Tent Meeting

Well, church conference season being in full swing as it is, Glenn and Neva and we spent the day in Xepocol with probably over 700 people listening to good preaching and singing praises together. This was the first conference that the folks in Xepocol have hosted, and they did a great job. It was impressive to see how many people they could get under the tents and out of the sun. The food was delicious--a freshly butchered bull made into a spicy stew with rice and tamalitos. The only thing they forgot was forks! But the tamalitos served well for grabbing up food. And there were plenty of napkins to go around.

The sermons were on the story of the rich man and Lazarus and the reality of heaven and hell; and also encouragement to the "youth" to serve God with the abundance of strength, intelligence we have in the prime of our years.

I didn't get a good picture of the famous hill in this town where people still go to make offerings to the spirits and ancestors. But as we drove up a neighboring hill to the tent meeting it was great to think about the mass of people gathered to worship and praise God. 30 years ago, there were very few Christians in this area. Today, not only were there Christians from more than 10 nearby towns, but the church also invited the town leaders to the worship service.

Belinda and Jason--two little cousins from Paxot II enjoying the conference.

Me with Belinda's little sister Gabriella. Belinda is taking this picture of us. I didn't have time to put my serious Guatemala face on!

The view in Xepocol is breathtaking. They can see for miles in all directions.

They moved the letrines, and I couldn't resist getting a new outhouse shot!

Anastacio Alvarez giving a great lesson--what we understood of it. He spoke almost completely in K'iche'.

I only see one person alseep in this photo--and no she didn't just blink. I have two shots within seconds and she is the only one with her eyes closed in both.

Gaspar and his dad Pedro thanking everyone for coming out for the day.

Thanksgiving Feasting

While down at Clinica Ezell for our staff meeting, sweating in the hot coastal plane we were surprised with a great Thanksgiving meal of turkey, ham, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans and bread. Neva and I helped with the dessert--apple crisp. It was a really nice evening sharing good food with our 40+ teammates from the coastal and highlands areas. We were able to get ahold of all of our family back home, which was great. Here's a few good shots.

Looking alert at the beginning of the meeting--before the heat worked it's sedative magic.

Unloading the bikes for the 1st place winners in the ABC child sponsorship program.

Turkey and trimmings served by Carlos, Ana and Danny.

Ruben and Alfredo digging in.

Hungry customers, Marta, Neva, Manuela, Nidia, Gaspar and Tomas. I think there was some concern about the lack of tortillas at the Thanksgiving feast. But everyone got plenty of other goodies to eat.

The HELPS International plant where the smokeless stoves are fabricated.

After the meeting finished on Friday, we headed back to God's Country, stopping at the smokeless stove factory to pick up some orders. We nearly perished from the heat, but finally got all of the stoves and water filters loaded up. As we got to the highway junction taking us to Quiche, we saw about 4 police pick-ups parked on the side of the road and the cops milling around. We didn't see anything going on but it looked suspicious. But we kept on going and about 10 Km later, there was a VERY LONG line of cars stopped on the road. There was a protest by the Ministry of Health workers who decided to close the outpatient consults because the government ran out of funds to pay their salaries/bonuses. (Nothing like Universal Health Care!). Anyway, an hour later, the the highway opened up and we were on our way again. It was good to be home. We made a pumpkin pie today to make the holiday official!

Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving

We want to wish all of our family and friends a joyful Thanksgiving Day. We are so thankful to have family that supports us prayerfully, emotionally and financially. The hardest thing about missionary life isn't doing without things, it's doing without the company of our family during holidays. Here in Guatemala, we don't officially celebrate Thanksgiving Day. In fact, tomorrow we are having a staff meeting with our coworkers down at Clinica Ezell. But, our director, Carlos is preparing us a Turkey dinner in honor of our American tradition and we are thankful for having such thoughtful coworkers.

So, we hope everyone enjoys the evening, with all of the early preparations that go on and peaceful family time at home tomorrow. And of course good football (or afternoon nap)!

Goodwill Ambassadors

Being part of a small non-profit organization means getting to wear several "hats". For instance, this week we are wearing our Goodwill Ambassador hats making the rounds to the various tent meetings or conferencias that are being held in the local churches. The start of the dry season and vacation from school sets the perfect stage for large fellowship gatherings and parties. We usually get invited to lots of activities around this time (weddings, graduations, youth rallies and tent meetings) and can't make all of them, but try to when we can. Sunday and yesterday we were in Paxot II at the youth conference. We took advantage of the large crowd to show off some new energy efficient wood-burning stoves (saving up to 70% on wood burned) and water filters. Several people were interested as we demonstrated the models and a few went ahead and signed up for orders. Our goal is to sell them at cost, offering to bring them up from the manufacturing plant for free and helping the family install it. It's tempting to give them away for free, but they are a good price. One brother came up and thanked us for showing the technology because he often worries about how much firewood he is having to buy now that his families' forrest has been used up already. He said he doesn't think his children will be able to afford firewood when they have their families. It was interesting how many men were interested in the stoves (they are the ones who have to cut the wood or buy it!).

