Last days

Yesterday was our Good-Bye Lunch at Joy Filled Homes. What a wonderful meal! We ate traditional food, a chicken stew with rice and vegetable and tamales wrapped in leaves, with tortillas of course. Marco and Karina Tullio, a local Pastor and his wife, came with their two children to bless us and send us off. After lunch we ate cake and the kids presented us with a framed photo of the kids and staff at Hogar Los Gozosos (Joy filled Homes). The Tullio family invited us to come visit them in their home.

Today was our last day of service at the orphanage and our final good-byes. Steve moved some trees and shrubs that Maureen wanted moved and the kids and I painted on a mural on the playground wall. There was an already existing scene of a beach and the ocean, but it needed more life so we had a blast! We painted a sun, birds, a sailboat, fish, crabs and a turtle. We added an umbrella, a dog, a ball, and children. The whole beach came alive! When we were finished, as usual, the kids came over to check it out. They loved it!

Then it was time to say good-bye. I don't need to tell you how emotional that was! All the kids gave us hugs and kisses, except Candy; she wouldn't have anything to do with me. That was so hard because Candy was always my favorite, I wanted to bring that smiley little munchkin home with me! Maybe she sensed that we are leaving, I really wanted a hug from her. :( I'm really going to miss those kids and all the amazing nannies that work with them 24/7. Some of them became really close. Andres smiled big for me when I kissed his forehead and I prayed for Leidy one more time. She is such a doll and she always smiled for me when I talked to her, except for when she had been sick recently.

We are stopping by the orphanage briefly on our way out early Saturday morning to drop off the matresses that we had bought for the kids when we got here. The Home was really great and loaned us most of the furniture we needed for our stay, the matresses were the only furniture we had to buy. Turns out they are badly in need of new matresses for some of the kids so we were glad that God could use them to bless the orphanage.

This afternoon we went to visit Marco and Karina Tullio in their home here in Chimaltenango. They live in a 6 story building that they intend to make into an apartment complex. They live on the fourth floor now and would like to complete the other floors so they can rent them out to help support their ministry. Marco Tullio is a full time pastor. In his youth he struggles with drugs and alcohol so his heart is towards the people in Chimaltenango who struggle with drugs and alcohol. He goes out with his wheelbarrow and picks up men that are passed out in the street and brings them back to the church where they bath, clothe and feed them then minister to them until they are ready to go home. They also travel around the country and deliver medical supplies to doctors who help suffering children. Their vision for their ministry is to grow into an international ministry and they have a heart for Africa! They dream of having a ministry center with a hospital, a trades school and a descipleship center where they can send out missionaries into all the world! Steve and I both feel like we share the same vision with the Tullio family. We will continue to pray with them and for them when we are in Canada and maybe we will join them in the future if God confirms that in us.
Please remember to pray for us tomorrow as we go to the city for our embryo transfer. Blessings to you all!

Feliz dia de la Madre

One of the things that both Steve and I enjoy is meeting new people. After church yesterday, our doorbell rang and there were two men from our neighborhood there. They invited us to come to a dinner and get together at 6 o'clock. We showed up fashionably late, but not late enough! It was still another hour before people started showing up. The kids played with their friends that they have met while we've lived here and we began to meet our neighbors as they showed up. It turned out that it was a Mother's Day celebration and the men were cooking the food and serving it too! Probably the only time they ever did such a thing! They made Carne Asala (yummy merinated beef), black beans, salsa, bbq'd onions, baked potato and tortillas. It was neat to see the couples interacting as the men did something so out of their cultural norm. Of course there was deffinitly a language barrier, Steve and I managed to visit and get to know quite a few people. There was a hired singer entertaining everyone while we ate and the music was cranked so we also had to yell in order to have any conversation. It was a riot! After dinner, Steve sat with the older men around a fire and I stayed with a group of ladies who were obviously a very tight group. One old guy got up to dance with his wife and the "President" of our neighborhood told Steve that he had to dance with me. We played along and everyone got a big kick out of that. There was this neat old couple that got up and did a traditional dance that looked really fun(ny); we'll try to show you when we get home....not really. We went home at about 10:30 and the party continued into the night. I woke up at various times durring the night and I could still hear them celebrating Mother's Day until daylight. At 5 a.m. They wrapped it up with a song for all the Mothers, Aunties and Grandmothers at full volume that probably could have been heard a mile away.....except it was right outside our window! Then there were fireworks and everyone went home. I'll have to catch up on some sleep later.
This morning we went to Joy Filled Homes to take part in their Mother's Day celebration. The teachers of their school had decorated the dinning area and put together a really nice program with some songs, games and a special message for mothers done by a local pastor. I picked up the gyst of it, but being in Spanish and since I hardly slept last night, I nearly fell asleep once or twice. After the message, the teacher asked for two volunteers. No one responded so I jumped in and volunteered Magda too! She came up and then we needed partners to feed us something for a race! I figured I could handle some crazy ethnic dish or something spicy. When Denise uncovered the bowls and I saw that they were full of soggy cornflakes, I almost threw up on the spot! I do not eat cereal because it gets soggy and gross. As she aproached us with the bowls, I caught a wiff of the nasty warm milk. EWWW! Again, my stomach twisted and groaned. The thought of one bite sent me through the roof, much less a whole bowl of miserable cereal. I couldn't even attempt it. Magda and her partner had already started and Fernenda agreed to switch. I managed not to gag as I fed small fast spoonfuls of the sludge to Fernanda. She was an eating machine and we won by at least a couple spoonfulls! Horay for Fernanda, I had been ready to forfeit! I may even have nightmares about that race!
The kids were all dressed in their Sunday clothes and looked so cute when they danced for us at the end of the program. What darlings! We stayed for chocolate cake and pop. Cole has the ladies in the kitchen wrapped around his finger and they gave him 3 big pieces of cake! They would have given him more but I pulled the plug on his con.
Before we went home for lunch, Eden and I ironed the new curtains that I sewed for the girls room and Steve hung them. They looked pretty good and Maureen was very happy about them. Sigh. Now to clean house and start packing!

