Leading with my ears...not my tongue. Lessons from the book of James.

Hit the link below to connect with our most recent blog from the book of James.
Compelling Love Ministries Blog
Blessings,
Karren & Rocky

When Brothers Dwell in Unity...

Hey, just in case you have not yet made the switch over to our website blog, here is the link one more time.  Check out our latest blog about a multi-church prayer meeting in Chisec!

http://www.compellingloveministries.com/blog.html

Blessings,
Karren!

A Visit From Family

Hey everyone,
Check out our latest blog at http://www.compellingloveministries.com/blog.html.
Blessings,
Karren

Two Babies...Two Worlds

To see our latest blog, go to the Compelling Love Ministries website at http://compellingloveministries.com/blog.html.
We hope to see you there!

Compelling Love Ministries is born!

Hi to all of you who follow our blog.  Thank you for your support and encouragement over the years!  It is always such a blessing to see that there are people out their following our journey.

As some of you may already know, we have been in the process of registering a charitable society in BC and we are happy to announce that we have now been incorporated:  Compelling Love Ministries.

We chose this name because it really is why we are doing what we are doing - we are motivated by Christ's love for us so that we live out our lives in service to Him and others.

We are also excited to let you know that we have launched a website for our ministry which now hosts our blog as well.  Why don't you pop on over and check us out at http://compellingloveministries.com.

Blessings, Rocky and Karren Chupa
Compelling Love Ministries
CTEN Canada

Count Your Blessings!

I know it isn't Thanksgiving, but I really need to give thanks today.  Do you remember the old song, "Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your blessings, see what God has done..."?
Well, here we go...

1. I am the daughter of the King!  Dearly loved and treasured.
2. I have access to God's Word and study materials so I can grow in my relationship with Him. 
3. I have been redeemed, restored, renewed and refreshed!  
4. I am blessed to have an amazing husband who loves the Lord and loves me, too! 
5. We have 4 incredible kids and 3 equally amazing son-in-laws.
6. I am about to become a grandma!  
7. I have an extended family that is really second to none.  They are fun, loving, caring, sincere, and simply a joy to share life with.  
8. I have two amazing churches in my life - 1 in Kamloops (Bible Truth Church) and 1 in Chisec (Ministerios El Calvario Internacional).  
9. I am blessed to have a home with a concrete floor and indoor plumbing (you know... a toilet and shower and water in the sink).  
10. I am blessed to have electricity so I can use a fan to cool off.
11. I have the opportunity to live my life and share Christ's love with all those He places on my path.  
12. I have enough food to eat and clean clothes to wear and shoes (more than I need). 
13. I have a washing machine and don't need to wash my clothes by hand! 
14. I don't need a dryer because there is enough sun to dry my clothes within a couple of hours.  
15. Both Marshal and Alex are coming for a visit in May.
16. When I can't handle the heat any longer, there are multiple rivers close by where I can go and swim and cool down.  
17. I have both phone and internet access.
18. I have a freezer so I can drink really cold drinks!  
19. I have a gas stove and don't need to cook over a fire. 
20. I get to live in Guatemala!  

I am sure if I sat here for more time, my list would grow and grow.  Some of my blessings are serious and significant and others are somewhat frivolous, but when I take the time to "count my blessings" suddenly my perspective changes.  You see I cannot be thanking God for what He has done and be complaining at the same time. But it is a choice I make...

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.  Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized.  Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.      Philippians 4:8,9 The Message

Sometimes it is just hard.

It is an honour to serve the Lord and the Kekchi people in Guatemala.  I am always very aware of what a privilege I have to be here and share my life and faith with those the Lord chooses to put in my path.  So many times it is a joy and super fulfilling.  But, sometimes it is just hard.  

The past month has been a month of struggle for me.  We often have people come to our door asking for help and many times they need help with a medical issue.  The health care system in Guatemala is broken and the further out of the capital city you go, the more broken it is.  They say health care is free, but that is a misnomer - the only thing that is free is the bed, or I should say a bare mattress.  

The issue of infant malnutrition has been in my face recently.  We are surrounded by malnourished children, but I had not seen many infants that were starving...that is until recently.  

Within a period of a couple weeks, 4 such babies came into my life.  To be clear, I am not talking about a skinny baby or one who has been sick for a little while and lost a bit of weight.  I am talking about a babies that nothing more than skin and bones.  When I close my eyes, I can see them and it breaks my heart.  It is just not how it is meant to be.

I have felt a deep frustration and inadequacy as I have walked along side the local health clinic workers and the families of these sweet little ones.
   

In the "pediatric ward" of the Health Clinic, there is no running water and no soap, so no one, the nurses and doctors included, can wash their hands or the bottles for these fragile, at risk babies.  And so, infections run rampant. There also is no safe drinking water with which to mix the formula that these precious little ones need to survive and no way to heat the water up at all.  Add to that, no formula, no diapers, no diaper wipes, no food, no bedding, no medicine, no fuel for the ambulance in case of an emergency, and you get the picture of what free health care here looks like.  The people say it is the government's fault.  I don't know whose fault it is, but the reality is a broken system that isn't serving anyone's needs.
        

Now, you would think that in Coban, our department's capital, it would be better than out here in Chisec, but, sadly, it isn't.  They do have access to more doctors and specialists, but the funding necessary to run a hospital simply isn't there.   The entire situation is awful.
  

Working with the families has also been a challenge for me.  The lack of basic understanding is incredible.  Feeding an infant only rice water and sugar and thinking that would be okay.
I have struggled trying to make sense of it all.

And, yet, I am called to share life with the people here.  To share in their successes but also in their challenges.  To offer help, in love.    

I wish I had four success stories to share with you, but that has not been the reality.  Baby Edy - the 5 month old 8 pound little boy with a cleft pallet - died in the hospital in Coban.  He was scheduled for surgery in May and was being sent to a hospital to receive some intense nutritional care, but he got severe diarrhoea and vomiting and his little body simply couldn't take it.  

The nameless little baby girl - the 4 month old weighing only 4 pounds - is still in the hospital in Coban receiving treatment.  We have visited and continue to provide support and encouragement to Katalina, the mom.  Although she is receiving an intensified formula, unfortunately her situation was so severe when she came for help, the prognosis isn't great.   

The other baby, who we saw only once, disappeared with her mom shortly after being checked into the clinic in Chisec.  I think her mom was afraid.  I can only pray that the situation is improving.

The last of the four babies is really the only success story – baby Astrid.  This family lives close to our property in Canruja and we have visited numerous times, once with a health care worker, to encourage the mom and help her understand breast feeding and what her body needs to produce milk.  It is a long story, but the most important part is that mom is doing better and so is the baby!  Praise the Lord.  At my last visit, baby Astrid was no longer whimpering and looked bright eyed and attentive.   

I can't tell you that this has been easy.  Nor can I say I really feel good about a lot of how this has played out.  But...what I can say is this...I am learning that my job is to help where I can and to do it joyfully, not expecting anything in return – not even an improved situation.  I can only do what the Lord has asked me to do and the rest is up to Him.