The Rest of Their Trip pt.1

Rick flew in before Mike so he got to go with Jimmy to the street fair in San Pancho (our future home). It is held annually.

Tables are set up in the main square and surrounding streets. They have all types of desserts and preserves. Poor Jonah was sick, so the boys and I stayed home. Jimmy was very sweet though and brought me home some goodies to try.

Rick and Mike shared so much insight with us on raising kids on the mission field. I think the one thing I took away from our time with them was how important it was for the kids to serve with you and be involved in your ministry. They both shared their parents' vision for the field when they were younger. They understood why their parents were there and that was because they were part of it. It wasn't something that was forced, it was what they wanted to do when the time came. We got lots of other little gems of wisdom too, but that one I think was the most valuable.

Mike was able to stay 2 extra days. We took him to Santa Rita to meet some of our people. Here is Maria, her husband Tereso (sitting in the chair in the back), and one of their sons Marvin. Maria told us a story about the other day when Jimmy was driving around with some of the kids in the micro announcing for the kids Bible study. She was standing with a group of ladies and one of them said, "He is just here to steal kids." (That is a very prevalent belief among people here about gringos.) Then Maria and Berta (another lady whose girls sneak to our Bible study because their dad is against us) spoke up for us and said that we have done nothing but help the community and are teaching the kids the right way to live and that they are both glad we are here. This was so encouraging to me to hear about Maria standing up for us, because I really count her as a friend; also Berta, who I love her girls, but I wasn't sure what she thought of it all. It was a pleasant break from the usual things we hear were said of us!

Mike also got to meet Jesús' family. Poor Jonah ran a high fever (101 range) for 3 days. This was our first experience with this so we were very concerned. We thought he was doing better but then while we were in Santa Rita he got very hot again. We stripped him down to help him cool off. It is wintertime here (lower 70's) so Bernabe, Jesús mom (lady above), wanted to know why in the world Jonah was naked! Babies are always wrapped up here in sweltering heat... let alone when it's "freezing"! I knew we were going to get some looks!

I shared some of this story in our November update, but I will post all of it soon. The way God brings things to pass are just beautiful! Fabio is giving us half of his land for a permanent home for the Bible study (pictured above). We all went to see it for the first time with Mike. Fabio (75) has already started clearing off the site for us!

December Kekchi Pastors Module

This week we had the opportunity to hold another training session for the Kekchi Baptist Pastors. 49 pastors arrived for the classes on 2nd Corinthians and Missions. Rick Washburn and Mike Starling were our two guest teachers. We were happy because both of these men grew up as missionary kids and then went back to the field with their own kids. As you can imagine, they have a perspective that is very interesting to us personally about raising missionary kids.

Because they both speak spanish, there was no need for Jimmy to translate. They were able to cover a lot more material this way. Audilio translated everything into Kekchi.

{Rick teaching}

{Mike teaching}

The pastors were very interested the entire time and asked a lot of questions. Many of the answers they now have will forever change their ministries. The pastors were also encouraged to look beyond their specific works to how, through their existing churches, they can reach the lost villages around them. Many told of their new plans to do so.

Last October the church in Libertad (4 families) asked the other churches for help in building a parsonage. They have been without a pastor for a while and thought they would be able to get a new one in this way. The pastors voted to help buy the roof, but mentioned that there was no one to go to this church. On our last day we gave a man a ride who had been without a church for about 19 months. He mentioned that he will probably be pastoring the church in Libertad next month because they just finished their parsonage. He had to leave the church he was at before because they could only pay $60 of the $100 salary/month and he couldn't feed his family.

Rick and Mike have really caught the vision for what KBI is all about. Over and over we saw the needs for further training and a permanent location for a full-time pastor's institute. Over and over we heard about spiritually dark villages where a church could be started if there was only a pastor to go there. This is what indigenous ministry is all about- investing in national pastors.