Updates

Praise report on Leidy's condition. She had an MRI on Thursday and the results were really good. What was first diagnosed to be a tumor turned out to be a fluid cyst. It is possible to put in a shunt to drain the fluid and remove the current problem. By now her symptoms have stopped, (pain and vomiting) so the neurosurgeon has decided to hold off surgery unless her symptoms return. Praise God, we are continuing to pray for complete healing for Leidy! She is visibly feeling better and she has her smile back.

On Friday we played soccer at Reheboth Orphanage in Paramos for the final time. It looked like rain when we arrived, but the clouds disapeared and we played soccer for an extra hour. Durring our time here, we really made a strong connection with the kids and the staff. We are glad that Naomi will be working there so she can keep us updated on everyone! Laine can attest to how sweet and cute 3 yr old Wesler is. He knows that I'm going to say, "Qiero un abraso y un beso, por favor," and he'd better come give me a hug and a kiss! There are many boys Zeke and Jalen's ages, Luis, Denis, Fitto and the others, who all love the oppertunity to play soccer with the big kids and adults. They get right in there and practice their skills. The older boys are really great at passing to them and encouraging them to get the ball and give it their best effort. The girls like to play soccer too, but not quite as much as they like to play with Autumn, who loves the extra attention. Tatianna is the same age as Eden and they have become fast friends. There are several older boys at the orphanage, Jose, Edgar and Miguel, who are 18 and getting ready to transition out of the Home in the next year or so. Steve has grown very close to these guys and we are looking into what their options are for the future. The Home will do their best to help them get set up in post secondary schooling and/or career aprenticeships. There are oppertunities here for anyone who is interested in supporting any one of these young men financially to help them to succeed. I will look into these options and bring that information home with us. We have seen great potential in these guys, they really have compassion for others which they demonstrate with the younger children at the orphanage and by volunteering their time on a weekly basis at Hope Haven, a local wheelchair ministry. More info on this when I get it.
Thank you everyone for your prayers; we really need them this week as we wrap up our projects and extend our final blessings to the people whom we have been building relationships with.
Oh, and I am finished the curtains! I am quite proud of them even though I don't love the fabric that I had to use. I know that the girls will love the new curtains in their room, so I look forward to their excited squeals.
Tomorrow is Mother's Day in Canada, so my kids plan to make all the meals tomorrow. In Guatemala, Monday is Mother's Day and we are going to a celebration at Joy Filled Homes. I am happy to have two Mother's Days in a row, it should always be like that! Happy Mother's Days to all you mothers that I know and love!

Little Leidy

Today was one of my favorite days so far at Joy Filled Homes. One of the items that travelled all the way here from Canada was an 8' Trampoline with enclosure that we intended to set up at the orphanage. I wasn't terribly shocked that we were met with a little resistance on the subject. I don't mind a challenge, so I began to advocate the therapeutic and physical benefits of a Trampoline. They have a fairly small yard with a lawn and a swingset; the only exercise they get on a regular basis is walking to the school room and back to the house. Finally last week, Maureen consented to taking the Trampoline and agreed to allow the kids to use it on a regular basis. Today was the big day! We brought it over in the morning while the kids were in school. By the time they were finished class, it was ready! Lila was the first one to try it out, a little timid at first then she began to squeal and bounce higher and faster. Steve helped Gaby on and Eden sat with her to support her while Steve bounced her. Gaby doesn't smile very often, but I have plenty of video to prove that she broke her smile record today! Soon, Helen, Candy and Andrea climbed on. Sometimes they sat while others bounced them, sometimes they stood up and bounced everyone else. Today was the first time I saw the kids playing together like that, helping eachother to stand up and laughing together when they fell over. We had so much fun! The kids were having such a good time that the nannies delayed lunch until everyone had had a turn. Today was the happiest day!
Tomorrow might not be such a happy day. We would really appreciate your prayers for Leidy. She is a 4 year old darling who had Hydrocephalus as an infant which caused severe damage to her brain. She really is a miracle child because Doctors had given her only a few months to live when she was a baby and her symptoms of Hydrocephalus just went away. A couple weeks ago she began to show signs that there were problems in her head. She began to vomit and she had a lot of pain in her head. Thinking that maybe the Hydrocephalus had returned, they brought her in for a CT scan. Instead they found a brain tumor. It may be possible to do surgery to remove the brain tumor, otherwise it just a matter of time. Tomorrow we are taking Leidy and one of her caregivers to a Hospital in Guatemala City to have an MRI which will determine wether or not they will do the surgery. Please pray as the Holy Spirit directs you. This is very hard for the staff at the orphanage, everyone is very attatched to their miracle baby. I will give you an update as soon as we get some answers.

