The Team

When we found out that the church in Arkansas had a coffee bar in their building, we knew this team was going to be awesome!  And we were right!  Not because of the coffee bar (look at the cool cups that they gave us!) but because they are 6 really incredible people.  

Don and I arrived in Little Rock on Saturday at about noon and hit the ground running.  The training with the team began at about 1 pm and lasted until after 5.  We shared a meal, told our stories, learned about Guatemalan culture and talked specifics about our trip.  Individually, the team has all been on a prior trip so the training that these 'veterans' needed was minimal.  They range in age from 24 to 68 and separately, have been to a variety of countries - Philippines, Africa, Mexico, Haiti and Bolivia.  Our main goal was to get to know each other as well as focus on Guatemala.  We had a few tears but spent most of our time laughing.

All Sunday morning, we watched the generosity of the people of this church displayed.  From presents under the 'Angel Tree' to collections for struggling members of their congregation, this church has a heart to give and care for people.  Did I mention the free coffee cups that they gave us??  The teacher of the Sunday school class that we attended gave us a copy of the book that they were studying.  We were tempted to hang around longer and see what else we could take home with us!! (just kidding!)  

After the last service, Don and I met with church members interested in going on future teams.  They fed us another meal as we talked about the 2 ministries where we serve in Guatemala.  We showed them pictures as we talked about the culture. We also shared about the future hospital and the nursing school.  We kept them for over 2 hours as we answered questions about the country that has captured our hearts.  

Our flight left Little Rock later that afternoon.  As we dragged our tired selves aboard our first flight, we were filled with the excitement and anticipation of taking new people into a new culture.  We love to see how the Lord works when we are out of our comfort zone.  We love watching the Lord stretch us as we share Jesus to the nations.  

Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; 

proclaim among the nations what he has done. 

Psalm 9:11   

Here is the rest of our team!  We are so thankful that the Knutson family is joining us again this year.  Their 'expertise' at the children's home is very much needed and appreciated!

A picture of our family that was taken last year in Guatemala.  So fun to compare that to an older picture! 

Our family in 2009 (hee hee)

A Team

In 2012, Don and I led a 20 person team to Guatemala.  The Lord had given us this idea of 'taking over' the children's home so that the workers could go away together for a few days.  Our team was made up of 3 homeschool families, a young couple and a single lady.  It was so much work as we learned the routines of the kids as well as managed their laundry, meals and homework.  The workers really enjoyed their time together and asked when we could do it again.

In 2013, we went with another family (11 of us total) and again, 'took over' the home.  We were more familiar with the routine and had better expectations of how the days were going to go; however, we were a little overwhelmed with the amount of work with only half as many people.  It went well and the Lord gave us such grace and favor over our time there but we were exhausted.

As we prayed about our time in Guatemala for 2014, we really felt like we were supposed to again provide a retreat for the workers and actually increase their time away.  We had been 'in charge' for 3 days and 2 nights the previous two years.  We wanted to increase this by one more day and night so that they had more options on where to go and what they would have time for while they were away.

As we prayed for team members and even stepped out and asked some people. the team was just not coming together.  Our family and the other homeschool family (who has joined us that past 2 years) were a little hesitant about the extra time with just 11 people again.  We were seeking the Lord about all of this when the He moved . . . in the form of an email . . . from Arkansas.

My cousin is involved in missions within her church.  She sent me an email asking for more information about our trips and the ministries that we serve while in Guatemala.  We corresponded a little bit and then she asked if they could send a team with us while we were there in 2014.  This began the process of coordinating the schedules of two ministries as well as getting approval from our sending church.  As He always does, the Lord answered our prayers by putting together the help that we will need to care for the kids at the children's home for an extra day and night.

Don and I will travel to Arkansas in December to meet the team of 6 as well as do some training with them.  We are so awed by the Lord and how His plans and purposes are so beyond what we could ever do on our own.  We are amazed at His faithfulness and how He makes a way when it is hard for our eyes to see how things are going to come together.  We love how much He cares about the details as well as the big picture all at the same time.

We are also in the process of purchasing tickets for our trip in January.  The flight cost took a significant jump (about $100 a ticket) when we were ready to purchase them.  We are now praying that they go back down but also for the peace to purchase if they don't.  Our Lord owns "the cattle on a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10) and is more than able to provide all that we need . . . no matter the price of the tickets.

