Juan Pablo

Erase

Geoff Moore, a Christian music artist, went on a mission trip to Guatemala and Honduras.  During his trip there, he too became so connected to the children and the mission of Christ  that he desired for everything different between the orphans and himself to be erased.  Myself along with many friends that have gone to Guatemala could agree that we want to love as God loves them and never be separated.  Below is the video and lyrics of Geoff’s song titled "Erase," which was written after his experience with the children in Central America.

Erase all that’s different between us
Until nothing ever separates us

And we love like You love
And we ache when you ache
And our heart is undone
By what makes Your heart break.
And we hear what You hear
And we see what you see
And the difference is erased

Erase all the distance between us
Replace all the space with Your presence

Until we love like You love
And we ache when you ache
And our hearts are undone
By what makes Your heart break.
And we hear what You hear
And we see what You see
And the distance is erased

So build me up
Or tear me down
Until Your heart is all that’s found.

I want to love like You love
I want to ache when you ache
I want my heart to be undone
By what makes Your heart break
I want to hear what You hear
I want to see what You see
Until the difference is erased
Between us

Email from Juan Pablo

This came to us today:

Hola John: como estas? Juan Pablo quiere decirte unas palabras:

te quiero mucho y quiero verte en la webcam, gracias por mis regalos, quiero mucho a Emily y John, quiero verlos rapido. Que Dios te bendiga  y te mando muchos besos y abrazos

Juanpi

Adios for now

Our last full day in Guatemala had arrived and we were looking forward to spending another day with Juan Pablo.  The entire group started out at the babies home in the morning with us.  It was great to step back and observe our other friends from the group interact and connect with the children with whom we had shared our week.   We had discussed this morning during devotional how each member in the body of Christ had unique spiritual gifts to be used for God’s glory.  When each member is called together for one cause, the Body moves with great purpose and success.  One common gift we have to share is the simplest of forms and that is love.  I witnessed many different scenes today where this gift was expressed and poured out on the children.  It was Christina drawing near to Isabella, Jay and Amber playing jump rope with Jose, Jennifer blowing bubbles with Danny, and Joanna holding Crystal closely.

The community formed this week was a beautiful picture of a group of people who love the Lord so much that they would take a risk at the dangerous task of serving in His cause.  I am comforted to know that as we would leave the children later in the day that there would be that sweet aroma left on them so that their joy would remain full.  

The group continued to disperse out and play games with the children.  JP, Danny, and Estuardo hopped on some tall shoulders for an elevated view of the scene.

We left with the group and Juan Pablo to go to the Buckner transitional home.  It was difficult leaving the other children, but our friends the Perry’s had arrived to spend the afternoon with them at the babies home.  The boys were at the girl’s transitional home today, so we were able to see all the kids currently in the Buckner transitional homes.  I was looking forward to seeing a couple of the boys I had met on previous trips when they were at the San Gabriel orphanage. 

Donaldo was the tough guy in his group at San Gabriel, but now he is maturing into a fine young man.  He told me that he recognized my face, but couldn’t remember my name.  We brought the Left Behind series in Spanish, which I gave to him to share among the boys at his house.  William was the other boy who was in my group.   He remembered me also, but I told him how I liked seeing his picture from the baseball camp they had last year.  

We bought pizza and had ice cream for the kids at the transitional home in the afternoon.  Juan Pablo seemed to be meshing well with everyone  as he would run through a group kicking a soccer ball around or swing in on tree branch to land on the ground in the middle of several conversing outside. 

There was a furry dog friend for him play with at the home, but he would get scared when it would start chasing after him.  We had to keep an eye on Juan because in one moment he’d be in the backyard with everyone else, then the next second he’d be at the front of the house or maybe upstairs.  We had to be observant of him, but it didn’t bother me as I would chase him around all day long if I could.  I told some of the transitional kids that we were trying to adopt JP and they seemed to be excited about it. 

