HOME AGAIN!

Where does one begin when it comes to thinking about all the changes that have taken place in the last 24 hours or so? What a whirlwind of activity, miles, conversations, reflections, places, and memories!!

On Saturday morning we got up for a 7:00 a.m. breakfast. We also cleaned up, threw away the trash, swept the floor, removing the garbage bags of the used toilet paper we couldn't flush down the toilet, and packed all our stuff away. It was awesome to have ALL the suitcases out in the lobby one hour well in advance! That gave us time to unhurriedly say hello again to some of the children, to play in the courtyard, only to have to say goodbye again. But that was ok. Caballo, Caballo ("ka-bai-yo") is the cry of these children when they want "horse" rides! And Caballo rides they got - from a lineup of marching boys! Pretty soon there were giggles, laughter, and tears, as the bus pulled up, requiring us to pack up the bus, get everything on board before we finally said "good bye" and headed to the airport.

At the airport, we checked in our luggage, paid the departure tax ($3/person), and did some final shopping before going through security and then eating. Pizza Hut and McDonalds were popular places providing some welcomed relief to fried bananas, refried beans and other Latino fare, though we were pretty well fed. The new triple bacon burger at McDs brought much pleasure to the mouths of a few students! More power to them! :-)

We boarded, and 3 hours later we were in Atlanta, where we had a 4 hour layover. Being an international flight, we had to retrieve our luggage and then recheck it all after going through customs. At 9:30 p.m. Atlanta time we boarded our plane for a 10:00 departure, arriving at Midway at about 11:00 p.m. When our luggage finally was unloaded, Jon (and Phyllis) Huisman and Mike (and Sharon) Kalma were ready to load us all up and take us home. Thanks again to you both for driving out there to get us at such obscene hours!

We arrived at Covenant just after 1:00 a.m. and unloaded the trailer. Parents were there, hugs and squeals of "Welcome Home", loving embraces...welcome sights after a week away! Being weary from the week and especially the day's journey brought tears to some with the realization that this awesome week of Service was truly over. But what a good week it was.

A few random thoughts now that I (Pastor Rick) am home again:

First, things seem different. I chugged a bit of milk, relishing in the taste, yet thinking: i survived without it ok for the week. Since I have been home, I found myself having used my cell phone to alert our drivers we were back, but also then to check texts and email a few times. But that too I survived without for a week.

When I used the bathroom, I flushed toilet paper down the toilet - what a guilty pleasure, but a reminder of the blessings that we simply take for granted, such as good plumbing and clean running water that won't make us sick when we drink it. My eyes lingered a little long on the nice bathroom tiles and the sliding glass shower door, reminding me of the poverty in which the orphans and the missionaries live at Casa Bernabe, but also making me wonder how long it will take before my eyes don't linger much any more and I overlook the blessings as new and fresh any more.

Not long, I suspect. I just enjoyed a wonderful Easter meal with my family. Good food is once again readily available...in abundance. And we ate it together. One thing we talked about after church was how one of the little girls look at my daughter and my wife and caught on that they were together. Then she asked if I was her dad. Si, we replied. A mother AND a father. Together. What a blessing, one for which these little children could only hope and pray. Currently, Guatemala does not allow adoptions to outside countries, but that might be changed depending on an upcoming election. Pray with thanksgiving that Casa Bernabe gives they love and a safe and secure place in which to live and grow. But also pray that God might find families that will love and accept them.

So, we came, we served, we returned. Back to our lives and comfortable ways. But I think changed, in some ways that might be hard to express or verbalize. But hopefully the lessons of service week will have a long lasting impact on our lives in many ways, perhaps the most important being that we can serve the Lord and serve others at any time and in any place...we don't even have to go to Guatemala to do it. Yet this experience with the orphanage and the little children touched our hearts so much that our hearts could be changed and the lessons be more powerful in our lives: to live with gratitude, in dependence on God, to live in love and to go the distance: having a servant's heart for the rest of our lives.

