power in prayer

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
Psalm 145:18-19

Every Sunday in San Andres, we have women who come at the end of our day - when we are tired and ready to go home. We call them "the stragglers". I have learned that many times they are the ones who come for prayer. Yesterday, two women came who I remembered from some months ago. They had come asking for food. They told me similar stories of their lives married to men who drink too much and cannot care for their families. They told me about how there was no food in the house, about men who were angry and violent toward them and their children. We of course, gave them a small bag of food. But more importantly, we talked with them about a God who sees and hears the cry of His children, who had seen the injustice in their lives. As we prayed for them they both cried tears of anguish and pain. We promised to continue to pray for their husbands - that the Lord would open their eyes and soften their hearts to Jesus. I always write down the names of husbands or other family members and take them home to add to my prayer list. So yesterday when they came, they told us about how, since we prayed, their husbands had stopped drinking and how their homes had changed. They - along with another friend that they brought with them - expressed a desire to accept the Lord as their Savior. Their husbands however, had said that they could not until the men had (women are not allowed to lead...in anything here). But they asked that we write down all the names of their family members that we could continue to pray for them.


It is not uncommon for women to come and say that they want to have a relationship with Jesus but that their husbands will not let them. Indignation always rises within me when I hear that. But I have learned that this is how this culture is and to ask a woman to defy her husband only creates confusion. So we pray for a heart change in her husband and we encourage women to begin to pray themselves, for their husbands. Often, we have to clarify that to pray for her husband doesn't mean that she can pray that the Lord will stike her husband dead! So many times we have seen the Lord begin to move in the hearts of these men and as a result, entire families come to Jesus. He truly is "near to those who call upon Him..."

The rains have come and we are so grateful...but they do create some challenges. We have been without power off and on for almost a week. The roads are so muddy now that the buses have to use chains, and although they help for the moment, they pretty much destroy the road, which is precarious at best. But we are so thankful to see the green and to watch the corn beginning to grow. No matter how wet and cold one is, they always say the same..."it is a blessing from God!"

We have worked now for years to establish trust up in Chiminisijuan. So no matter how wet or muddy the roads are, we work as hard as we can to get there. Usually those times when we have to work the hardest, when it would be the easiest to just say, "lets not go today", those are the times when we really need to be there. No exception Tuesday. Both of our translators called to say that they would not be coming, our back-up translator was not available either. Finally Armando called back and said he would come...fever and all. We can drive to a point now, and then we walk, as the road down to the clinic is impassable when there is more than a little rain. Duane usually drives the 4 wheeler down with supplies, but he was unavailable so David agreed, but he planned to come later. We arrived late, with mud squishing between our toes, to find one of our ladies in active labor and about 2 months early. After some discussion, we realized that they would not take her into the hospital...so we started her on some IV fluids, gave her some antibiotics for a possible urinary tract infection and PRAYED...hard. When we finished getting her situated we turned to another woman whom we know well. She had her 3 year old strapped to her back and began to tell us about how she had been burned. Little Berta had fallen into a pot of boiling water. As she uncovered her, Berta began to scream. Her momma had packed her wounds (which turned out to be severe burns over one fourth of her body - from the waist down) with some kind of grass and a little bit of burn cream that she had been given in the government clinic. The smell was overwhelming and it took me over half an hour to remove all of the grass. We dressed it as well as we could, started her on antibiotics and ibuprofen for pain....such a pathetic little bit for so much suffering. It seems however, that God takes the little bit that we have and multiplies it to make it more than enough...much like the loaves and fish. The woman in labor didn't have another pain after we prayed and snored her way through the rest of clinic as her IV fluids ran. And Joseph took me up the next day to see little Berta. The smell was better and although she will be in pain for some time to come, she was smiling a little when I left.

As always, I am so grateful for His graciousness to us!

"My grace is suffficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

These have been a couple of very busy weeks...beginning with the youth team from the Woodlands church in Houston. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to go out to several of the local schools with them. They taught a lesson on world cultures and how different we are but that ultimately we all have the same need for love...for a Savior. We have an open door with the local schools and still have the freedom to openly talk about Jesus which is a tremendous blessing. The youth left each school with a map of the world painted on the wall and various activities for the children to finish. Most people here have a very limited, very small view of the world...I guess because most do not have television nor computers. Even the teachers all said that this was new material for them - that they focus mainly on Guatemala. It was fun! And it is always fun to work with young people who have so much energy!

