Mission Guatemala – Final Day

Praise God for his goodness and love and tender mercy.
Praise Him for his compassion and creation.
Today my words are those of praise.
When I came down to Guatemala last week I had a vision of what God is and what he would accomplish during this time. Since then, I have found myself awestruck by how limited my vision was. I'm ashamed to say I put God in a box.
Working with this team from Living Stones and the medical team has shown me so much about God's goodness and what he hopes to accomplish in my life if I just open up my heart to him. To give him full control and say use me as you will.
There are so many things that are going to change once I get home tomorrow. I don't know how it will play out in the end, but I'm asking God to use me and my family in a mighty way.
This entire trip has been a lesson in how the body of Christ can work together. Each person on the team played a unique role just as the keys, sting and wind instruments in an orchestra play a role in a concert. We are fine, handcrafted instruments carefully crafted for beauty but also for work. God is softly working the keys or fingering the strings in a wonderful symphony. He doesn't want this just on overseas missions, he wants this in our everyday lives.
While today, this instument is being put away, God's music will never end. Each of us will return to our homes and normal lives and be challenged to keep tuned and ready for God's next concert.
It was sad to leave so many new friends today but I know we are going to meet again. Tears were shed but we all praised God for his glory and power and that is an awesome way to end a mission.
Thank you again for you words of encouragement, prayers and love while I was gone. I've decided to end today with some pictures of my new friends and adopted father and mother – Rolado and Naomi.

Rolando and Naomi


Oscar and Lidia


Josue


Wendy


Ricardo


Suzie and Vickie

Mission Guatemala Day 7

Looking out over a ravine an Gaujito, you could pretend you were in a remote section of Guatemala.
The ravine forms a bowl and at the beginning of the bowl is a waterfall. It is easy to imagine as beautiful, except for the cascade of red it forms from chemicals dumped at the top.
"The Hole" sits at the bottom of a long steep road and ends a sea of rusty tin, garbage and a of course a creek contaminated with raw sewage and industrial chemicals. The roads end in trails that take people to a variety of self built shanties that house many people.
Today we were invited into one of the homes. It consisted of two rooms with two beds each. The floor was dirt toys and other objects were lying around. In front of the home was a small kitchen area where they burned garbage or small pieces of wood for a cooking fire. There were two ducks ties to stakes and several hens and a rooster wandering around.


Most of the families in this area live on less than $1 per day. It is amazing to see what the people have to work with and why they need the help we provide. We met one young woman today dressed in a dress suit and high heels. Everyday she walks up and down the hill where she lives to go to school to become an office assistant. Another woman, about nine months pregnant slowly ampbled her way down the hill. She was unable to come to the clinic, however Rolando is going to give her some prenatal vitamins on Sunday.


Today we served many needs and the entire team is tired but being filled by the Holy Spirit every morning. Today we started seeing some of the people checking back in and showing signs of improvement. It is such a blessing to hear their thanks because they were sick and and are now beginning to get relief. For many this is the first time they have felt free of their ailments in m any years. God has been so good to us and the people here. It is simply amazing.


We have one day left and I have seen God show up in so many places. To know we are touching people in such an immediate and important way and through this showing God's love to them.
Tomorrow I'm being filmed for a promotional video about the mission. One of the questions I will have to answer is What have I learned about myself that I didn't know I had. I would say compassion. I have never felt like a very compassionate person and often found myself looking down at people. I don't know why it took a trip thousands of miles away to see this but I'm glad it has happened. I pray that through this I am a better man and servant than I was before I left.
I've also found myself growing closer to God in this process. To take away the chaff and really learn what it is God is asking of us is something not to be taken lightly. I don't have all the answers, but I've got a seeking heart.
I want to keep this short because I promised pictures and I have plenty. Please forgive me if this is getting hard to read. I am truly exhausted and need sleep for tomorrow.
Speaking of which, tomorrow is our last day of clinics and we are tired, sore and a little bit sick but each of us has a smile on our face and is ready to ask God to bring us many people that need to be healed and ministered to.
Please pray for us on this last day and as we prepare to leave. I am sad to leave so many new friends, but I see this becoming a lasting realtionship with more opportunities to serve in the future.
God bless all of you