Luke 12:22-28

We have been very blessed to be ambassadors of Christ in Guatemala. We want to extend our gratitude to each of you who have been a part of our ministry here through prayer and financial participation. We feel that our time here has been a scouting trip, like when the Israelites sent the spies into the Promise Land. While we have been here we have met with many different missions groups and heard their hearts, God's heart, for this country. We have seen many needs while we have travelled around the interior of Guatemala and our vision grows ever stronger.
Many of you know that we did not afford to come here by our own means, but recieved the money by God's provision through our church family and our own families and friends. I want to be fairly candid about how we have used those finances as God has directed us here and I assure you that we have never been so dilligent in our prayer and consideration of how we spend money.
We chose to drive to Guatemala because it was going to be cheaper than flying and we felt that having a vehicle here would be more reasonable for our family than relying on public transportation. On our trip down we bought our food at groceries stores on almost every occasion and we stayed at cheap hotels. In fact, the cheapest hotel we stayed at cost only 10 bucks! Not something I would recomend to anyone, but God provided grace.
We left Canada with enough money to get to Guatemala and then some to get most of the way home again. Our expenses back home were covered by tenants that were renting our house. It seemed like a fairly workable budget, but there wasn't any wiggle room or extra for projects. Steve and I felt that God brought us here for a purpose and any money needed to fulfill that purpose was to come out of our budget wether it made financial sense or not. There were funds that were specifically donated to Joy Filled Homes and we gave that money directly to them. They are struggling financialy and could not afford to spend any money on project material so we bought the materials that Steve need to complete some maintenance jobs and small building projects around the Home. At that point we had just enough money left to live off of until the end of our stay.
When we came to Guatemala, it had never crossed our minds to adopt embryos while we were here. We hadn't even wondered if it was possible. Adopting embryos was something that God had put on our hearts a few years ago, but it was something that we were planning to do when we were back in Canada, maybe this summer or next. Well, we did end up wondering if it was possible and God opened up doors for us with confirmation every step of the way. It was not a deciding factor, but probably worth noting that embryo adoption in Guatemala is a fraction of the price that it is in Canada. This brings me back to finances because I have already told you that we did not have any money to pay for it. It was the last door that was shut at that moment. We put out our fleece to see if this was really God's will that he would provide. Just before our next appointment at the clinic when we would need to make a commitment or back out, we got a phone call from Rebekah that there had been money donated and put in our account. When she told me how much it was, we had our final confirmation. It was not the amount of money we needed to get home again. It was exactly what we needed for the adoption. Exactly.
I feel that the purpose of writing this is so that God can be glorified. It is not in our own strength that we opperate, for we are weak but He is strong.

seis? seis?

Another week is soon comming to an end as our departure date seems to be just around the corner (May 15th). I am certainly not counting down the days, we still have lots to do here. I still have to sew curtains for the girls' room at Joy Filled Homes. I have been procrastinating, as sewing isn't my favorite thing, and wishing that I could pass this one off to Sarah or Sheila! I will, however, get to it sometime in the next week or so......
As you may have read on Facebook, we were informed of an outbreak of headlice at our orphanage and so we did the family head checks; all clear, praise God! Laine and I did 7 haircuts at the orphanage to make it easier for the Nannies to comb through the girls' hair to irradicate the lice. As a preventative measure, I also gave my boys mowhawks, something they have been begging me for. As you may know, a good mowhawk requires gel, and the best gel here is called Gorilla snot! It is gooey and yellow, but thankfully it smells like shampoo!
We are still learning Spanish and occasionally have misunderstandings as a result of our inexperience! When we were comming home late from the volcano hike, we were wet, tired and hungry, so we stopped at Burger King. Planning to get woppers for Steve, Laine and I and a 6pack of Burger Shots with a combo for the kids to share, I placed our order with my broken Spanish. When it rang in, it seemed really high and I had to borrow money from Laine to pay for it, but I didn't clue in that something was odd until they started bringing out the food! Instead of one 6pack, I had ordered 6 6packs of burger shot combos! We quickly decided to bring the food to a family that we know of who lived close by. This family has lost both parents and the oldest brother, who is only 24, is supporting his 10 younger siblings. We made a phone-call and headed over to drop off the burgers, fries and pop. The following week, we found out from a friend of theirs that on that evening, the oldest brother was supposed to be bringing home his paycheck and buying food for the family. There had been no paycheck for him that day and no money to buy food for the family. God had used my lousy Spanish and Laine's generousity to provide dinner for them that day!
God is faithful!

