Why we don't eat buggers

Not sure just how buggers came up in a recent car ride conversation, but it did. We were discussing picking your nose, etc and Hannah asked the kids why we don't eat buggers. There was a brief pause, Lily said something like she was not sure, so Hannah began to tell them that they were dirty and yucky etc, when Aidan piped up with confidence and said, "I know why we don't eat buggers, because they get stuck in your teeth!" Oh yes he did! Ahh! Hannah and I cracked up! He definitely had a past experience with a chewy nose nugget...

Thankful, but not worthy

When I think about all I have been given and blessed with, my heart burst with thanksgiving! Gratitude first and foremost to Jesus for saving me from death. Where would my life be without His grace. To my family, including but not limited to Hannah, the love of my life, Lily and Aidan, you have changed my life forever and I love you both for it. My parents, for leading me by example, not only in my childhood, but even today. The training and education you offered me provides for my family daily. My sisters (and their families), I am so excited that we all are better friends now than when we all lived together as kids! To my Yates family: I could never imagine having better in-laws or bro-sister in-laws than you guys! And of course to all my friends both here and abroad. You all have influenced my life, making me to the person I am today.

WOW, how blessed I am! But I am not worthy. I do not deserve my family or friends. I do not deserve God's grace... But I suppose if I did deserve them, all of the above would not be gifts, but rather things I worked for and earned. You see, that is the wonder of God. Unmatched gifts to unworthy people. So as I enjoy this thanksgiving and as we enter this Christmas season, let us not forget why we are thankful, why we love, why we give... Happy Thanksgiving all!

I don't know why. I do know God.

As most of you know, we came home from Belize with a new tiny life inside Hannah. Friday we discovered that this blessing was no longer alive. In my life I have experienced pain and sorrow, but none quite like this. This pain has brought up many questions, the one topping the list being WHY? I just don't understand. Why would this happen? Why be given life, just to have it disappear? Then my mind wanders to all of the other terrible things that have happened to friends and family I know and love.... Why pain? Why death? Why abuse? Why war? Why cancer? Why illness?

The plain fact is, I don't know why and I never will. As all this flowed through my head and heart, I heard God say very quietly: "you don't know why, but you do know me". I don't know why our sweet baby died, but I do know the overwhelming love of my Father God for me. I don't know why we are experiencing this pain, but I do know how much my Jesus cares for me, and how he hurts with me for the life lost. Although I still hurt, what comfort these words provide. There are so many things in life I don't know the "why's" for, but I do know God. So for those of you who have experienced pain and loss with many unanswered why's, my encouragement to you is get to know God and His promises, for it is those things your heart needs most.

Seasons of change

Change has been on my mind a lot lately. Probably due to the fact that so much has changed for us in the past month. Just 40 days ago we were in Central America sweating our hearts out, and now just 4 days ago we experienced 8 inches of snow (the most we have ever seen)!
Some people avoid change like the plague. Others can't get enough of it. I find myself somewhere in the middle. Regardless, one thing is true: change is inevitable. Like the seasons, our lives will change.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says:

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

As you see in these verses, God says there is a time for EVERYTHING. So the question in my mind is this: what is the purpose of this season in my life? Is this a time to plant or uproot? To be silent, or to speak?... I'll be honest, I am not sure. In part, this uncertainly is worrisome, but God reminds me of His unchanging nature: I Samuel 15: 29 says: "He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind." So regardless of the season, or the change I am experiencing, God still has a transcending (way beyond surviving) purpose for me (and you).

New Mexicans, at least for a while.. .

As many of you know, we are now in Farmington, NM. God worked it out for us to be able to work here for the next few months. Today I went in for orientation and God sure does know what he is doing. I did not know a whole lot about this clinic but come to find out the people I will be taking care of are all underserved (non/under-insured, indigent, etc), which is exactly where my heart is. So not only are we able to earn a living and save up some money, but I am also able to show the love of Jesus to the "least of these" of northwest New Mexico.

This part of the country is absolutely beautiful! We are very near the "four corners" (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado) and we are looking forward to seeing more of the area and maybe seeing a bit of the white stuff before our time here is complete. We are staying in a very nice fully furnished apartment that is close to most everything, and we are getting to know the town. As of now, we will be here through mid January, and then we'll see...

