I have been a Christian for a lot of years now. And I cannot count how many times I have read the Christmas story. But for some reason, this year, I have been completely undone by the story of the birth of our Savior. I have found myself meditating on why...why did He do it this way? Why was Jesus born in obscurity, in hiddeness, to poor young parents away from their home? Why was Mary alone having her first child? Why did the angels appear to shepherds - the lowest of all Jewish society at that time - why did they sing their praises to them? Why not announce the birth of our Savior to the religious leaders or the king or over at least, populated areas so that everyone would know that Jesus, the Messiah, was born? And what does that say about God's heart? What does it say about the poor? I think it says that God honors the poor and weak; that the things we count important - riches, fame, and recognition - are not all that important to Him.

Every week as we go up to Chiminisijuan, we pass the shepherds. They are usually young people or women who spend their entire day following after their animals. They do not go to school. They are alone all day, without recognition. It does not matter how cold or rainy it may be, they are there caring for animals. What do they think about all day? I can only imagine how amazing it would be for a host of angels to appear to them....singing praises to God.

May you find time today, in the midst of all the busyness, to rejoice with the angels who are still saying "Glory to God in the highest!" (Luke 2:14)

Juanita is a four year old in our nutrition program. She has cerebral palsy. We see many children like her, often due to home deliveries gone bad. She (as all of the children like her) has a special place in my heart. They are normal little people, with normal intelligence and emotions but trapped in a body which will not cooperate. Often times, they are mistaken as unintelligent because of their inability to communicate.  But when Juanita comes in she smiles and says "leche" (milk). She cannot sit or even hold her head up and she is getting heavy now for mom to carry her in every two weeks. Fortunately for Juanita, her mom has not yet had another baby. There is very little help for children like her...no therapy close by, no wheelchairs (yet....we are working on it). Because these children cannot contribute or help with the workload of the family, most often they are left lying on the dirt floor in a corner of the house, alone much of the day. They are truly one of the "least of these little brothers of Mine." (Matthew 25:40)

One of our goals for the coming year is to get a group of physical/occupational therapists together who are willing to come once a year. If we could get 12 therapists, we could ask them to work once a month with each of these children, in each of our clinics. We are asking the Lord to touch the hearts of those who have the expertise and knowledge to help these little ones.    

I am pretty sure that the Lord looks on us in the same way that He looks at these children. He is able to see past our weaknesses and failures. He sees our potential, not our handicaps. "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God." 2 Corinthians 3:5.

Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His mercy endures forever. (1Chronicles 16:33)
I pray that somtime today you will have a moment to reflect on His goodness and mercy. I know sometimes that the preparation becomes so big that we cannot remember why we celebrate this wonderful day...

Of course, here in Guatemala there is no Thanksgiving celebration. Typically we invite whatever North Americans are in the area to celebrate with us. But this year there are none.... that we know of anyway. And only 4 of our 8 children can be here. So we have decided to invite our Guatemalan friends. As I was thinking about it, and trying to figure out how much of American history I wanted to share with them, I was struck by the similarity of our circumstances with those of the Pilgrams. Our reasons for being here are different but the actual celebration was to give thanks to God for His provision . And that provision and help came through friends who had come to the aid of these struggling settlers. So today, as we celebrate with a meal larger than many Guatemalans have seen, we will remember friends - whether here or in the US - who have helped us. May the awareness of His blessings overwhelm you today!

trusting in Him...

Holy cow! It has been too long since I have written! This has been a busy month with lots of visitors followed by a trip to the US. Rachel and I went "home" for two weeks to be with Ryan and Katie for the birth of their daughter, Audrey Nadine. Her name means "noble strength and hope"...and we trust that it is a prophetic statement for her life.

Rachel and I also spent several days looking at universities as she is ready for this next step in her education. Rachel was 4 years old when we came to Guatemala. It is the only life she has ever known. Living in the culture of the US will be a huge change for her and we covet your prayers for her in this time. Letting go of our children and trusting that He will guard and keep them is one of the hardest things that we are asked to do, isn't it?!

