Where'd they go?

Where in the world did those girls go?

Remember the Front Row Seat blog entry about the 3 girls that accepted the Lord? Well, ever since then we’ve been looking for them. We want to follow-up w/ them and see how they’re doing. Well, finally Julian came up with an answer.

Andy is a “class clown” type of kid that lives right beside the Amatitlan Park and is always at our weekly kids activity led by Ruth and Oscar. Julian discovered that one of the 3 girls was Andy’s visiting cousin. She’d somehow buddied up with 2 other girls that were also visiting family in Amatitlan. All 3 were there for a week…a week that had eternal consequences. How cool is that!

Andy doesn’t know when his cousin might return for another visit and he has no idea of who the other girls are. But God knows, and I’m just so glad that we had the privilege and opportunity to have been there at His appointed time.

Katy Part 1

Remember my last blog entry…the 3 little girls that accepted the Lord while sitting in the park on a particular concrete bench?
Well, now imagine that very same park and even the very same park bench 7 days later.
Here’s what happened:

For the first time since I’ve been here, we had a team that included 2 physicians (a wonderful husband and wife team). I had given out numbers to the crowd waiting to receive medical care in the park in Amatitlan. As always, there were far more people than numbers. When I saw how the time to patient ratio was working out, I knew that we’d be able to see about 4 more patients, and thus gave out an additional 4 numbers. As it turns out, God had something special planned for the 3rd additional person, Katerin (also called Katy). Katy had just turned 10 yr old a week earlier, and she is absolutely beautiful- soft light brown skin, beautiful large dark eyes, flowing long dark hair and a shy but large smile with dimples.

Katy’s mom (Coni) brought her to the park since she heard there was a medical clinic. Coni reported to Dr John that Katy wasn’t growing and didn’t have energy to run and play with the others. Dr John listened to Katy's chest w/ his stethoscope and then called me over for a teachable minute. His face told me this was something significant and his voice told me that what I was about to experience was something I would hopefully never experience again. This beautiful young girl had a heart murmur as big as Texas. John asked her pertinent questions and examined her thoroughly (or as thoroughly as possible in an open park with no medical tools except for a stethoscope and many years of experience).

After speaking in hushed tones for a few min, I was asked to do one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. While Dr John saw the last patient, I walked Coni and young Katy over to “the” park bench and called Oscar over to help me get through the conversation in Spanish. I told Katy that Dr John may have found why she was so tired all the time and that she may need to see another doctor in the city. Then I dismissed Katy into the nearby loving arms of other team members to keep her occupied. We then broke the news to Coni that Dr John believed her daughter had a gravely serious condition- a hole in her heart- which over 10 years had caused her heart to beat extra hard and to greatly enlarge due to the pressure of trying to push blood thru a hole that was not designed to be a passageway. Dr John and his translator Caroline soon joined us. As expected, Coni was overwhelmed with this news. She wept deeply in my arms and there wasn’t a dry eye anywhere around. When we gathered ourselves a bit, we all retreated into a gracious neighbor’s home where we ate lunch and could visit and chat, getting to know each other a little more, and focus on something other than the issue at hand.

As we finished lunch, Coni said she was up to attending the afternoon Bible study that was about to start at the park. And Katy said she wanted to go the simultaneous children’s program. Over lunch, Coni had shared her firm belief in Jesus Christ as her Savior and it was obvious she was already leaning on Him. Katy said she didn’t really know Christ, so we told her that we’d tell her all about Him at the children’s program today and in the weeks to come. Then Coni did something that demonstrated that her focus was on target. She asked that all of us, the Guatemalans and Americans combined, would gather around her and Katy for prayer after the crowd thinned from the program. And indeed we prayed- neither loud nor boisterous- but with arms and hearts lifted up and tears flowing down as we prayed on Katy’s behalf to our Father in heaven.

The 45 min trip back to our home in the city from the Amatitlan Park was a bit quieter than usual. And Katy was about all we could think about that evening.

I don’t believe in coincidences. I do however, believe in God-incidences since I believe He is in control of all things at all times and thus He cannot be taken by surprise.
Therefore I believe it was a God-incidence that:
• A mother and daughter on the visiting USA team that week were also named Katherine and Connie.
• Coni was led to bring her daughter to the clinic on the one and only day that we’ve had a physician at that location.
• It was not just any doctor, but a well-experienced pediatrician.
• Caroline, a completely bilingual translator, was with us.

You know, it’s really about a heart condition. One week it was about the heart condition of 3 little girls that were sitting on a park bench and ready to hear about the Lord. Exactly one week later, almost to the hour, it was about the heart condition of a different little girl sitting on the same park bench. She shared the same need as the other little girls (in that she says she doesn’t know Jesus), but she also has an additional need. Of course, we’d like to see her physical heart condition mended, but above all, it’s her spiritual heart condition that will make a difference for all of eternity.

Front Row Seat

Have you ever had one of those situations where you absolutely knew that you had a front row seat to watch God do something really cool?

I saw the 3 cute brown skin, brown haired, brown eyed princesses sitting on a concrete bench about 25 yr away. Something made me get out my camera and snap their picture. As I walked toward the girls, I suddenly felt very strongly led to go sit next to them and strike up a conversation. I could sense that God was up to something, and I didn’t have to wait more than a moment before I knew He wanted me to tell these girls about Jesus. I also equally knew that I was in new territory. I’d never done this alone in Spanish. I’d seen and heard it done by my Guatemalan co-workers and I’d heard it translated from English to Spanish. But this was new turf for me.

As I went to sit on the bench with the girls, I noticed there was a Bible and an EvangeCube (an evangelism tool that looks kind of like a Rubik’s cube but with changing pictures that help to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ). Within a few minutes we’d exchanged niceties, and I reached for the Cube. I’d watched others use the Cube as they spoke about Christ, but I had not fiddled with it myself. I sent up a quick prayer, trusting that this was being done in His will, and asked for His help. Sure enough God took over. I hardly remember much after that. I remember that He gave me the words I needed (in Spanish) and He guided my hands over the Cube as if I’d used it many times before. The Lord definitely had the attention of the 3 girls and at the end of the story the youngest (about 6 yr old) excitedly jumped off the bench and said she wanted to ask Jesus to be her Savior and best friend forever. The other two followed suit. At that point I called over Oscar, one of our co-workers….a humble and wonderful young Christian man. There’s no substitute for a Guatemalan sharing with a Guatemalan. Oscar made sure that the girls understood the story and confirmed that they wanted to pray and ask the Lord into their hearts and lives. Each eagerly nodded in agreement. With a smile and a tear in the corner of his eye, Oscar led them phrase by phrase in a short prayer where each of the girls accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

There’s nothing like the smile, energy and pure joy in the face of someone who just accepted the Lord as their Savior. It’s a day I pray I will never forget. I remember being a little more quite than usual for the rest of the day. I was in pure awe at what I’d seen the Lord do, and could hardly comprehend that He’d choose to allow me to have a front row seat. This was 100% a God thing. And the next day I had a smile from ear to ear that matched the smiles on the girls’ faces.

