A letter from Karla Koll in Guatemala
March 27, 2012
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Quetzaltenango. I'm enjoying being back at home, surrounded by happy dogs and cats. My husband, Javier, is also very happy to have me back. I'm feeling great. And now that I've gotten used to Javier's snoring once again, I'm sleeping well. I continue to work half time, doing what I can to support CEDEPCA's work from my home.
I will be starting chemotherapy on Wednesday, March 28, or Thursday, March 29. I've had the last required tests. I've cut my hair short, a very strange feeling after more than 40 years of having long hair. We are now waiting for the needed medicines to be sent from Guatemala City. I don't really know how one gets ready to have poison pumped into your veins, but I am moving forward and feeling strong. I know I am not alone.
The climate here continues to offer surprises. Even though we are still supposedly in the dry season, we've had rain and hail here in recent days. There has even been some local flooding already. The farmers are preparing their fields for planting, though it's very early. The coming of the rains stirs both hope and fear. If the rains are regular and not too abundant, there will be food. If the rains are too strong, there will be destruction once again. CEDEPCA's Disaster Ministry is busy preparing for what might come.
As I approach the beginning of chemotherapy, Holy Week is drawing close, the most important religious celebration here. We are invited to once again walk with Jesus through the last days of his life. I think of how quickly the enthusiastic welcome Jesus received in Jerusalem turned to calls for his death. Jesus suffered betrayal even as he refused to betray God's reign by renouncing the mission for which he had been sent. His faithfulness to God's mission of promoting life in abundance for all led to his death at the hands of state authorities.
Yet death was not the last word. May we look toward the triumph of life over death in the celebration of Christ's resurrection. I am moving forward, believing that life overcomes death. Please continue to walk with me and pray with me.
In the hope of the resurrection,
Karla
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 6
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