Agosto 22-28, 2011

"Do not become impatient while God is producing Christlikeness in you. Do not seek more responsibilities than those He has given you. Obey all that you know He has asked, and He will lead you at a pace that fits your present character and His purposes for you." taken from "Experiencing God Day by Day", based on Deuteronomy 7:22; was the reading for Agosto 23rd, a Tuesday this year, one of the busier days for us. Abba speaking directly to us...gracias!




I hope it's OK if I begin at the end of the week because we had some special birthdays to celebrate! 1st, Tatiana, our "Godchild" who used to live at Rehoboth, turned 14 on Friday, the 26th, but we weren't permitted to be there. Sunday the 28th was regular visiting day at Casa Aleluia, so we got to bring a cake and pizza for her and her 32 housemates. Here she is with a few of her friends, all looking quite wet cuz they were; what a rain/thunder/lightening storm we had trying to get in to see her. But do you know, Guillermo suggested we leave the food and gifts in the car while we wait in line to enter, which we did, in the storm. But when Tatiana finally came to us, we got to the car and back w/out rain! And when we were once again safe inside the dining room, it poured again! TYJ! Tatiana has been at this kids' home for a wee bit over a year, and has had some challenges off and on, but seems to be doing better...again, thank you Jesus!



Sunday was the 9th celebration of Pablo's birth! This special boy was adopted by Rosa when he was just a few months old. I got to make my 1st gluten-free cake for him, w/out frosting too, so we used banana slices in place of; was pretty yummy! He loved all the singing and clapping and the cake too! Looks like Rosita wants to make sure she gets her slice o' cake!



Sewing classes are going fabuluminously!
On Tuesday, Patsy gave a quilting lesson,
a great way to use their new skill of sewing
straight lines, and by Thursday, each girl
had made at least 2 patch-strip squares(Yolanda finished 5!)They also learned how to use their seam rippers :D. Pinky is sulking as she isn't allowed to take the class!



Meet the newest staff member of RDA: Gilda, the chef! She's been with Rosa for a few weeks now, and is a real asset. Pray she sticks, not in a culinary sense, only in a staff sense, around!


And introducing the newest girl: Lesbia, but call her Pati, 10 yrs old!

She arrived midweek and amazingly settled right in. She has a sad, sad come-from, but it appears at least she was permitted to go to school. The other kids went right to work to make her feel welcomed, and by Friday, she was ready to be the mascot for her team during the Elim Church games day, rt foto, with Anita and one of the Elim teens. Kids so want to enjoy life, and because of this, they tend to quickly "shift gears", as it were. They want to be loved, and to love too; I've seen this particular group of kids be willing to let go of offenses easily in order to enjoy life. Good lesson for this kid at heart!

Quik notes:
*Took a good portion of this week for Guillermo's strength and stamina to return. Wish he'd take vitamins at least.
*Got to see some dear, delightful interactions between these dear, delightful kids, like 3 yr old Oliver gently swinging Luis in the baby swing, emphasis on "gently", or way-little-for-6-yrs-old Miguelito running across the cancha to help sturdily-built 5 yr old Nelson after he fell. Oh these kids!
*The oldest group of girls are rather restless these days, and of course, this has led to some discipline problems. On the other hand, when I try to imagine their life, it seems to me they are all doing outstandingly. God has such love for each of these precious girls, and also a fabulous future in His Kingdom here on earth. tyj!
*After a shaky start, Floridelma has settled in quite nicely. No more escape attempts or thefts either, she is doing her share of the chores, and has made some good friends. yea!

Agosto 15-21, 2011

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:23-24

I forgot my Bible on my last stateside adventure, so I got to buy a new one, and I got a read-it-in-a-year chronological Bible. Oh man, is this fabuluminous! I started with the NT as opposed to the date of purchase as it was in the middle, which, in my mind, would sort of mess up the whole order idea, so on August 15, I was reading the December 24th entry, which included the above verse, sooooo, I thought it appropriate to begin this week's report. If you haven't read the Biblia chronogically, I whole heartedly recommend it.

Lucky for youse, I don't take along my camera to the dentist, where I went again this past Monday, and while I am so grateful to be able to tend to these tusks of mine, I don't like pain, which slowed me down for the rest of the day. I know, Ima whimp...pray for me as this will happen every week for some time to come.

OK,so if you saw my foto on fb, here is the answer: Yaneth!


And for everyone else, and/or for those who don't know her, Yaneth is a dear young teen who, up til late January, lived with Rosa. Before that, life was extremely mean and dangerous for her, so she was removed from that environment and placed with Rosa de Amor. She quickly became a shining star among many stars, and excelled in school to the point of being top student in the entire school. Anyway, in January, she left to go and live with cousins, and it turns out, she isn't living too far away from us. She came on Tuesday to retrieve papers for her new school; what a fabu surprise to see her again! She looks well, lots of smiles and quick but good conversations with her "sisters". Do continue to pray for her, that she remembers Who loves her most, and that she doesn't have to be subjected to abuse of ANY kind.




Wednesday, Luis began his 3rd year! He has really blossomed since returning from the malnutrition hospital! Talks and runs and smiles up a storm! We weighed him and learned he had already gained 2# in two weeks! It's oh so good for both him and mama Elsa to be together, and he loves to be able to be outdoors playing with his best bud, Rosita. Hope you don't mind a few more fotos of his day of celebration:




Luis and Rosita are really getting sure-footed; he grabbed onto her hood and they walked all over the grass...w/out falling!


You think she was hoping for a birthday beso??! These two are too cute!

.
Here he is chowing down his almuerzo, making sure he saves room for cake! Finger lickin' good, si?!! It's just so wondermus to watch him eat, something he didn't use to like to do. tyj!


On Thursday Guillermo's disinterest in eating finally caught up with him; is this a male thing?? So he took it really easy. Patsy came for her sewing lesson, so we drove her back to Antigua when she was done. Rosa was out of firewood, so we decided to buy a "half tarea", which fits perfectly in the back of old blue, from our friend Carmen at the "firewood store" down in Antigua. While I was waiting for them to load the wood, I thought my cell phone had fallen out of my pocket, down the side of my seat, and onto the floor, which was then covered with said firewood; I just didn't see this actually take place. So when we returned to the Lily, some of the kids helped unload the wood. When they finished, I went to get the phone, but it wasn't there, so I started racking my brain as to where it may be. We called it w/Guillermo's phone, but it was off. Well, turns out, the new girl, Floridelma, of whom just last week I noted how well she was adjusting after a rocky start, had taken it and even made several calls. Of course, we wouldn't have even learned of this if not for some of the other girls who didn't like what she had done, so that's one silver lining. Took several hours for her to confess and return the phone, which she had hidden in her under garments..bother! Anyways, she was quite tearful, and even though she was sorry for taking it, she was also sorry she got caught AND wasn't gonna be able to make any more calls. So with the girls gathered around, some of whom wanted to take physical action against her...can you guess who? :D...I told her that since I'm a sinner and mess up so that I need to ask Jesus to forgive me and He always does, that I forgive her fully, but that doesn't mean that takes away the consequences of our actions. For Flori, Rosa has to report this to the gov't, which she will do tomorrow, the 22nd. She may need to be moved, and Flori says she doesn't want that. So here's another prayer request, to pray for Flori as the Lord leads. What a relief for me, to not have to hunt and search for the phone!


Friday found G in bed all day; think he also has a touch of flu as he says his skin is tingly (?). He also knows he needs to change his eating habits to keep "fueled" for the work. So to assist him, I made scratch sausage gravy and scratch biscuits. yea! We'd love it if you could pray for our health; gracias.




OK, for the Saturday report, I'm gonna go way off base, but it's such an outrageously happy event I thought you wouldn't mind, and besides, Guillermo was still laid up, so life here at the Lily was rather dull, which isn't necessarily a bad thing now and then. Anyway, where was I...oh ya, we received one of the bestest emails ever! Our sister-in-law, Michelle, wrote to tell us her 7 yr old daughter, our niece, Riley, on the right in the foto(the other cute girl is granddaughter Charlotte) was going to be baptized on Sunday! ANSWER TO LONG TERM PRAYER; WE HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR THIS FAMILY FOR 7 YEARS, AND THANKS TO A WEEK AT VBS, RI RI MET JESUS AND WAS READY TO COMMMIT HER LOVE FOR HIM! Michelle is so pleased with the kids' experience they're gonna begin regular attendance. Please pray along with us that this is just the beginning of a lifetime of authentic, real faith in the living God and Father of us all for the entire family: Steve, Michelle, Riley, Sean, and Shane.

Agosto 8-14, 2011

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"Keep a cool head. stay alert. The devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up." 1Peter 5:8-9a (the message)


So this week, I "got" to do stuff I don't care to do, like updating and balancing the books for RDS; it wasn't that it was their books, I just worry my way thru, hoping they do indeed balance, which they did, well, almost, BUT I erred on the excess side. Also, I "got" to go to the dentist, for the 1st time in 10 years or more...who knows after that long, eh? And now I'll "get" to go every week for quite a while. However comma I'll have a crown replaced, 7 fillings redone with porcelain, a few remmants of 2 lost teeth removed, AND all of them cleaned for Q3950! Which, at 7.7 exchange rate, is quite a bargain! You do the math; my noodle is spent on the books.

I'm also experiencing a bit of wanderlust, as in, gee, I'd love to go on a road trip or something like that! And as this foto shows, I'm not alone in this desire; Pinky sat in the car for a long time, hoping to go somewhere. Didn't happen...todavia!

Gotta really fabu update: remember last week, when we had to report that the newest girl had already tried to escape? Well, here she is, 13 yr old Floridelma! By her smile, you can see she's rethunk her options, has really changed her opinion of living here, and has become sweet, helpful, and friendly, despite her recent traumatic experience that landed her here in the 1st place! It is so amazing to see what/how love can enhance a person! Thank you Jesus!


Construction of several different types continues here at the Lily. Above, Guillermo is repairing a hole in the lamina that permits rain to enter and THEN fall inside the casa....not good, por supuesto. Thank God there were not so many to fix as each time he found one, he would have to place himself in this precarious position. I gotta feeling he enjoyed the challenge though.
Below, the sewing class has advanced to using actual thread! The girls still sew on paper...lined to help them learn how to sew straight, don't you know. Hope you can see all the beautimus colours of thread, kindly provided by Susan Monet...gracias, otra vez! Foto:top left-Sarita, right-Patsy working with Ana Gabriela; bottom left- Marta, right-Yolanda.



Oh yea, and there was the "incident" that left Luis with 3 stitches in his chin. Seems mama Elsa was permitting him to sleep in the top bunk with her, and, you guessed it, he fell out! in the middle of the night. She didn't tell anyone til 0800 or so, but there was still time for the stitches. No other injuries, thank God!
And as you can see, it hasn't prevented Wee-cho (nickname for all the Luis' of the world)from getting to know Pink a bit better, or from huggin his pal, Rosita! And BOTH wee ones are learning how to sleep in their cribs. Lesson learned, tyj!


I thank my God a lot for these delightful kids; He has enlarged my family in this way, making it easier when I miss the familia in the states. This week, #2 nieta, Sadie Madelyn Griffith Norman, celebrated her 15th birthday. I also thank God a lot!!! for skype and facebook, so I don't gotta miss out entirely.


feliz semana...byebye

FELIZ CUMPLEANOS YOLANDA!

Sunday, Agosto 7, 2011, Yolanda reaches 18! She is now "free" to move about the country..if only she had her papers! Manana! Anyway, she got to NOT wear the usual Sunday uniform today as she is officially, sort of, not one of the "kids". Later, she put on her birthday dress, and we gave her her Hello Kitty cake as requested.
It isn't clear yet, either to her or anyone else, what she will do now. Rosa has let her know she can stay, of course, as staff-in-training, and that way she can still go to school and still take sewing classes. She is anxious to find her mother, but that may not be possible; time will tell. It's been many, many years since they have had any contact. Anyway, she could surely use prayer for all these new decisions she now has! Gracias!

Agosto 1-6, 2011

Pues, I shudda wrote when it was fresh, this last week, that is. But a few things still stand out, such as my bday celebration at the Lily, which began, as do most good Guatemalan festivities, with firecrackers at 0600! OK, in this case, 0610, but they were right outside our bedroom window & scared the bejeebers outta me! And when I looked out, low & behold, there were almost all the kids & Rosa, dressed & ready for school ALREADY, singing & holding a cake with lighted candles! Cake for me...for desayuno! Yes!
...and later that day, we drove "down" to Antigua, and went to Hector's for a bday cena. Makes getting older worth it, si??!!!









NOTE TO GRANDCHILDREN: HERE IS A VERY EARLY GIFT IDEA FOR YOUSE: Pinky Lupita destroyed my delightful door hangar, and all because she couldn't go with us into the kids part of the Lily!! But she didn't stop there; she decided to taste-test Anita's cake and ate a corner of it BEFORE she was discovered! Thankfully, there was enough to serve for Anita's fiesta! Dickens


This used to be a handsome door hangar!




