Birthday

Guatemala has one of the highest infant mortality rates in Central and South America.   It is no wonder then, when a child turns one, that it is a time to celebrate.

Recently we had the honor to attend the birthday of our godchild Daniel Jonas (see previous blog). It was a fun afternoon filled with laughter, music, cake, party hats and a piñata.

Manos de Compasion

We have been so blessed to come to know Dave and Deborah Reichard.

The Reichard's are a young couple who oversee the local orphanage here in Santiago Atitlan. The orphanage called "Manos de Compasion" was started in 1999 in Guatemala City and moved to Santiago Atitlan in 2006.  In 2009 Dave and Deborah took over.  

We came to learn about Manos de Compasion as Dave and Deborah would bring the children to Hospitalito for their initial physical exams and acute illnesses.

 

They have 20 children in their house with 9 of these in diapers!  And we thought it was a challenge to have three in diapers. 

We have been able to share a number of Holidays and birthdays with all of them at the orphanage and at our house. Jennifer has also been able to fill in, at times, taking care of the kids when Dave and Deborah need to go to the City for the day. Jennifer is truly amazing!
 

Each child that comes into their care brings with them such tragic stories but each day they are at Manos de Compasion is an opportunity to witness Christ among us through the love and care that Deborah and Dave give. 

To learn more about Manos de Compasion visit these web sites:
http://guatemalaministry.com/about.htm
http://guatemalaministry.com/
http://www.gua-ministry.blogspot.com/

Edgar

Edgar arrived to the Emergency room after a truck backed up and pinned him between the truck and a wall. He had severe chest pain, a thready pulse and oxygen saturation that was dropping rapidly.  On exam he was noted to have no breath sounds on the right side of his chest and you could feel the air bubbling under his skin. He was diagnosed with a pneumothorax and feared to be developing a tension pneumothorax.  

 

This is occurs when the lung is punctured (in Edgar's case by one of his many broken ribs.) Air, from the lung, enters the thoracic cavity and compresses the lung.  The increasing pressure causes the lung to collapse and if the pressure is not relieved can cause collapse of the venous return to the heart and death.  

The ER crew acted rapidly and placed IVs, started oxygen and prepared for a tube thoracostomy. This tube, placed into the chest wall, helps to relieve the pressure that is increasing in the patients chest.  

The tube was placed without difficulty and immediately Edgar was breathing easier and his oxygen saturations increased.  Edgar then was transported to Guatemala City where he spent 8 days in the hospital and ended up having part of his damaged lung removed.

On follow up he was all smiles and very thankful for the care he received. 

New Year

The new year has arrived and so an opportunity for reflection.

We have been here for nearly two years and will begin the third year of our three year commitment to Hospitalito and the diocese of Sololá-Chimaltenango.

We have been blessed in so many ways.  

At the Hospital we've been part of a remarkable trans location from the old "interim" hospital -- which was a backpackers hostel -- to the "new" Hospitalito, which should be called "Hospitalote" or grande, allowing plenty of room to grow in the future.  We've seen the Guatemalan doctor staff grow to 4 full time generalists, an obstetrician and now a pediatrician.  Hospitalito has become part of the country's education of pediatricians which places a final year pediatric resident at Hospitalito full time.

We have also seen our role change from primary caregivers to more educational and administrative roles.  In this regard, Brent was recently elected to the board of Hospitalito.

Our children have made friends, attend school locally, and continue to amaze us at how little it takes to make a child happy!

We are so grateful for the many ways our family and friends back home continue to support us -- thank you!

Step Along the Way

Jennifer and I first read this poem on Dr. Stoughton's blog during his time in Zimbabwe.  It was initially attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero and more recently to Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw.

Not only does it seem appropriate for us during our time here in Guatemala but I think it speaks volumes to all of us where ever we may be on our journey with God.
 
During this Christmas season, when new beginnings are celebrated in the birth of Jesus, may we all find our "step along the way"

Peace and Love
Brent, Jennifer, Christopher, Elizabeth, Julianne and Nicholas

A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.

Amen.

Mission Together

This is the half way mark of our three year commitment and the time has really gone fast. Like so many times in life, some days seem to last forever but when looking back the weeks seem to pass by without realizing where they have gone.  We are excited for the coming year to continue our work at Hopsitalito, school for the children and strengthening our relationships with the people we've come to know and call friends here in Santiago. 
We also want to take this opportunity to thank our family and friends who support our mission here in so many ways.  Through your prayers, kind words, emails, letters, and financial support, we are able to continue to answer this call to serve.  We realize that this is not the Burket-Thoene Family Mission, but really our mission together.

Thank you.

School

We came back to Santiago just in time for Christopher, Elizabeth and Julianne to take their final exams for the school year as their school year runs from mid-January to mid-October.  The kids did very well and all will advance to the next grade level in January.
 
The school had a very nice Kindergarten graduation ceremony for Julianne.  Much to their dismay, they are all homeschooling over the break.

We had thought that maybe the transition back to Guatemala might be difficult for the kids after being in the US, but the kids haven't said anything.  Since we've been back, we've heard them ask a couple of relatives on Skype what they had eaten that day.  They certainly enjoyed the wide variety of food while we were on vacation.