Love this!

Something I Believe 
About God 

Sometimes I can hear God through the loud thunder, 
feel Him in the wet earth, 
and see Him in the sparkling raindrops. 
I smell Him in the damp air
 and taste Him in the clear water. 
When this happens, I shiver with excitement. 
I know He is here, and that He is real. 
And that when I look for Him, 
I know that I will find Him.

-Bethany Allison

Every Time is Different!

Our family has been travelling to Guatemala since 2003.  The first time, Don and I went without the kids to determine if it was a place that we would want to bring them in the future (and to celebrate our 10th anniversary!!).  Since that time, we have made about 9 trips of varying time lengths as a family.  When we return, there always seems to be one person who asks about our trip but then adds a comment like "nothing new for you guys" or "must be pretty routine for your family."  It just makes us chuckle!

The Lord is very creative and, I think, He has an awesome sense of humor.  Every trip that we have gone on has looked different.  He is always stretching and challenging us in ways that, quite honestly, are not always very fun.  So when someone says, "same old, same old", we just chuckle.

Well . . .surprise, surprise . . . our next trip is going to be something entirely brand new . . . again!!  We are in the planning and preparation phase for a trip that will take place in January 2014.  This phase includes a trip to Arkansas.  Didn't see that coming?  Neither did we. . . . I told you, the Lord is creative! ;)


"Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.'" Revelation 21:5

Transition

Wow, it has been a while since we have posted anything!  What have we been doing?  Our family has been in the midst of transition.

On May 23rd, Don finished his 15-year long career at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  When he started his first position there, Caleb was almost 1-year-old.  I was working to support us while Don went to school.  The Lord so blessed us with an easy financial transition from my salary to Don's (almost exactly the same!) so that I could stay home with Caleb.  It was a hard transition emotionally because I was giving up my "career".  The temptation of 2 salaries was great but we put our faith and trust in Jesus as our Provider. We knew that this was the Lord's path.

Don quit this first position in August of 2008 so that we could move to Guatemala for 7 months.  We tried for a "leave of absence" because we wanted the security of a job when we returned.  This was refused so we  raised enough funds, sold enough stuff and cleared out our savings so that we would have enough to follow the Lord's call to the highlands of Guatemala.  He was so faithful and again, we trusted in Him as our Provider.

Many people asked Don "why did you come back?".  I have heard him answer so many times "because we ran out of money!".  This is really true.  We had just enough to live and pay our mortgage for the time that we were there and a couple months once we returned.  When we returned to the States we felt the burden and weight of our mortgage.  We were so convicted that we had to get out from under this debt.  We truly thought that we would sell our house, reduce our belongings and head back to Guatemala after a year or so. This was not the Lord's plan for us.

Don returned to the Med Center in a different position.  He returned as if he hadn't left.  Same vacation, similar salary - once again, we could see the Lord providing for us.  Then his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and we needed to walk her through that time. One year turned into more as the Lord continued to show us that, for now, we were to be in the States.  We began a very aggressive plan to pay off our house.  We wanted to be ready when the Lord moved and told us it was time to return.

We walked with my parents as they dealt with health issues and then the death of my dad.  Over and over, the Lord confirmed that this was where he had us.

At the beginning of this year, the Lord began to open doors that were leading to a change for Don.  There was an opening at a clinic in South Omaha.  This area of Omaha is primarily Spanish-speaking.  The clinic reaches out to those who have limited or no access to healthcare because of health insurance issues, language barriers etc.  He would spend his days speaking Spanish and doing family medicine.  Very, very different from anything that he had done at the Med Center, but, yet again, we knew that this was the Lord's plan for us.

His first day was Monday, June 3rd.  This job also came with a significant pay-cut, but the Lord had prepared us.  We had been sticking to our "mortgage reduction" plan since we returned in 2009.  Again and again, the Lord was faithful and when the transition to this new job came so did the funds that we needed to make our final payment.

This happened yesterday.  As of this morning, our mortgage balance is $0.  We won't receive a full paycheck from Don's new job until the end of the month. I think the impact of not having a house payment will be felt then.  Yet, we are debt-free, a weight has been lifted from our shoulders.  Ten years since we built our house and four years since we returned from Guatemala, the burden of our mortgage is gone.

