Concordia students take Guatemala medical mission trip

Dr. Jennifer Janousek, professor of health and human performance, Jill Beisel, physician's assistant, Dr. Sarah Matthias, pediatrician, and nine Concordia University students – including Seanna Patterson of Lincoln and Ian Fiala of Seward – went on a medical mission trip to Guatemala for a week in May.

Janousek has been leading this mission trip for the past 15 years to Santa Cruz Lutheran Church and Medical Clinic in Amatitlan, Guatemala. For these past years, the group has hosted medical clinics, a health fair, health educational sessions and conducted Kids Club, which is essentially a one-day Vacation Bible School. The students planned, developed and led the health education sessions and helped lead Kids Club.

This year, however, was the first that the group hosted health education sessions about diabetes care and prevention, chronic pain relief and stress management. Janousek found that this was the most fulfilling part of the trip for her.

"As important as it is to provide medical care, education on health topics lasts much longer than a five-day antibiotic," she said.

The sessions were very well attended and received, which was a significant part of the trip for junior Rebecca Gebhardt. "Once we taught them what to do, many of them started doing the exercises, and that made me realize how open these people were to try the things we were saying," said Gebhardt.

While the students and professors taught health skills to Guatemalans, the most significant moments seemed to be in what the volunteers learned from the people they were helping.

"On this trip, I learned that we could choose to be happy," said Gebhardt. "We tend to envy others and compare ourselves to those who have a better living situation than we do."

Reece Snodgrass, a sophomore who went on the trip, elaborated: "Everyone we met had such a strong faith, and they were grateful for everything," said Snodgrass. "They didn't have many material things, but they have so many things we could all learn from that are more important."

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