Waiting...by Lucy

Waiting for school to start, the ramp for the wheelbarrow of concrete mix
becomes a road for a race car

Waiting for better electricity, Mark gets the laundry room ready

Carolina waits for Joanna to give the next step in art class

Joanna waits for me to finish her new quilt
for her room

Josiah waits for his birthday gift which they plan to get while they visit the U.S.

We are still pouring concrete while we wait for the rest of the main building to be built!

Finally! The boys are in their new rooms!

We spend a lot of time here just waiting. We wait in long lines at the store. We wait in traffic. We wait for supper to start. We wait for school to start. We wait for the electricity to come. We wait for a doctor to take Danny's case. We wait for the next EMMC to get here. We wait for the next work team to come. We wait for Mark to fix a vehicle. We wait for funds to finish the main house. We wait a lot! If you have a desire to learn patience, this is the place to come and grow.

A lot of people have been wondering about the "new" family members, and how they are doing. They have settled in very quickly, and it is difficult remembering what it was like before they were here. I love to receive a hug from Carolina, or a smile from David. Miguel, Leo, and Fatima come to me for help in school. They rattle off in Spanish about their problem, and I just smile and tell them to bring me their books so I can figure out what the problem is. Through a lot of charades and broken Spanish, we usually can work it out and get them back on track.

Yesterday was a big day. We didn't have school because they were moving people into new rooms over at the Zaragoza house. When the work team from Indiana was here in February, they worked to create a new room because 5 new kids were joining the Zaragoza family. Slowly, but surely, the room has been completed. They would still like to put some kind of flooring in it, but haven't been able to find what they want for it. Victor and Julie decided they shouldn't make the boys wait any longer.

Let me explain what the sleeping arrangements have been until last night for the boys. In the room on the first floor were Caleb and Miguel in a bunk bed, and Danny and David in cribs. The room was completely filled with no place to move or get clothes out of drawers or closets. Upstairs, Fidel and Leo were sleeping in a bunk bed, while Josiah was sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Once again, there was no room to move in that tight space. Yesterday, everybody moved but David and Danny. They stayed in their room, but now there is no bunk bed in there so they have room to play. Upstairs, they moved Caleb and Miguel into their own room. Downstairs in the new room, they moved Josiah, Fidel, and Leo. They had a roll away bed built to fit under the bunk bed. They also have lots more room for their important stuff, and space to play with it.

Last night as we were relaxing after a fun evening with youth group, we could hear the boys laughing in their new room. They were so excited and having so much fun. It was such a good sound to hear, brothers laughing together. The wait was worth it. The treasure at the end, their own room and their own beds, was made more sweet by the waiting.

Danny and David stand by their beds in their own room

Caleb and Miguel sit on their new beds

Josiah, Fidel, and Leo show off their new room and beds

What are you waiting for? Are you impatiently waiting, or serving while you're waiting? God requires us to wait a lot. While you're waiting, find a way to serve Him wherever you are. You will be richly rewarded.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.--Titus 2:11-13