In the US

Merry Christmas!

It must have slipped my mind to post that I was going to be in the States for Christmas. Well, I was in the States for Christmas.

The weekend was really good with family and a few friends. Today Christian and I got out in the woods a little and enjoyed the crisp 28 degree air. It's nice for a change, but I would like some more snow. The weatherman says we might get a little in the next few days.

Duane will be joining me hopefully Friday evening at our home church, Destiny. They're having a missions conference for four days morning and evening starting Saturday evening at 6. Guest speakers include Joyce Meyer and Kurt Landry, the pastor who led Duane and Leslie's trip to Israel. I'm excited to get to meet him. Anyway, I just wanted to say hey. To everyone who is praying for Guatemala, those we serve in clinics and through the food program, thank you very much. Duane called and it sounds like everything is very busy there as usual.

I hope everyone who reads has a happy new years day!

Grr...

I say grr... because Katie just robbed all the pictures we have of the families on our Corn Project! So, you can check that our on Adonai's blog.

I had to blog today though because it was a good day in the mountains with Thomas. He and I have a list of the "missing" people that we have not been able to find for the last two weeks as we make house visits to pray and access family's needs. Well, at clinic this Tuesday one of the "missing" ladies came back for more food and led us to the others! It was a long walk from the four-wheeler, but we found four missing families and added two new ones today. Our morning started out with the brisk downhill for about 1,000 feet. On our way to the missing lady's house (her name is Maria), we ran into Ignacia, another lady we are helping with food. Ignacia has rheumatoid arthritis, and although she is probably not over 50 her posture is bent and her hands are twisted. She walks with a cane, and at first glance you wouldn't expect her to be able to leave her house. Well, Ignacia began to walk with us to Maria's house and talked to Thomas along the way. She told him how she remembers the first time Leslie and Thomas prayed with her in her home. Three years ago she couldn't walk at all, and felt little purpose in life being stuck in bed. But she said that as Leslie and Thomas prayed she felt something enter her, and they declared over her that she would walk again and pray for others. Well, that's exactly what she's doing. Although slowly, she walks around the mountains (we found her about three walking hours from her house) praying for her neighbors. People call her from towns too far to walk to because of the anointing that she carries. Gathered around Maria, her kids, and Ignacia we prayed and have thanks to God for what he had done in their lives. Maria also had stories of how Thomas had prayed for her husband and son years ago and they were healed. And that was just our first house visit of the day!

There is always a lot of need, but it is encouraging to see God's hand move. He is the answer to people's needs, it's not the food and corn bags that only open the door into people's lives.

We also got to pray with a family in from of their idol. I think they thought we would be afraid to, but Tomas only laughed and explained that the little decorated stature had no power to answer prayers. To make a long story short, the woman in charge of taking care of the idol (lighting candles and such) was only doing it to fulfill her husbands commitment for a year. He had died earlier, but after promising to hold the idol in his house for a year. The woman agreed that she knew only God had the power to save and meet needs, but still didn't want to accept Christ until the idol was our of her house. So on the 25th of January she plans to give her life to Christ. I pray she truly does and that the Lord reveals his power and love to her now. Surely if she understood it she wouldn't wait.

After seeing our missing people we came home on a dusty road. Yesterday we saw mud for the first time in a while in San Pedro. It has been raining there as usual. Duane and I commented as we flew back that we made it all of 2009 without getting stuck in the jungle! Last year it seemed like it was every other time that the rain would close in around us. Anyway, clinic was good. The leaders there are really good about being organized. Duane made an emergency flight to Uspantan while we were there, and Leslie, Katie and I saw probably around 150 people. Tomorrow is clinic here in Canilla and then in San Andres on Sunday. Lots of people will be passing through, and I'm encouraged from today that lives are being touched by God even though we may not be aware.

Tearin' it up.

Tearin' it up is what I feel like we're doing to motorcycles and four-wheelers around here. I am so thankful we don't have to ride horses everyone anymore. The Fickers remember those days.

Actually, nothing is torn up or broken down from this week. We've just been riding the four-wheeler and my bike a lot lately. The four-wheeler is the vehicle of choice for making house visits. If Juanito and Mario aren't riding it, Tomas and I are. My favorite 4-wheeler moment was when Tomas, Hector (our 10-year old guide) and I got to a tough spot. "It won't make it!" they said. Little do they understand the manuvering abilities of a Honda!

If we see six families a day we're doing good. It takes so long to locate people and then walk to their houses, usually several hundred feet up or down a mountain. We pray with everyone, unless they don't want us to, and share the gospel with them. Yesterday one lady prayed with Tomas in Quiche to accept Christ. That makes it all worth it.

On the bad side we run across people like this lady named Manuela. She was really nice, but lied to us in clinic about being a widow and not having any food. Upon visiting her we found out that she only said she was a widow because she heard the Americans would give food to her. Before we left her nice block house we prayed for her and her son (whom we will be helping with medicine for his siezures), but will not be giving food. Again though, this just shows the importance of house visits.

Today Duane and I went to visit Candelaria again. Duane and Leslie had helped her get her house back several months ago after her husband lost it as a result of debt. Now he is trying to sell it again, but his neighbors aren't letting him. (Thankfully). Sometimes I want to just tie someone like him up and haul him to the police station, Duane says it's better to pray instead. So we do, and help Candelaria and her 6 kids as best we can.

On the fun side of things, David, Joseph and I like the motorcycle race so much last month that we're helping some local teenagers make one in Canilla. On our days off and some evenings we have been helping them with the track and to mark the road up the mountain. Today I rode double with a guy who asked if I was a Christian while we were stopped to mark a tree with ribbon. I told him I was, and he said that he just became a Christian too. To me, it was just a cool experience because the whole "motorcyle" world is kind of outside of the religious circle, and I look for chances to show other motorcycle kids that you can have fun and be a Christian too.

My buddy Juan Carlos and I started a Bible study together two weeks ago. We meet every Monday evening with his wife Jael and his grandma to read a chapter together, talk, pray, and sing a few worship songs. Last week I even got a dinner afterwards, so we'll see if that keeps up. It feels good to reach out though in a discipling way, rather than just an evangelistic like in clinic.

Tomorrow is clinic though, and I still need to get a mini-message together, so I'm going to get off of here. Katie posted a good update for the Corn Blog if anyone wants to check that out. It's been really busy around here lately, but I'll try to keep the blog updated! Thanks for all the prayers and support.

He is Alive

I don't know if he should be after living with blood sugar level around 600mg/dL for the last 4 days (normal is around 100), but Justino is still alive. He's an older man, probably 70 something, who came to Leslie last Wednesday night feeling really bad. After some IV fluids and medicine we took him home and have been checking on him morning and evening the last several days. He and his wife live in an adobe house about 10min down the road, and he can hardly see anything even through the thick round glasses that sit on his nose beneath a shiny, bald head. I won't get into the medical specifics, but we think he may be passing kidney stones, and has pain that comes and goes. Today though I went to see Justino and his wife and he told me that he had a dream last night where the Lord massaged his whole body and inner abdomen. He said it was the first night in a while that he's slept like a baby and been pain free. His sugar was still high tonight, and if it doesn't get better we'll urge him more to go to the hospital. Anyway, he tells me every visit that he has faith in the Lord.

