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!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
???
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
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!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
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.
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.
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