I am sitting with my sweetheart beside me on the couch and I am wondering if life with me has been too hard on him. He is jerking his arm out in the air and back again like he is trying to catch a mosquito that isn't there.
He dared me to post this so I accept the dare! I'm not too sure about myself either, because I think what I wrote is pretty funny.
This week has been very busy. We had a major rain storm on Wed. night. The rain came down like a huge spigot had been turned on. The problem was that the spigot didn't turn back off! At 3am, the Spanish school and one family's house flooded. The water was knee deep. They cleaned up most of the day and the story repeated itself the next night. Vernon went down at 3:30 am to help shovel water. Have you ever heard of shovelling water?! That's what they did and it worked. They scoop it into a drain. Friday morning found the men all down at the school building a block wall to funnel the water over to a drain instead of coming down into the compound. In the middle of all this we had a baby shower for Eva who calmly cleaned up her flooded kitchen and then came to the shower and I didn't hear one word of complaint or fuss about such a mess right when her baby is due!
 My week seemed  very busy just keeping up with things, and I realize how much my girls help me! Jeana is having a great time and enjoying the freedom of living up in the boonies in spite of the heat. We are hoping to see the area when we go pick her up. Jodys world consists of teaching and very little time for anything else. She had the students start building a kite for art class. Vernon found a kite tangled on some wires here by the mission. It was very creative. It was built with newspaper, twigs and thread. The students are using it for pattern.
There seems to be this cold and sickness here at headquarters that has affected only the male population so far. There are coughs, sneezing, growly voices and high squeaky voices. We can't help laughing a bit, even while we sympathize.
Tomorrow us ladies - Priscila, Marta, Sharon, Ruth, Elba, Jody, Janelle, Miriam and Linda and myself are taking off for San Martins. It is a classy, coffee shop bakery combo. Forget about diets down here! They don't seem to work. I had an idea that I would go back to the states about 30 lbs lighter..... ha ha. The food is just too good!
Sharon put a quote up on the white board the other day. She found it in a recipe book. I have been thinking about it quite a bit.
"If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor,
how come a commission by our Heavenly King is considered a sacrifice?!"
Until the next time.................

Letting go.........

Today is a gray, chilly day and I have opened my hand to release my daughter to head up north to a primitive part of the country. She will be living with a family and helping the mother who homeschools three children and  works with the daily demands that living primitive brings. Jeana will help cook, tutor and be involved with the village children when they come every day at 4 pm for a 2 hour play time. I think the cooking looks like the biggest challenge, not to mention the spiders:). Snakes would be preferred! She is driving up with 4 others and will arrive at Jeff's at midnight and head on from there in the morning. It's about 13 hours.
I had to have my surrender conversation with God. She is His, praise His name! But oh it tugs at my heart to let go! Yes, I know it's only a few weeks, and I am thankful she can have this experience. Pray for her, and for us as we go about our less exciting duties here at the compound with walls! I was thinking of how we can focus on the walls or we can enjoy the sunshine that comes inside the walls and focus on building relationships with the people who live with in the walls.
 "Godliness with contentment"..................... that was the message on Sunday morning.

Day by Day

 What is more distracting than shouts of laughter rolling out of the kitchen windows along with the smell of freshly baked bread? We have some extra folks around here who are waiting to head home to El Chal. There is a protest going on and the roads are blocked, so they postponed their trip till this evening. Youth Institute was out at the 'farm' this past weekend. Youth came from different areas in Guatemala and there was a nice sized group. Jody and Jeana enjoyed themselves in spite of only being able to say 'hello, how are you, what is your name, where are you from'! It is different here in the sense that when a young person here gives their heart to the Lord, they are counting the cost. Down here people live in communities.There isn't the distancing that we can have in the states with our acres of land and big homes. Down here there is the pressure of unbelieving family and friends and no big church with lots of friends and family to insulate us from the reality others have to face. I look at some of the people here and find myself feeling shame for the many times I wasn't willing to stand for the truth, no matter what others thought!
Darlene's death last week has reminded me to take a look at my life and relationship with God, and it has given me a deeper appreciation and enjoyment in my family. It has also made my arms ache to hold my granddaughters and to talk face to face with my sons and their wives. Till I can do that, I will keep praying that God will give them strength and wisdom for the path He has given them.
This morning we sang 'my song'. Day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here. Trusting in my Fathers wise bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear. He whose heart is kind beyond all measure, gives unto each day as He deems best, lovingly, it's part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest. Every day the Lord Himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour that I lose not faiths sweet consolation, offered me within His Holy Word..............

What a day! I think I will need a few days to process it! Vernon and I woke up at 4 am to the voice of Harold calling for help. His wife had gotten up during the nightt, and he found her laying on the floor and didn't know if she was alive or not. We rushed over and found that she was not alive and had a doctor come out and comfirm it. It must have been a heart attack. There is no dignity in death. It is the legacy of faithful living  that gives dignity to the shell we leave behind.
Our minds went to the evening before when we had talked and Darlene had said with utmost conviction,"when it's your time to go, it's your time to go!" I asked her when she was going to start acting her age? She grinned and said "oh, when I get to heaven!" How many 83 year old American women will bus around Guatemala, on buses that some people hate to ride on because of the dangerous road and drivers. Then she shows up at the door with a smile on her face. Harold and Darlene had 64 years of life together. How well they must have known each other! The short time I learned to know her, I learned that she was a very sweet woman who loved the Lord and now is enjoying the reality of His 'well done.' Today was a reminder that death will come to all of us. Will we be ready to face God?

