Global Outreach Website

OK, so we're not really "home" but it is certainly beginning to feel like home. The people of Guatemala are so warm and accepting. The whole team has commented on how great it is to be greeted with a hug and kiss from those we have only just met. It was late when we arrived "home" last night (10:00ish) and the computer was down so we didn't get a chance to share about our three days sleeping out. ~

What an amazing reception we received in each village!! The people were so happy to see us. The first church we arrived at after a 6.5 hr drive on Monday gave us the opportunity to meet so many people. The needs of the people ran the gammet from simple headaches to demon possession. It is a good thing Hermann prepared us with 2 hours of devotionals that morning. We certainly needed that time with God to prepare ourselves for what lay ahead. God was faithful and carried us through our inadequacies and we were able to pray with and share Jesus with one and all. As we worked through the evening there was a group of girls (around 12 yrs old) that just LOVED our three blond headed boys. They are quite the novelty here. They spent most of the evening trying to get them to come to the window to talk to them. The boys turned beet red at all the attention. :)

We had the luxury of staying in a ministry center in San Pablo that offered indoor toilets and semi-indoor showers. This I am told is NOT the norm when sleeping out. Again, God showed us His favor. When I say that I mean...no bugs. You think I joke. Nope. So here we spent our first night out all sleeping in what amounted to a porch, yet safe and secure behind the gated walls of the ministry center.

Morning devotions with Hector, Mario and Geovani were so wonderful. These times fortified us, drew us together as a team wiht the doctors, translators and each other. Without these times of sharing in worship and God's word there is no way that we could have seen the miracles of healing and people coming to Christ that we each saw.

Tuesday was a day filled with rain, patients, heat, rain (yes, I know I already said that but it rained A LOT!) and hope. The hope of Christ that the people needed so badly. To look into the eyes of these that came for a doctor and met with the Great Physician was something marvelous to behold. To see pain, fear and hopelessness replaced with joy, light and the hope of salvation is, in a word humbling.

Wednesday was a quick clinic day (we only saw 60 people) since we had the long ride "home" but we still managed to meet and serve many. The church there in the village hosted our breakfast and dinner and were just so welcoming and greatful that we would come to meet with them. One personal miracle I witnessed was when a man sat in my counseling station and I asked him if he had ever heard of Jesus. The answers I had recieved up to this time were,"yes, yes". This man had not. I was amazed that I got to be the one to introduce him. How humbling! Was I prepared for that? Absolutely! I asked if I could tell him the story about Jesus and he said yes. As I walked through the Evangicube he sat quietly and listened. When I finished I asked if he had ever heard that story before. "No", was his reply. Do you believe what I have told you? "Yes" was his quiet answer. Would you like for this Jesus I have told you about to live in your hear? With tears in his eyes he nodded his head. Together with one of our ever present, ever faithful translators we prayed the sinner's prayer. As he wiped tears from his eyes I then asked if I could pray for his healing. He had been working and fell from a tree and hit his head. His head had been causing him pain ever since (about a year now) and he was unable to work because he would often fall down due to the injury. I prayed, Maryann translated and he wept. When we were done praying I asked how his head was feeling. "Better", was his simple answer. In the space of a few moments, a soul was added to the kingdom and a witness to God's power was born. Amazing!!!

Some of the most beautiful people God has made live in Gautemala and they came to our clinic today. Most of the people with whom I prayed today were Christians. Not in the nominal sense of the word but truly loved God with all their hearts. When asked if they believed that God would heal them when we prayed I would get a resounding, "Yes!". It was another day filled with God's presence and power. Truly life changing and faith affirming.

Be sure to search for Tracy Baird's name and read her blog too. I'm sure she has just as many stories to share as I and has great perspectives that were different than mine. She has been such a great leader. Leading, rather than pushing, guiding and defering to our preferences when she could. She also got perspectives from the rest of the team that I have not included in this blog.

Tomorrow is market day. While I am looking forward to it, at the same time I know that it will be the final time we get to spend with our wonderful Guatemalan family. Our translators and the doctors have taken us into their arms and loved and served us with such passion and humility. Always preferring us to themselves and truly representing the God whom they serve. We have been SO blessed by them.

More tomorrow if technology cooperates with us. :)

Lori

After clinic on Monday evening we ventured deep into the heavy vegetation of the Guatemalan mountains. Beside a corn field there was another ministry center I will call the remote ministry center. It belongs to a group of area churches. I thought it was unusual because it was “in the middle of nowhere” and it had an unexpected set-up with 2 pools and a large covered area. The covered area had a high ceiling and walls on 3 sides. On the fourth side there was no wall; it was simply open to the outdoor pool area. The temperature, the cots, and the sleeping bags were all very comfortable, but I wasn’t a big fan of sleeping in the open air in a malaria-risk area of Guatemala. But I am taking malaria medication, I practically showered in bug repellant, and I only got one bite (on my face!) so I think I will be just fine.

