Impacting One Life at a Time

Peter and Donna Pitman (Delp), serving with Commission to Every Nation
Winter 2020
This year has been a strange one to say the least. In March,
everything came to a standstill. We went through lockdowns,
curfews, mandatory masks, hand gel, and temps everywhere.
We had days we couldn’t drive depending on our license
number, lines at the grocery store, majority of the businesses
closed, absolutely no public transportation (which the majority of
Guatemala heavily relies on to get to work). Many lost their jobs.
Millions starving literally to death. Health centers shut down.
Hospitals refusing to see patients who weren’t covid patients. No
access to healthcare or medications. Many losing hope.

That brought clinics, youth group, and kids’ club

to a halt in Palin. Peter and his mother have done ministry in Palin for
25 years. I (Donna) have been doing ministry there since moving to
Guatemala at the beginning of the year in 2017. God was preparing us
for a big transition. For about a month, while everything was locked
down, Peter and I spent a lot of time praying,
seeing what God was calling us to do during
this season. God opened up some mighty big doors! We have
been doing medical clinics in different villages all over
Guatemala! We have needed to get special permissions and
permits, have connections in each place to be able to get our foot
in the door. But, God is amazing and has allowed us to go to
different villages twice a week, seeing between 300-400 patients
or more at times each week! Since April, when we were able to start doing clinics again,
until the end of October, we have seen around 12,000 patients!! That is
absolutely incredible and mind boggling at the
same time!

Thanks to your generosity, not only did 12,000

patients receive medications and treatment, 444
families received food bags to last roughly a week
since April as well! That’s around 3000 people who
received food! Starvation has always been an
issue here. However, it has been WAY worse
since the shutdowns, lockdowns, no public
transportation, families who lived day by day not
being able to provide in any way for their families.
However, you helped to provide
hope to many during this extremely difficult time.

Since the beginning of October, the restrictions

and curfews lifted quite a bit. We still are
required to wear a mask, use hand gel, and get
temps taken. However, people are learning to
be careful, but still continue to live their lives as
this virus isn’t going anywhere in the near
future. As restrictions continue to loosen, we
hope to be able to do more kids and youth
activities in some of the villages we have done clinics in during these last
few months.

The girl on the right is THRIVING! As of a couple years ago, she was
a completely different girl. Into dark, dark things, hanging out with the
wrong crowd, dad an alcoholic, at least one brother in jail. Her family
is one of the families we know in Palin who seriously struggle. But she
faithfully came to youth group and was the only one who would bring
her Bible every week and it had hundreds of post-it notes in her Bible,
clearly showing she's reading it! She expressed how much she
wanted to go to school. But her family couldn’t afford it. We told this
girl that she could go to school because of a generous donor and I
have never seen her smile like that before. Ever. She couldn't stop
smiling, giggling, laughing, and jumping up and down, expressing how
grateful she was for this amazing opportunity to go into 7th grade as an 19 year old. She has since
blossomed! She's smiling, happy, joyful, not afraid to talk to her old friends, who are into drugs and
alcohol, about how amazing our God is, that Jesus came to die for us so that we can be saved,
and that there is more to life!
Since covid hit Guatemala in March, schools have been shut down. School runs from January to
October here. Schools have been doing online classes and submitting homework online through
WhatsApp. She didn’t have access to internet or even have a phone. But she was determined that
that wouldn’t stop her. She figured out how to borrow a friend’s phone to get her assignments,
worked hard on her homework herself, and would submit them through her friend’s phone. And
guess what: she's been getting straight 100% in all her classes! She told us that she didn’t have
any shoes. We also wanted to surprise her with a phone for her birthday in October to make it
easier for her to do her homework. Thanks to some generous donors, she was able to get both the
shoes and a phone! She was blown away! So grateful and thankful. So, thank you for supporting
Carmen in this way. I had sent her a message for her birthday, telling her that we were really proud
of her and she’s so special. She said no one had ever told her that before. It brought tears to my
eyes. Here’s this girl, who had a really rough life, and she doesn’t know what it’s like to be loved
and have people proud of her and her amazing accomplishments.
 In the beginning of October, once restrictions
lifted a little, we held a clinic 10 minutes from the
El Salvador border. We absolutely loved it there!
We saw 251 patients and 60 families received
food bags. We were told that literally no one goes
to that village, so it was a huge blessing to be
able to hold a clinic there. We had one patient
who for 4 years has felt like she can’t breathe or
swallow well and has a really raspy voice. She
said she hasn’t felt well at all, but had no way to get access to healthcare until we came for clinic
that day. It was the first time we were able to allow the kids to play together during clinic. Some of
the mothers from the village said that they were so happy to see the kids laughing and playing
together again, as it had been 7 months since anyone was allowed to do that. Even an elderly man
got in on the fun and played with the parachute! We hope to return again for more clinics and
children’s activities.
Amazing Guatemalan missionaries we know and love
needed some help as their daughter is in her final year of
medical school. Abi was placed in a village for a clinical
and told to manage 9 villages. But here’s the problem: the
clinic didn’t have a single medication or piece of
equipment. She was to care for hundreds and hundreds
of patients with no access to anything. Thanks to many
donors coming together, we were able to buy enough medications and equipment for her to be
able to manage the villages well. We also worked alongside Abi for 3 clinic days, caring for around
600 patients, including one elderly woman who has skin cancer on her face, which has literally
eaten a giant hole in her cheek and nose.
This 9 year old boy was diagnosed with a massive brain tumor last year. His
family had sold their tiny house to pay for his surgery to remove 40% of the
tumor. His family was then told that chemo and radiation weren’t options and
were given pain and seizure medications. They came to the clinic we were
having and asked if he needed another surgery. After consulting with some
doctors in the States, we did another MRI of this child’s brain and spine. Peter
talked with the father and explained that there was nothing more to do than
keep his son comfortable and enjoy the time they had left with him. Definitely
be praying for this boy and his family as that is not an easy prognosis to digest,
especially for your child.

