The Green House

Our bedroom in the green house

the living room

our kitchen on the first day

our yard

    

 

The Green House (moving day)

  

 

Dave teaching Luis to play American Football

Making eggs on the little stove... just like camping!

   

Z and Damaris happy to live closer to each other

The kitchen once we`d recieved a few gifts :)

We moved to the “green house”, as Z calls it, on Saturday.  It is only a few houses away from the YWAM base where we work, across the street from a little store, and only a couple blocks from our Spanish teacher, our good friends Luis and Ana, and within walking distance to a plaza where I can get coffee, baked goods, pizza, or fried chicken.  Plus, we are only a quick walk away from the bus stop where we can catch a chicken bus to Antigua for anything else we need!  I am so happy!  

    This week the DTS is learning about Supernatural ministry and healing, and so their teacher spoke at our Monday night church service (it`s an English-speaking church service put on by our YWAM staff every Monday as an outreach to tourists and other missionaries in Antigua).  It was an inspiration message, reminding us all to claim who we are in Christ and to walk in victory.  Then last night there was a time of teaching at the base, where people from the community were invited to learn about prophesy, and speaking words of life and encouragement over each other.  Dave was able to go (because we live so close now- yay!), and got the chance to speak over many of men that came to the meeting.  

     The Green House has become a place of prayer for me.  It is a very simple home, we don`t have much, and yet our friends from the community want to be here because it is clean, peaceful, and because the Spirit of God is here.  There is a sense of calm over this home, a sense that God has great plans for our lives in this home.  We are in a time of need, and yet a time of great peace and eagerness to walk in the fullness of God.  

      Our friend Luis had a tumor removed last month which was malignant.  Dave went with him to Guatemala city a couple weeks ago to have a scan done to check for cancer in the rest of his body.  We prayed every day that the scan would come back clean... and it did.  God has provided for the surgery, and now has cleaned Luis` body of cancer... Praise God!  We moved into this house without a scrap of furniture, and within two days we had been able to buy a bed at a huge discount, borrowed a little stove, fridge, and bed for Z (who has outgrown his playpen).  As I was packing I found Q300 in a wallet I forgot I still had, and it was enough to buy a couple shelves and chairs for the house... and then the next day Luis and Ana brought lunch for us along with a little kitchen table.  We were blown away!  Every need is being met, not in our strength, or even our timing (as in waiting for a baby), but we have such assurance that God is with us every step of the way.  

       We have a list on the wall of the kitchen of all the ways God has provided for us in this move to the Green House.  I never want to forget the ways that God provides for us.  Sometimes I miss my family, or my home in Canada, or Kraft dinner... and I need to remember that God brought us here out of His great love for us, and that nothing can remove that love from me.  I have a husband who cares for me, a son who brings me joy, a team who is now very near, a Spanish teacher who encourages me in my faith, and a God who is with me every single step I take.  He`s got plans... and I want to be part of them. 

     

 We live in hope of seeing God`s kingdom in Guatemala.  We live in hope of seeing our family grow.  We live in hope that we`ll see our families again.  And that one day we`ll be able to get some couches... that`d be good too.  Little needs and big, God is able and willing to provide.  

Walking in Promise

Photo evidence that Guatemalan grocery stores love to give "bonus gifts" with all sorts of random items... this was coffee we bought that came with a free plastic pitcher... yet it was the cheapest coffee on the shelf!  Gotta love that!

Walking back towards Santa Ana

The road just outside of our house in Santa Ana. 

    We have done a lot of walking in the past two months.  We walk to Antigua, we walk back from Antigua.  We walk to the base, back from the base, to the bus, back from the bus.  Our house is not in a convenient place and we have gotten our exercise trying to save on taxi or bus fare.  It takes an hour to walk to Antigua (each way), and more than an hour to walk to the base.  We certainly haven`t needed a gym membership!
    
