Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Not my strength, but His!

I sat and had my morning coffee this morning as usual and grabbed for my daily devotional.  For those of you who know me really well, I have a hard time sitting still. These past few months have been far less "productive" in my mind than what I would accomplish back home in Canada.  I just have to share what the Lord shared with me this morning!

My retreat to a "quiet" place with God
"I am preparing you for what is on the road ahead, just around the bend.  Take time to be still in My presence so that I can strengthen you.  The busier you become, the more you need this time apart with Me.  So many people think that time spent with Me is a luxury they cannot afford.  As a result, they live and work in their own strength-until that becomes depleted.  Then they either cry out to Me for help or turn away in bitterness.
How much better it is to walk close to Me, depending on My strength and trusting Me in every situation.  If you live this way, you will do less but accomplish far more.  Your unhurried pace of living will stand out in this rush-crazed age.  Some people may deem you lazy, but many more will be blessed by your peacefulness.  Walk in the Light with Me, and you will reflect Me to the watching world."

"For since the world began no one has seen or heard of such a God as ours, who works for those who wait for Him!"  Isaiah 64:4

As we celebrate the coming of a new year, I challenge you to make this a focus in your life.

Friday, December 23, 2011

"music in my heart"

This girls hair is discoloured due to lack of nutrition
This morning when I woke up  I was thinking of posting a short christmas cheer to all our followers.   However after coming home this afternoon from visiting the local dump, my heart isn't so cheery anymore.  I have mixed feelings of despair and sorrow.  Along with our church, we donated clothing items and a traditional Christmas meal.  I have never seen anything like this nor did I think it could get worse than what I was exposed to last year.   Over 200 people live day in and day out in the dump of Jalapa.  So many questions rolled through my mind as we drove away late this afternoon.  Where is the water, how do they eat, where is proper shelter and what happens when someone is sick?????   Before heading out, I picked through our kids clothes to donate a few items and grabbed some snacks off our shelf.  My small bag of donations felt very insignificant to the need we saw.  I had no idea what to expect.  Our church is amazing!  During this past week, they collected bags full of clothes and wrapped presents for the children and prepared warm tomalleys.   They sat on a blanket of dirty diapers, broken glass and other garbage.  With full tummies,  "new cloths" and small toys, they went back to rummaging through the endless piles of burning garbage.
Helping a mom with her children



During a prayer asking Jesus into their hearts

a "home" in the dump
What was even more


a "home" in the dump
 depressing was that we had to drive through the cemetery to get to the dump.   It's not hard to miss cemeteries here in Guatemala.  They are brightly painted cement cases that are adorned with tacky flowers, kites and wreaths.   When we were first settling into our home here in Jalapa, I would climb up to the roof top and sit quietly and pray.  It was my only escape form the echoes of voices inside the cement house.  I have a bird's eye view of the cemetery and would always see a haze as if a fire constantly was burning.  My curiosity never got the best of me and just thought it was someones  garbage burning in their backyard (as happens in every backyard).  I cried many tears up there, but tonight as I climbed up to check on the drying laundry,  I couldn't look at the cemetery the same.  Knowing that haze was from the dump garbage.  My head hung low and the tears streamed my face.  
I can't leave off with such hopeless feelings.  I know that God is love and that the greatest gift is His son Jesus.  And to share that love is the greatest gift you can give.  Merry Christmas!  We pray and thank the Lord for our donors and sponsors everyday!  Without your support, we could not do what we feel God called us too.

When the song of the angel is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost - To heal the broken - To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner - To rebuild the nations
To bring peace among brothers and sisters
To make music in the heart. - Howard Thurman




Tuesday, December 20, 2011

*Snowflakes*

As we prepare for the holidays and busy ourselves with family functions, it's so important to remember those who are alone.  I just got off the phone with a dear friend we met three years ago.  Cathy is in her seventies and lives here in Jalapa.  She has done a lot of translating for us the past couple years and we have developed a friendship through meeting.   I invited her here for our christmas family dinner I will be hosting on boxing day!  She was delighted and said she spends every christmas alone and its nice that we would think of her.  We aren't home with our family this christmas but God has blessed us with amazing friendships here.  Our home will be open to whoever God brings in this christmas!