And this WAS a whole strawberry cake!




Even though we already gave a report for the 3rd,
lots of other stuff happened, like Luis and Elsa
on his 1st full day back with his mamita getting
into their routine here at the Lily. Here
is a foto of them doing their laundry chores...
standing on the table to get to the top o' the
blanket piles. We're told we'll need all of these
come the end o' the year when it gets quite chilly
here in San Lucas.



Both new employees, Alba,the taller one, and Dorcas, in the tipico ropa, wanted fotos, so of course, we had lots o' volunteers who gladly got in the act w/them, including bad girl Pink! Interestingly, shortly after the foto shoot, Alba left for her days off, and didn't return. So once again, Rosa is without a ninera. Bother!


Thursday, Patsy came to the Lily to give her sewing lesson. Then she and we took off for a city shopping adventure: Novex, Cemaco, Pricesmart, Wallyworld, Eskala, and a new place for me, Casa y Estilo, an amazingly wondermus fabric store where we found material for kitchen curtains. Poco a poco.....didn't get Patsy back to Antigua til almost 7pm!

Friday, Agosto 5th,Rosa cancelled Anita's audience; it was in Coban, and they would have had to leave at 0400 to make it ontime, but her car isn't up to the 4 hr drive. So Anita is still with us! I took the chicken bus to Antigua to have a haircut and to go to Hope Haven to do my monthly report. Guillermo sanded 4 wood sewing tables AND mowed the lawn. Then he ran out of steam, so edging will have to wait!





Saturday, a pastor came with his family and a few other teens to enjoy the beautimus morning here at the Lily. He gave a short message for the kids out on the cancha and they all sang some worship songs, then they played some really fun games. I hope you can see the way wide smile on Elsa's face as she helps Luis in one of the games!

But we also had a "near-miss";remember that Rosa is w/out a ninera, so she was in the house alone with 16 kids(most of the oldest girls go to Saturday school). The newest girl, 13 yr old Flori, was working in the kitchen. I just "happened" to look out our window to see someone walking on the grass side of the driveway...very unusual...& slip out of sight toward the gate. I was compelled to go out right away & see who it was, & sure enough, it was Flori, looking for a way to leave! I got Rosa, & she went right after her & brought her back to the house. PLEASE KEEP HER IN PRAYER; SHE HAS NO IDEA HOW DANGEROUS IT IS ON THE STREETS! NOT SURE WHERE SHE WAS EVEN THINKING SHE COULD GO. And this has caused some rather drastic measures to be put in place which affect all the kids...and the grown-ups as Irene will tell you!!...so it isn't so easy right now.

Wednesday, August 3rd....I felt compelled to add this day's activity both as an update for prayer and to celebrate other stuff that happened. I'm gonna add other days for this week also, but wanted to get this out there....
Today is Anita's 9th birthday! So we get to celebrate with a cake and candles. She chose strawberry cake with crema frosting and a candy #9!

We had to wait til dinner to celebrate because there were 2 court appearances this same day; one in the morning for Marta and one in the afternoon for Max and Sonia.
Marta returned to the Lily; Max and Sonia did not.

Marta dressed special for her hearing. She turns 18 in October, and as I understand it, this hearing was a chance for her to have her say on what would happen to her. She got to choose whether to return with her family...her mother and other relatives were also at the hearing...or to stay with Rosa. She chose Rosa! She said it was real hard and her mom cried, but mom does realize that she is doing so well and has opportunities she wouldn't have at home...PLUS....she is a lot safer! Thank God for her choice!







Rosa has always said there would come a day when 11 year old Max would need to go as her home is mainly for girls. And so it goes, the day came. An aunt showed up at court and said she would take them, so one good thing is that they are together. They will live somewhat nearby, and Rosa will go and visit soon. Another neat thing that happened just the week before is that when a visiting Michigan team asked if anyone would like to pray the salvation prayer, Max went up(along with Carolina!!)! But this is hard I'm sure not only on them, but also on the other kids; the medianas are quite fast friends!
And, do you know, just as Anita's fiesta was wrapping up, here came the police with a new girl!

Such a mixed emotion day! Pl pl pl pl keep Max and Sonia in prayer; this has got to be so hard for them; they had been with Rosa for 2 years.Pray protection and peace, por favor.
AND PLEASE PRAY FOR ANITA; SHE HAS A COURT APPEARANCE FRIDAY, AUGUST 5TH! The Lord's will be done...and hopefully that'll mean she returns :D!