Finally Home

Snowmaggedon, Snowpacolypse, whatever you want to call it - it managed to affect life not just in the United States, but also in Central America. No, they didn't get any snow, but the airplanes that come to Guatemala to bring people home DID have to deal with the snow.

Heidi, Carrie, and Pat arrived at the Guatemala City airport in time for their 1:50pm flight back to the United States on Saturday but their plane didn't. It was coming from Atlanta (in order to return to Atlanta) but was part of the biggest cancellation of flights since 9/11 and was about six hours late.

Of course, with that delay, the girls missed their connecting flight and ended up spending the night on the floor in the Atlanta airport. They were re-booked on a flight for Monday but all needed to be at work on Monday. So they put their names on the standby list, tried to rent a car (which wouldn't be available for 12 hours), and even explored the option of having someone drive in from North Carolina to get them.

But God smiled on them and they were able to get on the first morning flight out of Atlanta and arrived in Raleigh at 10:05am - about 10 hours after their originally scheduled arrival.

With the exception of the more-eventful-than-usual return flight, it was a hugely successful trip and we'll post some more stories and pictures tomorrow. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

When you are considering your giving for this year, please keep this mission in your prayers. We are currently trying to raise funds to help pay for all the surgeries we do in Guatemala. Obviously, the surgeon does not collect a fee, but the hospital does. The patients have to be fed, given medicine, put in a bed, and given nursing care. The average cost of a surgery is $200-$300. The patient contribution probably averages around $10-15. And while the balance is pretty inexpensive by American standards, operating on 10-12 patients per trip multiplied by four trips a year leaves us with a hefty bill.

The members of the team all travel to Guatemala on their own dimes - and most of them use precious personal vacation time to go. If you feel led to contribute, know that 100% of your donation goes directly to patient care. There are no administrative expenses, no doctor travel expenses, no candlelit dinners, etc. Every dime goes directly to helping some very needy patients. And your contribution is fully tax deductible through Agape In Action, a 501(c)(3) organization.

And if this is not where God is calling you to contribute financially, we still appreciate all of your prayers. We can't do our work without those, either!