Therapy in Guatemala

Yes, we are still very active in Haiti. We have not given up HOPE for the people of Haiti and we appreciate everyone's continued prayers for the unrest and continual crisis in the place we call home. We would like to give more updates, but it's very depressing and continues to get worse and worse. Please keep praying for our staff in Haiti, their families, and that they will be safe. We still feel displaced in North Carolina with our hearts in Haiti and our home and dogs and so many friends we consider family.

But for this post, we want to talk about something positive. In the meantime, Linda continues to minister in Guatemala yay!  She lead a mission trip a few weeks ago to Santa Maria de Jesus with a joint medical and mental health training/therapy team. 

 

It was an amazing experience, especially getting back into her specialty which is trauma work and mental health. Linda has been a trainer for Crisis Care Training International for many, many years, but as things got worse and worse in Haiti around 2018, mental health training aspects and doing therapy began to take a back seat. 

Linda personally was really burning out. But just look at some of these amazing photos of the training in Guatemala. It was such an uplifting experience! Previously, it was so hard to live in the middle of crisis nonstop and work in the field of crisis (rape, hostage, shooting) and also be a parent to so many traumatized children. We had much trauma ourselves as well as secondary trauma, but God is good and we are healing. 

In Haiti, God called us to make a transition into physical fitness and gymnastics to assist with long term physical and mental health and also as a way to provide HOPE to the suffering who only saw trauma and unrest all around them. The Lord opened doors and it was truly amazing. We began to see a wide range of ways to serve the needs.

Onto the year 2023, and we are not currently full time in Haiti. Most of our children are now grown. Linda is in a better place mentally to venture back into some mental health trainings again. And what a JOY it has been :) 

We have another team traveling to Guatemala August 19-26, so please contact if you are interested. It will be a joint medical/mental health trip as well. 

We also did medical care with the elderly in a group home and also with our amazing friend Brenna who has an amazing ministry with homebound elderly. 

At the school, we were able to work with 160 children with doing a module on trauma. We also did fluoride treatments for all the students and provided some medical care some of the students as well. What a tremendous blessing to be able to serve in such a way!

Unfortunately, Linda had some pretty significant back issues in Guatemala and ended up being brought to the ER herself and had to get an MRI and was sent to a brain/spine specialist. She was in a TON of physical pain and has since been following up with doctors, PT, and surgeons in the Florida as well as North Carolina. Please pray for healing without surgery!

She is trying to do what she can to avoid a cervical spinal fusion, so please keep us in prayers regarding those details as well as expenses involved in all of that. We appreciate all of you so much and pray for you and your families. God is good, but life is HARD. We pray that all of us will feel presence of the Lord and that we continue to turn to the Lord with confidence and strength knowing that He will meet all of our needs. 

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" ~Joshua 1:9

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