Anyway, so we will start back toward the beginning.
Our landlord came to us unexpectedly one day and asked us to be moved out by May (which was only two weeks away) because he had other people wanting to rent the apartment that would make a 6 month contract. We said there was no way we could find somewhere to live in two weeks and that was not fair of him to do that to us after all the endless help we have been giving him since September. He said the only way we could stay was if we paid all the way until July and then we could stay until July. We had no option. We paid until July and made a contract with him and he signed it saying that we would pay in advance and leave in July as long as he promised to pay the internet bill in full every month. (Internet for us is just as important as water...we do all our banking, communications with lawyers, social workers, and other work everyday through the internet). So we paid. And May rolls around and like every single other month since last September, he doesn't pay the internet bill. He takes advantage of us once again. Contracts mean nothing here and there is nothing we can do about it. And this is what we woke up to the next morning:
What did I learn? There are evil people in the world and it doesn't matter how kind you are to them, they will rob you and take advantage of you and lie to you. These are our enemies and the only thing we can do is love them and pray blessings over them. This is hard...I have to force myself to do this. I think how Jesus asked the Lord to forgive the men who were torturing him. To me, it seems easier to pray blessings over someone and be nice to them, but in my heart I do not want God to forgive them. I want God to see their injustice and be angry with them and to give them what they deserve. I find it quite hard to ask the Lord to forgive them and have mercy on them, when I don't even want to myself.
Our dear friends who belong to the Mennonite mission here in Alta Verapaz, found out about our predicament of having to find a place to live by July and they offered us their beautiful home. They will be on a furlough in the States until October and have told us we can stay there as long as we need. They reached out to us and have been an answer to a heavy prayer.
What did I learn? There are Christ-like people right around the corner waiting and willing to be used by the Lord to bless the body of Christ. For every person in the world that desires to rob you and lie to you and take advantage of you, there is a person who resembles Jesus waiting with open-arms to give to you sacrificially and bless you.
We bought land in the community of Chajcoxoj, Santa Cruz. We found this land and within a week it was ours. We saved at least $10,000 in total on this property compared to the other one we were looking at. It was a huge blessing to us, but we had to act quickly. The land is currently being prepared to start a foundation for the first phase.
What did I learn? The Lord knows your needs before you do and has already provided them in the appropriate time. Also that word travels fast. Everyone in Chajcoxoj and the neighboring community has found out what we are doing and are coming out of the woodworks to ask us to hire them and give them jobs. We went from foreigners who don't know much, to bosses real quick. So much for a quiet, private life haha.
Medical Teams International asked Mision Vida Nueva to be a part of their work for 3 days in a community of extreme poverty in Chamelco. They wanted me to help translate for one of the groups. Knowing I'd miss three days of normal work, I agreed because I wanted to form a relationship with this organization and bless them. So three days, morning to late afternoon, we climbed the hills of rural Guatemala and the teams installed firepit stoves in the homes of the poorest of the poor. What a blessing.
What did I learn? People from Oregon and Idaho are extremely encouraging and were more of a blessing to me than I possibly could have been to them. Every minute in those mountains was well worth it to see the smiles on the faces of the Mayan families that caught a glimpse of Jesus in a bunch of white people.
I also learned how to end the suffering of a tiny little dying chick. The Mayans believe it is bad luck to kill an animal, and at one of their houses was this choking baby chick who just stood there and was going to die. I couldnt bare to see it. There was nothing anyone could do for it. I asked why they didn't kill it and end its suffering and even if they'd let us kill it, they said no. But when I offered to buy it, they just gave it to me. So down the mountain we went and during the middle of our lunch it fell over and was really about to die. So me and two other missionaries took a knife and a hammer and I carried the baby chick to a rock and the brave missionary man, Dave, cut its little head off. No more suffering...but dang...that was hard to do! I cried.
The little beauty named Mercy. It was no accident that she was in front of our home when we walked out. This little puppy was covered in the most contagious mange ever and was starving to death. Unlike most street dogs, she came to me, came to our apartment, ate the food we gave her, and fell asleep in my arms as we carried her to the vet. And the Lord had arranged it just perfectly to where right around the corner was a family who rescues animals willing to care for her until we can take her in.
And just three days later we were walking the streets to Ms. Fran's and sure enough a puppy even tinier than Mercy and in worse condition came right to me. I thought, "Oh no, this can not be good!" I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn't. So I called our new animal rescuer friends and brought her to them. As soon as we arrived, a lady unexpectedly walked in and took one look at the little puppy that was about to die and said she wanted it. Amazing. She has a dog refuge in Coban.
What did I learn? That yes, while we are here to save humans spiritually and physically, that the Lord's ways are higher than our ways and that ALL His creation is good and He receives glory even from the animals. Who knows the greater purpose of Mercy and the other little pup? Could it be the relationships we formed during the process of saving them? Could it be the joy that these puppies will bring to others during their short healthy lives? Or simply the joy I received from the Lord from taking a few minutes from my time and a few of our personal dollars and investing it into something that is precious to the Lord?
What else? Geoffrey has started taking Spanish lessons from the man pictured above, we continue to meet with Julio once a week as well as the shoe shiner boys, Jason and Selvin, and the Jehova's Witness kids. Theodore got fixed the other day...
...and that was the result of our doped up puppy. Our Guatemala Civil Association is in progress and we should be called Mision Vida Nueva Guatemala. We have one Guatemalan board member out of the seven...praise the Lord for that. We hired a contractor who is going to be doing hopefully all the phases for the children's home. This came with difficulty though because we had one contractor offer to do all the project for us for no charge. At first we thought that was a wonderful thing, then we started thinking and waiting too long for his phone calls, and remembering all the people in America who promised us they were going to do something very important for us and wanted to donate their services and then they never did, causing us to lose months and months of valuable time....and we decided it would be wiser for us to pay someone and know the job will get done and get done right than to take someone's charity and be put on the backburner yet again. So our contractor, Lord-willing, is Ramon Guay...and up to now we feel like we can trust him.
Something I learned? Be very careful when accepting charity from someone for something important. People with good intentions are not always good at keeping their word.
Something else I learned? Oh boy is it ever going to take a miracle from the Lord to get this children's home built. We spent nearly every penny on the land and the land preps and the garage/apartment is going to cost about $20,000 which we do not have all of that right now and the children's home itself, phase 2, could run anywhere between $200,000 to $300,000 to complete. Where on earth are we going to get that money if we don't fundraise? The Lord. Our fundraising method is prayer......And boy is God going to be glorified when He provides every penny we need for this project. If He doesn't do it, we will be walking back to the United States with our tail between our legs - a failure. It's too big for us, it must be God.
Our website www.misionvidanueva.info is up and running and I try to update it frequently with prayer requests and other information...a lot more frequently than I update this blog anyway. Show us some love by liking us on www.facebook.com/misionvidanueva and also I would be very encouraged if those of you who read my blog would click the "join this site" button (back up there by our broken windshield) so I can know who all is reading and praying for us. It is the button to the Left side of this page.
Well we love you all and thank you for remembering us!
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