Brownies are here!!

We had the joy of hosting some very dear friends this week - The Brown Family (Brownies) from Washington, DC came down to see our new home life in Guatemala.

We spent the week - loving on kids, loving on each other, sightseeing, shopping, working, and eating.

I could tell many stories of all the fun we had, but I think the highlight for all of us was the Easter Party at the Children's Home. We started with lots of fun crafts. In spite of language barriers, it was sweet to see the Brown and Radford kids helping the children with their crafts.

MG & AK helping paint suncatchers.

Reagan helping with Magic Scratch eggs.

Rebecca working with Jose Pablo on a foam cross.

Gay & Arturo working with stickers.

After craft time, we told the story of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Each of our kids told different parts of the story and read scripture - some of them even read the Bible in Spanish! We are passionate about coming alongside families and mission teams that want to serve the peoples of the world. What a privilege to come alongside such dear friends as they share the good news of Jesus Christ. We ended our story time with CAKE! Yeah! Jesus Vive!

The girls did a great job decorating the cake.

Mary Grace played her violin while we sang songs with the kids.

Reagan teaching and practicing his Spanish.

Anna Kate reading to the kids.

YUMMY!!

As the party drew to an end, we had one more surprise for the kids. Redeemer Church of Arlington, the Brown's home church in DC, wanted to be a part of their mission trip. They generously supplied each child in the home with a new Easter outfit, plus more Spring clothes. The kids couldn't wait to open their new clothes!

I am reading a card written by 4 yr old Sammy in Alpharetta, GA to Jose Pablo.

Sammy sent cars, clothes, and chalk to Jose Pablo - so precious!

Two different people shopped for the twins, they bought matching butterfly outfits.

They didn't know the girls are sisters, but the Lord does, He cares about the little details.

The Big boys - looking dapper in their new clothes.

Sweet Spring dresses!

Is there anything more precious??

The toddlers - Very stylish!

A Perfect Pink Confection!!

Here is what I love most about this experience:

• We got to watch Mary Grace, Reagan, Rebecca, Andrew, Parker & Anna Kate serve alongside one another. We were there when God planted his seed of passion for the peoples of the world in each of their hearts.
• We had the opportunity to plant the seeds of God's story of his Son, our salvation in the hearts of these precious Guatemalan children.
• The Radford's, Brown's and Redeemer Church got to be the hands and feet of Jesus as they blessed these children. Everyone loves a new outfit for Easter, but more importantly, these kids know that God loves them soooo much he moved in the hearts of people from another part of the world to show his care and provision for them.

Gracias a Dios!!

Feliz Cumpleaños Anna Carlos

Today we had a fun new experience. We went to our first Guatemalan birthday party. Earlier this week, we received an invitation for a birthday party for Anna Carlos who is turning 2. Anna Carlos' parents work at Eagle's Nest. Her mom Thelmy runs the kitchen and apartments for retreats and teams. We frequently see Anna Carlos running around campus with her mommy. As you can see from the picture below, she is the cutest thing since fuzzy Easter chicks.

We were so excited to attend a Guatemalan birthday party for the first time. The invitation said the party started at 9:30 AM. When Lee called to RSVP, which is not required in Guatemalan culture, Thelmy told him not to come at 9:30. We have already learned that lesson the hard way. SO we politely showed up at 10:10. It is customary to show up a minimum of 30-45 minutes "late."

When we arrived, the EN campus was decorated with lots of pink and purple balloons as well as big Dora balloons. They had Dora and Boots hats for all the kids. The big hit of the party was the clown (payoso) named Fruty. He was very entertaining to everyone except Anna Carlos. He led the kids in several games and then the essential element of every Guatemalan birthday - the Piñata!! The girls smashed a Dora piñata and the  boys smashed a Boots piñata. It was really fun, but I cringed so many times as I watched that big stick come dangerously close to little heads!

After the piñatas, we sang Happy Birthday and had cake. I have never been to a party where you get a burrito on the side of your cake. Ice cream - yes. Burritos - no. That was a first!!! It was yummy!

You know what my favorite part of the party was - out of 75-80 people - we were the only gringos. The clown did his whole gig in español. We were able to understand him and participate. We had a few conversations and enjoyed being included in such a celebration. We are so grateful that God continually gives us opportunity to build relationships. ¡Gracias a Dios!