Trip Journal
September 2-7, 2013
ICH in Nicaragua
Monday Sept. 2
It almost feels like home here at the guest apartment H4 on Seteca
campus in Guatemala City. Yesterday we
enjoyed some sweet fellowship again with our dear friends Dennis and Cindy
McCutcheon with Vine International. Did
I mention that they are originally from Asheville too, and we knew them for
several years before ICH? We always
enjoy reminiscing especially about God’s surprising path that has brought each
of us to today. We share some common
lessons in walking by faith. I can’t
even begin to express how blessed and honored we are that God has enabled us to
continue ICH work in His name. We would
not have missed it for any price! He
shows us every day how faithful, merciful and powerful He is! O how we need Him to help us to be available
and willing to be conduits of His love to those around us.
So away we go today en route to Nicaragua. The shortest
route from here to Nica is through El Salvador, through a corner of Honduras
and then into Nica. About 3 hours drive
brought us to the first border crossing.
Unfortunately it did not go as smoothly as we expected. They inspected everything in our baggage. The border officer did not like it that we had
about 75 pairs of reading glasses and 20 bottles of Natural Tears eye drops
that we were taking to the Saeli’s for ministry. They said that we should have paper work
registering these items from Guatemala.
Their idea was that we were planning to sell them in their country and
make money off of them. Even though we
had ICH identification and we assured them they were a part of our ministry and
are free for poor people there were forms that had to be filled out. In the end they did allow us to take the glasses
with us but they confiscated the eye drops. In the U.S. these type drops are plentiful and
over-the-counter. But in these countries
they are rare and expensive. So 2 hours
later we were on our way with the glasses and official papers in hand.
El Salvador is a small, narrow strip of land with a very
nice highway running from the north to south border. We drove along looking at rows of volcanos on
our left to the east. There were so many we lost count. (I read somewhere that there are 43.) To our right, the entire western side is
bordered by the Pacific Ocean. The
beaches here are unique with black volcanic sand mixed with other minerals that
glisten in the sun. Traffic was heavy
and progress slow through the 2 large cities of San Salvador and Santa
Anna. We made it to a smaller town of
San Miguel in the south by 5:00 and stayed in Hotel La Villa for the
night.
Tuesday September 3, 2013
After breakfast we are off again and bracing ourselves
for the border crossing in the south. We had rearranged our baggage so the
glasses were not so obvious. Of course,
just in case we had our official letter from the northern border giving us
permission to transport the glasses. So
exit out of El Salvador, enter into Honduras, exit out of Honduras and enter
into Nicaragua. At the exit border of El
Salvador no one acted even the least bit interested in what we were carrying in
our luggage. Honduras border officials
gave us a simple stamp and wave through.
In Nicaragua it is the usual. One
official checks car registration and insurance.
The next official dons a mask and suit then proceeds to spray
insecticide around and under our car.
The next stop is in the building at a window where we pay $4 each as
entry fee and receive our stamp to our passport. So our prayers were answered. No further interest in our 75 pairs of
reading glasses.
We knew that the Nicaraguan government is not fond of
Hondurans. It took us about 2 ½ hours to
drive from the border to Leon where Mike and Maria live. It proved very interesting because we were
stopped by police officials 5 times. We
have Honduras plates on the front and the rear of our car as required so we
were not incognito. They are
suspiciously looking for stolen cars or improper paperwork. At the final checkpoint the police officer
waved us to the shoulder of the road and Ron still had everything prepared in
his lap. As he handed the car
registration and driver’s license to the officer we noticed that he had his
badge tucked into his shirt. Then he
told Ron that he had broken the law by passing a motorcycle in a no passing
zone. He was going to keep Ron’s license
and that would mean we should go to the police station in the nearest town
where he would turn it in with a ticket that we must pay. We both knew that Ron had passed no
motorcycles and it was a trumped up charge. Ron got out of the car and argued with the
officer but he continued to insist Ron had broken the law. Five years ago we
had a similar incident happen in Managua. Later on that trip we met a lawyer who
gave us his business card. Ron wisely
was carrying it in his wallet. It was
now or never! Ron got the card out and showed it to the
officer. He began to dial the number
when suddenly the officer handed the license back and proceeded to “give Ron a
warning.” What a relief when we finally
arrived at Mike and Maria’s house after an 8 hour day on the road. Three
countries and 5 Police check points later. We thankfully parked our car safely inside
their gated driveway.
Wednesday and Thursday September 4-5, 2013
The Saeli’s rent a small house that is attached to the
side of their landlady’s home in the historic town of Leon. What an oasis it is for us! They are
graciously allowing us to rest and we are too happy to just be still. We are enjoying spending time visiting with
them. A lot has been happening in their
ministry and among their friends here. It
was nice to use their wireless also to catch up on email and make some calls
home. Leon is near sea level and the climate
is “hot or hotter.” Since it is the
rainy season we welcomed the afternoon showers which cooled it down a little
bit.
Ron gave Mike and Maria a lesson in screening for reading
glasses that we successfully delivered to them.
