Her Father's Delight

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name!" That was all that went through my head as we walked out of the courthouse with our Abi in our arms. For those of you who do not know Abi, she is a 3 year old bundle of energy that we took into our home the day she was born. Her mom died shortly after giving birth to her, her grandma died 6 months before that and her grandfather had a house full of young children to care for. We named her Abigail, which means "her Father's delight" - and that she is! We have been struggling through the adoption process now for the last 3 years and when they closed foreign adoptions last year, things got a little more difficult as they threatened to take her out of our home and place in a government institution. At one point our lawyers advised us that if they came to take her, to run out the back door and hide. There was one judge in particular who was giving us the biggest problems. Yesterday, we finally had our hearing which we entered with more than a little apprehension - we were to meet with this judge. Our lawyer met us with concern that Abi would be taken before the end of the day. As we entered the we were advised to keep Abi quiet (that is next to impossible), and to have her sit on our laps and tell the judge how much she loved us (she doesn't speak much spanish.) The lawyer for the PGN began first and spoke against us - they were the ones that we thought would support us. Then our lawyer spoke briefly and finally the judge - who I didn't even realize was the judge because it wasn't the woman who had given us so much trouble - she was on vacation! He read off all of the violations that Abi's grandfather had committed and then said that under the circumstances, he felt that it was better for her to remain with us! The court reporter told us afterward that this was the first time since the new regulations have gone into effect, that they have given custody to North Americans. We know that it was only by God's grace that she is here with us now and there are not words to express our gratitude. This was our biggest hurdle and we are hopeful that within a few weeks she too, will have our last name.

It was with great sadness that we said goodbye to the Allison's this week. After completing their 7 month commitment to serve with us, they returned to the US. They helped us in so many ways but more than that they became good friends and we already miss them. Please pray for them as they seek God's will for their future.

Nanci, a 23 year old young woman with cerebral palsy received a new wheelchair yesterday from El Shaddai church in the City. We were the lucky ones who got to deliver it to her. She has spent much of her life either lying in bed or in the cowhide chair that we gave her many years ago. There are so many of these young people tucked away in houses here. There is no help for them, no physical therapy, no relief for their caretakers. Because most babies are born at home, many times there are complications which lead to conditions like Nanci's. It is our desire, some day, if the Lord opens the doors and provides the help, to have a place where children could at receive physical therapy and assistance with daily living activities.

happy easter

Easter here is not like Easter in the mid west. It is so hot and dry and brown. When it seems that the newness of life should be coming forth - whether physical or spiritual, all seems dried up and dead here. The Evangelical churches do not emphasize the resurrection of our Lord - not at this time of year anyway. In an effort, I think, to move away from the ritual of the re-enactment of the crucifixion which takes place in the streets, filled with drunkenness and pagan worship, very little is said in the church. It is hard not to be homesick...

Our trip to San Pedro was really good. Dr. Pedro (the dentist from the City) went with us and pulled a minimum of 120 teeth out of about 65 people. No one there owns a toothbrush and oral hygiene is a low priority. We also saw lots of people for general consults and Katie did almost 35 ultrasounds. Compared to a year ago when the women were all afraid, we were thrilled. Our friend Silvia, who advocates for the women in the village has offered to go out with us to Unilla the next time to help us get to know some of the women there.

And since we have cancelled all of our regular clinics this week we have gotten to do some of the things that I always want to do but never have time for. One was to visit our friend Victor in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center that he opened 6 months ago. Victor was a pastor here in Canilla and we became good friends during that time. He is young and many times sat at our table talking with us much like a son would. The desire of his heart has always been to minister to men like these - a desire that was birthed out of his own history of drug use and abandonment as a child. This is a work that no one else wants to do...and the need is great. Thursday when we went (the day that all of the Holy Week festivities really began) he had only 16 men there but normally has up to 26. Most are men that he picks up off the street, abandoned by their families as unworthy of helping. We fixed a lunch for them, made tortillas on the open fire and attempted to encourage them. He is doing great things there, making a difference in many lives, and living completely dependent on God's faithfulness. He has awesome stories already!

I pray that as you celebrate Easter with your family and friends that you will remember the reason that we celebrate. For "Christ has made all things right. I had nothing to do but accept it as a free gift from Him." Hannah Whitall Smith

Loaves and Fish

One of the most amazing things about what we do here is how faithfully God supplies all that we need. When we said 'yes' to starting up another clinic out in the Zona Reina, my faith was stretched a little as adding another clinic would add another drain on our supply of medications coming in. We give everyone who comes something...if they are not sick then they get vitamins -but almost no one goes away empty handed. We get medications from a variety of sources, many are donated and hand carried down with friends. Some we buy here in country from the government. This week as we prepared to go out again to San Pedro, I knew we were in need of several things that we did not have. Thursday morning I received an email from a friend in the City who said they had just received a shipment of medications and to come and get what we needed. So Duane and I flew in, went by El Shaddai (the church who came and helped us with a medical team not long ago) and picked up a wheelchair for a young woman with cerebral palsy and cannot walk, and then we went on to this warehouse filled with medical supplies and medications. Dennis said "Take whatever you need!" And there were all the medications that we needed to take with us out to the Zona Reina! Our friend Heidi used to say in moments like that, "Loaves and fishes...." And that is exactly what it is. He amazingly supplies and multiplies all that we offer to Him and makes it enough - always enough.

