After the first Six Months

Z and Eloisa playing Scrabble

     I was wedged in between a mariachi band, a woman selling stewed chicken with tortillas, and two kids reaching over me to touch Z`s blond hair.  My clothes were drenched in sweat, and although I really needed to use the bathroom already, I kept drinking water to fend off the stifling heat.  The beautiful country-side wizzed past us outside the windows, as the large bus pulled into the on-coming lane to pass a pick-up truck full of people heading for work.  I was ridiculously uncomfortable, and yet blissfully happy to be home in our beloved country of Guatemala.  I had missed my home, even when I was only twenty minutes over the border. 

Z hanging out in his tent (the box from our new fridge)

YWAM staff Potluck held in our living room

      It`s been over a week since we returned from Mexico.  We have a new stamp in our passports, and we can stay in Guatemala for another six months (although we have to pay for an extension at the three month mark, but that`s a lot easier than busing to Mexico again!).  We lived through the long bus-rides to and from Mexico, and discovered Z is far better at traveling than I am and does far less complaining.  Dave, of course, thought the whole thing was a wonderful adventure, and would do it again tomorrow. 
 
      While in Mexico, we enjoyed a few days at a beautiful hotel in a very hot area, and spent a lot of time by the pool and in our air-conditioned room.  It was a nice break, and while we were there we also became an Aunt and Uncle for the first time as my little sister gave birth to her first child!  A little boy, and the first cousin for Z!  (Congrats again to Shannon and Caleb!)

     We came home from Mexico to our beautiful kitchen, which now has a stove and fridge thanks to the generosity of our financial supporters.  It is seriously SO nice to be able to make supper with ease, and to be able to know that our milk wont go bad in our new fridge.  Dave has already made cookies a couple times in our new oven!  

Playing Dutch Blitz with our Canadian friends (and Susy)

    Because of our new kitchen being finally being functional, we decided to start having potlucks at our house for our base staff.  Our base doesn`t have very many social events to bring everyone together, and as you may know- I love hosting team-togetherness events!  We had our first potluck last Thursday evening, and hope to start having them every week.  The first one went very well, and we all enjoyed an evening of food, conversation, and for those who stayed later... Dutch Blitz marathon.  (There are two Canadian volunteers here right now, and they are a riot to play Dutch Blitz with!  They go home on Tuesday, and I am going to miss them so much!  I haven`t laughed this hard in a long time!  What a bunch o`hosers, eh?). 

    We have started having literacy class twice a week, and our first class of four students (we had five, but one boy had to drop out because of family crisis) is well on their way to graduating.  They have all learned all the letter sounds, and will be moving on to sounding out words next week.  Eloisa, our talented teacher, thinks that this class will be able to graduate by the end of June.  We are planning to have a family dinner for all the students when they graduate, and gift each student with a Bible/children's Bible and other supplies so they can continue practicing and learning about the Bible.  I am so proud of each of the students who are working so hard, they come to class so excited to show me their homework.  Eloisa has me teach the Bible lesson before each class, which is great Spanish practice for me, as well as is so encouraging to see the women listening to the Word with such enthusiasm.  These students are open to the gospel, and this class is a wide open door to share with them. 

     This morning Dave will be off to Puerto Abajo,the village where he volunteers every Monday.  Some friends of ours run a lunch/evangelism ministry there once a week, and Dave goes to hang out with the kids.  The kids are starved for attention there, especially from a male role-model like Dave, so it's an amazing opportunity to share the gospel with the kids.  Dave always reads them Bible stories, and has been giving some Story of Jesus booklets to the kids who can read.  We have requests to bring our literacy school to Puerto Abajo, and are praying and waiting on the Lord to see how we could mobilize our school to reach more families. 

     Mondays are a quiet day for Z and I while Dave is gone.  With rainy season in full-swing, it is too wet to even play in the yard some days.  Today is an especially wet Monday, so I think we'll be making some hot chocolate, and playing with our new play dough all morning (the greatest purchase we made in Mexico, and will probably be the toy that get Z through rainy season!).

     Thank you to those people who write to us, encourage us, and remind us that although we are far away, we have not been forgotten.  A big thank you as well to those who pray and donate financially to our ministry, we appreciate your support and partnership in what the Lord is doing through us here in Guatemala.  We are so thankful to be able to live here!

(also, sorry about the picture quality, I couldn't get the pictures off our camera, so these were just taken on a camera phone.  figured something was better than nothing.  thanks for reading my blog!) 



Note:  If you are interested in partnering finacially with us, please go to www.ywamcanada.org/donations.html for information on how to donate within Canada and recieve tax-recepts.  (David and Shawn King, YWAM Antigua.)  In the States donations can be sent through YWAM Chico, at ywamchico.com.   

The One-Room School

Z in the fully-furnished classroom!

Eloisa teaching the vowels. 

