This is my friend Cidiaca. I have known her for many years as we have helped her with her diabetic medications. We have a few people that we help with insulin and she is one of them - so I see her every two weeks when we check her blood sugars and fill up her insulin syringes for the next weeks. She accepted Jesus as her Savior several years ago. Her life is bleak - she and her children often do not have enough food. Her husband is uncaring. But the Lord has blessed her with physical healing. Last year she came in and on both of her feet, her toes were black and necrotic. I knew that she would probably need to have both of her feet amputated if the Lord did not move. So we bought her some shoes, taught her how to care for her feet and we prayed! Gradually over several weeks, the necrosis disappeared and her toes returned to their normal pink color. It was truly a miracle!

About 6 months ago, after she left our clinic on a Sunday morning, she fell when some young people shoved her in the market. We ran up to the market to find the ambulance carrying her away. They told us that she had fractured her leg. I did not see her for a couple of months though her pastor came by to let me know that she was still in the hospital. One day a couple of months later, the ambulance pulled up in front of the clinic and there she was. They sent her home with her fracture unhealed - the surgeons unwilling to operate because of her diabetes. She was unable to even sit up. So Armando and I began to go out to her home and check on her. The first time that we went, we found her lying down on a straw mat, still unable to sit and barely able to turn from side to side. She gave me her x-ray which showed that the neck of her femur was in what looked like a thousand pieces. As we knelt on the ground to pray for her I noticed that her right leg was at least two inches shorter than the other. We left her that day promising to see if we couldn't find someone who would help her. During that week we made lots of phone calls and finally found a surgeon who was willing to help her...out in the Peten. So we returned to her home to give her this news and there she was up and walking! She told us that after we had prayed for her, she slept that night without any pain for the first time since her fall. The most amazing part was that her legs were the same size! I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical - which I guess comes from working in medicine for too many years. But this was undeniably a miracle...and we are all praising the Lord for His power and for His grace and kindness to this woman who has no where else to turn but to a faithful God!

And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always
having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

We talked with Cidica recently, encouraging her to ask God what it is that He has for her to do now...begining with testifying about His great love and power to those who believe! She just smiled...

October 19th and it is still raining...alot. Usually the rains stop at the end of September but this year, thanks to a couple of tropical storms, the rains have continued. The Guatemalans, specifically those in Chiminisijuan where it gets pretty cold when it rains, have taught me to be grateful for the rain...no matter how much mud there is or how cold and wet one might be. I have never heard anyone complain here about rain. It is however, making life a little more challenging. 2 out of the the 3 roads out of Canilla are now completely closed and the third - which is usually a 21/2 hour drive to pavement - is now a 5-6 hour drive. The road that we take to get to our clinic in Chiminisijuan lost a bridge so that is only passable with the four wheeler. So for the last few weeks Duane has driven Armondo and I up on the 4 wheeler. Katie, now in her 35th week of pregnancy is not able to make that ride. So I have worked that clinic by myself - making for really long days. We Fickers, however...particularly the men .... like challenges, especially if it involves mud and vehicles! We have a clinic scheduled for Friday up in Cruz Chich where the road has been closed with a pretty significant mudslide. I am hoping that David will help us get through that with the help of the backhoe!

Here are a few pictures...

Sunday the cleft lip/palate team arrives at the hospital in Quiche from Texas. We have 8 children from our area who will have surgeries. Please be in prayer for good experiences and outcomes for each one. A portion of that team will also come to San Andres on Monday and Tuesday to do dental work. This group came last year and were a tremendous blessing as they not only pulled rotten teeth but filled and repaired - and even did a few root canals. There is a huge need for them here and we are grateful for their willingness to wade through the mud to get here!

September has proven to be a month of change....not my favorite thing.


We said goodbye to Dr. Sherwood and his wife Areli this month. Dr. Sherwood came faithfully every week for two years to help in our clinic here in Canilla. He is currently in Mexico with Areli's family but will return to the US in December. You can follow them at MissionaryDoc.com In his place, Dra. Lindsy has come. She recently graduated from medical school here in Guatemala. She is gentle and very kind and we are grateful for her help each week. Her husband Paul will join her when he graduates as well in January.