We will leave Monday morning for San Pedro with our normal team plus Dr. Pedro (a dentist from El Shaddai), Dr. Sherwood (from Agape in Action) and two 4th year medical students who are visiting him. It will be a full day. The dental needs are overwhelming in this area of sugar cane. No one has a toothbrush...new concept. Please pray for safety as we travel, for wisdom as we work medically, and most importantly that these people might come to understand and know this God who loves them enough to come and die for them.

Unilla

It always takes me a few days to process all that has happened after a trip like Unilla. We planned and prayed for so long beforehand that I need time to pray through and understand it all. The trip itself was great - the people were welcoming and helpful. The mayor had organized everyone so well. The building where we worked was clean and adequate in all ways. There was even a bathroom, of sorts, which is always a bonus. The weather cooperated although we were praying pretty hard when we woke up to rain on Friday. And most importantly we learned that there has been some evangelism done in this tiny village as there are 2 small but seemingly thriving evangelical churches.

Disturbingly though, were several facts that indicate a deeper spiritual need. One is that this village in the middle of nowhere, is famous for the sugar cane liquor that they make. We had many men confess to drinking problems and in the evening, that drunkenness became more visible. The other problem was that very few women or children came. They were there - in the evening, as we walked through the village they hung back, lots of the children appearing malnourished and many visibly sick with skin infections. When I asked, I was told that they were afraid of us. But the other thing that concerned me was the lack of an advocate for the women. Always in the past the local mid-wives come either to translate or to be with their pregnant patients. Here, there was no one speaking for these women. And in a culture were woman are considered servants - at best - this was disturbing to me. My prayer is that we will be invited to return and that the Lord will provide someway for us to be able to reach this overlooked group.

We returned from that trip Friday night and turned around to do 2 more busy days of our normal weekend clinics. We were so grateful to have the help of our friend Arlen. His energy and humor always keep us going! By Monday night though, I was so tired all I could do was cry. So Tuesday after clinic, Duane packed us all up and we left to spent our Sabbath at the lake in Panajachel. It was great to get away and relax for a little bit.

This weekend will be a busy one as well as Katie and Aaron are scheduled to take 2 of our cleft lip babies into Antigua to have their surgeries done by a visiting team of surgeons. That will leave Don and I alone to work in the clinics.

Enough whining.... Here are some pictures from Unilla. It is a beautiful place!

For those of you who wait for news about the airplanes, the props are on the Aztec! The boys hope to get it started up this week.

And some other good news...Abi's hearing for her adoption is finally scheduled for the 16th of April. We will take her in and meet with the judge. If all goes well - and we are not anticipating any problems - we should have her legal Guatemalan adoption within a few weeks. Please pray that the judge will rule in our favor!

God is faithful!

For those of you who were praying for Joseph and Duane's safe return home, thank-you! They got home just before nightfall last night. I am overwhelmed this morning with gratitude to the Lord for His amazing faithfulness to us. He asks us to do difficult things at times and always asks that we walk in integrity, but as we do all in our power to follow His ways, He always provides a "way out". This trip was no exception.