Mission Guatemala Day 6

Matthew 20: 30-34
30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
32 Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
33 "Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Do miracles really happen today? Who is it that is really supposed to see and receive the miracle?
On Friday, a man named Alan came into the clinic. He was blind and wanted to believe that the American doctors could help restore his sight. He has been blind for quite some time. Before he went blind, he owned a laboratory in Guatemala City with employees that helped him. Gradually, his sight began to diminish so he went for eye surgery to restore his vision. That surgery made him blind.
He lost most of his family, except his beautiful and loving wife, his employees and much of the life he enjoyed. He came and Don was able to give him some medicated eye drops. It was a chance, although not a great one.
Today he joined us during our devotional time and Praise GOD, for the first time a long time he could see light. By the end of the day, he was walking around mostly unassisted.
Was it a miracle? To a man who had practically given up hope of ever seeing the face of his wife again, it was.

Matthew 10:8
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Alan was the first part of a big day of blessings for us and others. A cancerous growth was removed from one woman's face and another woman, sick with infection and needing very specific medication was able to get treatment. There were other God moments as well. I heard two people rededicated their lives to Christ. Russ and Sharon and the interpreters prayed with many people. God was working through us and our local team in a mighty way.
PRAISE GOD
It was an exhausting and wonderful day. Today our resident videographer was able to get a lot of footage that she will make into a video that will be shown to many people. I can't wait to get a copy and show it to you once it is complete.
For me, it was a good day in many ways. While working in the medical arena in the past, I wasn't able (or chose not to) pray for my patients. Today, I was challenged to do some things I haven't done in quite a while and in the midst of it all I found myself praying that mt past training would come flooding back to me and praying with the people as I did treatment. In some cases, I was near tears because it was just so awesome. This experience has been unique, challenging and spiritually rewarding to me in so many ways.

Tomorrow we are going to "The Hole" to visit many of the people we are serving and to pray with them. As I said in an earlier blog, this area is about as impoverished as any in the world. The conditions are deplorable and getting worse. Please pray that God will open our hearts to truly see what is needed and that we may be able to provide encouragement to these people.
I'm not sure how many people we treated, but it was a lot. Enough that breaks were non existant other than a quick lunch.
Please continue to pray for my family at home and thank you so much for the love and support you have given them. Without them by my side, I wouldn't be able to do this.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support. Your comments and e-mails have been a big encouragement to me.
Que Dios de bandegos

Mission Guatemala Day 5

Because it is a day of rest, I want to keep this short, but I wanted to share a worship experience we had tonight.
We took our rest day in Antigua, which is a touristy little town about 40 miles from Guatemala City. There were many vendors in colorful, traditional clothes and it was fun to go through and barter for trinkets to take home.
Back to the worship...
We were invited to worship and share testimonies at a small Nararene church in the area we have our clinic set up in. The congregation loved on us from the moment we walked in the door. One man, with a smile nearly as broad as Rolando's came up and offered each of us a toy motorcycle. He had a pocket full of them and we could tell he felt so blessed to be about being able to give them to us.
One important point, the unemployment rate in Guatemala City is nearly 40% and the minimum wage is $150 per month. Many in this area are living under these conditions. For Esteban to give us these toys meant giving up something else. His heart was all about pleasing God, which was so evident as we watched him with us and others.
The worship was awesome. People jumped up and sang praises and danced and were on their hands and knees crying out to God. People responded to the testimonies enthusiastically and would randomly shout out halelluahs and praises to Jesus.
Mary, one of our team members has this just awesome gift of being able to speak the word of God. The words God gives her were so poinient and relevant regardless of what culture we are from.
Russ delivered the message and started off with the encouragement for married couples and had each stand up while the congregation layed hands on them and prayed. There were many tears and afterward, you could see the couples sitting closer together and holding hands.
He also spoke words of encouragement about the daunting task of reaching out to millions of Guatemalans and said we need to focus each day and finding God given opportunities to reach out to our neighbors and friends and co-workers. One person at a time is all God asks of us.
My prayer is that I will open the eyes of my heart and find those opportunities and make the most of them.
It was clear the Holy Spirit led the service and after 2 hour of clapping and singing and enjoying the very presence of the Lord, I was exhausted. Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing?
Because it is past 11 p.m. here and I need my energy for clinics tomorrow, I will keep this short and without pictures. I hope you don't mind.
Thank you again for your continued prayers and blessings as we cross the threshold into the last half of the trip. Please continue to pray for our health as a virus seems to be creeping its way into our team. Also pray for the patients we will see during the next three days.
God Bless –

