This has been a very busy month in the
homes and in the ministry!
Earlier in the month, we hosted a
medical teamcome from the states and held three medical clinics in
remote villages. All three were in the department of Esquintla, and
one was at one of the villages which had been cut off by lava flows
in Fuego's eruption back in June. Many people here had similar
health concerns related to contaminated drinking water and
complications from the ash. Rout 14 has been open now for a few
hours each day as they are still repairing the damage from the
pyroclastic flows. But even with this open, El Celan can only be
reached by driving through a few rivers. There was some concern that
we could be trapped up there after the day's rain, but we were able
to get out in the evening to return home. Between the three clinics,
we were able to see a few hundred people in El Celan, Las Palmas, and
the dump in Esquintla.
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| Medical clinic in El Celan |
I always have mixed feelings about
medical clinics because for as many people as we can help, there are
so many more whose health problems stem from lack or resources or
malnutrition. Really, on a scale as large as malnutrition is in
Guatemala, there is little we can do to help. We can give vitamins
and teach families that their children to eat healthier and more, but
if they cannot afford the food, in a while the vitamins will run out
and they will still have no food.
The gravity of this was driven home for
me by one family in particular. A mother brought her 3 boys in, and
one by one it was clear that they were each malnourished, mom
included, and their health concerns were all directly related to poor
nutrition over time. While talking with them, we learned that their
situation was very serious and they had no food in the house. A team
member gave the mom some money and we walked her to her home so the
next time our ministry visited families in the community, we could
visit them as well. The mom broke down and shared that that morning
she had woken up and none had eaten. She had the equivalent to 1 us
dollar to feed the entire family of 5 that day. She herself was
malnourished, and described symptoms of major anxiety attacks. She
felt like a failure of a mother being unable to provide for her
children. Her husband also could not look up as they shared further
into their situation and more personal details. We spent time with
them, and prayed with them to encourage them. But the reality is, I
was talking about the hope we have in Christ in the most hopeless of
situations. On some level those words felt empty against the
magnitude of their fears. Their children were starving as they
watched. But as we prayed, this mother showed us their family bible
and shared that they read it together every day.
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| Medical clinic in Las Palmas |
My heart breaks for this family. I
have cried many tears for them in the last few weeks. But there are
so many more like them. Guatemala has been in a drought and many
families that lived in poverty before are now dying. This nation
needs our prayer. They are filled with desperately hard working,
loving parents who are loosing their families and their lives through
preventable deaths related to poverty and now the drought. 2.2
million people in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras are
starving. I can't even comprehend this number so my mind goes
numb to it. But this family, I have sat with them and cried with
them and they are real to me. For them, my heart breaks and I
can begin to understand this crisis.
Also this month, the directors of the
ministry, along with their 4 youngest returned to the U.S. For a
short visit with family, and speaking engagements in PA and NY. For
the youngest 3, this was their first return visit in 7 years. Wanda
and the kids visited for a week and a half in which time the interns
in the main grouphome looked after the kids here. Many people
throughout the ministry stepped up during this time to help keep
things across the ministry running smoothly. In the main home, our
family felt small with only 20 people in the house. We had smaller
suppers, and all fit at one table a few nights. Our kids and
ourselves greatly missed the other part of our family however, and
not a day passed when several of the kids asked dozens of times when
they were coming back! Some of our boys struggled the most however
without an adult male in the house, and the remnants of an early life
of abuse and abandonment started to show their face in behaviors
surfacing. Their minds are set at ease however as all are now home again!
We are facing the
repercussions of a law passed in Guatemala to try and return all
children possible who were removed from their homes and are living in
the system back to their families. The clear issue here being that
they were removed for important reasons! As our kids have hearings,
we now realize some could leave for a hearing and not return to our
home. We love these kids, so to hear the situations they came out
of, and to know they may be sent right back is terrifying. One of
our boys will however likely be returning to his mother in a month. We
disagree, and our hearts hurt that he will no longer be in our home,
but also at the situation he will be returning to. It is challenging
to welcome his mother into this home to teach her how to care for her
son knowing his story and history with her, and seeing his responses
in all of it.
Finally, many kids and a few adults in both homes are sick with respiratory issues, diarrhea, and lowgrade fevers. Some are spiking high fevers as well and a few have vomited. This is a struggle for many reasons, and some of our kids are very fragile. Please pray for the health of our kiddos!
