The Power of Dreaming

    Literacy class is now in full swing!  We have five students and it has been a lot of fun!  The girls are all very eager to learn and all come from the same family.  The first class I started off with a devotional about the importance of dreams for the future and setting goals for ourselves, and about how God has plans for our life.  They each drew a picture of what they would like to be when they grew up. We have a future doctor, teacher, fire-woman, shop keeper, and car owner in our class!  

    Kids in Guatemala often have very few dreams, if any at all.  Dave and I frequently will ask the kids we work with in Puerto Abajo what they want to do when they are older, and very few of them ever have much of a response.  We believe it's important to dream, to reach for goals, and to trust God for the good future He promises us.  We have fun talking with the kids about stuff they like to do, and helping them build dreams.

 

     I think that is part of the wonderful thing about teaching literacy.  By reading we can learn about things that are outside of our day-to-day existence.  We hear stories of courage and we ourselves are encouraged to step out for the things we believe in.  Reading affects us deeper than watching movies, especially when it is a parent that reads to us,not only building character through the stories, but also good memories of times spent together.  My mom read to my siblings and I every day, twice a day, until I was around 15.  Those memories, and the stories she read to us, are a part of who I am... And I dare say, some of the better parts.  

    Literacy class is something I believe in because we are able to send the Bible into homes where it has never been before.  We give the mothers each a children's Bible so they can build those memories with their own children, and learn about Jesus themselves in the process.  I am really excited about this class of five young girls. Not only will their futures have more hope with a basic skill like reading and writing, but they are being exposed to the gospel of Jesus... And the power of dreaming and planning for a bright future outside of the cycle of poverty.  

   Please pray for our students, and for Eloisa and I as we teach and minister to them.  

 

We decided to celebrate the graduation of our two students from last year as part of the new school, to encourage the new students that they will one day be the ones graduating.  Dave made a banana cake (a big favorite from last year), and we had a little party! 

Olga receiving her graduation gift- a children's Bible with beautiful pictures.  She and her little boys will finally have something to read together!  

Eloisa and I with the new class of girls.  This class is five cousins, all within the age rage of 12-13!  It's a fun group and they are learning incredibly fast!  

The girls hard at work.  

It all starts with learning the sound of each letter.  

Back to School

    School... It is the theme of my life right now, what with the literacy class starting up next week, starting preschool with Z (homeschooling for the win!  Haha), continuing with my Spanish-language studies,... I decided to throw another class in there and sign up for with an online school to become a Doula.  Also, Dave is one of the main leaders for the upcoming DIscipleship Training School (DTS) which starts in a couple weeks.  It sounds like a lot, but so far I am learning skills in boundary-setting and learning to say no to other things so that I can focus on the things in my life that are most important to me.  I guess that's just part of becoming an adult- realizing I can't do everything! 

   

 So, for those of you are wondering what a Doula is... It is a professional birthing assistant.  It's not a medical position, it's basically being the expectant mother's supporter and helper through the entire pregnancy, birth, and post-partum time of a woman's life.  In my classed I'm learning things like good communication and active listening skills, how to help a woman make informed choices that support her personal goals, how to help during birth, and also the business aspects of being a doula.  In North America doulas can charge anywhere from $200-$700 for doula services, but of course here I will not be using it as a big money-maker.  I want to use it as a ways to minister to women during this important time of a mother's life.  I had a doula for Z's birth, and she actively helped me to work for the birth experienced I desired.  I gave birth to my child feeling empowered as a good mother, and ready to care for my child and bond with him.  Teenage pregnancy is huge issue here in Guatemala, so I would like to use these skills to help young moms who don't have family support, and also to help missionary moms who are going through the childbirth process without the support of family close-by.

   Oh, and our good news, unrelated to schooling is that our final piece of paperwork for our temporary residency is on its way!!!  We will hopefully have our temporary residency before summer!  Please continue to praying for a smooth and speedy application process.  

Z and I have finished our first week of preschool!  So far so good!  