I’ve waited a long time to tell this story. It seemed so intimate that I wasn’t sure I wanted to share it. However, my pastor encouraged me to share the story. You never know how the Lord will move. My prayer is that this story will encourage you and cause you to reflect on Him.

(Without me even being aware, a friend snapped a series of pictures during the above event. This series of pictures can be seen on FB or you can click on the link below to see the pictures.)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=142620&id=673981604&l=fbf0c0ea97

Just the right question

• Is Maria here?
• No, Maria is not here.
• Do you know when she might come back?
• No, I don't know when she might come back.
• Do you know if she's OK?
• Yes, I think she's OK.
• Can you tell her that Debra came by and I really want to see her....I'm the nurse that has been caring for the wound on her leg.
• OK, I'll tell her.

This conversation (or one very similar) happened every Thursday nearly every week since the first week of May. Maria has a tremendously nasty leg wound. With the help of another Guatemalan, we'd been able to clean and bandage the area at least once a week since last Nov and we'd seen great progress...until May when I couldn't ever catch up with Maria. It was strange I couldn't find her, and knew how much she appreciated the Aleve to help with her pain.

Then, about 2 wk ago, when the above conversation was once again being repeated, something happened. This time, the person at Maria's house gave one tiny bit of additional information at the very end....."Maria doesn't live here." AGHHHHH!!!!!!

I (we) have begun to learn that we need to very carefully choose our words to ask very specific questions. The person at Maria's house gave me correct answers....but I never asked the most important question...Does Maria still live here? In the USA, the person at the door would've probably given that info the first time around. I wonder if I'll ever get my brain to start thinking like a Guatemalan.

Just for your amusement....

Last Friday I ordered a large supply of parasite medicine from the pharmacy. Today I called the pharmacy and talked to my normal contact person.

• Is my order ready?
• Yes, your order is ready.

2 hr later at the pharmacy:

• I'm here to get my order
• Sorry, only part of your order is ready.
• But you said on the phone that my order is ready.
• yes, it is ready....part of it.

Lesson: Ask what you really want to know.... is my 100% of my order ready right now?

Today Ginny and I and a couple others go to see a kid and his mom at their house.

• Hello, is Alex or his mom home?
• No, they are not here. Who do you need to speak to?
  
• We need to speak to Alex's mom. Do you know when she will return.
• Yes, about 4pm.

Later at 4:30pm

• Hi, I'm glad we found you at home. Where's Alex?
• He's not here. He's at his Grandma's house.

Lesson: Ask when Alex AND his mom will be home.

And for one more chuckle...
About 2 wk ago at the pharmacy, around noon:

• I need such and such medicine please
• OK, and today we're having a sale, 25% off
• Everything is 25% off? (I thought this was the right question.)
  
• Yes, everything
• OK, well I'll take this and that and this and that
• OK, you're price is X amt, minus Q37 (Q= the type of money they use here).
• Why Q37 instead of 25%? (I would've saved much more with 25% off)
• Because the sale is for up to Q150. If the total is more than Q149, then you only get Q37 off.
• OK. Well, since there is no flier or announcement of any kind regarding this sale, is there any way you can call me (since I'm a very steady customer) when you have a similar sale?
• Oh, we always have a 25% off sale every Monday.
• What? I've been here since Feb and you never told me this?
• Oh, sorry. But if you want to order something else now since there's a sale, I can do that for you, but only for the next hour.
• What?
• The sale is only on Mondays between 11am and 1pm, and again from 5pm-7pm.

The reason there is a crack in my bedroom wall is because that's where I bang my head.
Lesson: Ask if there is a particular item is on sale, and/or when there is a sale and for how long and for up to what amount, etc .

I'm not kidding you....this is the sort of stuff that makes me crazy! Is it any wonder my hair sticks straight up?

Can you believe that? Thanks God!

Friday, July 3rd, the last photos were taken, the last hugs given, and Beth was in the van with her suitcase. We were ready to take Beth to the airport. Just one problem, Manuel couldn't find the key. The ONE and ONLY key to the new van. We quickly searched everywhere....even the stinky trash. OK, time for plan B....we'll give Beth one last memorable ride in the back of Chuck Norris (our Ford Ranger truck). However, our minds were on the missing key. I don't know how a person goes about getting a key in this situation in the USA, much less in Guatemala. At what expense? How much time would be needed? Car Shops are only open 1/2 day on Sat, and we had a team arriving in 24 hr! It would cost us $100 or more per day if we needed to rent a van. We needed that key! Plus, we'd just used the van earlier in the day, and left it in front of the ministry house. How long do you think it would take for a Mercedes van to be stolen and/or stripped? (Essentially nobody leaves a vehicle of any value in front of their house.) As you can imagine, we were praying big time.

When we returned from the airport, the van was not in front of the house. My first thought, perhaps someone had hot-wired the van and gotten it into the garage. Nope.
Are you ready for this?
After we left, an older lady passed by our house, saw the key in the small strip of grass/dirt that separates our house from the street, and returned the key to us. (I'm glad some of our group stayed back at the house!)

Can you imagine that! Anybody could have picked up this key, but I believe God had this precious lady find the key. It would've been so simple for somebody to try the key or seel the key for the van that was sitting only a few feet away. But no! Once again God came through. Thanks God- you're Awesome!

God takes care of Carlos

Remember Carlos? He's the guy I've mentioned before who dug a well, fell in the well, became a wheelchair bound amputee quadriplegic, and is being cared for by the family who owns the well...does that ring any bells?

Carlos has to use a Foley catheter (urine tube/bag) and he asked me if there was any way I could get him a new tube & bag. In the USA, patients typically have this changed about every month. Health care is not very accessible for most people, particularly when they live quite a distance from the city. Carlos had not had a new tube/bag in several months, and I feared he would soon develop a potentially serious infection.

The next day I sent an email to a good friend (D.) and previous co-worker/nurse in Richmond Virignia to ask if she had any idea of how I could get these supplies for Carlos. Within an hour D responded via email that she would get to work on it. Within another hour or less she emailed again saying that she had everything I needed. I would say that I was amazed at how rapidly D obtained these supplies, but over time I've come to know D to move heaven and earth for the sake of a person in need. She is a true Christian friend that God has used to help me out more than once before. Now the next question....how to get the supplies here. Once again, God worked things out. Russ, another long time friend of mine was planning another trip to Guatemlala the following week to help in a different part of the country. This time, however, he was going to visit our ministry and stay with us his first night. Therefore, Russ was more than happy to provide the courier service from the USA to Guatemala. And are you ready for this? Russ and D. live within a few miles of each other in the same part of Richmond! So, sure enough, in about 1.5 wk, Carlos had all the supplies he needed and extras for the future. Plus, Russ brought down nearly 40lb of other medical donations!