Then he told me about other dreams he's had. He knows God is alive and not dead. Three times the Lord has appeared to him in dreams. One time he described as walking on a narrow road that lead into a beautiful park. Men walked with him at his side and showed him all the people there. He said it wasn't hot or cold, just perfect. There was no thirst or hunger, and he said there was no moon or sun. But everything was just right. I don't know he knew of Isaiah 60 where the Bible says there will be no need for sun or moon in the City of God. Justino has only been a Christian for two years. Man did he have a lot to say though. "My God is alive." he said over and over. "He was dead, but three days later he rose again, and he was whole. And he makes me whole. I talk to him like a friend. I have faith in God." And I believe him.





Most of my computer time has been entering data for the corn project and doing e-mails, so I'm sorry for not keeping up with the blog. I'll try to do better. Juan is still visiting people in aldeas (that's where the above pictures are from), delivering food, checking on families in need, and finding new ones. This past week I sent a list with him of people we knew needed a visit. He saw a few of them, but came back with a list of at least 10 more families! At the moment we have given food to around 100 families, but are still in the processes of visiting "pendientes"--those who have approached us for help or we have heard have need. Most times we give the first bag of food to these families after just a brief interview, but to receive continuing help a house visit ensures that the family truly does need help.

Also, before I get off of here I have to at least mention that David entered a local, enduro motorcycle race--about 30 miles of mountain riding with a short obstacle course at the beginning and end. He placed 4th out of 30 riders, many of them professionals from the capital and other cities in Guatemala. 3rd place (and winner of Q1000) was the man who marked out the course and was only a minute ahead of David! He did it mostly because our friends here always urge him to try, and it sounded fun, but he did really good. I entered too, but missed a turn from the start and got way behind, finishing like 20th out of 30. Not too much to brag about. But we had fun and tried to be a testimony for Jesus in the "rich kid" motorcyle environment. You know, as I look at these last four pictures next to the first four I realized that they show two totally different worlds that exist in the same town. We work with the poorest of the poor most of the time, but can still ride motorcycles with the upper class on raceday.

David clearing some rocks and logs.
Me taking on a set of logs and tires.
Tomorrow is clinic in San Andres. It's "Feria" time though, so we don't expect too many people. The street you see at the opening of my blog will be filled with lots of people selling all kinds of things, dancing, drinking, and some bowing to idols set up in tents, or shooting "bombas" kind of like fireworks off of their chests. Witchdoctors urge them to shoot them into the air so that the gods hear them. It's not really a good day, but we'll go for those who come to clinic and pray for God's people to be a light in the midst of a mostly dark celebration time.

Back to Guatemala

This is one of the little guys we see regularly for the nutricion program in Chiminisijuan.

I just realized my last post was never published last Thursday, but just to fill anyone in, I didn't get back to Guatemala until last night. I extended my stay to help Ryan, Duane, and some other friends load up our "corn truck" with grain bins and other supplies. Hopefully the load will get here in a month or so. Our friend Martin plans to drive in through Mexico for us.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was nothing like being reunited with my XR650 at the airport yesterday (except maybe a pretty girl). It had been three weeks, and she was inviting me to give her a spin. My friends Dr. Sherwood and his wife Areli picked me up and took me to my motorcycle on the other side of the runway. (It was good to see them too :)! They were there to pick up some friends from Michigan who will be working with them for a week. Hopefully they'll be able to come and work with us this upcoming Saturday too. Anyway, three and a half hours after leaving the City I made it to Canilla just after dark. The dark and foggy mountain roads reminded me that I was back, as did all the familiar faces here at the house. Grace had to show me all of the new puppies we had, and David was sure to leave out some dinner for me.

Today was our weekly Chiminisijuan clinic. Armando and I went up and gave out milk/food to families who were on our programs. We did a lot of praying with families and I was reminded of who it is that we're here to serve. So many familes (many of them single mothers with several children) live in such isolated places just struggling to keep food in their bellies. Hope is much needed, and I feel like I can get so distracted from the Source of Hope in all of my personal worries.

As for major passings since I was gone: The Aztec interior looks really good, and David has been busy with tractor work and repairs on our Tacoma. Juan and I did some cutting and unbolting this afternoon. Our cow had her calf, so the fridge is stocked with milk again (that's a big deal). Duane and Leslie are still in Israel until Monday, but the girls are doing good with their brothers and sisters (and puppies). The corn project folder has over 200 families entered that we are either helping with food or monitoring in case they need it in the next couple of months. Three families came through today for beans, rice, and oats along with 15 kids who recieved milk. Tomorrow is our Sabbath, so I don't exactly what we'll do, but it's sure to include some prayer and worship. My time home was really good seeing family and friends. It was easier saying goodbye since I plan on being home for Christmas in just over a month (way better than 6 months). That's the rundown for tonight, I just wanted to let everyone know I made it back safe!

My Family

The last few days I've been camping. My family actually chose to leave our well-heated, spacious, amazing home to live in a trailer on wheels for three days in a park with other such trailers on wheels in 40 degree weather. Actually it was pretty fun. John, my mom, Christain, and my aunt Janice spent three days together on Carlyle lake. My grandpa even stopped by for a day. The only bad things were my mom and Janice giggling in the middle of the night while the guys tried to sleep. And the fish didn't bite. Christian caught three and I got none! I guess I'm out of practice....There are no tilapia here.

I just got news today that David, Joe, and Ryan got the grainbins down yesterday. Their uncles and friend, Mike Lovell, helped. Soon the load will be ready for our friend Martin to drive to Guatemala. I also just read on Adonai's blog that Duane and Leslie finally got to talk to the mayor of San Andres. He said that he has been overwhelmed by the people who have come to him with need; I think he has a list of 4,000 people, widows and hungry families who have asked for help. To top it off a pastor prophesied over him a month ago that "corn was coming. Corn to feed the people. This was before we had announced our corn project to anyone outside of the ministry. Anyway, I'm really excited about what God is doing. The prophet Isaiah wrote, "If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will shine in the darkness and your night will be like the noonday sun." The Lord is about letting his glory shine as he meets the needs of his people.

I plan to spend the next few days with my dad, grandparents, and the side of the family I haven't seen yet. If anything exciting happens I'll be sure to post!

Last words

My feet are soaked from catching our second bee swarm! Aaron found it under a bridge in town, so we made a hive and some tools last night. Tonight we caught as many as we could in a cardboard box. Later we'll dump what we have in the new "bee haven" box.
The last couple days have been pretty busy. Several of the pastors I've talked to the last couple days are really planning and looking for ways to help us with the corn project. I don't want to get my hopes too high, but I am praying.

