sickies and rainforests.

well hello there.

sorry i havent uploaded in quite sometime. its been a liiiitle busy down here in Guatemala. the days have been long (and the nights seem to be longer sometimes too! not always a good thing), and so even when i do have some down time im usually just breathing. or eating. (and then breathing again, of course).

however, sometime last saturday i caught a bad cold. sunday i slept in and took the day off and monday was kitchen duty (yes, i worked in the kitchen while i was sick. dont worry they cook everything we cut! not like any of you are going to get sick from me working in the kitchen in Guatemala...whatever). i went down to the baby house late on tuesday morning and for the rest of the week i was doing steadily better, although my nose was running like the Jordan River. with the cold came a cough, but really it was okay. i was able to get through my days, and yes granted i was exhausted by the end of it, but who isnt around here!

Then tuesday night i came down with the stomach bug, which proved to hit me much harder than anyone else. But as i was sitting in the bathroom trying to throw up for three hours i was praying. Praying that the Lord would keep me from temptation and questioning His goodness, timing, love, and kindness. and He has! Even though i got the 24 stomach bug, i (with only the Lords help!) did not complain! And even when i woke up in the middle of the night Wednesday with the worst ear infection ever He still kept me from temptation!

I am so grateful to God for that. I do have reason to complain. Im in an orphange, thousands of miles from everything that is comfortable, from my doctor, from good food (craving grilled chicken! and teriyaki steak! and sweet potatoe fries!), from a lot of things, but the Lord has given, is giving, and will continue to give me strength. I boast only in him!

Lately the song that has been stuck in my head is As Long As You Are Glorified. read these lyrics and see if they dont encourage you!

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled
Are You King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night

So quiet my restless heart,

Quiet my restless heart,

Quiet my restless heart in You

Those lyrics just lift my soul up every single day! My favorite line is // shall i thank you for days of sunshine / yet grumble in days of rain //. Here i have found that line is so applicable! Its definitely the rainy season here and some times it rains for days and aaaalllll day long. (really you would think we lived in the Amazon.) It starts to become virtually impossible to keep 15 babies inside for 3 days straight. try 17 toddlers. or 19 eight-year-olds! EVERYone gets stir crazy. And during these times its all too easy to not thank God for those days. Sure! Lets pray for sunshine, but lets not grumble during the days of rain.

Thank you all for praying for those of us who are sick! We are getting better. Sara and I stayed back from Antigua today, which was a little sad cause we wish we could have gone with OUR group, but we are planning on catching a ride with another group here going sometime soon.

aaannnnd hope you all have a WONDERFUL Fourth of July weekend! We're going to get pizza and other American food (actually pizza isnt really american, its italian. Whatever. We eat it in america!). We're kinda a little VERY excited.

hope you all are doing well!

see you in FOUR WEEKS!