"We don't need Sherlock Holmes to figure out that Brent Burket and Jennifer Thoene don't event fit the description of your usual medical volunteer. The evidence is everywhere upon entering their home: two pairs of kids-sized rain boots, swirly blue and pink, a bookshelf of children's literature, tables loaded with crayons and coloring books, the movie choice of the day is Toy Story 2, and the final clue, a small voice saying, "mama, it's not fair".
So, why do two US physicians with four children under the age of eight, choose to move to highland Guatemala..." read the rest of this article interviewing Brent and Jennifer on the Hospitalito July Newsletter.
We started working in the hospital in mid May. We are excited and happy to be seeing patients again and working with the very dedicated staff at Hospitalito. As always with new work, there are unforeseen challenges. We studied Spanish for our first three months here so that we could communicate with the staff and patients, but are finding that a vast number of patients speak no or only a little Spanish. It is hard not being able to communicate with patients directly in their native language. There is something lost in the history taking, in the patient education given, in the encouragement we want to impart. Unfortunately, our Spanish is still not proficient, so learning Tz'utujil will have to wait a little longer.
There are also many things about the culture, the cultural practices and beliefs, and the people’s day to day living that we need to learn. This is a slow process, because you really don’t know what you want to know until a situation comes up that provokes questions. Someone can’t sit down and tell you that these are the differences between our culture and their culture. Some things may seem so natural for one culture that it is hard to even explain what provokes a particular belief or practice. For example, several patients have asked if bathing in cold or hot water will affect their medical condition, but we have not yet been able to figure out what concern perpetuates this belief.
Our days are full. We’ve been busy balancing the new work schedule, family, and involvement with the church. The kids seem unfazed by it all and wake up each day with smiles on their faces and ready for a new day (unfortunately usually before 6AM). We have no after school activities, no TV, etc., yet we are busy. Our two first graders go to school from 7:30 until 12:30. By the time they get home and we eat our main meal about 1 or 1:30PM and they have a little time outside to play, it is 2:30. Just enough time for a couple of hours of homeschooling, then it is dinner, a shower, reading and bedtime.
All the activities of daily living are very time-consuming and less so for us than for most of the local people because we are very fortunate to have a washer, refrigerator, and gas stove (so we don’t have to have gather, cut, and burn wood for cooking). Shopping is an almost daily necessity as we can only carry so much home at a time. Meal preparation is very labor-intensive as almost everything needs to be made from scratch and raw fruits and vegetables need to be prepared specially.
Christopher and Elizabeth continue at the local Catholic School. They are learning Spanish, the local Mayan language, Tz'utujil, and a little English as part of their school curriculum. They had exams recently and while we were studying, they had some practice tests at home. In one day, they took tests in all 3 languages. Christopher thought that this was very unfair :). We’ve participated in a number of school events including a field trip to the beach on another part of the lake (we paid for this thinking it was going to be at a local beach and then the day before found out it was a boat trip away, after which the teacher allowed Brent to tag along as a chaperone), Mother’s day celebration which was a huge, wonderful celebration complete with tamales as a treat for all the mothers, and a school birthday celebration. Christopher’s birthday was at the end of May and so we brought a little snack for the class. We were completely surprised when Christopher was inundated with gifts and hugs from his classmates. He received a couple of toys, but most of the gifts were completely practical: socks, towels, cups, bowls. This was so generous and thoughtful as we are sure these students’ families do not have money to spare.
Julianne and Nicholas are both in a local preschool two days a week and really enjoy their time with the other kids in the community. Many little art projects are covering the walls in our house and are providing creative decorations.
Peace
Brent, Jennifer, Christopher, Elizabeth, Julianne and Nicholas
We are writing to thank you for your support of MDA that, in turn, gives us the opportunity to be messengers of your love for many of the forgotten ones in Guatemala.
We realize more and more each day that our time here is a reflection of the love and support you give and have given.
Your prayers are heard as Jennifer manages a 15 year old, scared pregnant girl in labor, providing a safe and caring place for both mom and babe.
Your love is seen as our child asks why the elderly women is picking up the pieces of corn off the ground and with our answer of “because she is hungry” our child gives the 2 Q she had for ice-cream to the woman.
Your teachings of love, knowledge, patience and hope are felt each day as the challenges in front of us dissipate with a hug and thank you from a patient.
Your kind words are heard in the early morning as the birds, singing outside our window, tell us a new day has come with new hope of a better day for the forgotten ones who will not be forgotten today.
Peace
Brent, Jennifer, Christopher, Elizabeth, Julianne and Nicholas
Mother’s day in Guatemala is celebrated on May 10th every year. It is a time to reflect on and give thanks to our mothers (and all mothers of the world) for their love and devotion to our children and to our families.
The life of a mother in the developing world is very different, in many ways, from what I have seen back home. The daily routines of cooking, washing and caring for the children is an all consuming endeavor. The gathering of wood to cook, the fetching of water to drink and wash, the carrying of laundry to the lake, the making of clothing for the family, the trip to the clinic with a sick child.... the day is endless and the next day the same.
At times it is hard to find many similarities between the world I came from and the world I am living in now, but in a “mother” I can see a commonality with the mothers I’ve known best: my mother, my children’s mother, my sisters and my mother-in-law. Their primary desire being the wellness of the family, is a commonality of mothers I see here and the mother’s most dear to my heart.
This commonality is shown in their unique ability to focus on the day to day needs of the family and exemplified by the gifts of calmness and directness at achieving those needs, often times in the face of great adversity. What underlies these gifts is an undying compassion and love for their children and families.
