Accident in Sacapulas, July 17

We left Uspantan around 8:30 in the morning, about 30-40 minutes behind Ronny—the driver for the team. Roger, the missionary, called Ronny to get his location and learned that the brakes failed on the van and they had collided with another van in Sacapulas. Finding them in Sacapulas was no problem as the two crashed vehicles completely blocked the street. A crowd of people gathered around watching. Ronny was understandably emotional and upset. He kept saying how he had wanted to do a good job. The miracle in all of this was that no one was hurt—not a single pedestrian, the driver of the other van, nor one of the 12 passengers in Ronny’s van. Garry Eudy, team leader and former missionary in Guatemala, was talking to people up and down the street and finding out where the believers lived. The collision occurred right in front of a Christian home, and the house directly across the street was owned by a Christian family. It was empty and for rent, but the owner invited us inside to get us out of the sun and allowed us to use the bathroom there. We took tons of pictures from the balcony of that house.

Shortly after the vehicles were separated and the street cleared, Roger came to tell us that we needed to get out of there. Our instructions were to leave the house two at a time, with a few minutes delay between departures. We were to go to the end of the street, turn right and turn right again at the end of the block and walk up the hill to another safe house which Garry located. We waited there another half hour until the pastor of the church in Uspantan showed up and prayed with all of us. The pastor had gotten a man from the church to come in his van to drive the team to Guatemala City. Roger drove the SUV with the luggage. Garry Eudy rode with him. Unfortunately, we had to leave Ronny behind to wait for the insurance adjustor. To have that many gringos in one place was not helping the situation.

We stopped for lunch in a beautiful old hotel in Chichicastenango. The plan was to go on to Guatemala City with a brief stop in Antigua so the team could do a little shopping and enjoy the beautiful ancient city. Shortly after leaving Chichicastenango, we ran into traffic problems. We eventually learned that a bridge was being paved and the traffic was stopped in both directions. Though I had not been paying attention to the time, I would say that we were stopped, engine off stopped, for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, Vickie had been on the phone with Ronny. He had quite an experience after we left. Family members of the other driver showed up with the intention of extorting money from the rich North Americans. When they realized that we had disappeared, they came after Ronny and began throwing rocks at him. One of the Christians brought Ronny into his house to protect him. He was only there a few minutes when he received a call from one of the policemen telling him to quick sneak out the back way and run into the woods to a place where the policeman would pick him up. The policeman told him to get down on the floor of his jeep where he would not be seen, because the crowd had intentions to kill him. Ronny was dropped off at a bus stop where he caught a bus going to Guatemala City. Because Ronny and Vickie were staying in touch on their cell phones, and because the traffic had stopped, Ronny was able to get off the bus and walk to where we were stopped and ride back to Guatemala City with the rest of the team. The team did not get to do any shopping or any tourist activities, but they did see the mighty hand of God protecting and directing. Hardly anything went according to our plans, but God’s plans were not thwarted.

“The Lord says, "My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9

“People may make plans in their minds, but only the Lord can make them come true.”
Proverbs 16:1 (New Century Version)

Medical Team, July 12-17

Nothing went as planned. The theme of the week was flexibility. With the elasticity of play dough this team was constantly adapting to changes in schedules and plans. The team of ten had 20 pieces of checked luggage, 14 of which did not arrive with them on Saturday night. The original plan was to leave the capital city for Uspantan by 7:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Instead, we left at 10:30 leaving behind Roger Grossmann, missionary, and Garry Eudy, team leader, who were going to collect the missing luggage from the airport. The missing luggage contained most of the medications. Quite often medicine brought in by medical teams is confiscated in customs. Whether or not the delay kept them from taking the medicines, I don’t know, but nothing was missing, nor did it appear that the luggage had been inspected.

The medical team, from Central Baptist Church in Douglasville, Georgia, was truly a dream team. A pediatrician, an internist/surgeon, 3 nurses, a pharmacist, 2 strong men willing to do anything, a fluent Spanish speaking evangelist, and the pastor of the church who was a former missionary in Guatemala all worked together as having one mind and desiring only to serve and glorify God in their every action. Roger and Vickie Grossmann are the missionaries who have been working among these people for many years. Vickie is a nurse practitioner who has worked with many medical teams and regularly has her own clinic out of her home.

