Bittersweet

Yesterday I received a call from IHNFA asking Barbe and me to bring Luis to the courthouse in the morning. We had been waiting for this call for over four months, and I was excited that this day had finally arrived. Luis was to be officially declared "abandoned".

We arrive at the courthouse along with the two elderly ladies who had cared for Luis most of his life. We sit with the judge and the lawyers and Barbe and I agree to take legal responsibility for Luis as his "familia sustituta" until he is adopted.

Each of us, including Luis, step up to sign the legal document declaring him abandoned. I smile broadly at the lawyer, "Good job, nice work". She smiles back, relieved that the long process is finally complete, after all, this is what we have all been waiting for. With this declaration of abandonment the adoption process should move forward quickly and Luis will soon be, if all goes well, adopted and a US citizen.

I look over at Luis and suddenly I realize that there is something wrong. Luis is not celebrating. Instead he looks as if he's about to cry. As he hugs his "mothers" goodbye, these two elderly ladies who have raised him for thirteen years, the tears start.

As they drive away, I lean against the car, wrap my arms around him and let him hide his face against my chest. The hot, mid-morning sun beats down on us as he leans in against me, snuffling into my white and green striped shirt, wetting the front of it with his tears.

I realize as I stand there that this moment is bittersweet. What a sad thing that we live in a world where we need to declare any child abandoned. Abandoned, I even hate the sound of it. Abandoned. It sounds so lonely, so sad, so desolate, so...unwanted. Every time I have to use the word with Luis, I cringe. I wonder, how does it make him feel to think that his mother, his family abandoned him.

I talk to him as we lean there against the car. I tell him once again about the family who is already loving him, praying for him, waiting anxiously for news about the legal process, especially for news about this declaration of abandonment. For them, and rightfully so, it is a day to rejoice, to be glad. Today brings them one step closer to the day that they will call Luis "our son".

Bittersweet? Yes, but for me the sweetness far out weighs the bitter. Knowing that soon, Luis will have his very own family that he can call his very own is a beautiful thing and Barbe and I are grateful that we have been able to play a small part in it.

A Busy Summer Comes to a Close.

We have been busy! Although plenty has happened to write about, I have not had the time or the energy to keep up on my blogging.

So here is a brief overview of some of the things we did.

On June 6th, the Spanish Institute of Honduras, passed into our hands. I will devote a blog post to that soon, but for now I will just say that the Institute is growing and keeping both Barbe and myself busy doing one of the things we love most here in Honduras; managing the school and loving our teachers and the students who study here. During the World Cup it was hard to keep any of them focused on studies. Below is some of our students hard at work watching one of the games...in Spanish of course.

Take a moment to admire the focus our students show in their studies!

New Generation Fellowship, our home church in Jacksonville, FL came over for a week, their second visit in two years to help with one of our water purification projects in public schools. Pastor Steve once again won the funniest Spanish/English exchange contest. Standing in the park one evening, one of the local drunks came and placed his hand politely on Steve's arm and in Spanish asked him for money. Steve just as politely responded in Spanish, "No gracias" which of course means "no thank you". The man steps back slightly confused but mostly bemused at Steve's answer. I turn to Steve and say, "You know he asked you for money." Steve, somewhat indignantly replies, "I know, I told him no gracias."

Team NGF at Pulhapanzak 

Our little Isuzu pickup once again rose to the challenge of carrying truckloads of teenagers and adults alike. Riding in the back of a pickup remains one of the things our teams like best. That and dodging the oncoming traffic.

Our boys were very busy helping out with short-term missions teams that came through this summer, both ours and other missionaries'. Ben and Thomas helped out as translators and, well...anything else that needed done.

Ben being a good sport.

Mark was van driver and go-fer, making several runs to the airport, Camp Calle, La Ceiba and the hardware stores as well as helping with projects and activities.

Mark with a team doing basket ball camp.

 Kevyn, our summer intern, became a true older brother to our boys and Luis. He was also a huge help with all the teams we worked with this summer. Kevyn and I go way back having traveled together on a stm trip to Venezuela in 1994. He was two years old at the time.

Our crazy family on the 4th of July. Pat M, recognize these?

Other things worth mentioning

Thomas drives an ox cart...

...and Alfredo came home for a Sunday visit.

All in all it was a memorable summer!

Friends! Summer of 2014, Siguatepeque, Honduras