Monday, June 29, 2009
Not ready...
Saturday, June 27, 2009
One Heck Of A Party!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Happy Birthday Bro!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Hermano Pedro
Monday, June 22, 2009
Favorite Moments, Week 4
- Emma's fall and the scary night that ensued.
- A dog with a metal cast on his leg, in the doctor's office with us. ONLY in Guatemala! Lol.
- The experience of a hospital in a 3rd world country... 2 hospitals, actually.
- Hearing the words from the doc, "Es muy bien!" the next morning as he read all of the scans.
- McDonald's playland in Antigua... a great surrogate babysitter.
- Catching the vision of the "Dreamer Center" and "Nuestros Ahijados", the school where Brandon works.
- Hermano Pedro... again and again.
- Listening to D's new song... and feeling the same pain and gladness.
- "Emma's Cafe"
- Mac wanting to wrestle with Darrell and blurting out, "C'mon old man!" What?!?! Lol. Where did he even hear that???
- The Johnny Appleseed prayer that my kids sing... ALL the time. Presh.
- Dia de Papa. Father's Day in Guatemala... SO fun!
- Darrell's "GNO" with Brandon at MonoLoco.
- Listening to the rain.
- Sweet emails, comments, and voicemails letting us know YOU are praying for our trip (and for Emma). Thank you. It means more than you know.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
He cares for those who care for His own-Part II
“Fear brings us strength. It is the feeling that allows us to experience risk, trust, dependency, collaboration, and ultimately, wisdom because it helps us realize our need for help.” – Chip Dodd from The Voice Of The Heart
It had rained pretty hard yesterday afternoon. Harder than the normal afternoon shower here. Since our house is an outdoor living space, the courtyard and the tile around it got soaked. As we were getting ready to leave for dinner, I was checking in with work on the computer. Emma had just ran out of the room and around the corner. That’s when I heard what I hope to never hear again. A slip….a grunt….and two loud and heavy thuds. The sound of a body and head hitting a hard surface. I jumped up and ran out around the corner to find my little girl in somewhat of a fetal position, still, silent…..lifeless. She had slipped and crashed onto the wet terracotta tile, head first. My heart sank. I ran over as I yelled her name. She didn’t respond until I touched her and begin to pick her up to hold her. Her eyes rolled slowly and she was very slow to even cry. FEAR. By this time, Kristin had joined us. Emma is our drama queen. If she gets hurt, she will let us know. Sometimes the slightest injury will provoke her into the biggest dramatic episode. Usually, a joke or something quirky will lead to laughter and it’s over. This was not the case today. She was really hurt. She wasn’t coming to and began to ask over and over, what had happened to her. She couldn’t remember. Kristin told me to Google concussion and see what it says. Emma was showing the symptoms that we would need to seek immediate medical treatment for according to the website. FEAR. Who do we call? There is no 9-1-1 here. All of our contacts were out of the country. FEAR.
I will say that if it were not for the amazing, generous, caring people that God put in our path from 4:30pm-10:30pm, I’m not sure what would’ve happened. There was a young lady, Alicia whom we met at the gate of our neighborhood while we were asking for the nearest hospital. She took us to the closest pediatrician's office. She stayed with us until Brandon from the school we visited on Wednesday shows up at the doctor’s office with his dog that has a metal splint with a wheel on the end of his back leg. A dog in the doctor’s office?!?!? Seriously?!?!? Could this get any stranger?!? We called Brandon to help us translate because neither Alicia or the doctor could speak a bit of English. It was between Brandon and another contact and the other contact was not answering the phone. Brandon answered and was about 3 minutes away, so he won.
We get down to it and the doctor gives us 2 options: 1) get an x-ray that will tell us if there is a fracture in the skull for around $25 or; 2) get a CT scan that will tell us if there is a fracture and swelling for about $65. We skipped straight to the CT Scan. As we are wrapping up with the doctor, he gives Brandon his card with his cell phone number on it and tells him to have the CT Operator call him with the results. I wanted to clarify with the good doc because: A) NO doctor in the States as EVER given me their private cell for after hours calls and; B) NO doctor in the States as EVER given me their private cell for after hours calls. The doctor assured us that he would answer and took Brandon’s cell number.
