Jack is Leaving

In May, Jack graduated from high school.  Our emotions have been all over the place. We know this is a normal time of kids leaving the nest and parents being sad but for missionary parents, it’s those emotions times 100.  Being in different countries will be hard.  We won't be able to see him as often, not to mention just being able to jump in a car and going where he is like many of our friends do with their kids in college. When we moved to Guatemala, almost 8 years ago, one of the things we were thankful for is that our family (us and the kids) have been together.  We’ve had to let go of parents, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc., but our little family unit stayed intact.  Soon, a part of us will leave and it's just sad. 

At the same time, it’s exciting. His life is just beginning. In August, he’ll be starting college at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He feels God calling him to missions in Cambodia.  OK, that’s so far away but one thing at a time.  We’ll take Minnesota for now even though it seems like it’s somewhere close to the North Pole and will feel like it too for our Florida/Guatemala boy.  He’s excited and nervous.  He's a true missionary/ third culture kid.  He'll be reentering a culture he's not familiar with anymore even though it's his passport country.  He's leaving his "home".  For him, we will be far away too but he’s ready to be on his own and jump into whatever God has for him.  We are thankful that there are so many people, friends and family, who have offered to have him with them for breaks and holidays when he can’t come home.  We are thankful for people who can be on a plane to him faster than we can if need be.  We are thankful for all the people that love him. 

Pray for each of us as we embark on this new season. 

Goodbye Guatemala

Citizenship

Once our adoption became final according to the Guatemala government, which took a year after the girls came to live with us, there was a mandatory 2 year wait by the US government before we could apply for citizenship for them.  At the time, we were not exactly sure what we needed to do.  Guatemala is closed to international adoptions so we did not adopt our girls as US citizens but rather as Guatemalan residents.  The guidelines from the US perspective are not clear because Guatemala is a “closed” adoption country.  We did not know anyone personally who had gone before us and knew exactly what to do.  So, we asked the US Embassy in Guatemala and they were unsure but their ultimate advise was to apply for green cards as the girls cannot obtain citizenship since we do not reside in the US.  At their recommendation, we started the green card process with the thought that we would have what we needed for the girls to travel to the US this summer when we bring Jack back after he graduates. 

As we were almost at the end of that process and over a thousand dollars in application fees paid, a friend heard something different from the embassy when she inquired about her son - we need to file for a path to citizenship.  Now we were completely confused!  Note - since our original contact with them embassy, the administration has changed.  The new group  confirmed that the green card was not for people who reside outside of the US and we can petition citizenship and only need to be in the US for the interview.  So much time, money and efforts have been wasted on the wrong thing!

It took several weeks to get all of the paperwork together for the citizenship applications. We consulted with an attorney who specializes in this process and followed her instructions. Once we the applications submitted, we applied for emergency visas so we could all get back in time for Jack.  Our embassy contact was able to help us get the visas quickly.  Since the N600K takes 3-15 months to process, we've decided to take a little "furlough" and stay in the US while we wait.  Once it's processed, the girls will be called for an interview.  If all goes well, they will be sworn in as citizens and get passports.  This is the final step of the adoption process for them.  

Jack's Pigs

We're on a roll with farm animals!

Jack saved up a little money. He wanted to invest in something that would earn more money so he could have a little savings when he goes off to college next year.  He did his homework and decided to raise pigs and sell the meat.  (If you know Jack,  you know that he now knows everything there is to know about pigs).  We've got the space and they are way down on the property, out of the way of people, so nobody ever has to smell them, cause pigs don't smell good!  There was an old foundation of an animal pen or something that he used so all he needed was a roof and walls.  He and his grandpa got it built when they were visiting over Christmas and in February 2 pigs arrived.  He got them from some Mennonite people about an hour and a half away in Tecpan.  They are known to have good pig meat  and were willing to sell a couple of piglets.  Not just any old pig will make a good profit. Who knew!  We don't eat much pork here in Guatemala, mostly because we've heard that there can be parasites and that's true.  These guys are given parasite treatments on a regular basis so we are anxiously awaiting some good pork.

Jack is working HARD!!  He takes really good care of the pigs and has had to clean their pen ALOT.  The cold here upsets their tummies so he's had to clean the pen extra.  He's a trooper though and does what needs to be done.  He's up early before school at 5:30am to feed them and takes care of them when he gets home, then he takes a nap.

They've only escaped once so far and really aren't much trouble to have around.  Of course that's easy to say because Jack is doing all the work.   Their time will come in June and we'll see what the profit margin is.  If it's good and he's not too tired, then he'll do it all over again.

The Sheep

Mama

Throughout our 6 years here and working with 12x12, we've received may gifts from the families who received a house.  The gifts have ranged from meals, vegetables, fruit, handmade items, a beautiful mirror, plants, etc.  It's always humbling to receive something from people who have very little but want to show kindness and gratitude to us.   This is apart from their thankfulness to God for His provision and the donors for their generosity.  Last year we got the most interesting (and humbling) gift yet, Pelibuey sheep.  Yes, farm animals.  This family raises them for meat and gave us 2!  Chris tried really hard to not take them because #1 we don't need any more animals and #2 we don't want to take away from their livelihood, but there was no leaving without them.  Sometimes we just have to let others bless us in a way that speaks to them.  To not accept it would rob them of the joy of giving, thus we took the sheep.  They gave us a male and female so they would reproduce and we'd have an endless supply of meat - they say it's "tan rico!" which means really good.  I'll never know cause I'm not eating it!  I don't know, I prefer to eat meat that comes wrapped in plastic, from a grocery store.  I'm not keen on eating something I've seen in person.

To show our complete lack of farm animal experience (we're missionaries not farmers!), we thought they were goats so we call them "The Goats".  It wasn't until recently we discovered they are actually sheep.  And it's really an odd situation being that the sheep are mother and son but I'll stop there. Apparently that's acceptable in the sheep breeding world.  When we first got them, we could pet the male and he was pretty calm but now he's a full on animal and can head butt like nobody's business so we stay clear of him.  He's not a friendly!

The male

So, now we have 2 baby sheep/goats!  And they couldn't be any more precious.  Pretty much from the start, the mama rejected one of them so they have been affectionately named Favor and Minus.  Poor Minus gets nothing - no love, no milk, nada, just a swift head-butt from his mother.  We have had to hold the mama down so Minus can nurse and now consider ourselves professional "goat wrestlers".  Since this was not an easy, long-term solution and hazardous because sheep have very strong head-butts, we were buying fresh goat's milk from a guy who drives his truck around every day, with goats in the back, selling milk on the street.  That got to be too expensive so we've switched to fresh cow's milk.  Minus takes a bottle 4-5 times a day and everyone is happy.  He's the cutest little thing though and to hear him call us, as if he was calling his mama, when we walk up with the bottle is too much!

Minus

Favor the day he was born with Jed

Minus

Kendy and Minus

Favor

2 Years With Our Girls

Our first official family photo at the adoption agency.

On December 10th we hit the 2 year mark since our girls became part of our family.  With biological children, time flies and they grow up so fast.  With adopted children, who didn't come to you until they were 3 and 5 years old, time travels at warp speed!  It's just crazy how fast they are growing and sad at how much we've missed of their young little lives.  They are at the age where they change so much so quickly.  Once kids start losing teeth it's all downhill from there.  Their faces change, they get taller, and it goes on and on and there is nothing we can do to make it slow down.  At least they are still cute and not asking to date yet.  That would throw us over the edge.  :)

Angela 1st Grade

Angela started 1st grade this year.  It's been great for her but she seems so much older now that she has started school.   In 4 months time she's become more independent and is becoming her own person.  It's neat to watch but it'd be nice if it happened just a little bit slower.  Angela has the natural gift of creativity.  She can make the most amazing creations out of things we would throw away.  Her latest creation is this Christmas scene made out of a candy cane box complete with Santa, a reindeer, tree and a train.  One time she cut out a pair of glasses out of the plastic from a Barbie box.

Kendy got a mask from a kids meal and Angela wanted one too so she made her own. 

Kendy Kindergarten

Kendy is doing kindergarten at home - this picture really captures her personality and her school uniform. :)  She is not ready to be away from her mama yet and her mama is not ready for her to be away so it works out nicely, most days.  We are taking this year to work on our bond and a few attachment issues.  It's been time well spent.  Kendy's natural gift is singing.  She has a beautiful voice and will make up a song about anything - putting on her shoes, riding to the city, cooking dinner, etc.  She's always singing.