Soon after arriving in Uspantan, we had a lovely dinner prepared by a precious Christian lady. She told me that her food was delicious because it was prepared with love. Emi cooked for us every evening over a wood burning stove in her tiny restaurant named Kevin after her youngest son who helped her with cooking and serving. We ate quickly in order to get to church service on time. We learned at dinner that this team was in charge of the service. Joe Owen, team member and pastor of a Spanish speaking church, preached an impeccable sermon in impressive Spanish. This tiny church was filled with people—standing room only. The praise music was energetic and loud, instruments being guitar, drums and keyboard.

Originally the plan for the medical team was four days at the Uspantan church, but another group was already in the town with a medical team. Being flexible, this team accepted invitations for two days in Pinal and two days in Nebaj. The pastor of the Uspantan church told us that he had hopes on getting work started in Pinal and for strengthening the church in Nebaj.
Pinal is a Quiché village with many poor people. Most of the children we saw were suffering from malnutrition, as were the adults. We gave everyone vitamins, other medicines as needed, kind words and encouragement. We held the clinic in a large open government building. We used sheets and large sheets of plastic to divide the area into consultation rooms. We had to be very careful about taking pictures here as the Quiché are not that open to outsiders. Nearly everyone spoke some Spanish, but many could not read. I worked in the pharmacy writing out the medicine instructions in Spanish and explaining to the patients how to take the medicine. This was a slow process for the non-readers as I had to make certain they had the instructions memorized before moving to the next patient. Three ladies from the church in Uspantan also helped in this process, though their main function was to get the people organized, handing out numbers for the order they were to be served, and taking pertinent information from each person. Five Guatemalan medical students were on hand to help and to learn. One in particular had a great desire to alleviate suffering and to help the poor. These students were extremely helpful, but they could only stay until noon which was when the last bus left Pinal, and we had no more room in our vehicles.

Wednesday and Thursday our clinic was in Nebaj. It was a rough ride to Nebaj with winding hairpin turns, large portions of unpaved and many potholes. In contrast, the scenery was amazingly beautiful and picturesque. It would have been worth the trip if only for the panoramic view, however there was more—so much more.

When we arrived in Nebaj, we could see that the church had everything ready for us. Dividers were set up for the consulting rooms. A large area was set aside for the pharmacy with benches stacked to use for shelves to put the medications and tables to separate us from the people. Benches were set up outside in a covered area to protect the waiting people from the searing sun. Church members were everywhere ready to help. At least four translators were on hand to help with those who only spoke Ixil. A tiny Ixil woman, Petronela acted as greeter and child care provider. Both days the church people prepared us a delicious hot lunch. The second day they even fixed us a special snack which is typical of their region—boxbol, pronounced bush ball. It is very similar to stuffed grape leaves. They use the leaves of the guisquil vine which are similar in size and shape to grape leaves. The rolled them almost the same way. The stuffing is masa with herbs, and they put a tasty sauce over it. I found the Ixil people to be very open and warm toward us. Our last day there, they presented each of us with a small tote bags, typical of the area so that we might have a memento of our visit to Nebaj.

Family News

Christine and Steven are now the proud parents of two beautiful boys. Tobias Grant Michael was born April 30, 2009. Mother and baby are both very healthy and doing well. I am not visiting them in Boston, MA. Little Toby is quite content and has little concern that his parents are suffering from lack of sleep. Henry doesn’t seem to have much interest in his little brother. He just wants to be near his mom, even though he has two grandmothers in the house doting on his every move and being captivated by every word he says. We both believe he is a genius and totally adorable.

Detailed planning and hard work produced an almost flawless wedding. What could not be controlled by Elizabeth’s extensive organizational skills was the weather. It was flash flood conditions all afternoon and evening of the wedding. Still with all that rain, just about everyone came who said they were coming and nothing dampened her enthusiasm. She glowed with happiness. Her two brothers walked her down the aisle and handed her over to Fernando. She was gorgeous. Fernando looked good too. The party afterwards was everything she expected. They are now on their honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean.

