Out Of The Ordinary

January was filled with a bunch of visitors!

We were blessed to have Amanda’s parents during the second week and celebrated with a trip to Lake Atitlan for Amanda’s birthday. They also got to join us with a visit to the orphanage that we help out with and loved on the kiddos there. Lois, Amanda's mom brought some children's Bibles in Spanish and it was fun reading them to the kids there. The children love that special one-on-one time. 

The last week of January, three amazing women from our home church in Tennessee also visited us. It was a time of encouragement, renewal, and rest for not only us, but them as well.  Straight from the airport we headed to the orphanage just in time for them to take part in a Guatemalan birthday party, including cake and a piñata. Their eyes were opened when we introduced them to the local market where we bought our fruits, veggies, and meat for the week. The highlight of the trip was a hike up to a local volcano called Pacaya where we all picnicked up at the top of an overlook. These sweet ladies laid hands on Amanda, anointed her with oil, and prayed for our family. It was such an amazing “mountain top” experience. 
 

Teams, concerts, and eruptions... oh my!

February was a really busy month as well. Rob worked with a team from South Dakota called LifeLight and drove members of the leadership staff to their various activities for the week. Our family was able to join them on a day that they visited a Compassion International site. It was amazing to see how much those sweet children knew about Jesus! Several members of the LifeLight team came to the orphanage with us and it was perfect timing as they were needing bunk beds built. We jumped in and knocked out 2 of the three triple bunk beds!! The smiles on the children's faces were amazing to see as they were so excited for their new beds.
We also got to attend the music festival that this team put on in a nearby town which included several bands, bounce houses and even a BMX acrobat. It was amazing!! During the festival several Guatemalans accepted Christ as their Savior. The worship was great and it was fun to hear the Guatemalans sing along to the various songs. They REALLY loved the song "I AM FREE"!
That was also the day that one of the volcanoes we can see from our house erupted. Talk about an instant change in weather…one moment it was super sunny and hot, and then the next thing we noticed were dark clouds rolling in. The clouds accumulated and eventually it rained, which is unusual for this time of the year in Guatemala. We hosted a few other groups at our house for the following week, and then by the end of the month we were back on our normal schedule of school, meetings, Bible Studies, and orphanage work.

This month... 
We are heading back to the states in mid March for about a month to share what's been going here in Guatemala as well as where we think He is leading us! Please contact us ASAP so that we can get together with you!