Saturday morning clinic started with a very sick baby girl whose oxygen levels were in the 60's (they should be over 90). She needed to be hospitalized - in an ICU. But her mama had left 5 other children at home and could not stay. So we loaded her up with antibiotics and much prayer and off she went. It will be a true miracle of God if she survives. And we may never know what her outcome is as she lives in a very remote village. We truly put her into the "hands of God" and I know that He will heal her - either here or there - for we trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and do not lean on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5 - my paraphrase)

 As Jesus said, our Heavenly Father knows even the number of hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30) - and if our eyes are open to His grace - we will notice His provision in the smallest detail of our lives. This is one of my daily prayers, that I will be able to see His hand upon us each day. I know He is there....it is just that sometimes I get so busy that I don't notice and, more importantly, don't remember to say "thank you." But even when I am unfaithful to remember Him, His provision does not fail. He provides for each need even when I have not even asked!

We go through an amazing amount of vitamins each week. All of our prenatal patients (about 75 each week) get a month's worth of vitamins at each visit. Our nutrition children (around 200 of them) get vitamins every two weeks. And many of the 250-300 patients that we see each week get vitamins as well. And while vitamins may seem unecessary for those who eat a healthy diet, for people who eat only tortillas and beans daily, they can make a significant difference in one's health and well being. We depend on a variety of sources. We can buy some (prenatals) from the government when they have them. Most come from generous people who come to visit, and for those we are very grateful. Recently though we have run pretty low on children's vitamins. Katie's mom, who is coming for a visit tomorrow, went into a store this week to buy 2000 vitamins for us. When she explained where they were going, the woman said that she would like to donate them - only not 2000 but 200,000!

Last week in Chumisa, we saw so many little ones who needed milk and several families who needed food. We only bring a limited amount of food each time by estimating how many we should see plus a few extra. Each time I went back to the bag, I would think, "only one more bag of milk left." Then, in would come another family. I would go back to the bag, and there would be another bag. This happened three or four times....I am pretty sure that God was multiplying the "loaves and fish." 

I could go on for a really long time describing the graciousness of His provision each day. As I remember how timidly we began this walk of faith, this total dependence on His hand to provide for all of these people, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. 

"Bless the Lord O my soul; and all that is within me bless His holy name" Psalm 103:1

Little Pedro (not his real name) is over a year old and has been in our nutrition program for most of his short life. He came for the first time when he was just a couple of weeks old with a severe pneumonia. He was so sick that I feared he would not live through the afternoon. We quickly got him into the ambulance and he spent several days in the national hospital. Since that time, he has been a "failure to thrive" baby - a term that just means he never seems to grow no matter how much food we give him. At one point, his mom told me that her husband was sick as well, and asked that we see him. He too, had a pneumonia, but otherwise seemed healthy and strong. We recommended that he have blood work done to check for HIV - which amazingly, he did. Unfortunately, he tested positive, as did his wife and little Pedro.

The government here offers limited help for those who are HIV positive. In this case, the family needs to go to a city about 5 hours from here, where no one speaks their native Quiche. Dad is very sick now and has begun to drink heavily. Mom has a very limited understanding of her diagnosis, and at the moment is asymptomatic, which makes her less likely to fight for her family. I felt her desperation as she explained that they had no money, no food and no way of paying for a stay in another city. And who would take care of her other children? And even though the medical care is free, how will she buy diapers and food while they are in treatment? And what if her husband dies there....how will she get his body home for burial?  As she spoke, I asked the Lord for wisdom. What words could I give her that would turn her eyes to her only hope at this point....Jesus? Weak words seemed so small in the face of her pain and desperation. We prayed for her, and let her know that we would continue to daily pray, and offered to help in any other way that we could. I ask for your prayers for this family as well. For we know that HE alone is the only hope that she has...

We wait  in hope for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20

I met Ignacia several years ago. She is a young woman terribly crippled by rheumatoid arthritis. She never knew her father and her mother left her when she was a child. (In this culture, typically,  when a woman "re-marries", the children from her first marriage are not welcomed into the new family.) So Iganacia was left alone. When we met her she was living in a hut that was about the size of a dog house, made of corn stalks. She is in tremendous pain all of the time and she had no way of supporting herself. So she lived off of the kindness of her very poor neighbors.We gathered the support of the local church and built her a little house and twice a month we help her with food and medication for her pain. She was depressed and discouraged at that time - thinking that her life was of no value. I remember talking with her, trying to encourage her with words about the kindness and love of God; telling her that the Lord had a purpose for her life - and even if she could do nothing else, she could pray for those around her. And I remember going away from that conversation thinking that those were the weakest, most ineffective words...but somehow, God used them. She has made it her life work to pray for those around her. 


