Thankful for broken casts.

Today I have a really good excuse for not updating in a while. The kids are out of school now for their long break. And it has been busy! But so much fun. I really do love having them home more. Things are more relaxed. And there is no math homework in the afternoons! YAY!

My mom is coming in two days and will be here with me for 11 days. I have a lot planned! :) I love visits from home and treasure them as they are pretty rare.

5 weeks ago one of our kids broke his arm. He is 9 years old. And I have had a really hard time bonding with him. He is very quiet, stoic, and standoffish. He doesn't like any kind of hugging or kissing. I asked him about it once. I said to him that that was how I showed my love to the rest of the kids. Not knowing much of his history, I decided to back off as I could be adding more trauma instead of making him feel loved.

About a month ago I was looking at some older pictures of him and I together. And I remembered when he first came to the home. He wanted to be near me. He would sit next to me, put his arm around me. When did things change? And how could I get him back? What had happened to make him feel differently about me?

So last week his cast broke at the elbow. It is a cheap cast and he is a 9 year old boy with a high tolerance for pain. It had ripped right open. So I was elected to take him to the hospital to get it looked at. I was nervous, that is for sure. I wasn't sure I would understand what they were telling me (why I still have an issue with that, I have no idea. I understand 95% of the time!)

Off we went. We didn't talk much on the way there. I explained to him that he needed to let us know when things like this happen (his cast had opened up the day before and he didn't tell anyone. He was just happy that he could get his fingers in there to scratch!).  It was a fast fix at the hosptial. They just reinforced it. I was a bit leary but figured it should hold up for a bit longer anyway.

On the way home we had to get a treat. I let him choose a chocolate bar and he got a pop. He was pretty happy and was savoring it. On the way back he started talking to me. I asked questions and he told me stories about the 3 other homes he had been in. He was in his fourth home and he is only 9! He told me about his sisters. It was great. I loved that he was opening up to me. And since then we have been doing so much better!

He now sits with me, comes up to me to say hello, and lets me kiss him. He even initiated a hug yesterday! I am glad to have him back.

In other news, I had a tupperware party on the weekend. Ha! I did it as a favor for a friend. It was fun and I made really good homemade cinnamon buns. :)

Hope you guys have a great week! I will. With my mom. :D

Wednesday nights.

I love Wednesday nights. Well, sometimes I wish I could stay home but mostly I love them.

I go up to the Home and look after the 10 youngest boys. They range in age from 8 years old to 12 years old. The two other house parents lead Bible study and help out with the youth group.

It is fun being with the kids when they are relaxed and don't have chores or homework to do. I get them all to myself! We usually watch T.V. for a bit and then do a devotion. After that, it is their night to play Nintendo and Gameboys. They love it.

I sometimes like to make treats for them. They love popcorn and ask for it often. I will admit, I have sometimes used it as a bribe to get them to calm down and go to sleep!

We do fun things. When the Canucks were in the playoffs last season we all watched game 7 together. They loved it because there was fighting.

Watching game 7

My Wednesday night group

I love to see them in their jammies. So cute!

Playing Nintendo. Popular activity.

And playing gameboy is fun too!

The dog snuck in one night.

Noe, one of the cutest. :)

This was Bible stories with puppets. Very amusing.

Engler and all his buddies.

Daniel the boy playing the Bible version of Daniel. He is in the lion's den. See his lion?

Engler was King Nebuchadnezzer (I just googled the spelling. :)

Noe was some sort of king.

The writing appearing on the wall.

Daniel, the boy and the Bible version,  interpreting the writing on the wall.

I really get a kick out of these kids. They are so creative sometimes. And sometimes they just want popcorn and a movie. :)

Sometimes we talk about serious things. One night I came home completely drained from hearing their horror stories. Sometimes I cry when I tell them things. I try to be honest with them. 

But tucking them in is definitely my favorite part. We pray together, then they all get into bed. This used to take a while. I learned that if I count backwards from 30, and threaten to stand them in the hall if they aren't under the covers by then, I usually get them into bed faster. 

