A Week with the Regis Interfaith Medical Team in Guatemala, by Matt Muller

 A week with the Regis interfaith medical team in Guatemala by Matt Muller

I had been invited to join the team to install solar panels on one of the buildings at Cuidad de la Esperanza  a number a months ago.  In the interim I had had several calls to discuss the installation details with Juan Pablo and Perla with Stephanie and Ricky as interpreters.   Everyone was very helpful and kind but it was clear that I was not going to be able to plan all the details of the installation from the United States.  I focused my pre-trip efforts on doing my best to pack the necessary tools and equipment that I would not be able to readily purchase in Coban.  Ultimately, the kindness and past stories I had heard of the great work of the medical team and those at Ciudad de la Esperanza gave me the faith that the installation would be made possible by the team on the ground in Coban.

DAY 1 MONDAY

For me the real journey began with packing dozens of suitcases with medical supplies at Regis Sunday May 4th.  This was my first in-depth interaction with some of the students going on the trip and hearing more about our itinerary.  I of course could have asked details prior to jumping into things but I had been so busy with work deadlines that I chose to trust that I was in great hands.  Around 12 hours later we were on the ground in Guatemala City loading Perla’s truck and our bus roof with all the suitcases for a long slow drive to Coban.  Lauri had mentioned as we were handling suitcases, “be sure to have the fan bag accessible”.  This seemed a bit strange thing to say…. why would fans be the first item?  As we loaded the bus each of us was handed a little battery powered fan for cooling ourselves.  I had already noticed the bus was a fairly new Hyundai and saw AC vents so I was still a bit confused.  A bit into the drive Ricky asked everyone to close the windows and said we were going to try the AC.  It became clear that past bus experiences had proven you should not count on the US comfort of AC.    I believe the outside temperature climbed to around 90 so my falling apart body was happy for both whatever the AC could muster and for the distraction of the fan as was we progressed through what turned out to be a seven hour drive.     We ate PB&J sandwiches made in route and stopped once for a quick bathroom break and some ice cream.  My stomach was craving something more after an overnight flight but I recall somehow thinking that the whole bus scenario is somehow good or fitting….we are heading to help some of the poorest people in the world…its probably important that we have to give up some of our creature comforts of the rich US.  

Just like the rest of the trip, I had not asked about accommodations.  Dave from the Regis choir had mentioned other Regis trips where people stayed in houses of volunteers from the local communities so I figured it would be something like this or some facility associated with a local church.  I was surprised when we pulled into a very nice hotel as most of our drive had passed through what appeared to be poor communities.  We unloaded personal suitcases and gathered for a nice meal and instructions for the next day before my cramping muscles made it to the comfort of a hot shower.  I remember having gratitude for the shower and the thought that I could not have made this journey just a short year and a half ago before starting duloxetine.   My head hit the pillow and I was out for the night.

DAY2 TUESDAY

The next morning we all met outside the restaurant to start the day.  My heart felt at peace with all the singing birds and the lush green surroundings.  I was light years away from the stress of a country crumpling before my eyes and was nourished both physically by those that had prepared food and spiritually by the environment and the energy of all those that were on the trip.  We took a short bus ride to the clinic and it was quick to work.  While all the students were getting suitcases to various clinic locations I found my tools and Ricky found me a room to serve as a base for my work.  I was introduced to Nery; he spoke no English but was ready to help me in any way he could.  I don’t recall if Perla or Ricky served as an initial translator, but we worked getting a ladder, accessing the roof, and finding the present location of the solar panels.  Excellent the panels had shipped unharmed! My first little blessing was that the painters that were on site helped to carry all the solar panels to the ladder while Nery and I pulled them up two stories with a rope.  All 8 panels made it to the roof and were light work due to helping hands.   We moved on to track how power fed through the various buildings of Ciudad de la Esperanza. One of my biggest concerns was how I would connect power from the solar panels into the campus power.  Over video calls we had talked of running power all the way to the first floor of the clinic where there was room in a breaker box.  This was doable but was clearly going to be a lot of work.  Now that I understand how the clinic functions, I believe this option would have required after hours work so as not to disrupt all the amazing work that the team squeezes into that building.  I don’t know if I would have had the energy to work night and day so the second blessing was finding a open conduit adjacent to the location of the intended solar panel location.  I believe Juan Pablo had wanted me to run the wiring to the clinic because in his understanding this is how I would offset the energy use of the clinic.  Now that I understood the power feed to the whole campus it was clear that the open conduit feeding the building I was already working on would be the simplest solution.  Plans were now coming together and I made a list of missing items and headed out with Perla to buy what was needed.  

