The last time we left you, we were getting ready to head to Ecuador to meet our grandson. It was a hectic, few weeks, getting kids to different respite homes and pets as well, but we are so grateful for each family who cared for them while we were gone. And then we were off!!! It was the first time in almost 6 years for Santiago and Leilani to be home again and experience all the sights, sounds, and smells. Honestly, just flying into Quito and seeing their excitement brought tears to our eyes. It had been way too long! We spent the first few days in Quito and they were able to visit our old house, spend time with their great-grandma, and see a few old friends. It was a very surreal experience being back home, while it is now no longer our home.
We then headed to the coast, Manta, to see our grandson. Judah is so beautiful and it was so incredibly different being grandparents! We get it now! It’s so nice to be the ones getting to hold him, spoil him, go out and buy diapers and other cute things that he needed, while also give him back to our daughter when he was crying, not have to change his diapers, and sleep through the night! It’s the best of both worlds.
About a week after being in Ecuador, Mayumi said that she wanted to talk to us about something important. Adrian had asked her to marry him and they wanted to do it while all of the family was still in Ecuador. She was wanting to know if we would help her plan a wedding and if Richard would marry them! In Ecuador due to COVID, there are really long wait times to find a justice of the peace, so we told them that they would have to see when that would be able to take place or if not, we could just do a simple ceremony. That afternoon, they called to share that they had been able to work it out for a justice of the peace on Friday afternoon at 4pm (This was a Monday!). By Tuesday, we were wedding dress shopping, ring shopping, and Ximena was working out all of the details to have the ceremony and reception at an Italian restaurant. We were so not expecting this!!! It was so beautiful to all be together (only Gustavo wasn’t able to make it…) and to celebrate their new family together.
The next few days after the wedding, we continued the celebration! Nico had his visa interview at the US Embassy that Thursday before the wedding and it was approved!!! We couldn’t believe it, but at the same time didn’t have time to even really think about it. Nico was on a bus a few hours later to get to Manta in time for the wedding. So now we had a few minutes to pause and actually let it sink in. Nico was the fourth of our kids to apply for a visa to the US, but all of the ones before had been denied. It was such a beautiful time to just hang out with all of our kids (and grandkid!) and be together as a family.
The weeks flew by and it was time for Richard, Santiago, and Leilani to head back to the US for the start of school. Ximena was staying in Ecuador for an extra week in Manta and then was flying back with Inti and Nico. We hit the ground running with multiple doctor’s appointments, getting the house put back together, and getting ready for school. A few days later, Richard had to go to East Tennessee for a ministry trip for a few days, so his dad, AKA Grampaw, came in from Belize to watch the kids for a few days.
The reason behind the trip to East Tennessee was to visit Isaiah 117 House (www.isaiah117house.com). The purpose of Isaiah 117 is to reduce the trauma for foster children on removal day, providing them with a comfortable home to go to with loving volunteers while their social workers look for a placement. At this point in Memphis, there are 1,200 kids in the foster care system and on average 10 kids in the DCS building, waiting for a placement. There are usually 2-3 kids late at night, most weeks at least 1 kid sleeping in the building, because no foster families are available. Richard is a part of the founding committee to open up two Isaiah 117 Houses in Memphis to receive these kids while they are awaiting placements. We were able to tour 4 different Isaiah 117 houses with Corey and sit down with Ronda to share our hearts. They are going to be presenting to their board in October with the expected launch in January and hopefully homes being built this next summer!
School started for most of our kids the beginning of August, including the traditional early morning feet washing the first day of school. Sadly, Ximena wasn't there yet to take the first day of school pictures, but we did them later on in the week. Ximena, Inti, and Nico arrived on August 8th and we started getting the boys ready for college. This year, we have one in daycare, two in middle school, two in high school, and two in college. It has been beautiful to see how everyone gets along with each other, even if there is a big difference in age. At the end of each day, we do something called “highs and lows,” which is basically a form of the daily examen, just for kid’s ages. It has been hard for some of our more negative kids to find highs, but they have gotten the idea. Julian’s high is always “being in Ms. Myeshia’s class,” which always makes everyone start laughing! There really has been a unity in our family, even if we are all from different countries and places.
Getting back into a regular rhythm has been very necessary for some breathing room! Since afternoons and evenings are always chaotic with homework and life, it has been nice to have all 7 of the kids out of the house from 8:30-2:30 every day, giving both of us time to work. At the beginning of September, we were also able to celebrate this “back-to-school” time by heading to Nashville for the Labor Day weekend with our 6 oldest kids. It was either raining or looked like it was about to rain, but God was so gracious with us by providing some clear skies to explore murals and we were even able to go line dancing with everyone. Out of everything that they enjoyed doing, playing in the swimming pool at the hotel in the rain and playing Marco Polo/Sharks and Minnows was their favorite! It was a fun time as a family just to connect.
Thank you for taking the time to read our update!!!
~Richard and Ximena
Praises:
School Provisions: This year, we were blown away by everyone who helped out. We were able to have almost all of the kid's school supplies donated. We had someone from Texas who sent new laptops and backpacks to our college boys. A few weeks after school, there was a need for 4 new calculators and the need was met in a few days! God is so amazing!
Our Home: The A/C is still working and we have plenty of hot water for all 9 of us! We have enough beds for everyone and it has been a perfect place for our family, even if we have a long list of pending projects. We at least were able to fix the fence that had been leaning for the past year!
Family Unity: It has been so sweet to feel united as a family on all fronts, both with everyone living in our home as well as our kids/grandson in Mexico and Ecuador. We have had more communication with Gustavo than we have in years and it is sweet to spend time with our babies.
Prayer Requests:
Our Boy's College: It still shocks us how expensive university is for international students. Nico and Inti each have to pay roughly $12,000 for each semester at a public university. They have student-work jobs and they are working their butts off with their side jobs over the weekend, including mucking stalls and anything they can get their hands on! We are covering all of their home/transportation expenses and helping out as much as we can financially, but it still isn't enough. If anyone is interested in helping out financially with their studies, you can click on the Ministry Expenses link below and write their names on the memo line. Anything helps!
Girl's Futures: We don't have court dates for our high school girls until 2023. It is amazing how long it takes! At this point, they are both looking to be reunited with family members in Ohio and Honduras. There have been a few very big issues that have come up over the past few months, which were really exhausting emotionally and spiritually. We are thankful that the situations have calmed down, but prayer for each of them is appreciated.
Our Vehicle: Our Sequoia is starting to give out on us, which is our only vehicle that almost fits everyone (let's just say that we have broken the law a few times to get to church...). Please pray for wisdom as Richard tries to repair it and we see if we can't get a few more thousands of miles out of it.
We are so grateful to each person who reads our update and loves on us in so many ways. We are always needing new supporters, so if God places it on your heart, here are the links:
Family Support: CLICK HERE!
Ministry Expenses Support: CLICK HERE!
To be continued...
Excellent newsletter. Thank you for the update. Wonderful stories, and beautiful pictures with everyone smiling.