Fifteen year old Juana came Sunday to our clinic in San Andres from a village about 2 hours away. Her two front teeth were badly decayed, painful and needed to be pulled. The medical team from McAllen Texas examined her and said that they could do not one, but two root canals for her. It took some time to convince her that this would be a good thing for her and that it was worth her missing her ride back to her village. I was amazed...normally those teeth would have just been pulled and she would have gone the rest of her life without her two front teeth. No one is our area does that kind of dental care...bad teeth are pulled...not even filled. This team came with excellence and compassion - a rare combination - and we were honored to have them in our clinic. At one point one of the men came down fro the dental area with a little boy whose face was already swollen. As George came into the pharmacy area, he began to cry, telling me that they had had to pull all of this little boys permanent teeth...that he would for the rest of his life be without teeth.

In a culture where people are mainly concerned about where today's food will come from, dental hygiene is not a priority. And while it seems that we have given out enough tooth brushes and toothpaste to supply the entire population, there are still many who do not own or use a toothbrush. Teeth rot slowly and the nerve dies slowly as well, not producing tons of pain...or at least that is what I have been taught. I am unconvinced though when I look into mouths full of teeth blackened with decay. All of this to say, that it was a huge blessing to have this team here.

Yesterday, Duane, Ivan and I flew to Quiche to visit the men in Victor's drug rehab center. There are 15 men there at the moment - all sober and recovering, receiving care for their bodies and their souls. Ivan made them a nutritious lunch of beef stew and rice. It was a treat as they rarely have meat. Victor told us about one of the men whose 8 year old son brought him to the Center. He came in a Tuk-tuk (a small taxi - with a motorcycle engine) with his dad's suitcases packed. He knocked on the door asking that Victor care for his dad. It is so often the children's responsibility to care for their drunken parents. It is not uncommon to see men passed out, lying in the dirt, with a small child sitting nearby, waiting, watching over his father. Again, we are grateful for people like Victor who are making a difference in the lives of these people whom we have grown to love so much. It is a small difference...a drop in the ocean of need. But we do not "despise the day of small beginnings." And we know that as one person's life is affected by a demonstration of the love of Jesus, the ripple effect that it has upon that person's family and friends is often very great. So we wait...and trust...knowing that what is impossible for us, is an easy thing for God.

Tuesday after clinic, Tomasa - a woman whom I have known for many years - came and asked for help with her son oldest George. George is 22 years old and has taken the role of provider since his father's death 6 years ago. I have watched him grow from a little boy to a man. Tomasa told me that he was sick with a fever and unable to get out of bed. I gave her some antibiotics and Tylenol and promised to do all in my power to visit them as soon as possible.

Yesterday Duane, Abi, Tomas (our Quiche translator) and I hiked down to their home. It is an incredibly difficult walk - descending about 3,000 feet - and an incredibly beautiful one as well. George, thankfully was better and had been up that day to work in their fields, harvesting their corn. We prayed for him...mostly because he has chosen to leave the church - and God - for the moment. Tomasa then began to cry and ask for prayer. She has eight children, lives in a two room house perched on the side of this mountain. Her husband, before he died, had planted coffee which has sustained them over the last 6 years but now has reached the end of its productivity and yielded very little harvest this year. Her corn crop was stricken with a blight and produced only 2-100 pound bags, which will feed them for less than a month. She had no other food in the house. She did not ask for prayer for all of this however...it was only after we had prayed that I began to ask. She asked for prayer because she is lonely and although she did not express it, she is weary as well. I tried to put myself in her shoes...and found them unbearable. And yet I know that God sees her struggling to provide for her children, to raise them in the faith, to love them, and I know that He is pleased. I know as well that He will provide justice...whether in this life or the next. Psalm 140:12 says, "I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy." And I trust that His word is true.

We will help Tomasa with food for her family - hopefully in a way that will not defy her dignity. As always, we remember, "that too whom much is given, much is required." And we have been given so much... Please pray for her and her family when you think of it - pray that the Lord will give her the strength to perservere and that He will allow her to feel His presence and His love in her daily life. For it is in those moments when we feel His presence that we are refreshed and strengthened to continue.

