Friday night at the Hospital again

Victor, Roberto, Miguel and Alejandro joined me and Russel Leatherman at the hospital tonight.  Sally York and Erve York prepared the coffee, but stayed getting ready for a team tomorrow at the house.  The men from En El Corazon de Jesus as well as Russela and me enjoyed being able to share some blessings to the persons waiting for or on their loved ones.  Of course as always the Lords greater blessing is received by those who give.

Victor said wonderful prayers and laid hands on those who are waiting for their loved ones in surgery.  Russell left viewing  of his Rangers winning the American League to go to the hospital.  Its a great way to spend a Friday night.  Pictures later internet is slow tonight.

Come in from the cold

In the past few days we have housed many people that are homeless.  Some are addicted but others are just down and out.  The Major of Quiche asked for help on the cold nights and we have been able to help. Our rented home is now safe as the landlord wanted to replace us and rent to a house of prostitution.  With lots of prayers and the help of the Lord we paid 4 months rent in advance and are able to stay.  We hope to stay until we have new facilities built on our Land.  Prayerfully that will be sometime in 2011 Photos on facebook and I will add later, tonight the internet is slow.

Friday night at the Hospital

Six persons went with me to pass out coffee and rolls to the people waiting for their loved ones who are in the hospital.  All the men and one woman, had a great time and blessed many people.  Victor (the director) Araceli (his girlfriend), Roberto, Domingo, Miguel and Genaro helped make the coffee and passed out coffee and rolls to all the people at the hospital tonight. 

There were not as many people as ususal, but they were extremely grateful and you could see the smiles on the men from the center.  Pictures attached.   You can see the people stay in a room and sleep on the floor or outside and it is cold.

For those who do not know, the rainy season has been very difficult in Guatemala and all of Central America.  It is now one week without rain, and hopefully the worst is over.  Now the weather has turned colder and we have very low night time temperatures.  We have been asked by the local TV station to offer abergue (shelter) to residents who are unfortunate enough to have to sleep on the streets.  Most are alcohol and drug users but not all.  For the first time we will offer housing and food to anyone who knocks on our door and the local news radio and TV are going to send people our way.  We don't know what to expect, but we have added more blankets food and medicine to get ready.  We hope this will be a blessing to those who are most needy.  As we get people in, we will post pictures and news.

The men are going to join me tonight to take coffee and sweet bread to those people who are staying at the hospital to be with their children and loved ones who are in the hospital.  We also take it too the hospital workers.  Sally York, Erve York and I have done this for the last two weeks.  Sally and Erve have  gone to Canilla for the weekend.  The men of En El Corazon de Jesus are going with me tonight. 

I  pray the men  will gain the gift and pleasure the Lord gives us when we give to others.  This will put these men on the other side to be giving instead of receiving.  I think it will be a very special evening.

Mario's Wedding

Tonight, Mario Estrada and Aura Morales (Aury) were married in the audittorium of the Utatlan School.  Mario has been with En El Corazan dd Jesus almost since it began.  He now works as second in command and does an excellent job.  It is a pleasure to see him find happiness.  Mario and I have always been very close.  Aura is a teacher at the public school.  The wedding is very similar to one in our country. One of the differences is there were two ceremonies one was legal and the second was the church wedding. The law requires the legal first and that is the picture where they are sitting down.  We had rice, but instead of throwing while they leave, they stood under a type of pinata and when it was opened, a lot of rice fell on them.  The ceremonies were short and the preacher preached which was also short.  We had meal and cake.  About 2-300 people attended and you can see by the picture they got a lot of gifts.  Another difference we all stood in a line to give them their gifts. May God bless this union.

I will post a few pictures also.

Supper at the Center

Wednesday night, the medical team led by Jessica Edquist generously offered to prepare and share supper with the men at the center.  Thanks to a local protest at the Hospital grounds where I live and the team is staying, the ladies could not go to the market in time to purchase and prepare the food. Our new Domino's Pizza in Quiche saved the day. 

We had a great evening and one of the men was able to share with us how the Lord has touched his life and brought him into a renewed relationship with his children.  Thanks to this group for coming to visit us sharing their food and love with us.

A wedding at our house

Today, July 3, 2010 we had a wedding at our house in Quiche.  It was a Mayan or verbal ceremony and only took a few minutes and then everyone waited for the next two hours while the meal was being prepared.  The ceremony only requires one witness to speak for the groom and one for the bride. Victor spoke for Juan Gomez and the brother of Cristina Jolomocox Cajchun spoke for her.  Since the ceremony is not a legally recognized ceremony Victor Tevalan asked the couple to have another ceremony in a church/  It is doubtful they will as most of the Mayan marriages are this way. 


 One of the pictures posted show part of the ceremony as Victor is praying for the couple and they are on their knees.  The brothers part was just a discussion.  The discussion is between two parties representing the two families who are joined together through this marriage.  Juan has no family and that is why Victor represented him.

 A usual Mayan courtship takes three visits by the prospective groom to the brides family. The first one, the prospective groom brings one pickup of food for the grooms family, the second he brings two pickups of prepared food and the third he brings four to five pickups of prepared food to the brides family along with some money (dowry).  As both parties are very poor, this was not done this time.

The new road and first house is going up on our new property.  The first house is made from the bark end of the lumber.  The people here cut the logs into lumber immediately after they are cut down, Hopefully I can get some pictures up.

Dedication of the land

Today was a very special day as we dedicated the land we recently purchased to God.  We anointed corner posts had wonderful praise music and ate the first meal there.  Leslie Fickers brought the food over and prepared the meal and shared her birthday with us.  Victor was overwhelmed as was I.  If we had a philharmonic orchestra it could not have been more special.  Victor told of the beginning over 1 1/2 years ago and said that he could not imagine being where we are today.  It was very special.  I want to praise God and thank everyone who had a hand in bring us this far.  This will be a place where many souls are saved by God. Most of the other pictures are on facebook.

Praise God, today we  closed on a piece of land that in the future will be the new home for our ministry.  It has been a long time coming and I feel like I have looked at every piece of land that has been for sale in this area for the last six months.  The land  is located just a few miles  from Santa Cruz del Quiche, near the      small town of San Pedro.  It is close to the main highway in this area and has good access.  It is 20 cuerdos (likely misspelled) which is about 1/3 of an acre. So we have about seven acres.  It will be used not only for housing, but an area to grow crops.  We will also use as a place to keep the men busy.  This is made possible by the donations of many people and organizations.  Both the Woodlands United Methodist Church and Agape in Action in Porter, Texas have a part in this along with some individuals whom I will be happy to tell who they are with their permission.  The land cost in excess of $25,000.

We plan to have a ceremony to anoint the land and dedicate it to God in the very near future and I will post pictures when this happens.

The story of the purchase is quite a tale.  We were near closing on another piece of land when we found out about this land.  The man who told us he owned it lived in a house nearby and shortly after viewing it, it  was a better location with fewer problems and cheaper.  The man wanted a deposit and I told him  we  could agree as long as he brought the ownership papers to our attorney.  This went on for a week and he came to my house with his family and said he could not give us papers  without some money changing hands.  He implicated that with the papers we could steal the land.  I told him we only wanted a copy, and he must sign papers to sell the land.

The indigenous people are very suspicious, so I was not as suspicious as I should have been.  He continued to make excuses for several days and finally admitted that he did not own the land, but he had an exclusive agreement to buy the land and it was actually larger, but he would keep the extra and assign his rights to us for the extra land.

At this point, we decided we had to talk with the real owner.  When he found our what had happened he was very angry and said the man was a crook.  This kind of language is rarely used by the people here.  He checked us out thoroughly and we checked him out also.  He turns out to be a very successful business man with strong integrity.  Even though he was trying to sell a smaller piece than we were told, he agreed to sell us the agreed land for the agreed price when he found out what it is to be used for.  His brother is our next door neighbor and a strong christian.

We again praise God and know that when we walk with him, he provides what we need, not always what we think we want.

Jose Vicente Reamer

Jose Vicente Reamer

We lost one of our good brothers recently. Vicente went to join our Lord on March 3, 2010.  He was 29 years old.   He was born on April 22, 1980.  He had resided at En El Corazon de Jesus since February 2009.  I met Vincent in February of 2009.  He had come to Guatemala from Phoenix, Arizona eight years earlier. Although born in Guatemala Vicente was adopted by Mr. & Mrs. Vernon Reamer in October 1990.  He had been in an orphanage in Santa Cruz del Quiche for 7 years.  

Vicente could speak English and was my interpreter many times.  The other men at the center called him “Americano”.  When I came in the door of the center, the men would yell out Americano, because they knew I needed help to communicate with Victor.  Vicente would often speak Spanish to me and English to Victor, and I would say ok, Vicente, I am learning, but not there yet.  We had a great deal of fun together.

The reason I met Vicente the first time is he was very sick and I ask our Doctor, Sherwood Pope to see him.  He was one of three men that needed some medical attention.  After Dr. Pope saw him we took him to the local hospital and he was checked in.  He had a very serious case of diabetes, and was near a coma stage when Dr. Pope saw him.  Vincent told us he was not aware he had diabetes and his alcohol addiction made this worse.

Victors father and I talked on one occasion and he told me that Victor had been a troubled youth and addiction had been the major problem.  Vincent had told me that he left Phoenix because he could not stay away from bad influences while he stayed there.  He returned to Guatemala and was here for 7 years before joining En El Corazon de Jesus.  Vicente lived in Antigua and Santa Cruz del Quiche when he came back.  He worked as a translator in Antigua.  

Vicente found Christ while here and became a helper as well as a patient while there.  Unfortunately his health did continue to deteriorate.  He told me his leg pain was almost unbearable at times.  

In addition to En El Corazon de Jesus Vicente had a very good friend who lives in Santa Cruz del Quiche, Benjamin Tipaz.  Vicente will be missed.

Mario Estrada

Mario Estrada is 47 years old.  He first came to En El Corazon de Jesus in  November, 2008.    Mario has added a lot to the center. He is the cook for at least two meals a day.  Mario was born in Santa Cruz del Quiche. Mario’s has a sister who lives in Santa Cruz del Quiche with her husband and two children.  He also has a brother in Guatemala City and a sister in the United states. 

He graduated from high school in Icabal. It is north of Quiche at Quirigua. His parents are not living.   Mario went to the United States in 1984.  He lived  in Whitter, California  for three years and then moved  to Houston.  He lived in Houston from 1987 to 2000.  While in Houston he worked in restaurant, as a waiter and learned how to cook while there.  He changed occupations to auto painting .  His last job was installing and repairing sheetrock. 

Mario got involved in alcohol because when he got paid on Friday he would  drink beer over the weekend.  He did not drink during the week.  In January 2000, Mario was deported and lived in Guatemala City.  He lived three for three years and moved to Quiche. While in Guatemala City he was very depressed over being deported and started dinking Vodka.  He had a very hard time because he was sent back.  He still would like to return today.

Mario worked in a body shop and drove a truck in Guatemala City.  When he returned to Quiche he worked as a social worker in the health center.  His work was getting immunization for children.  He was fired for drinking.  He worked again in a body shop.  They have no equipment in the shops here and it was very difficult for him, which caused to drink more. 

A common friend of Victor Tevalan ( the man who runs the center) and Mario’s named Carlos talked Mario into coming to the center. Carlos brought Mario to the center. Mario decided to leave the center in March 2009 and drive a local bus.  This was a poor choice.  In August Mario came back much in bad condition.   He had been in a fight and seriously hurt his shoulder.  He still needs therapy. 

Mario has met a woman in his church who is 32 yrs old with a young son.  He  hopes to be able to get married soon.  He will need a good job to do so.

Mario would like a job cooking or driving a truck.

He is praying for God to open a door.  

Last week a drug dealer visited Victor

Earlier last week a drug dealer knocked on the door of En El Corazon de Jesus.  He was angry at Victor and told him in a very threatening way that he was  taking away his customers and it was to stop.  He then left.  Two days later he came back and knocked on the door and asked for Victor.  Victor told the man answering the door that he did not need to talk with him. The man told Victor, i think you need to talk with him.  Victor again said I don't want to talk with him, obviously fearful.  The man again said I really think you need to talk with him.  Reluctantly Victor came to the door, and the drug dealer said, I apologize for my actions.  I am a user myself and I know your way is the way. Victor was not able to convince him to join the clinic, but it may still happen.

Mario works in the operating room.

This week we had a doctor from Boston, Richard Goodenough, MD FACS who is chief of vascular surgery at North Shore Medical Center in Boston.  He was to work in the local hospital assisting with surgery, but needed an interpreter as he speaks only a little spanish.  Mario Estrada is one of the senior residents of En El Corazon de Jesus and also does a lot of cooking.  I asked if he could interpret and he agreed to do so.  I asked Mario if he was going to be bothered by seeing a person cut open and he said no.  I will report that Mario did a great job and really looked the part of a doctor in his scrubs.

Next week he is going to repair some sheetrock, so he is really a jack of all trades.

Translation of poem

This poem is written  by Professor Jorge Daniel Morales Herincx.  Who was treated and now serves as a professor in Nabaj.  The translation is close and is line by line.   Of course his poems first letter on each line spells out “En El Corazon de Jesus”  or In  the heart of Jesus, the name of our center in Quiche.

The poem says

It is a ministry for rehabilitation

Born to combat alcohol and drug addiction

To feel or sit in the presence of the Lord

He blesses those in need

Every patient who enters this center

Hears the word of God and is blessed

Acknowledging the message that professes

To convey infinite love

Sapphires of offerings we give you

Let us offer our prayers and receive grace

And never forget that

We wish the best for our ministry

In moments of joy or pain

Together we must remember eternally

The ministry of great blessing

Always bear in mind

By joining all the Heart

Serving us because it gives us salvation

Poem

Look at the poem by one of our graduates that is now a professor in Nabaj, Guatemala

Poem from a success story

The poem in spanish is from a professor in Nabaj, Guatemala who successfully completed the program and  is a strong Christian instructor nowfile:///Users/roysimmons/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Modified/2010/Jan%2017,%202010_2/IMG_4334.JPG

Robert Gay Visits

Robert Gay from St. Louis, Missouri, USA, spent several days at our facility. He was here from Thursday, January 14th to Sunday January 17th.  Bob worked, prayed and studied with all the men who now reside in our home.  We want to thank Bob for sharing God's word and purpose to our men.  To visit the downtrodden and forgotten of our society is certainly fulfilling the "Great Commission".

Bob brings a lot of experience as he works with rehabilitation centers in Honduras.  We hope to visit Bob at his clinic in Honduras in March and we look forward to seeing him here again in April.

Some pictures below.

file:///Users/roysimmons/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Originals/2010/Jan%2017,%202010/IMG_4328.JPG

Time to return to Quiche.  A tiempo regresor a Quiche.  I  look forward to seeing Victor and all the men on Saturday.

Primera

En El Corazon de Jesus is a rehabilitation center for alcohol and drug users who have come to the point where they need help to continue. It is located in Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala. It is run by Victor Tevelan. He formed and started it over a year ago. Victor is a pastor who was a user until 12 years ago. In the first year 225 men were treated. 25 or slightly more than 10% have become believers and are productive members of Quiche. My name is Roy Simmons and another missionary, Duane Fickers in Guatemala have provided a great deal of support for this center this past year. The center has been very successful. We are now looking to locate to a permanent site for the center. We have found a site that will be a great home, and need to raise $35,000 to purchase it.

The new home will provide constant work for the men in the fields at the property. The vegetables and fruit raised will be used for food and the excess sold at the market in town.