The Accident—April 15, 2009

I had been to the Artisan Market and spent all my cash. My mind was occupied with decisions. Should I get more cash on the way home or wait until tomorrow? Which ATM machine would I use? What would be the most efficient way home and with the least “tumulos” (speed bumps)? All the while thoughts were going through my mind about how little decisions can have a great impact. If I stopped for a refreshing drink before getting cash, would this alter my future in some way? Would I be avoiding an accident or would the timing put me in at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes the course of your life can change in one split second. Some might call these thoughts premonitions. Whatever you call it; this is what was on my mind preceding the accident.
I stopped for a frozen drink, only a few blocks from the ATM machine. Actually there was one even closer, just across the street from POPS the drink place. I wasn’t accustomed to using that one and didn’t think about it. I went to the CERCA shopping area, got the cash, and I noticed a painted van with Seguros painted on the side. I thought it was a security truck or armored car, but actually seguros means insurance.
My little station wagon headed toward my house. Within a couple of blocks of the house, I was trying to make a right turn, but an eighteen wheeler was trying to turn left onto the street I was on. I had to keep backing up to make room for that huge truck to enter the street I was on. This was a several minute delay keeping me from my destination and setting me up for my destiny. I made the turn and only two blocks up I needed to turn left. I was going slowly and had my blinker on. As I turned the steering wheel to the left, I felt the impact and heard the horrifying sound of two vehicles colliding. Airborne in front of me was a small white van. The van alit like a nose diving airplane, bounced, flipped over on its side, and did a 180° spin before coming to a stop. The front windshield had blown out on impact, and two guys crawled out the opening. This was a relief to me, because in those few seconds before the guys came out, I was thinking that no one could survive such an impact. Other than being quite distraught and thinking that I might end up in jail because I am a foreigner here, I was not hurt and there was very little damage to my Toyota wagon. People were all around me trying to help. I had a form in my car pocket which had instructions about what to do in case of an accident, but I was too upset to do the calling. I couldn’t think of all the words I need in Spanish. I did manage to call one missionary to come help. A man took my papers and called the insurance company for me. The Seguros truck that I had just seen while getting cash arrived within a few minutes. It was the insurance company for the other guys. It took a bit longer for my insurance man to arrive. I asked someone about calling the police, but the people around me all said that it wasn’t necessary and that the police were ineffective anyway.
In a little while I collected my thoughts and figured out exactly what had happened. The van was behind me and evidently impatient with my slow driving. Even though I had my blinker on indicating that I was turning left, the driver of the van proceeded to pass me on the left colliding with my front wheel as I went into the turn. A witness said he was really moving fast, which might explain how the van went airborne.
In spite all the agitation and trauma, I am grateful for a great many things concerning this unforeseeable event. First of all, there were no serious injuries. The driver of the van had a couple of cuts. His forehead and hand were bleeding slightly and he was limping. His passenger wasn’t even scratched. Both guys were wearing seatbelts. If you are going to drive like that, it is a good idea to fasten your seatbelt. I was not hurt and my car sustained very little damage. They had insurance. The people around were helpful and kind. A woman bought me a glass of water, patted my arm and spoke soothing words to me. The missionary woman I called came over and she called the one missionary who is an expert in these situations. My insurance agent had lived in Dallas and spoke very good English. Both agents knew each other, respected each other, and had worked together before. All of this waiting around and filling out forms took about two hours. During this time, a woman came out of a shop across the street with a cup of chamomile tea for me. I do love these people. I choose to see all of this as God’s protection and mercy toward me and those two guys in the van. From now on, I intend to pray each time I get behind the wheel and before I turn the key. It had already been my practice to pray for safety and protection as I am driving.

Last Words

In my heart I knew this was the last visit. She knew too. Almost as a postscript, she asked me give her clothes to her sister-in-law, my Aunt Caroline. “Look after Caroline for me,” were the last words she said to me. I said I would. My mother died a few weeks later and I kept my promise. For the next 28 years, I did whatever I could to care for Caroline because I made a promise to my mother. Caroline had a stroke when she was still a young woman. It left her paralyzed on one side. She had difficulty walking and in the last few years of her life, she was confined to a wheelchair. She lived in a nursing home just outside Dallas. Her husband died and left her with very little other than a social security check which barely covered the cost of the nursing home. One son was killed being the hero in an armed robbery. The other son was barely surviving financially, and was doing his best to manage his family and educate his children. When Caroline was dying, I was by her side, my mother’s words were still echoing in my head. I was not released from my promise until Caroline breathed her last breath.
The last words Jesus spoke to His disciples still speak to those who would be disciples of Jesus, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20) In these last words, we see the Lord’s concern for all the peoples of the earth. Honestly I never really thought this mandate was for me. It seemed to me to be for those followers who were present when He ascended, or it is meant for those whom God has called out for “special service.” I don’t see myself as an evangelist. It is not one of my gifts. I don’t see myself as a real missionary. God sent me to Guatemala to work in an office, not to evangelize. However, again my thinking is changing. What is important to my Lord must be important to me. In those last words we see what is most important to Him—making disciples of all nations, being His witnesses. The command is to teach them to obey. Jesus also said, “If you love me, you will obey my commands.” (John 14:15) This command is definitely for me and for every believer.

