Shalom

Most of us know that the word "Shalom" means peace and is often used as a greeting. We learned last Friday that the word has a much deeper meaning of "completeness, wholeness and restoration".

 

Don and I traveled with the Fickers (Duane, Leslie and Katie Shaw) and Dr. Malachi to the Petén last Friday. The Petén is the northernmost part of Guatemala and is known for its Mayan ruins and jungle vegetation. Duane flew us to the international airport in Flores. The view from the airplane was incredible. We only had four headsets for 6 people so I put in my earbuds and worshipped the Lord for the hour long flight. It was amazing!

We went to the Petén to meet with some missionaries who have started a hospital there. Only a small percentage of all the missionaires in Guatemala are located in this region that makes up almost half of the total area of the country. There are people groups in this region that have never seen "gringos" or heard of Jesus.

The name of the hospital is Hospital Shalom. Their mission is "completeness and restoration" of their patients physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. They are completely committed and dependent on the Lord in all that they do.

 

The hospital is located on a little over 3 acres. The compound includes the hospital, some living quarters, dining/laundry building, the chapel and other miscellaneous buildings.

 

The hospital is currently one story but they are in the process of constructing the second story. Because elevators require alot of maintenance and don't often work in the high humidity, they have installed a ramp in order to get patients to the second floor.

 

The facilities were amazing and the missionaries, Tim and Doris, were awesome people. They have such an openness and generosity about them. To learn more about what they do there, go to their website here.

Our trip was so interesting and so much fun, but the life of a missionary can't always be that exciting! Just as in the States, we spend a portion of everyday just doing the things we need to do to "live". Fixing meals, cleaning, etc. etc. On Saturday, we decided that we needed to clean our pila.

If you remember, our pila serves as our kitchen and bathroom sink as well as our "washer". It has a huge reservoir for water that is supposed to stay "clean" even though it is outside and debris is constantly being blown into it. To clean the reservoir, we had to drain the water and then get inside it to scrub it down. I say "we" but I really mean "Caleb"!

 

 

Caleb did an awesome job. We added some bleach to the water in the hopes that we won't have to clean it again before we leave! Who knew that owning and maintaining our backyard swimming pool would be useful to us in Guatemala? Seriously, Samuel did keep asking if he could "swim" in the pila!

We have a couple viruses moving through our family and the Fickers. We would really appreciate your prayers for health and total "restoration" of our bodies. Shalom!