May 5, 2015
It has been a busy week, and a busy month. I am approaching the end of my forth month here, but this time seems to have flown by. It feels like yesterday that I came home to Guatemala. I have met so many increadible families in the villages, and I have held our children here for hours on end. I adore our kids! Bt when you look at their backgrounds, it is increadible to see how far each one has come. Some of our kids were abandoned with nothing more than a first name to call their own. Others were removed from their homes and placed here through the courts because their living contitions are atrocious. Some of our kids were send to us by families who want them to have better care than they know how to give.
And in the villages, we meet the families who press forward to care for their children as best as they know how. I have been so blessed by meeting such families.
This week we traveled again to the village of San Pablo, off of lake Atilan, and to La Gomera and Sipacate on the Pacific ocean.
San Pablo is a community which holds tightly to their mayan traditions. This seperates them from the other villages around the lake who have adapted to allow tourism. In San Pablo we get to see stories of God's provision from baby yosalin who recieved a desreately needed shunt which changed her from a labile baby failing to exhibit any traditional signs of development because of the swelling in her head. She now laughs and smiles and plays. Many families here have seen God's hanf of provision.
On our long drives we see a lot of villages and cities, many mountians, and hills. On our drive to San Pablo, we spend some time on a highway with more or less decent roads. On this highway, while traveling around 50mph, we came around a curve and encountered a man running with a woman who was covered in blood. We pulled over, and backed up as they reached the bed of a truck. She had stood up in the back of the truck and fell out while they were driving at full speed. We checked her out and found that she miraculously had no serious injuries aside from the shock she was in, and what looked like a broken or fractured foot. We threw some bandages on some of her many scrapes and road rashes, and they were on their way to the hospital. Later we learned that she had not broken her foot, and had survived this fall with only the lacerations covering her arms, legs, and face. Praise God that she was not killed!
Plase be praying for a young man named Gaspar. He had a severe skin condition which has left his face scarred. He has long faced ridicule and fear from neighbors, but since his face cleared up, this had improved somewhat. When we met with his family, he was withdrawn, and looked downcast. We asked him about school, and if he was studying hard and getting good grades. His report from school had a umber of low scores on it, and he was very upset. We then came to learn that his teacher had told him that he shouldn't even boher coming back because he was never going to learn and shouldn't even try. His teacher broke him down before all of his friends. I can't understand how an adult who supposedly has a desire to teach children could say something so devistating to a young man. Please pray for Gaspar as he has been told his whole life that he is worthless and less of a personby everyone except his loving parents. Pray for this teacher because he/she has fallen so far to say things like this to a child. We hope to get Gaspar into another school run by christians in San Pablo.
In Sipacate, many of the children are sick, or have recently been sick with respiratory symptoms. Some of these seem specific to the child, but there seems to be a virus traveling through families here, so please pray for them also.
Plase be praying for a young man named Gaspar. He had a severe skin condition which has left his face scarred. He has long faced ridicule and fear from neighbors, but since his face cleared up, this had improved somewhat. When we met with his family, he was withdrawn, and looked downcast. We asked him about school, and if he was studying hard and getting good grades. His report from school had a umber of low scores on it, and he was very upset. We then came to learn that his teacher had told him that he shouldn't even boher coming back because he was never going to learn and shouldn't even try. His teacher broke him down before all of his friends. I can't understand how an adult who supposedly has a desire to teach children could say something so devistating to a young man. Please pray for Gaspar as he has been told his whole life that he is worthless and less of a personby everyone except his loving parents. Pray for this teacher because he/she has fallen so far to say things like this to a child. We hope to get Gaspar into another school run by christians in San Pablo.
In Sipacate, many of the children are sick, or have recently been sick with respiratory symptoms. Some of these seem specific to the child, but there seems to be a virus traveling through families here, so please pray for them also.
I have now been taking Spanish classes for a few weeks, and I am encoaged by how much I can understand, although I am still far from verbal. In the home, we are all healthy at the moment, although Humberto struggled this month with a particularly nasty respiratory illness. He was nearly hospitalized, but with an agressive antibiotic regimine and breathing treatments coupled with close watch, he is now back to his smiley yet stubborn self! (He's happy that I no longer approach him with a shot hidden behind my back.)
I thank you all for your love and support, Happy mother's day!
May 19, 2015
Here are a few pictures of life in the home.
Rosalinda (right) and Olimpia (left) enjoying an evening meal together
Brayan and Giovanni in the playset.
Esther trying on some new boots.
Giovanni
House church one week.
Louisa, Giovanni and Ruavis on the phone
Rafael playing hide and seek.
Rafael "doing" a puzzle.
Just out the front door after a mild/moderate rain.
Ruavis laughing.
The Slechter family team reading with some of the kids. We are so blessed by some of the teams that come through, and this family is specifically increadible. Ben red to the children in spanish.
May 20, 2015
On Monday, our director, Daryl, laid the vision of an expansion of the ministry that he had been praying over for some time. To specifically read his thoughts about this, check out what he wrote in his blog concerning it: hopeforhome.blogspot.com.
As I heard this idea of expanding the ministry which is already stretched very thin, and multiplying it more than tenfold, I am reminded of my thoughts when God first laid on my heart to move to Guatemala: God, you're crazy! I am not a ible scholar or very clever with words, and si I call it crazy when others might have some respectable awe inspiring way to refer to work which cannot possibly be completed by man. I have bee reading a lot from some of the pioneers of missionary work, and both George Muler and Hudson Taylor felt is urge to pursue a vision which was outrageous and impossible. God's plan revieled to them was crazy. But "wisdom that worldly men esteme is foolishness to God".
