I Choose to Trust Him!

Sorry, this one is going to be a long one.  But a lot has happened in the last couple of months!  I hope you will hang in there until the end!  Over the last few months we have really been able to see God's hand in our life.  He has been answering prayers right and left.  Not everything has gone perfect.  In fact, a few things have gone wrong, but God's presence has been very evident.  My faith continues to grow as I see His provision and care in our life in small and personal ways.

For example, in the middle of August, I started having severe tooth pain and I had swelling in my cheek.  I looked like a chipmunk.  I was able to call our good friend, who also happens to be our dentist.  He was sure it was abscessed and that I needed a root canal.  So he suggested I take antibiotics and we pray that I can make it until our planned trip on Sep 17th for our son's wedding on the 21st.  So of course, we wanted to make it until after the wedding!  The antibiotics did help, but after much thought and prayer, we decided to go back early so that we could get the tooth taken care of BEFORE the wedding.  So on August 30th we were on our way back to the States.  Turns out two teeth were abscessed.  One had to be pulled and the other one needed a root canal and a crown.  Praise the Lord that all that was taken care of and the pain gone a good week before the wedding!   God also provided financially in a mighty way to cover the costs of all this dental work.  Praise the Lord!  Also, since we came back early, once my teeth were taken care of, we were free to travel and spend more time with our kids and extended family and friends.  We are so thankful for that time. We saw God's hand of blessing even through a toothache.

Then the wedding came and it was a grand and beautiful celebration!  We are so thankful to the Lord for the wonderful time we had to celebrate the union of our son, Ryan, to his new wife, Gwen.  We are thankful for our family and friends who came to celebrate with us and for the new friends and family we now have!  It was such a special and God glorifying occasion.  We are so thankful to the Lord for providing both of our children with Godly, loving spouses!  Our family is growing!

After the wedding, we had 3 weeks to travel around and visit more family and friends.  We have such wonderful support and as we visited with people, we were overwhelmed with the way God has provided for us through such loving, caring, generous people!   Our hearts were overflowing as we prepared to head back to Guatemala.  We spent our last couple days in Chicago and got to have dinner with the newlyweds a couple nights in a row.  Wednesday morning, October 15th, was the day to head back to Guatemala.  We were ready to see our Guatemalan kiddos and get back into our life there.  Our bags were packed and on the cart in our hotel room ready to head down to the lobby to catch our shuttle.  It was about the time when Norman gave me the 15 minute warning that my stomach started to hurt.  It went from no pain to the worse pain I have ever had in those 15 minutes.  At first I thought maybe we could take the next shuttle in an hour and still be in time to catch our flight.  Surely this pain would go away in a little bit.  Five minutes later, I had given up going to the airport and I was begging Norman to call 911!   I was sure I was dying!  Well, at least it felt like it.   He left me moaning on the bed and went down to the lobby to tell them that we wouldn't make the shuttle because his wife was up in the room in severe pain begging to go to the hospital.  They then told him that we were the only ones going to the airport, so they could take us to the hospital just as easy and it was only 10 minutes away.  So off we went.  The ER people were awesome to get me back to a room in a matter of minutes.  It didn't take long to figure out what was wrong and then praise the Lord, administer pain medicine!  Turns out I had a hernia and part of my bowel entered the hole and was trapped.  Thus severe pain!  Surgery was needed.  We weren't going back to Guatemala that day.  In fact, our trip was going to be extended on the other end as well.  So surgery was performed and everything went very well.  After surgery I had very little pain.  The doctor recommended I wait a week and let myself heal some before flying back to Guatemala.  Praise the Lord for family!  The next day I was released from the hospital.  Norman's brother and his wife brought us Ryan's car we had left at their house in Peoria IL (3 hours away) so that we had a car to use.  We then drove 3 hours to my sister's house in Bettendorf IA and got settled in for one more week.  I am so thankful for family and the way they are there for us when we need them!   Again, we saw God's provision in a mighty way!  If the pain had started even a half hour or hour later it would have taken a lot longer to get me to a hospital where they could help me with the pain.  If the pain had come several hours later, I could have been in the air in a plane.  I don't want to even think about how that all would have played out.  Not treated, the condition I had can be life threatening.  Even treated, the part of the bowel that is trapped can die fairly quickly, requiring part of the bowel to be removed and far more extensive surgery.  Praise the Lord I was able to get help quickly, the colon didn't die and they were able to repair the problem quickly.  We were thankful for a place to stay, for extra time with family, and as a bonus, turns out the extra week we were there was the peak time for the fall colors of the leaves.  We saw such beauty that week!  God is so good.

