This summer has been a beautiful time to spend together as a family, to spend time with old friends and new friends, and to continue to see God moving pieces of the puzzle that we weren't even aware of.
We were able to make a quick video update about our family that we'd love you to watch if you haven't seen it yet! We are so grateful for one of our pastors, James, who was willing to film and edit it for us!
Crawfish Boil
At the beginning of the summer, it was time for another Adoptive and Foster Dad’s event! This one was so much fun! We had a Crawfish Boil and Poker Night. We were so blessed to have Foster Village be willing to sponsor this event and they showed up with pounds and pounds of crawfish! We were hosting the event at our home, so we still found a few crawfish wandering around the day after the event.
There is such beauty to have a group of men who have experienced the extreme highs and lows of adoption and foster care gathered around a table, swapping stories and sharing life, while decimating hundreds of crawfish. There were a few times where I just had to step back and thank God for the burden He had placed on my heart a few years ago to bring together dads here in Memphis.
The poker was fun too…a little on the competitive side with Texas Hold’em…we were able to see who had the best Poker Face. And the winner even was able to take a bluetooth speaker home! The next hang out night is going to be Bowling in September. Can’t wait!
Julian Graduated!
Well…from Pre-K that is! It is hard to believe how fast he is growing and how much of a little man he is. He did great in Pre-K and was one of his teacher’s favorites. It is amazing how well-behaved he is at school and how well he makes friends. Marelyn applied for him to continue as a transfer student at his Elementary School and it was granted, so he will be able to continue in the same district.
He also turned 5 over the summer and is very proud of it! Although he wasn't so sure of the mouse at Chuck E. Cheese! We have been able to have him over at the house a few different times. He jumps right back into old routines and even sleeps in his own room by himself like he used to. We are so proud of the young man that he is becoming! We do miss him, as we haven’t had him regularly like we did during the school year,
but it sure is nice to only have teenagers at home!
Asia Trip
Right after school was out, our family was able to travel to Asia. We had been saving for this trip for 3 years, although it wasn’t exactly what we thought we had been saving for!
It was supposed to be our 15th anniversary trip to Italy, but after cancer last year and realizing that this might be the last trip before everyone starts graduating, we both decided to go with the family trip instead!
It was the first time for the three kids to travel outside of the Americas and experience places and cultures where they couldn’t be understood. We were able to spend a few days in Japan, where the food was definitely amazing! The onigiri from 7-Eleven was one of their favorites, as well as the sashimi and wagyu beef at the local seafood market.
One of our top experiences was truly a “high”… experiencing the sunset at the tallest tower in the world at over 2,000 feet...the Tokyo Skytree. Another thing that our kids were obsessed with was the heated/bidet toilets! And we are still making onigiri at home since we’ve been back!
We were then able to travel to Chiang Mai, where we met up with the same Christian Karen Tribe that we had spent time with a few years back when we were visiting missionaries. They have domesticated elephants that their tribe has had for generations and the kids absolutely loved their time there. We ended the trip in Bangkok, where we had one of the most fun and scariest experiences of ridding in the back of a tuk-tuk, the five of us squished together through rush hour traffic with the speakers blaring Spanish music for us. There were so many memories that we will keep for a lifetime!
Hosting MIFAM
One of our favorite days of the month is the first Thursday! Each month there are a group of people from our community in Memphis who get together to share about everything surrounding foster care and adoption here locally and how we can support each other. It's called Memphis Interfaith Foster and Adoption Ministries or MIFAM for short.
In June, we had the amazing privilege to host it at our Orphanos office! It was so fun to have so many dear friends and colleagues together and for them we hear more about what Orphanos does in Memphis and internationally. We are so grateful how God continues to move in such mighty ways and we are honored to be a part of it!
Austin Transfered...
Some disappointing news this summer is that Austin, the boy who Richard has been mentoring for the past few years, was moved to a different group facility in Nashville. Austin had put in a request for a transfer to a less restrictive group home, but he was hoping for something local. He was able to call me a few weeks after the transfer and shared that he was not doing so well.
We know that some of those feelings are missing the residential home where he has been at off-and-on since he was 8. It might not be a traditional home, but he knows how it works and the staff. He also shared that the other home is more focused on teens with mental disorders and has more extreme security, so he is feeling out of place. Please pray for his adjustment and that he would be able to come back to Memphis if that is what is best for him. He is just a little over a year from aging out of the foster care system. *The first picture is the last one we took together and the second picture is one of the first pictures after we met
Austin was the third teenage boy that Richard has mentored over the past few years, but he has been the one that Richard was able to get the closest with. One of his previous mentees had been a Spanish-speaking teen, which is becoming more and more common in Memphis. Richard requested to be paired with a Spanish-speaker and is waiting for the next mentor/mentee match.
Summer of Visits
This summer turned into the summer of visits!!! We were first able to welcome the Klaus family from Corpus Christi. Our stories have been interwoven together since 2007! We still were remembering when they came down to Mexico with two of their boys when they were babies…and the patience that they had for James who would scream constantly. Thankfully at 16, he overcame the screaming!
We love their friendship so much and it is beautiful to see how our kids jump back into friendship together, even though they don’t see each other for years at a time. It was a blast to have them stay with us for a few days and catch up on life. They are such a special family to us!
A few weeks later, we were surprised with another visit! Jimela, Inti’s mom, called and shared that she wanted to surprise Inti by traveling to the US for a week. A little back story, Jimela became a believer just a few years ago and her life has changed so much. She is currently studying at a Bible school in Guatemala for a year, because she is interested in becoming a missionary. We were able to convince Inti that he needed to pick up “Uncle Mark” from the airport at the last minute…he actually walked past his mom a few times without realizing it!!!
This was the first time to see each other in two years. They have a relationship with lots of ups and downs, at times being super close and other times being more distanced. It was hard to see Inti feeling that desire at the beginning to push away, but it was also really beautiful to see him warming up towards the end of the week.
As a family, we had an amazing time with Jimela and she was so sweet and constantly trying to clean/organize the house while Inti was at work. She made some delicious food, like tilapia in banana leaves, bolón de verde, and pan de yucca, which everyone loved! She is such a sweet lady and it has been beautiful to see how she continues to show up for Inti, even if she wasn’t present the whole time during his childhood.
Prayer Requests
Mental Health: Please continue to pray for each one of our kids who are dealing with trauma from their childhoods and the time/energy needed to process through it. Each one experiences highs and lows, but we are so hopeful as they work through their childhood wounds that the lows can be less and less extreme.
Community Mapping: Richard applied for a training grant through the Christian Alliance for Orphans back in May, and Memphis was the only city that was selected! Along with 6 other foster ministry leaders, we are working to see how to make big changes in Memphis. Please pray for clear next steps as we meet with many other ministry leaders and create a project to unify and support the foster care system.
Wisdom: This is our main prayer request! We know that there are many ministry plans and things that we think are best for our kids, but we want what God wants for us and those around us. Please pray that we would be sensitive to His words and direction.
And please come visit if you are coming through Memphis!!!
Richard and Ximena
*Thank you for reading our update! We are in need of new supporters, especially for our ministry expenses, as we continue to do more in our community. Here are the links:
Family Support: CLICK HERE!
Ministry Expenses Support: CLICK HERE!
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