Update on Jan

Thanks so much for the overwhelming response to Jan’s need! We were blessed by the generosity of God’s people, and his bill is paid in full for the foreseeable furture!

He continues to improve today and we are hoping that he can go home soon. Please keep praying for him in the days ahead. I will update you as more info becomes available.

Thanks again!

Daryl

An Emergency

This is an emergency blog post regarding a little boy named Jan. We have been working with him and his family in the town of Guastatoya for the last five months, providing food, medicine and a special formula for him. He is in urgent need of your help.

On Friday we were in Guastatoya doing our monthly deliveries and visits with families. Jan’s home was our last stop of the day, and when we arrived I realized that he was in trouble. He was in a constant state of seizuring and was struggling to breath. When I listened to his lungs I found them to be full of fluid. His oxygen saturation was low, and his lips were turning blue. It was obvious that without help Jan would not live long.

His mother, Claudia, was crying and desperate. She told us that she knew he needed a doctor, but she did not have the money. Her only choice was the national hospital, and that would have been a death sentence for him. We told her we would take care of the charges, but we had to get him to a hospital immediately. So, we loaded them up and headed out.

When we arrived at the private hospital the receptionist took one look at Jan and immediately took us back to a room. Within two minutes there was a doctor beside his bed treating him (unheard of in Guatemala). They admitted him, started an IV, and began administering anti-seizure drugs. Throughout the next three hours they gradually increased his medication to the maximum amount, yet still his seizures continued. Finally, he fell asleep and seemed to be stable.

Before we left town, we made a down-payment for his stay and made arrangements to pay for the rest when he was discharged. The estimated cost of his entire stay was between Q3000-4000 (about $390-500). This was a step of faith for us as we were trusting in God for His provision. We then left and returned home late on Friday evening.

On Saturday morning I received word of two different donations totaling $450, and I praised God, assuming that the need had been met. Today I found out that is not the case.

Jan is still in the hospital and they are still unable to control his seizures and get his lungs clear. At present, the hospital bill has topped Q.6500 (about $850) and continues to rise. We spoke with the doctor who told us that if Jan goes home now, he will die. He offered to write a letter and have him transferred to the national hospital, but that would likely mean his death. We told the doctor not to do that and approved charges up to Q.10,000. ($1300.00). I have done so because I believe that Jesus would not turn this little guy away and allow him to die. I have also done so believing that the body of Christ will rise up and help.

Can you please help us in some way with this rising bill? Whatever you can give would be appreciated. If so, please write to me at daryl@hopeforhome.org right away. I need to know how much is coming to assist.

More important than the financial assistance, can you please pray for Jan? His life is hanging in the balance and we need God’s intervention.

Thanks!

Daryl

Turning Over Tables (A Repost)

I have never done this before, but I am reposting an old blog. I originally wrote and posted it in May of 2010, eight month before moving to Guatemala. After living here for two years and working among the poorest of the poor I am more convinced than ever of the urgency of this message. The church is spiritually dying for revival and we desperately need it soon. Please join me in praying and turning over tables.

May 5, 2010

I recently attended an event that was held in a large church. As we were sitting in the pews waiting for the service to begin, I took some time to notice their facilities and equipment. The stage was immense, likely 50 foot wide, and there was a huge decoration on the front wall that promoted missions. In large wooden letters were the words, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” and this was accompanied by a huge wooden relief of the earth. I don’t know how much that display cost, but I found myself wondering how many lives could have been saved and how many people could have heard about Jesus with the money that was spent on it.

I walked back through their multi-million dollar building and saw their 64 channel sound board, their television quality cameras and multi-media system, the numerous large flat-screened televisions scattered throughout, and the enormous wooden cross suspended over the foyer with recessed lighting attached. I approached one of the church’s many greeter stations and examined some of the paperwork that was lying on it. There was a prayer guide for the congregation that listed ten ways to pray for the church. Of those ten ways, eight of them involved church finances. The members were encouraged to pray for God’s provision, that those who had made financial commitments would fulfill them, that those who had not made commitments would do so, etc.

And as I observed all this, I found myself asking what Jesus would say about it all. That is a hard question to answer, especially by those who are imbedded in the culture of the west. We have come to see such facilities as a sign of God’s blessing on a ministry and an acceptable part of the American church. And, while most churches do not have such elaborate facilities, most have bought into this mindset to some degree or another. Western Christians spend money and they tend to spend most of it on themselves and their comforts.

