The Queen B

Please Forgive

I had great intentions of coming back from the trip and immediately sharing every single detail with you...

...but I can't quite yet.

I'm still processing.

There are many things going on that I want to share, but I've got to wrap my mind around them first.

(And yes.  This is probably the first time that I've ever taken pause before spilling my guts.)

Anyway.

The Princess started back to school today, so I am going to catch up on things around here.  I'll be back tomorrow.  

Also, it was with great trembling and trepidation that I hit "delete all" on my blog reader.  THERE WERE OVER 2000 POSTS STARING AT ME.  I couldn't think clearly knowing they were sitting there.

If something major has happened in your life over the last 2 weeks, please email me and let me know.  I know I missed some really good stuff.  

I just couldn't breathe when I thought about ALL THE POSTS.

Have a lovely day.

If You Have A Spare Hour...

Here are some pictures from our trip. I know it is really long. 

Sorry. 

If you hit the fast forward button instead of waiting for the photos to flip, it will go a little faster.... 

Many of the photos may only mean something to the people that were on the trip, but I hope that you can see a glimpse of how we spent our time at Casa. 

Thank you again for your prayers. 

I'm going to make some of you go with me next time. 

And yes, I said next time. 

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I'll Be Home By Bedtime!

I want to finish telling you all about the trip, but I would like to ask for prayer today.  We will be returning to Guatemala City and then flying home this afternoon.

I'll be medicated, so I'm not feeling too anxious about the flight.  However, a situation has come up in the city that is a bit concerning.

There has been a lot of gang activity this week in Guatemala City.  The US Embassy in GC has issued a warning to Americans in response to the violence.  The bus system was shut down earlier in the week and the universities were closed. 

Guess how we'll be traveling to the airport?

Bus.

Please lift our group (and all the citizens of Guatemala) in prayer for safety.

Back to the trip...

Day 3 was Sunday.

We attended the worship service that was in Spanish and then came back a bit later for the English sermon.

I was amazed watching all the kids praise the Lord.  No matter the language barrier, we all serve the same God.  We sing and praise and honor one God.  It was beautiful.

I want to share a few of the kids that have really touched my heart.

This is Maria.

It is hard to tell in this picture, but Maria has a physical issue with her nose.  I'm not sure what it is, but there is a large growth under her right eye.  I did a little snooping, and all she needs is plastic surgery.

What a beautiful girl. 

The Princess and the other girls on our trip have set up a nail painting station on several days, and the girls LOVE to get their nails painted. 

This will break your heart...we found that they were eating the polish off of their nails so that they could get back in line to have them painted again.

I know.

Maria's got a little attitude.  Can you tell?

 

I wish she'd fit in my suitcase.

This is Michael. 

The King and I really dig Michael.

 

There are more kids that have taken a piece of my heart than I ever would have imagined.

There's also one that took my camera, but we'll get to that next time.

Queen B Phone Home

So Day 2 was most definitely my worst day so far.

I mentioned that we were startled out of our sleep at 3 a.m. by a gunshot. 

We comforted ourselves with the knowledge that it was most certainly a rat or snake that someone was shooting.

It was a rat.  It was a rat.  It was a rat...

We were later awakened by a small child screaming what sounded like, "Daddy!".

It was a rat.  It was a rat.  It was a rat...

As we left our bunkroom Saturday morning, I was absolutely knocked off kilter by what my eyes were seeing...  all the Guatemalan girls were sitting on the steps in front of our door picking lice from one another's hair.

I seriously almost fell apart.

I don't know why I was so mortified/incredulous/overwhelmed/saddened by it. 

It threw me off all day.

And it made me itch.

I was mad that the kids were suffering from lice.  I was mad that I might get it.

I pitched a big hissy to Jason and wanted to know why they didn't do something about it.

He explained that the task of ridding it from all 450 kids and their clothes and their bedding and their everything is next to impossible.  Especially when new kids are coming in all the time.

I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

All of my senses were maxed out on Saturday.  The kids grabbing and touching me.  The gigantic task of the construction project.  The magnitude of the sadness.  The magnitude of the hope.

I pretty much stayed kind of grumpy on Saturday.

The only bright spot for me was the group that I'm traveling with.  I truly cannot explain the love that I have for this group.  I have never traveled with a big group where there wasn't one or two people that I could have done without.

That's not true.  It would normally be more like 6 or 7 that I could do without.

Not here.  Every person has a very special role on this trip.  And I am grateful for each one.

Long Time No Blog

Hola.  I’m alive.

My internet options have been zilch.

I'm hiding out in a missionary's apartment for a few minutes so that I can communicate.

My sanity depended upon it.  I think that counts as missions.

First:  The plane trip.  I was medicated and it was groovy.  I had heard that planes were stingy with their snacks and stuff, but I must say that we were fed well.  Who knew that a frozen pita stuffed omelet with enchilada sauce would be tasty?

Must have been the medication.

And how delightful that High School Musical 3 was the in flight movie.

I’ve never seen that before.

Second:  The miracle of customs.  Because of the construction that we are doing, we had to pack a jackhammer and screws and a concrete saw and all kinds of things like that. 

