different view

I think I've got a different view on how I feel about Wendy leaving now.




You see? When Wendy left in January, I was so upset that she left when I wasn't here. I didn't even get to say good-bye. It was so sudden. I really missed her.



Well, she came back. She was here almost a week, actually a little over a week. How did I miss that as not being a gift? I got to see her again. I didn't get to say good-bye again, but maybe I'm not meant to say good-bye to Wendy. Nor to any girl for that matter.



At lunch today, I sat looking at the girls seated (I totally just forgot how to say "seated" in English, weird) around the table. I noticed Wendy missing. The girls carried on in their usual, a bit obnotious behavior. I just sat looking at each one of them. What have they been through in their lives? What memories seap through the cracks when we're not paying attention? What scars do they have from their hurt?



But how far has God brought them out of that? How is He going to use them to further his kingdom? I marvel at the thought. At what lengths would He go to save one of these little ones?



Little Seily sat in my lap today at church, just crying her eyes out. She has such a tender heart and at any slower song that we sing, she just gets her little heart broken. Sometimes she says she misses her mom and dad. Sometimes she says it's something else. But that little girl will just cry and cry. I remember when Daddy was here and his friend, Bob, shared one night with the girls. We had a time of prayer afterwards and I remember looking up at Daddy and Seily was sitting in his lap just crying her heart out. She's just a baby, even though she won't let you call her that. She so needs a father and a mother. All of the girls do. Even Miriam, the oldest. At 17, away from mother and siblings, and she's been here the longest, about 3 years.



I just can't understand it all. We can only trust that God has them in his hands, and on his mind.



I have one million mosquito bites. One in my armpit. (I hate that word, but that's where it is) It's so awkward scratching it too. heh. That's really the only one that itches too.

Game night/Wendy

We changed movie night back to it's original night, which is Friday, because no one really wanted to direct the games for Friday night game night. Since I am in charge of organizing the games, they decided it was better to switch them. I'm not sure how movie night went; I'm sure it went off with a blast! But tonight, oh tonight was so much fun! We played a game called, "The Human Knot", which many of you have at least heard of, if not played yourselves. I've never heard so much screaming and laughing in my life. I decided that we should play on the basketball court outside since it was such a pretty night. Afterwards, we played a few games of "Grapevine" or "Telephone". It only came through correctly three times. It was really funny when Mary started playing and couldn't understand the Spanish phrases. But we got them back with a few in English. It was a really fun night and I think that the girls really enjoyed it. I was really glad too because all I've been hearing about the games, since they started, has been, "I don't like it when we play games!" or "I don't like game night!" So, I was pretty content. (It had to be because I'm so much fun, right?!? RIGHT?!? :)




On another, sad note, Wendy left yesterday. She's the one I had asked everyone to pray for to come back, only a few weeks back. Apparently her mom has been fighting with the courts ever since and they have granted her custody of Wendy. I was so upset to hear the news, and just like the first time, I wasn't there to say good-bye when she left. I did get the opportunity to see her before she left. I was walking down the street and she had gone to the school, right down the road from my house, and I saw her from a distance there. I was going to go talk to her, but decided against it. She is happy about going home. I didn't want to cloud that in any way. I know God is in control of this and He is watching over her, better than we can here. I won't worry.



I will miss her though.



It's really a hard situation for me when the girls leave. It's such a bittersweet moment, when you hug them for what might be the last time, wondering if tomorrow they will remember you. That's a little selfish, but it's the way I feel. I want them to be happy, but I want to be apart of their lives. It's a strange thing. To think that you may never see someone you care so much about, is really hard, yet we have to go through that here so often. Should we get used to it? Should we immune ourselves from the hurt?



For now there is an empty bed, once again, that once held Evelyn, then Wendy. I'm sure God has his mind set on some other young girl who needs a home and his love, more than they know.



It's really all about the children. We are just blessed to have them for a while and know them in Christ.

illegal immgrant!!

Well, not anymore. I went today to to renew my visa at INGUAT. It's in Zone 4. It was expired by 9 days, which is better than last November when I let it expire for two weeks. Ok. Not much difference, but it costs by the day when it's expired. So, today I had to pay the regular 75 Quetzales to get it renewed and then another Q105 because it was expired. I remember it being only Q10/day in November, but I guess it's a little more than that now. Oh well. It's done, but it won't be ready until Monday at 3pm, so I won't be able to pick it up until Tuesday because Monday morning I'll have to take Seliy back to the psycologist and at 3pm take Astrid to the eye doctor. They discovered that she has Glaucoma. She's only 16 years old.




This morning was just a bunch of running around the place, first by going with Rebeka to Office Depot to make a book for Melvin & Zaidy. Their last day in the home will be this next week, the 1st of September. We made them a sort of memory book of the two and a half years that they have been working here.



Then we went to INGUAT (migration) to renew my visa. Then Rebeka, my hero, heard me mention that I was craving Wendy's, so we went to the Wendy's in Zone 1 and I had a Big Bacon Classic! It was so good!! I needed to be back by 20 til 1 to take Cindy to Spanish lessons at Semilla, but we forgot we had to go to the bank too. That made us a little late, but it wasn't too bad. Then I went to pay Carroll's water bill, stopped by Cemaco to see if they had curtians. (I'm just going to have to make my own) And now I'm finally here... for now, at least.