In light of both scripture and the incredible needs of the world around us, I believe this to be sin. And I believe that sin needs to be addressed because it is distorting the name of Jesus and leading people to hell. But how do we do this? I do not want to be a harsh, condemning, finger-pointing person. I want to be known, above all else, as a person who loves Jesus and who loves others. At the same time, I don’t want to fail to shout a warning from God loudly enough and enable the travesty to continue.

Recently I have heard from some believers in my life who told me that they feel like harshness should not be a part of the message, but that it should be conveyed with hope and love. I don’t disagree with that, but I do question what real hope and love looks like. Is it simply wrapping the message in gentleness and a soft tone? Is it to always give words of encouragement, never criticism? Is it to say it with a smile on your face or tears in your eyes?

How does this fit with the person of Jesus? There is no doubt that He was the perfect incarnation of both hope and love. Was His words always soft, encouraging, and gentle? I don’t believe so. When addressing the religious establishment of His day he pulled no punches. Using words such as “whitewashed tombs”, “brood of vipers”, and “Woe unto you” he confronted the religion that had become so distorted as to misrepresent God and drive people away. He was also know to get physically violent at times, overturning tables and driving animals and their sellers out of the temple with a whip. Do these instances show Jesus to be unloving or reveal Him as the perfect incarnation of love?

Both the Old and New Testament are filled with prophetic words of harshness which seek to warn and turn people from sin to repentance. And the harshness was love’s attempt to spare the people from the consequences toward which they were headed. (If your child were preparing to walk in front of a moving car and I screamed loudly for him to stop, would you see me as unloving and berate me, or would you recognize it as love and thank me?

Please understand, I am unworthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as my Jesus. And in no way do I claim to be a prophet. I don’t have all the answers, nor do I come close to perfection in living out God’s Word. At the same time, I have been given a very unique opportunity to gain a world-wide view that has helped me to see some obvious truths from Scripture that are most often ignored or missed by many western believers. And, in light of that, I am convinced that the church in America is walking over a cliff and taking others with them. There are deep and profound problems within the church-at-large that extend to its very foundation. These problems manifest themselves through poor priorities that cause us to ignore the needs of the world around us while focusing on our own desires. We build facilities while ignoring Isaiah 58, James 1:27, and Matthew 25:31-46, and we wonder why God is not blessing and reviving us. Meanwhile, the world around us hears our words and sees our lives and recognizes the contradiction. So they turn away from the truths of scripture we preach because we are failing to care about the world for which Christ died to save.

So, I am haunted with how to issue the warning. I want to do it in with love, and I want to do it effectively. Somehow the warning must be shouted. The western church must be awakened or it will perish. It is time to start turning over tables.

“Helping”

When I was a young father and my daughters, Brittney and Krishauna, were small they liked to “help” me. Whether I was doing yard work, gardening, or car repair they loved to lend a hand.

I remember one day spreading granulated fertilizer on our yard while Krishauna followed three step behind me over the entire yard. Back and forth we went for an hour with her in my shadow the entire time. When mom asked her what she was doing, she answered, “Helping!” (The tone of her voice seemed to imply that her mother was rather foolish for not realizing that obvious fact.)

On another day, I was weeding our garden while Brittney and Krishauna “helped”. I showed them how to do it and gave them a small area on which to work. Meanwhile, I proceeded to do the other 98% of the garden. I returned to their corner a while later and found them with a small pile of weeds and the beginnings of a dirt castle they had begun to build.

These are very precious memories to me. I loved those days of having two little shadows following me and wanting to help. In the days ahead, the number of shadows grew and I had more “helpers” and I loved every minute of it. As they have grown, I have lost some shadows and gained some new ones, but they all have shared the same desire. They just want to be with me, and “helping” is the way they do it.

Several days ago I was having some quiet time alone with God when these thoughts and memories came flooding into my mind. And, suddenly, God spoke…

God: “Now do you get it?”

Me: “Get what?”

God: “Your ministry.”

Me: “What does my ministry have to do with these memories?”

God: “You are my ‘helper.’”