We left the transitional home and had to make our dreadful drive to the babies home to drop off Juan Pablo.  Emily and I went inside where we took JP back to his room and prayed over him.  From that moment on, the day became even more emotional.  We explained to him that we had to go, but we would be back to see him and would talk on the telephone in the meantime.  He was sad and said that he wanted us to stay with him and not leave.  The difficult part about all of this was that we knew he was hurting.  We can only trust God to fill his heart of any emptiness that may be there during our time of temporary physical separation.  As we passed through the hallway and out the door, we had to also say goodbye to the other children to whom we had given our heart this week.  We carry a great burden for them as well and will continue to think about them and lift them up in prayer. 

The bus ride back to the hotel was the longest one we had all week.  I just wanted to hit rewind and keep going back to any time right before we had to say adios.  We met with our group back at the hotel for a time of debriefing on the day and the entire week.  Each person shared a moment or two from this week that impacted their lives and the kingdom of God.  It ended up being a room full of broken children crying together with a multitude of emotions from joy to sadness.  It was perhaps one of the greatest times I had in praise and prayer with any other group.  Our genuine friends surrounded Emily and I to pray over us and for Juan Pablo.  I simply couldn’t have asked for a greater blessing than to have been gathered together with all of them in our final hours together for that powerful time in prayer.

Certainly lives have been impacted this week both in those of the orphans and in our group.  We will continue to abide in the Lord as our source of hope for the things we desire in the adoption of Juan Pablo and for the dreams He has for us in the future.

School Day

Today was parent/teacher conference day at Juan Pablo’s school, which is called "Soñadores".  The school name translates to "Little Dreamers" kindergarten.  Typically Abby from the babies home will go for each of the trimester meetings with JP’s teacher.   Since she had another obligation, we were the stand in parents for the day.  I could definitely get used to that :)  We were given a brief tour of the school and went up to Juan’s classroom where we met with the principal.  All of JP’s papers from the first trimester were kept in a folder, which had a report card attached to it.  The principal explained to us that through Juan is the heart of the class and wants to love everyone, he is a bit hyper, which lead to his average mark in math, conduct, and English.  It was no surprise to us, however, that his report revealed that he has a lot of energy.

JP ran around the school showing us everything.  We were very impressed with the school, staff, and curriculum.  We brought some school supplies and books for his class of which the teacher and principal were very pleased. 

After leaving the school, we stopped in at the Buckner house where we met with the staff there.  Everyone was so excited to see Juan Pablo. 

After this visit, we headed back to the babies home where we played some games including hide and find the insects.  It was kind of like an Easter egg hunt, but only with bugs.  Once a couple of the boys returned from school, we took everyone out to Pizza Hut, which had a play land for the kids.  Once the kids exhausted most of their energy, we headed back to the home to read them some stories to finish out another great day.  As we were leaving, the caregivers gave us several gifts such as a photo frame and popular Guatemalan candies.  We were struck by their generosity as they are the ones to deserve such great reward and praise for the work they do with the orphans. 

Empty Suitcases

As our suitcases become lighter, it unfortunately means that we are getting near the end of our trip.  Today, we took a fully loaded suitcase of new clothes for the children at the babies home.  I know that the children loved to see all the new items they will have to wear, but Abby and the other mothers at the home were even more pleased with our gifts.  It didn’t take long for the case to be emptied.  Each child appeared to us with a new shirt on in their duty to model for us.   Juan Pablo checked in with a new red plaid shirt that brought him a smile.  Danny, on the other hand, climbed inside the suitcase when it was emptied either in search for more clothes or to come home with us; we weren’t sure which

A little while later, we walked in the office where some of the children were talking via a webcam to their sister.  Katie had just been adopted by a family a month or so ago and the parents agreed that it would be a good idea to stay in touch with the children at the babies home since they were all so close.  I walked in and Juan Pablo gave me the mic.  I looked at the screen and saw who I was talking to at the other end.  She was a beautiful young girl whose life had been changed through adoption.  I obtained the email address of one of the care takers at the home so that we could have some regular video meetings with JP while we’re apart. 

Fun continued as we stayed inside for piggy back rides and jump on John’s back.  Still not at 100% physically, they were sure pushing me to my limits, but I wouldn’t trade any of it just to hear them laugh. 

As I tried to find a few seconds of rest, Juan Pablo and Danny tried to get me back up by removing my socks.  As Danny removed my first sock, he immediately tumbled backwards and into a somersault.  After the socks were gone, they then got the terrifying whiff of the odor that was hidden beneath, that is, of my feet!! 

