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THE CORNERStONE FOUNDATION...the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Mt. 21:42

18384 W. Lake Dr, Saucier, MS 39574Ph./ FAX: 228 328 1579 or (toll free) 877 277 8663

website: www.crstone.org e-mail:kathleen@crstone.org

October 2011

To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his

voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and

leadeth them out. --John 10:3 (KJV)

Like a rabbit in the grass, motionless, wary, and

ready to run, he lies on the gurney in the corner of theEmergency Room, over near the sink. His feet are

bare, callused and dirty. He glances down from time to

time, trying to hide them under the bottom sheet,embarrassed that he has no shoes. His shirt and

beltless pants are of cheap material and a couple of

sizes too small, even for his under-developed and

under-nourished frame. His clothes are dirty and

spattered (in some places soaked-through) with blood,

now stiff and dried a muddy ochre. His right hand is

wrapped tightly in an old rag. This too is soaked

through with old blood, but a trickle of crimson leaks

out from beneath the bandage and drips from his wrist

to collect in a small pool on the linoleum floor. Dried

tears have washed the dust from around his eyes. His

lips are set in pain but they havent allowed a word oreven a sound to escape. His face still as stone, his

eyes tell it all. They hold more fear than pain.

Though I know it already, I stand at the end of the

gurney and ask him his name. Jorge Francisco FloresMejia, he whispers with a voice like parched wheat inthe wind. In Spanish, you know, you dont really say

what is your name? To a child you would askcomo te

llamas? (how do you call yourself?). In a setting like

a hospital, it is a question generally understood to

require the response of your formal, full name. But

that is not what I was looking for. I already had that

information written on the chart that I held in my hand.

So I said, Thats a beautiful name, Jorge Francisco.But what do they call you at home? His black eyes

watered, and he looked away. After a heart beat or two

I barely heard him rasp Paco. So Id hit on the

simple key to his fragile fortress: his real name, whatthey call him at home. For Paco, and for me, this brief

introduction changed the nature of our necessary

conversation. For Paco, instead of The Doctor (thepowerful authority figure and interrogating stranger), I

became someone who knew his name, his real name,

someone somehow connected, albeit distantly, tohome and friends and family. For my part, instead of

the kid with the machete injury in the E.R., just oneof a score of burdensome responsibilities for the day,

JorgeFransiscobecame well Paco--the scared,skinny mountain boy with a very serious hand injury,

hurting and all alone here at Loma de Luz.

With this new relationship tentatively established,

Pacobegan to open up a little. Mind you, he didntautomatically become Chatty Cathy; but, with some

patient questioning, Paco relinquished his story in bits

and pieces. Paco has had 14 hard years on this earth.

He lives in the little hut of his maternal grandmothers--up the mountain, near the village of Planes de Bambu.

His father he never knew. His mother died 4 years

ago. At 14 Paco is the man of the householdof hisgrandmother, his 11 year old sister, and his 6 year old

half brother. In the pre-dawn light Paco had slipped

and fallen while carrying his machete to work down a

mountain trail. The laceration across his palm had cut

through tendons down to the bone and had bled enough

that he thought he was going to die there on the trail.

Although it hurt so much he nearly passed out, hefound that he could slow the bleeding by forcing his

injured right hand into a fist with his left hand. He

walked that way back up to his grandmothers housewhere she tied the bandage on his hand. A neighbor

helped him walk down to the coast road. From therehe caught a ride to the hospital in the back of a passing

farmers pick-up. Now, lying here on the gurney, Pacois afraid--afraid because he knows he cant pay, afraid

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well turn him away. He is afraid of what mighthappen to his grandmother, sister, and brother while he

is away. And, he is particularly afraid that we are

going to do what they did at the Public Health Hospital

in Tela to his Uncle who had injured his hand whenPaco was 8 years old. He is afraid we are going to cut

his hand off.

Now, at Loma de Luz, we see a lot of hand injuries.

We work very hard to repair injured hands. I cannot

remember amputating a hand that had any chance ofrecoveryever. When I was a younger man I mighthave smiled a patronizing smile at Pacos outlandishworry that we might amputate his hand for this injury.

But, for one thing, Pacos fears were not that

outlandish. In developing nations, for the poor, as hadhappened with his Uncle, amputation is far too often

the default response to an extremity injury. But more

than that, with the scars of life, I have learned to

respect another persons fears. What hurts is not thestatistical likelihood of something coming to pass.

