Teams of All Kinds

Scott and I have been both team members and team leaders on many mission trips. Although we’ve held these positions before we learned this summer what it actually takes to be good team member and a good team leader. By being on the receiving end of teams we learned what is appreciated.
We know that one shovel of dirt dug in love is better than an entire house built without love.
We have seen teams of all sizes, and we know what size we would prefer to lead.
We have seen leaders of all types and have learned characteristics of each that will make us better leaders.
We have seen people who don’t appreciate a culture, no matter how hard they try to hide it.
These are gifts from God, to make us better appreciate and work with international missions in our future. Rarely, does one get to experience a mission trip from both perspectives and our trips will forever be changed because of our work here.
This summer we have seen the good and bad, the beautiful and the ugly. Although there have been times when it was tough, there have been easy times to even them out. This summer by seeing every type of team, we’ve learned what makes up a good team. We know that one result of this summer is that we will forever be better team members and leaders. This is just one of the million things the Lord has shown us this summer.

Closing Down

Yesterday, we started to close the book on our trip to Guatemala this summer. After getting the team started on their projects, we headed back to our house and began packing. This alone is a traumatic experience! It’s amazing to see how much we’ve accumulated in less than 3 short months! We have so many treasured mementos (the best ones were free, like lava rock and crafts we’ve done with the kids) that will help us remember our time here this summer.
It was a beautiful day, so in the afternoon, we headed out and started taking pictures of the grounds and buildings to show people and to help us remember exactly how it looked the summer we lived here. We didn’t know it at first, but as we walked, we realized it was more for us than it was for anyone else. We were saying goodbye to the buildings, mudholes, swingsets, smells of the carpenteria, sounds of the laundry room, and giant cow patties that we’ve come to love over this summer. With each picture we took, we were hugging it goodbye, until the next time we return.
It was interesting that in past trips, we’ve known where these buildings are, but this time it was different. We know the details of each place, the cracks in the walls, the broken windows, and the foot imprints in the cement sidewalk. We fell more in love with everything here by coming to love the details. It was the intimate details we were saying goodbye to, not just the places.
Tomorrow, we’ll take the team to Antigua, and say goodbye to all the sights and smells there.

Team 6 Leaves and Team 7 Arrives

Yesterday we headed to the airport to send team 6 back home to Tennessee and to pick up Team 7. Team 6 was lead by Tim Sheehy, one of the board members, from Kirby Woods Baptist Church. This team was great! They had two major projects that were physical labor; Evy’s house and a patio in front of the gym. They did a ton of digging with these projects and probably won’t mind if it is a while before they see another shovel. Their third project was sewing sheets and bed spreads for the kids. The ladies who did this worked very hard!! It really was a labor of love and the kids are going to adore the new Buzz Lightyear sheets.
On their Antigua day this team did street evangelism before lunch and saved their souvenir shopping for the afternoon. It was a real encouragement to see their enthusiasm for sharing God’s love. Team 6 was a blessing and we are going to miss them. We are excited to work with our next team lead by Laura Thimons (25 women and 3 men). Hard to believe that we will be heading home with this team! Wow! The summer has flown!

Add it to the list

Well, we are down to one more week in Guatemala. There have been times when we couldn’t wait for this week to get here and times when we didn’t want it ever to come. But no matter what we want or don’t want, it is here. It is here and it is a wonderful feeling. It is here and it is a horrible feeling. Bittersweet doesn’t even come close to describing the feeling, because it is so much sweeter than sweet and so much more bitter than bitter.
For those of you who like to travel overseas, especially on mission trips, and for those of you who go on mission trips, especially overseas, you know the feeling of never really being 100% content. When you are home, you long to be in the other country. When you are in the other country, you long to be home. As I was thinking about this phenomenon and discussing it with Scott it made me long for Heaven. It gave me another item to add to the list of why Heaven will be so marvelous. It was another mark in the “why I wanna go” tally.
See, in Heaven, this is the only place where this feeling will be satisfied. This is the only place where we can be and not be longing to be elsewhere. This is the only place where we will get to be with the people we love back home who have never been to Guatemala and the people we love in Guatemala who have never been to Indiana.
How funny that the Lord brought us to Guatemala from Indiana to give us another reason to want to leave this world.

