"Now we can play with shoes that aren't broken"

New Shoes

My mother, who is a rock star, arrived in Guatemala on Wednesday. My host mother, Miriam, laughs because now I have two mothers with me. And she's absolutely right. Two mothers. Both wonderful. Both keeping an eye on my "passionate" (not rebellious) ways ;) 

Yesterday my mother and I went to the Children's Home to deliver new shoes, underwear and candy. They were all smiles. Some put their shoes on right away because they were so excited. Others packed them back up and clung onto them to ensure they got to keep them. All of them were grateful. 

The children, ages 7-23, wanted you all- you who donated money or socks or candy or underwear- you who have been praying for these kids and keeping up with their stories- to know that they are so grateful. In their exact words: "Muchas gracias y que Dios les bendiga." 

One of the younger boys spoke up and wanted you all to know this: "Yesterday I couldn't go out to play because I didn't have any shoes. I had to stay inside while others went outside. But now I have shoes. And they aren't broken. They are new." 

They aren't broken.

 That was the comment that brought the room to tears. 

Thank you to all of you who have helped in this project. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for me and for these kids. You're blessing lives with 'newness.' Because God is making all thing new. Because God sees our brokenness, sees our 'broken shoes,' and makes them new. God is making all things new. God is pulling these kids out of abuse, violence, rape, and fear and is making them new. So they can have new lives. Ones with wounds and problems and fears, but with the promise of newness. Now they have new shoes to match the new work that God is doing in them. 

... And that kid in my lap. I want to take him with me. 

With joy and gratitude,

Micaiah 

Adults at Age 11

Street Soccer :)

No, I did not play soccer with this Kindergarten boys. Our orderly rules are non-existent in this country. They easily would have schooled me within the first 5 minutes of the game. 

This week was "Field Week" at school, which meant 6 hours of sports everyday. Talk about an intense PE program. 

Though I didn't play in this particular game, I did cheer with the rest of the ladies. 

 Gaby. Juan Carlos. And Cristofer. These three kids have my heart. They are the ones who come to pray with me everyday before they leave school. Their mother passed away a month ago. Now they live with just their father, and their tender hearts are figuring out how to cope.

When I asked them if I could take their picture, Juan Carlos (the oldest of the three) grabbed his two siblings and directed them on what to do. He scooped Cristofer up in his arms and told him to look at the camera. He's 11, but he's already becoming an adult because his family needs him to. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common story in this school. 

For this upcoming week, please be in prayer for:

Safety

A Youth Event for teens who live in Coban alone, without parents. I will be leading this event next Friday. 

Blessings,
Micaiah 

100 Oranges

Bible Class:

Teaching Pre-School about Genesis 1. First there was darkness and chaos. Give 15 kids black tissue paper and you do in fact have darkness and chaos. Most of the tissue paper made it onto the kids' clothes. But, I think they got the idea. 

Kindergarten Class con "Miss," as I am affectionately called. 

Arturo

Arturo is the welcoming committee at the Children's Home in Coban. He's 8. And could probably eat his weight in pancakes. 

Saturday I spent the day with him and his 28 'siblings.' When I first arrived at 8am Saturday morning I found myself in the kitchen juicing 100(ish) oranges for breakfast. The ladies in the kitchen were a delight. A few of them shared pieces of their stories. But, they are hard stories. To tell. And to hear. The common story for these kids who come from indigenous tribes up in the mountain is this: Their parents had them at young ages of 11-13. As little kids, most of them were raped or sexually abused by family members. As a result they (the girls) become pregnant at really young ages, too. If they survive the pregnancy, they are often abandoned. Some are abandoned with their newborn baby.

This Children's Home houses 29 kids with a story similar to this. The couple who runs this home drives up into the mountains and picks up abandoned children. They do look for papers and information on each child. Of course, that takes time and patience. 

They currently live in this home. Eat here. Sleep here. Teachers come in during the week and teach them. They all have chores around the house and homework in the afternoons. And on Sunday they have a worship service. The kids are grateful and happy. 

Breakfast!

Movie Time!