Me: “Oh…”

For the last several weeks I have been gradually carrying more and more burden on my shoulders. I have so many responsibilities and so many people counting on me. I am in so far over my head the light doesn’t reach this deep. I believeed that I was doing this ministry. But, in one moment, God flipped a switch and reminded me that I am simply His child playing on the edge of the garden while He is doing the real work of ministry. I may hand Him a tool occasionally, and He may even let me pull a few weeds, but the burden of the work lies on Him.

And then I realized that I have been trying to do so much work FOR Him that I haven’t been enjoying being WITH Him. It has been like Brittney and Krishauna sitting in the corner of that large garden thinking that they had to weed the entire thing. Suddenly the fun of being with their dad and “helping” would have evaporated and it would have become just an overwhelming job. That is a pretty good description of my life over the last few weeks.

So, I am starting to have fun again. I am remembering that God is the one doing the real work and He is allowing me the privilege of being with Him while He does. It is such a relief!

So, with that in mind, let me share with you a few things that God has been doing while I get to “help”.

Some time ago I wrote to you about Vinancio. He had a stroke about seven months ago and we found him lying on an old, sagging bed with his left leg and arm drawn up tight against his body. We provided him with some physical therapy, but after eight weeks the therapist decided there was nothing more he could do. One of the things that bothered me was that he and his wife were sleeping on a sagging single bed in their cornstalk and wooden home. Recently one of April’s friends gave her a $100 donation to purchase a new bed and mattress for the two of them. So, at the end of February Gerardo, April, Annalisa, and our friends visiting from the States, Casey and Carmen Stickley, were able to deliver a new bed, mattress cover and sheets to Vinancio.

It sounds like an easy task, but it wasn’t. First, we had to get Vinancio out of the bed and into his wheelchair. That meant that I needed to pick him up and carry him through the narrow doorway because his wheelchair is too wide to make it through the door. After we broke down his old bed and carried it out we then had to use a  garden rake to level out the dirt floor. The water that runs through during rainy season had eroded the floor and made it uneven so that the new bed would not sit level. Then we were finally able to bring in the new bed and set it up. Once it was made with the new sheets I carried Vinancio back in and placed him in bed. His smile was worth all the time, energy and money. We then had a wonderful time of prayer together.

Last week Casey, Carmen and I took a trip up to Flores where we went to pick up more Kids Against Hunger food and work with Casey’s sister, Coral Matus. Coral is a doctor in the States and has started a medical clinic in Peten. She brings medical teams down two or three times a year. So, we headed up in our van early Monday morning. Gerardo was scheduled to join us, but he ended up deciding not to go. Apparently having surgery is more important than a road trip. (He is recovering well from hernia surgery.)

The distance from here to Flores is about 250 miles. In the States that would translate to about a 4 1/2 hour drive. Here it takes about 10 hours. So, we arrived Monday evening quite tired and ready to sleep.

On Tuesday we hit the road and stopped in at the medical clinic where we helped Coral’s team load up supplies. We then headed out to a small village where they set up to host a medical clinic for the day. On the way, we stopped in to visit the new birthing center that is being built to provide maternity care and a clean place in which to give birth. A lack of pre-natal care and trained birth supervision has resulted in high instances of miscarriages, still births and special needs.Coral’s ministry, Sew Hope, is hoping to address these root causes.

Once we arrived at the host home, we helped the team set-up for the day. Then Casey and Carmen stayed there and assisted the team by taking blood pressures, sugar levels and weighing patients while I headed out with one of Coral’s assistants, Ismael, to visit some people who need wheelchairs.

Our first stop was at the home of Vitalina. This friendly woman fell two years ago and injured her right knee. The medical treatment she received was useless and her knee is no longer able to bend. She is currently walking very slowly with a walker, but needs a wheelchair. At the same time, we are trying to arrange for her to come to Antigua to see one of the Faith in Practice teams to inquire if she is able to benefit from surgery. Meanwhile, we need to provide her with a standard wheelchair at a cost of $100.00

 

Next we visited with Santos. This gentleman fell while working and broke his back and was paralyzed from the waist down. He has a wheelchair, but the bearings are shot and he has worn the rubber on the tires completely off so that he now runs on the rims. Like Vitalina he needs a standard wheelchair which costs $100.00. Their household income is less than that each month, so he is desperately in need of assistance.