The Lord has been so faithful.  This new job is a huge transition for Don - and for the rest of us!  In fifteen years, we have never had a M-F work schedule.  Having Don gone for 5 days straight has been a new experience.  Don has been coming home with the familiar "Spanish headache".  Yet he usually has a smile on his face!

If that were the end of the story, it would be an awesome testimony to the Lord's faithfulness and provision.  However, as we look back over the past 4 years, we can see so much more.  During those four years, we had car issues, returned annually to Guatemala and were able to pay many large expenses beyond the mortgage.  We just shake our heads at the wonder of His abundance to us.  And not just financially, but in so many other areas of our life as well.

Where do we go from here?  We know that He has a plan and because of His faithfulness, we are ready!

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:19

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen."  Ephesians 3:20-21

Seder Meal

At the end of March, we had the privilege of participating in a Seder meal at our church.  It was such an awesome experience for all of us.  Our church was hosting visitors from Israel: a Messianic Rabbi (who led the Seder meal), a German missionary and an Arab Palestinian Christian couple.  They shared their hearts with us throughout the week and then about 900 of our church members participated with them in the Seder meal.  It was amazing to see the Messiah Jesus intertwined with the traditional Jewish meal. 

Caleb is studying the book as we followed along during the almost 4 hour meal.  We had the Seder first, then we shared a meal together followed by communion. 

We drank lots of grape juice!  One of Samuel's favorite parts!

First course of the meal was Matzo Ball Soup.  It was really good but we were so hungry, we would have eaten anything that they put in front of us!!

A blurry picture of the girls enjoying the night!  

Hearing familiar scripture passages from the perspective of a Messianic Rabbi gave new meaning and insight into God's word.  We are so grateful to be "grafted" in as children of the Lord!

The End of a Great Day!

So . . . the wii game won out!  And they played so long that we didn't have time for all of the food that Sam wanted!  He settled for salad and pizza . . .

. . . and cake with ice cream!!

Chicken Alfredo will be the Valentine's Day meal for the kids while Don and I go on a date! 

And maybe we will hit the zoo another day!  ; )  

Samuel's Day

We have been home from Guatemala for a week now.  Jumping back into our schedule here has been a little overwhelming.  It makes me stop and really evaluate our activities.  Are they beneficial or just make us "busy"?  Do they add value to our lives or just stress?  

Today is Samuel's 9th birthday.  All school and activities are put on hold for the day.  He has planned our meals and will be in charge of our schedule for today.  He requested scones for breakfast, pizza for lunch and chicken alfredo for supper.  He also wanted a chocolate covered cherry cake.  

After breakfast this morning, he opened his presents.  He received a new wii game from Don and I (which the kids are currently playing!).

Caleb bought him some new legos (which he has already put together!)

Hannah and Bethany made him a snake out of many of Don's old clothes! It even has a rattle in its tail!

We did have tentative plans for the zoo but the new wii game seems to be dominating at the moment!  We will see if we make it there.  It is good to have a day where we can stop and appreciate the blessings that the Lord has given us.  Our "baby" is 9 - no better reason to celebrate than that!!

Home tomorrow

After a fun day in Pana yesterday, we loaded up today and headed for Guatemala City.  Both of our families will fly out tomorrow morning.  We are all tired and hoping for a good night sleep!

Panajachel

We said our good-byes at the children's home this afternoon and began the last leg of our journey.  It was hard to leave; many of us had tears in our eyes.

We are now in Panajachel.  It is a touristy town next to a large lake surrounded by three volcanoes.  We are checked into our hotel with the superbowl on the tv.  We plan to order in pizza and go to bed early!  Tomorrow is another day!  We will try to post pictures of this beautiful place.
 

Our time at the Home

I just spoke with Norm.  The workers are on their way back to San Andres.  All the kids are accounted for, no catastrophes  A movie is playing and there is a second to post a few pictures of our time here.  It has gone really well, but we are exhausted!  Even more confirmation of the importance of helping the workers get away.

Working with the Knutson Family

The Knutson family arrived Sunday.  Monday served as a preparation day for activities later in the week.  Tues we all went to clinic.  During the medical clinics, the kids shared coloring sheets with the children who came to clinic.

As you can see, they are having some trouble getting along. 

Tuesday night we shared family worship with the Ficker family.  Here is Katie leading worship with Caleb accompanying. 

Wednesday started off early so the workers could be on their way to Tapachula, Mexico for their retreat.