We spent time reviewing ICH materials and workshop plans. A few
weeks ago they presented a 5 hour workshop on hospice care to the university
nursing students in Leon. They shared
some of the various points of ministry God has opened up for them. Each weekend they teach discipleship classes
on Saturday and Sunday. Another project they work with is helping
college students from the U.S. adapt to Nicaragua for a 6 month internship. Both Mike and Maria have an interest in
improving health and nutrition.
Nicaragua is a country with rich resources in tropical fruits,
vegetables, peanuts and sugar cane which are export crops. How sad that the people are malnourished in
such a bountiful land. They just don’t
vary their diet of beans and tortillas and never consider eating anything
green. But Morenga trees grow wild and
plentiful. The dried leaves are an
amazing source of vitamins, mineral and protein which the Saeli’s are trying to
promote.
Thank you Mike and Maria for a relaxing time of
fellowship and encouragement which we all needed. We ended our evening with lots of laughter around
the table playing a fun game called “spoons”.
Friday September 6, 2013
Wouldn’t you know that God had a special time of
fellowship in mind for us this morning!
Maria biked to the local market and when she returned she mentioned that
she met Cody Whitaker on the street.
Cody and Maria Whitaker are from our home church, Biltmore Baptist in N.C. They had been missionaries in Haiti and now
are church planting in Leon. Cody
extended an invitation via Maria so we walked to their home just 3 blocks
away. They have 3 children (one is in
heaven with Jesus due to cancer) and are expecting a new baby in March. We had a very special time of sharing about
God’s work in our lives and in our ministries.
Please pray for them as they build relationships and find opportunities
to speak the truth of God’s love into the lives around them.
In the afternoon the Saeli’s had a very special ICH
ministry opportunity planned for all of us.
Last week they attended the first Paliative care and Hospice conference
in Mangua. Maria spoke to the group of
physicians and medical professionals informing them about ICH. Out of that meeting they were requested to
return to Managua and bring us to promote ICH further in the medical
community. The group consisted of 5
active physicians, a director of education at the university, director of
national HIV services, Director of chaplain volunteers and one retired
physician. This core group has proposed
a ground breaking plan to offer Paliative Care in the government hospitals
throughout Nicaragua. Doctora Roberta
Ortiz is spearheading this effort as well as practicing Pediatric Oncology in
the public hospital system.
The response to ICH from everyone was very positive! There is no hospice available in
Nicaragua. Dra. Roberta said that she
could envision hospice home care volunteers a being her hands and feet out in
the communities where she often losses touch with terminal patients and
families. Pastora Martha Rodriquez was
also very excited about having other spiritual mentors with ICH training
available to assist her with bedside ministry to the terminally ill and to
grieving families. Retired Dr. Sirker told us he plans to introduce ICH among
several churches in Managua. By the end
of the meeting plans were being formed between the medical folks and Mike and
Maria for future ICH ministry.
We believe that God is “connecting the dots”. He has allowed us to cross paths with medical
people in several Central American countries that have the common vision for
the need of palliative/hospice care. We
not only have the opportunity to serve as promoters/educators through ICH but
also as international “networkers”. But
I have to say the most beautiful moments of the entire evening were when we
joined in prayer at the end of the meeting, which is their custom. We sensed the presence and unity of Christ’s
Spirit among us in such a powerful way!
Please pray with us because we know that ICH stands at a door that God
is swinging open wide before us in Nicaragua.
Saturday September
7, 2013
It is sad to say good bye to Mike and Maria this
morning. But they will be returning to
the U.S. for family time in November and December so we made plans to get
together in S.C. while they are there.
We were a little anxious about the road trip back into
Honduras after our encounter with the police on the drive to Leon. Once again God showed us His blessing through
one member of the Paliative council we met last night. Evelyn Almendarez directs the national
program for HIV in Mnangua. She also is
the wife of the Chief of Police in Managua.
In conversation Ron learned this from her and so he told her about our
experience of harassment by the checkpoint police on the northern highway of
Nicaragua. She was very apologetic and
placed a phone call to her husband immediately after our meeting. Then she assured Ron that there would be no
police problems for us as we returned back to Honduras. Evelyn gave us her personal phone numbers
which we could call if we had any problems along the way.
We are not sure if it was because it was Saturday morning
or whether the Police commissioner had intervened but our trip back north to
the border was a very different experience.
Where there had been 7 checkpoints, 5 of which had stopped us, today we
only saw one uniformed policeman on the roadside. He was not pulling cars over for inspections.
In fact he didn’t even look our way!
When we arrived at the Nicaragua exit border we paused to thank the
Lord. We know with certainty that He allowed
us to meet Evelyn the evening before and her phone call was an answer to our
prayers.
It’s hard to
explain how stressful and exhausting it is driving through Central
America. There are so many obstacles and
it requires such continual vigilance.
It’s not that we expect it to be easy and problem free. After these 10 years of doing this we know
that is impossible. So we are so
thankful when we see the obvious hand of God protecting us while we do what He
has called us to do!
We also took time to call Evelyn and the Saeli’s at the
border to assure them we made it without a hitch.
