Guatenews from Linda

Massage training for midwives

2010-01-11T20:24:00.000-08:00

For my good friends, the ladies of Connie Bach's ICEA team last August, here is some entertaining video taken from August 8th's midwives conference in Huehuetenango.

Samayoa family update

2009-09-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know and love the Samayoa family, I need to let you know they have a lot going on in their lives right now.

As far as getting little Jose his operation, Luis tells me that Jose is at the top of the list to be evaluated and hopefully operated on by an American medical mission team that will be working out of the local military hospital. This is supposed to take place at the end of this month, and we are almost there. I don't know anything more about this, including whether or not there will be any cost to the family. Unfortunately, I won't have time to get much more information until the scheduled date is upon us. Jose is getting taller, more handsome, and more talkative in recent months, and I would love your help in praying that the information I'm getting from Luis is correct and he has a successful operation.

The timing of this potential operation is very tricky because Miriam is in the final days of her pregnancy as well. I took her to have an ultrasound on Sept 15th courtesy of some donated funds, and the baby appears to be well and healthy. The doctor who read the ultrasound believes the baby is another boy ... poor Miriam ... 6 men in her household! Since finding out the gender, they have decided on the name Adiel Abasai. Miriam has good days and bad days with this pregnancy, and is resting as much as possible now. The ultrasound doctor said there were only 20 days left till the due date, which puts us around the 5th of October. Miriam had been told by a doctor at Casa Materna that her due date would be around mid to late October, so she was surprised. At the time of the ultrasound, the baby already weighed 5 1/2 pounds, so things are looking good. They do plan to have her tubes tied at the time this baby is delivered.

Despite the relief of having more information after the ultrasound, Miriam is quite fearful as the time to deliver approaches, because of the difficulty she had at Jose's birth almost 5 years ago. She was not well attended at the National Hospital, and had a normal delivery basically because they left her in a bed alone as Jose was born. This concerns me as well. Right now, the baby is sitting up in her womb, and will have to make a 180 to be delivered. If he doesn't, it means a C-section, which the family cannot afford in terms of timing, Miriam's recovery time, etc. They don't have a doctor following this pregnancy, and Miriam has only been checked by a midwife and the Casa Materna doctor. I am taking her for another appointment at Casa Materna on Monday. I would love to be able to take her to Aprofam or another private hospital for the delivery, but at the moment there are no funds for that.

Luis' bicycle shop was not getting much business as his location was a little off the path of traffic. So he came to me, having scouted out for a new location. I checked out his new spot, agreed it would be much better traffic-wise, and it is the same rent as the building he had. We reached an agreement with the landlord and moved his tools and equipment to the new location yesterday. He and I are both pretty happy about this. The new spot is just a half a block from the National Hospital, on that main highway by the Hotel Potosi. Luis needs a professional-looking paint job to put the name of the business on the building, and a fabric sign out front where it can be easily seen by street traffic. But we went ahead and moved him before the end of the month so he could start drawing in business. His rent is paid through October at the new location, but he has used almost all the start-up repair parts we bought for the prior shop, and we are praying about how to get him some more repair parts quickly.

There are no developments as far as getting them a better house. However, the road to their house is about 30% improved because some business or municipal entity decided to come through their neighborhood and install water lines, and improved the road so they could work in there more easily. Thus, it is easier to get to their home, and very shortly, they will have running water in their house, instead of having to haul water in.

The other boys are doing well. Yorkiny is still the family star, doing well in school and in church youth events. He is already being given opportunities to lead worship, and I want to get him started with music lessons of some kind, probably guitar lessons, at Josue & Linda's school, CREA. There are no news flashes on Ferlandy or Jairo, but they are well.

God bless them everyone!

Wow, am I behind on this blog!

2009-09-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

My apologies to my followers for not updating this blog in so, so long. I didn't realize how long it had really been since my last entry. I repent! So much happened this summer. I will begin to work over the next two weeks on sharing the news of the mission teams that came to us, and of my trip to Peru, but first ...

Recent Guatefotos

2009-07-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Selenita gets reacquainted with my niece Anita Ochoa Rosales at the Wendy's in Xela on June 26th

Juanito enjoys Kailah's birthday cupcakes at an early 1st birthday party, June 26th.

Mama Nora and her boy at rubber ducky time, June 27th.

Maria's mother, Margot, is in Huehue for 2 months. They stopped by to visit on June 29th.

