29 March 2025

Reposted from EstherNina.com

During our last trip to Guatemala, on February 23rd 2025, we were able to visit Esther’s grave for the first time since 2018. We took a trip to Chichicastenango with all the kids and Areli’s sister, Abigail. We brought some gold paint for Areli and her sister, Abigail to repaint the letters of the gravestone. The sun was beating down at midday as they cleaned things up and painted letters and Sherwood tried to keep the kids occupied. We sang praise songs during the work and God was with us. Once again, we all sang Blessed Be the Name of the Lord as Sherwood led it on the guitar.

It was the first time some of the kids had been there. It was a testimony to them and others that God is always good, even when His plans lead us through very hard times. It was a little sad, but more than anything, we rejoiced for all that God had done over the past nearly 15 years. He has truly done more than we could have ever thought or imagined. Throughout the grieving process, he has brought us closer together as a couple and added 5 more unique and wonderful children to our family.

After we left the cemetery, we met up with Erv and Sally, our missionary friends who were also back in Guatemala for a time. They were one of the many brothers and sisters who went through this difficult time with us. Especially in recent times, they too have passed through some very difficult situations, but they still followed through with an old promise to come and build a house for a woman that they had known and loved.

At the next hospital staff devotional, Sherwood led a Bible study focusing on the early chapters of Job. We   still find these chapters to be a comfort to us. This time, Job 1:20 really jumped out to those in the study. Right after getting the news about all he had lost, the Bible goes on to say, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.” Just when you think it is going to say he did something like “cried out ‘why me?’”, “entered a deep depression”, or “cursed God”, it says WORSHIPED!!!. If Job could worship God after so many bad things happened to him, we should all be able to worship God in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves, not though our own strength but because He is worthy of it all.

16 February 2025

After many years, we got to see our old friend Pastor Eliceo tonight.  When we came to Guatemala full-time in 2009, we attended the church where he pastored.  For about two years, we helped to lead the music.  Prior to this, they were using recorded music for worship.  Our last year, we stepped down from leading to allow others in the church to take over.  Pastor Eliceo has continued to be a leader in the Torre Fuerte churches.  As part of this, he now pastors a church in San Andrés, which is about a half an hour from Canillá.  Many of the nurses and hospital staff come from San Andrés and some of them are a part of this church.

We rolled on the now-paved road to San Andrés in our borrowed Suburban remembering the old days when we used to make the trip on all dirt or mud.  The interesting thing is that the church is located very close to where Adonai had a clinic for many years until COVID.  However, in order to get there, you have to squeeze through a mostly hidden alley, down into a ravine, and back up a steep dirt road to a plateau on the other side.  I put the truck in 4 low and it handled it well.  We wanted to get some interesting pictures of the short but difficult drive, but we arrived late and we had other issues when it was time to leave.

During the service, Pastor Eliceo asked Areli and me to share something with the brothers and sisters.  Among other things, I shared about how Pastor Eliceo was such a help to us when we came to Guatemala and especially when we went through the difficult time with our first daughter going to be with the Lord.  He led the burial service for her at the cemetery in Chichicastenango.  He along with another brother, also made the 5-hour drive to the border of Mexico to pick up Areli’s mother and aunt and brought them to us.

When we left Guatemala in 2011, we didn’t know if we would ever be back.  Pastor Eliceo was excited to see us along with our kids and encouraged that we have continued to come to help the people of Guatemala.  We were also encouraged to see that Pastor Eliceo has continued to work hard in the service of the Lord for all these years.  Unfortunately, it seems even more common in Guatemala that pastors fall away and stop serving the Lord.  Please pray that God would continue to protect and sustain him and his family and raise up many pastors like him to shepherd the people of Guatemala.

When it was time to leave the service, the next adventure began.  One of the tires of the truck was very low and the transmission was stuck in 4 low.  Some of the church members led us to a tire repair place and filled up the tire.  I phoned a friend to help me get the truck back into 2-wheel drive (apparently it likes to be in neutral, not drive, not park…to shift back to 2-wheel drive).  Thankfully, we made it back home with no more problems.  

15 February 2025

We continue to see a mix of not-so-sick and more severely ill patients at the hospital and also at the clinics.  Yesterday, I did pediatrics.  I was expecting to see some rather sick kids.  However most of the moms were just looking for vitamins and worm pills.  On the other hand, there is a lot of diabetes and high blood pressure.  These patients go into the “chronic” program and have regular followup and lab monitoring.  It seems like we are adding people every day.