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birdes of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you be worrying can add a single hour to his life?" God is amazing! And I love watching how God continues to provide....down to the last detail for you , me & Carlos!

Thanks D & Russ for extending yourselves to be a part of God's plan.

Luis Otoniel Bran

In a week (last week) where 3 celebrities died, I found myself growing more and more frustrated. While I don't know enough about any of the celebs to comment on their life, I can say that it makes me nuts to hear people go on and on about their deaths. As one friend wrote, "Anyone else find it ironic that folks are all concerned with how Michael Jackson died, but so few of them really cared about how he lived?" Is one person's death more important than another persons? 17-18 people are murdered every day here in Guatemala (murdered, not just died from things like a heart attack) according to the WHO. Guatemala...a country that has roughly the same number of square miles as the state of Virginia and almost double the population (per Wikipedia).

Below is a blog entry written by Ginny Holmes about a young man named Luis that was murdered Sunday, June 21st. Since that day, approx. 136-144 more may have been murdered. I've written additional comments at the end of Ginny's blog.

If you've been checking my wall on Facebook lately you would have read about an all too common occurance here in Guatemala. Luis Otoniel Bran, who was 19, was shot and killed two days ago, along with two other boys aged 13 and 22. As is often the case, we don't have many details. It is thought that there was a fourth boy who was taken by the shooters. Needless to say, there is no one left to tell us exactly what happened.

Luis was an exceptionally tall teenager by Guatemalan standards, and as Rachel said yesterday, he always smiled like the picture you see. He came to the ministry each day after school to help in the kitchen carrying bucketloads of dishes for the cooks, cleaning and working in the carpentry shop. Graduation from high school was in sight, leading Luis to possible employment as a mechanic. The word 'gentle' comes to mind when I think of this tall, but quiet young man.

The people of Guatemala are shaking their fists at the government and police for the escalating violence in this country. Drug trafficking, extortion, poverty, gangs...all lead to violent crimes, which all too often are against innocent victims who are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The government says it is working on changing this situation, but it's pretty hard to do when the police and lawmakers are corrupt and less than 3% of the over 6000 homicides per year are ever brought to justice. Villages throughout Guatemala are beginning to take the law into their own hands with vigilante groups seizing suspected wrong-doers and killing them on the spot. Unfortunately, with the level of corruption in the government and law enforcement, there is little chance of the situation improving any time soon.

Sounds pretty hopeless, doesn't it? But no matter where you live, your hope can't be placed in the government, in law enforcement, or in any human, for that matter. Reading the newspaper or hearing from someone we know that yet another relative or friend was murdered could make us never want to get out of bed in the morning. But we can't live in fear that something might happen to us sometime. I mean, is God in control of every single thing that happens in this universe or not?? If we really believe that, then we need to trust His eternal love and sovereign will. What happened to Luis and his two friends is tragic and seems to be senseless. Why so young? Why such a nice kid? But nothing is out of God's sight. He knew this was going to happen and He is even now surrounding Luis' family and friends with His loving arms of comfort and strength. We pray that everyone who was touched by this horrible event will draw closer to the only true hope which is found in the Lord who never changes, always loves, and has given us the absolute assurance of eternal life with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.


And Luis? Why he is forever in the arms of his God and Savior! Can't get any better than that!!


I appreciate Ginny allowing me to post her blog here.
The details of his death are unclear, but I guess the details aren't overly important and won't change the fact that Luis and at least 2 other friends were chased and gunned down (killed). We'd heard rumor that a 4th boy was also involved, and today we were told he's in the hospital. Today we went to visit with Luis' mother and the parents of one of the other boys (only 13 yr old!) Luis' mom was obviously hurting, but her faith was so strong! She has not lost faith or hope in her God and His sovereignty. I could only hope that I would be that strong in such a circumstance.

My understanding is that Luis is his mother's only son. Perhaps his mom was looking forward to the day when Luis would marry and bring his bride to live with them in their simple home, as is the tradition in this culture. Perhaps she was looking forward to grandchildren. Perhaps she was hoping Luis would find a good job and be able to care for her as she grows older. Ginny mentioned to me that when she hears a siren, she now thinks of Luis. I wondered if Luis' mom and the other families are haunted by sirens. During our visit, I heard the loud pops of fireworks (the kind we hear multiple times every day and night....the kind that stay on the ground and make lots of noise...eerily similar to gunshots). And I wonder if she heard the gunshots that killed her son. And I wonder if she thinks of her son every time she hears gunshots or fireworks....multiple times every day. My heart breaks for her and the people of Guatemala.

During one of our visits, Oscar shared a similar story of 3 brothers that were killed at one time. And it dawned on me once again that our ministry workers have seen and lived through so much. Each one could render countless stories of similar tragedy. It really does bring me to my knees in prayer. It brings me to a renewed sense of urgency that we would all know and share Christ. I think Ginny said it best, " We pray that everyone who was touched by this horrible event will draw closer to the only true hope which is found in the Lord who never changes, always loves, and has given us the absolute assurance of eternal life with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ." Amen

Swine Flu and other factoids

On June15th, the Guatemalan government announced that all schools would be closing until July 1st due to the increased concern about Swine Flu. Buena Vista, a community that we serve every week, closed a few days earlier because of a several confirmed cases in a nearby town. If I understand correctly, the schools typically have a 1 week break in June, so the break was simply extended.

Unfortunately, the kids in our scholarship program were sent home with the same amount of homework that they would have had if they were in school. Obviously, the glaring problem is that in many cases the children weren't in class to learn the main concepts. So I guess it's a good thing that we have "reinforcement" (tutoring) on Mondays and Fridays which are led by Oscar and Ruth.

According to the June 29th report from the WHO (World Health Organization), 254 people in Guatemala have been confirmed to have Swine Flu and 2 have died. Over the weekend, I received an email from my missionary friend Britney in El Salvador. Their schools are now being closed as well due to the Swine Flu. Today's WHO report shows that El Sal has 226 positive cases but no deaths thus far.

For comparison's sake, the same report shows the USA to have 227,717 confirmed cases and 127 dead. Guatemala has roughly the same # of square miles as Virginia (my home) and almost double the population. According to the Virginia Health Dept. report for June 29th, Virginia has 249 confirmed cases. Of course, Guatemala doesn't even remotely have the same medical access or quality of care...so numbers don't tell the whole story. Per Wikipedia, the median income for Virginians is $59,562, and median income for Guatemalans is between $2,800 and $4,800.

NIT! Finally!

We've finally got our NIT!
A NIT is a series of numbers assigned by the government that basically acts as a tax free ID #, and generally shows that the government has officially reviewed our paperwork and recognized us as a ministry here in Guatemala. Now we can transfer items such as vehicles out of individuals' names, and transfer them into the name of the ministry.
I know this probably doesn't mean much to you, but it means a WHOLE lot to us. Kevin, Sandra, and others on our Guatemalan team have been working on this since last January, and we've very thankful to God for this part of the puzzle to come together.