Then I go around and kiss each one on the forehead and tell them I love them and to have a good sleep. Only one out of the ten doesn't like to get kissed. :) When I was little I loved it when my mom tucked me in. And now I love to tuck my boys in.

Once they are sleeping I like to go back in there at look at them. I assume other parents do this. They are so cute when they are sleeping, I can hardly handle it! Every boy sleeps in a different position with the blankets all different. One boy sleeps completely under the blanket on his side. Another is on his back with his blanket halfway down his body. Another is on their stomach and not using the pillow. 

I love that I get to spend this extra time with them. I see them relaxed and put them to bed. And I am always sleeping myself by the time the rest of the folks get home. 

Hope you enjoyed a little peek into my Wednesday nights! 

Antoni and the chickens.

Last week on Thursday Antoni had the day off school. He just turned 8 and is talking even more than ever! We now have a speech therapist working with him once a week.

I don't normally collect the eggs from our chickens, but it so happens that the morning Antoni had off, we had to collect the eggs. I know he has never done this before but because he is so anxious to do anything "helpful" I quickly decided to take him with me.

We had a little chat about how we need to walk slowly and not get scared when the chickens get near us. We can't yell or frighten them. I wish I had a video for what happened next.

He opened the door and held it for me (he has become quite the gentleman lately and LOVES holding the door open for me). Then he said "Excuse me chickens" and started walking towards the eggs. Every time he had to move a step he said again "Excuse me chickens". Then at one point he was holding the basket and was still for a minute while I filled it with eggs. They started pecking at his feet. I admit it, it wigged me out too the first time it happened to me! Then he kept saying to them "Not my feet, not my feet chickens". Then he would say "Aunt Naomi, the chickens got my feet". All this time he was obviously uncomfortable but remembered we have to be kind to the chickens. But every time he said "excuse me chickens" I about died from the cuteness of it.

On the way back to the house he held the basket on his head like a good little Guatemalan! I just kept holding my breath and hoping he wouldn't drop and break any of the eggs.

I love that kid!

He was at the front of the church for us to sing Happy Birthday to him.

One day I was trying to get a good picture of the two of us together. Didn't happen, but then again, I got a kick out of him laughing so hard every time he saw his picture:

Take 1!

Take 2!

Take 3!

Forget it!

Saturdays.

I love Saturdays. When I worked shift work, Saturdays didn't mean much to me. I was often working or sleeping. I worked and slept a lot when I had shifts, but I always had so many days off and that is what I loved! I still miss the fact that I can't take off when I want to. But it sure makes my Saturday's precious!

Yesterday I went to visit the Los Gozosos home. That is the Home I volunteered at for 5 months starting in October of 2009. I hadn't visited in just over a year and I was missing the kids and the staff. I knew Gaby and Leidy wouldn't be there (both recently passed away) so I knew it would be a little hard.

I spent the afternoon with them and had so much fun! They were watching movies and so it was relaxed. I got to take pictures and visit with the staff. It was so good to see how each child had progressed in behaviors or their physical capabilities.

Andres has grown a lot! He can sit up by himself much better now and he is definitely easy to make smile with a little tickle to the belly. :)

Daniel has grown about a foot! He has the longest and skinniest legs. He is 14 years old now (I think). He also sounds like a man. His voice is so deep it scared me! And yet he is just as sweet as ever. It was cute to hear his grown up voice singing along to Sesame Street. :)

What a goof!

Helen and Andrea where much better behaved. Especially Andrea! I couldn't believe when she was told to sit properly and she did! Of course, it didn't last long, but she did it whenever told. I was amazed! I would still love to hear her talk more.

Rosy was walking much better and also behaving better too. She also developed a sense of rhythm. More or less. She was dancing! Sort of. ;)

I'm pretty sure Nancy remembered me. She was the one that I had written off before as not understanding anything. She sits and constantly makes a noise somewhere between a scream and a groan and a laugh. It gets louder with excitement but only stops when she is sleeping. So when I told her I was leaving last time, she actually stopped the noise and looked right up at me. It stunned me. She understood what I had said. Rule #1. Never, never NEVER underestimate the kids you are working with. She touches people briefly with her hand when she knows someone and likes them. She started off with her soft brief touch but after a couple of minutes sitting beside her and talking she was grabbing my arm with a lot of force and holding on for much longer. That is why I think she remembered me. :)

Candy. As cute as ever.

