El Matazano

March 24, 2026, March Mountain Medical Team

“Here I am Lord. I will go if you lead me!” This verse from Isaiah was featured in the devotion both Monday night and Tuesday morning, so this became our theme for the day. And thus, we were led into the clouds towards El Matazano community.

We woke up early this morning and after an excellent breakfast by Karen and Albita we left for El Matazano. This is the most remote village that we travel to this week, almost two hours away from Alfredo House. We traversed some very narrow roadways and very steep hills, quoted to be an elevation of 7,000 feet. We arrived at our destination and began unloading the bus and preparing our stations for patient care. We were assisted in unloading and setting up our equipment by both adults and children of the community. A long line waited for us at the entrance to the school.

It was a busy day, seeing over fifty families and over twenty individual patients in the dental clinic. The children were very appreciative of the tattoos and stickers that they were given. There was a little girl in a pink shirt that received a pink sticker. She was so happy to receive it that she ran across the clinic to show her friend.

Not all families are traditional families. A family was served where the mom was deaf. She and her husband had lots of signs that they used to communicate. She was one of eight children and five of them were also deaf. Mom was so excited for us to know that none of her three children were deaf. It was amazing to see this family function in such a typical manner, when many in the United States might not reach that capacity.

Moved by the love expressed between the couple, Dr. Joe gave the mother his cross.

The community leaders presented Lidia with a letter of gratitude for the services offered by Friends of Barnabas. The letter was signed by all the leaders and stamped with the community seal.

We were assisted by members of the community with packing up for the day. The ride home was subdued compared to the ride in. It was easy to sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery and reflect on the day’s happenings. As we got home, we enjoyed an excellent dinner and watched videos about the FOB program. We had a devotion after dinner and reviewed the community we will be serving tomorrow. We are optimistic and excited about another day.

Dr. Joe and Joe