I wanted to thank everyone again for all your support over the past year and let you know about a new opportunity that I have been asked to participate. I would not have been prepared in the same way had it not been for your generosity over the past eighteen months...
On October 18th I will be traveling to Haiti to participate in a design trip for a new water system for the Thomazeau area. Our hope is to design a water system that will be able to serve up to 20,000 people in desperate need of a clean, reliable drinking water system. The current team is a partnership between Living Water (Nashville, TN), LiveBeyond Mobile Medical Disaster Relief, and Knox ProCorps. Our team of eight will be doing the field work necessary to completely define the project and produce design documents for fund raising and construction.
Haiti's water supply infrastructure has not recovered since the earthquake and has been exacerbated by the introduction of Cholera during the relief efforts. If you would like to learn more about Haiti's water situation please read the following links.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/world/americas/haitis-cholera-outraced-the-experts-and-tainted-the-un.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
https://medium.com/medium-for-haiti/50f6c0314b9e
Ulpan Update:
The work on water projects in the Ulpan Valley has slowed since our departure but is still ongoing. Julio has been working on a latrine program to increase sanitation in the valley and we have heard recently that another village has requested CAFNIMA's help with a water system. We think that Lipscomb Engineering students in collaboration with Kris Hatchell (our partner from the valley) will design and help construct this system.
Mark
Friday, October 4, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Processing Part 2 - No Water
I wrote this during April when Drew and I had returned to the valley. Just another perspective from Ulpan as I continue to process all that we experienced.
No Water
For our time in April - Drew and I took occasional baths from a rusty 55 gallon barrel.
The last few days in the valley we had a unique experience given our activities over the past year. We were out of water. The water system on the side of Benitzul where we live is one of the most difficult to operate of all the systems we have installed. In the dry season the two springs that feed our half of the system typically go dry and there are no other sources that can feed this area by gravity. Folks before our time here in the valley installed a solar pump to push water to our side so that we and the homes around us would continue to have water in the dry season. Something is wrong with the system at the moment and our lines are empty. We find ourselves in the development catch 22 - if we go fix it we take away a growth opportunity from the water committee - but to wait for the water committee to fix it means we wait for several days. This conundrum is fodder for another reflection, but the thought for now is life with very little water. It is an odd irony that we have experienced life much as those here without a good water system in our last week. Our situation was complicated by the fact that we had a team of eight here during this week so our demand was much greater.
We have a rain collection tank here at the house. It is plumbed so that when the water system is not functioning it supplies water to our spigots. So we relied on our rain catchment, but with eight extra people it was not large enough to last a week. We had rain two nights, and I can remember saying a prayer of thanks for the rain, it was currently our only source of water. We pulled out two fifty gallon plastic barrels and put them under points on the roof to collect extra water, but to use this water we have to walk outside and fill up a bucket much as many of the women in this area go to local springs to get water. To say the least it has been inconvenient and a little worrisome. It is still hard to imagine living like this, but in the midst of trying to fix this situation we had not really experienced their plight. We are not washing clothes before we leave because we don't have enough water. We are prioritizing our water use for filtered drinking water first, cooking second, then dishes. Water begins to consume our thoughts and our time. Water is life. Easy water is peace and industry towards other ends.
 |
| Unrelated photo of Little Monkey taking a bath at a hotel with no bath tubs. |
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Processing & April
First, I apologize it has taken me so long to make this post. On the one hand, moving back and starting a new job has made life really busy, on the other, I have still been doing much processing about our past year and it has been hard to but those thoughts to paper (or the ethereal blog cloud). I have come to realize that I will not be done processing our experience in the Ulpan Valley anytime soon. As much as I would like to sum it all up and write a final blog - I don't think that can happen with any real honesty. So I will continue to throw a few snippets about my processing out on this blog here and there until most of the processing is done.
Here is summary of the work we accomplished in April:
Drew and I had a good time in April when we returned for two weeks. We had planned to help with a team from Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and to design a system for San Vicente 2 (SV2), but as often was the case, our plans changed a little when we got there. SV2 was not ready for us to design their system so instead we did preliminary studies of two other villages. Chirubiquim (CBQ) is a village slightly outside the valley near Semesche (where we did our Decemeber construction project). They had seen the project in Semesche and wanted something similar in their village. I spent two days hiking through this village with their leaders looking at potential springs that could provide community access points to better water. We found several springs that, when combined, may be able to provide a source of water for their school and a couple of community access points, but they unfortunately were not able to show us any springs that would be an ample supply of water for the entire community. We left the community with a list of things to accomplish before we would be able to help them complete a design and project. Those things included getting written permission from property of the small springs that we found and sending a letter to CAFNIMA asking for help with a water system. The property permission has always been a long process in our experience.
The other village that we visited was Ulpan 2 (ULP2). ULP2 is in the middle of the valley (and though I don't know this as fact) I believe they were the original village in the area. They are now ULP2 because the farmers who took over the land in the valley displaced the original ULP from the best land in the middle of the valley. ULP2 has a very nice spring that we believe is on property owned by the village. We hiked to this spring and did a preliminary survey with some of the village leaders. We left ULP2 with the same instructions as in CBQ - proof of ownership and solicitation letter to CAFNIMA. The biggest problem in ULP2 is that - for some reason - not all of the people who live in this village want a water system. We told the leaders that contacted us that we would prefer that everyone receive access to the water if we were going to help them with a system and the last I heard they were still discussing this as a community. We did not want to create a situation of the "HAVE" and "HAVE-NOTS" so our hope is that they will come to an agreement where all will have access to the water system.
...more to come...
