Thank you for your prayers about our housing situation. The Lord continues to go before us and pave the way for us to have a place to live there. Byron (the gentleman who us building us a home) emailed and is willing to add a couple more rooms and another bathroom at an affordable price! We are so excited and thankful!!! He told us the home should be done by the end of July which we are told may end up being the end of August but regardless we are glad he is willing to add the extra space.
We also were concerned about having water and a place to park and it seems that these issues have been resolved as well. We will need to find a house to rent for a month or two until our house is finished. So please pray with us about that.
The Lord has been teaching us from Luke 11 that we need to continue to pray with shameless persistence as it says in Luke 11:8b-10 "He will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Another situation we have been praying about is our home here stateside. We have been unclear about what to do with it and some of the possibilities we had fell through. Jennifer's sister and her family have now agreed to rent our home for an extended period of time so this is a huge answer to prayer to have someone we can trust taking care of our home.
Thank you for praying and journeying with us!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Home Sweet Home
I'll be honest, it's been a tough week! The house we loved when Ben and I went to Guatemala in January didn't work out. And it's been up and down ever since.
The same builder of some friends of ours (the Bunsos) has a piece of property right down the street from the Art School and he is willing to build our family a house on it. We have a large family and want to have people in our home on a regular basis to connect with families in our community and hope to have some family and friends visit us as well - hint, hint! So, we asked for two stories, four bedrooms, laundry room, you know, everything including a kithchen sink, literally :) BUT when the builder emailed us the plans, the house has only one story, three bedrooms, and is smaller than the home we have now, about 1100 sq. feet. And to top it all off, the permit for piping water to the house was denied. It may or may not be approved for water by the time we move there....
I know that God has a plan and the perfect home for us. I just struggle feeling like these desires I have for a bigger home are selfish, but at the same time, struggling with the possibility of living in a small home, homeschooling, not being able to host people, etc. I know that this is going to be a difficult transition in many ways for us as a family and want to make our home one of the easiest, a sanctuary of sorts. We asked the builder if he would be willing to make the house bigger. He emailed back today that he is going to figure the costs and let us know on Sunday if it's a possibility. It usually takes about three months to build a home, but rainy season will be here soon and will make things even more difficult. (June is only three months away!) So, it's been a bit stressful lately to say the least. Please pray with us that the home will be sufficient for our needs and that it will be completed before we move there in June. God is growing our faith in Him during this time and we believe He will provide for our every need, it's just hard to be patient.
The same builder of some friends of ours (the Bunsos) has a piece of property right down the street from the Art School and he is willing to build our family a house on it. We have a large family and want to have people in our home on a regular basis to connect with families in our community and hope to have some family and friends visit us as well - hint, hint! So, we asked for two stories, four bedrooms, laundry room, you know, everything including a kithchen sink, literally :) BUT when the builder emailed us the plans, the house has only one story, three bedrooms, and is smaller than the home we have now, about 1100 sq. feet. And to top it all off, the permit for piping water to the house was denied. It may or may not be approved for water by the time we move there....
I know that God has a plan and the perfect home for us. I just struggle feeling like these desires I have for a bigger home are selfish, but at the same time, struggling with the possibility of living in a small home, homeschooling, not being able to host people, etc. I know that this is going to be a difficult transition in many ways for us as a family and want to make our home one of the easiest, a sanctuary of sorts. We asked the builder if he would be willing to make the house bigger. He emailed back today that he is going to figure the costs and let us know on Sunday if it's a possibility. It usually takes about three months to build a home, but rainy season will be here soon and will make things even more difficult. (June is only three months away!) So, it's been a bit stressful lately to say the least. Please pray with us that the home will be sufficient for our needs and that it will be completed before we move there in June. God is growing our faith in Him during this time and we believe He will provide for our every need, it's just hard to be patient.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Overwhelmed
We continue to be overwhelmed with God's goodness and grace! One of the ways recently is through our oldest son Luke. He, as many of you may know, has special needs and many medical concerns. These concerns were some of what we thought were barriers to keep us from moving to Guatemala. But God continues to overcome these barriers.
Like today when Luke had his last appointment with his endocrinologist. He always loves going to his appointments and will really miss Dr. F! When we tell Luke he has an appointment coming up he will ask about it about 100 times a day until it happens. :) He started seeing this doctor when he was only one! Since Luke stopped taking his growth hormone injection four months ago he has gained nine pounds and grown an inch taller! His levels are perfect and he won't need to see an endocrinologist in Guatemala. We are so overwhelmed with God's power and healing hand on Luke's life!!! It has been an amazing journey, one we would have never experienced had we not stepped out in faith and obeyed God's calling on our lives!
