June 1, 2015
PATLAN FAMILY Recap of the last few months….
January January was full of teams and wonderful people! Old friends, new friends and family! We had a great time serving with some great people. We also had the Hopper family join us this month as well.
February February we had our annual marriage retreat and while all that was wonderful, it was in the midst of that, that my mom became very sick and a few days later she was in the hospital with Pancreatitis and Pneumonia in her right lung. She had to stay in the hospital for 6 days, which was a very uncomfortable experience for her. I stayed with her one of those nights because of a patient that was causing trouble to the other patients and my mom feared that she would do something to her while she was asleep. So I stayed awake all night so that my mom could sleep.
March Madness… March is when things sort of took off. My mom was out of the hospital but wasn’t getting better, so while she was feeling ok, I escorted her and my dad back to Wichita, KS and stayed with them for 3 weeks while we figured out what all was going on. They found that she had a gallstone in the next of the gallbladder and it would be best to take the gallbladder out. Due to some insurance issues, she wasn’t able to do that right away and finally had it scheduled for May 18th. While I was in the states, Pedro and the Hoppers were hosting a team from Mississippi and were having a blast with them. I felt like I was missing out…but I also knew I was needed more with my parents and I also needed the break. We also received a young girl into our home whose life seemed like it was written to be a movie…not an actual persons life…let alone a child’s life! We also said goodbye to our sweet Angie who was adopted into a forever home here in Guatemala!
1
June 1, 2015
April
April seemed to be pretty quiet until we received news of a baby boy abandoned in the hospital that was only given 30 days to live. We went to visit him and since he didn’t have a name, we named him Micah Owen meaning Micah - From God and Owen - Young Fighter. Micah was born with severe deformities but we were able to see past all that and see him for being God’s child. Over the next few weeks, I (Felis) visited him because I couldn’t bare having a baby lie in the hospital with no one visiting him. He was too delicate to hold or even to be brought home to us.
May In May, we reached a point where Doctors were no longer wanting to give him medicine and wanted him transferred or he would just pass away over time in the hospital, ALONE. I started asking friends for prayer to help me find a place for him so that he would be loved in a family, even if it meant only a few days. I knew in my heart that I wouldn’t be able to give him the proper attention because I was so busy and I knew that our home had too many children….so I searched for a home for him. That’s when I thought of fellow missionaries Daryl and Wanda Fulp who have a ministry with children of special needs where they live in a family group home. Daryl and Wanda came out that next week and met Micah and immediately fell in love with him and offered to take him home. The doctors, nurses and social worker were so happy and relieved that Micah would soon go home. We knew that Micah didn’t have long but he had already lived 1 month longer than the doctors had anticipated. I visited him in their home and was brought to tears of joy at seeing what a wonderful family they were and they were perfect for him. On May 30th, only 8 days after he was transferred to their home….Micah went home to be with Jesus. On May 31st, we laid him to rest. His sweet soul is now pain free and he is safe in the arms of Jesus. We are so blessed to have been a part of his short life here on earth. He went from being abandoned to having an extended family of many here in Guatemala and all those of you that have followed his story and prayed for him, were also his family! He was loved by many, even by those that had never met him. Today, we miss Micah so much it hurts, but we also rejoice in that he is with our Lord and that one day we will get to see him again!
!
John 16:20-23 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. !
!
!
We also said goodbye to one of our sweet little girl, (Abi) as she was placed in her forever adoptive family. She came to us when she was only 10 days old....and in March she turned 3 years old. We are so happy that she now has a family of her own to love her. We are missing her right now but we feel so confident that she is doing well. Her family was very sweet and very loving and best of all they were a brother and sister in Christ. Praise God!
!
2
June 1, 2015
During all this time, we were also dealing with some very serious issues with Roxana, one of our girls that we currently have living with us in our home, that brought on many hurts, emotions, fears….and opportunities to show Roxana God’s Love for her through us. It has been such an amazing thing to watch how our kids have been able to minister to Roxana by loving her no matter what. We sometimes feel like we are over our heads and overwhelmed by being given the task of helping her heal from her very hard past…but then there are those moments when all she wants is to be loved and we are able to show her through our actions…what real love looks like.
!
Annika turned 13 on May 7th! Her prayer was to have some of her family come from the states to celebrate with her. God answered that prayer by allowing Pedro’s parents and Felis’ Dad come for her special day!
! !
As you all know we have had our good friends Jeremy and Christina Hopper here serving with us and we have loved having them here…but we are sad and happy to announce that coming to Guatemala has opened up the doors for them to serve full time back in the US. When they arrived, Jeremy and Christina, jumped right in fully committed to Eagle’s Nest and making Guatemala their home. Little did they know that God was using their experience here in Guatemala for something even bigger right in their own back yard of Whitney, Texas. We have spent some time with them over the last month, discussing their options and praying for them. They officially announced it to their church this past Sunday. We are excited for them as they continue on their journey of full time ministry. We were just a stop along the way and we look forward to seeing how the Lord uses them back in the states. To read their update please go to www.hoppers4jesus.wordpress.com
! !
So, needless to say with all the challenges, victories, sickness, celebrations and sadness, it's the HAPPY times we dwell on and it's what keeps us going on a day to day basis.
!
Our busiest season has started with teams and we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us and the teams that come through to serve here at Eagle’s Nest. We ask that you pray for us that we are able to have the energy we need to make it through, that we stay healthy and that teams will be impacted enough to go home and get involved in something that they are passionate about.
!
! How can you help??? !
Central Missionary Clearinghouse PO BOX 219228 Houston, TX 77218-9228 1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
!
!
GIVE ONLINE: www.cmcmissions.org
3