Katie Shaw wrote the last entry but the scripture is so fitting..."let the children come to me..." as Little Winter went home to be with Jesus on Monday. Duane returned to the capital to help them maneuver the completely foreign process of taking the body out of the hospital and to fly them back out to their village in the Zona Reina. He landed briefly here in Canilla to re-fuel and they stoically held the little casket on their laps. They spoke not a word nor shed a tear.

And the triplets... We found a doctor who was willing to care for the mom until she delivered. He asked that she come into the hospital on Thursday where she was to stay until they are born. We walked out to her village Sunday to give her that good news and to let her know that we were available to help her get there. We even talked about resources to help her with her other children (as she has no other living family) while she is in the hospital. We left our phone number, agreeing to talk on Tuesday. She didn't call. As is so often the case, we do all in our power to help, but we cannot make them accept that help.

Our constant prayer is that in all that we do, that the love of Christ will shine through and men will be drawn to Him. In both of these families, we are left without seeing any change...no miracles, no hearts changed. The temptation is to become discouraged and to give up. However we know that we are just laborers, planting seeds where we can, watering when we can. But the harvest comes in the timing of the Lord. Only He can make those seeds grow to maturity.

On a happier note, the baby who we took back to the orphanage last week will go home to his family this weekend! We are rejoicing in this happy outcome...that he will not remain an orphan...and this is a miracle!

Let The Children Come

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matt 19:14

In a land that is sometimes seemingly made up of primarily women and children, these verse often seem fitting for this land. And as we have seen many children that have needed a savior to come to, they have been a source of comfort this week as well.

Little Winter has continued to struggle, and the hospital placed him on life-support a couple days ago. His family has decided to take him off life support and home where he can pass into the arms of His Savior. Once again, our prayer is that this whole situation has been an opportunity where they might all find the grace, mercy and love of Jesus.

We have also had the privilege of helping a local orphanage take care of a little baby born premature. While we have full confidence that he will be loved, taken care of, and taught Truth, it has been another reminder of the sad situation that some babies enter into in this world, fighting against a sense of rejection and loss from the get go.

And last week in clinic, we saw a woman who was pregnant with triplets! Aside from the reminder of the creative God we serve, there is a level of stress that comes with delivering triplets in our area of the country, mostly stemming from the fact that there is such a high risk that they will deliver prematurely. This particular indigenous family is very poor, has two children, and no living family members to help them. So, for the mother to go into the hospital on bed rest (the recommended situation for how far along she is) means that someone will need to watch her other two children and that the husband will be unable to work for that time while he stays with his wife. Then the issue becomes supporting these three babies should they be born early; we have a good friend in the City who has hooked us up with a doctor in the government hospital system, and so the family will move forward to work within this system to get the help needed, praying that the equipment and skill is available when these babies are born. And then of course once the babies are born, the mother will need help also with general care and most likely formula to help supplement breastfeeding.

And the stories could go on...

And yet, in the midst of these children and more, I am reminded that while there are times that our human hands can do no more, each of them has a Savior - arms wide open - continuously asking that we not hinder in any way their ability to come unto Him, but instead point them in the direction of His welcome embrace... this side of Heaven or the other. And that there, inside His loving arms, they will find an end to their physical suffering, a sense of belonging beyond any they could ever find in the things of this earth, and the miracle of life... even three at once!

Please pray today for these five children and the children of this country... that we will not ever hinder them to find the arms of their Savior, and that they will find life there in His embrace.

"The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7.

I am writing quickly this morning, before we take off for the City, to ask for your prayers for a baby who came yesterday. Little Winter (yes, that is really his name - but in Spanish it is pronounced Weenter) is from the Zona Reina. Silvia called last week about this baby but because of all the rain we could not fly out there nor could they make the 6 hour walk across the mountain to find a micro-bus. This week, thankfully, the rains have stopped and Silvia with her year old son, Winter and his mom left their homes on Tuesday morning and made the two day trip to get to Canilla. Winter is 5 months old and is gravely ill. His belly is enormous and his body is wasting away. We talked with our friend Dr. Pedro in the City (which is the only option to get the kind of help that he will need) and he informed us that both of the national hospitals were closed. One because the staff is protesting and the other because they do not have water! Seems a little hard to fathom... However, he graciously made some phone calls to a couple of his friends and we will be seen this morning by the chief of pediatric surgery. Please pray that little Winter will find help and healing for his body and that his family will be drawn to Jesus.

Thank you for your friendship and prayers!