Matt's view all week

Perla and I first headed to a place called Joey’s solar where hopefully we would pick up all the needed racking materials.   We pulled up to hole in the wall type warehouse building where Perla started conversing with a couple of locals inside.  I looked around to assess what type of materials they had.  My first assessment was that the racking was not as robust as what is used in the US but I should be able to make it work.  We progressed through a translation of the basic design I had planned and found that I would need to switch the solar panels from landscape to portrait orientation.  I was a bit hesitant to do this as this would increase wind loading.   Regardless we moved forward with the change in orientation and started to communicate the full list of materials.  While the two men were gathering and tallying the items, I asked Perla if he would ask about regulations for interconnection to the power grid.  Up until now I had been told several times, “no problem”, in Guatemala you can do what you want.   There was a bit of back forth but eventually the from Joey’s solar understood the situation and Perla said, “ahh ahh I did not know this!”  We will visit the utility. They can fine you if you do not consult with them.”   Perla and I had some follow-up conversations about this but he would consult Juan Pablo to ensure the appropriate decisions were made.  This was my second little blessing.  I had concerns about the previous answers I had been given and didn’t see it as my call to connect to the grid without following the rules appropriate to Coban.  We were given a price for the materials but then headed off to an ATM as Joey’s only accepted cash.  We also hit Cemaco (the local version of Home Depot) to purchase wire, an electrical breaker, concrete anchors and a bit for my hammer drill.  Perla graciously invited me to lunch at one of his favorite restaurants in Coban where I got a taste of some local food and some time to recoup and recenter myself.  

Matt on the roof creating the frames for the solar panels

We returned to the clinic and I focused on confirming the electrical plan would work while Perla  touched base with Ricky for anything he might need.  I took the cover off the second floor electrical panel and found out that the breaker was not going to fit in that box. From Perla’s perspective the easiest option would be that I replace the electrical box with a new larger one.  Fundamentally this was doable but past experience suggested I would need at least a day to do this.  I would also need to do this outside the teaching hours of 7 to  3:30 and I would have to do some live electrical work.   Nery seemed to have some other thoughts but because of my poor Spanish these weren’t yet clear.  It seemed that he thought one of the conduits out of the second floor box might allow me to pass through to a first-floor box.  We went to the ground floor and confirmed breaker space and then proceeded to see if I could get a test wire through to the first floor.  I pushed about halfway down and then hit obstructions.  This is when my next little blessing hit.  Nery had left the area and went off to get what is called “fishing wire” for pulling through electrical conduits.  In this case I was surprised because almost every tool I had asked Nery if the clinic had a tool, his answer was “NO”.  In this case he found some wire that they make do with and he started pushing up from the ground floor to the second floor.  I soon saw his wire poke out into the second floor box proving we had a solution for completing the power tie in.  It was now as simple as asking Perla if he would pick up some longer wire while he was out picking up the racking materials from Joey’s.  Fast forwarding through more minor details I was able to end the first day connecting in the electrical as planned and confirming the racking layout would work.  When the medical team asked me how the first day had went I was very pleased and amazed to say that all the major obstacles had been overcome. It would be a step by step putting pieces together from here.  That’s more than I could expect when starting a project from scratch in the US with a wide array of tools and resources at my fingertips. This is hard to imagine in a country where my grasp of the language is poor, I don’t have my own transportation, and I don’t know where to readily acquire typical materials.  After our bus ride back to the hotel we went straight to dinner.   The medical team followed dinner with a daily debrief.  I wanted to join but was just too exhausted and headed to my room for a shower, touching base with JoAnn and then hitting the bed to recharge for the next day.