Today in clinic there was a middle-aged lady, Estefania, who had a really high blood pressure, but nothing else wrong. After a few minutes of talking with her, she confided to us that she feels like there is an evil spirit oppressing her. I won't go into all the details, but it made me so mad that the devil has put such a fear in people here. I have no doubt that sin, the world(that is not subject to God's law), and the devil are the enemies of all mankind, but it makes me mad when Christians like Estefania are afraid of him. Here, more than in the US, poeple view the spiritual realm as very real, and tangible. Rather than calling a pastor to pray or taking medicine, people can call a witchdoctor to cast a spell to heal you (for a price of course). The cool thing is that people are healed quite often from chronic sicknesses after commitng their lives to Christ. Anyway, I just had some more spiritual stuff today than usual.

I'm looking forward to seeing my family, but not to the trip. I plan to ride my dirtbike in from Canilla in the morning (hopefully no more than a 4-hour trip) to get on the plane. I better get my bag packed...and get those bees in their box.

News

Well, I think I'm going to try this like a news update. When a lot is going on I have a hard time deciding what to say, so:

SURGERY UPDATE: To follow up with Helen and Edimira, we went back to the City this Wednesday. The doctor there looked at her skin infection, and said that although it was almost gone (I couldn't see anything) there was still some there. He wouldn't admit her for a surgery, so we came home and will continue trusting God to take care of her. Possibly we can try again in February when another group of neurosurgeons come down.

MINISTRY: This last week in clinic was really good as far as spiritually ministering to people. Several men and women gave their lives to Christ. In the midst of so many problems and sicknessess, it amazing me how God's word never fails. He's faithful when everything else is falling apart. More and more though, I'm realizing the real need for discipleship after a person or a family accept Christ. Some churches are great to refer people too, and then there are other's who's pastors charge people for prayer.

IN PRAYER: There was a young man, Domingo, who came to San Andres clinic last week. He had been drunk for a month without eating, and his liver and intestines where punishing him for it. After a few days sober he came to us for help. We gave him some medicine, prayed with him to give control of his life to Jesus, and set up a trip for him to our friend Victor's drug rehab center. Victor said he never showed up, but I'm hoping we see him tomorrow at clinic again.

OUTREACH: This last Thursday we had another trip to San Pedro, Zona Reina. Again we got in an out the same day with the plane. Our friend Dr. Pedro (from Guatemala City) went with us to pull teeth, and they loved him. It's really good to to get to know the people there. Our relationship with them is deepening, but we still lack Christian translators. A few people have accepted Christ, but anytime we ask our translator to pray or share something about God they are silent. One man (I remember him as Luciano's dad) has a mass blocking his stomach, so he is withering away. His heart is right with God, but I'm praying that he recieves a miracle from Him because the doctors have not been able to do anything for him.

CORN: David, Joseph, and Ryan are still busy in the States working on a truck to bring a load down for the corn project. On this end of things we bought our first 2,000 pounds of corn today and cleaned out the small silos we have. More families continue to come to us each week for food. At our clinics we announced what we are doing in case anyone wants to donate food to help hungry families. It amazes me how willing to help most Guatemalan's are; organization is where things get hard though. If we can help with that I know we'll make a difference.

IT'S DEER SEASON IN ILLINOIS: My friend Jeff has already killed a buck and a coyote (as of a few days ago) with his bow, reminding me of Fall back home. I'll be going home to visit my family for three weeks later this month. I've been home for a total of two weeks this year, and I miss them very much.

Helen and Edimira

Real quick I just wanted to post that our trip to the City went really well. Duane flew us in (I helped a little :) early this morning to go to the doctor's office. Helen's surgery is far form complete (not even started yet), but our initial visit to the hospital went really well. We were in and out in 10 minutes. At first the social worker we talked with asked us to wait in line with everyone else (which could have taken a day or two), but after telling her Helen's story she called a doctor directly to the office. Sadly, he told us that there was an infection in the skin of Helen's head that had to be treated before operating would be possible, but he told us to come back this next Wednesday and speak with him directly. As we left the social worker's office she confided to us that she too was a Christian and that she wanted to do all she could to help Helen and her mom, Edimira. To top it off, while Edimira, Helen and I were at a pharmacy buying the prescribed meds (Duane was doing some other City running), we ran into a Christian lady who gave us a ride to meet Duane. Overall, I feel like God was really faithful to go before us today and place the right people in our path. I'm now praying that God (hopefully through the medicine) heals Helen's skin infection before Wed. The American doctors leave Friday.

Also, tomorrow is our meeting with the pastors of Canilla and San Andres. We're planning and praying that all will go well. I hope that they'll catch the vision to care for the hungry people in this valley!

A four-legged man

Sorry I don't have pictures of him, but I thought it was a good attention grabber. "The four-legged man" is actually Miguel, a 35-year old man that lives close to our Chiminisijuan clinic. Miguel wears shoes on his knees also as he crawls around on all fours. He was born crippled from birth, but doesn't seem to have let it get him down. He's really nice, has a pretty wife and baby, and a good horse that carries him around. Mostly it was just interesting to see someone like him in this culture and how he interacts with the people around him. From only meeting him once, it seems he is very much accepted by others...

The reason I'm writing today though isn't because of Miguel, but for our little hydrocephalus baby, Helen. I've written about her before, and we have continued to see her in clinic as part of our nutrition program and make house visits. 18-month old Helen's head is 53 cm in diameter, much larger that the average adults, and she has a severe hemangioma (not particularly dangerous but only adds to her disfigured appearance). Anyway, my goal is not to just tell another sad story, but to ask for prayer. Helen's mom has taken very good care of her, even to the point of waiting in a hospital in the City for a month--without an operation--until her family ran out of money. Now, there is a group of American neuro-surgeons coming to the City in October and we are trying to get Helen in for a surgery to drain the excess fluid off of her cerebrum. The hard thing is that Helen's dad left the family for another woman this week, her mom can't read, and they need help in the City to get around. Duane plans to fly Helen and her mom in to the City today or tomorrow for a pre-evaluation (I may end up accompanying them to the hospital). Our hope and prayer is that the doctors are able to do something for Helen and that all goes smoothly.

In other happenings....David and Joseph are still chugging al0ng in the US. They will get Martin on the road hopefully today and then either come home in the next few days or stay to get a load organized to bring down a truck and grain bins for storing the corn that's coming. This Friday we are meeting with the pastors and maybe mayors of Canilla and San Andres. Yesterday we had a meeting with Armando (our pastor friend from San Andres) and he is on board for helping with the corn project. He and I got a list of villages and a game plan organized for visiting and accessing the most needy families in those places in the ensuing weeks. It's exciting, but I'm reminded of how big of a project this could be and how important prayer is.

Lastly, I've learned that I don't like the "negocio" method of car swapping here. I'm looking at buying a Jeep from a guy down the road that is in good shape and has all the paperwork in order, but agreeing on a price is frustrating. I go up, he doesn't go down. He goes down, I don't to go up any more. We'll see what happens.