Here is summary of the work we accomplished in April:
Drew and I had a good time in April when we returned for two weeks. We had planned to help with a team from Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and to design a system for San Vicente 2 (SV2), but as often was the case, our plans changed a little when we got there. SV2 was not ready for us to design their system so instead we did preliminary studies of two other villages. Chirubiquim (CBQ) is a village slightly outside the valley near Semesche (where we did our Decemeber construction project). They had seen the project in Semesche and wanted something similar in their village. I spent two days hiking through this village with their leaders looking at potential springs that could provide community access points to better water. We found several springs that, when combined, may be able to provide a source of water for their school and a couple of community access points, but they unfortunately were not able to show us any springs that would be an ample supply of water for the entire community. We left the community with a list of things to accomplish before we would be able to help them complete a design and project. Those things included getting written permission from property of the small springs that we found and sending a letter to CAFNIMA asking for help with a water system. The property permission has always been a long process in our experience.
The other village that we visited was Ulpan 2 (ULP2). ULP2 is in the middle of the valley (and though I don't know this as fact) I believe they were the original village in the area. They are now ULP2 because the farmers who took over the land in the valley displaced the original ULP from the best land in the middle of the valley. ULP2 has a very nice spring that we believe is on property owned by the village. We hiked to this spring and did a preliminary survey with some of the village leaders. We left ULP2 with the same instructions as in CBQ - proof of ownership and solicitation letter to CAFNIMA. The biggest problem in ULP2 is that - for some reason - not all of the people who live in this village want a water system. We told the leaders that contacted us that we would prefer that everyone receive access to the water if we were going to help them with a system and the last I heard they were still discussing this as a community. We did not want to create a situation of the "HAVE" and "HAVE-NOTS" so our hope is that they will come to an agreement where all will have access to the water system.
...more to come...
Monday, August 12, 2013
Top 10-ish Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the top 10ish most frequently asked questions during the last few months:
1. "Are you glad to be home?"
2. "How are you readjusting to our culture?"
3. "Do you feel "better"/"well" now that you are back?"
4. "Do you regret ever having gone to Guatemala?"
5. "How is Mark's new job?"
6. "How are the kids adjusting?"
7. "How is that little boy, Cesar?"
8. "What is Nina doing, now that you all are not there?/How are Kris and DeeDee?"
9. "Did you all accomplish all you set out to accomplish?"
10. "Would you go back again?"
11. "Do you like your new house?"
So...I thought I would conclude this Guatemala chapter of our lives by answering those FAQ's. Be forewarned...this could be a long one...I'm making up for the last few months of silence (at least on the blog--certainly there has been very little silence in my life...moving from foreign country + four kids +potty training + vacations +summer+moving into new house + culture shock+selling/getting rid of tons of unneeded stuff+getting ready for another year of home schooling = chaos...not silence)
**However, please know this is not the end of my writing. I have already set up another blog, and if you would like to you are welcome to follow it by email as you have this one...or simply add it to your reading list to follow. I can pretty much guarantee I will not post as often.
So...to the questions:
1. Yes...I am very glad to be home. I love Knoxville, I love Tennessee, I love family and being close enough to see them. I am very, very, very, very glad to be home.
2. I feel like we are all readjusting to our culture pretty well. Certainly Guatemala has changed us all. We desire to live a much more simple life...and so we have spent the last 3 months purging a lot as we have moved and unpacked. But for me, it is much more difficult to simplify the pace of life. This is something I have not mastered at all. The pace of life in the US is insane...and I am rotten at allowing the pace to control my family rather than our family deciding at what pace we would like to live and making choices in that vain.
Regarding the more general American culture, sure there are things that drive me nuts about it, which I have mentioned in previous posts, but in general, I am incredibly thankful for the United States. I am thankful for the way people are valued and cared for. I am thankful for the order on the roads. I am thankful for space and the value of personal space. These are all things I was very critical about upon my return from my first trip to Africa. I so wanted everyone in "rich America" to get it and understand how hard life is for the majority of the people in the world. I have been surprised how much peace I have felt moving into a home much bigger than anything my Guatemalan friends live in. But the Lord has reminded me that we do not choose where we are born. We do not choose the culture we are raised in. But we do choose what we do with that gift. I am incredibly thankful for the gift of being an American. It is a gift I do think I grossly took for granted for most of my life. However, being back in this culture, I am daily giving thanks for things I never even saw as blessings before this journey.
3. I think several people in my life...perhaps more than several, were hopeful that I would become "well", which I suppose means I would be able to stop taking anti-depressants, when I returned from Guatemala. As if coming home were the real cure. This however, is not at all the case. Yes, being home is easier. Life is simply easier in many, many ways. However, the Lord used our time in Guatemala as a season of stripping for me. The depression was there prior to Guatemala...I simply had many more coping mechanisms in the states than I did in the isolation of the jungle. Scripture often refers to seasons in the wilderness as times of refining. A refining process is painful-- it involves fire. Our time in Guatemala was a personal fire for me. I was heated up to a point where so many of my impurities came to the surface and I was so limited in my resources--there was no distraction from those impurities--I just had to deal with them. And that led me to a point of great despair and hopelessness...and depression. So, upon returning to the States, the battle now is to stay in that fight. It would be very easy for me to simply get busy again (a great coping mechanism) and fall back into my old patterns of pretending everything is great and fine and I have it all together. I am fighting that battle by continuing in counseling and continuing to allow the Lord to dig out the muck in my life--find those impurities and make me into the woman He desires me to be. Oh, it is so painful, but it is so good and so worth it. And I am thankful to have the comforts of home as I wrestle and "become". And the becoming is slow...and life long. So, no, I am not "well" or "fixed" and I do not believe I will ever be "well" until I reach the other side of eternity where the Great Healer will make all things NEW!!
4. I have been asked many times if I regret having gone to Guatemala, since it was such a hard season for me. I would answer that with a resounding NO!!! I am so thankful that the Lord knew that in order to wake me up, he needed to remove me from this culture and get me still and quiet for a significant amount of time. And if going through a painful season is going to make me a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend, I would not trade that for anything. It would be like saying I don't want to have a baby because childbirth will be too painful---how much would be lost if I were not willing to go through some pain in order to reap the benefits of what lay on the other side.
