El Buen Samaritano Hospital, Chichicastenango, Guatemala

(Chichicastenango, Guatemala)

In Josh's preparation to leave on September 11th for Chichicastenango, Guatemala, we'd like to ask that you pray for the project team and their travels to and from the ministry site in Chichi.  Also, pray that the team would be affective in their ministry their to the people opening the hospital and that the Lord would bless the works of their hands and the words they speak.  This hospital will serve the local indigenous indians of Mayan ancestry which typically are too poor to afford medical care and often resort to witch doctors and spiritual cults for hope of healing.  Please pray that this ministry's hospital will serve to bring Christ's healing hands to these people and that it would provide an opportunity to share with them the healing news of Jehovah Rophe, my healer.  

What a week it has been

What's that saying? "TGIF"-thank goodness it's Friday.  Well, in Spanish, it's "GDEV"-Gracias a Dios es Viernes!  I actually love Fridays, but not just because it's the weekend.  In Atenas, Friday morning is the weekly fresh market.  Farmers from the surrounding areas bring their fruits, vegetables, plants/flowers, breads, etc to sell in town.  So, I head to downtown Atenas out in front of Escuela Central (central school) and do my produce shopping for the week.  I love the sights and sounds there.  This morning, there was lively music playing, and everything was bustling because this Sunday is Costa Rican Mother's Day or El Dia de la Madre.  Here, this is one of the biggest holidays of the year.  The mother in Costa Rican families is highly respected and has pretty much all the responsibility for the household.  It was funny to see something a little familiar also.  Normally, a bunch of flowers at the market is about 2,000 colones, or $3.50, but we have a pretty smart florist I guess because this morning, they were almost double that.  There people clamoring around the flowers trying to pick just the perfect flowers to arrange as a gift for their mother or grandmother's special day.  Kinda reminded me of Valentine's Day in the states when all of a sudden a dozen roses is outrageously expensive.  Of course, outrageously expensive in this case is only $7, but still:)

This week, there has been alot going on.  One of the staff wives, Beth, gave birth yesterday to a healthy baby boy, her first.  It was the first time I have seen a baby on the day of it's birth, and boy was it tiny.  I've seen infants, but I can't ever remember seeing a baby literally the day it was born.  He was so cute!.  And I am so excited for Beth and Micah as they begin this new season of their lives as parents.  I'm also excited because part of what I do here in Costa Rica is member care and family development which means I am super excited to be able to serve our friends however I can, including planning meals, laundry, cleaning, and pretty much anything else they need.  It was a little funny when I discussed my ideas with Beth a few weeks ago.  I guess they don't do a whole lot of the bringing-meals-to-the-house thing in northern Washington, where they're from.  I told her, "Listen, I'm from the south.  This is what we do."  We both laughed about it.

Also, another family returned from a visit with their family in the States.  Still in another family, the wife, Michelle, had her birthday yesterday.   They live at the orphanage where I volunteer, and we are going there tonight to help celebrate her birthday.  So, overall, it's been a pretty eventful week, and we're loving it!

What's happenin'?!

Since diving back into life and the work God has called us to here in Atenas, Costa Rica, things have been a little crazy! From exploding water heaters to leaky roofs to every outlet in our house going out, there hasn't been a dull moment. But, there's been a lot of positive things going on as well.

Josh has been busy working with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Gonaïves, Haiti to figure the costs of building their project which EMI designed back in 2009. YWAM is an international movement of Christians from many denominations dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world, whose calling is to know God and make Him known. Since its establishment in 1960, YWAM’s main focus has been to get youth into short-term mission work and to give them opportunities to reach out in Jesus’ name. YWAM Gonaïves is the most recent branch of YWAM’s ministry to the youth of Haïti. Under the leadership of Director Maula Jean-Marie the ministry serves the large impoverished youth population in Gonaïves. Forty percent of Gonaïves'population is eighteen years old or younger. Combined with the extreme poverty, two devastating floods in the past five years, and the earthquake in January, 2010, there is a sense of hopelessness in the city that needs the light of the Gospel. The vision God has given Maula for YWAM Gonaïves is to “Restore the city, heal the nation, and touch the world.” Currently, to fulfill this vision, Maula and his family have opened their home to hold weekly church services and youth meetings. Also, the ministry holds public rallies that include the YWAM Gonaïves’ King’s Kids ministry presenting the Gospel through dramas and musical productions, as well as Maula and other speakers preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a further means to advance the Gospel of Christ to the youth of Gonaïves, Director Maula purchased an 11-acre property northwest of Gonaïves near the town of Marose. Maula’s vision is to use the property as a YWAM Campus that includes a Bible college, church, missionary apartments, YWAM office, school, shop, and student dormitory. The focus of this EMI project was to propose a master plan for the site and present the ministry with construction documents for the first phase of the student dormitory.

Looking ahead to the next 5 months, we've been preparing for a conference in October and 2 potential project trips! EMI's Association of Christian Design Professionals (ACDP) Conference will be held in Asheville, NC this October. During the conference, furthering education classes are offered and Josh will be teaching 3 classes! They will cover (1) Staying Healthy Emotionally, Mentally, & Spiritually in a Disaster Response Scenario, (2) Incident Command System, and (3) Transitional Shelter Design for Disaster Response.

The first project trip will take place in September. Josh will be part of a team of engineers and architects going to help the Good Samaritan Hospital in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. Good Samaritan Hospital was started around 50 years ago when a Methodist church began offering medical services from what had been a rent-by-the-hour hotel. There was no other hospital available to serve the people in this area. Mostly native peoples, even today most are unable to pay for medical services. In addition to providing medical care, Good Samaritan Hospital's purpose is to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All patients and their families are visited by local pastors while they are at the hospital. This project will review the existing hospital facility and create a strategic plan for their continued growth. Phase one of their expansion will be construction of an infill building to accommodate an eye clinic.

The second project trip will take place in November. Josh will be co-leading a team of volunteer engineers and architects from the U.S. to Orosi, Costa Rica to serve El Jardin Sagrado, a ministry of Global Outreach Mission. Meaning "The Sacred Garden", El Jardin Sagrado is a camp and retreat center begun with great vision for the future. For years Global Outreach hoped and prayed that they could establish a multi-purpose orientation center close to North America, easily accessibile to those who God would raise up to serve the work in ministry. These prayers were answered in 2006 through the purchase of property in the Orosi Valley of Costa Rica. This camp and retreat center on five acres will be a place from which churches can be planted, local pastors can be trained and encouraged and candidates from around the world can receive cross-cultural orientation in a developing country. The team will help design the remaining elements of this camp which was partially design by an EMI team in 2007.

God has certainly filled our plates with plenty of work to do! Please pray for us as we continue to follow after Him. Also, please pray about how you can be involved in our efforts here, either through volunteering with us or by supporting our work here financially. We cannot do this without your help and your prayerful support! We miss you all and wish that you could be here serving with us!