Guatemala-
Man there is so much going on here!! It’s our last country, so it has been sooo hard to keep my head here and not focused on coming home in a few weeks. I’m so excited to come home and see everyone. This homestretch is tough.
However, once again…I like it here. There’s a lot of darkness here and some interesting things have happened here spiritually. One of our ministries this month is working at an orphanage that was shut down about a year and a half ago. It was shut down because of corruption but two of the women are still there helping with the kids because the kids had no place else to go. So now there are several kids still living there…with 0 funding from the government. Three of the children have disabilities. One of which (my baby boy) is Julio. He is 14 years old and absolutely precious. I have joked a lot on the Race about wanting to take a kid home with me at multiple points along this journey. BUT seriously, Julio needs a home and he needs one fast. He does have a disability (cerebral palsy maybe?), I’m not 100% sure. When we arrive there, we find Julio in the back room in the dark, tied to his wheelchair with his wrists tied to the wheels and the wheelchair tied to the window. He literally can not go anywhere. So naturally when we get there, we untie him and play!! He can not communicate verbally, or non verbally as of right now, because there is nobody to work with him. HOWEVER, I’ve been with him several times now and he is so smart. I know that he could communicate in a heart beat if he just had someone to work with him. From the first time we saw him until now, we have seen a huge transformation in him. I love to walk with him and play ball with him even when I come out scratched and bitten. He is smart enough to feed himself when I give him food and smart enough to tell the difference between a chunk of sandwich and chunk of banana that I’ve given him, just by touch. He then throws the chunk of banana as far as he can. He’s also got a sense of humor. After spending time with him, you can figure out what really gets him laughing. I had him laughing so hard yesterday that he was falling out of his wheelchair. Precious.
we took the kids to the pool!! Julio did so good!
I could talk about Julio for hours, I am slightly obsessed with him and I want to take him home. Here’s why. The government shut it down a year and a half ago, however the kids still live there. At the end of the month (in just a few days) they are coming and putting a padlock on the door so the kids can’t live there anymore. I have no idea what is going to happen to these kids. I don’t know where they will go or how they will survive. Please join with me in prayer for God to provide these precious kids with a family who is nothing but love. If I could take him home I would, but I know that I can’t take care of him on my own. Well, I could try, but eventually I’m going to have to get a job to pay for things. Spending time with Julio has made me even more thankful for growing up with my Aunt Leslie my whole life. Simply amazing people.
We have wonderful contacts here, Paul and Hilda, please be praying for them as well. They are amazing and have been so supportive with our passion for this orphanage and these kids. If you have any ideas about what would help short term or long term, shoot them this way. I’m not sure what will happen on the 30th, I guess I have to be patient until then.
I love you all, and I can not wait to see you in a couple of weeks!!