Disarmed

"He took it [that standard of righteousness that we failed to keep and stood opposed to us], and he nailed it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Col. 3:14,15))

This has been part of the scripture I've formed my message around the last two days outside of our clinics. When you disarm someone you take their gun away. You take their gun and their ammo, and that is what God did to Satan when he died on the cross. Satan is an accuser, and when God nullified the law that stood against us, he took Satan's guns. God can say, "Yeah, maybe Craig screwed up there, but the price has been paid. He can come and be with me." What an opportunity that we as people have before us. The wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Jesus.

Today in San Andres in addition to 100 numbers, we saw several families suffering spiritually. One family in particular came in. They were a mother and father along with their daughter, Maria. Maria got married at 13, was abused by her husband who left her for (and sometimes brought home) other women. He ended up dying for some unknown reason, but not before paying a witchdoctor to put a curse on her. From age 15 to 25 Maria has not been able to talk, doesn't recognize her parents, and is prone to fits of lunacy. Whether you want to believe there are spiritual influences in there or not, the young girl has had a really emotionally/physically messed up life. Her parents are now in the church and have thrown away their Mayan idols, but were still pretty timid in praying for their daughter. Leslie encouraged them to fast on their daughters behalf and not to give up praying. We prayed today in clinic and promised a visit, but honestly the whole thing is so foreign to me I didn't know what else to do.

In other happenings...David and Joe are still in the States, but it looks like they'll be able to come back soon. Joe passed his private pilot written test, and they have both been helping out Ryan a lot. Also, I have a few new numbers for the corn project:

1. $68 a month will meet a family of 8's basic corn needs for a year, eating 2lbs of corn a day.
2. Buying the corn in country from a confessing Christian business owner on the coast looks like our cheapest option, at about $8 per 100lb bag. The corn actually comes from the US, but our friend can get it shipped cheaper than we are able to.
3. We are inviting pastors from Canilla and San Andres over this Friday to pray and talk about working together to combat the corn shortage.
4. I learned this week from another man that he "just doesn't feel like he's eaten without having a tortilla,''! So I know corn is something that will be meeting a physical and psychological needs in people!

Anyway, we are just kind of resting tonight. Leslie and Duane are listening to a church service in Kansas City, so I thought I'd write a post before I shower and read a little bit. Thanks for reading and for all the prayers.

Investing

One of my favorite radio hosts, Dave Ramsey, says that when you can annually live off of 8% of your retirement savings, you are safe to retire. That's a piece of financial investment advise, and has nothing to do with the investing God has been dealing me about, but there it is anyway.

I think God cares more about investing in people. This week I went to visit a young man in his home. His name is Lucas and he's suffering from some kind of chronic disease that doctors can't identify. He's 32 years old, was normal up until 3 years ago, and now struggles to swallow. His weight is dropping, he has lost his ability to talk, and is limited to his bed. It has fallen upon Lucas' father Santiago to daily feed, clothe, and move him. Lucas was never married, and his mom (Santiago's wife) passed away several years ago. The two men and at least two daughters that I met live together in their home. It was Santiago who came to our clinic last weekend asking us to visit his son. Leslie has already visited and referred the family to the hospital in the past, so my time with them was mostly just to encourage and pray. Lucas and Santiago are both Christians, and I encouraged them to read the Bible, listen to the christian radio stations, and for Lucas to spend his time praying. As we prayed at the end Lucas closed his eyes and silently moved his lips in prayer. Though he never said a word I knew he was a young man trapped in a body that ached to move. A light part in the visit was when I went to leave. It had started to rain (sounding pretty heavy on their tin roof) so before I started the walk back to my motorcycle I bundled up in my green Gortex rain suit. Apparently I looked like a "turtle" to Lucas, the backpack under my jacket making me complete with a shell. It was good to see him smile and laugh as best he could.

There are a couple other people I visit every week or so, but it's honestly usually hard to go and see them--many of them with chronic illnesses that medically there is no cure for. Sometimes I hesitate to go, or just don't know what to say when I'm there. Today though Aaron and I were reading for our weekly devotional from James chapter 1. There James says that religion that pleases God is to care for widows and orphans in distress. God kind of stopped me with that verse and I think He was telling me that investing in the lives of even just a few people who have need is what pleases him. We see hundreds of people every week in clinic, some we have more relationship than others. But I think in my life, and maybe in all of our lives, we need to pray and seek out those few people in distress (the widows and the orphans) whom we can invest in. I never leave Nancy's (the little girl with cerebral paulsy) house without being glad I did. If I go with scripture, prayer, and a smile I'm finding it's enough to lift a few people's spirits and give them hope. If you're a Christian reading this, you have the ultimate source of hope to offer those around you. Just as I'm trying to do, I encourage you to look for those 1, 2, or 3 people that you can invest in.(This is an older picture from when our Manos de Amor "Hands of Love" friends came from a church in the City to support us in a day of medical clinic. Their investment into their own people has been exemplatory for their fellow Guatemalan's)

Our corn/feeding project is still underway, and so I don't have any concrete plans to pass on yet. First and foremost I and we as a ministry are praying that God would meet the needs of people this year--both physically with food and also spiritually. If the Lord can use us to do that then we are available. Just for fun...

We've found that:
1. One hundred pounds of corn will last a family of eight about 6 weeks.
2. 20,000 pounds of corn will feed 273 families for a year.
3. We still don't now the cheapest way to get corn here.
4. It would be best to work with the churches in collecting other foods for distribution.
5. By working with the churches needly families could be identified easier in outlying villages and distribution made more efficient.
6. We need to keep praying!

Everybody loves corn

Right? At least in Guatemala I think everybody loves corn. If you haven't heard, the problem in much of Guatemala this year is that it barely rained during the main growing season and there is way less food than normal. Already we are seeing more people than ever asking us for food, and more babies every week are going onto our feeding program.

This three-month-old baby boy is from Chiminisijuan clinic yesterday.

Leslie wrote a good blog about what God has put on our hearts to do to help the hunger situation. Right now we're in the planning phases, but we are in contact with many people who are helping us organize getting a load of corn into Quiche for distribution among poor families who are in need of food. If you think to pray or feel led to be a part in this project in another way (such as donating money toward shipping or corn, or donating corn itself) I believe it is something that God is doing. After we get a few more numbers from some shipping companies and the Guatemalan ports, I can pass more details on to those who are interested.

In other happenings, Guatemala celebrated its independence from Spain yesterday. Lots of people came to Canilla from San Andres to listen to some bands in the park. Sebastian and Oralia (who run the orphanage in San Andres) came over to visit afterward with a truckload of kids. It was really good to visit with them, and I think I might start teaching a few of the boys guitar lessons. Sebastian is going to see who is really interested.