So on October 25th, 10 days later than planned we fly back to Guatemala.  Two days after we were supposed to get back, the Directors left for Costa Rica for some training and some R&R.  They left the staff in charge and they were doing a great job.  We had an awesome home coming with lots of love and hugs.  We jumped right back into life in Guatemala.  Well, I jumped in with 1 foot.  My energy level isn't quite back to normal, so still taking it easy.

On Wednesday, a blood curdling scream echoed through the compound.  Someone was hurt.  One of our little 6 year old boys was accidentally poked in the eye with a stick and he was bleeding from inside his eye.  One of the workers rushed him to the clinic in town.  They could tell right away that there was nothing they could do for him here, he needed a surgeon.  The hospital an hour away couldn't help either.  It became apparent that he needed to get to a specialist in Guatemala City and quick.  Guatemala City is a 5 hour drive from us.  Praise the Lord for the ministry of Adonai International Ministries who are our good friends, have a plane, and are a half hour drive away in the town of Canilla.  Guatemala City is only 30 minutes away by plane.  We called them and they had the plane waiting.

As all this was happening I had an overwhelming peace.  God is going to take care of this, it is going to be okay.  I prayed all the way to Canilla that the doctors at the clinic were wrong with the severity and that it wouldn't be that bad and that God would heal him.  But when we got to Canilla and the Doctors from the States who were there visiting looked at him, my hopes were dashed.  He had lost the liquid inside his eye and tore his iris.  It was serious and without a miracle, he would not gain back his eyesight and he might even lose his eye.  I was crushed.  I was sure God was going to pull through again the way I wanted Him to.  But He hadn't, at least not yet.  So I had a choice.  Do I still trust Him even when things don't go the way I want them to?  Do I remember all the things He has done for me and the way my faith has grown?  Do I choose to reject the peace that passes all understanding when things don't go my way?  Sure, I was crushed, sure it was heart wrenching, but I know that God loves this little boy more than I do.  He has him in the palm of His hand, and I chose to trust Him even though my heart was breaking and tears were flowing.

They were able to do surgery and repair the iris.  He still couldn't see any light after surgery.  The fluid lost in the injury has to regenerate itself.  The odds are not in our favor that he will regain his sight.  But we have a God who specializes in miracles and we are hoping and believing for one.  But no matter what happens, we know that God is in control and He has a plan for this precious little boy!  It was easy to trust God when the problems were quickly fixed and taken care of, but do I trust Him when things don't go how I want them to?  I choose to trust Him!

A New Appreciation

I have now lived in Guatemala for 4 years, but I am still having "first" experiences.  Yesterday was one of them.  But before I tell you about it, I want to give you some background.  One thing about our life here in Guatemala is that Norman and I both work at the home all day so we are in near vicinity of each other most of the time.  I've come to realize that due to the fact he is close at hand, I have been able to be very dependent on him when it comes to living life in another culture.  In other words, I haven't been forced to do things like I would if Norman wasn't here, because I have him.  :-)  And I am very okay with that, he's the outgoing one, I am a very content introvert.  However, lately I have felt that maybe I need to push myself a little bit and not be quite so dependent on Norman.  Mainly for 2 reasons.  First:  For my own good.  There are somethings that I should just be able to do in case Norman isn't around.  Second:  To help out Norman.  He is a busy man with lots of people calling on him for help.  There are things that I am perfectly capable of doing that would help him greatly, I just have to step out of my comfort zone and take some risks
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So yesterday I had the opportunity to be brave and face my fears.  Two of our kids here at the home need Physical Therapy.  Our closest option is 1-1/2 hours away in Chichicastenango.  So we have committed to taking them every other week.  Yesterday was their day.  Norman has been doing so much driving and just drove to Quiche on Wednesday and spent the day there with one of the workers and one of our 3 year olds for Doctor appointments.  So...I decided I could do it.  That I could drive 1-1/2 hours over rough, windy, narrow, steep, mostly dirt roads AND that I could drive through a medium size town that has very narrow and crowded streets (that's almost worse than the mountain roads for me).

