A Terrible Storm followed by a Silver Lining

With the well working we hope it can
sustain until the rains come in May.

            It is hard to sum up the last few months without a lot of emotion bubbling up.  To start things off, in December our crop project experienced a major set back due to a burnt out electrical system on our irrigation pump in our well.  Thankfully nothing was planted but the repairs and downtime have caused minor losses.  In the meantime, we have planted again in March and are praying for stability in the repairs as we head into the hottest and driest month of April. 

            As we rounded the New Year, it was disturbing to see the decline in the Canadian economy.  This has tremendously affected our mission budget.  Before we left Guatemala in the fall,

The value of the Canadian dollar versus the
value of the Guatemalan Quetzal.
(One year earlier value was Q8/$1CDN)

 we were receiving Q7(Quetzals)/$1CAD.  Our lowest rate of exchange was  Q5.8/$1CAD, which translates to a loss of 17% of our income in the matter of six months.  Thankfully we have rebounded some (Q6.2/$1CAD) but we still are hoping for much better.  It is frustrating to see the prices remain the same in Quetzals but the cost of the item in dollars increase.  If anything, it pushes Mandy and I to lean on God harder knowing full well that He is the provider of all our needs (refer to Matthew 6:25-34), and to seek sustainability through businesses within Guatemala.

Josue with his wife and youngest son
celebrating his son's first birthday.
Thanks to his sharp mind and big heart,
Josue was able to prove our innocence and
allow us to continue on with the mission.

  Despite these set backs, Mandy and I were not ready to deal with the devastation we were dragged through in mid January.  While getting prepared for my mother to come and visit, we were accused by someone in the community of kidnapping, child abandonment, and the enslavement of children within our home.   With a looming investigation and possible arrest, we had our bags packed for an early return to Canada.  However, God knew the strife and despair we were in and sent the best gift through the friendship of a basketball teammate who happens to be a lawyer.  Josue (hose-way) managed to clear the air and prove the false nature of the accusations within a few days.  In that moment of crisis where we were being tricked into leaving, a hand of peace was placed on our house.  Thankfully nothing came of this all, we are still healing through this, and mom was able to rebook a flight and come down.  Please pray for us as we still deal with a lot of anger, and pray for the accusers that they might find peace.

The hen house sat empty for three months while we waited
for a source of hens to come through.  Finally at the end of
April we welcomed our first 200 ladies and will be getting
another 300 by the end of May.  Please pray for success
in sales as this provides work in a country that lacks it, and
an opportunity to raise funds domestically to support girls
as they transition out of safe houses.

            Back to the farming front, the hen project finally completed construction in late January.  In a country full of chickens running freely and constant advertisements of laying hens for sale, Leonel (my business partner) and I figured a small quantity of 200 hens to start our business would be an easy order to fill.  However, this was far from the case.  After visiting a series of farms and livestock dealers we came up empty.  Either they were sold out or the stock did not look good for production.  After six weeks of searching we established a source of hens from a supplier/farmer that we can trust in Jalapa.  This new relationship we are developing is mutually beneficial and looks to have a positive future.  Praise God!

The kids all dressed in their
uniforms ready for school.

Regardless of the mishaps and stress over the past few months we have counted more blessings than hardships.  Thankfully God provides we just need to be tuned into to seeing what He has given. For example, all of the children in our home are in school, loving it, and excelling in their studies.   Max, Gabe and Mercedes started attending school in January freeing up my time from homeschooling. This is a much better fit for our family and all are happier for it.

Francisca working on her
handbag business.

Angelica and Francisca continue to plug away at making jewelry and handbags to make a small income.  They have moved out of the house and into an apartment where they are responsible for covering most of their rent cost.  Additionally, they are taking advantage of their license and are able to be more independent.  There still is a lot of growing up to do but they are on their way.

Irma Lopez has been a new-old addition to our home.  She worked with Mandy last year, producing baked goods to sell in the market.  In January, she has moved in with us to complete her high school diploma and to develop a bakery.  With the aid of sponsors in Canada, she is getting an education, building up her baking tool inventory and receiving extra classes in cake making and decorating.  At this point Irma is turning a small profit with her roadside stand.

