29 January 2016
On Monday, February 1st, we will be flying from Mexico City to Guatemala. If all goes as planned, we will hop right on a small plane and get to our final destination the same day. Canillá is a fairly remote town in the state of Quiché located on a plateau surrounded by mountains. Wikipedia has little more information about it and if you search Canillá, Guatemala on Facebook, you will find some interesting stuff. The internet and social media is alive and well among the residents. Our return flight is scheduled for February 29th. We will spend four weeks with the Ficker family and Adonai International Ministries.
After we left in November 2014, the ministry had just received governmental approval to build a hospital. This project is continuing forward and we are excited to see in person how things look today. Also we will meet some of the members of DOCS for Hope who have committed to staffing the hospital.
We will be the first to stay at a rented house offsite but nearby the missionary complex and hospital grounds. I anticipate helping out in the clinics during the week and meeting some new people. Beyond that, we are open to whatever God has for us.
Catching a lot of Latin American news right now is the mosquito-borne virus called Zika and its possible association with birth defects—primarily that of microcephaly (baby with a small head). There have been documented cases of infection in Guatemala and two no too far away from where we will be. However, it is the dry season and there have been no mosquitoes to speak of in Canillá. Despite this, Areli being nearly 18 weeks pregnant, is of some concern. We will take the mosquito precautions as recommended and trust God for his protection from any possible harm.
We appreciate your interest in our work and your prayer for us and the people that we will serve.
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