My Time with the Westside Team

On March 17, I was exdited to welcome the FMX (Family Mission eXperience) Team from my home church, Westside in Omaha.  While they would only be with me a little more than 24 hours, we were determined to pack all we could into that one day.

The team had been working with Bethel Ministries International, building houses, distributing food, and putting on a wheelchair distribution.  



While they would not be able to actively participate in our work here because it was the weekend, I did get to introduce them to some of my colleagues from Santa Maria de Jesus.  Judy Kerschner, the founder of New Life with Education, and Jennifer Gleismann, our Speech Therapist, were able to join us for dinner on Saturday night, as was Brian Taylor, who is assisting me in the classroom there. 



Mari prepared a wonderful “typical” meal for us, and after we had had our full of Guatemalan fare, Judy showed us a video about Nueva Vida, and shared her story with the team.  Not quite the same as visiting the school, but at least the group has some idea what we are doing there.  Hopefully, if the group returns next year, they will be able to meet our special kids first hand.

Sunday morning we attended church at Iglesia del Camino and then headed over for an early lunch at Café Sky.  Or I should say, tried to head over.  Each Sunday during Lent there are processions here in Antigua, and this Sunday happened to be one of the biggest.  So, part way to the restaurant, we decided we might as well just stop and watch the goings-on, since the streets were pretty much impassable.  The team really were good sports about this, and I think even enjoyed some of the “local culture and color.” 



(Which is good, since we got caught in another part of the procession, in a different part of the city, on the way home.)

Once we finally made it to the restaurant, we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the city,

as well as one of the best meals I’ve eaten in a long time. . .(no offense, Mari, but this was over-the-top).

Now that the procession had passed, we were easily able to make our way to Hermano Pedro, where we spent the afternoon playing with the kids.  I think some of the team members enjoyed themselves as much as the kids did!

The “Weins boys” enjoying Henry and Miguelito

Michelle cuddling Genardo

Caleb playing with Lito

Thanks, team, for blessing the kids, and blessing me personally.  It was a taste of home that was very welcome.

Ten Full Days with Alexi and Kathleen

Right after the New Year began, I received an email from Alexi Treu, a young man from Omaha who had grown up in Westside Church.  On Sunday evenings, Alexi would help me in childcare and the kids loved him.

Now, he was getting ready to join the Army, and wanted one last “adventure” before becoming a soldier. (That sounded like enough of an adventure to me, but evidently, not to Alexi).

So, after a number of emails, and a few difficult phone calls (due to poor internet access at our end), everything was arranged and Alexi, and his friend Kathleen McGlynn arrive here on Valentine’s Day. 
I almost did not recognize Alexi as he walked out of the airport in Guatemala City.  I’d not seen him in a number of years, and the teenager I knew had morphed into a quite handsome young man!  I was so excited to see him.

I have said before, I don’t usually host larger teams, but love having a few people down to work with us at a time.  When they are young people I have known for years, their visits are extra special to me.
I had not met Kathleen before, but fell in love with her right away.  She has such a sweet spirit, and a brilliant mind, as well as a generous heart.  She and her family have founded a non-profit, Network Against Malaria, and have been working for a number of years with an Ugandan priest to help eliminate this very preventable disease.

They visited our classroom at Santa Maria de Jesús, as well as spent time with our residents at Hermano Pedro. 



During a food distribution with Love Guatemala, the ministry operated by our friends Phil and Judy Bergen, they got into a quite active game of “futbol” with the kids in this very poor community located on the Filadelfia Coffee Plantation.  (This plantation is a popular sight with tourists, who zip line only feet above where these plantation workers live in deep poverty. . .but I’ll get on my soap-box another time.)



While they were here, we had a wheelchair distribution at the Hope Haven Factory outside Antigua, and they both got a lot of hands-on experience in fitting and “mechanic-ing” wheelchairs.




Working with Gustavo to adjust a chair.








Ilse Caballeros, the resident physical therapist at Hope Haven, teaching them about positioning and seating.




