Hola everyone!
My name is Hanna and my husband, Evan, and I are just finishing our third week living in the Village of Transformation with 4 kids. Evan and I moved to Guatemala a little over a month ago and are planning on living here indefinitely. We are doing Family Style Orphan Care here and our plans are to build a home in Safe Haven Village and raise a house full of kids who will grow to know Jesus and love Him deeply. You can read more of our story on cheersandtrails.com. Family Style Orphan Care is a beautiful concept and we are so happy to have the Monks, the Rules and the Holts here as an example of American families who have given up everything to raise kids without families.
It’s a lot easier said than done and I cannot believe how much divine Grace I need on a daily basis. We do not have kids of our own and so October 9, when we moved into our home, we instantly became parents of 4. Our four kids span from 4 to 12 years old and their backgrounds are drastically different. We are so thankful for each and every one of them, the talents and gifts God has blessed them with, and their sweet smiles we have been blessed to see each day.
We have needed Grace during this season. This season has also become a season of waiting. So combining the waiting with the extra Grace we need has been a journey. We have become parents to kids who have experienced pain and heart break. This, along with other situations has made the process of attachment a huge barrier. Waiting through this season and acting in love and with the best possible parenting practices requires constant prayer. It requires humbling ourselves and having self-control when we want to react in a way that we know will not help our kids.
We have become parents without any of our belongings that we are used to. All of our ‘stuff’ is on its way here, but unfortunately won’t be here for another month or two. We have done our best with what we have to make the house feel like home and we are trusting that God will use our best efforts to create joy and comfort in the lives of our kids no matter what belongings are filling our house. But honestly, waiting has been hard. I can’t tell you how excited I am to get our bed. It will be the best night’s sleep in 3 months!
I do want to use my thoughts to encourage any of you who are in a season of waiting. As we wait for all of our personal belongings to arrive, as we endure the time it takes to attach with our kids, we have been reminded how deeply God knows our needs. He provides so much more than we could even imagine. Waiting for our car, God always provided us with rides around campus and even to the grocery stores. Waiting for our belongings, I can honestly say I have appreciated having fewer clothes- it’s way easier to decide what I’ll wear when I only have a few options. Waiting and enduring through the attachment process has definitely brought heartache and headaches. But I am so thankful that we are being made stronger and more equipped for this job of raising kids from trauma. And oh, how sweet it is when we see those little break-throughs, when we see our kids smile and laugh and reach to hold our hands. God works through our waiting and equips and provides us with exactly what we need to serve Him!
As we continue to wait, we will continue to bring you updates. I will continue to pray for Divine Grace- enough to overflow in my cup and to flow out onto my kids and my husband. I will continue to trust that God will provide, no matter how unlikely a situation may be. This has been quite an adventurous season of our lives too and I couldn’t be more thankful to be in this exact spot on top of a beautiful, green mountain on Hope of Life’s campus.
