"I miss you!"

Daniel

Gaby making the 'kissing-face'

Mindy and I at Church

It has been awhile since I have blogged. Here's what is on my heart: I miss Guatemala. I miss the culture, the people, the smiling children, the bumpy bus rides, the trip to Antigua, the orphans, building houses, playing futbol (soccer), giving away stuffed animals and barbies, hugging children, speaking Spanish, mixing 'concrete', being dirty, giving out food, receiving smiles for nothing...I can go on and on. Everyday, I am reminded of what I left behind. I keep a picture of a little boy named Daniel on my phone as my background. He is a two year old orphaned boy. He does not like to talk in English or Spanish. He only says no. But he smiles and the world turns up-side-down. When I first went into the Hope 4 Tomorrow Orphanage, I saw him walking towards us. He just stopped and smiled. From then on, I held him almost the rest of the time we stayed there. If I wasn't holding him, we were holding hands, or I was chasing him around. He liked a green dinosaur and loved the cars I gave him. His next favorite things were riding a tricycle and trying to kick a ball. But, the moment I miss the most with him is after I changed his diaper and he sat in my lap and I read him a book while he played with blocks in his hands. I miss the warmth of his body, his little tiny fingers, his look of intensity while he concentrated, and especially i miss him smiling up at me. I will never forget this. Everyday, I am reminded of what I left behind. I looked on iphoto yesterday at our families lake pictures, but instead of leaving the computer I sat for another hour looking back over the pictures of the day we had a picnic in Guatemala. I probably stared at the pictures of me and Gaby for ten minutes. She was so adorable. She knew my name as 'Coco' because she couldn't say 'Courtney'. She just wanted me to hold her for the entire day. She giggled all the time. She loved to make the 'kissing-face' at me and then surprise me with a kiss. She would not stop following me wherever I went, even if she was in a picture she wasn't supposed to be in. She copied everything I did. But, my favorite moment was captured in a picture. I was holding her and I had to leave. She didn't want to let me go. She made the 'kissing-face' and I made it back, then she started to giggle mischievously and she kissed me. I had to walk to her mom who pried her off of me. I didn't want to let go--but I had to. Everyday, I am reminded of what I left behind. In my room, there is a bracelet that matches the one I gave to Mindy on the last day I saw her in Guatemala. Mindy, Brian, Gerber, and Kimberly are the kids we sponsor from Guatemala. They are all in the same family. I got to meet them for the first time, and it won't be the last. When I first hugged Mindy, who is my age, I started to cry, she already had tears running down her face when she sprinted to my dad. I felt like I had just met my sister after years of separation. We sat together in church and Kimberly, who is 7, switched sitting on my lap, my dad's lap, and my mom's lap. Brian and Gerber were just as ecstatic, they just didn't cry. We all worshipped together and then we got to give them what we brought over from the U.S. They LOVED all the gifts. But, my favorite moment was when I gave Mindy the bracelet. It was obvious that she loved it because she had been looking at it. I untied it from my wrist and tied it on hers telling her that I would always remember her. She smiled and tears began to pour down her face. She is still my sister even though we live worlds apart. Everyday, I am reminded of what I left behind. On the last day in Las Conchas, after the picnic, and visiting people's houses, I walked up the big hill to get back to the bus and leave. I stopped and turned around to look at the rolling mountains, the houses that had been built before, the new houses, the school, the little stores everywhere, the children playing soccer in the field, the rows of corn covering the sides of the mountains, the families walking home together, the stray dogs walking around looking for food, the wind blowing the trees, the dirt road with all the trash covering it, the ant hill that i had kicked over previously, the bathroom where the toilet didn't work (and there was no TP), the little girls gathered in a group playing with dolls, the older boys huddled together laughing, the mangled cows eating whatever they could find, and anything else I could take in. It was one of those moments where you stop and think, "Is this really goodbye!?" This year there was a boy in my Geometry class named Michael Daniel. He hit his head after falling off his skateboard. For days, his friends wouldn't come to school, they would cry with each other and visit him in the hospital. He was unresponsive and he ended up dying. His parents have kept his facebook up and  occasionally I will look on my newsfeed and one of them will post on his facebook wall "I miss you." Three simple words. I wish I could tell Daniel and Gaby how much I miss them. I wish I could tell Mindy, Brian, Gerber, and Kimberly how much I miss them. I wish I could yell over the ocean and the hills how much I miss Guatemala and people could hear me. I want to be there right now. Hugging on each kid in sight and telling them how much they are loved by the God who created not only the universe, but made each of them special and unique. Laughing at their Spanish humor. Crying with Mindy all over again. Praying over people's families and houses while holding their hands. Playing futbol with the kids and learning new tricks. But, if I could only say three simple words I would say, "I miss you!"