Helen's comprehension is much, much better. I actually felt like we were communicating this time. And she is funny! Even though there are still very few words that she speaks. And she can still bust a move! :)

Pretty sure Goldie remembered me. She wouldn't go away from me! And she was definitely more aggressive in asking for a attention. And man she stunk! She really needed a bath. I told the ladies that both Goldie and I had gained weight over the last year. :)

It was a very good day. Being a Saturday, I knew they would be eating tamales for dinner so I was trying to leave before dinnertime. They caught me! They had bought an extra one for me so I had to eat it. I really don't like them. But, this one was a different kind and was made of potatoes. So much better! So I was glad I stayed. :)

Then I went home and made this:

Perfect way to end the night, I'd say.

Have a great week all of you!

Facebook.

How did we ever survive without facebook? How did we get along without daily updates on what everyone we know is doing? Whether they are good friends or just acquaintances. How else can we pry into lives of people we don't know or see pictures of our favorite people?

I have especially loved facebook since I moved to Guatemala. I am able to catch up on what others are doing. And see pictures of how everyone is. Somehow it is so much easier to write a message on facebook than to actually write an e-mail. Weird.

Anyway, I was stalking people on facebook this a.m. and a friend who I met while I was in Haiti had linked a note written by someone in her family. Not sure what the relation but he and his wife had just had a baby. But there was a problem. With her brain. With her breathing. With seizures. Being a NICU nurse, I could read a lot between the lines. I could look at the pictures and understand what I was seeing. And right now it isn't good.

This is such a hard time for families. I have stood by many families and not had the words of encouragement that I wanted. I didn't speak to them of Jesus and His healing power. Or His love. Or His control in this world.

I have learned so much since being down here. I don't ask the "why". Why were my kids abused? Why did that little girl die of something that would have never been an issue in North America. Why are kids hurting and starving and no one helping? There is no Why. God is in control. And we don't understand why it is all happening. But we don't need to.

Now it is very easy for me to write this. I am not very closely and personally affected by any tragedy. There are definitely serious things that I deal with, but I deal with them by the grace of God.

This dad has a very strong faith. He wrote of John 9 and the story of the blind man. And how no one knew why he had been born blind since birth. Doesn't that sound terrible? Not being able to see all of your life. And then Jesus healed him completely. And He said "this happened so that the work of God may be displayed in his life".

This tells me that this man and his wife have great faith. Would I see that in the middle of that kind of tragedy?

Then I was reading farther down his wall. Many, many people had posted that they were praying. Prayer is such a powerful thing. And then I came upon a post were someone had just left a quote from the Bible.

Psalm 139:13-18 "13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand."

I cried. It was so beautiful and moving. God saw this precious girl as He was forming her. She is fearfully and wonderfully made, just as she is. He loves her. She is His precious daughter. It was such a beautiful reminder. This little girl was NOT a mistake. She may struggle in her life. And her parents will struggle right along with her. Or she may be completely healed. It is not up to us. We just have to trust the God who put us all together.

Just a thought.

I am really trying to be more reliable with this blog. So tonight's post won't be anything really special.

I had posted a short video clip that I took of our kids yesterday with a visiting group. Just looked at it now and I had written "form" instead of "from". I used to do it all the time in my essays for nursing classes. I never re-read my papers. They were too long to read! 20-30 pages. Who wants to read something that long??!!?? But anyway, it was always such a glaring error and screamed to my instructors the fact that I never re-read my work.

Managed to pass anyway. :)

Today was good day. My car insurance expired this week. My insurance guy drove over an hour to get to my house so I could pay him and get my new card for the next year. He and his wife and I ended up chatting for over 40 minutes. I love Guatemala! Sometimes there are some handy conveniences.