So today I wish to say “thank you” to my mother, the mother of my children, my mother-in-law and to all the mothers of the world for their love, support, compassion and care that they gave yesterday, give today and will give tomorrow.
peace and love,
Brent
P.S. I wonder how much better the world would be if a few more mothers of the world were leaders of the world?
There has been a lot of activity in Santiago. The Easter week or “Semana Santa” is the largest celebration of the year here. It was a special time seeing the community come together in preparation for this holiest of celebrations.
The schools all let out the week before Easter and businesses worked half a week to begin preparing. There were many preparations going on, but the most beautiful was the making of “alfombras” or carpets. These are various religious images or images of flowers painstakingly made entirely out of brilliantly colored saw dust, colored gravel, flowers, and/or plant parts that almost fill the width of the streets. The alfombras cover about 10 blocks surrounding the church. On Good Friday, at least 60 men carrying a large platform with a figure of Christ on it, process through the streets over these alfombras. The procession is very slow. It starts around 3 pm on Good Friday and we heard continues throughout the night until it arrives back at the church at dawn. Our children lasted about 1 1/2 hours, not all night!
Christopher and Elizabeth enjoyed their week off from school and couldn’t figure out why we wanted to continue home schooling. They received their first report card and did very well with their lowest scores in English (we still can’t quite figure that one out) and Physical Education. Julianne also had a week off from preschool but kept asking when she could go again. Nicholas celebrated his 3rd birthday April 5 (our first family birthday in Guatemala). We enjoyed hot dogs, a cake, and playing with friends.
We moved into our permanent residence last week and we are excited to be settling down and not living out of suitcases. Brent and Jennifer continue in language school and we are finding language acquisition much more challenging than for our children. We will begin working at Hospitalito in mid May and are looking forward to working with and for the people of Santiago.
Peace and Love,
Brent, Jennifer, Christopher, Elizabeth, Julianne and Nicholas
We arrived in Santiago Atitlan on February 9, 2010. After a night flight and then a 3 hour drive to Santiago, we were warmly greeted by many of the staff at Hospitalito. They graciously helped unload our many heavy bags and carried them down the path to the house where we will be living for the next 2 months. The staff had a welcome lunch for us the next day where we had a delicious local dish called caldo de pollo (chicken soup) and tamalitos, which are little tamales without the filling.
The children are doing great, exploring their new surroundings and making new friends. Christopher and Elizabeth have started 1st grade at the local Catholic school. It’s amazing to see them go to school everyday without a complaint nor a worry that they don’t speak Spanish and that the teacher doesn’t speak any English. Kids are so adaptable! Julianne is attending preschool two days a week and is enjoying that. To our surprise, she asked the other day when we were going to get to Guatemala. When we told her that this is Guatemala, she just said “Oh.” Nicholas says “Hola” to everybody with such a big infectious smile that all seem to walk away with a bigger smile. Jennifer and Brent have started language school and are finding out how much they need to learn in the next few months.
We will continue in language school until mid May and then we will start working at Hospitalito. The hospital is in the process of being rebuilt (see previous blog). It appears that the hospital is functioning well at the interim location, but you can sense the excitement surrounding the building of the new hospital with a projected opening date in late summer or early fall.
The people have been very friendly and helpful. They really love children and are curious about our diverse family.
The area is beautiful and the climate temperate. The yard in the house we are staying at has evergreens and many exotic, tropical flowers, as well as birds. The kids love running up and down the long grassy area in front of the house playing make-believe games of kings and queens and rescue. No toys necessary, just one big stick that we try not to let Nicholas get a hold of. There is also a great tree for climbing.
We go to the local market several times a week. There is a good variety of fruits and vegetables, beans, rice, and, of course, tortillas. The tortillas are made by hand out of masa right while one watches and then cooked on a stone griddle. They are best eaten hot, right on the street! The bananas, pineapple, cantaloupe, mangos, and papaya are all as sweet as can be and the avocados are the best and biggest we’ve ever seen. We have splurged on peanut butter and cheese which are not at all a local staple, but can be found in town.
Walking or riding a tuc-tuc is the most common mode to get somewhere. The kids love riding in tuc-tucs: no seatbelts, open air, holding on to the edge of your seat as you wiz dangerously close to other vehicles. Click here for a video of a tuc-tuc ride in Santiago.
The church is very alive here. There are three masses on Sunday. Two in the local language,Tz'utujil, and one in Spanish. The Spanish Mass had over 800 people and was standing room only, the overflow extending out the back of the Church.
The Tz'utujil dress is very colorful with intricate patterns of birds and flowers in purples, reds, greens, and yellows. This along with the music and singing made for a very exciting mass that even Nicholas enjoyed until halfway throught the homily when he was tempted (as Christ was tempted in the Gospel this week) to get off Daddy’s lap and make a break for the back of the church. The other children did surprisingly well at Mass eventhough it was a bit longer than at home.
We want to thank our families and friends for all their support, especially over the last few months, to help make this transition go as well as it has.
We hope all is well with you and your loved ones.
Peace and Love,
Brent, Jennifer, Christopher, Elizabeth, Julianne, and Nicholas :)
We were so excited about the arrival of the Burket Family, that we sent Aklax to the airport ONE DAY EARLY! Brent and Jennifer have arrived to volunteer at the Hospitalito for THREE YEARS. They are both family practice physicians with the ability to perform cesareans.
On the left in the group foto are Christopher, Brent, Jennifer and Julianna Burket. Aklax is holding Elizabeth and Juan Manuel has little Nicholas. (yes, four small children!) The staff was so eager to meet the new family that they arrived to welcome them, and to help carry luggage.
We are very happy that they have arrived!
Mission Doctors is the organization that facilitated their volunteer time with HA. It was September 2007 when Dr. Brent arrived with Mission Doctor’s director Elise Frederick. We have been patiently awaiting his return.
