Strawberry Fields and Fiestas

Weeks go by faster here, but days go by slower. So many things happen each day that time seems to move twice as slow from breakfast to bedtime, but when each week is over it's hard to believe it's gone already.

Last weekend most of my time was spent in the new nursing clinic that has been in the works for 3 years. After so much construction, we had to deep clean to prepare it for the dedication ceremony. This clinic is going to be available to children as well as adults. It's such an important addition for Casa Bernabe and for the community here. Most of my work has been in it so it was very cool for me to be able to work on it then get to see it dedicated. So many people over the years have spent time working on it and didn't get the privilege of seeing the final product.

One of the many reasons why I love Guatemalan culture is that they really know how to party...and as long as I've been at Casa Bernabe there has always been a fiesta for one reason or another. We celebrate when people leave, when people come, when people have birthdays, and when the clinic was dedicated. This typically means a lot of awesome food, singing, dancing, games and simply the opportunity to spend time with everyone.

Sometimes we have fiestas just because we want to celebrate. Nuevo Pacto (the oldest boys casa) had a party to thank the Morris family for their work making new bunk beds for their house. The family had brought a Wii that was donated by someone from their church so all the boys and volunteers got to have a dance party with Just Dance 2.

After most of the work on the clinic was done, I helped Sherie and Kassidy, of the amazing Morris family, stain the new bunk beds Jeff Morris was making for Nuevo Pacto (the oldest boys house). After getting all the boards covered in stain and making a mess, including some hair dunking into an open container of stain, we felt pretty accomplished.

On July 4th, I forgot it was July 4th. For some reason our Independence Day just isn't a big deal here. Most of the morning, I worked with Jami and the Morris family in Nuevo Pacto to tear down old bunk beds, move ones that were too big to a bigger room and build new ones. The entire orphanage is built on a hillside with casas and buildings at various levels. This means that when you work on something in the wood shop at the bottom of Casa's part of the mountainside you have to carry it up the stairs all the way at the top to bring it to Nuevo Pacto. This also means that when you are taking old scrap wood from old beds to the woodshop you're better off just throwing it down the hill.

Working in Nuevo Pacto was an awesome opportunity to get to know some of the boys there and practice Spanish with them. The boys helped with the work. They are all so helpful and understanding of the language barrier. Most of the boys speak at least a little English and are willing to help me learn more Spanish. They all are hard workers and were excited about working with power tools and demolishing things (I'm making a list of things that are the same no matter what culture you are in and teenage boys wanting to demolish things is going on it). Each boy has such a distinct personality I loved working with them.

Since it was July 4th, we didn't spend the entire day building beds. The Morris family cooked steak and chicken and other people contributed food so all the Americanos could have a traditional cookout...complete with fireworks after dark.

Casa Bernabe is a beautiful place. Most importantly, the people are beautiful. The kids who live here and the adults who serve here have the most lovely spirits. To complement that atmosphere, the landscape captures your heart too.

I hope (and highly doubt) that even the people who live here

ever get used to and take for granted the beautiful surroundings.

When this place looks like this, it's hard to consider anything really hard work. I weeded the new strawberry field with Cheryl and Sydney (two other short-term volunteers). As we pulled weeds, making sure to avoid the tiny new strawberry plants, we talked about our relationships with the Lord. I had the opportunity to hear Sydney's testimony and to share mine with her. After we finished working, we sat down in the middle of the strawberry field and talked about the Lord, about life, and about why we were there...how three girls from California, Texas, and Indiana ended up at the same orphanage in Guatemala to learn how to have more faith, love better and serve the Lord.

It's such a blessing to hear these stories because it always reminds me that no matter how different our lives are, how varied our experiences, the Lord always works in the same way. He works with faithful patience, gentle love, and a firm understanding of our hearts. How undeserving we each are, but He uses that to his glory. It shows how deep and unfailing His love is when we wander and are brought back, or when we don't understand and He explains it so that we can understand.

Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to go to Antigua. We saw only a small portion of the city, but it was beautiful and so much fun...

Jami and I at Mirador de la Crux (Overlook of the Cross) & me at the tourist market

Jami and I at the Rainbow Cafe & me with a delicious Licuado con Pineapple y Mango

So many things happen here that it's hard to share it all. So far, many of my posts have been about activities and things we have the opportunity to do with the kids, but the kids themselves are a story and a half each. They deserve a post all their own. Soon I will write about the kids here to share some stories and photos. God loves His children so much and it's great to see how blessed each of these kids are to be in such a loving orphanage, but it's still that...an orphanage. Each child that is here represents the brokenness that is in our world...brokenness that affected their lives. But every story is also about the hope that the Lord brings to any situation. That post will be coming soon.

Please keep me in your prayers as I fight a cold and process everything. Please remember all the health of the volunteers and staff here as many people deal with illness. Also, pray for the kids who are waiting for adoption to be finalized...and one who is waiting for a 10 year student visa so he can go home with a Casa Bernabe administrator from the States when she goes home after this visit.

Thank you for all your support and prayers.

Laur