To state it simply, I have been here four months and cannot count on one hand the number of children who we were asked if we could take, who were in a desperate state, and he had to say no. We are over full. And yet, we hear about another little boy named Mikah. He has severe special needs, and in the best of cases will be walking with Jesus very soon. He is daying alone in a hospital with no family, and no friends aside from a few caregivers whom God has graced with a love for him.
We sat together as a family to discuss him. He will die. We would have the extreme privilige of walking him home to Jesus. But this home has lost two little girls in the last year. This is hard for adults who chose to come and love on hurting children. This is an aweful burden on children who loose their siblings.
We have been praying for him for a few days now, but we got word that he took a turn for the worst a few days ago. His extreme hydrocephalas (for lack of a better term, I am not fully sure precisely what his needs are) has left his head grosly mishapen, and his head is nearly the size of his body swollen into several segments. One of these sections of his head burst, and he has lost some neurological responces for example he no longer cries.
Today, Daryl and Wanda are driving to meet him and pray with him, and love him. We still do not know what will happen, but having simply heard his name, I feel as though I must meet him. I need to. I love him very much. Please be praying that God will guide him home with as little pain as possible.
Much further, pray for the others. While learning about this little boy, we were told about another little girl at the hospital who has significant special needs, and was hospitalized because her family was unable to care for her. We were asked also to take her. While we were still in prayer, she was sent home. Her family may be able to help her if they have assistance. Or they may not.
In the time that I have been here, I have heard about so many children that could come to us, but we have had to turn away. I love this work. But I hate these calls. It's all well and good to be aware that kids are in distress, but to have the name and basic story of a child who is in desperate need, and to know that you can't do a thing about it; to watch as they are turned away into who knows what future... Children are dying. Children are dying without hope.
Please pray desperatly for these kids. Pray that the ministry may grow as God blesses it to give resources to every distict of Guatemala. Pray for 10 more homes (this contry has only 5 such homes in the entire country) to recieve these kids and never say no to a hurting child again. Pray for the Godly parents and nannies to run these homes, for the educators and therapists and nurses and nutritionats to help these children. Pray for the servants of God to stand up and lead as directors of these regions. Pray pray this very second because children are dying. Children are dying around us.
~Katie~
--after His heart--
On Monday, our director, Daryl, laid the vision of an expansion of the ministry that he had been praying over for some time. To specifically read his thoughts about this, check out what he wrote in his blog concerning it: hopeforhome.blogspot.com.
As I heard this idea of expanding the ministry which is already stretched very thin, and multiplying it more than tenfold, I am reminded of my thoughts when God first laid on my heart to move to Guatemala: God, you're crazy! I am not a ible scholar or very clever with words, and si I call it crazy when others might have some respectable awe inspiring way to refer to work which cannot possibly be completed by man. I have bee reading a lot from some of the pioneers of missionary work, and both George Muler and Hudson Taylor felt is urge to pursue a vision which was outrageous and impossible. God's plan revieled to them was crazy. But "wisdom that worldly men esteme is foolishness to God".
To state it simply, I have been here four months and cannot count on one hand the number of children who we were asked if we could take, who were in a desperate state, and he had to say no. We are over full. And yet, we hear about another little boy named Mikah. He has severe special needs, and in the best of cases will be walking with Jesus very soon. He is daying alone in a hospital with no family, and no friends aside from a few caregivers whom God has graced with a love for him.
We sat together as a family to discuss him. He will die. We would have the extreme privilige of walking him home to Jesus. But this home has lost two little girls in the last year. This is hard for adults who chose to come and love on hurting children. This is an aweful burden on children who loose their siblings.
We have been praying for him for a few days now, but we got word that he took a turn for the worst a few days ago. His extreme hydrocephalas (for lack of a better term, I am not fully sure precisely what his needs are) has left his head grosly mishapen, and his head is nearly the size of his body swollen into several segments. One of these sections of his head burst, and he has lost some neurological responces for example he no longer cries.
Today, Daryl and Wanda are driving to meet him and pray with him, and love him. We still do not know what will happen, but having simply heard his name, I feel as though I must meet him. I need to. I love him very much. Please be praying that God will guide him home with as little pain as possible.
Much further, pray for the others. While learning about this little boy, we were told about another little girl at the hospital who has significant special needs, and was hospitalized because her family was unable to care for her. We were asked also to take her. While we were still in prayer, she was sent home. Her family may be able to help her if they have assistance. Or they may not.
In the time that I have been here, I have heard about so many children that could come to us, but we have had to turn away. I love this work. But I hate these calls. It's all well and good to be aware that kids are in distress, but to have the name and basic story of a child who is in desperate need, and to know that you can't do a thing about it; to watch as they are turned away into who knows what future... Children are dying. Children are dying without hope.
Please pray desperatly for these kids. Pray that the ministry may grow as God blesses it to give resources to every distict of Guatemala. Pray for 10 more homes (this contry has only 5 such homes in the entire country) to recieve these kids and never say no to a hurting child again. Pray for the Godly parents and nannies to run these homes, for the educators and therapists and nurses and nutritionats to help these children. Pray for the servants of God to stand up and lead as directors of these regions. Pray pray this very second because children are dying. Children are dying around us.
~Katie~
--after His heart--
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