Sammy and I ran into Pastor Pedro in Chinaca, and he showed us where he would like to buy land to plant a church and build a new adobe church building. There are no other churches in this neighborhood. As you can see, this lot has road frontage.

Here is a shot of the same lot looking away from the road. The cost of the land would be around $7,000, depending on the negotiations. We already have $1,500 in donated money towards the adobe church building, which would cost $2,500 to build. This spot is about 20 minutes drive from our mission house.

The beautiful Johana, with a blue background for the 4th of July.

Nora Zemler and her mom, Cathy, who has come down to Huehue to help Nora through the end of this adoption process. This was also taken July 4th.

Beautiful weather in beautiful Zaculeu Ruinas.

Mission house rose from our 1st floor patio garden.

Claudia's daughter Marcela, all dressed up for church yesterday. She is now almost 7 months old and has her mama's smile.

After yesterday afternoon's Bible study, Generacion de Fe members Pepe, Josue, Kildare, Franklin, Kennet and I (behind the camera) cram in to listen to the final mix of "Eterno Señor" at the deluxe studio of Amanecer Records. Gloria a Dios!

Prayer requests

2009-07-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

Howdy, all -

I'd like to put several prayer requests before you guys.

First, Sammy is have some warning signs with his high blood pressure already, and may have to return to the U.S. much sooner than we had hoped. Please help us pray that he and Gale will be able to stay the entire time they had scheduled, until August 2nd. We need them here, and they want to be here.

Next, we ask for your prayers for the mission teams that are headed our way this month. There are three teams. First team in is from TN, arriving July 9th and traveling to Huehue on the 10th. They will be working in Fundacion Salvacion orphanage, running a medical mission in the town of Chinaca, and assisting with a church construction in Chinaca. Please pray that God would bless each team member's sacrificial obedience to be here with us, protect them from illness and danger, and make them more useful than they ever imagined in the Father's hand.

The Zemlers' adoption of Johana is progressing, but the progress continues to be much slower than we would all like to see. Baby brother John Michael has been pretty sick, but is coming around now. He feels much better today, so we definitely praise the Lord for that. Nora and Todd still desperately need your prayer support and encouragement. Nora has now been in Guatemala (mostly without her husband) for 5 months, excepting one week when she was able to visit home. Todd has missed many milestones in his son's young life, including John's first birthday on June 30th (see photo above). The financial strain is enormous and both Todd and Nora's employers are tiring of their adoption-related absences. Please lift them up, specifically asking that the remaining steps in this process would be smoothed out and accelerated by our God, who has all power and authority in heaven and on earth.

As I've mentioned before, Kailah, Scott, Sammy and Gale, and I all need the Lord's clear direction, provision, and encouragement regarding our future ministry in Guatemala or elsewhere.

Finally, I ask your prayers for the members of the Generacion de Fe worship ministry. Our drummer, Johan, is suffering problems with his hearing and has been told by his doctor not to play drums for two months. This is very concerning given his young age (19) and gift to play drums, and also means the band will not be practicing or playing together for the time that Johan is on the shelf. Also, most of the band members are having serious financial problems, many times wondering where the money for their family's next meal is coming from. Please pray for more projects to come into Josue's studio, for Pedro's carpentry business, and for more music students for the five GDF 'ers who are giving music lessons to individuals. All these guys plus Linda are serving and giving much of their free time at their churches. I would love to see God honor their hearts for Him and their service for the Kingdom, and provide abundantly for His obedient children. There's not a lazy one in the bunch. Also, please help us thank the Lord for giving us new songs and time to record them, and pray that He would bless our group Bible study. We have our second study meeting tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you, prayer warriors. Your reward awaits you in heaven.

It's July already?

2009-07-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome, family, friends, and stray passersby, to my latest ramblings.

We partially hosted a 17-member mission team from Village Church June 12th - 21st. I say partially because the first part of the trip was spent in Guatemala City (actually San Jose Pinula), getting to know the kids and staff at Fundaniños orphanage and visiting Casa de Libertad church. These two places will be the focus for Village Church mission teams in the near future. It was a blessing for me to be with this mission team during this first part of their trip, since there were so many returning team members with big hearts for Guatemala, outstanding young men and women who I know are kindred spirits. It was also a blessing to see Fundaniños up close for myself; to get to know the founding family, the Bendfeldts; and to spend time with Kike and Carol, the sweet couple who are the on-site directors of that orphanage. While I can see the great work being done in that church and in Fundaniños, I do not hear the Lord calling me to those places. I do see my relationship with them continuing, and being one of mutual support and encouragement.

