Jessica back in Guatemala

This week marked the return of our daughter, Jessica, to Guatemala. She and her husband Josh serve at Casa Shalom orphanage in Guatemala City and had been in the States for about a month on a break. Jessica remained a week longer to be with her family while we honored the life of her grandmother.

As I dropped Jess off at Miami International Airport on Monday, I was again struck by how quickly time flies. A large billboard outside of the airport advertises a bank. Showing a picture of dollar bills, it says, “Watch your little ones grow”. I think I said out loud (I was by myself) “I heard that, brother!”.

I was also reminded of how proud we are of who she has become. The whole time she was growing up, I pushed her really hard to see her potential. Sometimes, I was too demanding and overbearing, not always very sensitive to her feelings. I fought hard to get her to overcome her tendency to take the easy route (gets it from me). I felt like there was a danger of her missing out on the awesome things that God had planned for her.

We are not sure if my pressure helped or hurt, but she has turned out pretty good. She has a call on her life to help people and she is fulfilling it. She is sensitive and compassionate (gets it from her Mom). We are thankful for her spirit. While we were together last week, I told her that I am proud of who she is, not just of what she does.

On a more humorous note, I took Jess with me to a pastor’s conference last week, while Letha was away in St. Louis. Many of the guys at the meeting were my friends but did not know Jessica. You should have seen the heads spin as I walked into the room with a young blonde by my side! I threatened to make her wear a t-shirt that said, “I’m his daughter!”.

If you have yet to do so, check out Jessica and Josh’s blog at thehansonsinguatemala.blogspot.com. Be aware that they have Internet infrequently so their posts have not been very regular recently.

More importantly, pray for them and the kids at Casa Shalom. God is doing a great thing there. We are proud to be a part of it.