Pancakes and Lice

This is my little 1-year-old friend Esdrys but we call her Essy for short.  She is Vanessa's baby sister and I am taking my turn watching her today because her regular caregiver has company in town and so Vanessa can go to school.

I started my day out wanting to complain about something insignificant.  Then Vanessa knocked on the door and less than 30 seconds later, I got a little perspective.  I am to spend my morning with one of the sweetest babies in the world who has lice in her hair and fleas jumping off her clothes.  As Essy eats pancakes, I comb out the lice and boil water to kill the lice and fleas on her clothes.  My thoughts turn to her mother who is heavily involved in drugs, prostitution and who leaves her 4 children home alone for weeks on end to fend for themselves.  I can't tell you how sad it is and if I let myself go down that road, my heart will be heavy and I will be in a rut for the rest of the day.  Instead, I am thankful that God crossed our (the Steed's and Schmidt's) paths with this family and our families get to love and care for these kids when their mom won't.  None of my silly complaints compare to the problems this precious little girl has.

On a lighter note, I can't help but to feel itchy and would love some more lice kits.  :) 

Miriam and Marco

Last week we celebrated Miriam and Marco's new home.  They are a sweet family and have 2 children (Selvin and Kelly) -  I can't ever get over baby Kelly and her cheeks.

Kelly is a almost as big as her mama

Miriam is Melvin's sister - see Melvin here -  both families live on the same property down the street from us.  (Melvin's new house is in the process of being built and will be done in a couple of weeks).  During the construction of Miriam's house, Marco was there every day working hard.  Normally you don't see the men much but Marco doesn't have work right now.  He could have been out doing all kinds of things but he was right there, with Selvin by his side, doing all he could to help.  I am always touched at the ceremonies because the families get bathed and wear their best clothes and shoes.  Sometimes their best look like rags to us but to them, they are proud.  For Marco it was pants that were too big and a shirt that was worn and thin and too big, worn white sneakers.  He wore the best he had for one of the biggest blessings his family has ever received.  This family doesn't have much.  But it doesn't really matter.  What matters is what our hearts wear and their's were clothed in gratitude to God for His amazing blessing. 

Marco and Selvin helping the crew

New home

Old, tiny corn stalk shack

Their small bed for the four of them to sleep

Old bathroom

Inside their new home with plenty of light

Their new stove and those cheeks again

We Made It A Year!!!

February 4th marked one year of us living in Guatemala.  There were times we didn't think we'd make it but God made a way for us and here we are.  We are not here by our own strength or understanding but by His.  Amen!

It's been an amazing year and one of the hardest, all at the same time.  I know I sound like a broken record but it is hard being away from home.  Guatemala is only a 2 hour plane ride from Miami but some days it feels like we are on the other side of the world and deeply miss the life we had in the States.  This past year we have had an overflow of love poured on us from "home" and it has made all the difference in helping us make this transition.  Not only does God full our hearts but he has used many others to love and encourage us.  We are so thankful for all the love we receive - visitors, cards, e-mails, phone calls, care packages, Christmas gifts, plane tickets, neat kids who ask for donations instead of birthday gifts to help us come home for Christmas, and friends willing to haul stuff here for us when they come to visit. 

    "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."   (NIV)  Romans 3:20-21

That has been our verse throughout our entire journey and life in Guatemala.  In my wildest dreams, I could not imagine how God would get us here and how He has provided all the days since.  I have to confess that after all He has done, situations come up and I still wonder how He will provide.  Back in October, I started thinking ahead to Christmas.  Not long after, we got a couple of e-mails asking what we wanted/needed for Christmas - it was more than we expected or could have imagined.  We wanted to make a trip home at the end of the year but lacked the funds.  In November, we got a call from some friends who told us that for their 10th birthday, instead of getting gifts at their party, they asked people to make a donation toward our travel fund!  I never imagined kids being so crazy.  :)  In December, some friends called to say they had plane tickets for us.  While in the States, most of our expenses were provided for and we were blessed with a van to get around in.  Way beyond what we imagined.

Not only are we blown away at our provision, but for others as well, over and over again.  Last month a team met a woman with a great medical need.  When they came back that day, there was an e-mail waiting from someone, who had no idea of the need,  saying that God told him to donate toward a medical need.  Last year we helped 2 families with food and this year they are covered.  School started in January so a whole other need has come to light for us.  Several kids that we know and love were going to drop out because they couldn't afford it.  From various places, the money has shown up to help them stay in school and a church gave us 2 computers that these kids can use for their homework.  The 12x12 Love Project had a Christmas campaign to raise money for houses. We started out with 9 families, hoped and prayed that they would get homes.  When all was said and done,  23 families with get homes this year.  There are several medical needs that have been provided for .  One of them was Kathy - you can read about her here.  She is doing awesome by the way.  She LOVES Chris.  Last week we went to look at some land with her mom and grandma.  We were walking and she ran up to Chris, grabbed his hand and then looked back at me and gave me a sweet little stare that said "I'm holding his hand."  So I kept my distance and let her have some time with him.  It was cute.  :)

We love the people here and the families we are connected with.  We love being able to love and serve others.  It makes up for all that we miss.  We are thankful to be here and see all that God is doing.  After a great trip to the US, we are ready for another year and all that God has for us.  He's already done come crazy stuff and it's only February.  :)

School Has Started!

