a sweet friendship is developing between these girls and my girls. we stopped by today to give them and their brothers backpacks and school supplies, and were welcomed with such excitement. they ran out to hug madi and brooke, and spent the next hour or so playing games, jumping rope, and goofing off.
these are the girls who recently lost their mom in an unexpected death. they now live with their aunt and uncle. i believe our paths have crossed with purpose... we'll see...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
i never knew how, but i prayed...
today kerrie and i were visiting 12x12 families (who have received homes through the ministry). as we hung out with one of them, the mom's eyes became red and swelled up with tears. she was overcome with emotion. completely out of the context of the current conversation, she blurted out:
"i have to say something. i am so grateful for my home. i don't have words to say how thankful i am. i have prayed often for a home, but never knew how it could be possible. i never knew how, but i prayed. we have never made enough money to save 1 cent, even when we are all working. but i have prayed."
in tears, she hugged me, then kerrie. i was able to get my emotions in check and explain to her how much we love Jesus, and how God is so good. its all i could think of to say. we explained how it is such a blessing for us to be able to help... how giving always tops receiving!
what was especially neat about this was the fact that this woman has been very shy and stand-offish with us. always nice and cordial, but from a distance.
praise God. i am so thankful for his blessing on the 12x12 love project and the home building ministry. it has truly been amazing to watch Him at work in it all.
"i have to say something. i am so grateful for my home. i don't have words to say how thankful i am. i have prayed often for a home, but never knew how it could be possible. i never knew how, but i prayed. we have never made enough money to save 1 cent, even when we are all working. but i have prayed."
in tears, she hugged me, then kerrie. i was able to get my emotions in check and explain to her how much we love Jesus, and how God is so good. its all i could think of to say. we explained how it is such a blessing for us to be able to help... how giving always tops receiving!
what was especially neat about this was the fact that this woman has been very shy and stand-offish with us. always nice and cordial, but from a distance.
praise God. i am so thankful for his blessing on the 12x12 love project and the home building ministry. it has truly been amazing to watch Him at work in it all.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
merrill lynch family
word of the 12x12 love project reached some merrill lynch executives just before christmas. they put together a campaign and were able to raise enough money for 2, maybe 3, homes for families in guatemala!
this is very short video was made for them. its a tour through the home of a potential family, so they can see the conditions, meet the people, etc...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcidIIczUNI
this is very short video was made for them. its a tour through the home of a potential family, so they can see the conditions, meet the people, etc...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcidIIczUNI
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
new family
visited a family yesterday. the ramos lopez fam. mom, dad, and 5 kids living in a mud and cornstalk box towards the top of Buena Vista. the mom, Vicenta, had a sister that passed away a couple months ago (unexpectedly) leaving several young kids behind. 2 of the girls (Visenta's nieces) now live with her: Maivelyn 7, and Joselyn 11.
the 2 nieces are precious. the whole family is precious. my heart breaks for the 2 girls who lost their mom. they seem happy. they were thrilled to have visitors, and quickly became attached to my daughters Madi and Brooke.
definitely feeling led to help this family. i have been thinking about them a lot. they are an obvious candidate for a 12x12 home considering their living conditions. but my heart tells me there are going to be other ways too...
one pic is of the outside of their home, the other of the inside. below jake's elbow is Joselyn, and next to Brooke on the bed is Maivelyn.
the 2 nieces are precious. the whole family is precious. my heart breaks for the 2 girls who lost their mom. they seem happy. they were thrilled to have visitors, and quickly became attached to my daughters Madi and Brooke.
definitely feeling led to help this family. i have been thinking about them a lot. they are an obvious candidate for a 12x12 home considering their living conditions. but my heart tells me there are going to be other ways too...
one pic is of the outside of their home, the other of the inside. below jake's elbow is Joselyn, and next to Brooke on the bed is Maivelyn.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
ruth's stove
one of the major health issues in this area is because of 24/7 fires burning in the homes. the mom's and the kids breathe in the smoke all day long. i am convinced that people die of lung cancer at young ages having never known what killed them.
donated by the jackson family, we are almost finished building a much safer & healthier stove (with chimney) in the juarez home. praying God will bless this gift and use it to improve/preserve the health of this beautiful family.
donated by the jackson family, we are almost finished building a much safer & healthier stove (with chimney) in the juarez home. praying God will bless this gift and use it to improve/preserve the health of this beautiful family.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
salmo
Salmo has stopped by my house numerous times since we moved into Magdalena 11 months ago. every time he has asked me for a house.
responding to the knocks at the door for houses has become difficult. there seems to be no "right way" to respond, other than simply trust the holy spirit to lead in each situation. sometimes God puts a feeling inside my gut that hints "no" or "yes" or "maybe." other times i just explain the process. and sometimes i just say "ok, lets go see your home." that is what happened with Salmo yesterday.
he was so excited to take me to his home. i could tell, he was thinking "finally i got something other that the run-of-the-mill answer!" turns out, Salmo and i are practically neighbors. his house is on the corner of my street, about a 60 second walk.
rough situation. 6 kids, 1 who is married and has 2 of his own. all 11 of them crammed into a dark, dirty, tiny dwelling.
when Salmo introduced me to his baby, a 1 yr old boy, the excitement on his face struck me. as he held up his son, smiling ear to ear, he kissed him on the cheek 3 or 4 times. it was sweet. having not seen too many guatemalan men show this type of affection to their kids, it definitely caught my attention.
i woke up thinking about Salmo today.
responding to the knocks at the door for houses has become difficult. there seems to be no "right way" to respond, other than simply trust the holy spirit to lead in each situation. sometimes God puts a feeling inside my gut that hints "no" or "yes" or "maybe." other times i just explain the process. and sometimes i just say "ok, lets go see your home." that is what happened with Salmo yesterday.
