We usually start each update by looking at the previous month’s update, just so we know where to start. As we were reading the last update, there were a few sentences that stuck out: “So these past few weeks have been a little crazy. It feels like we have been in planes, trains, and automobiles (pun intended!) a lot, but honestly the deep relationships that we have formed and continue to form have made it all worth it.” Wow! We weren’t ready for what was next…so let’s add ferries, rickshaws, boats, vans, scooters, and elephants to the mix…yep…that’s about right! Bring on the craziness!
This is a 2-month update, which has been filled with a lot of life, so if time is tight with the holiday season, feel free to just skim the pictures and watch the video towards the end. We feel the pressure of “catching up” after being away so much as well, so we completely understand!
So in October, we left you guys with Richard and Santiago heading down to Mexico to visit our oldest son, Gustavo. The day before we left to Mexico, Gustavo finally connected to Facebook and we were able to let him know that we would be in Querétaro for a few days. After arriving there, we were able to head straight to his house and he ended up spending the night at the hotel with us. To make a long story short, and leaving out details that Gustavo doesn’t want us to share publically yet, Gustavo is doing a lot better and growing emotionally and spiritually. Communication has still been difficult, but we know that he is doing well.
While we were in Querétaro, we were able to visit with the VanBeelen family and spend some time at Pan de Vida. Santiago had first met the VanBeelen kids about 4 years ago when we were in Querétaro, but he didn’t remember that time any more. Recently, he was able to meet them again at the Orphanos Retreat in May, where we had many of the missionaries come to Texas for training. So now they were best friends!!! Santi was able to spend one full day at Pan de Vida in class with Benjamin and Mateo, which he absolutely loved. I was able to spend some good quality time with our missionaries there, Jeremy and Ana, and have some really great late-night discussions with them. And the tacos were amazing too!!! It felt weird to be back at one of our “homes” and actually our first home, but it is great to see how God has continued to move and mature is over these years.
As soon as we arrived back in the US, it was literally days until Richard was set to leave again for Asia. This time, Ximena was going to be joining him a few days later. So there was a lot of packing and planning going on, especially since the grandparents were coming up from Belize to watch the kids for 2 weeks. In the midst of the packing, actually on the night before Richard flew out, one of Ximena’s favorite singers from Venezuela was coming to Memphis (OK…he’s one of Richard’s favorites too!). So we both went to Nacho’s concert! It was like being back in Latin America for a few hours, surrounded by people from Colombia, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico, some having traveled over 6 hours to get to the concert. It really was an amazing time and just one of those “breather” moments to catch up in the middle of the craziness.
And then Richard flew out the next day! He first travelled to Isaac Children’s Home in South Korea, which was his first time to visit Asia. Everyone was so welcoming and it was great to spend time with Bible Jang (BJ), who is our contact with the orphanage in Korea. They used our visit to prepare some special field trips for the kids, from going to a local park to going to the emperor’s palace. Everything was great, but the best part was getting to take the younger kids to an indoor waterpark. Considering that it was about 30 degrees outside, we were very glad that it was indoors! For almost all of the kids, it was there first time to even see a pool, so to experience hot tubs and waterslides as well was just mind-blowing! I think one of the kids I was with almost had a heart attack in the wave pool and at one point couldn’t decide if he wanted to hang on to the tube or to me, so he just kind of did a spread-eagle, not letting go of either thing. Thankfully, I finally convinced him to let go of the tube and he was just like a little baby monkey, hanging on for dear life! It was a beautiful time and it is always great to see how much you can communicate with a smile or holding a hand.
Then, we headed to a country in South/Central Asia. This portion of the trip is honestly a part that I haven’t been able to fully process. It was very overwhelming physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When we first arrived in the capital city, I felt almost like the people coming on a short-term trip to Latin America for the first time. I felt the same. Usually, there is such a stark contrast between the traffic, the sheer number of people on the street, and poverty that is seen in Latin America compared to the US that the team members are in shock. For me, the contrast between Latin America and this Asian country was absolutely shocking…nothing I have previously experienced had prepared me for it. It almost felt suffocating at times and honestly couldn’t imagine how our missionaries had survived their first year on the field, after they had shared some extreme hardships experienced days after arriving.
Thankfully, the next day, we headed out of the capital and into the countryside to the orphanage. The ferry ride across was definitely interesting, but we were all relieved to get there. We were able to have some really great discussions in the van on the way with the missionary and the national director of the orphanage, especially since it was about a 6-hour drive there. One of the highlights (especially for anyone who knew my interest in Bollywood movies in college!) was being able to have an hour-long dance party with the kids. What started as the kids showing us a few of their traditional dances turned into all of us being dragged up front to dance together. Yep…I’m sure it looked pretty awkward, but it was so much fun and great to see all the kids laughing hysterically and enjoying themselves. One of the boys was also a dead-ringer for Gustavo, just a little darker, and made me miss him even more. After 2 days there, we headed back into the capital city.
In the city, we spent the next few days visiting a day program for children lacking education and seeing where they live. I also experienced my first rickshaw ride, while holding onto one of the boys from the program. I’m sure the boy wasn’t as nervous as I was, but I kept on waiting for all of us to spill out on the next big bump. Thankfully, all was well and we arrived safely! Overall, I left the country with a better understand of what our missionaries are living through on a daily basis and a great respect for them as well. It is a very hard life there, something that I honestly don’t know if I could do without becoming mentally unstable. They are definitely on the forefront of my prayers from now on.
And then we were heading off to Thailand to meet up with Ximena, who had flown in the night before to Bangkok and was waiting for us in the airport. We (Richard, Ximena, and Wayne) were spending a full day together between flights in Bangkok before heading to Cambodia. We were able to tour a little bit of the city and see a floating market, tigers, and the Buddhist temples there. It was almost like an Orphanos mini-retreat for the three of us and was definitely needed after the time in the previous country.