Once we traveled to Huehue, it was my great honor to serve this mission team as they poured themselves out at the Zona Juvenil lunch, at Amparo de San Jose, and with the Samayoa family. The Lord was glorified in the hundreds of large and small acts of kindness they performed during their 2 full days and 3 nights in Huehue. Several of the team members seem to be bitten by the missions bug. I look for them to be called out by the Lord to go full-time at the right time in the near future, to a place and ministry of His choosing. I would certainly love for that place to be Huehue, as my flesh and spirit feels our crying need of more workers to help us here. But much more important than what I would like to see, I want the Lord's direction and will in their lives.

After the customary day of relaxation in Antigua, we drove in the dark through heavy fog to deliver the team to the airport at 5:45 Sunday morning June 21st. Guatemalan fog is God's way of saying, "You absolutely cannot get through this safely by yourself. You need Me, and I've got you."

Upon our return to Huehue, we had a whirlwind week of washing sheets, car repairs, passing around a cold to each other, preparing for Sammy and Gale's arrival back in Huehue, and carting sick kids to the doctor. John Michael Zemler has been sick for several days, but should do better now that, as of today, we have changed pediatricians and medicines. I also took Selena's cousins (Irlando's 3 kids) to the pediatrician at Mimi Echeverria's request. This family needed medical attention so much, and I was so glad the Lord arranged to provide that help through me. Then I took the Echeverria family with Selenita to Xela last Friday. It turned out to be a wild goose chase in terms of making progress with her paperwork, but it was an enjoyable outing and a fine lunch at Wendy's. Don't laugh. Wendy's is a fine lunch, depending on your perspective.

And now, the mission house is unnaturally quiet as Kailah left Guatemala on June 28th for her summer visit to the U.S. She will return with the next Village Church mission team on July 23rd. In the meantime, we will have a 16-person team from TN in for July 9th - 17th, and another team of 8-10 people from PA arriving the evening of the 17th to stay the weekend with us. The good news is that Sammy and Gale have arrived and are here for this month ... the cavalry just rode up. The busyness of our mission house seems to be cyclical ... feast or famine. Lord, I'm so glad these teams want to come that, despite my occasional lapses into worrying how in the world we can pull this off, I give You the glory for bringing them, and You are the one who will take care of the details and challenges. You don't need my help; you just allow it. And You will make each of them a blessing to those you have called them to serve.

My sanctuary is the Generacion de Fe worship ministry - my nine sons and one daughter. We have finished recording our first original song and it is being heavily played on the radio in Huehue and via the Internet. We made great progress this week recording our second song, "Eterno Señor". Truly, I can't imagine why they keep letting this old lady play and sing, especially on the recordings. But Lord, "Eterno Señor" is sounding wonderful. I can't hear it often enough. Checha, our first lead guitarist, is the receiver of both of the first two songs. God has given Checha a wonderful heart and gifts, and Josue has been given an incredible gift to arrange music. We also started a band Bible study last Sunday, and we can already feel how this will grow us together in the Lord and prepare us for our future. God has big plans for GDF, and we ask that you pray for our spiritual growth, openness to receive new songs, dedication to prayer and study, and that the Lord would walk ahead of us, clearly leading us where He wants us to go.

Please give me grace on the sporadic nature of my posts. I hope that God will help me be more regular about updating this blog, even when things are really busy. God bless you all and prosper you in every way.

The latest from Huehue

2009-06-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well, friends, we have returned to the land of adventure ... earthquakes, riots, trash heaps, the arrival of Dr. Pepper. Huehue is a city of surprises.

Some of the surprises have been sad. Our friends and team members, Kevin and Charissa Brimage, have decided to move their family back to Dallas as soon as possible, so they can look for housing before the school year starts and Kevin can try to find a teaching job for the coming school year. The Village Church - church home to the Brimages, to Kailah, and to Scott - has determined that the Lord is leading them in another direction. They will be refocusing their mission efforts at a young church and orphanage in Guatemala City, instead of coming to Huehue. We will have their first mission team with us for a few days this month, but Village Church has not determined whether their second and third teams this year will spend any time in Huehue. This decision throws the future plans of Scott, Kailah, and myself into much more question. Village Church has extended to each of us the offer of working with them in Guatemala City. Does the Lord still want each of us - any of us - in Huehue?