     We don`t mind walking.  Enjoy it really.  But it`s lonely to live so far away from our YWAM team.  So we decided at the beginning of this month that we would start looking for a place to live closer to the base.  It was a frustrating process, once again, as house hunting here yields a lot of very random results for prices that don`t always make any sense to us.  But, thank the Lord, yesterday we agreed on a price with the landlord of a house only three doors down from the YWAM base!!!  I am so excited to get to live closer to our team, and to our other friends who live in that community.  And if we need a long walk, we can just walk into Antigua for our market shopping.  :)

      This morning we were startled awake by someone setting off firecrackers right outside our bedroom window.  I have no idea why.  But since I was awake, I got up and talked to the Lord.  Lately I have been dealing with a lot of frustration, loneliness, disappointment, and discouragement.  I think a lot of it is just the process of culture shock and dealing with the reality that we LIVE in a different country!  This aint Canada, no matter how many times I use the work "eh" or make pancakes with (fake) maple syrup.  I have to learn this new language, a new way of living, make new friends, and... it`s just hard.  I`ve cried a lot in the past couple weeks...
   
    But this morning was something different.  God met with me, and gave me fresh strength.  Reminded me of how many amazing ways He used to bring us here.  The money that was given to us to pay for our DTS, how He intercepted us from going to Brazil and told us to go to Guatemala.  God told us to come here, we weren`t forced by our DTS, it`s not a mistake or fluke that we`re here.  He has given us visions, and words, and confirming signs that we are in the right place.  Even in the moments I was crying and angry, I never once thought we should leave.  We have been called here, and God is going to do something through us and in us in Guatemala. 

    Dave and I were listening to a Bill Johnson sermon online last night, and I was reminded that it is when we forget all that God has done in our lives that we start to slip in our Christian walk.  The sermon encouraged me so deeply, that I just had to share it with you all. (Bill Jonhnson- I am looking for one person)  God has done so much to bring us here, He has promised us so much, and I am not abandoned and forgotten by the God who is able to do more than I could ever imagine or ask for.  He has provided a home closer to those who we know and love in this country, He has provided us with one beautiful child who we adore, and He has provided us with His Spirit- by whom we live and breath, and have our being. 

    So thank you to all of you who have been praying for us, and who continue to pray.  We are asking the Lord for another child this year, for our residency in Guatemala, and for Him to use us to bring the Kingdom to Guatemala.  We must follow after God courageously, ignoring the barbs of the devil to try to discourage us.  I am loved by the Maker of heaven and earth, there is nothing to fear. 


"He brought out His people with rejoicing.  His chosen ones with shouts of joy.  He gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for-that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws.  Praise the Lord."  -Psalm 105:43-45 

    

Sigue Adelante

Z has started using Spanish words at home! 

    Sigue Adelante!  My Spanish teacher says this to me almost every class.  It means "keep moving forward", and I have needed to be reminded of that frequently in the past week.  I feel like I am at that point in my language abilities where I know enough to be frustrated by how much I don`t know.  Eloisa keeps reminding me though that it is poco a poco.  Little by little.
   What is wonderful though is having a Spanish teacher who loves the Lord.  Yesterday I was having a terrible day in class, just could not remember how to say the things I was trying to say... and she stopped and prayed for me, hugged me, and told me that she was proud of me.  It meant the world to me, and popped the bubble of anxiety that I was trapping myself in.  I am so thankful that God has brought her into my life, she is such a support to me.  (Plus, we really are learning Spanish quite quickly, even though it feels slow on the day-to-day level.)

Crepes and pancakes are still our favorite foods

    Life continues forward, we are still helping with kids club at the base, and Spanish school five days a week.  Dave has started helping in the kitchen (no big surprise there!), and I`ve started bringing a craft to do with the girls at kids club while the boys play soccer.  This past week I had almost ten little girls who all did the craft, and then read a Bible story with me.  We had supper with some friends from Guatemala City the other day and will be starting to help them with a ministry they run in the village of Puerta Abajo.  (We did a VBS to that village during our DTS Outreach.).  We`ll get started with that in a couple weeks, which is going to be nice to have something that takes us outside of Antigua every week. 