What we miss...

Today we miss our dishwasher, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the tub of our Guatemalan dish soap.
Today we miss the smell of our apartment, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the familiar yet still foreign smell of Casa A.
Today we miss good old mac and cheese out of a box, but we know that in two weeks we will miss fried plantains and black beans.
Today we miss the rolling hills of Indiana, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the majestic mountains and volcanoes of Guatemala.
Today we miss all our favorite TV shows, but we know in two weeks we will miss swapping movies with the other Americans here.
Today we miss the comfort and safety of being able to go out after dark, but in two weeks we know we will miss the comforting sound of the guards whistling when they walk by.
Today we miss the faces of friends and family, but we know in two weeks we will miss the smiling faces of Evy, the cooks, the kids, the house parents and everyone here.
Today we miss English, but we know in two weeks we will miss Spanish.
Today we miss carpet, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the familiar tile floors.
Today we miss the USA, but we know that in two weeks we will miss Guatemala.

Pictures

We've added some new pictures for you all. There are some more huepil pictures of Evy teaching me how to put it on and then also me wearing my huepil on Sunday. I was pretty happy because on Sunday morning I got my huepil on correctly after only my first try!! It even passed Evy's approval; all she had to do was tighten it up a tad! Also in there are some pictures of us eating pineapples with salt. DELICIOUS!!!
Sorry we didn't get to edit through these pictures and take out the bad ones! I know that is annoying. :(

More Validation...

Hey everyone,
We've settled into another week and another team. This large team from Memphis, TN hit the ground running and is working on 3 heavy labor projects. They're doing great.
We wanted to share with you what God has done in our lives which just further validates our decision to come to Guatemala for the summer.
We are preparing to head home in less than two weeks, and just out of curiosity, we checked Sophie's financial statement from IU. When we pulled it up, we were shocked to find out that her total tuition and fees for the year is less than $100! We couldn't figure it out, and so we looked more closely, and Sophie had received a number of grants. She received a small O'Bannon grant for being an outstanding Indiana resident college student. Then we saw a small Federal Pell Grant that she got for marrying a poor graduate student! :) Then, the remainder of the tuition and fees was paid for by the IU Pell Promise award: an award given to outstanding students who qualify for the Federal Pell grant. We were shocked! As far as we can tell, she will keep this award as long as she maintains a 3.0 GPA. It pretty much means a full ride scholarship.
This just served as such a reminder that God will provide for us. We can trace it all the way back to our decision to switch out of the PhD program at IU and pursue the Master's. As someone said, it's just the cherry on top of all our blessings. As we see it, God is blessing us above and beyond what we could ever hope or ask for. Not only did I get an AWESOME job with a 20 minute phone interview, but he's taken care of us in ways we never even asked.
If that is the cherry on top, we got sprinkles too! I got an email yesterday, offering me an adjunct position at Ivy Tech that I had applied for in the spring. We are still considering and praying about this position, but regardless, God has shown that no matter what, he will provide. It really shows God's sense of humor in the whole situation.
It's a lesson to all of us that the Lord will never stop heaping his blessings upon you if you allow him to and listen to his calling.

Team Pickup

Hey everyone,
It's a cloudy Saturday morning here in Guatemala. The kids are doing their weekend chores and the staff is nowhere to be seen! :) We are finally back in the office to be updating our blog, the internet is now back up and running. We'll miss our Pollo Campero trips though, they offered a welcome rest from the high energy here at the home.
Today we're heading to the city to pick up our team from Kirby Wood's Baptist Church in TN. They are a large group, 28 to be exact, so we're all a bit anxious about their arrival. They are actually 3 TIMES the size of our last team, so it will be an eventful week for sure. But at the same time, we're excited about getting to interact with Americans again. The kids are too...last night they were asking about the next team and when they found out they were coming today, they were so excited.
Be watching Sunday for a picture of Sophie in her traditional huepil at church. She'll be pretty in pink!
Love you all