Goodbye Belize

What an experience Belize was for us. So many people have asked us what single thing was most memorable about this experience. After some thought no doubt the answer is the people we met. One of my favorite sayings that is quoted often by Dave Ramsey is that "the only difference between you and you in 10 years is made by the people you meet and the books you read". People make all the difference in this word, and we met so many great folks while in Belize. Saying goodbye to them was not easy and came with tears of sadness and joy. Here are some pics of some of the many goodbyes we made in our last week in Belize:

Mrs. Rose was one of our very favorite patients. Lily and Aidan loved her! Sweet rose died less than 2 weeks after this picture was taken shortly after we returned home. We will see this beautiful lady once again...

This little girl was just born when we arrived in Belize, and look at how big she has gotten! They went to church with us.

Mrs. Coleman will turn 94 this December. The kids loved visiting her every month.

Mr. and Mrs. Villafranco have been married for 50+ years and have 12 children!

Tears of sadness and joy...

This dear 97 year old lady loved Hannah and oranges (which we brought her often)!

Hard to let go....

Pastor Gideon and family...

All smiles...

Hillside staff and volunteers

Texas

Quick update: We're in Texas visiting my family for the week. I intend on blogging more later on this week. I have a lot to catch up on. I am writing this on my new iTouch (which is so cool) so I am keeping this short. More to come...

Home... and good report

Well, we are back home, and how sweet it is! We have spent the past 2 days relaxing with family. We will spend this week taking care of business and doing some more relaxing. Hopefully we will know something about a job early this week so we can make some plans for the next few months. We will visit the rest of my family in Texas pretty soon... can't wait so hug our new nephew Carter! (We got to love on our new niece Ruth today)!

1 hour after we got off the plane Friday we met with Aidan's eye specialist. He examined his eyes once again and gave us some very good news! About 8 months ago we were told by him that Aidan would need laser surgery to correct a muscle problem in his right eye. The plan was to schedule the operation and get it done soon once we got home... Well every night we prayed over his eyes and asked God "to heal his eyes and help Aidan not to have to wear a patch, his glasses or to have surgery." We believe he did just that! Although his vision worsened a bit and that he has to still wear glasses and a patch (6 hrs/day), his specialist told us that his muscle problem was now so small that he would not recommend surgery at this time!!! YAY! Praise and thank you God!

I'll let you know asap when we know where we will be next!

Saying goodbye and Heading home

This week has been exhausting to put it mildly. We have said goodbye to so many wonderful people, and we are just drained. As Shakespeare put it, "parting is such sweet sorrow", and it truly is. We are looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and hugging many necks very soon.

Tomorrow we start our journey home. We are going to spend a few days in central-western Belize where we will travel into Guatemala to visit the great Mayan ruins of Tikal. On Wednesday we will travel to the Belize Zoo and then onto Belize City on Thursday where we will fly to Houston, TX. We get the privilege of spending the night in my state of birth, magnificent Texas, and then fly into Jackson, MS early the next morning (Friday). Pray that all of this journey is safe and uneventful. USA, here we come!

The heat is on...

Man is it HOT! It has rained very little in the past 5 days which is the only thing that knocks down the heat to a survivable level... Of course the outside temperature is not the only "heat" we are experiencing. We will return to the states in less than 2 weeks and we still do not have any concrete job or plans as of today... I sure like it when God leads by opening lots of doors and let's me choose which one best suits us, but God does not quite work that way. Lately he has been shutting doors, which I do not like. BUT, regardless of what I like or dislike, we are determined to let God lead and not become desperate. A new buddy of mine just tonight said that "people in a famine grasp at anything to eat, even if it is bad for them". This is totally true and while we are far from being in a physical famine, we are experiencing some serious hunger pangs for God's voice, and I don't want to grasp and do something or go somewhere just because I am hungry to do something without knowing it is from God. So while we wait (which is easier said than done), please continue to pray for God's direction because I know what God will provide is just what we need!

One year in Belize

Today marks exactly one year since we came here to Belize... hard to believe, but as they say here, "you better Belize it". It has been an incredible journey, affecting every aspect of who we are. We have changed, and we have found areas that need change. We feel very confident that God wanted us here and also that He wants us to return to the states for a season. As I've said before, we have not and will not comprehend all what we have gleaned from this experience until some later time.

