IT IS CANCER

Hello, friends!

Yesterday we went to see Yirardi and his family. He looks fine, although a little weak, and his appetite is excellent. Unfortunately, the parents got the bad news when they went to get his stitches off: it is cancer. Now they have an appointment on Thursday at 7:00 am to start chemotherapy. Although they got it all, they want to give him chemotherapy to make sure, I guess. In order to make this appointment, they have to leave here at 3:00 am. The Hacienda has a little clinic here and two doctors on staff. One of the doctors is going with them to this appointment. She probably is concerned and wants to talk to the oncologist doctor to doctor. The boy's parents are very nice, but they are stunned by all of this; therefore, the doctor from here will ask all the right questions and explain the prognosis to them. Please continue to pray for our dear friends. The Lord can continue to work miracles in their lives. John and I are also stunned by the news and the prospect of chemotherapy and all that that entails.

I have not told you about last Saturday's couples' meeting. My Mexican enchiladas were quite a hit! They never had them before. This is what their enchiladas  look like:

We talked about Jesus, the Good Pastor. I am being very direct on pointing out differences between following a religion and following Christ. One of the couples asked us to visit them because they are having problems, so we set a visit for Wednesday night. After the Bible study, we played a game and had dessert, chocolate cake this time. They always have such a good time together! Sunday morning we went to church (both churches) and Sunday night we took one of the couples out to dinner. Our favorite restaurant is closed on Sundays, so we had to go a little farther away. This other place is called "The Golden Shrimp." It is literately on the beach. The tables are on the sand just a few feet from the waves. This place tries to be elegant. They bring cold water to deep your fingers before and after dinner. They bring flowers for the ladies' hair. It is fun, but the best part is the beautiful sunset! We are also good friends with this young couple. They are engaged, but not married. We asked them when they are going to get married, and he gets very nervous just thinking about the wedding. We told them that we would pay for the legal fees if they want to get married.

Monday we stayed home all day and rested. On Tuesday, we went out to our favorite restaurant with an employee of the Hacienda, whom I call "cousin" because her last name is the same as my mother's maiden name. (By the way, the pastor here is also a "cousin.") She is disappointed with her employers and might leave soon. We have a huge problem with our electric bill, and she is trying to help us. This afternoon we are going to the administration office to meet with her and somebody else to try to solve the problem.

Wednesday night we went to see the couple who asked us for a visit. Now, here is the problem: she is 16, still in high school, and he is 26, and they are living together with her family's permission. He was married before, had a child, but now he is divorced, paying child support. You are probably thinking the same thing we thought. no wonder they are having problems! The visit was nothing that we expected, although we have learned not to form too many expectations. They rent a little one-bedroom house. The main problem, as we see it, is that she is still a teen-ager and acts like one. They started attended our meetings last February, and only went to the last two meetings, but they told us that even those two meetings helped them tremendously. They have started to read the Bible together and pray every night. He told us that, at one point in his life, for two years,  he attended an evangelical church  when he lived in the big town 45 minutes away from here, but because of his work schedule at the time, he stopped attending. Now he is in this big mess. They have financial problems because he has to pay child support, and she does not work yet. They also have other issues. We asked them to write down goals and dreams to talk about next time. We will visit them on  Wednesdays until we go back home.

Last night I spoke in church about being a good servant, Luke 12:35-38. The pastor invited the other congregation to come. There is one bus that comes through twice a day, 6:00 am and 7:30 pm. A group came in the bus, that means that they actually pay 50 cents to here me speak! John and the pastor made two trips each afterwards to take everybody home. We had about 40 in attendance, counting children. The pastor was so happy! He leaned over and whispered: "Now, this really looks like a church!"

My sciatica is getting much better through exercise and good drugs that my friend Abel told me to buy (Thank you, Abel!)

That´s all folks! Until next time...from the beach...