Weekend at the Beach—March 14-15

The older I get, the more I value the friendship of women. The Ladies Retreat was refreshing and I had a wonderful time getting to know some amazing women. However I will never see most of these women again. Here in my little neighborhood I am having an opportunity to get to know in depth some remarkable women. Age has a great deal to do with it. Women over 50 and over 60 have experienced a good deal of life. Our legs may not be the whistle bait they used to be, or our skin as smooth as a fresh peach, but hearts that have suffered and have been broken are compassionate hearts. Over the weekend of March 14 and 15 I went to the beach with 5 ladies from my neighborhood—all of us are well over 55. A few won’t say how old they are. Three of us are widows, and three are separated or divorced. The house where we stayed had a swimming pool, and we all put on our swimsuits and enjoyed the water. Try not to visualize six old ladies in swimsuits. It really is not a pretty sight. Everyone brought food to share and we had a great time preparing our meals together. Guatemalans prefer their music loud and they love to dance. I think there is something in their blood that they move so gracefully to the music. What I love about these women is their pure joy in living, how easily they break into laughter and their remarkable optimism. Life has not been easy for these ladies. Lupe, a widow has two severely retarded adult daughters. I have never heard her complain. She praises God for everything. Rita’s father was politically active and was assassinated. Her 25-year old sister was in the car with her father. She was shot in the head, never recovered mentally and died two years later. Her oldest son died in a car accident at the age of 33. Rita has the most amazing sense of humor and she keeps us laughing. I just wish I understood enough Spanish to get most of her jokes. Andrea’s husband began to abuse her when he took a mistress. She said she could have tolerated the mistress, but she did not want her three children to see her being mistreated, so she divorced him. She is a successful business woman with an amazing amount of energy. Her enthusiasm to get out and do things keeps the rest of us from sitting being passive. These ladies do not dwell on the things they have suffered, instead they find pleasure in simple things: a gloriously bright full moon, the thrill of a songbird, the sun setting over the beach, eating mangos right off the tree. I hope I will have an opportunity share the Gospel with them, but in the meantime I am learning a great deal about life from them.
(I changed the names of these women to protect their privacy.)

MAC Region Ladies Retreat—Feb. 19-23

Singing, praising, sharing, learning, laughing, shopping, eating out—the MAC (Middle America, Caribbean and Canada) Ladies Retreat was all this and more. I really had no expectations for these three days in Mexico City. My only goal was to not forget anything and still pack a light suitcase. Approximately 120 IMB missionary women and a team from an Arkansas church convened in a large hotel in the heart of Mexico City for a time of spiritual refreshing and fellowship. Being a rather new in this missionary role, I am curious to know the stories of the other missionary women. How did God direct them to the mission field? What was the nature of their “calling?” Every person has a story. Listening and hearing another person story opens the heart to love them.

