Josh and I went hiking this past Thursday. We climbed the ridge behind the house. The trail was pretty steep, but the view at the top was lovely. Josh took a machete along in case we saw any creepy-crawlies, but thankfully, we didn't see anything suspicious! At the top of the ridge that felt like a mountain, we saw a small garden planted. I'm not sure who would climb up there every day to take care of the garden but I'm sure the gardner is in good shape. 

One of the views as we neared the top

Josh playing with the kids in front of the house. 

Happy Birthday, Martina! Martina turned 14 on Saturday. She has a very sad story. We aren't sure whether she fell into a fire or was pushed into a fire by an abusive father, but either way is horrible and she has scars all over her face. She also has a seizure disorder. Martina has been in different private homes and orphanages since she was six. She is able to walk with assistance and can feed herself (kinda), but that is the extent of her abilities. Her background information is sketchy so we don't know if she had any type of neuromuscular disorder or mental handicap before the fire incident. We would love for a full time volunteer to come take care of her and provide more physical therapy for her; most of all, we would be thrilled if a family would be able to adopt her. 

And this is baby Karina, back from the hospital and all smiles. She certainly is precious and everyone loves her dearly. She is doing so well since she came back and is sleeping through the night (mostly) and is drinking well from her bottle! She coos and laughs and Josh just loves her to pieces. She smiles alot at him. Her audience, or court hearing, is this Thursday. It seems like her parents are desperate to have her back and pulled a few strings with the judge in the city to have the audience so quickly. Normally, parents have to wait 5-6 months before an audience. We are expecting that she will go back to her family, but the PGN (equivalent of Child & Youth Services) will be watching the parents for any neglect or drunkenness. I pray that God will protect this precious little one from any physical, spiritual, or emotional harm. We hope that the parents will truly change from this experience and that they will come to know Jesus as their Savior. I'm thankful for the time that we have been able to take care of her. 

Here is Josh doing maintenance work around the house. In this picture, he is cutting tile to make shelves for our bathroom. Isai is watching. All the boys love "Mister Josh" and Rosa is constantly asking for "Misser Losh". 

Thank you for your prayers for healing and strength. I'm thrilled to report that we are ALL on the mend! Praise the Lord!! Please continue to pray for us as we love God here in Guatemala. Pray that we would not attempt good things on our own strength, but that we would die to self to allow God to work through us to serve others. 

Tune in next time for a post from Josh! :)