I finally sent out a newsletter this week. I literally started writing it in May and sent it out in August. I honestly can't believe how fast time flies! But then I sent out an e-mail saying I had written the newsletter, and I forgot to attach it! So embarrassing.

I was going to visit another town to see some acquaintances, look into a therapy clinic for people with special needs and a school for special needs. Look around at land and houses. It is exciting! Please be praying with me so that I will be sensitive to where God is leading me. Finding the town is the first big step! I was going to go the second weekend in September but found out there will be elections that Sunday (weird day for the election but normal here) and I am told it is not safe to be traveling then. I was told by someone I trust that I should just stay inside that day and watch a movie. :) So maybe later on in the month.

I will leave you now with a few random pictures of my life in the last couple of weeks.

Chici and I.

Noe and Antoni in the new transition home for our older teen boys.

I was forced against my will to take this picture. It is a mouse. And not as big as the other 6 they killed that day. Victor and Rodolfo. And Spatz the dog is the mouse killer extraordinaire.

I love Noe's laugh. :)

My friend Nancy and I. Notice she has a salad and a water bottle. I have pizza, pop and cinnamon and sugar covered dough for dessert. And dulce de leche to dip it in! :)

Felipe's 14th birthday. I was so impressed he let me take a picture with him, I didn't notice that he didn't smile, and that there were a couple of jokers in the background!

On the right is Susana, our cook. We were all invited to her daughters wedding.

Aren't they sweet? Katerine and Fernanda, sisters.

I went for lunch with Chici an Victor at a restaurant in the Capital. This burger was amazing! I want it right now.

My friend Amy was in the U.S. for a couple of months so I got to look after her pug, Boby. I really enjoyed having him here. He is very sweet and likes to cuddle with me. I went to a pet shop after he left and to get a baby pug, it costs about $800. Just in case you were wondering, I walked out of there without a baby pug. But I did hold him. And he was cute. :)

So there is a glimpse into the last couple of weeks of mine. Have a great weekend all!

Naomi

Funny.

Last night when I was sharing with the kids I was talking to them about maintaining a relationship with Jesus. I explained to them that I talk to them every day and that is how I get to know them. It has to be the same with God. I need to talk to Him (pray) and read my Bible every day. I was telling them that when I don't pray every day, I sometimes get frustrated with them more quickly.

Today we had a group visiting. Usually I like this but today I was a little stressed out. I was trying to be more helpful... and I just ended up stressing myself out. So I was a little bit short with my kids in the afternoon.

I was standing at the pila watching them wash their socks (gross!) and was getting short with them for fooling around. I said out loud "why am I so frustrated with you guys today?" and Gerber quickly responded "you must not have prayed today." HA! And he was right.

At least I know someone was listening. :)

Gerber. Isn't he cute?

Tonight broke my heart.

It was my turn to hang out with the boys 12 and under tonight. We have a devotion time each Wednesday night and usually I have a copy of a kids Bible and I read them a few stories. They forgot to leave the Bible out for me so I decided to tell them a bit of my story. About growing up Christian and thinking that Jesus walking on water was normal. And that turning 5 loaves of bread into baskets and baskets of leftovers was normal. It was then that I was reminded by more than one child that there was also 2 fishies. :) But it ISN'T normal. It is amazing and miraculous.

I shared a few more things and decided to get personal with them. Most of them were actually listening attentively. And then the floodgates opened. Each child started sharing some of their family background or experiences in other children's homes. About the older brother who would "get into bed with him every night". About the mother or father that hit with small pieces of firewood. With iron. With their fists. It went on and on. It was almost like they were trying to outdo each other. With tales of horror. They went on to show scars and explain where they came from. I purposely avoid asking where scars from as I really don't want to hear the story. It wouldn't be some daredevil trick they pulled off on their bike. It wouldn't be from falling out of a tree they probably shouldn't have been climbing. They are mostly inflicted by others. The people they are closest to in life. The ones responsible for their emotional and physical well-being.

These sweet boys, who sometimes drive me crazy, have seen and experienced more than they ever should. I kept having to bite the inside of my lip to stop myself from crying. I wanted to erase everything from their memory. One boy was telling me terrible stuff with a big smile on his face. It is how he gets through it. How he deals with it. It wasn't fun. But if he doesn't smile, what would happen to him?

