Hello to all.
These past weeks have been quite busy! I think this is pretty typical, though. For all of you.
We have experienced an exciting answer to prayer: Isaac is crawling!

He also turned 1 year old on Thursday, the 30th.

And got a haircut on Saturday. Poor child, its been a busy week.

Jacob got a haircut too. That little thing in the front of his head wasn't my idea. Just so you know.

NOTE: From here on, this post may be considered boring by those who prefer pictures. I've been working on this blog for about 5 days now and I'm having issues getting pictures uploaded. My apologies. Hopefully, I can update with pictures soon! 

On Sunday, Josh & I went with some of the kids into town. We took two babies along which made for quite the adventure, but it was good exercise and we had a good time! This involves riding on the back of a truck...it gets interesting.

On Monday, we celebrated the 4th of July like most of you all probably did too! The kids wore red, white, and blue and we had a grand party! We had LOTS of delicious food and played fun games and set off fireworks. (I don't know if there is a proper term for this but these fireworks aren't the pretty ones that go up in the sky and are colorful. These are just loud. And blow newspaper all over the place.) It was a good day!

ANOTHER NOTE: For any of you interested in doing a fun family mission project or something like that....
Orphan Resources International, based in Ephrata, PA, will ship any donations marked "Hands of Compassion/the Reichards" to us free of charge! All you need to do is get your donations to ORI. Canned goods/nonperishables are gladly accepted! For example: pizza sauce, salsa, green beans, canned fruits like peaches and pears, pie fillings, pickles, and just about anything else that people can or eat out of cans! Any questions, feel free to ask!

Another Saturday is winding down. We've been here almost 3 months now. Sometimes it feels like forever. Other times it's hard to believe its been 3 months (almost) already. Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers and supporting us in this part of our journey!

The following quote is challenging me to develop a culture of gratitude. It takes practice and hard work to make gratitude the habit of my heart. Being grateful allows me to see God everyday in the everyday life. "He is invited to do great things who receives small things greatly." -Cassiodorus

Blessings,
Josh & Donna

Birthdays, Cows, Puppies, and other Random Events

 Dear friends and family,
It's time for another update.
Last week we celebrated Isai's birthday on Wednesday and my birthday on Thursday. For Isai's birthday, we had a half day off school and played games and went swimming in the afternoon. He choose cupcakes for his cake and we had a fun time celebrating! Josh and I took Isai out for ice cream on Thursday as our gift to him.

The home purchased two bulls last week also. Dave and Josh plan to fatten them up and sell them for a profit. Their names are Bobby and Jimmy. My favorite is Jimmy, although the kids said he's a stubborn one. The kids built cool little huts for them and had a fabulous (mostly) time doing that! It was a good exercise in teamwork for them.

The puppies are starting to grow up and be fun to play with! We took the babies outside for a visit last week; some of the babies loved the puppies and others did not like them at all. And some of the babies just ate dirt; it's their (almost) favorite thing to do.

Rosa loves to help out in the kitchen; she helped me make bread the other day. You can pray for her that we would have lots and lots of patience and wisdom with her. Her attention span is almost nonexistent so it can be very frustrating attempting to read books to her or teach her numbers and letters.

I'm helping the 3rd graders with their science and social studies everyday. They haven't been doing well at all on their tests so we're trying some more intense tutoring in an attempt to better their grades and teach them good study habits. It has certainly been good for my Spanish skills. We would absolutely love for a full-time, Spanish-speaking teacher to come and take over all the school stuff. You can pray with us for God's answer to that request. (no picture of school at the moment)

Yesterday, Deborah, her sister Esther, Tabitha (our volunteer for 2 months), and myself went to Antigua, close to Guatemala City, for a women's breakfast/luncheon type thing done by a church in Jacksonville, FL that has special retreats for missionary women. We had such a fun day! It was challenging and uplifting and encouraging to be with other women; and we four had a great time on the 3.5 hour drive there and back. (no pictures of this either)

And then, a super big highlight....!!! We finally got to pick up a box from our parents that got stuck in the city for some odd reason! We didn't have to pay taxes or anything; so we aren't sure why they stopped it but anyway...we got the box! It was so much fun opening it; not just fun for us, everyone loves to see what comes in boxes! Middleswarth chips have never tasted so delicious!!! And even though there isn't a picture of this, in the pantry fridge...a whole box of chocolate puddings is waiting for us. yummm. :)

Prayer Requests
1. Recently, Dave and Deborah found out that the people who had the home before Deborah's family had never filed their tax papers correctly with the association of children's home. Now, we are facing fines piled up from 2001, which is long before Dave's took over the home. We also have to pay an accountant to straighten out the mess since its so much paperwork. Please pray that God would drastically lower or completely remove the fines and that these funds would be provided.

