let me be singing when the evening comes

End-of-summer life update from the Nelsons in Guatemala

Dear friends,

We have been back in Guatemala now for a little over a week, and are so glad to be settling back into life and work routines. The dog is thrilled to have us home, our bunnies have multiplied yet again (SIGH) and everyone is feeling a little bit taller and smarter as we start a new school year (Cora: 9th, Lucie: 7th, and Hazel 3rd).

Extremely sunny at the Salt Flats in Utah in July

This past weekend Guatemala (mostly) peacefully accomplished a presidential run-off vote, which, if you haven’t been following the news, was a major upset of the oligarchic, corrupt norms. I had a woman in clinic this week who has suffered with gallstones for 3 years— she has type 1 diabetes, and the prospect of surgery and complications is terrifying to her. She doesn’t have enough insulin (or even a glucometer that she can consistently find/afford strips for) and as we talked through options, she got very emotional about the total lack of care in the national healthcare system and the expectation that she will surely suffer infection and complications if she has surgery. She, and so many other people just like her, are hoping against hope that a new administration will bring some real change and investment in the basics of survival and a good life that Guatemalans all long for.

Indigenous Mayan woman selling produce in the market by our house. (taken with permission)

It has been gratifying to be back in a regular clinic schedule. Dra. Layla had a very hard summer— her elderly dad died and all sorts of other family chaos ensued, so she was relieved to have me back to help run the day-to-day work of the clinic. My diabetes patients are struggling along— some doing unexpectedly better and some much worse. I am planning to do a home visit for a patient who recently suffered a stroke in one of the rougher sides of the community next Monday, and Jeff’s eyebrows went up when I told him where I am going… it’s always tricky, thinking through safety. On the one hand, I think I am probably much safer than the people living in the neighborhood. I’m very tall, extremely white, and I stick out in a ridiculous way; the cheapest lives in Guatemala are Guatemalans themselves, so all that conspicuousness keeps me safe. On the other hand, do I look like a moneybag target and is it stupid for me to trudge down through narrow alleys on the edge of a steep bank to visit a patient that I realistically won’t be able to help much? Pray for the good Lord to keep me safe and for wisdom when and where I need it.

The scene just outside of the clinic.

Jeff is getting his counseling practice back together after the time away, and feeling energized as he considers new avenues for office space and connections with different ministry groups. Pray for fruitfulness in his work, for hope and change and God to do his completing, sanctifying work in the people and families he is walking alongside.

Our 10-week home assignment was wonderful, and we are coming back to Guatemala with our proverbial buckets filled up. The theme of the summer was hiking and ice cream— we really outdoorsed it up as we made our way around the US. We saw many dear friends that we’d missed for the last 5 years, lots of late nights talking and laughing, spent time with nieces and nephews that have all grown and turned into new versions of themselves.

June: Hazel and her Philly cousins Graham and Tyler, bowling!

One of the best parts of our time at home was being, in person, with so so many of you who pray for us faithfully, which came through as you asked after certain details of our lives, showed interest in the minutia of our work and seemed to really know our kids. So humbling and encouraging. To that end, here are some things you can keep in mind as you pray for our family and our work in Guatemala:

• Pray for continued peace and a smooth transfer of power for Guatemala over the next several months. Pray for wisdom for our new president Bernardo Arévalo, for upright policy decisions and a heart inclined toward justice and mercy.

• Pray for our girls as they start a new year at school; particularly pray for solid friendships with other kids that understand and can see that the restoration of all things is coming, that we live behind a curtain, and that Jesus is our one true King.

• We are incredibly grateful for a fruitful summer of fundraising, and we are heading into our next 5-year term on solid financial footing. We are still short a few hundred dollars of monthly support to meet our new budget, so you can pray for God to provide through the generosity of his people, as he always does.

• Finally, just pray for productive work that glorifies God, and that Jeff and I will be bright lights on a dark hillside as we work toward restoration and healing in the lives of the people we serve.

Let us know how you are!! We realized as we traveled around how much we have missed in the lives of our friends and we’d love to hear from you when you’re in the mood to write back. We’ll pray for you.

With so much love and gratitude,

Abbie and Jeff and the girls.