Brandon leads us to the private hospital located behind the city bus terminal. Think: really run down abandoned truck stop with no pavement and no lighting. YES, FEAR. We walk through the “bus city” that is bustling with evening commuters, some so drunk that they have passed out on the side of the dirt street. As we run by, I notice some men are pouring what appears to be water from an alcohol bottle into the open fly of one of the guy's jeans who is passed out, I’m guessing to try and wake him. That’s what friends are for, right?
The receptionist at the hospital, who also ends up being the x-ray tech tells us that the CT Scanner is broken and that the electrical engineer is on his way in……at 7pm???....um….ok. The engineer actually shows up, but informs us that the CT Scanner will not be fixed tonight. But since he is one of the only engineers who can work on the units in the country, he knows there is another in the next town over, about 15 minutes away. He drives us (me, Kristin, Emma, Mac, and Brandon) to the next place in his tiny car and on the way tells us that he studied CT Scan Operations in Lebanon, TN. Hmm.
We arrive at the next hospital. When I say hospital, you need not picture some multi-story, well-lit beacon sitting in some downtown space with security patrolled parking garages and a 24 hour ER. No, picture a block building with about 10 rooms with no HVAC and Bible verses all over the place. It’s known as a 24 hour hospital, but they lock the door at 10pm. The CT Scan Engineer, Estuardo, has called the CT Scan Tech and asked her to come in and scan Emma’s head. The call from Estuardo is the only reason she is making the trip.
After the CT machine warms up, we get Emma settled down and still, I get a heavy duty and might I say colorful lead jacket on, the CT Scan finally begins. Estuardo (the electrical engineer from the 1st hospital) stays with us the entire time, giving me thumbs up and smiles through a window in the room. It takes about 15 minutes to get all the scans. At the end, the CT tech (via Brandon) tells us that she doesn’t see anything that alarms her. Estuardo concurs, saying that he sees many of these everyday. We try to call a taxi, but no one will come get us this late. It’s about 10:00pm now. So, the CT tech’s father offers to give us a ride back to our house since it’s on his way home. We drop Brandon off at his place and arrive back home around 10:30pm.
Emma and Mac sleep with us and I get little sleep due to Mac’s knees in my back and my fervent praying that Emma would be healed. FEAR. Today, she woke up with a big headache, but slowly recovered back to her normal self. We saw the doctor again today, who greeted us ON THE SIDEWALK, AT THE FRONT DOOR of his office. He read the X-Rays and CT Scans and informed us that everything looked muy bien (very good).
Here are some interesting facts:
-No one who volunteered to help us yesterday (Brandon, Alicia, Estuardo, or CT scan tech's father) would take any money for their assistance. They were almost offended and definitely embarrassed at our offering to compensate them.
-Including the doctor’s visits, hospital visits and all scans we paid about $110 for it all and got to keep all the scans.
-For all the money that is spent in the States on big buildings, fancy equipment, and advanced training, the only thing that got us through last night was the care and concern of the beautiful people of this country.
-I did not want the lyrics to the song Emma and I wrote to be true last night. That there is a gift when you walk through pain. Sure, it's easy to believe when it's not my pain. All night long as I tossed, turned, and prayed, the song kept running through my head and heart. This morning I woke up believing those lyrics in a whole new way. I woke up Glad.
He cares for those who care for His own.
This mural was painted on the wall of the CT scan room.
Blossom-ing.
He cares for those who care for His own-Part I
“The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.” –Psalm 111:10
Grief and Fear. Those have been the words for me this week. My little girl has been the one that has taught me the most about them and in turn more about God’s heart.
This past Monday morning, we said “goodbye” to Mimi and Poppy, Kristin’s parents. They spent a week with us and it was an incredible week for sure. We did so many things and experienced so much together. True community and relationship at its best. As the day went on, I found myself sad. Sad that it had to end. But I didn’t want to feel it. I was also experiencing fear. I was afraid of what the next two weeks would hold without the community and relationships we had shared with not only Kristin’s mom & dad, but with the Goodfellows as well. But again, I did not want to feel it.
