Clinic in La Iglesia de Cristo in Chichicastenango

We had a great clinic on Thursday in Chichi in La Iglesia de Cristo.  Had a lot of diabetics who needed some extra education so hopefully, next clinic they will be better controlled.

This young man will be having eye surgery in Montellano in November.  He lives in Panajachel and Hector has brought him to see us a few times.

I have a new ABC Daughter.................please do not tell my current ABC Children because I do not want to cause any jealousy. This is Ana Roxanna and she is Manuel's daughter.  Today, is her birthday so she stopped to see us and we ran down the street for some ice cream.  Not the most exciting birthday but the best I could do on short notice :)

 Ana's mom, Juana, also jokes about us sharing her daughter :)

Tomorrow, we will head to Mactzul I and hope to have a mountain of patients.  We will see...........

Busy Day in Lemoa

We had a busy day in Lemoa but it was good.

We saw two patients for eye surgery in November.  All of their paper work is done and they have signed their surgical forms.

Today, Anderson Joel and his mom came to see us.  His mom, Kristina just wanted to say hi and to see if Anderson needed another surgery or not.

We chatted for awhile........Anderson is not talking much so we connected them with a speech therapist in Santa Cruz.  Anderson is very out going and happy.

Kristina told me that her husband was not able to come today since he is in the capital working.  So she called him so we could say hi via the cell phone.  His name is Francisco.

So, it was good to see the whole family.  He is almost 5 years old and wants to go to school next year.

We will see how the consult goes with the speech therapist in Santa Cruz.

Tragedy in Chichicastenango

The last few days in Chichicastenango have been sad and hanging over it has been a cloud of disbelief.

Towards the end of clinic on Thursday, Maury called to tell me about a 12 year-old boy who was killed in his home on Wednesday evening.  At this point, they had not found the people who were responsible for the murder but they knew that the reason was robbery.   Three people had broke into the home to steal a television, microwave and radio.  They did not think anyone was home but when the boy appeared, they took him outside and killed him. The parents had not returned home after working in the market.

On Friday, when I met Martina, she told me that they had found two of the people and that the community had proceeded with castigo maya.  This is when the community comes together and they flog the person or persons with a form of a whip, branches or poles.  One of the men was taken to the national hospital because he was severely beaten.

I know some of the family members so I wanted to go to the cemetery for the burial.   It was on Friday afternoon so I walked down to see if I could find the family members that I know.

When I approached the back of the cemetery, there were hundreds and hundreds of people all around the cliff.  Apparently, the third person that they suspected was down below and trying to get away. The area is a large "U" and crowds had formed on all three sides.

 They said that he had slid down this path to escape.

People were running all over below trying to find him.  As the trees would move people would get excited and start to yell........the crowds would shift closer to where there was activity.

As it started to get later, I thought it would be better to get out of there.  I knew that if they found him, he did not have any chance to survive.  I did not want to see or be part of a castigo maya.

What a horrible event.  We found out later that the people who broke into the house and killed the boy are cousins!  Just no words...................all for a televison, microwave and radio.  

New Congregation-----Chicabracan

Chicabracan 

About two years ago, Favian was severely depressed.  Vicente, his friend heard about the clinic in Lemoa so he brought Favian to see if there was help available. Since that consult, many lives have been altered and the story continues to be written, as you read this today.

Before Favian visited the clinic in Lemoa, his life was the extreme of highs and lows. He associated with and was well known in several of the evangelical churches called, Principal de Paz.  He had purchased expensive instruments for worship and when the bills came due, this is when things started coming down.

Favian sold his land, left his family and traveled to The States to find enough money to pay his debts.  During the time in The States, his wife and children left him. He eventually returned to Guatemala but his previous circle of friends did not welcome him. He found he had nothing left. He had hit the bottom.

His situation overwhelmed him and he could not eat or sleep.  He was barely surviving. At Clinica Caris, he had a consult with Dr. Lisa and then met with Gaspar Chan, who is the evangelist in the Chichicastenango area for Health Talents.  Gaspar talked and prayed with Favian and made plans to visit him in Chicabracan.  

Gaspar visited Favian from 9am to 6pm, for three consecutive Wednesdays. After the third visit, Favian decided to become a Christian and to be baptized.  He wanted to let the past struggles disappear and make a fresh start.  While all of this was transforming, the instruments that Favian had purchased were stolen…….Favian’s response to this was, “They were stolen because at that time, I was not doing God’s will.  Because of that, God has allowed them to be taken.”

Favian was baptized in Lake Atitlan. He and Gaspar continued to have a close relationship and have planted a Church of Christ in Chicabracan. They continue to study with people and look to the Bible for the answers. Currently, there are twenty-two baptized members, with 14 children also attending the worship services.

