Our Shadow family grew, and the bedrooms filled up with girls. Joanne and I needed to to find land to begin construction for the orphanage in a permanent location. I felt comfortable living in San Cristobal, because I lived there for two years, but the door to purchasing land in this town slammed shut. Even a small piece of property was expensive. Finding a place to serve our needs and purposes looked impossible, but God had brought us this far and He would not abandoned us. Lord, this is your project. Please guide us to the place you have for us.

One day, Joanne took a map of the country and drew three circles on it. “We will need teams to help with the construction of the orphanage, so that means they will need transportation from Guatemala City’s airport to wherever we are. Each circle represents an hour from the airport. It would be too hard on a team to travel more than three hours for ministry with us.” After studying the map, we made note of the towns around each of the circles and decided to go check some of them out.

We believed the Lord would show us the right place. I came from Montana and had a country girl’s heart. I wanted these girls to experience the outdoors, being able to ride bikes, take walks, enjoy the evening breeze, watch the ever-changing sky, and breathe fresh air. We desired a safer place than what we experienced in the City. I also asked the Lord that it be a place with minimal traffic and diesel fumes that the buses spewed out. The answer to this request surprised me of God’s humor.

Driving through various towns and looking for “For Sale” signs didn’t lead us to any possible options. Some towns felt oppressive, and we would take a quick exit in the other direction. Many of the landowners sold by word of mouth, so we waited for something to show up.

A few months later, Joanne received a call from one of our James Project of Latin America board members, who had a realtor in her church. This lady knew of a piece of land in Jalapa—a two-hour drive from the City. The realtor, a friend of hers, the board member, Joanne, Gib, and I loaded the van and off we went. The property sat on a hillside just outside the city of Jalapa, so we could not build on level land. However, it had other pluses: The soil looked rich, and the trees provided nice shade from the hot sun.

We met with a cooperative of ten stern Guatemalans armed with machetes. That intimidated us a bit, but Joanne stepped up to the leader to discuss the land and the price. Meanwhile, with a smile pasted on my face, I prayed. Lord, keep us safe and give us favor with these men. May there be peace and respect between us. In the end, Joanne boldly asked if they would consider donating the land for an orphanage. The leader said they would contact us with the response at a later time, which never happened.

We did leave safely, and I knew in my heart that God had a plan and a place for us. We wait upon you, Lord, to help us to find land for our growing family.