It’s hard to believe that it is already Sunday night. Tomorrow is our last full day in Guatemala. We are already dreading leaving. We had a great day today; this morning we attended Antonio’s church, Fraternidad Christiana de Guatemala. The service was great with a sermon on generosity and loving your neighbor and truly caring for them. After the church service we headed to our friend Paola’s house where were served a delicious dinner of baked chicken, mashed potatoes, salad and tortillas. The kids really enjoyed it to and cleaned their plates with minimal coaxing.
This afternoon we also met with Steve Osborn. He and his wife are missionaries in Guatemala. They have been down here for about 14 years. His wife runs an orphanage with 50-60 children located here in the city. Steve is actively involved in a few other projects and ministries. It was great learning about all the things they are doing down here and we look forward to developing our relationship.
Tomorrow we are planning on taking the kids to a local nature park near Antigua. Hopefully, they’ll have a great time…..I think we may even treat them to some ice cream! Afterwards, we will be heading to Antigua. Kara has some shopping to do at the local market to get a few gifts.
This may be our last post until after we return to back to the states on Tuesday evening..
This trip has been an amazing experience for our family. We are so thankful to God for all he had blessed
us with.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Goodbyes Stink.....
So Friday morning we left the mission house and said goodbye to Linda and LynnAnn our gracious hosts for the week. Our intent was to stop by the orphanage and maybe take the kids to the Mayan ruins in Huehue and then head back to the city. Well.......here it is Saturday morning and we are still in Huehue. Today we will be headed back to Guatemala City. Anyways, we went to the orphanage and found out the had a party planned for our children so we decided to stay at a local hotel last night. It was really nice spending the extra day with the kids at the orphanage. The bathroom for the volunteers is now painted and cleaned up and ready for some volunteers (which will actually be arriving sometime this weekend).
The party they threw for the kids was really neat. They did a musical act, played musical chairs, had a couple of pinatas (the kids did one and Rob, Kara and I did the other) we had some cake and they gave all of us a gift. After that it was time to say our goodbyes.......Your would think that goodbyes would get easier after you've had to do it again and again. However, I (Amy) was holding myself together quite well until Natalie started to cry and when I asked her what was wrong she looked at me with tear filled eyes and said "I'm going to miss baby Edgar soooooo much." By the time we left we were all in tears. We never thought the kids would get so attached to the kids at the orphanage in such a short amount of time. We were wrong.....they were affected the same way we were. It is definitely never easy to say goodbye. The people at Fundacion Salvacion are our family. They embraced our children as if they had always come with us. We are proud to say they are our family and Lord willing we will all return someday real soon.
By the way, everyone is on the mend from their colds and what not. Natalie woke up Friday morning just fine, other than she was really hungry and thirsty. We are thankful it was just a 24 hour thing. We are looking forward to getting to the city and catching up with some friends......We are not however looking forward to to 4-5 hour drive through the twisty mountain roads!
The party they threw for the kids was really neat. They did a musical act, played musical chairs, had a couple of pinatas (the kids did one and Rob, Kara and I did the other) we had some cake and they gave all of us a gift. After that it was time to say our goodbyes.......Your would think that goodbyes would get easier after you've had to do it again and again. However, I (Amy) was holding myself together quite well until Natalie started to cry and when I asked her what was wrong she looked at me with tear filled eyes and said "I'm going to miss baby Edgar soooooo much." By the time we left we were all in tears. We never thought the kids would get so attached to the kids at the orphanage in such a short amount of time. We were wrong.....they were affected the same way we were. It is definitely never easy to say goodbye. The people at Fundacion Salvacion are our family. They embraced our children as if they had always come with us. We are proud to say they are our family and Lord willing we will all return someday real soon.
By the way, everyone is on the mend from their colds and what not. Natalie woke up Friday morning just fine, other than she was really hungry and thirsty. We are thankful it was just a 24 hour thing. We are looking forward to getting to the city and catching up with some friends......We are not however looking forward to to 4-5 hour drive through the twisty mountain roads!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Moving day
Thursday....
Today we spent the morning moving the dorms, assembling bunk beds and rearranging everything for the new volunteer dorm. We were amazed how all the kids at the orphanage worked together to get everything moved. Sandra informed us that she was going to have some new volunteers next week so it was nice to be able to get everything set up for her.
This afternoon we decided to apply a new coat of paint to the bathroom in the volunteer dorm. After looking through the leftover paint in the storage room we decided to use white, mainly because it was on the top of the stack and almost a full bucket full. We were able to find some rollers, trays and one small brush so we got to painting. The room looks a lot brighter than before and tomorrow before we leave we will be scrubbing and cleaning the rest of the bathroom. I'll post some pics tomorrow night.of the finished room.
