Time has gotten away from me and I realized this morning that it has been over three weeks since my last blog. I apologize for my delinquency and want to catch you up on some of the details of life and ministry. However, because of the tightness of time, I will let pictures do most of the talking.
First, on May 27th we welcomed the Beyer family to our team! This has been long awaited and prayed for, so we are thrilled that they are actually on the ground. They have found a home right here in town and signed a lease, and we expect them to make the move from our place to theirs in the next few days (if I can ever find the time to take them to do the shopping that needs to be done prior to the move). Our dinner table has been crowded with them joining us, but we love it because we love the Beyer clan. We are actually a little sad to see them leave and head to their own home.
As I write this they are meeting with their Spanish teacher to set-up lessons. They will be immersed in language study for the next couple of months.
We made it up to San Pablo La Laguna on May 31st and June 1st. It was an encouraging trip as we saw several of our children making significant progress.
Little Marta gained 2 1/2 pounds in the last month, bringing this 12 year old up to a whopping 19 pounds (up from her original weight of 14 1/2 pounds)! This is significant progress in the last three months.
Little Lucia continues to improve. It has been two months since her last seizure and she is now able to sit comfortably. (When we found her she was nearly doubled backward and unable to sit or lie flat.)
With each passing month we are more warmly received in the community of San Pablo. Little Maria’s family first met us with coldness and distrust. We are now welcomed warmly and as part of the family. They even invited us to Maria’s birthday party.
Over the last week we have been working with a wonderful team of occupational and physical therapists from Xavier University in Cincinnati. We were contacted by Steve Osborn from Amor del Niño, who has worked with them for years, and asked if we could arrange several clinics in different communities in which we work. Of course our answer was “Yes!” So, we had two days of therapy clinic in our town on Monday and Tuesday. Then, we went down to La Gomera for a one day clinic on Thursday and to Sipicate for a one day clinic on Friday. It was a wonderful and exhausting week of 14 hour days for me. God used these times to build our relationship with the communities in which we work and truly touch lives.
During these days our ministry picked up 15 new families who need assistance. We will be doing follow-up with them later this week.
Once particularly difficult situation was a young lady named Katerin. She is 16 years old and has cerebral palsy. Her mother showed up seeking therapy, but as soon as I saw her I realized that she was in crisis. She was malnourished, seizing and too weak for therapy. So, we did a quick assessment. The mother explained that she could not afford the medicine for seizures that the doctor had prescribed. Neither could she afford formula. I made a quick run to the local pharmacy for both meds and formula. I am thrilled to say that we have found a sponsor for her to provide these things every month. Please pray for her.
Sipacate is only a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean, so in spite of my fatigue after a long week I yielded to their pleas and we did a detour to the shore as we were leaving town. We were all greatly entertained as the ladies of the team were taken by surprise by a large wave while taking a group photo. (I am still trying to get all the sand out of my van.) At my insistence we moved further up the shore before I joined them for a couple of photos, one yielding the Xavier X. I am so thankful for this wonderful group of therapists and the time we had together.
One of our areas of ministry has been through our local church. I preach about once each month, and we have been bringing three Guatemalan families with us each Sunday. That has made transportation interesting as we have filled both our van and our 4-Runner to overflowing to get everyone to and from the service. And this is prior to the opening of our group home which will add even more to those number. So, we have begun praying for a second van to assist with transportation. In the meantime, we may resort to having our kids ride on the luggage rack up top.
My daughter, Carissa, is safely in London now for a layover during her trip home from Uganda. We will pick her up from the airport tomorrow evening and enjoy a little time with her before she begins fundraising to return full-time to Uganda.
And my daughter, Teisha, is settled into the community of Troy, OH where she is working full-time and saving for school in the fall. She will celebrate her birthday on Thursday, so we are feeling her absence as well.
We are hoping to have four of the five Musketeer Fulp Girls back together for a brief time over the holidays (minus Ashley who cannot come). Until then, we will pray for and miss all of them who are not with us.
Well, that is all for now. Blessings from Guatemala!
Daryl, Wanda and the Crew