Today was a good day because I got my radiator fixed on my bike finally (thank you Malachi); although, I have a new-found respect for JB Weld. I also have a new movie, The Incredibles, to show in the park this Friday. This week I put up flyers because several poeple said they would have come to the past ones if they had known. If anyone has any good ideas of movies, I would love to hear them. DVD's that have a Spanish audio track work best, and I look for movies with quality (that I would watch), that are clean, and if possible have a positive message. Showing movies a few times a month is depleting our supply, and I'm not in the States to know what new ones are out.

Well, it's hot tonight, and I need to shower and get to bed. My dad says that cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Ahora Si!

Yes. I am back. Thanks very much especially to Jeff and Donette for checking on me! One week I didn't write, and I never got back on. But ahora si (now, yes) I'm back and won't let it happen again. God has been moving in many people's lives, and a lot in my heart.

"What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.....Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." (2 Cor. 4:18-5:1)

This scripture has really spoken to me a lot lately. God is building a house for me in heaven--how awesome! I don't know how I could say the truth of this verse any better using other words; it's just the applying of the message to life that is so hard. What we see with our eyes, what we work toward, what we worry about..so much these physical things are all so blatantly in front of us, but are not the most important. The past couple clinics I've been blindfolding kids and asking them to lead each other to a certain spot outside of clinic. The first time my two volunteers are blindfolded, the second time one's blindfold is taken off and the little boy or girl guides the other.

The blind can't lead the blind. Only Jesus can open our spiritual eyes. And only when our spiritual eyes are opened to we begin to live for those eternal things. There is so much need that we see every day, so few people who have hope. Hopefully if you had been following my blog in the past, you were able to read a little from Adonai's blog. There is a story there of Candelaria; her story is pretty appalling. More than anything though I remember kneeling under her plastic as she told us that she was afraid God had forgotten her. A neighbor had a dream that Candelaria died, and so Candelaria thought that was her future. So many lies had been spoken over her that she struggles to believe there's hope and a God who loves her...."What is seen is temporary. What is unseen is eternal."

My time here is moving more toward more preaching and prayer ministry, although clinics and the everyday word still fill in the gaps. David and Joseph are planning on going to the US tomorrow. Both will be renewing their licenses and Joe will be taking his written test for his private pilot's license. I'll miss them for the time their gone, but I won't get as much trouble for a while. Dr. Malachi and his sister Rachel will also be going home tomorrow. They were here for a week, and were huge help with ministry and clinic as always.

Tomorrow is San Andres clinic, so I appreciate any prayers for the people there, and again, please forgive me for slacking on the blog.

Mixing Things Up

This week we've been doing a little extra with the team that came in last Tuesday from Washington. They are mostly young people and have come to us with positive attitudes and hearts ready to share the love of God.

The schools we're visiting are the ones that we feel have been the most forgotten. Three of the four are on the outermost edge of the municipal of Canilla in Mayan communities. Most take over an hour to reach and require a good hike after we part the truck.

Leslie, Katie, Adrienne, and Rachel have all worked really hard to prepare lessons for the schools. Mostly our activities focus on the solar system, how big God is, and how much He loves us. The teachers tell us that most kids don't learn about the planets until they're in Jr. High, and we're starting with them from 1st to 6th grade. I realized how basic we had to start when I was talking with a friend and she said that she didn't know people had been on the moon before! Lots of hands on activities are paving the way though. We've visited three schools so far to see about 250 kids, and we have one more school on Monday. Here are a few pictures from our travels...

(Look see!)

(Daryl and I have been sticking together a lot this week, picking up tortillas every morning in town and making house visits)

(Going around the sun was a lot of fun)(Girls stick together)

Guatemalan Days

I was reading about gravitational waves the other day. They have to do with the 4th dimension of time and are supposedly variable. I think you could twist that around to be an excuse for time getting away from you, so that's why I couldn't blog this past week. Gravitational waves were moving pretty heavy around here.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for our trip to Unilla. It went really well. Just yesterday we went to San Pedro, where we have been going for over a year and a half now. The differences in the villages are huge. Both need Jesus, but San Pedro is just an easier place to go to because we know and trust the leaders. Benjamin and Sylvia (who you can see in the picture) have been workng with us there since Duane first flew there two years ago. They just made a trip to have their baby in Quiche, and also helped us with the cleft palate surgeries while they were there. Sylvia made a comment to Katie this trip about drinking. We were talking about some of the men's relationships with their wives, and Sylvia turned to Katie and was like, "Of course drinking and and wife-beating go together. Where the men don't drink, they don't beat their wives."

Along that same line, Daryl (a friend who is down from the US with his wife Stacey) and I went to visit Victor's rehab center in Quiche. Since starting seven months ago he has had 210 men go through his program. He told us today that if it weren't for Duane, Leslie, and our other friend Roy he would not be able to keep the program running. Today several of the men were gone for work (thanks to Roy), so Daryl and I spent some one on one time with a couple of the men. The last man we talked with was Antonio. He was 44, and had been kicked out of the house by his family. Unlike many of the other men at Victor's, Antonio has land, a family, and many job skills. What he doesn't have is a content heart. Sitting down with him, he shared with us with tears in his eyes his story. Several years ago he had an affair, and the other woman tried to kill his wife by jamming a stake through her head. His wife survived, Antonio returned to take care of her, but not without many problems in the house. He turned to drinking. Now he says when he's on his way to work or in the street and a buddy invites him for a drink, he can't turn it down. "Other guys can just take a drink and then go on to work," Anotonio told us, "but I have to have another, and then another." As I was translating this to Daryl, he told me to tell Antonio to quit thinking about himself. Nearly everything Antonio had told us up to that point had to do with him thinking of himself and his happiness. All it caused was more problems. He felt like he was backed against a wall, rejected by his family, and just wanted to run, but didn't know where to. After I shared what Daryl had said, and that he needed to give control to Jesus and start living with a servant's attitude, Antonio just broke. He asked us to pray with him to recieve the spirit of Jesus into his heart as we kneeled on the ground and he prayed through his tears. Daryl told him that he may feel backed against a wall, but that God was standing just across the room with a pillow inviting him to rest.
Antonio will have to choose to obey the spirit of Jesus inside of him, but I believe he is a new man. He wants to give up drinking and reconcile with his family.
Although Antonio's story is a little more dramatic that most of ours, I think we have all been in his position, often trying to gratify our own desires, only to our own demise. God is waiting with a pillow, inviting us to rest from chasing what we think we want, so he can give us the life we were made for.

Witnessing a Miracle

White is done, red and gold to go! Stay tuned for a sweet looking Aztec!

Sometimes it's hard to decide what to write on here. Of course there is always stuff happening both around me and in me, but what would be interesting to somebody else? This morning I had the opportunity to feel really out of shape. I got up early to visit a school that we're going to visit in August with the team. My guide drove his motorcycle pretty slow, but he walked fine. After visiting the school for about an hour I turned around to head back. My guide was a teacher there, so he stayed behind. Walking back up the hill by myself I had to stop more than once. I think the folks here would give the Kenyans a run for their money in a marathon. The school was really cool though, because it really was in the middle of nowhere on the outermost edge of our municipal. The director there was really excited to have us come.