Meanwhile, as we think and pray about that question, we are in the midst of re-planning and rearranging given these monumental changes. In mid-July we will host a mission team from TN that wants to help with a church construction, hold a medical mission/outreach, and possibly do a water chlorinator project as well. What a tremendous blessing they will be to the town of Chinaca (pronounced Chee-na-KA), where we are laying the groundwork for their mission efforts. As that team leaves on the 17th, a weekend team from a sister church in PA will be arriving to work with the kids in Zaculeu. Those two teams will miss out on Kailah's renowned cooking, as she will be in the States to visit family and friends during those dates. I will enlist a lot of kitchen help so no one starves or is poisoned by my cooking.

The danger factor is up in Huehue over the last few months, and that fact was brought home to us yesterday in a very sad way. The uncle of our friend and GDF original band brother Esly Maldonado was murdered Wednesday night by men attempting to rob him of a motorcycle he was riding. I attended my first Guatemalan wake last night. I tell you this not to put you in fear for our safety, because we are careful and the Lord protects us. But I would not be giving you a true picture of my life in this place if I were to leave out such an experience as this. And you will not understand or appreciate the amazing change the Lord will make in Huehue in the coming years if you don't understand where we are right now.

So please help us give thanks in all circumstances, and help us pray for clear guidance from the Lord and courage to be obedient in all things. Each day in Huehue brings blessings and possibilities, just as it has every day since I moved here. We are all being grown up by the Lord, and we are grateful that He cares about us too much to leave us the way we are. We are grateful that He uses us, and many times encourages us by letting us see some of the impact we are having here. We praise His holy name, and we know we are on the victorious team. We are the Lord's.

Recent photos of Selena Lucrecia Walker

2009-05-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

Birthday princess

Happy with Lourdes at P.T. today

The Zemler family meets the Samayoa family

2009-05-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday afternoon Nora Zemler and her kids and I decided to visit the Samayoa family. I had some gifts to deliver to Ferlandy, and we wanted to make sure they had groceries as well. A great time was had by all. The family has stopped focusing on feeling shame because of their surroundings, and really enjoys the trips we make out to their home.

To update you on Samayoa news, it appears we have made contact with a medical mission team who will arrive twice this year and will provide the surgery needed for little Jose Samayoa providing he is confirmed as a candidate for the surgery. PRAISE THE LORD! While I was in San Antonio, a small but mighty sister church donated $500 towards Jose's surgery. May God richly reward them!

Ferlandy turned 19 on May 10th, and is periodically receiving physical therapy which a therapist is donating for free. However, they have to get him to her office, and that will get more complicated as rainy season progresses. Please help me pray about whether I should assist with that once-a-week transportation task. The man who was helping Ferlandy learn to read has ceased to come out to the house, so another option is also needed there. I want to try again to contact the social worker that was helping oversee the task of helping Ferlandy learn to read.

Fundacion Salvacion update

2009-05-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

I have the sad task of reporting that we are no longer permitted to work in Fundacion Salvacion orphanage. In this spiritual battle, we lost this particular ground apparently because of the orphanage director's misunderstanding and Satan's twisting of much of the honest information provided on the Greater Things Ministries website (the ministry of our dedicated team members Kevin and Charissa Brimage). Thus, no one on our team is allowed to visit Fundacion Salvacion, nor are our visiting mission teams permitted to work there. This development occurred during my recent visit to Texas. While we have lost part of our hearts, our hearts are mostly breaking for the children and workers of Fundacion Salvacion. We have reason to believe they have not been told why we are no longer coming to visit them. Please pray for their continued well-being and that other volunteer workers and donors will step into the gap to help them.

For those of you who donated to Fundacion Salvacion last month via my birthday wish on Facebook, please be assured that the funds you donated will still go to Fundacion Salvacion, and the kind donations you made will certainly help those abandoned and orphaned children.

As the Tommy Walker song says, when we don't know what to do, we give God praise. We do praise the Lord that He is working all things together for the good of the children of Fundacion Salvacion, for the good of each of us on our missionary team in Huehue, and for the furtherance of His kingdom in Huehuetenango and Guatemala. God is sovereign, loving, merciful, just, and not a bit worried. He will give us the desires of our hearts as we delight ourselves in Him. We ask that you join us in praying for direction, as our hearts are still to help the children of Huehuetenango.

