Hasta la vista!

Thanks so much for your prayers. God is so faithful and working in the girls’ lives. We all met with John and Sharon on Wednesday and John spoke in very serious terms about the girls’ attitudes and responsibilities while they are here. It was a good session and things have improved greatly with the girls. They are more positive and considerate of one another. We are very encouraged that they will do fine after we leave. Certainly, they will have problems - after all, they are totally opposite - but God’s bigger and He wants to work in their lives as well as through their lives.

We are planning on leaving Chichi early Sunday morning, because of the hurricane and the possibility of mud slides along the road. Please pray that the weather will hold off and that the storm will diminish as it reaches us. Consequently, we will have to spend an extra night in Guatemala City. Please pray that there’s room at the inn.

This will probably be our last entry before leaving Guatemala. Thank you all for your prayers. And please continue to pray for us. We have been asked to continue working with ASELSI, which would require a longer commitment and more time in Guatemala. We are not sure if this is the direction the Lord is laying out for us or not. Our hearts for service are still in Murfreesboro so we need to hear clearly from the Lord.

Bless you all!

We need prayer!

We need your help. Since we’ve come to Chichi things have not gotten better with the interns, but worse. We had hoped that getting out of the city of Antigua and getting into a place of ministry here at ASELSI would be a turning point in the girls’ relationship with each other. The two girls are exact opposites and don’t have much tolerance for their differences.

We have spent much time trying to disciple them and teach them how to relate to one another and forgive each other in a biblical manner. We have shared our concerns and have prayed with John and Sharon and they have shared their concerns about what will happen with the girls after we leave. t There is no one to oversee them once we’re gone.

Please pray for us to have greater understanding and discernment in dealing with them. Please pray for the girls, too. Each of them is struggling in her own way. Thanks so much.

Back in Chichi

We’ve arrived safely in Chichicastenango with the interns after a long day of traveling from Antigua, then down to Guatemala City for groceries, then back to Chichicastenango. We left Antigua at 9 am and arrived in Chichi at 3 pm.

We spent the weekend settling in to the new house, unpacking and ministering to the ‘chicas’ a bit. Now that we’re living in the house we’re having our first opportunities to cook our own meals with the girls. They’ve been great about taking responsibility for the menu and the daily chores around the house.

Today (Monday) we will begin work at ASELSI. Our first project is to clean up and organize the large storage area on the compound. Throughout the week Grace and Jessica will begin preparation for their ministry at the local schools. They will be teaching a Bible study and English classes once a week. In addition they will be working with short term mission teams which will be in and out throughout the summer. Grace is a nurse and will also be helping in the clinic one day a week. Jessica is a computer techie and will spend time working on a Spanish website for ASELSI.

Suki and Mary Jane are discipling the interns and trying to help them process their differences biblically and live together in harmony. Please keep praying for us all as we move into this phase of our journey.

Back at the Books!

We're knee deep in espanol once again! We arrived in Antigua on Friday and met Grace and Jessica (the two interns) on Saturday. We were able to spend the weekend getting to know them before focusing on Spanish on Monday. Both girls are doing well and speak Spanish well, which will make it much easier for them in Chichicastenango.

Suki and Mary Jane are both amazed at how much we have forgotten. However, much of it is coming back fairly quickly (Thank You, Lord). We've had great opportunities to reconnect with our old teachers, the little church we attended, and our former host family. It's been great seeing them all again. And, we have no doubt that it will be hard to say goodbye all over again.

Mary Jane was under the weather Monday afternoon and missed class Tuesday, but is making it up in the afternoons. Suki is doing fine.

This weekend we will return to Chichicastenango where we will get the girls started in their ministries at ASELSI.

Again, thanks so much for your prayers. They keep us connected.

Off to Antigua

We've finished the final details in preparation for the Summer Interns in Chichicastenango. Yesterday we spent much of the day with Sharon planning the schedules of service and activities for the interns for the next few weeks. Tomorrow (Friday) we will head out to Antigua early in the morning. We will be there to meet Jessica and Grace on Saturday when they arrive. We're looking forward to getting to know them and to be able to pray for them. We're also looking forward to seeing our friends at the Christian Spanish Academy again. We also plan to visit Maria Elena and Carlos and our friends at the little Christian church that we attended.

Please pray that our Spanish grammar will come back and we'll be able to advance - even a little - in the upcoming week of school.

Answered Prayers

Praise God for His goodness. John and Sharon went to the doctor in Guatemala City on Saturday for more consults and were told that the 'tumors' are calcifications on John's back and hip. The bloodwork confirmed that John does not have cancer. We're thankful for God's faithfulness to John and all the work at ASELSI.

In other news, we are finishing up the latest touches on our house and the schedule for the Summer Interns. We said goodbye to the WOC team on Sunday and have been working with ASELSI since then.

Yesterday MJ was in bed with a cold, but Suki was able to go to the compound and help with the distribution of wheelchairs for many of the children in the region. For those of you who remember him, little Nelson received a wheelchair. We'll post pictures as soon as we can.

We are also making final preparations for returning to Antigua next week. Time is flying by here. Again, thank you for your prayers. We have already seen God doing some amazing things here.

An Urgent Prayer Request

This morning the team arrived at the ASELSI compound and John and Sharon had gathered the staff for an announcement. Over the past several months John has been experiencing some pain in his back. Yesterday he went to the doctor who took some xrays and discovered two tumors on his spine. The doctor said that this type of tumor is generally the result of prostrate cancer and is very serious.

As we gathered for prayer two of the ASELSI staff shared dreams that they had had about thieves coming to the compound to steal all the valuables. Our team surrounded the staff of ASELSI and began to pray God's protection over everyone here. We all felt that this is a spiritual attack. Just a few weeks ago Sharon had surgery to remove cancer on her face. In addition, several of the members of leadership here are also battling serious illnesses.

On Monday Frank, one of the members of our team, told us that he had the feeling that we were here for something special on Friday. Today (Friday) we all felt confirmation in our spirits that we are here to resist the enemy's attacks on the leadership of ASELSI. Please join us in prayer for John, Sharon, and all the staff of ASELSI.