Culture Shock in the Medium Size City

Two Sundays ago was the day before the holiday, Dia del Niño. We celebrated it in the evening service. It would have been a beautiful time to take photos, but I have nothing. I was kind of off that night. This holiday is like a mother's day or a father's day for kids. Schools have parties, businesses have parties, churches have parties... children just run from place to place getting free candy and prizes. It's almost like halloween in the States minus the costumes... at least this is what I realized this year.  

Jimmy prepared a special message directed at kids and we didn't split off that night from the adults. I had made about 30 candy bags as a special treat for the children that faithfully attend our church. Well that night kids starting showing up from everywhere, ones we had never seen before. They came for their candy. This was our first Dia del Niño service in a larger town. I guess we just weren't ready for it. We aren't really comfortable mixing gimmicks and promises of free stuff with church. Outreaches and activities that build relationships are great, but a bribe to attend a service really cheapens it for me. Well there I was with my 30 bags of candy. I felt ridiculous. 

It ended up being a really great service in spite of my awkwardness. After Jimmy's message he presented the plan of Salvation using different colored balloons. He created a large Gospel flower with them. It went over really well with both the kids and the adults. We sang kids songs with motions... even the adults, they loved it all. Jonah and Silas shared a song on the microphone (big deal to them) in English. We celebrated kids! They are very special to God and 3 in particular are extra special to me! Afterwards we all fellowshipped together over some sweet bread and cold pop. AND I passed out my bags of candy. I found all of our regulars first and then let the rest share between their siblings. 

Everyone who came heard Truth, so that is a positive out of it. Two little brothers returned this past Sunday... so what does my awkwardness think about that?! Anyway, so now we know what to expect. I think this was a little culture shock from working for the first time in a big city (pop: 7,000 people). Maybe next year we can host a carnival on the Saturday before the holiday.

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY: 

This photo is from this past Sunday. We got to experience something we are very familiar with... sweeping water! There was about 2 inches worth of water in our building when we got there. Not sure if there is a leak in the roof or just really hard rains that blow it in from the porch. As you know, tile is very slippery when wet and even after sweeping and mopping we had little kids wipe out a couple times. Jimmy is working on figuring this one out...

BIG Choo Choo!!!!

Trains were a big part of my childhood. My dad had a model train set that filled our entire garage. It went up this cool mountain helix and then around the ceiling. I remember train watching with him too. He knew all the good spots to catch trains. I wasn't a train buff, but I loved spending time with my dad. 

There aren't any trains in Guatemala, so Jonah and Silas hadn't ever seen a real one. Papa had the idea to take the boys to Fulkston, GA to see their first "BIG Choo Choo!" (You have to shout the "BIG" part to say it like the boys!

{It says it on the sign, "Train Watching at its Best"!}

There is no way you can travel to Georgia without getting peaches and boiled peanuts, so that is what we had for lunch... and it was good!

{Boiled peanuts!}

{Enjoying the peaches!}

Even Eden loved the peaches! 

She worked on one for a long time!

Next to the railroad track there was a large covered platform just for train watchers! It was full of people who had come long distances to see the trains pass by. We had timed it perfectly because we didn't have to wait long for the first one. 

 Jonah and Silas were very excited. They would giggle and then point down the track with anticipation and yell, "BIG Choo Choo!!!"

Three trains passed while we were there. 

They were VERY loud that close, which made it even more thrilling! Everyone kept telling us to cover E's ears... I think it's silly, no one ever covered mine and they're fine!

 For the rest of our trip the boys were talking about this day and how they wanted to see more BIG Choo Choos! 

 This day was a very special one for all of us!

It's Official

We are now residents of Guatemala... well except for Eden, she is a Guatemalan. It only took 6 years! When we first arrived in Guatemala several missionaries recommended a lawyer to us to help us get our residency visas. Only thing is we live far away from Guatemala City. I guess it was an out of sight out of mind thing, because she never would finish. Jimmy contacted her repeatedly, but we finally realize she wasn't ever going to get around to us. Then we heard of another lawyer who is a Christian. 

{Back in April at the beginning of this process}

She is sharp too. From us getting all the correct paperwork together to us being in the system, it took about 6 months. We are so thankful. We haven't gotten the final papers yet, but when we flew out this last time our names showed up in the computer at Immigration as residents!!!!

Unfortunately there was a typo made when immigration put Jimmy's information into the system, so we had to return AGAIN to Guatemala City this past week to sign the last bit of papers.

{Leaving the hotel that morning}

Even with an appointment we waited for 3 hours. 3 hours with 3 kids under 3 is always entertaining... for everyone! 

They were pretty good playing with the educational apps on our phones (I know... lazy parenting, but they ARE "educational"). I also brought them a new letter tracing game as a surprise which ending up being a hit, except we all looked like we had gotten in a fight with a dry erase marker by the time we left.