Scott and Sophie

Back from Vacation

Hey everyone,
It's Friday and we're back in Chimaltenango after a relaxing 3 days in Antigua. The hotel we stayed at was AMAZING! You won't believe the pictures we posted are actually our ROOM but they ARE!
We have updated the photo site, there are a bunch of new albums. Make sure you check them out. The vacation pictures are of the hotel, dinner, and racing around Antigua in tuk-tuks. The Huepil folder is when we went and bought the traditional Guatemalan outfit for women here. Sophie got a beautiful pink one. It was such an experience. Then we went for french fries last night in Puerto Rico, the colonia outside the walls of the home. We took candid pics of the people out and about in the streets. The last folder is updates of the house. This should be of particular interest to those of you who have visited us this summer. The house is really taking shape. Two of the walls are almost completely finished and Waldemar is crafting a gorgeous fireplace.
We'll be updating this week. Tomorrow we pick up a team of 28 people, our biggest yet by far!

Relaxation!

Hey all! Since we dropped off our team yesterday, and the next team doesn’t come until Saturday, we’re spending the next few days relaxing in Antigua. Last night, we ate dinner with Jennifer and Joseph (two Americans working at the home) and we stayed at this amazing hotel called Panza Verde (www.panzaverde.com). Jennifer has to teach today, so they went back last night, but we’re meeting them again today and we’re all staying together tonight at our favorite little cheap hotel Posada don Valentino! We got one big room for all four of us for 40 bucks. It really works out great that we have these few days off because the next two teams are our biggest. Each team is pushing 30 people. It will be a handful to accommodate. Please keep us in your prayers as we work with these teams. It’s hard to believe just two more teams to go. Its’ been a whirlwind of a summer.

Team 5 Report

Today we’re dropping off team 5, led by Keath Butt from Jackson, TN. This was our smallest team of the year, with 5 men and 5 women. All of the women had visited the home multiple times, but the 4 young men were totally new. This team was comprised mostly of college kids from Union University and they spent time working on construction, painting Casa Samuel, painting the interior of the transition house, and added an Eeyore mural to the Winnie the Pooh theme in the baby house. On Sunday, they led worship with Eduardo, and their activities throughout the week focused on the life of King David. They would begin with a drama about a story of David, and then had a relevant craft for the kids to make. Many of the students were quite proficient Spanish speakers, so it was great to see them putting their studies to good use! We’ll miss this energetic and hard working team!

Pics are up

Hey all! Today we posted a small album of pictures from a Cultural Program the kids put on to display traditional Guatemalan customs. Enjoy! Also, the first pic is a picture of us with Joseph and Jennifer (two other Americans working at the home)at our internet hotspot (and favorite fastfood restaurant) Pollo Campero. We've been without internet for about two weeks now, so every few days we head into town for great fried chicken and free wireless internet! Every time you read a post, this is where it was conceived!
Blessings!
Scott and Sophie

What we now know...

Living in Guatemala we have learned some valuable things that we want to share with you…
• Pepto Bismol is best drank straight from the bottle
• How to divide any number by 7.5 (The exchange rate)
• Showers are about being as efficient as possible
• Honking is the best way to stop any car who even thinks about slowing down
• Tap water does not mean potable water. We haven’t drank from a tap since May 17
• 9 AM means 4 PM
• You can buy surgical anesthesia from any drugstore
• Prepaid cell phones are better than contracts
• Corn is best eaten off roasted coals with salt and lime
• There are two types of rain, and the gentle rain makes you sick
• In aforementioned rain, all work must stop
• Babies are bundled tightly regardless of the temperature or season
• You can spot an American tourist from a mile away, no matter how hard they try they NEVER blend in
• You can actually buy movies on DVD BEFORE they hit the US theaters
• Prices marked are merely a suggestion
And we wouldn’t trade this knowledge for anything in the world.

