More Juggling

The last two days have been a blur. Hosting such a large team has been challenging as we needed to split the group in half and send them to two different locations on Wednesday and Thursday. Yesterday half the group went to Casa Jackson (the malnutrition clinic) and held children, organized, cleaned, and repaired. The other half went to Hermano Pedro and took some of the children and adults to Pollo Campero and to the park. They had a great time removing socks and shoes and putting the children’s feet in the fountains.

Today the groups swapped locations. The Casa Jackson team loved on the children and a couple of our guys repaired sinks, toilets, and did white-washing. I feel horrible, but the Hermano Pedro team was short-changed today due to my inability to juggle my ministry team responsibilities with my moving responsibilities. I met with Chris Mooney of Bethel Ministries in Chimaltenango this morning and he helped me establish our bank account. One of Pat Duff’s friends graciously agreed to drive me to the appointment. My meeting was completed quickly, but I forgot that I was on Guatemalan time which runs much slower than American time. By the time my gracious driver returned me to Hermano Pedro, it was too late to check the children out for lunch or for a trip to the park. I tried to make it up to them by treating them to a nicer meal at Mono Loco. I don’t know if I appeased them all, but they all enjoyed the food.

I do want to praise God for Chris Mooney. He introduced me to a key person at his bank, helped me set up our account, and promised to vouch for us financially. As a result, we have been granted immediate access to funds deposited to our Guatemalan account from the US (normally at 30 wait to clear). Chris and Donna Mooney do wonderful work through Bethel Ministries, and I encourage you to check out their ministry by clicking here.

Tomorrow we will head to Amor del Nino where we will love on more children and throw a New Year’s Eve party. Tonight…sleep! You know you are tired if you nod off in a Tuk Tuk!

Good night from Antigua, Guatemala!

Here are a few pics of the last few days:

Worthwhile Work

Today our team spent the day at Los Gozosos, a special needs group home in Chimaltenango. As always, we experienced a sharp contrast from our time at Hermano Pedro. In Los Gozosos the children are loved deeply by those who care for them. Each child is known and pushed to achieve their full potential. Joy is evident in both the kids and the nannies, and Christ is the center of it all.

We helped with some of the many jobs that needed to be done around the home. Our group worked together to mow, edge, lay gravel, groom flower beds, install lights and outlets, fix doors, wash window, and more. While the work was exhausting, it was so worthwhile. The work done in this home is important to the kingdom, yet they are underfunded and overwhelmed. Any assistance provided is greatly appreciated.

We also had the opportunity to spend time just loving the children. Laughter was abundant along with hugs and kisses.

I would encourage you to find out more about Los Gozosos by visiting their Web site at www.losgozosos.org.

Here are a few photos from our day:

Catching up

It’s been quite a while since I last posted here. To be honest, life has been full over the last 6 weeks since we returned from Guatemala. Packing…selling…Thanksgiving…packing…selling…preparation for our December team…packing…selling…Christmas… You get the idea.

But now I am airborne with our largest ministry team to date and heading back to Guatemala. So when I found out Delta was offering free in-flight internet for the holidays I realized my next three hours of captivity could be partially filled by addressing my severely neglected blog.

So, let me begin by saying that I am, indeed, alive. As I write this, our family is 30 days away from our move to Guatemala. Preparations are in full swing and we are excited to finally have our new ministry in our sights. When I return on January 2nd, we will have 11 days of packing and selling left before leaving to visit family in NC and PA. There is still so much that remains to be done that our to-do list seems rather daunting. But our excitement and adrenaline is keeping us going through the fatigue.

In the midst of all the work, our family was able to enjoy one of our best Christmases ever. We were able to spend Christmas Day serving the Lord and others in a ministry that was very near and dear to our family. In addition, on Saturday, December 18 our family went down to Kids Against Hunger to help pack food for malnourished children. I can’t recommend this organization enough. For a quarter a day you can provide a meal a day for a child. Combined that with a trip down to Cincinnati to work with them for two hours, you can provide and pack enough food to feed a child for a year. And families are welcome to work together, with children as young as age three helping.

Kids Against Hunger is providing the food for our Wheels of Hope program (our rural village ministry). I would encourage your family and church to get involved by supporting them with both your money and time. You can find out more at www.kidsagainsthunger.org.

This whole Christmas season was made more significant in that we spent last Christmas and New Year in the hospital with Joshua. As a result, we have treasured every minute of our freedom and health this year. Plus, we really enjoyed God’s gift of a white Christmas!

As we move into a new year, I greatly appreciate your prayers on behalf of our team as we serve for the next eight days. This week promises to be challenging as my daughter, Brittney, and I will be sharing leadership of our team of 20. In the midst of the week, I will also be meeting with lawyers, real estate agents, banking officials, and ministry representatives. Please pray that these meetings go smoothly and quickly and that I am able to complete the tasks that are crucial for our move. Also pray that God moves in mighty ways in and through our team.

Please pray for our family as well as we complete the final preparations for our move. We need God’s guidance and strength in the coming month.

I promise it will not be another 6 weeks until another update. In fact, I will likely post several this week.

Happy New Year to all of you!