Gabe and Max are busily making snowflakes for decorations to bring into the prison tomorrow morning.  We will be doing a craft and having special treats with the ladies.










Monday, December 12, 2011

A Real Gift!

I feel like I have been out of touch for awhile.  So much to catch up on that I feel my mind is spinning.  We welcomed our friend Kait last Monday.  Her visit is very timely.  Leading up to her arrival, I was feeling really down and missing family and friends back home.  With the holiday season and family gatherings, I felt a little homesick.  Having a familiar face and someone to share our life with here has been really encouraging and  a breath of fresh air.
We carried out a tradition we started last year with the help of Kait.  Last night we prepared a dinner for the nuns of Casa Hogar.  Going to buy all the supplies was a chore in itself.  It's not like going to the Super Store and picking up everything at once.  The nuns giggled with delight as the boys escorted them  to their seat.  It was so awesome serving them as they chatted over a candle lit dinner.  We shared with them after how we respect what they do and how we appreciate the life they are dedicating to serving the girls.
Kait and I spent an afternoon with the nuns making angels and snowflakes and decorated the cafeteria.  It always amazes me how the simple things can bring so much joy.
It's not all work and no play when we have special visitors.  Along with other missionary friends, we went to "Pino Dulce" (means Sweet Pines) for a hike through the mountains and picnic lunch.  We hoped the fog would clear so we could experience the  view while we zip-lined.  We literally were up among the clouds.  It was AWESOME!!!!!! I felt silly that I was more afraid than my six year old daughter.  God has given her a free spirit and one of no fear.
On  our way home  we stopped in at a local friend who lives with his entire family up in the mountains.  They generously invited us into their home that consisted of not much more than a few plastic stools and a table.  In the corner stood a small plastic christmas tree.  It was so cute how proud of it they were after they plugged it in.  That experience was hard for me.  I looked around and tried not to look utterly shocked at the way people live.  Dirt floors, big open gaps near the roof, mud and brick walls,  chickens running in and out......With the nights being especially cold this time of year, I couldn't imagine how they keep warm.  This christmas season has been a very unique experience.  I know we talk a lot about having too much and cutting back on spending, but how much changes for us.  For Matt and I, this has become a reality this year.  Trust me, I often think back on what I would be doing back home now.  Probably would have filled my freezer with so many baked goods, I wouldn't know what to do with.  My house would have been all decked out for christmas, and I would have  joined the commercial rat race of finding all those gifts. If you ask me if I am missing out on things, I would have to say absolutely not.  I am finding joy in the little ( yet very big things for us)  Going back to Emmanuel's family, I would have to say the same.  They have each other.  Nothing fancy....just simple.  Really if we reflect on how Christ entered this world, it was simple.  Jesus' whole ministry was about investing in people, not things.   We visited with this family that afternoon and had the privilege of spending time getting to know them.  During our visit, they offered us coffee that they grow on their property,  and then sent us on our way with bananas and a chicken.  Here is a family who has so little yet so much to give.  They wanted to bless us.









Sometimes it's hard to receive a gift like that.  We were humbled and thankful.  Speaking of being humbled and blessed, our paster surprised us and took us out to a ranch for lunch and later on to his farm to cut a tree down.  I had mentioned how I have always wanted to cut down a christmas tree.  Apparently this is a HUGE deal in Guatemala and they have laws against cutting trees down.  In order to cut one down you need a special permit, which of course cost money.  Last Saturday, Paster Ed and his family took us out to visit his father's  farm in the mountains.  It was AMAZING!   We hiked out to find the perfect tree.  All I have to say is that it looked a lot smaller on the side of that mountain.  We came home and still had some trimming to do.  Again, words could not describe my joy and thankfulness.  I always have a hard time excepting gifts....I sometimes feel like I owe or need to repay the favour.  God's gift to us comes with no strings attached.  We didn't earn His love and nothing we can do or don't do will make Him love us less.  And I guess in a way that is a gift I can pass on this christmas.  The gift of Jesus' love!

Friday, December 2, 2011

"All I Want for Christmas...."

The best christmas present for me this year is having our amazing friend Kaitlyn Kendall come and see first hand what we are doing here in Guatemala!   We are really looking forward to having company from Canada and are excited to introduce her to all the amazing people we've met along this journey.   Welcome Kait!!!!!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Can Missionaries Have Fun?