Butterflies

One thing that Scott and I have discussed is that living in Guatemala at a children’s home has put our emotions on code red alert. From the moment we stepped off the plane on May 17 our emotions took off on a roller coaster ride. The interesting thing about this emotional ride is that the feelings (tears, laughter, anger, etc.) all present themselves at the most inappropriate times. My latest attack jumped out in the midst of making bookmarks.
Each night the team that is visiting does an activity. The activity on this particular evening was decorating bookmarks. The team had big felt bookmarks with a scripture on them and then the kids got to decorate their bookmarks with felt stickers. There were dinosaurs, flowers, leaves, letters, numbers, shapes, butterflies, and snails in every color and size known to man. Pretty much anything you can think of we had to decorate with. As the team members were passing out piles of stickers to the tables, I headed over with my pink bookmark to one of the girls’ tables. This table had 4 girls all in the age range of 8-10. I sat down next to Luisa and we girls decided to organize our big pile into smaller categories rather than “dig in” like the boys. The girls were all jabbering as they sorted about which ones they liked and what colors were prettiest and which ones would match their bookmark the best. Luisa, found a teeny-tiny butterfly and picked it up. After she looked at it the butterfly began to call out “Mi Mama, Mi Mama” as Luisa guided it to the jumbo sized butterfly we had already found. At first I smiled to myself because that is exactly what 8 year old Sophie would have said, but then IT HIT ME, just like the warm saliva before you throw up….Luisa doesn’t have a mama.
Immediately tears burned my eyes and I felt dizzy. My eyes starting scanning the room for Scott because I knew I was going to pass out right then.
When Luisa arrived at Agua Viva she had been ordered here by the courts. There is no historical information on Luisa. The only information the home has on her is her birthday, which she informed them of, there aren’t any documents to prove the date. The family that Luisa once had lost all their familial rights. The courts have ordered them never to see her. Luisa has never seen them. Luisa has no one. Unlike most of the children at Agua Viva Luisa truly is an orphan.
What is even worse is that Luisa knows she is an orphan. Luisa knows she has no one to call Mommy or Daddy. Luisa knows that not having a mommy or daddy is unusual, not how most kids live, not right, not how God intended it to be. Luisa knows that little baby butterflies go with their bigger mommies to be taken care of.
Ever since my first trip to Agua Viva I’ve known Luisa’s story. I’ve listened as people have explained, I’ve read on her information sheet, I’ve even been there when she has talked about it, but for the very first time, sitting next to her at the craft, I heard her story. It was more than I could bear. I can’t even imagine what that feels like. I can’t imagine what it means to not have a mother. I am still processing it and I still don’t have the words to express how it makes me feel…I don’t think words even exist that are strong enough to express what being motherless means.
As I sat there and finished my bookmark I felt every emotion. I wanted to snuggle closer to her. I wanted to get on a plane home and not look back. I wanted to ask the team if they knew someone who needed a little girl. I wanted to adopt her myself and be her mama. I wanted throw up. I wanted to scream. Mostly though, I wanted to crawl into my mommy’s lap, smell her familiar smell, and cry and cry and cry.

"Para Servirle"

One of our favorite sayings here in Guatemala is often heard at a restaurant or a checkout line. After thanking someone for their help or service, they respond with “Para Servirle” which literally means, “in order to serve you.” Every time we hear it, we talk about how much we love the idea of telling someone “I’m here to serve you.” Today, we saw “Para Servirle” put into action in a wonderful way. One of the benefits of having a team here is that the cooks leave a hot coffee pot out all day long. Today was a little chilly, and the thought of a nice hot cup of coffee was too much to resist, so we headed over to the comedor. On the walk over, we passed don Victor (our resident driver, handyman, and all around good guy) busy working on repairing broken window panes. Upon arriving though, we found the pot was not there! We walked away a little disappointed, but accepted our fate. Through the window he was working on, don Victor witnessed our finding, or lack thereof, and we all shared a little chuckle about it.
We carried on to find Evy to talk about other matters, and upon returning, we passed don Victor carrying out a fresh pot of the coffee and placing it on the table. Had we not seen him, we never would have known that he had gone out of his way to serve us. We were taken aback that through the world’s eyes, this made no sense. He was busy with his own jobs, we are younger than him, Sophie is a woman, and the cooks are responsible for this task. However, through the eyes of the Christian and here in Guatemala, don Victor recognized this as an opportunity to “para servirle.”