Visit from a friend

Russ and I met on a missions trip to Guatemala in 1997. We're both members of West End Assembly of God in Richmond Virginia. Since then, Russ has visited Guatemala many ties, including this week. This time, however, he came in a day early to visit me and see the new ministry God has planted here. It was a short visit, only one day, but I was great to see my good friend from back home. One of the things we did was visit Rosa (the diabetic Guatemalan I've mentioned several times)...see the pic. Russ dedicated one of his suitcases on my behalf so that he could bring down donated medicines and other supplies. At the time, we had no idea of just how useful or how quickly some of the supplies would come in handy. I've already mentioned in an earlier blog about how God used a pair of reading glasses to help fill an immediate need in a person...see the blog titled "Falling Flat on My Face" Plus, it seems that I was chewed on by some insects (fleas?), and the itch medicine he brought with him helped me to keep me from going nuts as I itched and scratched throught the night (20 bites on one leg between my knee and toes). Additionally, he was a link in a really cool sequence of things that God did to provide a miracle for Carlos, a paraplegic. Look for more details in a blog that I hope to write soon.

Thanks to those of you who donated medical items and muchas gracias Russ for the visit and helping hand.

Imagine this

Imagine this...
Two "Easy-Up" tents on a concrete slab, one for the adults Bible study and one for the simultaneous childrens ministry. (An Easy Up tent is the kind of canopy covering that I've often seen at outdoor craft shows, usually blue nylon tops, about 10'x10'). Part way through the ministry time it starts to rain pretty hard. The people sitting near the edges of the tent are getting wet. The adults don't miss a beat, they just move off their plastic stools so that they can huddle close together in the center and Manuel continues with his teaching. The rain starts falling even harder than before. What are you going to do? There's nowhere to go. People come to our program on foot; they're certainly not going to walk in the pouring rain to return to their homes which may not be too close. I don't think many of the folks own a rain jacket or umbrella. So, it was decided to move the tent under a nearby tree which offered some protection from the rain. But how exactly does one move a tent with about 20 women under it? Four of our leaders each took a corner leg and slowly walked the tent to under the tree while the scrunched up ladies in the center took itsy-bitsy quick steps to shuffle along as the tent moved. Don't know why this struck me as a little funny....but it did. Then, under the protection of the tree, most were able to again settle on their wet stools and quickly refocus on the teaching, which never really stopped. I may be wrong, but I think in the USA we would've probably gotten in our cars and gone home as soon as the rain started....or we wouldn't have even gone to the study in the first place if we thought it might rain and we might get wet.

And what about the kids? The kids got off the concrete and they also huddled tight together under the center of the tent. Their tent was originally set up so that it was at least partially under a tree. But how in the world are they going to finish their Bible story or do their craft? Simple, Ruth was huddled with the kids, and she simply raised the Bible story book high enough so that they could all see the pictures as she read. Then, at craft time, the kids aligned themselves so that they were all looking at the next person's back and then used that person's back as the surface for coloring their Bible story picture. No problem :)

How about that!

When I grow up.....

I was having a wonderful conversation with Oscar, one of our Guatemalan missionaries, and I was asking him what he wanted to be "when he grew up". If money and education were no concern, what would you want to do with your life? This was the question I presented to Oscar. After hearing his reply, I took the next natural step, reflected inwardly on my own life and suddenly realized something that stopped me in the tracks. WOW! I am doing exactly what I've always wanted to do! How many people ever get to say that?

Ever since I was 15 years old and had the fantastic opportunity of spending the summer in the shadow of a missionary nurse and teacher, I knew I wanted to be a full time missionary. Does this mean that I always wanted to be in Guatemala or that I will spend the rest of my useful years in any one particular country? No. Does this mean that life is always a bunch of roses? Of course not. But I had always hoped and prayed that the Lord would allow me to serve him as His missionary in Latin America where I enjoy the people, culture, and language. And here I am, at this very moment in time, living out my dream! And it strikes me that not everyone gets to live out their dream; and for that I am extremely humbled and grateful to God Almighty and for those He has put in my life to make this possible. As one good friend recently said, it's a wonderful and beautiful thing when our will and God's are the same.

Yay God!

Having a van is SO nice! Just to make sure I (we) really appreciated this gift from God that was sent through His people to us, we had to do without our wonderful van last week while we had some basic maintenance work done on the van. Of course, one of those days it rained like crazy all the way back from Buena Vista and due to the traffic and the rain, it took us 2.5 hr to get home. If I had just been standing outside in the rain it would’ve been miserable enough, but to be bumped around in the back of the pick-up truck with rain striking me like millions of tiny needles and being chilled to the bone by the wind rushing at me….well, let’s just say that I am WAY thankful for the van which is now back in our possession. Thank you God!

And by the way, I think I misunderstood some information and therefore accidentally passed on some incorrect details. There was indeed a person in a recent team who gave us a very generous donation. However, the donation was not designated for the van or any other particular need. Additionally, there are several other generous and wonderfully kind people who specifically gave money to help us buy this van. So, it’s a rare win-win situation where we were able to purchase the van and have the resources to purchase other necessities for the ministry. We do so much appreciate every one of you!

Falling flat on your face

We’ve probably all heard the expression, “falling flat on your face.” Well, now I’ve seen this expression in action.

Last night, one of the folks here in our ministry house was going upstairs with a mug of hot chocolate in her hands and somehow tripped, causing her to fall flat on her face on the concrete stairs. I felt so bad for her! She has various cut areas on her face, mostly from her glasses, but nothing too serious. She also sustained what I’d consider to be a mild concussion, but seems to be recovering pretty well. With Band-Aids on her face, impressively swollen eye and cheek (will turn beautiful shades over the next week I’m sure), she looks like a prize winning champion boxer….but you should see the other guy!

In reality, we’re quick to acknowledge and thank God through all of this…it could have been so much worse. She was only an inch or two from contact with her jaw/teeth. She received no injury from her broken mug. There were lots of Christians immediately lifting her up to The Healer in prayer. As nurse, I was able to immediately provide medical care and check on her various times throughout the night and today. I was also able to consult a doctor friend in South Carolina within an hour of the fall and the doc was more than willing to talk me through the best way to proceed. On top of all of that, she and I have been amazed at how the Lord has really kept her from having terrible pain. Tylenol and rest seem to be doing the trick. Somehow her glasses didn't break, but seem to be bent just enough to keep her seeing very well thru the Progressive lenses. However, just one day before the fall a friend of mine from the USA came for a short visit. Among the other treasures, he also had 20+ pair of reading glasses donated by his Bible study group, friends, and others. And wouldn't you know that one of those pair seem to fit just fine and temporarily seem to be doing the trick. Aint God cool?!

It’s so good to know that in the midst of out humanness, like falling flat on our face, God is faithful to take care of us!

Will I ever learn?