Lao Yoco Chi Tzoloc Li Kekchi

That means "We are studying Kekchi!" Last year we tried to start learning Kekchi, but we couldn't find a tutor that would show up on a regular basis. It is very difficult to find someone who speaks Kekchi, is fluent in Spanish, reads and writes well, and understands how to teach a language. A friend introduced us to Fabian. He is Kekchi, but married a Latina, so he is fluent in Spanish. He also has taught several other people Kekchi before. He ALSO shows up... and on time!

He is very careful to make sure both of us understand everything before he moves on. He is very positive and makes learning fun. He's a huge blessing!

We have classes 3 times a week during the boys' first nap. The boys have been sick lately (we think we have narrowed it down to amoebas) so twice now they have woken up during our class with double diarrhea! He has been very understanding. And we found out why, he has 5-year-old twin boys! With a smile on his face he said, "I have already survived this!" It made me laugh! His boys' names are Joseph Elisha and Joseph Stephen (but in Spanish). He was surprised our boys didn't have the same name. He told me about all of his kids and I counted and said, "So you have 10." He replied, "No, 9." He counts the twins as one! It is interesting to me to learn about things having to do with twins in other cultures.

Our book is in Spanish, but the Spanish is sort of funny, like it was translated from English into Spanish, I don't know, but it's tricky. The book was written 30 years ago, so some of the Kekchi has changed and it is Coban Kekchi, so we are constantly penciling in things. Still the book is the only one of it's kind and is a lifesaver! We are also discovering that you sort of make the spelling up as you go. Most people don't usually write it, so not everyone who speaks it knows the correct spelling for things. Anyway, it is very phonetical so I like that!

Since we are learning it out of our second language, my notes are a mess. I guess that is a representation of my brain. I didn't realize just how jumbled up the thoughts inside my head were until I tried to write them down, they are in Spanglish. I was going to write all my notes in Spanish, but then English words kept popping out. Then I decided I would write them all in English, but Spanish words kept popping out. So then I decided I would try to at least pick one language for an entire sentence... that didn't work either. So as I was using up the last part of the eraser on my pencil I decided to just embrace the Spanglish. It's a mess, but it makes sense to me!

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY:

Do you notice anything strange about this photo... other than the fact there has been a Cheerio shortage for a month now so my boys are eating Cornflakes.

We were grocery shopping in Santa Elena and stopped in Pizza Hut for some lunch. Someone else must have been doing the same, but they just decided to bring in their cart with them!

Family Traditions #3: Thanksgiving

"Family traditions give identity and belonging to each member." - James Dobson

1. Growing our Own Pumpkins: Our version of shooting your own turkey! We have seen orange pumpkins here once, but they were $30+ so we didn't even buy one, thus a family tradition was born.

An early shot of our pumpkin patch

This year Jimmy got some heirloom seeds. Next year we will be able to plant them on our own land, but this year they were planted on some borrowed property in front of our soon to be forever house.

They did pretty good, but next year with some adjustments we hope to have an even bigger harvest. We had enough this year to ship to friends. Some of our pumpkins made it into pies in Antigua, Xela, and Sayaxche! Our boys will get to pick their own pumpkins right out of the patch!

2. The Food: An easy tradition but very important especially for Thanksgiving is having specific food for each holiday. Since October, each time I puree pumpkin we roast the pumpkin seeds. We saute ours in butter, garlic, and salt. Then we bake them. They are addicting!

This year some missionary friends in Sayaxche invited us over for Thanksgiving. We got to spend the day with Arlen and Keturah and their family, plus they invited David and Regina who have just moved to Sayaxche. We had a wonderful time!

Keturah made a delicious turkey and between the 3 of us women we had the works, every type of side you could imagine!

In our family I plan on always having turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, cranberry something, yeast rolls, and pumpkin pie... no more!

This year I got the dressing, sweet potatoes, and pies figured out and hopefully by next year I will have figured out the cranberry something and yeast rolls (Keturah shared her recipe with me!) Jimmy is in charge of the turkey. My goal is a feast without the stress... we will see!

