Welcoming the Wiggins (by Rachael)

Wind, cold, snow, and icy roads couldn’t keep us away. Last night, friends and family crowded around the exit gate at the Indy airport and anxiously awaited the arrival of the Wiggins family.

With balloons, Spiderman t-shirts, and posters, our crowd attracted a bit of attention. But no one attracted more comments or stares than JP’s favorite superheroes. Spider Scot and Super Nate were the first to greet all the passengers when they stepped into the lobby.

Although he was exhausted and overwhelmed, JP walked through the gate and immediately hugged each of the 30 “strangers” who were waiting for him.

After an almost three-year battle, John, Emily, and JP’s adoption journey has finally come to an end. We thank God not only for his faithfulness in bringing JP home, but also for what God has done because of John and Emily and their involvement in Guatemala.

Here’s just a taste of what God has done since the Wiggins started visiting Guatemala:

• Because the Wiggins went to Guatemala, pastors and leaders from our church (including Jody Elslager, Shawn Wallace, the Longyears, and Jack Fox)  have visited Guatemala and left pieces of their hearts there.

• Because Jody goes to Guatemala, teams from our church “CRASH” Guatemala multiple times a year.

• Because of these Crashes, eXchangers who’ve been to Guat have had their lives changed forever.

• Because our church is involved in Guatemala, MCC is raising money during Advent for Buckner and the new foster program for the kids at the Baby Home.

• Because the Wiggins went to Guatemala, Nate and I have found new passion and purpose through our trips to Guate.

• Because the Wiggins went to Guatemala, 60 families from eXchange send letters, gifts, and love to their “amigos” in Eliza Martinez through Foreign Exchange.

• Because the Wiggins got our church involved in Guatemala, boys like Isaias, Tomas, Ambrosio, Tito, Alfredo, Jose, and Jorge are learning that there are people in the world who are absolutely crazy about them.

• Because the Wiggins went to Guatemala, the “big kids” at the Baby Home have explored the Guatemala City Children’s Museum, partied with an overgrown mouse at Chuck E. Cheese, screamed with delight as Spiderman jumped over the wall, sent bowling balls crashing down the lanes at Mira Flores Mall, terrorized Pollo Campero on multiple occasions, marveled over the animals at the zoo, and known what it’s like to be loved by some crazy Americans who think they’re the most incredible kids in the world.

• Because the Wiggins went to Guatemala, Juan Pablo is  now home with his mommy and daddy.

My favorite children (by Rachael)

I hate this. I hate saying goodbye to the kids. I hate leaving.

But the painful goodbyes don’t make the moments together any less sweet.

Today we had the privilege of taking the seven oldest “babies” to the children’s museum and to lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. And when I say “we,” I don’t just mean the five of us who are physically present. All of eXchange treated the kids to this special day, because all of eXchange pitched in to help get us the money we needed to take these kids out.

Throughout the day, I had several special moments with each of these kids. Here’s a recap of a few of the sweet moments I got to enjoy:

Juan Pablo: is a ball of endless energy. But he showed tremendous patience when he waited with Scot for the rock climbing wall. He waited for almost an hour without complaining.

Cristel: is in love with my husband. No, really. She is. Every once in awhile I’d try to play with her by myself, but if she lost sight of Nate, she’d frantically cry, “Net? Net! Net!” She wanted to hold him. She pushed him in a corner to try and keep him from leaving. She wanted to sit on his lap. She wanted him to come take a nap with her in her room.

Jose: made it to the top of the rock climbing wall. (Shawn put the video on his blog.) No surprise. He’s so smart and talented, but his hearing problems frustrate him and those around him. At the children’s museum, there is an electricity demonstration. At the last minute Jody remembered that we needed to take out his hearing aids lest we destroy them and his ears with the (small) shock that was going to shoot through his body. Jose didn’t understand what we were trying to tell him when we asked him to take it out. Finally, we had to have Estuardo come over and translate for us into sign language. Jose was still upset, but I think the joy he got from getting to participate may have made up for it.

Chabelita (Isabel): communicates mostly through grunts and shoves. I think Jody accidentally got a punch in the face from her a time or two today. She was absolutely terrified of Chuck E. Cheese.

Daniel: showed wisdom far beyond his years today. When Estuardo started crying when we were leaving, Danni very calmly told him not to be sad, because we would be back soon. When Juan Pablo asked us if we had more gifts to give them, Danni told him that we had already given them a lot already. We didn’t need to give them anything more.

Estuardo: and Danni spent about 45 minutes running up and rolling down a grassy hill at the museum. We were having so much fun that another random boy decided to join our posse. At one point, Estuardo got hungry, but I only had one package of pretzels and cheese in my pocket. I brought the package out, and Estuardo quickly offered to share with not just Danni, but also the random boy who was playing with us.

It hurt Estuardo for us to leave this afternoon, and he expressed his pain though tears and gigantic hugs. Since he’s getting ready to go live with Edwin, I thought he wouldn’t be so sad when we left this time. But I now realize that it must seem to Estuardo that the people he loves are always leaving him.

Alejandra: is so precious. I could listen to her giggle and watch her smile all day. Today she put her head in my lap and let me play with her hair and tickle her neck. She danced with me at Chuck E. Cheese’s. She sang with me in the car. She doesn’t talk very clearly though. Even the Guatemalans who listen to her have a hard time understanding what she says. This is due, at least in part, to the abuse she’s had to suffer through. Her speech has been very slow to develop. However, there was one thing today that came through loud and clear. When we were getting ready to walk out the door, Ale came up to me, gave me a big hug, and said, “Quiero ir contigo”–I want to come with you. I wish you could, sweet girl. I’d do just about anything to take you home. Since that’s impossible, I will pray for you. I will pray that God brings you a family who will show you love and treasure you in the way that you deserve.

Pizza= God’s Love (by Nate)

Today we had another great day with the children.  For more stories about the birthday party for Estuardo and our pathetic attempts at smashing a piñata at Elisa Martinez, be sure to read Jody, Scot, and Shawn’s blogs.

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If you would have asked me a year ago, “What do orphans need?” I probably would have said, “A loving family.” That hasn’t changed, but what if you can’t give them a loving family? At least not right a way?

How about friends from another country who travel a long way to throw them a party? I think this is something orphans need. Crazy people to think of them, bring them gifts, and spend time with them, showing them love.

Today we bought 25 large pizzas and delivered them to the boys at Eliza Martinez in Guatemala City. There was much anticipation to this shindig, but I really wasn’t expecting it to mean all that much to them. I should know better, these are some kids who really know how to enjoy a moment. 

Each kid got three pieces of pizza, provided by their Foreign eXchange “Amigos” in Indiana. You know it’s a big deal to them when they have one bite of pizza left and they wrap it up in a napkin, stuff it into an already full pocket, and think of enjoying it later.

Several of the boys came up to us afterward to express their gratitude, some speaking in broken English. Others grabbed a translator to communicate, “Thank you for thinking of us. Not many people do.”

At eXchange, Scot sometimes talks about “thin places”–those times when God feels especially close. We had one of those moments today during the pizza party. Jody started refilling the boy’s drink classes, and we decided to  join her. It was such a pleasure, a privilege really, to be able to serve drinks to those boys. It was what Jesus would have done.