From Zimbabwe to Guatemala!

 

All together again!

In 2013, we had to cancel our trip to Zimbabwe at the last minute due to Shea's 1st trimester pregnancy sickness with Kiera. One month later, God used that time to get both of us to Guatemala for a week that would change our lives. It was then that we realized our trips to Africa would be ending, and God would be opening up a new chapter in rural Guatemala. It was sad to close that chapter of our book on Zimbabwe, and even worse to think we wouldn't get to work with some of our closer friends again. Little did we know, that God was already weaving together our lives in Zimbabwe with our lives to come in Guatemala.

As we fast forward 6 years, God has brought Zimbabwe to Guatemala in a way which confirms the power of God at work. Our good friends, Prosper and Miriam Musipa (and their son Jason), recently arrived to Guatemala after several months of turbulent, and prayer filled planning. Prosper and Miriam are a talented couple whom we became quite close with in 2010. She is a midwife, and he is an OR nurse with anesthesia experience. Their medical skillset is undeniable, but their hearts and love for others is even greater.

As we have continued to pray, and plan for next steps in Guatemala two of the biggest needs identified have been a trained midwife, and an OR nurse. We could not have fathomed that God would use this couple from Zimbabwe to fill these needs. You see, Prosper came to know that Lord at Karanda Mission Hospital, where he was raised by his mother, who was one of the hospital chaplains. Later on he met Miriam, as she was a nurse, at the same mission hospital. As Prosper grew up, and as he and Miriam worked together as nurses, the missionaries at Karanda strongly impacted their faith, and future decisions. They saw the impact of missionaries on their lives and the lives of others, and began to see God breathing those same desires in their hearts.

Prosper, Ever, and I getting the endoscopy tower working

Life in Zimbabwe, even for the educated is quite difficult. Even good jobs are financial "dead ends", with little chance to provide an adequate living for your family. With that, most jump at the chance to leave for the UK or other countries with "greener pastures". This opportunity to leave, and work in the UK came to the Musipas last year, but they just never felt a peace. Instead, God had put on their hearts the desire to be foreign missionaries by serving a people group in a different part of the world. Guatemala was the country they felt burdened to serve. Becoming missionaries, and living on support made no financial sense in comparison to good jobs in the UK, but their desire was obedience to Him.

Now, simply having the heart and desire to go to Guatemala was the "easy part". Zimbabweans getting Guatemalan visas seemed like an impossible task, and frankly unprecedented. Climbing what appeared to be this impassable obstacle took prayers from many, accompanied by months of work and persistence. Thankfully after much prayer, endless paperwork, and 7 days of tiresome travel through Egypt, and Brazil, the Musipas received their initial visa, and were allowed entry into Guatemala.

We praise God for this initial answered prayer. Although, obstacles such as finances, and long term visas remain, God has been faithful thus far, and we have no doubt He will continue to carry them through this process.

You'll find many of the challenges that were faced along the way were not mentioned specifically, but the big picture is simple. Through the faithful prayers, and actions of His people, God answered prayers. These prayers weren't answered instantly, but in His time. Even Shea and I's desire to work with our friends again was answered in a way we least expected. We are especially excited, because we know this isn't the end but just the beginning of what he is doing through the Musipa's and others at Hospital Adonai.

1 John 5:14-15 -   "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." "And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."

Getting ready for Easter scavenger hunt

Jason getting new glasses from Iowa....he could see so much better

I'm not a cat guy, but these two sure are happy

Gracie and Kiera dressing up one of their new kittens

                                                                                                                                
 

Power of the Resurrection

"10 years!"  I think to myself as I sit at a computer weary from travel. Another whirlwind trip from Iowa to Guatemala. This is the 10th year of picking up my young family, and moving them to a foreign country.

Once again, we have returned to Guatemala, and I can't help but ask the question Why? Why do we leave our more comfortable life in the US? Our home? Why do we leave family? Why do we give up income? Why do we pull our kids out of school, and have them leave their friends?

With each passing year of my life, the travel becomes more tiresome, and these questions seem to grow louder. I also, no longer just have to satisfy my own mind with these questions. With each year my children have begun to wrestle more with these same thoughts.

The answer is simple, and yet profound, it is.....The Resurrection!

It would be easier to say:
we're doing this to help the poor
we're doing this to give medicine to those who have no access
 we're doing this to give out of the excess from which we have been given

All these things are true, and good, but these are not the real reason. The real reason is that Shea and I firmly believe that due to The Resurrection we have to be willing to die to ourselves. Our lives are not our own, and we have to be willing to give up what seems best to our feeble human minds, and choose to intentionally live for HIM.

This idea of dying to ourselves seems like such a strange concept because everything inside of us desires to "do it our way". We think we know best, we think we have abilities, and talent that will allow us to succeed on our own. The reality is discussed in John 12:23-26 which essentially says that we must give up relying on our own power, and rely completely on Him to produce fruit. What a difficult concept?

The good news is that I can tell you this is true. When we have given up of ourselves, God has done more through us then we can ever do on our own power. Not only that, but there is a true contentment and joy that can only be achieved by relying completely on HIM.

CS Lewis eloquently described happiness below:

What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could “be like gods”—could set up on their own as if they had created themselves—be their own masters—invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.
God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.

If we truly believe that Jesus lived, died, and arose from the grave, then none of us can live the same way. This Truth requires, and compels us to live not for ourselves but for Him.

…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11


With this thought let us celebrate the power of His resurrection through this Easter season!

Kiera loves flying on this little plane

Ready for take off

Reid and Kiera packed in the back of the plane

The kids playing in the White Sands, New Mexico

Shea surprised me with 2 lifelong friends for my 40th (Rick and Cedric)