Independence Parade

Pamela

Independence day is Thursday the 15th of September. The kids today had a parade that they participated in with their school in celebration of Independence Day. We had prepared for the last week making sure all of the last preparations were made for all 15 of the kids. The kids were all so excited today as they got ready for the day. By this afternoon after the parade ended they were all ready for lunch and a nap. As they were all worn out.

Here are a few of the picture of some of the kids. Be sure to check the blog later this week and I will upload more.

Brayan

Jose

Katy

Red Cross.....Reina, Jackson, and Sisi

Maryuri and Nohemy

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. - Prov. 22:6

"There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings."

Roots and wings - pretty good advice. A child given roots without wings will never soar as he was meant to, but a child given wings without roots will never know where to fly. Wings nourished by strong roots is what God has in mind. And, by the way, He is the source of both. - John

thanks for sharing this John!!!

Lupe

Any time Lupe sees that I have my camera out she is always wanting her picture taken and then wanting to see how it turned out. So here is one of many taken of Lupe.

Any and Yair

Yair and Any

Last week Any and Yairs mom called me to tell me she at the front gate and was here to get her kids. I told her to come around back to the other gate and I would talk to her. I didn't think much of it because all of the kids moms show up at the CASA gate at some time or another. I went out to the gate to talk to her and she had court orders stating that we were to give the kids back into her care. I was shocked!!!! I had to go over to Mirians house to tell her she needed to get their things ready because their mom was here to take them. Mirian the housemom who is taking care of them was in tears and besides herself. They had only been here for a few weeks but how quickly we had all grown to love and accept them into our casa family. So now we are back to 19 kiddos here at CASA. Mirian says she is not too sure she is ready for more kids. She said this time around she wants me to get kids that are totally abandoned so that this doesn't happen again.

Internet

Sorry for all of you who have been checking my blog and hoping to get updates. We have been without internet. Hopefully we will get that fixed soon.

So please be patient and know that I have not forgot about all of you waiting on casa news, it just hasn't been possible lately.

Any

Maryuri "trying" to hold Any (you noticed I put trying) :)

Any really seems to be picking up quickly on the routine here at CASA.

Continue to pray for her as she is adjusting.

Crazy!!!!!

This week has been a whirlwind of events. Been very eventful for a week at CASA. We usually have eventful things here and there but they don't usually happen back to back.

It started in the middle of the week when Bryan starting having pain Tuesday night and was unable to go to the bathroom. Although I wasn't around and out of embrassment he did not say anything to the other staff. Wednesday morning during devo Bryan didn't look very happy. I thought he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. After devo he pulled me side to tell me that he was in pain. Didn't think much of it. With having so many kids we don't jump at the first thing. We wait to see if they get better or if it is really something for us to worry about. After he got home from school that same day later in the afternoon he started crying and said he was having lots of pain. So we gave him some meds and told him to go lay down. He slept for a while and then when he woke up about 5 in the evening we has in worse pain. So I called Dorian in to look at Bryan and he we found out that he could not pee. Dorian told him to go take a shower and such and we would see how he felt but it looked like we were going to have to take him to the ER and he was going to have to get circumcised. About 7pm we were ready and out the door we went to the ER to see what we could do for Bryan. Sure enough we found out that he was going to have to be circumcised. The procedure would be quick but very painful for Bryan. We stayed the night in the hospital with Bryan and we were released the next morning to go home.

Just this weekend he is starting to act like himself again. He is still healing and dealing with the change his body is going thru. I am hoping by the end of this week he will be back to himself.

The next evening was a much shorter trip but spent the evening in the ER with Fernando. Had just gotten off shift and was hoping to come over to the apt and shower and get to bed early after spending the night before with Bryan in the hosptial. I had something I remembered to tell Dorian and he was inside with the kids doing homework. So I went back over to the kids side to find Dorian. Well Rosy quickly comes to find me to tell me there was a fight outside. I open up the door to see sweet little Daniela beating and pounding on Fernando. I was shocked to see the way she was just going away hitting him. I yelled very loudly and told them to both come here, NOW!!! As they started walking towards me I see the Fernando is bleeding and his white shirt has a good bit of blood on it. I told Daniela to go to her bed and I would talk to her later and I started cleaning up Fernando. He had got cut at the corner of his eye. Not too sure what he did to make Daniela mad but I am sure he had learned his lesson to not mess with her again.