Last week felt like 2 weeks...you know how that goes. On Friday evening I was thrilled to know that I had no specific responsibilities for Saturday, thus I could sleep in and work on my growing to-do list. So, I got up at 8am and, as planned, enjoyed a longer than usual relaxed time of enjoying the Lord as I prayed, read my Bible, etc. During this time I specifically asked the Lord to direct my day and let me be used by Him. Around 10am I was treated to a french toast breakfast made by a short term missionary statying here followed by an indepth conversation. Afterwards Manuel asked me to do something....when I finished it was a couple of hours later. Then so and so needed something, then this happend and that happened (none of them bad...just not planned). And then one of the diabetic ladies that I follow, Merly, came by a day early (I forgot I had agreed to change the day this week)....she even picked a few roses as a gift for me! And while there were several really cool things that happened, and I really enjoyed helping Manuel....it was just one of those days where everything took twice as long as it should. I'm sure you know the feeling. At the end of the day, I found myself grumbling, frustrated and almost angry at how I'd let the whole day slip away and accomplished essentially nothing on my to-do list.

Then....(I'll be you knew that a "then..." was coming).....I was praying this morning before going to church, and it hit me like a ton of bricks over the head. Didn't I specifically and intentionally pray yesterday asking the Lord to take congtrol of my day? Didn't I willingly give up my agenda to Him? And yet what was I doing last night? I was complaining that my agenda didn't get accomplished.

When will I ever learn?

Good job Julian!

In my opinion, all of our Guatemalan team is talented beyond belief. I've seen Oscar's paintings and drawings. And more recently I've seen pictures of some of the carpentry work that Julian has done...including a very nice dresser for his wife. They're all good at making something out of almost nothing.

Julian has recently taken on the challenge of making picture frames and journal covers that will hopefully be available for the teams to purchase. This will hopefull help us to pay our 5 Guatemalan team members. Each one in our eyes is a Guatemalan missionary since nobody can really speak into the heart and life of a Guatemalan like a Guatemalan. We encourage folks to become a monthly sponsor of one of our Guatemalan missionaries....kind of like the commercials that ask you to pay $30/month to support a needy child. Each of Guatemalans has sponsors, but not enough to support the amount of money that we pay them twice a month. So, we continue to look and pray for sponsors, and we hope that these handmade items will also be a boost. You're actually getting a first hand look at the very first picture fram Julian has made (it's showing off a photo of me and my sisters :)

OK, these photos below don't have anything to do with anything...at least not directly. I just like these photos that I took last Wed and thought I'd share them.

Galan de la noche

This country is full of color, particularly outside the city. But in our back yard, there is a beautiful and extraordinarily sweet smelling large flower called Galan de la noche. There's something very different about this flower...it only open at night (fully around 10pm or so). Mmmm...the fragrance wafts in the nearby windows.

Lillian (one of Manuel's girls) enjoys the flowers.

Notice that the flowers have long stems that come off the edge of the leaves.

The pic on the right is what the flowers look like during the day (when they're closed up).

Reinforcement

This is Said (Sah-eed), one of Manuel's son. He's quiet, fairly athletic, very sweet and a good student.

The guy is blue is Oscar. He's responsible for overseeing the educational activies w/i our ministry.

What a great idea! We'd call it tutoring, but they call it reinforcement. Every Mon and Friday afternoon (after school) the kids that are in our school sponsorship program come to our ministry to receive help with their school work and get some individual attention and love. You should try to explain how to "carry over" a number in Spanish! Example: 100 minus 9...you need to do a lot of carrying over numbers....get the idea? No wonder my hair stands straight up!

We have a van!!!!

The Lord just keeps showing up everytime I turn my head. His non-stop provisions keep me amazed, on my knees, and humbled. If you've been following my email updates and/or blogs, you know that not only did we want a van, but we really needede a van. We've asked you to join us in prayer for this and God, of course, has come through again.

Shortly before I left for a visit back in Virginia, a visitor donated a large sum of money...enough to pay for a van! We wanted a good used van, but hadn't had much luck finding one. The day before I left, while riding in the back of the truck coming home from Buena Vista, we passed a couple of vans and I was able to quickly save the numbers into my cell. Apparently one thing led to another and while I was in Virginia we were able to able to purchase a far nicer van at a much better price then we ever imagined. Aint God good!

So, not only are we safer now (plus the windows are tinted), not breathing in so much pollution, and out of the rain (since it's now rainy season until Nov). But this 15 passager diesel van actually gets better gas mileage than the gas run Ford Ranger! How about that! Another nice thing is that we can actually speak and hear each other as we come and go from the communities we serve. This has led to an excellent time of informal English tutoring (for everyone except Manuel...the driver :) I purchased an amazingly good kid's Bible activity book back in Virginia (in a dollar store!) that doesn't have the same old used, tired activities. The original idea was that purhaps we could adapt the ideas into Spanish and use them with our kids. But then once I got here I got the idea to make copies of a few pages and hand them out when we have 1-2 hrs in the van each way. Our Guatemalan staff really seems to like the activity pages and it not only gets them to thinking toward similar creative ideas for our kids programs, but it has them learning some English words as they go. A rare win/win situation!

By the way, the van in the pics above is parked in front of a building which is also an answer to prayer. This is a community building attached to the main catholic church in the area in the communities we serve every Tues. We were needing an indoor space in rainy season and now we have permission to use this building! Yahoo! Thank you God for the way you keep showing up in our every day lives!

Tuesday June 1, 2009

Sonya is a virbrant, beautiful, slender 25 yr old that lives along a dirt road up a notable hillside in a tidy dirt floored home. Oh, one other thing...she's in a wheelchair.
Her bedrock faith was a testimony to me and all in the group. I wondered if I was in her shoes, would I too be able to proclaim the love and faithfulness of God Almighty?
4 months ago Sonya and her long time best friend ("closer than a sister") were in an accident. It killed her friend, seriously injured many of her internal organs, and left her with a spinal cord injury that the MDs said would leave her as a paraplegic for life. However.... (don't you love "howevers" in stories like this!)...what Satan designed for evil, the Lord has used for His good. Sonya admits to being angry and having many "whys" in the beginning (which was only 4 months ago...February?), but says that keeping her focus on the Lord and reading the Bible has kept her faith strong. She knows that the Lord was not surprised by this and is always in control. She knows He has a plan for her life....Jeremiah 29:11. She believes (and I do too) that the Lord is going to heal her. She has already surpassed her doctor's expectations. The doctors say it's a miracle that her internal organs have healed and that she is able to eat, drink, etc. Plus, Sonya is walking/shuffling a short distance in her house every day. And her family has set up a bicycle so that it stays stationary and she can practice riding it for leg exercise.
I feel so privileged to have met her. I can hardly wait to see her walking among her community, telling everyone about her God and Healer.

