Walking the Walk

I did not realize the symbolism until today of people walking with the family to a cemetery to bury a loved one. For those of you who know Samuel who works with teams here in Guatemala building houses, you may know that he and his wife Reina lost their four month old baby girl yesterday. They are still reeling from the shock and disbelieve that this has happened.

Today at about 1:00 we will walk with the family from their house as Samuel carries the casket with little Genesis Raquel's body to the church then to the cemetery. It will be the longest walk he and Reina have ever made and he will have many friends and family walking with them. This is what the body of Christ does. We walk with our brothers and sisters in grief and sorrow as we try in our feeble way to comfort them and love them. As much as we may try, there is no one who can comfort them like God's Holy Spirit.

Last night we went to the wake which is different from anything I have been to in the states. They actually had a service at the house with singing and a sermon and then all the guests were served food and coffee. I watched Reina as she sang right along with the rest of us and thought "how can a person sing when their heart is breaking". Of course, the answer is only by the grace of God. God is truly their Sheperd as they walk through this valley of death, He is with them, His rod and staff comfort them. He is the strength of their heart.

Please remember Samuel, Reina, and their teenage daughter, Denise, in your prayers today and the days to come.

Luisa

Un Hombre Muy Feliz (One Very Happy Man)

When I first started trying to sell my Nissan Patrol, I had a lot of inquires and several people looked at it and drove it. Almost to a person, they said it was a good vehicle and worth what I was asking for it. Two people at two different times even went so far as to pay a deposit on it with intentions of buying it. Neither person was able to come up with the rest of the money for it.

I don't remember when the thought came to me that if no one bought it before I was ready to go to the states, I should just give it to Manuel Chavez. Today, that's exactly what I did. He was, to say the least, very surprised and pleased.

This man rarely comes to my house that he doesn't bring his Bible. I didn't notice until after I had taken the picture that he had it in his hand. He read scripture to me this morning and told me what it meant to him. I told him he reminded me of what Jeremiah said about not being able to not preach because the Word was a burning fire in his heart if he kept quiet. That's a paraphrase, but it describes Manuel.

My prayer is that the Patrol will give him good service as it did to me and that he will use it to keep spreading the Gospel and ministering to the people of Guatemala with his dentistry and evangelism.

Luisa

Team and a half

The 29th of January the biggest team yet came to the mission house....53 people in all. Every house on the mountain had team members staying in them with the exception of the huge one in which no one lives. There were a number of doctors, nurses, and one dentist. The pictures in this blog are of the dentist, his wife, the dental clinic, and the dental waiting room. This is what Don Tibbett and Foothills Bible Church wanted to accomplish when they purchased all the dental equipment and instruments. The dentist, Dr. John Gissal from Michigan, tried to count the number of people he treated, but gave up before the end of the clinics. All together, with dental and medical, over 2,000 people in five different villages were seen and treated. I was able to help with the pharmacy three of those days and thought by the end of Friday if I had to say "tres veces al dia" one more time, I would pass out. By the end of the week, everyone was tired but content.

Six weeks from now, I will end my extended stay in Guatemala....extended because originally I had planned to come here for six months. By the time I leave, I will have been here almost five and a half years. A lot of things have happened in those five years, most good and some not so good. One thing I hope has happened during these years is that I have grown in the Lord. I think I have, some, although I am not fully grown yet and God help me if I ever think that I am.

I think I have met more people here in the last five years than I have in my whole life and have made a multitude of friends....some from Guatemala and some from many parts of the U. S. It will be hard to leave the ones in Guatemala, but Lord willing, I will see them again. I am looking forward to being with my family and friends in Arkansas.

Luisa

My Excuse

Webster's Dictionary defines lazy as; disinclined to activity or exertion: not energetic or vigorous. That is my excuse for not blogging for these last three months.

This week's events though compel me to write something in order to let the folks at FBC see the gift given to them for providing help to a gentlemen here in Guatemala.   I wish I could bring it home with me, but that not being possible, at least the folks can see it.  We call this a poinsettia...here it is a pasqua.

The gentleman's name is Pedro and he is 38 years old.  Over a month ago, he fell off a bridge while working and broke his hip.  He has been in the national hospital ever since needing surgery, but not being able to pay for the materials.  The surgery is free, but the pins needed in his hip have to be paid for.  The price for the pins is Q2,000, approximately $250.  His mother came here this week to see if we could help and we did.  He is scheduled to have the surgery Tuesday, Dec. 7.  Today the mother, Maria, came to bring this pasqua and to thank me for helping.  So while you folks have to be content with a picture, just know that this is a token of appreciation for the compassion you have for others.  If you think about it Tuesday, please pray for Pedro.