In closing, we'll share a few more pictures. But we also want to share our Gratitude of you TO YOU: Parents, supporters, THANK YOU!!!! To our chaperones, to Mark and Karen Johnson for ably leading us, to the students for doing such wonderful work and serving from their hearts, to all those who have supported Covenant's Service Week and making a trip to Guatemala even possible: we could not have done this without your generosity and your belief that Service Week is a vital component of a well-rounded Christian education. THANK YOU for giving to the Lord....lives were changed because of you.

our group picture by the stairs





McKenzie - a beautiful woman of God and houseparent to the toddlers.


Uh oh, the bus is here....mixed feelings!
waiting to leave






McKenzie introducing and explaining each child's situation from the Toddler House

Unloading at the Airport

Waiting in line
Chicagoland from the air

Video of the marching Caballos (horses)

Little children on a broken trampoline!

LAST DAY

Hello all - So hard to believe that this was our last full day here at Casa Bernabe. It was our last chance to do the things we wanted to do and needed to finish. The projects we wanted to complete were the drywalling of the new addition onto one of the casas, to complete one erosion barrier and patch up another old one, and to finish filling with dirt the new garden terraces that our every energetic Tony (all around maintenance visionary of Casa Bernabe) had created. And these things we DID accomplish. Sometimes the work didn't seem all that enjoyable, but the students were able to stick with it and accomplish much.

And of course, those who wanted had invested a good chunk of their time with the children tried to squeeze in as much time as they could. A group of students, along with a chaperone here and there, takes shifts either in the infant house or the toddler house. In the morning, they help get the kids up and dressed, or cleaned and bathed if necessary. In the afternoon, it's helping with lunch, spending time and playing with them. During the early evening, it's helping with supper, and then bath-time. This evening, one young girl, Rosa, turned 6 years old. She was so proud that it was her cumpleanos/birthday - she told everyone. She was led out for a walk while the rest of us put up decorations. When she returned, everyone, all the toddlers included, shouted: SUPRESA! Domino's pizza, watching the incredibles, and playing incessant "CABALLO" (horse) kept the party going for a while, especially when they got hold of all the balloons we blew up for them to play with.

In addition, bathtime in the toddler house was a blast! Austin, Luke, and Pastor Rick helped bathe all the boys. Imagine 10 little boys, all naked, standing in the flat-bottomed bath tub. One or two keeps pushing some of the others around and playing horse with each other (climbing on the other's back while the other is on all fours). Another keeps messing around with the temperature by constantly readjusting the knobs. A few want their water "mas caliente" - more warm/hot, but others want the water cold, and then stand under the stream, with arms up saying: "fuerte" - "strong!, as a sign they can endure the colder water. Finally, once they're all watered down, it's shampoo, and then body wash on a loofa sponge (pouffey thing - didn't know what to call it), and soaping them all down all at once. Unfortunately that makes them all the more slippery and they slide all over the place and each other as well. So we quickly try to rinse them off, keep the shampoo and soap out of their eyes, and then one by one, grab them in a towel, dry them off, and get them in their room while we help them put on their underwear and pajamas. It is an adventuresome exercise in patience and excitement, during which we can't help but laugh at the fun because everything they do is a big game! Some of our girls did the same with the little girls, though they seemed to get done more quickly and efficiently without the frenetic frenzy. Hmmm, I wonder why? In any case, what a way to end our time with them. Tucking them in was fun, yet sad. Tears flowed as farewells were said. Truly some special connections had been made during the week.

After supper, we spent time outside together around a campfire. Our devotions for the week have been based on Philippians 2:1-11, and tonight we focused on Good Friday (which Central America calls "Viernes Santa" - Holy Friday) and how Christ was obedient to death on a cross. After a series of scriptures and songs and devotions, we spent time remembering, sharing, and praying. It was a very nice time connecting with God and with each other.

Tonight we did some preparations for our departure. Tomorrow morning we'll finish it up.

Time for bed - I'll try to post some pics later. Good night.