The rest of the afternoon we continued our travel back to
the center of Honduras. We have made a
full circle back to Seguatepeque! We
checked our mileage. We have driven 1600 miles, in 4 countries, over the past 4
weeks. Now we have 2 more weeks of work
left and our travel will be only here in Honduras.
Trip Journal September 8 through 17, 2013
Two years in the Making: Kent Turnbow
Sunday-Monday September 8-9, 2013
The cooler climate and mountains make for a comfortable 2
day stay in our Sebcah Seminary guestroom.
We met several young married couples on campus that God has newly called
to serve in Honduras as missionaries with Central American Mission, now known
as Camino Global. What an encouragement
to hear their stories of God’s leading and hear the excitement in their voices
for the work ahead. We visited with Dr.
Aguilar at the Evangelico Hospital in Seguatepaeque. He now is sharing his time between clinic
hours at the hospital and a private practice in the town. We reported to him about the beginnings of
Paliative Care in Nicaragua and feel sure he is one of the “dots” to
connect. He has been a charter member of
the Paliative care/hospice movement in Honduras in recent years. We will be doing some email work of
introduction.
Tuesday September
10, 2013
We are up early and on our way to the airport in San
Pedro Sula. It is about 3 hours drive down to the lowlands on the north coast
of Honduras. We really have been looking
forward to this part of our ministry time in C.A. Today we pick up Kent Turnbow at the airport
and drive to La Ceiba for a very special event.
In our work in Honduras last year we told about making
the cast/molds of Dionesio’s three stumps.
His two arms and one leg were injured in an accident and had to be
amputated 6 years ago. There were no
prosthetics available here in Honduras.
Last year God connected Kent and Ron through a mutual friend. Kent is a “below the knee” amputee and a
professional prosthetist. (wwww.turnbowprosthetics.com) God gave him the desire to help
Dionesio. Through donations of money and
parts, as well as many hours of Kent’s time, God is providing Dionesio with
three prosthetics. This week is the culmination of 2 years of prayer and work.
Kent has never flown out of the U.S. before so today was
a huge adventure with some significant challenges. He did his pre-flight homework very well by
contacting TSA about what he will be bringing (a lot of metal parts and tools)
as well as his own prosthetic leg (more metal parts). They were very helpful by personally walking
him through the airport security and customs inspections. Thumbs up and a big smile was on his face
when we all spotted each other at the San Pedro Sula airport arrivals! Pastor Francisco Ilias is traveling with us
to La Ceiba. He has helped us with
communication and coordinating the schedule and location needed to work with
Dionesio for fitting and training. 
We arrived in La Ceiba at Hotel Pico Bonita on the north
coast, in the tropical, sultry afternoon.
It has been a total of six hours on the road for us and 12 hours of
travel from Indiana for Kent today. He
pulled out the prosthesis he has made and gave us a preview. We can hardly wait for tomorrow! (Ben Amberg, we wish you were here to
experience this with us!)
Wednesday September 11, 2013
We really wish everyone could be here with us to
experience God’s provision of the perfect timing, people and location. So many of our family and friends, even
people we do not know, have prayed and given for the events of today. We are so honored that we get to witness this
miracle in person!
Through Pastor Ilias we have the help of a very capable
14 year old translator, Joy Jones. Her
family has an orphanage mission here in La Ceiba where Joy has grown up. Her father Leonard, known as Papa Jones by 17
orphans, brought her to the hotel to work with us today. He also volunteered to help transport our
group to the local mall for lunch and shoe shopping trip. Dionesio will now need two sturdy, lace-up shoes!
Ron picked up Dionesio and his wife Maria at the entrance
to their village and brought them to the Hotel.
It was very kind of the hotel manager to allow us to use a conference
room. I feel like I should be
announcing this next part with a drum roll!
Dionesio arrived and climbed the stairs with his crutches
with very little trouble. We spent a
some time chatting and getting to know
each other while Kent “showed off” his own prosthetic leg to Dionesio. He showed Dionesio and Maria Dionesio’s new
leg and allowed them to hold it and examine it.
After changing into gym shorts the fitting of the new leg began. Kent applied the protective sock with just
the right thickness over his stump. The
plastic mold fit almost perfectly. Kent
brought a special tabletop electric grinder with various smooth-to-coarse
attachments. A little grinding here and
buffing there made it custom fit. The
metal shank that makes up the “shin bone” had to be shortened a little to
exactly match the length of his right leg. Now he needs 2 matching shoes so we borrowed
Ron’s sneakers. Dionesio rose from the couch.
He used his crutches for balance as Kent instructed him and took his
first step. At this point I want to
quote Dionesio’s own words that reveal what he was feeling and thinking. “This
is a giant and I am going to conquer it!”
We all knew he was thinking of the Bible story of David defeating
Goliath.
Just imagine 6 years of life with total dependency on
other people with hands to do everything for you. Eating, personal hygiene, dressing. Then total dependence on 2 crutches and one
leg to move about. We already know of
Dionesio’s strength and determination because of his impressive mobility.
