We are slowly accepting that we are getting into winter, even that the cold weather and darkness at 4:30 is just around the corner! But we were able to enjoy our fall season with the kids and some intentional time together as a family and with the local ministries we help out. Here is also a video that our church put together, highlighting our family and the WRAP ministry we helped start in FAM at The Orchard.
One of the activities that we had done yearly before COVID was camping in the backyard of our community group. It had been cancelled for a few years, so it was great for it to be officially back! We were able to invite Kenito* to come camp for the weekend as well, which worked out amazingly well. It was so enjoyable to sit around the fire at night and talk with friends, while the kids were in the pool. It was the first time for the girls to camp outside…even though we cheated a bit and brought some mattresses along! To finish off the weekend, they were having a hot air balloon festival in the next city over, so we woke up super early and piled in the Sequoia to see the balloons in all their glory! The breakfast afterwards was even better, although then we had a few of our kids falling asleep during church. But it was all worth it!
Richard has been working hard for the past two years to receive his Spiritual Director Certification through Moody Bible Institute. It has meant commuting to Chicago every few months for weekend spiritual formation classes, dozens of books, and many hours spent receiving spiritual direction and giving spiritual direction. He officially graduated and received the certification in September! It was so worth it! It has been great to see the people who God has placed in his path to provide spiritual direction to. And we had another graduate in October! Erick officially graduated with an associates in electricity from the technical school he was attending in Manta, Ecuador! He had to defend his thesis project and we were thankfully able to be there via Zoom. As a part of his graduation gift, we had bought him a pair of nice Nikes that he had been wanting, but he only received one of them…it was a little incentive for him to finish his thesis. It worked!
One partnership that we have mentioned before is with a foster clothing boutique here in Memphis called Threads of Hope. It is a one-stop-shop for free new or very gently used clothing for the kids that come into DCS custody with little to no clothing most of the time. It has been so amazing to get to know Anna (the director of the ministry) over the past few months and is a kindred spirit for a good deal. We were able to help facilitate a partnership with our local church and their student’s ministry to do a clothing drive for Threads of Hope. Anna has a hard time getting good quality teen clothing and so the partnership was a match made in heaven! For the month of September, there were so many bags brought in to give to the clothing boutique! For October, we were able to use our discount skills (Y’all know that Ximena’s favorite store is Dirt Cheap!) to buy over 350 pairs of new Target socks, new shoes, new swimsuits, and other things they were needing. It has been beautiful to see how God is providing and the kids receiving clothing that truly shows their worth.
For the past few years, we have been able to attend the CAFO (Christian Alliance for Orphans) conference and this year wasn’t an exception. We were able to find 4 different respite homes for our kids to go to and then drive to Atlanta with Claire, who heads up FAM (Foster and Adoption Ministry) at our church. It is a three-day conference to hear the stories of so many adoptive and foster families and the different journeys that we take. One of our favorite break out sessions was called “A Practical Guide to Lying, Stealing, Manipulation, Aggression, and Hoarding.” Quite a session title, right? Well, we have dealt with most of those, so we went in with our ears open. The most practical thing we learned was about lying. She said, “Do you want to stop your kids from lying? Well, then stop asking questions!” Our mouths were gaping-open…is it really that simple? She shared that we give our kids too many opportunities to master their craft (lying), so take away those opportunities. Instead of asking, “Do you have homework?” Say, “Grab a snack, and we are going to sit down and do homework together.” Now we just have to put it into practice!
That brought us to the kid’s fall break in October! That is always an interesting time to juggle our ministry commitments and the kids being home, although thankfully Julian still had daycare. This year, we decided to set aside two days solely for time with the big kids. The first day, Inti and Nico were also on break from college, so the 8 of us were able to go rock climbing at a gym. It was the first time for almost everyone in our family and was definitely daunting at the beginning. But in no time, all of the kids were pushing themselves a little bit further and further. The hardest part was that initial trust in the auto-belay system to not let them drop, but after that, they were throwing themselves off the wall. It was so fun to see them open up, laugh like crazy, and want to do races as well. The second day, we were able to take our 4 teenagers and go out to Shelby Forest to hike around for a while. The funniest time was when Naty forgot her water bottle at the top of the hill that we had just climbed all the way down. By the time she got back from getting it, she was like “I’m dying…just leave me…I can’t!!!” And we were all laughing…it was a fun time!
