Thanksgiving Greetings!
The current physical fitness setup at Centro Educativo San Pablo Fe y Algeria.
Dear friends of Healing Hands Medical Mission,
I wanted to give you an update on the blessings we have been able to bestow on our Guatemalan brothers and sisters with your generous help. Our medical mission has been helping provide medical assistance, food and hope to those in need for our 11th year.
We are partnering with the Sailing Vessel Dream Lover to more efficiently transport our medical supplies. Please keep these caring individuals in your prayers as they prepare to return to the United States to load more donations for the people of rural Guatemala.
In March of 2025, we were able to utilize our “new” four wheel drive truck to reach villages previously unreachable to us.
Our missionary, Hector, continues to provide monthly health monitoring and prescription medications for our more critical patients, along with transporting patients who require other specialized care to the local hospital.
We were fortunate to have a documentarian join us in March to record first-hand what it is like to serve the people of this beautiful country. We encourage you to please take a look at the video below as it serves to illustrate the impact HHMM has on its volunteers and patients.
In June, on the advice of Fr. Mario, we conducted all four days of clinic at the Centro Educativo San Pablo Fe y Algeria in Tamagas. This is in a more rural area, and we were able to serve patients who were not previously able to make the journey to Parroquia San Antonio de Padua, the site of our previous clinics. Many students from the school help us by translating Qieqchi (pronounced “key-chay”) to Spanish and setting up the facilities.
Launched just over a year ago, our clean water initiative has provided Ecofiliters to 75 families! Local volunteers help train the families on proper use of the filters, and are available to help with any questions that families may have. Families who regularly use these filters have reported a decrease in parasitic illnesses.
Looking ahead to 2026, we hope to continue our health promotion by helping Centro Educativo San Pablo Fe y Algeria purchase and install exercise equipment. The school not only educates local students, it also serves as a gathering place for the community. Students at the school currently use sections of trees as weight lifting equipment, and they are relegated to a small patch of uneven ground exposed to the elements. Our goal is to help replace the old equipment and provide a protected fitness area that will help the physical and mental health of this rural community. This initiative was developed in tangent with the local community and school officials.
Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians: “For just as the body has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” Each of us, whether providing patient care, praying for our mission, transporting supplies, or providing financial support, is called to share the light of Christ with others in our world. We thank you for your generosity to our mission, and being Christ to so many others. May you have a blessed Christmas season with the knowledge that your gifts make a lasting impact on so many lives. Your faithful commitment is transforming the lives of the people we serve in Guatemala.
Thank you and God bless,
Lisa Carani, APRN
President Healing Hands Medical Mission