Eden was extra cute that morning! I only have this blurry photo to prove it. One of the ladies asked to hold her and then took her off into the back offices to show her off. She was gone for a long time! That's kind of normal here. Then with lots of people waiting in line behind us the man doing our paperwork sat and played with his phone for several minutes. We weren't sure what he was doing and then we realized he was trying to figure out how to take a picture of E with his phone! Baby gringas must not be that common around here. Especially ones with blue eyes and double dimples! My kids get so much love and attention here. I wish all children were as lucky.

Jonah and Silas thought it was the coolest thing ever to get to put their thumbprint on our forms.

{3 inked thumbs}

We are so thankful to have this done. There are still a couple of steps in Petén before we have the paperwork in hand, but no more trips to Guatemala City! All of this work means we no longer have to leave the country every 3 months. As a tourist, 6 months after entering you have to either go to the capital or a border (Belize or Mexico, El Salvador is part of the CA thingy so it doesn't count) and pay to get a 3 month extension. When those 3 months are up you are required to be out of the country for 3 days. Border officials don't always make you stay out for 3 days, but it IS a big deal if you do not really leave or get an extension. We have been fined before because our visas expired on days we had teams here or for some other reason just couldn't make it in time to a border. Doing this for 6 years is very time consuming. Belize and Mexico are nice to visit, but not when you are forced to go on a regular basis!

Besides being able to stay here permanently, once you have your resident visa you can obtain your DPI, or your Guatemalan ID card. This is all you need to open bank accounts, get cell phone contracts, etc. Trying to do all of that with a passport is difficult. The DPI is also required to obtain your Guatemalan driver's license, and you can visit any Central American country as if you are a national and you don't have to have your passport scanned or stamped.

Crazy Item of the Day:
When we were heading back to the States a few weeks ago, we found out that at the airport they are now scanning your passport and stamping it with an exit stamp as you leave Guatemala. They didn't used to do this. It's not a problem, except that all of our passports showed up as being residents (thus excusing us from being in the country past our 90 days) except for Jimmy's because of the typo. They told us that Jimmy couldn't leave with the rest of us, and instead were going to send him to the Immigration office to pay a huge fine. The guy swiped it again and it still showed Jimmy as just a tourist and not a resident. To make matters worse, the official then realized that the latest stamp in his passport was an exit stamp with no entrance stamp. (I had to specifically ask them to put an entrance stamp on my passport the last time I flew into the capital because they think someone will do that in Petén but they don't.) Therefore, the guy said, Jimmy must have entered the country illegally. Illegal US immigrants must be a big problem there dealing with in Guatemala now! Then they threaten jail. After about 15 minutes of discussion and threats, the immigration official decided to scan it a third time and "Permanent Resident" magically appeared on the screen. But he tried a fourth time and it was gone again. One more try showed Permanent Resident, so the official stamped the passport without another word except, "Have a nice trip."

Four Generations

Two weeks ago my dad sent me an email saying my grandmother's health (mom's mom) had gotten much worse. On top of cancer and myositis, she came down with pneumonia. It was the kind where when you swallow, the food goes into your lungs. 

We were driving to Guatemala City anyway in order to sign some paperwork. If we all flew out of there it was pretty cheap for us to fly into Fort Lauderdale. When we booked our flights we didn't think we were going to make it back in time to even say goodbye. 

{4 generations}

My grandma has always been a very strong person and by that I mean the person she is inside. She went up and down during the 10 days we were there. Some days she felt good enough that we really got to spend some quality time with her. She acquired another type of pneumonia and a rare form of bacteria before we left, but she is still fighting. My mom is daily by her side seeing that she gets the best care possible. She is such a good daughter! I hope my kids love me one day as much as my parents loved their parents.  

Family issues are always a tough call when you are a missionary living outside of the country. God gave me 2 godly grandmothers who invested a lot in me. Who they were is part of who I am because of that investment. I think this woman deserves to have as much love and support around her as possible while she is finishing out her years. On top of that God gave me pretty spectacular parents and to those parents He gave one child and Jimmy does whatever it takes to get me to them when they are going through something so painful as this. He loves my family too.

  Each morning I would take the boys to visit "Grandma Nita". Some days I thought she wasn't up to it, but she wanted them in there anyways! 

Jonah and Silas would sing to her, blow kisses, and tell her crazy stories from their day.

Eden went every time I went because she is a LOT quieter than the boys!

While we were there me and my mom went to my grandma's house to pick up some photos and things to cheer up her now permanent room/home. There were so many memories mixed with the familiar smell of my grandma's house. I want to keep it all... all of those memories...  saved in a special part of my soul where they won't fade over time. It made me sad. 

{At my Grandma's house a couple years ago} 

I heard the sound of her heavy front door running over the door jam as it closed for the last time. I'm just not ready for all this. I know it is a normal part of everyone's life, but I hate it. I feel like when we left for the field we went into some kind of time warp. Where even though life continued without us, nothing was supposed to change because we weren't there to experience it. 

I have lots more photos from our time with my parents that I will eventually post. I love them so much. I know this doesn't have anything to do with missions, but please pray for my family when you think of it. 