Once we arrived in Cambodia, we were able to meet up with Bic and Coleen, who are directors of a ministry there to Vietnamese refugee children. They have been struggling recently with ministry direction and lack of staff, so it just turned out that our visit was at a perfect moment. It was the first time that both of us (Richard and Ximena) were able to minister internationally on the Pastoral Care side of things together and it was so beautiful to sit back and see. Bic and Coleen had stayed at our house last year, so we already had a relationship with them, but Bic and Ximena hit it off even more! It was great to see Ximena minister to Bic’s heart and them spending time together, even going off on Bic’s scooter to find some coffee.
And Ximena did all of this while being extremely sick! Just before leaving for the trip, Ximena had an asthma attack while Richard was still in Korea. (Quick shout-out to Dr. Fahhoum who treated Ximena free of charge before she left and for Amy Sullivan setting that up and staying with Ximena the whole time!) She was prescribed a new allergy medication that she had begun before the trip. What we didn’t know is that one of the side effects was nausea and stomach pain, so she spent a lot of her time there hugging various different toilets. And then she would suck it up and come out to spend time with Bic and Coleen. She was seriously a trooper, although she was sick throughout the entire time, because we didn’t know it was caused by the meds.
After Cambodia, we headed back to Thailand for a few days. What was originally meant for a special time for us to experience Thailand’s culture and foods didn’t quite turn out that way. Since Ximena was still very nauseated by the smell of foods, we basically tried every American restaurant they had, as she could usually stomach a few fries or something. I called her my “gringa” during the trip because of it! There was one day in the middle of all of it that made all of the time worth it.
We had booked an experience with a native Karen tribe, which lets you see how they live and how they take care of their elephants. After a cancelled flight and having to sleep in the airport, we arrived a little late and we were picked up directly from the airport. The driver didn’t speak much English, but at one point he said that 99% of the tribe that we were going to is Christian. We thought we must have just misunderstood, since Thailand is 90% Buddhist and only 1% Christian. After arriving at the village, Ximena asked if it was true…and Sunday, our guide, shared that it was. Later on, we were able to talk more with them and we shared that we are Christian missionaries. Ximena asked if we could stay afterwards to pray for them and he readily agreed. After everyone else had left, Sunday shared that a missionary from Myanmar had shared the gospel with his grandfather and his grandfather was the first Christian in the village. They experienced rocks being thrown at their house and being looked down on, but slowly all of the tribe began to accept Christ. Now, even their work of providing a view of a traditional tribe and their elephants is based on Biblical principles and is astounding to see. It is amazing to see how God is reaching out across the globe to bring people to Him!!! We were able to have a prayer time for them and they prayed for us as well. We ended the time singing a few praise songs in their language…the Doxology was amazing! We then headed back into town…where both of us got carsick with all of the curves, so I guess it was my payback for calling Ximena “gringa” the whole time.
And then we arrived back in the US! Exhausted and beyond exhausted, but with so many thoughts, feelings, and emotions whirling around in our heads. We were just in time for Thanksgiving with Ximena’s parents and Richard’s mom, who had been watching the kids. It was a continued whirlwind of baking turkey and shopping and family and catching up at the office and everything in between. So now we are taking a deep breath. The past few months still haven’t been processed…we haven’t had time quite yet, but looking back over the pictures, we can see God’s hand clearly in every moment, even if our brains can’t fully comprehend it. We are both very ready to just travel in a car and have “regular” days at the Orphanos office, which we are looking forward to having over the next few weeks.
As you are praying for us, we would greatly appreciate continued prayer:
Gustavo: that God will continue to speak to his heart and show him who he is in Christ.For our twins, Mayumi and Erick: they are going through a difficult time with some news shared by their stepdad...a lot of emotional ups and downs.For our family: we are emotionally/physically/spiritually spent and we are looking forward to some rest.For Ximena and Santiago: they are both experiencing a lot of issues with asthma and allergies. Some of the tests have come back, so we just finished ripping up the carpet in the entire house. Please pray that we find the causes and treatment for both of them.
We do pray for each of you by name and would love to know how to continue to pray! And stay tuned for a shorter update in a few weeks, where Ximena shares the experience from her point of view. Much more exciting than when Richard writes the updates!
And then we arrived back in the US! Exhausted and beyond exhausted, but with so many thoughts, feelings, and emotions whirling around in our heads. We were just in time for Thanksgiving with Ximena’s parents and Richard’s mom, who had been watching the kids. It was a continued whirlwind of baking turkey and shopping and family and catching up at the office and everything in between. So now we are taking a deep breath. The past few months still haven’t been processed…we haven’t had time quite yet, but looking back over the pictures, we can see God’s hand clearly in every moment, even if our brains can’t fully comprehend it. We are both very ready to just travel in a car and have “regular” days at the Orphanos office, which we are looking forward to having over the next few weeks.
As you are praying for us, we would greatly appreciate continued prayer:
Gustavo: that God will continue to speak to his heart and show him who he is in Christ.For our twins, Mayumi and Erick: they are going through a difficult time with some news shared by their stepdad...a lot of emotional ups and downs.For our family: we are emotionally/physically/spiritually spent and we are looking forward to some rest.For Ximena and Santiago: they are both experiencing a lot of issues with asthma and allergies. Some of the tests have come back, so we just finished ripping up the carpet in the entire house. Please pray that we find the causes and treatment for both of them.
We do pray for each of you by name and would love to know how to continue to pray! And stay tuned for a shorter update in a few weeks, where Ximena shares the experience from her point of view. Much more exciting than when Richard writes the updates!
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