Gringos in Guatemala

Nothing like heading out to explore a country you have been living in for three whole months! Tuesday we went to the Pacific coast. We tried to do our homework and used google map to get directions, but it couldn't give us any. Vernon asked people, but the ones who knew spoke Spanish and the ones who knew and could talk English, were about 13 hours away and no cell service. So we looked at the map and headed out early Tues. morning. We hoped to miss the rush hour in Guatemala City, but ended up caught in the crowd. We drove part way with Ross and Donita Good who were headed home to Pasaco after taking care of some business in the city. We arrived at Puerto Quetza by 9 am! I told you we left early!! We headed left along the coast, close enough to see a bit of water but unable to get to it! We drove in a few places but they always ended up along a canal and people watched us and of course, I got ready to get back onto the main road! Then we pulled into this fancy gated place and tried to get some information. The man knew only Spanish and the fact that his front teeth were missing made it impossible to understand any thing. Vernon kept waving his arms and talking about muchas agua and other words that only left us all more confused than ever. The man then took Vernon's license and opened the big gate. We drove through and drove around the place. It was a housing development for very rich Guatemalans. We circled back to the gate and were happy to get the license back in our possession and then headed on. Sometime during the search, Jared was talking in the back seat, "I guess this won't be a very good day after all", he was quite concerned we wouldn't find the beach!  We kept driving and finally did find a beach that was very empty and quiet. It looked like the area would come alive later in the week, but we were very happy with the atmosphere. It was a hot, muggy, overcast day. The sand was black and very hot. The water was warm and the waves were pretty high. We had been warned to be careful about the water, it has a strong undertow, so we were careful but we had so much fun. Sometimes the waves came in with enough force to send some of us flying onto the shore. We headed home sticky, sunburned and full of sand but full of that wonderful feeling of contentment and well being after spending a bonding time together. What was most enjoyable? Just being together, laughing at each other,  relaxing and realizing that we can get around and find our way, sort of! Jared ended up having lots of fun, I couldn't keep him out of the waves!

An Answer!

Today I was sitting in church and a thought came to me! How surprising is that:) No, really, it was about my ho hum feeling. I had to ask myself the question, "is God enough?" Is He enough that I can be content with my circumstances and that I can do my work with joy? I know how to do work with a grim determination, but I don't want to be satisfied with that! I want look beyond myself, and do what I do with a joy to be able to serve others.
Once again I sat under a solo Espaniol message, but I was able to catch most of the Bible references and it seems like the words leap off the page. We discussed this at lunch and the girls notice the same thing. When we can read the verses in English, and those are the only words we understand, Gods Word becomes alive and powerful! Like the verse that mentions that Jesus was the Son, yet he learned obedience through the things he suffered! How can I refuse to learn obedience when I have that verse staring me in the face?

We are having areal thunderstorm and enjoying it very much! Feels like popcorn and relaxing time. Oh for a bowl of ladyfinger popcorn with brewers yeast....... What was my profound thought about contentment?!
Dios le bendiga

Ho Hum.......

How do I handle routine, every day same, same? This place can have that feeling at times. Yes, new people come through and the pace can be rushed or slower, but there is a sense of 'sameness' that is present. So,....
I need to remember that the things I do are not for myself or my benefit, but they are things that need to be done and feelings are unreliable!
Today we went to the market and I was awed by the variety of fresh produce once again. The watermelon hasn't been so good lately, but the strawberries are big and sweet.  There were the vendors with their foods that smelled delicious and looked wonderful! I am learning to check markets and tiendas for things before going to Walmart. There are clothes, dishes, chicken, and other things. The chickens look kind of scary, but the vendors are very careful to swish the flies away! Today I saw one man grab a cauliflower leaf  from the ladies produce right beside him and he sat there fanning his chicken so the flies couldn't land.
We have one family coming for the night tonight and then they are going to a church about an hour away from here tomorrow. I am trying to decide what to make for Sunday lunch. I think maybe chicken enchiladas. Tonight I am having tostadas with all the little toppings - beans, Guatemalan salsa, guacamole, dry cheese, cilantro and onion slices, with mango for dessert! Yum!
Jody has been very busy getting ready for school. Our school will start Sept. 1. Learning! What a privilege, and blessing and what hard work! If I would have memorized 5 Spanish words a day since we got here, I would have a vocabulary of 450 words. That's enough to depress me!!! Guess I'll go start right now, hasta luega...............

