Dec 4, 1999: The Start of our Family Adventure!

Where were you ten years ago? I was busy marrying the love of my life , my partner in this exciting journey, Jacalyn. In many ways, it's hard to believe that this was 10 years ago. In other ways, it's astounding the things we've done, seen and experienced in those 10 years.

I remember that morning being all kinds of busy. People were running to and fro getting ready for the big event. On Jaci's end, there was some problem with the crazed florist and the late delivery of the flowers. It was December in Lancaster, PA and yet it was a beautiful sunny and warm day.

I remember how special the day was to be in one of our favorite getaway places, a place that had such sentimental value to both of our families growing up. Jaci and her family had spent years coming to Willow Valley and enjoying the beautiful simplicity of the land of the Amish. Meanwhile, my own family would spent years coming to Lancaster at Christmas time to ride the trains and take in God's splendor of the fields and hillside of Lancaster. On December 4, 1999, both of our families converged on Willow Valley for a beautiful and deeply meaningful day.

I remember waiting in the "groom's room" in the front of the Chapel. I remember Pastor Jack Hamilton (my pastor as I was a child, a man who oozed the joy of the Lord and who truly demonstrated to me what power, freedom and joy can be found in Christ) was his usual jovial self. He kept repeating that if I changed my mind, he had a car out in the parking lot running. It was such a blessing to have Pastor Jack be part of my ceremony for all that he meant to my family personally. He passed away to be with the Lord one year later, so it was truly a blessing that he could join us for this special day. On our wedding video, Jack, ever the jokester, can be seen telling us that there "was a problem with our wedding certificate" and that he's sure it could all be fixed later. He must be making a lot of heaven's citizens laugh right now.

When our service began, it was truly special to have the 4Him song "Love Finds You" played as the grandparents entered the chapel. Of course, it would have been nice if they played the whole song to get the full effect, but oh well. The song was our way of incorporating all of our grandparents in the ceremony. Only my Nanny & Pop-Pop on the Hughes side and Grandpa Pupchik could join us for the special day. My mom's parents had passed away, as had Grandpa Taylor and Grandma Pupchik. Grandma Taylor was suffering from Alzheimer's and thus was unable to join us that day. Grandma Pupchik was still around when we got engaged, and we were able to visit her and tell her about our engagement. Ironically, when we shared the news, it was Grandpa Pupchik that scoffed at the idea that he'd be able to endure the trip to Lancaster for the big day. Grandma Pupchik wanted very much to be there, and as she slowly lost her battle to cancer, she was able to attend a friend's wedding that Jaci was in so that she "could see Jaci going down the aisle." Jaci was by Grandma Pupchik's side as she left this world for a better one. Grandma Taylor was such a great woman of God (and from what I hear she would have loved chatting with me about politics.) She had such a special bond with Jaci and would be so proud of the woman Jaci is today. She often told Jaci that as long as Jaci was in this world, Grandma Taylor would still be here because they were so much alike. Her influence on her granddaughter's life has paid dividends for our own children and beyond.

Our grandparents were such a part of our life, that the song celebrated their lives and love for us and reiterated that we remembered them. Grandpa Pupchik was able to pray at the reception later, and it demonstrated his sweet emotional side. Grandpa Pupchik has since gone on to be with the Lord (and his wife) as well. My grandparents were able to see their first grandchild's wedding. It is such a blessing to be able to see those two on the wedding video as Pop-Pop Hughes passed away in April 2001, just months after the birth of his first great-grandson. As with Grandma Pupchik and Jaci, I was able to be at his side as his peacefully slipped from this world and into the arms of God.

Having young Ki-Lee ring the bell and start the ceremony was precious. Having our parents there together, beaming over their children was such a blessing. We've been blessed with some very generous and very devoted parents and their influence in our upbringing has dramatically shaped who we are as parents and as a husband and wife team! My parents have viewed Jaci as their own daughter, finally able to have a girl in the family, and have demonstrated true sacrificial giving in helping our young family make ends meet. Jaci's Mom treated us to our first Disney World experience and has really been a support and dear friend for Jaci. Jaci's Dad graciously allowed us to move in to his much larger house 3 years ago and blessed us with a nice place to live.

