Rock of Gold

Sunday morning as I was getting ready to help bathe the babies, Oralia came to me and said that there was a man at the door to see Norman and me. I was a little surprised and clarified, "Me?" She said yeah that he had asked to talk to the North Americans because he had a rock of gold to sell us and that we knew he was coming. I smiled and chuckled (when I really wanted to crack up laughing) and said no, we didn't know anything about this. I told her I thought he probably knew there were North Americans living here and thought he could sell us something. She agreed. I then asked her what we should do, should we talk to him? She thought that would be best because he wouldn't take no for an answer from her and we both felt it was better to have a man talk to him.

So I went over and got Norman who was baking cinnamon rolls for the kids for breakfast and told him there was a man at the door wanting to sell us a rock of gold. He said, oh, really, did you see it? I explained that no he didn't have it with him. Norman said he wanted to see it. I begged him not to ask to see it, I could picture all these people coming everyday to try to sell us something. He agreed. :) So we headed back to the other side and Sebastian went with Norman to the door and I casually slipped into the babies room on the way by, being the supportive wife that I am. :} Norman listened to the man's story, understood very little of it, and then said no thank you, he didn't need a rock of gold and the man left.

Later at breakfast we heard the whole story he gave Oralia. He had lit candles and prayed to his god and then found this rock. He said it was a rock of blessing to whoever had it. He held up his hands to demonstrate that the size of it was about the size of a cantaloupe. When Oralia asked what color it was, he said he didn't know. When Oralia asked him if he had it with him, he said no because the people would kill him in the street for it if he walked around with it. Our initial reaction was how ridiculous and we did have a good laugh about it with the national staff at breakfast. But at seeing that they didn't see it quite as funny as we did, I saw the sadness in it. This man was sincere and I don't really think he was crazy. He was just doing what he knew to do and truly felt he had an answer from his god. It is a reminder of how empty and desparate their lives are and how much they need the one true living God. The one who made the beautiful sunset and gold!

Like Riding a Bike

I've decided that taking care of pre-schoolers is like riding a bike, it all comes back to you quickly! There are 5 pre-schoolers in the home and I have been trying to set aside at least a couple hours in the morning each day to play with them while most of the kids are at school so that the staff can get their work done. It has brought back memories from a long time ago!

I made play dough the other day in 5 different colors and it turned out really well, thanks to a great recipe Leslie Ficker, fellow missionary, gave me. They played with it for over an hour the first day! I consider that a success!

Master Sculptors at Work

We also found some bright colored plastic balls at a store here in San Andres. They have enjoyed those too. Success with the balls is that we have used them more than once without them getting lost or picked up by a dog and popped!


The school age kids enjoy reading as well as the pre-schoolers. Norman and I both enjoy taking time to read to them whenever we can.

Here Come the Cows

Every morning and every evening the older boys take the two cows the home owns to and from the pasture. In order to do this they have to walk through the orphanage compound.

Sooo, they walk by our kitchen, through the walkway leading to the kids side,
across the playground, through the basketball court, and through the gate leading to the street where they walk to their pasture.
It is quite a site to see and never ceases to make me chuckle!

Easter Egg Chicks

When we came to breakfast on Sunday morning, there was Oralia with these neon colored chicks. It was quite a site to see. They bought them at the market in Quiche, a town about an hour away. Obviously a marketing ploy. They're cute though and it is really funny to see these neon blobs of color running around!

Getting Acclimated and Visiting Mingo

We are using these first couple weeks in Guatemala to get acclimated to our new surroundings, get unpacked and get familiar with the routine here at the home. There are several young men who grew up in the home and live in San Andres. Hogar de Vida is still their home and they all play a vital role as part of the family. One of these young men is Mingo. He is 21 and is currently teaching in one of the schools in a nearby aldea. He and Alfredo (also from the home) come each afternoon and help the kids with their homework.

On Thursday April 29th at 1:00 in the afternoon, Mingo was driving his motorcycle through the mountains after school on his way to lunch with a bunch of other teachers. As he rounded a sharp curve of the narrow road, there was a car coming right at him. He tried to swerve and miss it but he collided with the front corner of the car. He broke both bones in his left leg all the way through and fractured his collar bone. Praise the Lord that it wasn't much worse! He is going to a hospital an hour away from here today to see if he needs surgery. Please pray that he does not need surgery because our understanding is that the care there may not be the greatest and surgery could cause more damage than good. As I make this request, I am reminded to thank the Lord for the great medical care we have in the states that we so often take for granted! Because Mingo's collar bone is also fractured, he can't use crutches, so he is in a wheelchair.

