This is the sun setting over Guatemala City taken from El Portal del Angel Restaurant; where we take a lot of our teams. Seeing this picture reminded me of how short life can be, from the rising to the setting of the sun. My brother Frank's life seemed that quick after it was over. He was only 51, but he seemed to have lived it to the fullest with a joke and a smile constantly. His life spoke volumes to many people; this we found out at his funeral last week. Frank played in a gospel group with his wife, Angie, and when not out with them on Sundays and Wednesdays, he was at church. That comforts my heart to know and, he showed great faith in the peace he experienced at his death. I want to express my thanks to all those who prayed for us during this time. There is another void in my life, but heaven seems a little closer now. Keith & I are back in Guatemala now and life will go on as before - the LORD will strengthen our hands and our heart!

Prayer Request

My younger brother, Frank, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. The results from all the tests indicate this mass has spread to his bones, liver and cranium. Frank is 51 years old. He and his wife, Angie, have no children; they live in Kingsport, TN. On July 1st they gave him his first radiation treatment. He is very weak because he cannot eat anything. We appreciate all the prayers and support we have received. Keith and I are in Kpt at this time. If you want to keep up with his progress, you can access the website http://www.caringbridge.org/ and where it says 'enter website name' type frankbaker. Continue to pray for wisdom and peace as we continue this journey. We know God is in control for we have seen His Hand in all that is happening. Pray He may receive glory through it all.

Coming back from Jerez, a scouting trip for Op Go on Monday, we had our 2nd car accident here in Guatemala. It could have been much worse, Keith was able to slide into the side of him (a big truck), instead of plowing into the back, or hitting the concrete ditch on the right side. We felt very blessed that we were not injured. The guy just drove off, you could not tell that his truck had been hit (it was old anyway), our Toyota was drivable, but K had to get out the passenger side. It was just another grand cultural experience for us. Our 1st accident, neither had been our fault, thank goodness, a guy hit the back of our Toyota, damaged his front, but not ours. We really mean it when we say 'thank you for your prayers'; we feel them and we give Him praise for sustaining us while being here. Other things, there is not the space for, just know He is working in all that is happening and we are grateful to you and to Him. Saturday we leave again with another team from Elmore Baptist Association - pray His will be done on earth as it is in heaven; we are so privileged to be a part of that here in Guatemala.

The last team was from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary & they were anything but boring here. We had such a good time with all of them & God truly blessed their efforts they put forth & His protection & provision was mightily evident throughout our stay in Rio Hondo. It is a privilege for us to be a part of the teams that come to Guatemala; God sends us His best.

This is our home church from ISBC in TN. They came to work with us in Operation Go in Jalapa with Pastor Herberto and his church. We had a great time; the Lord really blessed with seed sowing and harvesting. They blessed us with their presence and gifts and it was such an encouragement to us to have family (which is how we think of them) here and work together for His kingdom.

This is our community of about 30 homes - at the far end you can see the gate which has barbed electric wire on it and all around this compound - we live in 'lucky #13' - just behind us is a plant that dehydrates potatoes - we don't hear the street noise or the many car alarms as we used to, but the one thing we are blessed with is barking dogs - they seem to think that is the very reason they are here - that language I have yet to learn.

The last month has been a blur for the 2 of us. Our crate arrived the same day that we moved into our apartment here in Guatemala City. We also had to purchase appliances and that can be a real fiasco when your language is not up to that level of communication yet. Nevertheless and in spite of it all, we are moved in and believe it or not, becoming acclamated to living, breathing and driving in this country. The Lord has been so good to get us through all of this without much problems. I have tried to put a picture or two on with this update, but for some reason the blogsite is not accepting it - maybe later. This is 'Semana Santa' (holy week) for the people here and just about everything is shutting down; sounds like a good excuse for the net also. As soon as we are up and running with it, I will show you our place. It is in a gated community; we were told it was either that or a house with a live-in maid - K was not much for that at all, I kinda liked the idea, kinda. Anyway, the guards and our neighbors seem really nice. K and I are the only North Americans here, with 1 other Colombian and some Koreans and the rest Guatemaltecos! We hope they at least like us as much as we like being here!