Day3 (Wednesday)

I woke up ready to roll today.  I headed to breakfast at the same time as the day before but missed that we would start half an hour later.  This gave me a chance to sit in one of the rockers outside the restaurant and meditate to the beautiful bird songs in the background.  I once again had to take note of gratitude that I was here and able to go another day.  Without my medicine I couldn’t image starting another day on the roof.  How amazing it is to be given a second chance in life to do what you love most.  After the bus drive I was able to go straight to the roof and begin laying out the locations to drill into the concrete. The sun was already strong on my back as I started to drill holes.  I think I had a few holes complete when Nery popped over the top of the ladder and begin to say something to me in Spanish.  I had found yesterday that body language and broken Spanish was not enough to give Nery technical instructions to help me.  In reality I could have proceeded most easily on my own but Nery seemed eager to learn the extra time here was an obvious chance to “teach a man to fish rather than giving him fish”.  Our default translation system was audio on my phone which had seemed to work the day before.  I wondered if Nery knew how to read as he only seemed to respond to audio as compared to me showing him Spanish words.  I tried to work out a flow where I could drill holes and Nery could apply epoxy for setting anchors in place.  In my typical fashion I rushed a bit trying to give Nery something do as compared to standing idle.  There were a few challenges created due to my rush but they were problems that could be solved.  My recollection is that the anchors were all in place by about 1 pm.  Nery and I had found a reasonable method of teamwork and it was time for a break from the hot sun.  I needed another gallon of water and some more food so I headed to the ground for some rest.  I had applied sunscreen the same as the day before but Eric said my neck looked like a lobster.  In the shade I got a chance to watch a little more what was going on outside the clinic. It’s a bit of a blur of exhaustion at this point but I believe that day some welcoming cooling rain came.  With the cooler air I regained the energy to make modifications to the legs so they could be attached to the anchors.  The day ended with I believe all 16 legs ready to go and a hope to finish the install on Thursday.

With my optimism of completion on Thursday I mentally committed to attending the medical debrief that night.  I think I had time to shower the sweat and grime off before dinner, renewing me for both dinner and attention for the debrief.   This was my first attendance at any sort of discussion with the whole group.  I had been told the debriefs get quite emotional so I had a reasonable understanding of what I was going into.  Everyone shared each of their rotation experiences and sometimes heartfelt moments with particular patients.  There was lots of love and energy in the room and I assumed I would be eventually asked to share my day.  As I thought about this, my mind came to my gratitude for being able to be here, my body functioning, getting to do work I enjoy, and hopefully the work resulting in long term returns to the community.   I am an engineer, a researcher and an economist so my mind can't help consider the opportunity cost.  Would the savings of my labor be greater than all the resources (money, jet fuel, Perla’s time, food and more) that it took enable me to be in this place.  I could clearly see that the program was amazingly well organized, wasn’t a vacation in disguise for the students, and was transforming the students so I felt as a bit of an imposter in the room as a simple solar installer.  When it came time for me to speak I tried to convey my gratitude for all the team was doing, the opportunity to witness their work and the idea that so far I was quite removed from the clinic experience being up on the roof.

