November 2018: "The Georges in Peru"

I (Mary Beth) heaved a sigh of relief when I saw my friend Cinthya come to meet me at the door of the Christian school where I was supposed to give my missions talk Saturday afternoon.  Running a bit late, I hoped I was early enough to get the needed materials onto the tables before the event started in 10 minutes.  She led me past a few parked cars into a gym buzzing with life as people put a last-minute coat of paint on the railings and walls.  There was a pick-up truck in the middle of the space where I expected to see tables and chairs, and people were swarming everywhere

Yesterday, we invited our missionary team to our home for Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was our first time as a couple to host a big dinner and our marriage survived.  It must have looked tenuous for a moment as one missionary even asked us how we dealt with conflict as she watched us work together getting broth out of the turkey bag to make gravy.  (Good Gravy, Batman!)  Actually, we were a good team getting dinner on the table.   We bought an 8.0 kg turkey (they're about $25, if you were wondering) which was enough for the 21 people that were present.  We wou

This summer, Medical Ministries International of Peru bought a property to build a clinic for their physical therapy, optical and dental ministries.  I sit on their board of directors.  Before we can build the clinic, we need to design one that will have room for everything we desire and fit it in a 470 square-meter lot.  On October 10th, I was reading the Christian Medical and Dental Association's E-Pistle newsletter and there was a notice that a semi-retired architect named Ken Gray was offering his services to ministries around the world.  I quickly wrote him and told

Many of you have been praying for the women's retreat that Mary Beth organized and directed yesterday and the day before.  She chose the date because it is a holiday and several women assured her that it wouldn't hurt the turn out.  But a few days before the event, the woman in charge of promoting the event told Mary Beth that there was only one woman signed up!   Yesterday was November 1st, which is the Day of the Dead, a holiday seriously observed by people in latin cultures, so many decided that they wouldn't be able to come to the retreat.   Mary Beth reque