This is a question I struggled with leading up to and even being here.  I feel sometimes guilty that I have such a great opportunity to be here.  Not with having fun in our mission but outside of it.  It does come with its many struggles though.  I think God provides  fun times  as a gift to refresh us and keep us going.

At the visa office
My husband and boys just called me from the top of a volcano.....how cool is that?  I was planning on joining them but unfortunately we had no one to watch Mercedes.  The hike would have been too much for her.   We decided to have a girls day, so we sat on the roof top in the sun having "coffee" together and then did nails.  She is growing up so fast and I am taking in every minute of this time together.

This week has been interesting to say the least.  We have had some major break throughs, scares, frustrations and fun.  Matt had a major meeting with another organization and was able to make some significant contacts.  I will let him share that another day.  We drove to Guatemala city on our own for the first time and I have to say, I am VERY proud of Matt.  He did great.  Despite the failure of our GPS, we managed to find our way around.  Our purpose was to take Fransisca to apply for a visa and visit another missionary couple  to see what they were doing. We arrived in the city at 8 am and took Fransisca and Sister Wanita to Mc Donalds for breakfast.  They had never been before!  It amazes me how we take so much  for granted.  Another first for them was riding the escalator at the visa office.  It was actually quite hilarious watching Fransisca try to get on and off.

At the mall
After spending 4 hrs in what should have only taken at most 2, we walked a short two blocks over to the mall with the girls.  It was very beautifully decorated for christmas and I felt like a kid full of excitement walking in.   We took Fransisca in to buy a pair of jeans.  Can you imagine, being 21 years old and having the opportunity for the first time to go into a change room at a mall and try on different clothes?  It was a privilege for us to see such joy on her face.  We didn't realize the time and had only 20 mins to get the girls to a bus stop in a city that we didn't know.  It was some crazy driving, but we managed to find a street that the bus was passing and would stop to pick up the girls.

Bathrooms built by Mano con Mano
Girls waiting in line to their drinks
We made our way to visit Gerry and Barb Normand ( friends we met at C-TEN orientation in Texas back in June)  After a great sleep ( in a queen size bed...can you hear my excitement:), we accompanied Barb and Gerry to el Yalu, a village up in the mountains.  I brought my scissors to offer Barb and Gerry haircuts.  ( I usually bring them every where I go)  They were thrilled.  They asked if I would be interested in cutting some of the boys hair in the village.  I was thrilled.  Barb graciously lent me one of her guatemalan skirts so I wouldn't insult or offend by wearing my jeans.  I wonder what they thought of my red hair and piercing?  We spent some time taking a walking tour and learning about some of the history of the village.  As I walked through the village, my heart felt heavy and I could sense the  oppression.  We passed homes ( if you want to call  it that) with absolutely nothing.  Dirt floors and no furniture.  I can't imagine how these families stay warm at night.  There has been frost a few times already.  Most  of these families may only own one set of clothing and are lucky to have shoes.  The organization  Mano con Mano, started building bathrooms and stoves as a part of their mission.  We were invited to a ladies home to see her kitchen and new stove.  It was an honour.  We helped serve lunch as part of their feeding program.   Max handed out vitamins and Gabe served Atol. ( a corn based warm drink)  Matt helped with the homework club and him and Gabe sorted pre-natal vitamins.   The Normand's invited us to stay on an extra night so they could watch  our kids and give us a much needed break.  I was so happy I almost cried.  Matt and I have not had time alone since August.  God provided an opportunity and we accepted.  My high was sitting in a cafe sipping hot chocolate and listening to U2.
The next morning, we braved the drive back through Gautemala city and homeward bound.  On our way to the Walmart, we missed our turn and ended up heading down another highway.  We were driving along, looking to get off at the next exit, when a pick up truck from the oncoming lane jumped the curb and crossed three lanes of traffic.  We witnessed a crazy car chase and the police pulled out a gun and started shooting at the truck.  It was 10:30 am and people were walking the side walks.  Matt held back traffic and we got off the road as soon as we could.  It was crazy to see and is a reminder that anything can happen and we need prayer huge!  God is so good.  We were so lost and almost afraid to ask for help, but found a guy who let us follow him to the road that led us back to Walmart.  I was praying the whole way that this guy wasn't leading us to some dead end.








