Over the past week we have been hosting the first of our summer ministry teams. This group was not one of our typical groups as they had originally planned to be a part of a medical clinic in Peten, but due to the recent drug gang related violence in the area and a state of siege they had to change their plans.
Ed and Coral Matus and their three children (Alex, Lindsey, and Brent) along with Jim and Ginny Hiltner and their two children (Steve and Tia) spent the week with us experiencing a small taste of our ministry. Coral is a doctor and Ginny is a nurse practitioner, so we were greatly blessed by their wisdom and insight into several cases with which we have been dealing.
Tuesday was delivery day in San Antonio Aguas Calientes. We now have three children with disabilities in our town who are receiving support through our ministry thanks to some generous sponsoring families. So, I went shopping for medicine, food, and diapers, packed bags for each family, and Jim, Ginny, Coral, and I set out. We visited and made deliveries to Joni, Marcos Antonio, and Carlos. In each home we were welcomed warmly and treated as honored guests. And to each family we imparted the basic truth of our ministry…the help come from Jesus, not from us. Each family was told that the gifts were from a sponsoring family in the US that was simply passing along the blessings that God had given them. I enjoy these times with those families greatly.
On Wednesday, Coral, Ginny, Steve, and I headed out to El Progreso to follow-up with three families. The first home we went to was that of Orfelina and Iris. Orfelina has been struggling with a problem with her mouth which we had tried to address. Coral and Ginny examined her and prescribed vitamins and some other medicine. To be honest, whether their advise helps or not, I believe it meant so much to her to have someone listen.
Orfelina’s adult daughter Iris has also been struggling. On our last visit she told us about surgery for a benign brain tumor two years ago and the chronic headaches, dizziness, and fatigue that have followed. Upon hearing her symptoms, Coral asked her how much water she drinks. She told me that she hears those symptoms up to 50 times a day at the clinic in Peten, and that the cause is almost always dehydration. We gave her vitamins along with a refill of her prescription for pain, but instructed her to drink five or six bottles of water each day and only take the medicine as needed. I will check up on her in a few weeks.
From there we traveled to the home of Carmen and her two daughters Manuela and Marsela. Both daughters have Epilepsy which produces seizures. They are also cognitively delayed. The needs of the family are great and overwhelming. During our last visit with them I provided a box of Kids Against Hunger food packets, and they had eaten them all. Indeed, the family looked like they had gained weight and had better color in their faces. However, as they listed their needs I became overwhelmed and discouraged. We, as a ministry, cannot afford to provide everything they need. At present, they will have to make do with the vitamins and food we provide. As I walked away from their home I turned to the rest of the group and told them that, at times, I felt like we weren’t even making a difference.
That feeling quickly changed when we arrived at Olga’s house. Olga had a stroke two years ago and has been unable to walk unassisted since, due to partial paralysis on one side. We measure her two weeks ago for a wheelchair and I was returning with the one she needed. As soon as she saw us approaching and pushing the chair she began to weep. Her weeping continued as we helped her into her chair and I made some final adjustments. As we filled out the paperwork and took some photos of the family she continued to cry tears of joy. We prayed with their family and, as I walked away, I realized that we had made a very real difference to at least one person…and that was enough.
Meanwhile, back at the house, I had left Ed, Jim, and Brent to build two simple sets of shelves for storage. Coral laughed when I told her that. Ed and Jim are both engineers, and she told me that they don’t do anything simply. She was right! We returned that night to discover they had measured my wood and maximized their design for minimum waste and maximum storage. The results were impressive! Thanks, guys, for your hard and excellent work!
Yesterday Coral, Ginny, and I walked a few houses up the street to the home of Marcos Antonio and his mother Maura. When we visited him on Tuesday Maura mentioned that Marcos had not been to a doctor for six or seven years due to a lack of money. Coral offered to give him an exam, and we were returning to do so.
Through the examination Coral determined two things: 1) His mom had done a remarkable job of caring for him. 2) He had ears so packed full of hardened wax he was likely deaf. After spending nearly 20 minutes trying to carefully remove as much of the wax as possible without damaging his eardrums, she prescribed some medicine to place in his ears over the next several days. I will return to his house every three days for the next couple of weeks to do ear washes until I can see his eardrum clearly.
While we were there, I was also able to show Maura several stretches that she could do to help the range of motion in his legs. That, along with a follow-up visit from Pat Duff to work on communication skills, should produce a real difference in Marcos’ life.
After we returned to our house, we assembled the team and headed to Los Gozosos in Chimaltenango. This family-based group home is a wonderful place about which I have written numerous times, so I won’t go into detail again. The group spent the morning on various work projects including repairing a leaky washer, a leaky sink, and a broken bed. They also did yard work, installed a new slide, and cleaned windows and chairs. The afternoon was spent having lunch and playing with the kids.
Tomorrow morning we welcome a new team of 14 people from Yellow Springs, Ohio. This will be the first large test of our hosting abilities as we fill our second floor. They will be week two of three straight weeks of teams, so we would appreciate your prayers. The last two weeks have been difficult and exhausting, and the next two weeks promise to be filled with fatigue as well. Please pray for energy for me, my family, and the teams that are here to serve.
Thanks to all of you who read this blog, pray, give, and come to help! We couldn’t do it without you!
Because of Him!
Daryl, Wanda, and the Crew