And what do I say in return? Some of these kids are not with us permanently and may have to return to that situation. It just gets hard sometimes. I love these kids so much. And I hate that they have to live with those memories and scars for the rest of their lives.

3 1/2 months!

I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted. It drives me nuts to be honest. I love reading other peoples' blogs and I get annoyed when they don't regularly post. So what is my excuse?

I think I have figured it out. My life is normal now. The little things that used to be so different and funny and interesting are now a part of my everyday life. I actually was thinking the other day that I assumed missionary life (the daily living and housing situation) would be a lot more difficult. I love my apartment. Except for the color of the walls and the tiles. But it is cute and it has 2 rooms. I have never had 2 rooms to myself!

But when I really think about it, it can be difficult. The walls are cement and there is no central heating or air conditioning. This means if it is cold outside, it is cold inside. And man does it get cold up here! So I put towels under the cracks in the door and cuddle up on my couch with a bunch of blankets. But I didn't have enough blankets at the beginning. And I spent many months on an air mattress on the floor before I was given a donation that helped pay for the couches.

The running water is not drinkable. And I live on the second floor. This means about every week I have to carry those stupid heavy water jugs up the stairs, wipe off the top, and then try to put the bottle on top of the water base without getting water everywhere. It is a pain.

Speaking of running water, I only have it outside. My kitchen has no sink or counter or cupboards built in. So when I crack an egg or am baking and need to rinse off my hands, I have to go outside to do it. This is an even bigger pain. I have made my kitchen into a very nice space. I love it. But I wish it had running water.

I have metal bars on all my windows. I have to, for safety. I see past them now but they were difficult to get used to. It is weird being on the inside of a cage.

I don't have a dryer. In the rainy season it takes 2-3 days to dry my clothes. I hate it. But I am ever so grateful and thankful and blessed to have a washing machine. Really.

I can't go out at night alone. And I can't run alone in the day. It isn't safe. It is funny how you get used to fear.

There are spiders in my house. Enough said.

And this is just my house. There are many more things that make it difficult to live here. I encounter them on a daily basis. I just have to leave my front door! And don't even get me started on how it is to do any kind of paperwork here!

And yet this is not a post where I am complaining. Like I said, the other day I thought about how easy it was to live here. So why do I think that? God's grace. He has given me grace to tolerate things that before would have beaten me down and made me crazy in the process. I just love being here.

So I am sorry if I don't have any good stories anymore. Seeing men pee on the side of the road has become all too common. And diarrhea stories aren't as funny anymore. They have happened too often. Although, I was telling my friend in Canada a couple of stories the other day and managed to make her laugh. :)

The kids are amazing. I just need to post more about them. And I will. Once I have all lured you back into my blog!

Goodnight and God bless!

It's the little things.

Today I was reminded of the little things in my life that mean so much. So I guess that makes those things not little. Because they mean a lot.

I just got an e-mail from Chici. My "boss". She is so much more though. She is the spiritual mentor I have always wanted. She is teaching me how to administrate. She is teaching me how to love. She is teaching me how to be a good, strong christian woman. She is my pastor's wife. She is willing (and loves) to eat McDonalds with me. And she laughs with me when we eat a medium cheese pizza between the two of us. :) But most importantly, she is my friend. In this e-mail she writes, "Miss you already and you haven't left". I am so blessed to have her in my life.

I turned on my oven to make a pizza. And it turned on. I braved Tropical Storm Agatha last year in order to get to a garage sale an hour and a half early in order to get this oven for only $100. I was really excited about it but found later that the oven didn't always work. I have another very close friend here whose husband offered to pick up the part I needed in the U.S. for me and then install it as well. I made dinner for him and his family and found out the a.m. that they were coming that the meal I planned to make was one of his least favorite. Oops. He installed it anyway.