2. Deborah's grandmother (in Wisconsin) is currently at home on hospice care and she still has not come to salvation in Jesus Christ. She is softening to the prayers of the family, but still refuses to acknowledge her need for Jesus. Please pray for her salvation; also, pray for Deborah's parents as they take care of her and speak to her about Jesus.

3. Please pray for the upcoming elections here in Guatemala. As I've mentioned before, the current government has passed a law closing adoptions to the States. In this culture, adoption is just not typical or the thing to do, so many of the children will just stay in homes and orphanages until they are 18. There is a very very very small chance, almost 0% that they will ever be adopted by Guatemalans. So, if the next government administration decides to change that rule, they can without any delay. (it's not at all like in the States where changing a law takes years and years) The new President can simply start all over his way or build on the previous administration or do whatever he wants. So pray for a President that will open adoptions again.

4. The current government has a very un-brilliant idea to build a massive compound to house ALL the orphans in the country. It would be like a prison and I don't even want to think about the abuse that would occur in a place like that. I didn't realize until a few weeks ago that this compound is already under construction. We don't know how far along it is or how the funding works, etc; and the new government this fall could stop the whole thing completely if its not something on their agenda. Regardless, please pray against this attempt.

5. Dave & Deborah are hoping to start a home for older girls within the next year or so. There is a house available near our house that would house about 15 girls. We are currently praying for a couple or whomever God provides to come and begin this work. This is a huge need here in Guatemala with many girls (some as young as 8 or 9) being forced into prostitution; the child abuse rate in general is 90%. That is devastating. Please pray that God's will would be accomplished regarding this dream.

God continues to be so faithful and good to us. He continues to shape us and mold us and teach us in sometimes painful ways to see Him in all things, to focus on Him at all times, to become more and more like His dear Son. Perfectly, no. Increasingly, yes. (To quote our pastor)
Blessings to each one of you as you do what God has called you to do today.

Josh&Donna

p.s. I love this font, but is it too difficult to read? Feedback gladly accepted. :)

The Promised Post

 Hey everyone, this is Josh finally doing my promised update. I've been lacking in time and writing isn't my favorite thing to do. I'll turn this back to my wife after this post. Actually, she is typing right now, and I'm just standing here telling her what to type. That's teamwork. ha.
To start, an update on baby Karina: The hearing was actually a mistake. The social service group hadn't even completed the home study, so she came back and will have another audience in September. She is doing well, starting to chunk up a little. I have lots of fun playing with her; she's my bestest little friend. :)

We were attempting to potty train Mynor, but alas, it seems a lost cause for now. We're going to wait til he's a bit older; it was just frustrating him and us. In the following picture, he's happy, but most times as soon as we take him into the bathroom he begins to wail. loudly.

I take care of the pool most days. Every day it needs to be cleaned out. Every 3rd day, I add chlorine and sweep it. During the rainy season, its harder to keep clean and eventually we close it, but for now we have lots of fun swimming! This is Isai.

A little update on the other babies:
Josue is starting to walk....

Jacob is learning what 'no' means... (yay!)

Mercedes is sitting better than she used to and is starting to get into a crawling position...

Isaac is still Isaac. He is happier standing now than sitting, which is a big improvement for him!

Here is a picture of all of us. Sorry if we aren't all looking at the camera.

I've been riding Dave's dirt bike lately. It's a Honda XR 650. There was another guy here the other day who also had a dirtbike so Dave and I went out riding for a bit. That was fun. Makes me want to get another bike. :)

We're doing well here. God is working in us and we are learning much! Something God's been revealing to me is my having a spirit of selfishness and unthankfulness. He has called us to be servants and that means laying down my agenda and myself to allow God to bless others through me. We want to be open channels of His love and His Spirit and be joyful always! We want to be thankful in all things, praising God continually, even through trials. I just read in my devotions this morning how that through trials we need to be looking for God's deliverance and praising Him as we wait. This is our prayer. We aren't in a specific trial, but it challenged us to be like this in the everyday challenges. :) We love knowing that God is refining us, even if its painful at times; because we know He loves us. And we love it here!
Prayer Requests: Safety for Dave and Deborah as they travel to the city tomorrow for an audience. Wisdom for us as we are in charge tomorrow. That we would have teachable hearts as God trains us to be servants. That we would be faithful in prayer. That Isaac would crawl or walk. Pray for Dave and Deborah as they oversee the home and raise their little boy, Davey. My wife says pray that the bugs would stop biting us. har.
Praise: The diaper wipes have not run out!!!! Mynor went to sleep last night without yelling, after we specifically prayed for that!! Praise God that we have adjusted as well and as quickly as we have! Praise Him for his work in us, in giving us wisdom as we relate to the kids and Dave's! We're thankful that the tree that fell last night didn't fall on the house! And we haven't been robbed lately! And many praises that we are healthy again!!!

ok, thats all for now. Thanks for your prayers and support. (special thanks to our church for sending us sermons from home and for all your emails!) We feel loved.

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! :) 

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.