Wednesday night was 'movie night'.  Norman Sutton let us set up the movie projector for a treat.

Please pray for us.  For patience, health, etc.  It is a BIG job to fill in for the workers at Hogar de Vida!

The Knutsons Have Arrived!

The Knutson family survived their long day of travel yesterday and arrived in Canilla at about 4 pm or so.  We will spend the day today getting organized for clinic tomorrow and the Home on Wednesday.  It is fun to have them here!  We will post more later!  Thanks for praying!

Widows' Project

"Yo les he dicho estas cosas para que en mí hallen paz. En este mundo afrontarán aflicciones, pero ¡anímense! Yo he vencido al mundo."  Juan 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Last Monday, Leslie asked me to do the devotion with the widows on Tuesday.  I found a devotion on-line in Spanish with the above verse.  I was just going to attempt to read it to them in Spanish and then pray for all of them.  As I prayed before clinic on Tuesday morning, I felt like the Lord wanted me to share about my dad and our "trouble" this past year.  I was working on how to share my heart in Spanish and praying for the Holy Spirit to just give me His words (preferably in Spanish!)

When we got to clinic (about a 40 minute drive up the mountain), Bethany and I weighed and gave food to the kids in the nutrition program.  The widows don't come in until the end of clinic so I had lots of time to pray and think about what I was going to share.  I felt like I was totally prepared and ready to share when the time came.

Flor is a Guatemalan girl who helps out in the clinics.  She does ultrasounds and also translates from Spanish to Quiche.  Most of the people in this clinic do not speak Spanish.  She is so good at what she does and is such a blessing to this ministry.  Leslie and Flor talked to the widows at the beginning of their time together and then Leslie introduced me.

Flor read my verse in Spanish to the ladies.  I started to read some of the devotion.  I was then going to start sharing about my dad.  Immediately the tears started to flow.  I only got out the words that he died last April and then couldn't speak anymore.  

One of the widows started to share that she knew "exactly" how I felt.  She lost both of her parents and her husband and then continued to share about more tough things that she was going through.  When she finished, I looked at Leslie and asked "where do I go from here?".  Their problems were so much worse than mine and really, what could I say that would encourage them?  Leslie started to share with them that even though we are different and live in different places, our pain is the same.  They were all nodding their heads in agreement.  

I didn't feel like I could add anything more to the discussion but I felt that the Holy Spirit wanted me to put my hands on all of them and pray.  They began to share their hearts.  One lady's son beat her and she really wanted to go to church but she had to pay Q25 (about $3) to attend.  This doesn't seem like much to us but these widows don't have enough to feed their children PLUS the idea of her having to pay to go to church was unbelievable.  Another lady twisted her ankle on the long walk to clinic.  As they continued to share their stories, I went from lady to lady, touching them physically while asking the Lord to touch them spiritually.  I am absolutely sure that I was blessed way more than them but I am praying that the Lord reveals Himself to them as their provider and protector.  

Once we were done praying, the ladies brought out their baskets.  They were beautiful.  Flor inspected them all and decided how much to pay them for their hard work.  Once they were all paid, we put a piece of tape with the name of the creator inside each of them.  We packed them up and brought them back down the mountain with us.  I plan to fill our luggage with as many baskets as possible.  Flor is also teaching them to make beautiful tortilla cloths.  I can't wait to see the finished products!  

As I was looking for the pictures of the widows, I found this picture on Bethany's camera.  It was raining in the mountains one morning and then this rainbow appeared.  It was so vivid and beautiful.  It reminded me that, yes, we are going to have trouble in this world but the Lord has "overcome the world".  Be encouraged!  We can count on His promises and rest in His faithfulness.  In Him, we will find peace.       

Medical Clinics

We arrived in Canilla Sunday morning, the 13th, and hit the ground running.  From the airport in Canilla, I got in a pickup and headed off to San Andres to clinic.   This year, Bethany has been helping in the medical clinics.  Here is a picture of her in San Andres taking a blood pressure.  She also learned to check blood sugars.  We will see, this may be a view into her future calling. 

Tuesday clinics are up the mountain in Chiminisjuan.  Here is a picture of Armondo, a local pastor, preaching before clinic starts.

Lori and Bethany helped this last Tuesday with the nutrition program.  Children are weighed and given milk and food to supplement their diets.  The most nutritionally compromised kids seem to always be the sickest.

