Our Survey Trip

Leavin’ on a little plane early in the morning!

Flores, Petén

Mapping out our trip.

We met so many people on our trip and were able to pass out Bibles & tracts.

We were surprised at how spread apart all the villages are. We drove for several hours both days and still have not seen even a fraction of the Petén. There are lost people everywhere, but our heart is with ones who have not had the opportunity to hear the message of the gospel.

Claire got to witness to our hitchhiker and give him a Bible. He told her, “No one has ever given me a Bible before, I am going to study this.”

We found a place yesterday that the government had set up for terrorist refugees that had fled to Mexico around 1996. When they got sent back to Guatemala, the government set up a housing area where they were required to live.

There is a great need and all of us are excited about future ministries here.

This lady is the mayor!

Claire swinging from a vine!

We are finally in the jungle!

Would you walk across a bridge that read, “Maximum 15 people?”

This is the little girl that I had my first Spanish conversation with. Kids are not as intimidating!

Please pray that God will continue to lead us to people like this and show us where he would have us begin our ministry next year. Of course we want to know right now! On our last Sunday at Messiah, Pastor Hoover said,”Sometimes God wants us to wait longer than we think is reasonable and move faster than we think is advisable.” Please pray for us now more than ever.

Someone for Saturday

Ok we need someone to pick Saturdays to pray for us! This morning I caught the tip of my toenail on a lip under the desk and partially ripped it off, it is all nice and purple now (I will spare ya’ll the picture)! For some reason I only packed sandals that pull on my toe, so Jimmy said he would drive me to Paiz to buy some cheep shoes that would hold me over until we get our container. When we got to the store, Jimmy turned right to pull in the parking space (with his blinker on) and he saw in the mirror that there was a motorbike coming up to pass on the right. Jimmy stopped, but the guy plowed into the front passenger wheel and then into another parked car. God really protected us and no one was hurt. Here, no matter what, if there is an American involved, it is his fault. Jimmy was so calm. I am so proud of him. Here it is better sometimes, if you’re an American, just to give the guys involved money. If you don’t, you get your vehicle taken away and carted off to jail while you wait to have the police work everything out. It did not hurt the guy’s bike at all, but he started pulling stuff off of it and saying it was broken. He already had the kick-stand tied up with a piece of wire to keep it from falling down while he was riding it. He was just trying to make some money. After awhile he started limping and saying he was hurt after he already told us he was ok. Jimmy ended up scolding him well and paid less than half of what he wanted, but we got to go our way. It wasn’t really that much, it was just the principle of the thing. So yes we are very thankful for your prayers! The Boggs were out of town. When they got home we told them the whole story. They said that they were glad that we got to experience this on our own. They gave us advice for next time and were just a real encouragement to us.

A Celebration

We have not been able to publish to our website in 2 days. Jimmy was able to fix it this morning, so that is a praise! We want people to be able to read about about what is going on so that they will remember to pray for us.

Yesterday morning we went to a different church that is being pastored temporarily by a national that is in his first year at the seminary. His name is Nery and he and his wife are praying about what God has for them after he graduates. Of course, Jimmy mentioned to him about maybe going with us to the Peten! He seemed very interested, but just pray that God directs both of our paths.

They have a van ministry that picks up kids in the neighborhood. They sang so well!

Yesterday evening, we went to a church pastored by a national names Rolando. It was his 50 birthday, so he asked Larry to preach this special service.

Afterwards we all sang Happy Birthday, (They know that song here because of Sesame Street.) Claire said that the way they pronounce “happy birthday” sounds like they are singing “green frog.”

Rolando’s wife cooked everyone dinner; it was delicious!

They brought out a large piece of bread that read “50 years.” This was such a happy church and they love their pastor. We really enjoyed being a part of the celebration.

This little girl sang a song about David & Goliath for everyone! She has a jacket on, but it is underneath her dress. Guatemalans do not like to cover up there pretty dresses with a jacket or a sweater, so lots of times they will wear it underneath. I thought that was cute!

Please pray for our survey trip to the Petén. We leave today to drive to Guatemala City. We will fly from there on a small plane to Flores. We will have 3 days in the Petén. We should get back to Quetzal on Friday. Please pray for our safety and that God will begin showing us his will for our future ministry!

We're Lovin' It!