Regardless, we are a stronger family, we trust in our provider God more than ever before, we have seen awesome wonders and sights, met so many awesome people from all over the world, most importantly helped meet the physical and spiritual needs of many in the name of Jesus, and last but not least, sweated more than we have in the past 10 years combined!

Ham and cheese sandwiches

Things have been absolutely crazy busy! Dan and Maria are catching on to the job here, which is a good thing since next week is our last on the job! We have been doing all of the clinic work and home visits to get them familiar with their duties which has made for a very busy last 2 weeks! Hard to believe we are almost done! We definitely have some mixed up feelings about leaving. We are so very excited about seeing family and friends, all the while feeling a bit anxious about all the "unknowns" we are facing.

But despite the "unknowns" life is looking good. Lily helped me to re-realize this along with appreciating the small things in life the other day. She did this by eating lunch... Lily LOVES ham and cheese sandwiches, I mean LOVES them. We have not been able to find ham around here so needless to say she has not had a "ham-N-cheese" in quite a while. Well I found a pack of ham the other day and I surprised her with her favorite lunch. You would have thought I gave her a diamond ring! She was SO excited and thanked me several times and was very happy.

There are so many things in our lives that are much better than "ham-N-cheese" that if we slow down, we will realize that life is good, really good. We'll let you know what our plans are when we know them! Thanks for the prayers... keep them up!

Blades in the Hospital

Please remember Blades in your prayers! We hospitalized him yesterday for an infection from a wound on his left hip. Today he is doing a bit better. Pray for his quick recovery and protection from complications.

Maya Beach

I posted a bunch of pics in the above slide show of our trip to Placencia (Maya Beach) that we took a few weeks ago. God blessed us with one of the best and most relaxing times we have ever had as a family!

Changing of the gaurd

The family who will be taking our place arrived this past Thursday. They are Dan, Maria, and Niki Thibault (pronounced Tee-Bow). (They are the folks on the couch minus the baby). Dan and Maria are nurse practitioners like myself, and Niki is in high school. We are very excited about them being here. Not just for the fact that they are taking our place, but for the love, compassion and expertise care they are going to provide these wonderful people. Please pray for them as they adjust to this culture and for us that we can relay and impart to them all that this position entails.

How to change a tire

As some of you know my grandfather or as we called him Papa (pronounced paw-paw) Keefer, died this past Friday. Papa had a tough past 5 years or so, but I choose to remember him as I did as a child growing up. We would spend summers with him and Nanny at their house in Texas. He was always tinkering with something, whether it be a car, or motor of some kind. He had a "farm" which was not really a farm but just a piece of land that had a big tin garage that had old cars he was working on and of course his tractor. Papa taught me many things, like how to drive a riding lawn mower and his tractor. He also tried to teach me how to work on machines. But the most memorable lesson was how to change a tire. I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was me and my cousin Jamon, under the hot Texas sun with the smell of pine trees in the air, changing a tire on Papa's trailer.

Well, I can still change a tire, and drive a tractor, but his mechanic lessons did not stick. However, the gifts he gave me go far beyond how to change a tire, and they will live on through my life. So when the day comes when it is Aidan's time to learn how to loosen lug nuts, I'll remember you Papa. I'll remember your love for God, wife, children, and grandchildren. I look forward to being united with you and Nanny again on the streets of gold you use to sing about.

Technical issues

I have not been able to log into this blog for the past 2 weeks, and I just got it fixed today! More blogs to come...

Nearing an end and a beginning

I cannot believe that yesterday marked 8 weeks until we will be back in the U.S. from our year here in Belize! Unbelievable! I am sure we will not truly understand all that God has and is teaching us through this experience until a later time. Humility, faith and patience are a few life lessons we have learned, but I know we will glean much more from our time here. God has and continues to be so good to us. Just allowing us this opportunity, and even more the honor of showing Him to these precious people.

But just as we are nearing an end here, we are also nearing the beginning of something new and fresh in our life. (Now if God would only show us what exactly this "new thing" is, we would be set)! We honestly do not have any set plans for when we return at the end of September. We have some ideas, but nothing concrete. So please pray with us that God would make our path known to us.

