April Surgical Trip

The Bible, Guatemalan angels, and Garfield.

Who would believe you can do surgical cases using the same grounding pad all day--it's true. Hopefully AORN will provide a grant to complete further research on this subject. Regardless we completed 85 surgical cases with only minor issues. We had great people working in the surgery area and Rick was in charge of sterilizing the instruments and supplies. One of our surgical teams kept "borrowing" our supplies but at least they were using them.
Above is a picture of one of the "little angels" that had surgery during the week. He was sleeping peacefully after a little Demerol. One image that will remain with us for some time is of his young father kneeling at his bedside praying for him. We had a very committed group of nurses and assistants working in the post-operative area. The 12+ hour days went so fast. There is no way to tell someone of the joy that comes from serving on one of these trips. The June surgical clinic is coming up quickly and there is still an urgent need for nurses. Please consider coming to Guatemala!

God works in ways we can only imagine.

Stop the Clinic: A Midday Baptism

We had the honor today of attending a baptism with other members of the church of Christ here in Antigua. Dr. Raul, a member of the church, was conducting his weekly clinic at the building when Paola, a 25 year old woman expressed her desire to be baptized. Dr. Raul stopped the clinic, gave several members a call, and we all drove out to a nearby village where there was a pool (from hot springs). It was such a moving experience, as Paola's mother, sister, brother, and her young son were there to watch her baptism. We were told that her mother had prayed for a long time for this to happen. She cried as Paola came out of the water. It was also a time for Dr. Raul and the minister of the church to witness to others who were at the pool. Dr. Raul told us later that the church in Antigua has had from 3-4 baptisms each of the past several months! In like manner with HTI, Dr. Raul and the ministry staff address not only physical needs at the clinic, but also hold a devotional and teach the message of the gospel of Christ to those in attendance! After Paola was baptized, it was nearly 4pm. We returned to Antigua, where Dr. Raul still had 10 patients waiting to be seen.

Holy Week

Several weeks have passed since we updated our blog. This is partially due to being in school for four hours a day and studying about four hours a day, and the other excuse is that we have been going to many of the celebrations surrounding Semana Santa here in Antigua for the past week or two. School is going well. Our teachers, Blanca and Sandra, are both very patient and intelligent young ladies! After a few short weeks, we are beginning to communicate in Spanish in the market, when ordering meals, and with the couple from whom we rent. On a day when we were a little discouraged about our studies, we received a card from my parents which read, "I believe if Jesus calls me to get out of the boat, He is going to be there to help me walk on the water. If I start to sink, which sometimes I do, He'll reach His hand down and He'll lift me up. God will give you everything you need to do everything He has called you to do. You are in His hands and there is no better place to be." How true this is, and we thank Him for every word he has helped us to remember and speak! We are also very grateful for a family that is supportive.

Please continue to pray for our language studies, as we know this is essential if we are to serve. Please keep Kimmel's da

d in your prayers as he faces a serious surgery on Monday. Also, please keep Dan Shoemaker, the son of Sam and Nancy Shoemaker (missionaries in Rwanda) in your prayers. He is quite sick following a recent surgery.

We would love to hear for you.

In his love,

Glenn and Neva