Z puts a sticker on the chart every day after he finishes his school.  

Classic homeschool schedule includes kitchen duty!  Haha... 

Dave's birthday was in mid January and Z's was at the end of the month.  Dave made himself a cheesecake for his birthday, and we went to the beach overnight to celebrate Z's birthday with swimming and staying up late to watch movies.

Me studying... I'm now studying Spanish and childbirth, so it's a lot of homework to fit into Z's nap time!  

Jet Lag

Coming home has been harder than I expected, and yet easier than I predicted.  I thought there would be some fits of crying for my family, maybe even a sleepless night to waffle back and forth about if we made the right decision to come back to Guatemala... But there has been none of that.  What there has been is frustration.  Maybe it's culture shock... Or would it be reverse culture shock?

I figured that our spanish would come back to us the second we stepped off the plane.  Dave and spoke to each other a bit in Spanish while we were in Canada, as well as were in contact with our Guatemalan friends through Facebook the whole time we were gone... But to me it felt like I forgot everything!  (Keep in mind, I'm the one writing this, and Dave didn't feel this way.). I felt like the first week was going back to the first day ever, trying to remember simple things like how to say I was happy to see someone!  How could I forget so much in such a short time?!  

The second problem has been the fatigue... Part of my inability to speak Spanish has been my low levels of energy, I have napped almost every afternoon and gone to bed before 10pm!  I had no idea out trip had taken so much out of me.  Thankfully, my schedule has been pretty relaxed, and I have been catching up on rest and also on Spanish classes with Eloisa.  Today was the first day I didn't nap and carried a normal conversation in Spanish... Praise the Lord!  I was starting to worry... Haha...  

The easy parts about coming home has been the climate, of course, and being with our team again.  Living in community continues to be a joy, and I love eating meals together especially.  Our cook is still on a medical leave so Dave has been cooking for the base.  Being with Eloisa is wonderful as well, and we enjoyed going to her mother-in-law's birthday party on Sunday.  On Saturday we have will be celebrating a joint birthday for Dave, Ana, Damaris, Miguel, and Z... So many January birthdays!  It's amazing to realize that we have been here for more than a year... We celebrated Z's birthday with them last year too! 

I have started getting up early to pasture the raw milk that I buy from a farmer up the volcano, which has been a good practice for me, to have some quiet time alone to start my day.... Plus the sunrises can't be beat!  The room feels more like home with all the things we brought from our boxes in Canada, with more of our family pictures, and more of those little homey touches that let us know we have really MOVED to Guatemala.  

Jet lagged or not... We are glad to be back.  

My little milk business.  

Z playing "with" the bunny.  

My morning view.  

We are starting literacy class up again!!!! February 4!  Please be in prayer for our future students! 

Christmas in Canada

This morning I woke up in my bed at the base, the plastic store across the street was blaring thier music and I could hear the lyrics of " this is going to be the best day of my life".  I smiled to myself and though, yes, it probably is.  Then I got up and took the first cool shower I have had in a month... Which was a reminder that we ain't in Canada anymore.  

For the past six weeks we have been travelling and visiting many of our friends and family in the States and Canada, including at the YWAM base in California, friends on Quadra Island, and a couple churches near our families homes in BC.  We spent more than 96 hours travelling in cars, airplains, trains, ferries, buses and sky trains, and logged many hours on foot as well, including walks, skating, and even scootering (thanks Caleb!).  It was good that we did so much walking though because we also spent a lot of time eating!  Christmas meals with family were such a joy, and very delicious!  

We were so encouraged by the response people gave when they heard about our ministry and future dreams.  We were prayed for in front of three churches, and met with many friends and family.  We had such a wonderful time with our families, living for about three weeks with each of them.  It's hard to even describe how much fun we had with them all, spending time doing everything as meaningful as praying together to just hanging out and watching Dragons Den on YouTube.  Somehow though, it all felt pretty meaningful, just to be together and make memories.  I got to be with my nephew and got lots of chances to cuddle and feed and care for him in the morning when my sister was sleeping.  Z was so thrilled to meet his nephew and kept telling people that baby Jude was our baby.  It was adorable to see the two cousins together.  

