Big Changes for Us

The Dillon family is about to embark on a new journey for the next 3 years. I am officially starting back to work for Coppell as a speech path tomorrow, full time. Levi is starting law school at SMU and Noah starts at Primrose. All these changes take place this coming week! I'm excited but a little nervous to see how everything will be managed. I love the school I will be at and I also love Noah's little school. Both times we have visited he marches right in and starts playing with the other kids. He also really seemed to like his teacher. She has been there 3 years too, which I really like. His class is all boys (I think there is 4 or 5 of them)!

I am also very proud of Levi for following his desire to go back to school. I know he will do great!

I will update on how Noah does his first day!

Antigua

Our last day and night in Guatemala was spent in the beautiful city of Antigua. The little buildings are so cute and the streets are all cobblestone. It was a great way to end the trip. Here are some pictures:

there are lots of market areas

we found some beautiful scarves

a catholic church in Antigua

Scott and Daniza. Scott is from our church and

now lives in Huehue. He married a Guatemalan girl.

When they met, she didn't speak English and he didn't

speak Spanish (so Love Actually ;))

most of the guys on the trip

The girls on the trip

Dinner

One Year Pics

Noah's 1 year pics are on Janice Barrett's website - jjbarrettphotography.com. Click on proofs and the password is Noah. She does such a great job, we are having a hard time choosing. He will probably be 2 by the time we end up picking some and getting them framed! Please ignore my need for highlights in the pictures we are in. I just ran out of time. I'm sure all you moms out there understand, it's just not about us anymore ;)

The Rest of the Time

During the second half of our trip we traveled to Huehuetenango to work with a couple of different ministries. Huehue is a beautiful part of the country and there are a couple of people from our church that are currently living there (Kailah and Scott). There, we stayed at the mission house which is very nice. Kailah also cooked for us while we were there. One of the places we went was a special needs home, which is mostly full of elderly. We helped them paint some beds and then had a fiesta for the residents. They had a blast dancing and taking swings at the pinata! There was some fighting over the candy, but we were able to work it out ;) There is also a guy down there named Mark Wakefield. He has started a ministry called Zona Juvenile. It's basically a youth zone and alternative option to gangs for young boys that are on the streets. In doing this, he is a target for all the gang members, usually having to wear a bullet proof vest while he is out and staying at different houses each night to hide out. He just purchases a building for the kids to hang out at and we worked on cleaning that and painting the outside. We also helped him serve his Wednesday lunch to the street workers. He has an amazing heart for these kids!

Levi playing soccer with one of the boys

preparing the pinata
What a party!

The outside of Zona Juvenile before

Working hard

If you drive a motorcycle here, you have to have a helment and vest with your license number on it. They put this into place several months ago because killings were happening with one guy driving and the guy on the back killing. It is a law that they can only have one person on the motorcycle.

The streets of Huehue

View from the top of the mission house

The Orphanage

Here are some pictures from the first 5 days we spent at Fundaninos in Guatemala City. The kids were so much fun, there were about 53 total staying at the orphanage. We slept there, ate there, did some work for them there and played with the kids. One of our main projects while we were there was to rid the kids of lice. We taught them about treating all the kids at once (lice shampoo, combing through and picking the eggs out) and then washing EVERYTHING (bedding, brushes, combs, etc.). I'm not sure if they will stay lice free for very long, but hopefully it helped. The babies hated getting their heads washed with the shampoo, but as soon as you started combing through their hair, both them and the older girls would just sit there for hours. I think it was relaxing for them and they liked just being with you. With the boys, they just all got their heads shaved :)
We also cleaned out a warehouse, organized some rooms for them in their school with supplies, painted, and fixed plumbing issues. We had a good time and I think he kids had fun. Levi had a blast playing soccer with some of the older boys everyday.
As Americans we tend to believe our way is the only way. It's neat to see different cultures and how they operate. You quickly realize that even if it is different, it still works. I'm sure we all got more out of the experience than the kids, even though we were the ones there to "help" them.

