More pictures from Guatemala

The view out our hotel window in Antigua.

Our hotel, Posada San Pedro.

The view down the street from our hotel.

Lake Atitlan

The cloister in La Merced church.

Didn't I mention we drove to Guatemala? ;)

Me with Rosita, Michol, & Jackie

Self portrait in Antigua

Yes, the truck is full of eggs!

Last Day in Guatemala

Sunday June 22 was our final day in Guatemala. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast (again) at the Vista Real and packed our bags. We took a taxi over to the Marriott to meet Brooks' foster mom for lunch. It was so good to see Rosita. She was so happy to see us and to hear how Brooks is doing. We had a super translator who made me feel like I had known her for a long time, even though it was our first time meeting. We spent 3 hours with Rosita and her granddaughter and son. She loved seeing the pictures of Brooks and the kids liked looking at the pictures I had brought from when Brooks was living with them. They told me that they had taught Brooks how to dance when he was a baby!

We talked a little about the adoption situation. As if the economy isn't bad enough with high gas prices, Guatemala is now dealing with even more as a result of the adoption "industry". Foster moms are losing their jobs (Rosita hasn't been working since January), hotels, transportation, translators, etc... are all suffering. But the saddest impact is on the birthmothers and these little children. They did have an option to offer their children a better life when they could not provide, but now where can they turn? More children will end up on the street, when another baby is born and there is another mouth to feed. Young kids are sent out to find a job and bring money home to support the family. Babies are being left. Thank you UNICEF! They seem to think that these children will do better if they live in their home country, but is living on the street better than being in a loving family in a different country? They like to talk the talk, throw some money around, but don't really do anything to help solve the problem. There is no place for these kids to go.

While we were at the Marriott talking to our translator after lunch we witnessed something. A mom came in with a very young baby. After talking to her, we found out the baby was not even 24 hours old. The mom had just gotten kicked out of the public hospital. She had given birth not even 24 hours earlier by C-section. The hospital had not given her any pain medications. This was her 7th baby. Her 12 year old is in the hospital with Leukemia. Her house was one of those that had fallen into the dump days earlier.... I don't think I could have even imagined this story if I had not have witnessed it myself.

Sorry for my rant!

Mission Trip Day 4

For the final day of our mission trip we headed back to Casa Aleluya. We had most of the morning there to just hang out and play with all the kids. Many of the kids remembered us from earlier in the week and were happy to see us again. A little boy named Mynor came up to me and just wanted me to hold him which I was happy to oblige.




The kids were sad to see us go, some were even crying.

Our team headed to Antigua for lunch and shopping. We had already done most of our shopping but we showed others our favorite places to shop. It was fun sharing our "secrets" with others! We headed back to the Vista Real for our final dinner together. It was a really nice dinner and our translators were able to join us. We had a nice evening of fellowship and goodbyes as most of the group was heading to the airport at 6am the next morning.

It was fun serving with such a great group of ladies. I am so glad that Mom and I were able to go, it was such a great experience for both of us.

Mission Trip Day 3

We started bright and early on our third day. We headed to the Museo de los Niños in Guatemala City where we were meeting up the children from the Baptist Preschool. This preschool is located near the dump in the city. It was the kids last day of school for the summer so this was a big treat for them. We broke up into groups of 10 and there were enough kids for us each to be partnered up with one. We had a great time taking the kids around to different areas of the museum. What a fun place it was!

Yes, a Lego Tikal!

We were scheduled to go visit another preschool right next to the dump that afternoon, but the same morning there was a landslide at the dump. There were many people dead and rescuers were searching for survivors. We did learn later on that none of the children's parents were involved in the accident. We were able to go near the area where we visited a sewing co-op. Many of the ladies working there are widowed and they all have several children. They have a small workshop with 6 sewing machines where they make handbags and many other items. These women have very hard lives are taught about Jesus and learn skills so they can provide for their families. The ministry is called Tabitha, after Tabitha in Acts 9:36-41.

Mission Trip Day 2

On Day 2 we stayed in Guatemala City. We first visited a preschool for street children, and then the girls school and boys school. All the schools we visited on Day 2 were ran by Mrs Arzu, her husband is the current mayor of Guatemala City and he was the president of Guatemala for 2 terms. The children come to the schools in the morning where they get a bath and get dressed in uniforms. They receive 3 meals a day, along with academic and arts education. Professional musicians and artists are brought in several times a week to teach the children. It was hard to believe these children live on the streets of Guatemala City. They were happy kids and loved receiving the school supplies and toys we brought them. We had a great time playing with them.

We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Zone 9. Mrs Arzu and her friend spoke at the lunch. They are amazing women with such a heart for God and the children of Guatemala.

Back Home in Indiana/Mission Trip Day 1

I arrived back home in Indiana late yesterday evening. We had a pretty uneventful trip home. No first class this time! The boys were so happy to see me and I was very happy to see them! Sounds like they had a fun time while I was gone.

Wow, what an adventure we had! We touched so many hearts and our hearts were also touched. Let me try to give a recap...

On Day 1 of the mission trip we traveled to Antigua. First we toured an orphanage called Casa Aleluya. It is an amazing facility run by an American couple.

We had lunch at Hotel Antigua and then headed to Manchen Girls Home. It is a government ran home for teenage girls. We sang with them, did a craft and then loved on them by doing their hair and painting their nails. A few of the girls had babies that lived with them. The girls were sweet and happy to have us spend time with them.

Our group also had a blog, so check it out too!

Wordless Wednesday

Back in the big city

So, we´re back in Guatemala City now. Members from our mission team are slowly trickling in. We´re staying at the Vista Real, it´s really nice!

We took a trip to Panajachel and Lake Atitlan yesterday. Everyone is right, it´s the most beautiful lake I have ever seen. Unfortunately I can´t share any pictures with you because there is no card reader here at the hotel. Pana was dirtier than I expected and there were a lot of hippies there. We didn´t have time to take a boat to any of the other villages, but I´m sure they are more charming.

The drive there was really windy through the mountains, we had a good driver so it wasn´t too scary! About an hour before we had to leave, there was a thunderstorm. So on the way home it was kinda foggy and misty. Not too fun when you´re on windy mountain roads. We had a near head on collision with a chicken bus. Scary! We had the same driver on the way home, so I trusted him, but whoa.

Of course the food here is awesome! I´ve been having guacamole at least once a day, fresh corn tortillas, black beans, plantains, fresh fruit juice.... Good thing we did lots and lots of walking! I got some fresh squeezed orange juice from a street vendor for 50 cents. Sooooo good. No wonder I don´t drink juice at home, I only like the real thing

We saw a few interesting things in trucks on the way back to the city today. 2 cows in the back of a small pickup, 4 coffins (not sure if there were dead bodies in there!), a whole truck bed full of eggs.....

We´ve been getting by on my minimal Spanish skills. I´ve even been able to bargain at the market, so that´s fun. I wanted to buy a quilt for Brooks and the price started at 1800 quetzales and I got them down to 300. It was at the point where they weren´t budging so when I was walking away they were chasing after me lowering the price.

Tomorrow we travel back to Antigua to visit 2 orphanages. I´m really excited to begin this journey!

We made it!

So Mom and I made it to Guatemala. We had quite a rough beginning to out trip though! Just after we exited to O´Hare, Ryan hit a pothole and blew 2 of his tires! At 1 AM! Fortunately we were able to flag a taxi down and made it to the airport on time. Ryan was able to get towed and his dad picked him up, but he didn´t get back to their house until dawn. I was really worried about him being out there all alone in the middle of the night.

We had an uneventful flight, and we were upgraded to First Class! Wow, I don´t know if I can fly coach again.

Living it up!

Our 1st Class breakfast feast.

We arrived in Antigua at 8 am and dropped our stuff at the hotel. We spent most of the day walking around, did some shopping at the market, and we went to bed early. We were out by 7pm and slept until 6am. This morning we had a great breakfast buffet at Fernando´s Caffee down the street from our hotel. We´re planning on getting massages later and going to Panajachel tomorrow.

I´m having problems posting more pictures to Blogger, so this it for now. Please keep us in your prayers!

The countdown begins

Wow, I can't believe I'll be in Guatemala in less than a week! I got the schedule the other day and most days we will be visiting 2 different orphanages a day. We are meeting with the Guatemala City mayor's wife and visiting the daycare in the city dump. It sounds like we are going to be busy!

Here's a picture of some of the school supplies that we will be passing out.


I've started packing, here's a picture of my suitcase full of stuff that I'm donating. I was blessed to receive donations from CVS and Target. I've got 25 frisbees, 30 toothpastes, 42 toothbrushes, 20 puzzles, 20 hairbows, and 10 pencil pouches in there!


Please pray for Mom and I on our trip, for safety in travel, unity within our team, and to reach the children of Guatemala that we encounter. I'd also appreciate prayers for Ryan and the boys while I'm away from them.

It's Hot!

Where did Spring go? It seems like we have fast-fowarded to summer. Wednesday night I took Brooks to Tropicanoe Cove. We met Maggie and her family there. Brooks had a great time playing in the pool and was constantly sticking his head under the various water features. He loved taking a ride with me in the lazy river and "bonking" into other people. I think he is going to have a great time at Holiday World in a month!

We were going to take a trip to Indiana Beach on Friday, but we got rained out. I wanted to go garage sailing on Saturday, but we got rained out. But today it is not raining! We got the beach ball sprinkler setup in the back yard for the boys. Brooks woke up from his nap first, so we took him out back to play. Last year he didn't want anything to do with the sprinkler, but this year is another story. See for yourself....



There was a concert at church tonight, so I took Brooks along. He really enjoyed jamming along to the music, especially since his buddy Maggie was there!

Hudson is doing pretty well, he had a touch of something but he's feeling better now.