You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." Psalm 16:11 (NASB)

"Living the high life"

A few days ago myself and Carol (a physical therapist who is with us this month) were able to get Blades a new foam mattress for his bed, hoping it will help to reduce his bed sores. Can you guess which one is the new one? Blades was SO VERY grateful for this small gift. When we put him in bed on the new mattress he said, "wow, now I'm living the high life".

Now I am not exactly sure if he was referring to the height of the new mattress, or to the fact that it is much more comfortable and new, but regardless, this small gift was a BIG blessing. Same with him being able to sit in his wheelchair. The smile on his face is priceless!

"now I'm living the high life".... Most of us are way overly blessed with "things", and yet we always want more. The life each of us have been given is so abundantly more than we deserve (and often need). Luke 12:15 warns us: "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

May we live to give generously of ourselves and our things out of the abundance of God's blessings.

Blog on the "back burner"

Wow! The past 2.5 weeks have been quite the whirlwind! Between Hannah being gone for a week, all craziness here at the clinic, and the many sick sick people, I had to put many things on the back burner, and blogging was one of them. The things I tried put to the forefront of my priority list were God, family and patients. But, things this week have sloowed a little so I thought I would try to catch you guys up.

Hannah had a great trip visiting family and attending her Aunt Pam's wedding in sunny San Diego. We sure missed her a BUNCH but the kids and I stuck together and did as well as could be expected. Hannah returned on Aidan's 4th birthday, which was a special treat.
















We had Aidan's birthday this past Saturday. He had a good time. Aidan invited some of his friends and we even had an uninvited guest: a tarantula (which was appropriate as it was a Spiderman party)!! No joke. Needless to say ole Spidy did not survive long enough for cake and ice cream. Aidan and everyone else had a fun time regardless.





























Blades continues to improve. His major wound on his backside is still healing albeit slow. however he has developed some small ones, but we are working on that. Hannah was able to bring back a "camel-pack", a water system used by hikers/bikers and runners. Now he can drink water by himself without help which is a good thing in many ways (physically, mentally and emotionally). He is able to sit up in a wheelchair now! YAY! Today was his third time and he was able to sit for 2 hours!!! He absolutely loves it! Today he was able to eat lunch while in the chair which was the first time he has had a meal not lying on his back in over 6 months! Keep praying for his healing and his spirits.

So much more has happened but those are the highlights. Please pray for God's guidance for our future. It is hard to believe but we have less than 10 weeks left here (and we still do not know what we are going to do (job etc) when we return. Our replacements (Dan and Maria) will be arriving here in Belize at the end of August, and we will begin their training. Pray for that too!

I have been studying 1 John a good bit lately. What an awesome book! ^3:1"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" Good stuff. More later...

Home Alone

Hannah traveled all day yesterday to San Diego, California for her Aunt's wedding next weekend. Her first flight left PG at 7:00am and 3 flight later she arrived on the west coast at 9:00pm PST. Praise God she made it safely! Sorry for not telling anyone of this trip but we were trying to surprise Pam and family (and I think she was successful). I know Hannah really wanted to go on this trip but she was very, very hesitant to leave us. I finally convinced her that we would be alright and that she needed to take this trip. I think she is glad she did. I am glad too for her sake. We miss her terribly of course, but she'll be back on Aidan's birthday (the 13th). Pray for us this week. My schedule is PACKED and hectic so pray I'll find "Lily and Aidan time" throughout the week. thanks!

Peace despite circumstances

Today when I had finished caring for Blades wounds, I was chatting with him as I often do, I asked him about the small bible he always has lying on his bed. He says it makes him feel better to know it is close by but he cannot read it "because I cannot hold it with my hands". Despite being in a bit of a hurry on a Saturday (my "day off") wanting to get to the sea where Hannah and the kids were swimming, I asked him if he would like me to read to him. He eagerly accepted the offer with gratitude. I asked him what he would like to hear and he chose Psalm 23:

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

As I read it, he quoted verse 1-2 "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters". As I read these powerful words my heart was convicted and touched at the same time. Here is a 48 year old man, who will never walk again, who is suffering from sores caused by the lack of people in is life who take the time to care about him. No means of earning a living, poor, totally dependent on others for everything, little dignity, who lays in bed 24 hours per day in a small dingy room. Yet, he does not complain, though he has reason to, and above that he is able to say "I shall not want". Oh that I would have the same heart, to depend on God despite the circumstances of life. To find comfort only in God, and to not search for peace in anything else. To not fear, in the face of danger, and to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Please continue to pray for Blades and for us as we daily speak and show hope and love in this dismal situation.

