Almost there!

Praise God!  Hogar de la Esperanza is now getting very close, hopefully within a week, to being an officially licensed group home for special needs orphans!  We have been working on the licensing process for this ministry for quite some time.  And we are so excited that we are now getting close to the end of that process and to the beginning of this exciting ministry! 

This group home will be family based.  We will be bringing the children into our house and living with our family, as valuable members of the family.  They will eat at the table with us, have family devotions with us, go to church with us, etc.  Our goal is to live as a family, not as an institution.  This is not to imply that all institutions are bad; it is just to say that our desire/passion is to give these precious children a family, not a large institutional setting.  We believe that they can receive better care in a smaller setting.  Plus, every child deserves to be part of a family.

We are being licensed to take in children from birth to 12 years of age.  Although once they are in our home, they do not have to leave when they turn 13.  We will be specializing in children with moderate to severe Cerebral Palsy (like our daughter Kimmie), Spina Bifida (like our son Joshua), and Down’s Syndrome.  We will be licensed to take in up to 12 children.  But likely, depending on the severity of their needs, that number will be lower.

Although we want to stay small enough to keep the family feel, we also recognize that we need help in the home in order to give these children and our own children quality care and attention.  Therefore, we will hire help as necessary.  Our goal is to hire mothers of special needs children to help in our home…especially widowed/single mothers.  In preparation for the upcoming opening of the home, we have recently hired our first in-home worker.  Her name is Aura, and she is a single mother of eight beautiful daughters, one of which has some special needs.  She has already proved herself to be an honest and hard worker.  Right now she is cleaning and cooking  (Guatemalan food) for us.  But, as we start taking in children, she will also help with childcare…bathing, changing, feeding, and loving on the children.  She is a great blessing to us; and this job has already been a real blessing to her and her daughters, as she had no income previously.  We praise God for sending Aura to us.

Our family and the children who will be brought into our home will continue to live on the lower level of our house, while the second level will continue to be used for hosting others—ministry teams from the States, Guatemalan families with whom we work that need a place to stay when they come to the Antigua area for doctor’s appointments, and others as needs arrive.  We are very grateful that God has blessed us with this large home which we can use to minister to so many people.

This is such an exciting time for us, as we have been waiting and working a long time for this ministry to become reality.  Please pray with/for us:

                Praises:

1.      The licensing process is almost complete and the house is ready.

2.     That God started preparing us years ago, when He called us to do foster care and then to adopt special needs orphans.  Those experiences are helping to make this group home seem a little more possible and natural.

3.     That God has already sent us Aura as a valuable staff member in our home.

4.     That God has given us children that understand our call and want to help with the ministry.

                Requests:

1.     We recognize that with the opening of this home, our family life is going to change  significantly.  Please pray that we will transition as smoothly as possible into this new  family ministry.

2.     That even now, God will prepare the right children for us and prepare us for them.

3.     That Daryl and I will be able to successfully juggle our present responsibilities along with the new responsibilities of this added ministry.

Your prayers, encouragement, and support are greatly appreciated and needed.  Thank you to all who are ministering with us in these ways!   You are also valuable members of our team!

Weren't Our Children Still Little Just Last Year?!!!

A few posts ago, I focused on the older half of our clan.  The younger half is also changing and growing quickly.  Although, fortunately for us, none of them are getting ready to leave the nest.  (After the first five, we need a few years break from children moving away from home.)

JONATHAN, our youngest child, is already 8 ½ years old and is almost finished with 3^rd grade.  He loves to draw and has a great imagination.  His official paperwork says that he is Guatemalan.  However due to his lack of love for soccer, we are not quite sure.  We adopted Jonathan a little over 5 years ago.  How time flies!  We have some incredible, miraculous stories to tell about how God provided the $29,000 for his adoption.  Plus, the trips to Guatemala to complete his adoption were used by God to start growing in us a passion for the wonderful children of this country.