I do not see her often as it is so difficult for her to walk, so it is always a treat when she is able to come. She is well known now in the area and is often called to pray for the sick. She told me of how she had just spent a month with a family, praying day and night for a man who was making the long and dangerous trip to the US. She is a gentle, humble woman of God and I am honored to know her. I know that she will have a very special place in heaven... She daily walks out Jesus' instructions to "Go...as you go, preach this message The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freeely give." Matt. 10:6,7

Tios Xabaj (which means holy god of the rock) is a small village almost two hours from us here in Canilla. At this time of year, when the rains come daily and heavily, it is a challenging trip. We had a trip planned for last Thursday. The day started with almost nothing going well...two of our translators didn't come. We had no one to give the message and pray. It had rained during the night and we were not sure that we would be able to get through an area which is always precarious (where part of the mountain kind of continually slides downward). After some phone calls and some confusion about whether or not the village was ready for us, we set out. Starting in a new village, building relationships is always difficult. It takes about a year to actually gain the trust of the people. And when the physical obstacles are so great, it is easy to question whether or not it is God's plan for us to go. But we are persevering....


This little village is fairly isolated and has not ever been evangelized - at least that we know of. The community leaders have asked us to come, and we are very clear from the beginning that with the medical treatment comes prayer and evangelism. Their body language speaks loudly and clearly. They listen with arms folded, frowns on their faces, and then they begin to ridicule whoever is speaking. But the people are open....wide open. Several have already said "yes" to Jesus.

So we pray for strength to continue just as Paul prayed for the Colossians in chapter 1:10 - That we might live a life worthy of the Lord and might please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God....(my paraphrase).

"A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." Psalm 68:5 The amplified version says that he is a judge and a protector to the widows. I like that. For some reason, there are so many widows in Chiminisijuan. And now, at this time of year, when crops have been planted but last year's harvest is gone, is when they begin to come. They are out of food for their children. And there is no way for them to earn money to buy corn....or anything else. Lucia came yesterday, heavy in her last month of pregnancy(see my last post). She asked to borrow Q100 (about $12) so that she could buy soap and a little corn. She brought all of her children so that they could help her carry the food that we loaded her up with. Maria's midwife came later. Maria gave birth about 3 weeks ago to a baby girl. Her husband died when she was in her 4th month of pregnancy, leaving her with 5 - and now 6 - young children to feed. She has no family to help her so her midwife fights for her - and we sent food for them as well. Rojelia came later in the day with 3 of her 5 children. Her husband died 5 years ago. Her oldest son is 12 and some days he works earning Q25/day (about $3) carrying loads of firewood for her neighbors. She buys corn daily to make tortillas for her children  - using all of the money that he earns just for corn. All of these women will pack up their families in the fall and take them to the coast where they will work, cooking for the men who cut sugarcane. They will earn a little money to sustain them for a few months. Their children will not be able to go to school and so the cycle of poverty continues.

But we know that there is hope in the God who defends and protects widows. He has placed such a burden upon us -and hopefully you - to pray each day for them. We  pray that He will provide for all of their needs - not just the physical but the spiritual and emotional needs as well. We do the very small part that we can but we trust that He will send help in their time of great need. And we know that He is a faithful God!  

Lucia is a woman who we have helped for several years. She is a widow with 4 young children. Her husband died about 4 years ago followed by her infant daughter of about 8 months. She fought for her daughter's life - as hard as one can who has no money, and no one to help with her other children, and without speaking the national language. And she was broken hearted when her daughter died.

We have helped her with food and medicine when she comes. She lives about a three hour walk from our clinic in Chiminisijuan. She goes to the coast to pick coffee when she can, taking her children with her. So we might not see her for several months at a time. She came about three months ago and we had not seen her for a while. She was obviously pregnant and I thought, "Well good, maybe she had found someone to help her." But when I did her ultrasound and told her that she was 7 months pregnant, she began to weep - huge gulping sobs. We have seen her in times of hardship but I have never seen her cry like this. She began to tell us about being "obligated" to have sex with a man on the coast. She has been rejected by the other women in her village as unclean and banned from her church who brands her as a sinner. She has no way to support her other children now and there is no food in the house. We talked about putting this child up for adoption (which is not really possible now in this country), about the orphanage where we knew that they would care for this new life. We loaded her up with as much food as she could carry and then delivered corn to her later in the week. She has come regularly now for her prenatal care. Tuesday when she came, I told her that she was about 6 weeks from delivery and asked what she would do when she went into labor. She told us that no one in her village would help her with the delivery so she plans to go to the local hospital. This is not common practice - almost all babies are still born at home. I have an idea that her 11 year old daughter will help her when the time comes. She then told me that she has decided to care for this baby girl herself.