I only had to take him to the hospital here in town and they quickly attended to us as they saw all of the blood on Fernando's shirt and it scared them. He got a few stitches and we were on our way back home. He seems to be doing well. Just having a hard time being still not so active as it is healing. His eye is swollen but I am sure he will be just fine. He is suppose to get his stitches out on Wed.

Please keep these two boys in your prayers as they heal.

Yoser Yair

Welcome Yair and Any to CASA!!!!!

Today Any´s brother Yair came home with us to CASA. Please continue to say prayers as it is a lot to take on new kids.

Also Yair has been sick off and on the last month. Please say a prayer that he stays healthly.

Yair is 18 months old. Still learning to walk. A bit unstable and only with help can he walk alone. With all of the kids here he doesn´t stand a chance to learn how to walk as they will all want to hold him.

Any Isabel

Many of you are anxiously waiting pictures of our new little addition to Casa. Any (Annie) is three and half years old. She looks about a year and a half. According to her birth cert she is one day older than Josue. We thought Josue was little for his age now we think he looks big for his age compared to Any. All of the kids have welcomed her with arms wide open. A few of them like Sisi and Rosy don't let the poor girl breath because they are wanting to hold her and take her everywhere. Although she is fitting right in but we have already learned she does have a temper. She will have to learn quickly throwing fits is not going to help get her way. Lots of prayers for wisdom and patience as we work with Any and she adapts here at CASA.

Rain Rain Rain

The water brought in lots of trash over the bridge.

Crazy what a whole lot of rain can do in a little bit of time. We got a down pour yesterday afternoon around 4pm for about an hour and it caused damage up on the upper part of the property by the church.

All of the water from the streets runs into the park right above our property. Well in the short time a lot of rain fell the park filled up with water. The water had to have been super strong because it broke through these concrete block wall dividing our property with the park.

All the water making a river behind the church. I would say about 5 inches of water was in half of the church with a good coat of mud and leaves.

Knocked over our pump and broke the water pipes.

Anie

Yesterday morning after getting the kids off to school Dorian and I made our way to IHNFA to get two new kids. We have been working on paper work for these kids for a little over a month. Well Tuesday I recieved a call and they told me the kids and paper were ready. So it told them the house mom that would be taking care of them was on break for two days and I could be there Thrus morning for the kids.

Upon arriving they told us the Dr. would like to talk to us first before taking the kids. What that really meant was that their paper work was not done by the Dr. yet. So we sat for hours waiting on the Dr. to fill out paper work and exam them. Well in the midist of the exam of little Jaier they said he need some nebulizer treatments and in an hour they would beable to tell us if he could go home with us. So in the meantime we took Anie and went and bought diapers, wipes, and went to the pharmacy to buy some of their medicines. Time pasted by quickly and we made our way back to IHNFA and they told us that they were still working with Jaier and we would need to wait and he probably could go home with us later in the afternoon.

Well time was going by very fast and back home we did not have anyone to get the kids from school when they got out at 12:40. So I told the Dr. we could not wait any longer. I quickly asked for the rest of Anie's paper work to find out they did not have it ready. So next week I have to go back to pick it out. We left there close to noon and we were passing the school just in time as the kids were getting out of school to pick them up. So we are suppose to call sometime next week to see if Yaier is better and if they will release.

So as of yesterday we went from 19 to 20! We now have a little girl names Anie Isabel that will CASA her home. Please pray for staff, our kids and little Anie as we all adjust

On a little side note, I realize how blessed we truly are here. Some days I feel short staffed or overwhelmed. Although we found out when we were in IHNFA that there was one person taking care of 18 little kids 3 years and younger all by herself. Can't even imagine!!!!!!! So the Dr. was happy that one of them got to go home with us yesterday to help lift their load.

