Brief funny update

How about this one, Jordan? We mailed your reference letter today... at least, we think we did. We drove into Peña Blanca, we were told that the Post Office is near the police station. We had the letter in an envelope, with no stamp, of course. We went to the police station, a little hole in the wall with very nice but totally non-English speaking policemen inside. We were informed that, yea, this is the police station, and the post office as well, but that they had no idea what to do with the letter. They read the address, the return address, asked me about myself, asked me if the letter was to them (the police), then sent for a friend who knew some English. Well, the friend was a guard at the hardware store, and he came on a police motorcycle, fully armed with a semi-automatic weapon. I explained the situation, and he told me where I could mail the letter via international courier. However, he could not tell me exactly where the store was, so he offered to guide us there. Bottom line: Your reference letter was delivered to the store via armed motorcycle escort!!! What a trip.

We went back to Los Pinos today, had the meal prepared and a Bible story, then cleared the table, and, in front of numerous spellbound little niños, used mosquito clamps to remove staples from our little Marbella. She held very still, and the procedure went well! We did not have the right equipment, but the improvising went well enough. We then went into the classroom, and examined the sister of one of the mothers in the feeding program, who has a large congenital skin lesion on the abdomen that she needs to have removed. After looking at it, I am certain that I can remove it there at the clinic, so we will do this tomorrow. We then went to one of the houses in the village, where a little 15-year-old girl who is pregnant was having some abdominal pains in her 5th month of pregnancy. I examined her belly, took vitals, and things seemed okay, although I could not hear a heartbeat. I will be reexamining her in 4 or 5 days, and we will go to Santa Cruz for an ultrasound if I am still unable to find the heartbeat. In the meantime, she will rest and we will get her some good prenatal vitamins.

We appreciate your prayers very much. There are many issues here that need a lot of prayer. Gracias!