5. Many of you do not know that Mark began to work for First Utility District of Knox County upon returning from Guatemala. He is enjoying it, though, as with all new jobs, there is always an adjustment period. He is enjoying getting to know his new co-workers and facing the challenges of learning the new routine. It's especially unique because several of the people he works with were able to visit us in the Ulpan Valley on the February team. My man of many words, when asked, "Do you like your new job?" replies, "Yes."
6. The kids have adjusted remarkably well. The first few months we were home were a little rough, especially for the youngest two. After being in the states for a while, we realized, that perhaps this did not feel like home to them. They were so young when we left last summer, perhaps Guatemala was really what they remembered the most...especially for Little Monkey. But now that we are in our new home, they feel comfortable here and are very well adjusted. Back to sibling rivalry, lots of laughter, and the general chaos with which our home abounds.
7. The last I heard about Cesar was after our teammates, Kris and DeeDee returned in late May. They had been to visit him just before they left the valley and brought a video to show us. What we witnessed was nothing less than a miraculous transformation: a typical six-year-old boy, laughing, playing soccer, running, and looking very healthy. As you may remember, he is currently being cared for by his uncle and aunt. They have children of their own, but they truly seem to love Cesar and want to keep him permanently. Please pray this will be able to happen. Supposedly, the Guatemalan authorities will reevaluate his case in a year (somewhere around April or May, probably) to determine if he will remain with the uncle's family or return to his mother. Please pray for great wisdom and discernment for all involved. Thank you for praying for him and asking about him.
8. Nina is currently living in Guatemala City. She has been working this summer for the Guatemalan equivalent of "American Idol" television show as the cook for all the contestants!! She and her sister have enjoyed working this job together, but it has been extremely tiring!! I have been able to talk with her every several weeks. She is working toward getting re-registered for school and planning to begin classes in January. We are all very hopeful that she will be able to come and visit our family this fall before she begins school. Please pray she will be able to receive a visitors Visa to the United States and that her registration for school will be simple.
Kris and DeeDee returned to the states at the end of May. We have seen them once and plan to see them again this week!! Kris has started a new job at an engineering firm in Nashville. They are getting re-settled into their house and eagerly expecting a new addition to their family-- due to arrive in November!!! We are very excited for them and I can't wait to see DeeDee's growing belly this weekend!!!
9. What we planned to accomplish and what was realistic were perhaps two very different things. I think one thing we learned is that our Western mindset is so ingrained in us. We desire things to happen quickly...and that simply isn't the case in a third world setting. Community development work is S.L.O.W. And a very important lesson to learn is that truly, sustainable, community development NEEDS to be slow. It needs to be community driven. So, while all the water work that Mark worked on while there is meeting the needs of hundreds of people who did not previously have access to potable water, the real accomplishment is that there was an intense amount of training poured into each of the villages in which they worked. Mark went down with hopes to install more systems than what actually happened, but I believe the lasting impact was great. Please pray that the training will continue to filter to other villages and water systems will continue to find their place in the neighboring villages, with help from Knox ProCorps and others when necessary.
10. I would love to go back to Guatemala to visit again. I miss Nina and would love to be with her again. If we went into any foreign missions setting again, I think we would do things very differently. The circumstances in which we lived taught me a lot about my own limits: I need physical space to live that feels safe and provides me a quiet place to simply be. I need time away from my children. Mark & I need time and space to communicate well and have a solid marriage. I need a body of believers with which to worship on a regular basis. I need community around me. So...knowing these limits, we would make different choices if we ever did anything like this in the future. I will not limit the Lord and say I would never live in a foreign/third world setting again. However, my heart's desire for now is to be exactly where I am.
11. I LOVE OUR NEW HOUSE!!!!! Here are the words that come to mind as I think of our home: peaceful, freedom, unexpected blessing, beautiful setting, made for our family. We can set up a slip & slide and wear out all the kiddos really fast!! Our neighbors are wonderful and we are quickly forming some neat friendships. There are kids all around and that has been such a wonderful surprise for my kids. We would love for you to come visit...our screen porch is my favorite space as I sit in my Guatemalan hammock, drink my coffee, watch the sunrise over the 85 acre hayfield behind us, and watch the three horses graze in the neighboring field...yeah...it's pretty awesome!!! Come join me for coffee!!
So...for now...those are my answers to some of those hard and not-so-hard questions. Thank you so much for your faithful following of this journey we have been on. As with all of us, the race is not finished while we yet breathe on this earth. If you would like to continue reading what I am musing during this adventure of life, please feel free to follow my new blog Love to you all. Your support and encouragement have meant more to us than you could ever imagine!!
1. "Are you glad to be home?"
2. "How are you readjusting to our culture?"
3. "Do you feel "better"/"well" now that you are back?"
4. "Do you regret ever having gone to Guatemala?"
5. "How is Mark's new job?"
6. "How are the kids adjusting?"
7. "How is that little boy, Cesar?"
8. "What is Nina doing, now that you all are not there?/How are Kris and DeeDee?"
9. "Did you all accomplish all you set out to accomplish?"
10. "Would you go back again?"
11. "Do you like your new house?"
So...I thought I would conclude this Guatemala chapter of our lives by answering those FAQ's. Be forewarned...this could be a long one...I'm making up for the last few months of silence (at least on the blog--certainly there has been very little silence in my life...moving from foreign country + four kids +potty training + vacations +summer+moving into new house + culture shock+selling/getting rid of tons of unneeded stuff+getting ready for another year of home schooling = chaos...not silence)
**However, please know this is not the end of my writing. I have already set up another blog, and if you would like to you are welcome to follow it by email as you have this one...or simply add it to your reading list to follow. I can pretty much guarantee I will not post as often.
So...to the questions:
1. Yes...I am very glad to be home. I love Knoxville, I love Tennessee, I love family and being close enough to see them. I am very, very, very, very glad to be home.