Today we head to Chuchipaca for their inaguration service for their new building. We are really excited for them as they built it with their own funds, and some donations from local congregations--no U.S. subsidizing! We will spend the night and enjoy some preaching, eating and fellowship and children's programs tomorrow. These are exhausting days, but it is a great to see the large number of Christians worshiping together,and to take advantage of the education opportunites we are presented with.

Step right up! Everyone crowding into the small kitchen to see the stove.

Kemmel doing a stove demonstration. Look at all the men!

Folks lining up for chow time.

Our co-worker Mario Rosas setting up the industrial-sized tamale cooker--this was a hit with the ladies! Kind of small for the 3000 or so they needed to crank out, but it sure cooked fast. And without smoke!

Waiting for lunch to get started. Still smiling after starting their day at 3:00 am.

Look at those huge pots of tamales cooking! They keep about 8 fires going in the middle of the room at all times. Despite taking out several rows of roof tiles, the kitchen is always like a smokehouse. (I think our carbon monoxide levels are still pretty high today!) Their huge pots are too heavy for the smokeless stoves they have. We are thinking of bringing in an engineer to give ideas on how to keep the smoke levels to a minimum in there.

The meat-cutting group. They butcher a bull for these get-togethers and feast on it for 2-3 days. Day one is "inerds stew" as we call it. They were extra sweet to us and gave us a small piece of grilled steak instead! After that it's beef stew, steak, etc. for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Mario trying his hand with the new stove.

Real men wear flowery aprons! Juan "Canche" Gonzales showing off his kitchen garb.

Change of Seasons

Here in the Land of Eternal Spring we do actually have season changes. As many of you know there is a rainy season and a dry season. November is the beginning of the dry season which is also known as "summer" around here. The interesting thing is it is also the coldest time of the year--at least at nights. It has started getting cold at night and we are going to have to throw a second wool blanket on the bed to keep from freezing to death as the house temp plummets into the 50's. Come December we will get a few nights in the 30's. Thankfully we have a fireplace that keeps things a little toastier. We tend to get more sun during the dry season and the flowers will soon be exploding with color. It's kind of disorienting to see the usual pumpkins and chrysanthemums and vivid lighting of fall afternoons combined with spring-like flower gardens, roadside wildflowers and crackling fires on cold nights. But that's what makes Guatemala unique!

Weekend Update

We actually don't have anything to update which is a nice thing sometimes. We have been working hard for over 2 weeks, and it was nice to be back in town just beginning a restful weekend. We went to worship services with some American friends in the morning and again at the Chichicastenango Iglesia de Cristo in the afternoon. Sheri made it back to town in time for worship this afternoon, so we saw each other there. One of the brothers who is usually pretty no-nonsense came up and asked us when we were going to teach him some English. So we started with "good afternoon, brother" and then, "see you later, brother". He got a pretty good laugh out of that. Then, some of the little boys (ages 6-8) who run around together, came up to Kemmel and asked, "so how are things going for you at the clinic?" Kemmel had to try not to laugh as he gave them a quick ministry update. He also got a peek into one of the little boy's wallets (Roberto) and saw 8 Quetzales in it. Roberto said he has been helping out at his family's market stand and they pay him a little bit. Kemmel asked if he put a 1Quetzal in the offering, and he said, "No--2Quetzales!" Good job. 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Matthew 25:21
Today we catch up on housework and other work projects that have neglected.

Education Day

We had our last education day of the year yesterday. It was cloudy and cool and only a few of the volunteers could make it because of various end-of-the-year activities. But, we enjoyed the company of the ones who did make it.



Our lesson was on worry and anxiety--something as common here as it is everywhere else. The lesson plan led us through verses like Philipians 4: 4-9, 13, II Timothy 1:7, Psalm 56:3-4 and Matthew 6:25-31. The class divided into groups to present the biblical advice. It was definitely good counsel for all of us and to share with our patients.

Here is the homework assignment we left with.
1. Present you requests to God (actively list them) in prayer and petition with thanksgiving.

2. Make a list of things in your life that are TRUE, NOBLE, RIGHT, PURE, LOVELY, ADMIRABLE, EXCELLENT OR PRAISEWORTHY (think of an example of each one). Keep this list in your Bible or desk or anywhere handy, and review it often--"think on these things"--especially when worries or anxieties creep in.