Second visit to Hermano Pedro

Laine, Eden and I accompanied Dick Rutgers and a couple of his boys, Fernendo and Esmond, to visit the kids at Hermano Pedro this past Saturday. Hermano Pedro is a Hospital and home for disabled children and adults that is run by the Catholic Church in Antigua. We visited there last week for the first time with Mom, Rebekah and Diane while they were here. In Hermano Pedro, children suffering from malnutrition or other diseases and disabilities recieve life saving treatment, and depending on their family situation, they may return home or stay at the hospital permenantly. It is a very clean facility and the children all recieve good care; they are clean and feed. However, because of the high population of children with health problems, the hospital is so full and under staffed that the children do not recieve even close to enough attention, nor do they get enough physical touch or love and affection.
As a volunteer at Hemano Pedro, there is no shortage of children needing cuddles. The first thing that we saw when we arrived was that the children were all in their cage-like beds. When we began talking to them, they responded imediatly, some of them begging to come out of their beds. We were more than happy to comply! We started bringing them out to the courtyard to play on the mats and the tile floor. Their faces lit up with joy as we talked to them. Some of the kids had some language skills and were able to talk back. Others just made happy noises as we loved all over them!
A lot of the kids had severe handicaps and had stiff limbs and odd facial expressions. At first Eden felt a little hesitant talking to kids that can't respond. I encouraged her to "just be Jesus to them" and she soon got very involved with 11 year old Lionel who had microcephalia and couldn't walk or talk. She held him on the mat and talked to him as he beamed with love. We stayed all afternoon and soon found ourselves helping with the mealtime, feeding the children their bottles. Eden told me later that Lionel had such a sense of humor! He had been laughing away at her jokes.
Laine and I went upstairs to the malnutrition ward where we met 3 year old Jose who was only 11 pounds at 3 years of age. He will go home to his single mother and siblings once he has gained some more weight. There were many other children in there, most of whom Dick had brought in from the rural areas, nearly starving because of their poor family economics. They would all be treated then sent home.
In the malnutrition nursery, we also met two little babies that I will never forget. Little Sindy looked like a newborn but was probably 4 or more months old, judging by her developement. She had a distinct cleft palet (probably caused by her mother's poor nutrition durring pregnancy) and was in hospital recieving care until she was big enough to have surgery to correct the cleft palet. She would need to be 10-16lbs before they would do the surgery. The bassinet next to Sindy contained another little baby that made me cringe to look at. Baby Jose was a few months old already,but he had a severe cleft palet that made him look like a monster. In the middle of his face where his nose and mouth should have been, there was a contorted hole with bits of lip, gum and nose shapes mixed together with one tooth in the middle. His eyes had Downe's Syndrome characteristics and there were lumps on his forehead from cysts under his scalp. I walked past Jose at first, not ready to deal with his pain. After a few minutes, he began to cough. A nurse came over to help him and my heart softened towards him. I asked the nurse if I could hold him and though she seemed surprised, she let me. I took him to the rocking chair beside Laine and Sindy. I held him close and began to talk to him. He looked at me as I began to touch his face and sing to him. I told hime that Jesus loves him and at one point he smiled at me. That is to say that I think it was a smile. There really is no way to say for sure because it was hard to identify which part of the hole in his face was his mouth, but I'm pretty sure that he smiled at me. While I was holding him, a medical team from the US came in to see the babies that would be getting surgery this week. It will take a few surgeries to make Jose's mouth and nose functional for eating properly. They will actually be able to make him more attractive as well. I don't know if Jose has a family to go home to, but if not, he will stay at Hermano Pedro. I hope to see him again so I can tell you how he is doing. Everytime I see him, I will tell him that Jesus loves him.

???

I am really just procrastinating the pile of laundry that I need to wash in the back yard pila! However, I am also excited to tell you all about a very special developement in our lives! If you haven't read my post in January about snowflake babies, now might be a good time to get the background on what I am about to share.
As God expands the capacity of our hearts, He gives us vision for higher the purposes of His kingdom and we begin to follow His leading into new areas. What I mean is, three years ago, I had no idea that there are hundreds of thousands of embryos frozen in "banks" waiting for their fate to be decided. The Bible tells us that God knit us together in our mothers' womb, and that He knew us while we were still in the womb. As Christians we know that from the moment of conception, each little life is precious in the eyes of our God.
So.....durring our time here, we find ourselves led to add to the number of our family by adopting embryos from Guatemala that have previously been frozen after the process of in vitro fertilization then donated by the parents who have finished having children by this method.
You may wonder why we would choose to adopt embryos when we are surrounded by orphans and needy children. Well, first of all, we want to adopt children that by most of society, aren't even recognized as a valuable life, and are legally labelled "Biological material." We feel called to be ambassadors to advocate for their lives and set an example that others may choose to follow. Secondly, as much as our hearts go out to the orphans that we work with in Guatemala, our minisrty to them here is forced to be only temporary because for the time being, Guatemalan Government prohibits international adoption, so we must be satisfied to extend the love of Jesus while we are with them and pray that God will open the doors again for these children to be a part of families that love them.
Steve and I have prayed in earnest about this decision, clearly it is not one to be taken lightly. We have even put out some fleeces of our own and we feel certain that this is the right thing for us to do. Our children have been involved in the discussions as well. Though they don't really understand all the processes, they know that we are going to have one or more babies that will be from Guatemala but are going to be born into our family. It is actually quite simple to explain these things to kids because they are so accepting of the fact that God made each of us and has a purpose for everyone! The only thing that they thought was a little confusing was why we couldn't have a Guatemalan baby AND an Australian baby at the same time!
In preparing my body for pregnancy, I have to have hormone injections every day to control my cycle so that the embryos can be implanted at the right time. They aren't very fun, so I have been getting everyone involved by bullying them into giving me the needles. Laine and Rebekah both overcame their fear of needles to help out!
On May 12, will are adopting 3 embryos and having them implanted into my waiting womb. We will have knowledge of their genetic characteristics, but we won't know who the parents are. They will be 3 day old embryos and statisticly, each of them has a 25-35% chance of succeeding in the implantation. I will be on bedrest for two days then before we begin our journey home. We really appreciate your prayers as we prepare for this new pregnancy and exciting chapter of our lives.
Please also continue to pray for wisdom as we build new and existing relationships here, as the cultural differences are sometimes challenging as are language barriers. As a praise report, we have really learned a lot of Spanish and though we have a long ways to go, we are able to communicate more. Also, we are exploring areas where God may choose to use us in the future here in Guatemala. Thank you all for your support.
Blessings.

Bienvendidos a Guatemala!

Sorry for the gap in my blogging. We had such a wonderful time with our guests this past week! Rebekah and Diane came for a week and my Mom surprised us with her presence as well! We did a bit of touristy things while they were here as well as showing them around some of the local ministries that we have been involved with. We spent several hours at Joy Filled Homes, playing with the kids and holding the babies (both 4 years old!). On one of the days while we were in Antigua, we got a phone call from Dick Rutgers, a local missionary, who was in the area and he invited us to visit Hermano Pedro, a Hospital and Home for many disabled people from infants to adults. It was a very moving experience. Though the Hospital was very clean and the basic needs of all the occupants seemed to be met, all the children were starving for love and attention. There are so many individuals that call Hermano Pedro "Home" and not enough staff or volunteers to regularly spend any time building relationships with the children. Laine and I will be going back to this hospital to hold and feed malnourished babies as soon as we can make the arrangements.
While we had an excuse to be tourists, we drove out to Lake Atitlan and spent an afternoon in Panhachel. It was a lovely day, always so many cultural wonders to see as we travel. We also found our way to Volcan Pacaya and had an adventure to remember! We rode up the trail on horseback, as far as the horses could go, then we hiked another hour in pouring rain up the volcanic rocks until the ground was hot and steaming! We made our way carefully up to the peak of the volcano and roasted marshmallows over molten lava; best marshmallow I ever ate! I have to say that it was probably the most dangerous thing I have ever done with my children, but then how can one have adventure in the abscence of danger! My mother climbed up the volcano too! I hope to be as much fun as she is when I am 60!
We had the oppertunity to bring some food and essentials out to the city dump in Chimaltenango on Saturday with a small local church. We put together care packages with rice, toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo, rehydration packets, shoes and a few other items and handed them out to men, women and children who spend their days in the dump, foraging for valuable items to sell to make a living. The Pastor gave a short message and prayed for many people. Then they formed lines and we gave them each a package, sometimes holding their hands or hugging them to extend the love of Jesus. The women with their babies touched my heart the most; the stuggles that they face raising their babies in that kind of poverty.
It was such an encouragement to have our family with us to share part of this experience with us. We have also really enjoyed all the feedback we recieve from all of you on a regular basis. We really feel your prayers and support as we continue to serve in Guatemala as a part of your body. Blessing to you all.

Jesus loves the little children

It has been a productive week at Joy Filled Homes. I had the oppertunity to spend some one on one time with Andres on Wednesday. He is 4 years old and has only been diagnosed with developemental delays, though he has other complications as well. Andres is such a happy little boy who smiles a lot and loves to be talked to. He captured our hearts right away!
While I was working with Andres, I noticed that he doesn't use his hands together; when he is trying to pick up a toy, he only uses one hand at a time. Also, he pokes at toys rather than grasping them with his fingers. Playing with some of the sensory toys that we brought, I got him using both hands to grab a big, soft nubby ball. It was easy for him to grip, and when I got his right hand working together with his left, he really started to respond to the game. Jalen helped me massage the palms of his hands with different textures and he seemed to make a better connection with his hands! I was able to determine a few areas where Andres can further develope his skills and abilities. Please continue to pray my discernment as I spend time with each of the children.
Maureen will translate for me when we meet with the Nannies to further develope the IEPs for each of the kids. I am looking forward to spending more time with each child.
Thursday morning I dropped Steve off at the orphanage to build a stand for one of the bathroom sinks that was leaking and getting pulled out of the wall by some of the kids pulling themselves up on it. He worked on the project with a couple of guys from the neighborhood who occasionally help out around the Home. At 9:30 he called me at our house to see how soon I could get there. One of the teachers at their school had gone home sick and they were wondering if I could fill in. Laine and I quickly got the kids out the door and we all went to school! I was teaching the older class with 4 students. Daniel is the oldest boy and the only one who has developed language. He does understand a bit of English as well. Gabby doesn't speak much, but she does understand Spanish. Lila has Autistic tendancies and speaks a little and understands Spanish. Nancy has severe dissabilities and doesn't speak at all. Jalen and Zeke also joined us for a very interesting class. Not able to speak a lot of Spanish and having no idea what they are currently working on, I decided to improvise completely. There aren't many educational resources in the classroom either, so I pulled out my special bag. We did some coloring pages with stickers, which was a BIG hit with all the kids. Fernanda, one of the Nannies, came to help out, and Laine was there as well. We had to help the kids peel the stickers off the sheet, but we encouraged interaction as they picked wich sticker they wanted each time and decided where to put it on the page.
Nancy sat in one spot the whole time and made various noises. Aware that she couldn't participate in our activities, but not wanting her to miss out entirely, I pulled out some squishy toys for her to hold. I could not have expected how she would react to them. First of all, her face lit up like a thousand candles and she squealed with excitement. She played with various squishy toys the whole time, shaking them, stretching them out and rubbing them on her face. She was blissfully happy.
I tried out the weighted vest with a couple of the more fidgetty kids, and they all loved it! The vest has pockets holding bean bags, thanks to Sarah, and weighs about 7 pounds. It makes them feel calm and helps kids focus better; Cole used this same vest for years until he outgrew it.
Autumn joined Candy, Helen, Rosemary and Andrea in the other classroom. I could here her repeating letter sounds after the teacher, in Spanish of course. She got right in there, helping the other girls with their coloring and other excercises.
After the coloring pages, Jalen and Zeke helped the kids learn how to play Memory. Of course we gave them lots of hints, and they were so thrilled every time they found a pair. Gabby won; I think it made her day. We made letters out of playdough and colored another picture before it was time for the kids to get ready for lunch.
Just enough time for Steve to finish the sinks and for us to grab a bite to eat before driving out to Paramos for another game of soccer. Inspite of our busy morning at school, Laine and I played soccer as well. Several of the littlest boys were telling Autumn that Steve is their dad and I am their mom. Autumn disagreed at first, but I told her to share. Kinda heartbreaking, but if we can love them while we are here, then that is what we will do!
We were going to head to the market to buy some fruits and vegetables, but we just got an oppertunity to go visit another orphanage with 80+ kids, the biggest one we have seen so far. So I must leave you now so I can make sure that my cup is full so that it can overflow with the everlasting love of God!

