A week has passed since I wrote about little Domingo from Chiminisijuan. He is the 3 year old, severely malnourished child whose mom and two siblings accepted the Lord last week. He was there waiting yesterday for clinic with his mom. He at least cried when we weighed him and his mom says that he is beginning to eat (he was eating a bag of chips as they waited). When I asked how her husband was, she told me that he had come - so she called him in. He was sober and said that he had stopped drinking and given his life to Jesus this week. We rejoiced with them and then prayed for them - that God would give him the strength to resist when the temptation comes to drink again. Mom was beaming. God is so good!!





Monday afternoon we had a gentleman come into the clinic who was having difficulty breathing. We put an oximeter on to see what his oxygen level was and found that it was 60 (normal is 90 - 100 - 60 is an indication that he would not live long - hours maybe). We gave him some oxygen and talked with them only to find out that a doctor in Quiche told them a year ago that he had a spot on his lung and sent him home to die. He did not want to go to the hospital so we talked with him about Jesus. He was a Christian although his family all walked out the door when I began to talk with him about the Lord. He finally looked at me and said, "I am going to die, aren't I?" I said yes, that I thought he probably would not live very long but we talked about heaven and we prayed together. He cried and said he would miss his children so much. We sent him home with a small oxygen tank to use until his family could all get there. This afternoon, his family came to return the oxygen tank and to thank us for our prayers. It seems that he began to perk up when he got home and is no longer having any difficulty breathing. They understood that it could only have been the power of God that has given this gentleman life instead of death. I don't know how long he will live - he is elderly - but until he leaves this earth, I believe he will be testifying about the power and love of our God!





And a funny story... We live next door to a very sweet elderly couple. I recently went over to visit with Dona Reyna. Her cat began rubbing up against my legs so I asked her if he caught rats for her as I know firsthand that they have a large population living with them. We treated their son for an infected rat bite several years ago. She replied that he was a horrible mouser and that he would only eat them when she caught them and fried them in a little oil! It is at times like this that I realize our cultural differences are very great!



Our friend Adrienne is here for the month. She comes in and immediately steps in to help and keeps us in line. She is great and we are grateful that she continues to come each year. This will be a busy month here with lots of visitors and a team of young people from Washington. We are thankful for each one who comes to help and serve alongside of us!

waiting...

I have not written for a few weeks - there are never enough hours in the day. It seems that we have more work and less help these days. Honestly, I have been a little discouraged and have been asking the Lord if we are doing what He desires or if we have missed Him somehow. I don't know why...He is always so faithful to provide all that we need. Rachel was cleaning out a drawer earlier in the week and found the first letter that I wrote before we had even left the US, 11 years ago. In it we were explaining all that the Lord had put on our hearts to do here in Guatemala, and I wrote, "There are also groups of completely unreached indians over the mountain range north of the orphanage. Our dream is to be able to take the Gospel to this area, 'to prepare the way in the wilderness, the way of the Lord; to make straight and smooth in the desert the highway of our God.' (Isaiah 40:3) As we all re-read it, it was clear that this is the right direction. So we wait on Him - trusting that He will bring the right people alongside of us to help - in His time. My friend Bonnie Wallace used to say, that waiting on the Lord was just that - like a waiter in a restaurant - serving.

Yesterday in Chiminisijuan in our line of children receiving milk from the nutrition program (we weigh each baby every 2 weeks) was a little boy whom I had never seen. His mom handed me her newborn first who was fat and healthy and then she laid her 19 month-old on the scale. He was severely malnourished with edematous hands and feet and the skin hanging off of the rest of him. He just laid on the scale without a fight - lethargic from a lack of food. Upon questioning, his mom told me that he would eat beans when they had them but mostly they just gave him coffee. Giving coffee to very young children is cultural - it is weak, warm and full of sugar - I often see it in baby bottles. She had the saddest eyes as she told me that she has 7 children and a husband who is drunk all the time. They are buying their corn which is an indication that they don't have enough to eat - all of their money goes to buy corn to make tortillas - which is their most important food. Armando began to talk with her about the Lord, asking her if she went to church. She said that she had in the past but her always drunk husband was an embarrassment to her. Armando included her two older children in the conversation and when he asked them if they wanted to accept the Lord again, the little boy said, "Do it mom, do it!" So all of them together repeated the prayer of salvation. The little boy, Pedro, said that he could read, so we gave them a Bible which he proudly tucked under his arm, with instructions to start in the book of John and read to his family each day.

