God Orders Our Steps

 Alta Verapaz, where we live and work, has some staggering statistics.  The average daily wage is about $6 to $7, if they have work at all.  Over 60% of the population live below the poverty line which is set at $2.50 per day.  Only 15% of the population finish elementary school and the majority of the population is illiterate. 

If that isn’t overwhelming enough, over 50% of the indigenous children under the age of 5 are malnourished and amongst children, the main causes of death are diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition. 

This past week the problem of malnutrition has been front and center.  Within a span of a few days I encountered 3 babies who are severely malnourished.  I don’t mean underweight…I mean skin and bones. 

The first was in the Health Clinic.  I blogged about her already – the nameless one – but sadly the saga continues.  The family brought her into the clinic, but the clinic has very little they can offer this baby.  At 4 months of age, she weighed only 4 pounds.  The nurses gave the baby some antibiotics for an infection and 1 can of formula.  The care of the baby is up to the parents.  The child has not been weighed nor has her food been monitored since arriving.  She is not doing well.  I have been visiting every day and thanks to some of you and your generous donations, have been able to supplement the formula, buy diapers, clothes, blankets and purified water so they can use clean water to mix up the formula.  The sad reality in this situation is that the mother of this tiny little one doesn’t want her child.  The clinic will be sending the baby to a hospital in San Cristobal for severely malnourished children and the mom will not be going with the baby.  I don’t understand this situation, and honestly I don’t know how to process it all, but my heart breaks for this little baby who is unwanted and in really rough shape.

The third day I was in visiting this little one, another mother from the same community had arrived with her baby, also malnourished.  Her little boy is 5 months old, 8 pounds and has a cleft palate and lip.  He is struggling to feed.  The mom started out nursing but the baby couldn’t latch on well and so the family started giving him a bottle.  They would sometimes have enough money to buy formula and when they didn’t have formula they gave him warm water with corn mush mixed in.  She came to the clinic to ask for help.  I left her a can of formula and told her I’d be back the following afternoon to see how they were doing.    

The next morning we were in Coban, and ran into friends of ours – John and Donna Reynolds – missionaries in San Cristobal.  I mentioned to them about the babies, specifically the little guy with the cleft palate.  They” just happened” to know a man who organizes medical teams to do cleft palate surgeries in Alta Verapaz and had his phone number.  I called him right away and he “just happened to be in our area” and got baby Edy on the list for surgery in May.  Now we need to fatten him up so he is strong enough to survive the operation and recovery time.  Again, thanks to the responses that I received from a Facebook post, I have enough funds to buy formula for Edy, too, while he recovers his weight and prepares for the operation.  When I told the mom that her little boy was going to get the help he needed, she was overwhelmed! 

When we were in Coban, I also picked up some medicine that can help nursing moms increase their milk.  I wanted to try it with the mother of the first malnourished baby, but she isn’t interested in trying anything, so I had the medicine in my purse.  I actually forgot it was in there, until this afternoon.  We were out at a birthday party for the 8 year old daughter of one of the guys who has been working out on our property. 

While we were there, a young mom came in with a tiny baby.  I asked how old the baby was and they said 2 months, but she wasn’t growing.  I started talking to the mom and found out that she doesn’t have much milk and the baby was already showing signs of serious malnutrition.  I remembered about the medicine in my bag.  I talked about some of the basics with respect to breast feeding and then specifically about the medication and I am hopeful this will help. 

I love how God orders our steps.  With each one of the above situations we were in the right place at the right time in order to help.  I am thankful that He is ordering your steps, too, and nudges hearts to give so that we can help these little ones who have no voice.              

Four Months Old and Only Four Pounds!

Not too many days pass without someone coming to the door asking for help.  Sometimes they are looking for work; sometimes medicine; sometimes food.  But today they were looking for help.
A man from an aldea (small village) where Rocky has shown the Jesus film came asking for our help.  He told us about a couple from his community who brought their baby into the Centro de Salud (Health Center) yesterday.  He didn't seem to know what the problem was nor did he think the couple knew, but the health workers were not letting them take the baby home.  He thought maybe the baby needed an operation and would have to go to San Cristobal.
Whenever I hear of a sick child, my heart aches.  I cannot think of a time when it is not right to help a child...so off we went to the Centro de Salud to see if we could figure out what was going on.  
When we arrived, I went to the office where I know a few of the ladies and asked if they knew anything about the baby who was admitted yesterday.  Right away they knew who I was referring to.  One of the women said to follow her and she took us in to see the baby and her dad.  I was shocked.  I don't think you ever get used to seeing severe malnutrition.
Laying on the bed was a tiny skeletal baby.  The health care worker proceeded to explain that the parents brought the baby in yesterday and she was despondent.  At four months of age, she weighed only 4 pounds.  She had pneumonia and was severely malnourished and dehydrated.  They put her on fluids and antibiotics and started giving her formula.  Apparently the mom hardly had any milk and so the child was slowly starving to death.
Now, the problem was how to continue providing formula for the baby (she is four months old and has not been given a name).  The clinic can provide one can of formula, but the family has to provide the next can.  They can alternate like this, but cannot provide all the formula for a family because they simply don't have enough. And...the baby can only stay in the clinic until it shows signs of recovery.  Then she has to return home with the parents who then are on their own to buy the formula.  