 

Next came little Emerson. This charming three year old boy suffers from hydrocephalus and a chromosomal disorder. The parents were requesting a wheelchair for him, but after examining him and asking some questions we realized that he could stand and balance on his own and walk along the edge of furniture. I believe that he is close to walking, but if we provide a wheelchair he will never be forced to take those first steps. As a result, we are working to arrange physical therapy for him. The cost will be $22.00 a month.

 

The next home we visited had two people who were struggling due to physical disabilities. Mirna fell as a child and the family was not able to afford medical treatment. Like Vitalina, her knee has seized up and she is unable to bend it. In fact, it bows backwards severely. As a result, walking is both painful and slow. She works making tortillas, and stand for long hours while doing so. After talking with her more, we decided that what she really needs is forearm crutches instead of a wheelchair. This will enable her to take some of the weight off her damaged leg, but still give her freedom to use her hands. This, combined with a stool, will give her what she needs to continue working. The cost of her crutches will be $55.00.

Also in the home is a young man named Juan. He is 32 years old and suffers from crippling rheumatoid arthritis. He is wheelchair bound and loves the chair that has been provided to him. However, he has worn the rubber off the wheels and needs a new seat cushion, back and casters. I am hoping to find all these parts at Bethel Ministries and get him up and running again. Thanks to the generosity of Bethel, this should not cost us anything. 

 

By the time we made it back to the medical clinic the team was done and packing up to leave. I had planned on returning and lending a hand, but the families we visited were spread out across a large area and we spent the entire day on our visits.

The next morning we loaded up 76 boxes of Kids Against Hunger food (I was afraid that any more would pop my tires or collapse my suspension) and hit the road. A mere 12 hours later we finally made it home.

Before I end this blog, there is one more young man I would like you to meet. His name is Cesar and he is 13 years old. We met him yesterday while doing our monthly distribution of food, medicine and diapers. Ironically, he lives right next door to one of our regular families in Ciudad Vieja, but we never knew he existed. He has a lot of challenges, including Down Syndrome and autism, and the results are devastating. As we visited with him and his mother he would repeatedly punch himself in the face and neck or pound his head against the concrete floor and wall. His poor face is bruised and battered and his knuckles are calloused and scarred. His impulse to hurt himself is uncontrollable. We would try to stop him and he would become agitated. However, when we did not stop him he would repeatedly punch himself until he would cry. The power behind his punches are great. I have a deep tissue bruise on my right hand from trying to block one of the blows to his head. With each impact, our team would cringe as the thuds seemed to shake our own heads.

Due to God’s provision, there was a doctor there who was examining Cesar’s older brother. We spoke to him and asked him to examine Cesar. He has a nasty infection on his right hands and we wanted him to treat it. The doctor was very kind and treated him at no charge. We provided them with an antibiotic along with a sedative that the doctor believes will stop or, at least, limit the self-abuse. The monthly cost of this medicine will be $19.00. Please pray for Cesar.

If you are able to help with the cost of any of these wheelchairs or crutches or with the monthly medicines for Cesar please write to me at daryl@hopeforhome.org.

That is all for now. Please remember to enjoy being with our Father as He does the real work!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew

Deep Waters

Life is crazy these days. As a testimony to that fact, I am writing this blog while sitting in a waiting room in Guatemala City because it is the only free moment I can find to write. I have never been busier in my life than I am these days, but I am so grateful for what I am seeing God do which has led to this busyness.

Las week, Gerardo, April and our friends Casey and Carmen Stickley joined me on a trip to San Pablo La Laguna. Because of the nature of many of the families we are working with in that area, we decided to make it a three day trip. We should have planned for four.

On the way up we stopped in to visit Dionisio in Panabajal Comolapa. You will recall that he is the young father who was robbed and shot twice, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. As a result, his 14 year old son has dropped out of school and is working in the fields to provide for the family. We are still awaiting a shipment of wheelchairs from the states that will enable us to provide him with the appropriate wheelchair, but we wanted to stop and deliver the money he needs to purchase his catheters and bags and visit with the family. They are a Christ-following family and it is evident in their peace and joy in spite of their situation.