2. I feel like we are all readjusting to our culture pretty well. Certainly Guatemala has changed us all. We desire to live a much more simple life...and so we have spent the last 3 months purging a lot as we have moved and unpacked. But for me, it is much more difficult to simplify the pace of life. This is something I have not mastered at all. The pace of life in the US is insane...and I am rotten at allowing the pace to control my family rather than our family deciding at what pace we would like to live and making choices in that vain.
Regarding the more general American culture, sure there are things that drive me nuts about it, which I have mentioned in previous posts, but in general, I am incredibly thankful for the United States. I am thankful for the way people are valued and cared for. I am thankful for the order on the roads. I am thankful for space and the value of personal space. These are all things I was very critical about upon my return from my first trip to Africa. I so wanted everyone in "rich America" to get it and understand how hard life is for the majority of the people in the world. I have been surprised how much peace I have felt moving into a home much bigger than anything my Guatemalan friends live in. But the Lord has reminded me that we do not choose where we are born. We do not choose the culture we are raised in. But we do choose what we do with that gift. I am incredibly thankful for the gift of being an American. It is a gift I do think I grossly took for granted for most of my life. However, being back in this culture, I am daily giving thanks for things I never even saw as blessings before this journey.
3. I think several people in my life...perhaps more than several, were hopeful that I would become "well", which I suppose means I would be able to stop taking anti-depressants, when I returned from Guatemala. As if coming home were the real cure. This however, is not at all the case. Yes, being home is easier. Life is simply easier in many, many ways. However, the Lord used our time in Guatemala as a season of stripping for me. The depression was there prior to Guatemala...I simply had many more coping mechanisms in the states than I did in the isolation of the jungle. Scripture often refers to seasons in the wilderness as times of refining. A refining process is painful-- it involves fire. Our time in Guatemala was a personal fire for me. I was heated up to a point where so many of my impurities came to the surface and I was so limited in my resources--there was no distraction from those impurities--I just had to deal with them. And that led me to a point of great despair and hopelessness...and depression. So, upon returning to the States, the battle now is to stay in that fight. It would be very easy for me to simply get busy again (a great coping mechanism) and fall back into my old patterns of pretending everything is great and fine and I have it all together. I am fighting that battle by continuing in counseling and continuing to allow the Lord to dig out the muck in my life--find those impurities and make me into the woman He desires me to be. Oh, it is so painful, but it is so good and so worth it. And I am thankful to have the comforts of home as I wrestle and "become". And the becoming is slow...and life long. So, no, I am not "well" or "fixed" and I do not believe I will ever be "well" until I reach the other side of eternity where the Great Healer will make all things NEW!!
4. I have been asked many times if I regret having gone to Guatemala, since it was such a hard season for me. I would answer that with a resounding NO!!! I am so thankful that the Lord knew that in order to wake me up, he needed to remove me from this culture and get me still and quiet for a significant amount of time. And if going through a painful season is going to make me a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend, I would not trade that for anything. It would be like saying I don't want to have a baby because childbirth will be too painful---how much would be lost if I were not willing to go through some pain in order to reap the benefits of what lay on the other side.
5. Many of you do not know that Mark began to work for First Utility District of Knox County upon returning from Guatemala. He is enjoying it, though, as with all new jobs, there is always an adjustment period. He is enjoying getting to know his new co-workers and facing the challenges of learning the new routine. It's especially unique because several of the people he works with were able to visit us in the Ulpan Valley on the February team. My man of many words, when asked, "Do you like your new job?" replies, "Yes."
6. The kids have adjusted remarkably well. The first few months we were home were a little rough, especially for the youngest two. After being in the states for a while, we realized, that perhaps this did not feel like home to them. They were so young when we left last summer, perhaps Guatemala was really what they remembered the most...especially for Little Monkey. But now that we are in our new home, they feel comfortable here and are very well adjusted. Back to sibling rivalry, lots of laughter, and the general chaos with which our home abounds.
7. The last I heard about Cesar was after our teammates, Kris and DeeDee returned in late May. They had been to visit him just before they left the valley and brought a video to show us. What we witnessed was nothing less than a miraculous transformation: a typical six-year-old boy, laughing, playing soccer, running, and looking very healthy. As you may remember, he is currently being cared for by his uncle and aunt. They have children of their own, but they truly seem to love Cesar and want to keep him permanently. Please pray this will be able to happen. Supposedly, the Guatemalan authorities will reevaluate his case in a year (somewhere around April or May, probably) to determine if he will remain with the uncle's family or return to his mother. Please pray for great wisdom and discernment for all involved. Thank you for praying for him and asking about him.
8. Nina is currently living in Guatemala City. She has been working this summer for the Guatemalan equivalent of "American Idol" television show as the cook for all the contestants!! She and her sister have enjoyed working this job together, but it has been extremely tiring!! I have been able to talk with her every several weeks. She is working toward getting re-registered for school and planning to begin classes in January. We are all very hopeful that she will be able to come and visit our family this fall before she begins school. Please pray she will be able to receive a visitors Visa to the United States and that her registration for school will be simple.
Kris and DeeDee returned to the states at the end of May. We have seen them once and plan to see them again this week!! Kris has started a new job at an engineering firm in Nashville. They are getting re-settled into their house and eagerly expecting a new addition to their family-- due to arrive in November!!! We are very excited for them and I can't wait to see DeeDee's growing belly this weekend!!!
9. What we planned to accomplish and what was realistic were perhaps two very different things. I think one thing we learned is that our Western mindset is so ingrained in us. We desire things to happen quickly...and that simply isn't the case in a third world setting. Community development work is S.L.O.W. And a very important lesson to learn is that truly, sustainable, community development NEEDS to be slow. It needs to be community driven. So, while all the water work that Mark worked on while there is meeting the needs of hundreds of people who did not previously have access to potable water, the real accomplishment is that there was an intense amount of training poured into each of the villages in which they worked. Mark went down with hopes to install more systems than what actually happened, but I believe the lasting impact was great. Please pray that the training will continue to filter to other villages and water systems will continue to find their place in the neighboring villages, with help from Knox ProCorps and others when necessary.
