The Trip to Chichi!

 beautiful panoramic view from an iphone on top of the hospital Beun Samaritano!

Front entrance to Buen Samaritano

Our family just returned from a Guatemala road trip that took us to Chichicastenango (yes I know that's a mouthful you can just say Chichi for short). It was a beautiful trip across the interior of Guatemala, over beautiful mountain ranges, through rural villages, on a winding, dirt, mountain road. I always feel that I have truly been in a country when I've gotten to explore by way of a road trip. This road trip was no different and gave us an excellent taste of what Guatemala feels like away from the friendly confines of Canilla.

The reason for our trip was to spend some time at another mission hospital by the name of Buen Samaritano(or Good Samaritan). We wanted to see how a hospital functions in a similar region. The most important aspect of this visit was spending time with Dr Tom Hoak and his wife Jana. Dr Hoak is a surgeon who has spent many years working in Guatemala and brings with him a wealth of knowledge about not only medicine and surgery but also local politics, business, and most importantly how he shares his faith in Jesus Christ.

A great picture of the current OR pixis system for all of you medically inclined

The trip was fruitful for many reasons, and Shea and I were able to glean many pearls of wisdom that will be helpful in our future endeavors. Although, as is usual, the inspiration I receive from individual missionaries sacrifice is usually more impactful then all the other information combined. Dr Hoak's story was no different.

Dr Hoak and his family chose to come to Guatemala after 9 years of a successful general surgery practice in the United States. Things were going well with his practice, but he and Jana knew that God was calling them to push past there comfort zones, step out in faith and trust the Lord on a journey that would take them to work amongst some of the poorest of Guatemala people.

I had throw in a picture of Beau on his 6th birthday..Great time!

As is often the case, when we step out in faith things didn't go quite as planned for Tom and his family. He expected to ride into Chichi on a "white horse" and be the heroic surgeon that saves hundreds. Unfortunately, a short time after his arrival a Guatemalan law changed requiring all full time physicians to have a Guatemalan license. This seemed easy enough, but to get this license Tom had to go back to the bottom and fulfill an internship in Guatemala City.

Now to some this might not sound terrible, but a North American doing an internship in Guatemala is treated more like a slave then an actual practitioner of medicine. For Tom, a board certified American trained general surgeon, this meant he had to give up all the freedom and respect he had accumulated. He had to humble himself to people who were many years younger in both age and in experience. For him this meant being stuck with some of the hospitals most menial tasks(ie. cleaning supplies, toilets, trash detail etc.) rather then using his gift of performing life giving surgeries.

He recalled countless stories of watching patients suffer needlessly while receiving sub-standard care. There were several instances where he took it upon himself to provide a necessary and life saving treatment when his superiors weren't around. Unfortunately, much of the time his hands were tied, and his suggestions were not only ignored but met with stern opposition. The year dragged by at a snails pace, but Tom remained faithful knowing this is where God called him.

Tom got through this very difficult year. He admits he didn't always know why God had him go through such a trying time, but realizes that his faith in God is stronger for having persevered. Now, when I walked into his office his walls are fairly bare except for one Guatemalan license hanging proudly on the wall. He says "all the other diplomas are collecting dust somewhere, but that one I had to earn."

I felt honored to have the opportunity to spend time with and operate with Tom. His story of faith and perseverance through such a difficult trial is incredibly inspiring for Shea and I.

Trying to make sense out of trials and sufferings is such a difficult topic for most of us to deal with. We all expect that if we truly served a loving God, then He should make everything easy for us. Fortunately, most of us who are parents know that we just can't give our kids gum drops and ice cream all day and expect them to turn into the men and women of integrity. We realize that our children need discipline and trials to develop in them the character to help them to thrive in this world. As parents, we also know how hard it is to watch our kids go through difficult times. We so much want to shield them from any pain.  I can only imagine this is how God feels as we are in the midst of trials or suffering. We beg and pray for Him to remove us from the situation. Only our prayers go seemingly unanswered. He knows the benefits of our short term suffering. He knows that our perseverance and faith are developed by allowing it to continue. Its just so hard to understand the idea of suffering while we are in the midst of pain.

