Hasta Cielo y Mas: Every need...

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Life during Construction!

Today is Monday...two of our children are in school and one in bed with a cough and fever. We are hoping to hear from our atty this week as to when we will travel to Tegucigalpa. To recap, we received information on September 28th that our papers were ready to be sent to the court and we would likely have our court date Friday, Oct 12th or the Monday, October, 15th. We were grateful to have a date and made reservations, as we would fly into San Pedro Sula, pack the children and travel, by bus, to Tegucigalpa for the court date. After making plane reservations and planning our departure, we heard rumblings of another strike, through news reports and our fellow Honduran adoption friends, but our attorney did not believe that this strike would effect us, because it was contained within specific IHNFA centers/orphanages and not impacting adoptions. We arrived at 1:30 AM, Monday, October 8th and by 8:00 AM Monday, the strike had evolved into a GRAND event, including a blockade of the IHNFA building which lasted more than two weeks. Unfortunately, our documents had not made it out of the building to court before the work shutdown, so we were stuck in limbo. As of last Wednesday, we are "officially" out of IHNFA. The courts are aware that we have been in country for 3 weeks, so we are hoping to receive word that we are signing this week. Our atty is devising ways to expedite our processes that occur after we sign our final adoption decrees.

Example of Poor Construction

So, the past three weeks have been full of drama, activity, fun and concern. Due to a significant increase in crime in the area, we have stayed close to home. This has given us a new perspective on "real life" in my mother-in-law's home. To be honest, my mother-in-law is a hoarder...a hoarder of useful and not so useful trash. She saves cereal boxes, milk, yogurt and every kind of plastic or metal containers, bread bags, twine, etc. Because the house is across from a field, it is ever dusty, dirty and full of creepy crawlies and spider webs. Yesterday, an iguana fell from the roof into the bathroom. We have killed tarantulas on the walls. Every night, 25 or more geckos roam the ceilings and walls. We have monsterous ants and little ones, too. And, mosquitoes find ways to torture me inside, as well!

Hermano Omar

Hermano Carlo

My mother-in-law has been taken advantage of on numerous occasions in attempts to fix up her home. The house is in serious disrepair and in various stages of construction. Reyes contacted a contractor to get a quote on finishing the work, started years ago but never completed. This has created a haven for pests, rodents and slimy things. The quote was very reasonable ($3000, including materials). We are now in day 6 of the project. I will be posting pictures later today. It is messier and more unhealthy than I could have imagined. Moving large pieces of furniture have uncovered years of dust and mold. Concrete block construction is very dirty and smelly work. And we are living and sleeping here during this construction...but Reyes has been keeping a close eye on finances, safety risks and construction progress and planning.

(Across from the field)-Iron Fence and Window Covers Painted!

I will be so happy to see this finished...it truly has been a dream for 8 years, but one that we thought would be unattainable, especially with the enormous expenses associated with our adoption. Only by God's grace and mercy could we complete this project; leaving my mother-in-law with a clean and safe environment and making new friends to monitor the home in the future. We know that trips to Honduras, with 5 people, will be difficult when we return home. This past weekend, I began to get overwhelmed with the events of the past three weeks, but as of today, I am staying positive as we start a new week in Honduras!