Our son Ryan, his wife Katie and our two grandsons Jacob and Joshua left as well this month. They have returned to Illinois and are seeking God's plan for their future. They have left a huge hole not just in the ministry but mostly in my heart. Pray for them if you think of it. Waiting on God is not easy...


Katie Shaw (our son Aaron's wife) is starting her eighth month of pregnancy. Little Ethan will arrive late in November. Please pray for a safe and easy delivery...not in the plane this time as is what nearly happened with Anna! I try not to think too much about clinics without her help. I have e learned that God, in his great faithfulness, always supplies all that we need, just at the time when we need it.


Guatemala passed through the first phase of presidential election this month as well. The second phase will be in November. We had several municipal buildings burned in our area as voters expressed their discontentment with results. Fortunately we had no deaths...at least not in our local area. Living as foreigners, in a country where violence is so close to the surface, is a little nerve wracking at times...especially in election times.


As changing circumstances swirl all around me, and I stress about the future, I find myself looking more and more to the Rock of my salvation. He alone is that safe and secure place where I can find rest for my soul, and my emotions. All else is "shifting sand"....

Psalm 62:2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation: he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Last week, I wrote about little Paula who the Lord supernaturally healed. This week I want to tell you about Alex. I got to know 11 year old Alex and his parents several years ago. They moved from Guatemala City because of Alex's asthma. They felt that the air was purer here. We helped him with his medication and often he would come when he was having an especially difficult bout. Last Sunday he was at a birthday party with his friends when his asthma began to flair up again. He finally left the party to go home and use his nebulizer. But the power was out in town that day. His parents borrowed a truck to take him into the government clinic. But they didn't have power or a generator. So they tried to bring him here. This is an election year and last week there were endless parades and parties in the streets in an effort to gain favor with voters. Alex's parents tried to get through town (and Canilla is very small) but they could not. But the time he arrived, he was unconscious. Ryan and Joseph were the only ones at home. I was in clinic in San Andres so they called Duane who ran home as quickly as he could. They began oxygen and started the generator. By the time they started to nebulize him, he had stopped breathing. Duane tried to do CPR and was still working when I arrived many minutes later. I wish I could say that we prayed and the Lord supernaturally intervened. But He did not.


All week we asked ourselves why? What could we have done differently? We have all had sleepless nights. I would like to say that we have had a revelation that has helped us understand. All we know is that HE is sovereign - He knows the beginning from the end, He understands all of our human suffering. And we trust Him - even when circumstances are impossible to understand.


It has always been a dream of ours to open an acute care center - where we could have someone here 24 hours a day to provide care. As I was talking our children though all of this by phone on Sunday, Ryan kept saying with such anguish, "what else can we do Mom?" Unfortunately, for Alex, there was nothing else that we could do. We do not have a hospital, I am not a physician.We do not want it to happen again though. So we are once again asking the Lord to send all that we need to that - physical and financial help.


Show me your way, O Lord
Teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
For you are the God of my salvation;
On you I wait all the day.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for you.
Psalm 25;4,5,21

Paula

Clinics have been so busy in the last few weeks with little ones sick with pneumonia. I have no way of knowing for sure but I think it is RSV - a virus which causes severe illness in children under a year or children whose immune systems are compromised. Since it is a virus, antibiotics
do not work. Two Tuesdays ago in Chiminisijuan, we had 11 children from the same village who all had pneumonia and were so sick. We always ask mom's to take their little ones into the hospital knowing that, especially there, that they probably won't go. So we give them oral medications and pray for them and send them on their way. Rarely do we know what happens to them.