Cameras were
flashing and videos whirring, we wanted to capture it all! Dionesio began to take a few steps slowly
practicing the heel down first then rocking forward onto the toe. This action causes the mecanical knee hinge to
bend at just the right time. Then he got into the rhythm and soon he walked the
entire length of the room. The smile on
his face was priceless! All this time
Maria, his wife, was watching with amazement.
Kent continued to make small adjustments. Next he brought out the
arms. Dionesio and Maria had expressions
of awe and I think perhaps some fear.
Kent slipped the “socks” on the stumps of each arm and then the plastic
mold of the prosthesis. He gave a nod
of approval. “They are going to
fit!” Bringing these expensive prosthesis
here for someone he had never seen was an act of faith on Kent’s part. Last year we made the measurements and casted
the plaster molds of his stumps. Those
were the only guides Kent had. He
normally would have a lot of face to face time with his clients and many
meetings and fittings. Today’s
experience just reminds us again that God is the One who orchestrates the
things we do. He is the creator, author
and finisher of our faith and of our brother and sister’s faith too.
It was time now for Dionesio to change back into his
slacks. You will notice when you see the
photos that both Kent and Dionesio showed up in khaki’s and lime green shirts
today. We all laughed joking that they
were twins. We took pictures of them
standing together with their left pants leg up showing off their matching
hardware! One other comment Maria made was “It has been
6 years since he has had two feet! It
looks so strange!” Dionesio said, “It’s
been 6 years since I Looked down and saw two shoes. My two legs look normal. It has been so long since I looked
normal!” So many smiles and tears!
Our next project was a trip out for lunch and shoe
shopping. There is a small mall in this
town with a food court and Payless Shoes.
How delighted we all were, and so proud of Dionesio, as he walked out of
the mall with his new sneakers on two feet!
We stopped at the entrance to their community to let them
out. It made us all a little nervous to
see them walking on the rough, dirt road.
But this is where they live and is normal to them. After all, Dionesio has navigated these
rugged paths and the steep hillside down to his home for 6 years with only one
leg and two crutches. So we whispered
prayers for both of them to arrive safely home.
Today was a monumental day for another person receiving a
prosthesis. Last year the LBC team
worked with us in Choloma. We did an eye
screening clinic and met one of the women in Francisco’s church, Marcia. She had a “dead eye” from an injury a few
years ago. The local national hospital
could do nothing more to help her disfigurement. I wrote in our news blog last year that the
LBC team helped to pay for Marcia to go to MMI Eye Clinic, in El Progreso about
2 hours away, for an evaluation to see if anything more could be done. No one in Choloma knew about this Christian
eye clinic. It is not a simple thing for
them to travel 2 hours away for health care.
But Marcia’s family and church were very supportive and so she
went. Pastor Francisco told us today
that it has been a year-long process for Marcia and the church has continued to
help her financially to make the needed trips to MMI. Today she received her new eye
prosthesis! Francisco received an email
from his wife Blanca including a photo of Marcia today. We could not tell which eye was the
prosthetic! She said that the clinic
director also said he couldn’t tell either!
We hope to see them when we go to Choloma in a few days. Thank you again to LBC 2012 mission team!
Thursday September 12, 2013
The hotel again has kindly allowed us to use the
conference room to continue fitting and training. Maria and Dionesio reported that they had no
problems getting home yesterday. Their 6
children, along with other friends and family, were waiting and so excited to
see the new leg. They said the children
all had to touch it and the boys were very fascinated with the mechanical
workings. They are making plans for the
whole family to come to church on Sunday with us.
Today Kent is continuing to do fitting and
adjusting. He has to put some of the
parts of the arms together that could only be done on Dionesio. This requires
riveting, adding holes and screws, shortening straps and cables and an
assortment of other adjustments. Kent
said this was not the first double arm amputee he has fitted. God selected the right person with the exact
experience for this job. Many times today we have commented to each other about
how good God is and how amazingly perfect His plan of the details! We are learning more deeply of God’s intimate
love for each individual.
It was great to have two volunteers today. Pastor Francisco and Pastor Jeronimo assisted
Kent today while the two of us had dental appointments. It was a busy day of
hard work for everyone! I heard Kent say
some very surprising things today. He
said that this was the first time a patient with a new leg walked as much the
first day as Dionesio. He also said that
it is the first time his patient had worn his new leg home on the first
day. Kent tells us that he is the one
who is receiving the greatest blessing.
We all feel like we are witnessing a miracle!
One other event yesterday that was a God thing. About 2 weeks ago we got an email from Dr.
Black who has lived and worked here is La Ceiba for many years. He had read our news about coming here with
Kent. Yesterday we called him and took
Kent over to see the small free clinic he runs 2 days a week. In our conversation we learned about
C.R.I.L.A. which is a rehabilitation center here. Dr. Black got us in contact with the
director, Miguel, and we have an appointment tomorrow morning to bring Dionesio
to the center. One of Kent’s concerns is
about follow up and continuing therapy.
As always God is way ahead of us!
On a personal note, we received emails today from family
at home that Ron’s Mother’s health is declining rapidly. She will be evaluated tomorrow by our good
friends at Abbey Road Hospice and admitted to their services. About a week ago Ron talked to her by
phone. He is so thankful for that
conversation. Now we are praying about
possibly changing our return tickets home to an earlier date.
