WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT ARE WE DOING

Moving for the 5^th time since arriving here was made easier knowing that it should be the last time for 16 months.  We are currently living in a condominium complex in San Cristobal , a suburb west of Guatemala City , and are house sitting for a family on furlough to the US .    We are comfortable and it almost feels like home here.  We have purchased vehicles which allow us to more easily get around town and out into the country to the villages.  The mud (rainy season) and dust (dry season) require 4wd or a horse but with the price of fuel we may need to investigate the cost of hay.

Jim works in 2 clinics, Prince of Peace in San Cristobal and Hands of Hope in a more remote village, El Arado.  This last small village is  5-6 miles off of the pavement traveling over a very rough dirt road which in the rainy season is mostly mud.  The road winds through valleys and over peaks with fantastic views.

Much time is consumed just overcoming the many problems with living in a third world culture where the language barrier is still significant.

Kay involves herself in helping high school students at Prince of Peace Home for Girls learn more about nutrition and cooking and perhaps eventually sewing as they work toward independent living after being in an institutional situation for most of their lives.  Her Home Economics skills are also being used  planning nutritious meals in a feeding program for the Mayan families of Yalu where there is much poverty and malnutrition in small children and nursing mothers.  Mon. and Wed. afternoons are spent being Pharmacist at the Prince of Peace clinic which includes filling prescriptions and giving explanations to the patients in Spanish.  Their prayer request might be that it be filled and explained correctly!  Praying with them is a delight.

 WHY WE ARE HERE  

To bring hope

He stood there virtually motionless with sad face, thin skin and hair, protruding check bones and abdomen, tiny arms and hands. His big brown eyes searched the room, looking at me, then his pregnant mother, then his sister, back to me, over and over again.  He never said a word, never attempted to climb on the chair or exam table, and never opened the nearby drawer as any other 2 ½ year old little boy would have done.  But, little San Cristobal is not like the 2 1/2 year olds you and I know.  He weighs only 17 pounds.  He is malnourished as are his sister and expectant mother.  His mother will tell you that he eats well, but upon questioning, you will learn that he eats soup—mostly seasoning, salt and water.  What little real nourishment he receives is robbed from him by parasites in his stomach.  He is not alone. There are hundreds more in the three remote villages in which we work.  He, his mother and his sister walk 2 miles to the Hands of Hope clinic where they not only receive medical care but are shown respect and love.  But now there is even more hope.  His family is one of the first in a new feeding program that will provide nourishing food for many malnourished children who otherwise have no hope.

Without saying a word,  little San Cristobal had touched my heart and reaffirmed to me the reason we are here. You see, it is not about us, it is about Him.

To Touch  Lives

The family had gathered and a decision must come forth.  They had requested  that  Dr. Jim come to their house of bamboo walls, tin roof and dirt floor. The single light bulb hanging by a wire from the ceiling was turned off. The mother was in the old bed, the only piece of furniture in the room, nursing her newborn child.  She had been unable to get out of bed for a week because of painful swelling in her right leg.  Now she was unable to even straighten the leg.  Using Christina to translate from Spanish to Kakchiquel, Dr. Jim told the family that the new mother had a large blood clot in her leg  and must go to the hospital for immediate treatment.  She was in grave danger of having the blood clot embolize to her heart resulting in death, leaving a 2 year old child and a newborn without a mother in a society that has no room for orphans.  The family discourse was in Kakchiquel and although Dr. Jim understood none of the words, the tone of voice, the facial expressions and the body language all clearly communicated a great sense of fear pervading the small room.  People often die when they go to the hospital and there was no money to pay the hospital bill. Christina, who lives in the village and knows the family, assured them that Hands of Hope clinic would pay the bill, but despite great urging by Dr. Jim and Christina, the decision was an emphatic “NO”.   The new mother would not go.  Four days later the pain and swelling persisted.  Christina and Dr. Jim returned to the home and the family consented for the patient to go to the hospital.  There she was found to have a blood clot reaching from the calf of her leg to her upper abdomen.  Treatment was begun  but she was  discharged without follow up.  By the grace of God thru the hands of Hands of Hope clinic, her life was spared, her children were not orphaned and she will receive the needed follow up through the clinic.

 

LIFE IN GUATEMALA -- ONE YEAR AND COUNTING

Although we often find ourselves on the steep side of the learning curve here, there are a few things that we have learned.

-The kindness and graciousness of the Guatemalan people is beautiful.

-Learning Spanish will be a life long pursuit.

-Guatemalans are impatient while driving and love using the horns on their vehicles.

-Technological problems (computer, cable, Internet) will be ongoing.

-Receiving a sack of vegetables as payment for medical services rendered is humbling considering the service was free and the people have so little.

-Living with fewer conveniences teaches one a lot about self.

-Ministries don’t always run smoothly.

-The new person who doesn’t speak Spanish very well is usually considered wrong – get used to it.

-The largess of the missionary community toward new comers is encouraging and priceless.

-Friends from home who keep in touch are a wonderful blessing.

GOOD NEWS FOR CTEN

CTEN, our sending organization recently received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America ’s largest independent evaluator of charities.  Their letter stated: 

 ”Charity Navigator salutes your charitable efforts. Receiving four out of a possible four stars indicates that your organization excels, as compared to other charities in America , in allocating and growing your finances in the most fiscally responsible way possible”.

 Charity Navigator rates over 4700 nonprofit organizations throughout the United States .  Almost 240 of these perform religious activities.  Of these 240 organizations Commission To Every Nation was ranked 11th overall at the time of this recognition.  You can learn more by visiting http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/9687.htm

Thanks to all of you who pray for us and support us- without your help we could not be here.  All contributions are fully tax deductible and may be sent to CTEN, P.O. Box 291307 , Kerrville , Texas 78029-1307 .  Please send us your Email address to JCHINES@CTEN.ORG.    Kay and Jim Hines