During the ceremony, Jaci looked radiant. The sun began shining through the stained glass window before us and illuminated the wedding party in what seemed like the glory of the Lord. During some of the music, Jaci and I stood there holding hands, talking of the future, and enjoying the moment. Pastor Jerry Ruff and Pastor Jack officiated the wedding and before we knew it, the ceremony was over. When the time came for the kiss, Jaci was nervous that they might forget so she kept reminding him to say it. Jerry laughed and told me to kiss my bride. It was a moment worthy of a hollywood movie. As I dipped my lady dramatically to launch into the kiss, the wedding party held mistletoe above our heads and the chapel erupted in applause and laughter. Afterwards, we danced and bounced our way out of the chapel to the up-beat "Jingle Bell Rock."

After posing for some pictures outside in the glorious spring-like temperatures, we entered our reception. It was a whirlwind of activity as we entered and did our much-rehearsed dance to Celine Dion's "Prayer." We also had the wedding party join us for a Christmas waltz, where our video reveals quite the scowl from Jaci's sister Lauren. This many years later, we still don't know why she gave her newly married sister the glare of death. Later in the ceremony, Jaci danced to "Butterfly Kisses" with her Dad and I danced with my Mom to "Because You Loved Me."

The reception was over before we knew it. Santa even made an appearance at the reception to pose with pictures with the new happy couple. After everything was over, we snuck out to a smorgasbord dinner later in the evening (because in our haste to get around to as many people as possible at the reception, we had hardly eaten any dinner!)

It was a tremendous experience and soon we were off on our honeymoon cruise! We had such fun on our (so far) one and only cruise experience. We swam with Sting Rays in Grand Cayman, visited the Mayan ruins in Cozumel, Mexico, and toured the French Quarter of New Orleans.

In the decade since this special time, so much has happened. Less than one year after the big day, we became parents for the first time as our boy Noah was born on November 28, 2000. We had our daughter Reagan on June 20, 2005, and our "baby son" Jackson on November 29, 2006. We've moved 3 different times, and have another move on the horizon in 2010. We have visited Guatemala twice together, snuck away to Niagara Falls, returned to Willow Valley many times, visited Atlanta twice, enjoyed summer trips to the Jersey shore, and even this year finally made it to Disney World!

As for Jaci, ten years later, she is still the fun-loving whimsical girl that I married, but she has grown tremendously. Her wisdom and common sense have grounded me in times of uncertainty, and her steadfast support for me and the kids has really been the blessing and treasure of a lifetime. Jaci and I are so alike that we are content to just spend our evenings in together. We make each other laugh and share a love of adventure (and television!) The young untested innocent girl of 1999 has blossomed into a mature, wonder-woman of a wife and mother in the ten years since our big day. Jaci's flexibility and self-sacrifice have made her a model mother for our 3 kids and a spark of excitement to everyone who knows her.

When God put us together, He really created a solid team. We complement each other and share the same passions and outlook in life. We both are a little "fly by the seat of your pants" and "don't miss a single moment" kind of people. Some of our favorite memories have been what would be to other folks seemingly insignificant everyday chores, that we turn into something whimsical and fun. We often say that we are in the "non-elegant" stage of life, in that we aren't fancy, and don't pretend to be. Our house is "lived in" and we love life's simple pleasures.

Our life so far has been defined by laughter and fun. Something as simple as a trip to the store turns into a fun adventure when we are together. 2010 promises to be a big year for our family with another move on the horizon and new adventures for our family to embark on. The first ten years of this journey have been amazing, and it will only get better from here.

