More on Guatemala

A friend of ours talked to Mayra (whose family runs Kairos Christian School) in Guatemala today. In addition to the volcano eruption that has ash all over Guatemala City, tropical storm Agatha has caused damage in Guatemala, including Ciudad Vieja, where Mayra lives and where Kairos Christian School is located. There is water damage in the school and in their homes. I got an email from Mayra saying some of the homes of the Kairos students have been damaged also. Mayra's family has been without internet and electricity. Mayra's parents have to replace their entire roof. Three of the students' families lost everything. One family lost all of their crops for the year. Please pray for their safety and for the recovery work that needs to be done.

If you haven't heard about the massive sinkhole in Guatemala city, here are some impressive pictures.

I've also gotten some emails from Potter's House, the dump ministry where we spend a day last October. Several of the communities around the dump have been damaged by the storm. The dump has also been closed a few days because of mudslides which means the scavengers can't work and hurts their families.

Lots of people to be praying for in Guatemala!

Some pictures from Ciudad Vieja, where the school is located...

Guatemala in the news

Guatemala doesn't make the news a lot... especially not the KC Star, but HERE is a link to a recent article. Volcan Pacaya has erupted and the ash has the airport closed. Pacaya is the volcano I hiked when I was in Guatemala in 2008 (and the one some of our mission team members hiked last fall!), which makes the news story closer to home.

Another adoptive mom friend, Katie Mohr, is currently in Guatemala leading a mission trip and their trip home has been delayed. She posted some interesting pics on her blog of the ash.

In other news... we are having fun with our little foster baby. She is precious and even the night time feedings aren't too bad. Children's Division gives clothing vouchers for the children. I took that voucher and did some serious shopping this weekend. Jimmy asked if I bought anything that didn't have pink in it :)!

Happy Memorial Day!

Florida

Ten days on the beach in Florida- that's a vacation!! Due to the generosity of my grandparents we had a great place to stay in Cocoa Beach. We played on the beach and in the pool and did a one day visit to Disney. At night we tried some fun restaurants and hit the pier. Jimmy's mom joined us for part of the trip. I loved having no agenda!

Here's the trip top 8 in no particular order...

1) Disney...We debated about going with Samuel still being so young. He really did like it and we had a blast watching him... made up for the ridiculously expensive tickets! Samuel loved the shows, parades and seeing Mickey's house. Besides watching Samuel, my favorite part was the people watching. I loved watching the expressions on the faces of many of the fathers. They would either look like they were in pain or they were loving it- these macho looking guys sporting Mickey mouse apparel.
2) Seeing a fisherman catch 2 sting rays and baby hammerhead shark on the beach (the nice fishermen let Sam touch the shark before he released it!).
3) Samuel's first go-kart riding experience... he talked about it non-stop after, but looked scared to death during the ride!
4) Samuel learning how to "swim" and float on his back (with his life jacket).
5) Running on the beach!
6) Good time with Grandma Mary
7) Finding an amazing ice cream place (homemade chocolate peanut butter ice cream!!)
8) Resting- lots of good sleep and naps (which was good considering our new foster child placement... see next post!)