Now I have to rant a little...To buy a can of formula is completely out of reach for the average person here.  One can that lasts 3 days costs Q65 - more than a man earns in a full day of work.  3 days of work would provide milk for a week.  The average man in the aldeas around Chisec doesn't have regular work, so how is he supposed to buy this milk and provide for the rest of his family? Ugh!   

The health care workers shared that there is a program in San Cristobal where they take severely malnourished babies/children and nurse them back to health. The baby has to first get rid of her pneumonia before she can go to San Cristobal, but once there, the family doesn't have to pay for anything.  The challenge, although, is to convince the parents that it is the best thing for their child to go.  That is tough because what parents want to be separated from the child, even if it is only for a short time?
So, what do we do?  How can we help?  We can pray...which we did...and we can buy formula.  And, we can return and continue to monitor the progress of this nameless little one and trust the Lord to work out the details.      

The Real Work Begins!

This week, Rocky, along with 11 guys, started building the entrance and road onto our property in Canruja (just outside of Chisec).  It is super exciting to see this work begin in earnest!

Building a road would go a lot quicker if we used big machinery, but Rocky and I talked a lot about our purpose here, and we agreed that if it was possible to do the work by hand and provide jobs for local men, that was what we were going to do.  Hence, the crew of 11 guys!

Although it will take more time, the cost will probably be less and, more importantly, we will have the opportunity to build relationships with those who are working and give them an opportunity to provide for their families.  As far as we are concerned, it is a "win win" situation.

We are blessed to have German working as the "foreman" of the job.  He is the man who works on the projects for teams, but because there are no projects at the moment that need his attention, we are able to provide work for him here and benefit from his talent and expertise.  He is a wonderful help to Rocky and I know Rocky appreciates being able to discuss ideas and options with him.

The work started with the construction of a storage shed and outhouse.  You need to have somewhere to store the shovels and wheelbarrows and somewhere to...well, you know!  Right now, the guys are removing fill from the area where we will, in the future, build the classroom for the training center, and using it to fill in the area between the asphalt road and the creek, bringing the level up to meet the road.

Yesterday, two loads of rock were delivered to spread out on top of the dirt and begin to create the base for the road. On top of that they will put a  layer of crushed rock.  This should provide us with a stable, solid road.

Rocky is going to build a small bridge to cross the creek, and then continue the road on the other side.

There is a lot of work to do here, but we are so excited to begin.  God has given us a big vision for the future, and we are taking another step towards it!

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!  We know we are not in this adventure alone, but have a small army behind us and for that we are so thankful.

Thank you, also, to those who have supported this work, financially.  You make it all possible!

If you would like to contribute, go to www.ctenc.ca/karrenchupa/ and follow the instructions.

Blessings!

Using the Library - What Fun!

For the past month I have been spending time at Colegio Galilea teaching the teachers and students about the library.  Right now the library is super tiny, but it is a beginning and some books are better than no books at all.  

As an educator, it was difficult to understand how the students could receive a full and complete education without a library.  I know they can do research on the internet (that is if they have access to a computer and then the internet)…but to hold a book; turn its pages; read its words; look at its pictures; choose what to read and what to pass by…this is a vital part of an education. 

So, today I got to spend an hour with the grade 2 class, teaching them about books in general and then how to use an encyclopedia.  What a joy!  Our task was to “hunt” for an animal in our encyclopaedias.  We had great fun discovering all of the wonderful things that each volume of the encyclopedia contains.  They were so fascinated with all that they saw, it was difficult for them to choose just one thing to focus on. 

By the end of the hour, all the students had completed their assignment, but more importantly, they had discovered how much fun looking through a book can be. 

I hope to have many more opportunities to teach staff and students alike and pray that as the year passes, the library will grow and become a vital part of every student’s education at Colegio Galilea. 

If you share my love for books and reading and would like to contribute to the library, you can do so by either sending books (Spanish) with a group who is coming our way or by giving a financial donation to purchase books here.  Message me and I can give you the details on how to help grow the library.  

