parents would use candy as a mechanism to control behavior. "If you stop crying...or if you are good...you can have some candy." The question really is; who is controlling the behavior of who?

We packed up late Tuesday afternoon and drove back to Guatemala City. We had to "get out of Dodge" before it became dark because the road we were traveling was pretty dangerous. There had been many roadside blockades while thieves stop the cars and steal everything. When we got into Guatemala City we went out to a nice restaurant to celebrate the work we had accomplished. 58 patients, and 170+ procedures: Not bad for two dentists, two days, a headlamp, a make shift dental clinic, and no trained assistant.

It was at dinner when we had one of the more funny experiences of the trip. After we ordered our meal, three singers came to our table and began to sing to us. We enjoyed their performance and tipped them accordingly. When they looked at the tip, they got very angry and said that the cost for three songs was $10. (Interesting that they didn't tell us before they started singing). After a few very awkward and tense moments, we satisfied their request and then mentioned the scam to our waiter. A few minutes later we saw the three amigos arguing with the manager as he kicked them out of the restaurant. We later found out he fired them from all three of his restaurants in town. Apparently, the singers had been warned before for their questionable business practices and that night they got the boot. We were afraid we were going to get jumped and beaten with a guitar as we left the restaurant.

We spent Tuesday night at the hotel and got up the next morning to catch a flight to Tikal. We arrived in Tikal Wednesday afternoon and went on a zip-line adventure before entering the park. You can see in the video that we had a rambunctious time. We walked around the ruins and climbed on the ancient temples. The next morning we awoke at 4:30 a.m. to go on a tour of the park and sit and watch the sunrise while listening to the monkeys and other wildlife wake up. It was a beautiful sight and sound. We finished walking though the park and then that night we flew back to Guatemala City.

Friday we took a taxi to the Guatemala City LDS temple and went through a session before we caught our flight back home. It was interesting to me the oasis the temple provided. The city was dirty, rough, dangerous, busy, and uncaring. As we entered the grounds of the temple a feeling of safety was palpable. What a blessing the temple provides to the members of the church to have a place to go and remove themselves from the struggles of life. Though I've had those feelings before, the safety the temple provided was even more apparent in an environment where safety was not the norm. God bless the USA.

OUR Farm

I had two experiences this week that made me reflect on the value of service. On Wednesday morning I volunteered at the “OUR Center” in Longmont. The OUR Center is a community resource center (Outreach United Resource Center) that helps people get back on their feet. Basically, the citizens of Longmont donate their time and resources to help other citizens who need assistance move toward self-sufficiency. The center provides financial counselors, food, shelter, day care, and a clothing bank. I believe it is set up very similarly to the LDS Bishop’s storehouse.

When I showed up to volunteer they put me to work in the food center. I was first asked to stop by the local Safeway and pick up food surplus from the back of the store. I then returned to the center and assembled boxes of basic groceries for people. I would shout out a number and a person would then pick up their box of food that corresponded to the predetermined list of groceries.

I could only work for a couple of hours in the morning. When it came time for me to leave, I told the other volunteer that I had to go and she looked at me with a gaze that said, “You can’t leave, there is still work to do, and now I am left alone to do it.” Her eyes begged me to return next week.

I can’t understand why I am so blessed. It is easy to look at others that are less fortunate and think it was brought about by their own poor decisions...addictions, crime, dishonesty, etc. I don’t dispute that poor decisions bring about heartache, but I think the temptation to believe that many of my blessings are a result of my own doing is based on a false premise. Certainly the decisions of my ancestors had a direct consequence on my life. The values my grandparents instilled into my parents that were then taught to me have made a measurable difference. The difference was palpable at the OUR Center. So why was I fortunate enough to be taught the values that create prosperity?

The value of education, of a strong work ethic, honesty, accountability, charity, etc., have all somehow influenced the way I make decisions. (Or at least I would like to believe they influence me) These values were somehow all passed down from parents and grandparents in small increments, and in moments that seemed incidental and inconsequential, when I didn’t even know it. And thank goodness for a church that makes up the difference and fills in the gaps where parents lack...and I am counting on to help me do the same.

Which brings me to my second experience. My grandparents and dad grew up on a farm...a turkey farm, but a farm nonetheless. I can’t think of a better schoolhouse than a farm to teach the value of work, the law of the harvest, and the meaning of “by the sweat of thy brow.” On Saturday, I went out to the Church Farm for a young single adult service project to help get things ready for winter. We moved pipe for the irrigation system and then painted a barn.

The Church farm is an interesting entity. I don’t think efficiency is a primary objective of the church farm...which I am OK with. I take the painting of the barn as a prime (not primer) example. There were at least 25 people that scraped off the old paint of the barn to get it ready for a new coat. Then another 20+ people followed using hand held brushes to whitewash the barn. It took 40+ people two hours to paint the lowest six feet (as far was we could reach) of a barn that could be argued didn’t need painting. And if it did need painting, it could have been done with two people with a power washer and spray painter in the same amount of time.

But if you think the objective was to paint the barn, I think you missed the point. (Or maybe I’m completely off in left field) I think the objective was to get people together working side by side, learning the value of work, the value of service, and the value of sacrifice. The barn was only the vehicle to build a sense of accomplishment, self-esteem, and hopefully get a few young single adults to talk to each other.

I think this was even more clearly illustrated a few months ago at a Regional Stake Church Farm assignment. Over 600 people showed up from all over Colorado and Wyoming to pick weeds. We were all transported to different locations and walked up and down the rows picking weeds from an immaculately kept farm. I saw husbands and wives together with their four- and five-year-old children spending time together and working in the dirt. I saw teenagers working and having fun; doing things they would never experience or even participate in for any home backyard garden. I saw older men with canes working a little slower, but with just as much enthusiasm.

I believe it was President Eyring that shared a similar experience of his ailing father at a church farm. (I don’t remember exactly which talk) When his father was encouraged not to work and to rest, his father replied something to the effect, “I’m not here for the weeds.”

I have to correct what I said earlier. I have no doubt the church farm is run efficiently. If it didn’t it wouldn’t exist. But I believe the farm assignments and work projects are more for our benefit rather than the farms...even if not by design. So in a day and age where my children most likely won’t grow up on a farm to learn these values, the church provides a farm that we can come and visit. The Lord is one smart dude.