Bahudilio thinks he's about 85 yr old, wears a well worn cowboy hat, pants that are too big and help up by a rope, and long sleeve shirt that has seen many months. He doesn't know exactly when he was born, nor does he know how to spell his name (or read/write), but I was touched by his simplicity and kind face. He didn't want to bother me. However, one my Guatemalan co-workers brought his need to my attention. How easy it was to sit and talk with him, give him a few diarrhea pills, and bring him to The Healer in prayer. I'm so thankful that God brought him along our path. A few hours later he was feeling better.

Delfina waited for me to finish with the other patients before she approached me. I recognized her from before and there was something warm, easy, and inviting about her countenance. She'd been on high blood pressure (BP) pills quite a while back. In early May, I found her BP to be very high and begged her to see her MD. The MD said everything was fine and suggested her use Pepto Bismol. Today, her BP was alarmingly high. As a nurse, it's way outside my professional bounds to prescribe BP meds, however, I've had 2 recent experiences with the local public hospitals, and I know the care is less then desirable at best. So, I prayed with a Christian friend, and then went to the nearest pharmacy. The person in the pharmacy recommended a medicine that I know, so I purchased a weeks supply for her. I've prayed many times for her since then and I eagerly await my visit next week to so how the Lord is working in her life.

Yomira is a sweet, innocent 14 yr old with epilepsy. Her seizures are happening more often, and sometimes happen when she's in our weekly children's program. Today I learned that she went to the MD this week, and he wants her to have her medicine increased to twice a day. However, her mom will only allow her to have this once a day. Her mom works all day, therefore she's unable to come to our simultaneous adult service. It seems her dad isn't much in the picture....which is fairly common here. We don't know why the mom won't allow her the 2nd daily dose...perhaps the cost is too high...perhaps the med makes the child too sleepy to function in school...perhaps....? This has to be handled delicately, so we'll pray about this and maybe try to see if the mom is accessible for us to talk with her.

What a privilege it is to have the Lord bring these people into my life.

My first funeral in Central America

In my last email update you may remember that I mentioned a dad that was killed by a gang. On Easter Sunday, around 5pm, a gang was looking for 3 guys. 2 of them were brothers. Nobody was at home at the first house the gang went to, and then they went to the home of the 2 brothers. Again, nobody was home. However, a few min later the gang walked past the brother’s dad on the street and they shot/killed the dad. There are far more questions than answers, particularly the question of why the gang was looking for the boys. The boys say they don’t know why they’re being hunted. I’m told that it’s very unlikely that this will be investigated by police, much less solved, due to the corruption within government and the police. It just so happens that this incident took place while I was visiting Bobby and Britney in El Salvador, but this sort of things happens frequently in Latin America.

This was cause for my first exposure to a funeral in this culture. The body was taken to the morgue on the day of the murder (Sunday) and it was released the following day (Monday). Embalming is very expensive, and therefore almost never done, and thus the funeral/burial process is quick. The body was in a casket, which looked more or less similar to a low-end metal casket in the USA. Per normal, the casket/body was delivered to the family’s home the day after the death. Then family and friends come to view the body and pay their respect to the family. In the case, the casket was in a living room type of area. If the family has money, something simple to eat and drink may be served to the visitors. In this case, no food was offered. The local church (via Bobby) provided folding metal chairs for everyone. The family stays with the body all night until it’s time for burial the next day. Friends come and go throughout the night. Unlike a typical USA casket where the top half of the casket is open for a viewing, this casket had a small hinged door (approx. 1’x 2’) and a pane of glass that allowed everyone to see just the head.

The next day, Tues, a few friends/family members went to the public cemetery in the morning to hand dig the hole. Typically, family/friends carry the casket from the home to the cemetery, and everyone walks behind the casket in a long procession. In this case, it was quite a distance, so they paid to use the funeral home van to take the casket to the cemetery. I’ve seen times where the family has borrowed a truck to transport the casket and the family/friends walk behind. When we got to the cemetery the hole wasn’t yet finished. Bobby & Brit tell me that this is often the case. Ultimately there was a grave side service. Fortunately, this service was short, but I understand that it can go on for hours. Throughout this entire time, there were several people who roamed the scattered crowd, selling fruit, candy, water, etc. Then a few men used straps to lower the casket into the hole. The funeral isn’t over until the hole is filled back in with dirt and the family puts fresh flowers on the grave site.

As a side note, a cemetery near the ministry here in Guatemala has rental spaces (along with ground spaces) in their cemetery. I also saw this same thing being done in Ecuador years ago. Essentially there are tall, deep, concrete walls with rectangular holes to fit a simple casket or box. When a family can no longer pay the monthly rent for the spot, the remains are tossed out (in this case, over the edge/cliff on one side of the cemetery where the trash dump beings). There are specific walls that are less deep for children.

Once again, things are quite different here. Not necessarily wrong, just different. This was my first personal experience with a funeral here. I’d prefer it to be my last…but I doubt it. And would you believe that I hear an ambulance going by as we speak? How’s that for timing? Anyhow, this does once again cause me to pause and thank God that because of the sacrifice of Jesus, I know where I’ll spend eternity.

Do Guatemals hate me?

When more than one person asks the same question, it makes me wonder if perhaps they represent a bigger population of people who also are wondering the same thing.

Because I often mention that it’s dangerous here, some of you have written and asked why the Guatemalans don’t like/hate us. I’m very glad you took the time to ask, and please continue to ask questions.

By in large, Guatemalans like us. I have not yet met a Guatemalan that hated or strongly disliked me (us, Americans). On the contrary, they have welcomed me with open arms, and treated me very well. However, it’s commonly believed by Guatemalans that all Americans are rich. And for the most part, I believe they are right (at least as seen through their eyes). Some live by the Robin Hood philosophy- that it’s perfectly fine to take from the rich in order to provide for the poor/themselves. I’ve heard a saying here which roughly translates: An open treasure chest is available to all. So, for example, if I leave my house or car door unlocked or window open, or if I lay down a personal item, then it’s available to anyone. Which means that it’s my job to secure my stuff. However, there are quite a few people (especially those that I work with daily) that do not believe in this way of seeing things. My Guatemalan co-workers go out of their way to look out for me, and I’ve seen them put themselves in dangerous positions for my sake and for the sake of other Americans.

So, why am I (and any other American) in danger? Because we’re easy targets to get robbed. And women are more vulnerable because it’s not likely we carry a gun/knife or can overpower a Guatemalan man. They’re mostly wanting whatever we have on us: cell phones, money, watches, jewelry, and anything that’s in a backpack (camera, computers, etc.) The more Americans that can be found in one place, the more likely they are to find more valuable stuff. And if they find valuable stuff once, then they’ll come back again and again. That’s why we don’t let teams leave the house on their free time. That’s why we don’t let team members leave the house with cameras or other obviously valuable stuff. That’s why we’re never alone. That’s why we have eyes in the back of our head and try to stay very alert to our surroundings at all times. That’s why I have a little money and an old cell phone on me at all times. That’s why we try to avoid patters as much as possible (Ex: We go to different banks and grocery stores on different days.) That’s why we pray daily for safety.

