Home Again…For A While

As I type these words we are at approximately 36,000 feet on a Delta MD88 headed from Atlanta to Washington Dulles. As always at this point, Wanda and I are experiencing mixed emotions. We cannot wait to see our kids who are waiting for us in Pennsylvania, so we are anxious to get there. But, having said goodbye to our children at Hermano Pedro this morning, we are also hurting.

Over the last several days we have visited some wonderful ministries and had key meetings that have refined our vision and provided us with some much needed guidance. We also had the privilege of checking Gloria and Louis out of HP and spending our last afternoon in Antigua with them in the park. What a wonderful time we had with them putting their feet in the fountain, eating ice cream, and simply holding them without nurses looking over our shoulders! (Louis and Gloria are two of our 40 or 50 favorites!)

One thing that makes our departure from Guatemala easier is that it is taking us one step closer to getting there full-time. When we return home our lives will be filled with activity as we sell off our possessions, make home repairs, and put our house on the market.
And as we complete this checklist we do so with clearer direction as a result of this trip.

As I stated in an earlier post, this trip has answered some questions while also providing us with additional ones. However, we realize that these new questions are just a part of our journey to Guatemala.

As we jump whole-heartedly into preparations for our move I would ask you to please pray for us in the following ways:

• We are prayerfully considering a partnership with an existing orphan ministry in Guatemala. This partnership would enable us to function under their association as a licensed care-giver for children and avoid lots of red-tape. Please pray for God’s guidance on both us and the ministry.
• Please pray for God’s continued provision for our family during this transition. We will have to make at least one more trip (likely two) to Guatemala to meet with a ministry board and secure our housing. In addition, there are necessary expenditures in preparing our home to sell. Finally, there are lots of cost involved in the actual move. Please pray that God will meet each of these needs at just the right moment.
• We will be attempting to sell our home without the assistance of an agent. Due to the current state of the housing market we have lost much of the equity in our home and we need the 6.5% fee for our move. Please pray that God provides a buyer at just the right time.
• Hope for Home Ministries’ Board of Directors continues their search for my replacement. Please pray that God will lead us to the right person for the job.
• Also, please pray for the children of Guatemala. Under the current international adoption shutdown special needs children are suffering the most. In addition, Guatemala is now experiencing drought conditions that have driven up the cost of food. This means that the country’s poor are struggling more than ever. And in a country that has huge numbers of malnourished children, this is catastrophic.
• And, as always, please pray that the church of Jesus Christ will rise up and truly be the Church in the midst of a dying world.

More to come! Thanks for following and praying!

Daryl