Currently the Children's Home is building a bigger place which will be called the Children's City. They have bought the land and are now starting the construction of the first house. The new home will have a boy's dorm, a girl's dorm, several parks, gardens, a home for missionary groups to stay in, a prayer house, a cafeteria, and a church in the center. 

This river runs through the property that they just bought. It's calm and stunning. 

This week I will be counseling several youth in the school who are going through some tough situations. I will also be going out to buy 29 pairs of shoes for these kids at the Children's Home. And it's "Field Week" at the school which means some other teacher signed me up to lead a dance workshop :) 

Blessings and Peace,

Micaiah 

Without Wax

Margarita 

Meet Margarita. She's teaching everybody in that school how to love. 

She's learning Braille. And teaching everybody in that school what it means to dedicate yourself to something, what it means to work hard. 

She asked me if I would stay forever. 

Competition: The Push Teens Need to Learn a Little Somethin'

On Monday we had all the older kids in the auditorium for a Bible knowledge competition. There were three rounds of questioning: 1) The teacher would begin reading a verse from 1 Sam. and the students had to find the verse in their Bibles, stand up, and finish reading it. 2) History/Context Questions from 1 Sam. 3) Memorization of an entire chapter in 1 Sam. 

This was partly a way to break up the exams that these kids normally have in their Bible class by making it into a competition. Secondly, the school is creating a team to compete in a Bible content competition in Guatemala. Through this school competition, the teachers noted those students that would do well on the team. 

Making Candles 

When I went to school today, the home ec. teacher was making candles with her class. I wandered in, and was invited to stay. So, I did. Being the tactile learner that I am, this craft-time became a teaching moment.

Romans 12:9 "Love must be sincere." 

 The word sincere comes from the Latin, 'sin' meaning without and 'cera' meaning wax. 

Without Wax. 

Love must be without wax. 

In the days of sculptures, sincere was a term used by artists. When one would make a mistake, he would cover the mistakes and blemishes over with wax. People began to learn this and started asking for sculptures without wax. They would rather have the sculpture in its full integrity, even with blemishes, than have it covered over with wax. 

So our love for each other must be the same. We love with all our mistakes, with all our blemishes, with all our imperfections, and we love those who are scarred and blemished. 

Because the integrity, the sincerity of our love depends on us being able to love even the most blemished and broken. Because God loves us, though we are blemished and broken. 

Love must be without wax. 

While the candles solidified, we took pictures:) 

Without Wax. 

There's a rally of sorts that will take place here in the city of Coban tomorrow. Violence has gripped the city in a strong way these past couple weeks. People are tired, and want peace.

I'm safe. Just aware.

Thanks for the continued prayers. Many blessings.

Sincerely/ Without Wax,

Micaiah

Get out Your Dancing Shoes.

Yesterday I went out to 'get to know' Coban. I went with my host mom and one of her friends to Park Hotel, which is a park, restaurant, and zoo.

Her friend, Yuli has four children, two of which came with us to the park. They are a beautiful family, very generous and very kind. I became fast friends with the 7 year old boy. We drew pictures, we made hand puppets, he taught me hand-clap games, and then he fell asleep on my lap on the ride back home. Precious child. His sister wore purple heeled boots- a woman after my own fashion sense.

Host Mom, Miriam: Top Left

Ami: Cousin of Miriam

Miriam: Host Mom

Me

Yuli: Friend of Miriam 

What might one see at a Guatemala zoo? Deer and Raccoon. 

 I found out that the Protestant churches here in Coban are doing very little in the way of community service. The leadership isn't doing much to teach congregations to work in their own communities. The church doors are shut to the surrounding people. There is one ministry here in Coban. A young man, Christian, started a children's home for kids that live up in the mountains and have no money or resources or opportunities to go to school. His sister and he started this children's home where they home school them as well as teach them how to bathe themselves, dress themselves, eat, clean, cook, and act in social circumstances. They care for 28 children. I will be going to visit this ministry later this afternoon.

The view from the house gym. Sometimes it inspires my work-outs. Sometimes it makes me want to drink coffee and sit on the porch. 

The back porch and its lovely hammock. 