Fear cares little for probabilities. The fear is what

hurts. There is nothing funny about the hurt ofanother. So I tell Paco gravely, Dont worry about themoney. Well work something out. OK? And, listen

to me, we are not going to cut off your hand. We are

going to work very hard to put back together whatever

is damaged. Afterwards you are going to have to

work very hard to regain the function. We put it back

together. You work hard. The Lord God can heal your

hand, you know. He knows youre hurt. He knowsyour name. He knows the name they call you at

home.I have a pretty good idea where Paco comes from,

how hard his life is, and what hes facing. I wish Icould fix everything for him, but I cant. So I tell Pacothis last part not because its the extra credit point, but

because it is what I think he most needs to know, what

I think will help him the most to focus on, and becauseit is the best I have to offer. I have no doubt that there

are many gods out there who might call for your

attention. But there is only one God who knows your

name--your real name, the name they call you at home.

Gods blessings,

in Christ,

Jeff McKenney, M. D.

News and Needs

Administrator One need for Loma de Luzwhich

Id like to highlight is the need for an administrator.Were looking for someone with business experienceand whose forte within business is assessing peoplesabilities and having a good eye for grouping and

tasking personnel in adaptive ways for optimizing

productivity and efficiency. Hospital experience is notnecessary but would be helpful. Similarly, Spanish

speaking ability would be very helpful but not initially

mandatory. If you know someone who could

volunteer in this way for a year or more, please contact

us.

Childrens Centre We currently have 31 kids in the

Childrens Home, although it is supposed to max out at24...and there are more on the waiting list. Still,INFA

(child protective services) wants us to take more. For

example, when missionaries Iain and Liz McKenzietravelled to the INFA offices recently to pick up a little

18 month girl named Britani (whodue to abusehadskull fractures, a clavicle fracture, and various long

bone fractures at various ages of healing), INFA

begged them to take another little girl as wella girlnamed Genesis. Genesiss father was murdered 6

months ago, her mother died 4 months ago, and her

grandmother doesnt have 2 lempiras to rub together.

She just couldnt care for her, so she left her withINFA. Liz said yes Genesis is 14 months old andweighs 11 lbs. You can see the incredible need here.

Please pray for provision for another building andmore staff for the

Childrens Centre

.

Genesis

People Needs Here are just a few of our full-timepersonnel needs:

Nurses (We continue to need more.)

CRNA or anesthesiologist

Physical TherapistTeachers for thebilingual schools

Kindergarten and Early Elementary students, as well as

for some of the missionary kids. Spanish proficiency

would be great but is not required for this work.Supplies and Equipment Needs Our supplies

needs range from the sophisticated (such as an arterial

Blood Gas Machine, an OB ultrasound machine, a

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12 lead EKG machine, and a St. Judes Pacer

Programmer to the more mundane (such as stretchers

with working brakes, support knee highs for patients,

and IV pumps). Please take a look at the Needed

Equipment and Supplies lists on our web site(www.crstone.org). This address

(http://www.crstone.org/?p=1307 ) will take you

straight to the lists. Not only will you find thorough

lists of needed medical supplies, but also lists of needs

in many other areasneeded equipment and suppliesrelated to construction and maintenance,

agriculture work, housewares, IT, office supplies,and school-related needs.

Rainwoman Dr. Jeffs short novel, TheRainwoman, is available for sale, and proceeds go

toward the work at Loma de Luz. You might consider

purchasing copies to donate to your local public

library and/or church library. It could also be used in a

Sunday school class, youth group, home school class,

etc. Reading and discussing it would also be good

preparation for people getting ready to make a short-term mission trip to Hospital Loma de Luz or any other

Christian outreach in Latin America. If youreinterested, then contact Kathleen Jones at the

Cornerstone office (kathleen@crstone.org/ 228-223-

1579).

Safety and Health I often forget to ask for prayer for

the safety of the missionaries at Hospital Loma de Luz

and for the community they serve. I sometimes forget

how many unseen angelic battles must be fought (and

have been fought) on their behalf. This is a place

generously supplied with aggressive, venomoussnakes, malaria-armed mosquitos, and microbe-laden

dust. This is a place where an underdeveloped road

system can tolerate but little in terms of mud slides and

flooding (which are common during parts of the year)and with a fragile communication system. It is a place

where a few false steps (or simply bad weather) can

leave you isolated and vulnerable. This is a place too

whose spiritual past (and sometimes present) has

strong ties to indigenous and African occultism. And

this is a place where violent crime has been seriouslyon the rise lately. Once one of the safest countries in

Latin America, Honduras now has a homicide ratevariously calculated between 66 & 154per 100,000

peoplea rate higher than even El Salvadors; I think

few wouldve predicted that, say, 15 years ago. (Thehomicide rate in the US, for comparison, by the way,

is 5 per 100,000.) An increasing presence of organized

crime (some of it drug related, some of it with ties to

terrorist strategem) has transformed this relatively

sleepy and non-political country into a place whereviolent crime is an increasing realityand not just inthe cities. Armed robberies and hostage-taking (for

ransom) are ravaging much of Latin America, and

Honduras is no exception. So please take a minuteto thank God for the many, many times when He has

graciously provided protection. Many of those times,

no doubt, the people involved didnt even realize theywere in danger. And once you are done thanking Him,

please also ask the Lord for continued protection.