So it’s just robbery, right? Well, every one of our Guatemalan team mates have been robbed at knife and/or gunpoint more than once. I don’t think they’d say, "It’s JUST robbery." It certainly causes a person to feel vulnerable, violated, and scared for many weeks to come (not to mention that their money/stuff is gone). It’s ABSOLUTELY NOT limited to Americans. Anyone who’s perceived to have anything valuable is a target. But as to whether a person’s health is endangered, I don’t know. I haven’t recently heard of any American being raped, kidnapped, or killed. But then again, I don’t know if this sort of thing gets reported, and if it does, if it’s put in the media. My guess it that most often it is limited to robbery.

Don’t get me wrong. This is a very dangerous country. Guatemala is way smaller than Mexico, yet has an equal number of deaths. On average, there are 18 violent deaths per day in Guatemala. The majority seems to be linked to gangs, drugs, and poverty. I’m signed up for free Google Alerts for Guatemala, and therefore I get emails daily re: any news that mentions Guatemala. This is how I try to stay alert as to what’s going on.

So, is it worth the risk? For me, undeniably yes. We all live around potential danger. Ours is just a little more overt than others. This is where I’m called by God to work and live. God gave me a brain, thus I try to make smart, safe decisions. But ultimately I trust God to protect me and to protect those that work in and visit this ministry. Does that mean that God won’t allow anything bad to happen? No, but it does mean that I believe God is in control and He’s going to take care of me (us) every step along the way. And for me the eternal benefit of reaching out to others in Jesus name far outweighs anything else.

Britney's surgery - April 2009

If you read my most recent blog entry (“Rosa”) then you’ll appreciate why Bobby and Britney chose for Brit to have surgery in a private hospital, even though the public hospital is essentially free. By the way, for those of you who may be new to my blog, Bobby and Britney are good friends of mine. We lived and worked side by side in an El Salvadoran orphanage in 2007, and they now continue their ministry in a different part of El Salvador.

Last fall Brit & Bobby were forced to have a medical exam in order to renew their El Salvador residency cards. This led to the discovery of a tumor on Brit’s thyroid gland (throat area). Ultimately, it was decided that she needed to have the tumor removed. Due to God’s amazing timing, I was able to extend my stay by a week and be with them for the week of Brit’s surgery.

I hear there are some really good private doctors and hospitals here, but this one…. Well, let’s just say that I was a little suspect when the doctor didn’t do any of the routine pre-surgery stuff, like telling the pt. to not eat before surgery, or doing chest x-rays, lab work, etc. On the day of surgery, Brit was walked to her room. They didn’t ask questions about her health history nor did they take her temperature, blood pressure, etc. Once the surgery was over, the surgeon and his assistant came to the waiting room and spoke with Bobby and I. He showed us her tumor (a ¾ the size of a ping-pong ball) that was floating in a clear liquid in an open glass jar. The lid in his hand had “Gerber” printed on it. He closed the lid and said he was now sending it off to be tested to see if it was cancerous….in a Gerber baby food jar! From the swinging double doors in the waiting room we could see Brit lying on a stretcher in recovery. We could also see that only one other surgery was scheduled that day for the O.R. When they wheeled Brit back to her room, she was the only patient on that floor of the small hospital. Once again, they never took her pulse, blood pressure, temp, etc. Actually, during her entire stay in the hospital they never did these things. There were 2 beds in her room, one was the manual crank style, the other was electric, but the controls were located in such a way that somebody other than the patient had to maneuver the controls. The beds were very old and rusty. The mattresses were….well, let’s not go there. It took a great search through out the hospital when we requested a pillow for Brit’s comfort. I will say, however, that each room had an air conditioner unit, and hers actually worked! And the shower had hot water…a real rarity in this part of the world. We all took a shower there just to enjoy the hot water. It was the first hot shower B&B had since Jan 2008. The nurse came every 4 hours to check on her and give her a shot of pain medicine and nausea medicine via her IV line….even though Brit told her she wasn’t having any pain or nausea. They didn’t allow her to get out of bed or eat that day….but by dinner time she had walked to the restroom (which was in her room) and eaten a large hamburger Bobby smuggled in from Wendys.

The doctor came in the next morning. Bobby, Beatriz (a young woman that lives with them), and I had stayed with Britney all night. I think we looked and felt worse than she did. When he removed the bandage on her neck I was amazed to see the large metal clamps (much bigger than staples) that he used to close her incision. The MD said we could go, so we thought we were ready to pay the bill and get home. We were past ready to leave and Brit felt and looked great, no complications at all.

That’s when we ran into financial complications. We already knew that every patient had to pay the bill in full before they were allowed to leave, and the MD told us that it would cost no more than $2400 for 2 nights. Brit called the hospital a couple of days before the surgery to confirm that she could use a credit card to pay the bill. However, when we went to pay the bill, the cost was $2600, and the fee for the MD had to be paid in cash (or it technically could be paid with a credit card with a 22% fee added to it). Next problem…the ATM machines only allow a person to get $400 out per day, and we needed way more $400. And worse yet, B&B didn’t have the amount needed in their checking account. (The person who wires $ from the USA is not good about getting money into their account in a timely manner each month.) After many calls, someone was able to reach the MD and he permitted Brit to pay his portion of the bill at her follow-up appointment the following week. Whew!

Ultimately, Brit’s test results came back showing that there were no cancerous cells in the tumor or lymph nodes. She was up on her feet, washing clothes by hand, sweeping/mopping the floors, and her normal daily stuff the day after surgery. Aint God good!

Rosa- April 2009

Do you remember Rosa? I blogged about her on March 15th if you want to go back and check it out.

I had talked extensively to Rosa about the possible complications she may have in her pregnancy due to her diabetes and very high glucose readings. On Monday April 13, while I was in El Salvador, Rosa had a miscarriage. She said she experienced severe abdominal pain and went to the public hospital where she was told the baby was dead. Late in the night, or perhaps in the wee hours of the next morning, she had surgery re: her pregnancy. She saw her son and said that he fit entirely in the palm of her hand. She was about 4 months into her pregnancy.

On Thursday morning, she was awoken at 4am for her turn to take a shower. She was in a ward with multiple other ladies, and they all shared a bathroom. She felt very ill and could hardly make it back to her bed after her shower. She was having a hard time breathing. The lady in the next bed asked if she was OK. Rosa said the last thing she remembers is hearing somebody yell for the nurse on her behalf. When Rosa regained consciousness, the doctor was at her side. He told her she had died and that it was a miracle that she was alive. He didn’t expect her to make it. But Rosa has quite a story to tell of what happened in this time where she was “dead.” She said she saw God, particularly His bright white robe. Her baby was in the palm of His hand. The baby told her that she didn’t need to be sad because he will forever be in her heart and they will see each other again one day in heaven. However, for now she needed to return to her children because they needed her. And then God also told her that she needed to return. Then she woke up. Later that same day, Thursday, the doctor asked if she wanted to go home and she said yes. So, she went home the same day she died. She doesn’t know specifically what type of surgery she had on Monday, nor did anyone explain to her why she died on Thursday, nor does she have any follow-up medical appointments, nor does she have prescriptions for any medicines. She was put on insulin during her hospital stay, but wasn’t told what type or how much, or the need for it once she returned home. She remembers overhearing that her blood sugar level was 40 at some point, but she doesn’t remember when. Of course, this is all beyond appalling to me. But as one Guatemalan friend told me, Welcome to Guatemala.

