I've been back in Canada for less than 48 hours and am feeling very overwhelmed! The type of life style lived in a 3rd world country is very different however in many ways the people are richer than we are. There is a general contentedness that is unexplainable. I was lucky to meet with several locals in Guatemala however there was one little fellow I met that particularly touched my heart. His name is Christian Perez and he's only 6 years old. He traveled from several hours away to see Dr. Jean Pablo in Nebaj, Guatemala with his mother, aunt and baby sister. He'd seen the doctor several times and with the advice of a dermatologist, was tested to ensure that the condition he suffered from was indeed alopecia. He'd tried a few treatments but his mother was desperately worried for her son's health and was fearful of him dying, Christian (new to school) began to experience teasing and bullying.

When I'd gotten to Nebaj and spoke with Juan Pablo he'd never heard of alopecia to my dismay. A few days later, while at the work site building a roof for a church, Pedro got a call on his cell phone and it was for me. Alopecia in Guatemala in known as peladera and due to the rare occasion, I was called away from the site to visit with Christian. He'd never met anyone else with alopecia and neither had his mother who was very relieved to know her son was perfectly healthy, just hairless. We spoke about the condition for a little while (translated by the doctor) and I managed to get Christian smiling and hopefully feeling a little better about himself. If nothing else he can go back to school and say he met some weird Gringa without hair and isn't the only one.

After a couple of days, I decided I'd like to help this little guy out and I'm hoping to set something very special up for him after I talk to a few people but in the meantime I'm sending the doctor some very important links about alopecia for him to read up on. The hand of God was incredibly apparent during this trip and there's no denying his presence in our lives. My encounter with Christian was not coincidence and I pray that I can do more for him in the near future.

Apart from my visit with Christian, our group finished putting up the roof and a few of us went on some other visits. I could write a book on all my thoughts and adventures during this mission trip however I doubt I'd hold anyone's attention for that long. I wanted to share my experience with Christian with you though and am hoping there is more good news to come concerning the young boy. May God bless you in everything you do!