The map

Steve and I took a trip into the city today and got lost! Great fun, really. What can you expect when you are in a city of nearly 3 million people without a map! I tried Google maps, but there weren't any driving directions for Guate. Traffic is crazy and there is construction everywhere, so many roads are blocked off. We found ourselves on a beautiful highway that wound down a steep gorge and up the other side. A sign said leaving Guatemala City, so Steve pulled a U-turn on a blind corner and we found a gas station. Every time we have inquired about a road map we have gotten a few laughs, but I tried it one more time. "Nessecito un mapa, por favor." He turned around and pulled out a map from behind the counter and for Q. 7.50, just under a dollar, we finally had a road map of Guatemala and a city map of the capitol city. Now the hard part was figuring out where we were on the map. Steve motioned a local guy over and began the conversation, in Spanish of course. He was talking so fast and poining every which way, it was crazy. Finally he said we should follow him on his motorcycle. It is a good thing too, because there was no way we would have gotten there otherwise! He lead us to the parking garage under the mall and we barely made it in, scraping the box on top of the van on the overhead beam! The parking attendant didn't seem to care either! We gave the man on the moto a tip for his help and made our way to the escalators. Another travelling success!

New Connections

What a great week we have had. Thursday we went to a park in San Lucas with the orphanage from Paramos and spent the day making new friends, practicing our Spanish and making connections with people from many different ministries in Guatemala. Our kids are loving the regular oppertunities to practice speaking in Spanish to their new friends as we swim, hike and play soccer with them. Eden has a friend named Tatianna who speaks a little English, so the both practice their languages. Cole has an amazing gift of communicating through his heart; he has a lot of practice as he struggles with his verbal skills even in Canada! He is as open as ever, cuddling with anyone who will take the time and waltzing into the lives and hearts of everyone he meets.
At the park, some of the missionaries that we were with introduced us to another orphanage that was there. They were from "Rosa's Amor," an orphanage for many children including a lot of young mothers. These 11, 12 and 13 year old girls had become pregnant by the abuse of family members and have been taken into the orphanage where they have given birth to their babies and are being taught how to take care of them. Laine and I were thrilled to volunteer our arms as Baby holders while the mothers got to swim and just be kids for a while. We loved on these sweet little infants for over an hour while they ate and slept in out arms. The mothers splashed around in the pool with everyone else and would occasionally come over to check us out and see if their babies were okay. We are hoping to visit this orphanage soon and are praying for ministry oppertunities there. Pray that the Holy Spirit will prepare the way for us there.
On Friday afternoon, Autumn came down with the chicken pox. She doesn't feel sick at all and only has about 12 spots, but she is still contagious so she had to stay home from church today. She was so dissapointed, but she ended up having a good time with Laine all to herself.
Tomorrow we are back to Joy Filled Homes to tile the bathroom sink. We have completed a few small projects there already and are slowly making our way through the list. I will begin to work with the kids and developing their IEP's this week, so I can use a lot of prayer.
Blessing to you all and thank you for all your prayers.

March 31st

We drove into Guatemala City today to bring Naomi to the airport. We made it there in plenty of time for her flight and managed to avoid getting lost in spite of the confusing inner city highways and lack of clear signage. Have a wonderful time with friends and family, Naomi!

Travelling on the highways in Guatemala is always such a treat! We all marvel at the amazing sights; colorful chicken buses, ancient trucks all full of rust and dents, heavily loaded vehicles with stuff piled precariously high, dozens of people crowded in the back of a truck with children peering over the sides, steep mountainside roads that wind through the canyons, beautiful trees and foilage that are alive with color, huge brick and stone structures that are walled in and gated, leaving much to the imagination, and roadside booths selling everything from handwoven hamocks and clothing to oven fired bricks to local cuisine to produce and plants.

The trip to the city only took up a few hours of the morning, so we decided that it would be a good day to go to the local market in Chimaltenango. Steve and I went and Eden talked us into letting her come to help carry all the heavy bags. Without Naomi to talk to the vendors, Steve and I had to use our Spanish! Luckily, asking about prices and making purchases is something that we have had a fair bit of practice at, so we made out okay. We made a lot of our purchases from some of the same vendors as last week; I am going to enjoy building these relationships while we are here. The farmers are a very hard working group of people.

Yesterday we went to an orphanage in Paramos, about a 20 minute drive away. There are 19 kids at this orphanage, ages 2-18. We brought along some soccer balls and soccer jerseys for everyone! Steve and a couple of the guys that work at the orphanage joined the kids for a vigerous game of soccer. Tomorrow we are joining the staff and the kids from the Paramos orphanage for a picnic at a park in San Lucas. We are all looking forward to spending more time with them. The kids are all so eager to play with us!
Cole is starting to settle in to our new routine. The first week was pretty hard. Everywhere we went was new and there were many overwhelming experiences for him. By the first weekend, he was already getting into the routine at Joy Filled Homes and at church on Sunday he was quite relaxed. We have depended a lot on sensory input (tickles, scratches and squishes) and treats to help him cope with change, but we have already been able to eliminate most of the edible rewards that he needed at first to qualify new situations as positive. I really thank God for helping him adjust to everything. He really loves his cat and likes to spend regular cuddle time with him. He leaves his schedule at home on the fridge when we go out now and is becomming familiar with our regular outings.
Eden and Jalen are really enjoying the oppertunity to play soccer with the children here. Jalen and Zeke are making friends with one of the neighbor boys even though their communication is limited; Thank God the playtime is universal!
Autumn is quite a big hit wherever we go. She is usually very overwhelmed when she first gets mobbed by eager girls! Laine and Eden do a great job of explaining to the girls that she just needs a few minutes to get used to the new faces, then she will be ready to play. She is learning a lot of new Spanish words every day.
My appologies for any spelling errors that you may notice. My spell checking option hasn't been working for me since we got here so don't be too hard on me!

A day at the park

So today was a great day at the park/pool! Because of financial strain, the orphanage cannot afford to hire a vehicle to take them on outings in the community. Having the van here, we are able to accomodate the transportation aspect, making it possible to bring the kids out for some much needed social interaction. Today is Eden's 13th Birthday, Naomi's last day at the Home and with only 4 days until Jalen's Birthday, we have plenty of reasons to have a party! We loaded up the van and brought all the kids and Nannies to a local park to celebrate. We had 26 people in the van! It was actually quite a big park with lots of playground equipment, a large duck pond and two swimming pools, though poorly maintained. We parked by a covered picnic area and chased away all the mangy street dogs. It was so much fun playing in the park with all the kids. We pushed them on the swings and helped them go down the slide. Their little joyful faces were such a beautiful sight! After a while we all suited up and went over to the pool for some swimming. It was fantastic! Cole sure loved the water therapy. He is getting to be a really good swimmer, praise God for that! We don't have to worry about him getting in over his head anymore. After swimming everyone was ready for lunch. Maureen went to pick up the cook and the food! We had hambergers and homemade fries! It was delicious! Steve saw some boys playing soccer with a beat up, half flat ball. He asked them if they would trade him for one of the soccer balls that we brought with us. They were incredulous! Jalen joined in and they played a vigerous game of soccer. We had two piniatas which drew a crowd of local children! Chocolate cake with chocolate, peanut butter, nutella icing (my own secret recipe), mmmmm! After the that we were all pretty tired out! Time to pack eveyone up in the van and head back to the orphanage. A happy day for everyone!

Happy 13th, Eden!

We have been here for a week now and are already feeling more comfortable in our new suroundings. We still have a lot to learn about culture and language, I find that the formalities are the hardest part. For example, if someone askes, " How are you?" You answer, "Bien, y tu?" (good, and you?) for children or if you know them. If you don't know them well, you use the formal "you" which is, "Bien, y usted?" Which makes a big difference here; I get weird looks every time I mess that one up! So far everyone has been very gracious while we are learning.
As I mentioned earlier, Steve is getting good at driving in Guatemala. I have driven a few times in the evening when the traffic is lighter and I think I will attempt a daytime drive soon. The trick is to be aggresive. I don't think you'd ever get anywhere if you wait for a break in traffic. You really have to just get your nose out there and make people let you in! It helps that we are driving a big van because the biggest vehicle has the right of way. "Motos" are everywhere. A moto is anything from a scooter to a dirtbike ridden by youth and even whole families cramed on one bike! There is a large section of parking at the mall designated to motos. It doesn't look very safe to me; they weave in and out of traffic, driving in the middle of the road or on the shoulder, depending on where there is room. I have to admit, though there is obvious danger, I'd like to try it someday.
The night time noise is a little harder to get used to. The street dogs bark all night long and there are often car alarms going off. We haven't experienced any theft yet; Our house, like all Guatemalan houses, has a wall with razor wire around it. Only the poorest shacks aren't walled in with double locking gates. Every door on our house has a locking mechanism so that it is very easy to get locked out. The other night, Laine and I were at Naomi's house and when we got home we found poor Steve waiting on the balcony to get let back in. He had put the cat outside then double locked the back door. After that he had gone out the front door to let the dogs out of their kennel. The front door locked behind him and since he had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing only his towel, he didn't have his keys in his pocket! He climbed up the metal bars on the windows to the top floor to try to wake Jalen up to let him in, but no use; All our kids are deep sleepers. Luckily he had the dog's blanket to keep him warm and we arrived home only 20 minutes later! We all feel pretty safe knowing how hard it would be to break in, I'd say nearly impossible.
Tomorrow is Eden's 13th Birthday! We are taking all the kids from the orphanage along with the Nannies and going to a public pool for a birthday party, complete with piniatas. We will also celebrate Jalen's 8th birthday, it is on April 2nd. This will be a special trip for the kids from the orphanange because they can't afford to hire a driver to take them out except to church, so most of them haven't ever gone to a pool. Steve will have to take several trips in the van to get us all there, but it will be well worth it!
I'd better get some sleep because it will take a lot of energy to keep up with my 5 and the 11 kids from the orphanage at the pool!

