Dear friends

Dear friends and family in Christ:
This morning while I was listening to David Jeremiah’s live stream service I had the joy of listening Amazing Grace once more. This time, in the middle of this turmoil of uncertainty, it really meant something different.

“‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home”

Only Grace is the comfort to our souls. We are to be light of the hope that is in us. It is time to do what we do for the love to others, because we care, because we are called to serve, because we are more than conquerors, by the grace of God.

Guatemala is blessed to have a physician as president. He has been taking good care of all the protocols to avoid the spread, and a lot of social measures have been taken to help the most affected by this crisis.  At the beginning, San Pedro was at high risk being one of the villages with greater tourism, but thanks to the early closure of boundaries the initial cases were successfully quarantined and controlled. Recently, the repatriation of the Guatemalans living abroad has brought a new fear and we are now over 200 cases, none by the Atitlan Lake, thanks God!. The government is building 5 temporary hospitals in different cities where they expect to hold all the cases there. We pray that we won’t have to take care of severe cases since we don’t have ventilators in San Pedro.   Again, we will only survive by the grace of God.

Before the crisis, our Community Clinic Frutos de Fe was getting busier by the day and more people were knowing about us and the services we provide.  For now, the clinic is only attending people that call before hand and we do the phone screening for respiratory issues.  It is a blessing to still be able to serve in these times of trouble and to be part of the health team that is available if needed.

As survivors,  we have a new mission: it is inside the doors of our souls taking advantage of the solitude to come to our knees before God.   It is washing our minds to bring every thought captive to obedience.  It is not kissing the sin but keeping it at a distance that pleases God.  It is guarding our tongue behind the mask to create a safer environment. It is letting our loved ones and neighbors know that our prayers in the distance are more powerful than the closeness of our hands.

It is time to be joyful, to sing and to be amazed of His infinite grace.
With love,
Luz Elena