Unilla

It always takes me a few days to process all that has happened after a trip like Unilla. We planned and prayed for so long beforehand that I need time to pray through and understand it all. The trip itself was great - the people were welcoming and helpful. The mayor had organized everyone so well. The building where we worked was clean and adequate in all ways. There was even a bathroom, of sorts, which is always a bonus. The weather cooperated although we were praying pretty hard when we woke up to rain on Friday. And most importantly we learned that there has been some evangelism done in this tiny village as there are 2 small but seemingly thriving evangelical churches.

Disturbingly though, were several facts that indicate a deeper spiritual need. One is that this village in the middle of nowhere, is famous for the sugar cane liquor that they make. We had many men confess to drinking problems and in the evening, that drunkenness became more visible. The other problem was that very few women or children came. They were there - in the evening, as we walked through the village they hung back, lots of the children appearing malnourished and many visibly sick with skin infections. When I asked, I was told that they were afraid of us. But the other thing that concerned me was the lack of an advocate for the women. Always in the past the local mid-wives come either to translate or to be with their pregnant patients. Here, there was no one speaking for these women. And in a culture were woman are considered servants - at best - this was disturbing to me. My prayer is that we will be invited to return and that the Lord will provide someway for us to be able to reach this overlooked group.

We returned from that trip Friday night and turned around to do 2 more busy days of our normal weekend clinics. We were so grateful to have the help of our friend Arlen. His energy and humor always keep us going! By Monday night though, I was so tired all I could do was cry. So Tuesday after clinic, Duane packed us all up and we left to spent our Sabbath at the lake in Panajachel. It was great to get away and relax for a little bit.

This weekend will be a busy one as well as Katie and Aaron are scheduled to take 2 of our cleft lip babies into Antigua to have their surgeries done by a visiting team of surgeons. That will leave Don and I alone to work in the clinics.

Enough whining.... Here are some pictures from Unilla. It is a beautiful place!

For those of you who wait for news about the airplanes, the props are on the Aztec! The boys hope to get it started up this week.

And some other good news...Abi's hearing for her adoption is finally scheduled for the 16th of April. We will take her in and meet with the judge. If all goes well - and we are not anticipating any problems - we should have her legal Guatemalan adoption within a few weeks. Please pray that the judge will rule in our favor!