3. Nothing Christmasy until after Thanksgiving: This is a really important holiday. It incorporates faith, family, and country, so I don't want it to get lost. That means no Christmas decorations or music until the day after Thanksgiving.

Most of our decorations are things God made! I asked Claudia for some dried corn husks since SR had just harvested their corn. She brought me 2 bags!

So those made up our wreath. It's hot and humid here unlike Thanksgiving in the States, so my wreath wilted and started looking like a bad wig after a couple days. I still left it up all month. Our friends got a kick out of seeing corn husks on our door!

Guatemala has beautiful ayotes this time of year that come in all kinds of interesting shapes and colors. I bought 3 (one was on the table).

Unfortunately our fall leaves are only felt and not the real thing, but at least we still had some!

Jimmy thinks he's cute trying to mess up my picture!

4. Thankful wall: In our forever house our great room is going to have a chalkboard wall. During the entire month of November we are going to fill it up with things we are thankful for, that way it surrounds us each day.

Photo found here

This year we had to improvise, so we used refrigerator magnets.

Each year on thanksgiving day we will take a family photo in front of our wall. We can use these photos to make a book, a history book of how God blessed our family over the years.

I learned that it is better to take the photo at the beginning of the day instead of the end when everyone looks worn out! Oh well.

5. Memory Candle: Thanksgiving will always be extra special to Jimmy and I because of Thanksgiving 2008. We saw God in a way that we never want to forget. He took something bad and turned it into something beautiful. It marked our first outreach in Santa Rita, the life of our first baby that we will get to meet in Heaven and God turning a team canceling to our extended family all being in Guatemala together for Thanksgiving! Only the one true God could orchestrate something like that.

Jimmy's Mom sent us a candle that smells like thanksgiving. It fills the house. The smell reminds me of the night we were all there together, celebrating all that God had done. So each November we will light a scented candle to remind us of God's faithfulness.

Our Thanksgiving was a wonderful one! We are so thankful for God's direction and hand on our lives and all of the blessings He has allowed our family to enjoy.

Remember That Place?

No, our wound hasn't healed from getting kicked out of the other guerrilla community we used to work in, I don't think it has even scabbed over yet. We drive by there several times a week and I feel it in my stomach each time we pass by their gates. It feels unfinished.

We keep in touch with a couple people from there. Some stop by our house, like the lady and her daughter above did the other day, some we see in the market, and others still call Jimmy once in a while. Mateo still goes with us to the Bible studies in Santa Rita every week. I'm not sure what the future holds for that place, but I'm thankful that we can reach out to people in there even from outside the gates we have been forbidden to pass!

We knew of a lot of sexual abuse that was going on inside the community. One specific instance involved one of our teens. During the 2 years we were in there she attended our Bible study more faithfully than anyone else. Because of where she lived, there was nothing we could do to get her out of her situation. Well she is 18 now and contacted us the other day and asked for help out of there. Some missionaries in Guatemala City were able to put us in contact with a Christian women's shelter. We got her on a bus and she arrived there this past Friday. She has already started counseling. Because of what she grew up being surrounded by, I'm not sure she even knew it wasn't normal. Please pray for her. This could be a turning point for a new, better life for her. She understands the plan of Salvation, but hasn't accepted it for herself yet. Please pray for our friend.

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY:

The other day I had the hiccups. I do this thing where I hold my breath while stretching my neck out until they go away. It works... it always works. Jimmy loves to make fun of me about this. Silas saw us laughing while I was looking up at the ceiling waiting for my hiccups to go away, so he thought that was the joke. Several times a day since then he will catch my eye and then look up at the ceiling with a mischievous grin on his face.

I LOVE IT! It always makes me laugh. He loves to make his mommy laugh.

Forever House #2

...our journey to rent free living,

all the entertainment minus the headaches.

We had been praying about a permanent place to live for a while. Once the boys got here and we started to envision the consequences of raising them in our current town, we prayed even harder. We knew God would provide a safe place for our family and He did! We have seen Him in each step.