Rioting in Huehue, 05.20.09

2009-05-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning in the center of Huehue, riots broke out after a 30 year old bus driver and his 20 year old assistant were shot to death in their bus as it traveled by Paiz. Kailah, Nora and her kids were actually caught in the resulting traffic jam as they took Johana to the dentist, but didn't realize what the situation was at the time. According to national news reports, the bus driver had refused to pay extortion money and assasins were hired to kill him. A suspect was captured and arrested right away. But the public was so angered by this act of violence, and wanted to send a message to would-be extortionists, that some 150 tried to take the law into their own hands. They gathered outside the police station and insisted that the police hand over the suspect so they could lynch him. When the police did not, the rioting broke out and the police station was burned. As happened on April 24th, the police used tear gas, which affected children at two schools in the area of the riots, according to the Prensa Libre.

Kailah, Carlos & Mayra, Scott & Daniza, and Mark Wakefield were downtown at the Zona Juvenil lunch when this rioting broke out, but all were able to return home safely after some anxious moments, to say the least. The first video is one I shot this morning from our TV, and Kailah called me from Xela while I was shooting this, so I am talking to her in the background. The video below is also footage from local TV, a little closer view of the burning of the police station.

We thank you as always for your prayers for us, and give thanks and praise for the wonderful protection our Father gave us yesterday. Please pray that there be no further violence in Huehue today, and for a calming of the current political unrest in Huehuetenango and Guatemala in general. We need cooler heads to prevail.

Selena's birthday party redux, 05.17.09

2009-05-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon, the Echeverrias threw another birthday party for Selena, using the party room at the Brimages' residential area. There were probably around 80-90 people in attendance. Here is a little video for those interested. I will upload photos a little later.

2009-05-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your patience as I have been neglecting to update this blog.

As many already know, the week of April 16-23, our team of Huehue missionaries was wonderfully ministered to by a God-sent Care Team from Village Church. We stayed at two absolutely beautiful places at opposite sides of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. We each so needed this time, and God provided what we needed. My thanks to Village for including me in this trip at no cost to me except the gas to drive there ... an amazing gift. Thanks to Sarah, Chilli, Jason, Phillip, and Blake for their sacrificial service which made that week everything we had hoped for, and to the Lord for doing even more than we expected.

Since April 24th, I have been enjoying gringo time with my Dad and stepmother in Hondo, with my church family in San Antonio, and currently with my sister and family in the Dallas area. These visits are always a tremendous blessing and encouragement to me. This time has been all that, but also difficult in that there are great changes and challenging times in Huehue right now, and it is hard to be away from my home. I will be able to elaborate on that point once I return and have more information about it, but in the meantime, if you would continue to pray for Huehuetenango and for our missionary team there, it would mean so much to us.

God bless you all!

Praise report and prayer request

2009-04-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

Hola a todos from beautiful Panajachel.

Today's praise report is astonishing. This past Thursday, after several frustrating months of trying to arrange a meeting, the Echeverria family met with Selena's uncle Irlando and with Selena's birth mother in their home. This was the first time for Selena's birth mother to see her daughter in about 10 months. After some tricky negotiations, the Lord gave the Echeverrias favor, and Selena's mother did finally put her fingerprint on the document needed to make the Echeverrias the legal temporary substitute family for Selena. This document also contains wording mentioning Josh and Angela Walker as the parents who will be adopting Selena. This development comes just as many of us were beginning to wonder if the birth family had possibly decided to contest the planned adoption.

We bless the Lord God Almighty, who has all power and authority in heaven and on earth, and thank those of you who have been faithfully praying for Selenita.

Now, we also ask for your prayers for baby Chepe, a beautiful 16 month old boy from Fundacion Salvacion orphanage whose smile can melt your heart. Chepe is in the National Hospital in Huehue with pneumonia and rotovirus. Our Lord is willing and able to heal, and we want to enlist your help in jumping on the hotlines to heaven. Thanks so much for taking the time to pray. We see so many positive answers to prayer here, and we want to make sure Chepe's return to health is one of those positive answers.

Scenes from GDF at Fundacion Salvacion, 04.11.09

2009-04-12T20:12:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of shots of Generacion de Fe worship ministry, exalting the name of Jesus with the kids at Fundacion Salvacion.

Upcoming schedule and trip to Texas

2009-04-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

Buenos dias a todos mis hermanos y hermanas!

