Fast three weeks................

Where did that three weeks go and in such a hurry? It seems as if I just left Guatemala for a few weeks home to visit my family and friends........and now I am back.

As always, I neglected the blog. I only took one photo the whole time I was in North Carolina and here it is. This is Christmas Eve and my parents were watching some ball game. Well, dad was watching and mom went to say hello.

While I was there we celebrated my dad's birthday, I spent time with friends, had a few doctor's appointments and also met with the mission committee from my sponsoring congregation, The South Fork Church of Christ. It was a busy time but I accomplished everything I needed to do.

We took dad out a few times to celebrate his birthday. My doctor's appointments and exams went well and I am very thankful for that. South Fork will continue to sponsor me and are looking for others who might also be interested in helping. If you are, please let me know and I will send you the contact information.

And yes, my parents did spoil me when I was with them :)

It is now time to get back to work. We have a lot of different events scheduled this year and it will be a busy year. We will have our clinics and will continue with the previous classes but will also have some new ones. Spring break teams will soon visit and then later we will have the MET Program.

We pray that our work will bring our patients and their families closer to Christ. While many people do not think of their relationship to Christ. While many may think of it, they may not act on it. Others may be confused and not sure what to do. I want our teaching to be only that of the Bible for it remains forever.

Peter thought it was important that the Christians in the New Testament times remembered this as he quotes from Isaiah 40-6-8.

I Peter 1:23-25----For you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of the Lord stands forever.

Let us continue to persevere with only His teaching.

Clinic in Lemoa

Today we had clinic in Lemoa. We had a busy clinic with 22 medical patients and 4 patients for dental cleanings.

When we arrived there was activity in the clinic area. We are in the early stages of building on to the clinic. Today, the guys were digging and adding water to make the adobes for the addition. The guys were playing in the mud that was up to their knees.

After they formed the adobe bricks, they placed them in the sun to dry.

On the other side of the clinic, guys were making some adjustments to prevent pooling of water that we have during the heavy rains.

A father brought in his child that had stepped on a nail 6 months ago. He states there was no infection after the incident but that it has not healed well. They will go for an xray to see if there is a foreign body inside the foot. If there is something there, they will return to see Lisa in another week.

After clinic we counted more vitamins to be distributed to the ABC Clinics. Then we met for awhile to discuss the 2012 calander. The new year will be here shortly and it will be an exciting one!

Clinic in Chutzurob

Today, Juan, Gaspar and I went to Chutzurob. We had a good clinic with 17 patients. Most of the patients had problems with colds and upper respiratory problems.

This little guys was the excitement of the clinic today. When I pulled out the camera, he got real serious on us.

Sebastian tried to get him loosen up again but it didn't work.

Please remember Sebastian in your prayers. His son was in an auto accident in Guatemala City and has some broken bones. Sebastian would appreciate your prayers.

This young lady always comes and talks as I start to pack up. I take her photos and she enjoys them. She always laughs and then wants another one taken.

We will be back in Chutzurob on January 10th. That sounds like a long way away but I know the time will pass quickly.

Happy December!

I apologize since it has been so long since I have blogged. Things have been moving right along and we are already in December!

This morning I went to Santa Cruz for worship. There were many people there and we had a good lesson. He talked about how soon this year will come to a close and then we will begin 2012. He talked about goals and plans that we need to make so that we will accomplish things. If we do not set goals or have dreams, there is little chance that we will do or be any different in the year to come.

Many people make New Year's resolutions and do not keep them. If resolutions are only made once a year, they usually do fail. Maybe our focus and goals should be made more frequently. I think this way they have a better chance of success.

Of all goals that could be set, what is better than to focus our life on Christ? The Bible is full of examples of people who wandered away, lost faith or lost their first love. Without a strong relationship with God, what else matters in life? As we know, this life is temporary.

We know how the Israelites constantly shifted in their faithfulness to God. We are warned in Revelations about people losing their first love. Even today, we need to listen to these warnings. They are as relevent as the day they were written.

Satan will take any foothold on us he can get. We need to stay active and alert to prevent him from getting an advantage. If we do not, he will strengthen his grip and weaken our relationship with God.

We have been planing our education for 2012 and I think it is exciting. Lisa has been working on prenatal classes and some sex education classes that she was asked to prepare. We will continue with the diabetes class and will also be offering a gastritis class.

So, there are a lot of good things going on. Please continue to pray for the work here. The ABC program is continuing to grow and remains active. The children are doing well and now are enjoying their vacation before classes start again.