3. Encourage others to put this into practice when they struggle with fear and anxiety or worry.

What great advice.

November Medical Team

Each year we host two moblile medical/dental teams here in Chichicastenango. Our November team is primarily made up of brothers and sisters from the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Edmond, OK. But we had additional team members from New York, Tennessee and Texas and Guatemala. It was a great 3 days of hard work in both medical and dental clinics.

Despite the 3 days and nights of rain from hurricane/tropical storm Ida, we had patients in all sites. The rain made for very slow going down the muddy adobe roads. Our rented minivan barely made it to Xepocol, so Kemmel took his half of the team back the long way hoping for and easier descent. They made it back 3 hours later, after getting behind a stuck semi-truck (already on the paved highway!). Thankfully we found better roads to travel the next few days and the rain finally let up on Sunday--as the team was heading home!

Quiche-to-Spanish-to-English-to-Spanish-to-Quiche........Mary and Gaspar helping Dra. Barb Slee in the all-important tranlator role! Amber with her back to the camera getting a blood sugar on this patient.


My friend from medical school/residency Dra. Lesca Hadley

Drug pushers Juan and Gaymarie. Looks like Dr. Brandon Burger is supervising the situation.

Mike Herndon, Jon Nickerson, and Sandy Ferguson readying the dental area.

The sick and afflicted patiently waiting their turn

Dr. David Batres and Ashley Anderson attending their dental patient.

The thing we really enjoy is the fellowship with friends we have made from year's past and new friends as well. This is definitely one of the fringe benefits of this job--getting to know so many Christians here on this earth. It makes us think about what it will be like in heaven as we all reunite together with God. We also enjoy the little gifts everyone brings us. This time canned pumpkin and cranberry sauce! Thanks to Sandy and Donna and Robert for the goodies! And to Barbara for the magazines! You guys know how to spoil us!

We saw over 500 patients in 3 days, but more importantly we worked together with brethren from the local churches to treat physical illness, listen to and pray for peoples' family problems and worries, and invite them to know God's will for them. It was a great trip!

End of a Saga

We finally finished registering my medical license here in Guatemala--nothing short of a miracle! We went to the RENAP office to show my certified birth certificate and lo and behold they accepted it! It was so easy, we were shocked! So we went ahead and took the diploma to the Narcotics office for one last registry. They were very nice and helpful and showed me to a legal book of declarations where I had to hand write my statement listing all of the seals and signatures and their dates that are decorating the back of my diploma. It was like a little walk down memory lane as I listed the Rector's office, the Controller's office, the Ministry of Education Office, the Ministry of Health Office, the diploma number, the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the RENAP office and signed and sealed it myself. As I got started, another physician walked up and was asked to wait as I finished my seat work. (No pressure!) By the time I finished there were six people waiting to get their turn at the big book. Great timing. We are thankful to God for this little victory--what a relief. And also thankful to all of you who have prayed for us--GRACIAS.

We celebrated at our favorite sushi place--YUMMY.

Seminar Circuit

We've been away from the blog board for a while, attending to a marriage seminar and youth conference that have been in our area. Health Talents sponsored a guest speaker, Leonardo Rojas from Venezuela to lead the seminar and participate with the youth. His classes were excellent, and despite the conservative audience, he was able to get people to open up considerably. He was sought out by several people for individual counseling during his down time. At the youth conference he was equally straightforward about being prepared for courtship and dangers of and ways to avoid premarital sex. At the marriage seminar, 17 churches sent representative couples and the youth conference was attended by over 1500 people. What a great week for spiritual edification.

One of the couples at the marriage seminar who was asked to read from Song of Soloman to each other. It was pretty brave of them to read the steamy passage in front for the audience. The class was focused on using loving and affectionate words as couples. There were quite a few giggles in the background!

Another giggling crowd--the 13-17 year-old set at Leonardo's sex education workshop.

Of course our physical strength was totally sapped by the time we made it to the Capital to drop off Leo for his flight back. But we are enjoying a nice couple of nights in a hotel with top notch bedding and 5-star shower!

Today we are going to try to get some errands done including haggling over my license registration at the local RENAP (National Registry of Persons) office. They don't want to accept the diploma for registration because my middle name (Rene') has an accent mark on the diploma, but doesn't on my passport. The passport is written in all caps which technically shouldn't have punctuation. I even presented my birth certificate which has the accent, but the lady wasn't satisfied, saying it looked doctored up! So, after obtaining new certified copies of the birth certificate, we are going over today to see how accommodating they are. Pray for us please. It is easy to get impatient and irritated in these situations (with reason!), but it doesn't help the process along.

Tomorrow we pick up our visiting medical team to go back to Quiche. It will be a great week working in God's kingdom!