A Day of Rest

Our family has pretty consistently observed a Sabbath day of rest. It has looked different over the years but now we usually start on Saturday night with a family movie. We go to church on Sunday morning and then have lunch, either out or when we return home. We try not to turn on our computer at all. We usually play board games, video games etc. together as a family.

When we are in Guatemala, the Fickers celebrate their Sabbath on Wednesdays because of the clinics on the weekends. When we were there last time, they would begin the Sabbath on Tuesday night with worship.

I have to confess that I was tempted to not observe the Sabbath while we were there. I kept thinking that I had alot to do and we were only going to be there for a short time. And then I came across this verse:

Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest (i.e. the busiest time) you must rest. Exodus 34:21

Then I read this verse:

There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.
Leviticus 23:3

There isn't alot of "gray area" in either of those verses. The Lord so clearly commands us to keep the Sabbath that, in the Old Testament, the penalty for not observing a day of rest was death. What is so ironic about the whole idea of the Sabbath is that the Lord created it for us. The Sabbath is a gift.

After finding these verses, I was convinced that we needed to continue to observe the Sabbath even while in Guatemala. Really, I don't think it would have been an option to not keep it. Our kids look forward to the Sabbath every week and I don't think they would have agreed to "skip" it.

Last Sunday, we spent our Sabbath "geocaching". We wanted to do something outside so we loaded up some coordinates on the GPS and went in search of "treasure"!
Here is Hannah leading us on the hunt.

Samuel and Bethany are showing off some "treasure".

Clearly, these two need to ask for directions!

I love this picture!

We are Home

Our day started at 4:15 am yesterday and about 12 hours later (with an hour lost for daylight savings time), we were in our home in Nebraska. We had a little trouble with embroidery floss and craft scissors in the airport in Guatemala. (No trouble when we left the States with the same items, go figure!) Everything else went well and my family was at the airport in Omaha to pick us up when we landed.

Don is back at work today. He is experiencing a little culture shock (no one in Guatemalan clothing speaking Spanish/Quiche) and is really tired, but getting back into the swing of things. It is really cold here but better than when we left! The kids are playing with all the toys they left behind like it is Christmas. I am trying to figure out where to pick up our life here while unpacking our luggage and going through the mail.

Thanks for all of your support and prayers. It amazes me how the Lord works differently every time we go. He continues to stretch us and challenge us and asks us to let go of our comfort so that He can work. I am so thankful for His provision and protection. This relationship with Him is never boring or mundane. I pray that you all know Him personally and intimately. If not, please ask us, we would love to talk to you about Him.

A Day in the City

It is very hard to explain what it is like to drive in Guatemala City. Even as the passenger, I have a very active role in the process. If Don wants to get over into a right lane and there isn't much room, my job is to open the window and wave a little so the driver right next to us knows to make some room. There are also many one way streets and things are not marked well, or maybe not marked at all would be a better way to say it. All of this said, we left the hotel to go to the zoo.

It often takes us a while to get our bearings once we get started. We know the general vicinity and route to the zoo but we often have to circle around a couple times to find the right entrance etc. We did our usual couple times around and then arrived at the gate to park. The attendant came out and told us that the zoo was closed on Mondays. What a bummer! We were disappointed but were trying to remain positive (at least those of us who are generally a little more optimistic!).

We had another errand to run and we needed gas so we decided to get these things out of the way while we thought of plan B. We knew that there were museums somewhere in the City and we had been to a mall that has indoor rollerblading so we had a few options. We ended up calling Rachel Ficker to get suggestions from her. They had heard of a place called "Irtra" which sounded like fun. They were going to get us directions so while we waited we went to the mall (we knew there was a pet store there as well).

As we entered the mall, we immediately noticed that the rollerblade rink had been removed. That's ok (optimistic response), we can see a little dog at the entrance to the pet store. Turns out there is this one dog and another in a cage and a dozen or so acquariums with fish. That's ok, let's ask the salesclerk who works here about "Irtra". She has heard of it, gives us directions (all in Spanish in a City where things are not marked but the optimist thinks we can do it!!) and then she decides that we should call the place. Turns out, they are also closed on Mondays. Hmmmm, that's okay, let's go see if the museums are open! (They are probably closed on Mondays too - comments one pessimist).

Turns out, the museums are also closed on Mondays. But in our journey to find the zoo, the mall and now the museums, we passed Chuck E. Cheese's several times. The optimistic (who generally avoids this place in the States) suggests that we head there. The other optimist says "hopefully they aren't closed on Mondays". The one pessimist is getting crabby as he drives in circles searching for the entrance while the other pessimist insists that he told us to turn yet we missed the entrance because we were not listening plus they are probably closed on Mondays anyway!