      We have decided that we are going to move closer to the base at the end of the month.  We need to save money on rent, plus I really want to get chickens!  This isn`t the reason Dave would give for wanting to move of course, but this really is high on my list!  (You can take the girl out of Quadra, but you can`t take the Quadra out of the girl!).  We found an adorable little house just around the corner from the base that has a little grass yard for Z and the chickens.  A neighbor let us in to see it, but we have yet to meet the landlord, so we`ll have to see what happens about that. 

Z napping on Mom and Dad`s bed... SO CUTE! 

     As you can tell, there`s nothing super new to talk about, but we continue to work towards speaking Spanish fluently, setting up a home where we can stay for a long time and save enough money to eventually buy a place here, and just trying to work through the emotions of living outside of our home culture without our families.  We`ve been out of Canada for more than 6 months now... it`s started to feel like a long time, but we are still convinced that God wants us to be here, so... sigue adelante!

    "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us."  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT

Quiet Insignificance

Eloisa and I during class

Z and I by the fountain in Antigua`s central park

One of many artisan markets

Z and Dad playing toys, wearing his Pollo Compero hat

Our friend Collene playing with Z after staying the night at our house

Classic Guatemalan transportation

The 3-times-a-week shuttle to the market that goes right by our house

The private hospital

    Our life has eased into a place of what could be perceived as quiet insignificance.  We aren`t the leaders of a multi-faceted ministry, we don`t speak in front of churches, we don`t send out glossy newsletters detailing all of the important work we do.  Really, we are very insignificant.  But we are following a God who does not see us that way.

     We have been living in our beautiful home for almost a month now.  We will start our fourth week of language school this week, and are learning quickly.  Language learning is always a long process, and can be a bit frustrating when all we want is to be understood and be able to launch into effective ministry... but right now, we are being faithful in the small things:  practicing flashcards, attending church in Spanish, doing our homework every evening.  In all, we are spending about 4 hours a day in focused language training.  Our tutor, Eloisa, has been a tremendous support and encouragement for me, as even on the days when I`m struggling she spurrs me on by reminding me of all that God is going to do through me and Dave here.  She believes in me, and my ability to learn this language, and that helps me to believe it too... even on the days when it feels near-impossible to speak a new language.

      A few times a week we take a bus into Antigua to go shopping at the market for fruits and vegetables, and stop at the grocery store (La Bodegona) for everything we either can`t find, or don`t like to buy in the market.  Then we load it all up into bags and boxes, and hail a Tuc-tuc, for a bumpy ride back to our house.  Living without a car has been a bit challenging at times, but we enjoy the chance to be part of normal Guatemalan life, and to be honest, I love chicken buses.  That still hasn`t lost it`s charm for me. 

       I have a close gringa friend, named Collene, and she and I have had a few coffee dates, and a couple sleepovers (we`re having one tonight after English church!).  She has been a huge support for me, but unfortunately (for me) she is done with her volunteering time her in Antigua at the end of the week then is off to continue her travelling adventures in Africa!  I am sad to see her go, but I know that God will, and already has begun to, provide new friends for me. 

      You may remember Dave talking about our friend Luis who needed surgery (in Dave`s guest post).  Well, that surgery happened this weekend, and was quite successful thus far.  Tests need to be done to decipher if there was cancer in the tumor, and make more decisions from there, but we are praying for a complete healing in Luis`body and that no further intervention will be necessary.  Dave spent some of the weekend at the hospital with Luis and his wife Ana, and was there this morning when Luis was discharged home.  As of a couple hours ago, Luis is home resting and was doing quite well.  Praise the Lord!

