Guatemala 2012 - Day 7 & 8

Thursday, Day 7, we began our day by loading our luggage onto the bus before we headed to the orphanage. It was our finally morning with Lidia and her staff at the Hostal Dona Isabel. We were able to bless the staff and pray for them before we left. Admittedly, it was a lot more emotional than I anticipated. They had become part of our "family" and it was hard to say good bye. They were a true blessing to our team and will remain in Craig and my hearts forever.

Craig and I with Lidia before we boarded the bus

If you ever travel to Guatemala, I highly recommend her hotel!

Jason and Angela Shaw

The final day at the orphanage was amazing. We started the day with devotions and the speaker was Robert, AKA cowboy. He is an amazing man and has dedicated his life to God in anyway you can imagine. He is a big believer in Casa Angelina and all that it stands for and has evolved his small congregation into a giving force. I am bad with details and I am not sure where he is from but he pastors a small church and they have all become very passionate about living life according to Gods word. We started the day again with a full cup and were off to serve and repair the orphanage. We worked in various places in the morning and we teamed up in the school & kitchen in the afternoon. It was Craig, myself, Jason, Joe and we gained Preston this day. He was a wonderful asset to the electrical team. We ended up losing Joe to another place at some point in the day, but all in all it went well. The day was winding down and we had a few little things to complete at one house. We were almost out of time, but we decided to go finish up vs stop. We ended up putting our hands on every single building on the 15 acre orphanage in one way or another. It was an amazing feeling especially since Wednesday didn't prove to be a very productive day. Basically in two days we were able to work our way through all the buildings and do something whether it be changing a light bulb, fixing a switch, replacing or adding covers, remounting lights, changing ballasts, adding outside outlets or remounting/anchoring boxes. I had some fun times with the house parents as well. Trying to communicate with them was very enjoyable and they were great sports with me and my lack of Spanish speaking abilities. I was looking for a broom and dust pan and I quickly realized I had no idea how to say that to them. I quickly transformed into a mime and he finally figured out what I wanted, all while laughing at me of course. I was told a broom is Escoba and the dust pan is recogedor, not sure I will remember that long term, but it has stuck for now. They were so appreciative and thankful it was a great opportunity to experience how they are with the children because he took the time to "teach" me in that moment.

Jason with two of the little girls. He had them laughing and playing, it made my heart smile.

As the day was coming to a close, we heard our bus coming down the hill and it appeared to have a happy honker for a driver. I thought it was just the driver being cautious because the kids were playing soccer in the road, but I quickly realized it was something completely different. It was because PETER was driving! He convinced the driver to let him bring it down the hill, I am not sure how much that cost him, but it was awesome. Chad and Jodie in front of Leah's House

Leah's House Bedroom

Leah's House Kitchen

Peter and his plants! He hung these and showed his true green thumb!

We all gathered in Leah's House before we departed. The entire team was there and we simply prayed for God's blessing for the house, children that would live there and everyone's hands that had helped make this house a reality. I couldn't help but let my mind go to how this must have been for Chad and Jodie. They had started so many years ago with a dream of "someday" making this a reality and there they were standing there in the structure that they had dreamed would hold the future for many children. Talk about an emotional time, I couldn't help but let the tears fall. What an unbelievable thing to be apart of.

Jodie, Chad and Ivan enjoying the moment

Part of the group circling in prayer

After we finished up at Leah's house we boarded the bus and headed to Guatemala City. Once again we had Alejandro and his men with us to ensure our safety traveling into the city. The guys even convinced him to spend the night at the hotel with our group, which was awesome. He is a wonderful man and he a true blessing to all of us. We originally had planned on getting to the hotel, eating and then having a final devotion. The first thing we did was jump in the shower, a HOT shower mind you. We then went to Strikers and had supper (in the hotel). It was delicious and ice cold lemonade was my favorite thing after having warm drinks for a week. Something we take for granted, but I quickly realized how much I missed it. It began to get a little late so the devotion's were not able to happen, but it all worked out ok. Craig and I went back to the room to finish packing and getting things organized for the trip back. A lot of other people went swimming and enjoyed the hot tub. Craig took a 2nd hot shower when we returned from supper he thought it was wonderful!

Eating at Strikers.

Our room. Crazy!

The hotel staircase. Very Grand.

As great as the room was, I don't think I slept a wink. I was so worried about getting comfortable and not waking up in time, I was up every hour on the hour. I was also paranoid because Craig set the alarm clock and I usually do that. I should have just gotten up and made sure it was set right, but noooooo, I woke up every hour just because I was worried it wasn't done right. We were up and out the door for breakfast at 6:00 AM. We loaded up in vans about 6:30 and headed to Guatemala City Airport. When we arrived at the airport it was a mad scramble to get our paperwork filled out and get checked in. You literally went with the flow of people (our people) and did what everyone else was doing. I think Craig was a little "rushed" but all was good. We didn't have any problems going through security other than they took our unopened Gatorade and Mt. Dew - Boo. :) We boarded our plane on time and with no problems. Our flight from Guatemala City to Dallas, Texas was non eventful. I did sit next to a 15 year old girl from Seattle who was with a UCC Church group that were on a missions trip. It was interesting to talk to her and hear about her experiences as well as share about ours. When we landed, I wished her well and off she went. We had no issues at customs other than I forgot that they spoke English so I felt like a dummy when she was talking to me and I simply nodded my head and didn't say anything. :) She didn't seem to mind so that was good! We had a planned 7 hr layover in Dallas so it was time to settle in. We walked around, rode the train from location to location, sat and watched a movie on the laptop, ate dinner, ate supper and just hung out. It went surprisingly fast which I am thankful for. The MN/IA crew was supposed to leave earlier in the day but were held up by plane problems. The eventually departed before we did, but they ended up quite a bit later than expected. Our plane arrived in Sioux Falls at 10:05 PM, exactly when we were supposed too! That doesn't happen very often I am sure of it. Ryan and Brandy were there to welcome us home and to bring us back to Madison. We got home and jumped in our car and drove to Marsha's to pick up Micah. He was sound asleep so we scooped him up and brought him home. He didn't wake up at all, so we just threw him in our bed with us so we could snuggle (even if he didn't know we were doing it!). He woke up the next morning and all I heard was "Daaaaddddd!" and then shortly after that I felt a tap on my arm and I heard "Mooooooommm!". When I opened my eyes, all I saw was our precious little boy smiling from ear to ear! It was priceless and something I will never forget. It was the best welcome home gift ever!