So Far Gone: August 2018

I have now been back in Guatemala for 9 days, but it feels like I never left. I love being home again. There are challenges especially as I have been gone long enough that everything I do takes so much linger than it did before. But I love our new kids that I had not yet met, and I have greatly missed this culture and people.

This week our team went again to visit one of the villages on the side of the volcano to help with continued support of the community. I was working in the home, but when they returned my heart broke again at the description and pictures from the road through which just reopened this week. I had followed every news story, and every update about the eruptions, but I still can hardly grasp the devastation. There is still so much heartache, and loss. Many people are upset that the road is open again because they still have family members buried in the villages the road passes, and efforts are now on the road and rebuilding more than on recovering the bodies. This is hard, because the road is essential and must reopen, but these people feel their loved ones are not valued and respected. I had not realized the geography of where the pyroclastic flows had gone, and I didn't realize that this was a road we have taken for years. It was hard to grasp that the houses I used to pass are those that are so buried in the pictures.

Please keep praying for the families here. The world news had moved on, but their needs have not. Pray for their physical needs, but also their emotional and spiritual well being as they have to resort their entire lives.

I had the opportunity Monday to travel out to see one of our children in a remote area in Tecpan with Joel. She has been sick, and we went to check on her. While there God reminded me how vast His world is, and that He loves His children in every tiny corner of it. When we prayed with the family, God showed me how much he loves this little girl, and her mother although I hardly know their lives and their struggles. He knows every detail, and they are most precious to Him. What a blessing to be able to talk about our powerful God with this family.

In the home I am relearning things that used to be second nature. But I praise God for moments to speak into the lives of our kids, and our staff. Sometimes it seems to get through, and other times no. Two of our kids, Cesar, and Olimpia, have been getting into a lot of trouble this week. I spoke to Cesar about hitting other kids, and that this was not showing love like we have been shown. We prayed and for a little while, he was calmer with the others. And over lunch, I learned that Any, our children's teacher and friend, had had a similar conversation with Olimpia, and they too prayed together. These conversations may not seem to make a difference, but over time their impact can be incredible.