     The theme of our life seems to be willingness.  Our efforts seem so insignificant to me a lot of the time, but when I pray I hear God so clearly saying that we are in the right place.  That He has a plan.  That He is happy with our efforts.  It doesn`t always feel like much.  We try to talk to people whenever we go out.  We had our Guatemalan friends over for a movie night and had the chance to talk to them about what Jesus has done in our lives.  We`ve gotten the chance to walk with our friends Luis and Ana for his surgery and now in his recovery (and all because Dave was willing to carry their table home in a "chance" encounter with them).

    We don`t see the plan.  We don`t know what we`ll be doing in a month, or a year, or heck, even how this afternoon will pan out.  I guess that`s normal, but it feels like higher stakes when we`ve left our families, and culture, and now we`re staying in a new country without really much of a strategy for how to be "successful missionaries".  I don`t know what God has for us here, but I believe that we are where we`re supposed to be. 

I believe that God will use this time of quiet insignificance for His glory.  That this is a time of preparation for the work that He prepared in advance for us to do here.  We have joined the staff of YWAM Antigua, and although we will be focusing on language school for another few months, we will working part time on the existing ministries at the base, until God shows us His dream for our life here.  Our YWAM director is excited to support us and help us towards whatever God has for us.

    All this to say, our lives are quiet right now, but it`s not going to be like that for long.  Of that I am convinced.

Thanks for praying.  

A Very Happy 3rd Birthday

Daddy and the birthday boy getting the pinata ready for the party

Miguel and his Mama

Z and Damaris take a break from the party to read a story

Z opening the gift from Eloisa (she`s our Spanish teacher!)

Z wearing the awesome sweater Oscar gave him

Eating pizza in the living room

Miguel loves to hit the pinata!  :)

Z and his cake

     Z`s birthday was last month, when Dave was in the States at our DTS graduation.  For the actual day, Z and I took the bus into Antigua and ate lunch at Pollo Compero.  Then we went to the market and bought the green tricycle that he loves so much with the birthday money sent to him by his Great Grandma in Washington.  (Thanks Grandma T!)  It was a nice day, but we promised him another party once Daddy was back in Guatemala with us. 

     As promised, last week we had moved into out new house, and so started thinking about the party we wanted to have.  We invited pretty much everyone we knew, which really isn`t that many people... but it was going to be a full house.

  But as we got closer to today, all our "white friends" couldn`t come.  We ended up with a party completely in Spanish.  AND IT WAS AWESOME.

    Dave had bought a cake, a pinata, and enough fruit and chips to feed an army (classic Dave).  I spent a stressful 8minutes on the phone with Dominos Pizza and got three pizzas delivered to our front door.  Z had been running around all day talking about his pinata, and about how he and his buddy Damaris were going to take turns hitting it.  He was so excited for her to come over... I think he`s missed having other kids around like we did when we were on our DTS.

     Oscar showed up first and we got to hang out and chat for a while before the rest of the guest arrived.  He was our first Guatemalan friend, who we met at the market where he works.  He`s been such a huge encouragement to us, both in being willing to have long conversations with us, not seeming to mind our broken Spanish, and in being genuinely happy to see us when we come to the market, and not trying to rip us off because we`re white.  He`s so great.

    Then the rest of the guests arrived, including Luis and Ana, and their family, and our Spanish teacher Eloisa and her husband.  It was so much fun to just get to hang out with her outside of class, and of course make lots of jokes about, "yeah, I don`t want to talk, I might say it wrong and my teacher`s listening."  Haha!

     We ate pizza, we all got a turn to hit the pinata, we had a birthday cake and Z even blew out the candles by himself.  I played Lego with Damaris, Z, and Oscar... and we just enjoyed being with our friends.  It was that moment where you go from just being part of someone`s life when you go to them- to having them come into your home and be part of a special day in your life.

    And we did it all in Spanish.

   This past week we finished our first week of language school (with Eloisa), and I thought it went great.  The lessons are fun and challenging without being frustrating.  We get a lot of chances to practice what we`ve learned in the mornings when we go to the market or for walks in the community.  I love this language and I can`t wait to be fluent.  But of course, with a language barrier, it creates a feeling of isolation. 