    

    My greatest joy was spending time with family in the evenings.  We had fun movie nights, games nights, dates with dad at the movies and Tim Hortons, lots of conversation, and some pretty intense prayer times.  After the business of the days, with visits to churches and with friends (which was all amazing too!  We just had such a great trip, there wasn't really any bad times at...), it was great to come home every night to hang out with our families and connect with them.  

We have such loving and supportive families, and seeing them was like a glimpse of Heaven.  One day we will all be with Jesus forever and all of the work we did in the Name of sharing the gospel that took us apart from each other on earth will be nothing but a memory.  I love my family so much and although it was hard to leave them all at the end of our  visit, we came back to Guatemala full of joy to continue working and living here.  

Thank you to all who have supported us through your prayers, finances, and the encouraging words you had for us during our time in Canada.  We can't wait to see what God is going to do this year!  Happy 2015 everybody!!!  

  Z brushing Auntie Shannon's hair. 

Uncle Caleb reading to the cousins.  

   Me and the newest little man in my life, Jude.  

  My best friend Kim is a missionary in Africa... This was our first time together on three years! 

I wrote my first novel this year and gave it to my dad for Christmas!  

My cousin reading to Z. 

   Z with his Christmas gift from Kim. 

   Our open house.  We had a good turn out and people were very encouraging!  

  Z decorating cookies at grandma's house.  

  Helping grandma make dinner.  

Counting Down from 10...

 We are leaving for our Christmas visit home in only 10 days!  We have been here for almost a year exactly, and it feels extremely odd to be leaving our home to go... home.  I'm having some very mixed feelings, excited to see family, but nervous to leave our team and friends here, even if it is only for a few weeks.  It has been such an amazing year and is heartwarming to see how sad our Guatemalan friends are about us leaving... They all keep asking about when exactly we will be back!  It's nice to feel appreciated!  

   We have a suitcase of gifts for friends at home and Guatemalan items to show to our churches.  I will even be speaking at a girls group and telling them all about "life as a missionary". I'm excited to get to share our mission and life here in Guaremala.  We have such vision for this upcoming year, and it's the greatest feeling to know that we can spend time with family in Canada with the confidence that we will be returning to our beloved Guatemala. This is our first experience of being "on furlough"...kinda cool.

   Wrapping up our ministries and language classes for the year has been busy, as well as helping out in the base kitchen while our cook is on a leave of absence for health reasons.  Every day is different, full, fun, sometimes difficult and tiring, but always a reminder of how God has brought us here, is sustaining us, and is bringing us joy and fulfillment every single day.  We LOVE Guatemala!  

   Dave's dad and brother brought down our Christmas decorations when they were here in September, so I decided that Z and I should decorate our room... And then our friend Kalissa got on board and we decorated the base, made Christmas bread and pumpkin pie, and have listened to Christmas music for days... It's beginning to look like Christmas around here!  

Z without creative Christmas tree 

Z and Kalissa setting up the tree in the living room. 

Trying to take a nice family photo for our new prayer card... Hahahaahahaha..... 

Our certificates from finishing Spanish class!!!  

Room with a View.

   This morning I was up at 5:30am.  The window in our room at the base isn't covered in the same way as the window in our old bedroom, so Z was up at the crack of dawn (actually, more accurately, he was up at the tolling of the bells at the Catholic Church telling the town to come for Mass).  We got up, found leftovers in the fridge to eat for breakfast downstairs and then started cleaning.  

 

   The DTS students just left on outreach, so of course there were sheets and towels that needed washing, which was very easy to do in the washing machine.  After the last seven months without a washing machine, I gotta admit that I am enjoying the ease of washing clothes!  As a mom, I don't have any official responsibilities around the bases but our current hospitality and housekeeping leader will be moving back to the States next year and I and another girl will be working together to pick up the slack. 