Housing
One of the things we have asked you to pray for is our future home in Magdalena. Last night when we spoke to Carlos he said the builder (of our future home) will send us the plans for adding on this Thursday so we can review them, how exciting! The home only had one bedroom and one bathroom so we asked if he would add on another bedroom or two and also another bathroom, which he is willing to do! We are grateful that he is willing to add on in addition to finishing the home for us by June! God continues to go before us and prepare the way for us to move to Guatemala! We are so thankful and overwhelmed with God's provision and timing!
Like today when Luke had his last appointment with his endocrinologist. He always loves going to his appointments and will really miss Dr. F! When we tell Luke he has an appointment coming up he will ask about it about 100 times a day until it happens. :) He started seeing this doctor when he was only one! Since Luke stopped taking his growth hormone injection four months ago he has gained nine pounds and grown an inch taller! His levels are perfect and he won't need to see an endocrinologist in Guatemala. We are so overwhelmed with God's power and healing hand on Luke's life!!! It has been an amazing journey, one we would have never experienced had we not stepped out in faith and obeyed God's calling on our lives!
Housing
One of the things we have asked you to pray for is our future home in Magdalena. Last night when we spoke to Carlos he said the builder (of our future home) will send us the plans for adding on this Thursday so we can review them, how exciting! The home only had one bedroom and one bathroom so we asked if he would add on another bedroom or two and also another bathroom, which he is willing to do! We are grateful that he is willing to add on in addition to finishing the home for us by June! God continues to go before us and prepare the way for us to move to Guatemala! We are so thankful and overwhelmed with God's provision and timing!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Prayer Request!
We were able to skype with Carlos tonight and found out that his wife, Telma is very sick. She is in the hospital right now with stomach problems. The doctors are running tests and will hopefully have some answers tomorrow. Please lift her up in prayer!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
February Trip to Magdalena
Wow, what a trip! We had a great time! It was wonderful staying with Carlos and Telma and catching up with them. We had a Love Guatemala team meeting to discuss future visions for Magdalena and what our role will be there. We are so excited to have this opportunity and feel very blessed to be working with Carlos and Telma of the Art School and Jose and Antionetta of the Cooking School. We are looking forward to being there full-time!
We visited many homes to pray with families, find out their needs, and delivered food baskets to some. We had an adventurous day building chicken coops, buying baby chicks and food in Antiqua, and delivering them to families to equip them with tools that will allow them to provide for their families.
We were able to view two possible homes for rent for our family. (AND we regret that we didn't take pictures!) We liked the second option. It is in the heart of Magdalena where we will be serving. It's a new home, not yet finished, with a yard and plenty of play area for the boys, brick fence for privacy and safety, and a place to park our future vehicle :) It has only one room and a basement currently. The builder is willing to add on two bedrooms and a bathroom. It is not typical to have a sink in the kitchen, but my desire is for a sink and also a washer and dryer hook up. Please pray with us that these details and many others will be worked out, agreed upon and completed so that we can move in, as planned, in mid-June. We know that God has the perfect house picked out for our family and He cares about the details.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Ben and Jen
We visited many homes to pray with families, find out their needs, and delivered food baskets to some. We had an adventurous day building chicken coops, buying baby chicks and food in Antiqua, and delivering them to families to equip them with tools that will allow them to provide for their families.
We were able to view two possible homes for rent for our family. (AND we regret that we didn't take pictures!) We liked the second option. It is in the heart of Magdalena where we will be serving. It's a new home, not yet finished, with a yard and plenty of play area for the boys, brick fence for privacy and safety, and a place to park our future vehicle :) It has only one room and a basement currently. The builder is willing to add on two bedrooms and a bathroom. It is not typical to have a sink in the kitchen, but my desire is for a sink and also a washer and dryer hook up. Please pray with us that these details and many others will be worked out, agreed upon and completed so that we can move in, as planned, in mid-June. We know that God has the perfect house picked out for our family and He cares about the details.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Ben and Jen
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Art School and the Baking School in Magdalena have some needs that we would like to meet.
Art School - gently used clothing and shoes for children, all sizes
Cooking School - cutting boards, food processor, fondant tools/books, pie pans, cake pans, rolling pins, and cake turn table.
If you would like to donate any of the items, or give money towards these things, we would greatly appreciate it! We want to equip these precious women and children with the tools to further their education and in doing so provide for them and their families!
If you would like to make a donation, please contact us by February 15th. We would love to take all the needed items with us when we visit in a few weeks.
Thank you so much!
Art School - gently used clothing and shoes for children, all sizes
Cooking School - cutting boards, food processor, fondant tools/books, pie pans, cake pans, rolling pins, and cake turn table.
If you would like to donate any of the items, or give money towards these things, we would greatly appreciate it! We want to equip these precious women and children with the tools to further their education and in doing so provide for them and their families!
If you would like to make a donation, please contact us by February 15th. We would love to take all the needed items with us when we visit in a few weeks.
Thank you so much!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
20 Days and Counting!
We are very excited that in 20 days we will be taking a short trip to Guatemala. We are looking forward to seeing our friends, doing some projects, and hopefully finding a place to live!
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