Ready, Set, Go!!!

Many of our faithful blog life followers have questioned where we have been for the past 3 years.  Why no knew posts have been published since our nomadic family returned "home" to Texas, the answer is simply this... coming back to the land of comfort has been the most difficult thing God has ever asked us to do.  It has not been a journey that I wanted to chronicle, forever written down.  Though one day maybe our hearts will be mended to that point of sharing, for now those years are mostly left blank... but not empty, for it was those years of mending and healing that lead us to a new path that we believe God carved out especially for our family of five (now)!  A pathway that leads a simple 7 hours away from home and to a new place to rest called Amarillo!  So here it is, the blog is back on and our hearts are back to soaring, back to where they always belonged... serving those most deserving of service, practicing the purest form of religion, loving the defenseless and sharing the only thing we have, ourselves!  Hold on guys, here God goes again!!!

The Child the World Passed By

I saw her fragile frame first thing

Inside concrete walls built high

With hundreds of neglected hands, lifted up to mine.

Some saying 'mommy', some falling silent

All of them hoping that I had come to save them.

Cutting sharp through quite chaos

Her strained eyes caught hold of mine.

The Child the world passed by.

And every time I come to visit

Her little arm predictably wraps tightly 'round
and her face gets tucked away
Inside my skin she tries to hide her pain.
And we walk, no longer separate but now together
Me, kissing hundreds of little dirt smudged fore-heads
Brushing away dark strands from all of their brown eyes
Listening to each ones story, Smiling when they smile.

All the while being clung to
By the Child the world passed by.

To me she never speaks a word
But then she never has to.
Her eyes alone tell of a lonely world,
  a broken home,
  a hurt I've never known.

A dream she no longer dares to dream

At twelve years old, she knows her fate.

Simply because the world never stops,
while she waits.

And she knows what happens next
And she knows how her story will end,
  and so do I.

And I wish that I could slow the earth.

And change the way that this world spins.

And ask of us to not walk by, to not move on another step in our lives

Until we stop and look in her eyes

And tell her Why.

Why, she's the Child the world passed by.

~amanda elaine

So what in the world are we up to now, you might ask...

Well it’s been eight weeks now since we have moved back to Texas.  You would think that would be sufficient time to get re-adjusted to life in the states but after living abroad for almost five years, sometimes we feel more foreign than we do normal!  It doesn’t help that we came home because of unforeseen reasons but God is proving as always that His ways are clearly not our ways anyway.  So we are learning to just let go and learn a new/old way of life.  

Since returning home, Jason has answered a new calling.  While we lived in Guatemala this past year Jason said on several occasions that if he ever got the chance to get a medical education he would jump on it.  Nurses are a huge demand in missions, and so many people die before getting the help they need simply because there is no one near who can help them.  So it was not the least bit odd that when we found out for sure that we were to stay in America for a long while he immediately enrolled in MCC’s RN nursing program.  We are very proud of him, he has always had a knack for helping the sick (or just about anyone) and I know that there is a need for people with hearts like his in our hospitals today.  The director of the RN program said he was a shoe in and so this past Monday Jason went back to school and our home got a little quieter with one less boy hanging out!

Amanda has decided not to “go to work”.  It was a hard decision for our family, but we feel like if we’ve learned anything over these years in missions it is that we were put on this earth to do just that, mission work.  We can live without many of the creature comforts as we have done for the past five years and, Lord willing, Amanda will spend her days volunteering and making a difference the only way she knows how by hugging and loving on the un-loved. She has begun the process of applying for volunteer work through Mission Waco for the children’s summer programs.  We’ve lived a God lead life up to this point so that is how we will continue to live… one day at a time and for Him!  It is a legacy we hope to pass on to our children one day.

If we were to give our new mission a name I think we would name it “Everyday Missions” basically living Missional Lives Wherever We Are.  We’ve always preached that ALL are called no matter where you live, there is work to be done and it seems God is asking us to back up our words with actions now and do Missions right here in Waco, TX… who would have ever thought?!?!?!  So get ready Waco, The Butcher’s are back and they have a lifetime of lessons just waiting to spill over into everyday life!

Zacapa, Guatemala Government Orphanage



Thanks to team Ted, this month we got invited to go and help out one day at the Government Orphanage nearby our town. It was quite a day and hard for us to leave this amazing group of kids, but we have the promise of a return trip soon! Here are some pics of our day!

The Nursery had about 10 babies in it...
these were the littlest ones!

 


This little girl would not let go of me when it was time to leave...
I have prayed for her every night since that day.




Such a cutie, she hid behind me and would not let Jason see her
and then all of the sudden she was running to jump in his lap!




Two more nursery babies, the little girl on the left was named Gloria...
and she had a glorious smile that never ended!




Chandler is on the right playing soccer with the kids!
He fit right in with his new friends!



Medical Clinic ~ Team Hope for Tomorrow

The future medical clinic is well on it's way now! The teams over the past year have put on the roof, poured the floor, designed the rooms and now added electrical plugs and lights in each room! Little by little every thing is coming together and in the mean time the church is able to use the building as it's Sunday School class rooms and activity center!

