We’ve now been in Canillá for a month, and little by little, the way we live is changing. We’ve left behind the things that were so normal for us - such as going for a coffee, walking around a shopping centre, or maybe even going to the cinema and eating popcorn. Our children have settled into our new house, are getting to know their new friends and also love seeing the ‘chompipes’ (turkeys), the cows, pigs, as well as playing in the dirt and bouncing on the trampoline every day.
We´ve started to see a lot of patients at the clinics. Each day we are surprised by what we see: whether they’re physical needs, problems associated with poverty, such as children with malnutrition; disintegrated families caused by the men leaving to seek work in other places; alcoholism, etc. …
We are meeting wonderful people, with huge hearts, who come to serve local Guatemalans with so much love… we are learning so much from the other people/missionaries on our team. I could mention so many more things, but this is about Him. Its about Him love for us, His love for the weakest, His interest in those who have nothing, for those who have no hope, for those whom the rest of the world have never heard of - yet He knows each and every one by their name, because He has the power to do all this and so much more. We serve Him and we love Him. This is about HIM and His name is Jesus.
A week ago, a 2 year old boy came to our clinic in Chiminisijuan in a critical state, he was with his brother and sister who were also ill, but we centered our attention immediately on him. After examining him, we realised that he had pneumonia and was in a bad way. We spoke to his mother and explained that her son needed to go to hospital and it was then that we began to get anxious, as the mother was unable to take him to hospital - firstly because the the father wasn’t with them, and secondly because she couldn’t afford the transport (as their village is a very long way from the hospital).
It was a heartbreaking moment, because in somewhere like Spain or England it is so easy for an ill child to be admitted into hospital and receive the best treatment, but in that very moment, we couldn’t do any more for the patient, as he needed IV antibiotics and oxygen (he was finding it very hard to breathe). We did what we could in the clinic and as this is all about Him, we decided to ask God to do a miracle in this little boy´s life. We prayed and pleaded for a miracle to take place, and the mother went home with her little boy, still very poorly.
Today we went back to the clinic in Chiminisijuan and the whole family returned and we saw the boy (Juan Alejandro), but this time he was unrecognisable - he came running in, he´d made a complete recovery. Its such a privilege to see how God carries out miracles and how He takes care of the smallest and most in-need.
In these past days, our perspective of medicine is being transformed. As we see so many people, that intelectual medicine, is changing to a heart-felt medicine, because that way, we are able to show love to the people we are serving here.
We want to tell you that God is a good God, who gave His son Jesus to love us and fill us with His love and also that God is powerful and still performs miracles today. That is why in Matthew 11:28 He says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”… Because all this is about Him. Its about Jesus.
Luis with Juan Alejandro and his family.
View of the mountains in Quiché, taken from the plane.
Patients at Chiminisijuan clinic, listening to Pastor Armando.
A kid in our house(!)
