Our first Christmas in Guatemala

The view we saw while on a walk near the base

Sunset from the roof of the base

Traditional Guatemalan Christmas dinner:  Tamales (these were chicken and potato, but usually they are made with corn flour), bread, and ponche (made with a bunch of fruit and cinnamon)

A few of us went out for Thai food on Christmas eve... pretty good, considering we're nowhere near Thailand.

A bi-lingual Christmas eve service

Kyla up late preparing treats for Christmas day

Z pretty excited about his Christmas "stocking"

Everyone (except me) around the Christmas breakfast table

Dave's famous cinnamon rolls for breakfast

One of the kids by the Christmas tree... secret Santa time!

the team gathered in the sala for present time!

Z very pleased with his new guitar

Family photo, including the boys in matching Guatemala futbol jerseys

Kyla showing off our appetizer lunch buffet

Spending the afternoon as a team

    Our team went all out to make Christmas a fun and memorable time.  Most of us were away from our families for the very first time over a holiday, so we didn't want to spend the day feeling homesick.  We had gifts at the breakfast table, then spent time calling our families to say hello.  Right after that we had a gift exchange and sang some Christmas carols in the sala (living room).  I even sang the Christmas story from Bible memory.  (Homeschool highfive!) 
   The afternoon was fun for all with naps, more calls to family, card games, and Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas in Spanish for the little kids!  Some of the guys braved the chicken bus and brought home pizza for supper, and then once the kids were in bed we had dessert and watched Elf.  It was a wonderful Christmas day, and I felt so bonded to my team family. 

     Merry (belated) Christmas everyone!  Feliz Navidad!

Aldea de Esperanza

Z and Dad

    For our first week in Antigua, we were invited to help at a children's home called Aldea de Esperanza (Village of Hope).  It is a ministry of Lifesong for Orphans, and the Guatemala location was founded by an American couple named Todd and Amy.  Todd and Amy are an amazing couple who have nine children themselves (both biological and adopted), and moved about two and a half years ago to Guatemala to pursue the calling that God has placed in their hearts. 
    Todd picked us up from the YWAM base, and drove us the 20minutes to the town of San Lucas where the children's home is.  We were all blown away by the beautiful buildings, and
   


The food table for our party.

property.  Todd and Amy's vision is for the children to have families, and to see what a functional Christian family is supposed to look like.  In each home (they have two so far, and are fundraising for the third/fourth), lives a married couple, along with up to ten children.  The fathers have jobs outside of the home, some on the property, and the mothers stay home with the kids.  It's a beautiful set up and the kids seemed very happy and well cared-for.  

Our clowns:  Sneezy, and his brother Sneezy  (Brad and Stian)

Todd and the staff set up a piñata for the kids

Z and I playing in the yard

Dave playing goalie for the futbol game

The sign above the entrance to the dining/meeting room

Our project for the week was to arrange the storage room, where a years-worth of clothing donations have been tucked away.  Every time a new child joins the Village they are outfitted with clothing, blankets, and shoes to call their own.  But since the staff is so busy with other work, no one had much time to sort everything out.  So we spent two days going through boxes of clothing and folding them neatly.  By the time we were done, the huge closet was organized so perfectly that anyone could go in and quickly find the needed articles for the new children. 
   
      The rest of our time was spent with the children.  One day we threw a Christmas party for the kids, and the other day we babysat the kids while all the house-parents and other staff had their Christmas party. 
    One of the guys on our team knows how to do magic (Stian), so he and Brad put together a little clown show and did it for the kids.  The kids all laughed, and were entertained for almost an hour by our silly clowns.  After that we did a craft and took turns hitting the piñata that Todd brought. 

 




  Babysitting day was a lot of fun as well.  The team spent the morning helping with landscaping, while Joy and I babysat all the little kids.  I enjoyed a morning with Zane, and he and I spent most of our time jumping on the trampoline or driving in the push-cars.  In the afternoon, we had a hot-dog barbeque with the kids and then most of them ran outside to play futbol, while I taught a class on bracelet-making for some of the older girls.  It was challenging for me to teach in Spanish, but I was glad to get to practice.  I can't wait until I am truly bi-lingual. 



    The week went extremely well, and I was sad to not be going back to the Village today.  Dave has been busy with maintenance projects around the Antigua base today, while I've watched Z. 

  Before I put him down for a nap he said, "No, mama, I can't sleep here, I have to go to the other place!" 

   I knew he was talking about the Village, so I said, "We can't go there today, Z.  Did you like it there?" 

   Z said,  "Yah, I want to live there forever." 

  I had to laugh, but I was glad he liked it.  Z has been doing so well in Guatemala, as have Dave and I.  This first week in Antigua was wonderful, and I have to admit that I think I am falling (back) in love with this country. 


    Thanks for praying for our family! 