Caye Caulker: Nice once we got there

We had a great time in Caye Caulker, that is once we got there!

5:45am
We walked to the end of the road to catch what we thought was the express bus (AC, nicer seats) to Belize City, but come to find out that bus was not running on that day so we took the next available "school bus" like bus. Well I forgot to mention that it had been raining a good bit overnight and well, the rain was apparently too much for the make-shift bridge crossing over one of the many rivers.

8:00am
We arrive at the bridge which is overrun with water. We along with half of Belize wait while they attempt to fix it and let the waters recede enough to cross.

9:00am
Still waiting...

10:00am
Still waiting...

11:00am
The waters have begun to recede and they have dumped a bunch of rocks onto the make-shift bridge. However, all of the sudden our bus decides it is heading back to Punta Gorda! So we had to make a quick choice, go back to PG or hop off and figure some alternate route of transportation... well we hopped off.

11:30am
We noticed a small boat down by the river bank with some military personnel on it so we trekked in ankle deep mud (in flip-flops mind you) to this boat. They were kind enough to take us across the river to yet another muddy bank where we trekked back up to the road. By this time a few 4-wheel drive vehicles had made it across the river so we hitched a ride with a dutch couple (I rode in the back and Hannah and the kids were able to ride inside).

12:00pm
We got out at a junction where they were going to be heading in the opposite direction of our destination. We thanked them and started walking to a near by gas station.

1:00pm
We were at least able to hose off our feet and go to the bathroom (it had been ~6 hours by now) and get some gas station food for lunch. We figured there would be a bus heading where we wanted to go, so we waited.

1:30pm
And waited... (oh by the way, it is pouring down rain by now)

2:00pm or so
And waited

2:30pm
I had noticed a very nice 4 door Ford F350 truck in the gas station parking lot (it kinda stuck out like a sore thumb among the many not so nice trucks). Anyways we were standing on the roadside across from the gas station and I see this gentleman get out of the truck and begin walking our way. I make eye contact with him and we meet near the road. He explains that his is heading to the western part of the country but he could take us to Belmopan (the capital) that is about an hour away where I figured we could surely catch a bus. We gratefully accepted and we were off. Yet another bridge had flooded out along the way but we were able to take detour around it. Come to find out he was returning home where he lives in Spanish Lookout from PG where he has a farm. He was a very nice Christian Mennonite and we had a great and interesting discussion about God during the drive. It sure was nice to ride in a comfortable a/c vehicle!

3:30pm
We arrive at the Belmopan bus terminal to only find out that the next bus to Belize City would not get us to the water taxi terminal in time to catch the last boat to Caye Caulker! So what do you do? You do what you have to do because by this time we were committed to getting to the island, so we charted a vehicle ($$) to take us directly to Belize City.

4:00pm
We get to the water taxi station in time to catch the next 45minute boat ride to Caye Caulker!!!

5:00pm
Finally there! A really long day but worth it once we got to the island!

After that all was absolutely wonderful! The weather was mostly overcast but nice all the same. We relaxed, ate some awesome food, relaxed some more, saw some beautiful sea life, swam, relaxed even more! We stayed in a house near the water. The kids enjoyed being able to watch some cartoons and Hannah and I loved the air-conditioning! It was great. Today was tough, trying to get back into the swing of things. I think I am still in "island mode."

Here are some pics of the trip:


Waiting, waiting....

This is the bridge we were supposed to cross


I had another pic with Hannah
in it but she did not look too happy.
This was certainly the low point
of the trip.


Trying to find a ride


At the water taxi station


Finally in Caye Caulker!


The kids enjoying some Saturday
morning cartoons while we enjoyed
some Saturday morning sleep!


Loving the sea life


Father's day breakfast- YUMMY!


A very special Father's day supper


We had a great time!

I posted a lot more pics of the trip in the sideshow at the top of the page.