  

KIMBERLY is now 10 years old and growing so quickly.  (Although most days she thinks she is 18 or so.)  Kimmie has been part of our family for 7 ½ years.  In spite of her cognitive delays, she is doing a wonderful job with her 2^nd grade school work.  Her adoption was used by God to spark our burden and love for special needs orphans.  She enjoys reading and putting puzzles together.  She would prefer to sit around talking to adults for hours than to play with her neglected dolls and toys.  She also shows  a lot of patience and love as she holds, talks to, and cares for the special needs children with whom we work.  She is such a joy to have as a daughter.

  

JOSHUA…Oh, there is so much that I could say about Joshua!  He is also 10 years old now, soon to finish the 4^th grade, and his adoption was completed almost 5 ½ years ago.  Life has not been the same since the moment that we met him.  By that, I mean that life has not been quiet since the moment we met him.  What Joshua lacks in leg strength, he makes up for in determination and volume.  He likes to do almost everything.  He is full of life, joy, hyperactivity, and noise.  He is a great source of free entertainment. 

JEREMIAH is 12 years old and in 7^th grade.  And he is definitely in a growth spurt.   I am now used to having daughters taller than me, but to have a son approaching my height feels a little strange.  Jeremiah is doing a wonderful job with his Spanish, although he has never taken even one class to learn it.  (Although I am proud of him for that, I am also very jealous of him for that.)  He enjoys drawing, being outdoors, playing sports, and helping his Daddy around the house and with ministry.  He is growing into quite the young man.

TARYN has definitely transformed before our eyes from a child to a young lady in the 2 ½ years since we have been here.  She is now a high school freshman and doing a fantastic job with her full school load.  In just three months, she will be 15 years old.  Taryn is a beautiful and talented young lady.  She, too, is learning Spanish very quickly.  She enjoys crafts, reading, and working with children.  Before too long she will be the oldest child in our house.  Hard to believe!

  

All five of them have accepted Christ as their Savior.  And they are each growing, at their own rate, in their love and service for Him. 

A brief update on the older girls:

Brittney’s job (homeschooling a special needs 11-year old girl) has ended for the year.  So now she has the opportunity to focus her efforts on her university classes.  For the next four months, Brittney will be taking double load on her school classes, and then she will be ready to start her student teaching.  

Krishauna is getting ready to make her move to Casa Bernabe Orphanage at the end of this month.  But in the mean time, she is dealing with some dental needs that she has.  Tomorrow (Thursday) morning, she will be getting all four of her wisdom teeth pulled.  This is complicated by the fact that a dentist here in town tried to pull one of her wisdom teeth last week.  After a lot of tugging and pulling, she decided that she could not do the job and would have to send Shauna to an oral surgeon.  As a result Krishauna has been dealing with a great amount of pain, swelling, and infection since last Thursday.  We are praying that this Thursday goes much better than last so that she can have some pain relief and start eating again.

Teisha has arrived safely to Troy, OH.  She will be starting her job next week.  She is living with some wonderful friends there, but I know that she would enjoy seeing those of you who live in the area.

Carissa is still in Uganda…for about 6 more weeks.  She has finished homeschooling the children of the family with whom she had been living.  She is now living and working with a Christian-run group home (called Ekisa) for special needs orphans in Jinja, Uganda.

 

Did I say they are growing up quickly?...Well, maybe in body, but I think they will always be kids at heart!...and I like it that way!

God has blessed us immensely with our wonderful children!  And I look forward to seeing what He is going to do in and through them in the coming years!