Mrs. Sara busting some concrete!

Team Tim, Ted and Jeff

Jason and Tim in their Hope For Tomorrow Shirts!

Miss. Vasti and her Sunday School Class

~ Nuestro Guatemala ~

It's a Dogs Life!

300 Children's Books donated!!!

One of the ministries closest to our hearts has always been (and will always be) working with children who are not being taught the Word of God, either because it is not apart of their home life, or because they have no home to speak of.

So here in Guatemala, surrounded by little children we have found more than one opportunity to reach out!  Passing out water, ham sandwiches with cheese (an unlikely favorite) or just sitting down and reading a book about Jesus.  Before we made the move to Guatemala, a very special book made it's way into our hands entitled "La Historia de Jesús", and it has instantly become a favorite with the neighborhood children.

We are so excited to announce that when the author, Don Hammatt received news of his book being used by our ministry he graciously donated and had mailed to us 300 more books to give out to each kid we come across!  It is such a blessing to us and I believe that it is the hand of God as it enables us to give the greatest gift, The Story of Jesus!

Please take a moment to check out the authors book website below...

http://www.thejesusstory.com/

And be inspired to make a difference in the life of a child today!

A Trip back to Chiapas, Mexico!

While working on our Guatemalan Visas we got the opportunity to travel to Mexico for a week, and where else would we go but back to Chiapas where we spent two years working under Lost and Found Ministries, with Bill and Tammy Woods and their beautiful children.... which now total 21+



On the road again... Arriaga in our sites!





Staying at the Childrens Home surrounded by little ones!




Chandler and Baby Christian... who is not a baby anymore!!!




Passing out Crowns!



While eating at Burger King on the way up to Chiapas, Peyton had the idea to get crowns for ALL the ninos at the Children's Home.  So we asked the manager there and he graciously donated over 100 crowns.... which we plan to keep on passing out to each and every orphanage we come across over time!  Thank you so much Burger King for giving us the opportunity to Pass out Crowns in place of Ashes!

Ministering with Hope For Tomorrow ~ 100 Melons

Hope for Tomorrow Ministries had over 100 melons donated to them this past month and we were given the opportunity to help find a place for each and every one of those melons.  A two hour drive up the mountain to a small Indigenous Village and you'll find a group of people who in their own words feel "forgotten".  Passing out the fruit was truly an opportunity to be the Hands of Jesus and a sign to these people that they are not forgotten, that God wishes to touch them and to show them His salvation!

Pastor Noe giving out a little Hope!

Brother Tim getting in the action

Jason and Tim, good work guys!

Jason passing out melons all the way up and back down the mountain!

Two Melons, please!

Cooking with Marta!

My good friend Marta Lydia gave me this squash as a gift the other day, and then luckily invited me to her house to learn how to cook it... So here we go!

Marta Lydia in her kitchen using her Kitchen knife!!!!

Getting my hands dirty...

and now the food is on the stove!

 What is it, You might be asking.... It's Squash candy, of course!!!!

Peyton, Karen, Jorge and Chico.... and little puppy serina (mermaid)!

...And in the end we had enough to share with all the neighborhood kids!!!  GREAT DAY!

Teculutan

Just in case your curious about what a home might look like here in 

Teculutan, Guatemala...

A typical wooden style home (Outside)

Inside the wooden home... you can see the dinning room table, the armoir and the stove

This is a very common mud home just outside the city, built of just that sticks and mud!

...and what I like to call a "sign" home.. built of... you guessed it, signs!!!

Of course just like in the states, neighborhoods and types of homes range... there are beautiful homes built behind walls that I'll never get the privileged of seeing and then there are your average block homes... just one big room divided up into spaces for sleeping, eating, and cooking!  I have yet to find a "middle class" here, it seems that you are either very impoverished or very rich!

Christo El Rey Iglesia Anniversary

The Church here in Guatemala Celebrated it's 8th Anniversary this year!  It was a beautiful all day celebration with many new guests from the surrounding area.  At lunch time we were given the opportunity to share our meal with three adorable children from down the road who must have smelled the food a mile away!  It was a great day overall and we got some great photos of the Men, Women, Children and Youth Ministries!

October 31st

This Fall Season the Youth worked very hard putting together our very own Youth Drama entitled "Regresa a Casa" (Return to Home).  The Drama is a modern day version of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and on October 31st we were given the opportunity to preform our Drama at the local Sports Stadium in front of many of the youths peers!  We were so proud of all of their hard work and it was amazing to watch God use this group of teenagers to show His love to this town!

Youth Group at the Butcher's

Ok, so every Thursday night these teens come out to our home for fun, food and a Bible Study... and YES they all come voluntarily!!!  Here are some photos of the group and some of the games!

Baptisms in the Mountains

This past month we had the opportunity to be a part of baptizing 6 new teens up in the top of some of Guatemala's most beautiful mountains.  Here are some of the photos of the day!