This week we did an additional clinic in Cruz Chich. This was our third trip out to this very large, very needy village. We had to limit our numbers to 100 and turned many away...which I do not like to do. In our past visits, we have mainly seen men - which I have learned is their way of "checking us out". When we talked with the community leaders a couple of weeks ago, I told them that we would really like to see their wives and children as well - that we would not steal away their children - which is a common belief here. I guess they believed me because we saw lots of children this time, and more women. Little Diego broke my heart. I knew his mom from previous visits to the clinic in Canilla. Diego had a high fever when he was a few months old and was left with brain damage. He could not sit or hold his head up at that time - which was several years ago. We helped her with milk and some very basic physical therapy. She had seven other children at that time and in the four years that have passed since then, she has had two other babies. Diego is five now and weighed 13 pounds on Friday. Mom gives him just two bottles of corn "atol" (corn meal, sugar and water) each day. He is starving - literally - to death. This is so often what happens to children like Diego who are unable to help themselves. There is no help for these families so these imperfect children are left on the floor, being fed when they cry and nothing more. Diego's dad drinks alot and is angry and abusive. When we prayed for Diego, his mom cried huge sobs of grief. I cannot imagine how difficult her life must be. Please remember this family in your prayers for only "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

Maria

This is Maria. Her parents brought her into our San Andres clinic two weeks ago. She was 4 days old at that time and was very sick. She had fever, was dehydrated, limp, not able to nurse and was spitting up blood. I strongly encouraged her parents to take her into the hospital but they wouldn't. I know there were several reasons for this - the first being economic. It cost about $5 now to travel to Quiche. That is nearly a day's wages for most men here. The second reason was that she is a girl...not highly valued in this culture. And the third reason being that if she were to die in the hospital, it is expensive (relatively) and complicated (if you don't speak Spanish) to get a body released for burial. So after realizing that they would not go, we began to tell them that they really needed a miracle....a miracle that only Jesus Christ could do. They agreed to prayer somewhat hesitantly. And we sent them away, thinking that she only had hours to live. But there she was again on Sunday...not only alive but healthy and nursing well! Her parents are "thinking about" accepting Jesus as their Savior. They do not understand what a miracle God has done in their lives but I do....and I am - once again- amazed at His power and His love! Please pray that their eyes will be opened to that love.

Thank you for your prayers for the men as they traveled through Mexico. Everyone is home safely and we are grateful for God's protection and provision.

We will host a team of high school students from Houston in the next week. Please pray for their safety and health...and more than anything that they encounter God and grow in their relationships with Him in the time away from their culture. Thanks for standing with us!

Please Pray

Hello friends!

We would like to ask you this morning and for the next couple days to join us in prayer for the two men, Byron and Edwin, who are driving our trucks down through Mexico, and our good friend Martin, who is driving one of his own trucks down through Mexico. Martin crossed the border into Mexico a couple of days ago, and our two trucks crossed this morning.

Please pray for favor, that God's protection will be over them, that the trucks will remain in working order, and that they will not confront situations where their integrity is at stake (bribes and such).

Thank you for your prayers, and God bless you all today!

I don't have pictures very often. I almost never carry a camera but last week Rachel went with us to our newest clinic in Cruz Chich. The people there are from the township of Joyaba and their dress is very different and beautiful, I think. We saw about 80 people with Drs. Heidi and Chris.
It was good day of "sowing seeds". Hearing the good news about Jesus is a relatively new event there. One woman who came a month ago, came again this time. She felt much better with the tylenol that we had given her but her headaches persist once the medication's effect wears off. We talked to her a little more about her life here as her headaches appeared to be from stress. It seems that her husband has been in the US for 14 years and has another family there. She is raising her two children alone and living with her inlaws - who talk with their son each week about his new family. So many women have similar stories. We talked to her about the love of Jesus and how although it seems that her husband has rejected her, Jesus never will. We asked her if we could pray with her but her response was, "Next time maybe." She left smiling though and I think she'll be back.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. Rachel is getting quite good with her camera...not that I am biased or anything!

friends...

Twelve years ago we made the decision to come to Guatemala. We sold almost everything we owned and took our kids out of public school and basketball and dancing classes. We bought an old school bus and loaded it with everything we thought we would need for a year. We didn't speak a word of Spanish and we were not really sure what we would be doing. We only knew, without a doubt, that this was God's plan for our lives. There are times when God asks us to do things that require so much more faith than we have but when we step out in obedience, He always meets us.


I was so scared to take our children through Mexico. We had been told about bandits and hazards all the way through. I remember sitting in line to cross the border, crying...telling the Lord that I didn't think I had enough strength to do this thing that He was asking of us. Our little Rachel was only 3. But as I was crying to God, Duane and the boys were talking to the man who was in the truck in front of us. There were only three of us in the line and this was the route that led not just through Mexico but all the way down to South America. As Duane asked this gentleman where he was going, I listened from the back of the bus and was amazed to hear that he was going to the very same town that we were going to in the same department of Guatemala! The man, Martin, started to cry as the Lord touched him. He said in his broken English that he knew that he needed to help us get to Guatemala. And help us he did! He helped us navigate the paperwork and legalities of crossing the border and he showed us the way to go. When there were bandits ahead, he knew and would tell us that we needed to stop. When we had an accident that totaled the truck we were driving, he was right there, calling all of his friends who came from all over. They fixed the truck so that we could continue...in one day! At the border of Guatemala, we got separated and did not see him for many months. I truly thought he was an angel that the Lord had sent to help us! Now we know that he is a very good friend who has helped us so many times, in so many ways in our twelve years here.


It is Martin who will be driving the trucks through Mexico for us now. Please remember to pray for him as he makes this long and now, very dangerous trip through Mexico. He will fly into the US in the morning and will hopefully get to Guatemala by the end of the month.


"The Lord your God, who goes before you. He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes." Deuteronomy 1:30