10. I would love to go back to Guatemala to visit again. I miss Nina and would love to be with her again. If we went into any foreign missions setting again, I think we would do things very differently. The circumstances in which we lived taught me a lot about my own limits: I need physical space to live that feels safe and provides me a quiet place to simply be. I need time away from my children. Mark & I need time and space to communicate well and have a solid marriage. I need a body of believers with which to worship on a regular basis. I need community around me. So...knowing these limits, we would make different choices if we ever did anything like this in the future. I will not limit the Lord and say I would never live in a foreign/third world setting again. However, my heart's desire for now is to be exactly where I am.
11. I LOVE OUR NEW HOUSE!!!!! Here are the words that come to mind as I think of our home: peaceful, freedom, unexpected blessing, beautiful setting, made for our family. We can set up a slip & slide and wear out all the kiddos really fast!! Our neighbors are wonderful and we are quickly forming some neat friendships. There are kids all around and that has been such a wonderful surprise for my kids. We would love for you to come visit...our screen porch is my favorite space as I sit in my Guatemalan hammock, drink my coffee, watch the sunrise over the 85 acre hayfield behind us, and watch the three horses graze in the neighboring field...yeah...it's pretty awesome!!! Come join me for coffee!!
So...for now...those are my answers to some of those hard and not-so-hard questions. Thank you so much for your faithful following of this journey we have been on. As with all of us, the race is not finished while we yet breathe on this earth. If you would like to continue reading what I am musing during this adventure of life, please feel free to follow my new blog Love to you all. Your support and encouragement have meant more to us than you could ever imagine!!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Good news about Cesar
As of this past Saturday, I was ready to begin an intense fight as an advocate for this little boy. I have not been able to get him off my mind since I met him on March 6th. But...Praise the Lord!!! Yesterday, I received some encouraging news about little Cesar. Thank you so much for your many prayers for this precious boy. Please continue to pray for him.
I am simply going to copy the letter DeeDee (my teammate) sent me, since she saw him first hand.
I am simply going to copy the letter DeeDee (my teammate) sent me, since she saw him first hand.
Hey friends,
Just wanted to pass along what I believe is really positive news related to the Cesar updates. At the end of last week, Ricardo went into town to help sign all the papers to get Cesar released from the hospital and passed on to a new guardian. I got news today of how that went.
Apparently, PGN (equivalent to DCS) was not in favor of sending Cesar back to the same home. So Cesar´s mom suggested one of Cesar´s uncles named Crisanto who lives in the same community. Crisanto and his wife Carmelina agreed to be Cesar´s guardians for the next year or so (I´m kinda unclear about the time commitment). Meanwhile, PGN has committed to doing an "intervention" with Cesar's mom to help prepare her to receive Cesar back into her home (not sure exactly what this intervention will look like... but sounds positive). Also, PGN will continue to monitor Cesar's progress at his new home.
I thought this news sounded good, but I was still very skeptical. And I was eager to see Cesar in his new home. So this afternoon Marcelino walked with me to visit Cesar. As we arrived, we saw Cesar walking hand-in-hand with Crisanto's wife Carmelina. She also had their little 3-year-old boy with them (a great playmate for Cesar and actually his same size!). Truthfully, she was probably one of the most friendly women I have ever met in the Valley. Her husband came out too and was very welcoming. They seemed to be a very sweet, educated (both spoke some Spanish) family, and they gave me confidence that Cesar would be well taken care of. They even had a fence around their yard, which will hopefully help discourage Cesar from trying to run away (which he hopefully won't even try to do if he's being cared for properly).
They invited me back another day when we could sit down and chat longer, and of course, I plan to do so before we head back to the States in a few weeks.
I hope you enjoy the pictures. I never cease to be amazed at the transformation that has happened in the life of this sweet little boy in exactly two months. Thanks to God, and to the help of Beth and Katy, Cesar has been given another chance at life! The second picture is of his new parents... of course they're not smiling, but they seem very happy to have him as part of the family.
I hope you all can rest well tonight and lift up praises to our Father for this good news. After I left Cesar's new house this afternoon, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. God is good.
Blessings,
DeeDee
Sunday, May 5, 2013
A little McKinney family update
As you may have assumed, since you did not hear otherwise, the
boys arrived safely home on April 18th. Though they were tired and everyone is missing Nina, we were happy to be home and all together again. Mark has had every intention of
posting a blog about their time in Guatemala; however, he returned home with
some very unwelcome stowaways in his intestines. That, along with
beginning his new job on Monday, April 22nd, has left him barely keeping his
head above water these last few weeks.
So what has been
going on with the rest of us? Well...we are still in limbo-mode. We
are so thankful for the hospitality of our parents who have housed us and fed
us with such grace. It has provided us space and time to breathe and rest
and just BE, before the real unpacking begins.
During our week at
home together, before the boys headed back down south, we went house hunting.
In early March, we were planning to come home and look for
something to rent. That was something we talked about for several
reasons: at the time, the family renting our home was still trying to
sell their home; I was feeling very unable to make any decisions; and we felt
like renting might be a way to just take a breath for a year or so.
However, in the depths of my gut, that decision left me feeling sick to
my stomach. One thing I have longed for so very much is a place to
settle-- a place that is for my family and where we can begin anew and begin to
allow the Lord to mold in us what he wants life in Knoxville to look like for
the McKinney family. I knew we could do that anywhere, but I REALLY
didn't want to have to move again. And I knew that if we were renting, I
would struggle to really feel settled. Returning on March 26th, we opened
our hands and continued the prayer we have been praying for ourselves all year,
"Lord, show us where you want us to live."
The Lord answered
that prayer with a gift more abundant than anything I could have imagined!