 “CHILDREN ARE A GIFT FROM THE LORD; THEY ARE A REWARD FROM HIM."  PSALM 127:3 (NLT)

Speed Bumps and Pot Holes

Driving in Guatemala is NOT like driving in the States!  Besides the narrow roads, the lack of street signs, the abundance of dirt roads, frequent flooding, long traffic jams, and the complete lack of driving laws, one must also learn to navigate around the parked cars, staggering or passed-out drunken men, young children playing in the streets, processions, and more stray dogs than you can imagine...not to mention the chickens, pigs, goats, etc.  It is not uncommon  to suddenly come to a plant or a large tree limb in the middle of the road.  These are signs that indicate that you need to slow down or stop.  It might be due to road construction, a closed road, a broken down vehicle, etc.  Or my personal  favorite Guatemalan “traffic cone” is a rock, which may or may not have white paint splattered on it, strategically placed in the center of the road.  This kind of “traffic cone” leaves you no option but to stop…sometimes against the rock, depending on how dark it is at the time.

To complicate matters just a bit further, there are  also an over-abundance of speed bumps and pot holes.  Sometimes those pot holes are so big in diameter and so deep that they seem more like sinkholes.  Needless to say, it takes extra patience and skill...and sometimes even a sense of humor...to navigate the streets of this country!

In many ways, life is like driving in Guatemala.  Life is full of emotional highs and lows.  It is full of speed bumps and pot holes, narrow roads, and people that don’t follow the “rules”.  There are plenty of small obstacles in the way around which we must navigate in order to get to our destination.  Sometimes  there are big obstacles in the way that warn us to slow down, or that completely stop us in our tracks. 

It is so easy, at times, to allow those pot holes in life’s journey to bring discouragement….something of which I have been struggling recently.  Sure, they may slow us down a bit.  They may even completely stop us for a short time, but we are called to keep going…keep running toward the finish line…and do it with the peace and joy that God offers us. 

Sometimes life demands a little extra work, a little extra patience, and a sense of humor.  But with God’s help, we can still get where we need to go.  We can still navigate through it all and reach the finish line with joy.

Why do I allow speed bumps and pot holes to bring discouragement into my life when my Master and Best Friend is the One who created the mountains with His breath?!!!

"I lift up my eyes to the hills.  Where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  
                                                       Psalm 121:1-2

The Difference a Family Makes: A Child's Perspective

Being part of a family makes all the difference!  When a child is adopted, he not only finds his own house, bed, clothes, and toys, but he finds Love, Acceptance, and Security.

We adopted our son, Joshua, from China when he was almost five years old.  He has Spina Bifida and walks with leg braces and crutches.  Family has made a HUGE difference in Joshua's life.  I recently came across this short story that he wrote last year.  This shows just one of the many advantages of being part of a family.

From the heart of a child...

*If you had trouble reading Joshua's story, it is typed

below, with corrections.

                            EVERY CHILD NEEDS ACCEPTANCE AND SECURITY.
                                            EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY!

_________________________________________________________________________________

*Joshua's Story (with corrections)

"The Snowman's Adventure"

There once lived a snowman.  The snowman's name was David.  David tried to play with the other kids, but David has some special needs so he couldn't do many of the things with the other kids.  One day, the other kids were playing Hide and Seek.  David tried to play with the other kids, but the other kids said that he was a bad "hider."  David was sad that he was left out.  One day David was looking at the kids playing when he heard a noise behind him.  He realized that it was his brother.  He started to cry with joy.  The brothers played until it was night time.

Hold on...but not too tightly!

Life in Guatemala is quite different from what we were used to in Troy, OH.  One of those many differences is the crime rate.  Some of the most common crimes affecting tourists and foreigners in Guatemala are petty thefts like pick-pocketing and purse snatching.  In crowded areas, it is very common for people to get their purses or bags slashed from the back and wallets removed.  This has happened to three of our daughters and to several of our friends.   Quite a few of our friends have been robbed at gunpoint or knife point.  Many of them have had their cars broken into and items stolen.  This is just a part of life in Guatemala…a part that we don’t like, but of which we are becoming accustomed.  

We often tell our teams, and remind our children, of these practical ways to cut down on their chances of being robbed: 

“Hold on to your belongings!...