Nick, Andrew, Kara and I (Amy) have been fighting a head cold for the past couple of days. We are all slowly getting back to normal. However, Natalie woke up this morning and threw up. She continued throwing up everything that was given to her through the day. She is sleeping fine however we will be keeping a close watch on her to make sure she is not becoming dehydrated.
Tomorrow mornings we say our goodbyes. Please pray for healing for all of us and that goodbyes go well.
Today we spent the morning moving the dorms, assembling bunk beds and rearranging everything for the new volunteer dorm. We were amazed how all the kids at the orphanage worked together to get everything moved. Sandra informed us that she was going to have some new volunteers next week so it was nice to be able to get everything set up for her.
This afternoon we decided to apply a new coat of paint to the bathroom in the volunteer dorm. After looking through the leftover paint in the storage room we decided to use white, mainly because it was on the top of the stack and almost a full bucket full. We were able to find some rollers, trays and one small brush so we got to painting. The room looks a lot brighter than before and tomorrow before we leave we will be scrubbing and cleaning the rest of the bathroom. I'll post some pics tomorrow night.of the finished room.
Nick, Andrew, Kara and I (Amy) have been fighting a head cold for the past couple of days. We are all slowly getting back to normal. However, Natalie woke up this morning and threw up. She continued throwing up everything that was given to her through the day. She is sleeping fine however we will be keeping a close watch on her to make sure she is not becoming dehydrated.
Tomorrow mornings we say our goodbyes. Please pray for healing for all of us and that goodbyes go well.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Bakery, Babies and Beds.....
Wow...I can't believe it's already Wednesday night! Our trips to Guatemala always go by way too fast! Today we spent more time with the children at Fundacion Salvacion. Our kids are having a really great time playing with the children and making many new friends! Yesterday, Rob, Antonio and I met with Sandra, the director of the orphanage, to talk about different things at the orphanage: their plans for the future, the bakery they would like to open, the huge need for a female volunteer dorm and so on. After the meeting Rob, Antonio, and I put together a plan that would give Sandra a volunteer dorm immediately and eventually a computer room/library room and additional dorm space.
Anyways, we met with Sandra again this morning and showed her the plan and it was well received. With a few adjustments, it looks like tomorrow we will be a busy moving around the 3 dorms affected by the change. There is a great need to renovate the "new" female volunteer dorm (which currently houses some of the women and older girls), I have posted some pictures of the current state of the rooms. The long term plan is for the dorm to have sleeping quarters (3 rooms) which can hold up to 12 volunteers, a bathroom and shower, small kitchen and eating area and a living room. Sandra mentioned that the volunteers that come provide much needed help for the orphanage and relieve them of some of the burden and cost in caring for the children.
This afternoon we also met with Carlos. He is on the orphanage board of directors. He is also a local business owner and comes in and teaches the children how to bake and the skills needed to run a bakery. We discussed the possible location of the bakery. Sandra prefers that the bakery be located at the orphanage for ease and simplicity's sake. Carlos said the location would serve that part of the community well as there is currently not a bakery anywhere near by and there is a lot of foot and vehicle traffic that goes by. We talked about improvements that would need to be made to the current location, supplies and everything that would be needed to complete the project. It is very exciting to see this project become a reality for the orphanage. It is their desire to become self suficient and this will bring the one step closer to that goal.
This morning I (Amy) had the opportunity to visit Casa Materna with Linda and LynnAnn (the missionaries we are staying with). This is a maternity house where women come who are consider to have a high risk pregnancy or live too far a way to get to the hospital in time for delivery. It is run by a US organizaion called PCI (I believe). They charge very little for the women to stay there. Anyways, Linda and LynnAnn visit the home once a week and provide a time of worship, bible study and childbirth education for the women. I pray for Anita the women I prayed with at the home this morning. She is 18 years old and already has a son. I pray that here delivery goes smoothly for her and that there are no complications with the remainder of her pregnancy.
I wanted to leave you with a final thought from a discussion I had earlier today that really made me think about birth statistics in Guatemala. So with the plethera of information on the internet I decided to check out what the statistics are. It's 4 times more likely that your baby will die during childbirth in Guatemala compared to the US. Thankfully this number is actually decreasing throughout the years but more definitely needs to be done to improve the current situation. We have it so good in the US; we are truly blessed. I am truly thankful for my 4 healthy children and many healthy nieces and nephews and thankful that we never had to experience the loss of a child during delivery. I pray for the women who have.