One of the ministries that Richard works with is CarePortal, which is still very new in Memphis. Our church was the first church to begin working with them and it has been great to see it start to get its footing here. We were able to help with the first connection here locally back in July, but now there have been a few new requests in September and October. These two families have been hit so hard: one a grandma who just agreed to take the custody of her four grandchildren after her daughter was hit and killed as she was walking home from the hospital and another of a single mom with 5 kids who left an abusive relationship and then found herself homeless. With both of the connections, they were in need of beds for their kids and for clothing/school uniforms. For one of the connections, I was able to take two of our girls along and they loved it! Now they are asking me to get them out of school for it, but we’ll see! Special shout out to Threads of Hope as well, which has provided so much of the clothing!
Both of our girls just hit their 6-month marks since they first joined our family and it seems that it has been so short, although there has been so much that has happened in that time. Both of them have seen so much in life and experienced living as adult women for years, so it is beautiful to see them revert into little girls at times. At one of the fall festivals this year, they wanted to ride the ponies and go on the barrel train. They were a little too old for either of those activities, but we let them and just laughed at how much joy it brought them. We even ran into Denise Love, who is a missionary who Ximena tutored at language school 18 years ago and served in Ecuador there as well. A few weeks later, we were able to do some pumpkin carving and roast chestnuts to celebrate fall. They were also able to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood for the first time! At first, they were a little shy and had Julian go first to ask for candies, but by the end of the night, they were pushing their way to the front. Inti and Nico joined in too and it was the first time for them as well!!! They were all so surprised at how much of a community event it is…and how much candy they received!
And that brings us to November! We are looking forward to Thanksgiving (which will be a first for some of our kids) and Christmas traditions, as well as joining our Uncle Mark for the Texas Marathon Kingwood for New Years. We hope that each of you have a great holiday season and are able to spend sweet time with loved ones.
~Richard and Ximena
Praises:
1. Vehicle: Richard was able to “play” mechanic and install a bypass kit on the Sequoia so that it won’t go into limp mode any more. Along with a seatbelt and a serpentine belt replacement, we are hopeful that we can still get more mileage out of it!
2. Emotions/Growth: We are still riding a generally “healthy” season with our kids. There are still plenty of hormones and emotional growth that is taking place every day, but we have not had any of our kids in an unhealthy space for an extended amount of time (days on end) over the past few months (except for Julian). And academically they are improving too!!! We have had to implement some interesting multiplication games at home though!
Prayer Requests:
1. Court Cases: Both of the girls have made decisions regarding where they would like to stay long-term, but there are many steps to take to get there and their emotions are invested in every step. Please be praying as we work to get one of the girls back with her mom and one of the girls is wanting to stay with us long-term.
2. Sickness: We have been struggling with sickness! With 9 of us in our house, it means that it stays a long-time as it cycles through. We know there are more to come with winter, so please pray for general health and good immune systems.
3. Mayumi: She has been experiencing postpartum depression, which is especially hard for her as she is usually lighthearted and fun. Please pray that she will be able to find the right dosage of medication and a good community of friends as her hormones continue to adjust.
4. Richard: On November 2nd during a routine doctor's visit, there was a concern that led to an ultrasound. We received the results in the afternoon, which let to them scheduling an urgent orchiectomy surgery yesterday (Nov. 3rd), removing what they believe to be a cancerous growth. It is being sent off for biopsy and a CT scan will be performed this next week to make sure that it hasn't spread anywhere else in his body. Please be praying for recover from the surgery and good news from the CT scan this next week.
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!
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