Some of you know we have been looking at houses in the Lenoir City area
for quite some time, especially houses near Mark's parents. So, when a
house appeared on Zillow a few weeks before we flew back (we saw it the
day after we arrived), we were intrigued. It is walking distance from
Mark's parent's house and has a gorgeous view of the mountains and a beautiful
pasture. My first two thoughts were: 1. it's probably way out
of our price range OR 2. if it's in our price range, it's probably
a dump and has more work needed than we are willing to put in during this
season. (And Jesus gently shakes his head and says, "Oh, you of
little faith.") First of all...the price was more than perfect.
And second, I walked in and said, "I could move in here tomorrow
without doing anything!!" It is small and if you had told me a year
ago that I would practically be cutting the square footage of my home in half,
I would have told you that you must have lost your mind. But then again,
I am the one who moved to a place with no electricity with my four crazy kids--
so who can really claim sanity anyway?? And perspectives on what is big
enough changes dramatically when my family of 6 has been sharing two rooms and
sharing a house with 10 people. It's all about perspective.
And guess what...the dominoes are falling! This past
Tuesday, the family renting our house finally closed on their house.
Praise Jesus!!! We close with them this coming Friday and will
purchase our new home on Wednesday, May 15th. We are so very excited to
have a place to settle, to not have to move again, and to be able to figure
out our new normal. We would very much appreciate your prayers in the
midst of more transition and thank you for the many prayers you have offered for our family along this journey. We look forward to having you come visit us!
Oh...and a side-note: since we are moving into a smaller space, the baby grand piano is not going to make the move...so if you know of anyone who may be looking to buy a piano, let us know.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Update on Cesar
Lots of you have been asking me how Cesar is doing. If you remember, he was the little boy who we found severely malnourished back in early March. The latest report I received was last week. He is still in the hospital and we aren't exactly sure why. The only person who can give anyone information about him is the doctor and he hasn't been available anytime Ricardo, DeeDee or Cesar's mother have been able to visit him. So, we are going on a lot of assumptions right now. There could be several reasons for him being kept in the hospital so long: One is that he is having other complications. The other is that they are waiting for space to open in a recuperation center. Another possibility is they are waiting for the authorities to figure out the best place for him to go.
We do know that the Guatemalan equivalent of DCS has been doing a good job of following up on his case. They have visited his home and his mother had to go to Coban for a formal interview. I know she was questioned about why he was chained up outside their home. I am not sure what her answer was.
Please continue to pray for wisdom for all those involved with his care and with decisions about his future. Please pray that he will be in an environment where he knows love and is nurtured in a healthy way. Pray that he will know that he is a precious creation and he is worth being loved.
We do know that the Guatemalan equivalent of DCS has been doing a good job of following up on his case. They have visited his home and his mother had to go to Coban for a formal interview. I know she was questioned about why he was chained up outside their home. I am not sure what her answer was.
Please continue to pray for wisdom for all those involved with his care and with decisions about his future. Please pray that he will be in an environment where he knows love and is nurtured in a healthy way. Pray that he will know that he is a precious creation and he is worth being loved.
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| The day we found him...March 6th, 2013 |
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| The most recent pictures we have of him...March 24. |
Boys are coming home
Mark and Little Man have begun their journey home. During their final few weeks, they were able to help with a GIS team that came and surveyed several villages, gathering necessary data for current and future water systems. Mark was able to write several reports and Little Man worked hard on his school work. Most importantly, they made some really sweet memories with our co-worker, Julio...stay tuned for their first hand reports on those experiences.
Please pray for them as they travel. They are on the "bumpy road" as Little Monkey calls it right now (Tuesday evening) and will be staying in Coban tonight. Then they will head to Guatemala City on the bus tomorrow. The buses aren't my favorites, so this mamma would really covet your prayers for their safety all day tomorrow. Thursday they will head to the airport and make their way to Knoxville. They are supposed to arrive into Knoxville on Thursday evening.
Thanks so much to all of you for your prayers and support through the last year plus of our lives. The transition continues and today I find myself very thankful for a microwave. I didn't think I missed it, but I just melted a stick of butter in 45 seconds. More transitions coming as Mark will re-enter the 8-5 work force on Monday!!!
Please pray for them as they travel. They are on the "bumpy road" as Little Monkey calls it right now (Tuesday evening) and will be staying in Coban tonight. Then they will head to Guatemala City on the bus tomorrow. The buses aren't my favorites, so this mamma would really covet your prayers for their safety all day tomorrow. Thursday they will head to the airport and make their way to Knoxville. They are supposed to arrive into Knoxville on Thursday evening.
Thanks so much to all of you for your prayers and support through the last year plus of our lives. The transition continues and today I find myself very thankful for a microwave. I didn't think I missed it, but I just melted a stick of butter in 45 seconds. More transitions coming as Mark will re-enter the 8-5 work force on Monday!!!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Journey into History
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| Temple of the Jaguar |
Well..this journey was over a month ago, but I wanted to give you all a glimpse of one of the coolest things we did while living in Guatemala. When Nana (my mom) came to visit, we went to see Tikal. Our whole time in Guatemala, we have been learning a lot about the Mayan people...since they were our neighbors. We have read books for school about the farming practices (which we saw lived out daily), read folktales about the various Mayan gods, and learned much about the ways of the Ancient Maya...which is really not so different from the present-day Maya people in the Ulpan Valley.
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| Nana, Little Monkey, and Nina |
So, going to Tikal was like a culmination of all of our studies. It was especially sweet to take Nina there and be able to allow her to see the history of her own people. She had been one time before, but very briefly, so she enjoyed being able to take her time on this trip. It was amazing to see the massive temples, pyramids and palaces and realize that everything was built by hand; however also rather sad realizing it was probably built by slaves. During the height of the Mayan civilization, Tikal was the largest city. The city dominated the region from 800 BC until 900 AD. It was abandoned around 900 AD and the reasons why are still debated today. It was large, about 40.3 square miles with a peak population of almost 200,000 people. And now...80% of it is covered by rain forest! It's crazy to look at it and think about some of our largest US cities in 1100 years. Will they be buried by forest? Will archaeologists come excavate and speculate about the things we leave behind? It is also a reminder that we can't take anything with us and all the "stuff" we build here on earth will eventually be buried and forgotten. A great reason to be "storing up our treasures in heaven".