Mission Guatemala Day 4

I just found out today that I have a twin!!
Amen
I have struck up a wonderful friendship with a pastor here in Guatemala named Rolando. He has a kindly face and a smile as broad as any I have ever seen. Thoughout the day, he goes through and prays with and for people and his kindness and love reaches out to so many people.
Although he speaks no English, his love of God is a universal language. If anybody has seen me around with my well-traveled blue camo hat, well it now has a new owner. He wore it all day and everybody, including people on the Starfish team, kept calling him Sheldon when his back was turned.
Throughout the day, we played and we shared laughs. On Tuesday he is taking us into the community Living Stones is directly working in. A creek runs through the community translated as "The Hole." In the video I was shown, the creek is red with industrial chemicals and kids play in it. The shantys are hobbled together with pieces of tin and sometimes cardboard and will house many people in a very small area. The matresses(if they have them) are on concrete blocks so when the rains come and the creek rises, the beds don't get AS wet.
We treated 94 patients today Praise God. There were so many children. One of our first patients was a baby with a high temperature and his eyes were dull and he just wasn't well. I dodn't know what Don (Team Leader) treated him with, but the family was so thankful.

I also met a woman named Clara and I ask you to pray for her. She is 28 and has three children. Her husband died four days ago and she was left penniless. A tragic situation in Guatemala. I prayed with her through a translator and hope you will do the same. We have tried to remember that we may be treating ailments, but our first mission is keep our hearts open and find opportunities to treat the soul.

Pastor Jerry e-mailed me tonight and asked me a fair question. What is God showing me personally while I am down here. I thought it was a straightforward question, but I wanted to give it some thought. Because you are part of my prayer team, I thought it would be appropriate to answer this for all of you.
His question to me while I have been here is "Why not at home?" I have found it easy to break the language barrier and joyfully serve. I wish people "Que Dios de Bandegos" meaning "God bless you." Why can't I do this in my own back yard? It is something I am wrestling with and I can think of several reasons why.
One, I have cluttered my life with so much stuff that I have forgotten where my priorities are supposed to lie; #1, with God, #2, my family and #3, my church family and community. My job is important and God has closed doors when I have wanted to leave making me go hmmm.
Unfortunatly, I haven't neccesarily placed all my priorities in order all of the time. When I see the men and women who are just pouring out their heart to these people, it is a reminder of what I need to do at home. When I see Russ Barth spent hours (plural) praying over the entire church and medical team from a balcony above us, it shows me what I need to be doing for my home and family daily.
Well, I wanted to keep this short and give you lots of pictures. You have all blessed me so much and I thank you for your faith and support on this mission.
Que Dios de Bandigos

Day 3

This morning I awoke to the sounds of Angels singing to me and it was beautiful.
Last night I set my alarm to the first radio station that had reception. There weren’t any English stations, not that I minded so I figured this one would work.
My radio went off at 6 a.m. and I woke up to “Draw Me Close to You,” sung en espanol. It was beautiful and I started singing and praising God in English along with the song.
I hope the Angels weren’t offended by my singing!!
Day three was an absolute blessing from beginning to end and I pray each of you receives the gift of joy I received today. We saw 75 patients with various degrees of ailments and they were so happy we were there.
What amazes me is that we often complain about this or that when they go see a physician, myself included. (No offense Dr. Walker) Here they will wait hours and are just so happy to see you. Many were in tears, because they had been sick or injured for so long. It takes 4-6 months to see a doctor here unless you are critically ill or injured. They were simply overjoyed that we could try to end their suffering.