Back from the Cayes

HI all! We just got back safely from a GREAT trip to Caye Caulker. Getting there was quite the adventure...I'll blog more about it tomorrow!

Caye Caulker

We have been so busy for the past 9 months that we have not been able to see much of God's beauty displayed here in Belize. Well, this weekend we are going to take some time off and do just that. We are heading out in the morning to the small island of Caye (Key) Caulker. As you can see in the picture, there is a visible "split" that a hurricane created many years ago that separated the island into 2 parts. We will be staying very close to this split. We will travel by bus ~5 hours and then by boat for ~1hour to get there. We'll take plenty of pics! Have a great weekend!

Grace tells another story

I have been recently reminded again just how awesome our Grace giving God is. Here's the story...

The other night Hannah and I were sitting on our bed (listening to some tunes) at the end of a long hot day, exhausted and really feeling bummed about the lives some people choose to live. There are so many hurting people out there in really desperate situations in the middle of terrible, even unthinkable circumstances, that on the surface appear that they will never change and never get to a better place. Anyways, like I was saying, we were sitting there, probably wallowing a bit, when this song randomly played from iTunes. I know I must have heard this song before but in this very moment I "heard" it for the first time.

Grace tells another story by MercyMe

They say don’t waste your time
You simply cannot find
An ounce of good within the heart of man
They say we’ve got to lay
In the bed we’ve made
And live this life without a second chance
But I’m inclined to say
There must be something more

We’ve been told that the heart is just too far gone to save
But grace tells us another story
Where glory sends hopelessness away
Oh grace tells us another story

They say we cannot change
There is no other way
Get used it cause this is all there is
They say don’t raise your voice
Cause we don’t have a choice
We’re dealt this hand so learn to live with it
Well I have to believe
There must something more

WOW! "We've been told that the heart is just too far gone to save, but Grace, tells us another story!" That was the line that just exploded in my spirit. Sometimes I know we give up on people and situations that seem hopeless too quickly. For us, this was a gentle yet POWERFUL reminder to not give up! To Keep praying, to keep loving, to keep being there. One thing I often ask myself is "where would I be if it were not for grace?" In Romans 5:20 it says "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more."

So if circumstances or the situation or even someone tells you that things will not change, remember that Grace tells us another story! Thank you God for your loving Grace that you freely give to anyone who asks! I encourage you to listen to this song and I pray it brings you encouragement and lifts your spirit! Here's a link to the song in video format http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6VKwGuhS2k

Blades update

Thank you all for the prayer and thoughts for Blades. His wound is slowing showing signs of improvement. A few days ago I sat him up in bed for first time in nearly 5 months and he liked it very much!! We now sit him up and exercise his arms and legs daily. He can't wait until he can get into a wheelchair, but unfortunately he'll have to wait a bit longer until his wound heals more. I told him about my blog and that i had many of my friends praying for him and he wanted me to tell each and everyone of you "thank you" and that he "appreciated it very much."

Prayer for Blades

I would please ask all for you to pray for a man known as "Blades." He was paralyzed from the neck down after falling down some stairs in January. As a result of his immobility, he has developed a very large and complicated, life threatening, wound on his backside.

Hannah and I have been diligently caring for him daily for the past 2 weeks since he was released from the hospital. He ran fever everyday for the first 12 days or so, but "Thank God" as Blades put it yesterday, he has not had any fever in 3 days since I changed him to a very strong (donated) antibiotic that is not available here in Belize!! His wound is still infected but we may be seeing signs of slow healing. He asked me yesterday, "Doc (what he calls me), this can heal right?" I was honest and told him once again that yes it can but it is going to take a lot of "TLC" (time, love and care) and prayer. He believes God will see him through this and I would ask that you believe the same thing with us and remember Blades in your prayers. Thanks!

Machacalha

Wow! What an amazing trip. We left early yesterday morning and drove the 2 hours or so to the town of Dolores, where literally the road ends. We then strapped on our packs and headed out on the 2 hour trek to our destination of Machcalha, near the Guatemalan boarder. It was a long hot (and more than any thing heavy) hike but great company and awesome scenery.

Once we arrived in Machcalha, we visited with the family of the village chairman, where we ate lunch and then set up camp. After the tents were up, half the group went hunting for supper, and the rest went with me as we went house to house to provide whatever medical care was needed.