And guess what?  I did it!  Oralia (the director) and I headed on the road at 6:30 am with Jose and Alicia for their 8:30 appointment.  I decided to allow extra time since I drive slower than the average Guatemalan driver.  :-)  What a ride.  I'm telling you those roads are an adventure in themselves.  You constantly have to be on your guard for upcoming curves, pot holes, speed bumps (some made out of dirt that you can't see until you are on top of them),  speeding cars and buses to appear out of nowhere around the corner (most of the time the road is only as wide as a lane and a half and often the cars and buses are on your side!), herds of cows coming home, horses, dogs, chickens, kids, etc. etc.  Now I have been a passenger many times on these roads and I knew all these things, but it is a different ballgame when you are behind the wheel.  I have a whole new appreciation for Norman and all his driving.  I was absolutely exhausted when we got home!  And I drove 3 hours round trip.  The trip to Guatemala City is 5 hours one way and Norman has done a round trip in one day before.  Now I have a new understanding when he says he is tired after driving.  I always equated it with how I felt from being a passenger, which is tiring as well.  Now I know to multiply that by about 10 and that's how tired he is.  :-)

So I guess another benefit of being more independent is that I will appreciate my husband a whole lot more!  :-)    

What an Experience

As promised on facebook yesterday, I am going to share about the incredible day we had yesterday.  It was one of those days that on one hand you never want to repeat and on the other hand you wish you could have a "do-over" because knowing what you know now, you would do things differently.  Before I share, I do want to make a disclaimer.  My reason for sharing is so that you can not only understand some of the challenges we face as missionaries living in another country, but also so that you can have an understanding of what the people who live here experience.  I also know there are many of you out there who pray for us regularly and sharing our experiences will help you to pray with more understanding.  My reason for sharing is NOT to complain about or criticize the Guatemala people or their way of life here.  We come from a different perspective and experiences and sometimes our past experiences and present experiences clash.  :-)  So here we go.