We continued up to the lake and arrived around 7:00 pm and checked into a cheap hotel near the water. We were up early the next morning and headed out to meet our translator and guide, Michel. (Most of the people in this area speak Tzutujil, not Spanish.)

Our first stop was at the home of Maria. You might remember that her mother was very sceptical when we offered to help because so many others had made promises of assistance but have not followed through. I wish you could have seen the look on her face when we pushed Maria's new wheelchair into the home. As we took the time to custom fit it for her daughter, she told us that she couldn't believe she actually had a wheelchair now. She told us that Maria kept asking to go for walks, but she couldn't carry her far. The cried as she told us that now she can take her for long walks.

Once the chair was adjusted, we took Maria out on the street and I raced her up and down the hill in front of their home while she laughed. I have never seen a happier little girl. It is moments like these that make it worth all the work and effort, sweat and tears. Thanks to another sponsor we were also able to deliver diapers and basket of food to her family. By the time we left, her mother was overwhelmed and praising God for His provision.

From there we went to Lucia's house. Lucia is seven and has suffered severe seizures and spasms that bend her backward. She is unable to sit or lie flat as a result. We arranged for them to come to Hermano Pedro and see a neurologist in February. They will be coming back to Antigua for more tests and a follow-up appointment with the neurologist in April. In the meantime, the doctor has placed her on anti-seizure medication, so we wanted to check-up and see how she was doing. Her mom told us that she was almost out of the medication, but she wasn't sure it was helping. As a result, we decided not to provide any more meds until she saw the neurologist.

However, that changed when we received a call from Michel on Saturday evening after we had returned home. He told us that Lucia's mom had come to tell him that after her meds wore off Lucia got much worse. She was crying out in pain and seizing horribly. So, we made a late evening call to our pharmacy who delivered the meds to my home. Then, on Sunday morning, Gerardo took the chicken bus back up to San Pablo (about a 5 hour ride) to deliver the meds. (The region of San Pablo does not have much in the way of well-equipped pharmacies. As a result, they could not get the required meds locally.) Once she resumed the meds, she improved quickly.

While we were visiting Lucia, we realized that her mother cannot afford formula. As a result, she was feeding her crushed tomatoes, the only thing she had. Knowing the Lucia is already malnourished, we realized that we needed to intervene. So, we went to a local tienda and purchased formula to last for the month. Beginning next month, we will begin provide our specially mixed formula to combat malnutrition.

After that we visited with Ana Rosario. This 28 year old was born with cerebral palsy and suffered from seizures. Then, about 11 months ago, she suffer a series of severe seizures that left her almost catatonic. As I write this, Gerardo is with her and her family at Hermano Pedro for neurology appointment. The doctor will be analyzing the CAT scan we had done on her yesterday and hopefully providing medication to help. During our time with them yesterday we found out that this precious lady was raped when she was 13 years old. She got pregnant but then suffered complications and lost the baby. They told us that they observed a worsening of her symptoms after that trauma, but had been relatively stable until last year. This has left us wondering which of her symptoms are physical, which are emotional and which are spiritual. We were blessed to have two Christian doctors who worked with her yesterday. They gave good counsel to the family and spent time praying over Ana.

The rest of the day in San Pablo was spent doing follow up with three other children, including Mariano. He is 14 and struggles with learning disabilities, behavioral issues, and severe headaches. He, too, came to Hermano Pedro and was examined by a neurologist and placed on medicines. I am pleased to report that he is doing much better. As a result, we need to find a sponsor for the cost of his meds. (More below.)

The next morning (Friday) we met Michel again as he planned to take us to visit four families. As it turned out, we only got around to two of them as they consumed our remaining time and left our entire team quite broken.

The first one we visited was beautiful little Marta. This 12 year old took away my breath when I entered their home. She has CP and her growth is stunted by malnutrition. She only weighs 14.5 pounds. (I know, it is hard to believe. In fact, I double and triple checked the scales to make sure.) I have seen a lot since we began ministering in Guatemala, but this took my brokeness to a whole new level. I held her, prayed for her and choked back tears.