Last Thursday, was the monthly clinic in Chumisa.  This is a more isolated village to the north.  A Guatemalan dentist went with us.  Here is a picture of him working on the other side of the door way.  Our pharmacy table is to the left.  Clinic was held in an adobe village home.  The low ceilings and lack of windows is typical of the homes in this area.  You can also see the power cord hanging down on the right.  Not the easiest place to evaluate and treat patients.

It is always so rewarding and overwhelming to serve here in Guatemala.  The needs are so great and the resources so limited.  Whenever the need is beyond what we can offer medically, we ask for the help of the Great Physician - we offer to pray with them.

The Wall (dun-dun-dunnnnnnnn!)

I(Caleb) am sure you all are on the edge of your seats waiting for the next blog post after the last whiz-banger Beth wrote.  After all, she had pictures and witty humor!  Well, here it goes. . .

(insert funny joke to start the paragraph)  For the past few days I have been helping with various projects.

On Sunday I helped put a 4-wheeler back together and for the past few days I have been helping build part of the wall around the ministry compound.  They originally only had a wall around the front and half of each of the sides, with barb-wire fence around the rest of the property.  Now though they are planning on building another building toward the rear of the property.  But before they can break ground, they need to have a wall around the entire facility for security purposes.  So Monday and Tuesday I helped with the digging of the trench for the foundation of the wall (which was done with a backhoe - I didn't use the backhoe, just measured depths for how deep it was supposed to be) and marked out the posts.  The wall and posts are made out of concrete blocks and concrete.  The wall is only about 3 feet tall and the posts are about 5 feet tall above that, so they take chain link fencing and concrete it onto the posts.  The posts are formed from re-bar and have to be marked out 8 feet apart in the ditch that forms the foundation.

Wednesday was Sabbath and we had worship that night so I played guitar and Kate Ficker played piano.  Playing instruments is even more fun when you are playing them with someone else, and then to play some amazing songs with God's presence all around you is always phenomenal.  Today I had a most interesting job.  The way people irrigate here is with a canal that gets water from the river (for some cool pictures of where the canal starts go see our post from January 6, 2009 called Un Paseo).  Everyone who pays gets an allotment of time to have the canal on their land.  Yesterday was our day to have it.  Unfortunately, most of it ran to the back of the property and into the trench we dug.  So today we had to go and drain the water.  Once we got all the water drained there was another problem.  The mud left behind had the consistency of chocolate pudding so we had to drain that too.  All in all, a very messy job.

Here is a picture of the wall.

Peace out!!

Great Times in Guatemala

Hi there, all you readers. This time you get to hear the my (Bethany's) opinion of our stay here in Guatemala.                           

.

We are enjoying mostly sunny days and beautiful weather (I'm sure most of you who are stuck in the snow are jealous).

    

   We even went swimming yesterday evening! Lots of fun down at the river.

 There are a lot of animals here (woohoo), including a cat, dogs, chickens, a turkey, a horse, a cow, lots of birds, and fish. Here are the dogs.

This is the cat. He has an injury above his right eye, though it looks much better now. I have been appointed as the "vet".

So all in all, I'd say our stay here has been awesome so far. I'm really enjoying it, and I am hoping that it has been a blessing to the family we are staying with. 

I'm praying that we keep God first in all things, and thank you all for your support. Keep it up and look for more blog posts. 

Bye from Bethany.

Settled

We had an awesome flight from Guatemala City to Canilla yesterday morning.  We decided it was the smoothest landing we had had the whole trip . . . and it was on a dirt runway!!  Once we landed, Don took off for clinic in San Andres.  The kids and I headed to the house.  We are staying in a little two-bedroom apartment this year.  It is a very nice space.  I tried to get us organized while the kids played and got dirty!

Last year when we brought a team with us, we had put a Guatemala phone number on all of our luggage tags.  It was the phone number for our friends who live at the children's home in San Andres.  When we packed this year, we just left those same tags on our bags.  Turns out, our bag is not in Dallas.  There was a large team flying in with us last Saturday and they mistakenly took our bag.  They called Norman and told them where they were and that they had our bag.  The team will be back in Guatemala City next Friday so we will try to meet up with them then and get it back.  We are very thankful to know where it is!