We also had plenty of opportunities to pray over others, which was a humbling and beautiful thing. For me, as I worked, throughout the day I would feel a hand on the back of my head and the pastor would be there praying for me. I’m almost in tears thinking about it.
OK – I don’t want to short circuit the computer.
I met many young mothers, 16 and 17-years-old and it was awesome to be able to see their children and babies with the smiles on their faces. You may have thought I was Santa Claus when I was passing out toothbrushes and that was very very cool. We saw people of many ages and received many hugs and kisses.
I will add we are eating like kings here. In fact, tonight we were still full from an excellent lunch and they brought fresh made tamales for dinner. Not wanting to dismiss their hard work and blessing to us, we ate…and ate…and, well, you get the picture. I’m telling you, it’s painful to do the work of the lord!!
As we waited to eat dinner, I played soccer with an orange inflatable ball with a group of children, probably 9-12 years old. I wasn’t very good and insisted I could only see in black and white. A translator told me they thought I was a loco gringo. Actually he described me as a clown. I guess I didn’t leave my clown face at home for this one.
To close, tonight is the Night of the Torch in anticipation of Guatemala’s Independence Day tomorrow. There are drums and singing and of course, children leading large processions while running with torches. Tomorrow there will be many celebrations throughout this city of 2 million people.
Please continue to pray for the health and welfare of the medical team, the people we are serving and also our hosts. They are so gracious and wonderful and it has made our work so much easier. Also, pray for my health. My throat has a tickle, hopefully it’s just my wounded pride from getting stomped the 9-year-olds and not a virus
God Bless – Que Dio de Bandego

Mission Guatemala Day 2

Hola mi Amigos-
Well, that has just exhausted all the Spanish I know at this point. What is so awesome is that the language of the Lord overcomes all verbal barriers and His work gets done. I'll explain this later.
After a very tight squeeze in airline seats and 1 hour of sleep, I arrived in Guatemala on time and in one piece. Along the way, I met some interesting people including one couple flying from Tampa Florida to adopt a 13-month-old baby girl. Their joy was so evident and they were so happy that this door opened when God closed the door on them having one on their own.
We made it through customs with all of our medical supplies intact and after meeting Living Stone Ministries at the airport we checked in and went right to work.
The clinic has now been set up and we will see about 60 people tomorrow. The whole team is excited and the Living Stones ministry team is so grateful and accomodating. We have been well fed and the clinic looks great, complete with plastic lining for exam room dividers.
The church building above is in a warehouse and like Creekside, they set up and tear down most of their chairs and sound equipment each week. The building serves not only as a church, but also a school. Once you get beyong the walls of the compound, the church's main door is a sliding barn type door and there are no glass windows. I'm sure the sounds of praise to the Lord can be heard throughout the community.
The community we are serving is impoverished and actually a stark contrast to the center of the city where our hotel is. Many of the buildings are decrepit with some missing roofs altogether. The people subsist on little, and we saw many scavenging through the trash where farmers had tossed their rotten produce.
The truest views of the city came from above as we flew in above shantytowns in nthe midst of modern accomodations. It reminds me of Haiti in many ways.
Please continue to pray and e-mail and comment to this blog. If you ask questions, I will try to get them answered for you.
God Bless

Mission Guatemala: Day 1

I just remembered why I don't like late flights. The wait is almost unbearable.
It's just after 4 p.m. and my flight leaves at 11:45 p.m. This was done for a reason. Originally we were supposed to go to the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala and do clinicals in various villages. Seeing as God's will is not our own, things changed and now we are staying in Guatemala City and working with Christian Aid.
I've been asked at least three times today whether I am nervous or scared and I have to say no. One thing our entire team has had is peace. It's not that there haven't been challenges with illnesses and family situations that have arisen, but as we packed our bags on Saturday, we were just having a good time and ready to do His will. I can feel the excitement building and I'm sure once I meet Russ and Sharon before we get on the plane it will really kick in.
On Sunday, Liz, Maddy, Birgit and I took a short hike to the top of Mary's Peak just outside of Corvallis. It has the most amazing views for 360-degrees. When I think of what God has given us, it is simply amazing. Like Jerry said on Sunday "It is Good." I am looking forward to telling you more about what we are doing in Guatemala and more specifically, the people. I pray that we touch just one life in a way that they scream and shout for the joy of the Lord.
I'll keep this short, but please feel free to respond to this post. Please continue your prayers for my family, our medical team and my health.
Oh-Yeah, pray I don't snore on the plane tonight. I don't want to get thrown off mid-flight. :)
Sheldon