Thank you all for your comments, thoughts, and prayers. I feel firmly planted in a foundation of you all who support me, and of Christ who sustains me. 

My work continues, and continues at a pretty fast pace. I teach Bible studies and devotions at the school. I am planning a teacher's retreat for the end of this month. I am planning a workshop for the older teens to talk about self-esteem. And I continue to love on children and write curriculum. 

And a story: I met a young girl at the school. Her name is Margarita, and she is blind. Early Thursday morning, I sat down with her on the steps. She grabbed my hand and moved closer to me. We talked for a bit about the US, and she told me she wanted to meet Christina Aguilera (anybody have that hook-up?). I told her seh was a beautiful girl. Her response was: "That's because God made me." From there she grabbed my hand and asked me to dance with her. She dances in such freedom, with such joy, and with such abandon. It was inspiring. So, we danced in the middle of the school courtyard. As we danced, she sang, "Jesus ama a los ninos." and she's right. 

Peace and Grace, 

Micaiah 

People. Because that's what this is all about.

Her name is Fernanda. And she is the reason I insisted on coming back to Coban, Guatemala and not just working in Guatemala City the whole time. She comes from a tough family background. But three years ago when I was here with a youth team, her life changed. She let God in and her countenance brightened.

Today, Fernanda found me. She was afraid that I had forgotten her. She doesn't know that she is the main reason I am back and am working in this specific school.

When she saw me walk through the school gates, she ran to me, a full on sprint and hugged me. Out of pure joy, I about cried.

This is Fernanda 3 years ago. 

Now, she's as tall as I am. 

Today, when I left the school, I was overcome with tears. Each day I pray with two boys at the end of the day, Juan Carlos and Cristofer. Their mother passed away a month ago a few days before Mother's Day. Today was Juan Carlos' 11th birthday. But today there will be no cake, no party, no family dinner, nothing. I could see how sad he was and how much his little heart hurt. Cristofer is much younger and doesn't fully understand. But, Juan Carlos does. He understands and he is hurting. There are many sad family situations in this school, but this one broke me. Maybe it was holding these two boys. Maybe it was praying with them. Maybe it was watching Juan Carlos smile as we played a game during our devotional on Jonah. Maybe it was watching him drag his hat down over his head when I called him up during our devotion so that we could all sing him Happy Birthday. But, something about these boys has broken my heart. 

As a sidenote: This past Monday there was a big party at the school. They finally bought land to build their own school instead of renting out property. They will also build a Presbyterian Church- the first in Coban and a University. To celebrate the beginning of such a project, the school marching band, the only one in this region of Guatemala, led us in a parade from the school to the plot where the new school will be. 

The band plays all the Top 40s pop songs from the USA. 

Blessings, 

Micaiah 

Hairdryers? Who Needs Them.

So here's a tip: hairdryers are not needed in Guatemala. And let me tell you why. There is no air conditioning. So, roll those windows down, hit the gas, and weave in and out of traffic. That's just the combination needed for dry hair and loads of tangles.

All that is to say that I am here. I am safe. I am sitting in a hotel room that opens up to a gorgeous half-outdoor/half-indoor courtyard. I have a flat screen TV on my wall. And yes, even indoor plumbing. Hot water, you ask? I haven't checked yet. But according to Colombians, cold water cures everything. :)

Once I arrived in Guatemala, I do what all Guatemalans do when they get off the plane, I V-lined it to the nearest coffee shop and ordered a hot and strong cappuccino. Anay Ortega (CP missionary) met me there, we hopped on a Mega Bus and traveled 5 hours north to Coban- where I will be working for the next 3 weeks. So, this is home, for now.

The Mega Bus ride was hot and steamy, and then all of a sudden it was chilly and rainy. And it was beautiful. Fog and steam crept through the tops of the mountains creating a hazy grey. And we bumped along the road as we (quickly) circled the mountain. Really, the bus ride is comparable to a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags.

Pictures to come. At the moment there is just rain and me, and all of you can imagine what that looks like.

Tomorrow I meet with the director of the school and get this show on the road.

Thanks for the prayers and thoughts.

Blessings,
Micaiah