One story completely mesmerized me. Gloria Sloan was sitting next to me at lunch. Someone asked her what work she and her husband were doing in Mexico. She replied that she was a widow and that her husband had died on the field. The other woman continued to probe until Gloria had told her story.
In June of 1999, the Sloan family had been missionaries about six months. The family and five summer missionaries were on the beach in southern Mexico celebrating the birthday of their younger daughter. Eleven year old Carla was holding the hand of one of the young summer missionaries when an undertow pulled them out to sea. Gary Sloan and two others went into the water to rescue them. They were able bring Carla’s body back to the shore, but were not able to revive her. Noticing that others were still struggling in the water, Gary went back into the water to attempt a rescue. He and two summer missionaries drowned in the rescue attempt. Even as the bodies of her husband and daughter were lying on the beach and the crowds began to gather, Gloria began to witness, “If this were you, where would you be? Let me tell you where my husband is now.” She told them about the glories of heaven and why she had such assurance. Gloria said that as she held her dead daughter in her arms, she felt the power of God come over her and comfort her. After a time of healing, Gloria and the rest of the family returned to Mexico where Gloria is still serving as a church planter. Gloria is also an amazing singer. The picture above is of Gloria singing for the ladies at the retreat.
Our speaker, Connie Cavanaugh, kept us laughing until our sides ached. The laughter kept us attentive to hear the serious and relevant message. Connie had a secret which she successfully kept hidden for a number of years. She was spiritually dry, in a spiritual wilderness. Often people who dry up spiritually just leave the church. They change friends. They drop out of religious life. None of these was an option for Connie because she is the wife of a prominent minister. Instead, she spent years faking her spirituality. She had the vocabulary down. She grew up in a religious home and she knew how to put on a spiritual face. Her book, From Faking it to Finding Grace, relates her journey out of the spiritual wilderness and back into God’s Grace. Her three messages revealed the God who never stops seeking us, who pursues us and loves us back into fellowship. Like a desert that springs into bloom when the rain comes, we have renewed spiritual vitality when God pours out His grace on us. What is essential in the process is being transparent and truthful about our spiritual struggle. We cannot lead others on the journey if we are faking who we are and where we are in the journey. Just before Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him, he says to him, “I have prayed that you will not lose your faith! Help your brothers be stronger when you come back to me." (Luke 22:32) As we return to Him, we are to help our brothers and sisters become stronger. The writer of Hebrews tells us to encourage one another and to spur one another on to love and good deeds (10:14-15). We can’t truly be effective in helping and encouraging if we are phony. I highly recommend Connie’s book for anyone who has had times of doubt and spiritual dryness or for anyone needing assurance of God’s amazing love.
The Retreat accomplished its purpose. The participants were spiritually refreshed, encouraged, and spurred on the good works. Thank you International Mission Board for sponsoring this event.

A Chance Encounter

The US Embassy had just opened for business. The Guatemalan “cowboy” and the young woman were an unlikely pair to be on the US citizen side of the Embassy. It was easy to see that they were confused, and I was bored. Maybe it was a chance encounter or maybe God ordained. Whichever, the meeting became much more than I expected. The young couple from the country had come to the city to get US passports for their two young daughters who were born in Rome, Georgia. Their challenge was 6 pages of forms written in English and needing to be completed in English. I was sitting waiting to get a document notarized. Seeing that they could not read the forms, I offered to help. They proudly showed me the pictures of their little girls and explained to me how proud they were that their children were American citizens. After completing the forms they were told to go to the embassy web site and make an appointment for interview. There are internet places all over the city, but for them to use the internet was definitely not going to be easy. I gave them my cell phone number and shook my head thinking about the obstacles ahead for this couple. I never expected to see or hear from them again.

A few weeks later I received a call on my cell phone from Alicia. At first I thought it was a wrong number and then she reminded me that we had met in the embassy. She told me that they were at the US Embassy with their children and that they had no money and no place to stay. What could I do? I am here as a missionary—one sent to help people. I called a taxi to pick them up and bring them to my house. (I don’t know the way to the embassy and back.) My missionary coworkers advised me to be cautious and not to leave them alone in the house. Therefore I was excused from work to stay with my house guests. Alicia, Lindolfo and the children had traveled on a bus for 10 hours to get to Guatemala City from their little village near the Mexican border. The children had not eaten since they left their home. Like children just about anywhere in the world given the choice of where to eat, they chose McDonald’s. They don’t have one in their little village, but they remembered from living in Georgia. The precious little girls, ages four and five, ate everything in their “Happy Meals.” It was easy to see how hungry they were.

They had appointments at the US Embassy for Wednesday morning and this was Monday afternoon. They were exhausted from their travels so they all went to bed fairly early getting us through Monday. Tuesday I decided to take them to the zoo. It is right next to the airport so I knew how to get there and back. None of them had ever been to a zoo and really didn’t know the names of many of the animals and I didn’t know all the names in Spanish, so it was a learning experience for all of us. The best attraction was seeing a squirrel with a huge avocado it its mouth. Avocado trees are more common here than any kind of nut tree. I just never thought of avocados as being food for squirrels.

Wednesday morning they gathered up all their belongings and headed back to the Embassy and then the long trip back to their country home where they live crudely, cooking over wood fires. Try to imagine how often you would cook if you had to gather wood and chop it and then build a fire to cook, and all you have to cook is rice and beans. Back in Georgia they had lived among other immigrants and managed without learning more than a few expressions in English. They worked at Tyson chicken processing plant. They had to return to Guatemala because Alicia’s mother was ill and could no longer take care of Alicia’s invalid 10 year son. Please pray for this family. Their needs are great and they do not know a loving God. I will see them again. They have to return to get the passports when they are ready. They promised to call, and I am certain that they will.