Check this out!!

Yay! The website for Groundwork Guatemala is up and running! Randy has done an amazing job of putting together the website and he continues to update and tweek it. Just go to this website: www.groundworkguatemala.org

Just fyi...Randy and his wife Rachel (the daugher of Kevin and Ginny) are missionaries and a vital part of our ministry team. They state in the states to handle all sorts of details that are best handled in the states. We miss not having them here in Guatemala with us, but we know they're serving Him and us in the USA.

Boy do we need better transportation!

See....I told you we needed better transportation!

OK...so maybe we're not really using a mule to get around. But when we were broke down in the middle of nowhere Guatemala last week, I would've seriously considered a mule.

Here's the deal. We thought we'd found a 2000 Chevy S-10 4 door 4x4 truck to buy. The owner is a friend of Manuel's (the guy who lives in our house with us and his family...and he's the guys on the mule in the pic). Just before we purchased it, the owner found that it was having transmission problems in addition to other problems the mechanics had already discovered. The owner was amazingly honest and told up about the problems and gave us back the money we'd already put down as a down payment to hold the truck. That was a blessing to discover the problems ahead of time! Now we have several donations, about $7000 in hand, with which to buy a used vehicle. What we really need is a good used van. Preferably the 14 passenger kind so that we don't have to rent vans for $100/day when teams come. Also, a van would allow us to cart around the 8 of us (w/o any visitors) and our stuff w/o out the hassle of rainy season which starts (in theory) in May and ends 6 months later.

In the meantime, Steve and a friend left their home in California early last Friday (March 13th) to drive his truck here to us. He purchased it for $300 and he's donating it to us. Now that's a servant! Today he's staying at a friend's house in Mexico and he hopes to get to the Guatemala border on Saturday. Our neighbor, who is a lawyer, says that getting through the border can take weeks and even a month to get all the paperwork processed. (Not to mention that the border is a dangerous place to be.) You can speed up the process, but of course this comes with a hefty price. So, we're trying to figure out exactly what to do and I promise you that we and all those here on our ministry team have been praying for the Lord to bring to us or show us the vehicle He has planned for us. And, of course, we've been praying daily about Steve and his friend arriving safely and all the details that surround the border crossing. Please join us in prayer about these things.

By the way, I know somebody in Virginia that is seriously considering donating their truck and/or van to us in Guatemala. We'll know more about this process once we get Steve here, but if you know a person who would feel led to drive to drive a vehicle from Virginia to Guatemala, please let me know. This trip would be extremely dangerous, especially for an American. And I'd strongly suggest that the driver and/or passenger be Latino and able to strongly hold their own in Spanish.

I'll post pictures of this new truck on the blog once it gets here.

49 degrees in the back of Rodrigo

I couldn't believe it! When my alarm clock rang at 5am, the outside temp was 48 degrees!! 2 hr later, when we all piled into the back of Rodrigo, our borrowed truck, it had gone up 1 whole degree! Yippee! I resembled the kid in The Christmas Story. I had on a short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a hooded zipper up sweat shirt, a thick warm jacket, and rind/wind coat with a hood. It's amazing I could get the last jacket to zip! It worked! I stayed quite comfortable, and was very happy to peel out of the top 4 layers when we got to Buena Vista since it was in the 80's.

Luckily, we only had one more chilly morning before it returned to normal...about 58 at wake up time and mid to low 70s during the day. I'm so glad it's still dry season. Rainy season is supposed to start in May, but we've had short but strong rain showers the last 2 afternoons. Each day the clouds seem to be thicker; a sure sign rainy season is coming (for 6 months).

Home visit leads to unexpected baptisms

On this particular day, like every day we're in Amatitlan, we did "home visits" in the morning before our adult and children's activities in the afternoon. Home visits is pretty self explanatory. We simply walk through the neighborhoods and visit with various folks we see along the way, and usually check in on those who we know are sick and/or may need some encouragement. We've learned that visiting a person in their home is extremely meaningful and powerful in this country. Unlike the USA, we're gladly welcomed. They stop what they're doing and bring us something to sit on if they have it...even if it means that they remain standing. We're truly treated like guests most of the time.

I was surprised to see people at this particular house that had been previously vacant. There were 2 ladies, sisters, who each had 5 young children. The team from Trinity church of Wiscoinsin was with us and I was really glad that God arranged it for the one and only ordained minister and the only person who was allowed to have a camera (me) were on this same team together. After talking to the moms for just a few min, the moms asked us if we'd baptise all the children. Our Guatemalan team mates asked some basic questions to make sure that we were all on the same theological page for the baptisms to be done, and we decided this was a divine appointment set up by God himself. We walked to their well, and had a wonderful yet simple baptism service for all 10 of the children. I took a group photo of Pastor Mark and the kids and moms, and then presented it to them a couple of weeks later so they can specifically remember the day and it's significance. What a absolutely amazing opportunity!

Rosa's visit 3-15-09

I generally try to write blog entries in chronological order. This is going to be an exception. I have several blogs entries in my head that I haven’t yet written, yet I feel I must write about today's visit...maybe for my own sake.

Remember Rosa? She's the gal with wacked out diabetes that I met at The Servants Heart (TSH) here in Guatemala last November. With the help of a physician’s assistant back in the USA, I was able to change and adjust her medicines last fall so that her glucose levels decreased significantly. When I first arrived, her glucose levels were consistently very high; often higher than the machine could read (which is over 500). To make things worse, Rosa is unable to read or write, and she is extremely poor and lives in a very dangerous neighborhood.

