"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!

Ana

Clinic today in Chiminisijuan was...challenging. We have had so much rain that the road was impassable with the truck so we took 2 four-wheelers loaded with as much milk and food as we could - plus 3 of us on each one. It was a load for even the four-wheelers which never really complain about whatever abuse we give them. But we made it. Fortunately for us, today was vaccination day so almost all of our patients were waiting on the side of the road for the tech to come and give vaccines. With the new president, if families have their children in school and have them vaccinated, they receive Q300/month (~$50). So they do not miss vaccine days. Even with all of them gone, we still had about 75 people there waiting at the clinic.


It was a pretty normal day until little Ana and her father came in. Ana is three and was obviously ill. Her father told us about how he had taken her into Guatemala City where they told them that she has cancer. I am assuming it is some sort of leukemia. Chemotherapy for them would consist of 6 months of hospitalization and then monthly trips to the City for follow-up chemo. He told of how his mother-in-law had stormed into the hospital and said that they could not afford that kind of care and so they brought her home. They, of course, were asking if there was some way that we could help. He was pretty disappointed to know that we could not give her the treatment that she needs. He and his wife are not Christians but were very willing to talk about it. We told him that of course, salvation would not guarantee that God would heal Ana. But it would guarantee her a spot in heaven should she die. He was agreeable but wants his wife to be with him. So we prayed - and we ask that you pray as well. Pray that God will stretch forth His hand to do signs and wonders; pray that this family would see the power of God and understand the love that He has for them; pray that God would perform a miracle that would lead an entire village to repentance; and pray that Ana will live.


And then for the most frustrating part of the story...They are from a village where there is only one evangelical church and we have heard many things about this church. It seems that the pastor charges his congregation for prayer - among other things. So while you are praying for Ana, would you also pray that God sends laborers into that area who will speak the truth and will love and care for these people who badly need a shepherd.

Thank you for reading this and for praying for Ana. "For where two or more are gathered...."

Facebook

Well, after a month of hearing "Goodbye... we'll see you on Facebook," we now have a Facebook page! We hope to be able to use this for quick updates, while the Blog will still be used for more lengthy posts.

Hope to see you there!

Home again! It was so good to sleep in our own beds! We are thankful to Cali, Juan and Rolindo for keeping things going here...and to God for His protection over our ministry while we were in the US. There have been several robberies in town and some drug related incidents so we are especially grateful for His hand of protection over our home. We are also grateful that although the roads are horrible now because of all the rain that has fallen in the last few weeks, we made it home without incident. Many of the bridges have been washed away and lots of roads are closed because of mudslides. The roads that remain open are knee deep in mud in some places - so travel is...challenging.

Clinic should be busy this morning but I am ready to get back to work!

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good and his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 136:1

Psalm 68:5 "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling."

The Real Life Church team left Canilla early yesterday morning. They were a great group who came to work alongside of us - and they did it with pure hearts of service. Together, we built a small house for a widow and her son up near Chiminisjuan. Estella and her son Juan Daniel have been living in small room made of corn stalks and the remains of their adobe home. Estella's husband died about 5 years ago from alcoholism. She and her 11 year old son have been receiving food in our nutrition program since the beginning. And it gave us great joy to be able to bless her with this new home which is way beyond anything that she could ever have hoped for. What a privilege it is to be able to be the hands and feet of the Lord as He defends the cause of the poor!

We also spent three days working in village schools teaching the children about the miracle of our bodies which are "fearfully and wonderfully made." It was a great opportunity for us to teach young children about simple things like covering your mouth when you cough, and how to protect our bodies...not smoking, drinking, taking drugs etc. We are given an open door in the schools to talk about the love of Jesus as well - which we did! We go each year with this group and this year the director of all the schools here, asked if we couldn't somehow go into each of the 28 schools in our township! Maybe next year.....

That, in addition to our 3 weekly clinics, made for a very full couple of weeks. We also made two trips out to a village way up in the mountains to see a young man who was sick with a severe infection. We gave him the medication that we could and then asked if his heart was well with Jesus. He prayed for forgiveness and accepted the gift of salvation. And then both of his parents asked to pray as well. So the entire household knelt in prayer as they asked Jesus into their hearts. This week, I heard that this young man died. What a blessing to know that he is with the Lord now and is no longer suffering!

We continue our countdown of days until we leave for the US - as of today, only 4 more. Grace and Abi have their backpacks packed and are ready!! Although they have no idea really, of what to expect as the travel for the first time outside of their country, the anticipation exceeds that of Christmas. They ask about a thousand questions each day about what they will see. We, too, are anxious to be with family and friends as we celebrate the marriage of Hannah and Matt. We hope to see you soon!

we have a website!

Our website is now up and running again. Please visit us at:

http://www.adonaiinternationalministries.org

Sunday is the day when we distribute corn. The truck is fully loaded and waiting this morning to go to San Andres. Thankfully, this year has brought lots of rain and the fields are green. A few people are beginning to harvest the early corn. Yesterday I saw beans drying on the street in front of our neighbors house. Once the corn is fully harvested( in November), we will bring an end to this project which was designed to meet the need of those who were hardest hit during the drought of last year. However, what we discovered when we began to evaluate the need last fall, was a large number of women - mostly widows, but some women abandoned or whose husbands are incapacitated by alcoholism - who are hungry. Some are "viajitas" (older women) who for some reason do not have families to help them. Others are women with young children. Women here who do not have husbands to plant and harvest the food that will be needed for the year, are left without a way to earn money. Some will make patates - which are large woven sleeping mats made of grass. A weeks worth of work will yield Q25-30 (about $3.50) - not enough to buy corn, much less the other (more nutritious) foods, or clothing, or school supplies, or medicines that their children need. So we began to help these women with "viveres" ( a 25 pound bag of beans, rice, oatmeal, and sugar) which we distribute every two weeks. This project will not end. Even though we are financially stretched as we buy more 100 pound bags of food each week, we can find no way around God's repeated command to feed the widows and orphans. For we know that this is the fast that He requires. Isaiah 58:6-7 says, "Isn't the fast I choose: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and to not ignore your own flesh and blood?"

Here at home we are busy getting ready for our annual visit from the Real Life church in Washington. We will again be going out to several of the local schools to teach a lesson about how God has created our bodies, and how to care for them. They will also be building a small house for one of the widows up in Chiminisijuan whose house is falling down. It should be a fun week! Four days after they leave, we will close down the clinics and leave for Houston to celebrate the wedding of Hannah and Matt. We will continue food distribution during the time that we are gone but will not operate the clinics. It is challenging to make sure that all those folks who get monthly help with their medications for diabetes, or hypertension or asthma have enough to continue their treatments during that time when we are gone.

We will be at home in the Marine for a few weeks after the wedding (from September 2-23). We hope to see some of you during that time!