Wheelchair Distributions
This year, thanks to your prayers, contributions and God's provision, the team was able to give the gift of mobility to twice as many Guatemalans than in previous years. Your generosity allowed us to do two separate wheelchair distributions with 120 total chairs!
One story that especially demonstrated God's provision came from our dear friends the Wiens family. In February, their son Samuel passed away shortly after birth due to complications from Trisomy 18. As a part of his legacy, a significant portion of the donations from his life celebration and dedication were contributed towards wheelchairs for this trip. This is just one story among several of how God has used Samuel to touch the lives of many.
This is a picture of Jorge and Saul, two of the main members of the Bethel Ministries team. These guys work so incredibly hard and are such a testament to God's provision of strength and energy by the way they do Christ's work week in and week out. Our team helped load up the truck full of wheelchairs, house building materials and food before the drive up to Cobàn.
For the first wheelchair distribution I worked with the Frayne family. The first man we helped get a chair was an amputee. Dylan, the youngest member of the Frayne family,13, accompanied me as we picked the first chair of the day. He picked out the perfect chair which did not need a single adjustment! The Guatemalan man was so pleased to not have to wait very long and be on his way in his new chair. Below is a picture of a different man that the team helped on the second day.
For the second distribution I had the privilege of working with Dennis and Mara Walde. It was so awesome to see how God had brought these two newlyweds together and how well their gifts complimented each other for this mission. Mara is a nurse, so she was able to assess the people's needs accurately and sensitively. Dennis is a builder, so he was able to make any necessary adjustments to the chairs with ease. And me, I'm the goofy language teacher who was able to attempt to bridge any language gaps...with the help of a translator. Speaking of translators, these folks were young physiotherapists, in training, who had knowledge of English, Spanish and some of the local dialects. On the first day, the first person I met was Erica, a 17 year old "translator" who was hoping to attend Trinity Western next year! What are the odds? On the second day, I had some good conversations with Marvin, also 17 who was asking lots of questions about our church, the Bible and what we believed. The team helped many people with varying ailments that required the use of a wheelchair including severe rheumatoid arthritis, gun shot wounds, strokes and improperly treated infections. All were very thankful for these "good and perfect gifts that come from above" (James 1:17)
House builds
This is the view from the road to where the first house was built. The building site is where the two hills form a "V" up towards the top third of the photo. The energy that it took to hike all the building supplies up to the site once again demonstrated God's provision. It also showed us a glimpse of the depth of what Christ poured out for us, not only on the cross but also while he lived on earth. God reminded me that, if we walk in obedience to His call for us, He will provide everything we need. I sometimes think that I won't have enough to accomplish what God is calling me to do. That is, enough resources to provide for my family, enough energy, strength and brain power to do what God is asking of me.
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This trip reminded me that, on my own, I will fall short but God provides the power to fill in the gaps. For example, we didn't have enough "manpower" to hike in all the house building supplies to the building supplies. Yet, God gave us the right amount of people and the right kind of people to get the material up the mountain. Not only that, but God gave us Jesus, poured out, to give the team an example to follow. Seeing the locals, the Bethel team and our team members drastically pouring themselves out for Jesus' name to be lifted up proved that the power of Christ will appear when people are obedient to the Lord's call.
Below is Paulina and her four daughters. She is 29 years old and was pregnant with her last her daughter, her husband abandoned her and never returned home. Her youngest daughter's name is Sylvia and she is three just like our sweet Juliette. Before I left on the trip, Juliette made a card for Sylvia and I was able to present it to her when we met the family. Although Sylvia wasn't really sure what the card said I'm sure it meant a lot to her and I imagine that she would keep it until one day she would. I'm so thankful that Christ's love compelled our daughters to give these gifts to people they'd never even met.
This is a picture of our team mixing cement for a bathroom foundation. Chris Mooney, in the gray shirt and jeans, along with his wife Donna started Bethel Ministries in Guatemala 12 years ago. I was amazed at the way this guy was pouring himself out, again, knowing that this is what he does most weeks.
Another incredible story of the Lord's provision was that, as a team, we simply would not have had enough time to finish the houses if we didn't have local people helping us hike in the supplies. For instance, we needed to bring in a 200 pound container of water (bottom right of the photo) to mix the cement. God provided us with an older experienced "hill hiker" who strapped the container to his head and back and miraculously carried it up to the site. To this day, I have no idea how he had the strength to do this.
While the men were doing the building on the first day, the women hiked the hills, distributing food, clothes, vitamins and hygiene kits. These food bags weighed about 50 pounds and were filled with staples like pasta, rice, beans, coffee and more. The women poured themselves out immensely as the visited several families, up and down the jungle hills for over eight hours.
While the houses were being built many of the locals gathered around to watch what was happening. This is a picture of Dick Rutgers, a retired man from Lynden Washington, who moved down to Guatemala about 10 years ago to work with Bethel Ministries. He travels around the country repairing chairs, replacing batteries and loving the people God brings his way. He has also unofficially "adopted" about a dozen teenage Guatemalan boys over the years who had no place to live. Such a neat guy!
This picture is of Ofelia, a widow, who has 5 kids including a baby who is 3 months old. Ella made a card for her daughter, Yoselin, who is four. I gave this little girl the gift from Ella and she was also delighted.
Ofelia works cleaning cardamom, but makes very little. Ofelia lives with her parents since her husband was killed, but things are rough. She told us that sadly they don't even have enough food, because the money she earns working isn't enough for her and her children's living expenses. She and her children sleep on the floor on pieces of cardboard because they don't have beds, and they cook on the floor too. Sadly her parents aren't able to help her and just gave her a place where she could stay. We also learned while we were there that Ofelia's father no longer wanted to have anything to do with his daughter. This new house, stove, sink and food would be the beginning steps to her independence from her unloving father.
The following link has a slideshow with some better pictures of the finished houses with the families.
Thank-you again for your love, support and prayers. These trips are impossible without you!
Please continue to pray for the Bethel team in Guatemala. Praying that God would continue to give them the strength and protection of their bodies to do the physicaly demanding work that their ministry requires. Also, pray for God to provide the resources necessary to continue to provide the Guatemalans with wheelchairs, houses and food to live. This past year's cold winter on the east coast has drastically affected the number of wheelchair shipments that are scheduled to be sent down from the US.
In Him,
Spencer
