I Now Pronounce You....

One of the fun things to experience in another culture is a marriage ceremony.  If you think about it, God has a lot to say about the marriage relationship, but very little about the actual ceremony, which leaves lots of room for interpretation.

  Yesterday we got to spend the day with the Sut Gonzales family as they married off their daughter Maria to Sebastian.  The couple is uncommonly "old" at 28 years old, both of them.  It was a traditional family get together, with most people arriving between 8-9:00 AM and sitting around waiting for the groom's family to arrive from about 2 hours away.

 Once arrived, we had hot chocolate and pan dulce (sweetend bread) and visitied while the couple, their parents and family witnesses (like marriage brokers) sat in a special room listening to wise counsel and family expectations.  Most of us sat around outside, but you could go in and listen to the procedings if you could find an empty chair.

Here we are at the guest of honor table--all of our students look happy and healthy.

Once that part was over with, the bride was taken into her room and the mother-in-law and mother and as many girls as could fit in the room went with her to change into the new clothes that the groom's family had bought her.  I (Lisa) was invited in to snap some pictures.  Notice the groom in the corner and the guy filming the moment--after she got dressed of course.  Her cousins fixed up her hair and she came back all dolled up and ready to be presented before the family counsel. They spent another half hour meeting, then lunch was served to wedding party  first (still in the counsel room) and then to guests (about 250 people). 

  Finally, everyone came out and gathered around the large prepared table in the courtyard where they bring in the gifts from each family.  First was the blankets (12 methodically counted out in front of everyone), then 7 changes of clothing for the bride--ornately woven blouses, skirts, and belts (from the groom), 16 perajes (colorful wraps used to carry things, including babies), towels, suts--kitchen cloths (like smaller perajes).  This signalled the closing of the deal and the couple was presented to the guests.  Then we were invited to come greet them and leave our gifts.  It was pretty emotional for the bride's family as she would be leaving them and moving a couple of hours away (by car). 

 Lunch assembly line headed for the wedding party table.

 12 blankets--some remark was made about expecting a large family!

 Caught ya'!  Sebastian snoozing after lunch while waiting for the gift table to get assembled.

 Carefully inventorying the presents.

 Hermano Kemmel!  Cutting down balloons for the mob of kids.

 The Exodus.  Notice our nicely dressed Northamerican student--Molly's host mom thought it would be good to dress her up for the day--especially since the other girls got dressed up yesterday for church and she didn't.  She got several approving glances--one old man walked by and patted her on the shoulder saying "pure Chichicastenango girl!".

                                     

The new couple and his family rode away in a rented bus and a pickup truck to carry all of the gifts.  Today, the bride's mom goes to visit and help unwrap all of the gifts. 

It was a good day of fellowship and a peek into another aspect of local culture for our students and us. It's beautiful to see how every culture honors the union of a couple and how even God uses this universal institution to describe the church's relationship to Christ our savior.  Beautiful!

...Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Revelation 19:7-8

MET 2011

The HTI MET Students for 2011 have arrived!   Each year HTI hosts a Medical Evangelism Training (MET) for students that are interested in medical missions and we accept around 12 students to participate in the various ministries in Guatemala so they can experience mission work in the field.  Lisa and I were in the program way back in 1991 with Dr. Mike Kelly in Quetzaltenango. 

The students arrived on the 14th of May, went to Quetzaltenango for a week of language study, then to Clinica Ezell in Montellano for a few days of medical evangelism orientation and now 6 of them are with us here in Quiche and 6 are in the area of Montellano and we will switch in 2 weeks. The 6 in Quiche are living with families in Paxot II. So far so good, a couple of sick students but that is expected. Getting sick is always a matter of when and not if. :)


Here are some pictures of the students at the homes of the host families.

Amber is with Manuel and Juana and family 

Zach is with Tomas and Cristina and family 

Haleigh is with Juan (canche) and Lucia and family.  Here she is with Lucia.

Abby is with Carlos and Marina and family

Meredith is with Juan and Aura and family.   Here is Meredith with Juan, Levi, Aura and Maria.

Molly is with Gaspar and Juana and family.

Gringo parade as we take the paths to the host families houses.  Good times!

Faith

The word faith is a complex concept to wrap my mind around sometimes. Words like belief and hope and certainty come to mind when describing faith. But what is it that we are hoping for or believing in? I am guilty sometimes of inwardly scoffing at my patients who choose not to seek a potentially life-saving treatment or surgery because they prefer to pray and ask God to heal them. The years of medical training in me try to convince me that God can heal them--through surgery or some expensive treatment regimen that costs more than the family makes. I try to justify that I have faith that they can be healed as well, if they follow the prescribed treatment plan, or if we raise enough money to cover the costs. And, I am not so nieve as to think that everyone who turns down medical treatment does it for faith's sake. There are a lot of people who just don't like going to the doctor or traveling to the big city.


A little girl came to clinic last month with a skull fracture from a fall and I referred her to the National Hospital. The family reported back that the National Hospital referred them on to the city because she would need specialty care not offered locally. They decided to pray about it because they did not have the funds to go, and after seeing improvement in the girl's appetite and relief of pain and vomiting, decided not to go for the MRI or the surgery. They said they trusted her life to God and believed that he could heal her. If she worsened they would consider taking her in. They graciously declined our offer to pay for the MRI and the transportation costs.
We have patients all the time with incurable illnesses or even curable ones with the right (expensive) work-up/treatments. These are the ones that make me rethink our modern approach to medicine of full-court press to the last breath. If we really only believe in our technological and scientific advances to heal and save us, what does that say about our faith in God? I am not trying to bash medicine. I love my profession and the fact that there are a lot of illnesses that God allows us heal quickly and easily with surgery or medicine, giving us more comfortable and productive lives. But I keep wondering how much I really believe that God can and will heal someone by faith alone. Why is it easy for us to forget that if God has the power to create the world, to form us, to heal people of incurable illnesses (blindness, leprosy, death) while here on earth, and to come back from the dead, that he still can today, especially if it glorifies him?

In our statement of faith we are stating that we do believe that God has the power to raise from the dead. (Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved). If we really believe that, then we can believe that he can heal us when needed (without medical intervention) if it is his will to do so.

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.  John 14:11-14

Celebrating Island Style

  

  

  

 

Can you guess where we went?  This last week we celebrated our 20th anniversary a little early and joined our parents in Kauai, Hawaii!  We were able to celebrate Mother's Day as well--with both moms.  It was just beautiful and we enjoyed being together with our family, exploring the island, being right on the beach, and of course, checking out the local real estate magazines :) . We did make it out on a boat ride one day and had perfect weather, snorkeling, seeing a sea turtle, dolfins and two whales and the spectacular Na Pali coast.  Despite the rainy days we had, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip.  What a treat--thank you Lord!