Keep your wallet and phone in your front pocket, not your back pocket.
Keep your purse and bags in front of you and hold on to them with your arm.
Don’t take anything with you that you don’t need.
Don’t pull out your money or phone in public places unless necessary.
Don’t lay your purse, phone, or camera down on the table unless your hand is on it.”

“…But don’t hold on too tightly! 

If someone pulls a knife or gun on you and asks for your money, phone, camera, bag, etc., don’t argue or fight back.  Just give him what he wants.  That way you have a much better chance of walking away alive and uninjured."
                         

Hold on, but not too tightly.  This is not just practical advice about our belongings, but it is also a lesson that God has been teaching me about our children.

 

Years ago, when we were about to lose another one of our long-term foster children, I remember telling a friend that this was one of God’s children and that He had given him to us for a short time.  At that time, God reminded me that ALL of our children were His, and we were given each one of them for a short period of time…some for a few months, some for a couple of years, and some until they reached adulthood.  But they all belong to Him to put in our home and take out of our home as He sees fit.

Now, years later, as our children are reaching adulthood, God is again reminding me to hold on to them…hug them, feed them, cloth them, discipline them, teach them, mentor them, watch them grow in wisdom and stature, pray with and for them,…and then let them go.  Holding too tightly can cause damage to both them and us.

Over recent years, we have gradually been loosening our hold on our five adult daughters.

We have already let go of ASHLEY (age 22).  About two-and a-half years ago, she moved out of our home and is now living in Troy, OH with her husband, Dustin, and son, Tristan.  They work at Walmart and ConAgra Foods, respectively.  Tristan will be 2 years old this July.

This past January, we had to release our grip on CARISSA (age 19).  She is in Uganda, Africa right now, serving as a missionary nanny for a family there. She is also preparing for her future and permanent ministry in that country.  On June 11^th, Carissa will be returning to Guatemala for a short time.  Then, after doing some speaking and fundraising in the States, she plans to return to Uganda to spread the love of God by opening up a group home for special needs girls.  Because Carissa is so young and this is her first time to live away from home, it has been quite difficult to let go and send her alone to the other side of the world.  But she is doing well and God is paving the way for her future ministry. 

In just under three weeks from now, we will also be loosening our hold on TEISHA (age 19) for the first time.  On April 24^th, we will be putting her on a flight to the United States.  She will be living in Troy, OH for the next four months while working at Culvers to save some money for school.  Then in September, Teisha will be starting a two-year program at Word of Life Bible Institute in New York.  This will provide her with some preparation for her future ministry in Uganda, Africa.  She hopes to teach and disciple women and children there to a deeper knowledge and love of God.

KRISHAUNA (almost 22 years old) went away to college a few  years ago, but then returned home so she could move here to Guatemala with us.  She has continued her education with on-line classes through Grand Canyon University, studying early childhood and special education.  It is taking her longer than she had hoped to get her degree because finances only allow her to study half-time.  Krishauna is also getting ready to leave home for a while again.  On May 31st, she will be moving for 6 months to a Christian orphanage (Casa Bernabe) a couple of hours from here.  There, while getting some much needed Spanish practice, she will be serving as a helper in one of the girls’ homes and working with the school.  Her long term plans are to serve the Lord here in Guatemala by working with special needs children.

We also began the letting go process of our oldest daughter, BRITTNEY (almost 23 years old), a few years ago as she went away to college.  But she, too, transferred her early childhood/special education training  to on-line classes at Grand Canyon University so that she could begin her ministry here in Guatemala.  Brittney hopes to finish her formal education with the next 9-12 months.  This will enable her to begin her future ministry in San Pablo La Laguna, Guatemala,  spreading the love of Jesus through her work with special needs children and their families.  This is a very low-income area of the country that is in great need of missionaries and people to work with their special needs children.  She is very excited as she sees that God is already paving the way for her ministry there.