The purple dot (on the map on the next page) is where we live. Red dots are
where we have been traveling to for clinics in remote villages who don't have
access to healthcare. Most have been within a 3 hour driving radius. Green dots
are where we are being invited to to hold clinics. However, we will need to stay
overnight because of the length of the drive (most are 6-12 hours away one way)
and numerous villages in each area, who are in great need. So we
need to spend several days in one area to do clinics in different
villages in the surrounding area. These villages are the ones no one
travels too. Whether it's too far away, too rough of roads to get to the
area, places not many have heard about, etc, these are the villages
we want to reach. These are the places we want to serve in,
providing healthcare to those who literally have 0 access to it, and
sharing the love of God at the same time. Not only do we need to
continue to buy medications galore for these thousands of patients,
but we have traveling expenses as well. Plus, these roads are rough
and our car can't handle many of them. So we are praying that God
will provide a truck for us to own and be able to use for these clinics
especially.
The joy and tears from the patients when they receive
free medical care when they haven't been able to see
a doctor in years, and some have never seen a
doctor, is priceless. It gives them hope that someone
cares enough to come take care of them. Renews
their faith that God does see them and hears their
prayers. These patients are in desperate need and
you can make a difference in their lives, literally
saving lives, by helping to reach these villages and the amazing people who live
there by being partnered with us and praying for these patients. Thank you for your
continued support and prayers! We couldn't do this without you all!
How to Help: ​We are partnered with ​Commission to Every Nation​, which is a highly accredited
organization. Peter and I, with the help of his mother, Estella, run medical clinics and continue working
with children. If you feel led to donate and assist with our living expenses, activities for children,
supporting 8 children in school, and medications and supplies for the patients that we care for, please
donate through this site: ​www.cten.org/donnadelp ​or send a check to the address at the bottom of this
page. Make your check payable to CTEN and include a note, stating it’s for Peter and Donna Pitman.
All donations are tax deductible.​ It’s not too late to send in your tax deductible donation before the end
of the year!​ If you would like to come for a medical trip, help with the children, or assist in some other
way, please feel free to contact us through Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp (011 502 5470 4197), or
email: ​do101499@gmail.com

Prayer requests: ​continued financial support, as well as funds for the children we continue to support,
for a ministry vehicle, for spiritual protection, health, and safety, and for rest in the midst of trials.

Commission to Every Nation *PO Box 291307*

Kerrville, TX 78029-1307* 1-800-872-5404 Donate
online at ​www.cten.org/donnadelp
Website: ​www.1lifeatatime.com