   Tonight was huge for me.  I saw the way our life will be when we are fluent in this language, and also the way our life IS right now!  We have great friends.  We can`t completely understand everything they say (haha), but we know that they want to be part of our lives, and we want to be part of theirs.  It`s such an amazing feeling, and makes going into another week of language study so much easier.

    After everyone headed out we got the house tidied up, but the birthday boy to bed, and I sat down to write this blog post.  I honestly feel so happy right now.  I don`t feel alone anymore.  I have lots of friends, who all came into my home and celebrated my precious baby boy`s birthday with me. 

     What a very happy 3rd birthday party.   
 
  

A Change of Direction

   We are not going to be houseparents at Village of Hope.

 

    I know, I know.  It`s Dave and I, so no one is super surprised that we are changing out minds.  But believe me when I say that this was not a decision I wanted to make.  Other times we`ve left the mission field we`ve come running back to Canada determined that God wasn`t really calling us into missions.  This time nothing could be further from the truth.  We are called to missions.  We called to bring orphans into our home and raise them as our own.  We are called to adoption.  We aren`t done in Guatemala yet.  

 

    As you know, we rented a beautiful home and are now spending more than three hours a day on focused language study, each.  We take a chicken bus to the market and buy groceries, we have to light our stove with a match, and we have to buy clean drinking water and bleach our vegetables before we eat them.  We are living the Guatemala life, and we LOVE it.  We`re a bit lonely right now because we`re still settling in, but we want to live here for a long time.

 

   So why aren`t we going to be with Village of Hope?  Well, it comes down to God guiding us away.  We have spent the last month trying to find an organization which we can send finances through in Canada, because Village of Hope is an American ministry and can`t process donations for us.  (We live in support, and can`t stay on the field without financial donations from churches and individuals who believe in us and our ministry.)  We believe that God leads through finances, and when we have been on the path God wanted, He has always abundantly supplied for our needs.  So for the past month, we have been stepping out in faith and making paying for things out of our saving, believing that God will provide a way for support to start coming through to us again.  But that door has stayed shut.  

 

   This past week we began to wonder if God was giving us a moment- a moment to think about what we were really going towards with Village of Hope.  There had been some red flags, and we`d begun to realize that at Village of Hope it was not going to be the way we imagined.  We weren`t going to be allowed to be a real family with these kids.  This is not because Village of Hope doesn`t want us to be a family, but because of the requirements of the government for the care of the kids in the houses.  We were realizing that the requirements and restrictions were too much, and that they were going to negatively affect our existing family.  We want more children, and we realized that we were about to basically sacrifice the child we already have for the sake of having more children.  

 

    Today we wrote to the directors of Village of Hope, and told them what we were thinking, and that we weren`t sure we were a good fit.  We weren`t sure if we should continue towards becoming houseparents.  They agreed that they also had their doubts if our vision was the same as theirs.  Our hearts are for giving orphans a home and parents, but we want to adopt, and we wouldn`t be able to do that through being houseparents.  To go into that position with expectations like that would only frustrate and disappoint us.  We "resigned" our future position with their blessing.  We have the utmost respect for both the directors, and the ministry of Village of Hope, and we know that although the Lord has used Village of Hope to keep us in Guatemala, that this is not the ministry He wants us to work with. 

 

    At this point we don`t know what that means for us.  But we know that God has been giving us words and visions about Guatemala.  We believe we were called here, and we believe that Village of Hope was a part of the plan to direct us in the way we should go.  Life following God isn`t always in a straight line, but that doens`t mean we`ve lost the path.  We will be in touch with the YWAM bases here in Guatemala and see what opportunities there might be for us.  

 

    We don`t know what we`re doing now, or how all this is going to work out... but we have not lost our vision to stay as missionaries, and we know that God has a plan in all this.  We`re just trusting, waiting,... oh, and practicing our Spanish flashcards... 