July Update 2011

July 2011

During the month of July we continued to see many groups visiting here at Casa. The children really enjoyed getting to see many familiar faces and also meet new ones. Several of the groups took the children on outings. They had an afternoon at the river, movie day at the mall, and supper at KFC as guests of the groups. We want to thank each and every one of you that let one of these little ones into your heart. Thanks for loving on them and caring for them in such a loving manner. Many of the group members have committed to help support the children and pray for them. We are also thankful for those of you who helped to meet some of our needs by sending short, bikes, deodorant, etc. It is such a huge blessing to have so many of you care for us here at Casa.

In Mid July I hit the 4 month mark of my pregnancy. I am still feeling great and God has really blessed me thus far with an uneventful pregnancy. It still feels kind of unreal that we are finally expecting, but it won't be long until I will feel the baby kick and my belly will really begin growing. The children are all really excited about the whole process and each day brings new questions. A few of them have witnessed Dorian kissing my belly and tell the baby good morning. A few of them have picked that up and they too are talking to the baby daily.

The children received their report cards for the second grading period and most of them had some grades go down. Not sure if the work is just getting harder or that they are just losing interest.
We are hoping that this 3rd grading period they will be able to bring their grades up. The good news is that they continue to have classes 5 days a week. That is a lot more than they have gone the past two years. The teachers are telling us to prepare for the month of September and times of no classes. They say they are expecting there to be strikes and such. The goverment is wanting to change the way the education system works here and many are expected to protest. Please join us in praying that they can get this settled before it comes to the teachers on strike.

Dorian was super busy this month working with groups. He was their chauffeur, translator, and helped on the work sites. He has really enjoyed getting to work with the groups. This has given him opportunity to practice his english.

Please continue to remember us here at Casa in your prayers and support.

Blessings~

Dorian and Karen Guido

New Kiddos

Anie

We are in the process of getting new kids. We have known for over a month now that we are getting two little kids named Anie 3 yrs old and her brother Yair 18 months old. Yair came to children´s services (IHNFA) very weak and sick. Well about a month ago he was in the hospital so that slowed down the process of us getting the kids. Now that he is out of the hospital it is just now getting the paper word done for us to go get them. It will be any day now. Please pray for these two precious children , for Mirian (the house mom for these children), and all of the other kids. It is always a big adjustment for all of us when a new kids come.

Will be sure to keep you all updated and will let you know as soon as we get the two new kids.

Josue

I can't believe how big Josue is getting. This month Josue is 3 1/2 years old. There are parts of him that loves that he is growing up but if you mention to him someone else is the baby that usually doesn't go over very well. He wants to be the baby of the house. Since he has been the baby here at CASA for so long he has got a little bit of extra love and spoiling from most of the staff.

Adonis and Lupe

The end of July marks 4 months that Adonis and Guadalupe have been here at Casa. They are both doing wonderful adapting. Although Adonis really is fighting a lot of bad habits he has and is really working to change. Some days are better than others. Let´s just hope with time, love and prayer he can continue to change.

Visitation

Yesterday was visitation day! The kids were excited all week, counting down the days til Friday got here. Josue would ask me every day is today visitation and I had to remind him how many more days every day til visitation. He hears all the hype from the rest of the kids so he also gets excited about getting to go to visitation.

Josue and Nohemy's mother is expecting and she told us she was due in August. So we tired to prepare Josue and Nohemy before hand that their mom might not be at visitation because she might be in the hospital with the new baby. Sure enough she did not show up to visitation. The kids seemed to be fine. Josue kept saying she is in the hospital with the baby. Whether she really was we do not know but at least they were prepared for their mom maybe not being at visitation and they did much better with the whole situation. Usually if one of the kids moms do not show up the child is sad and upset and often becomes angry. Although Josue and Nohemy really stayed calm and dealt with the whole situation pretty well.

New bikes

Thank you to Gayle Davidson's group from FL for bringing the kids some new bikes!!! They absolutely love them!!!!!

