It’s hard to write something coherent on the last day of the mission trip.  My brain is full of images, thoughts, reflections, sadness, joy, and the list goes on.  There is much to say about the wonderful visits we had, and there is a great deal that God has taught each of us as we have tried in our own sloppy ways to follow his heart for orphans in Guatemala.

A few things my mind is tripping over tonight:

• We had breakfast at the home of my friend Berta.  It was such a blessing to enjoy the hospitality of my Guatemalan friends.  I was humbled by their generosity.
• We cooked lunch for the boys at Eliza Martinez.  Nate & Rachael took care of salad and bread.  Shawn & Wendy took care of the pasta.  Adam and I make sugar cookies, with decorating help from two great kids named Christian and Jefferson.  They were so focused on precise placement of sprinkles.  The plates were full of food and looked delicious.  Things didn’t go quite according to plan (they rarely do, really), but everything turned out just as it should have been.  The meal was capped off by a young man named Hans making a speech thanking us for coming and for lunch.  He told us that each of them holds us in their hearts.
• We brought piñatas for the boys to beat with sticks.  They enjoyed the treats, and  probably also beating something with a stick.
• Rachael and Nate taught some of the kids the dance from Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.  ‘Nuff said.

It was a day that was bittersweet.  Such a good day of loving on the kids, showing them God’s love.  So sad to leave them, knowing that they experience a poverty of affection, resources, and relationship that I only understand pieces of.  I continue to pray for them.  I hold them in my heart, too.