Dear friends and family,
We are currently in Antigua, Guatemala studying Spanish. We just finished our first week and will be here another week. We decided to come when my treatment was canceled due to Holy Week. We have several small problems that hinder us when we speak Spanish. We will be able to study the various problems over the next two weeks thereby strengthening our Spanish. Toby has been really encouraged about the problems he has been able to correct in one week. His sermons will be much better with these problems solved.
We are also using our time here to pray for the ministry and people in the mountain. We must be doing what the Lord would have us do since Satan is really attacking us. Several people are trying to discredit us. There are many lies going around so that people will not listen to us. People do not like it if their sins become known to us so they try to discredit us.
A 16 year old boy recently raped another younger boy. He occasionally attends our church and his mother is very active in the church. The father of the boy who was raped would not take the boy to be examined in the city, so there is no proof that he was raped although several other boys watched it happen. The rapist is proud and cocky. He feels no remorse for his actions. Please pray that Chele would come to know the Lord. A couple of months ago, the grandson of a lady who attends our church killed his uncle (her son) over some fruit. The family is now torn apart. The widow of the man killed now has to move away because she feels this nephew might kill the rest of the family. Please pray that the Lord would bring this family to Him and would heal Philomena's heart. Her heart is grieving over how her family has turned against each other. One of the ladies in our church, has been living a double life. She comes to church and praises the Lord but outside of the church lives a totally different life. She leaves her kids alone in the house from 6 or 8 a.m. until about 8 or 10 p.m. She does not clean the house she lives in or prepare food for her children. As you know, children left by themselves get into trouble. These children have no one to raise them. Being out alone as a female at night culturally suggests that the female is sleeping with someone. This is a very condensed form of the activities of this woman.
The church is disciplining her of the next 3 months. Hopefully she will be willing to change. Please pray for us, the ministers, and this family. This woman is also trying to destroy our reputation. These are just a few of the things that are going on in the mountain. We keep fighting. We are standing firm on God's principles knowing he will protect us.The house situation has not changed too much. When we finally received the paper work we needed two weeks ago all the lawyers were on vacation. We are hoping when we return that we can find a lawyer to work this through. Don Roberto gave us paperwork that should the agreement to what he was buying but has not given us the title. If we do not have anything definite towards buying the house by June first we will drop it. Please pray that the Lord would either definitely open or close the doors for us in buying this house. Toby has been traveling throughout the mountains building relationships. One of the main reasons is to find where there are churches and ministers. The second reason is to build relationships in places where he may want to start or supplement a church that does not have a minister. Third he has been planning where our groups will go this summer. Toby has been very encouraged by the response he has received.
Toby has decided on his goals and plans for the next month. He will be very busy for the first week when we arrive home working long hours. On Sunday he will be talking to the two ministers at the church to touch base and see how things are going. He will then set up a time with his discipleship group to start again. He will ask Martin to work for him for the next two months as a foreman. He will be in charge of building two bathrooms for a group that will be staying up in La Union while they are here. Monday he will buy all the supplies they need and take them up. What normally would take a couple of days here will take a couple of weeks most likely there. Toby is starting early so that everything will be ready for the groups when they arrive. This will also serve as a thank you to the people who loan us their house and feed us when we do the rural clinic there. The facilities will belong to the village then. Tuesday is the rural clinic in La Union. He plans to visit once a week in the various villages we will be working with when the groups come. There are 10 villages that we will be working with in this endeavor. Some are up to 4 hours away from our house. He plans to start four new Bible studies in addition to the one he already started. One day he will spend visiting the church people. Another day or two he will spend preparing for his sermons and Bible studies.
I will continue to work at the clinic on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. We are no longer doing vaccinations every other month due to new vaccinations and requirements. We will still visit La Union every month. We are cutting down the clinic work for many reasons. With one vehicle my ministry takes away from Toby's. I have to stay below a certain number of days working so I don't have to meet certain labor laws which laws can cause major problems. Third this leaves me more open to being the helpmate I need to be to Toby. I was working 12 hours a day or more a day. Now I am able to do so much more helping his ministry grow. I tell people I am his personal secretary which is what I basically do when not involved in clinic work. Now my work days can be a typically 8 hour days with week ends off.
While we are in Antigua, Guatemala I have access to e-mail daily. If you would like to write me here I have more time and can answer your letters immediately instead of a week later.
God bless,
Toby and Amy Hill