Maryuri has tired and tired to ride a bike with now luck. Well finally she is up and on the bike and peddling by herself. Thanks to the new bike and training wheels that were sent!
And she is so proud of herself!!!!

New Shorts

Rosy

Jackson

Sisi

Reina

Bryan and Antonio

All of our kids seems to be growing which means their clothes no longer fit. Lots of them are wearing shorts that are too short or too tight. There are quite a few of the kids who are getting ready to enter into their teenage years. So they are also hitting their growth spurts. I am sure there are a lot more growth spurts to come. Thank you Sue Tindall for getting these shorts made and bought for the kids. They are very thankful. Who would ever thought the kids would be so happy to be getting new shorts but they are thrilled!!!!

EVERYTHING

Do Everything
by Steven Curtis Chapman


I wrote the song “Do Everything” really to remind myself and also to
encourage others that everything matters; everything we do can be done
as an act of worship. 1 Corinthians 10 says, “Whatever you do, do it for
the glory of God.” There’s this tendency it seems to think of life with this
line drawn down the middle where there’s the spiritual stuff on one side
and then just the stuff of life on the other. But I really think God wants us to
remember, and I’m trying to learn, that whatever we do, it all matters. Some
might say, 'well, my job or role isn't important enough to make any real
difference," but I disagree.

1 Pet 4:10 & 11 addresses this, "God has given gifts to each of you from his
great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can
flow through you. 11 Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God
himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all
the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything
through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever. Amen."


Whether it’s walking the dog, washing the dishes, taking out the trash, driving car pool,
trading global stocks, leading a massive company, all of these as well as the really big
spiritual moments, all of these can be done as an act of worship and everything can be done
to bring glory to the God who made us for that very purpose.


--Steven Curtis Chapman

Exams

The kids are half way through the school year. The week before last they took their second semester exams. We are always happy to see exam week go by because during exam week it is always stressful trying to study with everyone. So last week was the first week of the third semester. Most of the kids have pretty good grades and did well on their exams. A few of them are struggling. Hopefully this second part of the school year the ones that are struggling will be able to improve their grades.

June 2011 Update

June 2011

In June 2006 we took our first kids at Casa de Esperanza. This month marks 5 years that Casa de Esperanza has been helping, loving, and ministering to children. What a joy and journey it has been. We continue to learn along the way. In the past five years we have learned a lot about taking care of these kids and just the general rules of a children's home in Honduras. Just like anything there are days we laugh, rejoice, cry, get frustrated, and just want to throw our hands up but, I am thankful for this ministry that God has placed me in to minister to these children.

I continue to feel great with this pregnancy!!!! I am out of the first trimester. Mid June I hit three months. Crazy how fast the time is already gone by. I still feel beyond blessed that this miracle has been placed inside me. This whole process is just so amazing. The way God has created my body to carry this child and the way this child is being formed inside me.................I am in Awe and Amazed at this miracle that is inside of me.

Dorian continues to stay very busy working with some of the groups. He leaves in the morning and it is usually night before I see him again. He is tired and they are long days but I really think he is enjoying the work he is doing. Only about 4 to 5 more weeks of teams. Then things start to calm down.

Speaking of groups......they really seem to be in full swing here at Casa de Esperanza. Several groups a week stop by for the afternoon to see the children's home, play and love on the kids and shop in our Casa store. The store really is such a huge income during the summer months. The kids even have some of their stuff they have made in the store. The kids are beaming when they find out someone has bought their stuff. On top of that the kids get a little bit of the profit for themselves.

We continue to covet your prayers for the kids and our ministry here in Honduras.

Blessings~
Dorian and Karen Guido

KFC

Supper at KFC

Here are some more of the kids enjoying eating supper with Ashley and Mike.

The kids got to enjoy an outing to KFC for supper Friday evening. Ashley Lauer's group had invited the kids into town to eat supper with them. The kids were all happy to see Ashley. For those of you who do not remember she use to work here at Casa. There were also many other familiar faces the kids have come to love and were so happy to get to spend some time with also.