Needle In A Haystack...On A Volcano In Guatemala (Guest Post By Lauren Pupchik)

I want to share the story of a 15 year old boy from the village of Santa Maria de Jesus, a town of 25,000 indigenous Mayan Indians. He came in to the dental clinic on Saturday held at our girls school, Proximos Pasos with an impacted wisdom tooth. Dr Todd, a dentist from NJ who was a part of the team from my sister's home church, worked on his tooth and gave him antibiotics for his severe infection, but he didn’t have everything he needed such as a scalpel to finish. We returned on Wednesday to do the lice wash with the girls at the school. Dr Todd and Pastor Gary ended up joining us even though it wasn’t on the schedule. Dr. Todd wanted to look for the boy who God had put on his heart and finish his dental work now that he had the all important scalpel. The only problem was that we had no idea where he lived, or what his name was. Did I mention that each little house in Santa Maria basically looks the same with a mixture of corrugated metal and corn stalks for walls. We decided to pray for this boy and ask God to lead us to him where he may be. Now I know Bill has made mention of my direct line to God here in Guatemala, and I’ll tell you that the reason I believe things happen when I pray is because I know that my only option is trusting my heavenly father to take care of me and lead me each day. We came together in faith asking God for a miracle. 10 minutes after we prayed, out of “no where” one of the girls at school tugged on my shirt and told me that her brother didn’t go and work in the fields planting corn today because he had a hole in his mouth. I felt God prompting me to pursue this and asked if the girl could take me to her house. I called for Dr. Todd and Pastor Gary to join me. I asked them if they were ready to see a miracle. The little girl led us on a winding adventure down narrow village roads with more twists and turns than I imagined possible. She led us to her front door and prayed in my head once more that this would be the boy’s house. A weary Mayan woman came to the door and eyed us with caution. I told her we were from Proximos Pasos school and that we were looking for a boy….”It’s HIM…It’s really HIM!!!!” Dr Todd yelled as soon as he saw a young man’s head peer out from behind his mother. His mouth was extremely swollen and he looked miserable but a twinkle in his eye said he was glad to see us. His mother invited us into the one room house with the smoke of an open fire swirling throughout the room and only one bed for her and her 11 children. The mother began to cry as she told us that she and her sister had been praying all weekend that God would send the Dentist back to their village to help her son and that God would take care of them. After hearing of her faith, Todd, Gary and I were all wiping away tears as we witnessed this miracle in the making. God heard the cry of a faithful woman and orchestrated an answer by moving each one of us to action. We all joined hands and prayed for the family while thanking God for leading us right to their humble front door. We took the boy, who we found out was named Rolando and his little brother back to the school with us. Dr Todd preformed a surgery right on the third floor patio of the school relieving a lot of pain and eliminating the buildup of infection that was present. Without an X-Ray to make sure that the entire tooth had been removed, Dr Todd had to use his judgment and do the best he could with such limited resources. God had yet another miracle in store for us. He led us to a local dental technicians’ office where they let us use additional anesthesia and suction to make sure the surgery was complete. Dr. Todd offered to pay the man for the use of his office but he would not accept money since we had come to help the people of his village. Our buddy Rolando will be sore for the next few days, but he will good as new after a week’s rest. I saw firsthand the way God cares for his children on that day. In a village of 25,000 people, God led a dentist to the exact house of a family praying for dental care. What a mighty God we serve!

To follow Lauren's missionary adventures, stop by her own personal blog at:

www.laurenpupchik.blogspot.com

Last Day Photos

Now as many of you know, I missed the events of the team's last full day in Guatemala thanks to some freakish stomach virus of sorts that both Jackson and I had.

The team did one final day of dental work, one last day of worship with the kids, and one final day pouring the foundation for the new addition to the school. The photos above capture some of the images of the day.

The team got to pray over and dedicate the new addition to the school with the staff and students.

Afterwards, the team had a closing banquet in Antigua. (I have more pictures to post of Antigua later.) The evening was very inspirational with people sharing testimonies from their week and reflecting on the work that the Lord has done here.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support for the team from GCCC!