Yesterday I had a really cool opportunity. Leslie woke me up early and asked me if I would mind going with Duane to the City in the airplane. To make a long story short, a lady here in town had received results from a CAT Scan indicating that she had a mass in the posterior lobe of her cerebrum (and of course your brain is a very bad place to have a mass/tumor). Originally she had gone to the hospital because of really bad headaches and dizziness, and her doctor now wanted her to have an MRI done in the City. She couldn't have made the trip on her own, but Duane and Leslie offered to pay for half. Well, the lady, Elvia, had called Leslie about 4 am with a really bad headache, and Leslie told her that Duane had a flight planned to the City that we could take her on. My job was to stay by her side in an unfamiliar environment for the testing. (Duane and Aaron had a meeting with the FAA of Guatemala about improving our airstrip.) So I got to know this lady pretty good throughout the day. We starting out praying when her 6 kids dropped her off at our hangar in the morning, we prayed in the plane, and we prayed all the way through her exams. She said that during her exam lights and sounds where going off all around her head, but she just kept praying to God to take the mass out of her head. They finished the exam about mid morning, but we had to wait until afternoon to pick up the results. That gave us lots of time to talk about how good God was, and how we were going to believe him for a miracle. She told me that although her husband had become a Christian a few years ago, he still didn't have much patience with the kids. She said, "I don't mind dying so much becase I know where I'll just be with God, but I worry who would take care of my kids. If God will wait until they're older I would be so happy." Well, we prayed (and of course that made me hungry), so I took her to Pollo Campero, a Gutemalan's favorite fast food place (kind of like KFC). Finally it came time to pickup the results.
They just handed us a packet, and at first she didn't want to open it. Finally, when we were back at the plane she asked me to open it and read the letter. Honestly I didn't want to. I was fine to believe God for a good report, but when it came time to look at some real-life photos of her brain, I was afraid of what they might show. They showed nothing! We read through the report (because I don't know how to read the pictures) and the specialist said the only thing abnormal in her brain was some sinusitis. I told Elvia that they might have to cut her nose off (she hit me for that) but that according to the note there were no signs of a mass! God is so good, and it was a wonderful experience to witness a miracle. Just as much of a miracle was dropping her off in the evening. Her children and husband ran up and hugged her as she smiled and told them that the results came back clear. During the day she had told me what her life used to be like. Before accepting Christ her husband had been a hard drinking, cheating, wife-beating piece of work (although she didn't exactly use those words). Now she said he is a new man. "It's not fair that while my home was a mess I was healthy and now that my home is good I'm sick." Again, I just encouraged her with how much God loved her and her family. Oh, and Elvia went all day withought any pain in her head! We encouraged her to take her results to her doctor in Quiche, but said to keep trusting in God.
I will contiune praying for Elvia. Whether those reports came back good or bad, God wouldn't have changed, and He won't change. He loves us, is the perfect father, has the power to heal, and wants as many people as possible to walking into the open doors of his kingdom. Elvia will die someday just like you and me, but that doesn't change God, and I don't think it's as big a deal to Him as it is us. But for now, I'm asking that he would allow Elvia to raise her kids and be the example of Christ's love that she is to the people around her. So often I only see problems and sicknesses that people are not healed of. It has been so encouraging to witness this miracle, and I'm going to be believing for more because of who I'm discovering God to be.
Tomorrow we're heading into Unilla, Zona Reina again. This time we'll be taking a Dr. Pedro the dentist with us. The community leader is expecting a lot of people. These trips are always very physically draining, but spiritually revitalizling. I know that we take the name of God with us, and before Him goes all light, power, and life. Our desire is that the people of Unilla would experience Him. If you happen to get sweaty tomorrow, please think of us and throw up a prayer.

Moving Mountains

My hope and prayer is that spiritually God is moving mountains in Guatemala, setting men free from alcoholism, healing the sick, and caring for the poor. But on our way back from Coban yesterday David and I literally saw a mountain that had fallen in a year ago. The road used to pass about a third of the way down from the top, but if you look at the bottom branch to the left you can see the bulldozer that has been working to keep a temporary road open at the bottom. And so yes, David and I also made it back from our trip safe and sound. My body is a little tired from the 9 hour ride, but we made it there and back the same day. The ride home (a different way) was the prettiest part, seeing this huge mountain that had caved in and also a highway that went alongside a crystal blue river. We did eat at McDonald's for the first time in months and explored a cave (for a small fee). In McDonald's we met an interesting character named Brad. He was a young guy from Georgia riding his bike to Panama and back. We invited him to sit with us, so we listened to his story and shared Jesus with him. He was a very thoughtful guy, but I'm not sure where he stands with God. I can't imagine living in the world without a relationship with my Creator. It's not always easy, but I'm grounded, hopeful, and know that I'm never alone.

Today I visited two schools that we'll be doing a kind of Bible School at later in the summer when a team of American high school students come down. It's still amazing to me that the municipal director and the teachers are so open to us talking about Jesus in the public school setting. As long as we don't bash somebody for not being a Christian, they are extremely supportive of us sharing the creation story and talking about Jesus who died for them. What an opportunity we have to share Jesus with these kids that live in some of the most remote areas in Guatemala. Most of the teachers drive their motorcycles close to an hour from town and then walk sometimes another half hour to get to school. Most of the kids are Mayans, and so the youngest ones don't speak any Spanish yet. We'll take translators with us for the days we visit.

Taking a Ride

I'm writing this one a night early, but I just wanted to let anyone reading to know that David and I are planning on making a trip to Coban tomorrow on or motorcycles. It's our day off, and whether the girls here understand it or not, riding a motorcycle can be very spiritual! Coban is somewhere we've never been. It is supposed to be a really pretty place that is well developed compared to the areas surrounding it. Lots of the people we serve in the Zona Reina conisider it to be the closest place for medical and economical help, and for most of them it's still a several hour walk plus 6 hour bus ride. Duane also would like us to check our the runway there for the future. Anyway, I hope we don't warrant to many prayers; David and I are pretty safe on our bikes. We're planning on about a 4 hour ride there.

Today at clinic there were over 60 people, but everthing seemed to flow smoothly and peacefully. It helped to start out seeing the family from last week that wanted to get back in church. This week they came as a FAMILY including the husband/dad. During the week he gave up drinking, and went to church with his family. That is nothing short of a miracle. Armando and Leslie talked with them, encouraged them, and help again with food. Thier little boy is still very malnourished, but was a little more alert today and hopefully on the road to growing.

I don't know if you'll get the pleasure of riding a motorcyle today, but it's my hope that you find something in your day to enjoy simply because God put it there for you!

Some pictures...

A picture tells and thousand words, so I thought I'd do more uploading than writing this time.....



Today I got some fish! Duane and I flew in to pick up our good friend Adrienne from the City, and I brought home my boys (they're all male).



This past weekend we helped some families from here and the Zona Reina go to Quiche for cleft palate surgeries. This is one of the little girls, "before and after."



