pray

It's now heading toward the end of August and it is very cold and very rainy. Ok, I guess "very cold" is a matter of perspective (in the low 60's at night), but it's definitely rainy and that makes it seem even colder. There are still plenty of hours in the day without rain and even some beautiful sunshine, but when it starts raining it usually dumps. There has been flooding in Teguc and even some people out here near Valle de Angeles have been evacuated because of the danger of a landslide.

We're heading into the third week of school. Right now it's still a bit of a struggle as we all continue to adjust from free time and "summer" vacation to scheduled mornings and homework. We are praying and are confident that things will smooth out as we work together is this "transition". :)

Recently Harlan has been working off and on in building a platform with railings in the mango tree below our yard. Our children have missed the clubhouse/swing set/sandbox that Harlan had built in our backyard in PA and have kept asking when they could have another clubhouse. It was coming along very nicely and Angelica, Ali, Zack and various friends here at the Finca had all been helping and were very excited. Everyone was disappointed when going out one morning to see that someone had used a machete to chop off some of the railing and the swing that had been put up, as well as cutting off Harlan's plants and a tree that we had in pots on our back porch. It happened while we were away the afternoon and early evening the day before. While we do hope that someone feels convicted and confesses, we also want to pray for them. It's hard to understand this kind of behavior and others like it here among these kids and many times we may just want to see "justice". But then I only need to remember my own life and remember that if God had given me only justice for my behaviors and sin, then I probably wouldn't be here! Most times we have no idea what hurts, burdens and emptiness these kids carry around with them all the time and what compels them to lash out. Pray for these 90+ children here at La Finca. Pray that they will open themselves up, give all the garbage they carry to God and allow him to heal them. Pray that our children can choose to forgive and reach out to those who have hurt them by their words and actions. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom to know when we should talk about correction and discipline and when we should just reach out and love without words. Pray that God would renew our (and all those here) strength and bring renewal and restoration.