Our God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing our God cannot do!

Dear Friend and Family,
Last night a very close friend shared that a friend of hers was in the hospital. Without knowing the situation, I started praying. I awoke in the middle of the night, and she was on my mind. Then again this morning, I was overwhelmed with this burden to pray. Tonight I got more of the story and now I understand why the Lord kept bringing this friend to mind...in fact, it's not just her one friend, but a couple and their newborn baby. Though I don't know them, God has placed them in a special place in my heart and I long to hear stories of His great faithfulness in delivering them from this difficult situation. This family is desperately in need of a miracle. Please join me in praying that the Lord will provide just that for Randy, Gaby, and their baby Adrián. Also pray for strength, hope, and joy for these new parents.
The story is as follows:
Feb. 24, Adrián was born. He was born 2 months premature because Gaby (the mother) had preeclampsia. The baby was born weighing only 2 pounds, he's tiny! A few days ago, he was moved to a national hospital and is now in an even more delicate state: he has pneumonia, septicemia (bacteria in the blood), he had an intestinal hemorrhage, edema (swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in your body's tissues), and he's now had about five blood transfusions. The prognosis is not good.

In this hospital where the baby is now, Gaby and Randy (the father) only have 30 minutes to see the baby each day, and it's one at a time. Gaby hadn't even recovered from the C-section when she was hospitalized (in a different hospital) Tuesday because of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVP- a blood clot). She will be kept in the hospital five days, without being able to see her son Adrián. Randy was also affected by partial facial paralysis on the same day Gaby was admitted to the hospital.

La Historia en Español:
El 24 de febrero nació Adrián. Adrián nació de siete meses porque a Gaby, mi amiga, le dio preclampsia y hubo que intervenirla de emergencia. Mi chiquito pesó solo dos libras, es diminuto! Hace unos días lo trasladaron a un hospital nacional y ahora está en un estado todavía más delicado: tiene neumonía, septicemia, tuvo hemorragia intestinal, tiene edema y ya lleva como cinco transfusiones de sangre. El pronóstico no es nada bueno.

En este hospital, mis amigos Gaby y Randy tienen solo 30 minutos para verlo cada día, uno por uno. La Gaby ni descansó de la cesárea, hasta que la hospitalizaron a ella (en un hospital diferente) el martes porque le dio trombosis venosa. Entonces, estará internada cinco días sin ir a ver a Adrián =( Y bueno, el mismo martes, a Randy le dio parálisis facial nerviosa!

Again, I know the family and friends of this sweet new baby covet your prayers. Thank you! "The prayer of a powerful man is righteous and effective."-James 5:16.

Being the Body

January was a month filled with lessons in humility and trust. 3 weeks without a car left me completely dependent on others not only to take me to and from school each day, but also to provide me with a place to stay. (My house is too far away to get rides to/from there daily.) Additionally, a number of serious migraines left me completely incapacitated. It was during that time which I was overwhelmed by the body of Christ loving through actions and not only words. I cannot express the gratitude I felt toward the Lord for placing such individuals in my life nor toward those individuals for willingness to help in any and every way. So…what does the body of Christ look like in action? I’d venture to say the following:

It looks like a family opening their home to someone in need of a place to stay indefinitely.

It looks like an individual giving up her bed for days so that another might have a comfortable place to stay.

It looks like rides to and from work, and cars loaned out to individuals in need of transportation.

It looks like visiting a friend’s sick mother in the hospital, though she’s unconscious and may never know you were there.

It looks like calling for appointments, and taking the sick to the doctor and to have tests run.

It looks like bringing dinner to a friend who is too sick to get out of bed...your bed, at that.

It looks like heartfelt prayers in any language.

It looks like phone calls and e-mails of encouragement.

It looks like providing for physical needs, be they financial or otherwise.

It looks like a hug on a hard day. And on a good one.

It looks like making one feel like family.

It looks like sincere love for others.

To all those who have helped me during the ups and downs of life in Guatemala, THANK YOU! And to those who have prayed for me, even from hundreds or thousands of miles away, know that you are being the Body in a very real way too, and I appreciate every prayer prayed on my behalf! I couldn't be here doing what I am, without you!

Christmas with Family

This Christmas I enjoyed spending time with all my "families." :)

Alejandro and me on Christmas Eve, just before opening presents. (Christmas Eve is a BIG deal in Guatemala.)

And after the presents, everyone gets to play with fireworks at midnight, even the littlest ones! This is a pic of Gaby (2) with a sparkler in hand. If only this picture showed the fear I saw in her face. Haha. :)

Christmas morning I was blessed with a good Skype connection that allowed me to participate in the reading of the Christmas story and the opening of Christmas presents with my family. My brother made a joke about taking a pic of us all together on the screen, but then wasn't so thrilled with actually doing it. Lol.