In the morning we awoke to bright sunshine and the sound of birdcalls that we had never heard before. Although it was 5:58 am I felt well-rested. After a peanut butter and jelly sandwich breakfast we had morning devotions at 7 am led by Dr. Hector and Geovani. Hector reminded us that God arranges our circumstances. He told us that people in the villages had been praying for medical care and that our team was truly an answer to their prayers.

I will interject here that the men and women on the staff of MMM are such kind and spiritually mature people, and I am so blessed to know them.

We were asked to provide a short devotional segment led by someone on our volunteer team. I was impressed that 15yo Haley volunteered. She told us about her work at a camp for children and teens with special needs. She had met a camper I will call Jimmy (not his real name). Her brother was assigned to be Jimmy’s buddy for the camp and assist him in any way needed. Jimmy had an interesting habit of giving Haley’s brother instructions such as, “Tell Jimmy to brush his teeth.” Then when her brother actually said, “Jimmy, go brush your teeth,” Jimmy would respond, “No, I’m not going to brush my teeth!” Haley related this to our relationship with God. Sometimes we may desire to read our Bible or pray, for example, and so we say to God, “Tell me to read my Bible.” But then when He nudges us toward our Bible, we frequently say, “No thanks.” She challenged us to be more responsive to the call and voice of God as he speaks to us through prayer and Bible reading. Haley also linked her devotional teaching to Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.” This is the Bible verse Paul and I have inscribed on our wedding rings, so I appreciate being reminded of it.

Geovani then continued our devotional time with us discussing the first and second chapters of Luke. It was interesting to note that when Mary was told that she was to become pregnant while unmarried and give birth to the Messiah, she questioned the angel about it and got a response. However, when Zechariah questioned the angel after it was revealed that his “well advanced in years” wife Elizabeth would give birth, he was struck mute. We reflected on the difference in these two responses and we thought that the main difference was their attitude, which God and the angel could discern. I love the part where Mary says something like, “May it be to me as you have said.” I wish I responded to God like that!

We also discussed that Luke addressed the book to the “most excellent Theophilus”. We speculated on the meaning of the name. Someone speculated that “theo” might mean “theology” and “philis” could mean “to study”, so the name could possibly mean, “one who studies theology”. Based on my knowledge of the meaning of my husband’s middle name (Theodore) and the meaning of the city name Philadelphia, I thought maybe it meant “friend of God”. Geovani agreed and theorized that God planned for Luke to address both the book of Luke and Acts to a man named Theophilus to emphasize that the books were to all friends of God.

More on the clinic itself in the next post

So far I have not written much about the actual clinics. On Monday we traveled 5 hours into the north section of Guatemala, and once we got off the highway the vegetation was lush and beautiful. For Monday through Wednesday we worked in the area of Guatemala called Malacatan. On Monday afternoon we held clinic at San Pablo, on Tuesday in San Jorge, and on Wednesday in Quetzali. On Wednesday night we traveled back to the ministry center and on Thursday morning we drove about 40 minutes to host a clinic in Amatitlan, which is a Guatemalan county. We saw 91 patients on Monday (I stand corrected from my previous post), 94 on Tuesday, 72 on Wednesday, and 91 on Thursday. Our team of 10 saw a total of 348 patients. It surprised me that we actually saw more patients than the larger team did--they saw a total of 281 patients with their team of 23 or 24.

On Thursday we had the privilege of also hosting an eye clinic. On the preceding days the eye clinic had gone into the field with the other team.

Our teammate Melissa is a pediatrician and she had the opportunity to see patient along with the staff doctors of MMM. It seemed that God brought many children who needed to be seen, and Melissa was there to serve them.

Patients had many different health problems from pain to eye infections, high blood pressure to emotional issues, and the doctors did their best to address their issues with medicines that were available and to give them good counsel. While the patients waited for their prescriptions we had the opportunity to pray with them and share the good news of Jesus. Many of them shared their family and relational issues and it was our privilege to pray for them.

We had team members playing with the Guatemala children, working in the pharmacy, running the prescriptions to and from the pharmacy, and managing the flow of patient from waiting area to the doctor to the counseling stations. We also had people praying for the patients and community. With a small team we all worked hard for the full clinic of about 4 to 6 hours.

Tonight I had the opportunity to visit with my sponsor child again. I have been sponsoring him for about 4 years with a monthly donation and I first had the chance to meet him last summer when I first came to Guatemala. This time his brother came with him to meet me. I had a gift of shoes and socks for the brothers. My good friend Laura Powers and family just began sponsoring Luis Renee’s brother Rudi. She sent socks and shoes for Rudi, I had a nice time learning more about them and their daily life in the Guatemalan Gymnastics Academy. They both could possibly be on the Guatemalan Olympics team in the future.

Luis asked for prayer that his father, who is estranged from the family, would grant him permission to compete at the state level. He has qualified but he can’t compete without both parents signing off on it. He also asked prayer for his mom’s job. Her manager is upset with her taking off work to drive her sons to the Gymnastics Academy and she could lose her job. The boys spend weekends at home and weekdays at the Academy.

