Medical Clinic in Pombach

On Thursday and Friday of this week, we ran a Medical Clinic in Pombach, a mountain village about 30 minutes out of Tactic. The first time we visited this village was 10 years ago. At that time, we were not really welcomed with open arms, but over the years we have worked to establish a solid relationship with them. 9 years ago, our home church in Canada purchased property in Pombach so that we could build a church. A local pastor in Tactic, Pastor Pedro Fortin, had a vision from the Lord for this village and we partnered with him to see it fulfilled. Over the next three years, Kamloops Christian School worked on the construction of a church and Pastor Fortin trained a pastor fill the position. When we first arrived, the village had only 3 families who were evangelicals. The second year it had grown to 7, the third year 15, and now there are actually three evangelical churches thriving in this remote village with over 40 families serving the Lord. The Lord is so good! Here in Guatemala, the people are hungry for the word of God. When presented with His truth and His hope for the future, they embrace it openly and their lives are forever transformed.

The doctor who is currently here, Dr. Tom Martin from Vancouver, and his family, along with Impact Ministries support staff, managed to see well over 100 people in two days. Along with the common complaints and ailments of headaches, neckaches, parasites, malnutrition, skin infections, and bronchial infections, they saw a few very rare disorders, one of which the doctor said he'd only seen once while in medical school. One young lady was born without a thyroid, not an uncommon condition and totally treatable in Canada. Because she didn't receive any care, although, she is only about 2 1/2 feet tall and severly mentally handicapped. They also saw a rare chromyzone deformity where an 8 year old boy is only 27 pounds. He is blind, cannot walk and due to his illness, he will probably not see his 14th birthday. What a challenge to live in a remote village, trying to care for the special needs of some of these children.

The Lord, however, is interviening into situations just like these and miracles are happening. When medically we can do nothing, that is when the Lord can step in and do amazing things.

We listened to a young man from Pombach tell of how his wife had 3 still born children in a row. After their first child was still born, the witch doctor visited them and told them if he would have performed certain rituals over the lady prior to conception and then during the pregnancy, the child would have been healthy. So, wanting desparately to have a healthy child, they paid for the rituals to be done. Because this man only earned about $15/week and the ritual cost $100, they had to borrow money to have it done. The wife conceived and carried the child to term, but again it was still born. The witch doctor returned and said they obviously needed to have more rituals performed because the gods were not pleased with them, so they borrowed more money - now the price had more than doubled - and performed multiple rituals. Their third child was also still born. The pastor of the church visited their home and shared the Gospel with them as they mourned the death of their third child. They accepted the Lord and their lives were transformed! They now have 3 healthy children and are actively serving in the church and telling others of how the Lord healed them, physically and spiritually. In their time of huge need, the Lord met them and provided for them. What a miracle.

We may not be able to address all the physical needs of the people of Pombach through our medical clinic, but the Lord can. He asks us to do what we can, and then leave the rest to Him. Nada es imposible para Dios - Nothing is impossible for God!