Yesterday Norman and I, along with 16 year old Blanca, took the two babies (4 and 5 months old), Jose, (2-1/2 years old) and Alicia (3-1/2 years old) to see a pediatrician.  Several of our little ones had bad coughs that we felt needed further attention.  After inquiring with different contacts about the nearest quality pediatrician, we learned that there was a group of U.S. pediatricians here about 1-1/2 hours away in Chichicastenango and they were willing to see as many kids as we needed for no charge.  So we loaded up the four little ones and headed to Chichi.  Everything went well and we got loaded up on antibiotics.  Jose was the worse with a touch of pneumonia, so they gave him a breathing treatment before we left.  We then stopped at a ministry there in Chichicastenango to visit with a physical therapist.  She "just happened" to have some time available to visit with us and show us ways we could help Alicia and Jose with some physical challenges they have.  It was an awesome visit.  We then left and headed to Quiche for lunch.  We went to Pollo Campero and ordered pizza.  Since pizza takes 15 minutes and everyone was starving, we ordered french fries as "appetizer".  Jose had seemed overwhelmed by all the strange people he had come across and obviously wasn't feeling the greatest, but when the french fries came out, his smile was back!  We were finishing our food when all of a sudden Jose started having a seizure.  He had never had one before.  We have a 25 year old young lady in the home who has a brain tumor and has frequent seizures, so I recognized what was happening.  At the home, we just make sure she doesn't hurt herself or fall.  Jose was safely strapped in a high chair so I knew he wasn't going to fall.  So I was just waiting for it to stop.  In retrospect, I was strangely calm.  But unfortunately we weren't the only ones in the restaurant and people around us weren't so calm.  In fact, all chaos broke loose.  A lady behind Jose started screaming at Blanca, who was closest to Jose and not holding a baby, to get him out of his chair, get his arms up, and all kinds of instructions.  Blanca was able to get him out of the chair and handed him to me and then he stopped seizing, but evidently people around us thought he was choking and that the situation hadn't been resolved.  We were being yelled at from all directions to do this, do that.  Put his arms up, give him water, don't give him water.  Someone call an ambulance.  And at some point someone said to go outside.  Blanca and I went outside and someone grabbed him out of my arms and started doing the Heimlich maneuver on him.  I kept saying the only thing I could think of in Spanish at the time, "No comida, no hay comida"  No food, there's no food.  The guy finally stopped.  This whole time Jose is conscious but limp.  Most likely the after effect of the seizure.  Next, a police car/pick-up pulls up and they yell at me to bring Jose to them.  I do that and the policeman took him from me and fortunately told me to come with.  I looked back through the crowd and couldn't find Blanca.  Norman was still in the restaurant with two babies in his arms and Alicia in a highchair.  So I got in the police car without visual contact with the people I was with, without a purse and without a phone in a city I'm not all that familiar with.  I didn't want them to leave with Jose and without me.  I was in the backseat of the car with two policeman.  The guy in the middle had Jose.  We went tearing down the street and around corners and we are all flying around the backseat.  All I could think of was that we were going to be injured more from the car ride than anything else.  They then drove up to what I think now was a fire station, I had no idea where we were yesterday.  We all got out, they handed Jose to a firefighter, he looks at him and runs back to the police car.  I am on his heals ready to jump in the car behind him, but he closes the door in my face.  I re-opened the door to climb in, but he grabbed it from me, slammed it, and they took off without me.  I had a momentary thought of trying to jump in the back of the pickup but self preservation kicked in.  I figured I was no good if I was splattered in the middle of the street.  And I have no doubt that they wouldn't have waited for me to gracefully climb in.  So here I am standing in the middle of the road by myself with no idea where I am and no cell phone.  So, what else can I do, I started walking in the direction that the police car went with no idea where or how far away the hospital was.  They went about 8 blocks before they turned, so when I got that far, I asked for directions to the hospital.  I'm thankful I know Spanish!  I took a turn and kept walking, asked for more directions, kept walking.  When I am super stressed, my response is either to laugh or to cry.  Well, there were no giggles to be found and I didn't want to make more of a spectacle than I already had by crying, so I fought tears by trying to get mad at the situation.  But that wasn't real helpful either, because I cry when I'm really mad too!  Two ambulances flew by me and I halfheartedly tried to flag them down, because I knew they wouldn't stop, but at least I knew I was going in the right direction.  As I turned a corner to where I thought was hopefully my last stretch, I heard an ambulance siren behind me, so I went back to the corner, and sure enough they were looking for me.  They picked me up and took me the last 4 blocks to the hospital.  I got out and went in to find out that they had Jose in a room, he was very serious, and they were taking care of him.  But I was not allowed to go see him or be with him.  At some point someone told me they were going to intubate. A man came out and told me that he was alive.  What?  How did we go from a limp little boy recovering from a seizure to barely alive?  Someone then asked me if I wanted them to let my family know at Pollo Campero where we were.  I thought that would probably be a good idea.  Not long after, Norman pulls up and gets out with Blanca, two babies and Alicia in tow.  Alicia was happy to see me because she was convinced that they had left me in the bathroom at Pollo Campero.  Norman and Blanca had figured out that I had left with Jose in the police car and they were in the process of paying the bill, getting the little ones loaded and headed to the hospital when the police came to tell them where we were.  When they walked up, I couldn't hold the tears back any longer.  Which made sweet Blanca cry as well.  We finally pulled ourselves together and I decided to take Blanca and the 3 little ones over to a ministry owned dorm across the street.  Praise the Lord for this connection.  There was a lady there to help Blanca so that I could go back to the hospital with Norman.  We then got a hold of the pediatrician we had seen in the morning to see if she had any ideas of what could have caused the seizure.  She did.  Fever.  We think that his fever all of a sudden spiked and caused a seizure.  It is very common in little kids.  The pediatrician also recommended that we ask them not to intubate, she didn't think it should be necessary.  We tried, but we were too late.  We also talked about transferring him to a hospital where she could treat him at.  The next few hours were a blur with us trying to find out what was going on with Jose, looking into the possibility of having him transferred to a different hospital, but mostly just wanting to know what was going on.  We quickly gave up trying to transfer him when they threatened to call the police on us and when we found out that the other hospital didn't have a ventilator.  Finally, after waiting 3 hours, getting a friend on the phone who is familiar with the hospital and more fluent in Spanish than us, and pushing the buttons of the second in command of the hospital, we were able to talk to a doctor and see Jose.  He was in intensive care (and still is), on a respirator and sedated.  They hope to take the tube out today and hopefully he'll get to come home in a couple days.  That is our prayer anyway.
 
I now have a better understanding of how the people here feel.  I can't speak for all hospitals in the country, but this one, which is an hour from where we live and the closest hospital, is not known for treating the family members well and for keeping them informed.  We were able to push for information because of our ethnicity.  But the locals can't do that.  It is a horrible feeling to not know what is going on with your child, to be totally out of control and at their mercy. Many women have died in childbirth because they refuse to go to the hospital when they have complications because of bad past experiences.

