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