Farewell!

It's over, done, finished,terminada....or is it? We have said our tearful goodbyes and gazed out of the plane window till Guatemala disappeared from sight, and so that window of our lives has closed, but over? No, nothing can erase the memories and the love for the ones we told goodbye to. When we talk about Guatemala City traffic, there is a panoramic film that flashes across my mind, buses smoking their way along the streets, people, multitudes of people walking, talking, buying food from the many vendors who have their little stands set up, traffic police with shrill whistles waving us  on, color, vibrant colors everywhere. When I hear names,like  Marta, it is not just a name, she is a person with a wonderful sense of humor, a kind heart, a hard worker who never and I mean never complains, and someone who is serving the Lord no matter who else chooses not to! It was very hard to say goodbye! Every time I walked into the kitchen and saw Ruth, Elba and Marta, putting off their work to cook one more special lunch for us, empanadas and fresh pineapple, I would start crying and had to laugh at myself at the same time! Isn't God good? When we got to Guatemala, I believed God would be with us and give us strength to survive, now I can look back and see how He poured out blessings to full and overflowing! I can't find words to describe the kindness and love that was so graciously extended to us! If we don't see each other again here on earth, we will see each other in Heaven. Now we are back in the states, slowly making our way home. We are in SC, having a good time visiting Vernon's family for a few days, and then heading to CO to visit our son and his wife. Spring is here in the south, the dogwoods are blooming and mushrooms keep pulling Vernon into the woods. He found one. Today there is fishing on the 'to do' list. A lot of excited boys and men!
So, the thought for the day........ embrace the day, it will never come again!

Count Down!

Our days in Guatemala are numbered! We are trying to get a lot of work done, savor the last days, and hold on to budding friendships even as we feel the tug of separation. In the midst of all this I find myself looking ahead to the special people who are waiting for us in the states! The days are flying by! Monday, Vernon and Jeana went to the dentist and Jeana had 4 wisdom teeth cut out. Yesterday, Jeana told me she learned a new word in Spanish, 'ardilla'. She must have looked in the mirror! I love humor and a person can handle a lot of things if they can laugh. We had a fun day on Tuesday taking the school children on a special school day. We piled every one into the van and went to the Children's Museum. It is great place with hands on science, activities and lots of fun things to do. From making huge bubbles and standing inside a bubble, to wall climbing, and fighting their way through the germ jungle, to name a few things. After a picnic lunch we headed home and got to relax a bit. It was a beautiful, hot sunny day and we savored the warmth and wondered how chilly we will be when we get back to Idaho. This afternoon, our family and Danny Beachys family went to zone one, one more 'last' thing to do together. We were impressed with ourselves. We left at 2:15, went to 2 fabric stores and the tourist market and were back home for supper by 5:30!!! It was fun to be together and we are going to miss them when we leave. Tonight we all worked together to knot 2 quilts that Sharon and her mom had been working on. It was live comedy for some of the time. Put Vernon, Craig, Tristan, Lee, and Edy in front of a quilt, trying to thread needles and tie knots, it's bound to be funny. I wish I could have taken a picture of Vernon and Edy, the intense look of concentration on their faces as they tried to force a thread through a small needle. It took them quite a while. We really did appreciate the help and now we can relax a bit and I can finish this blog I started writing on Monday! Jared is racing around trying to catch one of the new vs boys. Jared is on the rip stick and Lee is on a bike. I am hearing yells, laughing and one time a loud crash that I didn't investigate because I heard Jared and knew he was ok! :) Tomorrow is a farewell party for our family and Sharon since we are both leaving next week. I suggested we go awol. It is very sweet of our friends to go to so much work, but I am afraid I will cry. I guess that's ok. Thought for the day, "If it matters to you, it matters to Him". I know these last days are important to God even more than they are to me! Go ahead tears, come if you must! I wouldn't trade the privilege of learning to know so many wonderful people just to escape the pain of having to say goodbye!

Dying from Laughter?

Can a person ever die from laughing? Last night I was wondering. Vernon and I were reading some great books by Dr. Robert Leslie about his experiences as an emergency room doctor. The author is a gifted writer and there were sad stories we cried over and some  we laughed at, but the final story was just too much! We wept and howled with laughter and it took a long time to finish the story because we were trying to read through the tears. Isn't funny how comical we can look with our faces all stretched out of shape as we try to open our eyes wider so we can see past the tears? I woke up this morning feeling very healthy! It just goes to prove that the Bible does have all the answers! It even talks about how good laughter is for us!
Vernon is headed to the bus station to pick up the girls. They did a quick bus trip to Santa Rosita 'once more', and got to tell the village people, as well as the workers, goodbye. This week looks full. We have guests coming and going and I think we will have a lot of people around here for the next two weeks. Pray for us that we do the most important things first! Hasta Luega.