Let me be clear that Marta has a wonderful family that loves her very much. But due to her CP she cannot eat solid foods and her family has been unable to afford the formula she needs. At this point, I faced a difficult decision. My first inclination was to immediately load up the 4-Runner with her and her family and take them to Hermano Pedro to check her into the malnutrition ward. However, that has to be weighed against the fact that she has a loving family that she loves in return. In her weakened state, ripping her away from her family could cause her to stop fighting and die. After taking time to pray for wisdom, I sensed the Lord saying to leave her with her family and give them the resources they need. So, several of our team went out to purchased more formula while we completed the evaluation.

We have spoken with the family and they have agreed to try our formula for the next couple of months. If she does not begin gaining weight they have agreed to check her into Hermano Pedro. Please pray for little Marta.

We then went to Oscar's home. He is 28 and is married. Until two years ago he was healthy and working in a avocado grove. Then he fell from one of the trees and broke his back. He is now paralyzed from the waist down. As we visited, he told us that he suffered from pressure sores, so we took him in to his bed to do an examination. (His bed has no mattress and only has a thin sheet of foam over plywood.) As I removed his bandages my breath was once again stolen from me. I have never seen such severe bedsores as those that covered his hips, buttocks and lower back. Several of them went almost to the bone. 

I remember as a five year old trying to swim across a pool, only to run out of energy half way across and start to go under. I thought, "I can't do this!" That was how I felt kneeling on the dirt floor next to Oscar's bed...in way over my head and completely inadequate. I cried out to God, hoping that He would help, just as my earthly dad did in the swimming pool.

I called Dick Rutgers to ask for prayer. He was with Mark Richardson, so Dick handed him the phone and Mark proceeded to tell me that he had recently met a wound specialist near the lake who spoke Tzutujil. He gave me her number and I thought my prayer was answered...until we called her. She told us that she didn't have time and we should just take Oscar to the Solola hospital, the same hospital that was already failing to treat him properly. Another option was to take him to one of the wound clinics in Chimaltenango or Guatemala City. But both of these are very expensive and neither his family or we could afford that.

So, I found myself once again kneeling by Oscar's bed teaching his mother and father how to make saline solution and how to clean, debride and pack his sores. I am not a doctor. We make that clear to each family we visit. I am not comfortable treating people's illnesses and injuries because I know that I am way under-qualified. What if I make a mistake and kill someone? That is one of my greatest fears. At the same time, what do you do when you are all that the patient has? Without treatment, Oscar will die. With my treatment, he might die. And that is how this pastor with a degree in Christian Education finds himself treating bedsores, malnutrition and a myriad of other illnesses and injuries. (Please note: Our first, second and third options are to always get the person to a good doctor. I only put on rubber gloves when every other option has run aground.)

Someone has now donated a memory foam mattress which we will take to Oscar at the end of March. I will also take an air cushion for his wheelchair along with lots of gauze and tape along to treat his pressure sores.

So, with all of these stories told, I need your help. We urgently need sponsors for the people below. As always, if you sponsor a family 100% of you donation will go directly to the family. None will be taken to cover the cost of administration or delivery. If you are willing and able to help with one of these needs, please e-mail me at daryl@hopeforhome.org.

Dionisio – He and his family need a basket of food each month along with Q.90 for catheters and bags. The total cost of sponsorship is $41 a month.

Lucia - We need a sponsor for her monthly medications and formula which total $95 a month. Without these meds, she cries and spasms horribly, almost doubling over backward. Without the formula, she will continue to lose weight. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Mariano - We need a sponsor for his monthly meds which cost $55 a month. Without these meds he suffers severe headaches and a behavioral disorder.

Marta - This little girl desperately needs formula and diapers. The total cost for both of these is only $20 a month.

Oscar - We would like to have a sponsor to cover the cost of gauze, tape and other supplies for treating his pressure sores. The estimated cost is $12 a month.

Ana Rosario – I just received a call from Gerardo. The doctor has placed her on medicine for her seizures and also given her a prescription for medicine for a pressure sore they discovered. The total month cost will be $49.

We also ask you to please pray for God's provision for our ministry. We are currently spending a lot of money of trips, doctor appointments and testing. Each time we bring in a family to Hermano Pedro for evaluation it averages costing our ministry about $175 for transportation, lodging, meals, appointments and testing. Thus far God has provided just what we need when we need it. Please pray with us for His continued blessings.

That's all for now. Blessings from Guatemala!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew