Until next time.....

We tonight we said our goodbyes to our friends at Fundacion Salvacion.  I already miss them and cannot wait for out next visit to see them. 

An update on the last couple of days....
Yesterday we made breakfast for the children...I had scrambled egg duty.  I have never looked at scrambled eggs the same after my first trip here when we made scrambled eggs for the kids and the eggs turned green from the aluminum in the pan......gives new meaning to the Dr. Suess book Green Eggs and Ham!  Yesterday however they remained yellow and we much liked by the children along with pancakes and fruit!  Later that morning Rob, Mike and Mario took the older boys to the hotel to make spagetti and meatballs for all the boys at the orphanage.  They had a lot of fun and Rob proved that even though he is the old man he can still hold his own and won the military style push up contest!  We also celebrated Guatemalan Independence Day with a program from the children and a sample of some Guatemalan foods.  Much to our surprise there really wasn't firework activity!  Originally we were planning on having dinner at Sandra's house (she runs the orphanage) however her mother in law is not doing well health wise and had emergency surgery yesterday.  The doctors are not giving her much more time to live. So we ask that you please keep them in your prayers.

Today I went to the market shopping with Willow, Lori and Jaunita along with Juan Angel and Mario (our driver).  It was SOOOOO busy.....you could definitely tell it was closed for the holiday yesterday!  We found some of what we were looking for, sheets for the kids beds and a few new pots for the boys kitchen and the baby room.   Then Rob, Juan Angel and I went with Willow and Lori to the local Mayan Ruins while Mike and Mario took a few of the older boys out for lunch and shopping for new shoes.

We all met back together after lunch and enjoyed the few reamaining hours left with the children.  They then blessed us with a small program, gifts and a dinner of tamales.  Afterwords, we played with the kids and I had the "priviledge" of plucking chickens with the girls.....this is definitely NOT my thing!  It at least made for some good laughs!

Goodbyes are never easy but I know that this goodbye is not forever.  Lord willing I will return and continue to watch the children that I hold close to my heart grow up to be wonderful adults.  God Bless each and every one of them.  


  

Still going...and going...

   Well Wednesday has come and gone, and yet another busy day has us about ready for bed. We arrived this morning and started working on the separating wall between the younger kids and older boys. Our intent was to do some touch up, but once we started painting we only found ourselves pulling more of the old off than what we were touching up. After some discussion with Sandra the decision was made to hire someone to clean the wall properly and then have a couple of the older boys, who are really artistic, repaint the wall.
    With Mike having some running to do, we decided we would walk back to the hotel for lunch. What a neat experience that was! After a small break, the afternoon was spent in a small bible story for the kids with Lori and Willow while Mike spoke to the older kids. We grilled the kids hot dogs tonight for supper and followed that up with ice cream and the movie UP while outside the thunder crashed and lightning flashed.
    It's hard to believe that we only have a couple of days left, and of course the early morning tradition of breakfast is in the morning! So goodbye for now as the 4:30am wake-up call awaits. Please continue to pray for the kids and the orphanage as they face things day to day.

Yup...we're still here...

Here it is about 10:30 and we are just now updating the blog!  It has been a busy last couple of days....

We made it to Huehue yesterday about 1:00 pm (Michigan) time.   The mountainous drive went quite well....probably the smoothest one we've experienced yet!  Many thanks to Mario our driver :) 

We spent the afternoon reconnecting with our many little friends at Fundacion Salvacion.  Needless to say it was the highlight of our day.  We were happy to learn that they are all doing well too!  And boy have they grown since January!  We do however miss our kids a lot....we are so wishing they were here with us.  All the kids at the orphanage kept asking..."donde esta tu hijos"....where are your kids.  So I think Rob and I have both decided that our next trip here will include our children once again!

Today (Wednesday) was spent helping at the orphange.  Willow experienced having to wash clothes by hand this morning....something I am sure she will not do back home! I spent the afternoon helping with the little girls and boys.  They are all about 3-6 years old.  I helped the young workers (merely teenagers) redress the kids out of their school clothes, redo their hair and lotion them up.....I must say it was a lot of fun!

This evening we threw them a pizza party and Mike showed them a slideshow compiled with pictures from previous year's trips to Guatemala.  They loved seeing pictures of themselves from many years ago and there were some great laughs!  After that I taught them how to play "What time is it Mr. Fox?"....they really love it and it was great hearing their screams and giggles!  Finally, I helped brush all their teeth and we all tucked them into bed! 

Tomorrow we plan to do some touch up painting that Sandra asked us to do.  We will be again providing them with dinner, followed by some bible lessons and a movie. 

We are looking forward to the remainder of the week here.  Thursday is independence day in Guatemala and we found out today that all the kids have school off on Thursday and Friday!

I ask that you please pray for me (Amy).  I have had a sore throat with no other symptoms for the past three weeks or so and it is REALLY starting to bother me...to the point where I get tears in my eyes when I try and swallow.   Also pray that the rest of the week goes smoothly, we all remain healthy and our trip back to the city on Saturday goes smoothly!

Thanks again for everything!  I have attached some pictures for your viewing pleasure :)  

Here we go again.....

Yeah....so it's been awhile.....way too long!  I remember when we started this blog it was our intent to write on it at least once a week!  Well that was definitely a major failure on our part!  No excuses...just life happened and it was always the last thing that never got done!
So here we are again....Rob and I arrived safely in Guatemala without any major delays or problems.  We met up with Willow, Lori and Mike and also with our translators for the week Juan Angel and Mario.  Today September 11th is election day for the Guatemalan people.  Willow, Lori and Mike all had the opportunity to go with some locals and witness the voting practice.  They all said it was really cool!  We ended the day with an awesome meal shared with some of our Guatemalan friends new and old....it was a great time! 

Tomorrow brings an early morning for us.  We plan to leave the hotel here about 6:30 to beat the rush hour traffic out of town.  Our destination for the week...Huehuetenango!  We are all really excited to see the kids at Fundacion Salvacion.  We know God has great things in store for us throughout the week!
Thank you all for your continued prayers.  Please pray for our safety as we make the long 5 hour bus ride up the mountains to the orphanage. 

Oh....and one last thing....Rob plus treadmill equals a gut splitting almost pee in your pants moment for those who witnessed his gracefulness.....HILARIOUS!!! 

Answered Prayers?

Yeah, I know it's been a couple of weeks since our last post!  Life's been busy and things have been happening and writing on the blog always seems to end up on the bottom of the list.  

So anyways, I have always struggled with what to write on here...we want to keep our family and friends updated on what it happening in our lives but at the same time how much do we really want people to know about what we think and feel and what's going on!  I guess transparency is always a good thing... right?  People know what they are going to get and there are never any surprises!  

Life is definitely a funny thing; many times I feel like I am walking blindfolded on a tightrope hoping and praying that I don't slip or misstep.  The past week or so we were reminded that when we we feel like we are falling, God is there and will pick us up and carry us forward. 

As many of you know we lead mission teams from our church down to Guatemala to serve the orphans there.  We are also part of a nonprofit ministry that arranges mission trips for groups wanting to serve in Guatemala.  Well, as you all know, we feel a strong calling to serve in Guatemala full time and are working toward the possibly relocating to Guatemala within the next couple of years.  So anyways, the past few months we have been really praying for someone to step up and help lead the church team so if and when the day comes and we do leave, the Guatemala mission within our church will remain.  A couple of weeks ago our prayers were answered and a group from our church formed a committee which will be handling all the meetings, fundraising and planning within the church for the Guatemala Orphan Care Mission Trips.  It was like a huge burden had been lifted from our shoulders.  We are thankful to our brothers and sisters that they recognized this and really stepped up and created a long term solution.  It was never our intent to leave the Guatemala mission team, we would still be a part of the planning, going, and acting as liaisions between the church and the nonprofit we work with to plan the trip.  It sounded like things would work out well!  We were excited and it would also free up some time so we could focus more on the nonprofit. 

Well, just because we have a plan and think we have it all figured out, it does not mean that it is God's plan for us.   Last week we received a letter from the board members of our non profit asking for us to resign.   We are at different stages in our lives and they feel we are not able to commit as much time or travel as much as they would like because we have a family and we have some differing views on a few things.  They felt parting ways was probably the best option.  We have decided to honor their request and are currently in the process of formally resigning from the board.  There is definitely sadness in having to do this, but we wish them nothing but the best.  They will remain our dear friends and we will always share a common cause...helping the orphaned children of Guatemala.

So, now what?  We were reminded in a sermon this past Sunday to trust God....and that is exactly what we are doing.  Beyond that, we are plugging away, working hard and praying that if this is still God's will for our lives that He continues opening AND closing the right doors.          

I am....

I am............... oh, the things I can fill in here or what others could fill in for me.  There are lots of things I am not and probably will never be.  Aeronautical engineer, doctor, rocket scientist, just to name a few, and I am sure the list could go on for a long time.  So what am I?  I can say with great confidence that I am a mother of 4, a wife of 1 and a Christian.   So really what does that mean?  To be honest, I ask myself that a lot and really how do you measure success in any of the three?  I look at the examples.....the mom with tons of kids, everything under control and time for everything, the couple that has been married forever and still act like they just got married, the perfect Christian example of Christ.  The bar has definitely been set really high by those who came before me.  Really....what is one to do? 

I really think it all comes down to love.....just love.  Man, now I sound like someone out of the hippie era....don't I?   But seriously, I believe success in life can simply be measured by how much we love.  Think about it.  I remember the instant love I felt immediately after Andrew was born and I thought this is awesome and amazing.  This is true love in its purest form.  If this is even a small glimpse of how much God loves us....wow!  I thought there is no way I could love another as much as I love my precious baby boy....but boy, I was wrong, so wrong....Leah came, then Natalie, Nicholas and finally all the children I have met at orphanages throughout the years in Guatemala.   I love them all and they all have a special place in my heart...I know some of you probably think how in the world can you love someone you just met or have only spent 5-6 weeks with.  I guess my response to that would be, I don't know...it just happens.  It's crazy really to even fathom.  Love is there from the beginning but our sinful nature gets in the way all to often.  It's quite easy to love if we stop being so critical and selfish.  Let's face it....it's something we all want, we all crave.  Who doesn't want to be loved by someone?

So how do we love more.  I am not an author of some self help book or an expert on love by any means.  All I know is the less selfish I am, the more easy it is to love and in the end the better I feel and the better those around me feel. Just my thoughts....   

I really started thinking about the whole subject of love last night when Natalie came down after she was put to bed.  She looked at me with sad little teary eyes and tells me that she misses baby Edgar and she loves him so much.  She has done this at least once a day since we left Guatemala.  All I can do to make her feel better is hug her and love her and tell her I know how she feels because I do.  I hope and pray that one day she will get to see him again.  But unfortunately, I can't promise her that she will.  We just pray for him and stand assured that God is taking care of him wherever he is. 

So back to what I am?  Right now I am not who I struggle to be but I hope someday when I am an old feeble woman I can look back over my life and say with great confidence that...I am love.


♥If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
 
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13 (NIV)♥

Huh?

We made it to Florida last night.  It is probably a good thing that we decided to visit some family here for a few days before we head home.  There was a blizzard that hit Michigan yesterday and from the sounds of it a lot of snow, winds and drifting.  We noticed at the airport yesterday afternoon that tons of flights heading into Detroit and Chicago were cancelled, so we probably wouldn't have made it home yesterday anyways.  Rob is really thankful that he decided to park our van in the covered lot at the airport.  It was a couple of more dollars per day but now it appears to be well worth it, especially given that we didn't bring along a shovel to dig out the van.

I am sitting here waiting for Nick to wake up from his nap so we can join everyone else at the pool.  The weather here is in the 80's and we are definitely soaking it up!

So, it was definitely sad leaving Guatemala.  It's hard to even put it into words. 
It's really wierd....when we go in August with the church team we look forward to heading home because the kids are there, but since the kids were with us this time it felt like there was really no reason to even leave.  I remember we asked Pastor Jake awhile ago...how do you know if a calling is really a calling and not just something else?  He answered (I can't remember his exact words but it was something like this)....it is something that keeps popping up in different situations and everything seems to point you in that direction.  

While we were in Guatemala at the airport....just sitting there watching the airplanes and waiting for our flight an elderly woman from Pennsylvania came up to us and started up a conversation with us.  She asked us why we were in Guatemala and so forth and we asked her the same.  It appears that she was visiting her grandson or son (I can't recall which one) who works for an orphan resource agency in Guatemala and that he is from Michigan.....crazy huh?  So, are we really called to serve the orphans in Guatemala full time or is this just another one of those huh moments that we ignore again. 

All I can say is this, we are really motivated to pay off our remaining debt (thanks Dave Ramsey) and see what the future holds.  I have heard this twice this past week so I feel it quite fitting to include it here. 

"You will find success in life, when you stop trying to include God in your plans and instead ask God to include you in His!"  

So God, I am asking and praying for you to please include us in your plans....wherever they may lead....