We got to Walmart and I am embarrassed to say that I have never in my life been so excited to walk into that store.  We picked up a few things that we cannot get in Jalapa. (relish, peanut butter, and gingerale)

I am thankful and know that God has us in His grip. Thank you for your continued pray and support.



Thursday, November 17, 2011

Progress!!!

After a couple months in Guatemala some feelings of accomplishment are starting to happen.  With the little Spanish training we have had so far, Mandy and I are beginning to become more independent throughout the town.  Thanks to our numerous friends in Guatemala we can practice lots.  Special thanks to our Spanish teacher Walter for being patient in getting us to understand more.  Due to everyone's efforts we can have basic conversations; our friends that speak English are now speaking more Spanglish with us; we can read basic instructions; and now we can understand the main idea of what our pastor is talking about.  Still very far from being fluent, but happy with our results this far.

Cooking 100 crepes with one frying pan!!!
This week Mandy started to teach the younger nuns how to prepare different cheap quick meals not commonly eaten here (French toast, and crepes with fruit).  It is exciting to watch eight nuns gather around a frying pan just to learn simple technique.  Even some of the nuns badger Mandy and I to be their English teacher which provides entertainment for both parties.

Earlier this week I joined a gym in town because the diet down here is beginning to 'grow' on me.  Mandy and I have been getting more brave to venture out of house more independently so we can exercise and get a small break from our home.  People have been friendly to us as we going about our work outs.   However Mandy seems to get too much attention from the men down here which sometimes hinders that positive endorphin feeling.

Chickens fattening up.
Max has been doing an excellent job raising chickens in our backyard.  In another couple of weeks this batch will go to the chopping block.  All chickens Max takes care of are for food at Casa Hogar.  Our plan is that every two to three weeks we will have a batch of 20-24 chickens for Casa Hogar which will increase the amount and quality of meat in their diet.  Fun project for Max and a benefit to Casa Hogar.

While we plug away at small projects, Mandy and I have made it our goal to connect well with all groups that come and support Casa Hogar.  This week I had the pleasure of sitting down with a husband and wife team that organizes a large medical group that comes down from the Chicago area.  This couple pays for English classes to be delivered at Casa Hogar and for materials for other trade courses taught on site.  In our meeting they were interested in our service project at Casa Hogar and they made me responsible for the direction of the English program at Casa Hogar.  Their desire is to have me report to them the success and effectiveness of the program, which had not been done before for the past couple of years.  Aside from this excellent connection I had the opportunity to meet the mayor of Jalapa, the medical director of the state of Jalapa, the hospital director, and the agricultural minister of Jalapa.  What a great opportunity to get to know those people who have so much influence in Jalapa.

Ultimately, this week opened the door to discuss with Mother Claudia that a central plan is needed for all of the aid groups to feed off of instead of coming up with their own plans.  Mother Claudia agreed that we could work together in making this one plan and use it to coordinate future aid.  Planning ahead is not common down here so this was a massive break through.  I am truly looking forward to see what can be planned.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I just wanted to share a few of my thoughts regarding Matt's last post. We shared a story of two young girls.  I have to say I honestly felt disheartened, discouraged, and angry.  Angry that parents would allow their children to beg on the streets, to manipulate and lie to people.  I know that by buying a pair of shoes and a sweater would not resolve their poverty, or situation,  but I was hoping it would make some difference.  We came home that afternoon, and I curled up in the hammock with a great book.  While reading "Crazy Love", God reminded me a very important scripture.  Matthew 25: 42-43, says "I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in,  I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me." It opened my perspective on the reality of poverty.  I continued to read on, " I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me."
That's all I needed to hear.  I knew that Matt and I didn't do much, but it was something. It was out of pure love.  It opened up conversation in how we can respond again....and again..and again.  I don't want to be naive, but I don't want my heart to be hardened to the realities of poverty.  We may never know how our lives impact others, nor may we ever see the fruits of our labour.




