Here we are, nearing our 12 month mark in Guatemala. Has it really been that long? That's it? No longer? Or: Has it really been that long? You mean I have survived a year of this?
Yup, that’s right! We have gone nearly 12 months without
working out in a real gym, having a night out alone as parents, or
getting the kids to their Pediatrician for a check-up. Your right, my track record was
less than glorious for all of those before we moved here.
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| Looking to the south |
It is August now, and we find ourselves nearing completion
on the Hospital, no silly not all of it. We have almost all of the drain lines
in the ground. One room left, and all the patient rooms will be completed. All
except for beds, lights, a roof, bathrooms, and ceiling we are practically home
free!!! Okay, okay, enough sarcasm!
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| Looking to the North |
The floors are all poured, except for two, in all the rooms.
We have raised all the block walls but a few, and the roof is starting to take shape.
The steel trusses are being placed, and welded, and welded, and welded, and (the lights dim) cut to size. The roofing is all on site, and once we find
insulation to lay onto the roofing panels, we will be able to begin covering
the portions that have the trusses in place.
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| Roof Trusses inside the Chapel |
The well is at a depth of 600 feet. We are expecting the tubes
to arrive, well last week, in order to case the well with perforated tubes.
After this, we will be able to lower the pump, attached to the water line, and
hook up the power. Oh, but then then fun begins... but in the end we will have clean, pressurized water.
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| My sunflower patch (Don't worry, not my house on the right) |
We had about 50 people come through our little community,
either visiting for a few days, or pitching in to help for a week. The dynamic
is ever changing for us here, but to think that we have survived it, gives me
hope that maybe, just maybe we will be able to manage all that is in store with
the completion of the hospital/clinic.
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| My House (Go ahead and worry) |
I find myself daydreaming more lately, thinking of strolling
through Walmart, walking into my Grandma’s house, wondering what my garden
looks like this year, without me? The places my mind will go untempered. I
often think about writing home, like in the olden days, you know, in the 90’s,
years ago! Writing a letter once a month, once a year to family or friends,
just an update or a little sliver of love, wrapped in paper, penned with care.
I don’t write letters often, practically never, at least ones that don’t come
over the internet. .
What would I write if I did, who knows, but I can tell you
what I will never write….
I will never write that I have it all completely figured
out.
I will never write that I am thoroughly enjoying my
international tour through Europe. I will never write that I am lounging on my
yacht, drinking champagne. I will never write that I am a cat person. I will
never write how thankful I am that Dr.Pepper is not distributed in Central
American markets. I will never write that I am torn between spending the summer
at my vacation home in The Hamptons or my cabana in Cancun. I will never write
to my Mom, or tell her I don’t miss her. I will never write my family back
home, and tell them I am glad I can’t see them and that I am relieved to be
missing all our family gatherings. I will never write that I think my
‘teaching’ skills are heightened BECAUSE I AM THE MOM, and that I was born to
homeschool. I will never write that I have never been burnt out as a
missionary, as a mother, or as a spouse. I will never write a letter to God and
tell him I completely understand what he has planned, for me, my family, the
nation.
How could I? How could I describe the way He continually
baffles me. The way that I can feel His encouragement in the breeze as it rolls
through the window, stirring the curtains, and flaunting the mountains.
How could I deny the passion He has for His People here? Oh,
the ends that He has gone too, to provide for and fund the construction thus
far. To supply for me to feed my children and work for nothing! Only to receive
everything I could never earn, in due time? A gentle strength that causes the
Earth to quake, and can humble us all in the blink of an eye.
All this and more
is at the Heart of questions I will never ask, only to be answered with a word that will never be written loud enough, or bold
enough or big enough...
Love
Just four little letters that carry the hope of
the world! If they are enough to cover me and my sins, than they are enough to
cover yours, and anyone you know, will meet or overlook.
Now, if we can just get ourselves out of the
way, enough to make room for them…
that is the challenge we all face, together.
