One of the favorite parts of my summer was a visit from Joyce and Abby Clark. I have known this family from my home church for many years (since Abby was in preschool, in fact) and was delighted that they wanted to spend some time working with us.
We did take some time for fun, including going up to San Pedro to eat “street food” at one of my favorite stands.
We managed to take some of the kids from Hermano Pedro to lunch a few times while Abby and Joyce were here. For never having been around kids with such severe disabilities, they did an amazing job. I don’t know who enjoyed themselves more, us or the kids!
When told me they were coming down, I asked Joyce if they would like to go with us into some of the back country, especially around Huehuetenango. Her response was an enthusiastic willingness to go wherever there was a need, so off we went. While not a physically demanding trip, this is a rather dangerous part of Guatemala, but that didn’t give them a moment’s pause. Their willingness made them able to see parts of Guatemala seldom visited by North Americans, and they were a blessing to have along with us.
Our first stop was to visit Erica and bring her some much needed medication. They warmly welcomed us into their home and we had a great visit. Joyce and Abby were right at home visiting this family they had never met.
After a few more stops to check on other families in the area, we drove into Huehuetenango to drop off Miriam who had been living with us at Mari’s for the past month. She had had surgery in June to remove a tumor behind her eye, and needed to remain near Guatemala City for follow up treatment. She will be coming back down in August to see an ophthalmologist to see about having further surgery, this time on her eye itself.
We made numerous other stops along the way, and Joyce and Abby got to share their love, along with some beanie babies, wherever we went. They were real troopers, hiking trails and going places that were very far off the beaten path.
The kids really enjoyed the beanie babies that Joyce and Abby brought along from the States,
But Freddy's Grandmother
brought tears to everyone's eyes
when she was given one.
Joyce and Abby blessed so many people during their ten days here in Guatemala, not the least of whom was me. It was such a pleasure to get to introduce them to “my” Guatemala (not the Guatemala which tourists see) and it was a joy to see them spread their love and friendship everywhere we went. You guys are amazing friends, and I love you both. Come again soon!
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