Another lady in the community, is Marta, who also was associated with the Principal de Paz. She and her husband had alcohol problems so the community went to the authorities over what was happening in their home.  Their two children were removed due to violence and were placed in an orphanage. 

Marta was a self-proclaimed prophetess in the community, so Favian went to talk with her.  He told her that what she was claiming, was not God’s Will and could not be found in the Bible. They studied the scriptures together and about three weeks ago, she was baptized.  She stopped drinking, presented her baptism certificate to the authorities and now has her children back home with her.  She and her husband continue with their temporary separation.

In Febuary of 2018, Favian is moving to Guatemala City to attend BICA. BICA is a Bible Institute and he plans to study there for two years. 

He and Gaspar still have plans in the future to meet and continue to spread the gospel is Chicabracan.  

When talking to Gaspar, you know that he loves the work that he does.  He has been working in the area of Chichicastenango since 2006.  He was the first health care promoter with Health Talents, working with Kemmel and Lisa Dunham. He now spends the majority of his time evangelizing and visiting people in their homes. He often councils couples who are having marital problems. When asked how many people he has baptized during these last four years, he could roughly name forty but there is no way to number the lives that he has impacted with his Christian example.

Below, Juana, Gaspar's wife gives encouragement to Marta's two children.

This is the Chicabracan congregation.  Favian is the first man on the left and Vicente is the third man from the left.

Manuel and Medical Evalgelism

In April 20013, Health Talents started a new clinic in an area called Chicua.  We thought the clinic had great potential, being near the highway and in a good location.

On April 6^th, we had seventeen patients waiting for us as we arrived. We quickly set up clinic and then prayed with everyone before starting.  

  

The first patient of the day was a diabetic man, in his mid-40’s and his name was Manuel. His blood sugar was out of control and he did not seek medical care on a regular basis.  We talked about diabetes and I gave him a teaching sheet to help him with his diet.  He asked how much the medicine was and I told him that it less expensive than the pharmacy’s because we were a ministry of The Church of Christ.  We talked a few minutes longer and then he said to me something that I will never, never forget.  He said, “I want to know more about this Church of Christ.” 

 

As soon as I returned home that afternoon, I called Gaspar to follow-up with Manuel.  The next morning, Gaspar traveled and walked almost three hours to find Manuel in Chicua. (Please remember that these small communities do not have street signs nor houses with numbers.) They studied the Bible for the remainder of that day, had dinner together that night and scheduled two more visits.

This is Medical Evangelism at work.  

On April 15^th, Manuel was baptized with eight other people at Lake Atitlan. One of the other men that was baptized is a father to an epileptic child that I see monthly.  On that day, we rejoiced with the angels as those nine souls were added to the Book of Life (Rev. 3:5).

Manuel a few minutes before he was baptized.

 The baptism.

Manuel continued to struggle with the diabetes but was doing better.  From time to time, he would call me and be very upset.  He would say, “Sheri, I have fallen.  I have fallen.”  When I heard those words, I knew that he had started drinking again.  I would respond, “Manuel, we all fall.  The key is to get yourself back up, pray for forgiveness and return to the church and ask them to pray with you.  You cannot do it alone.” I then would hear from the community that Manuel was back on track.

 

Manuel lived a difficult life, as many people do.  On October 14, 2014, he died.  He lived a little over eighteen months after being baptized, when he was buried with Christ and washed of all of his sins.

The exciting part of this true story is, that Manuel knew he needed Christ.  He responded to the Medical Evangelism as it was presented to him. And because of this, we give God all of the glory!

We were able to help him with his medical situation and from that, we developed a good relationship with him.  It allowed doors to be opened so that we could assist him with his spiritual needs. He felt comfortable with us and trusted us.  

As I said before, to God be all of the glory!  Because of God, we have medicine to help or to heal many illnesses. Due to the death of His son, and the access to His blood, Manuel now has eternal life.

Follow-up on Daniel

A couple of months ago, I posted a story of a young boy named Daniel.  His eye had quickly became white and he had lost his vision. The mother had taken him to several different physicians but no one could give her an answer to what had happened to her child.

The ministry, Solomon's Porch contacted me about him and then we arranged for a consult with Dr. DeLeon at ASELSI. After seeing him, Dr. DeLeon wanted to proceed with an ultrasound in his office so those arrangements were made.  Two weeks later, we heard there was a malignant mass behind the eye and Daniel would need surgery to remove the mass and eye.

Today, I received word form Eugenia, the social worker with Solomon's Porch that Daniel has received his surgery and he is recovering well.  There are plans for placing a prosthesis in the near future.

Please pray for Daniel and his mom.  His mom is feeling very guilty for not getting help sooner but she tried.  I know she would appreciate your prayers for her comfort and peace and for Daniel's healing.

Thank you.