We saw this sign at McDonald’s and started laughing. It says, “Your world changes; Big Mac doesn’t change.” We are in a different world. The only stores that I have found that are the same as the States are McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Blockbuster, Dominos, Payless Shoes, and a Sherwin Williams Paint store. Not all of them are like the ones in the States though. I did find a fabric store down the street from our apartment. Jimmy was a sweetheart and walked me down there today. They have beautiful fabric that is not very expensive.

We had our orientation for language school today. We will start our classes on the 21st. Since we are waiting on our container still, Larry and Claire have been planning a trip to the Peten, next week. We did not expect to be able to take our first survey trip so soon. We are really excited about this opportunity. Larry and Claire have really been supportive of us finding the place God has for us. The Peten is around 14 hours away by truck, so we will fly to Flores from Guatemala City. Please pray that God will begin showing us where He would have us. Please also pray for all of our safety. This trip is why we are here.

Driving in Guatemala!

Jimmy took this picture. It is where part of the road was washed out during Hurricane Stan last October. Well, I drove for the first time in Guatemala yesterday. When I pulled out of the drive I asked Jimmy what the speed limit was, he just looked at me and then we both started laughing. It was different. You have to be defensive and aggressive at the same time. People pass 3 or more vehicles at one time here while going around the side of a mountain on a two lane road. I definitely learned that there are as many lanes as you want there to be! There are not many stoplights or stop signs, so everyone has the right-of-way. The police do not pull you over here, they just flag you down to search your vehicle sometimes. My first trip was from Solola to Quetzal, so it was about an hour & a half drive. As soon as we got out of Solola, Jimmy said, “Oh, I meant to get gas!” Then my gas light came on and there are not any gas stations until right outside of Quetzal. Gas stations and bathrooms are precious in our new little world. We made it though. When we finally found a gas station we just sat there waiting for the guy to come pump our gas. The truck behind us in line started honking and then we realized that it was the one pump that was self-serve. (Dumb Gringos!)

More Pictures From Church

This is a long one, with stuff that maybe only our mothers would care about! In that case, I am going to list the prayer requests first. Please pray for our container, that we can get it soon and that the taxes are not to expensive. Also, we found out that Toyota was expecting Jimmy’s truck back into the States yesterday... woops! Jimmy has been round and round with Toyota. They are always nice, but we still don’t have the right papers. Please pray that everything will work out. This also effects how much taxes we have to pay on the truck.

These are pictures I forgot to post Sunday. Guatemalans love lace and like to decorate there churches. This is the building before everyone got there. The other is a picture of us being “Back-row Baptist”!

I have been strategically planning how to be able to inconspicuously pad the church pew. I do not want the Guatemalans to refer to me as a “fufurufa” ( to Guatemalan’s this word means a prissy tourists). At first I thought I could sit on my coat, but it is to cold to take it off. So I had the idea to get a thick Bible cover and then take it off during the service and sit on it. Jimmy said that he was going to do the same thing. Claire said that Jimmy would need to get a “really big” Bible cover. Jimmy said, “Thanks a lot!” Claire insists that she meant he had a really big Bible!

We have our orientation for language school on Wednesday. We are very anxious to get started. Claire told me to cary around a pad of paper and just write all the words I learn down. I feel a little overwhelmed, but my notebook is growing! Thanks for praying!

Starting From Scratch

We still cannot believe we are here. I just keep thinking in my head that it is just a vacation from Deputation! I feel like I need to hurry up to learn and see everything before I have to go home. Thankfully we get to stay! The Boggs, Larry and Claire, are awesome! They are an endless resource. We love them! They are so patient with us.

Saturday we got to go to a wedding that Larry was performing and Jimmy got to be the camera man. It was suppose to start at 2:00, but because of the laid back atmosphere it didn’t start until 3:15. This wedding was very special because it was done to honor God's plan for families.

The Boggs took us grocery shopping at the store (some stuff you get from the store and some from the market). We have a whole lot to learn. Today we went to church in the morning at the Seminary where we will have our language school. It is about a 7 minute drive from our apartment. Tonight the Boggs took us to another seminary graduate’s church in Cantel.

Thank you so much for praying for us. We are so excited about what God has planned. Please pray that God will show us how we can get involved the best at the church we will be attending during language school. Also please pray that God will open up a door for us to get into the Peten next year.