The stockings and group gifts all ready for the kids at the Home on Christmas morning...

My friend, Ana Beatriz, invited another interpreter friend from church (Albina) and myself to have lunch with her family on Christmas. After spending some time with the kids at NLCH in the morning, I headed out to meet them. It was such a neat experience to share Christmas with a Guatemalan family (aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents all included), and it was a special blessing to be counted as a part of the family.

(Left to Right: Me, Albina, Ana Beatriz)

Birthday and Special Visitors

It just so happened, that there was a Sign Language interpreting workshop on my birthday. And the workshop was being taught by a very dear friend of mine from church. After the workshop, she and another interpreter friend from church treated me to dinner at San Martin. Since it was my birthday, all the waitresses gathered around our table, put the crazy baker's hat on my head, and sang to me. I think the below picture pretty accurately displays the combination of exhaustion and embarrassment I was feeling at that moment. Lol. (On the bright side, the cake was delicious!)

The same friend who led the interpreting workshop, was sweet enough to buy me gerber daisies for my birthday! And the next day, I received another beautiful birthday bouquet from the director of the Children's Home. Oh, and the plaque in front of the daisies was a b-day gift from a student of mine--it's a Bible verse in Korean, with the English translation below it. I love it!

The day after my birthday, I got to visit with a family from my school in Xela. The oldest girl was a student of mine the first year I taught there. I enjoyed showing them around the Children's Home, and the girls enjoyed playing with the kids here.

I can't believe she's in 4th grade now!!! :)

Signing Makes Me Smile

A little over 10 years ago I fell in love with Sign Language. I’d learned little words here and there, and I’d always been fascinated by how I could fingerspell using the alphabet to get away with talking when told to be silent, but in July 2001, I really caught the passion for it. That was the first time I’d ever observed and been taught to use Sign Language in worship. I couldn’t get enough of it. From then on, I was determined to continue studying sign language so that I could also use it in worship one day. And that’s just what I did.

Making due with whatever books I could get my hands on or internet sites I could find, I studied. Eventually the hard work began to pay off. At a youth retreat only a year and a half later, I was given my first opportunity to interpret in sign language. I’ll be honest, that first attempt was pretty terrible. But once I got the nerves out, the other couple sessions I interpreted went much smoother. After that, I just couldn’t get enough.

Throughout the years, I worked with a hearing-impaired 4^th grader as a teacher’s aid in England, interpreted worship music as a part of the Trinity Baptist Church (Germany) praise team, interpreted during Sunday School for a boy with a communication disorder and later a deaf child adopted from Haiti at First Alliance Church in Kentucky, worked with a deaf kindergartner as a student teacher in Kentucky, and did some interpreting for a deaf boy at my “home church” Iglesia Buatista Agape in Illinois. The opportunities to sign came and went, but I enjoyed them all.

Then, I moved to Guatemala. I love Guatemala, and I love Spanish, but I didn’t realize how much I’d miss sign language. Eventually, I began interpreting the worship at church from Spanish to English and then into sign language (after a while this became a quick process I hardly realized I was doing). It was nice to be able to sign during worship again, but it wasn’t the same.

Last May, I attended Iglesia Biblico El Camino for the first time. Unknowingly, I sat in the deaf/signing section. Though I hadn’t intended to sit in that area, God knew just what He was doing in opening up a seat for me there. I was overwhelmed with joy to not only see sign language being used in worship again, but to see such a large group of people worshiping in that way!

After spending the summer in the U.S., I returned to IBEC and jumped right into the sign class that had started just before my summer break. After a few Saturday’s of attending class for 3 hours, rather than the regular 2, I was mostly caught up. Learning Guatemalan sign has been such an adventure. Even after the most frustrating classes, I’ve been so thankful for the opportunity to learn. And every Sunday I am overcome with joy as I join with a group of believers—hearing and not—that share the passion for praising God with their hands. It's a beautiful thing thing to see, and a wonderful experience to share with my sisters and brothers in Christ.

Un Gran Testimonio

For my friends who know Spanish...

Una amiga mía escribió y publicó esta historia en Facebook el lunes. Aunque no la conozcan, los animo leerla. Su actitud a pasar de todo es un gran testimonio. Fue muy impactante para mi, y tal vez será para --ustedes, también.

