Marcy's Sharing

8/29/18

What a week we have had - so many hugs, so many smiles, so many tears! Three families now have a secure place to live, a bed to sleep on, stove to cook on, and a bathroom! How blessed we have been to be a part of providing them with the bare necessities. Fifty people are now able to move about without having to be carried. Nine of the wheelchairs provided were specialty chairs for children. As the recipients met with the local pastors to hear the Good News of God’s love, eleven of them gave their hearts to God. Wheelchair distribution is the heart of Bethel Ministries, and it has a way of gaining our hearts as well.

Home visits this year brought a lot of need. We had plenty of clothes and food to share, but there is an ongoing need in many of these families. I want to share just a hint of what some of them are going through.

Concepcion and Paula took in their three grandchildren five years ago, when the children’s mother died. They have provided a loving secure home for the children, but their only source of income is recycling. Grandpa collects cardboard and plastic in his two wheelbarrows. A very large stack of cardboard brings in nine quetzals – roughly $1.35. Grandma sells eggs from her twenty-seven chickens. This family is in need of a food sponsor - $50/month.

Leslie is a single mom raising Ruth and Danielo. They have recently moved away from their extended family due to extreme abuse. Ruth has been diagnosed with malnutrition. The food bag we were able to give the family is packed with protein and vitamin enriched products. She will thrive on this diet. To continue to thrive this family needs a food sponsor - $50/month.

Flavio and his wife are raising two wonderful caring girls. Flavio has had diabetes for eighteen years. Recently he has not been able to pay for insulin. When we went to visit, he had been in bed for twenty days horribly ill with stomach problems. His daughters took turns lovingly caring for him while their mother went out to work. She only earns 25 quetzals per day ($3.50). Flavio needs a sponsor for insulin $40/month – NEED MET – PTL!!  And a food sponsor for the family - $50/month.

I met Vivian a year ago. She has kidney failure. Her husband of twenty-two years takes her back and forth to Guatemala City twice a week for dialysis. The “chicken bus” was their means of transportation. In her frail state, Vivian had an accident on the bus and broke her hip and got a gash in her head. I was happy to see, her hip has healed and she is walking around their home with a cane. Vivian’s dialysis now requires her to spend the night in Guatemala City twice a week. They need a sponsor to cover these costs - $50/week or $200/month. They also need a food sponsor for the family of five as her husband misses too many days of work when taking her to the city - $50/month.

Jaquelin is fourteen and captured the hearts of our team. She is a very good student and wants more than anything to continue her schooling. The cost difference from grade school to high school is double. Jaquelin pleaded with her mother to continue to let her study, but the cost is too great. Jaquelin needs a sponsor for school - $50/month.  NEED MET – PTL!!

My favorite visit was with Vicenta. She goes to church every day of the week. Her children go Saturday and Sunday (homework during the week). Each of them quickly flipped to their favorite passage in the Bible and read it for us. Towards what we thought was the end of the visit, Craig asked her if she had ever experienced a miracle. She immediately teared up. She proceeded to talk passionately for quite a long time with many tears. Our bilingual people begin wiping tears from their eyes. The rest of us waited. The short version is that Vicenta was digging wells with her husband when the mechanism for pulling the dirt out fell in on her and impaled her. She went to the hospital. The pastor came and told her it was her time to die. She pleaded with God to have mercy on her, so she would not leave her children motherless. She continued to live. She had surgery on her internal injuries. The pastor came back and told her it was her time to go. Once again she pleaded with God, “Have mercy on my children.” The hospital sent her home to die. The pastor came again. “It is your time to die.” “God have mercy on me. My children need a mother.” God showed mercy. Vicenta raised her children in the love of God. It is a beautiful family. Vicenta’s husband died three years ago. Due to failing health and eye sight, Vicenta needs a food sponsor for her family - $50/month.

If you are able to help with any of these needs, please let us know, and we can make the necessary arrangements. 

Marcy