I saw about 100 people in about 4 hours. These wonderful people were very welcoming and appreciative. That evening we went for a dip/bath in a nearby creek which was oh so refreshing! We then ate some supper and met with another village leader about the well that is being planned for the village. Once this meeting was over, since there is no electricity and very dark, we went to bed, but this was certainly not the end of our night.

About midnight, we all headed down the river in a 40 foot hand made dory (canoe) to hunt Gibnut (a rat creature that is very popular with the locals). It was quite the experience. We did not get the kill but had a blast regardless. We made it back to camp around 2:30am and hit the sack.

6:30am we were up and broke down camp. I checked on a few patients and then on to breakfast (flour tortillas and beans) at 7:30. After sweet goodbyes, we started the hike back at around 8:30am. However this time we had a friend in the form of an unnamed horse to help us with our packs (at least for 1/3 of the hike).

God is so good to have allowed me this opportunity to show his compassion and love to these wonderful people. He loves and cares for them them so much and I pray that my actions and words over the past 2 days will have shown them exactly that.

Please pray for the folks with LOL ministry as they continue to work on this well project over the next 2-3 weeks. Time is of the essence as it has to be done before the rain starts otherwise the drill will not be able to get to the village.

I will post a lot more pics of the trip on the slide-show at the top of the blog.

Jungle village trek

Tomorrow I am going to take a trip to a village in the southern most part of Belize. I am going with a group of guys with Laugh Out Loud Ministries (lolministry.com). The trip has a two fold purpose, to assess the area for a new well and to provide medical care all in the name of Jesus. The village is so remote that there is no access to medical care. We will drive 2 hours and then hike 2 hours into the deep of the jungle to get to the small village. Everything you need has to be carried in on your back (and my backpack is packed to the brim)! I am bringing much needed medicines and I will go house to house providing any care that is needed.

We will bathe in a creek and sleep in small tents. They tell me that the howler monkeys keep you up all night and wild pigs eat your camp fire coals! It ought to be fun!!!

We will leave at 5:30am in the morning and will return Saturday evening if all goes as planned. Please pray for our safety and for peace of mind for Hannah and the kids. This will be the first time she has been alone here. The earthquake this morning has not helped her anxieties either!! I will take plenty of pics and let you know how it goes when I return.

Rude awakening

This morning a little before 2:30am a 7.1 earthquake hit Central America. We were awakened to our house which is up on stilts shaking pretty hard and to terrible noises of ours and other buildings creaking. Hannah and I awoke about the same time, dazed and confused, rushed to get Lily and Aidan and ran outside. It must have lasted at least 20 seconds or longer and ended seconds after we were outside.

There have been no reported deaths in Belize, however a teenage boy died in Honduras. Several homes were destroyed in Southern Belize and a town just north of us had a water tower fall down. Some stuff was knocked out of our bathroom and kitchen shelves but thankfully no real damage.

Needless to say we did not sleep very well after that. I felt a small after shock at some point that got me heart racing again. Praise be to God that although we were shaken, we were not moved!

Lily's birthday

This past Saturday was Lily's birthday and her party. It is SOOOO hard to believe that we have a SIX year old child. Man, has time flown!!! She has been beyond excited about this party for MANY days. See anguished over and spent hours discussing with us who to invite, what to do etc. All the details of the part were planned out well in advance. She is so funny. We have proved that you don't have to have all the "stuff" to have a fun party. She had a BLAST and so did her "friends" that came. The theme was of course, "Princess." They colored princess pictures, decorated princess crowns, and did whatever else little princess' do.

The day started out with breakfast of her choice (blueberry muffins) and the rest of the day was consumed with party set up, celebration and then clean-up.






Probably the most special part of the whole thing was that Tanika, one of our special needs friends, got to come. When Lily and I went to invite her, her eyes lit up SO MUCH and she immediately asked her mom if she could go. We saw her a few times in between then and when we picked her up for the party and she would ask me how many days until "Lily's birthday." This was the first birthday party she had ever been to!!! She LOVED it. Even though she could not run around with the rest of the kids, she loved every minute watching them. Marcella, Tanika's mom also got to come which was very important to her. In 8 months, I have never known her to leave her house, so she really appreciated the adult socialization.