I have a friend who gave me a washing machine when she bought a new one. Unfortunately, something went wrong 6 months later and it quit working. But I had been given enough money in December that I could buy myself a new washer for my birthday. :) This is no little thing. It is hard to not have a washer. I often drive by the town pila's (big cement "sink" that holds water) and see ladies washing their clothes. They don't always have running water in their home (the town only turns on the water for a few hours in the a.m. Thankfully, my landlords have a big tank that sits on our roof and I always have water) so they wash in the pila's. They often have large families and are washing every couple of days. Washing clothes is physically hard work. And then they have to carry their wet clothes back to the house to hang it up to dry. Sometimes they have a wheelbarrow but most often, the ladies carry it on their heads. So I am thankful for a washing machine. But I miss having a dryer. Although I have gotten used to having clothes up on the line.

My landlords are amazing. I was sick a few weeks ago. I had thrown my garbage over the railing instead of walking down the stairs (the garbage REALLY needed to go out that day as I was sick IN the garbage). Unfortunately it landed in the middle of their walkway. So I texted them apologizing about it and said I was sick. They called me and asked what they could bring me. They went to the store and bought 2 types of crackers, sprite and gatorade. I had been crying earlier because I was sick by myself but it was nice to know someone cared. Adela even made me chicken and veggies for lunch. They were almost upset with me because I hadn't told them earlier in the day. And now, because I am leaving, they want to take me to the next city over for dinner on Monday night, my last night here. They are amazing landlords and I am so blessed to be living here.

I have such good friends here. My circle of friends is small but their friendships mean more. They hold me accountable. They give me things. They lend me things. They bake me yummy treats. They give me advice and worry about me. And when I see the quality of people that they are, I feel blessed that they call me their friend.

And the kids. I was surprised at the beginning when I fell so in love with them so quickly. And I had my times of trials with them but I still loved them. And it has grown into such a deep love that is scares me. They make me laugh. They make me angry. They make me insane. They make me so happy. They make me proud. I love knowing each one of their personalities. My best friends at home had girls and I didn't know what to do with boys. I was very hesitant about whether or not they would like me, or would I know how to play with them. And it has been amazing. Except this a.m. in homework time (the kids were off school and I was on my own with half of them). One of them let out a toot and it was pretty stinky. Thankfully those times are rare though. I get a kick out it. If someone is stinky or makes a noise they have to go stand outside the door for a couple of minutes. One day Antoni, our little 7 year old who is still learning to talk, was trying and trying to tell me something and getting very distressed because I didn't understand. Finally figured out he wanted permission to go outside to toot. His belly still has troubles because of his previous malnutrition so whenever someone doesn't want to admit to their stink, they blame it on poor lil Antoni!!!

As I now only have 4 sleeps until I leave for my former home it got me thinking. It is such a far away life. I have been to Canada once in the last 2 years. I live here now. And I have adapted. And I love it. I have established a life full of all the things I had before that were important, and then some.

I don't lead a charmed and perfect life. I have my bad days just like everyone else. But I love where I am and I love what I do. I would be truly sad at this point if God called me back to North America.

So here are some thoughts on a Friday night. I suspect that next time I write in here, it will be from CANADA!!!

Have a great weekend. I will. :)

It's a good thing I have my kids to keep me sane.

I have been stressed lately. I shouldn't even be awake right now. But I am trying to get stuff done.

But the stress is new for me. I don't get stressed much. And definitely not for long periods of time. And definitely not about going to Canada.

Guess there is a first time for everything.

But today I laughed a lot. Thanks to my kids. Sadly, along with the stress increase, comes a decrease in memory. But I remember telling one kid I was glad he was in my life. So it must have been good, whatever he said. Then again, I was about to cut him a brownie so he was probably sucking up so he got a bigger piece. Whatever. It worked.

I had to go to a meeting at one of the schools today. We didn't know what it was about so I took Angel (14 year old) with me. I didn't want to miss anything important. It turned out to be something about the parents coming to take their turns to make the snack. People weren't showing up, etc. So they said we would each get a paper with the name of 2 other people on it. Then I stood around for at least 1/2 hour while I tried to figure out what was going on.