Ron really wants to be able to have as much time as
possible with her before she goes on to be with the Lord. Thank you to all you who are praying for us!
Friday September 13,
2013
We felt like we found an oasis here in Honduras. An oasis for people who need physical
rehabilitation, medical consultation and psychological counseling. It is our first visit to C.R.I.L.A. We entered the beautiful grounds and saw
clean, brightly painted buildings. We
soon found out that this is just the place Dionesio needs. He and Maria arrived a few minutes after we
did and we made introductions to Miguel Montoya, the founder and director. A bilingual psychological counselor,
Michelle, gave us a tour. We saw the
physical therapy room, the occupational therapy area, the children’s clinic and
counseling rooms in the main building.
Another building has the cafeteria which is run by clients who are
recovering from injuries. Also in this
building is an area for crafts and microenterprises.
One on the workers is Jose. He has a kindred spirit with Kent and
Dionesio because he has a complete left leg prosthesis. Miguel asked Kent for an evaluation of Jose’s
leg. Kent told us that God had sent just
the thing that Jose needed with him.
Jose’s belt that holds his prosthesis in place on his body was worn to
the last few thread. Kent had brought
extra belt strapping in case it was needed for Dionesio. He has exactly what Jose needs! Measurements were made and Miguel made a
phone call. Within an hour his friend,
Omar, who has a sewing machine, arrived. By the end of the day Kent had gone to
a mechanic shop and to Omar’s home. The proper pieces were crimped and riveted
and sewn. Jose told us he had been
afraid every time he put his leg on with his old belt that it would break and
then he couldn’t walk or work.
Kent was given space for his tools and equipment in an
extra exam room so he can continue to work with Dionesio today. His goal is to get the arms fitted. Miguel also scheduled a rehab evaluation of
Dionesio so the therapists could come up with a plan for his continuing
therapy. God was so good to provide two
young men who are bilingual and they are available for Kent. We are leaving
Kent in good hands as we must drive 4 hours back to San Pedro Sula (SPS) for an
ICH training seminar tonight. He is very
brave, on his first mission trip, to stay with the nationals until we return
midday tomorrow.
On our way to SPS this afternoon we pass by the airport so
decided to stop and try to change our tickets.
We were in hopes of being able to fly out on Tuesday when Kent leaves. This would be the most convenient time and
would get us back to S.C. five days earlier.
But the ticket agent, Blanca, was not able to find any empty seats on
that flight, or any other flight before next Sunday. She said she would talk to her supervisor to
“see what they could do” when Ron explained about his mother and the reason for
our need to fly back home early. She
said she would try and told us to check back tomorrow. Pastor Francisco was riding back to his home with
us. We were a little disheartened but
Pastor Francisco was very encouraging reminding us that God can make a
way! We are so blessed by his
friendship and his powerful prayers.
People at home are praying and people here in Honduras are praying so we
are choosing to trust God that He knows when Ron needs to be back with his
Mother.
Our first stop in Choloma is to Francisco’s home where
Blanca had fresh baked Calzones ready for our dinner. Then we went by Francisco’s church, Vision
Cristiano, to admire the new paint and other improvements. It was another blessing to see some of the
members we had become friends with. In
walked Marcia with her new prosthetic eye!
She was smiling and could not say thank you enough for our help and LBC
finances which got her into the eye clinic.
Her husband was with her and beaming with pride. He asked if he could pray for us so we all
joined hands and hearts with thanksgiving.
We were also pleased to see Manuel, our 19 year old friend, who is in a
hemiplegic. This church helped him to
get an electric wheelchair but his battery has gotten too old and he doesn’t
have a spare. So his mother is back to
pushing him everywhere. We are resolved
tonight to try to help this young man.
Pray with us about the $200 it will cost to purchase two batteries here
in Honduras.
Francisco told us that La Cosecha (The Harvest), largest
church in Central America, is located in SPS.
Our ICH seminar is scheduled at one of The Harvest satellite churches in
Choloma, about 45 minutes outside SPS. We arrived at the same time as taxi’s
and buses full of people. We were
ushered to the front and Ron set up the computer for our power point
presentation. The building was filling
up and the worship music began. We
joined in with the hand clapping as the people lifted their hearts in spirit-filled
worship. By this time there were approximately 500 people gathered to learn
about Christian Hospice.
Pastor Francisco, as I have mentioned in earlier news
blogs, is our ICH Central American Director.
He has a very dynamic but clear way of presenting ICH information. When we met him 10 years ago he was
bi-vocational working as both a school teacher and Pastor. He opened our program with introductions and
began teaching the basic ICH concepts which are important for people who are
hearing about Christian hospice for the first time. Both of us also spoke,
through as excellent translator, and ended the evening with presentations of
our training materials and resources to the church leaders. There were many interested in going deeper
into the Bible study and the practical training materials. The youth minister, Daniel, told us that he
was very happy to understand better about how to deal with death. It is a
subject that is completely ignored until a time of crisis. Many of the young people in the church have
experienced tragedies and losses. He
felt like he now had a resource to help him in counseling with them. We
believe that this experience tonight was the largest group that we have had the
opportunity to share ICH with. Thank you
for backing us with your prayers and interest!
