Thursday, March 23, 2017

The past 14 days.

Whew the past fourteen days have been a blur. There have been blessings, attacks from Satan, unexpected tragedies, God’s provisions, time in the hospital, time to be still, and through it all God is doing great things (even though at points it has been hard to see).

Two weeks ago on Wednesday evening we received a call from Wanda (Krishauna’s mom) saying that she had bad news. She told us that Manuel (the operations manager of Hope for Home here in Guatemala) was shot and killed. Both of us sat in shock and silence for about five minutes not really sure what to do. As schedule changes for the rest of the week were made and we attended the viewing and others went to the funeral, we knew we had to spend time looking toward God. So that weekend on Sunday evening we had a time of worship/devotion/fellowship with all the employees and families of the ministry to spend time focusing on our Heavenly Father. It was an amazing time of worship, tears, passion, words of encouragement, and love between the body of Christ.
             

                           
Thursday, the day following Manuel’s death news started circulating of an orphanage in Guatemala City that had been set on fire in the middle of rioting and 700 kids were in need of a home. 40 children had died and others were sent to hospitals to be treated for burns. So along with the crisis of Manuel’s death, this news caused more grief and feeling the need to help in some way.
You can check out Daryl’s blog post to read a more detailed post about these two situations. http://hopeforhome.blogspot.com/2017/03/murder-fires-and-hope.html

Just this past week the government contacted Hope for Home and asked if they could take in 10 more kids, and through help of other ministries, Hope for Home is now in the process of opening up another group home for ten more kids with disabilities from this orphanage that was destroyed. They found a home to rent just a block down the street (God’s provision is amazing) and have received many donations and help in order to get this home up and running. Pray with us that these 10 kids that come may feel at peace and the love of Christ through all who are involved in helping in this new home.

Through all of this we had a doctor’s appointment this past Saturday because to our knowledge Krishauna was eight weeks pregnant. At the appointment the doctor told us she was indeed pregnant, but not with a baby. She was experiencing what we now know is a molar pregnancy. This is when the egg and sperm join, but there is no genetic material present. The baby is not able to develop because of a chromosomal imbalance. It often shows itself just like a normal pregnancy with normal pregnancy symptoms because it is a pregnancy, but instead of a live baby growing, there is a mass of grape like clusters growing at a much faster rate. The doctor felt positive about the timing of finding this problem, but recommended having surgery to remove the mass as soon as possible. We scheduled the surgery and spent most of the day Tuesday at the hospital. The surgery went well and the doctor was able to remove the whole mass without any complications which was a huge answer to prayer as well. Treatment will involve multiple blood tests and doctor appointments in the coming weeks to monitor hormone levels. It also includes other tests and appointments for at least 6 months (maybe more) before she is cleared. We ask for your continued prayers as we walk through this emotional time of loss and look forward to the day where we can have kids.

We are continuing to process the more permanent location of where God wants us to be in Guatemala so we ask that you be praying for Him to continue open or close doors and that we would be able to follow His guidance.

We also continue to keep our eyes open for a vehicle and if you feel led to help us as we continue to raise funds for that purchase, we would be extremely grateful.

Thank you to all who have reached out to us during this time via e-mail or facebook with encouraging notes and for all your prayers. We are so thankful to know that there are people constantly in prayer for us! As I was in the hospital on Tuesday while Krishauna was in surgery I was able to spend a good portion of time in God’s word. For about five minutes of that time I flipped through the pages of my Bible and read notes I wrote or parts I underlined and wrote phrases or words from these thoughts or verses in my journal. Here is what it turned out to be.
 
He has died for me. He is faithful. Faith is growing. Stand firm. Pray. There is one God. Lift up holy hands in prayer. He is the pillar of truth. Put what you believe into practice. To Him be the honor. Flee evil desires. Preach the Word. All scripture is God-breathed. Lord gives me strength. Be active in sharing your faith. Fix your thoughts on Jesus. He will appear a second time. Persevere.”

God is good and He is doing greater things!


-Andi and Krishauna

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