Back to work!

My first day of life in Guatemala after a flying trip to Idaho. Jared and I did fly to Idaho for a family reunion and the days did fly by! It was a wonderful time with my family and Jared relished some of the things he had taken for granted before we left for Guat. in June. He always wanted to be dropped off  at the end of the driveway and run. He told me, "mom, I can just run and run and there are no walls!" We absorbed as much of the clean pine scented air as we could, ate fresh blueberries and peaches, and even jumped into the cold water of deep creek. Best of all, we got to spend time with Jeremys! Jared keeps telling me how much he enjoyed his nieces.
Our flight home to Guatemala was extra long because we spent 3 hours with Justins in Denver! Talk about extra blessings! It is good to be back! I missed Vernon and the girls so much. Unpacking was quite time consuming as the brewers yeast powder and clear gel I was bringing back looked like it had exploded in flight. Everything had a coating of white and yellow dust! Lesson learned: pack all stuff in ziploc bags!
This past week has been a treasured time of being real with the families I love and the church family I love! Then to come back here and see the welcome on faces! It is precious.
God is gracious and does abundantly bless. I am grateful for every person that touched my life this past week and I pray I can be a blessing to others in return!

Be aware of lifes blessings!

I am packed and ready to leave for Idaho tomorrow. Jared and I are flying up for a family reunion this weekend. I am feeling sad that Vernon and the girls can't come! They are telling me to enjoy the trip and I will! But I can tell they would love to be there too!
Did I read my Bible today? Did I treasure the time? I have been thinking about this all week. On Sunday the pastor told the story of Joseph and used big pictures to illustrate. After church was over, I looked outside to see a cluster of people, old and young, looking at the pictures and hearing the story again! There are many who can't read, or who can read a little, which makes comprehension difficult. We have so many blessings and we take them for granted! I pray that I will always have a delight and hunger to read Gods Word!

Be my guest!

Sunday, a 'day of rest' that had people heading in lots of directions!
Vernon, Jared and I went to a small church about an hour from here. Mark and Norma Gingerich took us. The people were very friendly and smiled at me with a true welcome. We got back for a late lunch and fed a few women who were here waiting to fly out to their home village. At 4 am Tristan took a van load of people to San Marcos for church, a 5 hr drive one way. Jody and Jeana and Marta went to cottage meeting with a van load of people this afternoon. We stayed here to keep the place going. Sharon made us a delicious supper of bread sticks, left over pizza, popcorn and pumpkin dessert. I had a little time to sit and think and thank God for my family! For a husband who calmly does what needs to be done even though he is getting requests for help from different directions, and who surprises me with a lovely bouquet of roses he bought while sitting at a stop light, and then tried to sneak them past all the visitors that were watching! I am thankful for my daughters who are a joy to watch as they interact with the local people and just do what ever job they have to do, something that varies quite a bit! This week they cleaned house, painted, got sick, did children's Bible club, washed mountains of dishes, swept, mopped  did laundry...etc... Their humor is a treasure and I love it!(usually) Then there is Jared who leaps and races around the compound, sailing paper boats in the rain water, or catching flies for his 'pet' spider! or playing soccer with any one willing to play. What a blessing, and I pray that I will always treasure the days! Note to my married children, I haven't forgotten you :)!
 Tonight 3 men from El Salvador are coming in and tomorrow there are 13 people coming through, some headed to the states for Mark Andrews wedding in North Dakota and some headed to Antigua for Spanish school. Vernon has been drawing up plans for cupboards for the house Roy Beihns will be living in. We went over to the house and moved the stove and fridge around trying to find the best spot for both in a kitchen that is  7' x 10'!! Then to add cabinets to the small area is interesting. Vernon would love to get them done by the 18th, when they fly in. Tonight he had to run Danny Beachys boys up to Brian Yoders to do their chores as they are gone for 3 days. Janet Meyers came in tonight and will head to Oratorio tomorrow for a 2 week stay with a native family as part of her training for life in Guatemala. "A day of rest is as restful as my attitude and may not depend so much on how much rest I actually get," is the conclusion I have come to today!