My grandmother told me several times that she was glad I was there. Even during the times she was kind of out it because of an infection or medication she called out my name for comfort to see if I was still there in the room with her. I am so thankful for the time God gave us together. My grandma knows that she is loved. No regrets here! 

Our Church Home

The other night on the way to church we passed a crowd standing on the side of the highway in the rain. I commented to Jimmy how I felt bad for those people in the rain. Jimmy said, "You know, I think those are the people from NH that are coming to church." 

{The NH crowd}

Sure enough, I didn't even notice at the time that we were passing NH. They were waiting on the side of the highway in the rain for their ride to church. For years every time I have passed that community going into town I feel sad. Now I don't have to anymore!

I just love my church! For the first time since coming to Petén I feel like I have a church home. I love the people there and the relationships we all have with each other. I love worshiping and growing with them. I am just so thankful for this place.  

{Sunday evening service}

This was our service this past Sunday night. It was our largest crowd yet! Right now we have services on Sunday morning and Sunday night. Hopefully as soon as we move to San Pancho we can start having more outreaches and special activities. 

On Sunday morning Jimmy has been preaching through Joshua and on Sunday nights he has been studying doctrine.

{Sunday morning service}

Jimmy likes to invite Kekchi pastors every now and then to come and speak since we have several families where the wives mostly just speak Kekchi. Domingo preached this past Sunday morning.

Jimmy leads the worship time and I play the guitar. We have spent a lot of time trying to get better at this... it was mainly our comfort level. There is a big difference between singing a song and leading a group in worship. Everyone has certain gifts and then sometimes you have to fake the rest! 

What I really enjoy doing is teaching. On Sunday mornings the kids and I have Sunday school on the patio. 

{Hugo, Mariela, & Maybelin finishing up their paintings of Joseph}

We started in Genesis and are currently learning about Joseph. 

My boys are so cute. They get there early with us and help set up everything. I think it is a wonderful thing for them to learn. 

Sunday evenings we have a kids time in one of the small bedrooms in the house. The sound carries so much inside the building that we can't talk much, so I try to have a quiet activity that still communicates a message. 

 On Sunday evenings we have been studying prayer. 

{Nelson & Rubin's artwork}

 Here is the week we learned how God knows everything about us. We stamped our fingerprints and then wrote Psalm 139 around the outline of our hands. 

{Sophia's artwork}

Please pray for San Pancho Baptist Church as we continue to grow!

KBI's new website

Please check out our new website for the Kekchi Bible Institute! Hopefully it explains the whole vision clearly and quickly and also the need that the institute will meet. 

As we continue to progress with the different projects, I will add more photos and specifics to the Sustainability page. We are very excited about how everything is coming along. Please keep the institute in your prayers. Thanks!

Forever House #12

...our journey to rent free living, all the entertainment minus the headaches.

Years ago (ok, 2) when we had our doors made we chose a metal shop based upon the fact that they advertised that they specialized in installing garage door openers. Well it was complete false advertising because they had no idea what to even do with one. Jimmy got his "installation money" back and decided he would do it himself. 

He had to hire a welder to make a couple of adjustments, but Jimmy had it working within a day! And it cost less than half the installation price that those other guys charged us. So yay for them not knowing how!

Jimmy was so happy when he finished that he sent me this video. You can sense his satisfaction with his work!

Jimmy asked Lico to build a little roof for the motor... I think he missed the "little" part. Lico is always thorough. This is one sturdy motor cover!

This thing is massive in real life. I laughed when I saw it. I think I might try to camouflage it with some vines. From the front it looks like we have a pet giraffe. 

 I'm really thankful to have a garage door opener. I'm uncomfortable leaving the car running with the kids inside and jumping out to open our gate, especially at night. This makes me feel a little safer. We had one when we lived in Santa Elena and I got spoiled. I asked Jimmy for one for our forever house and he made it happen! 

We haven't done much of anything else on our house over the past 2 months. We kind of took a break to save up money for the pipes, floors, and windows. We fixed some oops, like the part of my porch overhang that hung over into the view out our bedroom window. It is fixed in the photo below. 

I kind of went crazy with the size of my windows. This is taken from our back porch looking in. Eden's room is on the right and our main living space is on the left. We have some extra blocks, so I'm thinking about raising the bottom of the windows so that we can have some bench seating on the back porch. I think we might eat our suppers out there like we used to do in Santa Elena when we had a nice patio. I can't decide! 

Thank you to my mom and Rob Hall for both hunting down some pumpkin seeds for us last minute. Our masons are fascinated by the strange things Jimmy grows in his garden. It's just not the normal things people grow here. They like to weed it on the days Jimmy isn't there. Jimmy nicely asked them not to, but they weeded the pumpkin patch anyway which pulled up the vines and killed all of our pumpkins. They were just trying to help. Our new seeds have already sprouted. We might have some big pumpkins in time for Thanksgiving after all!

{I took this right before Jimmy mowed the grass. Rainy season makes everything green and tall!}