On a side note, the kids wanted to get dressed up and celebrate halloween.  We invited a local family to join us at our home for the evening of treats and making crafts.  Instead of carving pumpkins, we made paper lanterns, instead of trick or treating, we brought treats to our neighbours.  In the spirit of halloween, the boys decided to be luchadores. (if you haven't seen Nacho Libre,  it's one of our family favourites)  We found the masks for $2 at the market!  Mercedes was a christmas tree.  We told her to keep that costume as it may come in handy for Christmas:)

Monday, November 7, 2011

To say the least.

Yesterday was an interesting day for our family.

First of all, in Guatemala they voted for their new president.  This sometimes can be a dicey time down here with riots on occasion.  Earlier this September one town hunted down the other losing candidates on the day of or after the election and murdered them.  However, yesterday went without a hitch in our town or Jalapa.  I was impressed to see how the electoral process ran.  Similar to Canada, you are given a voting card in which it indicates which location and table to vote at.  Records are kept as to who has voted and you must provide identification and even give your finger print before you vote.  For people that live in adobe huts, tin shacks, and other squat housing they do not posses a formal address so they file into their nearest village and register with what identification they have.  As the election closed in the evening the people begin to celebrate by lighting firecrackers in the streets and on rooftops.  It sounded like machine gun fire all around which was great for a moment until you remembered that riots have happened at election time.  All was well in the end and no problems happened.

Earlier in the same day we walked to church because our truck is in need of repairs yet again (this time it is the head gasket).  At church it was great to sit and listen to our pastor.  He speaks Spanish very clear, formal, and with excellent intonation making it an enjoyable experience to translate and learn from.  At the end of the sermon he went out into the crowd and started to pray for his congregants.  He walked down our isle and began to pray over our family in English about our mission giving us the message of hope that there is much to learn about our walk with God in Guatemala and that this work will bare fruit that we may not even get to see for His kingdom.  It was a powerful moment to have someone come out and pray in our native language a message that we have been needing to hear.  Mandy and I have felt like we have been hitting many road blocks and that our productivity is low in the sense of providing effective help to these girls.  God was giving us an awesome reminder that not everything will work out to our expectations but to His and we need to be mindful of this.  Thanks to our pastors we left the morning service feeling empowered again to go out and make a change.

Typical street in Jalapa.
As we headed back home we went to a burger joint that we hadn't been to before.  Upon entering we went through the usually family argument about who wants what combo, trying to translate what the menu panel means, and interrupting each others orders to get the last second change of drink or side for our combos.  During the all of this chaos two girls approached us and began to beg for money.  These girls were a little dirty and only appeared to be between Mercedes and Gabe's age.  We declined to give them money as we almost always do, however we did ask them if they wanted to eat with us instead.  They accepted the offer and we added another combo to our order.

Mandy and I began to chat with them about where they live and how they got there.  They confessed to  us they were nine year old fraternal twins, and that they lived on the streets in Jalapa because their parents dropped them off in Jalapa three years ago and took a bus back to their home town of Monjas which is about thirty to forty kilometres away.  Digging deeper into their story they stated that they get help from time to time from a woman in town that allows them to bathe and clean their clothes.  As the food was brought out we asked them if they had heard of Casa Hogar, a girls home that aids young females that have been abused or neglected by their family.  At this time the one sister who had been doing most of the talking became quiet for a moment and would whisper to her other sister as they continued to ingest their meal.  With this change in temperament I changed my line of questioning.  We asked if they went to church; did they go to school; and where is the house that you get help from in Jalapa.  The girls' story began to change a bit.  Both lived with a grandmother from time to time but that they were with seven other kids on the street.  These seven kids had homes though and they went to school with these girls.  As the story began to change about their situation it was becoming obvious that they were lying and that there was a much different problem here.

Street market in Jalapa
After lunch we invited them to the market and we made the decision to help these girls further by getting some heavier clothes for the cold nights and a new pair of shoes for the one girl whose toes were poking out the front of her crocs.  Even though we knew there was a chance that these girls were scamming us we went forward with Jesus' teachings in the parable found in Matthew 25:31-46, where it is our mission to serve those who are in need.  During our shopping we ran into our good friend Mario who was able to interrogate the girls and the people at the market further as to what is their story.  Sure enough they were working the people at the market and they had parents close by watching them collect what they can.  In the end when the girls knew they were caught and were afraid of being reported to the authorities or taken to Casa Hogar.  They quickly stole away with their new shoes, clothing and full bellies to keep this way of life alive.