We wish that you all could be on this end to see the “God connection”
that happens over and over. God is alive
and well and His Spirit is moving to bring His message of hope around the world!
Saturday Sept. 14, 2013
We are near by the airport this morning so decided to
stop again. We are still praying and
hoping that we can get an earlier flight home.
In the terminal the line of passengers was growing at the Delta desk. As
we got closer we spotted Blanca, the agent from yesterday, approaching the
desk. Ron quickly stepped up to an open
spot at the counter and called her name.
She smiled in recognition of us and came over, which was a good
sign. She took our paperwork and tapped
information into the computer. We were
very happy to hear her good news that we can fly “stand-by” on Tuesday the 17th. She
told us that the plane has only 95 passengers so far, with a capacity for 150,
so it is most likely that we will be able to make the very flight we had hoped
to make! What a relief! We feel like a hurdle has been crossed.
Our drive back out the coast to La Ceiba went well and we
arrived before noon. We went back to
CRILA (they close at noon on Saturdays) where Kent was continuing to work on
the prosthetic arms for Dionesio. It has
been the most remarkable experience! We
were able to talk again with Miguel the director. He is very interested in having spiritual
counseling available for the clients through local Pastors. We will be emailing this request to Pastor
Francisco who will bring this ministry opportunity to the Vision Cristiano
General Director’s attention. Currently
V.C. has a mission church plant and medical clinic in the village of Cacoa near
La Ceiba. They are very active in any
way that the Lord opens for ministry with their own people. In fact, it is
through this church that we met Dionesio and Maria three years ago. We love to stand back and see God once again
“connect the dots” to new ways of sharing His Gospel and changing lives. 
Kent needed to make a few final adjustments to Dionesio’s
new arms this afternoon so we all returned to the hotel. His room became his shop in short order with
tools spread about the bed and desk. Before
long Dionesio was sporting his new arms!
He started right away to “show off” what he could do with them. He wrote his name and then thank you messages
to both Kent and to us. These are the
first words he wrote with his new hands so we will cherish it! 
We want to extend a huge THANKYOU to Kent for his work
and giving that will be life changing for Dionesio and his whole family. Once again we see a small picture of God’s
love as the Shepherd who cares for even the smallest lamb. Sunday Sept. 15, 2013
15 de Septembre is the most important national holiday
here in Honduras. It equates to our
Fourth of July. Friday, Saturday and
today we have been seeing parades, banners and flags and heard fireworks at all
hours.
We are on our way this morning by 8:00 hoping to avoid
some of the traffic congestion. Leaving
the city of La Ceiba, our destination is the village of Cacao further out the
north coast. This is where the new
Vision Cristiano (V.C.) mission church is located under Pastor Jeronimo. It is also the village where Casa Cielo
Children’s Home is located. We mentioned
last Wednesday Joy Jones and her dad, Leonard, helped us as translators for the
day. Leonard and Marie Jones are
“parents” to 17 orphans, ages 3 to 9.
God has provided, through donations from many people, 11 acres on which
they have the new home under construction.
They are also attending the V.C. church.
It was exciting to arrive at the church in Cacao just as
Dionesio, Maria and their 6 children climbed out of a taxi. After a time of music and joint worship under
the new open sided church (large carport style) the adults moved across a small
field to the original thatch-roofed church. There Ron gave a message, with
Marie Jones translating, presenting the Gospel to an audience of 30 young
adults. Leonard then shared his
testimony of coming to trust Christ as a young man in the Marines. We rejoice
that 5 people placed their trust in Christ as their Savior today! Two of these people are very special to us.
One of them was Franklin, Dionesio’s 15 year old son. Dionesio had decided to follow Christ three
years ago but today he decided to join his son and make his decision publicly.
Ron had the honor of praying with Dionesio and Franklin to confirm this most
important decision of their lives. We
happened to have just enough Spanish Bibles in our car so each new believer had
one in hand before they left. Please pray for these new believers and for
the Pastor who will continue to disciple them in their new faith.
I will quote Kent, who voiced our feelings exactly.
“Today this experience makes it all worth it!”
We felt as though
we had layer upon layer of blessings to praise God for today! Our hearts are so full it is hard to put it
into words. What an honor to get another
glimpse into God at work transforming hearts and lives in a secluded little
village in Honduras!
It is time to head back to El Progreso this
afternoon. Two and a half hours later we
rolled into Hotel Casa Blanca. We will
have two nights here before we and Kent fly back to the U.S. on Tuesday, Lord
willing.