.....God will take care of you................

No, I wasn't in physical danger! I was in need of much wisdom, medical and otherwise! Monday started out very good. Ruth was at work and I was so happy to see that her burn was healing well and I was feeling great about getting lots done. We had a wonderful time around the dinner table, laughing and enjoying each other. Sharon and I ran to Walmart after lunch and when we got back, Marta came running with a scared look on her face and told me Priscila was very sick. I ran into her room and didn't know what to do! She was so weak and dizzy and throwing up and every one was looking at me - the house mom - for direction. I was praying desperately. I urged to take her to the doctor and just as Vernon carried her out a terrific rain storm came in and we all got wet trying to get in the truck. I had Priscilas head on my lap and Vernon and Brian hopped up front and just then, Ruth came running with umbrellas and climbed in the back with us. I was so glad to see her. I am only a 2 month stranger here, and felt Ruth would be comforting. So we held hands and prayed and looked at each other and it didn't need language to read the concern and love in each others eyes. The doctor came out and checked her right away and we waited in the truck till he had seen the 2 patients that were waiting. The windows were fogged and the rain was pouring down and we waited and waited. The doctor said it was vertigo, sometimes caused by inner ear infection, but sometimes by inflammation in part of the brain. Today is Thursday, and she is much better, but still somewhat dizzy and is relaxing all day. Now we are praying for inner peace for this time of resting when the to do list is growing. Priscila is the secretary here and very busy with all manner of paper work!
Jody and Jeana are sick now too, I think it is strep throat, and Vernon is recovering from strep. Other than that, life is good.
Jorge, a little old man who comes and works here every day, made a towel rack for me. We call him 'grandpa Dan' and his wife Emna, we call 'the candy grandma'. After church, she hands out little bags of candy to the children and I might have the nerve to crowd around her yet!  We seem to be very busy and getting busier. We painted the room Jody will use for school and I sewed her curtains. Am also sewing some very simple curtains for our little house since the girls painted the kitchen and living room and when I took the old curtains down, they were rotten.
Tuesday Vernon had to go out in the pouring rain to look for a man who had been robbed at gun point right close here. We walk past the place when we go to Walmart. The man was from Chimaltanango, and had been at the bank. He was driving along when this car pulled in front and stopped and men jumped out and held guns on him, grabbed his phone, keys and started digging through his car. They got his money and slapped him across the face while they were at it. Vernon stayed with the man till some guys from his church could come and helped him.
Thursday was the day we had planned to take off and leave headquarters behind, all of us, and go do something fun, but plans had to change with the sickness. Instead, we went and cleaned a house for Roy Beihns, a couple moving down here indefinitely, to be administrator. As consolation, we ordered in pizza and had floats for dessert.  There is a beautiful lightening and thunder show and I need to go up on the roof to watch! Adios.....

Rest and relaxation ahhhh!

What a nice day! Sharon made Sunday lunch for me! It was so sweet of her and it was much appreciated. We only had 12 people at lunch and now we are all relaxing, well, reclining as much as possible! Jody and Jeana are studying Spanish. They have an agreement with Sharon that they each put in 3 hours of Spanish study a week. Whoever falls behind gets to treat the others to something good. I think Sharon is studying too:) Brian preached about Gods definition of 'rich'. I couldn't understand much, just enough to find most Bible references and so got the gist of what he said. We had some translation of the message  at lunch. It was a timely message, just when I have been making a list of goodies to bring back from Idaho! I am craving some real good chocolate and black licorice and ladyfinger popcorn with brewers yeast on it, to name a few things! Things! How important are they? How much do they define me as a person?  We have it very nice here in the city. There are a lot of rich Guatemalans in the city and yet there is so much spiritual poverty. I was reading over my blog from yesterday and noticed my blog title wouldn't make sense to any one but myself. I was feeling stretched and pulled towards many different needs and wants at the same time and I realized I can descend toward spiritual poverty by my attitude or I can look at each person and need as an opportunity to try to reflect Gods spirit with in me. Then I had a test... we have this cellar right below the water filter where we fill the jugs for drinking water and I went to fill the jug and forgot to shut it off till I felt the need for coffee and..... the cellar had a lot of water in it! Since I have been here I have had a few cellar cleaning opportunities and we have a very clean cellar floor. Could almost eat off it! That felt a bit like the last straw and I felt like crying but I was so hot and sticky and didn't want any more dampness! Such is life! Vernon thinks he should fix up an alarm that goes off in 2 min. to remind the jug filler to turn off the water.
Tonight is visitation and so today feels very relaxed. We are going to play games after supper.

