A little more of the reason: Day 1,048

It's not often that I share my personal life with you, especially not parts that don't apply to the ministry.  However, there is another factor which plays into my decision to not move (or rather another little inconvenience which made it look like God was saying, "Not this, not now.") which I'd like to share with you and have you praying for.  Those of you who are my friends on Facebook already know about this, but I'd like to share it with the rest of you.   Back in March I was diagnosed with two problems which interact with each other resulting in a mess which is quite difficult to untangle; it seems as if neither one can be fixed without the other one being fixed first.  As a result, I--with the help of some friends and doctors--have decided to go on an elimination diet, a fairly strict one.

Elimination diets are pretty unheard of here in Guatemala, and due to the very precise nature of them, they can pretty much only be accomplished in places where there are lots of foreigners because the stores in those areas cater to foreigners and their weird whims.  Moving to Los Encuentros would have made this a little more difficult as it would require figuring out where to buy the stuff on my diet all over again (and turning down lots of invitations--extremely rude--from my excited new neighbors).  Staying where I'm living with all my old neighbors and easy access to Antigua (tourism capitol of Guatemala) is going to make this much easier.  And while in some ways this diet would be easier done in the US, it really wouldn't be.  I already eat a 95% "natural" diet, none of that prepackaged stuff or preservatives.

So, why am I telling you about this?  Well, I'd like your prayers and your recipes. This is the diet which I'll be following with a few other changes.  There is no fruit allowed on my diet, and many of the allowed foods are not accessible in Guatemala (although my odds are higher in Antigua).  I'll be making a pretty exhaustive list of what is allowed later today once I buy my notebook for the diet.  I'll also be starting the diet on Thursday, September 5th, for those of you who want to be with me on day #1.  Thank you in advance.