   

Guatemala City and Moving to the Antigua Base

Going to the Christmas Festival in Guatemala City

Guatemalans getting a chance to play in the "snow"  hahahahaha

In front of the main cathedral in Guate City

Z waiting for the van to take us to Antigua

Arriving at the Antigua base

A view from one side of the roof.  Antigua is surrounded by mountains and volcanos

Courtyard at the base

Walking in Antigua

Morning prayer time on the roof

Father and son enjoying a sunny morning

Salvations, Sickness, and Seeking the Lord

    Last week we lived in a village called Puerto Abajo.  Imagine any "World Vision" promo video you´ve seen, with the dirty kids, and tiny houses, and desperate need all around.  That was a lot of what it looked like. There were a couple nice houses, a few people who could afford a horse or a small car, but there was a lot of poverty too. 
   I made friends with one, especially desperate, single mom of two boys.  She was only 17, and lived in a house smaller than the little bedroom we had in our little rented house in the village.  Her bathroom was a plastic-bag-enclosed stick structure, and her yard was dirt, with garbage strewn around to serve as toys for her five year old.  When I visited her, she showed me around proudly, making a huge point to show me her small collection of teddy bears, hung neatly from the ceiling.  I couldn´t help but think that those would make for better toys for her son than the dirty hand soap bottles that Z and her son Dav were playing with in the yard. 
   During my visit though, I watched my son, and learned what it meant to be a friend to someone very different than myself.  Z and his friend played wonderfully together, sharing the most treasured pieces of garbage, and laughing and talking to each other in their own languages.  My friend loved seeing our boys play together, so I spent almost an hour with her, trying to understand her rapid Spanish and offering generous comments about the beauty of her bedspread, view from her yard, and her infant son´s napping ability.  She was thrilled, and we spent a while every afternoon chatting with each other from that day on (I even managed to figure out what she was saying most of the time by the end of the week.)
 
   The main reason we were in the village though was to put on a week-long Vacation Bible School for about 200 kids.  A church from Guatemala city were the ones organizing the event, and we were blessed to be able to come alongside them and minister to the kids.  I was the most impacted by talking with the mothers who would stay and watch the older kids, most of them nursing a second or third child.  I was thrilled to see them listening to the story, and hearing the gospel message.  We also had a movie night where we showed the movie "Facing the Giants" in Spanish for the Fathers and other family members in the evening.  A lot of people came to that event as well, and Dave shared his testimony.  As a result, we were able to pray for a girl who has been struggling with multiple miscarriages, and pray for her healing and for a baby for her. 

   We visited a lot of people´s homes, including my friend with her two sons, and during those times of visiting about 6 people came to Christ.  During VBS almost 100 children accepted Christ, and even a few more people accepted because of the movie!  We were thrilled by the amazing openness of these people´s hearts towards the gospel, and their readiness to accept Him as Savior. 

   During our week in Puerto Abajo though, a lot of people on our team got sick, including myself, Dave,  and Z.  So for the past five days we have been battling with travellers sickness, and bringing bags of dirty laundry to the laundry mat every morning.  Last night was the first night that no one in our family was throwing up in the middle of the night in almost five days!  Praise the Lord that we have recovered (mostly) from this sickness that found us.  Thank you to those who have been praying.

    Throughout this whole time in Guatemala (almost three weeks), we have continued to seek the Lord´s will for the future in our life.  We know that the Lord has called us to be parents, and to parent those who do not have parents.  We still do not know what that is going to look like, but we are excited to be going to an orphanage on Friday, and we will be going to a couple orphanages over the next few weeks.  We will be moving from Guatemala city very soon, and going to another city further north.  Please continue to pray for our team, for health, for the Spirit to overflow with joy and love through us for this country and for each other... and pray for our family to have vision and clarity for the future. 

    We saw great success in Puerto Abajo, and we fully expect to see more of that over the next six weeks!  The Lord is great and mighty to save! 

Guatemala (take 3)

Packed and ready to leave Chico!  This is the second time these bags have gone with us, and the third time we've gone!  So exciting!

Kyla and the kids waiting for our flight

Z and Dad hanging out on the airplane

Z snoozing the flight away

Our bedroom at the Guate city base.

Hanging out in the living room in Guate City

Suppertime! 

Z and his buddy in the van as we drive to minister at a daycare... no carseats make for lots of fun

The ladies of the Guatemala team (except for our leader Joy)

the obligatory family selfie

Jake using the pila in Puerto Abajo

trying to convince Z and A to use the inside potty... haha

Our home in Puerto Abajo.  The window on the right was our bedroom.  We lived in here with another family of three, and had about 25-40 people there for every meal and free time.  haha... never a dull moment in the village!

Z all decked out for a cold winter morning...

Morning devotions before we started VBS (you can see the school courtyard in the top right hand corner of the photo)

Playing a game with the kids on the first morning. (Z is in the batman tee on the far side of the circle, with the blue hat)

Some kids eating snack

Walking back to the village after an afternoon in town

Our bedroom in the village

Z going for a hike with Dad

Z and A on a date with their daddies.  Hiking time!

A few of our evening visitors in the main room of our house

A friend, Gabriel, helps Z to ride his bike

Every good missions trip includes lunch at Pollo Compero!

Please continue to pray for our team as we serve in Guatemala City.