February / March 2025 Newsletter: Strengthened Physical & Spiritual Health

An important part of the health program is our Chronic Patients program, as described by our founding Medical Director, Dr. Michael Polifka:

“The program serves this indigenous population that is isolated by distance, poverty, and lack of education.  They have virtually no other access to the diagnosis and treatment of common, chronic medical problems and hence are subject to all the mostly preventable complications of them. However, once identified, a patient is seen every two months and their medicine is adjusted according to written protocols. They are educated about their illness and given their two month supply of medicine at no cost to them. We started this program with the goal of treating patients with chronic medical problems, with the same expectations there would be for any person in the developed world.  What we lack in technology, we make up with regular follow-up by bright, dedicated nurses who are part of the local culture.”

The chronic conditions that we currently treat are asthma, high blood pressure, epilepsy, diabetes, prostatitis, and depression. 

At the beginning of February, we had two days with these patients. We go to three health posts and the patients come there to receive their medication and health check-up. Currently we have 66 patients, from 15 different villages. It is heartwarming to spend time with them and see their smiles. We know that through this program and God’s grace they are thriving instead of suffering with a treatable chronic disease that otherwise would shorten their lifespan.

 

The following testimony from a 25-year-old patient’s mother is a testament to this impact:

“My daughter used to have many seizures. They would last for several minutes and then she would remain unconscious for two hours. She was in really poor health and these episodes terrified us. We sought medical help, but no one could treat her. When we heard that a US doctor would be visiting the health post for medical outreach, we went to the health post to seek out assistance.

After taking her medical history and evaluating her, the doctor diagnosed her with Epilepsy. He prescribed and gave her the medication needed to try and control the seizures. The goal was to reduce the seizures; the doctor didn’t promise that the medication would prevent her from ever having a seizure again.

I knew this medication was important and that she needed to take it. I also know the healing power of our Lord Jesus Christ. My daughter didn’t start the medication right away. It was important that I fasted and prayed for a week. I asked God to use the medication to stop the seizures. I trusted that He could do a miracle and He did. The medication has continued to work and today my daughter is in stable health and without seizures. I give thanks to God and this ministry for this.”

The medications and care not only bring physical healing, but spiritual as well.  Their relationship with God is strengthened as they receive answered prayers and see how God walks with them and sustains them.

We have a greatly anticipated yearly event in the health program coming up soon! From March.30^th – April.5^th, our three partner US doctors will be in Guatemala for Medical Outreach. There will be pediatric, adult, and dental clinics.

Linda Brierly and ministry partner Laura will be here at that time also. They’ll be part of a bringing a new aspect to Medical Outreach. We’re looking forward to seeing the impact of this.

Together with local pastors, they’ll be praying with patients who come for medical care. This prayer team has a great opportunity to minister to patients and continue pointing them to God. Clearwater Christian Church in British Columbia, Canada have partnered with them in doing a Gospel Outreach activity with children who are waiting to receive care. They will hear the Gospel and be given a Gospel bracelet. We’re so grateful for the church’s support through donated funds and bracelet making. In the April newsletter we look forward to sharing about this outreach to the children, as well as medical outreach as a whole. Your continued partnership through covering medical outreach in prayer is very much needed and appreciated!

Within the Gospel Outreach and Christian Education program, we are eagerly waiting to see how a partner pastor and his church grow from a new Bible study resource. The resource is a booklet made by Ethnos Canada, called “Who is God?”. Bill and Linda have a connection to this group and brought down the Spanish version, “Quien es Dios?”.

One of Ethnos Canada’s focuses (as stated on their website: https://ethnos.ca/about/) is to “Systematically tell the story of the Bible so that the truths of the Old Testament provide the foundation for understanding and responding to the truth of the Gospel. The Bible is powerfully changing lives as the unfolding story of God’s provision of salvation for all the ethnos (nations) continues to be told!”.

This booklet is a simple, but profound tool. There are forty-seven topics. Each one has Bible verses to read, striking comments on the topic, and thought-provoking questions to ponder and discuss together. In Guatemala, the ASOSAP staff have a devotional time every Monday morning and have been going through it. They have benefitted from delving deeper into well-known Bible stories, seeing them come to life in new ways, and discovering / being reminded who God is through each story.

This is where the partner pastor comes into the picture. We presented this booklet to our partner pastors at the Pastoral Couples Conference. One of the pastors leaped at the opportunity to run a Bible study with his church using this resource. So far, Pastor Rigoberto has thirteen church members signed up to attend. The goal is twenty people. As he waits for more people to join in, please pray for him and his church. Especially pray for those who will be attending, that their lives would be powerfully changed as they encounter who God is each time they meet. Also, that they would be well-equipped and empowered to share this with those in their church and community. We’ll be updating you as we hear more from Pastor Rigoberto.

 As we anticipate these happenings, we are reminded what God’s Word says in Philippians 4: 5-7: “…The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. We encourage you to pray with us and remember this in whatever situation you are passing through. Blessings to you and your family.