We went to visit Mingo yesterday and he looked great. He was in good spirits, however he did have some fear about going to the doctor today and having potential surgery. Please pray for Mingo and his complete recovery. We didn't take any pictures of Mingo in his wheelchair yesterday and I was going to include a pre-accident picture below of him from January when we were here but I am having a hard time getting the picture to upload. But if you look at our blog from when we came to Guatemala in January there is a picture of him there. He is the one in the Iowa sweatshirt.

May 2010 Newsletter

April 29, 2010

Dear Faithful Ones,

The hardest part about moving on to new places and new experiences is the people you leave behind. As we end our 8 months here in Costa Rica we leave behind many new friends and loved ones. We had the privilege of meeting some awesome people during our stay here. We lived with a wonderful Costa Rican family who served us, prayed for us, and poured their life into us in a way that will impact us for eternity. Before we came we prayed for a good family to live with. God answered in a mighty way!

We attended school daily with a new group of friends. Together we took on the monumental task of learning a language different than our native tongue. We laughed together, we cried together, and we struggled over the conjugation of verbs and the meaning of idioms together. We come from different backgrounds and experiences from all over the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, even South Africa. We are doctors, lawyers, pastors, accountants, highway patrolman, students, psychologists, teachers, salesmen, stay at home moms, etc., but we all have one thing in common: We love the Lord and are willing to follow Him wherever He leads us. We all left our family and friends and our comforts of home to follow our loving Father who sent His one and only Son to die for us so that we could share this love with others who have not yet had the chance to hear. And we mustn't forget to mention our teachers. These men and ladies have a calling to equip missionaries to be able to speak to the people to whom they will minister. Without at least some form of communication our job would be next to impossible. But through the heart and patience of these teachers, we can now go and communicate, even if it is on a simple level, that God loves us so much He sent His one and only Son!

On Friday, April 23rd, a group of us graduated, ready to move on to the next step. There were 61 of us going to 14 different countries. We were encouraged by a message from a local pastor and we were prayed over. Our Spanish may not be perfect but we offer our meager efforts to the almighty God in order that He may take our weaknesses and use them for His glory!

Another thing we will be leaving behind is the wonderful world of technology! We have been so blessed to have high speed internet, Skype and unlimited calling to the states for minimal cost here in Costa Rica. We are now moving to the mountains of Guatemala where technology has just started to creep in. We will have a cell phone but the cost will be a little higher to call to and from the states. Currently our best option for internet is through cell phone technology. Right now all that is available is a connection that is slower than dial-up.

The last 8 months haven’t been easy. We lost a 3 year old nephew from a tragic accident, Vickie’s mom suffered a life threatening injury, Vickie was down a week with a severe infection, we faced discouragement and frustration trying to learn a new language, BUT GOD is faithful. We now stand here at the end of this stretch and look back at how God has sustained us and our family members, provided for us, and encouraged us. He has been faithful! Now as we move on to Guatemala to face the unknown, we know God will continue to uphold us in a mighty way. He has used you to encourage us through your prayers, financial support, and words of encouragement. Please don’t stop! We love you guys and can’t begin to tell you what you mean to us and how much we appreciate you!

We are currently at 88% of our monthly support. If God is leading you to partner with us financially, the information is below.


May God richly bless you!
Norman & Vickie
Praise and Prayer Requests:
-Praise for Vickie’s complete & miraculous recovery from her infection!
-Praise & prayer for continued good health and safety!
-Prayer for travel safety and a good transition into life in Guatemala.
-Prayer that we will adjust to yet another culture quickly.
-Prayer for Heather & Ryan as our ability to communicate will be limited from Guatemala.
-Prayer for the Language Spanish Institute where we attended, that their enrollment numbers will increase.
-Prayer for our host family in Costa Rica that they will be able to find other students to rent out their extra room.
-Prayer that our monthly support will reach 100%.

Donations can be made payable and sent to:
Children Of Promise Int’l.
Sutton Support-Guatemala
6844 Loop Road
Centerville OH 45459-2159

On memo line of check, please write:
“Norman & Vickie Sutton Support