Birth Certificates

I have been working hard the past 4 years to get birth certificates for the Carrasco's (Doris, Reina, Fernando, and Katy)going on 5 years. We have not made much head way, only a big headache. We are only told time and time again that that papers are being done, but in reality they just give us a new constancia stating that it is in the works when really nothing is being done. Frustrating!!! It is something that I have to stay on top of or they do not work on them. These birth certificates are very important. For them to be accepted in this culture an get a job, to get an ID and graduate from 6th grade and high school they have to have this document. No exceptions!!!
About two years ago I took all of them to medicine forensic to get exams done on them as to what sort of age they really are. Well somewhere along the line the papers got lost. They only have a hard copy at the office and they can not give us a copy. So all of that was a waste. The children's services lawyer (IHNFA) has been working along side us to get their papers but no luck.
Also we have Nohemy that does not have her birth certificate. So this past week I had to take her into IHNFA to get an dental exam for her age. It was very quick and the papers were typed up by the dentist and given to the lawyer. I asked the lawyer if I could just bring the Carrasco's also to IHNFA to get a new exam done. She said to bring them in the next day. It is much easier to just get the exams done at IHNFA although a few years ago they did not have the dentist and this was not an option. Although bringing them in the next day was not going to be an option. Short staffed and too many other things going on. So I came back home with Nohemy and called the school and told them I needed to pick up the Carrasco's from school and to have them ready. So I turned right back around after dropping Nohemy off at the house and went to pick up the other kids from school and took them into IHNFA to get their dental exams done.
Just crossing my fingers by the end of the year we have these birth certificates in our hands! When we do finally have them I think I will be throwing a party!!!!!!!!!!!

Wind Energy

For almost two years now there is a company here who has been putting in a wind energy farm here in Santa Ana. Just in the last two or three months this town has gotten quite busy for such a small town. Lots of roads have been improved so big dump trucks can enter to haul dirt. Although on the other hand they have torn up quite a bit of the main roads by making pot holes. There is always lots of commotion here on the small road with all of the tractor trailers hauling in the new parts, the dump trucks hauling in and out dirt and people flagging the cars to slow down or stop. Lots and lots of people are with good jobs who were without jobs before. This company has provided jobs for many here in Santa Ana.
Just in the last week or so the windmills have started to go up. The kids are all in awe. As we drive down the road there are lots of ewhhhs, awhhs, and pointing. Near the kids school you can see quite a few of them. So this is a daily occurrence of them counting to see how many more are up.
This project is suppose to be done in December. So far there are three or four up near the kids school and several more you can see they are preparing to put up. So I am sure now til when they finish the kids will continue to be in awe everyday and keep track of how many more new ones are up each week.
The project I hope will benefit many here in Santa Ana. This is the largest wind energy farm in Central America.

Jose's Finger

Jose thought he had found himself a new ring today. Little did he know how much this ring was about to cost him.
Marc called me over while the kids were playing outside today and he said look at what Jose had done. I thought well a little vaseline or soap and water we could get it off. Well we twisted and pulled and several of us tried to get it off but no luck. Marc decided he was going to get something to try to cut it off and some WD40. Still no luck. At this point a good half an hour has went by and we were having no luck at getting this ring off of his finger. Marc decided he was going to take him to the local hospital and see if they had something they could cut it off with. I told Marc I would go along too.
We got to the hospital to find out they did not have any special tools to get this off of his finger. We were there over an hour and the Dr and nurse were pulling, sawing, prying and trying to get this thing off of his finger. The Dr. came out at one point and said they were making head way slowly but it was going to work because Jose was not going to cooperate with them. So the Dr. told us we needed to take him to town and see if we could get help. I quickly said well if you are making head way keep doing the same thing and I will talk to Jose. I went in there was the Dr. was working got Jose calmed down maybe for 5 minutes. Jose and the Dr. both were getting very impatient. Jose was not doing so well waiting and the Dr. was not doing so well with Jose screaming and yelling. Marc then came back to help with Jose and we all helped hold Jose down and try to calm him as Marc, the nurse and the Dr. took turns trying to saw and pry this ring off of his finger.
They finally got it cut a little bit to where they could pull back the metal and there was a small opening in the ring. So after working a good hour or maybe more the Dr. put cream on his finger and pull with little pliers. Jose was screaming as if someone was killing him. Although the Dr. continued to pull and the ring slowly slid off of his finger. Jose some how managed to get out of the whole thing with out his fingered getting cut or or bleeding.
Never a dull moment here at Casa. Hopefully this is a lesson he will remember!!!

