A Year of Surprises, Promises and Blessings!
We pray that your Christmas was blessed with God's love and His presence. As we were praying and thanking God for all of the ways He blessed the ministry in 2013, we decided to write a brief "Year in Review" to let you all know how faithful and full of surprises the Lord has been in the past year. He is really moving in some amazing and miraculous ways in the ministry. In addition, God is in the process of teaching us and giving us focus in the direction He wants us to go. He made it clear in 2013 that He is working lovingly in the hearts of many people we did not expect, in ways we did not anticipate!
2013 began with a major blessing -- we were able to move our family into the first floor of the mission house! We have just the bare minimum in basic necessities for ourselves, Gabby and Mae. But we are so used to that, and it felt great to have a place to call our own. We had been renting a bedroom in the FIA dormitory for 4 years, so you can imagine how excited we were to have a little privacy and our own kitchen (even though it's just a hot plate, mini-fridge and sink!). During our time at the mission in March, we were blessed to have all four of our children together for the first time! Mike was with us for a month and Aly came to visit on her spring break from teaching in Philadelphia. We had a wonderful time together, and it was such a blessing to do ministry as a family once again!
On a trip to the mountain village of Pinalito that month, God allowed us to assist Him in saving the lives of a mother and her baby. Concepcion had been in labor for 3 days when we discovered her in the family's stick hut. We noted that the baby was not descending into position for delivery, and suspected that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. We hopped in our truck and began the extremely bumpy descent down the mountain road (an 18-mile trip takes nearly 3 hours), knowing that the rough ride could very well bring on the birth of the baby. We arrived at the hospital just in time for an emergency C-section which saved the lives of both mother and baby! It was such a blessing to care for Concepcion and her beautiful boy for the next several days, and to bring them back up the mountain to join their family. We also ministered to several other pregnant women by housing them when they came down from the mountains for medical care.
God's Calling Has New Clarity in Spring
God moved in a big way again in May, when our son Mike decided to postpone his entrance to medical school in order to go back and serve in Guatemala. Although Mike had done mission work throughout high school and college, The Lord really touched his heart in a special way during our time in Guatemala over the winter. It was so exciting to see God working in him, and to see many of the reasons God called him as they became apparent in the following months. Mike and his friends discovered the tragedy of children in the mountains who were literally starving to death -- a result of failed corn and bean crops that left families in even more extreme poverty than usual. With illnesses taking over their frail bodies, and their families unable to feed them or provide medical care, we became aware of the need for a nutrition center in Zacapa. We are praying about providing this service to the people once we are able to put a roof on the second floor of the mission house. At the same time, the Lord showed us clearly that our ministry would expand to include the city dump in Zacapa, where more than 200 people live and scavenge for food in the mountains of garbage. We are now visiting the dump on a regular basis, distributing food and clothing, evangelizing and praying with the people.
God performed another miracle in June, when our son was riding a bus from Guatemala City to Zacapa with our 5 year-old daughter, Gabby. Someone on the bus called the police because they thought Mike was kidnapping Gabby. They were taken to jail, and Mike had no documentation with him to prove his identity or Gabby's. Miraculously, our lawyer friend knows the judge in the town where they were arrested. If not for God's intervention by using Harold to get them released, it could have been a very grave and dangerous situation for both of them. Through these circumstances, Harold met a justice of the supreme court in Guatemala City who agreed to help us finalize Gabby's adoption. God is so faithful!
The Lord of our Hearts
In October we arrived at the mission house to find the second floor completely flooded from the monsoon rains that are typical from June through November. We have cinder block walls on the second floor, but we have not been able to pour the concrete roof due to lack of funds. The house has been through two rainy seasons without a second floor roof, so that is our most urgent need right now. Water is now leaking through the first floor ceiling, and the integrity of the building will be compromised if we are not able to pour the roof before June of this year. God directed us to go ahead and plan for the roof, although we do not have the $14,000 needed for the project. So we sent out emails at the end of October, asking several churches if they would be willing to send down a team and help fund the project. At this time, we are hoping to pour the roof in March or April. At the same time, we met two pastors in Guatemala City, who pledged to support our ministry with prayer. They also offered to send several men from each of their churches out to Zacapa to help us with the roof! This is a true miracle and example of God changing hearts. Generally, Guatemalan churches do not get involved in missions. They do not understand the Biblical principle of helping those less fortunate because they are poor themselves and have always relied on American missionaries to meet the needs of the most desperate among their people. It is so exciting to see God working in this way, because He is changing a mindset that has been in place for hundreds of years!
In December, God gave us the idea to provide "Blessing Bags" to families in the mountain villages. These bags of food are supplying basic needs in the wake of failed corn and bean crops in the mountains. We put out a request for people to fund these bags, and we will be distributing them this month. Our greatest need right now is for prayer. Next is the need for funds and a team to complete our second floor roof project. The second floor of the mission house is very important, because the first floor has only 3 small bedrooms. Our family is occupying 2 of them (we could squeeze into one if we had to) so that does not leave much room for the pregnant mothers and their children. We hope to become licensed as an orphanage one day, because there are so many babies who are abandoned by families in desperate situations. If the Lord also directs us to provide services as a nutrition center, the need for a second floor will be crucial. We will live in a portion of the upstairs, so that the rest of the house will be available for these three vital ministries. The needs are so great, but our God is so much greater and completely able to fulfill His promise to care for these precious people!
Photos and details of all these projects and experiences can be found on our website. We also try to keep the Facebook page updated every few weeks with photos and stories of God's faithfulness. This letter is just a brief summary. We could go on for many pages detailing the seemingly "little" ways that the Lord has spoken to us. We are so blessed and encouraged by what the Lord is doing. This is HIS ministry, and He has invited us to be involved in helping the precious people of Guatemala. God has shown us in several distinct ways that they are like royalty to Him. That's how much He loves them! As we get ready for Sanctity of Human Life Sunday on January 19, let's ask the Lord to show us that every life matters! He created each and every person -- including the scorned and the forgotten -- for a special purpose! That is His pleasure and His promise!
Thank you so much for standing with us to protect and preserve LIFE! We can't wait to see what God has in store for the ministry in 2014! You are in our prayers continually, and we pray that your walk with Jesus continues to be the center of your life and of your family in the new year. Do not be afraid to trust the Lord, and obey Him in all that He calls you to do. God bless you and your family.
Tom and Arlene
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