To not Stray from the Path

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6.

 

We have had the very great pleasure to serve the Lord together with Drs. Heather and Nathan Harms, for the last 3 years. They have been such a blessing not just to us but to this community. Last week they announced that they will be returning to the US at the end of May.

From the beginning they said that they would leave when their children reached school age. When Heather began to homeschool kindergarten this year, I was hopeful that they would stay. But the Lord has other plans for them so it is with great sadness that we will say goodbye to them. They have guided us through lots of changes in the hospital, expanding services in so many areas from births – including c-sections – to better care for our chronic patients, to an infertility clinic.



They have led and taught our staff a much higher level of care. We are so grateful to the Lord for sending them here. And we “trust in the Lord” for the next phase…however that may look like! Please pray for them as they transition back to life in the US.

 

 

 

 

 

A Treasure to Behold

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.” Luke 12:6

This little sparrow came into clinic a few weeks ago with her mom and two sisters. Her sister was pretty sick with pneumonia. One of the girls was obviously mentally handicapped as well and Sara (not her real name) was squinting so badly to just find a chair to sit in. We took care of the sick little one and I began to ask the mom about her family situation. Her husband had left her several years ago for another woman in the village. They were all dressed poorly and looked unkept, so I asked her what they had for breakfast that morning. She replied “herbs” which means that they had gone out to gather whatever edible plants they could find. So, we loaded them up with food which the mom very shyly accepted. Later when we left, I saw her unpacking the bag of food in front of our neighbor and excitedly pointing to the clinic.

I told mom about an eye doctor who was scheduled to come the next week, thinking that there was probably no way she would ever come. But she did! And here is little Sara with her new glasses!

Her mom came to the Widow’s meeting this week and while she is technically not a widow, she will learn to make baskets with the rest of them and have a small income and food once a month. Please pray that these girls might know Jesus as their provider!

It has been a busy month with lots of visitors all of whom have blessed us in so many ways. A new general surgeon came who knew Miriam and Prosper in Zimbabwe. He served as a missionary there for many years.  We are hoping that he and is wife will join us again soon! A work team from Chicago came again this year and helped with landscaping and a variety of other projects. And a group from Ohio came with a dentist and optometrist. We hope that they will return as well. It is such a blessing to work beside people whose hearts are so willing to serve the people here!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. May the Lord bless and keep you! 

Leslie Ficker

Happy New Year to you!

May this year bring health, peace and lots of joy in knowing Him more each day!

2024…We are anticipating lots of change this year. Dra. Sandra will be joining us this month. She is an anesthesiologist from Nicaragua who we have known for several years. She is coming with her 4-year-old son, and we are excited to have them here! EVERYONE has been busy preparing and repairing her apartment in preparation of her arrival. Even Joshua has been involved as he fixed up a toy box for Noah and is collecting toys to have waiting for him. Her arrival will mean that we can begin to do more births as she will be available for C-section anesthesia - should we need it. And as we are scheduling more surgical teams, she will be available for that as well. She is not coming as a volunteer, which is a bit different for us, but we are trusting the Lord to provide for her salary!

We will also be restarting the nursing school this year which had been on pause since Covid 19. It is a challenge for us to find qualified teachers who will come out to this rural area. So, would you please pray that the Lord sends us the right personnel? Our desire is that not only would these young people become really excellent nurses, but that they would know and love Jesus.

We ask as well for prayers as we continue to grow and expand services and personnel – both volunteer and paid.

If the Lord had told me 20 years ago what was ahead, I probably would have run the other direction! We are keenly aware of our great need for wisdom from the Lord.

Thank you for taking your time to read this! We appreciate you!

Leslie Ficker

May the LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift his countenance upon you and give you peace. -Numbers 6:23-26


For unto us a Child is born! 

I hope that this Christmas season finds you filled with peace and joy and so much hope for the coming once again, of Jesus our Savior! 

It has been a busy season for us here in Canilla – as it is for everyone! We hosted a surgical team last week – a group of great people who love Jesus and want to serve Him with their talents. Our prayer is that we not only help with surgical needs but that in everything we do, and every word that we speak that Jesus is honored. This team did that so well! Thank you, Prairie Lakes Church!