Photos are Up

Hey guys,
We're having some trouble with a few blogs we wrote, so we want you to know we are posting some pics. We'll try to get the blogs up, but can't promise anything...for now, check out our latest pics of a field day the kids got yesterday!
love
scott and sophie

Visitation Sunday

The first Sunday of every month is visitation Sunday. It’s the one day a month that the families of the children here at Agua Viva can come to visit the children. There is a special church service, and then the families have the afternoon to eat and share together. This Sunday, Eduardo prepared a very important message to both the parents and the children that were there. He preached about the 5 Love Languages, a book by Dr. Gary Chapman. Eduardo, wise for his age, told the parents and children that when he was growing up here in Agua Viva, that he did not use the visitation Sundays as he should have. He stressed to the parents that this is the one day each month that they have to show their children that they love them. He challenged the children the same way, saying they need to show their parents they love them, and appreciate the sacrifices they have made to come visit them. He gave them concrete examples of how to show love using the 5 love languages. We loved that Eduardo used his own life as an example, and shared personal stories about growing up in Agua Viva. We also loved that he knew his audience to be parents who could not raise their children or necessarily know how to show them their love. For this, the examples he gave were wonderful. It reflected Agua Viva’s mission which is to provide for the children in the hope that someday they can be reunited with their families. Lastly, Eduardo showed examples in scripture where God shows his love for us using the 5 love languages.
Visitation Sunday is always a little difficult for us to see. It is tough on the kids who do not have anyone come to visit them, and also hard on those who do have family to visit. Some are dealing with very serious emotional issues, and it is painful to see them working through those feelings. After a visitation Sunday, it’s always a few days before things seem to settle back into normalcy. It is just one of those things that everyone here has to deal with as a part of being here at Agua Viva and there’s no good way to explain or process it.

Team Report

On Saturday, we sent home the team from Central Church in Collerville, TN led by Todd and Amy Andrews. The team was composed of 17 hard working people. If we had to pick one word to describe this team it would be “sweet.” Their hearts were evident in all that they did. The team was young and old, experienced and new. Instead of the traditional trip to Antigua on Wednesday, they opted to take a trip to Lake Atitlan in Panajachel. The weather was wonderful and we had a great time with them on the boat ride. Here at the home they continued work on Evy’s house, painted Winnie the Pooh and Dora murals in the baby house, and some of the women devoted their entire week to a complete overhaul of the Bodega (Storage room). Their nightly activities were a mix of games, slideshows, and testimonies from the team. Everything went so easily and smoothly all week that we were bound to have a problem! On the way to their hotel on Saturday, the bus broke down and required a 2 hour repair on the side of the Pan American Highway! Luckily, they were not flying out until Sunday, so we didn’t have to get them to a plane! If they had been, we don’t know what we would have done. We however had a team coming in so we left Joseph behind with the team while we flagged down a taxi and raced to the airport to catch the team when they landed. We had a great time with this team and hope they come back again next year! They left us with many invitations to stop by and visit whenever we are in the Memphis area.

In the Kitchen

On Thursday, we were organizing the small store we have here and there is a chocolate drink that we sell. It comes in small discs that you cook in the water, but we wanted to get directions from the cooks on how to actually make it. With chocolate in hand, we headed to the kitchen to ask the cooks the measurements. Marta, a woman who has worked with Agua Viva for 12 years, got out the utensils and started whipping up the drink. We only expected them to tell us the amounts, but they were more than pleased to actually make a pitcher of it. We headed out with the pitcher and began serving cups to all the home employees. Not one declined the offer. After we served it to Evy, she told us to make another batch and serve it to the team. We headed back to the kitchen to make another batch. We didn't know that after this trip, we would leave with something much sweeter than a pitcher of chocolate.
While the second batch was brewing, Marta (who kicked Sophie's dad out of the kitchen from an earlier blog!) stopped her cooking and sat down with us. We began to talk about her experiences, cooking, children, and life. It was such a moment to treasure. It was one of those moments that we would not have been possible if we weren't living here. A sweet moment of encouragement, with a sister in Christ, that we would have missed if we hadn't obeyed the Lord's call to come to Guatemala. We walked out of that kitchen with a full pitcher and full hearts.