So only like a little child can, Emma shows up in my room, where I am sitting, on the bed with guitar in hand. And when I say she “shows up”, she really did. With no regard for what was going on externally, she climbed up into the bed and began to weep and cry-out about the depths to which she was missing Mimi & Poppy. She was letting her heart come out. I just held her and we talked about our memories from the week and what she was going to miss. I walked with her as she grieved out loud, what she had lost. She told me she was afraid and sad. As we kept talking, I picked up the guitar and asked if she would like to help me write a song about it. Just before she had come into the room, I had stumbled upon a little riff and didn’t have any words for it. Emma and I created a masterpiece about walking into the pain and loss, feeling it all, and finding true joy on the other side. Gladness.
I sang the song for Kristin the next morning and she wept. She knew what we were talking about in the lyrics. As with all of my songs, I am always hopeful that they will meet people right where they are. I love that there is just as much life in them for me. This song is no different.
That was Monday. After you watch the video, read the next entry for the rest of the story......
"Glad"
Darrell & Emma Vanzant
© 2009 Soul Prop Music
Life is hard that’s no joke
Pain is real. Your tears have told you so.
But there’s a gift when you walk into the pain, into the loss
Dream of so much more
Hope for the top
Grieve to the core
And You’ll Be Glad
You’ll be glad
Tell the truth. Reveal the need.
This is the language you were born to speak
Give it up. Let it go.
Years of defense your heart has known
Watch that sun go down
There’s great joy and great sorrow
Feel them both now
And you’ll be Glad
You’ll be Glad
Blessed if you will grieve
Trade beauty for ash
Find strength in the weak
And you’ll be Glad
You’ll be Glad
Monday, June 15, 2009
Favorite Moments, Week 3
- Time in Zone 3, the national cemetery and city dump, conversation with Brady over lunch.
- San Jose and watching my kiddos play hard in the ocean, the smell of the salty air.
- Mariachi band on the beach... HILARIOUS!
- The Holy moment on the shore with the Guatemalan children.
- Dad's "second round" at Sky Cafe.
- Los Gozosos again... Emma's sadness about leaving her friends there.
- ChiChi market and the crazy women harassing my mom and dad.
- The "above mentioned crazys" calling me a few choice names in Espanol.
- The beauty of Lake Atitlan.
- "Little Victor" exclaiming, "what the ______?!?!" Cussing from a 6 year old. Driver's son. SO funny! Hoping my own kids didn't pick up on any new "spanish".
- Hermano Pedro again... Holding sweet Ariana.
- Nayeli's expression when she opened her gift. And, her hugs when we were leaving. Priceless.
- The train and carosel ride... Mac's face and Emma's laughter.
- "Gustavos" :)
- 3:30am wake up for the flight to Tikal. The view from the top of Temple IV.
- My mom in a tuk-tuk. Hilarious.
- Pizza by the pool at Santo Domingo on the last night... swimming in the dark with the kids.
- Slumber party at Santo Domingo afterward... all 6 of us in one hotel room.
- Dad's kiss on the cheek... to wake me up in the morning.
Community.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Breath of Heaven
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The gift on the shore
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Antigua On A Tuk-Tuk
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Faithful
Monday, June 8, 2009
Favorite Moments, Week 2
The Goodfellow familia left at 5:00am this morning. We were so sad to see them leave... now our kids are grieving their departure and driving us crazy with statements like, "I'm booorrreedddd....".
- The excitement as the Goodfellow's arrived in Guate, it's been 2 years... and, WAY too long.
- The faces on the hotel staff as 8 kids bombarded the breakfast buffet.
- Our "big helpers" in Zone 3, mixing and pouring the concrete.
- Mac and Charlie, separated at birth?
- Listening to Fito (Guatemalan YL leader) as he told his story.
- Tyler's "ministry" to the local Mayan women.
- Being told "frio!" every time we took the above mentioned baby outside without socks, winter hat, and sweater. Seriously, do these people know that it's 75 degrees outside???
- Charlie Greene's birthday fiesta! And, the conversations that flowed during the party.
- Our kiddos playing together... futbol, running on the roof, legos, sword fights, and cartoons in Espanol.
- Emma and Riley at Los Gozosos. Priceless.
- Hanging out with great friends every night... and, dreaming together.
- Cramming 10 kids and 6 adults into Brady's Ford Explorer.
- Guate!, Guate!, Guate!
- Smiles and laughter from the precious souls at Hermano Pedro.
- AND... 9 (yes, 9!) people in a Tuk Tuk. The impossible... with no pictures to prove it!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
The Joy-FULL Ones
