Angelita Is Home

Forgive me for being so late in sharing an update on Angelita’s surgery. The last six days have been a blur, and I am only now getting my feet under me.

We arrived at the hospital late on Friday afternoon. My daughter, Brittney, and her fiancé, Joel, drove us and helped us get checked in to her room. Because of the long drive to the city, combined with vehicle issues and the fact that the hospital is in a more dangerous zone of the city, we decided that I would stay with Angelita the entire time and provide her care.

Her surgery was scheduled for the next morning (Saturday), but we had some immediate concerns. Friday was a big day in Guatemala. The former Vice-President, who resigned in May due to a bribery scandal, was arrested and formally charged. In addition, more evidence was released that links our current President to the scandal. This triggered protests all over Guatemala as the people began demanding the President’s resignation or his impeachment, and the central focus of that was around the seat of power, which was just a few blocks from our hospital. In addition, other protests blocked roads all over the country. So we were concerned that the staff would be blocked from getting in to do the surgery. However, after a lot of prayers, they made it in early the next morning before the protests heated up.

The surgery on Saturday went flawlessly. The doctor was very pleased with the procedure, although Angelita did take longer to wake up from the anesthesia than normal. She spent most of the day sleeping, and only had one glitch when she threw-up at around 3:00 am on Sunday morning. But when she woke up later in the morning she had a huge smile on her face! She was alert and happy for most of the day. Wanda, Brittney and Joel came in late morning so that I could leave and get some real food. The fresh air did me good.

On Monday morning she awoke even happier than the day before. As I spoke to her she laughed! In fact, she laughed more by 10 am on Monday morning than I have heard her laugh for the previous year! Our little girl was back! The doctor discharged her late morning

By this point I was a walking zombie, having not slept well for the previous three nights. I had planned to come home, take care of urgent office work and crash. I had also planned to take Tuesday off, except for doing a quick update to my blog, but that was not to be. Instead the morning was filled with a stream of families at our gate, vehicle problems and a stomach virus that has filled our home with vomiting and diarrhea.

Speaking of vehicle problems, both of the ministry’s 4-wheel drive vehicles are in the shop right now. This has effectively shut down our rural village ministry. We are hoping to get one of them back today or tomorrow, but this is Guatemala. So we really have no idea when it will be done. Please pray that the work on both of these will be completed soon, as we have families that are waiting.

In addition, the protests continue to heat up. Yesterday roads all over Guatemala were blocked, making travel difficult. The protests will likely continue until the President is removed from office. Thus far the protests have remained peaceful and have yielded results. Please pray for justice and peace for Guatemala.

Blessings from Guatemala!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew