mmmm......

I just now figured it out. I've been hungry for something all day and I finally know what it is!
PIZZA....cheesy, loaded, stuffed crust, yummy PIZZA. I want my mom's pizza, my mother-in-law's pizza, a piece or two from Larry's, a piece from Vinnie's and maybe even Pizza Hut.
Its making my mouth water.
Oh, and on the side, I'll have some Middleswarth BBQ chips, please!
Josh says I need to stop talking about all the food. ha.

I'm also craving cereal; pretty much any cereal besides the donated Reese's Puffs or whatever they are called. Cinnamon Life. Special K Fruit & Yogurt. Cranberry Almond Trail Mix. Honey Bunches of Oats.

And what I wouldn't give for a drink of milk straight from the tank. ahhh..... When I was a little girl, sometimes I would go with my dad up to the neighbor's farm to get milk. The best part was having a drink of really cold milk from the tank. mmmm. (I remember Dad trying to scare me too, but that is rather off subject. ) We drink milk replacer here. Powder + water. Its tolerable, really. With a strange smell.

That's all. I feel like I'm going to bed hungry tonight, but I'm not. I'll be all better in the morning and if not, the cravings will just have to go away.

So even though we're way far away in Guatemala surrounded by babies and diapers and volcanoes and earthquake tremors and little kids and medium kids and big kids and questions galore, we still miss our favorite foods. It feels almost ridiculous to say it, but there it is. (so you can see our humanness, right?)

Quote of the Week:
During Bible Trivia a few days ago, the question was (Fill-in-the-blank): "He who spares the rod, spoils the ____". Angelito, 6 years old, yelled out "THE WIFE!"

Good night/day to all.

a day off...

I suppose its about time for an update.

Today is our day off and we will enjoy every minute of it. Having a day off doesn't mean we do nothing at all, but rather that we are not OBLIGATED to do anything. Its pretty nice. 

We started Spanish school on Tuesday and will have class every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It went  pretty good, I think. The school teaches the language through conversation mainly, instead of through a set curriculum. I believe that after we both get a little more understanding of the language that we will enjoy it more. Right now, its easy to feel lost. 

Some of you know about Karina, the newest baby that came to us from across the lake last Wednesday evening. She was malnourished when she got here and by Monday, we had to take her to the local hospital. She was transferred to a hospital across the lake where a pediatrician is on staff and has been there since. She is doing much better with IV therapy, and we anticipate she will come home within the next couple of days! Her diagnoses were malnutrition, dehydration, anemia; and she also has the rotavirus. groan. Even though she screamed almost the whole night that we had her in our room, I miss the little thing. :) Here she is.

Also, we took the babies "swimming" the other day when it was nice and warm. Most of them enjoyed it! We probably got as wet as they did. 

Please pray for all our babies. Apparently, the rotavirus is making its rounds in the area and our babies have managed to catch it, probably from Karina. Almost all of them have diarrhea and a few are vomiting. Pray that they will be healed and that we will have patience and love with their crabbiness and countless bedding, diaper, and clothing changes. 

Last Thursday, Josh and I went out to eat at the Posada, a very nice restaurant about 3 minutes away. Their fruit drinks were delish and very much the real deal! If you come visit us, we will take you there! :) The restaurant is connected to a nice hotel also, if you care to vacation in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala!

So its now Friday night. I meant to post this yesterday, but obviously, those plans were laid aside. 

Not much has changed since yesterday except that now all the babies have either vomiting or diarrhea. Today, I've been peed on, pooped on, and vomited on more times than I can count. Also, Deborah is now sick also with a stomach bug. Josh and I are still battling head colds and sore throats. So please pray for healing for all of us. The babies are in bed for the night and I think I'm heading that way too. 

On a side note:

Congratulations to my youngest brother, Derek, on graduating from high school this weekend! We would love to be there with you, Duck! We're proud of you. 

And congrats to my brother Merle, who is graduating from community college on Tuesday! We could use a handyman here, k? :) 

And also congratulations to my brother-in-law Joel who graduates from college tomorrow! (I think its tomorrow!) We're excited with you guys that this phase of your life is over! 

pictures

the house

the babies

Mercedes

older kids

Josue and Jacob

Rosa, Yelsi, and Lucia

I apologize for the previous picture posting attempt. Yesterday the power went off around 4:30 in the afternoon and came back on today around 2 in the afternoon, so we're finally getting these pictures up. Also, yesterday evening a new baby came! Her name is Karina. She is two months old and came from a hospital across the lake. Her parents are alcoholics, and thats basically all we know about her. She has a head full of thick black hair and is very petite. We'll post pics next time. 

Time for bed. We're cooking tomorrow! Good night. 

THE BABIES ARE SLEEPING......

 and so I thought I’d post a few pictures of where we are at and a few of the kids so that you have an idea of where we’re at and what we’re doing. And pictures are always more fun! J

Here is the home, situated at the base of a mountain.