After all their hard work, I thought we’d spend a couple of days up at Lake Atitlan.  I doubted that Alexi would get much time for R&R after he leaves for bootcamp two days after returning from this trip. 
We stayed at Panajachel, where I was able to visit a few of the families with whom we work, as well as visit one of the special schools in the area.  While I was doing this, they “kids” got plenty of time for shopping and sight-seeing.



Saturday we took a boat ride over to Santiago Atitlan, and we visited the church there, where Father Stan Roher, a missionary priest from Oklahoma, was murdered during the war.  Father Stan has become somewhat of a hero to many of us working here in Guatemala, and his story is well chronicled by Henri Nouwen in the book Love in a Fearful Land. 



Kathleen having coffee with our boatman









On the steps of the church in
Santiago, Atitlan where Father Stan was martyred

Father Stan’s headstone

Thank you, Alexi and Kathleen for a wonderful ten days.  Please pray for Alexi as he begins his career in the military, and Kathleen as she returns to work, her studies, and to serving with her non-profit.

Helping Alma Get Back on Her Feet

I first met Alma Beatriz (affectionately called Cariño--loved one by her dad, since she was born on Valentine's Day twelve years ago) last August when I went with Dick to visit Dr. Will Bogel, a friend of ours who serves as a volunteer doctor at the hospital in San Lucas Toliman, up at Lake Atitlan.  We knew that in  February Will would be hosting a team of surgeons who would be doing corrective surgery on feet and ankles.  Dick had met Alma at a seating clinic at Hope Haven here in Antigua, and thought she would be a good candidate to receive surgery from this team.  The first step was for her to be evaluated by Doctor Will.

Dr. Will and Dick looking at Alma's x-rays

After his examination, Dr. Will said that he believed surgery would indeed help Alma, but that it would be a long process.  Her right foot, which was the most severe, would be operated on this February.  Because she would need extensive surgery on both feet, she would have to wait until February, 2014 for her left foot to be operated on.  He has every reason to believe, though, that after these surgeries she would be able to walk  unimpeded for the first time in her life.

Plans were made for Alma and her parents to return to San Lucas the first Saturday in February to be seen by the entire surgical team, and, God willing, her surgery would take place later the following week.  On Saturday, January 26th, Dick wanted to take a drive out to Alma's to make sure her parents remembered the appointment.  We were happy to find that they had been in contact with Dr. Will already, but somewhat concerned that Mom had needed to call him because the sore on Alma's foot had become infected.  Would this mean she couldn't have surgery in February?  Mom told us Dr. Will had prescribed a strong antibiotic, but really wanted to see her to take a look at her foot first hand.  

Unfortunately Dick would be traveling this next week and could not take her.  I was sure I could find a shuttle to take them up, though it would be pricey.  It was obvious to me, however, that her mom could not get her on an off of the three buses needed to travel to San Lucas from their home in Supongo, near Antigua.  Dick came up with the idea of Mom and Alma saying with me the following Sunday night (he could bring them down that evening before he left on his trip), and the shuttle could then pick them up at our house and take them up to the Lake.  I had hoped to find a communal shuttle that ran to San Lucas, but the closest we could come was one to San Pedro or Panajachel.  Mom and Alma could take a boat across the Lake, but I was sure, once again, that Alma was too heavy for mom to carry to the dock, let alone get onto a boat.  Our only recourse was to hire a private shuttle which would cost about $125, but, given the urgency of getting this infection cleared up before the team arrived, I decided it was a good investment.  (Donations to our designated medical funds enable us to help people in this way.  Thanks to all you who have contributed!)

Mom and Alma at our dining room table

Mom could not believe I would not charge them to stay at my house!  I told them they were more than welcome--the only catch was they would have to eat "gringa food."  They laughed and thought they could manage.  They arrived later Sunday night, loaded down with avocados for us. We had some wonderful visits before they left for the Lake on Monday morning.  Their family is Catholic, but attends an evangelical church in their area.  Mom shared with me that she had a desire to accept Christ as her Savior, but that her husband had forbidden her to do so.  (There is a lot of fear among Catholics here that if they accept Christ they cannot remain in the Catholic Church.)  It was wonderful to be able to share with mom and Alma that I myself had been Catholic when I accepted Jesus as my Savior, and continued to worship in a Catholic Church.