We continued outside with the second part of the lesson on Noah’s Ark.  It was pleasing to hear that as I read through most of the books, the kids could tell me what was going to happen next.  They had heard most of the bible stories we have shared with them this week, yet they have been very intent on listening.  Today, we had them build an ark of Legos, then put the animals in the ark.  At first the children weren’t working together and were building their own arks, but later they came to a consensus and the animals were led safely to one ark.  Fortunately for Noah, God told him to build 1 ark and the animals were led by Him onto the ark and not by kids. 

We ended the day with a friendly game of chase and break the bubbles.  It was all fun and games until we believed we saw one of the kids taking a swig from one of the small bubble dispensers we gave to each of them.  As long as it’s not lemonade, I’m sure they’ll be fine

What’s in the Lemonade?

With such an awesome start to the week, there was an attempted interruption to our spiritual high.  I awoke several times through the early morning hours Wednesday, not to be drawn away to pray, but to the bathroom to vomit.  I’m not one to get sick that often and if I do, it is nowhere near that severe.  I can’t even remember how long it has been since I have been sick like that.  We still haven’t figured out what may have caused this, but perhaps it was the lemonade?  With flu-like symptoms, I was forced to stay in for the morning and not go with the rest of the group to San Gabriel.  It hurt to not be able to participate, but I knew I had to recover to serve full force through the rest of the week. 

Around noon, when it was about time for us to leave for the babies home, I was wrestling around as to whether or not I could go.  I felt as if there were a battle going on for the health of my body and up until this point, it felt as if the opposition were winning.  I hadn’t eaten or left the bed all morning.  Thanks to my loving wife who stayed with me the entire time, providing for my needs, then read something that would encourage every bit of me to press forward.  The story was one from the Buckner missions devotional, a new spiritual guide to prepare you for before and during a mission trip.  It was about an account that someone had when they went on a trip.  Here is the portion of the article that hit me the most:

"Frightened by the roar of an approaching truck and the screams of excited orphans, he found a few moments of protection in my arms and fell asleep.  As his sweaty head rested on my shoulder and his lonely heart beat against mine, I realized God was allowing me to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a child who needed a physical touch from our Heavenly Father.

Prior to my encounter with this child, the thought being the hands and feet of Jesus was merely a church cliché.  However, its meaning became real to me that morning and I was humbled by God’s choice to use unworthy me as a vessel of His unconditional love."

This story twisted my heart to remind me of the mission here.  The battle going on inside of me was moving toward victory for the sake of the orphans.  I wasn’t about to let this physical limitation get in the way of one opportunity to share God’s love with the simplest form of a touch or hug, which is what the babies including Juan Pablo yearn for the most.  As time drew closer to 1, Emily and I prayed together for this sickness to be lifted.  That was probably one of the most emotional times I’ve had here.  Going along with the Buckner devotion, I was certainly humbled that God would choose a weakened me as vessel through whom to express His love.  I was certain in my spirit that God was going to heal me, but I had to just ask Him and take it. 

We arrived to the babies home ready to pour out our love again to the children.  It was more of a mellow day that day as I didn’t have all of the energy I had the previous two.  So, we just hung out inside for a couple of hours, watching Clifford and drawing on dry erase boards.  JP thought it would be cool to scribble all over the board with one color of marker, then write his name with his finger.

No matter what orphanage we visit or the conflicts surrounding them, the children always seem to be looking out for one another.  Moreover, they have a compassionate attitude toward others in that they want to share what they are given or give to those that didn’t receive.  We were hanging out in one of the rooms with JP and Danny, and they both showed care and attention to one of the infants.  In this clip they were just playing, but later I saw them share their snacks with him and the other little ones. 

It was very emotional as we were getting ready to leave as Juan Pablo kept wanting to hang on to us, hug, and kiss us.  We saw a look on his face that reflected how hard it is for him as leave him each day.   The end of the week will be that much more difficult, but we realize that being in God’s Will isn’t always easy.  We’ll take the difficulties now as we know the rewards will be greater here and for eternity.