Day 4 Thursday

The racking went together quickly on Thursday morning and Nery and I mounted solar panels on the rack before lunch.  I went ahead and electrically connected the panels to make sure everything was working as expected.  So far so good, so I showed Nery how he could see that each panel was producing power and explained to him what he might want to watch for in the future.  I had already been expecting it based on piecing the racking together, but I confirmed with everything in place that the racking was weaker than desired in the event of high winds.   My mind had been playing around with ideas on how I would stiffen it but this would depend on what supplies I could find at Cemaco.   Deb had asked if I could build a walker for a kid with cerebral palsy and so the next step would be a run to the store to find options for bracing the rack and materials to work with for the walker.  I had some time to spare before Perla could take me shopping so I got some food and had a bit of a chance to interact with some kids outside the clinic and seeing some of the students in action.  Later at Cemaco I found wheels for a walker but was still looking for options for the structure and how to secure or support the used.  Perla had built a walker out of PVC in the past but I wasn’t seeing anything strong enough at Cemaco.  I asked about wood but Perla said we would have to go to a wood workshop for that.  He let his memory take us around town until he found this cool wood shop where they built beautiful furniture but also had a mill on site.  Inside I sketched out some basics of what I would need; Perla translated and next thing you know we are wandering around that stacks of drying wood out in the yard to find small pieces that would work.  The dried rough sawn wood was then handed off to a couple of guys in the mill and minutes later they handed me wood planed to the dimensions I had given.  Service like that in the US would have cost me a $100 minimum but the total charge was like $8.   I am a furniture builder so this little side trip was something unexpected to add to my gratitude list for the week.  The work day was ending when Perla and I got back to the clinic so I put the supplies away and sat down at the entrance to wait.  Dianna’s daughters were coloring so I tested a bit of my Spanish and asked if I could color with them.  Laury (age 5) I think initially said no because she had a clear plan of how she was going to complete her picture.  I joined her little sister instead but after my coloring skills met Laury’s approval she gave me instructions on what sections I could join in on.  I really enjoyed just getting to speak Spanish with her and joke around.  At the end of our coloring session she announced, “Mi Amigo” and gave me a big hug.   We had a great ride back on the bus together where I was showing her pictures on my phone and asking her questions in Spanish.  I think we got back late that night.   I don’t remember the exact details but I passed on debrief because I was afraid I wouldn’t get enough sleep to squeeze in all the remaining tasks on Friday.  I clearly was a bit worried that getting a walker figured out and buttoning up the solar might be too much for the last day as I woke up multiple times that night dreaming about the work to complete.

The installed panels!

The panels installed on the roof of the lab

Day 5 Friday

I first worked with Nery to add the additional supports to the solar rack.  The equipment I got worked perfectly but somehow I miscounted parts at Cemaco so the system was not quite complete.   I had failed the day before to find something to serve as a support belt for the walker so hopefully one trip into town and I could take care of solar and walker parts all at once.  Talking to several people on the team I was hopeful that I could find a weight belt or a construction type support belt that would work for the walker.  Perla took me to a construction store first where I found a Velcro style construction harness that with cutting and needle and thread should fit the waist size of a kid.  We were going to head to Cemaco but we got a call that Stephanie needed to come to town as well.  We swung by and grabbed Stephanie and upon return to town they dropped me at Cemaco while they ran some errands.  I was starting to feel like a local because the guy working in the nuts and bolts section saw me coming and ran the other way.  Just kidding!, he knew I was the guy that was using the phone to translate for strange requests the day before and here I am now asking for needle and thread.  I couldn’t help thinking he must be really confused by a gringo asking for odd nuts and bolts and now sewing supplies.  Needless to say he was very kind and tried to help me in any way he could.  I got the solar parts but failed on needle and thread.  Eventually Stephanie and Perla came by and picked me up and we all chatted about where to possibly get sewing supplies before I jumped in the back of the truck.   Rain was rolling in and I noticed that we were heading back to the clinic even though we hadn’t stopped at another store.  I was a little worried the walker was being given up on but when we rolled in Stephanie said she had located both needle in thread in the clinic.   The rain was coming down hard now and the rest of the team was beginning to recover suitcases for packing in Perla’s truck.  I wasn’t sure what the timeline was for the evening other than knowing we were having a Shabbot dinner at the school before we would return to the hotel.  Stephanie had given me the needle and thread so I was wanting to rush off to get to work on finishing the walker.  Instead, I quickly packed many of my tools in a suitcase and left them with those loading the truck.  I then started sewing as fast as I could on the cut down belt.  Deb had said maybe there wasn’t time to finish the project but that idea was too hard for me to swallow.  I was thinking of everyone heading to dinner and just staying back to work until I was finished.  Maybe I could just sew on the side at dinner?  About then Dr. Lauri came in the building to show some others the new lab spaces.  She asked what I was doing and then told me she had sewn her own wedding dress…also happy to take over.  She sent me off to get cleaned up for dinner while she stitched at twice my pace.  She soon had the belt done and I found Deb to take a look at how we would tie the belt onto the walker itself.  Before I knew it we were taking a picture in front of what we hoped would work for the young boy.   We all wished we could see how well it would work but we would have to wait to get pictures back from Juan Pablo.  In that moment I felt part of this team that works so well together to make little miracles happen.  I don’t know if I could have finished walker before Shabot on my own but regardless I was full of gratitude that Dr. Lauri could offer her hands of help and I could feel more relaxed going into dinner.

