Follow Up

We could have called this blog “treading water”, which is what we’re doing in the new photo (finally!) at the top of our blog. It could also be representative of what it sometimes feels like we’re doing here—hanging in there for the remainder of our time here.

We had a great time at Semuc Champey, where beautiful natural pools of clear water are perpetuated by limestone deposition. Our accommodation was fun, but despite Tori’s strategy, the bed bugs did bite.

It was a challenging drive in and out, and the car made it fine. However, now it’s back in the shop again. Nothing serious... we’re praying that it will be reliable for our trip, and that we’ll be able to sell it before we leave in June.

This morning I finally got to go mountain biking in Guatemala! It was raining, so it made me feel quite at home. Rainy season is certainly here, bringing showers—and often lightning and thunder—nearly every afternoon or evening. Fortunately most mornings are still clear (today being an exception of course!).

Getting our visas extended was another fiasco. The requirements were not set out clearly, particularly for kids... You couldn’t really know exactly what they want until trying to submit the application. However, there wasn’t anything a nearby lawyer in a shady office couldn’t fix... this time just the office was shady, not the lawyer.

Tori, Aaron, Hannah, and Matthew delivered some of the gifts for the kids at Colegio Monroy last week. The children there are thrilled with their new skipping ropes, balls, books and especially games that they can now play with at school. Our kids will be bringing similar things to the El Gorrión school next week, thanks to the generosity of all the Bridge Kids!

It was great to spend time with Phil and Judy Bergen’s Love Guatemala team here. (There’s a link to their blog on this page.) We partnered with Casa Shalom Orphanage, serving quite a few people at a clinic we held there. Terri got to share with the nurses at Casa Maria (home for the elderly). On the same day, I was finally able to do a biopsy on the large wound Doña Dorotea has had for a long time. (See the picture which was taken early in our time here. Or don’t!) It confirmed my suspicions of skin cancer. Please pray for her as we try to find a workable treatment for her—there are no plastic surgeons to do skin grafting at the national hospital.

This is a typical frustration here. For example, Maria, the elderly lady with the fractured hip I mentioned before, was never offered any treatment for a variety of reasons, and was eventually taken home by her son. A precious 63 year old woman with endometrial cancer presented to the Magdalena clinic with pain and bleeding from her endometrial cancer. The national cancer service is able to diagnose, but the treatments are just too expensive for her caring family, who will have to look after her at home as well. Julia is a beautiful old lady who has been unable to walk because of pain in her leg since she her hip repair over a year ago. This week we brought her to the national hospital for some X-rays, which showed that the prosthetic was loose. The chances of her getting a revision surgery on this joint are pretty slim. Justin, a Trinity Western student, and I visited some premature twins and their family in their home in Magdalena. The babies were born at around 32 weeks, and were discharged after little more than two weeks in hospital. Thank God they’re doing well, and pray for their health as they are still very vulnerable.

Other follow-up: Rosa’s little grand-niece Marixa is doing well, now drinking donated formula. Rosa herself is also improved and will hopefully be able to avoid surgery, taking medicine we were able to buy with donated funds. Her brother Carlos (Marixa’s grandfather) who had been bed-ridden after an accident, was back to work at least part-time, last time I saw him. Brablio, the fellow with the strange attacks, has only had very minor episodes compared to prior. Thank God, because I don’t think he’s being compliant with his medicine, but we did pray for him!

Our turtles are no more. Sam escaped a few days after Ella’s traumatic death.

Once again, thank you all for your love and support. Pray that God continues to accomplish what He wants to during our last two weeks here before we leave on our road trip!