It is difficult, at times, to let go of our children.  However, God asked us to raise them from infancy to childhood to adulthood.  He entrusted us to introduce them to Him, teach them, train them, and equip them to do His work.  Now, as I see them getting ready to head out the door, ready to take on the call and the work that He has prepared for them to do, I feel a sense of accomplishment.  “God, we have done what You have asked us to do to the best of our ability.  We held onto our girls for the years that you asked us to hold on.  Now we release them to do Your work.  Please go with each of them to these three different countries, as only You can do, and take care of them better than we ever could.  Thank you, Father, for our girls.  Thank you that we have the freedom let go because we know that You will hold them forever.”

*Each of the girls who are going into full-time ministry have a blog of their own.  If you interested in following them and learning more about what God is doing in and through them, please see their links listed to the right on this page.

Buckle your seatbelts and hang on for the ride!

All in all, we are a fairly average family.  (Well, some of you who have known us for a while may disagree.)  But we have made some choices in our lives that make us stand out in a crowd.  Actually we made one big choice.  In the Old Testament, Joshua told the people of Israel, "...then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve..But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15 (NIV) This is the one big choice that we have made together:  We will serve the Lord…wholeheartedly!    As a result, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is leading us on an incredible  adventure!  And it is so wonderful to travel that adventure with Him! 

 On July 23, 1988, when Daryl and I vowed before God, family, and friends that we would commit to each other until the day we die, we had no idea of the magnitude of the adventure that lay ahead us.  If we had known at that point, we probably would have been shaking in our shoes.  God, the Creator of the Adventure, is the ultimate Guide.  

In  the last 25 years He gave us five biological children and 23 foster children.  He asked us to adopt two of those foster children (ages 7 and 10).  Next, God led us to Korea to adopt a 2 year old girl with moderate cerebral palsy…then to China to adopt a 5 year old boy with spina bifida…then to Guatemala to adopt a 3 year old boy with a heart condition.  During these years, God led Daryl to youth ministry, then church planting as a head pastor, then adoption ministry in the States.  And most recently he led us to sell almost everything that we owned and move to Guatemala to share the love of God through ministering to special needs children. 

 Oh, what an adventure it has been!  And we wouldn’t give it up for anything!  What if we had not chosen to serve Him, as Joshua challenged us to do?  What if we had said “no” when he wanted to bless our family with just one more child, biological or adopted?  What if we would have refused to speak out on behalf of the least of these or to find adoptive homes for orphans? What if we had turned down His invitation to move to Guatemala?   What would we have missed?  At times, God asked us to take a small step, or a big step, or a leap.  When we did it, and when He came through for us again, we thought, “NOW we have faith!”  God smiled and said, “Well, yes, a little more than you had before.”  But He knew that we would need even more faith  for the next step.  And then He gave us a little more.  I am so thankful for our growing faith that allows us to travel this road!

While Daryl’s blog (www.hopeforhome.blogspot.com) focuses on the ministry that we do here, several of you have asked for a more personal look into our family and life in Guatemala.  So that is what I am seeking to do.  I hope to give you a glance into the wonderful people and culture of this country that we love so much.  And I hope to keep you undated on the work that God is doing in and through our children.   I cannot completely separate ministry from personal life, because there is a constant overlap, as there should be.  But hopefully I can help you catch a glimpse into our adventure.

Just an average family who serves an awesome, almighty, far above average God!   At times, from the human perspective, this adventure seems risky or uncertain, maybe even hazardous.  But with God, there is no such thing as an uncertain outcome.  He has it under control.  He is the Guide.  He is the Creator of the adventure.  Our family’s path probably looks very different from yours.    Although God’s Great Adventure has a different path for each of His children, we all follow the same Guide, and we will all reach the same finish line.  God wants us to have life, and have it to the full.  The only way that we can effectively do that is to join Him in His work.  We all just need to accept His invitation, buckle our seatbelts, and hang on for the ride.