I myself, knowing Rosa, don’t doubt one speck of her account. I believe it is completely true. She told me this story during my visit with her 4 days after she came home. I’ll never forget how she met me at the door and burst into get level tears as we hugged for a very long time. She told me that she’s sad, but not overwhelming sad because of her after life experience. She feels God has granted her the gift of life to again be able to care for her 2 children.

I continue to follow Rosa on a weekly basis. She continues to come visit me almost every Sunday so that I can check on her and give her more diabetic medicine. It’s a hard life for her; her employer has only been paying the employees on every other payday. And she doesn’t know if she’ll get paid for the time she’s missed work (2 wk). I wish I could truthful say Rosa’s story is rare, but it’s not. It’s more common than any of us would like to believe. But the Rosas of this world keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep their eyes focused on Him. What a privilege it is to be here with the Rosas of this world.

Meet Rodrigo Jr.

Rodrigo Jr (RJ) was purchased in California for $300 by Steve (on the right) with the idea that he wanted to bring it here for us to use. RJ is a full size 1987 Ford Ranger. His friend Mike joined him for their adventure that started in California early on Friday March 13th. 3,200+ miles later (and >80 hr behind the wheel), they pulled up here in Guatemala on Sat March 21st at 5pm. They describe the trip at fun and full of adventure. However, they described crossing the Mexico/Guatemala border as horrifying and very stressful. We'd all heard horror stories and even the possibility of being detained for weeks and having to pay high fines. As it turns out, they came across an English speaking Guatemalan, (Byran)who helped them thru the various hoops at immigration. Mike and Steve said there is no logical order of when and where to stop...the variuos stations are not marked, yet at each station you have to process a particular piece of paper before you can continue to the next station. He said there were thousands of people all standing in the area where he had to drive, many of them hung onto his bumper or onto the hood. The truck was full of other donated items for us, and lukcily a tarp was tied across it. If the people had seen the items, I believe they would've been robbed. As it was, people were lifting up the tarp and trying to see what they could reach. I belive Byron was literally a God send. Later, they got lost in Guatemala, and again they came across an English speaking Guatemalan who hired himself out to the guys to get them to Guatemala Rodrigo Jr (RJ) was purchased in California for $300 by Steve with the idea that he wanted to bring it here for us to use. RJ is a full size 1987 Ford Ranger. His friend Mike joined him for their adventure that started in California early on Friday March 13th. 3,200+ miles later (and >80 hr behind the wheel), they pulled up here in Guatemala on Sat March 21st at 5pm. They describe the trip at fun and full of adventure. However, they described crossing the Mexico/Guatemala border as horrifying and very stressful. We'd all heard horror stories and even the possibility of being detained for weeks and having to pay high fines. As it turns out, they came across an English speaking Guatemalan, (Byran) who helped them thru the various hoops at immigration. Mike and Steve said there is no logical order of when and where to stop...the various stations are not marked, yet at each station you have to process a particular piece of paper before you can continue to the next station. He said there were thousands of people all standing in the area where he had to drive, many of them hung onto his bumper or onto the hood. The truck was full of other donated items for us, and luckily a tarp was tied across it. If the people had seen the items, I believe they would've been robbed. As it was, people were lifting up the tarp and trying to see what they could reach. I believe Byron was literally a God send. Later, they got lost in Guatemala, and again they came across an English speaking Guatemalan who hired himself out to the guys to get them to Guatemala City. Of course, Mike and Steve knew there was a chance this was a set up, that this Guatemalan could have led them anywhere, but it all worked out fine. Again, I think this is entirely due to the Lord being in control and I thank all of you who prayed during this time for the safety of Mike and Steve, and the safe delivery of the truck and its contents.

We were amazed at all the things they packed tightly into the truck. It even included a Lay-Z-Boy recliner, a large wood coffee table, a ladder, and the desk which I'm using right now in my room. The recliner is the first piece of furniture in this house that has a cushioned seat...actually the first piece of "real" furniture period. We're very excited! There were many many many more things as well. As a matter of fact, we're still unpacking stuff. Mike and Steve flew back to CA early Monday AM. I don't think they'll ever know just how much we appreciate them, their efforts, the truck, and all the stuff they've brought us.

This is Rodrigo

This is Rodrigo.
Rodrigo is a 1984 Volkswagon Truck. The odometer, speedometer and shocks are broken. The back cargo space is 4ftx4.5ft.

Rodrigo stranded us in the midst of a sugar cane field last week. Thus, the picture. We were 2 hr away from home in Buena Vista. We finally got onto the paved road, and coughted and sputtered and backfired repeatedly as we limped down the road. We actually had a guy on a bicycle pass us if that tells you anything.

Having Americans in the back of a pickup truck is dangerous because we can be seen, and are therefore easy targets to be robbed or worse...particularly a female. Obviously, having Americans stranded with a broken down vehicle is really not good. That's why when the truck down the 2nd time on our way home, I hid my backpack behind a rock, hid back in some trees, and called my mom to gain additional prayer support. Not only were John & I targets, but we were also endangering our Guatemalan team-mates. Manuel was able to again get Rodrigo limping down the road just in time for us to encounter a rain shower, then Rodrigo died again. This time Manuel couldn't revive Rodrigo and it was near nightfall, thus we did the only other thing we could do...we hopped onto a public bus to get back into the city. This too is way dangerous for anyone, espcially Americans.

God is good and He got us back home safe and sound. We were very appreciative and quite relieved. We're expecting a truck from California soon, maybe today. Steve purchased the truck and his friend Mike is going to be his driving buddy to bring the truck (filled with other things that have been donated) here for us and then fly home this Monday. However, while a dependable truck is great news...it still isn't really what we need. It still has us riding for long periods of time out in the open and rainy season is around the corner. So, what we really need is a good used van. We're praying God shows us the right van for the right price very soon.


This is what we've recently done for protection (from rain, dust from dirt roads, and whatever). This is NO fun whatsoever. Fumes and dust from the road got inside and then were trapped inside with us. I actually got sick to my stomach from the fumes while we were driving in the city. So, they pulled up the sides a little, and it helped, but not much.

I really hope we can find something better to use soon. There are 10 of us and our lunch and supplies that we need to take on the road every Tues, Wed and Thurs. We simply don't fit. I can't wait until I send you a blog that celebrates the perfect vehicle that the Lord brings to us.