Matt and Deb with the newly finished gait trainer for an 8 yr old with CP

We all soon gathered for dinner and were sitting at tables waiting to start the celebration when someone said, “we are just waiting for wine to be opened”.  Dr Christian asked me if I had any of my tools that we could use in place of a corkscrew.  Hmmm,  I thought,  I had saved a few things behind and maybe there was something that would work.  We both went out of the building to see what I had kept for the last-minute walker work.  What was in the bag was just right (a cordless drill, a wood screw and a crescent wrench).  We came back to the cafeteria and opened the first bottle together to an ovation from the room.  I would never have imagined that I would be opening wine with my drill and getting an ovation.  Ciudad de la Esperanza is definitely a place where special encounters are actually the norm.  The Shabbot was of course a true gathering of loved ones and gratitude was the theme of the night.  The celebration included a wonderful Mariachi band.  I wished that I knew the words so I could join in the boisterous singing but I would have to learn them for next year.  I must say I was so exhausted that I only let myself have a sip or two of wine for fear I would collapse before the night was over.  I enjoyed it very much, but I was so thankful when I was able to lay my head on the pillow that night.

Matt and Christian opening the wine with Matt's drill!

THE WEEKEND

Matt securing luggage on the bus

Saturday morning would be an early departure on a long drive to Antigua followed by a full debrief and a social night over dinner.  Sunday we had breakfast together and then everyone was given time to freely explore Antigua before we would all gather at a place called the Forest.  At the forest we shared in a Mayan spiritual ritual and then celebrated the evening with food, drink and just enjoying each other’s company.  Although I choose not to describe these last two days in the journal fashion I applied to the work days, they were special in many ways.  I still don’t know every student’s name but I had time sitting by the fire, on a bus ride or elsewhere just to get to know some of them and a bit of their stories.  In the debrief on Saturday I had more to share of myself, more feelings of belonging to this group, and a definite desire to return next year with a personal commitment to get to know the team early in the journey.  I also promised myself to work on my Spanish for the next 365 days.  I was able to piece together much more of the amazing background and history that has formed the miracle of the medical team over many years.  Antonio brought up the thought that a movie needs to be made to record their rich history.  His passing comment quickly turned into much interest and passion to make the thought become reality.  I am eager for the day that I watch a documentary on the journey from Haiti to Cuidad de la Esperanza by “Tortoise and Hare productions”  (a connection Antonio and I made from our experience with Mayan spiritual leader 😊).  Antonio also brought to my attention the phrase “Whispering Providence” that I am told has been used often in relation to this trip.  I can’t imagine a better phrase to describe my experience over this week even if Dr. Lauri is a master at listening and finding opportunities to whisper words in the right ears (in my case that magic word was ssollarrrr…).  I have the deepest gratitude to the whole medical team and all that work to make this trip possible every year.  In the crazy times of our country all you students are a hope and inspiration for a better future.  My heart goes out to you!  God willing, I will be on this trip in a year and I am sure it will bless me in a 100 new ways.

Matt Muller (solar engineer May 2025)