Anyways, we met with Sandra again this morning and showed her the plan and it was well received. With a few adjustments, it looks like tomorrow we will be a busy moving around the 3 dorms affected by the change. There is a great need to renovate the "new" female volunteer dorm (which currently houses some of the women and older girls), I have posted some pictures of the current state of the rooms. The long term plan is for the dorm to have sleeping quarters (3 rooms) which can hold up to 12 volunteers, a bathroom and shower, small kitchen and eating area and a living room. Sandra mentioned that the volunteers that come provide much needed help for the orphanage and relieve them of some of the burden and cost in caring for the children.
This afternoon we also met with Carlos. He is on the orphanage board of directors. He is also a local business owner and comes in and teaches the children how to bake and the skills needed to run a bakery. We discussed the possible location of the bakery. Sandra prefers that the bakery be located at the orphanage for ease and simplicity's sake. Carlos said the location would serve that part of the community well as there is currently not a bakery anywhere near by and there is a lot of foot and vehicle traffic that goes by. We talked about improvements that would need to be made to the current location, supplies and everything that would be needed to complete the project. It is very exciting to see this project become a reality for the orphanage. It is their desire to become self suficient and this will bring the one step closer to that goal.
This morning I (Amy) had the opportunity to visit Casa Materna with Linda and LynnAnn (the missionaries we are staying with). This is a maternity house where women come who are consider to have a high risk pregnancy or live too far a way to get to the hospital in time for delivery. It is run by a US organizaion called PCI (I believe). They charge very little for the women to stay there. Anyways, Linda and LynnAnn visit the home once a week and provide a time of worship, bible study and childbirth education for the women. I pray for Anita the women I prayed with at the home this morning. She is 18 years old and already has a son. I pray that here delivery goes smoothly for her and that there are no complications with the remainder of her pregnancy.
I wanted to leave you with a final thought from a discussion I had earlier today that really made me think about birth statistics in Guatemala. So with the plethera of information on the internet I decided to check out what the statistics are. It's 4 times more likely that your baby will die during childbirth in Guatemala compared to the US. Thankfully this number is actually decreasing throughout the years but more definitely needs to be done to improve the current situation. We have it so good in the US; we are truly blessed. I am truly thankful for my 4 healthy children and many healthy nieces and nephews and thankful that we never had to experience the loss of a child during delivery. I pray for the women who have.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Amazing Love.....
Today....
When we planned this trip we had no idea how things would go. We wondered how our kids would react to being in a different country with a different language and away from all the things they are used to. Overall, I am amazed at my munchkins. I can't say that there weren't moments because there were and have been.....however, there there will be moments like these whether we are back home or somewhere in China and I am sure there will be more before this trip ends.
I saw a totally different side of my kids today. They were so loving and caring with the little kids, patient, kind and compassionate. It was truly awesome and almost brings me to tears as I sit here reflecting on the day that has gone by. We spent the day helping with the little ones and meeting some of the many new children at Fundacion Salvacion. A bunch of the children that Rob and I and the groups met thoughout the years are no longer at the orphanage. We hope and pray that they are being well cared for no matter where they are. We definitely trust that God will protect those children and that He has a plan for their lives wherever they may be.
Rob Antonio, and I spent the afternoon covering books for the kids for school. This is a task that I am so glad that I do not have to do back home. It is definitely something that gets easier the more you do it and I am sure the first couple of books I covered we secretly redone without my knowledge!!!
Tomorrow brings helping with laundry (the pila way) and more time with the kids at Fundacion Salvacion. Our kids kept asking tonight if we were going back to the orphanage tomorrow and they were so excited when we said yes. So I am assuming they are having a great time too!
Many blessings to all of you back home and I hope you are not freezing too bad....it was a balmy 75-80 degrees here and Rob managed to burn his head yet again! Oh, when will he ever learn!!!!
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Home at last!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Not So Early To Bed, Early To Rise...