In scripture there are many verses that address this idea of trials sharpening our faith. My favorites include: Hebrews 12:3-17, James 1:1-8, Romans 5:3-5, and 1 Peter 1:6-7. In Hebrews 12:11 it says: "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" James also says it well in James 1:2-4 says: Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything.

In the midst of trials keep your head up toward heaven and know that our Lord is always with you!




Early start to the Chichi market

A lady hand weaving her blankets to sell.

Even at the  Chichi  market Shea finds a great pair of shoes!

Enjoying lake Atitlan with Reid



Two beautiful girls  on the  boat  at the lake!

A little to happy about sprite!

He's mad because he finished his way to fast.

The boys came home with Guatemalan knives, much to their mothers chagrin!

 

He Is Always Faithful!

Our waiting room outside one Indian village

Leslie and Armando(translator/pastor) seeing a patient

Shea and I continue to see that trying to build a hospital in a developing country is not for the faint of heart. This journey has already been filled with more challenges and surprises then we expected. These challenges have all come before we have even put a shovel in the ground. The amazing part is through these "roadblocks", unexpected turns, and difficult questions, God gets to show up and be really big!

One of our more recent "road blocks" came in the form of a Guatemalan regulation requiring that any functioning hospital have a Guatemalan licensed physician on their medical staff. This was a bit of issue seeing as how our current planned medical staff are a long way from being Guatemalan citizens. The wonderful thing about this problem, is long before we even knew we had a problem, God was working on the hearts and minds of a licensed Guatemalan physician and his wife to show His glory in a magnificent solution. 

For some time Dr Luis Aquino and his wife Naomi felt a call to return to Luis's home country of Guatemala. Luis finished medical school, and even worked for a short time in Guatemala. An opportunity for better training came up in the form of residency in Spain. Luis is currently finishing up his 4th year of family medicine residency in Spain, and he and Naomi have both felt a strong burden to serve his people. Now, Luis is from one of the bigger cities in Guatemala, so one would think it would make logical since for him to desire to work in his home town. Thankfully, Luis felt that he wasn't suppose to serve in the city, but was suppose to use his skill set in a more rural or remote area of Guatemala. The biggest question for Luis was where in rural Guatemala he should serve.

Fortunately, part of that question was answered for him over a year ago in a very vivid (I call God inspired) dream. He said it was unlike any dream he had ever had, but in it he saw a hospital in a very lush, pine forest mountain range, encircling a large valley. Now, unfortunately Guatemala is full of beautiful mountains, so this dream gave him no specific insight....at least not yet. If you fast forward to April 2013, Luis and Naomi took a vision trip to Guatemala to see if they might get a feel for what region in Guatemala God might have them serve.

After sometime of exploration had past, Luis really didn't have any solid leads on hospitals where he felt he should work. It was in the city of Quiche that Luis and Naomi "happened" to run into a missionary friend of Duane and Leslie Fickers, by the name Norm. Norm actually lived several hours away, much closer to the Fickers, but just "happened" to be in Quiche at the same time. It was here that Luis told Norm his story and his desire to find a hospital in rural Guatemala. Norm of course emphatically told Luis about the Fickers plan for a hospital and about our groups desire to staff this hospital with our physicians.

At the time, Luis and Naomi were on a tight schedule and had to get back to Guatemala City fairly soon. Thankfully, Norm convinced them that they had to go to Canilla and talk with Duane's son and daughter-in-law Aaron and Katie. He told them that Duane and Leslie where back in the USA for a short time but they really needed to talk with Aaron and Katie about the vision for the hospital in Canilla. After much discussion, Luis and Naomi finally acquiesced and headed on a 2-3 hour drive the opposite direction of there intended destination to see Canilla.

As Luis and Naomi approached Canilla, he looked up and saw a beautiful plush, pine forest mountain range encircling a small city located in a large valley. It was at that moment he knew this was the exact area God had showed him in his dream. Realizing this he wept, and Naomi along with him. They realized that God brought them to the exact location they were supposed to serve. They met with Aaron and Katie for a short period of time, but as Aaron recalls they really just wept for joy during most of their time together. They were both overwhelmed by the journey God had taken them on, and so thankful for His faithfulness to them.

Similar view to what Luiz saw while driving into Canilla!