I like the running around though. It's fun to me.



My list of things to do grows and grows...

Appointments and housing

Zaidy and I took Seily to the court appointed psychiatrist this morning for her first meeting with him. He is a very nice man, but poor Seily was so nervous. Who could blame her because her first two trips to the court was when they took her from her home and the second was to see a doctor, who checked her for abuse. But she came out skipping and talking up a storm about all they did. They played house with Barbie's and some other games. She said they played the whole time.




Zaidy and I had a really great talk too while we were waiting. She and Melvin have some big changes coming up too and some big, tough decisions to make. They need prayer. (They are the house parents upstairs)



I'm taking Cindy to meet with her new Spanish teacher. Cindy is from Florida and came here for a year to help in the home. The only problem is her Spanish. To help as much as she wants to, she needs to be able to communicate better. Oh, she brought her little miniature doberman with her. Her name is Eloise and the girls just love her! It's fun for them to have a pet. She roams around this house like she owns it.



I found out I will be out of home from October 1st to November 9th, so I will need to figure out what I will do in that time. I don't want to go ahead and rent where I will come back to, because I would be paying for a whole month while I'm in the States. Joanne said I could stay downstairs with the interns. But I'm not sure yet. I really wanted my family to be able to stay with me when they come the 6th of October, and one option is to rent something in Antigua (there are lots of furnished apartments there that can be rented by the week if wanted, and that's not true here in San Cristobál). I will have a car by then, so going back and forth wouldn't be a problem at all. I just need lots of guidance and prayer. I lean towards the latter, but want what is best too. :)

I just found out today that I will be out of a home as of October 1st. Gib and Joanne are moving to Monjas permanently and are not going to keep the house here. I am welcome here in the home for that month, but need to pray about what I need to do. It's only from the 1st of Oct. to the 9th of Nov. Please pray for that with me. I will need to rent somewhere new anyway, but will be gone a month and don't want to have to pay anything unnecessary. I just need to think clearly and hear from God about it.

pintando las paredes

Mary and I painted the bedroom downstairs, the one I sleep in on the weekends, today. Cindy is coming on Saturday, for a year, and will live down there for a few weeks. The room needed a makeover like there was no tomorrow. There was mildew spots on the walls and it just looked bad all together. So, we took on the job. It's not the same color, but it looks good. I just hope Mary doesn't get high from the fumes tonight. :)




I talked to my whole family today on the phone. They had a belated birthday for my brother, so they were all out to eat. It was nice to visit with them all. I felt a little like I was there. I told them all about coming to visit in November. Connie said she would try to have a room for me. :/ They're re-arranging rooms and I don't even want to know what the house looks like. I wish I could help! Maybe I can when I'm there. Brennan said he would count down the days until I came. I can't wait to see them.



Ok. Miriam needs the computer.... more later...

Juan Jose

I just met this little guy two days ago. He was having convulsions every several minutes and Shyrel had said it was difficult feeding him. They only had him in their house for about two days. Elena, a young lady helping them out for a while, had told them that her neighbor had a two year old baby and that she had never even known about him. It is very typical for families to hide such secrets because of shame. They brought him to Steve and Shyrel's home for help. He had had a fever the entire time he was there and it just got worse. They think he probably had cerebal palsy, but unlike Jeferson, he could see a little and probably hear too. He couldn't control his little movements and would sitffen as the convulsions took over his little body. He would have been two years old in October, Shyrel said.




Like I said, I met him on Tuesday, now two days later, he has gone on to be with Our Lord, where he will no longer suffer, and he will even be smiling... I'm sure of it.

Elena/Tickets

Ok, well. I was going to keep it a secret and surprise my sister by being at home for her birthday, but I'm not so good at keeping secrets (my secrets, not others) nor surprising. So, needless to say, now I've told her. I was going to surprise them both, but after I told Stephanie, she said I might want to mention it to Connie, so that maybe I'll have a room when I go home. :) So, although I haven't officially purshased the tickets yet, I will be home sometime between November 9th until December 8th. (her birthday is the 6th) Christmas time was just too expensive, so I thought that Thanksgiving was the next best thing. I mainly want to see my family and those two holidays are the best for that, and the soonest. Oh and p.s. I just found the same ticket on expedia.com for about $40 less!! WOOHOO!!!




I wonder if I'll ever get used to missing family's birthdays. Doesn't seem that way. I think when I miss their birthdays, it's harder than when I'm here all alone on my own. But this year will be different because my dad will be here for my birthday. :) I'm counting down the 'days'.



