This could have been sooo much worse ! ......

How many times as parents do we walk away from a situation gasping for air and thanking the Lord for his provision of mercy .... we declare outloud ... "oh Lord , this could have been so much worse ! Thank you for your mercy on my child and us as parents and our family??? To many to count (atleast in our case -smile) . I wanted to share with you a little boo boo that Eli received the other day when he fell from HIS BUNK BED (yes, these beds save space but are they REALLY worth it ?! ) . Friday after classes (when my brain is dead) I had put the little guys in their bed with toys and books for some "independent" time. I use this time to get my home work done, catch up with the older kids, get stuff ready for dinner ( which is a HUGE deal here - no complaints- just the way it goes) .... anyway, I heard Eli crying and remembered that he was in his room alone that day so WHY would he be crying ? ???? hmmm.... I went to check it out and when I got to his room he was back up on his bunk and so goes the following photos. We are grateful  for Gods' mercy that he has poured out on us while we are here. Our dependency on him is INFINETLY greater and we are seeing him be POWERFULLY clearer as he goes before us, over us , around us and behind us making way for himself to be used and clear in our lives. SO.... while we grieve that Eli has had to have this fall we are greatful for Gods protection and the testimony to share with others of Gods' faithfulness. Would God have still been faithful if he had chosen a different outcome for Eli. ABSOLUTELY ! ,So many times already we have thought through this fall of Eli's and the fact that we have no vehicle yet and no real means of hospital that we have found yet so a simple fall seems to have a greater sense of protection when you make it through with no major results. We are still in training to serve the people of Guatemala on a deeper relationship level. How can we have a heart to serve these people when we have not had to walk in the rain, have water splashed on you by vehicles/motorcycles on the way to school, shopping  from the market(NOT a super market), almost no language which equals illiteracy,Eli's fall from the bed with moments of hmm...what should we do right now(quickly)....the list could go on forever.... our training goes on forever and our opportunities to relate to the Guatemalan people will go on forever!  We are SO GRATEFUL ! How blessed is this life that God has chosen for us. On days when things go nuts and I can't tell the difference between a bannana and a much different funky fruit(photo for another day-smile) I still KNOW that we are so blessed to have THIS life with THESE people ! 

Praise be to God for his protection for Eli ! Praise be to God for his protection from the things that none of us ever see ! 

Love you all-

Mel