This story came to life for us just last week as Luis and Naomi came to Canilla for the second time just to confirm their decision to work here. Shea and I, along with Duane and Leslie, were able to spend a lot of time talking, dreaming, and praying about the future of this hospital. After their trip here, Luis and Naomi felt God had completely confirmed their decision to work in Canilla, and plan on starting here in January of 2015. Praise God!

What an amazing answer to prayer! God is always faithful. He is even faithful to take care of our needs and problems before we even realize they exist. As a typical North American I love to plan, strategize, and worry myself into a frenzy. I often feel that if I can just work harder, think harder, or sleep less all of my problems will be solved. This story is just another reminder to me that more then anything I have to fall back into the arms of my Lord and wait on Him to solve my problems, and answer my prayers. What a peace this gives me. Matthew 6:25-34 goes into great detail about why we shouldn't worry. Jesus says he even takes care of the needs of the birds, and how much more valuable are we to Him. In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul says: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus!

Remember this as you go forward this week. Working hard is of tremendous importance, but we have to realize that our strength and peace come only in the Lord.











 

Taking care of the widows!

 
 















Our work here in Guatemala continues to go well. The other day Shea, Beau, and Gracie had a wonderful opportunity to go to a mountain village, and spend some time with a group of widows and their children. This particular village is about 9,000ft in elevation and surrounded by a picturesque pine forest. The drive is a bit strenuous with multiple hair pin loops, lots of rocks, pot holes, and we'll just say it takes all of the 4-wheeled drive to get up the mountain. This particular village has a large group of widowed women and their young children. Leslie Ficker and her team have made it a point to minister to these women on a regular basis for the last several years. Their visits usually consist of a time of prayer, worship, fellowship, and treatment of any immediate medical needs of the families.
          One of the most important aspects of this ministry is purchasing these women's hand made baskets. In its infancy this particular ministry started out by having a devotional time followed by handing out food. The Fickers soon realized that it would be better for these families in the long run if they could do more then just give them food.  After sometime, they were able to teach and encourage these women to make various goods from one thing that is in endless supply...pine needles. Many of these women now specialize in making a beautiful assortment of pine needle baskets of all shapes and sizes. They not only sell these to the Fickers, who purchase these to sell to there visiting North American guests, but also to local villages for practical use. Several of these women have now been able to pay for there children to attend school, which would have been unheard of before this small business began.

Gracie, shy as always, but starting to warm up!

          The trip was truly a blessing for Shea and the kids. It is always an honor to see the eyes of young children light up, in any culture. I think there is something particularly special about serving those less fortunate, particularly widows, and orphans. In fact, the bible makes it clear that taking care of the physical needs of the poor is of utmost importance. In James 1:27 James writes: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. The bible also talks about meeting physical needs in the book of Matthew. In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus describes the importance of taking care of the physical needs of others with a variety of physical dilemmas. That section of scripture culminates in Matthew 25:40 where Jesus says: The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for he least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." 
          Those sections of scripture are incredibly important for all of us, as believers to remember. I think it is also important to remember that we will never rid the world of the poor, or the suffering. The bible says in Matthew 26, and Deuteronomy 15:11, that the poor will always be with us. Our job as Christians is not to buy into the lie that somehow we can make this world our heaven, or even begin to worship what it has to offer. This world is broken and will never be whole until Christ comes again. Thanks to the blood of Christ we have the opportunity to have a relationship with God here on this earth. We also look forward to eternity in heaven, where Revelation 21:4 says: He will wipe every tear from the their eyes. There will be no death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away.
           Remember this week the importance of taking care of the physical needs of those around us. Just don't forget that the best is yet to come!




Michaela Gomez and her beautiful family of boys(below is one of her hand made baskets)

 

Time To Eat Some Bread!

The kids enjoying a taste of home with some fresh chocolate chip cookies!

Reid found this scrap wood he thought made great weapons!

Things in Guatemala are going well! So far our young family is adjusting nicely to life in Guatemala. There have been different obstacles, opportunities, and adventures for our family here. As always, the kids have enjoyed learning, exploring, and adapting to their new environment.  We’ve all enjoyed seeing the beautiful and picturesque landscape on walks, taking care of the medical needs of the local people, and awkwardly trying to learn a language which is still quite foreign to us. It has been a great time for our family to silence much of noise that is often present and distracting back home.



