Our Vacation - Part 2 - Panajachel

We arrived at the Posada de los Volcanes , unloaded our bags, and asked the front desk for a recommendation on a good restaurant. He told us to try this restaurant 4 blocks up the street. It has good meat. We found it, sat down, and ordered. Now, this restaurant is open to the street. There is no wall or door. It's like a stage...and we're the main attraction. As soon as we sat down, the street vendors, especially children, swarm around our table.

"You like?"

"How much you pay?"

"How about this?"

"I make you good price."

We bought some little trinkets and the kids ran off. But we noticed a lady that seemed to be waiting for us just outside the restaurant.....



After we ate and were satisfied (The food was very good.), we stepped out into the street. Sure enough, she WAS waiting for us. If you've ever been to Panajachel, I'm sure you met her too. She stood about 4 foot tall, slender, looked to be about 30-35. Her name was M___. Now M___ is the MOST AGGRESSIVE salesperson I have EVER met. In Antigua, if you say, "No, gracious." three times, the street vendors will move on to someone else. Not M___. Oh, no. She hung on to us like a young dog playing tug-of-war with an old sock. It took us forever to walk the 4 blocks back to the hotel. We found out that M___ has five children, the youngest was a newborn. He was being carried on the back of A___, the 11 year old. Now we had already bought something from both M___ and A___, but A___ is still trying to make another sale while my husband is in the bank. Finally, I get down on his level, look directly at him and sternly, but gently say, "No mas", "No more". "Dios bendiga","God bless".

He turns to me, and practically spitting the words at me, says, "Dios bendiga? Dios bendiga! You go to @#$%. You blankety-blank American. &#%&^$ you! You son of a #$%#!"

I look at my brother and he looks at me. Did he just cuss me out in English? Yes, he did. The worst stuff Hollywood can dish out. He called me those things!

I just said, "No, no" in a gentle, hurt way.

So, he stormed off and we went back to the hotel.

.....But I couldn't sleep that night. Besides the roosters crowing and the fireworks blasting, I was thinking about a little boy who cussed me out.


What was I thinking?......


Bless those who curse you.

If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?


And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."


'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

While I was concerned with how I could share Jesus with these people , I realized that I was staring at Him in the face. He was hungry. He was tired. And I had given Him a "Go, and I wish you well."


But God gave me a second chance....

Our Vacation - Part 1 - Panajachel

My head is filled with so much that happened in Guatemala. I'll try to begin at the beginning and take it a chunk at a time.

On the two days prior to the trip, we had freezing rain and temperatures right around 31 degrees. When we went to bed, the temp was 31. I put out a prayer request. Did I mention I was near panic by this time....Last time we went for a visit, we had freezing rain. We sat on the plane at the gate for 3 hours. We missed our connecting flight. We lost one day of a long weekend with our daughter, Cupcake. So we tossed and turned and pleaded with God to either stop the rain or bring up the temperature. When we woke up at 2:00 (am), the temperature was 34!!!! Praise God, things were looking up!

We had a smooth flight, with no problems. We arrived in balmy Guatemala City on time. Our driver was waiting for us at the airport. We loaded up and headed for Panajachel (Lake Atitlan). We had had breakfast in Atlanta at about 8:00 that morning. It was now about 2:30. I kept thinking of asking the driver to pull into a Burger King or Pollo Campero, but I thought, "Oh we'll be fine. We'll eat as soon as we get in. It's 2.5 hours. We can do this." Big mistake....

Now I've read that Guatemala is mountainous. I've been there twice before, but we always stayed in Guatemala City and Antigua. The roads are windy and you go up and down, but the mountains are more... what you call... "scenic". Well, we drove for quite a while on these windy, scenic mountain roads. Then we hit the mountains. Oh my word! The only thing I can compare it to is the road up Pike's Peak. You know...sheer cliff up on one side of the car, sheer cliff down on the other side. Except there are trees to block your fall on the down side. And you're not going up and up and up. You're going up and up and down and down, and up and down and there are switchbacks every 40 feet. Oh yeah, and the chicken buses coming at you at 50 mph - and they yield to no one. And people are passing you on blind curves. And you are passing chicken buses on what appear to be blind curves. And there are people walking and riding bikes on these roads.


I will say this...the roads were very well paved and I never felt in danger. Our driver was excellent. More on him later.

Anyway, 2.5 hours into this, I tell the kids we should be there any time now. The driver looks back and says, "It's about 1 more hour. The normal road is closed. We took the other road. Sorry." We're all pretty green. The kids are near meltdown. I'm wilting fast. I'm eyeing the window to see if I can open it, stick my head out, and hurl. But we endure. We suck it up. Just when we think we can't go on another minute...

This comes into view...




All I can say is "WOW!" The hunger and nausea are forgotten in the breathtaking grandeur of this scene. We drive on for another half hour. Then we stop at a scenic lookout.