Please also pray for good health. Several

missionaries (and Honduran staff) are expecting babies

at this time and would appreciate your prayers. Thereare also several missionaries who have been fighting

tough battles with serious health issues. Pray that

Gods grace would be sufficient and, if He would, thatHe would also heal.

Pray for unity, for favor with officials, for wisdom,and for finances. --SM

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Meet the Missionaries

The Fields FamilyDavid and Marinajo Fields, from Windsor,

Colorado, joined Cornerstone/Loma de Luz in 2008.

They came by way of the Mississippi coast wherethey were helping with relief efforts after Hurricane

Katrina. One Sunday toward the end of their time in

Mississippi, a speaker at the church they attended

talked about Cornerstone Foundation and Loma de

Luz. Her closing was a prayer request: Please praythat God would send us an Information Technology

(IT) missionary. Dave and Marinajo were amazed

and felt they heard Gods call. Dave had seven years

of IT experience and had his own IT business. ByDecember of that same year the Fields began Spanish

classes and serving at Loma de Luz. As the IT

missionary at Loma de Luz, Dave helps maintain the

computer and communications systems for the hospital

as well as advises the missionary families when

technical challenges arise related to home schooling

(e.g. online courses) and stateside communication.

When possible, Dave utilizes his firefighter/EMT

background to help out with emergencies.

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Marinajo is a homeschooling mom who loves to

lead praise and worship. She also helps teach a

biblically-based abstinence program in the schools.

Marinajo, who has a heart for discipleship, has led

several young ladies from a nearby village in a weeklyBible study and has begun teaching Sunday school to

our MK teens. The Fields have two children, Mariah

(2/16/97) and Benjamin (10/05/01).

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A Follow-Up Story to Smile About Almost a year

ago, we told you about a nine day old baby namedMiguel Angel who arrived at the hospital struggling for

breath. Dr. Sharon Shaw determined that Miguel had

life-threatening pneumonia.

After more than

two weeks of

improving, one day

he just quit breathing.

We dont have a

ventilator machine, soour long term

missionaries and

nursing staff, as well

as volunteers from a

visiting team, ran a

manual ventilator in

shifts, hour upon hour,

day upon day.Miguel Angel Fall 2010

We sent out an urgent prayer request email and

placed Miguel in his parents arms, thinking that hewould pass from this life any moment. As he lay in his

earthly fathers arms(and his Heavenly fathers arms),we watched the monitor. He did not die; instead he

breathed. His oxygen levels rose, and he recovered.

We thought you

might like to see

Miguel celebrating

his recent one-year

old birthday. A

group went up in

the mountains to

celebrate his life

and to take himsome gifts

(including a soccer

ball, which is

treasured by all

Honduran kids).

Miguel Angel and his mother Fall 2011

We celebrate the life granted Him and Praise theGiver of life.

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Xiomara: A TestimonyLoma de Luz missionaries John and Penny Alden

(he is a Nurse Practitioner, and she is an RN and is

responsible for staff training) had a piece in their

blogspot recently called Some of Our Shining Stars.The article was a collection of stories about several

Honduran young people whose lives the Lord has

transformed. Id like to share one of them here(paraphrased)Xiomaras story. It is a testimony

which brings twofold joy. First there is the joy ofseeing Xiomaras path in life develop in a way thatmustve brought herjoy. And then there is the second

joythe joy of seeing her become the means bywhich God will bless others. She is a new creature

and His workmanship, created for good works inChrist.

When the Aldens arrived on the field 7 years ago,

they hired a young lady from the community to work

afternoons for them while she was attending morning

high school. The job helped her earn the funds to

finish her education. After graduating from high

school, Xiomara began working as Johns officeassistant at the hospital. Over the years, the Aldens

have had the joy of seeing her born again, as well as

the blessing of seeing her grow up, mature, and marry.

Xiomara (right) with a patient

Last February Xiomara began LPN school on the

weekends in the city (while still working for John at

Loma de Luz most weekdays). And the icing on the

cake is that her goal is to be a Labor and Delivery

Nurse at Hospital Loma de Luz, returning to become

part of this work and to serve her community.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

These are the sorts of testimonies that bring us joy.

Thank you for your part in making that joy possible.

Please keep praying.

And remember with gratitude that we serve the sortof Lord who knows our names (as He does Pacos)

and even has them inscribed on the palms of His

hands (Isaiah 49:16).

--Sally Mahoney for Cornerstone Foundation