Whirlwind

I don’t know how this happens, but somehow I keep thinking that I have updated my blog a few days ago only to realize that it has been two weeks. Life is a whirlwind and I am getting blown around by it quite a bit.

In order to catch you up quickly, I am going to give some snapshots of the last few weeks. These are not all-inclusive narrations of these weeks, but just brief glimpses of high-points.

June 9-16

Dick Rutgers decided to take an extended vacation in the States. Once he got there he decided he liked it so much that he would extend his stay for another 12 days. At last, he decided to come back to Guatemala where I was waiting for him to help with a couple of wheelchair seatings. (Actually, Dick went home for a month to do some speaking and take care of some overdue business. While there the doctor discovered a nasty infection that needed to be treated with IV antibiotics, requiring him to stay for an additional 12 days. It is really good to have him back at last, but don’t tell him I said so.)

Shortly after Dick returned to Guatemala He and I set out on a two day trip with Gerardo and Alex. We traveled to the La Gomera region to check in on some of our families and deliver a couple of chairs. It was a great trip that God orchestrated. One of the God-incidences that we experienced was due to a mistake on my part. I had measured a young lady named Maria for a wheelchair a few weeks prior on a very, very hot day. She was seated an old wheelchair that was falling apart. She was very lethargic and seemed unable to move or propel herself in any way. I made the decision to get her a custom chair that would improve her posture. However, when we pulled into her place with the new chair on top of the car, we saw her sitting in her old wheelchair propelling herself backwards. We quickly realized that we needed to put her into a standard hospital chair to allow her that same mobility. So, we had a chair we did not need…or so we thought.

The next day we visited with Carlos, one of the kids that Dick has worked with for a while. When we arrived his mother explained that he needed a new chair as his old one was falling apart. He is a tall and lanky young man, so Dick began to talk to her about bringing in a chair soon. Suddenly he stopped and we both looked at one another. The chair on top of the car would likely be a perfect fit! So, we pulled it down, made the necessary adjustments, and Carlos was ready for the road.

Over our two day trip we visited with 9 families, delivered two wheelchairs and two boxes of food and arranged for long-term help for two other families. Plus, we had a blast together while we did it. I am learning more and more how much we need one another and I truly love the time that Dick and I spend together…in spite of his driving! When we returned he wrote to me and told me that he enjoyed our trip and wanted to travel together more. But he said that he would not keep driving like a little old lady to keep me from whining. I wrote back and thanked him because I have been trying to come up with a clear, concise way to describe his driving and he had done it. He drives like a little old lady (half-blind, half-deaf and completely senile)!

June 17-24

Last week we hosted a team from Dillsburg Brethren in Christ Church. In addition to them being a wonderful team, they had the added benefit of including Wanda’s sister, Jaylene, as a part of their group. It is always wonderful to have family visit us here.

In addition to spending time at Hermano Pedro, Amor del Niño, and the feeding program in Santa Maria de Jesus, they were also a part of our day care program, our monthly food distribution and one of our village trips. We can do this when we have smaller teams, so I like keeping the numbers small. We had so much fun visiting with families during the distribution and village trip. Our only problem was getting out of the towns. Everywhere we went we were swamped with children and adults who just wanted to visit. The group did a great job of singing with the kids and keeping them entertained while I worked with families. What a great team! Thanks for a great week, guys!

June 25 – Now

This week I have had the privilege of working with a team from Living Waters Church in Hastings, Michigan. This group blessed us greatly with a large financial gift to our family and 50 water filters last summer. This year they came with great blessings once again. They sent $1000 in advance to purchase several wheelchairs, brought an additional $3000 gift to our ministry in Guatemala and  brought supplies for our rural village ministry and family that are difficult or expensive to obtain here.

On Monday I took part of their group into Hermano Pedro for the day. On Tuesday three of their team members traveled with Gerardo and I to deliver a wheelchair to Maria (the proper chair I mentioned she needed above) and to work with several families. On Wednesday they blessed us by sending a crew of three to our house to build wheelchair ramps for our group home.Today, Thursday, we are visiting Amor del Niño with some of their group.

I love Living Waters Church so much. They have such a heart for Jesus and His gospel and they live that out through their ministry. They intentionally keep their costs low in order to allow them to bless others. Each year they come and touch lives, not just through our ministry but through several that they support. I believe that churches like this bring a smile to God’s face. Thanks guys! God is doing great things through you and churches like you!

Other News

Our group home licensing continues to progress smoothly. We were recently told by our social worker that the process is going quicker than he has ever seen and we are on track to be licensed by November or December. We still have lots of work to do, but each day brings us closer.

We have found two children in need of sponsors, but we have already found a sponsor for one of them. I continue to be amazed by God’s provision and praise Him for caring for these little ones’ needs as they arise.

We have already found a sponsor for Misael from San Juan del Obispo. We were taken to his house yesterday by our friend, Cesar, who lives in the same town. Luis is 9 years old and has hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy. As a result of his hydrocephalus, he struggles from seizures. His mother was widowed 9 years ago when her husband, a police office, was shot in the line of duty. She is unable to work because of her need to care for her son, and her only income is from renting the front of her home to a bread seller and one room to a tenant. She is unable to afford her son’s anti-seizure medication. Through the sponsorship program, this family will now receive his medication and a 40 lb. box of food each month. We will also be taking him to the doctor in our town for evaluation to make sure he is prescribed the best medication to control his seizures and providing him with a wheelchair (his current one is borrowed).

On Tuesday while we were in La Gomera delivering a wheelchair to Maria, Jorge’s family asked if we could visit a little boy in need of a wheelchair. We were taken to a home where we found Luis Fernando, a 9 year old with cerebral palsy. His chair is worn out and we realized that the family needs food support and help with the cost of his medicine. They are struggling just to survive and meet Luis Fernando’s basic needs. We need a $50.00 a month sponsor to help take care of him. Would you prayerfully consider becoming that sponsor for him? If you are interested, please write me at daryl@hopeforhome.org.

Big Picture Planning

In just over a month Hope for Home Ministries will celebrate its 4-year anniversary. I stand in awe of what God has done in such a short period of time. The ministry has grown and expanded beyond my wildest expectations as I have struggled to keep up. In reality we have moved from being a tiny, family-run ministry to an international ministry very quickly. As a result, I realize that it is time to evaluate our structure and make some long-term plans in order to better accommodate this growth.

The reality is that I am poorly equipped to manage a ministry of this size, yet I am the person that God has placed here. As a result, I am learning how desperately I need to cling to Jesus and seek His face and wisdom on a daily basis. I am completely insufficient, but He is everything that this ministry and I need.

I will be taking two days next week to retreat, fast and seek God for direction…first for my own life and second for our ministry. Please keep us in your prayers in the days and weeks ahead as we listen to and follow God’s voice.

That’s all for now! Love and blessings from San Antonio Aguas Calientes!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew