Little Andrea

This morning, we received this note from Marcy, one of the nurses who makes regular trips to El Salvador:

If you have ever been to El Salvador with me, then you might have met little Andrea, who is 5 years old. Andrea was born with multiple congenital heart defects and due to lack of services and funds, the problem was not fixed when she was younger. For the last 9 months I have been working to find help for her. Last year she had some basic test run and one organization was interested in helping her, but they felt she was not a good canidate, due to her condition being too progressed. Well another organization kind of fell into my lap and they are going to evaluate Andrea.

A team of American doctors will be in El Salvador next week and they are going to evaluate Andrea further (the evaluation she really needs) to see if they can help her . She will undergo a cardiac cathiterization. Please be praying for her that her condition is not too progressed and that she might be a candidate for corrective surgery. As it is now, her life will be very short. Please pray for God's mercy on her that she might get to spend a long, healthy life here with her family, which loves her very much.

Andrea is just precious and I know God will do what is in her best interest.

How Great Thou Art!

This is a picture taken inside Gabriel and Erika's home. Although they live in a very poorly constructed house and make very little money, this is the view they get to see every morning. While I'm in La Palma, the words from "How Great Thou Art" often pop into my head. The language in that song is so beautifully poetic and descriptive. For example, I can't help but think of the phrase "lofty mountain grandeur" when I see the beautiful silhouettes of the mountains in this picture. I am constantly filled with wonder of the beauty of His creations!

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

All aboard!

This is a picture I snapped of my dad as the luggage was being loaded onto the bus at the San Salvador airport. This was not long after his knee arthroscopy so he was not able to help load the luggage. As we got on board, I asked him to pose as if he was the driver so I could snap a picture. He obliged, and I think had a little fun sitting in the driver's seat. Many of the buses in El Salvador, like this one, are old school buses from the United States. Driving in El Salvador isn't easy, and driving a bus there takes far stronger nerves than I have! I feel quite sure my dad wouldn't ever really want to attempt it, either, but pretending isn't too bad.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Thursday night update...

Don't forget you can go to http://ralphsurgery.blogspot.com/ for the latest updates on how Ralph's surgery went today. The short story is that it went well. :)

I'm putting a picture of my dad here on his most recent trip to La Palma last September. This is a man at the airport who sells lottery tickets for a living. He remembers my dad every time and loves to visit with him and practice his English. We've given him a Bible and literature to read and keep hoping that one day he will be open to study the Bible with us. Till then, my dad will search him out and visit with him when we arrive in San Salvador.

Thank you for praying for my dad today and in the days leading up to his surgery. Please continue to pray for his quick recovery so that he can return to his normal routine. He is hopeful to make a return trip to La Palma in the next few months.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Marcy Long has been a frequent missionary to La Palma and will be there Feb 7-21 for the 2009 medical mission. Her daughter, Ella, had eye surgery this morning and did very well. We are thankful for that.

I have put my thoughts and situation on a blog that will be updated each day, or more often when needed, regarding my surgery and recovery. My daughter will make the posts after tomorrow for both this La Palma blog and mine, which is: http://ralphsurgery.blogspot.com/ We hope this is not needed very long.
God bless you, Ralph

The old man at the feed store. This guy is trying to stay out of sight of the camera. He is not busy at the moment, but we often see him carrying hundred pound feed bags from a truck to the store and from the store to customer vehicles. Once he climbed the ladder on the back of a bus to put bags of feed up there. He may be old, but he is a hard worker.

The February La Palma trip is rapidly approaching. Teams will travel to La Palma on Feb 7 and 14, with some returning on the 14th and the remainder returning on the 21st.

We request your prayers for two frequent La Palma missionaries who will miss this trip:

Dea Furgason faces surgery to remove an ovarian tumor. Ralph McClurg will have surgery this week to remove a kidney which contains a tumor.

Reina hosted a celebration dinner after the school graduation ceremony. She is a gracious hostess and a great cook!

One of the benevolence projects completed was to install electric lighting in the home of this family. The two older children attend La Palma Christian School.

Another young man gives a hug for the gift he received.

Can you tell that this is Randy's first trip by the way he hangs on to the bar and the concerned look on his face? They just don't drive down there like they do here!

The children are very appreciative of the gifts they receive. Morris got down on his knees to receive this hug of thanks.

One of the sponsored children provides some informal entertainment prior to the program! Use what you have!

If you have been to La Palma, you will remember this little guy. Adoni has been able to grow up in a Christian atmosphere and attend the La Palma Christian School because one day a long time ago some men were willing to shovel sand (long story behind that!). He has grown physically and spiritually and we pray that some day he will be a Gospel preacher. He is intelligent and energetic, and perhaps mischievous. We all love him. Here he receives a gift from his sponsors--Mark and Twyla Robbins.

The trip down and back is tiring because of early and long hours. It is especially tiring for the guy who does the logistics work and keeps the data. Here Doug rests comfortably on the bus trip up the hill to La Palma. He is blessed to be able to sleep in almost any position and almost any time.

What does it take to feed an estimated 200 young people who come from several congregations to participate in some preaching and Christian activity? Lots and lots of work and cooperation and planning.

The team told the mayor of our plans to have a booth at the Tulsa workshop and asked for a banner. He really provided a big one!

Donnie holds a sponsored child, Andrea. She has grown significantly since being added to the program, and the program helped her physically with surgery and glasses for her crossed eyes.

Nurse Dea gets a hug from a sponsored child and her mother. Sponsored children benefit from the programs in many ways: they get healthier from the food and meds, they become more confident in themselves as they are shown love and respect, and they learn that Jesus loves them.

Even missionaries have to take a break and eat. This restaurant serves good pizza and great baleadas.

It is a big deal to graduate from kindergarten when so many don't. Besides that, they just look cute!

"Rolling in the dough" can have multiple meanings. Here a man rolls out tortillas, or it could turn into a pizza!

More of the crowd at the City park listening to the Gospel message.

One view of the crowd that gathered in the city park to hear Leo preach the gospel. It was cold and windy, but still lots of people came.

Trinidad and Morris pose with Claudia at the top of her almost-finished ramp. Her trips to town will be more frequent now, and they will be much easier for her mother and father.

As Luis finishes one of the pours, you can see the awesome amount of digging, framing, headwall construction, and filling that had to be done to build the switchback ramp. Remember, it was all hand work--the closest thing to a machine was a D handled shovel.

Mixers are not gas or electric powered - they are man powered. Here Luis, Carlos, and Trinidad mix mortar for the block laying process.

The 'bull seems to be saying "would you like fries with that order".

Luis, Carlos (Claudia's brother), Randy, and Trinidad (Claudia's dad) all worked hard to help Morris build the ramp for Claudia's wheelchair.

Happy New Year!

We will have many opportunities to help in La Palma this year. Let's all pray for God's richest blessings on the church and school there.