As many of you may already know, I arrived here in Guatemala late last night. I have come to volunteer and work in God Bless The Children Home (GBTCH). Since my arrival I have become even more aware of how bittersweet this move is for me, and life as a whole is as well!
Dani, Willy, & Tonio Hard At Play!
Here I sit, watching Dani, Willy, and Tonio play with pirates, princes, and princesses, while trying to take in some bittersweet news that I just heard. One of my great joys about returning here to GBTCH, was my expectation of getting to see and spend time with Angel! (Please see my earlier blog about meeting an Angel.) I was just informed that Angel has been adopted. Sadness and a bitterness have tried to settle upon me. But yet I also get to play with these boys, who have had such hard and unimaginable starts to life, and yet they sit here playing and laughing! That is very sweet to me!
There is also a miracle to share though, that is very sweet! In 2007 Guatemalan government became closed off to international adoptions. However, an exception was made in the case of Angel! Due to the extenuating circumstances of his birth and abandonment, the government has permitted an American missionary family living here in Guatemala to recently adopt Angel! So now he has a Christ-centered home, family, and potential for an opportunity-filled future! Praise God for that miracle! It is so sweet to me to know that he is being loved well!
With 23 children in the home here, ranging from three weeks old to eight years old, today, my first full day, has been very full! The bitter has been accompanied with the sweet! I have had to deal with cockroaches, mosquitos, and many other bugs, poopy situations, been peed on, cleaned up some vomit, been poked, prodded, and disobeyed. These are some of the bitter.
Today I also had the great privilege of talking with the house parents, retrieving 10 kids from school, playing soccer and games with some kids, and taking a walk with some of the kids as well! It has been a day full of hugs, smiles, cuddles, and sharing love to these precious children! I got to watch the kids love each other and help each other. These were some of the sweet things of my day!
As I think of life, I think that it is my preference to have bittersweet experiences. Seeing the bad and challenging things causes me to appreciate all the beautiful and good things all the more each day! I think bittersweet is how life is meant to be; at least on this side of eternity! Having been rescued myself, it is such a blessing to be able to become part of the rescue team for these children! Though they have each had bitter starts in life, they are now in a sweet home setting, being offered a beautiful opportunity at life! It is my hope and prayer that they will each be able to not only acknowledge the bittersweet experience of life, but also choose to allow the bitter to make them better! May their focus, and ours, be ever more on the sweet and ever less on the bitter!!
