prayers for the ignacios

This afternoon our family visited with the Ignacios during the visitation for Don Jose's mother who passed away last evening. Don Jose was noticeably and understandably distraught, maybe even still in some degree of shock. Though his mother was elderly (84) and had had some recent health issues, he was clearly not completely prepared to say goodbye to his only living parent.

Our hearts ache for him with this loss, but we also find ourselves nervous and tense for him as well. If you remember posts from previous years, the mere anniversary of the passing of his father often became the catalyst for Don Jose to go on drinking binges. He would disappear from his family for weeks at a time, wondering the streets, drunk, lost, and confused. These binges led to serious health problems and caused his family great distress.

Don took the opportunity this afternoon to ask Don Jose how he is handling his mother's death, how he is feeling about wanting to drink away his sorrows. Don Jose assured Don that he believes he experienced a miraculous delivery from his alcoholism and that there is no desire to seek comfort through drinks. Praise God...and may it be true!

We will continue to check in with him over the coming days and weeks. Please pray with us that Don Jose will find his hope in Jesus Christ...that alcohol will be of no temptation to him...and that his entire family will experience comfort and relief from their grief.

olivia goes to school

Backpack? Check. Hair done? Check. Shoes on? Check.

Biggest, most excited grin ever? Double-check!

This girl is ready to go!

Learning from the big kids, following in their steps. Walking along the trail to school.

Just look at the straightness of her back and the arch of her eyebrows and the

picture-perfect poise of her hands. She knows this is her big day.

The three girls (Marta, Olivia, and Rebekah) find their seats, look at their nametags,

and get acquainted with the things around them.

Shari and Olivia with their first-day-of-school happy faces.

We're thrilled to be able to send Olivia to an early childhood class with Shari twice a week for two hours on each of those days. Olivia gets some extra attention and socialization. And we love Shari. Ali and Aidan get to work undistracted by a little sister. And I get to enjoy going into single-minded-(watch out kids!)-teacher-mode for those few hours. It's a win-win situation, and we are certain that we are the ones most blessed by this arrangement.

(Heather)

how time flies

Going through photos the past several days, I've found myself smiling, even laughing at times, as I remember precious moments in our lives. My favorites are glimpses of pure love and unfettered joy on my kids' faces. (Appearances of them actually loving one another are not so bad either).

I came across these two photos and was struck by the similarities (wonder if Aidan likes orange shirts?) and yet amazed by how much they've grown. Is it possible that more than three years have passed by already? The earlier photo was taken less than two months after we arrived here in Guatemala. The later photo was taken on the twins' 7th birthday.

I know not everyone will find these as awe-inspiring as I do, but, c'mon. You have to at least admit that they are pretty cute kids. ;)

(Heather)

honey, i blew up the...apple?

I just wanted to post some light-hearted photos of some apples Don brought back from the capital last week.

Now, I've heard that Honeycrisp apples leave people salivating for more, and I've even had the pleasure of trying one a few weeks ago right out of a farmer's market produce stand. They are delightfully sweet (yes, like honey) and refreshingly tart at the same time. And they do have nearly the perfect amount of crunchy crispness to make your teeth happy.

However, when we opened the bag to retrieve these particular Honeycrisp apples, I couldn't help but wonder whether I was doing something dangerous for my health. I mean, they were so unnaturally huge that I couldn't convince myself there weren't some serious pesticides or fertilizers used to make them grow. I delayed cutting into them for several days, partially because I couldn't wrap my head around how BIG they were.

But when it came time to share a meal with a neighbor of ours, it turned out to be the perfect compliment to our pizza. And, what's more, one apple provided enough pieces to feed our entire crew!

Besides that, even if there were chemicals used in the production of this overly gigantic specimen...it still tasted as scrumptious as I remembered.

(Heather)

mourning

Today I hold my twins a little bit tighter. I look at them playing, working, even arguing together and realize there is this undeniable relationship they have because they have always had each other. Always. Though I know there is no guarantee, and not even a likelihood that they will live each day in this same kind of unity, there is a kind of assumption that they will live to be two old souls, carrying each other through different stages of their lives with the bond that only exists for twins.

Watching them while thinking on these things and not actually being capable of imagining one without the other makes my heart even more heavy for Don's parents and siblings.

Today, they lost a son and brother, Tim, who was a twin to Todd. At only 40 years old, Tim's death was a complete shock. We still don't have answers about what happened, other than knowing it was most likely some kind of sudden illness/attack. The family is reeling. Todd never knew one minute of his life without Tim in the background. Don's parents are faced with the unfathomable task of burying their youngest son.

Though we don't understand, and this certainly isn't what we would choose, we continue to cling to God's love for us.

Please join with us in prayers for the Logan family, for Sue (Tim's wife), for Mom and Dad (Don and Cindy) and brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews who are all trying to grasp this unexpected passing.