he was so excited to take me to his home. i could tell, he was thinking "finally i got something other that the run-of-the-mill answer!" turns out, Salmo and i are practically neighbors. his house is on the corner of my street, about a 60 second walk.
rough situation. 6 kids, 1 who is married and has 2 of his own. all 11 of them crammed into a dark, dirty, tiny dwelling.
when Salmo introduced me to his baby, a 1 yr old boy, the excitement on his face struck me. as he held up his son, smiling ear to ear, he kissed him on the cheek 3 or 4 times. it was sweet. having not seen too many guatemalan men show this type of affection to their kids, it definitely caught my attention.
i woke up thinking about Salmo today.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
nice work day...
us boys (me, jake, mark, isaac, and eli) spent the day working on the 12x12 jobsites. great time. not that shoveling dirt all day is a blast in and of itself, but cutting up and goofing off with the construction guys is priceless. i love 12x12 work days.
being on the jobsite is also a great way to spend time with the families we are building for. as we're working i like to watch them - to get a feel for how their daily life works. today, maria cooked chow mein for the entire crew! on top of that, kerrie and gina brought sandwiches... so we were all full bellied for the afternoon push.
it was all fun and games until jake got smacked in the head from a shovel dropping into the ditch he was working in. no biggie... a few tears shed and we rubbed some dirt on it.
being on the jobsite is also a great way to spend time with the families we are building for. as we're working i like to watch them - to get a feel for how their daily life works. today, maria cooked chow mein for the entire crew! on top of that, kerrie and gina brought sandwiches... so we were all full bellied for the afternoon push.
it was all fun and games until jake got smacked in the head from a shovel dropping into the ditch he was working in. no biggie... a few tears shed and we rubbed some dirt on it.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
great birthday: the 12x12 party
dec 31st was my birthday. it was also the day that we threw a party in Buena Vista celebrating the 2009 blessings of the 12x12 Love Project home-building ministry.
every family we have built a home for (going back to sep 08) attended. 19 families so far, including the 2 that are currently under construction. also in attendance were the families of the 6 full-time construction workers on staff, as well as the jackson family, our friends visiting from the U.S.
we served and american meal including fresh burgers from McDonalds. the idea behind that was that we wanted to give special thanks to the families and support from the US that keeps the sponsored homes coming... plus the locals have never had anything like it before so we thought it would be fun for them to enjoy an american meal.
everyone attended. they laughed, played, ate, shared, prayed, and mingled. for me personally, it was nothing short of breathtaking. at one point as i looked around, it felt like time stood completely still. it was as if - for a split second in time - the poverty, problems, and challenges within the lives of these families had disappeared. for a few hours, no one had any worries.
several times throughout the event i was fighting back tears. after i shared some remarks, several people came up to the microphone and said such wonderful things. i was shocked at how many people chose to come forward and share. it was extremely special.
romelo had donated pinatas for the kids, and as the kids played i watched the parents laughing. when it was my turn to put on the blindfold, blanca suzanna laughed uncontrollably as i did karate moves against the pinata. blanca is a young girl who comes from a horrifying upbringing of abuse. she is very slow to show emotion...
after the party, every family lined up to hug me and wish me a happy birthday. while i never intended the day to bring any attention to myself, it sure filled me up as i received hugs and kisses from these special people. we have a unique and special friendship with each family, and seeing them all together in one place truly helped me put in perspective how special the relationships are that we have, as well as remind me of the amount of work that has been done in a short time.
after the party we delivered a pila (sink for washing clothes) to a family who had no water. the jackson's had given this to them as a gift. we hooked up their pipes and installed the pila, then we hustled home for showers. off to dinner in the city (another treat from the jackson family), and returned home for new years eve fireworks...
an extremely special day - a birthday i will never forget.
every family we have built a home for (going back to sep 08) attended. 19 families so far, including the 2 that are currently under construction. also in attendance were the families of the 6 full-time construction workers on staff, as well as the jackson family, our friends visiting from the U.S.
we served and american meal including fresh burgers from McDonalds. the idea behind that was that we wanted to give special thanks to the families and support from the US that keeps the sponsored homes coming... plus the locals have never had anything like it before so we thought it would be fun for them to enjoy an american meal.
everyone attended. they laughed, played, ate, shared, prayed, and mingled. for me personally, it was nothing short of breathtaking. at one point as i looked around, it felt like time stood completely still. it was as if - for a split second in time - the poverty, problems, and challenges within the lives of these families had disappeared. for a few hours, no one had any worries.
several times throughout the event i was fighting back tears. after i shared some remarks, several people came up to the microphone and said such wonderful things. i was shocked at how many people chose to come forward and share. it was extremely special.
romelo had donated pinatas for the kids, and as the kids played i watched the parents laughing. when it was my turn to put on the blindfold, blanca suzanna laughed uncontrollably as i did karate moves against the pinata. blanca is a young girl who comes from a horrifying upbringing of abuse. she is very slow to show emotion...
after the party, every family lined up to hug me and wish me a happy birthday. while i never intended the day to bring any attention to myself, it sure filled me up as i received hugs and kisses from these special people. we have a unique and special friendship with each family, and seeing them all together in one place truly helped me put in perspective how special the relationships are that we have, as well as remind me of the amount of work that has been done in a short time.
after the party we delivered a pila (sink for washing clothes) to a family who had no water. the jackson's had given this to them as a gift. we hooked up their pipes and installed the pila, then we hustled home for showers. off to dinner in the city (another treat from the jackson family), and returned home for new years eve fireworks...
an extremely special day - a birthday i will never forget.
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