As you can tell from recent posts, we've been plenty busy this month even though we have not had any teams with us. Early this evening, Generacion de Fe will be giving our second concert at Fundacion Salvacion. The plan is for the band to do so every other month, and to minister at the orphanage whenever else we can be of service.

For Easter, Kailah and I plan to attend the service at Zaculeu, which they have moved to 4:00 am in the morning for this special occasion. We will probably arrive around 4:15 - 4:30, and see if anyone else beats us there. At noontime, we have planned a gringo Easter feast at the mission house, complete with an Easter egg (or basket) hunt for the kids. We currently have 6 kids in our posse ... Hannah and Hayden Brimage, Briyit Perez, Selena Walker, and Johana and John Michael Zemler. Right after lunch, I have band practice/recording with GDF. Finally, Kailah and I are looking forward to being able to be home Sunday evening to watch American Idol together for the first time this season.

This coming week all Huehuegringos will be preparing to leave either Thursday or Friday for a retreat week, meeting a "Care Team" from Village Church in Panajachel on Friday. I think the plan is to relax in every possible way, hang out at Lake Atitlan, eat good food with great people, and be ministered to, instead of ministers. I am so in favor of that! Thank you, Village Church, for paying my way when you didn't have to so I could be part of this special week. God is certainly using you to His glory in my life, in many different ways.

On Thursday, April 24th, Kailah and I will fly out to our respective hometowns in Texas for a short break before the summer rush of teams. I will be returning to Guatemala on May 14th.

May we all bless the Lord this Easter weekend, and never forget Jesus' love, sacrifice, and His power to bring life - to any and everyone - where once was only death. HE IS RISEN INDEED !

Sammy's despedida party, 04/06/09

2009-04-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

On Monday evening, Generacion de Fe worship ministry and the HeartSprings/Greater Things missionary teams held a "Hasta Luego" dinner for our Pastor Sammy at the mission house. Kailah outdid herself with a Guatemalan feast of pork "jocon" (not even sure I'm spelling that right, but boy was it good). Charissa brought Sammy's favorite "Principe" chocolate cake from the Casa Brava restaurant ... that was also a big hit.

At the end, it was just Sammy, Kailah, and I, the Echeverrias with Selenita, and GDF. We each told Sammy what he has meant to us. Sammy then blessed each one of us. It was special to have Checha's wife Veronica with us, and to have Esly back with us for this evening. Only Franklin was missing, out of town for the holidays. After all of that emotion, we then took Communion supper together. It was unforgettable.

The best news of all is that Sammy is not gone for good, but will be in Huehue as often as his health and finances allow. He and Gale are already have a flight back to Guate scheduled for June 3rd. He will be our #1 fundraiser in the States, and is courageously looking forward to what the Lord has for him, sacrificing once again his home and possessions to obey the Lord's call to move into this new stage of his life. God bless you, Sammy and Gale!

Nus from Chus (both rhyme with "juice")

2009-04-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

Chusito reports that the afternoon heat is pretty much insufferable over the last couple of weeks, but thank the Lord for tile floors to lay on. He also says there were way too many people in his house for Sammy's despedida dinner on Monday night, but he has since recovered his peace and is consuming the usual huge amounts of kitten chow. A new litter box (significantly bigger since Chusito has grown so much) was bought in Xela last week, and it is much more user-friendly. There is some talk around the mission house about having him fixed, but Chus knows he is not broken, so he's not worried about it. However, his mothers are giving it serious consideration before our "spring break" to the U.S.

Inauguration/Celebration Service at La Unidad

2009-04-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a little taste of the worship service last Sunday.

Church building inaugurated in La Unidad

2009-04-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, April 5th, we had the privilege of attending the inauguration of the new building for Iglesia Evangelica La Resurreccion in the village of La Unidad Patio de Bolas, La Capellania. This is the nearly finished project of the hard-working Pepperdine mission team and equally hard-working congregation. All that is lacking are the door and windows. The photo at left shows Pastor Sammy Wilson with 77 year old Silvestre, who is the patriarch of this church and perhaps the hard-working member of the construction crew, save for Pastor Pedro himself. Thank you to all who were used by the Lord to bring this to pass. The service was a true celebration, and Sammy, Kailah, and I were pleased to be your representatives. Gloria a Dios!