.........and I love you too..................

Today has been a very busy day and I can't catch my breath! We had our Saturday morning breakfast of pancakes again and had about 18 people. I had a blackberry topping, yum! Vernon had to take Maria, Eileen and Janet to the bus station at 10:15 and the Steve D. family went along because they needed to do some shopping in Zone 1. Before they left Vernon ran Sharon, Jody, Jeana, Marcus, Isaac and Wendel to the park for children's Bible Club.They had 14 children show up today and usually have active games of soccer before the time ends.
The Bible Study group came home starving but I planned lunch  a bit late to accommodate Vernon and his group and when they didn't get back by 12:30, we ate any way. It was Mitskas on the menu. This is a glorified hot dog sandwich. Take a tortilla and spread it with guacamole, cabbage that has been stir fried with onion, tomato, oil and salt, and then topped with a hot dog. By the time we cleaned up lunch, Vernon's group came home and ate and then Vernon and I ran to the market to get produce and some of Lucinda's Queso fresco. Vernon loves to 'talk'with the vendors and we came home with watermelon, bananas, pina, lettuce, strawberries, ....  The phone rang just when we got home and here a fellow had been sitting at the airport since 12 pm!!! The flight status showed the plane delayed for 4 hours, so we didn't worry. Vernon went rocketing out of this place (did leave time for the black doors to open before he shot through)! They just got back and Vernon is giving Craig the tour of the mission. He is a possible v.s.er.  I have to go work on supper. It is youth tonight at 6:00pm so I can't be late with the meal. Last night was a beautiful night with a half moon shining, the kind of night that reminds a person of God and eternity.  I need such nights!

What is Family Time?

Wednesday is the house moms day off, (technically). Usually the house parents are older than Vernon and I and their children are grown. We are a family of 5, living with an extended family of 3-5 more single adults. So, Wednesday has become family day for Vernon and I, Jody, Jeana and Jared. We have been strongly encouraged to make sure we have enough family time together so I have been thinking of "what is family time"? Is it sitting on the girls bed and having a late night discussion, is it talking with Jared when he comes with questions and fears, is it going to Clubco with Vernon to stock up on groceries, and having a few minutes of time to talk all by ourselves? Or should it be grand adventures that make for great stories long afterward? What comes to mind when I hear family time? The first thing I think is... connection. It isn't what we do, but the attitude and love that comes through what we do!
Wednesday was my day off and it started off early! Vernon had to run to the bus at 5 am and pick up 4 tired travellers. After they had breakfast, he had to take them to the airport and stop at the dentist on the way home. Mean while, Ruth had called in sick and so Jody and Jeana were doing her cleaning jobs and getting the girls dorm ready for the next wave of occupants. By 11:25, we were ready to leave for our 'family time'. We had decided to stay in the city, so first stop was a Shoe Mega Paca, translate - thrift store of shoes only!!! I found some real nice ones, but they didn't fit. Then we headed to Pizza Hut for lunch. The pizza was so good, that crunchy, greasy crust just like we remembered it! We had a great time, actually discussed 'what is family time'! After lunch, we followed San Juan road and headed to Zone 1. We spent a lot of time driving around looking for the tourist market. Then Vernon got a call to go buy some bus tickets for 3 girls heading to El Chal on Saturday. We got home at 4pm in time to put a fruit salad together with mango, pina, and kiwi, and head to Danny's for supper to plan the first 'mission children' school at MAM Headquarters. It sounds like it will be an experiment and will take a flexible teacher, which, fortunately, Jody is! The school will be in a room at headquarters and they may run down the street to the Spanish school for the half hour morning break. I hope it works out, Jared will have more exposure to Spanish. School starts on Sept. 1.
Today was a pastors meeting and about 25 men came in from all over Guat. Ruth made lunch with the help of Elba. She made a Guatemalan beef soup which had meat and veg. cooked in a wonderful broth with lots of seasoning including cilantro. To serve the soup, she dishes the chunks of veg. into bowls and we put rice in our bowls, then the meat with broth and then potato, carrot, cabbage, vysquil and tortillas. De e licious!
Ruth got burned when a pressure cooker kettle that doesn't work, did build up pressure and blew hot water on her arm when she went to take the lid off! I was trying to act calm and think what would be best?????  We put her arm in cold water and then I got out my B&W ointment. Hopefully it won't be too bad! We served 26 guests for lunch and after the burn excitement, everyone pitched in and got the rest of the meal ready, maybe that could be called....... 'family time"!

