Last Tuesday in Chiminisijuan, a little 100 year old woman came in to clinic.  Completely blind,she had walked at least 3 miles and one of the paths is so narrow on the side of the mountain....I have no idea how she actually made it. She was alone and as she walked up the last few steps to the clinic, she had to crawl. Finally one of the widows who we know very well stopped to help her in. She came for her body pain...nothing too specific - just old age aches and pains. When we finished working, we woke her up where she had fallen asleep outside in the grass and we drove her out to the main road. We had to stop and ask several people if they knew this little lady sitting in the backseat of my car until we found someone who identified her. She walked on home then from there.

It has occurred to me several times since then that our life right now is so much like hers. We walk - not really knowing what is ahead - knowing that if we make a wrong step, we could tumble down the mountainside. That's a lot of pressure.... We just trust though, that He will lead and guide us and keep us from falling . Psalm 119:105 says "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."


Here's a quick update on all that has happened in the last few weeks -
 - Duane made a super-fast trip to the US to help Ryan organize a load of construction equipment to be shipped. We have never taken loads this way and it (so far) has gone really well. It all has actually already arrived in Port Barrios and we are waiting for the government to release it. The taxes turned out to be much lower than we expected - Thanks be to GOD!
 - There has been an amazing amount of equipment donated (and I am not the one to tell you about it!) including a concrete truck, a skid loader, concrete forms and a long list of other necessary tools.
Many thanks to all the men who have worked so diligently and tirelessly to accumulate all of this. Again, all praise be to GOD!
 - Our son Ryan, his wife Katie, and their three children will arrive on the 13th of September. They feel that the Lord is directing them to come on a permanent basis and they will be an enormous help. Ryan is a manager and will be invaluable in helping Duane manage all the workers as we start the actual hospital construction. Katie will be a mom first but is a great hostess who has an ability to see all the details that folks need when they arrive. And I will be soooo happy to have more of our grandchildren close! Thanks be to GOD!
 - The construction of the apartment for Dr. Luis and his family is underway. It will be small but hopefully adequate for their growing family. Our friend Juan has stepped up to take the responsibility of this and is doing a great job. All thanksgiving to GOD!
 - The fence is about 2/3 of the way to completion around the first phase of the hospital, a new gate has been made and is 1/2 up (we had to pour a new bridge over the canal and it needs many days to "cure" before we can put up the other section.) 
 - We have had a good couple of weeks working with Dr. Jared and his wife, Dr. Melissa. They have been great! And Dr. Heidi was here to bring such encouragement - as she always does. We also hosted a youth team from Destiny Church (our home church). They did lots of painting, poured a new porch to accommodate the changes to the house (dividing it into three apartments - eventually), and we had amazing nights of worship in the evenings. They were a huge blessing to us and even when we did not have water for the last 4 days of their trip, their attitudes remained enthusiastic and grateful. All praise be to GOD! 

We continue to be in awe of all that God is doing here. Please pray that we have wisdom that can come only from God. Pray that we will continue to put Him first in all things - no matter how busy and chaotic it all seems at times. Thanks for reading!