Joy Filled Homes

With 4 of us eager to use the internet and only one access stick, it has been tricky to find an oppertunity to skype and blog! Loving the weather down here. It is about 30 degrees durring the day and it cools down to about 15 degrees at night.
Steve learned to drive the Guatemalan way once we crossed the border. Mexico driving was a little crazy too, so he was broken in a bit before we reached the wild roads here! Everyone drives as fast as they can and there are very fewe posted speed signs that no one obeys anyways. The GPS doesn't work in Guatemala and we had no road map except for what was on the bottom of our Mexico map which only included major highways and cities. Once we crossed the border we were kinda depending on posted highway signs and started heading in the direction of Guatemala City, since Chimaltenango is on the way. It wasn't until we were a couple hours down the road that we realized that we were taking the scenic route! From about 5 till 6:30, there is typical rush hour on the highways everywhere. This includes flying along in bumper to bumper traffic at 100km/hr then suddenly hitting the brakes to go over one of the many speed bumps, frequent passing in oncomming traffic so that the cars comming towards you (or you if the passer is comming your way) have to pull nearly off the road to get by! Steve actually passed a line up of buses and semis causing a police truck to drive off the road to let us by and rubbing a bus with his rear view mirror! We actually need to take video of driving through the mountains because you would not otherwise believe the steep roller coaster curves and bends! Very exciting, to say the least. As it was dark and we were driving over a very steep mountain with the van on the verge of overheating, we were all earnestly praying that we were on the right road and would end up in Chimaltenango that night! We finally came into a city that was un marked like all the rest and found a Burger King with a play area! When we looked at the reciept from our woppers, it said Chimaltenango! Praise God! We had finally arrived! After trying the broken pay phone, we asked a man on the street to use his cell phone to call Naomi. We met up with her and she brought us to our house that she had rented for us and set up with beds, couches and basic needs to get us started. What a blessing she has been! Naomi has taken us around and helped us find good grocery stores and make connections that we will need while we are here.
Sunday we went to her church in Antigua where the worship is in Spanish and the service is in both English and Spanish. When the kids got back from children's church, Jalen said, "Mom, I got to play cards with a Spanish kid and we didn't even know what we were saying!" There are a few other missionary families that attend that church as well, none with kids though.
We have been to the orphanage most days this week. The kids are so fantastic! They still fight over us a bit cause we are still new. Over the next couple months I will do my best to share with you how special these beautiful children are! (Cole is sitting beside me whisper singing, "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do!") We sure have our work cut out for us! Yesterday we went through the list of maintenance issues for Steve to address and it is long! He is already at work mowing the lawns today and cutting some dangerous metal wires that were sticking out of their concrete walls so the kids don't injure themselves on them. Over the next couple weeks I will be spending asessing the kids' speach, sensory and educational needs and putting together IEPs ( Individual Education Plans) and therapy suggestions for the staff at the home to review. Please pray for me in this; I feel that the experience that I have had with Cole has given me some insight and education, but this really is a job for a professional. Please pray that God will give me wisdom and insight through the Holy Spirit that I can do this job at levels beyond my natural abilities!
Steve is a huge favorite around the Home! The kids are all hungry for a father figure and are quite happy to latch on to Steve and soak up every ounce of love that he sends their way! It really will be miraculous if he manages to find the time to work on the buildings! There are 11 children at the home ages 3-17, 9 girls and 2 boys. Daniel is about 14 years old and has the highest level of functional developement. He doesn't know yet that we brought him a soccer uniform and brand new soccer cleats! Soccer is his favorite activity, though he doesn't get to play often because he usually has no one to play with. Before we came, we talked to him on skype and he asked for a soccer ball, which we also brought for him. We are hoping to get the oppertunity to take him out of the home occasionally to play soccer with typical kids. You can pray that God will work out the details for that to happen. Daniel tells Steve every day what strong arms Steve has and that he wants to be strong like Steve. He loves to dance with Laine and I and he gave Eden her first kiss! (it was an accident! He meant to kiss her cheek.) Daniel Loves Jesus and has had dreams where he has been taken up into heaven and God has showed him the house that he is building for him there! He is a power prayer and has the kind of faith that moves mountains! We will be sure to get lots of pictures of all of the kids, I just know that you are gonna love them!