 

    

Superbowl Sunday in the New House

kitchen

the dining area

downstairs bathroom and stairs

living room area (out the windows are the communal parking area and gate)

patio above our parking spot

below the patio (standing on our parking spot)

the laundry room just outside the kitchen, red door leads to the back yard

the yard that the red door leads to

Z`s room

Dave and I`s room

another view of our room (with the basically useless, but fun to have balcony)

    We have now experienced our own version of House Hunters International.  We looked at 6 houses, talked to multiple realtors and home-owners, prayed, and thought a lot about exactly where we wanted to live.  Finally, one beautiful Wednesday afternoon, we came and looked at this beautiful home with a wonderful realtor named Arturo.  He thankfully spoke English, and was able to help us get through the Guatemalan rental process without anything being lost in translation. 

      House hunting in a different country is not quite the same as in Canada though.  Here, they don`t have anything like the "Multiple Listings Service" which makes it so that any realtor has access to almost every home that is available at that time... but here, every home is listed with only one realtor, so you have to spend a lot of time hunting online through every house on every realty office`website!  Plus, lots of people don`t use a realtor and rely on word-of-mouth to find rentors.  So we looked at a few places that we just heard about through the grape-vine, plus got to view a couple houses that we just happened upon while we were walking in the areas we wanted to live.  Quite the adventure, especially with our limited Spanish.

     Also, houses are quite varied here.  The cheapest type of housing are one floor, with only a few windows, and have every room separated and you have to go outside to get from room to room.  It`s the kind of home that a lot of Guatemalans live in, and we looked at a couple of those.  They were certainly cheaper, but we couldn`t find one that was furnished... and we really wanted something more move-in ready to eleviate the stress of trying to furnish a house.

    The house we chose is owned and was designed by a European man (Danish?), who owns all the houses and apartments in our little complex.  All the houses are enclosed in one big yard with a shared gate, but there are trees and plants creating "green curtains" between the houses to make it feel more private.  I LOVE it.

  We felt it was important to live near to Antigua because there are better Spanish tutors here than there are in San Lucas (where Village of Hope is).  Learning the language is our highest priority right now, so by getting this place which is furnished saves us time in getting set up so that we can start school.  Also, this house is in an area very near Antigua and our tutor is able to walk to our home and teach us every day for a couple hours each.

   So now we are living in our own home in Guatemala, starting language school tomorrow, and hanging out in our living room watching the Superbowl on our own TV (well that, as well as "Parent Trap" which is dubbed in Spanish... that way we can learn something as well as watch TV... haha, besides, Superbowl commercials are just not as good here.)

    This morning started out a little different, because we didn`t have an propane (Zeta Gas) for the stove or to take showers (we have a hot water tank instead of "widow-makers"-electric shower heads).  Also, we didn`t have any pure water to drink, and I couldn`t figure out how the washing machine worked.  Thankfully I got that sorted fairly quickly, because we had an issue with fleas last week and I had a bunch of clothes that needed washing.  In Guatemala fleas are a very common problem and can easily be brought home from street ministry or other times like that.  Anyway, we got the laundry done, and hung on the porch, then Dave headed off to figure out why the Zeta Gas truck refused to deliver to us... even though we`d called them three times; although our broken Spanish may have had something to do with that.

Thankfully, about an hour later, Dave arrived home with a five gallon jug of water, a broom, and a package of toilet paper.. and had ordered the Zeta truck to come in a few minutes.  So by lunchtime, the gas was hooked up, and we had a pot of precious Kraft dinner cooking.  

    After lunch Dave sat at the table and read his Bible, while Z played toys on the coffee table in the living room.  I washed the dishes in the glorious sunshine and I felt wonderfully happy to be in my own home again.  It`s been a very long time... but I am at peace because although there may be some very hard times ahead; we are exactly where God has called us to be... and I know He will continue to lead us. 

  Thank you Lord for our beautiful home.