Doctor Will was able to successfully treat her foot with antibiotics, and surgery was able to move ahead as scheduled.

Her dad was able to go with her and her mom the day of surgery, so they road the bus up to the hospital in San Lucas Toliman.  (This hospital was founded by a priest from Oklahoma, and has a rich history here in Guatemala.  His partner, Father Stan, was a pastor in Santiago, Atitlan, who was murdered by the Army during the Civil War.  Being here is like touching a bit of history.)

Dick and I, however, were able to go up and pick her up the Saturday after her surgery.  I was so glad we had done so, since her foot was in a "halo cast" made up of steel rods, and there is no way she could have made it home on the bus, even with both her parents.  (This family is so unassuming.  Dad had traveled back to our area after surgery on Tuesday, but returned on the bus early this morning to help us take Alma home.  He didn't even think to ask us for a ride, and it never occurred to us that he'd need a ride.)

Alma, in the front seat of Dick's car, on her way home.  Amazingly, she said she was not in any pain.  It hurt me just to look at her foot, but she is a real trooper.

Alma was feeling well enough on the way home that we were able to stop for lunch at a restaurant that overlooks the lake.  Great treat for the family.

When we got back to Supongo, "Dick MacGuyvered" her current wheelchair so that she could use it with her new, larger foot.

While she is not done with this yet, we are well on the way to seeing her be able to walk.  She has been back three times since surgery to see Dr. Will, and the surgery has been very successful.  This month she is due to have the rods removed, and she is currently able to bear some weight on the foot though it is still in the cast.

She actually is looking forward to her next surgery next February, after which she should be able to walk without pain for the first time in her life.

Thank you, Dr. Will Bogel, for all your work here in Guatemala, and for facilitating the surgical team which made Alma's treatment possible.

Casa Esperanza on Wheels!

Well, the wheels for the house are a bit bigger, and somewhat more expensive, than the wheels Moises and Fidel have been using to get around, though, come to think of it, maybe not more expensive than Fidel’s very specialized chair would be if Bethel Ministries had not provided it for him. In it’s defense, it does hold six more people than a wheelchair, and I don’t have to push it (I hope!). 

I hadn’t planned (or budgeted) to buy a car right now, but I think God provided this car for us in much the same way He provided the house. 

(More pictures at the end of this entry. . .)

This journey  began when another missionary posted that he was selling a 1996 Suburban for only $2000.  That price was too good to pass up, but when I went with Dick to look at it, we discovered it was actually overpriced.  The power steering squealed, the engine wasn’t hitting on all cylinders, and the muffler needed to be replaced.  The nicest part of the car was the body!

Somewhat disappointed, I passed on the car.  However, Dick and I had spent enough time talking about the benefit a car would be to the house, that he was not as willing to give up on finding a car as easily as I was.  About an hour after he went back to Chimaltenango, I got a call from him and some of the boys that they were bringing me a car to look at.  (More than) a little surprised, I told him to come bring it on.  He had gone to see his mechanic, Eli, who had a 2001 Mazda MPV he wanted to sell, and Dick thought it would be perfect for us.

When I saw it I couldn’t believe how nice it was.  It is a v6 with a turbo, which gives great power passing,  often a  necessity here.  It rides well, and is a little higher than a car, which is good in a land of SUV’s and trucks, so it provides a good view.  It handled like a dream, but I had not been saving for a car.  Since the price was more than double what the Suburban would have cost, told him I’d have to pass again. 

Then he told me that Eli had said he would accept payments from me, without interest, if I really wanted the car.  (Eli has worked with Dick and Bethel Ministries for years and tries his best to help missionaries.)  We then took the car over for Leo to see (he’s a mechanic) and he loved it.  He wasn’t sure of the price, but after checking the car ads in the daily paper, advised us to go for it, since it was priced about 15,000 quetzales (about $2000) less than anything comparable which was advertised for sale.  (Used cars are notoriously overpriced here in Guatemala.)

We went and talked to Eli, and I was amazed that he said to go ahead and take the car, and make payments when I can.  He said the car was just taking up space in the shop, and I might as well be using it while I was paying for it.  He even turned over the title to me—all of this without any paperwork.  He is taking a huge risk on me, but said since he knew I was Dick’s friend, he knew I was “good for it.”  Pretty amazing, huh?