                         ~Courtney

Hope 4 Tomorrow

Miguel is 13. At age 7, a family who wanted to adopt him, came and took him for a visit for the weekend.  They returned him and did not adopt him.  This happened to him not once, but twice.  Foreign adoptions are no longer allowed in Guatemala and the number of in country adoptions last year was 60.  60 adoptions of orphaned children for the entire year.  The previous year when international adoptions were permitted, 2800 or so children were adopted.  Most likely Miguel will not be adopted.  He will grow up in the orphanage until he is of age.  There are no words to describe the sadness I feel for Miguel, for a boy who has not had parents for his whole life. A boy who needs a male role model, someone to teach him how to be a man.  Fortunately for Miguel,  Kenneth Sese, the Director of the orphanage takes Miguel out to spend some time with him.  Tanner and Miguel hit it off!  They became instant friends.  As they plan for the future, Hope 4 Tomorrow is well aware that the children they have will most likely stay with them until they are grown.  Please pray for these sweet little lives.  God is writing their stories, but this is hard to stomach.

"I know her name!"

Sweet little Gaby, was running around telling me, "Yo conozco ella se llama, Coco!"  "I know her name, Coco".  She was so thrilled that she knew Courtney's name and could say it.  "Courtney" is not easy for the people to say so she went by her nickname, "Coco".  Gaby was attached to Courtney and loved being held.  Courtney put bows in Gaby's hair on the day of the picnic as she was all dressed up for the festivities.  "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Mark 10:14

Las Conchas

It has been a wild and crazy week! Our internet access has been spotty at best AND we have been very busy. More descriptions will come in the future, but here is a taste of the work we have been doing in Las Conchas, a very, very poor neighborhood in the outskirts of Guatemala city. Yesterday, we mixed concrete BY HAND...yes you heard that right, we used shovels and wheelbarrows and buckets to mix and pour concrete for the foundation of a house. It is back breaking work but it can be fun if you know you only have to do it for a few days! Courtney and Tanner are doing well. They really work hard and I am proud of them. They have bonded with the interpreters and the children in the community to form friendships they will always remember. Mitch and I have had the privilege of seeing friends we made years ago and rekindling the friendships. Please continue to pray for health among our team members and for us to get along well. Togetherness can create tensions....need I say more?

A tearful reunion

Check out this picture!  What you cannot see are the many tears that we cried as we met again with our Guatemalan family.  It was an amazingly sweet and holy time. As we waited outside the church building for the family to finish their Sunday School classes, we searched each face walking by to see if we recognized them. (The children have grown so much so we were hoping that we would recognize them).  Mindy came walking up the ramp and when she saw Mitch she ran and bear hugged him weeping.  The tears started to flow.  Mitch introduced Courtney and she also got a tearful bear hug from Mindy. Mindy and Courtney were inseparable from then on.  After church we spent time (with an interpreter) catching up on their lives and praying.  How sad and scary to find out that our family had to leave their home because of the dangerous gang violence that has increased in their neighborhood.  In fact, a person was killed just outside their home and they were given an ultimatum, "Tell us who killed this woman and you can stay in your home, otherwise you have 8 days to leave or else"  They did not know who killed the woman and were afraid for their lives, so they moved.  They are renting a home in another neighborhood and what is sad is that now they have to pay rent when they owned their home outright.  Miriam, the mother, has had to return to work to make ends meet.  Both Edgar and Miriam really want Miriam to be able to stay home with the children but it is not possible right now.  What a sweet time of prayer we had for each member of the family!  Courtney prayed for the girls, Tanner for the boys, me for the mother and Mitch for Edgar.  Then Edgar prayed for our family and our country.  I'm telling you, the Holy Spirit was there!  How amazing to know that our families shared so much even though we live in different countries and speak different languages!  These children are awesome!  It is obvious that the parents really care for them!
You will notice in this picture that Mindy does not show her teeth when she smiles, that is because she fell and knocked out a tooth and has a big gap in her mouth.  She is embarrassed by it and wanted us to pray about it.  Shalom Foundation stepped up and she is being seen this week by a dentist to start the process of getting her a new tooth!
Prayer for our family:
1.  Miriam is having headaches and sore places on her body.  2. Edgar hopes to start his own business in the future, making clothing, but right now he is working for a brother at the church and it is going well.  3.  Mindy's teeth to be fixed  4.  Mindy, Kimberly, Herbert and Bryan to do well in their studies.
Here are the ages of the family members:  Edgar is 37,  Miriam 35, Mindy is 16 years old, Bryan is 14 years old, Herbert is 11 years old and Kimberly is 7 years old. 

water,water everywhere

we're here and it has been a great adventure!  We awoke to a flood in our room and had to change rooms. There have been several thunderstorms so we did lots of walking and hikking in the mud.  We worked a full dday today.  Courtney and tanner are working their tails off and they are havinggg a blast!  Read courtney's blog on the shalom website...link in a previous blog below!