A vampire bat I caught at one of the remote clinic sights, the kids thought this was fun!

For Shea and I the medicine is always fun and challenging in different ways, as we leave the friendly confines of more predictable North American medicine. We’ve enjoyed taking care of the impoverished Quiche Indians in several of their remote villages.  We thoroughly enjoy medicine in its purest since. There is no billing, coding, dictation, or EMR; there are no large stacks of paperwork at the end of the day, and no Medicare rules that continue changing. Obviously, there are unique challenges that arise, but it is a great change of pace to only focus on taking care of the patient’s needs.

Kiera eating her first meal!(Hopefully she'll sleep now)

One of the blessings of being in Guatemala is some of the community we have developed with the long-term missionaries here. Every Tuesday night we come together for a time of worship and bible study. It has really been a great time to connect with these families and it drives our focus back to what is most important. We all have a tendency to get swept away with “the job” and the busyness of life, but it’s refreshing to come together with other believers and seek power from the ultimate source. Just the other day we were talking about the importance of time with the Lord. We all went around the room and shared different ways we like to spend our “quiet times”. It was really encouraging to hear of all the ways people connected with the Lord. Just in our group for the last week we had around 10 different approaches to spending daily time with the Lord. Anywhere from early mornings, to late nights, to writing your thoughts, different approaches to reading scripture, different ways of praying, singing, personal communion, and utilization of accountability. It was great to hear all of the varieties of ways people spend time with the Lord.

The key to all of this rambling is not to say there is a right way or best way to spend time with the Lord. The key point is that we have to be spending regular daily time with our Lord, if we really want Him to influence our lives and transform our hearts. We just have to do it! It is easier to sleep in a little later, work a little extra, watch a game, or whatever the excuse of the day is for you (I know I’ve got plenty). Without regular time in the Word and with our Lord we will never truly have the spiritual growth we need. Matthew 4:4 says: “Jesus answered, it is written: Man does not live on bread along but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” Without this spiritual bread we will not grow, and without growth we will never transform the world around us, and make the disciples that Christ so clearly commands. (Matthew 28:18-20).

So with that thought it’s time to get in the Word, and go make disciples!

 

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

 

We're excited to be on the move again! Its been a while since I last blogged. In fact its been over 2 years. We've since added 2 kids, and traveled to 7 countries. We as a family, and my partners(www.docsforhope.org) have been busy working to find a country where we can work to develop a hospital. Fortunately, after much prayer and many miles traveled, the Lord has lead us to a plush valley nestled beneath pine forests in the rural Guatemalan city of Canilla. It is in this community we are planning to build a hospital that could serve up to 1 million people with little or no access to proper healthcare.

The journey to get to this point is worthy of dozens of blogs. For now, all I can say is the Lord has guided our steps, and brought us to this place for a exciting work that continues to unfold. We will be leaving shortly, and will be spending 7 weeks in Canilla as we work toward the logistical challenge of developing a hospital in a rural setting. There is still much work ahead of us, but with the help of our partnering organizations AIM www.adonaiinternationalministries.org and PAPA www.papamissions.org we hope to have this hospital open for business in early 2015.

The frequent questions my family is often asked are: "why do you risk your kids safety to work in other countries? or isn't there enough people with physical needs in our country? or it's nice of you to use medicine to take care of the poor, but does it really help in the long run?." My simple answer is the Gospel of Christ compels us risk all to follow Him. When we make a decision to follow Christ, we can't possibly sit on the spiritual sidelines of life, but the simple truth of His sacrificial death obliges us to bring all we have to offer to the foot of His cross. Paul says in Philippians 1:20-21:  It is eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If you had asked the apostle Paul to tell you the reason we exist on this earth as Christians, I think this verse is the answer he would have given. We are created to glorify Christ and bring others to a relationship with Him. This culminates with our joy on earth, and eternal life in His presence.

Ultimately our medicine and surgery will fail everyone, as physical death comes for us all in the end. Our desire is to use medicine as a vehicle to share the good news of Jesus Christ both in Canilla, Guatemala and New Hampton, Iowa. This good news is the most valuable treasure that can ever be given (Matthew 13:44), and this is the reason we will continue to travel with our family. We look forward to bringing you all with us on our journey.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose"
Jim Elliot