Turns out, we had to find "friends" to sign up with us. 2 of them to be exact. Seriously? So here is the big white girl (I am a good head or more taller than anyone else in that room of about 100 women) standing there trying to figure out what was going on. And I sat on a bench next to a kid and he started wailing when he saw my white face. I even have a tan right now folks! I told the ladies writing down the names that I wanted a morning. They asked the group if anyone wanted to partner with me. Silence. It was worse than getting picked last for a team at gym.

I made an announcement. I didn't know how to make atole (the drink) and I wouldn't be the one coming. Someone else would. I thought maybe they didn't want to get stuck with someone who didn't know what they were doing. Silence.

So then they asked who else was ready to sign up. Then I heard a lady (who was only 3 feet in front of me and had heard me speak Spanish) say to another lady, "I don't want to be with the gringa". Nice. (a gringa is a white American) I looked at her and waited for the punch line. There wasn't one. She was serious.

I eventually found 2 other misfits who hadn't already made it obvious they were alone (one being a girl that looked about 12 years old) and signed up.

On the way home I pulled out a Snickers that I have had in my purse for a long time. I shared it with Angel to get over my rejection. He ate most of it very happily. He then informs me that he loves to eat chocolate but doesn't like the taste it leaves in his mouth. What did he want? A pepsi? Of course! But I didn't think he could finish it before we got home. He assured me he could.

So we stop at a store and he bought a 355 ml bottle (it was little and cute) and then informed me he could finish it before we got to the end of the block. Well, I didn't want to lose. He would have won except for the speed bump. I may not have slowed down for it as much as I should have. :) So I had a good laugh watching him chug. Then for the next 2 blocks I watched him try not to burp too loud at all the gas he had just thrown into his stomach!

When I got home, a couple of barbers showed up to cut the kids hair. Then I got to tell them how handsome they all looked.

It was a fantastic afternoon.

P.S. I am the only one allowed to call him Angelito (little angel)

The hard part.

This morning on facebook I saw a link to the blog of a missionary I met at a conference I went to in February. When I shared my vision with her of starting a home for kids with special needs she immediately replied, "can you start now?" She is a physiotherapist and has an outpatient clinic for kids and adults.

She began to tell me the story of a little girl. The story she shared this a.m. on the blog. http://journeyswithjennifer.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/jessicas-story/ She speaks of the little girl who went from a walking, talking little girl to one who can not even sit up on her own. This is a hard transition for any family let alone one who has very limited resources and limited education. In the villages, the belief is that a child who is "different" is either a punishment from God or completely the mothers fault. There is a huge stigma attached to having a child with special needs.

And my heart broke this morning. I know what God has called me to do. And I know His timing is perfect. But why can't I save this one little girl right now. Then I got to thinking. For every child I hear about in a desperate situation, there are hundreds more that I don't know about that are suffering. And hundreds more that I won't be able to save. So how do I choose? I want a home of only about 15 kids.

I have to know that what I am doing is helping those few more than I will ever fully understand, but what about the rest? That is the hard part.

Denis

I love Denis. I love them all but this one is a story about Denis so I thought I would throw the previous sentence in there. :)

On Monday I was helping a kid with their homework. Often the kids need to look through newspaper and magazines and cut stuff out. Things that are black. Things that start with the letter T. Things that are stupid. And I have no idea how or why this helps them learn. But that is for another post.

Anyway, the kid I was helping needed math help. This is an every day thing. The kids have grade 3, 5 and 6 math that they always need help with. And I am not a teacher. So I don't explain as well as I wish I did. That is also for another post. :)

As I was sitting there exasperated and wishing homework time was over, Denis came over and leaned against my chair. Sometimes he comes up and doesn't say anything so I asked him what he wanted. He handed me a small cut out of a giraffe. He knows giraffes are my favorite. Now if that isn't the cutest thing you have heard all day, I don't know what is! Once he saw how happy I was, he just went back to his seat and kept going with his homework.

That giraffe is now sitting on my dresser. He is very cute. I have the cutest kids ever. Really.

Miracle in the airport.