La Guitarra

We started out our day at San Gabriel where we finished up painting a couple dormitories.  There was a bit of scare as Jo Ellen fell through a bunk bed while painting the wall.  Needless to say, in the end, she was declared…..Ok.  It was mentioned by someone in the group that of all the possibilities of danger on the mission trip in a third world county, we would get hurt painting.  We were successful and contributed to the needed upkeep of the boys home.  While myself and most of the others were busy painting, others were out making individual connections with some of the boys.  This helped build some relationships and bringing the boys’ comfort level higher with our team.  I observed from inside the room where I was painting and saw Ezra sitting down and talking with one of the boys.  This was so encouraging to witness and much more for Ezra and the group later that afternoon.  We had prayed specifically this morning for the hearts of the children would be opened to our presence with them and the message that would be brought.  When we reconvened with the group later, we heard that it was a much better day in that regard.  Praise God for that. 

Emily shared with me how she and Christina found their way over to where some of the caretakers were working.  She explained that 5 women alone were manually washing clothes exhausting themselves in that process.  They were very pleased to have Emily and Christina there with them and claimed that they manual labor was rough for them without proper attire.  Some requests were made from the workers for items such as gloves, aprons, pants, and even underwear.  Notes were taken and the women were assured that they would get for what they were asking.  Emily said she probably only understood about 5% of what the women were saying to her, but that didn’t stop her from piecing together words to get the big picture.   In the end, Emily and Christina captured a special moment with one of the greater background forces at San Gabriel in those workers.  The women wrote down their names and addresses and wanted to write back and forth with the girls.

We did lunch again at the mall, then Emily and I parted from the group and drove on to the babies home.  We brought with us a surprise that eventually wound up in every child’s hands throughout the afternoon.  For Christmas, we sent Juan Pablo a small electronic piano, so what a better instrument to add than a guitar! 

The toy guitar had the look and feel of the real instrument, but had features that sounded drum beats and automatic tempos, most of which were playing non stop and loud!  There was a stop and on/off switch, but they always figured out how to turn it back on :)  We started out in JP’s room where nearly every child in the orphanage came to hang out and check out the new gizmo in town.

I couldn’t help but remember from yesterday that as I picked up some of the other children to hold them, they quickly came right back to me and held on to my legs for me to pick them up again.  JP and the band played on through for about 45 minutes until we moved back outside for some fun.

The children gathered around as I read a couple of books to them.  One was about Jonah and the big fish and the other around the teaching of us becoming fishers of men.  The kids were very attentive as I read and showed them the pictures. 

When we finished with the story, we had them each take a toy fishing pole with a magnetic hook and try to catch (connect) the fish in the circle, each having a magnet in its mouth for an easy reel in and less fight.  Though these were only toy fishing poles, I still managed to spend some time untangling lines of string that extended no more than 2 feet. 

It was sad to leave this afternoon as Juan Pablo wanted us to stay and kept hugging us and giving kisses.  Ahmed later told us that he is a smart boy and knows that we are more than special friends, though nobody has told him this particularly.   We would love more than anything to bring him home, but we are assured that he will be with us in God’s perfect timing. 

We are looking forward to tomorrow as we are going to school with JP, then back to the babies home for some lunch with all the children. 

Day 1 - My Best Birthday

We started our day at San Gabriel where we were given the task from Roberto to paint 2 dormitories and clean a fairly large bathroom.  We separated in groups to take on these tasks.  What really captured my heart was that several boys saw us working in their rooms and wanted to pick up a brush and pitch in.  This opened the door for some connection between us and the boys.  While cleaning up our mess and materials, more boys started to appear and were actually doing other chores themselves.  Several boys were cleaning a carpet with a hose while scrubbing it.  I’m not sure that much work was being done there as they were getting each other wet while dancing and singing to some classic Michael Jackson songs. 

After finishing up with work in the morning, we gathered our things and headed to the mall for lunch.  Emily and I were definitely hungry, but even more anxious to see Juan Pablo and the children at the babies home.  Our driver met us after lunch and we separated from the group as they went back to San Gabriel for a shortened afternoon of VBS and crafts.  I forgot how long the drive had been or seemed from the mall to the babies home, but we soon arrived.  When we walked in, we were greeted by several babies and toddlers. As we made our way toward the back of the home, we learned that Juan Pablo was in the bathroom.  One of his friends, Eduardo, was telling JP from the other side of the door that John and Emily had arrived.  Soon enough, the door opened and Juan came out with a fresh comb over of his hair and went right for us.  Emily embraced him in her arms for the first time in 7 months.  He looked great and was very excited to see us. 