Pamela

Happy Birthday Pamela!!!!

Monday Pamela turned 14!! Yes I said 14, I can't believe she is already 14. Time flies!! Although I am so proud of the young lady she has become and continues to become.

BLAH!!!!

Today was just one of those days. Not too sure the kids were any worse than any other day. I just think I was having an off day. Why, no clue!?! I just feel blah today and like I want to run away to a cave. Some kids did press some limits today. And it did not seem that I had too much patience's either today. Tomorrow with it being my day off hopefully I can get a good days rest and be able to start new on Sunday.
On another note.......stitches
This morning was just Terri and I. She was outside on kid duty while I had several of them inside working on homework. Around 10:30 one of the kids comes running and telling me that Adonis has gotten hurt and that his bone is sticking out. I am thinking it is bad at this point and that he has broken his leg and part of his bone is sticking out. So I hurry outside to find Terri attending to Adonis but all of the kids are also surrounding them also. Terri says she thinks it is going to need stitches. I quickly run up to the clinic to see if the nurse or Dr. can help us. Luckily there was no broken bones or much blood. He has just cut his leg open. The Dr. put in 7 stitches. He calmed down for the stitches but before the stitches he was yelling he was going to die and that his bone was sticking out etc.....!!!! A little dramatic! Although Terri was good at getting him calmed down and to take deep breathes. He was quickly back up and running around after he got his stitches. Now hopefully he lets his leg heal without picking at it or trying to take the stitches out himself.

Talent Show

On Friday a team was even here to see the kids talent show.

Nohemy and Sisi singing "Father God"

Daniela forgot what she was suppose to say and Dalys had to remind her.

All of the kids sitting watching the others show their talent!

All of the kids did paintings and drawings through out the week. The adults were the judges and we had to judge each picture to see who the winner would be.
Nadia and Miran are judging the pictures.

The girls making their final round after they did their modeling.

The kids were out of class all last week for student week. Not as if they do not get enough days out of school but last week was "semana de la estudiante". The kids worked all week with our Psychologist, Dalys to put on a talent show at the end of the week. Thursday afternoon some of the kids told jokes, riddles, and poems. All of the adults judged each act. Then on Friday was singing and dancing. The kids were judged once again. After everything was said and done on Friday the winners were announced from Thursday and Friday.
I could really see some of the kids shine this week in their talents. I think over all it helped most of the kids with their self esteem.

May Update 2011

May 2011

The first two weeks in May Dorian and I enjoyed the end of our visit to the states. We enjoyed our time with family and friends. It is always bittersweet to say good bye but is was good to get back home and into our routine here. The staff and children were all very happy to see us. School is getting a little more consistent these days and are having classes 4-5 days weekly finally.
Rainy season has begun and this is the first rain since last October. Enjoying the rain for the time being, with it raining a couple times weekly. Our water situation is much better since we had a new well drilled. It is nice to not run out of water when you have so many children.
Dorian and I are expecting our first child the end of this year. We are beyond ecstatic!. I am currently about 3 months pregnant. Many of you know that we have been trying for around two years to have a baby. Now that we are, it feels kinda surreal. These last two years have felt like an eternity to us. We have both wanted to cry, scream and be angry at times. There have been a lot of questions and what if's and wondering why. We both knew that God has His hand in this but it was hard to understand at times. I kept telling Dorian that we will have this baby "by faith", but to be honest, there were times that I thought I had lost my faith. Thanks to each of you who were faithful with your prayers for us.
Dorian has taken a break from his schooling right now and is working with the groups that are coming on mission trips.
We are truly blessed by each and every one of you. Thank you so much for supporting, encouraging and praying for us.