The Aztec is finally ready to paint! Aaron, David, and Joseph have been hard at it the last several days. (Rachel has some good pictures on her blog!)


I don't think I've ever put any pictures up of pastor Joel and his family. It's been fun and a learning experience to work with them in their church every week.



Duane just built a new counter-top for his "office" outside of clinic. He and I usually start off by praying for the people, sharing a message, and then scheduling the patients for the day. This past Saturday David (Katie's dad who is here visiting and you can see behind Duane) shared a word with the people.


As always, I really appreciate any and all prayers for me, the ministry, and the people we serve. I've told a couple of my friends that I really can tell when people are praying. We see so much need, without Jesus we could never have enough within ourselves to offer the people here. It's kind of been a rough week, for no single reason, but as spent some time before the Lord today I was just greatly refreshed. Thanks to all my friends and family who pray for me.

Missing the Milking

Well, David (Salvador's son) is back this week, so I kissed the cow goodbye. Okay, so I didn't kiss her, but I told her fair-well until David's next day off...

Yesterday morning our diabetic lady and her family came to our door again. Her name is Micaela (not Adrianna), and her husband, son, daughter, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter all drove up in the son's truck to learn how to take her blood sugar and give her insulin. They were so polite, even taking their shoes off at the door before they came into clinic. It was funny to see the girls walking around barefoot and the guys in their socks, with a pile of the family's shoes at the door. Leslie and Katie instructed, quizzed, and then quizzed again the family on how to take care of Micaela. I got to spend some time with the Miguel and Manuel (the son and dad). Miguel is still thinking about accepting Christ, but at least he was honest. Manuel confidently said that he was a Christian now. We talked about their history and went over how to pray. They should be back this Saturday for clinic.

Today the road to Chiminisijuan wasn't as bad as last week. The road crew (about 25 men with hoes) have really worked it over. The way the road crew works is the community schedules work days where all the able men of the village get together for a community project. Where there are no machines, there is power in numbers. The most memorable thing from today in clinic was a family who came in close to the beginning. Leslie knows the story better (I was busy with some of our nutrition kids), so you can check the ministry blog for a more detailed story. When I walked over at the end though, Leslie and Armando (our Quiche preacher/translator) where praying with the woman and her three kids to rededicate their lives to Christ. The dad wasn't a very good dad. I'm pretty sure he's drunk all the time. But it was really good to see this mom and her kids so hungry for God. The little boy was leaning forward in his chair to hear every word from Armando's mouth! Times like that remind me of why I'm here. (You can see the family in this picture as they walked out the door).

Movie Night

Our dairy cow and I have gotten pretty close this week with our workers taking a week off. Normally twice a day I walk out to the pasture with a feed bucket. She looks at me. I look at her. And we both know someone is going to get milked. The bad part of all of this is when I forget in clinic and tell Leslie or Katie that a mom is milking good (what I'm trying to say is that she's nursing). I blame it on Spanish.

Last night with the help of the gang here, I finally showed a movie in the town park. There were a lot of young people for the half-hour motocross video and then about 80 people for the longer "Fireproof." The movie has action, comedy, and a good message about marriage, AND comes dubbed in Spanish. Several people asked when the next movie was going to be, so maybe we can make it a monthly thing.

A total of 5 people died in town this week, so it was a really sad time. Almost everyone is related it seems, so my message outside of clinic was about the resurrection that all who trust in Jesus can look forward to. My words didn't seem sufficient for the situation, but I think people were listening. Later in clinic our diabetic lady came back (I think her name is Adrianna). Last week I blogged about her and her family. Once again, her sugar was over 600, and she needed IV fluids and insulin. If God doesn't do something to either heal her or inspire her family to start taking better care of her, she will not live much longer. Today we prayed, and told her family that they could come back in the middle of the week if they wanted us to explain how to check Adrianna's blood sugar and give her insulin injections. We'll see if they come.(Adrianna, her husband, and daughter prayed with Tomas and Leslie to accept Christ into their hearts today.)

Last, at my dad's urging, I opened up the bee hive for the first time. He said I needed to check that they were making plenty of comb and raising new bees. This picture doesn't show a whole lot (the bees were pretty mad at me at the time I took it), but here is one of the frames. To my surprise there was a lot of comb, a little honey, and lots of larvae.
So that's my recap on milking, clinic, and honeybees. I hope you enjoy whatever little things in life that God has put before you today.

Peach Pie

Duane and I like to build memories involving pie, and pie requires fruit. For this I was really grateful for the people of Chiminisijuan at clinic on Tuesday. We got two bags of peaches and a bunch of bananas from a couple of the ladies, and today I got peach pie from Rachel and Leslie. Life is good.

Really, I've always been bothered by how I so easily measure life as good or bad depending on my circumstances. For example: Pie= life is good; Flat tire= life is bad. This kind of outlook honestly makes everything seem pretty crazy, life pretty meaningless, and emotions like a roller coaster. That's when I remember that God never changes, and that He tells us in the book of James to pray to Him without doubting. He says, "Don't be a wave on the sea tossed back and forth by the wind (circumstances). Trust me."
We had some pretty bad circumstances yesterday. While we were at clinic receiving our gifts of fruit, Duane was picking up the man from the City whom he had taken to the hospital a few days before. I didn't realized how bad the situation was. Duane said that this young man (early 30's) from a small isolated village in the Zona Reina had fallen off his horse and broken his back. Some of the community members pitched in to help the man make the trip (they offered Duane $50 for the trip which is a huge deal for them). Surgery didn't help much though, so the man is paralyzed from the chest down. Additionally, Duane said the guy is skin and bones. Even after praying with the man it was just hard to see him go not knowing what kind of care awaited him back in his home. Duane took it really hard.

Later that afternoon, Duane made another emergency flight. Late in the afternoon the ambulance from the "health center" in town (staffed by a couple local nurses and a doctor, all Guatemalan) showed up at our gate. They wanted oxygen for a newborn who wasn't breathing and had aspirated (breathed in) myconium (amniotic fluid tainted with the baby's feces) during delivery. This happens when the baby gasps for air too soon because of distress during delivery. Anyway, Leslie and I ended up rushing to the health center behind the ambulance with suction, oxygen, and a pulse/ox machine. Leslie helped work on the baby for several minutes as that was her specialty in the States, but the most we ever got was a faint heartbeat. Duane flew the little girl, a nurse who was breathing for the baby, and the dad to Quiche, but upon arriving in the ER they pronounced the baby dead. I don't think I need to say a whole lot more. It was just a terrible situation. Upon entering the room in the health center we recognized the mom and dad from clinic. Just three days before I had said hi to the dad as Leslie or Kaite did his wife's ultrasound. Again, we prayed with them and contiue to pray.

