Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will direct you paths. Proverbs 3:5,6

It's been a while since I have posted...I apologize. Over the holidays I worked alone in the clinics - with the Guatemalan young women and Armondo - all of whom were great. I was a little nervous about it but as always God was faithful to only give what we could handle. On the days when we had lots of patients we found that none of them were very sick and on the days when the really sick folks came there would not be as many people waiting. And now we have help! Rachael came with our children as they returned from the One Thing youth conference in Kansas City. She is an RN who lived here in Guatemala for several years until she felt the Lord directing her to study nursing. She is great! I think that if the Lord had asked me what kind of help I would want, I would have described Rachael. She is gentle and kind, loves the people and most importantly loves Jesus. And she is a really good nurse.

Katie and Aaron arrived back home this week after a couple of weeks with Katie's family in the US. It was a good time for Kathy and Dave (Katie's parents) to get to know little Ethan and to spend some quality time with Anna. It is so hard being away from your grandchildren...

And the new Guatemalan president has been inaugurated - along with the local mayors - and the transition was a peaceful one. For this, we are very grateful. Once again, I am in awe of God's provision and protection over our lives and over this small work that we do here. As we begin our thirteenth year here, we ask for your prayers for ministry direction. We want to be found doing only what He has asked us to do and at times, when the need is so great all around us, it is difficult to discern.

Grace....Webster's dictionary defines it as "unmerited divine assistance." Grace was what I experienced last week as we hosted the largest team in our short history. Joyce Meyer's ministry sends medical teams all over the world and when they first approached us, we said "no." They send large teams into heavily populated areas of great need...and they do an amazing work. They typically stay in hotels and eat in restaurants but there are none of those here...at least not to their standards. When they agreed to cut their team in half, we agreed to host them. They all arrived on Saturday - a wonderful, Godly group of people from all over the US and even Victoria who came from the United Kingdom. It was awesome to hear their stories of trips from all over the world.


Because virtually all of the villages that we planned to visit speak Quiche and very little Spanish, we needed not only English to Spanish translators but also Spanish to Quiche translators as there are very few people who can translate from Quiche to English. So we traveled with a group of over 35 each day....slightly overwhelming logistics - for me anyway. We went to three different villages in five days, treated around 1200 people, planted seeds of the Gospel in each heart and prayed for most.


On Thursday Little Ethan Aaron (Katie and Aaron's second child) made his entrance into the world. Duane and I flew them into the City early in the morning for the birth. Our daughters, Hannah and Rachel, stepped in to prepare and serve breakfast and get the team up to Cruz Chich. Thanks to God's grace, Ethan was born without problems and we were all home in the afternoon, just in time to get dinner ready for the team.


Even as I write, I am overwhelmed by God's grace to us. There was not a moment when we did not feel this completely "unmerited divine assistance." Our prayer is that each one who was touched last week - whether team member or patient - felt a touch from God and was changed in some way by His power and love. Because that's what it's all about.....


"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." 2 Corinthians 3:4-5

Rosa came to clinic at the end of the day last week. She was obviously pregnant and obviously trying to hide it, waiting until everyone left for the day. She is sixteen and the oldest of 7 children. Her father died several years ago leaving her mother to care for the family alone. Rosa, being the oldest, was sent to Guatemala City many months ago where she worked 15 - 16 hours a day, making tortillas. She met a young man who promised to marry her and care for not just her, but her family as well. And as so often happens, she was left pregnant with all the promises of security broken. So she came, asking us to hide her until her baby is born and then asking us to keep the baby.

Yesterday, she returned with her mother who we immediately recognized as one of the widows that we have helped with food over the course of many years. She is a sweet and humble woman who rarely asks for help. As we sat down to talk with her, she began to weep into her apron, her heart broken for all that had happened to her daughter. And although she did not express it, I knew as a mom, that much of her grief was guilt - guilt for having to put her daughter in the position of fending for this family. Even though our circumstances are very different our hearts as mothers are the same - wanting only good things for our children. We will, of course, help them in every way that we can.

I often ask God about this - why was I born in such different circumstances...why was I born in a country of opportunity? Why was I born to parents who could afford to give me a good education? Why have I never known hunger? Why have I been blessed with such a good marriage and children who love God? And as always, in my mind, I hear a voice saying, "To whom much is given, much is required." Last night as we worshiped together as a family with our son-in-law Matt, he played one of my favorite songs...this is the chorus -

Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring

To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?

Savior, what can be said, what can be sung

As a praise of Your name

For the things You have done?

Oh my words could not tell, not even in part

Of the debt of love that is owed

By this thankful heart (I will offer up my life - Matt Redman)

I pray you have a very blessed Thanksgiving day tomorrow. And as you remember all that you are blessed with, that you too will ask, "What can I bring to so faithful a friend?"

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