Most of the team

Compassion Visit

On Friday, we met at the zoo and got to meet our Compassion sponsor child, Pedro, and his family. His mom was there, along with his older brother and an interpreter. When we walked up, Pedro immediately recongnized Levi from last time. His mom hugged me and cried and would not let go for a couple of minutes. We walked around the zoo and saw all the animals. This was Pedro's brothers first time to the zoo and first time to Guatemala City. They had been on a bus since the middle of the night to get there. Pedro is quiet, but very interested in Levi. He is very smart and works hard in school. He has been number 1 in his class the last several years and just got beat out by a girl at his school. Pedro is the only one in the family that is sponsored, but the whole family benefits from it and they were all very grateful. One of the most amazing things we saw was the transformation in Pedro's family. Because he is in the program, he is required to go to bible classes throughout the week. Since then, his brother has joined a bible study of his own. Also, last time Levi met with them, Pedro's mom did not want to pray. This time, she held our hands and begged us to keep praying for her family. It was a neat experience to be a part of.

Levi, Pedro, Me, Saul and Pedro's Mom

Levi and Pedro

Pedro's mom and me



Kelly eating lunch with my parent's sponsor child, Silvia.


She is only 6 and so cute! My mom sent her a doll and she named it Nancy!

We are home! We got home Sunday morning and the trip was great, but it feels awesome to be back in our own beds! It was wonderful to see Noah, too. Even though he saw me first and walked right past me to Levi :( He had a great time with his grandparents.

We had an amazing 11 days in Guatemala. I will probably do seperate posts to describe some of our work we did and post pictures. Minus one girl being very sick while we were there and one girl getting robbed in Antigua (they took her passport and she had to stay in Guatemala until today), everything went great. I did get sick Saturday night and had to go get fluids yesterday evening and started on Cipro. I feel much better today, though.

Overall, here are a few pics and some highs and lows from the trip:

Highs-
Safe travel the whole trip!
Getting to meet Pedro, our compassion child, for the first time (Levi's second time)
Pedro's mom hugging me and not letting go
Pedro's mom praying with us. When Levi met her last time, she refused to pray.
All the Guatemalans asking me why I did not bring Noah ;)
The kids at the orphanage that ran up to you and wanted you to pick them up and play
The kids at the orphanage that stayed away all week and just watched, but then smiled and gave you a big hug when you left.
Completing the task of organizing an entire school room and part of a warehouse for the orphanage.
The happiness and joy the kids expressed when we told them their hair was clean and lice free!
Giving a manicure and pedicure to a girl that turned 16 at the orphanage
Seeing the excitement that stickers, pipe cleaners, beads, bubbles and Burger King crowns can bring
The kids not caring that you try and speak their language and butcher it!
The mountains and hills that look like patchwork
The weather!
Worship at night with the team
The new Mission house in Huehue
Kailah's cooking!
Todd and Nora's adoption of Johanna becoming finalized while we were there.

Lows-
Missing Noah. We did get to call home a couple of times and check on him. We were not expecting that.
Sleeping arrangements at the orphanage (poor Levi was on the floor)
Food at the orphanage. I'm probably pickier than most. Levi and Kelly liked most of it. I was just glad I brought granola bars and PB crackers.
Feeling like you had lice all the time. Don't worry, I got checked several time, I'm lice free!
Camille getting sick
Kristen getting robbed and having to stay to extra days
The drive from Guatemala city to Huehuetenango - 6 hours of winding mountain roads
Saying bye to the kids at the orphanage

The highs definitely out number the lows! It's funny what you are tolerant and intolerant of in certain environments. As long as we were in Guatemala, I was able to tolerate the circumstances because we were in "Guatemala." This included their plumbing issues, loss of electricity 2 nights at the mission house, cleanliness, etc. Then today at home, our water was shut off during the middle of the day for about 4 hours. I was so mad (probably because I was in the middle of taking a shower with conditioner in my hair), and immediately wanted my water turned back on. Come on, this is American isn't it!?? Ha, ha!

At the airport (I just said bye to Noah, sniff, sniff)

These 2 girls ran right up to Levi when we arrived

and wouldn't let him put them down!