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| This is a model of the way Tikal may have looked |
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| This is the view from the top of Temple Four...imagine only being able to see city 1100 years ago! |
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| The kids with a view of the Grand Plaza behind them. |
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| Temple of the Jaguar |
I really appreciate the respect the Mayan people have for nature. Though I do not believe there is a sun god, a god of rain, fire, and 20 other gods, I do believe our Creator God put an order into nature to help us live here on this earth. The Mayan people are very smart and in its hay-day, Tikal was a center for astronomy and mathematics. In Mundo Perdido, there were three temples which were behind a large pyramid. During the spring and autumn equinox and the summer and winter solstice, the sun would line up with certain temples and cast a shadow directly in the center of the pyramid...amazing!!! How did they do that? In this way, they knew the proper time to plant and harvest. It is also how they created the famous Mayan calendar which has gotten so much press of late. On that note, the Mayan calendar did end on December 21, 2012. However, it was not as western media reported it. The Mayans never believed it would be the end of the world. What they did believe was that is was the beginning of a new era. This new era is called Baktun. I love this! So, 2013 is the beginning of a new era!! PRAISE GOD FOR NEW BEGINNINGS!!!
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| A carving of Chac, the god of rain |
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| Mark & the kids are on top of this |
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| New creation in the midst of ruins |
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| Little Monkey hanging on... |
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| Pizotes--cousins to raccoons |
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| This guy just pulled this tarantula out of a tree! |
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| Spider Monkey |
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| Can you see the little monkey on the mama's back? |
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| Our own Little Monkey |
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| Our "sunrise" tour |
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| Temple Four coming up out of the trees |
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| All of us on top of Temple Four...something around 190 steps. As one who isn't crazy about heights, I was kind of a nervous wreck with all my kiddos up there. |
Friday, April 12, 2013
New Perspective
As you can imagine, re-entry into the United States has brought with it a flood of thoughts and emotions from me.
First of all, there are things I never appreciated before, that I am now so very thankful for. Things like (in no particular order):
First of all, there are things I never appreciated before, that I am now so very thankful for. Things like (in no particular order):
- toilets that flush and don't tip over-- so nice that Shirley Temple can go to the potty without help!!
- water that flows from the faucet and I don't have to worry about using it for rinsing sippy cups, brushing teeth, bathing kiddos, drinking, etc.
- Being with extended family...need I say more?
- BATHTUBS!!! Let's just say my kids were all out growing and getting sick of bathing in a Rubbermaid box! We are thankful for bathtime & they have certainly come out with pruny fingers more than once since we've been home...just enjoying the warm water!
- HOT WATER!!! Oh, I do love showering in a hot shower!!
- High-speed internet...do you know that the blog I posted the other day with lots of pictures, it took me like, 10 seconds to upload a bunch of pictures!!! It was amazing!!
- Solid walls. Oh my...just being able to go into my bedroom (even if it's at my friend's house, parent's house, sister's house or any other house we've been staying in the last few weeks) and have a conversation or read a book without worrying about waking up all the kids...oh, so nice!!!
- Smooth roads! My mom and I drove to Florida last week to visit my sister. One would think after all the travel we've done in the last two months, driving to Florida wouldn't be top on my list of things to do upon my return to the states. However, driving down I-75 with three kids (remember Little Man is still in Guatemala) is NOTHING! I mean, roads are smooth, people stay in their lanes, you can hop off at any exit and use the bathroom, get food, or buy medicine and a thermometer for Little Monkey running a fever (yes, we have already been sick...welcome back to US germs!)...TRAVEL IS SO EASY HERE!!!! You know you've lived in an interesting place when some of your two-year-old's first words are Dramamine and Bumpy Road!
- Washer and Dryer! I have probably done at least 25 loads of laundry in the last few weeks and it has been so delightful!!
- WORSHIP!! If you see me at church, don't be surprised if I'm in tears. It is really sweet and such a gift to worship with the BODY OF CHRIST!!
However, there are also things that are a bit of culture shock:
- We have been looking for a house to live in and I am really excited the contract we have on a small house, by US standards. But for our friends in the Ulpan Valley, this house is extravagant!
- There are SOOOOOO many choices in the grocery store. Do we really need 15 different brands of peanut butter and hundreds of cereal options? If you see me wandering around a grocery store looking a bit lost...that is why. So many choices!
- We have begun a good habit of healthier living while in Guate and we really want to keep it up. Yesterday I went and took a tour of a local health club we have thought about joining. Oh wow!!! Talk about culture shock. I left with an unexplainable pit in my stomach. I'm really not sure why it bothered me, so I need to sit on that one for a while.
- I am reading the book 7, by Jen Hatmaker, and it is really right where I am. I was growing tired of the excess before I moved to Guatemala. Moving there really showed me that I can live with much less than I thought I could. And I return very ready to purge. You are welcome to hold me accountable to that. Watch out, Craigslist!!
- The rapid pace of life here is exhausting. I am approaching life as if coming up to an icy river and putting my big toe in and letting myself slowly get used to the cold water. So, I'm not sure what life will look like for me, but I really have a desire for it to not be so busy. I realize I have four children, so this may be completely unrealistic, but it's still my desire.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
No adios, pero hasta luego
These were the words I said to Nina as we were getting on the plane last Tuesday..."Not goodbye, but see you later." They are words of hope and not reality at this point. Certainly saying goodbye to Nina was really hard for us all. We have become family and not knowing when we will see her again is hard. We were able to Skype with her a few nights ago and that was sweet, but not the same as being able to sit in the same room and chat with her. Little Monkey, especially, is missing Nina.