Once again, I was amazed at the inner strength of this woman who has suffered so much injustice. And how, in spite of the treatment she has received from "her brothers and sisters in Christ" her faith has remained strong - her trust being in the unseen God.  I wonder what my faith would look like if I were walking her "her shoes". I am so afraid that I might be offended with God...  Pray for Lucia in these coming days - that God "out of his glorious riches , that he would strengthen her with power through his Spirit in her inner being..." (Ephesians 3:16 - my paraphrase)

I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust." Psalm 91:2


I have not written for a while. These have been challenging weeks for me personally. I have struggled with some health issues and have made many trips to the doctors here in Guatemala and ultimately in Houston where I stayed a few days with our daughter Hannah. There was a fear that I had an infection in my leg where I still have lots of hardware from my fracture many years ago. And while I have had as many different opinions as I have seen doctors, thankfully, there seems to be no infection. There was also a fear that I had a DVT (clot) in that same leg. The medication for that has made me weak and nauseated, but with the last ultrasound done, that clot seems to have thankfully, disappeared. I really hate thinking about myself and am pretty good at just ignoring pain, but as I watched the concern in my husband's face grow, I knew I needed to do something....so that is where I have been. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for me. What amazing friends God has given me!


And again, thankfully, I am surrounded by young people who continue the work here. As always, God is so gracious to not give us more than we can handle. Clinics have been quieter than normal and we have had no visitors in these last few weeks. As I feel my strength returning, I know that the pace will pick up again!


A final update on Rubidia....she went home to Jesus last week. She was never able to get rid of the infection nor did she have surgery. Please pray for her mama, Olga. Even though she is just 15, she never left Rubidia's bedside during all these months of hospitalization.

An update on Rubidia....She still waits in the national hospital. Her lungs have not cleared enough for the surgeons to do her PDA repair. Please continue to pray for her.

Our time here in Guatemala has taught us many things. One of those things is that there are seasons where we wait, and other seasons when we begin to see God move. We are beginning one of those seasons. Spurred by several things, one being little Rubidia, another being the arrival of Rachel who has come alongside to shoulder some of the responsibility, we feel that it is the time to begin to move on what the Lord spoke to us several years ago.

So here is our plan....we would like to use the existing clinic for just that. We want to build an additional dorm at the back of our property to house visitors (who stay in the clinic now) and teams. One of the churches who supports us in the US asked for a proposal which we gave them last week. As far as we know, they have not even talked with their board yet. So when we recieved a call yesterday from some friends who said that they would like to help us pay for the fence that we need to put up around the entire property (for security reasons) and for the well, we were a little more than surprised. Then in the afternoon, a friend wrote explaining that he had an idea for fund raising and did we have any projects that we needed funding for? It always amazes me how when we take that tiny step of faith, the Lord is right there to meet us.

I must admit that I am a little nervous about starting a building project. I have watched so many ministries loose their "simple devotion to God" in the midst the details of a project like this. But 2 Corinthians 9:8 says "God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." So we are trusting in His grace!

This is Rubidia. She is 5 months old today and we met her 10 days ago in Chiminisijuan. Before I could even get in the door I heard her cough and knew that she was in distress. She was continuously coughing and gasping for air, her sats (oxygen level) were in the 60’s (normal is above 90)…for how long, I don’t know. We started her on oxygen and gave her some medication and she calmed down and was able to nurse. She is a scrawny little thing, weighing only 8 pounds. At the end of the day, we knew that we had three
options….take her into the Quiche hospital – which her mom refused to do; let her go home knowing that she would probably die; or take her home with us. And when presented with those choices, her mom chose the last.

So for the last 10 days we have cared for and prayed over Rubidia day and night. Her mom is so young - just 15 - but she loves her baby, never leaving her bedside. Yesterday, after realizing that she was not getting better, we made the decision to take her into the City for an echocardiogram. She has a PDA in addition to her pnuemonia, so she will stay in the national hospital in the City until her lungs are healed enough to withstand heart surgery. We left Olga (her mom) alone in a place where no one speaks Quiche, where she has no idea how to get home, where her mom cannot enter, in an area where it is not safe to step outside of the hospital. And yet this is the best hosptial that this country has to offer the poor. I have been there when the entire hospital had no water. The staff frequently goes on strike because of the lack of supplies. One time I was in the ER and there were no paper towels or soap for the doctors to wash their hands with. I watched them wash with water and then dry their hands on the curtains. The hospital was full yesterday but somehow they found a bed for her. Often it is so full that they shut the Emergency Room. Where these children go then....I do not know.

