Today we continue to move forward in preparing for our move to Guatemala City. We had a glimmer of hope that Lisa could possibly be moved to Antigua; however, that was quickly snuffed out this afternoon with a 30 second phone call from the office of the big boss - "there will be no changes in assignments".
We also got to be a part of a more important "sigamos adelante" experience in Paxot 2 today. One of the elders of the church, Tomas Sut Gonzales I, has made an excellent recovery from the death defying pneumonia he had over the holidays. This is a long story but to make matters short he was deathly ill and no one would take him to the hospital and he did not want to go, but after prayers and speaking with the family they finally went. Now he is doing much better although he is still weak. The community thought he was close enough to death that people from neighboring towns were coming to give their respects.
So today was the scheduled church service to give thanks and honor to God for his miraculous recovery. We went with the expectation that he may still look pretty ill, but he looked great and was up and walking around and helping set up chairs and tables, etc. The service was held at their home where 100 people piled into a room about 15 feet by 30 feet and there were still a bunch of people outside. We sang praises, prayed and heard a message about how if we have faith God will work in our lives. The preacher "forevermore shucked down the corn" to the point the Guatemalans were sending him notes that it was time to stop. :) You know it is long when that happens. So 2.5 hours later we were finishing up.
They gave the last words to Tomas Sut Gonzales I who stood up and thanked God and everyone for their prayers and the service they provided him during his illness. Members of the church took care of him 24 hours a day. This brought some tears to his eyes and then he started to lead some songs of praise which brought tears to some other peoples eyes as well. The last prayer was offered by Juan Riquiac Ordonez who is also an elder and on the Guatemalan Board of Directors for TSI. This is where it really sunk in how much this man, Tomas, means to the church and the community. Juan could not finish the prayer without breaking down himself.
What an excellent example of faith and service these brothers and sisters in Christ demonstrated to one another. And what a great way to "Sequir Adelante" - to press on - worshiping and thanking God for the wonders and blessings he provides for us on a daily basis.
We then ended our day by having Sheri and her parents (Jack and Jenny) and Matt, Jenna and Reese over for dinner. Great day!
Tomorrow we pack!
1 comment:
Dearest lisa and kemmel...what a blessing when we heard that jenna, matt, and reese have been there with you . You cannot imagine the prayers that were answered. We remember you, lisa, with such great memories and we are so happy to see the way you and your husband are blessing so many lives. The circle seems to always come around, doesn't it? Thanks for being there for jenna! love you and we'd love to come down sometime and see your work...jody and jim
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