Blessings~
Dorian & Karen Guido

Doris and Reina

Those of you who have been here to Casa to visit before probably remember Doris and Reina. They are sisters. They both had made so much process since being here at Casa. They both have learning problems. Reina really has come a long way and can add, subtract, write her name, and some days read and spell. A lot of it just depends on the day. Although we got her at a young enough age that we were able to start with her when she was about 4 years old. Doris we were not so fortunate with and we did not get her til she was about 10 years old. She has made leaps and bounds also. Although not too sure she will ever be able to write her name or read. She used to not even be able to speak and now she says words here and there. Hardly speaks in sentences but really has made progress.
They both go to Teleton once a month to help with their learning disabilities. They also both attend school. Not too sure how much longer we will be able to keep them in the school. Do not think Reina will be able to make it past second grade level. Doris only goes to school to be able to interact with others her age. She will be 14 this year. So not too sure how much longer we can be sending her to school.

Girls dance

Most of the girls have been working all week on a song/dance with Dalys our physiologist. The kids did a mini talent show this week. Here is a small part of the video of the girls dancing and singing.

fernandos video

Josue

Josue continues to have problems with his intestines and stomach. He is really a trooper. Although he having a hard time understanding why he can't eat certain foods. When breakfast, lunch, or dinner is served and he sees he is getting something different he gets very upset. He sometimes just sits there with his arms crossed not touching his food. He eventually eats but he is not understanding very well why he can't have the foods the other kids eat. He finally ate rice for the first time in two weeks and he was over joyed! He was so happy!!! Who would have thought. Today there was a group here and they gave him a sucker and we had to take it away. Then tonight was a cookout with hotdogs and he couldn't eat those either.
Although he does understand he has his special drinks which usually cheers him up. He has the gatorade (blue gatorade is what he loves), sprite and juice boxes and every time he gets down or crying the others have something special and he can't he gets a special drink! Which usually makes him smile.
Hoping he is soon back to himself!

Refuge

This was passed onto to me and wanted to pass it on to others to share..........

"O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by." - Ps. 57:1


I found these Tiger Moths in a field behind our property. As I set up my tripod to take this image, I noticed the larger moth gently enfold the smaller one in its wings. Whatever danger this strange intruder presented to the moths, the one moth was going to protect the other. And the closer I got, the more the smaller moth sought shelter under the wings of its mate. Isn't it strange that whenever life threatens to destroy us, we try to fight back on our own? Wouldn't it make more sense to take refuge under more powerful wings? - John

Tae Kwon Do Update

Fernando against the boy the he fought against.

Fernando

Fernando ready to fight!

Fernando getting his medal

Today was the Tae Kwon Do Tournament. The boys were excited first thing this morning for their fights today. Fernando was sure to show me how to tie his belt and began to explain how many points every hit was and even showed me a few moves.
Fernando won his first fight and so he moved onto the second fight and got second place. He lost my one point because he used his elbow. He did a really good job. The boy he had to fight against had a yellow belt. Fernando only has a few months of practice and has a white belt. So we are proud of him and he did a really good job.
There was no one in the age group for Bryan and Antonio so they fought against one another. Bryan won first place against Antonio with a kick to the face scoring him three points. And Antonio got second place.
The boys are ready for their next tournament already!!!

Tae Kwon Do Tournament!!!

Tomorrow Fernando, Bryan, and Antonio have their first Tae Kwon Do Tournment. They will be competing against other schools. They have bought their first belts for the competition. The teacher says Fernando is excellent at what he does. I hope to get away tomorrow to go to the tournament to take some pictures of them competing.
Jackson and Jose due to discipline problems and not wanting to listen to the teacher are no longer in the Tae Kwon Do classes. Maybe with time as they mature they can give it a second try.