When Angelita Smiles

August 16, 2015

Hi all! I wanted to post this a little earlier this month because later this month my brother is getting married to a very great friend of mine, so I will be returning to Ohio for a short visit. I will be returning home (to Guatemala), after this visit to continue on with this work that God has blessed me to be a part of. I will not have a lot of time while visiting Ohio, but I will be meeting anyone who wants to come out at McDonald's on Wagner Ave. in Greenville Ohio on Tuesday September 1st. I'll be there from 1-4pm. I will also be visiting my home church at Plesent View Missionary Church on Sunday September 6 for service and lunch after. Further than these, I would like to, but may have trouble visiting anyone who would like to meet up.

Although I had not intended to visit so soon, I am very excited to see my family and friends after 7 months away, although it hardly feels like seven months. I have missed best friend's first pregnancies, babies, and first anniversaries. I haven't been there for their hard times. And that is very hard. Also, my nephew's second birthday, and learning to talk and run and climb and play. I have missed the causal time with my family laughing at ridiculous jokes, and the entire engagement of my best friend/brother to another best friend. I look forward to seeing these precious family and friends again, but I know it only for a little taste.

I don't mention that because I feel sorry for myself, because I have the best job in the world. I miss these huge, but little things, and I get to see the wonders of God's works unfolding before me. He sees to my every need, including my selfish need for my crazy family. He has given me another family that is every bit as strange and crazy. I love my family here very much. They love and laugh at me just like my first family! I guess this is what it is to be adopted. I kinda love it. So, I believe in seven months, I have been homesick three times.

But I have been right at home countless times.

God provides for our every need. He knew how much I cherished my family, and how hard it would be to leave. So he sent me where I would belong.

My God provides.

Ok, this is what I meant to write for today smile emoticon

God is good because Angelita smiles.

Angelita, as I introduced in my last post, is almost 9 years old, and has severe brain damage as a result of hydrocephalus. She has also elicited a lot of prayer lately because of what we suspected might be a decline in her health. We were very worried about her because she stopped eating, was very lethargic, and her extremities were very cold to the touch. When most of her test results came back negative, we began to suspect that this was a result of increased pressure on her brain. The truth of it is this pressure will continue to build, and she likely will not live until adulthood. We now believe that most of this was due to a urine infection, and with the help of a strong antibiotic, she is back to herself today.

I want to share about her because she has so stolen my heart. When teams visit our house, we encourage them love all the kid, but to especially seek out the kids who cannot demand their attention, those that aren't running up to them with huge grins and adorable giggles, those that cannot even smile huge from broken bodies in a wheelchair. We encourage them to seek out the ones who do not get as much attention simply because they can't ask for it, because those are the ones who need it the most.

We are talking mostly about Ruavis and Angelita.

Angelita has cried twice in my seven months here. Does she need more attention than she asks for? Absolutely!

I love spending time with her, but sometimes I am so caught up with those who are crying, poopy, in need of a bottle or hitting someone else and I do not get enough time to snuggle with her. Other times I am away all day or overnight on ministry trips. These things are all good, but I miss my girl.

Many people do not believe that kids like her even know what is happening around them.

I disagree.

One afternoon after being away all morning, I returned home in need of a shower and a few minutes alone. But as I passed the play/therapy room, I caught her out of the corner of my eye during her stretches. So I called out her name to say hello, and suddenly she broke out into one of the biggest grins I have ever seen! Her mouth was wide open, and her arms had raised up like they do when she is excited and tight.

Then she started laughing!

I had to drop my bag and go scoop her up in my arms. Again as I mentioned last month, she is about the size of a toddler, so holding her is about the perfect height to hug her tight. She kept smiling and laughing for several minutes. And then, just like that, she was done. She settled into a blank expression, but we could still identify it as a content expression.

She often gets set out of the way in a room with 12 kids and 5 wheelchairs, so sometimes we bring her in her wheelchair into the kitchen while we work. Her wheelchair gives us the ability to easily move our sweet but heavy precious one wherever we want, and she is at the perfect level for spontaneous kisses. I love turning from the dishes and seeing her beautiful cafe, but more than that, she loves it too. Sometimes she has a tired expression, but when we bring her into our workspace, she suddenly looks content, and sometimes smiles then too.

I love taking her to church. It's hard. But when the loud music starts, I pick her up and hold her as long as I can, switching my arms several times as they get numb. I can tell she loves it by the relaxing of her muscles and the content expression she gets on her face. Finally, I have to set her down because my back is just too tired to hold her while standing. But when I look over at her, she is grinning so huge that I can't help laughing.

You see, she may not be able to smile all the time, sometimes I just have to be satisfied that she is content just by noting how relaxed her face is, but it's enough. When she is tense and I see that she is uncomfortable, my world stops until she can relax. When my Angelita is content, the world is good.

Angelita is exactly that, a little angel.  

She is most precious.

I know a truth.

While all the world suffers injustices uncounted; when good men are persecuted, or worse, siglent; when children hunger, and the meek are trampled God is still good. I am not a theologian, and I don't have great words of books to prove what I have learned to be true. We see a lot of crap here, and it is very close. But God gives us gifts and lets us see His goodness often in Angelita's smile. It is a reminder of why this is so close to the ehart of God.

When Angelita smiles Everyone around smiles too. When she smiles there are excited voices calling for anyone and everyone to come see how happy she is. I have seen so many beautiful things since I came to this country, but none is as fantastic and beautiful as Angelita's smile.

When Angelita smiles, my world smiles with her.

August 18, 2015

Please be praying for both Angelita and Rosalinda.

Angelita has not been herself, and has had more days where she is lethargic and does not eat. We have struggled some days and not been able to give medications because she will not even drink one once. She had a good weekend full of smiles, but yesterday she again was not herself. Last night it took a lot to get her to open her eyes, and her extremities were again cold to the touch.

Rosalinda, who has been in the malnutrition center for a couple weeks, has actually lost weight, and is down to the weight she was when she entered our home in late January. She is a year and a half and now weighs 9.5lbs. Her cough is still present, and since she has been in the center, she has lost much of her progress in development. When she left us, she was beginning to crawl several feet at a time. She would ask for more while eating, and would answer yes when asked if she was ready for her bottle. She would sit and move to another room if she wanted, and babble and self play. She was very active. Now because of the increased demand on her body to meet basic nutritional needs, and the lack of stimulation she gets in a room with so many other kids, she has regressed a lot. I miss our girl. I will get to visit her again today, but these visits are so very short.

Thank you again for your prayer.