It has been an exhausting 10 days and I slept like a baby last night knowing that she was in the hands of others who are smarter than I. Our hope is that one day we will be able to have a place where children like her could come, be cared for professionally in combination with the love and prayer that we are able to give. Without a lab, or ability to do chest x-rays, or most importantly, a physician....we can only offer half of what little Rubidia needed. At moments like these, I am overwhelmed with inadequacy. I find myself asking, "Why Lord, what is it that you want us to learn from this?" Maybe it is just so that we fight and pray harder to build that place where children like Rubidia can come. Would you pray today for Rubidia and her mom?

It is hot again. The winds have changed in the last week and the dust blows continously. We have had no rain now since September. And the widows are beginning to come again, asking for food. Our nutrition program is filling up. Men are trying to earn cash by cutting sugar cane on the "coast". It is exhausting work, swinging a machete 12 hours a day in 100 degree weather. Women are left to care for children alone, often with little food and no money. Tuesday, Fransisca came into the clinic in Chiminisijuan with her 1 year old, sick and weighing just 12 pounds. Mom is 8 months pregnant with twins. She will need to go to the hospital to have these babies but her husband is gone and there is no one to care for the one year old. When I told her that there were 2 babies, big tears rolled down her face....the desperation so profound. We loaded her up with as much food as she could carry and medicine for the little one and sent her on her way with a prayer that Jesus would give her the strength that she needs.

There are so many like her - in need and desperate. What we have to give is so little. But we are learning the power of prayer because we know that without Jesus, the cycle can not be broken. Only He can bring healing. Only He can make the wrong things right. Only He can...
comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty for ashes
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Isaiah 61:2-3

The hearts of the fathers

As Duane and I go on thirteen years of serving here in Guatemala, there are a few things that we have learned. One is that Guatemalans are so much better at ministering to their own people than we could ever dream of. We have learned that our most effective way to reach people is to help those who are called to serve here, those who have a heart to see their country changed. And so it is that we find ourselves beginning this new year standing behind two young men whom we have found to be faithful in that calling.

We met Armando on our very first trip to Guatemala in 1996. He is one of about 70 children (he thinks) born to a local brujo (witchdoctor). We have watched him grow from an insecure, fearful young man into a humble, gentle, Godly leader of his own people. He has a passion to see his people educated in the knowledge of God. He completed Biblical training at ASELSI - a local Bible school - two years ago. We watched him go through a very dark time last year as the church which he grew up in split apart and at the same time he lost his second son - and very nearly his wife. We have seen him pass through difficult times without bitterness toward his brothers in Christ or anger at God for allowing his son to die. About three years ago he began to help me in the clinics, evangelizing at the beginning of each clinic, translating for us and ministering to the sick and hurting in prayer and counsel. In September of last year we began to financially support him monthly so that he could begin to work out in the villages and continue to help us in the clinics. And now this year, he feels a call from God to begin a church in San Andres - not an easy thing to do here. We feel called to stand behind him and support him in this call.

The second young man is Victor whom we have known for about 9 years. He pastored the local church here in Canilla for some years and we got to know him as he came and shared his heart at our table almost weekly. His passion and call from God is to reach out to drug addicts and alcoholics both of which he has been deliverd from. Three years ago, he began in a more formal way to minister to these men when he opened a very small home. He started literally with nothing and has seen God's provision as he has stepped out in faith to do what God has called him to do. We have watched him struggle to provide food and shelter for these men whom he picks up off of the street in drunken stupors. We know as well that it is God's heart that he expresses as he ministers to men who no one else cares for, taking them in over and over just as our Heavenly Father takes us in time after time as we fall in our weakness. And so we have decided to help Victor in a more formal way in the administration of this ministry and by supporting it financially each month.

Malachi 4:5 says "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers." We believe that God has set us as "fathers" to these two young men. And just as with our own children, our prayer is that they will be used by God and that they will grow each day in wisdom and understanding of this great God that we serve. Pray with us for them, that God will abundantly bless these two young men and give to them all that they need to complete the call of God upon their lives.

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.