It's hard to move forward when tragedy comes, and it's easy to think everything's great when you're eating peach pie! At any moment in time there is probably someone enjoying peach pie, and someone else at deaths door. God alone is unchanging and a fail-safe in this life. That's why I want to know Him better. Now, I know every good and perfect gift comes from God, so I'll keep enjoying my peach pie, but the state of my heart and mind is dependent upon God alone. He says that he loves me, and I believe him. His Word the Bible tells me what he's like along with all the promises of the good he has prepared for his children. I hope I can always remember that if my confidence is in anything other than God, then the wave I'm riding could crash at any moment. Wherever you are, I hope you can make a decision with me to rely upon God who is always there for us.

Work, Eat, Pray

That's what I did today. The best part was a toss up between the eating and the praying (but there were no beef ribs involved, Jeff!).

In Guatemala the "volcano" method of pouring concrete is choice when there's no concrete mixer. As you can see though, we do have our own concrete truck! The old Dodge severed us well on this last pad of the shed. We worked until lunch, and then ate some really good fried chicken. Leslie thinks we don't mean it when we tell her the food is good (because we tell her that everyday) but I assured her it's the truth. Here's some pictures of our concrete.








In the afternoon we invited Duane as a new member to our exclusive "Pray for San Andres" club. Actually it's just the first time he was able to leave his other responsibilities here without feeling too bad. Prayer was good. I'm learning that God never changes, but that I don't have Him figured out yet. He is I believe always wanting to do something new in our lives and show us more of what He's like. "Hey, watch this," I can hear him saying. I hope I'm never too comfortable to put a limit on what I think he can do in my life.

Yesterday clinic was busy in San Andres with just Leslie, Katie, and I seeing patients, but there weren't any emergencies like on Saturday. Candelaria came again with her kids, and Paulino stopped by for his weekly... for the second time. After church I went to Juan Carlos' again for another visit (there's usually food involved). He's learning to play the guitar, and also needed a ride back to Canilla. Here you can see him sporting his "old man" outfit because his wife and family were making fun of his pants.

Salvador's "Taller"

I told Salvador and Maynor that they should open their own bicycle "taller" (tire repair shop). They probably didn't appreciate me taking their picture, but after I explained the internet to them, I think they understood that it was good for business. Actually it's just Salvador's flat tire that he's had for two weeks, and we were just finishing picking up trash after clinic.

Whew was clinic eventful today! There were over 70 people, which is normal, but we also had some strange cases. My first strange case was the crazy lady who comes through every two months. After treating the illnesses I could see: high blood pressure, yeast infection (I didn't look but took her word on it), and ringworm, she began to tell me about all kinds of things I couldn't see. Leslie warned me as I gave the lady her blood pressure medicines that I was getting ready to hear that her ear hurt, head hurt, and that she couldn't sleep. Sure enough, as I handed her her pills she told me that a bug was in her ear. I looked (it was clean), and told her that the bug must have left. Content with that, I asked her if she wanted to pray and then sent her on her way.

The next case was a little more grave. An older lady with a blood glucose level over 500 (80-120 is normal) came in with her son and daughter. She was all skin and bones from living at a such a high sugar level, and her body was starting to shut down. Her blood pressure was 60/40 and she also had blood in her stool. In the past she had come to us, but says that she wasn't able to come back regularly because no one could take her. Well, today her son (who just got back from the States) was with her and said that he wanted to start taking care of her now that he was home. Our advice was for him to take his mom to the hospital, but they said they had gone before and the hospital had done nothing...probably because they were a poor indigenous family. Anyway, they weren't going to go, so we did what we could. We started the lady on IV fluids, gave her insulin, and moved her into the clinic living room for about four hours. Before they left we were able to pray with several members of the family and share Jesus with them. I don't think they had ever been in church of any kind, but the son (who was the only one who could read spoke good Spanish) asked for a Bible. After advising him to start reading about the life of Jesus in of the book of John, I charged him with the duty of pastor for the family! His sister laughed when I told him that it was his job to read to everyone else and teach them what the Bible said...

The third surprise came in the middle of giving the last lady her IV fluids. Someone started pounding on the clinic door and a young man carrying a 9-year-old boy ran into the room. The boy was shaking like he was having a seizure, but it turns out he was just really scared. We put him on the exam table and found only minor scratches on his arm and a small bump on his head. It turns out the young man was driving too fast on his motorcycle and hit the little boy in the road in front of clinic. Everyone was just really scared. The mom came in crying, the young man was shaken up almost as bad, and there was a big crown trying to find out what was going on. In the end everything ended up OK, but it could have been bad mainly because of the underlying racism that still exists in many people's minds. The young man was a latin, and the boy was mayan. Also, if you hit someone here and don't go to the authorities it's possible that a couple months later the injured party will come back demanding money. In an effort to do everything right, Leslie actually took both parties into town to get everything in the open and stop rumors from spreading. The guy ended up giving the family some money anyway probably just to keep peace. The whole experience just showed me how much people can make a big deal out of nothing, especially in a crowd.

So after picking up trash in the courtyard and taking a picture of Salvador's tire shop, we went in to get lunch ready. Duane had just got back from a medical flight to the City. A man from the Zona Reina fell of his horse and needed an emergency flight during the morning. For the first time in our history of emergency flights an ambulance actually beat Duane to the airport and was waiting with a stretcher when he arrived. On his way home, Duane brought some Americans back for our friend Tim who runs the orphanage in San Andres. Tim and Sebastian came over in the afternoon to pick them up, so it was good to see them. Then we ate a late lunch and went to play some more volleyball at the river. I won twice and lost once...but we don't keep count :).

Hannah leaves back for Houston tomorrow. We'll definitely miss her in clinic tomorrow in San Andres. The diabetic lady who got the IV fluids is still heavy on my mind tonight, and I know there will be more people tomorrow who have a lot of needs. When I think about the future, and everything that's going to come my way, it's easy for me to feel overwhelmed. But as I wrote in a previous Blog, I think that's because I normally imagine the future without God in it. I'm not going to have to meet all of those people's needs tomorrow, God is the one who will be there to do it. I just have to follow His lead. This morning was the same way. I was nervous as usual about what to share with the people before we started clinic, but I felt like God was asking me to make a visual prop to help me explain what Jesus does in our lives. He comes to live in our hearts in the place that only He can fill; His heart comes and joins itself with our heart, and we are a new creation. I only had about 5 minutes after breakfast to put something together, so I used cardboard from a box in the garage and my pocket knife to cut these out. I think the people liked it because they thought I was a terrible artist, but it really helped me hold their attention! Later I used the same pieces to share with the diabetic lady's family. At first only the son was listening to me share about Jesus, but when I pulled out the cardboard pieces the whispering in Quiche stopped, and they watched as only Jesus' heart fit into the void of the human heart. You know, I was really close to not making these stupid cardboard pieces, but I felt like God had urged me to do it. How many times do I feel Him directing me, and I shake the feeling off? If we listen, I believe God is always speaking to us....Sometimes maybe there's nothing big, but His word (the Bible) is always there with us to guide us in what's right. If nothing else I know he is always just saying that He loves us.