One year ago today we arrived in this beautiful
country. I have wondered for several
days now how to tell you about this past year.
How to give you a year in review of sorts. It is tough to boil it all down and describe
all that has happened, however I will do my best to give you a sneak peek into
our current life, the many facits that make up who we are now, how it is here
in Guatemala, how life has changed us and how we are doing!
We have lived in 3 different homes, our kids have attended 2
different types of schools, and we have worked in one amazing village.
Our kids just
finished their first week of Guatemalan school. This is a school where
everyone’s first language is Spanish.
Classmates are learning English (because it is required here… isn’t that
awesome? I wonder what the United States would be like if a second language
were required in elementary school through graduation?) Our kids are proving to be more resilient
than I ever imagined, I laugh at my nievity to think I could stay one step
ahead of them in learning Spanish… they speak and understand so much! It is a beautiful thing, a dream come true.
Cecilia is growing into a beautiful young woman, however at almost 13 she is still a kid. She was built for this life. She is a missionary at heart, fearless when
she asks someone if they know Jesus. My toughest job with her is to stay out of
her giving and loving ways! As her mom I seek to find every way possible to
support her visions and efforts as she navigates her life! She is a "Chapina" (slang word for Guatemalan)
at heart… sporting her Spanish like a local.
Gabriel is a
dreamer… his 11year old mind does not sit still. He
constantly figures out how to do something new and how the impossible is
possible. The kid has faith like I have
never seen… now if he can learn the patience required to see the seeds he
plants grow, he will be unstoppable. He
loves the Lord, he seeks the Lord and finds his heart interwoven with Gods.
Samuel is
hungry! Yes we feed him! However at 10 he is always hungry… the boy is
growing mentally, spiritually and physically! He loves everyone and is willing to try
anything new. Trying new things comes in
handy in this country! Samuel is brave.
Brave in his person and in the Lord.
He trust and believes the promises of God, He knows God has a future and
a hope for him and he lives life accordingly!
Our marriage is
stronger than ever. I am reminded on a
daily basis how blessed I am to have a husband who cares. He cares to serve God first with his whole
heart. He cares deeply about his 4
children, where they are spiritually, mentally and physically. He cares about me… he takes care of me. We just celebrated 15 years with a hug, a
kiss and a high 5. It seems so simple
and basic, but the truth is we celebrate our marriage often, we do not take a
day or anniversary for granted, marriage takes work and we are thankful for
each day we get to work at it.
Our family is
closer than ever! Even though we are
distant from our extended family, both sets of grandparents and our oldest daughter Demar has
visited at least once this past year.
My dad came twice with my nephews, my mom is here for a two week stay as
I write this and Demar will be here again in just 10 days! It is comforting to have all of them so
interested in our lives here. Our
immediate family of 5 is closer too… we have faced crazy odds this past year,
navigating our moves, new schools, having less and serving others more. Our family near and far has sacrificed so much,
yet they never complain about the “loss”
because this life we have chosen has so much more to offer each of
us! George and I are amazed at the love our children continue cultivate
for each other. We give them to God each
morning, and each night we are reminded that His mercies are new again!
Our home is the third one we have lived in this year. God immensely
blessed us as we moved closer to El Rosario.
We now live in the cool mountains of San Lucas. We are thankful for so much here. Right now I am thankful for the fireplace as
I sit typing under a blanket… it is cold and reminds George and I of our own
childhoods in Colorado. This is not a flip the switch gas fire place, it is a "Gabe and Sam please go get some wood and carefully start a fire to warm this
house up fire place!!" How awesome is that?
The yard is bigger than our last one, and beautiful with an orange tree. Upon moving to Guatemala and until we moved
here just 3 weeks ago, we thought our children would never get to play out in
the front with friends again. This small
neighborhood of about 25 homes is packed with Guatemalan kids just our kids ages.
Really it is something I never dreamt could exist here. Although this new home
is wonderful… much more than we expected as we moved in, it still has its 3rd
world quirks. I was washing our dishes
in the pila just last week as the entire neighborhood ran out of water! Internet is hit and miss… but that is ok, we
are blessed!
Our ministry, oh
my goodness, where do I begin? It is growing.
Ok honestly you need to go read George’s blog on it. He has been so good at documenting everything
that God is asking of us. It is
overwhelming when I sit and think of all that is going on. However just last weekend I sat eating beans
and tortillas with a group of kids in El Rosario, I was first wondering how
long my simple Spanish would last me as I fed a sweet little boy his beans and
banana, and then I realized that I can no longer imagine life without our
friends in this beautiful community. Our
past is a dream and this is now our reality and our life. These people, these families, these women,
these children, we love them. Our kids
and I ache for the days we get to visit and love on them. Each day George comes home we sit with eager
anticipation for him share his day with us. Who he met, who he held, who he prayed for
and who God laid in his path for us to love!
Ministry is exciting, never ending and the reason we are here!
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