We needed $30,000 to build our house. We could pay for it as we go, but that would not allow us to keep the same reliable trustworthy mason full-time, we wouldn't be able to buy building materials in bulk which significantly increases the price (just with the block that is a $800 difference), and it would take 5 years instead of 18 months. So... we asked God for it and then just watched Him work.

We can't get reasonable loans here in Guatemala and anything through the States would have to be with a cosigner, which we do not believe in. We had an offer for a loan, but just didn't have a peace about it, so we turned it down. Less than a week after that God's best happened!

Jimmy's Grandparents told us that they wanted to loan us the funds and then a couple days later the money was in our account. We will be paying them back over the next 5 years out of our personal fund. We are living where we are at now so that in just the money we saved from moving out of Santa Elena we have enough money to pay back this loan. Of course we heard a drive-by at the end of our street the other night, but at least we have an exit plan now! This is such a wonderful gift. I am so thankful for what this means for our boys.

So here is an update on our progress:

Our wall is almost finished. This photo was taken a couple weeks ago, so the back wall is done now.

This will be our front door.

I think it is interesting how Lico builds his own scaffolding. I have big plans for all these planks after he is done with them. They are going to be nice and weathered.

There is going to be razor wire above the wall. Another added security feature that was common in Xela, was broken glass. Jimmy went to the dump and bought 200 pounds worth of glass for about $10.

It will go on the top of our wall too. The wood below is a form and will be removed later. The glass is concreted into the top. If we would have had this on our wall in Santa Elena it might have prevent our break-in.

There is a travertine mine here in San Pancho. They sell reject pieces too. We bought this pile for about $16. It will go on the inside of walls that get direct sunlight since the concrete block heats up so much. Aesthetic interest that keeps you cool, what more could you ask for!

We are trying to be patient with the landscaping, so we don't have to move a lot of stuff later. There are so many beautiful tropical plants around here and so many plants that you can just break a branch off of and stick them in the ground and they start growing! We have tons of plants in pots since we have been waiting for our own land to put them in the ground. Our yard won't be bare for long. This is by our front door.

You can see the ivy we planted in the back that has started creeping up the wall. It will cover our concrete blocks that we have no desire to paint or cover with a smooth coat.

Sometime after Thanksgiving we plan on roping off our house walls to get an idea of how it is going to sit on the land. This is getting exciting!!

CUTE ITEM OF THE DAY:

Silas loves hats! This is a hard hat he got for his birthday.

If Everyone Had a Family That Loved Them...

We have mentioned Claudia before. She has been friends with us from the beginning. She is 15 and has been living with her grandparents in Santa Rita. She doesn't know her mom, but her dad lives in Santa Elena. She accepted Christ a couple months ago and has been attending Jimmy's weekly discipleship class. She also started helping me with the kids Bible study time. She has the sweetest spirit and we have already seen fruit from her walk with Christ.

Well... you'd think we work with nomads or something. As soon as someone start's growing they are moved away from us, the Bible study, and any other Christian influences in their lives. This is what happened with Claudia. She was really upset about it. Santa Rita was her home, where her friends were, where her school was, and where her "home church" was. Her dad decided that he wanted her to come live with him and his wife. She works full time now and other than a room she rents, her money goes to her dad. She's not a daughter, she's additional income.

I'm heartbroken for her. Visiting her today, she looked all alone. I want to rescue her, but I can't. I want her to have a family, complete with a mom that loves her, but she doesn't. Please pray for Claudia and that she will sense the love of her Heavenly Father; He's the only one from which she can never be separated.

We did put her in contact with Norberto, a Mexican missionary who started a church in San Benito (right next to Santa Elena). Their church van will be picking her up on Sundays. Please pray that God will send her a good Christian friend through that. We plan to stay in close contact with her and stop by and see her regulalry when we are in Santa Elena.

CUTE ITEM OF THE DAY:

Jonah is not a morning person. This is what he does after his brother wakes everyone up.