Mandy pricing the jewelry
and handbags Angelica and
Francisca made.

The boys were excited to
have Nana back again for
a couple of months.

Over the last couple months we have enjoyed time with visitors.  My mom was able to stay on for two months as well as Mandy’s mom and sister sneaking in a surprise visit for her birthday.  Even our good friend Kate was able to slip away from Canada for a bit to get some much needed Guatemalan time.  It truly is a blessing to share our lives with others and share in the joy of serving here.

Irma and Oma working the roadside stand in front of our house.
If you are going to come to Guatemala you need to learn how
to make tortillas.

A huge answer to prayer recently came when another extension for my leave of absence from my school board was accepted. With this firmed up we have applied for residency, which will open doors legally for us to stay without being charged for visa extensions and being forced to leave the country every 180 days.  The resident status also opens doors for adoption.  It is just a matter of time before we hear whether we are accepted or not.

Finally, we want to express sheer gratitude for the additional support during Christmas and January.  The funding was and is needed, and it came at a time when strife was high.  Thanks for investing in our small, but life changing ministry.

Love,

Matt and Mandy

grateful...

making sweet boston creams with Irma

His hand was gently resting on my knee as we wove in out of the morning rush hour traffic.  It didn't flinch one bit.  There were times I wished he would grip the wheel as we drove along, but embraced his love and appreciated the touch.  I stared out the window.  Silence was my only companion.   Saying goodbye is never an easy thing for me.  As we drove away I snuck one more peek scanning the crowd lined up to enter the airport.  I saw them walking away into the distance and my heart felt full.  He knew my heart felt broken.  My darling husband looked over at my tear streaked face and quietly asked if I wanted to go for a coffee.   It was a date.  I just needed to regroup and clean up the mess of my face before heading in to order.  We sat for what felt like hours as I caught up with all the events over the past week.  Matt knows when the girls get together my attention is divided.  I felt like the week was a dream.  It couldn't have been planned better.

serving lunch at Irma's home 

It was amazing to show my mom and sister around and most importantly meet those we love so dearly.  They tasted and saw the gritty and the beauty of this country.  One of our excursions

was hiking the local volcano.  My mom is a trooper!  She tackled that mountain like a champ.  We nearly made it to the top.  As we sat on the side of the mountain in awe of the spectacular view,  I couldn't help but think of how God looks down on what He created.  Sometimes we are called to higher places and to greater challenges to see His work in us.  It's never an easy thing,  It comes with great strength and determination.  We lost our way a few times.  But the relief we felt when we saw the tiny  blue ribbon markers along the way.  It is so easy to lose sight of where we are going when we take our eyes off the path God has before us.  There are a lot of distractions around us.  Jobs filling the demand to be successful,  unhealthy relationships, the need for more stuff, and the list goes on.  Our bodies felt tired and sore but it was well worth the joy and adventure.  And so it will be with our God.  

I came home tonight to a void.  I aimlessly roamed around missing my side kick.  My sister is one to be admired.  She has ministered and taught me so much this week.  I am forever grateful for the gift of this week and the love of family.

spending time in the village with Irma's family

feeding lunch at the local dump with Wells of Hope
http://www.wellsofhope.com

with everything

My farmer is out tracking down chickens while I am elbow deep in flour, standing in the kitchen.  He has worked hard to get the project together and now that we are ready, we can't seem to find quota anywhere.  And I am reminded as I stand in my apron peering through the window watching the herd of cows faithfully walk by, that our God is good.  All the time.  We are on the third recipe of donuts.  I'll be lucky if I get the smell of cooking oil out of my hair and clothes after today.  My arms are sore and neck hurts as I creep up the stairs to put the dough in the sun to rise.  I feel like staying out on the balcony and hiding out for a couple hours.  Just for a second I close my eyes and soak up the warmth and thank God for this moment of silence.  The truth is I feel like I suck a lot of days.  I quietly mumble prayers as I go about my day.."if I trip over one more pair of shoes, God please help me not lose my cool..is it that hard to put them on the shelf?"  Some days it's hard to see the fruits of our labour.  With the news of war, oppression, outbreaks ( and for my fellow Canadians) the weather, life is just plain complicated and hard.  Nestled in the mountains of Guatemala, I have my own battles.  Everything that comes with parenting, coaching young women to be independent and develop skills that can carry them and putting our hearts at risk over and over as we foster, requires me putting on God's armour daily.  With everything God, with everything, help me love the way you love me.  