    I went to Antigua in the afternoon to meet up with a friend for coffee.  I went past a girl begging on the sidewalk, trying to nurse her little baby at the same time.  She caught my eye, but didn't even ask me for anything.  Her face was pure hopelessness.  Her baby was kind of crying, as if she wasn't getting enought to eat... Which wouldn't surprise me, since the mom looked malnourished, and I have talked to other street women who struggle to produce enough milk for their babies.  I brought something to give the mom to eat, and I wanted to stop and pray with her... Somehow to her that she wasn't completely alone in the world... But she didn't stop and let me talk with her, she just walked on.  I felt so upset. 

    .  I have prayed that God would bind my heart to the people of Guatemala.  I don't want to just live here and half heartedly serve these people, I want to truly love them.  Lately I have felt the Lord pulling on my heart, showing me that something new is beginning again... A new season of our life and ministry here.  The stage of serious language learning is done and we are free to minister as the Lord calls.  I feel the Lord preparing our hearts to minister in new way, and for me I wonder if will have something to do with mothers.  The literacy class has been amazing and will continue at the home of our Spanish teacher, but I feel like God has used that to show me that beyond teaching the mothers, my true passion for the class was the discipleship aspect of it, and the idea that through the class we are changing the entire family... And especially for the kids.  My passion will always be children, and evangelism, and I know God is going to start opening new doors for us to minister.  

    This is more than just moving to the base to save a couple bucks.  This is God preparing us for the next stage... And believe me... We are spyched!

The door to our bedroom

Z's bed and toy bins

The edge of our bed, fridge and "tower of power"... The whiteboard with our schedule... This is will very useful once the next DTS start!  

Every castle needs a throne... ( haha, get it?)

We even have a view of the volcano from our bedroom!   

Three Doors Down

David has decided to help lead the upcoming Discipleship training school in February.  He will be very busy with helping/ attending the classes with the students, meeting one-one with the male students and discipling them, as well as all the other responsibilities that go along with leading an DTS.  He hopes to go on the outreach with the students, which is currently planned to be in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.  He wants to lead this DTS in preparation for leading the DTS at lake Attitlan next summer.  

   There are plans in the works to begin having a DTS for indigenous Guatemalans, in the home of one of the pastors on the coast of lake Attitlan.  We have been praying a great deal about how The Lord would want to use us in this project, and Dave feels that helping with a DTS here at the Antigua base first will be good preparation for the lake.  I agree.   

   Since Dave will be so busy with the DTS we have decided to move to the base to be closer to him.  There are a lot of evening activities during the DTS and we think that if we live at the base then it will be easier for me to be involved since I can put Zane to bed and just go downstairs to join in the action.  So at the end of next month we will be moving three doors down and piling up our stuff into a bedroom at the base for the next six months.  We have finished our contract at our little green house, so this decision has combat the perfect time.  

   We feel that The Lord is calling us to something bigger at the lake, and so we are moving both because we think it's a good decision based on Dave's work next year, but also in faith that God is about to move us forward and open doors for new ministry at the lake.  Moving to the base will come with challenges, such as a lack of space and diminished privacy, but we think it's good decision and will give us the time to discover if we can handle living on-base or if we need to rent our own house when we go to the lake for the summer DTS.  

   Please be praying for us as we continue to seek God for wisdom about our future/the future of YWAM at the lake, and for the transition to living at the base and working with the DTS.  

     Plus...we get to come home for Christmas!!!  So we will be seeing many of you in just a couple months!  We plan to have an Open House to give everyone a chance to come and hang out with us and hear more about our ministry.  Details to follow!   Meanwhile, I better get our house packed up to make our big three-houses-away move.   

    

Dave's dad and brother came to visit us this week!  It has been so fun to pray tourist with them and spend lots of quality time together.  

Uncle dan taught Z how to make a city with chalk.  

Dad and Dan brought us some boxes of our stuff from Canada, including playmobil!  

Z helping dad make donuts.