This may be the most beautiful place on earth! God's magnificent glory is displayed here for all to see. It's the same kind of awesome as the Grand Canyon, except it's incredibly beautiful. The shades of blue are indescribable. The volcanoes are majestic. It's breathtaking! Absolutely stunning! WOW!

We jump back in the van. Another 45 minutes, and we finally arrive in Panajachel, hungry, tired, and awestruck.

Blessings to you,
Mamita J

Reliving the Past

A few Christmases ago, our 8mm camcorder broke. We've been using new video technology since then. So the old tapes have been gathering dust...long forgotten memories stuck in a drawer. Until this week. We had borrowed my mom's 8mm camcorder, so we could transfer the videos to DVD before it was too late. It was too late... Her machine was broken too.

Okay, PLAN B. S found an 8mm video player at work and was allowed to borrow it. We have been watching old memories these last few days. TE, who never talks, was a motormouth. He kissed his sister and was very protective of her. Now she is just a pain in the neck to him. Sunshine was the most adorable toddler! He spent hours holding his baby sister. And at the age of 3, was already looking through the Lego catalog and asking for the (Star Wars) Sith Infiltrator. We have been rolling on the floor, busting a gut. Then, little Sugar, as a baby WOULD NOT COOPERATE with the video camera. Every sequence would start with my voice, saying, "Now Sugar is going to smile for you, she's been smiling all day." Deadpan. "Gitchie, gitchie, goo! Come on Sugar, smile for the camera..." Nothing. Next video..."Sugar learned to laugh today. Daddy's got her giggling." Nothing. Dead serious. Next video. "Sugar is rolling over. C'mon Sugar, show us what you can do." She looks at the camera like she has no idea what I'm talking about. Every single milestone is recorded in history by my voice explaining that she really did do that on so-and-so day. What a hoot!

I am so thankful that we have these memories recorded. I had forgotten so much of the fun we've had these last 15 years, since we had kids. If I can ever figure out how to put them on here, I will share some of my favorite moments. For now, I just have a warm fuzzy heart.

Bless you all tonight.
Mamita J

Happy New Year!?!?

There is so much hope with a new year coming. Maybe things will be different this year. I might lose that 20 pounds. Perhaps I'll become organized. Maybe the kids will do chores with a smile. This will be the year my kitchen counter stays clean. Okay, now I've crossed the line between reality and fantasy....

But what I really hope is that this is the year Cupcake comes home. I hope this is the year all of my friends on the long road home bring their kids home. And for those friends who've suffered incredible loss this year, I pray 2008 is the year that brings healing, peace and a new hope for their lives.

As we shouted "Happy New Year!" and blew horns, I was filled with hope, and yet overwhelmed with sadness for the orphaned children of Guatemala. On December 31, 2007, new adoptions of the children were halted. Most likely, they will never open up again. Orphanages will lose their funding, most are supported almost exclusively from private adoptions. Government social services are non existent. Kids will die. The reality of what has happened is too awful to think about. All because the folks at UNICEF talk loudly and have big money. In their zeal to end corruption, they ended adoptions. They literally threw out the baby with the bathwater. For more on UNICEF, click here.

We all want to see corrupt people meet justice. We want our adoptions to be legitimate. But we want adoptions to continue. We want birthmothers to have a choice. If they want their children to have a better life in America, they should have that option. These children deserve to have the opportunity to grow up in a family, instead of an institution. Or worse, to not grow up at all. This is so wrong, on so many levels. The need is so great, and I am so small.

But...

My God is so big. He knows each of these children by name. He knows their needs. He will not stop loving them. I don't know how, but He will make it all right. In the end, His justice will prevail. There is reason to hope, after all, even in this.

Blessings to you,
Mamita J

Who is Mamita?

That's me - J.

But, you say, no one ever calls you Mamita. What's that all about?

Well, on our last visit trip to see Cupcake, she called me that. She speaks Spanish and we speak English, so communication is sketchy at best. In Spanish, if you add "ita" to a name, it's a term of endearment. If we said, "Cupcakita", it would mean, "My dear little Cupcake." She called me "Mamita"..."My dear (not so) little Mama." !!!!



I grabbed a hold of that name and wouldn't let go. We don't know how much she understands about our adoption, but I'll take any little hope that she has a vague understanding of who we are.

Blessings to you,
Mamita J

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello friends! I have decided to start a blog for my own therapy.

Allow me to introduce myself...I am J. I've been married to S for 20 years. We have 3 kids at home, and one waiting for us in Guatemala.

Our oldest son, TE (Technical Expert) is 15. He will be helping me with all things bloggity. As you can see, he hates the paparazzi!


Next comes Sunshine. He's 12. We call him Sunshine because his smile always brightens our day. and he makes us laugh - a lot. For instance...


Then comes Sugar. She's 9...and sweet...at least most of the time.


And finally, little Cupcake is 4. She has been waiting a L-O-N-G time for a forever family. Hang on, Baby, we're coming in a few months (hopefully)!



Blessings to you,
Mamita J