We had boxes full of medication. 

There were over 70 suitcases and guess how many were opened and checked by customs?

None.

Not one. 

Nada. (See how I’m mastering the Spanish?)

Miracle, don’t you think?

Jason and Lacey have been praying about customs for months.  I don’t think that is coincidence.

Next:  Bus trip.  Let me just say that Guatemalan travel is DANGEROUS.  Imagine those buses with chicken coops on top and 4 wheels of different sizes. 

We were one step from that. 

Our luggage was loaded on top of a van and on a trailer.  A few times we would see the luggage wagon hang a right when the bus hung a left. 

Here's a photo of what I was pretty sure was the last time I'd ever see my luggage again...

The police ride in the back of trucks with big time guns.

There are apparently no traffic laws.  Just a lot of fast driving and passing and running of red lights and honking.

And it was on this bus trip that we learned the number one threat to Americans.

The hijacking of buses.

Comforting. 

What I’ve seen of Guatemala is beautiful.  The terrain is amazing.  The mountains and trees are incredible. 

There are also volcanoes that I’ve yet to see.  I’m ok with that.

We arrived at Casa about an hour after the scariest bus trip on Earth began.

Our accommodations are good.  The bunkroom is nicer than I would have expected.  The bathroom is primitive.

I mean, the TP goes in a bucket by the pot.  That’s all I’ll say about that. 

Overall:  My first impression of Casa was overwhelming.  We pulled in the gates and were greeted by dozens of children, all clamoring for attention. 

Many of the children recognized some of our group members who have visited before. 

Most of them recognized The Carney’s, who will soon be residents.

Honestly, I sort of wanted to hide.  My personal space was being invaded.

(Did y’all know that I have personal space issues?)

After a quick trip to the rooms, we had orientation and toured the facility.

Soon, our guys began the demolition of The Carney’s home’s interior.  It was already supposed to have been done, but wasn’t.

Walls were knocked down, ceilings were removed, tile was, um, un-tiled.  Plumbing lines were excavated.

Which led to a water line being ruptured.

The King may or may not have been involved.

He also might have been involved in starting a small fire.

I was so impressed by how hard our team worked on that first day.  Our guys really know what they are doing. 

The women and children? 

Not so much.

But the guys let us work.  They have been patient as we are often more in the way than are help.  We sweep and haul and shovel.

The Carney boys are working hard to begin making this house their home.

I can’t wait to tell more, but I know this is getting a bit wordy.

And I usually try to get right to the point.

I’ll leave you with this:  the first night, we were awakened at 3 a.m. by a gunshot.

Stay tuned for Day 2…

There's A 4 A.M.?

A few thoughts.

If the airport wants you there at 4:30 a.m., they should provide beds.

Is it ok if your suitcase weighs 51 pounds?

Please don't let my mother do anything that I wouldn't let her do while I'm away.

Is "I'll follow you to the ends of the earth" in the marriage vows?

If God had wanted to keep me from this trip, He could have.  And I would have gone on and on about how awesome He is and how miraculous that was.  Instead, He wants me to go...to trust Him completely.  He wants to show me how He--and only He--can care for me when I'm afraid.  And that, my friends, is truly awesome and miraculous.

Things

We'll be heading out tomorrow, so I thought I'd catch you up on the happenings at The Palace.

1.  I'm about 70% packed.  That is not enough.

2. The Princess is 100% packed...and has been for 8 days.

3.  The King is 0% packed.  He's on his own.

4.  The King's dad felt he needed to check out our house-corner-staking-disaster.  He thought maybe he could help (aka he could put the stakes in correctly).

I laid out the plans to show him just what I wanted...

...and then noticed the 2 giant piles of cow poop on the other side of the plans.

5.  The nephews went out to the farm with us.  The Princess was thrilled to show them the pond. 

While they were checking it out, look who showed up to introduce themselves...

6.  I am delighted to say that the stakes have now been properly placed.

(Not to be confused with a Jeep commercial.)

7.  This is exactly the spot I want to see when I look outside.

 

Hopefully, there will be a tiny bit of progress by the time we return.

8.  I am not sure what my internet situation is going to be in Guatemala.  I am hoping to be able to post occasionally, though.  

I may set the old blog up to run some gently used posts.  Or I may not.

My mom will be receiving daily "We're alive" texts, so she will have updates if I'm unable to post.  

Believe about 80% of what she says.  

Scarier than flying and leaving the country is knowing that my mom has free reign to say whatever she wants without my knowledge or ability to do anything about it.

9.  I have to share the sweetest thing.  

Lisa, who just happens to be one of the kindest people that I know, mailed me a box of goodies for the kids in Guatemala.

The kids are going to love it all!  I can't wait to see their faces.  

Lisa also did the nicest thing for me.

(Sorry for not asking if I could tell about this, Lisa, but I knew you'd say no :)

She sent me her grandmother's prayer book to carry with me to Guatemala.  

That in itself is extraordinarily generous.  It is so special to me, though, because I know how important Lisa's grandmother was to her.  Her gesture was truly sacrificial.  

And I'll carry it with me the entire time I'm gone. 

Along with her son's Flat Stanley.

