What a beautiful day and what a blue sky! There is not a cloud in the sky and the sun has such a comfortable warmth! Can you tell we have been quite chilly the last while? Today is Wednesday, my 'day off' and I spent the morning riding around the city with Vernon. The first thing we did was take one of the girls, who had bussed in on the overnight bus, to the University to do a final exam on Teaching English. I don't know what the formal title is. When she is finished she will have the option to teach in a lot of countries. When we got to the university she was told the test was switched to November. I can tell she has lived with adjustments because she chose to 'flow' with it instead of get all bent out of shape! While walking through the university halls, I thought of the states and what parents would be saying about their children learning in such full classrooms, crammed with desks and students. One thing I noticed when we walked past the open doors was the way the students seemed to be alert and focused on the teacher.
The next jaunt we went on was going to the market and getting fresh produce to last a few days. I am also trying out the idea of buying my meat at the market. It is fresh and the same price as the 'greasy' meat from Walmart!
We have guests here at headquarters and are excitedly looking forward to three more guests (special ones for us) coming on Friday morning. Hopefully we can keep them busy with a balance of work and play:)
One other 'guest' we have here is a tarantula!!! The family that Jeana lived with in Santa Rosita sent it to Jeana as a joke gift. I'm sure they had a lot of laughing over the idea of the shrieks that would be echoing off the compound walls. Much to my surprise and Jeana's surprise and horror, she had Vernon help her build a cage to keep the thing in!!!!! She has a real like, hate relationship with it, and Jody has to bear the brunt of having it in her classroom with six very excited boys. There are strict orders - no one is allowed to open the cage unless Jeana or Jody give permission, which won't happen! The boys have had some roach hunts and watched the spider eat a roach. "If only we had a scorpion" is the remark I keep hearing,"we could watch them fight"!
Is this what we need to liven up our days?
Guatemala City has huge Mega Paca Stores, (thrift stores) and I was told the stuff comes from the States! Does America really have such an excess? How do we teach our children to be content and have grateful hearts? We thought the forts our children built in the woods were so cute, how about if that fort of sticks and tin was our home? I think of that verse about 'to whom much is given, much is required' and I believe God will hold me accountable for how I have used what He has given and I think of the times I look at what I have as "mine" to use for me! May God help me to always look at what I have as His gift to me to be used for His glory! When I go Mega Paca shopping I think of how amazing and fun it would be to find a name that I recognized on some of the items! I am planning to go look for some warmer clothes like flannel shirts, leggings and sweaters. But for now, I am absorbing the warmth of the sun and the laundry drying quickly on the line. Farewell...........