Canadian Visitors - The Joy of Fellowship!

Last week we had a first...a couple came to visit us in Guatemala.  They were not on a team and had no agenda apart from spending time with us and seeing into the life we live here.  It was so much fun! David and Eleanor Hawkes have supported us since we left for the mission field over 5 years ago.  When they first emailed saying they wanted to come for a visit, we were surprised, because we are not on the "top 5 destinations for an amazing holiday" list!  But we were on their list, praise the Lord.

We met up with them in Flores, Peten and visited Tikal together.  It was so impressive to see how flexible and easy to please they were.  (For those of you wanting to visit missionaries out in the field, flexibility is a huge gift you can give those who receive you.  No matter how much planning goes into a trip and how much you think you have everything in place, something always goes wrong...or maybe not wrong, but not quite as planned.)

Then we travelled to Chisec - our home base - and spent a few days just doing life with them here.    We had numerous "God appointments" as we visited homes and spent time with the people.

We also visited our property and shared the vision God has given us for the future.

Then we were off to Antigua for a couple of days.  David and Eleanor were not only flexible, but they have quite an adventurous spirit, too.  They were willing to try new foods and new experiences.

It was such an encouragement to us that they would want to visit and that they would trust us with the details.  It was an honour to show them first hand some of the impact they have had in this community simply by supporting us.  We are in this work together with all those who pray for us and support us financially.

If you are thinking about a different kind of vacation...give us a call!






 

Pour Day

For those of you who work in construction (or have spouses who do) you will understand this…pour day. It is the day when you need all hands on deck. You have set forms, tied rebar and snapped lines in preparation for pouring concrete. You have double checked that all safety regulations are being met on site. You have done all your calculations, scheduled the pump truck and communicated with the cement company how much you need, what kind you need and when you need it to arrive on site. I remember many days like that back in Canada. 

And on a day like this in Guatemala, I think of Jon, Peter, Dean, Josh and others whom I have had the opportunity to work alongside pouring  concrete. I draw on those experiences to help me make decisions here on the mission field. Today we poured concrete for the roof of a water tank. This tank will enable the village of Yalicoc to collect water that will sustain them over the dry season. Currently, they hike to a cave during this time to retrieve their water. Those who came on a team in October from Pritchard/Scotch Creek know this cave.

So… we have set forms, tied rebar, and snapped lines in preparation for pouring concrete, but here’s where the picture changes. There are no safety standards to meet and no pump truck to call.  Mission 2 Guatemala has a portable cement mixer we used for the pour, but the rest is all in the hands of the men (and boys) of Yalicoc.  Modesto (the village leader) summons the men of the village by blowing through a conch shell. It takes about ½ hour for everyone to show up. They have prepared a breakfast for the two lead bricklayers and me. We eat during this time of summoning. Fried eggs, onions, tortillas, and coffee of a sort.

They set a platform in place to reach the roof of the tank (not quite up to WCB standards) and begin to arrange themselves as the lead bricklayers shout out orders. They fire up the mixer and away we go. The men are in good spirits and there is a lot of laughter as they move the cement in 5 gallon buckets down the line.

Guatemalan Water Truck

Guatemalan Gravel Truck

Guatemalan Line Pump

It is always a joy to watch this process and I marvel at the way these men find comradery in the act of physically working together. What would take 20 minutes or less with a pump truck in Canada, took about 5 ½ hours here. I would consider this a successful pour. No one was hurt, we didn’t have any blow outs and the job was finished in good time.

I am very thankful to be a part of the work that results from the teams from North America.  They come and invest their time, energy and money into a community and the love of the Lord is expressed to the people by helping to meet a practical need.  What a blessing!   

Back to School!

For us in North America, back to school happens in September but here in Guatemala, January is back to school time.  In October we had a team come from Grand Rapids and pre-pack, assembly line style, back packs of school supplies for public school kids.  Then in November, before leaving for Canada, Rocky and I packed the bags for the sponsor kids who attend Galilea Christian School.  

In January, when Cindy and Eileen arrived, they worked like crazy to make sure all the sponsored kids had their school supplies, uniforms, shoes, etc and were ready to begin the year.  For 2015 we have 38 students attending Galilea!

Then, once all of those students were set up, they got to work on distributing the backpacks to public schools.  Working with the school principals to determine the most needy students, Cindy and Eileen distributed around 190 bags!  What an amazing blessing.  

 Education is something, as North Americans, we take for granted.  But not here.  In Chisec, many school aged kids are not in school because their families simply cannot afford to buy the necessary supplies, shoes and uniforms to send them.  It is an amazing privilege to work on behalf of all of you who have given so generously and enabled these precious little ones to attend school.