www.manoconmano.org
September 2004
Page 3
Valentina Canel Pirir, older sister to Lorenzo,
gave birth to a healthy baby girl in July after several months of treatment,
prayer and rest for a placenta that was separating from the wall of her uterus.
Thank you for praying for this precious family. Valentia gave her life to
Christ with Ester and Pastor Freddy in May.
Ester, Valentina, Pastor Freddy in Yalu
Sara Victoria joins the family
At 8 pm on September 6, a little girl became the 11th child born to a poor
family in San Rafael del El Arado, the village where Hands of Hope has its
clinic. Her aunt came to tell us that the baby was born with a cleft lip and
palate and could not eat. Because she was hungry, she had been crying all
night and into the morning. Could we please help? We told the aunt to bring
the little girl in for us to examine. A healthy, nearly 9 lb girl with a completely
open cleft prevented her from nursing from her mother's breast. After prayer,
discussion, and many of phone calls, it was decided that Susan would offer
to take the baby home for the night, and would take her to a surgeon in the
morning. The family has a 16-year old son who has never been able to have
his cleft palate repaired, a 5-year old nephew with a poorly repaired cleft
lip and a 2-year old son who is in desperate need of heart surgery. Because
of their extreme poverty, this family doesn't have the ability to even pay
for bus fare to get their children to a hospital. Mayan babies traditionally
receive their name when they are 30 days old…because their chances of survival
back to top
are much greater if they survive that long. Naming a child makes bonding
more significant, but also causes greater grief when they die. We believe
that bonding is important to help increase the chances that the baby will
receive the love and care that it needs to survive in this harsh world. As
Susan and Ester drove out of the village with a baby 21 hours old, they decided
to call her Sara Victoria…a woman of great
faith, who will have victory over the challenges in her life. Her parents,
of course, will choose her permanent name. For now her medical records and
our prayers bear this one.
Sara Victoria
After spending the night with the Joneses and drinking over 8 ounces of formula,
she was seen in Antigua, Guatemala by one of the country’s top specialists
in cleft repairs. The Centro Infantil de Estomatologia (Infant Cleft Center)
does nothing but comprehensive care for these special kids. Sara Victoria
will have surgery to repair her lip around November 15, and then when she
is 2 ½ years old, she’ll have her palate repaired. Later, she’ll
have dental care and speech therapy to help provide her with the most normal
life possible.
She is now home with her family, growing, loved, and waiting to be old enough
for the first of many surgeries. We hope to take her older brother and cousin
in for evaluations at her next appointment. It is our hope to help everyone
in her family reach their full potential. Her two year old brother, Dany Bernabe,
needs open heart surgery before Sara’s first surgery. Please pray for
the precious family of Sebastiana and Jose Juan Guamuch. They love the Lord
and have expressed the fact that although they have faced a lot of trials
in recent years, they know that they can trust the Lord. It is a joy for us
to be able to partner with God to help these dear people.
Guatemala-Jones Update
It has been almost five months since the last issue of “In Focus”
was sent out. The following is an update on what Memo (Bill) and Susan have
been doing.
During June, we returned to the States to visit family and speak in several
churches. Following the annual MCM board meeting in Seattle, we returned to
Los Angeles in mid-June. Susan then began working for Kaiser Medical Group
in their dermatology clinic. After some support-raising in our home church,
Del Rey Hills Evangelical Free, and gathering materials for continued ministry,
we returned to Guatemala on July 26.