As a side note, Jackson and I are doing fine now. We come home tomorrow. Please pray for safety and non-cranky kids!

Also, there will be a few final blogs and pictures posted. One of which is the promised guest blog from Lauren about the miraculous story involving Dr. Gottlieb and Pastor Gary on a journey to find a sick boy.

You don't want to miss that one!

Faith, Lice Washes & Growth: Attempt # 2 (Updated with Pictures!)

Also, you should know that I wrote this whole long and insightful blog just now and it somehow didn't save so now I have to start again.

First, an update for all you Brett fans. He now has 2 nicknames. In addition to the monicker of "hairball" he has also been labeled "Ketchup" for his need to carry a bottle of ketchup around with him while travelling.

At Proximos Pasos yesterday a new stud arrived in town. His name is Jackson. Though only 2, he captured the hearts of the school girls. Sure during his many "fight sessions" with Marcus, Noah and any innocent bystander, he was again labeled in spanish as "angry." Sure he cried a lot as the time for his nap came and went. The girls of the school, however, were impressed with his strength. He cries alot, they would say in their spanish, but he is also strong. He can protect us. He is our boyfriend.

Aw, Jackson, already an international superstar.

Noah, meanwhile enhanced his international star power by sharing his bakugan toys with the kids of the village and dazzling them with his soccer skills in an impromptu game. No doubt they thought David Beckhem had arrived!

Reagan struggled through her appearance. By the end, she was able to open up to the girls and play with them. She also was able to learn a new worship song thanks to Gina.

It was indeed a day of growth.

The construction team toiled over at the other school. We were told that the girls at the school there were hitting on Justin. Also, that they continued to get a lot of work done on the project via wheelbarrows full of concrete and a series of intricate wooden planks with ditches below them. Sounds like a Survivor challenge to me!

The painting ladies were without paint for most of the day, so they made lunch for the others, and assisted Wally in his class. Apparently, Wally was using a power point presentation for his class. It struck me as funny that he can do that here, but in Washington Township, I still have to use an overhead projector for my class.

Our main task at Proximos Pasos was the lice wash. We performed the lice wash for all 105 girls at the school. It took pretty much the whole school day for them.

Lice is a big problem in their village because most houses only have running water about 1-2 hours a day, so they only bathe about once a month.

Now, contrary to what you might think, a lice wash is not all just fun and games. Sure, most people crave the feeling of little scalp-dwelling insects crawling around on them. Sure, most people enjoy running a comb through hair infested with lice.

It isn't my thing though. My thing is a nice nutritious meal and a good book. (Who am I kidding? It's a burger, fries and my television set!)

The girls would not hesitate to lower their heads for us to shampoo with the lice wash and then stood there solid as a rock as we combed through their hair (sometimes being quite hard on them!) The absolute trust they had in us was stunning.

The English teacher in me of course is always on the prowl for symbolism. Their unwavering trust in us seemed a fitting representation for how we should feel towards God.

Anyway, the little Santa Maria beauties had to let their lice wash "sizzle" in their hair for 30 minutes or so, and then it was off to rinse and get a regular shampooing.

Being part of this experience definitely stretched us beyond our comfort zones and humbled us. It was a great chance to be the "hands and feet of Christ."

Meanwhile, we also learned about faith. Last summer while down here, I was struck at the seeming "direct line to God" that Lauren has. Time after time things would come up, Lauren would pray about it and literally minutes later it was done.

Yesterday continued that trend. Lauren was taking pictures of herself and some of the girls from the school for a prayer card. It was a good day to do it because you could see the top of the volano (a lot of times the tops are covered in clouds). Because of the placement of the sun, however, Lauren couldn't get a good picture that included the volcano because the sun was directly in her eyes. She prayed that God would send a cloud to cover the sun. Fast forward about a minute and the sun was safely tucked behind the clouds.

I told Pastor Gary about it and suggested we get together and pray. He and Dr. Gottlieb were looking for a kid who they had worked on in the dental clinic. He had a bad infection and they were hoping to follow-up with him, but didn't know who he was or where he lived.