After our first child was born I never thought I could love another baby as much until the second came and later the third.  For some reason I never felt our family was complete. This journey we have been on with fostering has been challenging in every respect.  People often ask me how we manage it all.  It's tough most days but the small acts and baby steps in growing relationships are worth every heartache and sleepless night.

In January, we welcomed Irma into the transition program and into our home.  Sharing a bunk with Mercedes, is the closest she has come to having her own bed.  Irma slept with her sisters in a bed to keep warm in the cold night air.  She came from little with little.  In the first few days of her moving in we had a sponsor to support her through her education.  God provides!  I am teaching and coaching her as she develops necessary skills to develop her dream business of one day owning her own bakery.  There is so much to learn in even how to help.  Sometimes helping just plain hurts.  Sometimes I get ahead of myself and actually can do more harm than help.  I was out walking with Irma one day talking about our very different backgrounds and realized that she was experiencing a degree of culture shock even with moving in with us.  Realizing the added stress of even a simple move from a mountain village into the town of Jalapa was overwhelming Irma and she needed a lot of coaching and direction.  It is such a privilege for us to walk along side her.  Sometimes it just takes that very simple act of walking with someone.  I know I wouldn't be where I am today if someone didn't take a chance, give me a second chance or walk beside me.  It didn't take long for Irma to fit in.  She is still adjusting to our cooking and choice of foods.  I have quickly earned the title of mom and she (even at the age of 21) just wants that mothers love.

I can get lost in my thoughts. I wish Lord they weren't over the pressing things to do.  I wish they would always be pure, I wish they would always seek you first.  I hear my name.  I hear mom ringing out from four different voices.  All of them needing something.  How often do I call upon your name when I am in need of something.  I hear my farmers' voice calling me among the children.  My heart flutters when I hear him.  " No chickens", he says.  But we know God is faithful and so we ask with everything and wait.



 

press pause

  

         As we reflect back over this past year, there are so many things I wish I could re-do, re-think, do better.  It's easy to get caught in this line of thinking and not ponder on all that God has done and is doing.  We had a rough year.  Things didn't go the way we thought they would or expect.  We questioned God's calling us back and at times will to keep pushing forward.  But maybe, just maybe God used the initial reasoning to call us back and has something grander, something that is not our own doing but His.  I am amazed at the surprises He blesses us with along the way.  And He delights in you and I and wants to surprise us.  I think God doesn't allow us to see too far into the future because we lose sight of the present.  Not to mention we wouldn't be able to handle it.  If I would have known what I know now about the last year, I wonder if I would have been so willing to answer His call on my life.  We took in and treated a malnourished child for close to three months, raised four teenage girls, loved an abandoned baby, and tried our best to live out "love your neighbour as yourself" that Jesus so often spoke of.  I have been more sick in the last year and cried more tears (of sorrow and joy) than ever before. 

            In the quietness of these moments before the company comes, and the fireworks explode in the night air to ring in the new year, I want to stop.  I want to give glory and praise to our Father who sees all things and in all things makes things new.  I have been too busy and distracted lately.  Jesus says in Matthew 11:28 “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  And when things seem tough and like I don’t feel like I have the energy, He says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

I

 As 2015 is upon us, God breathes hope into our lives.  Hope that carries us through.  Hope that this world will be a better place, that His message will reach the unsaved, that we have another year ahead full of opportunity to live out what Jesus has called us to.  

moments of fostering

It was not that late.  Only around 9 pm and for a split second I had the remind myself where we were.  We were driving home from a Thanksgiving gathering with some American friends.  We bounced and jostled up and down the mountains on our way back to Jalapa, dodging cows and pot holes in the road.  It was dark... we usually are not out at night at all so it was strange.  My eyes were glazed over with tiredness from spending an entire day of cooking in the kitchen.  With full tummies and hearts full of love and friendship, we were on our way home.  The kids excited talk soon faded to quiet whispers as we bounced along in our bus.  There is a lot to be thankful for.