He really wasn’t sure where to start with so much anticipation building up.  We could almost hear his thoughts as he began to go through his Diego back pack that we brought, then off to get his small electronic piano that we had sent to him over Christmas, or get the photo album containing pictures of us with him in Texas.  So many choices for him, but we ended up sitting down with him and some infants to color.  I pulled out a couple of baby dolls for the 2 girls that were following me around and clinging to me.  Once I gave them to the girls, I couldn’t pry them back.  They were thrilled!

Juan was so focused on completing all the pages of his new Diego coloring book.  It was as if he was immune to everything else going on around him until each object had been discovered in that book.  We were told that he was very in tune to his work in school.  Earlier in the day, we were told that JP had been asking when we were going to arrive.   He must have been telling all his friends about us as even they knew us by name.  I found myself picking up most of the babies in the home and walking with them for a period before picking up another.  Like most children, they put up a fuss when I began to set them down.  

We moved outside to the sheltered playground area where we read a short Bible story in Spanish.  The story was about Joshua and the wall of Jericho.  To reinforce what was discussed in the story, the kids built a small square wall out of Legos.  Then, they all marched around the wall, then it was destroyed — only by their interaction, of course.  We then gave each of them a Lego toy, which required some assembly, but when finished, they had built some sort of motorized vehicle.  

The group from San Gabriel came to the babies home and interacted with the children for a while, then it was off to McDonald’s for dinner.  As we were getting ready to leave the home, Juan Pablo wanted to be sure that he grabbed both my hand and Emily’s together for us to lead him out to the bus. 

Yeah, this choked us up a bit.  I was especially looking forward to our time at McD’s because I knew they would have a PlayPlace.  I remember the last time we were in Texas that JP had a blast at McDonald’s, but now he had the company of us and all his friends.  Juan and his pals blasted through the maze, then down the slide.  One of the times, I went through face first behind JP and Jose.  They seemed to get a kick out of having a big kid go down the slide with them. 

I couldn’t have wished for a better birthday present than to be in Guatemala and with Juan Pablo.  Yes, today was my 28th b-day…..still no mini van.  As much as we have been looking forward to these moments, it was comforting to know that JP has just as much been anticipating his time with us.  It seemed that Juan was a bit more hyper than when we first arrived earlier in the day.  I guess that’s what a happy meal and a sugar filled sundae will do to a kid.  We had to say goodnight to him and the rest of the children as we dropped them back off at their home.  Emily and I went in and gave Juan P. hugs and kisses.  We could definitely get used to more nights like that. 

God has definitely revealed His love to us through the children today when it was, as we thought, to be us bringing His love to them.  

Guatemala 2008

Emily and I have joined a group of friends from Maryland Community Church (eXchange) on a mission trip to Guatemala! 

We arrived safely tonight on the American Airlines flight from Dallas, TX and were greeted by our friend Ahmed, who then took us to la Vista hotel.  We are excited to serve along side new friends this week at San Gabriel and the babies home.  Course, we are also so very anxious to see and spend time with Juan Pablo.   Emily and I will be traveling separately from the group in the afternoon to the babies home to love and minister to those children.   Pray for our group and us as we both travel through the city to our destinations.  Also, pray for the hearts of the children to be open to our love and that of their Heavenly Father.  God has truly delivered us to fulfill some divine moments this week.  What a blessing to be here to capture them! 

We will be posting on this blog along with photos and videos at the end of the day this week, so come back for updates! 

There is a separate blog set up on the church website on which other members of our group will be posting.  The address is :

http://www.exchangemcc.org/exchange/guatemala2008/

2008 Daniel Fast

We are joining Pastor Jentezen Franklin and his church along with many other believers on a 21 day Daniel fast.  We will be praying specifically for Juan Pablo and that God will bring great deliverance in our adoption.  For more information on this fast, visit Pastor Franklin’s websites:

http://www.fastingmovement.com/

http://jentezenfranklin.org/