Last year, at the end of April, I had been in Canada for a few weeks and was stopping over in the U.S. to see some good friends of mine. We had FUN! I love their kids. I tried a new cinnamon bun recipe. It turned out to make "the goodest cinnamon buns ever" as declared by Luke.

We watched movies, did homework, played outside, went for dinner, danced, snuck me into a Crayola focus group and I even plugged up their toilet! P.S. Glen, I am still sorry I needed your help!

Carline and Luke kneading the dough.

Luke. At this point he had serious lung disease. Along with a whole host of other problems. He is the cutest and sweetest 9 year old I know. He is now 6 months post double lung transplant! With no sign of rejection!!! Praise God. His whole life has changed. If you want to read about them, their blog is http://www.cotaforlukem.com/blog. Really, they are an amazing family!

Carline making the icing.

How cute is this kid??!!??

How cute are we??!!??

Me with my "goodest cinnamon bus ever"!

Logan helped out with the icing too.

Yum!

About this point, Luke was ready to keep me forever!

I don't remember where Gregory was while we were making them, but I know he got in on the eating action. :)

As did Kiera, who was the youngest at the time.

It was a fun transition time for me. I wasn't worried about going back, which surprised me. I thought that I would get home and remember all the great things about living there and just want to stay there! As much as I had a fantastic time, I was ready to go "home" to Guatemala. That is when I knew I was legitimate. God had me down here for a reason and he put a desire in my heart to be among things that aren't necessarily comfortable, and yet so very rewarding and fulfilling.

My friends and family were so generous to me. I had 2 suitcases packed with stuff I had been given and needed. There are a few things that I can't get down here that I really do "need"! :)

Then I went to Heather's house. And they gave me more stuff! We went to a book store and Heather had a gift card and she said I could buy some books. Yay! I love books. She didn't tell me how much it was though so I thought I would choose 2 books. I ended up having 4 in my hand and I was asking her advice on which ones to pick. She made me pick them all! Wow, what a pushy friend she is.

We also did a Target run so I was filled to overflowing when I left.

I didn't get a chance to weigh my bags before I left the house but I knew they were overweight. They HAD to be. I had stuffed my carryon with a lot of stuff and it was so heavy but I was worried about my checked bags.

Glen ended up driving me to the airport that was over an hour drive away. And we left at 5 a.m. (P.S. Thanks Glen for getting up early and driving me so far!) When we got there, I got in the line up and almost right away was at the counter. Glen had gone to park the car and came in to make sure I was okay. Well, I was more than okay! The weight machine at my counter didn't work!!! And instead of lifting them 4 feet over to measure on the next scale, she just let them through! I was thrilled. It was a such a blessing for me. To have all this extra stuff that are luxuries for me, but not all necessary, and to be just waved through like that. I was so happy.

So happy in fact, that I wanted to share my joy with Glen. He is deaf. He had a cochlear implant so with that and reading lips I can communicate easily with him. Except I do have to raise my voice a little. So here I am, not wanting her to weigh my bags (which weren't on their way out yet) but wanting Glen to know about my miracle. So I turned away from the lady and tried to whisper really loudly so he would hear and she wouldn't. It mostly worked. She didn't hear, or if she did, didn't care, and Glen heard that the scale was broken but not that I knew my bags were overweight and I was successfully scamming the airline! Hee hee.

I am going to visit them again at the beginning of May on my way back from Canada. I look forward to seeing Luke withOUT oxygen. I have already been given my baking orders. :) I look forward to hanging out with all of those kids again. Last time I got roped into playing soccer with Gregory (I stunk at it. Still do) I cuddled with Carline and watched movies. I snuck in on Logan's crayola time. And just watched Kiera be hilarious. She is a bit wild. And now there is a new little girl for me to snuggle. I look forward to meeting Makayla. And just visiting with Heather. She promised to take me to the Melting Pot which is a fondue place. I get hungry just thinking about it!

Well, I meant to tell one small story and it kind of grew. I think I am de-stressing from a terrible afternoon of Math homework with our kids in grade 5 and 6. Whew.

Plus, you get 2 posts in one day! What a bonus! :)