Monday September 16, 2013
After praying and discussing it over the past few weeks we
have made a difficult but necessary decision to sell our 2001 Ford Escape. It has been a fantastic car, our home for six
and a half years while we are in Central America. Ron has done a lot of mechanic work on the
car and maintained it very well. We have
so many memories of adventures and travels in our “green machine.” Hermes Gomez
purchased our Nissan truck in 2006 and so once again he is the one who is
interested in buying the Escape. So
today we “moved out” and had it washed and detailed. Over the years when we left it in storage in
Honduras we also left clothes, supplies, tools, and a Rubbermaid crate that
held our “kitchen.” It made it much easier to pack fewer personal
things for our return trips. Our kitchen
came in handy so we could “camp” in our guest room or hotel room with a hot
plate, small pans, small plates and bowls.
We even had an electric coffee pot.
Hermes is the son of the owner of Hotel Casa Blanca, and also the manager. He is having a very busy day so it is after 5
pm when he and Ron finally came to an agreement. By 8:30 pm his attorney friend has made 2
trips to the Hotel and Ron and Hermes have signed the proper paperwork. Since this is our last day here and we fly
back to the U.S. tomorrow, the timing was perfect. Had the car not sold we would have had to
arrange for it to be delivered back to Sebcah, in Seguatepeque 3 hours away,
for storage with missionary friends until we return next year. So we know that we have made the right
decision.
Tuesday September 17, 2013
About 8:30 this morning Pastor Francisco arrived to take
us to the airport. Our flight is at
12:30, or at least Kent’s flight is. We
will be on stand-by and are going on faith that we will get seats too.
Kent had decided to bless Francisco with a gift because
of his help to us over the past week.
Francisco drives a 1989 Isuzu Rodeo which is a tough car but has a lot
of miles on it. Ron had been concerned
about the condition of 2 of his tires which were showing the steel belts and
had bulges. So Kent felt that he would like
to buy two new tires for the car. We
were waiting for the bank to open so Hermes could pay for the Escape. So we went to a nearby tire shop and got 2
new, heavy tread tires for the Rodeo.
Francisco was so happy! As he patted Kent on the back in appreciation he
said, “Even my car is getting new prosthesis this week!”
One more stop back by Hotel Casa Blanca to finalize the
sale of the Escape with Hermes then we were off to the airport. We waited in line with all the ticketed
passengers, paid our Exit Tax then passed through security. Ron and I had stand-by tickets in hand so we
waited at the gate until the flight was loaded. The gate agent finally signaled to us. Yes, there were extra seats!
We had a good flight to Atlanta, passing through
immigration and customs without a hitch. Now we approach the Delta ticket counter to
see if any seats are available. There
are two flights to Columbia, S.C. this evening but both are full. There is a stand-by list already so it does
not look hopeful. We returned to Kent’s
gate, on the same terminal, to tell him we are going to rent a car and drive
since it is only 3 hours. The down side was forfeiting the last leg of our trip
and having to pay $250 for a rental car. As we say good bye and Kent departs
for Fort Wayne, Indiana we notice a “red coat” lady at his gate. The ticketing folks said that a “red coat”
may be able to help us. So we told her
our situation. She tapped a bit on the
computer then printed out stand-by tickets and said she had put us at the top
of the waiting list. Our flight was
scheduled to leave in 20 minutes from another concourse so away we
scampered. We made it to our gate as
people were boarding. Incredibly our
names were called and we got into the last 2 seats on the flight!
We call our experience today a series of “God moments.” We and so many people have been praying about
our request to return home early and God again shows Himself faithful as “the
One who goes before us and prepares our way.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)
We arrived safely in Columbia at 9:00 pm and our bags
followed us on the next flight at 10:00 pm.
How faithful our loving Heavenly Father has been over the past 5 weeks
of ICH ministry in Central America! We want
to echo Paul’s words of doxology in Romans 11:36 “For from Him, and through Him
and to Him are all things. To Him be the
Glory forever. Amen!”
Addendum:
We arrived back in time for Ron to have a sweet reunion
with his mother. She is declining
rapidly, but still knows her children.
We are so thankful for God’s provision, peace and the comfort that she
is experiencing. Thanks for all of the
prayers!
Shot in Guatemala Doug
Johnson’s Story
This morning we were delighted to see Doug at Union Church
as he ushered us to our seats. No one
would ever have known the experience he had less than a year ago at his mission
here in Guatemala City. After the
service Doug and Sarah shared their story and gave us permission to pass it
on. Many of you received the email “911”
prayer request that we sent last fall for Doug.
We want you to know what God did in response to you, and thousands of
people in the U.S. and here in Guatemala, who prayed. You were part of a miracle!
Doug told us he never lost consciousness as he waited for
the ambulance which came quickly. He was
loaded on a gurney and a uniformed woman accompanied him in the back. He remembers that the ambulance staff did
not do anything for his condition, not even put a dressing or pressure on his
wounds. Before leaving they asked him
where he wanted them to take him. He
remembered a small private hospital where one of their friends had given birth
and asked to go there. This is where the
miracles began. One of the mission
workers, a woman, spoke up and said “No!
