More than a month of good night kisses and early morning cuddles has passed
since we drove the precious Agees to the airport in San Pedro Sula and returned
home to Gracias instead of Santa Rosa de Copan and to 13 children instead of
the 11. Becoming foster parents again was unplanned and unexpected, but isn’t
that how some of our greatest blessing begin? The unplanned and unexpected
privilege of caring for J and M has been such a gift. Before we arrived, we made
plans in our hearts. Knowing that God establishes our steps and seeing the fruit
of following His leading has been a tremendous blessing, even when the plans
we made in our hearts look a little different as we walk down this path. God truly
does write the best stories.
Our first night with our two new little people was a little stressful, and we
expected it to be. J was confused and M was very fussy, and the rest of the kids
did all the things that kids do when new people are added to the family – testing
boundaries, vying for attention, and making sure they’re still our greatest earthly
treasures. There’s a shift about and shuffle that has to happen to make room for
all in hearts and home and for everyone to find their place and feel safe and
secure. Over the next several days and weeks, we got to work shifting and
shuffling about and have reached a new norm that seems to be working. There’s
a peacefulness and happiness at home that we know is from God and we are
thankful. Praise Him!
Dean and I long ago affectionately divided our kids into three groups: the littles,
the middles, and the bigs. It helped us to organize and tackle the work of learning
to parent 12 children, but there are times when one group or the other wasn’t as
happy with the groupings. I can’t tell you how happy our littles are that there’s
another group one step down from them – the babies! Actually, everyone loves
the babies, and the babies love the attention and affection they are showered
with every day. Baby M gives us the biggest smile when someone sits down to
play with her. She enjoys so much being held and rocked and cuddled. J loves
to play trucks and blocks and read books with the bigger kids. If he sees
someone getting ready to leave, he grabs his shoes and says, “Zapatos?
Zapatos?” It’s so adorable that people go out of their way to take him with them
when they leave. We are just amazed at how well they are both doing.
Now that we’ve settled in and have adjusted to life in Gracias, we are looking
forward to getting to know the folks over in Mercedes in the coming weeks as we
connect with churches and continue the relationships begun by Ben, Julie,
Austin, and Taylor. It’s been pretty neat to meet pastors who’ve come to the
house to visit the bookstore and buy Bibles. Our bigger kids love to help make
change, write receipts, and pack Bibles into bags. We’ve shared with them how
the Bibles travel up into the hills of Honduras in the hands of pastors who spend
their days sharing the gospel. They love sharing a small part in this work and
praying for people who will receive the Bibles and read the good news.
One of my favorite things to do these days is to sit in the rocking chair in the
adorable Bright Beginnings nursery. It’s the perfect spot to rock a baby and pray.
This morning as I was rocking Baby M, I was praying when one of my favorite
songs from my teenage years came to mind. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path.” The chorus is straight out of Psalm 119:105. There
are many unknowns right now and the path ahead looks different than we all
expected it to, for the Agees and for the Robinsons. The light on the path is
bright, though, and the lamp unto our feet gives us courage to step forward into
unknowns knowing that God loves us and that He is faithful.
Gracias means “thank you” in Spanish, which suits us well. We are so thankful
for the opportunities we have here to magnify the name of the Lord and to love
and care for others in His name. “Gracias” for your continued prayers and
support. We know we couldn’t do this without them.
Tamara Robinson