Lots of Stuff

Sorry we haven't written much in the last few days, but we really haven't been around.

We had a few days off last week. Tuesday and Wednesday are our normal "weekend" days and the first Thursday of every month we're not at ASELSI. So we let Isaac have two days at home on "his routine", which he does much better with, and then on Thursday we went down to Guatemala City to run some errands, have dinner with Dr. Hoak, and spend the night. Then, on Friday, we had Isaac's pediatrician's appointment (more vaccines) and picked up Matt's friend Jason from the airport.

Matt and Jason played in the band together in college and were really good friends there. Jason came to Texas and played with Key West (Matt's band) once or twice, too. Then they lost track of each other for a few years before meeting up again on the internet (amazing thing, that internet).

Jason was a Physician's Assistant as well as a Paramedic and a medical officer in the Navy. So he's a handy guy to have visit. He'll be operating with Heidi this Wednesday, as well as helping us out in clinics this week.

Anyway, the first pic is of Heidi and Jason with Flor and Rosa, two of our translators in San Andres. (Jason is also a photographer, so look for some really good pics in the next week or so.)

Yesterday in clinic, we got to see a baby again that we had seen before. Every now and then we'll post pictures of some sick kids and ask you to pray for them. This was one of those kids. And he looks terrific now! Praise God! (Pic #2)

Picture #3 is of Isaac checking out the CV Joint boots on the 4Runner. We found out this week that the rear seals are leaking and we'll have Matt's dad bring us some from the US when he comes down in two weeks. (Parts from the US are always cheaper.) So Isaac helped us out by checking to make sure everything's peaceful on the front end. He gave us a positive report on that.

There were way too many stories to tell from clinic today, but one included a family that Heidi and Jason spent just about an hour on. When they came through the door, Jason's first comment was, "Ooh, heart failure". Sure enough, the mom is in heart failure. She doesn't know the Lord, but they spent quite a bit of time with her and she may be ready to accept, she just wants some more time. She doesn't have a whole lot of time, probably, so we pray that she will be touched very soon.

The daughter in the family complained that she is always cold at night. She sleeps on the floor (doesn't have a bed) and only has one blanket. Heidi suggested that perhaps another blanket might help. Well, Dad isn't around any more. He used to beat Mom, so it's probably for the best, but fatherless households around here usually struggle financially. So Heidi stepped into market and bought a blanket for the girl, who seemed VERY appreciative.

Anyway, there were too many stories to tell, but God's hand is definitely at work in San Andres. Please keep covering that clinic with your prayers - some of the neediest people we see are there in that place.

Tomorrow we're off to Nueva Santa Catarina for our monthly clinic there. After clinic we'll run down to Iximche (some ruins) and try to get some good pictures. Then it's to Antigua for two nights. Then we come back on Wednesday to operate and see a couple of Heidi's Buen Samaritano clinic patients. Thursday is ASELSI and Matt takes Jason back to Guatemala City. Then on Friday, instead of clinic at Buen Samaritano (which is why we're seeing those patients on Wednesday), we'll fly back up to Zona Reina for a clinic there. Then the weekend will have us back in Canilla again.