Surviving the Tundra!

It is snowing. It has been all day. We are expected to get another 4 to 6 inches. I made Caleb go stand near the snow to give you some perspective of how much we have. Here are a couple pictures of him and his dog.



I must admit that it was pretty coming down this morning but it is so cold. Twice this last week we woke up to temperatures of 15 degrees below zero. I think it may be the Lord addressing this whole "global warming" issue! : )

In our last posting, I briefly mentioned our plans to return to Guatemala. It is days like these that make me (and the kids) very excited about returning to a warmer climate! We purchased our tickets last weekend for a four-week trip. We leave on Thursday, February 18th and return on Tuesday, March 16th.

Caleb and Bethany took their first trip to Guatemala in 2005. Since a passport for a minor is only good for 5 years, we knew that we were going to have to get them renewed in 2010. When we drug them out of the safe to take a look at the expiration date, we realized that we were cutting it a little close. Their passports expire at the end of March. We were reading about countries that require a valid passport for 6 months after your travel dates. We don't think Guatemala has this requirement but to play it safe, we decided to do the renewal before we left. The man working at the Post Office said that we should have them in plenty of time but if you think of it, could you pray that they arrive soon?

A friend of mine asked me how we came up with these dates. There are a few reasons for this timeframe. First, they will be short a person in the clinics during this time due to "maternity" leave. Second, I have been trying to help the Fickers with their bookkeeping and we need to get all the year-end stuff done. Third, we are hoping to help with their Corn Project. The need for food will only increase as the dry season continues.

All of these reasons aside, we sought the Lord and His timing. He promises that He has plans for us in Jeremiah 29. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." In many ways, we feel that this is the path that the Lord has for us. We will share more on that and other details of our trip next time! Thanks for reading!