As most of you know, my time in Guatemala is drawing to a close.  And I will miss things like this....seeing people helped who have no way of helping themselves.

The Lord willing, I will see most of you next Sunday, Dec. 12th.

Luisa

 

WHEW!

I apologize to those who are following my blog.  There has not been anything to follow for several weeks now.  Since the 20th of May, there has been a team in the mission house everyday with the exception of one week when my favorite team canceled their trip.

Last Thursday, August 12th, I waved good-bye to the last team of the summer.  In May, that day seemed eons away and I wasn't sure how I was going to manage through the summer. However, with the help of Teresa Lara and some of her daughters and Kirk and Michelle Lightfield, we made it.  As far as I know, all the teams were blessed and excited about their trips and the things they accomplished.

The ministry I have been doing here has been ongoing.  There have been people who come from Santo Domingo who need medicine, medical exams, and taken to the doctor.  One little girl in particular needed to have a rash tended to on her arms.  Turns out it is eczema and she is doing better.  Her little arms looked as though they had been burned.

The last team here was from Michigan and they were so glad to get to some cooler temperatures. It seems it has been 90 degrees for a lot of their summer.  They got very little sympathy from me knowing what the temps have been in Arkansas.  Could you folks see if you can do something about that before I get there on September 3.

Luisa

The Show Must Go On

You can imagine my disappointment when the FBC team canceled their trip to Guatemala this year.  Of all the teams coming after the disasters that struck Guatemala, it had to be from my home church....bummer.  However, that did not mean that the people who had been promised a dental clinic would be disappointed.

Manual Chavez is one of the most dedicated, energetic, committed people I know.  He was more than willing to carry on with the clinics on his own.  He is pretty much a one man show anyway. The pictures above were taken at the first clinic in El Durazno at a little church called Iglesia Fuerte Ciudad Majanaim.  The man in the picture with Manuel is Pastor Hector.

I went to the clinic around noon to take him some lunch and he was in the midst of extracting a tooth from the lady in the first picture.  These are some tough people.  He was having a hard time getting the tooth out and while I won't go into detail, just know that if I had been that lady, I would have been hollering like a banshee.

The next day's clinic was in Taxisco, about an hour and a half drive from here.  Again he saw around 40 people.  He also took 80 sheets of lamina (tin) for houses for which FBC provided funds.  The third day was in a village near Chimaltenango and again he saw another 40 or so people.  In three days Manual has relieved the suffering of between 100 to 120 people.

The last clinic was to be today, Thursday, but the pastor asked him if they could postpone it until another day.  He leaves tomorrow for Panajachel for a five day jornada (dental clinic) there.

Guess what....I get to have lunch with Scott, Julie, and Aidan tomorrow.  Nanner, nanner, boo, boo.

Luisa 

Let Me Tell You About Fredy

I almost forgot I had a blog.

Grandparents are notorious for saying "let me tell you about my grandchildren".  Probably the reason I don't have grandchildren is because I would be so obnoxious in my bragging on them that people would run when they saw me coming.  So, let me tell you about Fredy.

Fredy is my gardener, but he is more than my gardener.  Fredy's story is typical of a lot of Guatemalans.  His dad was killed when he was five years old and his mother was an alcoholic.  I didn't know at the time when I first met him that I knew his mother.  About three years ago we (FBC) helped pay for one of her son's funeral.  This was one of three of Fredy's older brothers who died in the last four years due to alcohol related incidents.

When Fredy's dad was killed, he and a brother and sister were taken out of the home and placed in Casa Aleluya where he lived until  a little over a year ago.  He came to my house looking for a job and I hired him as my gardener on a trial basis.  I didn't even know I needed a gardener, but if it weren't for Fredy, I wouldn't have a garden. 

Over the course of the next few weeks, Fredy and I talked, although I did most of the talking. He would hardly talk at all and very seldom smiled.   His answers to my questions were a short "yes" and "no", so I tried to think of questions that required longer answers.  A couple of things that I learned were that he is a Christian and that he did not finish school in Casa Aleluya, but that's another story.

He wanted to go back to school, so I am sending him to America Latino, a Christian school here in Chimal.  He goes on Saturdays to a special school for older students who, for whatever reason, did not finish their education.

He is a hard worker and is very talented.  He has made my garden a work of art.  Last week he said "come see".  He had carved out grass in the lawn spelling my name and was getting ready to plant flowers in it.  

Fredy has captured my heart, and God willing I will do all I can to keep him from following the path the rest of his family has taken.  His remaining brothers try to get him to go drinking with them and he refuses.

So, why am I telling you all this?  I would like to ask, if you think of it when you pray, please pray for Fredy.  He still does not have an easy life and it would be so easy for him to become discouraged.  Thanks for listening.  Now aren't you glad I don't have grandchildren?

Luisa