Adios Guatemala!

One week ago we arrived in Guatemala with anxious hearts and minds looking forward to what God had planned for us to encounter at New Life Children's Home.  Today we leave behind the new friends we met here, but the moments and memories we shared will last a lifetime.  One of the most heartbreaking things I heard during our time here was that there are no step-children in Guatemala; in this culture when parents divorce and remarry their children are discarded.  As I reflected on this each  morning in my quiet time with God in reading his Word, I came across this promise found in Psalm 27:10:
"Though my father and mother have forsaken me, the Lord will take me in."

God speaks to us through His Word, and this verse will be a lasting memory of my time here, and a reminder of the hope NLCH gives to the children who live here and have lived here over the past 40 years.

In closing, another lasting memory that will remain in my heart is how this experience shaped my girls heart.  Last night as we left the children and came back to our guest homes, Taylor asked me, "Daddy, can we come back?".  And, Nicole reached out and hugged me, crying, "Daddy, I don't want to leave."  I know our journey here will remain in their hearts forever as well.