Karen Rhea gives a young boy medicine at a Vine clinic.

By Buzz Trexler

RIO DULCE, Guatemala -- Mike and Karen Rhea say they knew God had a mission for their life, even before they knew God.

The Rheas, who live in the Guatemalan village of La Bacadilla, invited Vine International to conduct a medical clinic in early November at the nearby village of La Esmeralda on the Rio Dulce. After the last of two clinics, during which about 600 people were treated, the Rheas took time to tell how they became missionaries at the Rio Dulce.

``It's kind of strange to some people, but God actually started calling us before we were saved,'' said the 49-year-old Mike. ``And we had a clue. We knew that there was something that we were supposed to do, just from the things that happened to us.''

What happened was a freak accident six years ago while their boat, ``Rhea of Hope,'' was in the Panama Canal locks. The ship in front of them failed to cut its engine at the proper time and a surge of water sent a block and tackle crashing into Karen Rhea's head.

While the left side of her face swelled tremendously, there was no blood leakage beneath her skull.

``While I was in the hospital these doctors and nurses kept saying something and I asked the woman next to me, `What are they saying? What are they saying?' She answered, `They're saying it's a miracle.'''

Karen, now 47, also marvels at the names of the first three attendants she recalls treating her: first Gabriel, then Angel, and then Michael.

Just before the canal accident, the Rheas met Brian and Joanne Soland. The Solands' boat was crushed in the same transit and the couple came through the canal two days after Karen's accident.

``My brain was crushed and their boat was crushed,'' Karen said laughing. ``God put us together on the other side of the canal.''

``That was the seed,'' Mike.

``We knew they were something special,'' said Karen. ``They're actually responsible for us being here.''

Eight months later, the Rheas became Christians when they arrived at Calvary Chapel in St. Petersburg, Fla. There they studied missions and took Spanish classes and also served on short-term mission trips to Honduras and Cuba.

Strangely enough, though, it was the prison ministries that first captured their heart.

``We took missions classes at our church,'' Karen said. ``Then we had the opportunity to get involved with prison ministry, and we just absolutely fell in love with prison ministry. It was wonderful.''

``Prison ministry is good,'' Mike said.

``And I never in a million years thought I would be going in to a state prison to do prison ministry. Never,'' Karen said, apparently still astonished. ``We loved it. It was hard to leave it.''

The Rheas experience in prison ministry grew as the team's needs changed.

``First they needed a sound man, then their drummer couldn't go anymore, so I decided to start playing the congas,'' Mike said. ``We were with them for a couple of years doing prison ministry.''

The Rheas receive assistance from their home church in Florida and Mike continues to earn money repairing boats.

``We came as tent makers originally,'' Karen said.

``Yeah, we never asked for a penny,'' Mike said. ``And we still haven't, they've all offered; they want to help.''

Rio Dulce on his mind

Originally from Sacramento, Calif., the Rio Dulce was on Mike's mind before serving God was in his heart.

``Before we were saved, I'd always read about it and wanted to come here, which is kind of irrelevant because we never made it,'' he said. ``We bypassed it and we went up.

``And then Brian and Joanne bought this marina. They wanted to have the marina so they could be here and do ministry and use the marina as income so they didn't have to go back to Washington to work.''

The Solands and Rheas had been in touch since the accident at the Panama Canal, Mike said.

``So, they started e-mailing us, saying, `You know, why don't you guys to come on down here.'''

The Rheas ended up taking a two-week vacation at the Rio Dulce ``just to see what was going on, and what the need was, and what kind of opportunities there were.

``We went home and just started praying about it, talking to our pastors about it, and here we are.''

``So, it was partially Joanne's fault,'' Karen said, laughing. ``They're good seed planters.''

But when the Rheas arrived, the Solands had a surprise for them: After two days in Rio Dulce, the Rheas discovered the Solands would be leaving in a week and a half.

It's a `God thing'

Four years old in the Christian faith, the Rheas found themselves on a steep learning curve as medical missionaries.

Finding the resources of Vine International was another surprise.

Tim Spurrier, a medical missionary from Ohio, has a hospital in the Peten region of Guatemala. Spurrier came to the restaurant at Mario's Marina one day before the Solands headed back to Washington. The Solands did not know Spurrier, but somehow it was revealed during their brief encounter that they were each missionaries.

The Solands visited Spurrier's clinic and then carried on correspondence via e-mail for a while.

``The God thing about this is Brian and Joanne met Tim briefly before they went to Washington,'' Karen said, noting that afterwards she e-mailed the Solands, asking about Spurrier. Joanne replied, saying his card was on the marina bulletin board.

Karen went to the marina to merely retrieve the card, but ended up meeting Spurrier and Vine International's Woody Woodson face to face.

``The first time we ever met Tim, Woody was with him,'' she said. ``They were walking into the store and I was walking out.''

Helped by `cruisers'

During the two November clinics at La Esmeralda, the Rheas and the Vine team were assisted by three ``cruisers'':

* Nurse Lynn Cortez and husband, Hal Schade, both of Port Aransas, Texas, who live on the ``Griffin.''

* Joan O'Toole, of South Africa, who lives on the ``Yacht Kona.''

Cruisers are boaters who wait out the hurricane season at the Rio Dulce.

``On the river, it's a very small community,'' said Karen. ``I met Joan and Lynn and Hal at Mario's Marina and just in conversation I found out that Lynn is a nurse in the United States.''

Karen had just started running a clinic at La Esmeralda in the summer.

``So, I asked her if she would be interested in helping out at the clinic because I had been by myself at the clinic and I really needed help,'' Karen said.

Lynn and Hal helped with the clinic two days a week, Karen said. ``Joan came to me one day when I was at Mario's Marino and she said `Is there something that I can do at the clinic to help you. I'd really, really like to help.' I said, `Of course ...'''

Karen then began a routine of hitting the river in her launch and picking up helpers on the way to the clinic.

``And little by little, as more time goes by, they're softening,'' Karen said. ``They are not believers ...''

Mike said as ``more time goes by, the more time you get to share with them. Anytime you get to share anything, it's a positive open door.''

The Rheas said some cruisers only take from a community and fail to given anything in return.

``But there are some special ones that God uses,'' Karen said. ``And I believe that God uses these opportunities for non-believers to work with believers, and just working side by side is witnessing.''

You can contact Ray of Hope at:

Rayo de Esperanza
P.O. Box 18F
Guatemala City, Guatemala
E-mail: rohguat@yahoo.com