Needy newborn

I (Heather/Erica) got a message this week from Odilia, a lady in our church, asking if I knew if ASELSI's milk program is taking new clients.  She wrote that a lady from her neighborhood, Roxanna, had come by asking for help because she had no milk to nurse her 3-week-old newborn baby.  Roxanna's husband had recently left her to live with another woman, and Roxanna had given birth at home alone and scared.  Her husband had come by to threaten her that he would take her two children away (the newborn and a 4-year-old girl) if she didn't take care of them, and the stress of the conflict caused her milk to dry up.  Her husband has not given her any money, and she has no way to earn an income during this pandemic in order to buy formula.  She was only giving water to her baby, and Odilia said the baby was tiny and thin.

I wrote to ASELSI's director on her behalf, and he informed me that they are only able to support their currently registered clients since they have been shut down by the government during the pandemic.

We wanted to help Roxanna buy formula, but we didn't want to give her cash.  So I arranged with Odilia to come by our house and pick up a cash donation.   Then she went the store and bought formula and a supplement to help boost milk production.  She delivered the formula and supplement to Roxanna, who was very happy for the help!

Then, several days later, Roxanna brought her baby back to see Odilia.  What a nice surprise to see a healthy, round baby!  We ask for your prayers for this little life!

Thanks to Odilia for the photos!

Trash troubles

One of the services we took for granted in the United States was trash pickup and removal.  Now that we live just outside of Chichicastenango, the municipal trash truck doesn't arrive at our door like they used to before we moved further out of town.  And there is no public trash dumpster available.  So for the last two years we have been taking our trash weekly to a missionary friend's house in town, and she would set our bags out with hers.  But recently her landlord asked her to stop helping us. 

So we decided to venture out to the area's trash dump.  It is about 20 minutes away, down the curvy highway into a ravine and back up again on the other side, and then down a narrow dirt road towards billowing white smoke. 

Vehicles can drive in and drop off their
trash, where it is tossed into the
ravine on the left and burned.
The smoke is thick and smells bad.

This man came to charge us the Q10 fee
(about $1.30) for dropping off our 6 bags
of trash.  The fee is higher for larger
loads of trash.  It isn't healthy for the
workers to be breathing this smoke
all day!

When the coronavirus lockdown started in Guatemala a couple of months ago, we heard that there were many children and adults waiting in this trash dump to rummage through the trash and see what they could find to eat.  I don't think our safety was in question, but since we are trying to avoid gatherings of people for any reason during this time, we decided not to go back for now.

Michael had found a couple of public trash barrels in the market in town, so for a few weeks he took our trash there when we were in town for shopping.  But when the government closed all markets, he no longer had access to those trash barrels! 

Our current temporary solution, which we are very grateful for, has been to take our trash to ASELSI, a local ministry.  Before their clinic closed for the coronavirus lockdown, they weren't able to add our trash to theirs because they were already at the maximum volume of trash allowable for the municipal trash pickup.  But since the government closed their clinic for now, they have room for our trash!  Thank you, ASELSI!!!

Who knew trash disposal could be so complicated?  Hahaha!

Measuring

Unbelievable.  And yet due to past experiences with these boys, believable.

On Tuesday we were excited to start measuring to begin our house construction.  Our planned trip to the U.S. has been postponed due to the coronavirus, so we decided to press on with construction instead.

The house site has been leveled and is
ready to go!

But after our construction workers helped us measure, the space seemed to be 4 cm too short in one dimension.  Odd and disturbing.  Later, when we went to investigate the measurements for ourselves, Michael discovered that the boys had made several small errors that added up.

Please pray that our workers will think and pay attention, and that we won't grow weary as we double-check their work.  As Michael aptly put it, "Not an auspicious beginning."  But with God's help we will soldier on!

Letter to nursing home

Our daughter Elena was given a wonderful assignment in one of her classes at Lee University.  She was asked to write and send letters of encouragement to residents at a local nursing home.  I was personally so blessed by the letter I wanted to share it with you here:

Hello! I wanted to take the time and write to you just to say that you are special, and I am thinking of you! I know that the present situation of staying inside and isolated is challenging and can become lonely. I want to remind you of one person who will never catch this virus and that we do not need to keep our distance from: Jesus Christ! He promises to never leave us and never forsake us. As He says in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” I have drawn strength from this verse because I can rest knowing that no matter what happens in life and during this crisis, the one constant that we will never lose is Jesus. The Bible also assures us in Psalm 27:1 that “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” With God on our side, we can rest knowing we are safe in Him despite what is happening around us. As Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” God knows what we need before we ask and promises to always be with us during our time of need. His promise in John 16:33 remains true even now: “In this world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Jesus is more powerful than this crisis; it did not surprise Him. We can rest in His peace and trust Him knowing that He will never leave us alone. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 15:15). I will be praying for your protection during this time and that you will experience God’s peace and comfort. You are special and loved! “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:8).

Waking up the moon

On Saturday night, March 28, our neighbors were banging pots and pans, blowing whistles and air horns, and setting off fireworks for about half an hour.  A Mayan friend in town messaged us to let us know that people were trying to wake up the moon!   This is what the moon looked like that night:

Our friend sent us this description of the old Mayan tradition here that used to be practiced when the moon was eclipsed:

"One should make noise with something
silver colored, like the moon; a pewter
or metal item, so the moon won't be
allowed to die."

Our friend said some men had been spreading the news that the coronavirus came because the moon had died.  We were quite amazed by the amount of noise our neighbors were making.  Even the dogs were edgy. 

Well, the good news is that in the following nights, the moon did indeed come back, little by little, so they must have done a good job waking it up!

Friends and family

Even though the coronavirus has all of us here in Chichicastenango separated in our homes, I wanted to share a few photos of our wonderful friends and family here in Guatemala.  We haven't been able to get together for a while, but we are keeping in contact by Facebook, Messenger, and cell phone, just like the rest of the world.

Veronica swimming in our carport with
her friends Andrea and Zury.  Those three
sure know how to "make a joyful noise!"

Our church leaders in our living room
for a small group worship time.

Some of the girls playing with crutches
before the church service.

Special prayer for the children of our
church in January, at the beginning
of Guatemala's school year.

Art class with Eliana, on the right,
who came as a missionary to
Guatemala for a couple of months to
evangelize children through art.  While
 here, she offered 8 free art classes
 to the missionary kids in Chichi!

Making cookies with "Grandma Carol,"
a missionary from New Jersey who we
 will miss greatly when she returns to the
U.S. soon for health reasons.
We love you, Carol!

Crates and slime

The Sunday school director at our church is a sweet lady named Clelia.  She had an idea to buy crates to use for decorative storage in the classroom, and she wanted to paint them bright colors.  Since we have an air compressor for painting, I volunteered to have our workers paint the crates.  What I didn't realize was that they were going to soak up the paint like a sponge, even the primer!  So the paint she bought was used up very quickly, and I ended up going back to the store twice to buy more paint!  But 6 or 7 coats later, the end result was beautiful.

Soon after that it was my turn to teach Sunday school.  Here in the public school system there seems to be a lack of good teaching about science, and the kids didn't know much about the existence of germs.  So I taught them about germs, tying it into Sunday school by the fact that God made very small things.  We made slime as a craft because when talking about germs it seemed appropriate!  The kids had a great time!

Naya and Dasha

Adrian (blue jacket), Byron, Maily, Any,
Heber, Abdi, and William (brown jacket)
The crates can be seen in the background!