Now, as you know, I'm not with TSH, but Rosa is. Rosa has come here to our new ministry just about every Sunday afternoon since I've been here for me to check her glucose levels and see how she's doing. Since my arrival, her glucose readings have always been over 450 (the medicines I left with her last fall ran out long ago.) She needs 2 medications, and I have about 2 more months left of 1 of those medicines (glyburide). The other medicine (metformin) I don't have. Sure, I can buy enough medicine to get her though this week, this month, next month...but this is a lifetime issue, so we (at Groundwork Guatemala) need to think through this carefully ahead of time. We'd like to see the other ministry, where Rosa works, to take some responsibility. Rosa is a little over 3 months pregnant and today she weighs 110 pounds. She's fights with nausea nearly every morning, and sometimes she is dizzy. Today she tells me about some other pain and I was able to determine that she has a urinary infection. However, the antibiotics I would normally use are not recommended for pregnant women. Additionally, it seems she has pink eye.

Having recently watched 2 "normal" Guatemalan families go through the delivery of a newborn, I've learned some things. For example, if the mom can get to any public hospital then she can deliver at the hospital with little to no cost, except for the medicines she will need after the baby is born. No visitors, including the dad are allowed in the delivery room. Only 1 visitor is allowed at a time, which includes the dad. Visiting hours are strictly upheld...even to the point of not allowing Julian (dad) to be in the hospital when Lucy (his wife) delivered the baby near 5am because visiting hours started at 8am. The moms share a ward, usually about 6 to a room, thus no room for a lot of visitors. The mom normally goes home the day after delivery if all is going well. Guatemalans usually live in the midst of a lot of family members. Often mom, dad, siblings and their wives and children and grandparents all live in the same house. Usually the wife goes and lives with her husband's family. Therefore, there are usually plenty of hands to help the mom when she comes home.

Knowing all of this caused me to ask Rosa who was going to help her after she delivers...which is anticipated to be around Sept 8th. Rosa said she didn't wasn't going to have any help. Her mom died, she doesn't see her dad, and her sister lives too far away and has several small children. She told me she didn't have aunts, nieces, cousins, etc. to help. Here's the clincher...just recently the dad (not legally her spouse) that lives with her and her 2 children, said that the child is not his and therefore he has no responsibility. I doubt Rosa even knows about DNA testing, and she couldn't afford it anyhow. Rosa claims there has been no other man in her life, and he is the dad. She said this has caused her home to be particularly stressful these days. And obviously she is not anticipating any assistance from him. She also said that this same guy claimed that Rosa's 12 yr old daughter (who was sitting beside her during the conversation with me today) was not his either. As a matter of fact, he would not take this young girl to the doctor this week (bronchitis), nor would he buy her the necessary medicine. Rosa missed a day from work to take her to the MD, but found that the medicines would cost her nearly a week’s worth of pay, so she didn't get it. Thanks to God above, I had the antibiotic that the child needed. I was glad to finally be able to do something to help this lady who had become my friend.

Ultimately I asked Rosa and her daughter if they were Christians, and they replied yes. I told them that I believed Jesus Christ was in control of everything and He has a plan for each of our lives, and then I prayed with them. Now I just have to remind myself that I have given this to Him and He will guide me and Rosa in the things we should do. Please keep Rosa in your heart and in your prayers, and pray that I would clearly understand how I can best serve Rosa

It takes a certain kind of special person to...

...scrape paint off of peeling bathroom walls (made of CONCRETE)so that the layer of black mold under the paint can be exposed and treated...espcially when 2 entire walls of paint needs to be scarped off, and portions of the other 2 walls.

If it wasn't for the Wisconsin team, I'd still be in the bathroom scraping the wall. We had one good scraper and several butter knives to start with, then by night #2 we scrounged up 2 more putty knives to add to our arsenal. By night #3 of scraping we had one more putty knife. It seemed like a never ending job, and several members of the Wisconsin team joined me for hours and hours of scraping. When we realized it was black mold, we put on masks and we lifted up prayer for our protection. Every night we were covered in dust from scraping the concrete. It's amazing how well you can get to know a person when you spend that much time in that small of an area with a person. I've scraped off paint before, but never before have I needed to remove absolutely all the paint on a wall...much less 2 walls. On night 5, with much determination, we finished the scraping and 2 brave souls washed/scrubbed down the walls with 100% bleach. Unfortunately we ran out of time before we could paint the bathroom. However, the team purchased special mold resistan paint, and John finisehd painting the bathroom today. Yay John! It's so nice to see it finally done!

Visit to Mother Teresa's Nursing Home

Ginny is responsible for teams, and she does a great job. It seems to me that going to a nursing home is good way to give new people on a team some exposure to Guatemala on their first day. I had no idea that Mother Teresa had established a nursing home in Guatemala. If you've studied Mother Teresa or seen her movie (which I thought was excellent), then you'll recognize the color and pattern of the clothing worn by the Sisters (even though it's partially hid by an apron in the picture).

Our entire purpose for visiting the nursing home was just to bring some joy and love into the lives of those who live there. We sat and/or walked with them, put lotion on their dry skin, applied fingernail polish, sang, colored, played games, and generally just tried to show them we cared. One of my favorites was a cute deaf/mute guy (see my pic with him below). I must add that the home and each of the people who live in this home seem to be cared for very well.

After the nursing home we took a drastic transition when we went to the overlook of the dump. If you've been following my blog, then you read my first impressions and saw pictures last Nov. This experience, as expected, left many people with their jaw dropped open and heart broken for those whose daily reality is the dump.

After lunch we took the team to visit a couple of homes where some of "our kids" live...meaning that these kids receive scholarships to go to school. Seeing the meagerness of the homes, the lack of space, light, and running water, the dirt floors, and the tin walls and roofs leaves some people re-evaluating their own lives and priorities. Visiting homes is a major part of our daily ministry here, and it never ceases to amaze me that these people generally don't complain about their circumstances, but instead are often thankful to God for what they have.