Guatemala Update

Fresh off of a month of Spanish Immersion language school
in Antigua, Guatemala, I've moved down the road to
Guatemala City, and I'm anxious to see what the next month
will bring. I'm staying with Tom and Kerry Jones, who are
originally from Liberty Church in Tulsa. They've been here
three years working with Shalom Church, which is a church
reaching out to people in some of the poorest parts of
Guatemala City. On Sunday I went to church for the first
time here, and I got to meet many of the people I had been
hearing about for the past few months, such as Pastor
Alvaro and Kenneth Sese. I received a warm welcome from
both of them, and they, along with Tom Jones, have helped
me to feel very comfortable here after only a short time.

Shalom Church also has an outreach to single moms and
families that has developed into a ministry called Manos de
Amor, or Hands of Love. They have a medical clinic, dental
clinic, and pharmacy that provide services to the poor of
Guatemala targeting mothers and children. I'll be working
there, and also with some of the kids at the church (which
also has a school) during some of the afternoons. I can't
wait to see the work that God will do over the next month.
My only fear is that I could be more trouble than help.
I've learned quite a bit of Spanish over the last month,
but I'm by no means fluent. I can get around pretty well
but I just don't want to hold anyone back. For those of you
that have been looking for specific things to pray for,
this will be the first of many requests that I'm sure I'll
have in the next month.

For the past week, I've been working at Manos de Amor, the
clinic that has sprouted off from Shalom Church. In fact,
Paster Alvaro's office is at Manos de Amor - that's how
closely affiliated these organizations are. I've been
assisting with eye exams, helping with the initial test and
then doing random tasks and filling various roles within
the office. There are three men who are doing the eye
exams, and I'm mostly working with Mario, the director of
the clinic. We've been seeing about 100 patients each day -
and while some of the day is spent doing other
administrative tasks, the majority of the eight hour work
day is spent doing exams.

It's been quite challenging to adjust to some of my new
tasks, as some of the men are difficult to understand, and
I can only perform a limited set of tasks. I don't
particularly like feeling like my abilities are limited,
and it's tough to feel helpless at times, but sometimes
they have to walk me through things, mostly just because I
don't understand everything they say. Needless to say this
has been a hard adjustment for me (this should come as no
surprise to those who know me well), but it's getting
better every day. Each day I've felt more comfortable in my
surroundings, and I'm able to do a little more. All of the
people I've met have been quite receptive and very
friendly, so it's been encouraging amidst some of the
frustrations. Pastor Alvaro even said when he met me that
his biggest goal for me in the next month is that God speak
to my heart. Those were some of the most comforting words
I've heard in my 4+ weeks in Guatemala, and while it's a
tall task, I'm trying to shift my focus to listening to
God's instructions while I'm here.

I have many more stories available on my website at
ryanhuey.com, including many from my month spent in
Antigua. Thanks so much to those who have supported,
prayed, and emailed me over the past few weeks and I look
forward to writing and sharing with you again soon -
Ryan