Our third day was our first in the village of Samayac. We got up at our normal 5 or 6ish in the morning to eat and have devotions and then we got the news… The streets were blocked by a protest about farmland promised and fertilizer. Our way to Samayac was clear but the road between the village and the Army base where our trunks were was blocked. Seeing as they would be a target if they tried to drive through the protest we were a bit stuck. After many phone calls from Bob Vela and conversations with him and Wendy about what we were going to do and how we might accomplish what mattered so much to all of us. We came to the conclusion that at the very least we could provided general medical and pediatrics without the trunks and since the ultrasound machine came with the team daily as well as the EKG we knew that at the very least we could do what needed to be done.

We left the hotel to head to Samayac and get photocopies of the triage forms, as we had none of those either. We pulled over in a gas station to meet with Gabriel the village coordinator to talk out some more logistics and we found out that the protestors were letting emergency vehicles through so that brought about an idea. We worked on a plan where we would use an ambulance to get a few crucial trunks through the protest. We needed the supplies for gynecology and the lab to provide the best for the people who traveled so far for our help. We knew that we could keep the triage forms for those needing medicine and provide the patients with numbers so that they could come back when we had access to the pharmacy trunks.

Beth Dalisky and Cindy Lindsay went off with Gabriel in an ambulance that they convinced to help us out. They worked on a story as they headed towards the protestors. Gabriel would be a patient as Beth and Cindy were already in scrubs, and they would be travelling doctors there to help. As they neared the road block Gabriel became more and more nervous since he lived right near the protest and he was quite concerned that he would be recognized. The ladies covered him with a sheet and a face mask just in case. It was a really good thing that they did since the protestors stopped the ambulance and actually opened the doors to see if it really was what it appeared to be. Our quick thinking teammates got to work on the “patient” Gabriel. Cindy pulled out an IV bag and Beth started digging through the supplies that the ambulance had available. After not being able to find what it was that she was looking for *wink, wink* Beth started the typical flicking of the syringe as though she was getting ready to do some injection. Cindy proceeded to make sure to hang the IV bag in the middle of the door so that it was blatantly obvious what was happening. The Guerillas believed the amazing show they put on that they let them through.

Beth and Cindy had been selected to go since they were the most familiar with our trunks and when they reached the Army base, they went to work re arranging trunks to get the necessary items to the village. It was there that Gabriel came up with the new story for the trip back through. He would hop out of the ambulance before they reached the protest and walk on through because he knew he could and the ladies would ride shotgun with the Bombadero driving. That way they looked like they were on their way back to get another patient to take to the hospital. It appears that Gabriel had a part in the protest ending along with the growing presence of military police in full riot gear.

The ambulance made it to the other side, picked Gabriel up, and headed to the village. At their arrival, they were celebrated as the heroes that they were but the team immediately got to work setting up gynecology, and dental and lab areas. We got to work and then found out that since the protest had broken up the Army could get the rest of our trunks through so they followed about an hour or so behind the ambulance. After those trunks arrived, the pharmacy was set up and they went to work very quickly getting the patients’ prescriptions filled. As others finished up in their areas, they came to help as well and we got it all done. People cannot say that Faith in Practice does not care about the people they help and that they will not do whatever necessary to get them the help they so desperately need!