My Trip & Donations

As I mentioned in a previous post, I will be going to Guatemala the last week in June. The orphanage is in need of multiple things including.....

Medical Supplies- cough medicine, vitamins, lice shampoo, medicated lotion, etc.
School Supplies- books, pens, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.
Teaching Materials- calculators, ESL textbooks, learning games
Physical Education Supplies- balls, bats, swimming equipment (masks, fins etc.)
Miscellaneous Supplies - soap, toothpaste, shampoo, etc.

Instead of taking these things with me, I am taking a collection so these things can be purchased there. I have some of my Ham radio equipment and other random things listed on eBay which should bring in about $300. A generous couple from church also gave $100. My goal is to take $1,000 with me but will be happy to offer whatever I can. If you can help out please get in touch with me before I go in June.

Paz,
Todd

New Picture!!

We have some new pictures of Matthew and are excited to show him off.

This picture is of him at school. He is to the right of the girl in yellow.

PGN Update & My Travel Plans

Hello All,

We were just informed that Matthew's case is still with the 2nd reviewer. We take this as good news because the reviewer did not find a problem and did not issue a "previo". We also read in a news bulletin put out by the US Embassy in Guatemala that all approvable cases will be released soon. We have faith that ours is one of those.

Another news bit, I (Todd) will travel to Guatemala to visit Matthew and the Rio Dulce Children's Village. I am leaving on June 28 and will be home on July 4. I believe that I will be staying at the Hotel Backpackers which looks like a beautiful place. I have a link to hotel below:

http://www.hotelbackpackers.com/index_eng.html

Lastly, thank you for looking at my blog as often as all of you do. The adoption has been VERY stressful for Amber and I and this is one of my coping mechanisms. This gives me a place to boast, brag, moan and groan about all that is happening. So again, thanks for reading.

Keep Matthew, all of the children, orphanage workers, and us in your thoughts and prayers. We all need it!!!!!!!

Rio Dulce phone call

I called the children's village at the Rio Dulce and spoke to a nice lady named Paloma. She was very helpful and was able to answer all of my questions about Matthew's move. Amber and I feel 1,000 times better about the whole situation and we know that he is much better at the river than at the baby house.

We learned that he is cared for by a young lady named Kelly from the UK. We are extra excited about that because he will be exposed to english. In addition, he will go to school five days a week and one hour per day is set aside for english class. Paloma also told us that he is very happy and loves to run and play with all of the other children.

All of our fears about his move have been erased and we now know that he is in good hands. I am even considering a visit to the children's village sometime soon.

Children's Village

As I mentioned in the last post, I planned to contact the orphanage director to find out about Matthew's doctor visit........well.........we were misinformed. The director told us that Matthew was transferred to the Children's Village at the Rio Dulce. The Children's village is in the north-east corner of the country and houses the older children.

We are very worried about him because he is now one of 250 children instead of where he was.......one of 15 kids in a house in the city.

On the positive side he will be going to a school with several children his age, will no longer sleep in a crib, and be exposed to some english. I guess we can try to look at this as going to summer camp.

If you are interested, here is the link to the Children's Village:

http://www.casa-guatemala.org/

YOUR PRAYERS ARE APPRECIATED....................

Love,

Todd & Amber

Another orphanage call

We called the orphanage today and the lady we talked to said that Matthew was at the doctor but did not know why. She assured us that he was fine but that still did not sit well with us. We emailed the director to ask for more details and will hopefully hear something soon.

Otherwise.....he is happy to have the things we sent and is doing well overall.

Matthew Update

This is an email we got from our friend, Giovanny, who lives in Guatemala. He delivered some "goodies" to Matthew for us.

Hello Todd,
Im sorry that I havent had the chance to write but yes the package was delivered on the 9th . A day after your friend arrived here in Guatemala. Mathew was very happy with his toys , clothes and shoes. He says he loves and misses the both of you and he cant wait to see you. He looks very healthy and happy.
Until next time take care .
Giovanny

2nd Reviewer!!!!!

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY!!!!

Amber called the PGN today and learned that we are with the second reviewer. This gives us hope that good things are finally happening......finally!!!!!

As I mentioned before, there are three reviewers in the PGN process. We're on number 2!!!

Day of Prayer - Adoptions

Tomorrow, 5/9/08, is a National Day of Prayer for adoptions. Please keep Matthew and all orphans in your thoughts and prayers throughout the day tomorrow.

I will be calling the orphanage tonight at 7pm. The plan is to get some updates on how he is doing in general, how he is doing in pre-school, how he is adjusting to being called Matthew (Marlon is his name given at birth), and to share a few words with him on the phone. I will update the blog as soon as I am off the phone.

*****UPDATE*****

I called the orphanage!! Matthew wants a disposable camera to take pictures of his friends so that he will remember them after he leaves.

The ladies at the orphanage were happy to hear that we have some things on the way for him. We sent new shoes, pajamas, legos, pictures, and matchbox cars.

PGN Update

We heard from our agency today!! They called PGN and we are still with the first reviewer with no "previos". As I explained last PGN update, no previos = good news. Hopefully we will move to the second reviewer very soon.

Also, I have plans to call the oprhanage on Thursday. I will update everyone after the call.

I TALKED TO MATTHEW

I AM GEEKED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I got to talk to Matthew tonight because of a wonderful lady, named Ana, on the guatadopt.com forum. She was my translator as I asked questions to the ladies at the orphanage and while I was TALKING TO MATTHEW!!!!!!!!!!!

Matthew asked......."When are you coming for me?" (My heart broke)

He asked me for new shoes, pajamas, legos, Matchbox cars and pictures of "mi hermanos" (his brother and sister).

Matthew is going to pre-school and learning colors, shapes, and hygiene.

We need help - Translators!!!

We are looking for english-spanish translators to help with phone calls to the orphanage. We just had 3-way calling put in and are anxious to talk to the orphanage workers and to Matthew!!!!!

Weekly PGN Update

Our adoption agency calls the PGN once a week and our attorney or courier visits, in person, once a week. We got word that we are still with the first reviewer (there are 3 total) which is what we expected. The good news is that we were not issued a "previo" or a request for further information or paperwork.

I will keep everyone updated as things progress.