Guatemala Update #5
Dear Family and Friends,
Well, if you were wondering, we do still remember how to speak English :-) We are still here is Antigua, Guatemala. We really do love it here and are very thankful for the sweet people that God has put in our lives. They love our children and have been such a good example to us in so many areas. Since our last e-mail in April a lot has happened. We are very sorry for the slow communication, part of it is due to the fact that my hard drive crashed (which is no fun for a computer programmer). Anyway, here are the some of the things that have happened since our last update.
Normal Life
Despite the fact that we are a long way from home, our life here has fallen into a nice rhythm. Mondays are market days, Betty and I leave the children with a Christian sister that has been helping us, and we have our "Market Date". We have such a good time catching up and planning for the week, and "regatiando" (bartering) with the fruit and vegetable vendors. Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, during the kids naps, I am still taking classes at Christian Spanish Academy. I have been so thankful for the opportunity to learn Spanish and unlearn a lot of bad habits. My Spanish is getting better everyday, but as so often is the case, I am realizing how far I have to go to be really proficient.
The Lord has been faithful to provide work opportunities to meet our needs here. It is so amazing that the "big things" that we often worry about are often the easiest things for God to take care of.
We love being the parents of 4 children and are daily challenged with how to best raise them to be men and women of God. The convicting thing is that for our children to be sold out warriors of the cross, they need to see Mommy and Daddy living that life before them. We would appreciate your prayers in this regard.
Each of the children are growing up. (Way to fast). Joelle has gotten to be quite the chubby little cherub. Physically we see progress each day, her eye which used to wander a little bit has really strengthened and is tracking well with the other one. At the English speaking church that we attend on Thursday night, we met a girl who is a pediatric speech therapist. She is going to come tomorrow and give us things to work with her on to continue to develop her mouth and throat muscles. The Lord has been so faithful to provide loving people to help and encourage us. On the weekends we attend a Spanish speaking church in a little town north of us. The people there are such a blessing and we have been able to make some dear friends.
Trip Home and Back
Because our tickets were going to expire, Abel and I flew home to get our van. We flew in on Wednesday and then were on the road on Saturday. On the trip we had so much fun being together and seeing a few of you. It was especially good to see my siblings who I had not seen in about 4 months. Each of them had grown so much. Big families are such a blessing.
On the trip, a friend of ours, Curtis Alexander, also traveled down with us which was a blessing. It was a beautiful trip, and for those of you who like Mexican food, you would have been jealous of all the good food we were able to consume :-)
The trip was not without incident. We got to McAllen and fan motor for the A/C went out. We were able to get that fixed. Once we got to Tampico Mexico, the transmission began to act up and we ended up having to completely rebuild the transmission. The Lord is so faithful though to provide. Before we left, a brother in Christ contacted me and told me that the Lord had laid on his heart to give us an offering. We also had the opportunity to preach in two churches while we were in the states, both churches blessed us with an offering. The combination of these offerings provided for all of the extra expenses that we incurred on the trip. The Lord never fails.
Once the transmission was repaired, we continued south. There were some incredible views. We drove along the coast in Mexico and then across the mountains in southern Mexico and northern Guatemala, and arrived back in Antigua safe and sound at about 8:30 AM Saturday morning. It was a wonderful trip, and we have enjoyed having our van to make some short trips, and are anticipating going to visit Betty's family on the way home.
I have to say that the honeymoon still continues, I missed Betty so bad, I still have not stopped kissing her :-) I am so thankful for a wonderful family. Our neighbors took such good care of her, but I was glad to be back to take care of them myself.
Great is His Faithfulness
The Lord has taught us so much in our stay here. I know that the main purpose was to make Joelle part of our family, but the Lord has done so much in our hearts. We will never be the same. I am not sure what all the Lord has in store for us, but I know He has just started to work. When Joelle's adoption is completed (which I am not sure when that will happen) we are excited about coming home and getting to be in our home church and being with dear friends. However the truth is we love living in Guatemala and feel a real burden for the needs here. So, please pray for us as we seek His will and His vision for our family.
Thank you each of you for your e-mails and calls. Speaking of calls, one of the things I brought back with me from the states is my IP phone so we now have a US phone number that reliably works here in Guatemala. Email us for the number. If we are not available simply leave a message and we will call you back.
We love each of you and are thankful for how God has used you in our lives.
