Guatemala Trip #3 Report

From June 3-10, 2008 we once again visited Paulo David to celebrate his first birthday (birthday photos can be seen in a separate post). This time we took his big sis Amber along who turned out to be a lot of help. We arrived on June 3rd in Guatemala City late in the day and spent the night at the Radisson. The next day we waited in anticipation to see our little boy who arrived around 11:00 AM.

We then took a shuttle to Antigua Guatemala http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_Guatemala where we stayed the rest of the week. We settled in to our apartment for the week. Our neighbors were Emily, Samuel, Lee Anne, Erick and the Beyers.

On day 2 Amber and Todd took a half day trip up Volcan Pacaya while Nicole stayed back with Paulo (volcano photos can be seen in a separate post).

We spent the week enjoying the town of Antigua and its many restaurants and shopping. Walking on the cobble stone streets and utltra-narrow sidewalks proved to be a challenge. The exhaustion was overcome by several cappuccinos each day. Todd thinks they are as good as the cappuccinos in Italy and half the price. Amber couldn't believe that unflavored espresso drinks could taste so yummy!

As far as Paulo's development, he was now walking with both hands up in the air. He was at the cute stumble and fall stage so we only missed his first steps by a matter of weeks. Paulo has personality as shown in his many, many facial expressions which we caught in photographs. He loves to bat his eyes at the girls as if he is flirting. He really likes his PaPa' (Todd) and loves to be physically near him. He enjoys wrestling, dropping toys behind the couch, peak-a-boo and stroller rides. He makes all kinds of noise and loved the echos of our living/dining room. His motor skills are outstanding. He loves to mimic sounds and physical gestures. He has a great appetite and seemed to eat continually. He loves the nurturing of Nicole especially the feeding and closeness before bedtime and the wake-ups in the morning. We shot over an hour of video and plan on showing it as the feature one evening to our friends. Paulo has obviously been given good care by his foster mother Teresa.

Leaving him behind is a challenge. Todd admires Nicole for her faith and courage through this process. The short term pain of leaving Paulo behind is worth the calling.

Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work. --Mother Teresa