Mondays are typically "catch up" days here after the clinics on the weekend.  Don ran to the tienda to get us some food and then a patient arrived.  The patient had just had twins via c-section about a week ago and wanted Leslie to look at the babies and take her stitches out.  Don got to take out stitches and I got to hold sweet little 5 lb. babies!  I definitely got the better deal! ; )

We are getting settled and acclimated.  The weather is very springlike - warm during the day and cool at night.  We are not missing Nebraska winter at all!! ; )  Bethany has taken over the job of giving medicine to a cat with a wound next to its eye.  Today, Don and Caleb are helping build a fence that will completely enclose the property.  Hannah and Samuel have the job of playing and got a great start yesterday!  We are praying for the Lord's plan for us in this place.  He has a purpose in bringing us here and we don't want to miss all that He has for us.  Thanks for your prayers!        

We made it!

We are all six here; however, one of our bags is not!  We have traveled here with 12 and 10 bags in the past and never lost one!  This year we had 7.  Hmmm . . . . maybe that means it is better to travel with more bags??  ; )

So, we made it to the hotel by 9:30 pm which means we did not make it to Walmart (for those of you praying about that trip!).  We had already talked to Leslie about Plan C anyway so no worries!  And the other good news, we did not lose our bag with all of our overnight stuff.  We have our toothbrushes, pajamas, contact stuff, etc. etc.  Very, very thankful for that!!

Our bag is in Dallas and should arrive tomorrow night.  Please pray that it will find us in Canilla!  We were carrying some things for the Suttons (missionaries at the children's home) as well as some of our clothes, gifts, etc.

We are heading to bed.  Sam is very ready! 

Here is another quick picture of our room.  We have 4 beds!

Do For One!

"Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone."
 - Andy Stanley

The sun was shining today so I decided to brave the below freezing temperatures and take our dog for a walk.  Once I made up my mind that I was going to go, I noticed that it was almost 10 am.  There are a couple radio programs on our local Christian radio station at 10 and 10:30 am.  I ran to my room to get my 3 dozen layers of clothes on (ok, maybe that is an exaggeration) so I could be outside in time to listen to the programs.  The first one was really good and I am going to pursue the book that they discussed (maybe I will share on that another time!).  I usually really like the 10 am program better than the 10:30 one but since I was still walking, I decided to keep listening.  Oh my goodness!  It was so good.

It was a sermon from Andy Stanley who is a pastor of the second largest church in the US.  He was talking about how we get overwhelmed by all of the bad things going on in our world.  He was saying that our responsibility is just the "one" that the Lord brings to us.  We can't solve all of the world's problems but we can affect the life of one.  He challenged the listener to "do for one what you wish you could do for everyone" over this next year.  He had three main points on how to do this:
  
1. Go deep rather than wide.
2. Go long-term rather than short-term.
3. Give time not just money.

Here is a link to the message.  I want to encourage you to listen to it!
Making a Resolution to Care - Andy Stanley

I "made" Don listen to it tonight after supper and his response was, "I just read this".  He is reading a book called Radical by David Platt.  The part that Don just read last night talks about how we tend to do the opposite of what Jesus did. We want to have the big programs and activities that bring in the crowds.  He gathered 12 around him and went "deep", "long-term" and gave his "time" to them.  He focused on them so that they could then focus on making disciples of others.  We tend to go wide because it is easier.  We tend to go short-term because we get tired of commitment.  We tend to just give money because it is quicker to write a check than it is to spend time with someone.

As we prepare to go to Guatemala in a week, this has hit me hard.  It gets overwhelming to see the needs and the poverty and the sickness of so many people.  We cannot make much of a difference to very many in 3 and a half weeks.  We can't change their living situations or their physical conditions and it takes time to speak to their hearts spiritually.  Are we really making a difference?

Hearing this message encourages us.  We have been making these trips since 2003.  This is our 9th trip to the highlands of Guatemala.  We know that this is where the Lord has called us to focus and "go deep".  We have relationships with those at both ministries where we serve.  We didn't know that we were in it for the "long-term" when we started but here we are almost 10 years later - still going, still serving and still wanting to make a difference.  It would be easier to send a check in MANY ways but the Lord has called us to invest our time.

So we go.  My prayer is that this year we don't focus on ALL the needs but instead listen to the Lord's voice as He brings the "one" into our path.  We pray that the Lord will show us how "to do for the one what we wish we could do for everyone."