To be honest we were extremely disappointed that it was a sham, however we look at this situation through a different set of lenses.  Our large investment of eight dollars could have possibly been used better by giving it to Casa Hogar or another aid agency, but instead we invested time and compassion into two girls lives that may not receive much of either from their family and many other adults that come to the market.  Our opportunity to show love to these girls may have opened something for them later in life.

Later when we walked back to our home we saw the girls again, who were now careful to keep their distance, outside of nearby grocery store.  It was disheartening to see that they no longer were wearing the new pair of shoes or wearing the sweater that was just bought.  Whether they sold them for considerably less than what we bought them for or they dished the clothes off to their family members to keep up their impoverished appearance, regardless they 'appeared' to be back where they started.  These poor girls were nothing more than a product of their up bringing so being mad at them serves nothing to solve the problem.  Mandy became quite bitter about the deception of it all and the manipulation of these children through their parents encouragement and that we should not be a part in supporting any of these people outside of an organized institution.  When we talked some more about our feelings we came to the conclusion that despite this frustrating scenario change in these girls lives would take time, showing love consistently, and being compassionate always.  As a family we will be careful to mind the needs of others as we see them despite the possibility of being taken advantage of.  Maybe the words of our new pastor will come to light with these two girls.  Only God knows how His love can change the hearts of others but we need to be that conduit for Him.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A Little Bit of Everything!


So I left off with my plan to visit the women's prison last Wednesday.  Thank you for all your prayers that covered me.  I felt like I was trapped in a scene from "Prison Break".  It was so different from anything I have seen.  The nurse I accompanied, visits bi-monthly and runs a health clinic.  Since the ladies don't have many visitors, they were thrilled to see a new face.   We asked who was interested in having their hair cut, and a couple came forward to find out how much it would cost.  When they found out it was free, we had a whole line up.  The ladies received numbers and we called out four numbers for  those to come forward.  Ever since I left that day, I can't help but think of those ladies.  They aren't given much to eat and don't have many resources.  All I know is I want to go back and minister to them.  I know that they all have a story and are in there for a reason but there is hope.  I just don't think it's right that they are locked up and forgotten.  God is full of grace and mercy that extends to all who are willing and receive Him.  I want to inquire about bibles for the ladies when I go back next Wednesday.  As I cut their hair, I prayed over them.  The warmth from the blow dryer and my gentle touch was all I could offer.

Mandy attempting the use of the LiceMeister.
Thanks to Sarah, her network of friends and church, (Central Community Church) we were able to distribute lice combs.  We were given 24 combs to hand out to the nuns.  This was a huge blessing for them as they only had two plastic combs for over a hundred girls.  I spent an afternoon "de-licing" one girl. Yes, it took me a whole afternoon.  The girls have very thick, beautiful black hair.  I was amazed at the performance of these combs.  (www.headlice.org)  I met the the head nun and explained to her the importance of not only cleaning the head , but bedding and clothing as well.  She told me it is very difficult to keep the girls "clean" because they pick it up from school.  It's interesting, the school blames the orphanage and the orphanage blames the school for the lice problems.  It may take a trip to the school to set up a clinic and educate the kids there as well.   I was told there are only a handful of girls who have lice and that for the most part they are clean.  I am not totally convinced.  When I was doing hair, I saw a few eggs in "clean" heads and know that it only takes one egg for the whole cycle to happen again.  The problem is the girls get embarrassed when I confront them and shy away from any help.  Again, this all takes time.