I have struggled to find a way to make the God that I know...a God who is so faithful and kind to me - relevant to people who never have a moment of joy, who watch their children go to bed hungry, who are beaten down by their desperate struggle to stay alive. How do I talk to them about a God who loves them and cares for them when their circumstances shout otherwise? These are questions that I have asked the Lord since our arrival here and while to this day, my understanding is very small, I am beginning to understand that He is our judge. Not a judge who is ready to condemn (although we may eventually see that side of him), but a judge who is our advocate; a judge who sees and will bring justice where there is injustice. So we talk to people about this characteristic of our God; about how He is watching and waiting to bring justice to those who put their trust in Him. We talk with them about the judgment that awaits those who hurt his children, and we talk with them about the hell that awaits those who mistreat his chosen ones. We talk with them about the need to pray for those who hurt them, knowing that this will bring freedom from the bitterness that grows out of unforgiveness. And we encourage them that even though their outward circumstances may not - and probably won't immediately change, that they become part of a community who will stand with them in prayer - that they are no longer alone. So would you pray for this family? Would you pray that Fermanina's husband would be freed from the bondage of alcoholism and that his eyes would be opened to the salvation that Jesus brings? Would you pray that he would begin to be the father and husband that this family needs? And would you pray that little Domingo would live and not die?

"Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady to knees that give way

say to those with fearful hearts,

"Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come,

he will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution

he will come to save you." Isaiah 35:3-4

Juana

There are times when I think that we are seeing changes, that we are making progress, that we are able to shed a little light in the darkness. And then there are others times when I am knocked off balance by the depth of ignorance and darkness that still exists here. Yesterday was one of those days. Remember the young woman in Unilla (in the Zona Reina) that I wrote about 2 weeks ago? Juana, 5 months pregnant, had been sick for many weeks. Her husband had tried to care for her by taking her to the witchdoctors, following their instruction carefully until he finally had her walk, in her very weakened state, in the middle of the night, to their home village, where we are told she died. In her last hours, we are told, they tried to call us to take her to medical help but it was too late. I am grieved because she did not have to die, she had options...not that I have delusions about "our abilities". But a hand, an offer of help was extended and they refused it. And I am grieved because she died without knowing the hope of eternal life...without knowing the eternal God.


So we grieve for her, for her husband - who tried to care for her - in his way, and for her 3 young children who will grow up without their mother's love. And then we go on, continuing to pray that God will open up eyes, that His light will shine in this darkness. When Duane spoke with Rudolfo (the community leader of Unilla) yesterday, he invited us back to his village. So we will return at the end of this month. Would you pray with us for this family and for this village?

on the field....

We made our second trip into Unilla on Thursday of this week. For those who do not remember, Unilla is a small community of about 7,000 on the border of Coban. It is inaccessible by road so we fly in - this time making 2 trips in with loaded with medicine, equipment and medical personnel. As we unpacked and set up the clinic, Francisco, (the medical advocate for the community) asked us to go and see a young woman who was "grave" (very ill). We walked into a wood shack to find Juana lying on the dirt floor, covered with woolen blankets in the 100 degree weather. She emaciated and appeared semi-conscious. Her family told us that she had been sick for 3 years and that they had just returned from the "spiritist" (witchdoctor) - a two day trip away. She was vomiting 10-12 times a day. We gave her some IV fluids, and did an ultrasound to find that she was 5 months pregnant (which they had vehemently denied). Her husband was not there - he had gone to get medicine for her. He arrived later with a two liter bottle of green liquid that he had been instructed to pour over her head in an effort to cure her. He immediately left again to bring back to the house another witchdoctor. The house was crowded with 30 - 35 people who had come to watch as Juana continued to vomit, never making eye contact with us, never changing expression when we told her she was pregnant with a baby boy. We prayed and tried to express to them the power of our God to heal, to save. We returned the next day to give her another liter of fluids, her vomiting had slowed some but she still would not eat nor would she make eye-contact with us. Please pray for her. I felt such darkness in that house and we know that only the light of Jesus' love deliver them.