10.  Thank you all so much for your sweet interest in the trip and for your patience with me as I've prepared for this trip.  

Please pray for our safety and purpose while we are ministering in Guatemala.

We Don't Speak The Same Language

Well, if I'm not posting about the Pre Traumatic Stress Syndrome of the upcoming trip, then I must be posting about the house building, right?

Right.

The King remembered last night at about 6 pm that we were supposed to set stakes where the corners of the house are to be placed.

Which, for the first time, caused me to say "Thank goodness for that Daylight Savings occurring in EARLY MARCH".  

We hurried out to the farm.

Which is a good 25 minutes from our house and put us right at sunset.

Pretty, if we'd had time to notice.

Now one might think that setting the corners of one's house would be simple and quick.

NOT FOR US.

The King asked me to go place a stake where I wanted the center of the front of the house to be located.

I did.

He wasn't so much into my location.  Which we'd discussed, oh, I don't know, EVERY SINGLE DAY SINCE WE FOUND THE LAND.

He thought we were too close to the imaginary fence.

He placed the stake where he thought the center of the front of the house should be.

It was a great choice if you want to have the worst view in the history of mankind.

Our little give and take went on for no less than 2.5 hours.

In the dark.

With headlights, a GPS and white ribbon.

Apparently, The King has no understanding of words like, "too far back" or "behind that a little bit" or "not that much toward the trees".

He prefers to complicate things with "east of south"  or "west of north" or "latitude and longitude" or "the lay of the land".

WHATEVER.

Can it seriously be that big of a deal to understand, "I want my door to go HERE and when I open it I want to see THAT"?

I mean, COME ON.  It cannot be simplified more than that.  

Just put the stinkin' corners however many feet from where I want the front door in whatever direction they need to go.

Throw in a few dozen cows, a few hundred piles of their poop and a justifiably whiny Princess and you've got the makings of an evening that almost caused me to say GET ME TO GUATEMALA.

But not quite.

Let The Packing Begin: UPDATED

Oh.  My.

This is what I have to pack for the trip:

clothes for 7 days

jacket

pillow

sheets

blanket

toiletries

shower shoes

canned food for group

boxed food for group

snacks for me

camera

a couple of books

a few things for the kids

This is how many bags I can take:

one.

NOT GOING SO WELL.

I've tried rolling.

I've tried flattening.

I just bought one of those bags where the vacuum sucks out the air.

Any tips?

UPDATED TO ADD:  I neglected to say that I am leaving all of the bedding at the orphanage, so the vacuum bag won't be crucial for the return trip.  I've also been told that I may not come back with any clothes!  All of my packing worries are in the getting there.  

Carry on.

Just When I Needed It The Most

We leave for Guatemala one week from today.

OH MY WORD.

I was almost sort of getting comfy with it.

Emphasis on the almost.

Guess what popped up on the orphanage website yesterday?

The founders were driving in town and a car pulled up behind them and began firing automatic weapons.

Yep.

Shook me right out of my happy place.

Thankfully, they were ok.  The bad guys were targeting a car that was behind them.

But still.  NOT A LOT OF DIFFERENCE THERE.

FREAKING OUT.

When I got home, I checked my mail and found a little card from a lady at my church.  Inside the card was a crocheted cross.

Let me share a bit of what the card said:

I want you to know I have been where you are and know exactly how you feel.  I am praying for you and your family.  Every time I think of the trip I will pray for you.  

This cross was given to me at my Walk to Emmaus.  Many prayers and much love surround this cross.  I always knew that I would know exactly the time God wanted me to give it away...

She has had that cross for over three years.  

I cannot tell you how much her sweet gesture meant to me.  Just when I was at my most worried and most anxious, God comforted me through her.  He reminded me that He will be with me.  He reminded me that He knows when I'm struggling.

You know how I wanted to be excited and looking forward to the trip?  

Probably not gonna happen.

I am simply going out of obedience.  

That's all.  

Nothing more.

I wish I could say that I have a great desire to save the children or touch the hurting or love the needy.

Maybe I will before this is all said and done.  

Maybe I won't.

But God knows that.

I may have a wonderful time or I may be counting the hours until I'm home.

Either way is fine.  

I have prayed that if I am not to go, something will occur that will absolutely keep me from going.  

(Automatic weapons totally qualified in my book.  Not so much in The King's.)

Likewise, I have prayed that if I am to go, I will go with confidence.

I don't think that God always expects us to do His will with a smile.  He knows there are times that we are barely able to surrender to Him.

But He does expect us to surrender to Him.

Even if our eyes are squeezed shut and our hearts are pounding.

I may immediately know why I've gone on this trip or I may never know why.

But I rest in the knowledge that He knows.

In this week leading up to our departure, I would like to ask for prayer for a few specific things.  Rather than throw a list at you, I think I'll just share something that is on my heart each day.

Please pray for our safety.  The fact that I am taking my daughter into a potentially dangerous country is not something that I take lightly.  I pray His protection on each person on this trip.  (There are 33 people taking this trip.  13 of these are kids!)

I cannot tell you how much your emails and comments and prayers have already meant to me.  I am amazed at your wisdom and encouragement.

Thank you.