Matt from Wildwood

This morning Glenn negotiated a private boat to take the three of us to Casa Del Mundo and then on to Santiago and back to Panajachel. It was a beautiful morning as we traveled across Lake Atitlan to eat breakfast.

I am thankful that the lake has risen a little bit and I didn’t have to climb as many steps up to the restaurant. I ordered my usual breakfast which is French Toast made with homemade bread. Yum! And I had my smoothie with strawberries, banana and pina. (Insert happy face). Glenn and Matt ordered typical Guatemala meal with tortillas. We were there for about 1.5 hours just enjoying a peaceful meal with stunning view with the volcanoes in the backdrop.

Our next stop was Santiago, the village where the Foote family lived a while back. I think it’s been about 5 years since I have been back. Once we jumped off the boat, we walked up the street to El Sol restaurant and waited for David to pick us up. We only had to wait 20 minutes or so until he arrived. He drove us to his home/orphanage other is perched on the back side of the volcano about 15 minutes out of town. He and his wife live on a compound where there are several houses. He has a family of 5 kids ages 2mo to 8 years plus 22 Guatemalan children that live in the 9bedroom house. David and Deborah are doing a fantastic job

Our purpose is to introduce Matt to several different ministries here in Guatemala where he could bring down a work team from the church.

We were invited for lunch, but had just eaten bfast! There was organized chaos. Imagine feeding your 5 kids and then 22 other mouths every day? I did hear the dryer running. I’m sure the washing machine runs constantly. After the meal, the parents retreated up to their bedroom for 30min of solitude and prayer. I guess you would need a lot of prayer. There was no spilled juice at the table - the only incident was one of the toddlers sitting in the high chair “wet her pants”, she is in the process of being potty trained. Every one served themselves and were obedient during the meal time sitting at the long table. Afterwards, everyone cleared their plate with no complaints. 2 kids were loading the dishwasher while 1 kid swept the floor and another kid folded the chairs away.

I walked away from this experience feeling fully drained. My heart is mixed, when I see these precious kids living in a children’s home, but my heart smiles when I see the love they are getting and experiencing community as a family.

The afternoon trip back across the lake was very rough. High waves. Glenn took Matt to Mike’s coffee shop and for a walk.Read more