However, we were really thankful to make some wonderful memories our last month in Guatemala. From a visit with my mom, a trip to Tikal (more on that coming soon), a team from Lipscomb University, a visit to Semuc Champey (um...gorgeous!!), saying goodbye to our friends in the valley, and a sweet final few days with our precious teammates. So...here are a few pictures of our last few weeks. I promise I will update you on our visit with my mom, little Cesar, and how we are transitioning back into life here. But we have been caught into a major whirlwind, so those updates will come as I am able to breathe. Mark and Little Man are heading back to Guatemala on Friday. We would certainly covet your prayers for them as they travel.
However, we were really thankful to make some wonderful memories our last month in Guatemala. From a visit with my mom, a trip to Tikal (more on that coming soon), a team from Lipscomb University, a visit to Semuc Champey (um...gorgeous!!), saying goodbye to our friends in the valley, and a sweet final few days with our precious teammates. So...here are a few pictures of our last few weeks. I promise I will update you on our visit with my mom, little Cesar, and how we are transitioning back into life here. But we have been caught into a major whirlwind, so those updates will come as I am able to breathe. Mark and Little Man are heading back to Guatemala on Friday. We would certainly covet your prayers for them as they travel.
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| Hanging out on the porch with the team |
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| Dancing Beauty saying goodbye to some neighbor friends |
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| Hanging out with team |
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| Semuc Champey |
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| Playing at Semuc Champey with the team |
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| Playing at Semuc Champey with Nina |
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| Our last morning with Nina just before heading to the airport |
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| Our last full day in Guatemala, hanging out in Antigua |
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| The Lipscomb team |
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| A sweet day with Kris and DeeDee in Antigua |
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| The kids in Tikal (more pictures to come) |
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| Playing with Roberto's kids & saying goodbye to his wife |
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| Little Monkey & Roberto's wife, Romelia |
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Heartbreaking Reality
We currently have an intern living with us from ETSU. She is studying Public Health and came here
to do a follow up study on 14 malnourished kids here in the valley. Her first day here, Ricardo, the interim
director of the CAFNIMA project in the valley, took Beth and Kris to see a
family he had been told had a severely malnourished child. So, off they went the morning of March 6th
to check on this child. What they found
was horrifying.
This is the heartbreaking reality they discovered: Cesar is six years old and when they found
him, he was literally dressed in rags and chained to a post outside. There were no adults at the house and he told
Ricardo he was chained up so that he wouldn’t run away.
They had to leave him at that point since no adults were
there, but later that evening, we went back to speak with the parents and weigh
and measure him. What we found was two
women, neither married, living with their father. One mother had two children and is
pregnant. The other, Carmen, is Cesar’s
mom and she has two other children younger than him. We weighed and measured all the children in
the house. Most of the others are
adequately nourished. When we weighed
and measured Cesar, I was shocked…he is smaller than my Little Monkey, who is
small for a two year old. And he is
six!!! I held him the entire time we
were in their home and he was trembling from cold.
We gave him something to eat that night and
he devoured it and the water offered to him as if it had been weeks since he
had seen food. The mother says they feed
him, but he told Ricardo that they give all the other kids food on a regular
basis and only give it to him some of the time.
His size is a reflection of that.
The next day Kris, Dee Dee, Ricardo, and Beth went back to
check on him (we had left that morning for a little sightseeing tour of Guate
with my mom) and they found he had been throwing up and unable to hold down the
food we had left for him. This is a sign
of severe malnutrition and the protocol for such is to take the child to a
hospital because they will not be able to receive food at home. So, all the above mentioned piled into a
truck along with Cesar, his mom, and his baby brother who was still nursing.
They took him to the nearest hospital where he was cleaned up and received IV and a good haircut. When Kris, Dee Dee, and Beth checked on him late last week, Dee Dee said she would guess he had gained 5 pounds in one week. At this moment, he is still in the hospital. From there, he will be discharged to a recuperation center where his mother will have the opportunity to learn how to properly care for her child.
There seems to be obvious discrimination going on in this
family for a reason we have been unable to completely figure out. There are so many superstitions and beliefs
here, sometimes it is hard to weed through them all and figure out the
truth. The good news is, Ricardo is
faithfully following up with this situation and all involved want what is best
for Cesar. Please pray that his mother
will begin to have a desire to care for Cesar as she does her other
children. Or that if she is not going to
change, that this will be very clear before Cesar is permitted to return to her
house and that a loving family will be found who can take care of him.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
A Taste of Spring
For those of you still in the heart of winter (so sorry
Caroline & Jon)…we thought you might like to see a little taste of spring…
Exploring Our Territory with Nana
Since we have been back after Christmas, we have taken time
as a family to explore the territory around us a bit more. This has been good for me to get out of the
house and for all of us to get some good exercise, but also to make some good
memories here with my kids. So when my
mom, or Nana, came to visit we had to show her some of our favorite spots. There will be more to come about Nana’s
visit, but here are some pictures from her time in the valley.
Our favorite play place to go is down to the Ulpan River. It’s at the bottom of the valley and runs
through the middle of a cattle farm.
There is a bridge there and little bank on the side of the water (which
closely resembles a creek in the Smokies) and the kids love to throw rocks in
the water. I have enjoyed going there,
especially with the older three kiddos, because all I have to do is sit on the
bridge, enjoy the warm sun (which we are seeing more of these days) and let
them run and play.
Another fun discovery was a cave a short hike from our
house. Much of the area surrounding us
doesn’t look much like a rain forest because it’s all corn fields. But back on this hike, you suddenly feel like
you’re in the middle of the jungle. Then
you climb over a barbed wire fence and go down a very steep hill and find
yourself in a cool, wet forest. In front
of you is a beautiful cave UNDER the trees.
Above you are HUGE trees, roots coming down all around you, with vines
everywhere. It’s cool and a bit eerie
all at the same time.
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