We prayed. God answered. (More on that story when Lauren guest blogs later on!)

It struck me that maybe Lauren doesn't have a direct line to God. Maybe she just doesn't answer the call waiting while talking to Him.

Consider Abraham. He was considered righteous because of his faith, and is called the "father of faith." Yet, even this great pillar of faith demonstrated the very human desire to take things into our own hands and attempt to solve them. He and Sarah knew God was going to bless them with a son. They chose not to wait for his promise. They acted. Enter the Isaac and Ishmael grudge match.

I'm not suggesting that Abraham lacked faith. I am also not suggesting that if we don't have a prayer answered it is because of our lack of faith. I am simply saying that maybe God does answer a lot more prayer than we realize because we are too quick to take matters in our own hands, or two pre-occupied to notice his reply.

Maybe missionary folks aren't some supernatural cell phone carrier to God. Maybe they just rely on Him more and themselves less. Maybe the nature of their lifestyle causes them to have to trust more profoundly.

Being down here in the shadow of the volcanos reminds me more clearly that God answers prayer. Today was just another example.

Along those lines, please pray for me and Jackson as we are not feeling well!

Sights of the Day: The Dental Team

The dental team served at Proximos Pasos Saturday and Monday, and began their work today at Vida y Esperanza. They are seeing students, staff, and some kids from the villages.

Dr. Gottlieb, Martha, Margaret, Becca, Pastor Gary and Arlene have been working hard all week. Jaci joined them on Sat and today when she isn't working with the worship team.

Getting to see my wife light up like she did the first night about working in the dental field again was spectacular. She is so happy to have the chance to serve in this capacity, and it is awesome to see how fulfilled she feels in taking on this task. The dental team will continue to work at this school for the rest of the week.

The worship team will be going to Proximos Pasos tomorrow for some worship, maybe a little teaching, and a lice wash for all 105 girls of the school!

Sights Of The Day: The Construction Team

I cannot say enough how hard this construction team is working. The above images are from today's work at the school.

Worship Team Gets Started!

A great bunch of people came together on Monday to minister to the 5th and 6th grade students of Vida y Esperanza. Volunteers from our own children's ministry (Jaci, Marcus, and Bill Brown) joined newcomers (Sara & Gina) and special guest Lauren as they led the kids in singing "Mighty To Save" and "Jesus Is My Superhero" in spanish.

The kids were very responsive to the songs and it was a blessing to see this group shine as they led them in worship. Afterwards, Lauren and I got up and told the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal from 1 Kings. We took turns reading it, but I actually did read and speak in spanish. I made sure to apologize to the students for my "mal" spanish skills.

We got to impress on them the key points we make at our church with the kids. I need to make the wise choice. I can trust God no matter what. I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

It was really an honor to be able to share God's love with the kids. The team today is ministering to the 3rd and 4th grade classes. The team spent yesterday afternoon cutting out supplies for the follow-up activity that they were going to do with the kids. Sadly, due to a stomach issue, I am not part of the team today, but I hope to re-join them tomorrow at Proximos Pasos.

I cannot stress enough the way these kids have captured the hearts of our team. It truly is representative of how Christ feels towards us.

In the eyes of eternity, we amount to little in and of ourselves. Christ's heart is captured by each and every one of us.

As we seek to serve people that have virtually nothing, we are reminded of how needy each of us truly is.

In the shadow of vast volcanoes, you kind of get the idea of how small you really are. Which, for those of us who need to lose a few pounds, is really re-assuring!

The Hughes Kids Continue Their Adventure

Here are some photos of the kids at Vida y Esperanza School. Jackson was very comfortable in the kindergarten class room. He got that chair himself, and then found an empty spot at the table and joined the class. The kids at the school remembered Noah from last year, and were excited to meet his two little siblings!

The kids have really blessed Lauren by being here. They may not be able to contribute a lot, but they sure can brighten the spirits of their missionary aunt!