This Tuesday was no different. As Armando and Bob were praying with the people, I noticed a little girl who was breathing about 60 times a minute and appeared to not have enough strength to hold her head up. We brought her in right away and put on the oximeter (a little machine which reads out the oxygen level). Paula was reading in the 60's (normal is above 90). We asked her mom if we could take her into the hospital - but she would not go. Her husband died 7 months ago and Paula was the youngest of 6 other children. There was no one to care for the other children. I cannot explain the sense of helplessness that we felt as we watched this little one struggle to breathe. Kim (a visiting nurse practitioner) and I agreed that we would try to get some IV fluids going and give her the strongest antibiotic that I have through her veins. And we all started praying and didn't stop until she left. She was so weak that she didn't even cry when we started her IV. Over the course of about 2 hours, her oxygen levels gradually dropped down into the 40's. Kim and I agreed that it would be better for her to die at home than in the clinic. We gave mom a bag of food and drove her as far as we could with the 4-wheeler and said good-bye. Under normal conditions, there is no way that she should have lived. But today Tomas called with the good...no, amazing...news that she was "doing well"!!! Now we pray that her mother - who is not a believer - will understand what a miracle God has done!


I will sing about the LORD's faithful love forever;
With my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
For I will declare, "Faithful love is built up forever;
You establish Your faithfulness in the heavens." Psalm 89:1,2

Yesterday we made our monthly trip up to Cruz Chich. We were greeted by over 140 people...more than we have seen there and way more than Katie and I can usually care for by ourselves. But they were all there waiting so we dug in. We are getting to know many of the faces as people return each month. One gentleman who came 3 months ago for the first time, comes each month now. He initially came with what I thought was pneumonia or possibly lung cancer or both. He had been sick for some time and was wasted and febrile. I encouraged him to go to the hospital but he said that he would not and I was concerned that he would die within a few days. Armondo and I talked with him about Jesus and salvation but he was not too interested. He is a brujo (witchdoctor). So we gave him his medication and asked if we could pray for him. He agreed...poor thing, he felt so bad...any other time I am pretty sure that he would have refused. But we prayed that God would heal him, that he would understand the power of our God to heal and to love. I honestly was surprised to see him the next month but he was there smiling and healthy. He waited until the very end, watching all that was going on that day. I asked him if he realized that God had supernaturally intervened to heal him. He just smiled. Yesterday he was back...and again, waited until everyone left before he came in. Again, we talked about the Lord and His power to save. He just smiles but I know that he is thinking... I know that the Spirit of God is stirring him. So we pray, trusting that as we have planted and watered, that God will bring forth the harvest.

There is a lot of need in Cruz Chich - lots of folks with hypertension and diabetes. We continue to see mostly adults. I know that they do not trust us yet with their children. They are still testing us, waiting to see what we will do....waiting to see if we will snatch away their children to eat them or make soap out of them. I know that sounds so ludicrous but it is a common thought among the indigenous. It began during the war and has continued in these remote areas. Interestingly, it is the same rumor that the Nazis spread about the Jews before and during World War II. The enemy has no new tricks...just the same old lies. So we wait and continue to love and serve these people whom I have grown to love so much...trusting that God will open their eyes and their hearts to Himself.

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord! Psalm 27:14

Jeremiah is the nine month old son of our good friend Tomas. He has 8 older sisters and one brother who all adore him. He is not Tomas's natural son - he was "gifted" to them as they say here. Now, Tomas often does not have enough food in his house, but he has lots of love to give. And when this little baby was offered to him, he and his wife really prayed about it before they took him. He has thrived...and is spoiled rotten!


Tomas called last week and asked if he could bring Jeremiah in because he was sick. He arrived in record time (it is normally a three hour walk) and he was pretty sick with pneumonia. It was late in the evening so we put him on oxygen and decided to keep him here for the night...which means that I did not get much sleep. He was still sick in the morning and I told Tomas that we really needed to send him on to the hospital in Quiche. I am not qualified to care for children that sick without a physician's input. But Tomas has been around enough in the clinics to see God miraculously heal children on many occasions. So when I told him that he just looked at me and said, "No mi Hermana (my sister) I don't want to take him to the hospital. I feel peace with him here. I know he will get better care here than in the hospital." Now, I know that he did not say that because we can actually give better care - but that we will pray and love him. So, he stayed for three days. It is more than a little unnerving in the middle of the night watching him struggle to breath with his oxygen levels dropping. But Saturday afternoon, after 2 sleepless nights and countless prayers, we turned off the oxygen, watched him for a few hours and then sent him home. His parents cried tears of gratitude to our God who cares for and heals His little ones.
He is faithful!


The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26