Here are a few cases that stick out:

A couple of weeks ago up at the Chiminisihuan clinic, I saw a young man who was complaining of headaches and not sleeping well.  Upon further questioning, he revealed that his 6-month old boy had died a couple of months ago from hydrocephalus.  He had gone to the government system and received a lot of help this way.  However, every time the infant had a shunt put in to relieve the pressure on the brain, he had to pay.  He borrowed money from many people and even sold his land.  However, the child ended up passing away.  Since then, he has not been sleeping well and has the constant stress of needing to repay approximately $2000 to the people that he had borrowed from.  Medicine was not going to help him much, but he allowed me to pray for him.

On Thursday, at the Santa Elena clinic, I saw an elderly man who came for chronic care.  The diagnosis was clear as he walked in with a Parkinsonian gait and a pill-rolling tremor in both of his hands.  He didn’t talk too much but his daughter states that he had been serving in the church but was now very limited by his Parkinson’s disease.  Adonai has been providing his Sinemet (carbidopa/levodopa) which is the only accessible for this condition.  He gladly received prayer. 

Today, we saw an 82-year-old woman at the hospital who has begun having abdominal pain and yellow about 2 weeks ago.  Her bilirubin was extremely high which was causing the color, but it was not clear what was causing this.  She reported that she was a Christian.  There was not much we could do for her medically and recommended she go to the government hospital with a copy of her lab results for further testing.  But there was some peace in knowing that if she was a believer, come what may, her future in heaven was secure.

Also today, we saw a 79-year-old Quiché-speaking lady, Isabel, who was brought in by her family in a wheelchair.  She had recently begun swelling more on her legs.  She apparently had some heart tests done about a year ago, but the family said they did not have those records anymore.  She was very quiet.  The family explained that she has been depressed since her husband died about a year ago.  She chooses to live alone rather than with other family members who live nearby.  She does not want to give up her house.  Labs showed a severe anemia for which transfusion was recommended.  This is not something that we could offer her and she also was referred to the government hospital.  However, she made it clear that she did not want to go.  The family said that when they got home, they were going to gather all the children and have a family meeting about what to do.  Juana, the nurse who usually translates the preaching sessions is a strong believer.  I asked her to share the Gospel with Isabel in Quiché which she was glad to do.  I told her that it didn’t matter if I could understand it, but the patient needed to know about Jesus in her language.  Despite from what I could tell was a good presentation of the Gospel, Isabel said she was still not ready to accept Jesus into her heart.  Please pray for Isabel that God would open her heart and allow her to receive forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus.  And that he would provide for her medical needs.  It is good to know that she has been given the invitation of the Gospel.  

14 February 2025

Elizabeth finally got her chance to go up the mountain to the Chiminisihuan clinic. It looks like she enjoyed every bit of it.

I finally got the video done:

7 Feb 2025

We have been in Guatemala for almost two weeks. It’s hard to believe. We are excited to be staying all together with Areli’s sister, Abi. We are staying about 10 steps from the hospital. Like usual, the missionaries have made things very comfortable for us. Unlike the place where we stayed last visit, there are NO scorpions.

I have been helping out with the clinics as usual. It has not been terribly busy most days. However, I have also been doing other worthwhile ministry activities. I have been leading Wednesday devotional time for the hospital staff for the past two weeks. Last week, we studied Philippians Chapter 3 talking about the Apostle Paul and worldly accomplishments, which he considered garbage compared to knowing Christ. This week, focused on the Word of God and did a rapid fire of the themes of each of the books on the New Testament. We currently have a challenge going on for the staff to tell me the all of the books of the New Testament in order and recite Joshua 1:8 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17 from memory. The first 6 will get a special prize that I brought from the U.S. So far two have done it and another is very close. It is our desire that the staff would grow in their love for and understanding of The Word.

Also, I got the blessing of a borrowed guitar and helped out with the missionary English worship service with Rebekah playing violin, Areli playing cajon for the first time, and another missionary playing keyboard. For more than a year, they have sporadically had musicians to do live worship. We lifted up the name of Jesus through song, Scripture, and prayer.

Apart from this, we have been fellowshipping with the missionaries, visitors, and Guatemalan hospital workers. I plan to post more about the clinics in our remaining 3 weeks (time is going fast). Thanks to all who have been supporting us through prayer. God is good.