La Escuela Ha Comenzado!  For our 3 boys and the rest of the country, school began last week.  The school year runs from January to October in Guatemala.  After homeschooling for a couple of years, we decided that it would be good to put the boys in school here for several reasons - learn Spanish faster, get them out of the house and for them to be/feel more a part of the culture here.  We chose a private school that educates with the intent of it's students going to college in the US.  With one week down, everything is going well.  We have adjusted to getting up at o'dark thirty and out the door by 6:30am.   Jack will do fine and Jon will do better once he learns a little more Spanish to know when he has homework.  Jed liked school the first day and then got over it.  I'm enjoying my newfound freedom too much to give in to his tears so we will persevere a little longer.  :) 

Ready to go!

Jack has ALOT of homework!

Jon wishing he didn't have homework.  :)

 

 

Not only are our boys in school and need lots of help with homework, so do the kids in our families.   Thanks to the folks at Remedy Church in Jacksonville, we have 2 computers set up in our dining room to help.  Marvin, Pamela and Wendy have been over every day to use them.  At first we didn't realize that they really didn't know how to use the computer/internet.  They could search for things but didn't know that when the search results came up, you could click on each site for more information. We had to teach them the basics and how to use wikipedia.  Now they can do most things on their own.  It's little things like this that can make a difference in their success at school.

Wendy doing homework

Vanessa is in School!

Vanessa, Josue and Esau started school last week and we could not be more excited!  They have been set free and finally get to be normal kids for a few hours each day - they are beyond excited and LOVE going to school.  When Gina came to take them to get registered, she said they were jumping up and down on the bed.   Not much has changed at home with their mom but she agreed that they could go to school and a neighbor could watch Essy during the day.  We were wondering if it would actually happen but it did.  When January rolled around, Gina got the kids enrolled, bought school supplies, and ordered uniforms.  Mom did her part at school and has agreed to pay all of the monthly costs.  We need help with shoes, supplies, uniforms and registration totaling $500.  If you would like to help with the education of this family, please e-mail me holly.steed@gmail.com or Gina schmidt.gina.mari@gmail.com

Many of you have been praying for her and this is a huge answer to our prayers - God is good!!  Please continue to pray for things to run smoothly so they can stay in school. 

Videos of Melvin and Kathy

It's That Time of Year

The holidays are here and I have been thinking alot about what life would be like if we were living in the States right now.  I would be running around like a crazy person getting ready for Christmas: buying gifts for family, teachers, Sunday school teachers, neighbors, friends, etc.  I would have my house all decorated and there would be 5 inflatables in the front yard and icicles lights around the roof.  There would be lots of cookies to make and parties to go to and planning what to eat Christmas day and who to invite over. Somewhere in the mix would be a trip to North Carolina to see family.  It would be a fun time and I would be trying not to get so busy that I forget about what CHRISTmas is all about and to share that with my kids.  My kids, by the way, would be focused on presents and what they hope to get - sharks teeth and Lego sets.

This year is a tad bit different.  I used to have 8-10 plastic totes full of Christmas decorations, now I have 2.  The decorating process took about 20 minutes, not a whole day.  It's the 11th of December and I haven't made one trip to Target and won't (only because they don't have it here and if they did, I couldn't afford it).  I haven't ordered anything online and don't plan to buy any presents - except small gifts for families here.  When I asked Jon what he wanted for Christmas, his reply was a short pause followed by "I don't really need anything, I have enough stuff." Some people reading this just fell out of their chair because that boy ALWAYS wants a Lego set, ALWAYS.  It's amazing what happens to kids when they are removed from marketing media.  You don't want what you don't know exists. We will be going to one party and spending Christmas Eve with the other American families here.  Muy tranquilo - Spanish for very calm.  That's Christmas this year.  The craziest it will get is Christmas Eve when we hand out food baskets and gifts to our Guatemalan families and Christmas day when our team gets to visit 15+ families living in extreme poverty to tell them that they will be getting a new home next year.  It's going to be the best Christmas ever and we can't wait.

There are lots of videos and things going around the internet about how much Americans alone spend on  Christmas.  It's a crazy amount of money.  If just a little bit was given away, the world could be changed.  Really.  Doing all we do at Christmas isn't bad or wrong, but if we would just skip something small and gave that money away, people could eat, kids could have shoes or a warm jacket,  someone could sleep on a bed instead of a dirt floor or a piece of flea infested foam,  and the list goes on.   I live in a place where I see people with extreme needs that could be helped with just a little money.  We also help alot of people with "our" money.  If we can use our little missionary budget to help, so can you.  I think of how we lived in the States and how much we could have helped if only we knew the need.  I want to share the need with everyone I know so you can know it too and help.

How Others Have Helped-

Cruz (boy in the middle) gets help with seizure medication

This family got food and a stove (and a home too)

This family got a home, bathroom, stove and pila

  How You Can Help -

Go to 12X12 Love Project and donate money for a house, food, medicine, beds, stoves, pilas, etc.

Get friends, family or co-workers together to raise money for a new home, etc.