I took Elena to the psychologist today. It was her first of several appointments that are just routine in every child's life here. She sounded like it went well. She laughed because he asked her to draw a picture of a man, a woman, and a tree. She couldn't figure out why! Elena is the size of a 10 or 11 year old girl, but will turn 15 tomorrow! She can't really read, and is in 1st grade. While the others in her grade, ages ranging from 9 to 10 years old, are learning numbers in the 100's, Elena is still on number 27. She has a speech problem and is hard to understand unless you're used to it. But she is a sweet girl. Tiny. I feel bad for her sometimes because she is treated the age she appears and not her true age. She isn't as mature as most 15 year olds, but she isn't a child. Who knows how she'll continue in school, but I know that God has great plans for her life. Otherwise, why would He have bothered to care enough to bring her here?



Well, today I get back to tutoring... if I can get in touch with the Osborn's. They were moving last week, and I never even talked to them. I hope it works out to go today!

Since when are orange tic-tacs not orange anymore? This is really a concern for me. Is it just in Guatemala? Someone needs to investigate! The little box is orange, and it fools you to think that the actual tic-tacs are orange too... but they're not! They are WHITE!! They taste the same, but they are WHITE!! What is the world coming to?!? Oh well, I still eat the whole box in less than an hour.




Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me. Without your prayers, this weekend I would have lost it. It wasn't a hard weekend and nothing happened; I just felt emotionally drained and very sad, and I couldn't explain it. I know that people everywhere were praying for me. God even spoke it to my best friends' heart to call me last night. She woke me up, but it was so nice to talk to her. I believe that helped me tremendously. She is a gem and even though we live so far away, she's in Ohio, we are so close and can always count on each other. It's nice to have friends like that. My dad also called me yesterday. He didn't know it, but I needed to just hear his voice too. (and I'll see him in about 6 weeks!!)



All of the city schools were out today for a national holiday. So that means Miriam and I didn't have to get up at 4:30 and get her off to school. But tomorrow it's back to the Real World (Guatemala). heh.


I'm meeting with one car owner on Wednesday to see the '98 Corolla. Please be praying about it. I'm waiting for the other guy to call me about the '01 Yaris on Thursday or Friday. I just have to make the right decision and it's done. I will have a car. :) I still can't believe it!!



Well, the girls are about to go to bed. I'm staying overnight again tonight and tomorrow night with the girls downstairs. We're all pitching in to help out down there until Cindy comes this weekend. (she'll live down there during the week) I have so much fun with those girls though, it's not anywhere near feeling like work!!



BUENAS NOCHES!!

Concert in the Casa de Jardin

This has been a week or so ago now, but I had to write about it because it's one if the funniest things I've ever witnessed!




I had been in the office for only a moment when I returned downstairs to find a concert going on in the Casa de Jardín. Astrid, Sandy, and Lily were singing and dancing to themselves, using the big picture window as a mirror. They had the music blasting and Astrid was singing at the top of her lungs. Sandy was a back-up singer and Lily was a dancer. I walked in and they were only embarrassed for a minute, but the show must go on. They continued until bed time! It was excellent!

I've been sick, but I'm feeling a little better today. My throat is still sore and I've got a ton o' snot, but all is well. I had two days to rest and that did me a whole lot of good. Now it's back to work at Shadow, downstairs with the older girls. I'm excited and think we will have a great weekend. Today is filled with groups, one is here now from Libni's church and one from the States is coming later today.




Daddy left yesterday morning and flew up into the jungle (Mesquite country) in Honduras. He is now probably on a boat headed up the river to one of the villages that have never been reached for the gospel. We won't hear anything from him until next Friday. (And I can hardly wait!) Please keep him and Bob Watson in your prayers.



No news about the car yet. If I haven't heard from Mario today, I will call him.



We are down to three interns and will be left with only one by the end of mext week. But two more are coming in September.



I can't believe it's already August. My baby brother turned 18 yesterday. I can't believe it. I wouldn't be able to carry him around on my hip anymore.

just for laughs

I was just looking at a map of Guatemala that was laying around, and thought it was funny that on the guide that shows you which roads are what, there is actually one that is two small red lines running parallel, that says, "Roads that are transible in good or dry times" I just think that's funny that there has to be a key for that. That is the road to San Juan Tecuaco, which I can't even believe is on the map in the first place.






Anyhoo...

Good news and great news!!

First of all, I would like to thank all of you who have prayed for Bárbara. Everything is done. They will go and pick up the visa at the Embassy, and Bárbara will leave tomorrow with her new parents. We had a going away party for her last night. We took turns telling Bárbara what she meant to us and how we would miss her. The night was full of tears and laughter.




She just had a meeting with her birth mother for her to meet Bárbara's new parents and to say good-bye. She is so strong, but she is only a little girl. Please keep her in your prayers. She will need help in the transition to the States, her new home, and her new family.



The most exciting news, and I can't believe that I haven't written about this until now, is that the newest girl, Glendi, received Jesus as her Savior last Sunday! We took Communion and she asked Joanne what she had to do to take part in it. Joanne explained everything to her and asked if she was willing to make that commitment. She wanted a pastor to pray with her and she accepted Jesus and took her first Communion right afterwards! Praise God!



We had Communion again last night before we said good-bye to Bárbara. Glendi has honestly been glowing these past few days. She is the sweetest girl ever!



Thanks for all of your prayers!!



P.S. A special thank you to everyone at Cairo Methodist for the offering! God bless you!!