Lunch today was a delicious meal that Ruth cooked, total Guatemalan, and was chicken, potatoes, cabbage salad with lemon and cilantro, tortillas and watermelon. There are no words to describe the flavor of all the finely chopped peppers, onions and garlic and whatever else she put in! All I know is that every bite was oozing flavor! We had a discussion about which language is the strangest - English or Spanish - there was no agreement :) We had some real laughs though. When we say 'pick a song' the Spanish translation of those sounds is 'itchy'!
The rain has returned again after about a week of hot, humid weather. It is a gamble to figure out when to do laundry. Every time it rains, there is a loud drip right outside our bedroom window, that reminds me of the proverb about a whining woman. I am seeing it through a mans eyes. That drip is very annoying!  God has a way of using nature for object lessons.
God also works in our lives in the small things, as we were reminded again yesterday. Jody and Jeana were babysitting for Brian and Janelle Yoder at their house which is a 20 min. drive from the mission. Jared was along too and when it got close to supper time we called to see how it was going and they didn't answer the phone. We found out why - they were locked out of the house! There they were with 5 children, Austin 10, Isaac 7, Olivia 5, Alisa 3 and Jared. They managed to reach in a small open window with a broom stick and with the boys looking in a window from the other side of the house, they were able to direct Jeana how to swing the broom to hit the lock. Janelle said they have tried and tried to open that door when it swings shut behind them, and never could. I believe God heard their prayers. Olivia made the comment that 'she wishes they would have thought to bring warm clothes out in case the door locked them out! The girls enjoyed babysitting. It is something they haven't done for a while. There was never a dull moment, including getting chased with a dead spider. I think they may have exerted their authority with a broomstick after a short while!
Jody and Jeana and I were washing down some of the concrete walls in the open area today. They were so dirty and I made the comment that a group of Hutterite women to clean would be great and Vernon seemed to have very sharp ears just then because he reminded me that I have Hutterite roots, so, there was a group of 'Hutterites' cleaning. This is such a big area when it comes to keeping it clean, especially when it is kind of open to the outdoors! Jared and Dizhon, a little boy who is staying here with his parents while they get a home ready in a new area they are moving to, have been playing hard all day. The wood shop has been a real magnet as they build things and then next thing I know, they are being monkeys, climbing on the swing and eating bananas. We have a lot of people coming through here this week. Lydia Zook who was visiting and plans to do v.s. in El Chal, Jerry and Kayleen Hoover coming to get her sisters at the airport, Ann Lehman who is flying in tonight to surprise her sister Judy, Steve Steckly who has to leave the country to get his visa re stamped, pastors who are coming for the pastors meeting on Thursday, the Steve Defenbaucher family who will spend the weekend here before flying home on furlough, Craig Miller who is coming to visit and see if he wants to volunteer for a term...................... that's all I know of right now. Jody and Jeana are baking cookies with Sharon. They have to bake a bunch of them for the pastors meeting. I am going to go sew a zipper in Jeana's dress for her so..... blessings to you and keep us in your prayers.