Life after Death

I believe there is life after death! I only have to look up at the sky at night when there are millions of stars shining and the longer I look, the more heaven seems to be shining down through the stars. When I look up at brilliant,white clouds that pile up in such a beautiful way and I see the  blue beyond, it makes me think of Heaven and the place Jesus is preparing for all of us who love and obey Him!
I believe in 'life after death' here on earth too. I have learned that the same God in Heaven is with me here on earth and has walked with me through the valley of sorrow and has given me peace that passes understanding. He has given me the ability to treasure and enjoy those I love even more because I recognize clearly, that they are a gift from God and belong to Him.
 God in his gracious mercy, has blessed me with precious family, and it circles out to include extended family and friends. Yes, Jesus loves me!

 

In Memory  9-11-1999

Joy in my Heart!

Today was a good day. Vernon drove a van load of us women to Ruth's house for 'Reunion de Hermanas'. It is a once a month gathering of women for a sharing and devotion and prayer time. Today one of the women talked about joy in our heart. I couldn't understand her but I came away encouraged and impressed, if I can say that. This woman has had serious health problems, Lyme's and hepatitis. She has two adorable children and a husband that is not a believer, yet she has a joy in her heart.
We have been very busy this week. On Wed. we all, everyone at the mission,plus Danny Beachys and Brian Yoders headed to Oratorio for a surprise birthday party for James Allgeyer. James used to live in the city and fly the mission plane.  Oratorio is about a two hour drive from the city. When we got there, we were soon surrounded by curious children. Some of them remembered Vernon from a previous time he had been there and they wanted him to come play ball with them. James and another single guy, Steve Steckley, are renting a house that is very interesting. They get water for 4 hours every two days. On the "off" days, they have learned to shower with a half bucket of water, and laundry gets done on 'water' mornings or not at all. The interior of the house is a dirty, ugly green with a few light bulbs dangling from the ceiling, but they have these lovely arched doorways that I love.
Since we were in Oratorio, we all went to prayer meeting. The church there is very small and so we filled it up. We had to walk up a steep rocky path to the church and Vernon couldn't find a good place to leave the van so he drove most of the way up before spinning out on some wet slippery rocks. While we were praying we felt a pretty good earthquake tremor! That area has registered 3000 tremors since July 1!! Some of the tremors are too small to feel, but it has made some folks feel a bit nervous. Adios amigas...........

Labor Day!

Today is labor day and we celebrated it by............laboring! I made waffles with fresh strawberries for breakfast and by the time we started our days work, the clouds and rain had given way to blue skies, fresh breeze and sun. Jeana and I were talking about how some people have a thankfulness for each day just because God created the day and the circumstances are just an added blessing. That is my goal! I want to wake up with a heart that is grateful for the day God has given me! These were my early morning thoughts and comments. Then our flexibility was tested. We had four waves of guests come in today, we are actually waiting for the last wave to arrive. Some are workers returning from furlough, some are workers coming to the city for a few days, some are natives who couldn't be flown to their homes with the mission plane because of weather and mud, so may have to take a 5 hour bus ride when a 40 min. plane ride would get them home! It is a blessing to have a clean, safe place to stay while in the city and we try to make it a comfortable, pleasant stay.  Limited Spanish can be so frustrating! When I want to welcome a young very pregnant woman and make sure she is comfortable and has what she needs and to let her know she is very welcome, words definitely fail me! Then there is the mother and her children and they are very cautious about getting in our way and I want to tell them, they can be comfortable and relax! I finally got Priscila to come with me and translate! We don't understand all the little important things about this culture, but courteousy and kindness can help bridge the gap!

How I see it!

Today was a beautiful breezy day, the kind of day when you want to run outdoors and keep on going through the trees and up the mountain! Instead, there are the streets and cars. Thoughts of being trapped can pop into ones mind. Then we think, it's only a matter of time, we won't be here that long!  How about those who live this all the time, year after year? How do they feel when they hear complaints about feeling penned in? It makes the complaints die on our lips! It is all in how we look at it! God has work for us to do and He gives grace and acceptance to do it. It is an interesting experience!
Cooking has been a bit of a challenge today. Vernon has been tiling the back splash in the kitchen and so all cooking takes longer and more moving around of stuff. The kitchen cabinets and back splash have an interesting history. Their first life was concrete forms for the kitchen walls and ceiling. Then they were sanded and turned into cabinets. The tiled back splash will look much better and maybe some energetic person will decide to resand and varnish the doors!
 We had about 4 extra people here for lunch and I panicked and quick heated up left over pizza to go along with left over 'haystacks'. Of course, there was plenty! Went to market today and  Jared came to help me carry things. The people are getting used to us. They know we can't resist pineapple and strawberries! I felt quite proud of myself, walking about with my basket on my arm, buying potatoes, peppers, onion, zucchini, strawberries, blackberries, lettuce, pineapple, limes, cilantro and bananas! I could even get the price the second time they said it. There is something about putting the produce on a shelf in the fridge and knowing that there are a lot of options for cooking sitting there! I made platinos for lunch. They were very good!
Tonight we will walk down the street to Dannys to celebrate a birthday. Cake and ice cream for Caleb who turns eight years old.