Saturday Report

Hey everyone. Hope you have enjoyed the recent blogs!
Today we'll be taking the team that's been here all week to their hotel. They are leaving tomorrow actually, but they cannot overlap with the new team coming in. We'll then pick up that team and bring them back to the home. Sad news is that we'll miss lunch and it is going to be a treat. We are supposed to have slaughtered one of the pigs and be having Chicharonnes (pork rinds) and all the trimmings. Not that we love that, but we're always up to trying new food here.
Then tonight will be the welcome service for the team and the kids will watch their movies.
We'll keep you updated!

Happy Independence Day!

Hey everyone...
We're thinking of you all there in the states enjoying your 4th of July BBQ's and fireworks! Hard to believe we'll be home in less than a month.
Today, we're celebrating our own Independence Day Baby (SOPHIE!). No big plans today. Sophie is anxious to open the presents from Meme and her Mom that she's been staring at all summer! Funny, we thought it would be forever before we got to do that when they frist brought them to her, but the time has flown by! Tonight is the farewell service for the team. We just realized that we have only 3 teams left before coming home...a bittersweet realization.
We love you all!

Scott and Sophie

Reality Check!

Tuesday morning, after breakfast, we got a call on our cell phone from Evy (the director of the home) asking us if we would be willing to go over to the baby house to watch the kids while she had a meeting with the house parents. Of course, we said it wasn’t a problem. With a cup of coffee in hand, we headed over to quietly play with the children.
During our time with the kids, there were a few incidents…
• Edras came walking up with Sophie’s once full coffee cup, that had been hidden from children’s sight, asking for more coffee.
• Since he couldn’t have coffee to drink, he and his friends starting filling toys with water to drink.
• With a full bladder, Alex felt the need to relieve himself in his pants.
• Offering their assistance, the children followed Sophie to the bathroom to help change Alex’s pants.
• Being in the bathroom prompted Edras to have a “big job” attack in which Sophie had to help wipe. Luckily, Saida was there to flush every five seconds!
Finally, the bathroom incidents were over, so we headed to play…or so we thought…
• Lily, crawling out from under the bed, knocked her head on the metal corner and began wailing.
• Picking Lily up to comfort her, Sophie received a spray of snot as Lily sneezed on her shirt.
• Scott, caring for the boys, reached to tickle Alex, and he fell backwards off his trike, hitting his head on the floor, resulting in another wailing baby.
• Saida, decided this would be a perfect time to throw a fit when Scott reprimanded her for being too wild.
By the time the house mothers arrived, everyone was smiling and in a good mood. Little did they know we left them with Lily working on a dirty diaper. The amazing part is that we only had 4 kids for two hours, the other 13 were in school. These house moms have huge crowns awaiting them in heaven!

PICTURES ARE HERE

Hey all, just a quick note that we’ve posted 5 folders of pictures. These date all the way back to our first team, so there are quite a few. We also have a whole folder of our trip to the rainforest for our anniversary.

A reminder, you can access our photo site from the home page www.scottandsophie.com

We hope you’ve been enjoying the daily blogs. We’ve been posting them in advance and having them publish every morning. We can’t promise this to continue everyday, but we’ll do our best!
Love you all!
Scott and Sophie

The Language of Heaven

It is often joked about here in Agua Viva that Spanish prayers don’t need translated because Spanish is the language of heaven. As much as we joke about this, it led us to some beautiful thoughts.

Sitting in church with John Salisbury’s group, Eduardo was leading us in a sermon in Spanish, Claire Salisbury was translating into English, and a mother from the team was translating into Sign Language for her two deaf sons (one who is adopted from Agua Viva). It dawned on us at this moment, that the Lord was hearing all three equally, and the offering was a sweet aroma to him.

It made us feel such a longing to be in our Father’s presence, worshiping Him in heaven, side by side with believers of all tongues, all praising the same Lord, who hears all.

As we heard and saw the mixture of words and motions, we thought of all the believers across the globe who that day were offering praises to the Lord in their own languages…and that is the language of heaven.