A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.

A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.

-Helen Keller

Tuesday, September 20th, 2022

Well it happened, with all the rain and mud our mighty bus got stuck while heading to the El Palmar, Las Vegas, Santa Barbara clinic today. Poor Giovanny, tried as he might, could not get enough traction to make it through. Suddenly, boys and men started appearing out of the woods, the bushes, from up the hill, I mean everywhere. It was like yelling CAKE at a five-year old's birthday party. It was astonishing. They just showed up wanting to help however they could. They drug cables to tie to a truck, shoveled mud, dug up and moved rocks, and one guy even chopped down a tree with a machete. It was like watching a live strongman competition 🏋🏋.

Anyhoo, the mud certainly gave them a run from their money, taking well over an hour, but finally it was freed, annnnnnnd then got stuck again up the road, freed again and eventually made it to the clinic! Whew (Insert cheer here 🎉🎊)

We got the clinic up and flowing in no time and resumed our same roles from yesterday. Everyone stepped up to try to make up for the lost time and really did an amazing job. The community included. The residents immediately began helping both unload and reload all our supplies quickly and efficiently.

Finally, Linda told us a story after dinner about an interaction she had with one of the residents..."An elderly women with a cane came up to me and took the box right out of my hands, I tried to object but she just said NO! gripped her cane under her arm, turned around and walked off." Well Linda, you just don't mess with those little old ladies with canes 😉

I think we all felt touched by the community's willingness and excitement to lend a hand. It reminded us that while we are there to serve them, in reality they are serving us too 🫂

~Christina