Scenes from Scott and Daniza's wedding, 04/04/09

2009-04-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

Update on the Zaculeu worship band

2009-04-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

On Sunday March 15th, God showered His blessings upon the Zaculeu worship team, and has not stopped since. We were able to present 2 guitars and a bass guitar to the team, and they were overwhelmed to see these instruments finally arrive and be put into their hands. To God be all the glory! However, it would be wrong to fail to thank God's chosen vessels that were used to bring this to pass ... Orrin Thomson, Kirk Grammer, Marc Uptmore, John David Martinez, Josh Walker, and Sammy Wilson.

As if that were not enough, a brand new set of Pearl drums were purchased the the very next day with money that God led Drew Davis to donate, and there is money left over.

To put the cherry on top of the sundae, Burt Baker had donated money for a keyboard. Sammy and I were able to go buy that item from our (now) close friends at Casa Instrumental. Emilio, the owner, is a brother who wants to help the Zaculeu church, and has been giving us good discounts on the drums and keyboard. We have a new friend in one of my favorite stores.

We had our first practice with all of the band and all of the instruments on Wednesday night. What a blast! Of course, it was a little rough since everyone is new on their instrument. But they were patient, supportive of each other, persistent, and obedient. The singers were very patient with the band, singing phrases over and over. In 2-3 weeks we may be ready to try all the band together playing one song, The Anthem (Aleluya). Hallelujah is right!

Anwswered prayers

2009-04-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is a quick report regarding the prayer ministry of the ladies of Kentucky mission team. Sammy and I spoke with Pastora Haydee Gomez Oliva de Perez this morning. Haydee has suffered pain for over a year from cysts on her ovaries, and had been told several times she needed surgery. The pain had become bad enough to make it tough for her to sleep most nights. Haydee received healing prayer at the women's conference at Tabernaculo de la Fe on Tuesday, March 17th. Today, Haydee tells us she is pain-free and has received her healing. She looked better than I have seen her look in months. Also, Haydee's right-hand ministry assistant, a lady named Carmelita, also received prayer from this team on Friday March 20th. Haydee told us Carmelita has been healed of various physical ailments brought on by stress, and has regained her peace.

Gloria a Dios! The photo above is of Gaye Rogers, Haydee and me, and Janet Blair at the conference on March 17th.

Rain at last

2009-04-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

We had the absolute blessing of an unexpected rain shower last evening that lasted about 30 minutes. It had not rained in months here in Huehue. The dust factor is way down this morning, and everything feels so much cleaner. I'm proud to report our new patio cover was up to the challenge ... no leaks anywhere! Gloria a Dios, and thanks, David!

For God so loved me

2009-03-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

This cute little boy is Jose Armando, and he just started attending Zaculeu church with his cousin, who is part of the fledgling worship band. Anyway, he is a natural worshipper, as you will see. Last Sunday he smiled so big at us and tried to sing along to everything as we led worship. Afterwards, Armando came up to me and wanted to sing to me. You'll hear him singing part of a song called De Tal Manera, and here are the translated words: "(Because of His love) I will live, because of His love I will sing, I will walk with my Jesus, because He loved me".

By request, our patio cover

2009-03-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

I know at least two of you want to see the patio cover David Smith built for us. This photo does not do it true justice. We like it a LOT. It's not too big, our flowers have sun, and everything is covered that we wanted covered. Notice the laminate on the outside of the guardrail above the washing machine, which should keep rain from pouring off our stairway into the washing machine. Genius. One disclaimer: any typos in this entry are Chusito's fault, as he keeps trying to climb on the keyboard while I'm tpying this.

The KY mission team has a big impact on Huehue

2009-03-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

For 1o days this month, we were blessed to host a mission team of six from Word & Spirit Church of Owensboro, KY. The three ladies of the team are connected with Healing Rooms of Owensboro and are specialists in healing prayer. The full effect of their prayer ministry in Huehue cannot be measured till we get to heaven, but the prayers of faith and healing they prayed over Selena Walker, Josh and Angela Walker, David and Jillian Smith, Nora and Johana Zemler and baby John Michael, Kailah, me, and many scores of women in Huehue will never be forgotten. They showed us the difference between prayers of hope and true prayers of faith. We are confident of receiving miraculous answers from the Lord and thank Him in advance.

As if that weren't enough, Gaye Rogers, Karen Martin, and Janet Blair gave four straight afternoons of women's conferences in four different locations. Two of the churches were at the top of the Cuchumatanes mountains, in the La Capellania area. This is difficult travel, and this team was attacked by illness. But they were so used by the Lord, and His plan could not be derailed. God was truly glorified in this team. Danny Baggerly worked at recording the conferences. Danny, Gaye's husband Bob, and Janet's husband Larry were greatly used in ministering to the men at La Resurreccion church in the mountains, and Bob and Larry were such wonderful examples of strong men supporting their wives in the ministry to which God has called them.