So, we now have a seven passenger minivan.  The middle two seats are removable and leave enough space to fit in a Hope Haven wheelchair (which does not fold).  We don’t know if Fidel’s power chair will fit, but it looks like it might if we incline it.  That would be pretty amazing!

Now, all that’s left to do is pay for it.  I have made it a practice to try not to ask for special donations, but after much prayer, think this is a time to make an exception.  While Eli is not pressuring me for payments, I’d like to pay him off as quickly as possible so he doesn’t lose any money on this deal.  I also don’t like the idea of having debt, but again, this car fits our needs so perfectly that we have gone ahead.

So here’s the situation:

If 100 people could make a one time donation of $50, we can pay off the car.  Or 50 people donate $100.  Or 25 could donate. . .well, you get the idea. . .

A donation of any amount would be appreciated, and be put toward this unexpected, but welcome, expense. 

(You can make a donation on line through the Josiah Foundation website, or by mailing a check to The Josiah Foundation, 2112 S. 163rd Circle, Omaha, Nebraska, 68130).

We got quite a bit of use out of our car during Holy Week while the guys were here.  I think the guys and Mari have been more excited than I am over the car, though only she is able to drive it, since the insurance doesn’t cover anyone under 21. (I drive it, of course.)  They enjoyed cleaning it, though, as you can see from the pictures below.  Mari even helped out to make it was done up to her standards!

We are grateful for any help you can give us in providing transportation for our residents.

My Two “Sons”

Shortly after I signed the contract on Casa de Esperanza, Dick approached me, asking if I would consider allowing one of the boys from Chimaltenango, who needed to study in Antigua, to come and live with me.  He was thinking about Cesar, who would need to attend Inval, just south of Antigua, to complete the first step in the process of becoming a PE teacher.  While he could live at home in Chimal, this would make his commute to school, one way, over an hour and a half.  Combine this with his school day starting at 7:30 and ending about 4 each day, and that would be quite a day.

Cesar with a young man he helped seat in a power chair on a recent trip with Dick to El  Salvador

Cesar is a young man, now 18 years old, who I have been sponsoring for the past few years.  While school is not the easiest for him, he has worked hard, and has great goals.  He would especially like to use his love of sports to draw kids to Jesus, an admirable goal.

So, after praying and talking with his parents, Cesar moved in to the house shortly before school started on January 15. 

Since no teenage boy wants to live alone with an old lady, I thought, the more the merrier, and asked Fernando, whose mother is in the US, to come and live with us.  For the past years he has been living with an Aunt, but pretty much on his own.  That’s tough at 15.  His mom gave her permission, and he’s here, too. 

Fernando when I first met
him in 2009.
                                                                Fernando today, posing for a    
                                                          picture for his school soccer team 

Please pray for both of these guys and for me, too. I love when they call me their “segunda mama” (second mother), but I’m also aware of the responsibility in guiding them not only in their studies, but to help them follow Christ more fully.  School does not come easy for either of them, and their classes this year are proving to be quite challenging.  The private school Fernando attends provides after-school tutoring.  One of the teachers from that school has agreed to come to the house three days a week to help Cesar with his math.  This will be an added expense we had not budgeted for, but I believe Cesar is worth the investment.

Scott Hardee, a friend from Kansas City who, along with Lynda his wife, stayed with us for a couple of months earlier this year.  Scott was a great math tutor and we miss him a lot.

The boys both spend the weekends in Chimaltenango with family.   (Dick jokes that he gets weekend “visitation” with the boys, while I have “custody” of them during the week!) Neither of them like to attend the church their families attend (they say the people are rigid and judgmental), and it’s hard for them to attend church with me, since Chimal is 30 minutes away.  We have decided that we will start our own “youth group” here at the house.  We will be going through the book More Than a Carpenter, and using it as a guide in exploring the Bible verses that show who Jesus is.  Please pray for us as we begin this next step.  While I know this isn’t a substitute for a formal church service, both the boys say they get more out of it when we study together at home, so that’s what we’re going to try.