At the foot of the Cross,
Josh, Betty, Abel, Abraham, Joelle, and Nathanael
Well, if you were wondering, we do still remember how to speak English :-) We are still here is Antigua, Guatemala. We really do love it here and are very thankful for the sweet people that God has put in our lives. They love our children and have been such a good example to us in so many areas. Since our last e-mail in April a lot has happened. We are very sorry for the slow communication, part of it is due to the fact that my hard drive crashed (which is no fun for a computer programmer). Anyway, here are the some of the things that have happened since our last update.
Normal Life
Despite the fact that we are a long way from home, our life here has fallen into a nice rhythm. Mondays are market days, Betty and I leave the children with a Christian sister that has been helping us, and we have our "Market Date". We have such a good time catching up and planning for the week, and "regatiando" (bartering) with the fruit and vegetable vendors. Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, during the kids naps, I am still taking classes at Christian Spanish Academy. I have been so thankful for the opportunity to learn Spanish and unlearn a lot of bad habits. My Spanish is getting better everyday, but as so often is the case, I am realizing how far I have to go to be really proficient.
The Lord has been faithful to provide work opportunities to meet our needs here. It is so amazing that the "big things" that we often worry about are often the easiest things for God to take care of.
We love being the parents of 4 children and are daily challenged with how to best raise them to be men and women of God. The convicting thing is that for our children to be sold out warriors of the cross, they need to see Mommy and Daddy living that life before them. We would appreciate your prayers in this regard.
Each of the children are growing up. (Way to fast). Joelle has gotten to be quite the chubby little cherub. Physically we see progress each day, her eye which used to wander a little bit has really strengthened and is tracking well with the other one. At the English speaking church that we attend on Thursday night, we met a girl who is a pediatric speech therapist. She is going to come tomorrow and give us things to work with her on to continue to develop her mouth and throat muscles. The Lord has been so faithful to provide loving people to help and encourage us. On the weekends we attend a Spanish speaking church in a little town north of us. The people there are such a blessing and we have been able to make some dear friends.
Trip Home and Back
Because our tickets were going to expire, Abel and I flew home to get our van. We flew in on Wednesday and then were on the road on Saturday. On the trip we had so much fun being together and seeing a few of you. It was especially good to see my siblings who I had not seen in about 4 months. Each of them had grown so much. Big families are such a blessing.
On the trip, a friend of ours, Curtis Alexander, also traveled down with us which was a blessing. It was a beautiful trip, and for those of you who like Mexican food, you would have been jealous of all the good food we were able to consume :-)
The trip was not without incident. We got to McAllen and fan motor for the A/C went out. We were able to get that fixed. Once we got to Tampico Mexico, the transmission began to act up and we ended up having to completely rebuild the transmission. The Lord is so faithful though to provide. Before we left, a brother in Christ contacted me and told me that the Lord had laid on his heart to give us an offering. We also had the opportunity to preach in two churches while we were in the states, both churches blessed us with an offering. The combination of these offerings provided for all of the extra expenses that we incurred on the trip. The Lord never fails.
Once the transmission was repaired, we continued south. There were some incredible views. We drove along the coast in Mexico and then across the mountains in southern Mexico and northern Guatemala, and arrived back in Antigua safe and sound at about 8:30 AM Saturday morning. It was a wonderful trip, and we have enjoyed having our van to make some short trips, and are anticipating going to visit Betty's family on the way home.
I have to say that the honeymoon still continues, I missed Betty so bad, I still have not stopped kissing her :-) I am so thankful for a wonderful family. Our neighbors took such good care of her, but I was glad to be back to take care of them myself.
Great is His Faithfulness
The Lord has taught us so much in our stay here. I know that the main purpose was to make Joelle part of our family, but the Lord has done so much in our hearts. We will never be the same. I am not sure what all the Lord has in store for us, but I know He has just started to work. When Joelle's adoption is completed (which I am not sure when that will happen) we are excited about coming home and getting to be in our home church and being with dear friends. However the truth is we love living in Guatemala and feel a real burden for the needs here. So, please pray for us as we seek His will and His vision for our family.
Thank you each of you for your e-mails and calls. Speaking of calls, one of the things I brought back with me from the states is my IP phone so we now have a US phone number that reliably works here in Guatemala. Email us for the number. If we are not available simply leave a message and we will call you back.
We love each of you and are thankful for how God has used you in our lives.
At the foot of the Cross,
Josh, Betty, Abel, Abraham, Joelle, and Nathanael
posted by Joshua Scott Family at 12:01 AM
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