Yesterday, our friend was able to use our circumstance to explain to the Administration of the hospital how important it is to keep the family in the loop and informed.  Most of the time parents have information about the child that will help, but they don't ask.  Please pray that somehow God will use this situation to improve future experiences by other parents.

Please pray for complete healing and no complications for Jose.  Pray that he will be comforted when he wakes up from the sedation.  Family members can only be in the ICU with them one hour a day.  Oralia will be going to see him this afternoon.  Please pray that they can take the tube out today and that he can come home very soon, like tomorrow would be nice.  :-)

Catching Our Breath

Here we are a whole month into 2014 already and we are still trying to catch our breath.  I have to honestly say that I think the last 5 months have been our busiest since we have been living in Guatemala.  We have been going from one thing to the next.  But busy is good and the things that have kept us busy are the reasons we are here.

During the end of November, beginning of December the Directors, Sebastian and Oralia, took an extended vacation of 3 weeks.  We were then in charge of the kids here in the home.  We had about 20 kids in our care instead of the normal 30 because several of the kids went to visit family during their summer break from school.  Even so, being in charge stretched us in all ways, emotionally, physically and mentally.  But God is faithful and He gave us the emotional, physical and mental strength we needed.  We even had some fun!  We celebrated Norman's 50th Birthday during this time and we took some "paseos" or field trips with the kids.

We all went on a picnic at some nearby ruins,

 

Another day we took all the girls to Rio Grande.

Two days after Sebastian and Oralia returned from their vacation, Norman and I left for the States to celebrate Christmas with our kids.  We were there for 2-1/2 weeks and during this time we were also able to attend the wedding of my niece.  We were so blessed to be able to spend this time with family!

We returned to Guatemala on January 6th (a day later than planned due to severe winter weather) and on January 7th Sebastian and Oralia, all the staff, and all the kids ages 3 and up left for a 4 day vacation.  Norman and I waved good-bye at 5:30 a.m. with two infant baby girls in our arms, a 2-1/2 year old and a 1-1/2 year old. You are probably thinking what I am thinking, "We are too old for this!"  But evidently God doesn't think so, and somehow our not so young any more bodies were able to make it through the night feedings.  The two girls came to the home while we were in the States, one born on December 24th and the other November 12th, so when they were placed in our arms at 5:30 a.m. it was the first time we had seen them, along with the older brother of one of them who is 2-1/2.  When we left before Christmas we thought that we would be caring for a 3 year old and a 1-1/2 year old.  Sebastian and Oralia called us in the States and asked us if we were willing to take on the 3 new children who had arrived and they would take the 3 year old with them.  (Below are pictures of the 3 new little ones.)  Thankfully we had the foresight to ask them to find someone to come in to help with the cooking.  That made it more doable.  But God is good and we are so thankful that we could be here to help in this role.

All the gang got back on January 11th and then 2 out of 4 of our staff went on vacation for 2 weeks.  So we continued helping with night feedings and also with filling in for the staff on vacation.  The kids were supposed to start their new school year on January 15th.  However, the Government was not coming forth with the money for supplies so the teachers went on strike.  We are told that school is now supposed to start on Monday, February 3.  Hopefully, that is true, but the kids have not minded one bit a 2 week extension to their summer break.

Also, last week, Norman's brother Lyall brought 5 other men from his church, all retired, to help with some work projects.  And boy did they!  We were amazed on how much they got done in one week.  We were in desperate need for 4 baby cribs, voila, done!  We wanted a play room built, voila, done!  We needed a new drainage system put in place, voila, ditches dug, pipes in place.  Our car was having "issues", voila, issues fixed.  And the list goes on.  And among all the work they also had time to hold the babies and play with the kids.  What a blessing they were!

This week has been our week to catch our breath.  We have been fully staffed as of Tuesday and we are now preparing to be blessed again.  Tomorrow a mixed team from Omaha and Arkansas are coming to spend Sunday with us and then on Monday they are going to take over the care of the home and the children and are sending Norman and I and all of the Staff on a 4 day, 3 night get away.  This will be the third year that a family team from Omaha has done this.  This year they have a group from Arkansas joining them.  What a blessing!

One more thing.  While we were home for Christmas, our son, Ryan, proposed to his girlfriend Gwen!  We are going to have another wedding this year!  We are so happy for Ryan and Gwen and are excited to have her as part of our family!

Nathan and Heather and Gwen and Ryan

So that is the latest on the Suttons in Guatemala!
We love you all and miss you greatly!  Thanks so much for your encouragement through letters, donations and prayers!