As we approach our 10 year mark here in Guatemala, we have come to recognize that there are seasons of growth and expansion when God stretches us to our limits. Already this year, we are feeling that this is one of those times. We are being stretched in almost every area - in our work, our finances, our family and yet as always, God has been faithful. We have had so many visitors this month that we have had to turn some away as there was "no room in the inn". One of my greatest challenges each day is to figure out how many people will be eating at our table! Each one who comes brings giftings to share and words of encouragement and we are grateful for every single person who comes across our doorway. We are thankful for the help of the Allison's who have come alongside to shoulder the responsibility with us as the Lord stretches us.



Duane and my vacation to the Peten was a wonderful break in the routine and we were extravagantly blessed by the Gateway Church from Dallas. We met with several other missionary couples and had great fellowship and times of worship. The thing that really impressed us was their teaching about the need for a sabbath rest each week - that it is not optional - but necessary if we are to continue at the pace we find ourselves running this race. So we have made a commitment to ourselves and to our family to take a day a week to rest and spend time with the Lord. We are turning off the phones and asking the workers to take a day off as well. So far (2 weeks now) it has been great and we find ourselves feeling refreshed and ready to continue.



Yesterday in Chiminisijuan Craig and I hiked down to visit a young man who we had seen a couple of weeks ago. He was weak and had been unable to work for several weeks. We could find nothing physically wrong with him so we prayed for him and encouraged him as best we could. When we got to his home yesterday, he was not there. He had walked over the mountain to visit his mother- in -law. So, although exhausted as we hiked back up to the clinic, we were thankful that he now had the strength to make that walk. Then as we finished our clinic day, he appeared at the door asking us to visit a woman in labor. So we hiked to the other side of the mountain to see a very young woman named Candelaria who had been in labor since Sunday - so they said. She was having contractions but everything appeared normal until I asked where her husband was. She began to cry as her mother told us that she had no husband and that she did not want this baby. She was so young - maybe 15 at most - and as I watched her nervously play with her mother's apron, she looked so vulnerable and alone. She was a believer but because of her sin, she was not allowed into the church. We asked her if she would like to give her life to the Lord once again, and ask for his forgiveness. Through her tears, she rededicated her life to Jesus. As we left she smiled shyly. Today we await the news of the birth of her baby.



We had planned a day in San Pedro tomorrow but Sunday as Aaron checked over the plane, he noticed a crack in the elevator (the tail section). So we are down for the moment until Aaron can get it repaired. Thank God for an on-site mechanic! Regretfully we cancelled our trip to the Zona Riena but it will give us an extra day to prepare for the team which is coming from Guatemala City. They are coming from one of the largest churches in the City and will come to do an evangelistic event in the park here in Canilla and then a day of clinic. They will bring 3 doctors and a dentist and we anticipate seeing around 250 people that day. We hope that it will be the beginning of a long-term relationship with them.



Last Friday we had the privilege of hosting the first meeting of the Full Gospel Businessmen here in Canilla. We served dinner to about 40 men, many of whom were not Christians. Their purpose is to reach men who would not ordinarily go to church. And there are many here who have a desire to follow Jesus but because of the legalistic environment within the church community, they will not. They shared testimonies of the goodness and faithfulness of our God - it was really good!

I leave you with this today..."I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6

serving those who serve

Each year our Pastor from the US comes to visit us here in Canilla. He doesn't stay long but his trips always bless our family and many Guatemaltecans. This year was no exception. Yesterday we were honored to have in our home not only Pastor Phil, Kent Henry (an amazing worship leader), and Joel (an amazing videographer) but 30 of the local pastors as well. The local people are always so good to serve and help us and it was a privilege to be able to serve them yesterday. We prepared a lunch for all of our visitors (which turned out to be more than 50), and afterwards Kent Henry led an awesome time of worship - some English and some Spanish. He is so gifted and able to get people beyond their inhibitions to really worship our Lord. Then Pastor Phil spoke with the pastors from Isaiah 54 about expanding their visions, and for some, how to begin to walk in the vision that God has already given them. In the evening we all went to 2 different church services in San Andres where Kent and Phil were able to minister there as well.

Early this morning, we received a call from the community leader in San Pedro. He said they had two children who were very ill and asked if we could come. We had wanted to take the pastors out anyway, so it was a perfect time for them to meet some of our friends there. We saw not only the 2 very sick children but several others as well. Please pray for little Henri who has had vomiting and bloody diarrhea for 7 days. He was very dehydrated (dehydration is the leading cause of death in children here). We will give him 24 hours to respond to the re hydration fluids and medications but if he is not better by tomorrow, we will fly out to take him into the hospital. While I worked, Duane and the pastors spent time praying and sharing a little bit of their faith with the people. We arrived home in time to eat a little lunch and send them off to the City for flights out early in the morning. It was a very fast, busy time but we are so grateful for their input and encouragement into our lives - and for their willingness to share with our Guatemalan friends as well. The pastors here work very hard with very little and we love to be able to encourage them.

Duane and I are counting down the days until next Thursday when we will take a mini-vacation to the Peten. We were contacted a few weeks ago by a pastor from Dallas who had heard about us from a mutual friend. He offered us a 3 day, all expense paid trip. Who does that?!!! It came at the perfect time and we know that it is a gift to us from God.

As always, I am amazed at how God works all things in our lives for our good. My children have heard me say a thousand times that when our lives are totally surrendered to Him, there are no accidents. I have to admit that there are times when I look at the steady stream of visitors in our home, the work in the clinics that grows each day, the added responsibility and challenge of two toddlers, and I think, "I cannot do this." And then I realize that He has surrounded me with people who have come to help, who want to help - from Katie and Aaron, to the Allison's, to our Guatemalan friends. And then He hands us a vacation too! May you have time to reflect on His goodness today in your own lives.

Do you ever have moments when you feel like you have been blessed way beyond anything that you deserve? That's how I felt this Christmas with all (well, almost all - Aaron and Katie were with Katie's family this year) of our children home. Watching little Jacob toddle around, seeing all of our children's faces at our table, working together in clinics and on airplanes and tractors, gave us so much joy. Of course, the down side to that is saying goodbye to each one. But it was great while it lasted!

We continued to hold clinic days throughout the week. We had a few emergencies as the government clinic was closed for the week but nothing too overwhelming. Tuesday after clinic in Chiminisijuan we were asked to visit a young man who had been sick with "a cough and fever for 3 weeks". We walked down - Duane estimates it to be a 2500 foot drop - to a little wood slat house where we found Dionel lying on the dirt floor. He is an 18 year old husband and father who would not look us in the eye. We could find nothing physically wrong with him - at least nothing obvious. He was so thin and looked so sad. He accepted Jesus as his savior 6 months ago. His wife said that a curse had been placed upon him at the beginning of his illness so we talked with him about the protection that we have in the blood of Jesus. We prayed with him, tried to encourage him but even as we left, he crawled back under his blanket to hide. We often find that people here have more faith in the power of demons that they do in the power of Jesus. Pray for him if you have a minute - he is an example of someone who is truly forgotten with no one to help him except Jesus.

The next couple of months will be very busy for us with lots of visitors. We are thankful that the Allison's are here to help us shoulder some of the responsibility for that. Next Thursday we will have our annual day to honor the local pastors. Pastor Phil Stern comes each year to encourage them with a teaching, some personal ministry and then we will serve a lunch. Our desire is to create an atmosphere of unity and encouragement to these men who serve here so faithfully and often without the gratitude of their congregations.

As we look to this New Year, we pray that you are blessed with health and peace and a closer walk with our Savior!