It was an 11 hour flight in the 182. They left in the morning Thursday, arrived in Brownsville late in the midst of rain and fog, spent one day there and left to return to Guatemala yesterday morning. As you may have been reading in the news, the situation in Mexico is volatile right now between the drug enforcement agencies and the drug rings, so all of the airports are on "red alert". And when you fly internationally, you must pass through immigration in whatever country you pass through. Yesterday when they landed in Tampico Mexico, they were immediately surrounded by 3 heavily armed guards and the supervisor of the "aduana" (the agency which assesses taxes). They demanded that Duane and Joseph unload the plane and open all the boxes so that they could determine the value of each item for taxation purposes. This of course, was totally illegal because they were only passing through Mexico - they were just looking for a pay-off. But they were angry and threatening so of course, Duane and Jo did exactly as they ordered. Our policy since our arrival to this country is to never pay bribes as it feeds into a system of corruption that runs deep within this country - and Mexico - and unfortunately our own country as well. One of Duane's best gifts is his ability to talk fast without a trace of intimidation, and because we know that the Lord honors integrity, He always provides us a way to get out of bribery. Oh, the stories I could tell.... Anyway, these "officials" demanded receipts for all the items in the plane. Duane said that they were all "regalas" (gifts) and thus he had no receipts. Some friends had had boxes sent to Brownsville for us to take back which Duane had not even opened. And the props, which were very expensive, were lain flat, on the floor of the plane. Duane was a little fearful as the guards began cutting the boxes open. But when they opened the first box, it popped open with plastic toys, the second box was filled with books, the third with candy and after that, they didn't open anything more, realizing that they really were gifts and of no real failure to them. They never opened anything that would have been "taxable" nor did they even see the props! The supervisor grudgingly stamped all of his paperwork and they loaded the plane back up and flew off. On arrival in Guatemala, he again had to pass through immigration where they could have legally searched the plane and assessed the contents for taxation, but they never even looked in the plane. They just stamped his paperwork and he was off. The men in the control tower here in Guatemala know Duane now and knew he was eager to get home before dark, so they offered to file his flight plan for him and they arrived in Guatemala about 5 minutes before dark - safe and sound and exceedingly grateful for God's protection and provision!



For us here at home, it was an interesting day as well. As we finished clinic yesterday, a young man came to the door asking for milk for his baby. His wife had given birth 6 weeks earlier in their home in the mountains. She bled heavily afterward and the local midwife had treated her by having her lie between two very heavy rocks to stop the bleeding. After several days of treatment, this young woman became gravely ill and was taken into the hospital were she stayed for 3 days. When she left the hospital, the doctors gave Juan (her husband) prescriptions for antibiotics that cost over Q500 (about $70). Juan didn't have the money so they just returned home and 3 weeks later she still is unable to get out of bed. So after lunch we hiked up to see her. It is the dry season here and each day the smoke gets denser as fires rage through the forests. So when we met Juan in his village, he pointed to his house - which was right next to a huge cloud of smoke. When we arrived at the house, we could hear the crackles of the flames as they moved closer, but we were assured that there was no danger. Fortunately Juan's wife was better than we anticipated finding and little baby Kati was fat and healthy. So we left her with antibiotics, lots of vitamins and hydration drink, and prayer, and will check on them in a week. When we came out of the house though the flames were within 50 feet of the house and there was lots of scurrying around as they were concerned - not about Juan's house but for his in-laws house which was directly above them. People here usually do not attempt to put out the fires but accept them as they accept everything else that this life has for them. And fortunately, adobe does not burn well. So we left amid the smoke. Don and Lori took lots of pictures so check out their blog.

prayer requests...

I have two requests for prayer this morning. One is for Hannah Allison who broke her arm last weekend. We have been debating about whether or not it was really broken for several days. She is so sweet and never complains and said it didn't really hurt that much but after watching her, her parents decided to take her into Quiche yesterday for x-rays. Unfortunately it is broken. So they drove on into the City to have it set this morning. Please pray for them. It is always a little troubling to be at the mercy of doctors about whom we know nothing and to have the extra problem of communication. You want to really understand when they are talking about the health of your child!



My second request is for Duane and Joseph as they took off this morning in the 182 for Brownsville Texas. We have not talked much about the other plane that we have - the Aztec - which had a nose gear failure in our first trip out to the Zona Reina. It has been sitting for many months waiting for Aaron to have the time to do the necessary repairs and for the finances to buy new props and paint for it. In His great faithfulness, that funding has come, so they will bring those parts back with them, hopefully on Saturday.



An update on little Mari....she had surgery last week and we are awaiting the results of the biopsy. The doctors say that she definitely has osteomyelitis (infection in her bone which will require long-term IV antibiotics) and possibly also has a malignancy. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. And some really good news...remember Helen, the baby with hydrocephalus? About 2 months ago her parents decided to not pursue further medical treatment and to leave her in the hands of God. She is now alert and responds appropriately and her head is no longer growing disproportionately. Her parents are thrilled and we are rejoicing with them at the goodness and faithfulness of God!

When we are not in clinic, we are busily preparing for our trip out to Unilla - scheduled for nest Thursday. It is not an easy task to anticipate the needs of around 400 patients plus our team's needs. We cannot just run out to Walmart if we forget something. Fortunately, each one on this team is experienced in "flexibility - Guatemalan style". What we are finding as we continue to work in this area where resources are so scarce is that we are being bombarded each day with emergency calls. Unfortunately our definition of emergency and theirs do not always agree. So we have been trying to set up a system of triage through one person in each community. In this way we hope to be able to screen out those who really just want a ride in an airplane from those who are truly emergencies. Managing the resources that we have been given with both integrity and generosity is sometimes a difficult task. But we are very aware that we are only bond servants of the Lord's - owners of nothing, yet in charge of everything.