There is much more that I would love for you to know, but time does not permit. I need to start packing up to head back to Atlanta tomorrow.

If you would consider going with me next year, I would love to hear from you!

I decided to ask everyone on the team what their favorite thing is about Guatemala so far. I thought it would be interesting to also ask them about the most unusual thing they had seen or done.

My favorite thing about Guatemala:

(Since the majority of the team named “the people of Guatemala”, I asked them their second favorite thing. It’s in parentheses.)

Susan-When the plane lands. Getting here.

Maia-Connecting with the people. (Stretching my creativity to think of 6 and a half hours of funny stories on the way back to the ministry center.)

Jack-Hearing funny stories on the long car rides to the clinics.

Samantha-The people of Guatemala. (Samantha wasn’t around when I asked for the second favorite thing.)

Bren-If you ever think of an embarrassing story about Jack, I’m sure that will be my favorite thing. My real favorite thing was seeing people be healed and becoming Christians.

Melissa-The people here. (The morning devotions.)

Lori-Meeting the people of Guatemala. (The drive to San Pablo. It was very bumpy.)

Haley-Meeting people in Guatemala. (Haley wasn’t around when I asked for the second favorite thing.)

Jace-Connecting with the people of Guatemala. (The “roller coaster roads”.)

Tracy-Reconnecting with the staff of Medical Missions Ministries and sharing the whole experience with my son Jack.

The most unusual thing about Guatemala:

Susan-I’ve been here many times so nothing seems unusual.

Maia-We had to use a bathroom with the door falling off.

Jack-Tortillas are served with every meal.

Samantha-The bathrooms. (When asked to elaborate she said, “That you had to bring your own toilet paper.”)

Bren-Seeing a man with evil demons inside him.

Melissa-In the clinic I examined a child with a nose mass. It didn’t look like nasal tissue.

Lori-Sleeping outside with the whole team.

Haley-All the physical contact.

Jace-Seeing the miracles.

Tracy-Wild pigs on the side of the road.

Don’t these lists make you want to come with me in the future?!?

Yesterday the Fellowship Bible Church team and our group met for devotions at 7 am. Dr. Alb led us for two hours in a time of prayer, singing, and teaching, He went over the roles that we would have in the clinic and the purpose of each role. He emphasized that we are using medicines to meet the immediate needs of the people. At the same time we show kindness and compassion toward them by listening attentively and praying with and for them in the counseling stations. Although they likely came into the clinic for a physical need, many also have deep spiritual needs and we have the great privilege of sharing the good news of Jesus with them.

Some things that Dr. Alb taught us during devotion time:

Romans 8:28-All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purposes.

Many people come on a mission trip with a list of things to check off and are extremely task-oriented. He wants us to redefine our role during the mission trip to also focus on relationships, not just tasks.

Jeremiah 33:3-Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Dr. Alb told us a story about the new ministry center. MMM just dedicated their expansion in May. When I was in Guatemala last summer Dr. Alb shared with me that the ministry is and has committed to stay debt-free. They had already begun building the new structure because God had provided all the funds needed for the building. However, there were many other expenses (primarily furniture and bedding for 24) that had not yet been supplied. For the ministry center to be most effective in housing teams it needed beds and other furniture.

Since the money had not come in for these additional expenses, Dr. Alb was concerned and asked God to lead him regarding this situation. Every day for the next two weeks he awakened early in the morning, which was unusual for him. Finally at the end of the two weeks he experienced something more when he awoke--a response. Dr. Alb felt that God was telling him that when he focused on the things that he did not have or the things he wished he had, that he was not focusing on his relationship with God. Then God led him to the verse Jeremiah 33:3, which I quoted above. God wanted Dr. Alb to focus on Him rather than dwell on what was still needed.

Dr Alb summed up his teaching when he said, “Medicines draw people in. Then we may listen to them, love them, meet their needs, and teach them.” This would be following the model of how Jesus loved and taught people when he was in the world.

We were about to head out to run a clinic in a rural Guatemalan village, and Dr. Alb finished up the devotional time reminding us of these verses from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.

What a great passage to keep in mind as we go out into the village!

An update from later in the day:

We saw 81 people in clinic today. I met with 8 people in the counseling station where I prayed for their needs if they wanted me to do so. All of them did want prayer, and one person particularly made an impression on me. He was out of work and his wife an 5 children did not have any reliable income. He had an accident (fell from a tree during work) and had several injuries, some serious. While his immediate injuries had healed he still had much pain as a result of this accident. Four of his children had pneumonia and he didn’t have any money to pay for their medical care. He wasn’t able to provide much food for the family so he frequently let them each while he did not eat. He said that he had been praying for a Bible because he wanted to learn more about God. He had a few parts of the Bible but not the entirety. I was so disappointed that we did not have Spanish Bibles on hand at this clinic. I’d really value your prayers for this man and his family.

An update from Wednesday:

We just returned from spending Monday - Wednesday hosting clinics in rural villages. I will try to post additional information on our activities and what I have learned tomorrow.