Our clinics continued during the surgeries…just with less of our staff and more language barriers. In Santa Elena, we had several very sick children. Little Diego (not his real name) came in with his aunt who snuck him out of the house – from an abusive mom, she told me. He was very sick with fever, diarrhea and a cough. His temperature was 104 degrees and he was so dehydrated.  I was worried as I watched him lay listlessly in his aunt’s arms. I felt helpless to help with their situation…we could not get him into the hospital to start him on IV fluids and medications that he so needed. So, we did the best that we could with the medications that we had, and we prayed. I continued to pray through much of the night, knowing that outside of a miracle, this little 16 pound toddler would not live. 

Little ‘Diego’

Over the years, the Lord has been so faithful to answer our prayers, and yet, every time He does, I am surprised. And so, when little Diego came in yesterday with his mama, smiling and healthy, I was amazed once again by the faithfulness of our Lord! He looked great and I knew that this was a little man touched by the love and power of Jesus. I wonder what plans the Lord has for this little life!?

Drs Nathan and Heather left this morning for some much-needed rest and Christmas with their family. Pray for those of us here in Canillá left caring for the patients coming in the next few weeks. We will need lots of wisdom! And as end of the year activities and Christmas celebrations come, would you pray that we all keep Jesus first!

May this Christmas season bring you and your family a little closer to Jesus!

Many blessings and love to you from our family!

Leslie Ficker

From Leslie Ficker

This is my weak attempt once again to blog. I have always found it to be the easiest way to communicate but as I age, I find the technology part so difficult. So, with the help of some younger brains, I will try again.

 

It has been so long, I’m not sure where to start. It seems that in many ways, we are right where we began…trying to follow Jesus’ lead, sometimes veering off the path, sometimes getting it right. The clinics are much the same but with our ability to do lab work and x-ray, and most importantly, the availability of really good physicians, our acuity has definitely grown.

 

Our nurses always make me proud. With Ryan pouring into them each week, they are growing spiritually. I will often find them alone in a room with a patient, praying and talking with them about Jesus. We will re-start the nursing program (after closing temporarily due to Covid) in January 2024. We look forward to having a new group of young people here! And one of the things hindering more growth of the hospital is our lack of additional nursing staff.

The hospital staff

 

The Lord always seems to bring to us those who have so little. Petronila (not her real name) is a woman whom we have known for several years. She was never able to have children, so her husband left her. In this culture, as you age, your children step in to take care of you. So, Petronila has no one to help her. One of our nurses got to know her and we began to supply food for her and medication as she is diabetic and blind. She had a small room in San Andres and Martina – whose crown in heaven will be enormous – began to cook for her.  She was able to maintain herself until she fell and broke her hip. She initially just asked to be left alone so that she could die. But finally, we were able to convince her to go to the hospital (national) where she waited for 6 weeks for her surgery. During her stay there, her clothing was stolen, what little money she had was also stolen.  Once they were ready to release her, we brought here for physical therapy and recuperation. She stayed for a few weeks until she was mobile with her walker – but the problem was still her blindness. She was very determined to return to her room – and her independence so we gave it a shot, but ultimately, it was too much for her to be alone. She is now in a long-term facility. But during her time here, she was loved by our staff and the gospel was opened to her.

Petronila with her hair in a towel after a hot shower.

 

Personally, our family continues to grow with our newest grandson, Moises. He came to Aaron and Katie as the half brother of their littlest one Genesis. He is a bright, very active little boy whose smile will light up the room! Duane and I have 19 grandchildren now and we are so, so blessed to have many of them here!

 

Thanks for reading! May the Lord bless and keep you!

Leslie


Duane and Leslie Ficker first came to Guatemala in 1996. In 1999, they, with their six kids, drove through Mexico to Guatemala with a school bus and a pick-up truck. They founded AIM in 2002, and have lived in Guatemala ever since. Duane is one of AIM's pilots and the general contractor for AIM's various construction projects, while Leslie is a nurse and helps to direct the Medicine division of AIM. Both Duane and Leslie are spiritual mentors of AIM as a whole. They live on the mission base with two of their daughters: Grace and Abi.