So segment one of our journey began with a 2:00 am wake up call and a very quiet 3 hour drive to the Detroit Airport. It was nice to arrive early though, and beat the rush. Check in went well as the everyone but me (Rob) was waved through the old metal detector and I had to wait to feed every tub through the x-ray machine. I ended up waiting in the long line to get waved through one of those new scanners. The flight was smooth the whole way and the kids behaved excellent. As we were coming in over the ocean for our approach, Natalie got a good laugh from most of the plane as she procalimed good and loud, "Hey, we're gonna land in the water!" We arrived about 1:oopm back at Amy's parents house, and spent most of the afternoon taking naps and catching up on sleep a little. Tomorrow brings another early morning but we are excited, knowing our final destination is just a few hours away. We just thank the Lord for the safety he has granted us so far. Technology never ceases to amaze me. I was reading over Leah's shoulder on the plane, one of the Little House on the Prarie books, and I began to think of the miles involved in this trip, and to think that in just about 13-14 hours of traveling time you can be so far from home. How incredible to think how the Lord allows man to progress in the world and yet so many just choose to ignore the fact that it all comes from Him.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Packing
Anyways, we had to borrow some suitcases from relatives since we didn't have enough of our own....we'll we do kind of. You see the one suitcase we loved and used all the time had it's wheel broken off a year ago and now it's a pain to try and lug the thing through the airport. And then there is THE CLOSET ON WHEELS.....this suitcase is massive and I think the thing weighs about 20 pounds empty! We used it last spring and ended up having to pay an extra $100 just to check in the stupid thing! Needless to say, we really didn't want to use either of those.
So back to the borrowed suitcases....they were in storage for awhile and had a musty smell to them, so seeing that we were gone all day yesterday running errands and so forth I had this ingenious idea to put the suitcases out on the front porch to air them out. Great idea, huh?! Now insert a stupid cat into this story and I am assuming you can guess where it will lead.....Yeah, one of the dumb barn cats from up the street decided to mark his territory on a suitcase!!! Thankfully, it was only on one and that was the one we didn't know for sure whether or not we would use. I guess the decision was made for us and we are NOT using the thing because I am positive that neither Rob nor any of the kids would like their clothes smelling like cat pee!
Lesson learned or should I say reinforced from all of this...cats are still dumb and only good for mouse control and food for larger carnivorous animals! This was definitely not the way to win brownie points with me seeing that I disliked cats from the get go! As for today....my goal....I WILL GET EVERYHING PACKED!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Beginning....
Ok....so here we are....a blog. We have been meaning to start a blog for sometime now but just kept putting it off and putting it off. I guess we felt now a fitting time to start one, so here it is. I have no idea how often we'll actually keep it up but we'll at least somewhat try!
This week is definitely an exciting week for our family. This weekend we will be taking our kids (8, 6, 5, and 3) with us down to Guatemala for a visit to the orphanage we have been serving at for the past 3 years. We'll be down there with them for about 10 days. They are very excited and we are too. We have no idea eventually where it will lead, but do we ever know the outcome of something before it happens? Our hope is in the Lord and we know he has a plan for our life and we remain open to wherever he calls us to be.
We know that there are some people out there who think we are absolutely crazy for taking our kids down to Guatemala with us. Maybe we are, maybe we aren't...who knows. Anyways, here is just one of the comments we received that I found a little humor in...."Do you think the kids are old enough to go to Guatemala?" Um...well, yeah, do you realize that there are children in Guatemala and people just like us raise their own children down there all the time?
Seriously though, I know the questions and comments are out of love and concern for our family (or at least I hope they are) and know that we have thought and prayed about this for a long time. Here is the thing...God is God wherever we are and through whatever we do. He is the only constant in the chaotic world in which we live. He is never changing, was here from the beginning and will be here until the end. This thought brings me great peace. I would like to leave everyone with a verse that pretty much sums up my feelings about the whole thing...
"...Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
This week is definitely an exciting week for our family. This weekend we will be taking our kids (8, 6, 5, and 3) with us down to Guatemala for a visit to the orphanage we have been serving at for the past 3 years. We'll be down there with them for about 10 days. They are very excited and we are too. We have no idea eventually where it will lead, but do we ever know the outcome of something before it happens? Our hope is in the Lord and we know he has a plan for our life and we remain open to wherever he calls us to be.
We know that there are some people out there who think we are absolutely crazy for taking our kids down to Guatemala with us. Maybe we are, maybe we aren't...who knows. Anyways, here is just one of the comments we received that I found a little humor in...."Do you think the kids are old enough to go to Guatemala?" Um...well, yeah, do you realize that there are children in Guatemala and people just like us raise their own children down there all the time?
Seriously though, I know the questions and comments are out of love and concern for our family (or at least I hope they are) and know that we have thought and prayed about this for a long time. Here is the thing...God is God wherever we are and through whatever we do. He is the only constant in the chaotic world in which we live. He is never changing, was here from the beginning and will be here until the end. This thought brings me great peace. I would like to leave everyone with a verse that pretty much sums up my feelings about the whole thing...
"...Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
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