He must go to Roosevelt Hospital, it is closer!” Later Doug and Sarah learned that Roosevelt
treats 5-6 gunshot wounds a day. Thankfully,
the ambulance driver drove like crazy because he was loosing a lot of
blood. As he watched out the rear window
all he could remember was seeing the parted traffic and trying to not fall off
the gurney. In the emergency room he was
alone with the staff and only a resident. No doctor was available. But he remembers that they went right to work
and knew just what to do. He was still fully
alert and able to answer their questions as they cut away his clothes and began
I.V.s. About an hour later Sarah
arrived. She was at home and the mission
workers had gone to the home to tell her and bring her to the hospital. By this time, Doug said, he was sedated and
was kept in a coma for the first week.
He was attended with emergency care there at Roosevelt then transported
to another large medical facility. It
was a very scarey, long day for Sarah.
She said that probably 30 people from the mission and church gathered
and stayed at the hospital with her for support and prayer vigile. They have three young adult sons living in
the states, all of whom are nurses.
Their youngest son still lives at home with them. They came as quickly as they could.
The doctors told Sarah that if Doug lived through the first
24 hours they would do the most critical surgery. He had several internal wounds to his liver,
his lungs, his stomach and intestines. It
was an answer to many prayers that he made it the first 24 hours. After surgery the doctors told Sarah that if
he made it 48 hours they would do further surgery. This is the way it went for the first
week. Doug, of course remembers nothing
except awakening in the Intensive Care Unit with tubes and dressings all over
his body. Fluids and oxygen were going
in, monitors were beeping and drains were coming out. The next day after he
regained consciousness Sarah was visiting with him when he told her he could
not go back to sleep. He had been given sleeping medication the night before but
it didn’t help. Then he began to
describe to Sarah what he saw when he closed his eyes. He told her it was a huge crowd of people and
it was very frightening to him. So Sarah
began to ask him questions about what he was seeing. She asked him what the people were
doing. He closed his eyes again and
watched for a few minutes. Then he said
“they are praying!” She asked him to
look again and tell her more about them.
He told her then that he thought they were Guatemalan angels. They continued to talk about what he saw and
then realized that God was giving him reassurance and comfort through this
vision. In no time Doug was able to
relax and go to sleep. Today tears
filled his eyes as he related this part of his story to us.
Doug spent one month in the hospital and had 4 surgeries on
his abdomen. One night the doctors
visited him and did not know that he was awake.
He heard them commenting to each other, “Wow, he is still here!” They were told that the location of the
gunshot wounds were less than one millimeter of being immediately fatal. Sarah stayed with Doug constantly. He said that one day she was rubbing his feet
to improve the circulation. His eyes
were closed and he said that he saw angels surrounding them and the hospital
bed. Sarah stretched out her arms and
waved them up and down and asked him what the angels did then. Doug told her they just floated up a little
higher but they were still there!
His leg wound, arm wounds and surgical repairs had all
healed well enough that he could go home and continue physical therapy. But another serious situation developed when
he became short of breath and began sweating profusely. Large blood clots had formed in both lungs so
he was quickly sent back to the hospital.
A stint was placed in his superior vena cava to filter the clots from
his system.
Doug told us that at this point he became very discouraged. Daily
the physical therapists resumed working on his leg and arms. One day the therapist was exercising his arm
and suddenly stopped. She looked at him
and said, “You are a Christian, aren’t you?
The Lord just spoke to me and told me I should pray for you. Can I pray for you?” With tears welling in his eyes Doug told us
that God had sent him comfort and encouragement through so many of the
Guatemalan’s. Not only had He used them
to save his life but they were now still ministering to him.
Again today he said that he felt, so many times, the
thousands of prayers that were being offered for him. He
told us that his surgeons were not Christians but said they know there is a
God. He was able to share with them that
he is a definite witness to the fact that there is a personal God who loves us
and has a plan for our lives! Doug said
that he had gone through a time when he was so angry at the shooters and could
only feel a need for revenge. But now he
can truly say that he has forgiven his attackers and he prays for them. He said that he knows they were not believers
and were lost, desparate people. So he
now prays that God will bring them to repentance and forgiveness in knowing
Jesus. In reality, we were all at that
same lost, desparate place before we put our trust in Christ and His Spirit
transformed our hearts.
Doug told us about his first Sunday back at church. He was so eager to get back to normal life
and was sure he was ready. At the end of
the first hour it is part of their tradition to for everyone to enjoy a
fellowship time of coffee together. Doug,
by that time, was exhausted and all he could do was to sit in a chair, cradling
his head in his hands, elbows propped on his knees. After a while he noticed two small feet in his
line of vision on the floor in front of him.
He raised his head and right at his eye level was a small Guatemalan boy
who attends the church with his parents.
For a while they just gazed at each other then his parents
approached. They told Doug that the boy
was so happy to see him. He had been
praying for Doug since he heard about the shooting. In fact, the parents said that the boy would
not go to bed at night until he prayed for him.
Doug told us this story with tears in his eyes. He said that he was so humbled and it was
worth it all if this boy would learn to know our loving God, His faithfulness
to answer prayer and His power to heal.
Doug and Sarah could tell so many more stories. It is our privilege to hear these things today
and be able to praise our God together with this dear brother and sister in
Christ! May you be as humbled as we. Praise to our awesome God, for His mercies
endure forever! Psalm 103
Ron and Susan
Guatemala City September 1, 2013
