Medical Mission and New Family

Rain, blessed refreshing rain! I know those of you on the prairies of Saskatchewan are having a hard time identifying with my pleasure of the rain, but after 7 months of hot and dry, the moisture and cooler tempertures are so welcome here in the tropics!! I hear the farmers are planting rice on the prairies this year instead of wheat--when the fields finally dry. Too much of a good thing, eh? Chin up--the snow will be back in four months; it can't rain forever. When you get totally fed up with the wet stuff, you just remember you have a warm place in the tropics that will welcome you and yours!!

Speaking of blessings, we experienced a wonderful celebration last Sunday. Please welcome your new brother and sister to our family!! Gina has been comtemplating her need to have Jesus wash her clean for several weeks. She and I have been studying together on Friday afternoons for many months. She has been walking with Jesus for a few years, but was never really committed to the relationship. Socorro, my dear friend and sister, invited Gina to be a part of our Wednesday Bible study. Gina quickly realized that she knew very little about God and His Word, so she asked me if we could study individually. We began with Genesis and ran through the seed line of Jesus. Gina is like a sponge. She understands quickly and takes God's Word to heart. As we were studying deeper into the life of Jesus, she realized her separation from God and asked, as the Jews did, "What must I do?" Having already studied the books of Acts, Galatians and a bit of Hebrews on Wednesday nights, she realized that the work of salvation is through the grace of God, but she knew, too, that she must participate with her obedience. She walked in our celebration service on Sunday with a huge smile on her face. "I've decided to make Jesus my Lord and Saviour. I'm fearful of this huge commitment, but I know I must have God in my life." It was a glorious occasion, especially after Ivan had delivered such a beautiful picture of the Shepherd leaving the ninty-nine in search of the beloved lost one! Please pray for Gina as the enemy tries to disilllusion her in her decision.

Along with Gina, Edgar also requested baptism. Edgar and Angles have been with us for years. This is the couple "X" that I asked you to pray about in my last blog. Through this very difficult time in their marriage, Edgar has had a "wake-up call" concerning the most important things in his life: his God and his family. Edgar stated that his "religion" has been one of non-conviction; simply religious acts. He has a long haul ahead of him in his marriage and raising his children in the Lord, considering the great errors he has made in the past. He is leaning on the grace of God to get him through. Please continue to pray for Edgar and his family.

Last week was dedicated to hands-on service to the people in and around the little village of Feliciano. A team of 19 doctors, dentists, nurses, and helpers from Lubbock, Texas served 484 patients during the four day clinic. We were well received by the grateful people in the area. We are known by the people in this village because Miramar (our week-end get-away) is located nearby. Malcolm has employed several from the village as well as bought from the stores and services there. Malcolm comissioned Sandra, one of the "movers and shakers" of the village to arrange the clinic location and advertisement. Sandra did that and more! She fed us. She promoted us. She helped with appointments. She was with us every step of the way (except for the day she had a tooth extracted). Many seeds were planted to any church plant God may move us toward in the future. What a blessing the team was to us and to the kind folks in Feliciano. We look forward to another clinic there in the future.
The experience was "life-shaping" for Logan. The medical staff was gracious to allow Logan to get into the "thick" of it. He began as our helper in the pharmacy, counting pills, (spilling a few..sigh), and translating for the patients. He decided he might like to be a pharmacist-that way he wouldn't have to deal with blood and guts. The next day we couldn't find our little pill counting helper. Word came to us that he was with the dentists helping pull teeth...So much for no blood and guts! Now he's thinking it would be fun to be a doctor or dentist. I guess he'll add those two possibilities right behind 1) astronaut 2)miner. How impressionable are little minds. Thank you, helpers, for broadening his horizons! (A special thanks to Susan for the "tatoos" and music!)


On a family note--we have two gratuades of whom we are extremely proud: Ashley graduated from the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology with her certificate in Continuing Care (Thanks Uncle Dave, Uncle Bill, Auntie Wendy, Kristian, Kresten, Taylor and Whitney for being there to hoop and holler as Ash crossed the stage.), and Logan was graduated to "el cuarto grado el la Escuela Fransisco J. Mujica"(which means he passed to Grade 4 in the Mexican school system) AND he graduated with the fourth highest average among the 14 students in his class--not bad for a kid who's just learned to speak Spanish in the last 18 months. We are also proud of Kresten who, although didn't graduate, did manage to land a cushy, all-benefits-are-yours kind of job in Weyburn. (haha, just bugging you, Kresten) He has had a wonderfully rich experience working with our much respected friend, Lowell Peterson, as well as being able to benefit from the nurturing care of one of my favourite people in the world, Darla Peterson (AND their daughters). How lucky can a guy get?? Thanks to all the folks in the Weyburn church who have welcomed Kresten for the summer.

Bernard has been busy making arrangements for our two weeks back in Saskatchewan the end of August. We look forward to seeing many in our family as we gather to celebrate with Tiffany and Lane in the exchange of their commitments to each other. Hope to see many of you then.

Blessings in your corner of the world,
Alicia for the Krogsgaards