One of the more wonderful things the Lord did while this mission team was here was to bring us at the same time Josh and Angela Walker and David and Jillian Smith from Village Church in the Dallas area. These two young couples were a tremendous blessing to us and to the KY team, and vice versa. We got to have Selenita in the mission house with us again for a solid week, which was so fun. David took it upon himself (with help from Bob and Larry) to build the covering we had been needing for our first floor patio area, using materials another team had left behind for that purpose. It is beautiful and functional, and we are so grateful. Jillian was a wonderful support for us at Casa Materna and to Josh and Angela, with her sweet compassionate spirit, beautiful singing voice and some actual Spanish skills! Where there could have been frustration or irritation with that many folks in the mission house with different agendas, instead the Lord demonstrated His wisdom and provision, and made each of us a blessing to all the others ... many new brother and sister relationships formed.

We can only thank the Lord for all He does for us and through us, despite our weaknesses and defects. When He says our only job is to believe in Him, He means it. He will do the rest.

Selena's early 3rd birthday party

2009-03-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

On the evening of March 17th, we held an early birthday party in the mission house for Selena Lucrecia Walker, since her parents Josh and Angela were in town to visit her. Selena will be 3 on April 28th, and has made enormous progress in every way since we first knew her at Fundacion Salvacion children's home. There are several folks who have pitched in to care for Selena and help her get ahead, principally Kailah Jones and the Echeverria family. But we all know the credit belongs to the Lord, who kept her alive and now has Selena thriving. He watches over every little sparrow. It is a blessing to be part of her life. Please keep up the prayers for God to move heaven and earth to arrange for her adoption by the Walkers, and also for Josh and Angela, so that they will not lose heart.

The Pepperdine mission team rocks

2009-03-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

Last week we had the great joy and honor of hosting a team of 13 students from Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. These 9 guys and 4 girls had the goal of helping to build an adobe church building for Pastor Pedro's congregation in La Capellania. They also brought with them the funds for all the materials needed to complete the building.

For 4 entire days, it was a wondrous sight to see these kids working extremely hard side by side with the local congregation, establishing relationships, keeping the local children entertained, and being the aroma of Christ to everyone around them. We actually entertained all of La Capellania, as many came to watch (from a safe distance) this spectacle of gringos working on an adobe construction and also to watch us fill jugs and haul thousands of pounds of water to the construction site.

Each adobe brick weighed around 60 lbs. Each shovel of mud mortar felt like it weighed 30 pounds. Our water jugs weighed around 80 lbs each when full. After 4 days of this kind of labor, various small injuries, a gallon of sunscreen, and too many peanut butter sandwiches with Cheetos on them, all the walls of the church building were up, and we thanked God for the privilege of being His and being able to work together on this building, which He will use for His glory. To hear the congregation praying for the kids, and weeping in gratitude for their service, is something I will never forget.

Visitors have arrived

2009-02-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

Saturday afternoon I made my first solo trip to Antigua to meet up with Connie Bach and her fiance, Charlie. Connie is an R.N. who is a childbirth specialist and had been teaching in Antigua all of last week. This next 9 days, she will be teaching in Huehue. Monday morning, I will be taking Connie and her translator, Maria Rivas, to Hospital Altuve to get to know the staff there and see how they do things. Then Connie will begin her teaching stint there on Tuesday. Connie and Charlie were part of the Pastors' Conference team that came down here last February, so we enjoyed getting reacquainted last night at dinner and during our trip back to Huehue today. They asked to attend my regular Sunday night meeting with Generacion de Fe band, and got to see the tedius fun of working on our first CD recording. Altogether, it's been a relaxing weekend, even given almost 9 hours of driving. This photo, taken Sunday morning, is of the happy couple on the front porch of the very pretty and comfortable house we stayed at in Antigua last night.

2009-02-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

Kailah Jones with a bouquet of babies at Fundacion Salvacion this afternoon. Hannah Brimage is at left, holding Chepe.

Selena at physical therapy, 02/13/09

2009-02-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Guatenews!

2009-02-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

At last ... an easy way to check up on me and what's going on with our mission team in Huehuetenango. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think. Suggestions are welcome.