Mandy doing hair for the occasion.
Speaking of hair, I had a wonderful opportunity to help out and do something I love to do.  Nine girls celebrated their 15th birthday this year and here in Guatemala, that is a BIG deal.  They go all out and get dressed in fancy gowns and have a fiesta at night.  I spent 5 hrs working like crazy to do all 9 updos.  I had Matt go to the market and buy some makeup and gave the girls little makeovers.  They looked exceptional!  We were invited to mass that evening and as I sat in the church, I cried tears of joy and honour that I could be here for these girls at such a monumental time in their lives.
The girls at their 15th celebration.
Sweet little Beverly:)
I have felt on more than one occasion judged by the nuns here.  After I prayed that night in that church I turned to see if Matt and the kids had arrived and a group of nuns were just staring at me.  I thought it was kind of funny.  I mean, here I am in jeans, bright red hair , tattoos and a piercing and really don't fit the appearance of the girls here.  We had a visit from our friends from Texas recently.   As I shared my feelings of judgement with our pastoral care couple over breakfast last Friday morning, my dear friend Tammy shared something with me.  She pointed out something interesting.  Maybe God has me here to be a witness to these nuns.  I never really thought of that.  So now instead of feeling like I need to conform, I am reminded to let His light shine through me and to be a witness.  I have a great respect for these women, and don't understand everything they do, but am here to serve....even them.
Steven and Tammy Burger C-TEN Pastoral Care

We were blessed with gifts and treats from home:)

We had a treat on the weekend.  The nuns planned a surprise day away in Guatemala City.  We loaded a bus early Saturday morning, and headed to an amusement park.  The girls were squealing with delight when we pulled in the parking lot.  As soon as everyone was unloaded and accounted for, the girls took off in all directions.  At the time, we were hanging onto 2 year old Beverly.  She ended up tagging along with our family for the morning.  It was funny all the looks we were getting.  All three of our kids are clones of one another, and then there's precious Beverly.  At one point we were walking along and passed her 17 year old mom, and I tried to get her attention to let her know that her daughter was safe, but she ran on by with her friends to check out some rides before I had the chance to explain. I stopped in my tracks and was reminded that these are still kids, and that for one day she wanted to "play" with her friends.  Matt and I  loved the addition to our family that day.   From there we headed to the zoo.  Our kids REALLY enjoyed seeing all the animals.  I think Gabe took a picture of every animal in the park.   The zoo is located near the airport.  It is very rare to see an airplane flying in our location, so when I saw a jet it was like I hadn't seen one before.  Matt and I talked about how we may not have the resources always to fly, but we do have opportunity.  For many people here, that is not the case.  I can't imagine.


We got a kick out of watching the nuns at the amusement park.




Stopped for breakfast at the side of the road.






 Teaching 8 year old Normitta how to tie a bow.


Our daily spanish lessons with Walter.
The mission field is not easy.  I didn't expect it to be, really.  I guess I am learning what my weaknesses and strengths are.  It's a struggle for me at times not producing a product.  I feel so much more accomplished when I see results.  Relationships don't work that way.  It takes a lot of time and energy in building friendships.  Even so with God.  He wants so desperately to be involved in our lives if we would only allow Him room.  We attended our first church service here in Jalapa on Sunday.  The message was taken from Matthew 6:25-34.  As we live each day by faith that God will supply our needs, we somehow get distracted and can worry.  We spend our time and energy in the "things of this world" chasing dreams, building companies, having the latest and greatest, and we don't put God first.  We should be chasing His kingdom first, and the blessings will follow.  Think about it!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

making new friends!


The rain has stopped!  Praise the Lord!  We finally have some dry clothes.  What took a week to dry took only 2 hrs this morning.  We hung a clothes line on the roof top to maximize our drying potential.  I almost had to rewash everything because of the lingering dampness and the smell.


Meet our newest members of the family!  Max decided he wanted to try raising chickens.  We bought 12 chicks and 6 survived the cold nights.  He has taken on this "farming" role quite seriously and wept in bed one night over the chicks that died.  I reminded him that it was not his fault and that he is doing the best he can.  This morning the boys constructed somewhat of a coup in the yard.   I told them chickens were as far as I would go with farming:)

We were invited to a missionaries home for lunch today and were incredibly blessed by their testimony of faith and obedience.  I am so thankful for the connections we are making with new relationships here and the support we can provide for each other.  David and Julie Sutton  are also a part of Commission to Every Nation and have been serving here in Guatemala for the past 12 years.  Their wisdom and guidance has really helped us in settling into this culture.   Julie is a nurse who has set up many clinics over the past decade, and has recently been visiting the women's prison here in Jalapa.  She invited me to join her next week to see a little of what she does.  I'll keep you posted!