We returned to the clinic and began seeing patients - working until 5. Craig and Malachi stayed the night and showed the Jesus film to well over 300 people. The rest of us returned to Canilla for the night and Duane and I returned in the morning to finish the second day. We saw around 300 people - with more women and children coming this time. We know that these first trips are times to gain the confidence of the people. We were told repeatedly that they are afraid of us. I spoke at length to the midwife - a woman who never smiled. I tried to explain that we had no desire to steal their children or their gold (a common belief here) and that we came only because the Lord has put a incredibly deep love in our hearts for the Mayan people. She stayed in the clinic area the entire time that we were there - both days - just observing. By the end of the second day, she began to smile. We are hopeful that God is beginning to break down the walls of fear and distrust.

Well, maybe I'll get this post done soon...a week has gone by already! Tomorrow we fly out to San Pedro. We don't usually plan trips out to the Zona Reina in two consecutive weeks as they require so much planning and are so physically draining. But since it is sometimes difficult to get medical help that is willing to make this kind of trip, we are taking advantage of the time that Malachi and Heather are here - since they both have willing and adventurous spirits! We will also be accompanied by Dr. Pedro, the dentist from Guatemala City who went with us last month. Although he saw over 60 patients last time, he had to turn away many people. The community leaders were very happy to hear that he was willing to return. Please pray that the weather cooperates, that we have safe flights in and out, and most importantly that the Lord will open hearts to receive salvation.

Our clinics in the past two weeks have been extremely busy with lots of sick children. Yesterday in Chiminisijuan we saw over 100 people - many who were very sick. Again, we were very thankful to have Malachi and Heather here to help us. Last week was almost as busy in this small community and I saw one little baby who really needed to be in the hospital. She had pneumonia and needed more medical attention than we could give her. When I asked her mom if she could take her into the hospital, she said no, that it was impossible. So we prayed and asked Jesus to heal her. Yesterday she came and when I asked how the baby was, thinking that she was probably still sick (my faith is so small sometimes!) she said, "Oh she's fine. I am here for my other daughter." She did not understand what a miracle it was that her daughter was alive - but I certainly did! We also had a young woman whom we had seen a few months ago. She and her husband had been together for almost five years and she had not conceived. In this culture it is assumed that infertility is always the woman's fault and many times men will not stay with women who cannot give them children. So we had prayed for her...we have no way of addressing that problem here. She came in yesterday, 3 months pregnant! God is so faithful!!

Here are some pictures from our trip to Unilla.

The runway...

Our greeting "committee".

On our knees...

Prayer is probably the most important thing that we do here. It is always a temptation to skip that part, to relegate it to the last thing that we do. But we know that without it, nothing is really worth the effort. Lately our hours of prayer have increased. Guatemala's newly elected president was recently implicated in several murders and there has been talk of removing him from office. And in typical Guatemalan fashion, those in support as well as those who oppose him have been demonstrating in the streets of Guatemala City. So we pray...

On a more positive note, on the 30th of this month, there will be a service in San Andres designed to unite the pastors not just in San Andres but in all of the surrounding villages. This is something that we have prayed for since our arrival 10 years ago. The mayor, who is a Christian and our good friend Pastor Rodi are organizing everything and met with over 50 pastors on Monday. They are anticipating around 5,000 people who will attend the 2 day event. We pray that God will grant these congregations to be like-minded toward one another...that they with one mind and one mouth will glorify the Father. (Romans 15:5-6 - my paraphrase). We pray as well that this will be the beginning of a powerful movement of God in this place.

And today, after much prayer and many hours of preparation gathering paperwork from all parts of this country and the US, we submitted Abi's adoption to the final agency for approval. With regulations changing daily, we are told to anticipate another 3 months but this, we are told, is the final hurtle. We are hopeful that all will be complete so that we can attend Hannah's graduation in December.

And always, we pray for those we see in clinic. Yesterday was an especially difficult day in Chiminisijuan with so many sick children. We saw 2 little babies who needed to be hospitalized but as is so often the case in this village, they will not go. So we do the best that we can do medically and then we pray, trusting in God to do the miraculous. As we arrived here in Canilla after clinc, I was greeted with a woman who comes frequently for her asthma. She was very sick and gasping for every breath. We did all we could do here, started her on some oxygen and then Duane quickly flew her into the hospital in Quiche. So, much of my sleepless night last night was spent praying for these and others.