These are some of the older kids. Saul, Jhostin, Angelito, Isai, Jeamy, Vidalia, and Maria. We were out picking blackberries of some sort.

And here is L-R: Rosa, Yelsi (the oldest one here. She is Auntie Yelsi to the wee ones), and Lucia.

And here are a few pictures of the babies… I am holding Isaac: He was abandoned in a hospital after birth and was there for about 5 months, I believe. He has a spine deformity and his head is oddly shaped from laying on his back for the first 5 months of his life and is slow to progress but he is doing better. He hates to stand up and screams constantly when we try to exercise him, but when he smiles he is a cute little guy with a big smile. Jacob is on the floor biting that toy. He was also abandoned in a hospital and came here about 5 months of age, I think. He is doing well; we expect him to start crawling within the next week. Josue is in the plaid shirt, he came here with 4 siblings, although 3 have since left. He is very precious and very strong willed. Uhoh. Mercades is in the pink laying on the floor. She was abandoned by a river I think and came here with her umbilicual cord still attached. She is now 5 months old.  The little guy in the white vest was company for the weekend. There is also a 16 month old named Mynor. He is affectionately called Mynor the Whiner. Unfortunately, it is a very precise nickname. But he is cute. Also, there is the director’s son David, who is about 13 months I believe.  These last two aren’t in the picture, in case you think I can't count. So altogether, we have six youngsters who need constant 

attention.       

 

Josue and Jacob. (l-r) They don’t actually share the crib, we just stuck them in there while the other babies were getting their baths.

We are enjoying it here overall. It is a big adjustment, from our quiet apartment to a huge house with lots of noise and children. God is so faithful to us; without Him, we could not make it. Pray for us that we will be persistent in our love for God and that we would desire to know Him more and more. Pray that we would love Him well here in Guatemala. 

Josh is busy doing maintenance work around here. Yesterday he hung gutters or sealed a gutter or something like that. The kids love him; he spends lots of time playing with them and is great about changing diapers, too!

Its my turn to do clean up today and its just soon time to set the tables for lunch, so that’s it for today. Keep praying for us! 

hola!

Dear Fan Club,

We’re here.

Day 1 is soon over. The six bambinos are in bed as are the little people. The mediums will go in about 5 minutes and the oldest kids in an hour or so.

We arrived in Guatemala City Thursday evening around 9 local time. We stayed in the city that night and Friday night and headed out here Saturday morning. I thought Snyder County was the boonies (I’m not bashing good ole Snyder County, I grew up there!),but I was wrong. THIS is the boonies. The roads were very curvy. Ravines and canyons and washouts dotted the scenery. Driving through the little towns, it was like human dodgeball. But we made it, YAY!

The weekend was a little wild, but today seemed normal. 

We get up at 6:30 for now. Breakfast is at 7:30. The school kids do school until lunch and then after lunch until they are finished. Since their school is in Spanish and I haven’t mastered that yet, I take care of the babies.  And try to teach 4 year old Rosa how to trace lines, circles, and squares. Eventually, I’ll take turns making meals and getting up at 6 to give the babies their first round of bottles, but for now, we’re all trying to get used to a new schedule. 

Josh takes care of babies and impresses the medium-sized boys with his muscles. He’s made great friends with Rosa because he throws her in the air. She giggles constantly. Also, he’s doing a great job learning how to change baby diapers. Tonight, he disappeared for about 20 minutes with baby Jacob.  Angelito (6 year old boy) came down and said “Ms. Donna, Mr. Josh needs you!”. Jacob had alternately puked and peed for about 3 times. Josh handled it very well; and he will be a pro at changing diapers and giving bottles!

Currently, there are 17 kids here. All except two are permanent here at the home due to an adoption law passed here in Guatemala. The point of the law was to stop people who were kidnapping babies or paying people to have babies to sell to the Americans for about $30,000. The money was all bribes. So it was a good law in that it stopped those corrupt dealings, but sad in that so many kids are not able to be adopted now. They have a good home here and yet its never truly their very own family.

Thank you to those of you who are faithful in praying for us. Our very first night here, we were exhausted and I couldn’t figure out how to made the water hot in the shower! I was sure I was doomed to 2 years of cold showers! Boo. But after a good nights sleep, we both felt better. Please continue to pray for us as we adjust to the schedule, the culture, and our new relationships. Pray for wisdom as we interact with the children and Dave & Deborah (the directors). Pray that we will be faithful in our relationship with God! And pray that our marriage will grow and thrive in this time of our lives! Also pray that we will not be too homesick; we do miss our family and friends so much, especially  in this initial adjustment.

I took a picture of me with I’m not sure how many babies around me as proof but I’m too tired to stand up and go get my camera right now, so maybe next time.

Its just about 9 and I’m exhausted.

Love and peace to all.

p.s. I’m also too tired to proofread this, so my apologies if I spelled something wrong or whatever. That’s for those of you who are grammar Nazi’s-you know who you are.

Ok, Buenos noches.

Just for Fun

Today I: 

-slept in too late

-laughed at my silly husband.

-thanked God for my husband

-talked to my kindred sister. 

-mixed 3 kinds of cereal for my breakfast. My mother would be proud. 

-baked 2 cakes

-washed the dishes

-read my Bible

-ate 1.5 pieces of chocolate cake. 

-contemplated eating another piece of chocolate cake. It has chocolate icing. It's almost irresistible. 

-thought about how annoying the word irregardless is. 

-decided that there are too many grammar Nazi's in my family already.

-stalked people on Facebook. 

-wondered if I could ever be a spy. 

-wondered if anyone else who reads this wanted to be a spy.

-changed verb tense in the middle of my list. Sorry. This drives me nuts, but just bear with me. 

-am happy to not have to work today. But I'm sorry for Sara, who has to work today. 

-am going to make icing for the 2 cakes baked earlier. 

-am going bowling with friends. and maybe out to eat. 

-am planning on getting honey barbecue wings with sour cream if we go out to eat.

-am going to exercise. (If I put it on here, then I have to. Don't ask about the logic.)

-am still in my pj's. Don't judge; it's a lazy Saturday.

-am thankful to God for all His blessings to me. I can't even number them; but when I think of this, I get this funny feeling right in the center of my chest: an overwhelming pressing and wonder and awe and thankfulness and desire to always have that funny feeling in my soul. (It's not chest pain, don't worry. No numbness or tingling and no radiating and no nausea and no diaphoresis) 

-am really missing NIHSS stroke scales and medical terminology. Maybe I'll take Josh's blood pressure just to see if I still know how. 138/78. It feels so nice to have a stethescope around my neck again. I think I'll wear it just for a bit. 

-am officially done with this post.

Have a relaxing, happy day!

Josh and I have been so incredibly blessed in these last few weeks since the decision to go to Guatemala was finalized. I want to make public all that God has done for us-the glory is His alone! I hope this blesses you and it will be a reminder to me of answered prayers!

1.We sold Josh's little blue car on March 19. That was a kinda sad day for us. I know its just a car, but Josh has had it for 5 years and its just been a good little car. It drove kinda fast and loud but I still miss it too. But anyway, we had to change over some title stuff before we ever sold the car and we were praying that the new title would come before we sold the car and needed to do yet another title change. Josh called the place that did our title change and according to them the turnover time was looooong. I don't even remember what they said, but I remember we felt a wee bit blue about waiting for the title and trying to sell the car and change the title in what seemed a short amount of time. Well, God brought that title in plenty of time. And that was definitely an answer to prayer.

2. My passport needed to be changed to Peachey. I was hoping that would come in time. If I counted the weeks right, it should come the week before we scheduled our flights. For me, that's a little last minute. God brought it early. I've had it for about 2 weeks now. That was another answer to prayer. 

3. We needed background checks from the FBI. According to their website, normal processing time is 12 weeks. And after we got them, we needed to notarize them; get the Pennsylvania state seal on them; and then send them to NYC for the Guatemalan Consulate seal. If it took 12 weeks, we'd be long gone til these papers every came. God brought them too. They have the beautiful state seal of Pennsylvania and are currently in transit somewhere between here and New York City! That was a huge answer to prayer. 

4. Support. We had many family and friends say that 'we want to support you and be able to donate to the cause'. It's wonderful to hear and means so much to us. Also, the church that we attend is partnering with us to provide a monthly support. It's just been a real blessing in how our support needs have been and are being met.This is an answer to prayer. 

5. And most of all, I thank God for a church that has come along beside us and offered prayer support, accountability, and friendship in this part of our journey. This body of believers has blessed us immensely. We thank them for their interest in our lives, in wanting to develop relationships with us, in sharing their mission experiences with us, in caring about our personal issues and marriage relationship, and most of all, in bringing glory to God through lives changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God has so graciously answered our prayers in this season of our lives and we are grateful! 

One of my favorite songs says "to God alone be the glory; to God alone to the praise. Everything I say and do, let it be all for You, the glory is Yours alone" (Aaron Shust, To God Alone). This is our prayer. 

Continue to pray with us that our Jeep would sell. If you are interested, let us know! And pray that God would prepare our hearts for Guatemala and His work there. 

In other news, time is winding down! We leave three weeks from today! ack! My brother's wedding is this weekend, (brother #3) and we are very excited for that! (although the farewells are starting since its the last time I will see some of my family for awhile!) I am officially done at Susquehanna Health. That is still sinking in. Josh will be done at Yoder Barns in two weeks. The packing continues. I was packing away winter clothes after those few warm days last week or whenever it was, but I had to pull them back out so I'm just holding off on the packing for now. Our prayer cards came in the mail! Thanks to Keysha for taking the pictures and Heidi for designing them and to God for supplying the funds. Literally. And now, we're headed over to my parents for lasagna and garlic bread and lots of loudness and laughter. and love, don't forget the love. :) 

Have a great day, everyone!