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Un Asalto Frustrado

Después de un fin de semana más que bendecido, una semana empieza y el inicio es como cualquier otra, buen ánimo, un poco cansada pero optimista por las actividades que vendrán y habrán que superar. Aunque una no quiera a veces los inicios de semana o bien los días se convierten en rutina, y no digo que eso sea malo porque muchas veces se requiere de disciplina para que esa rutina se lleve a cabo. A diferencia de muchos pienso que no todas las rutinas son malas. El diccionario define rutina como un acto repetitivo, como por ejemplo el ejercicio, incluso el vivir puede convertirse en una rutina. Mi día lunes empezó de una manera muy usual, me desperté temprano sin embargo por el frío esperé un rato más en el calor mi cama, realice algunas actividades diarias, pude compartir un tiempo con mi hermana, mis sobrinos, mi abuela y mi mamá y a las 10:30 me despedí de ellos. Cuando salí de casa, mientras caminaba hacia la parada del bus, recuerdo que habían muchos pensamientos en mi mente, como es de costumbre me encanta hacer un mapa mental de las actividades que espero realizar. Pero había algo con lo que no contaba y es que hoy presencié un asalto frustrado, algo que no estaba incluido en mi rutina diaria. Esto fue lo que ocurrió:

Un joven empieza a caminar hacia la puerta del bus y habla al oído del chofer, yo imaginé que tenía algún problema, pero de repente desenfunda un arma y empieza a gritar “todos colaborando con sus celulares o aquí va pasar algo muy feo”. De repente aparece otro joven que empieza a pasar fila por fila pidiendo los celulares, llega a mi lugar e inmediatamente le doy mi teléfono, pongo mis manos en mi rostro, cierro los ojos y solamente escucho todo lo que pasa a mí alrededor. Empiezo a identificar tres voces más, por lo que intuyo que dos jóvenes asaltan la parte de atrás del bus, uno está al lado del chofer amenazando con el arma y el que pasó a pedirme mi celular se dedica a despojar de sus pertenencias a los pasajeros ubicados en la parte delantera del bus. Escucho cosas horribles, amenazas con disparar a la cabeza de un señor, golpes, gritos, palabras obscenas etc., etc., todo era un verdadero caos. Recuerdo pedirle al Señor “por favor que no le hagan daño a ningún pasajero”. Todo esto ocurrió en cuestión de diez minutos o menos. Por fin se bajan del bus, con el preciado botín, las pertenencias de los pasajeros. Abro mis ojos y veo tres niños al frente tan asustados que no hablaban, sus caritas pálidas, señoras llorando y los señores empiezan a comentar que los dejaron sin dinero y uno comenta como lo golpearon. Y pues yo un poco nerviosa, bueno la verdad muy nerviosa, pues fue una experiencia que jamás había vivido y que no se la deseo a nadie.

Me bajo del bus y empiezo a recordar lo sucedido, al principio con mucho enojo, no por lo que robaron sino por las emociones que se manejan en ese momento y además el sentir la impotencia de no poder hacer nada y tan solo ceder a lo que ellos demandan. Pero luego mis pensamientos se vuelven alabanzas para el Señor, porque aún estoy viva, porque tuve la oportunidad de un día más de trabajo, porque ahora estoy compartiendo con ustedes mi anécdota, porque pude regresar a casa y compartir con mi familia nuevamente, porque por la noche pude estar con un amigo y compartir un café, porque también pude compartir con mi hermana por la noche, porque tengo paz, porque pude orar durante el día por estos jóvenes (que es un poco difícil jajaja), porque estoy segura que hay ángeles a mi alrededor, porque estoy a punto de ir a descansar para recibir un nuevo día, porque Dios es fiel, etc, etc, etc.

Entonces entiendo que fue un “asalto frustrado”, lo único que se llevaron fue un celular que tal vez con suerte les den cien quetzales. Pero yo me quedé con lo más grande y preciado que Dios me regala: la vida, su amor, su paz, la oportunidad de tener una relación con él cada día, su presencia, su misericordia (que es nueva cada mañana), su bondad, sus cuidados, sus promesas. Y nuevamente no me queda más que bendecir a esos jóvenes y pedir que el Señor toque sus corazones y le conozcan como su único Señor y Salvador.

Rosi and Esteban Meet Alejandro

Last Saturday I had the privilege of showing my sign teachers (Esteban and Rosi) around New Life Children's Home where I now live. They knew that I was working with a little boy (Alejandro) who is mostly mute, and they had expressed interest in meeting him. So, after our sign class, we drove out to the Home where I was able to introduce them to Alejandro and show them around NLCH. It was a really neat opportunity to get to know Esteban and Rosi better and to gain confidence in my signing abilities. Alejandro also really enjoyed meeting them, though he was a little crazy having new friends around. Below are some pictures from Rosi and Esteban's visit...