We have just passed our one year mark for being back in Guatemala.  The past year had its many difficulties, trials and hardships.  But among the "thorns" something beautiful was growing.  A deeper love for God and understanding of what it takes to serve and trust Him.  I don't sleep much.  I thought maybe now that Lily is gone, I would get more adequate rest.  It's worse, because as soon as I am quiet in my mind and my head hits the pillow,  my thoughts drift to her precious face.  I think about her crying and clinging to me for dear life as they took her from my arms.  Abandoned... again.  I feel angry and sad a lot. I struggle with knowing God's plan for her life.

A few nights before I flew back here from Canada, I had a vivid dream.  One that I couldn't remember at first but as the day progressed, I started to understand things more clearly.  In my dream, I was working through losing Lily but for some reason I knew I had to keep going on because I was caring for another little girl... only this one wasn't brown skinned, brown haired, rather white as white can be.  I may never loose sight of the incredible gifts God has given me in our children.  There are a lot of "Lily" cases out there.  UNICEF states that an estimated 153 million children worldwide have lost either one or both parents.  This interpretation of my dream extends beyond just our biological children.  We have circled one full year with our four "daughters'.  Matt and I have absolutely no experience in fostering, nor did we ever expect to.  God knew. And we are being stretched beyond any circumstance we have faced.  Fostering can be just plain messy.  We have shared joy and sorrow. We have been through the pleasant and the ugly and everything in between.  There have been days when I have questioned if anything that we are saying or doing is sinking in and making any sense.  If anything, I have learned that kids need boundaries and discipline.  They need consistency and unconditional love.  I know that our girls haven't always had that.  Institutional living has effected their self confidence, ability to trust in others and a whole host of other issues.  I have struggled for many months with the youngest of the four.  There were many times of disrespectful treatment and hostility toward me.  I struggled with the fact that she didn't trust me for weeks on end.  It finally dawned on me that I needed to gain her trust.. not the other way around.  She needed to know that I wasn't leaving her after a month as she had a different caregiver every month for the past nine years at the orphanage.  She needs a mom even though she has never known the depth of that relationship.  For the entire past year I was just another care-giver. I was just another woman in her life.   But the last six weeks or so, I have been mom.  And I will never forget the first time she spoke that word.  It was music to my soul.  There have been some significant break throughs and communication is opening.  She has shared things with me she has never shared with any other adult.  And I praise God who so graciously loves me in my brokenness enough to actually use me in the lives of the girls.

A couple weeks ago we hauled out the christmas box.  As I opened the box, the smell of cinnamon took me to childhood memories of christmas as a family.  The kids were busily setting up the tree and checking lightbulbs.  I usually do most of the work as most years the kids get tired and distracted.  Not this year.  I had a team of elves and I hardly touched the tree let alone an ornament.  I stood back and watched the girls get right into the excitement.  It was beautiful to see them working together and making it just perfect.  I know that there are times that they struggle with not having their biological family together.  Our job is never to replace that for them.

We have had many conversations about protecting them and helping them discern healthy boundaries with their family.  A couple weeks ago, I woke up one morning and just prayed that God would use me in whatever way He saw fit for the day.  You know when you ask God, He does hear..... Sure enough that afternoon, the oldest brother of our girls came to the door crying because he got word that his mom was really sick.  There is so much brokenness in this family I can't even begin to understand.  He really felt that although his mom hasn't always been there for them, that it was important for them to go.  So willingly, the girls and I drove the bus out to her little shack.  We brought a blanket and prayed over her.  I knelt on the dirt floor and prayed over a mom whose daughters were being raised by me.  I reminded her of how much love was standing by her bedside.  My tears fell as I silently felt so unqualified.   I really realized through this visit how much the girls look to me for advice and comfort.  And it was a testimony of love.  A love that is not trying to replace, or substitute.  Its a love that protects, guides and desires restoration.

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Mark 9:37