We eventually made it to Chuck E. Cheese's and they were open! We actually had some fun (even the pessimists!) and the pizza wasn't too bad!





Unfortunately, we found out later that the Fickers had gone to Chuck E. Cheese's several years ago and had all gotten sick. That's ok, it was a long time ago and I'm sure that won't happen to us! : )

On Our Way Home

Today was our last day at the home and in clinic. After we said our good-bye's, we headed down the mountain. We had a nice and uneventful drive. A quick dinner at BK along the way and we were checked into the HoJo's by 8:00. Tomorrow we head to the zoo!

Last Few Days

We had a great day of clinic and packing and our final trip to the river this afternoon. The kids and I plan on going to the Home in San Andres tomorrow while Don does his final clinic. Then we are going to head to Guatemala City. We won't get there until late but we want to spend Monday in the City going to the zoo and having some fun before we get on the airplane early Tuesday morning.

We have had a great trip. No one is really ready to head home yet but the anticipation of a zoo trip seems to be helping a little bit. We would appreciate your prayers as we begin our journey back to the States. We hope to be a blessing as we serve tomorrow morning at the Home and in clinic and we pray for a smooth 5 hour trip to the City tomorrow afternoon/evening. Thanks for your support and prayers.

Clinic Notes and a Vist to the Home

As always, I have enjoyed my time seeing patients in the clinics. Along with the routine ear infections, rashes, and heartburn; there have been some really interesting and unusual cases. Last week I aspirated the largest ganglion cyst that I have ever seen (it's really hard to make tortillas when you can't bend your wrist all the way back - a big deal if that is essentially all you and your family eats). Another patient that stood out to me was a young man who had an infection of his right foot. Along with antibiotics and a cream, we gave him two pairs of socks (he only had one pair and they didn't look too good). What a blessing it was to be able to give something as simple as socks and know that it would help his foot to heal (thank you Donette).

Yesterday, we spent the morning at the Home. Our friend Erna (visiting from Houston for six months) cooked lunch for the kids. Our girls helped make bracelets for the girls while Caleb helped the boys with wood models. Caleb really tried hard and did a great job explaining and helping the boys in Spanish! Here are a few pictures from the day.

Monster Garage

This is a picture of David Ficker's current project. The front axle on the ol'Dodge broke. They had a 'new' front axle off of a big Ford that was transformed into a trailer for the last load to come down. The ol'Dodge had coil springs/shocks but will now have Ford one-ton leaf springs with its new axle. My favorite part is the welded frame pieces to hold the front of the leaf springs shown in the above picture. Below is a picture of the cab waiting to be put back on.Watching the Ficker's work on projects like this make me think about how quickly I rush out and buy a new whatever when something breaks. The ingenuity and creativity that they show is fun to watch. I was hoping to see a CJ-7/Bronco combo get started, but we will be leaving in just over a week and there are a lot of other projects that need to get done first.

The weather has been great. Most days a little 'too warm' during the day and just a little 'too cool' in the evenings. We really enjoy going for walks while we are here. We usually stop at the corner store for a sucker at the start of our walk. Here is a picture Bethany took while on a walk with the Fickers this last week. We stopped on top of what they call 'Bunker Hill' to have a look around.
Here are Hazel and I having some quality time together.

Pizza at the Home

Last Sunday, the kids and I went to the Home while Don went to clinic. We made 11 pizzas (about 150 pieces!), salad and cookies for lunch.

The kids also did an Engraving Art activity. Marta is showing off her dog and cat picture.

Some of the boys working on their activity.

Santiago concentrating hard!

We had a really fun day. We were all very tired and dirty when we arrived back in Canilla later in the afternoon.

Monday was a good day of washing sheets, having lunch with the Fickers and talking about finances. We also packed up nutrition packs and food packs for clinic today in Chiminisijuan. Leslie packed 25 nutrition packs of milk, vitamins and a protein drink. She also packed 15 food packs with beans, rice, sugar etc. It seemed like alot to me but she said that she always runs out there. My prayer is that the people see Jesus in Leslie and Don as they provide medical care and food today in clinic. The food will sustain their bodies for a while but only the Living Water can sustain them forever. The medicine may heal them temporarily but only the Hand of the Living God can heal them eternally. May their hearts be soft and open to "see and taste that the Lord is good."