How many of you know the feeling of being on the verge of making your dream a reality? It’s one of the most complex feelings, but so amazing. It’s a mix of being excited about the future because it’s basically uncertain but you know it will be a fun ride; it is scary because you have probably invested a lot of time, effort and money into your dream; it is intimidating because there is a ton of hard work in front of you but it’s your dream so the work will be ultimately fun. Wow, that’s a great feeling. I was reminded of that feeling this morning when I was listening to an artist I haven’t listened to for a while.
Well, Hanna and I are doing family style orphan care here in Guatemala. We are currently parents to 8 kids. And no, this is not the dream-chasing/fulfilling reality that I was talking about above. However, I did experience those feelings when we moved from Maryland to Boise.
It was about 2 years ago when Hanna and I moved to Boise, Idaho to chase our dreams. I remember it was a few weeks into our move when I was running in the foothills and it felt like the world was at my finger tips. Within a few months of hard work, flipping my first house, I had made more money than 2 years of my previous job of teaching at a high school. Potentially, if I would have kept that up Hanna and I would have been living that $100k+ a year American Dream. Owning my own business, working when I wanted to, making a lot of money, hiking and backpacking whenever we wanted, eating and drinking good food/drink, living close to our family and friends were all part of our dream. Wow, just writing that and thinking about how many of those things are present in our lives as parents to orphans in Guatemala is . . . I’m not actually sure how to describe my feelings about it.
So, no, being a dad to 8 orphans in Guatemala was never my dream. But let me tell you, each one of our kids have had a dream of having a dad. A dad who is present, a dad who they know, a dad who will protect them, fight for them, die for them, a dad who does not abuse them or their mom. Half my kids don’t even know who their dad is and the other half were either left, abandoned or abused by their dad if not by others also. This was not my dream. In fact, we actually denied this calling for a few years. Those were the years we were chasing our own dreams which later we had to deny because of the dreams of others.
Don’t get me wrong though, I love being a dad. Just a few paragraphs ago I was getting annoyed because these darn kids just won’t be quiet! Lol- don’t they know I’m trying to write a blog post!? But now I’m cracking up because Isaac is running around in his diaper, Auner is annoying Roxana who is just trying to eat her breakfast. Marlyn is annoyed with everyone because she is trying to sweep the floor but the other kids are in her way and they keep playing with toys that she just put away. All of which are capital crimes! At least our other 4 kids are at school. I wouldn’t trade being a dad to these 8 crazy kids for anything. Watching our kids grow and mature, seeing them break down the barriers in their lives and overcome their past trauma is now my dream. Our current dream and goal is that our kids would not go down the road of abuse and abandonment that was placed before them. If our kids could grow up and not abuse other kids that would make it all worth it. But we do want more. We want our kids to go on and change the world. We need your help with that.
Uh oh, here comes the part where I ask for your money! I’m not even asking for your help so that I we can fulfill our own dreams; we are asking for your help so that our kids can have not just their needs met but also their dreams. Our family is in need of 2 things: House Construction Support, and Monthly Support. Through some very generous donors, we are currently about half way to what we need to build a house for our family! And we are also about 2/3 of the way to being at our monthly goal. If you would like to partner with us in changing lives and making dreams a reality for orphans let us know. If you want to just go ahead and make a donation please don’t hesitate!