As we anticipate 2 trips to the Zona Reina in the next two weeks, we ask for you prayers as well. Please pray that God will touch hearts with His love and mercy and that these people can know and understand the free gift of salvation that only He has to offer. Thank you!

Green Pastures

"He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He refeshes and restores my life... I will fear no evil, for He is with me..."

With everything becoming more and more green, it is hard to not feel refreshed as well. Of course this refreshing goes beyond simply the external refreshing, but as we come to understand more and more what it means that "He is with us..." in the midst of death or life, the refreshing waters pour over our souls as well.

A few weeks ago, a prophet came to San Andres with another call towards unity for the Christians, specifically the pastors, in San Andres. We have known this Truth for a long time, not only because of its obvious Biblical roots, but also because we have watched the town fall apart as the unity among the pastors has been destroyed. After leaving the service, we felt that it was time to start a weekly prayer and worship time, interceding for San Andres - for unity among the Christians, for the salvation and discipleship of those not saved, for forgiveness for the sins of the past and present, of Guatemalans and Americans. Our prayer is that this will be a time that will join together believers regardless of race, age, background, and the biggest stumbling block here - the church you attend. We know that we cannot move forward without His lead, and we know that nothing moves us along like prayer. So a couple of weeks ago we started meeting in our clinic in San Andres, and as we get ready to meet for the third time, would you also pray with us that this will be a time that will bring unity among the people and bring all of our hearts in rightness before God again?

As this greeness continues, so does David's tractor work. He and some of the other boys have been out working each day, trying to dance around the rain to get the work done before the rain saturates the ground too much and they have to wait a day for it to dry out. The men continue to line up daily, and it is great to see these relationships being built.

Clinics have continued to keep us busy as well, although God always shows His grace and faithfulness throughout each one. The lady from San Pedro who slipped and broke her arm had her surgery a couple days ago and we should be able to fly her home as soon as the doctor gives the okay. Due to some miscommunication, we were unable to do a clinic in San Pedro as planned for yesterday, but we are planning for trips out to both San Pedro and Unilla in June.

We also look forward to some visitors in the next couple of weeks. Heather, a friend who will start medical school in the fall, will arrive tomorrow and stay for five weeks, and Malachi, another friend who will start residency at the end of June, will also be coming for a couple of weeks. We are looking forward to catching up with these friends as they come to help out and work alongside of us for a little bit this summer.

We pray that today you also feel the comfort of knowing that as you walk through this life, God is with each and everyone of you.... bringing you by green pastures and refreshing and restoring your life.

It's raining!

It is raining today! For those of you who have never experienced 6 months without it, I am not sure that I can explain how wonderful it is when that first rain of the season begins. The smell of it, the sound of it on the roof...it is just that...wonderful! The children are all outside standing in it, screaming with delight. Now, our desert will turn green and the river will flow once again. This week as the skies signaled the beginnings, the men have come each morning asking for their turn with David to have their fields cultivated. He has been working all week to get the tractor and equipment ready. What a great time of year!

It has been a quiet week here with time to catch up on school work and all that has piled up in the last few weeks. Grace and Abi have officially started their pre-school activities. It is quite the challenge to keep Abi's attention for more than 30 seconds, but when we can, we find that she has a remarkable memory. And Grace, typical "first" child is a perfectionist and very emotional when her hand does not cooperate.

Duane was called out to San Pedro yesterday to pick up an elderly woman who fell and broke her arm. When they say that she broke her arm, they really mean that she almost completely broke it off. With the bone exposed, her arm hung at an odd angle as Duane carefully transported her to the Quiche hospital where she was immediately taken to surgery. She will have another surgery on Monday as well. Unfortunately, she waited more than 24 hours in that condition and the risk of severe infection is high. Pray for her if you think of it, her name is Dominga. What seemed like the entire village greeted Duane as he landed there in San Pedro. It has rained there pretty continuously for the last 3 weeks and the grass had grown up on the landing strip so all of the available men had been called out at dawn to cut the grass - with their machetes. "Community" takes on a whole new meaning in these remote villages.

As the rain continues to fall outside, I am reminded of God's promise..."I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit." (Lev. 26:4). He is a faithful God!