January 9, 2008 "Expecting"

Back in Guatemala! There's something about living in the mountains with little to distract you from experiencing your day fully. It was definitely time for us to get out of Seattle's wintery wonderland. After snow for two weeks and walking around our neighborhood in snowshoes, we relished the beginning of our 'summer' here.
Right now I'm sitting at Casa del Mundo, a beautiful little hotel hideaway tucked off the shores of Lake Atitlan. A great place to just sit back and reflect on our experiences here. We are approaching Will's 52nd birthday and the two year anniversary since we began this new journey into the unknown. I would have to say that in some ways I'm less anxious than when we first arrived back in 2004. We've made friends, become a part of a small faith community and had our fair share of gastrointestinal earthquakes that Guatemala is becoming more like home away from home. Something as small as going to a local nursery and buying plants helps me to feel like this is 'my neighborhood'. I'm trying to remember names of the locals that we come in contact with. Not too difficult since many of the names are biblical.....Solomon, Israel, Lazarus. Speaking of names...The other day I was having a conversation with the Lord and asked when we might have small ones here at the home. I heard the Lord respond "soon". The next day, Pedro our caretaker told us in passing that his wife, Josephina is expecting a baby within the next 10-15 days! We responded with a 'Felicidades!'. Congratulations! We hugged and told him how happy we were for both of them. Pedro shared that they already knew that they were having a son thanks to ultrasound technology in a larger town nearby. Then came the amazing and very humbling part of our conversation. Pedro asked us if we would name their son. Will and I....gringos.....it was like God weaved one more thread through this tapestry that He is creating. I already knew what to name him immediately. In the past, I had prayed to have a son and when he came I would name him 'Samuel' after the prophet in the Old Testament whose mother cried out in desperation for a son. Well, God has His ways, doesn't He? And get this, Pedro said that their son's second name will be "Antonio" after Will's middle name. So, Samuel Antonio will be
making his appearance by the grace of God, very soon! This event has been a comfort to me.
I wasn't able to have a son as I had hoped but I'm going to have the incredible experience of watching Pedro's son grow up and maybe, just maybe I'll get to babysit him :)!

"How Can We Sing the Songs of the LORD While in a Foreign Land? Psalm 137:4

Yes, we can and we did over the past week and a half......We're back from our 8th trip to Guatemala since 2004. We had planned to bring some friends from Pennsylvania along but circumstances did not make it possible and so we were wondering who would make this journey with us as we still had alot of work left with the homes that we plan to house whomever God sends our way. Lo and behold, our good friends Don and Christopher who had joined us in May graciously came back! They are two dedicated men to Opal House and their skills were needed as we had tiling jobs that needed completion. These friends of ours are also 'cutting a path' for us with the local community. They enjoy making friends regardless of their ability to speak Spanish. They have encouraged me to come out of the woodwork and get immersed! I'm a little shy about putting myself out there with the little Spanish I've learned....but not Chris and Don! They just get out there and introduce themselves and break bread with those around them. We love them dearly. They would agree with us that this trip will go down as an extrordinary example of the Scripture that talks about "His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts". One day this past week while I was sweeping the main house for what seemed to be the umpteenth time, I heard someone yelling out for help. I ran from the house and saw Will running down the driveway with Christopher and Don following in close pursuit. I joined the pack and ran and prayed as Will said that Pedro had been in an accident. Pedro is the caretaker of the property. He was on his way to the next town in our Honda Passport because the radiator had been leaking. Will was following behind him in the van. To make a long story short, Pedro attempted to make a right turn but instead ended up flipping the Honda Passport down a ravine for about 300 yards! Will thought for sure Pedro was dead or seriously injured as he saw no movement in the car once it came to rest at the bottom of the ravine. He ran back to the house yelling for help and halfway down the hill found Pedro climbing back up the ravine! Will thought he was seeing an apparition. But instead he was seeing a walking miracle....or in Spanish...a milagro! God had protected Pedro. He was not wearing a seatbelt and had his window open. Instead of a tragic outcome, Pedro came out with a separated shoulder and some bruised ribs.
But it's what happened afterwards that would leave us overwhelmed. Our neighbors came out and praised God for the miracle they had experienced with Pedro's accident. They also asked us if they could help us in any way. Children gathered the pieces of the Honda that had been damaged and climbed up this hill to present them to us to keep them from being looted. One child came to us with the rearview mirror that had our rosary hanging from it, which Pedro must have knocked off as he tumbled down the ravine. This is now displayed in our living room as an example of God's care for us through our new faith community. And so we experience God's mercy and wisdom as we see Him use what should have been a terrible tragedy and use it to knit us together. We are so grateful and amazed! We have had a glimpse of what it means to just be present and walk with Christ daily and know that He is there to lead us......

August 14, 2007

"Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." Luke 1:45

Will and I are off to Guatemala to try and incorporate Opal House! We also hope to start the process of obtaining guardianship for the children. We expect, like prior trips that we will be led day by day. We always come back surprised.....The Father is always working, we know that we are just joining Him!