Our 1st Christmas

Our 2nd Christmas

This year, our 3rd Christmas

So, so much has changed in each of our lives over the past 2 years.  These girls are such a blessing to us and those around them.  I remember when we went to the adoption agency to get our referral.  They told us their story and showed us a picture.  They said we could take a few days to think about it before we gave our decision, we told them we didn't need to.  They asked if we wanted to talk it over, but we didn't need to.  We knew going into the office that day that whoever they had for us were who we had prayed for and who God wanted us to have. 

Our most recent family photo

The Nativity

This Christmas we decided to do something different.  We headed to the Christmas market and looked for items to make a nativity scene.  We thought it'd be fun for the kids to pick things out and  make it their own.  This time of year there is a whole section set-up that sells everything you can imagine for a nativity as well as Christmas decorations - moss, grass, figures, mangers, pine cones, colored sawdust, garlands, lights, etc.

The scenes are something many families (not so much poor families) make every year and they can be quite elaborate and are probably equivalent to our American Christmas tree.  Ours is pretty basic but we've got ducks and turtles.  

 We had to haggle a little bit for the baby Jesus.  The starting price was $10 but we got him down to $2.50

Mary and Joseph are orange but this is Guatemala and they like things bright. 

                  The 3 wise men complete with frankincense and myrrh, a gold ring too.

Christmas Eve is the big day here - Noche Buena.  Today, families are busy preparing tamales and a hot fruit punch which is the traditional meal.  It takes hours to make and they will eat at midnight.  We will receive lots of love today in the form of this yummy tipica food.  It's one of our favorite things to eat!

Outta Sorts

It’s been an unsettling couple of weeks here – in our family and in Guatemala.  The government is all in an uproar with the president being impeached and then arrested for corruption (Google it if you are interested in reading all about it).  There have been protests and demonstrations for months now.  Our school was closed for safety reasons the day of the big protest last week, the one that the whole country participated in to oust the president.  Sunday was primary election day and it was crazy.  There were riots all over the country.  We could hear the one in Magdalena from our house.  It was in font of the school, which was the voting location.  We went to church in the morning but were advised by friends to stay in and not leave.  On Monday morning when we took the kids to school, there were fires still burning, presumably ballots, and police at the schools.  We also saw truck loads of police with riot gear throughout the day.  It was slightly nerve wracking and makes us sad for this country and how it’s been taken advantage of. 

On August 10^th, we got the keys for the Project for Hope property and it’s been non-stop ever since.  LONG days working, making repairs, cleaning, etc., and getting the place clean enough to move into which we did, a week ago Saturday.   It doesn’t stop there though.  There is a tremendous (I am not exaggerating with that adjective) amount of work to be done here.  Right now, we are working on our leaky roof, getting internet, a working well so we don’t have to pay for water, and laundry hook-ups for the Nortons.  Not to mention cleaning and gardening this soon to be oasis.  The place was vacant for several years, which gifted us layers and layers of dust/dirt on every surface imaginable.  I will write more about this endeavor later. 

giving Pete some love

With all the changes in our lives since the property and the boys starting school, Kendy ,aka Baby Gurl,  is all outta sorts.   She doesn’t know if she’s coming or going.  She’s 4 and in her short life, her world has been rocked many times.  She’s gone from home at birth, to an orphanage shortly after, back home, to another orphanage and then here with us.   I am sure in between those trips to orphanages she was placed in foster care too.  So, something like moving to another house takes her back to a place and feeling she can’t express with words, just actions – crying, screaming, etc., when things feel out of control for her.  When are things out of control for her?  When it’s time to eat or get dressed or go to bed or go somewhere.  So let’s just say all day.  It’s “Toddler Insanity” all over again.  She’s not been sleeping well and gets in our bed most nights. Everyday  I tell her over and over that we love her, we will never, ever leave her, this is her family and she will be with us forever.   I was happy this morning because she was able to tell me that she missed our old house.  That gives us something to go on and something to talk about.   As for Angela, she’s a trooper and takes it all in stride.  Her feathers aren’t ruffled quite as much and she’s able to talk about her feelings most of the time.