Dave reading the creation story to the kids.

   The one-room school is officially open for classes!  This past Wednesday we had our first literacy class with 5 students (plus 3 kids for the kids' club).  Three ladies came, and two of them brought their nephews to the class.  Both young boys seemed a little nervous about being in the class, and although neither of them attend public school anymore, they both seem very bright and will flourish with more teacher attention.  The ladies all come from difficult situations, some are Christians some are not, but through this class we have a wide open door to share with them the abundant life that is available to them through faith in Jesus.  These are women who have known little joy or peace in their lives (the boys too), and this class is a chance to learn a valuable skill, free of charge, while also being encouraged by Bible teaching too. 

    For our first morning I gave the welcome, and shared a little about how much Christ loves them, then Dave and I took the kids out and had a fun time teaching them about Creation and the love of God for them.  We played games on the back lawn, ate pan-dulce (sweet bread) and drank juice, coloured pictures, read a story, and had a great time.  All the while I could see Eloisa working with the students, praying over them, and teaching them the vowels.  She is such a natural teacher, and her love for Christ comes through clearly in everything she does.  The women really responded to her, and I was able to chat with them as well after the class while we shared coffee and more pan dulce. 

     The next day, while Eloisa was over for Spanish class, she told me that one of the women told her later that she thinks she's wont be able to learn to read, but after she heard us talking about how God wants to help her, she knew that she could continue.  It's so exciting!

     I know these students will be able to read soon under Eloisa's expert teaching, and beyond that I pray that God will transform their hearts through the Bible both during class, and once they are able to read it for themselves.  Please pray for our students, children, and teacher. 

     "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  -Phillipians 3:14  

Praying for Pencils

  “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it...” 

-          Malachi 3:6

                                                            

      At the beginning of last month I began to talk with our Spanish teacher, Eloisa, about starting a literacy class for local women.  Many women in Guatemala have very little education, have children young, and are forced for work simple jobs such as washing clothes or making tortillas to try to make ends meet.  Often they are illiterate, and have little hope to create a better life for themselves or their children.  Eloisa had dreamed for years to start a literacy class, and to use it as a platform to teach the Bible. 

    

     When she talked about it I began to get excited as well... God had spoken to me last year during the DTS about how I was to teach.  I didn’t really know what that would look like, since I’m not much of a student, and I really don’t have the patience to teach either.  God just kept speaking to me about teaching, and during a worship session in our DTS a few of the teachers from the Christian school on base laid hands and prayed that I would receive the gift of teaching. 

     Eloisa and I have spent the month brainstorming ideas, finding teaching materials and planning for the class.  We will have our first “Mujeres de Cristo, Classe de Alfabetizar” (Women of Christ, Class of Literacy) on May 14^th in my living room.  I put a sign on the door of our house, and many people have stopped to ask questions about the class.  Eloisa will be the ladie’s teacher, while I will teach the children’s class (since most of the ladies will be bringing at least one child).  We will be starting with just a beginner class for those who cannot read or write at all, and plan to go to two classes a week so that we can have a day for advanced students as well. 

       Dave, and the other staff at our YWAM base, distribute Bibles into homes in our city every week.  They are invited into people’s homes, where they get the chance to pray for them, invite them to the weekly Bible class held at the base, and share with them the love of Christ.  It is a powerful time, and Dave always comes home with stories of people who they encountered and prayed for.  The problem is that in many homes only the husband can read.  The Bible is God’s word, and is powerful and life-giving.  Eloisa and I’s goal through this class will be to equip the women of our community to be able to read the Bible, and to teach their children the truths and stories of Jesus. 

     Our class will open with a Bible lesson, before the children break off into their program with me, where I will have crafts, stories, and activities to support the Bible lesson.  Eloisa is a trained teacher, and has found an amazing curriculum she will use with the women to take them from learning to hold a pencil to being able to read and understand the Bible for themselves. 

      To get all this started, we needed some supplies.  The women coming to the class can’t afford the necessary notebooks and pencils, never-mind a school table and teaching tools.  As we planned for the class, Eloisa and I began to pray that God would provide financially for the class. 

      God showed up. 

       I’m not going to lie to you; we ended last month with less than the cost of a sub sandwich in our wallets.  But God had provided enough for all the supplies for the class.  The table, chairs, whiteboard, notebooks, poster board for making teaching aids, pencils, erasers, pens, crayons, markers,... all of it.  Plus we hadn’t missed a meal, we’d been able to continue Spanish classes, and we’d gained a little more faith in God’s provision. 

      Classes start next week!

                                      

Dave sitting at the awesome table!  With chairs!

                                                      

A bunch of the supplies

      Please be praying for Eloisa and me as we teach, and that the message of Christ would come through clearly.  Please pray also for the women to learn quickly, and that their husbands would be supportive of their attendance to the class. 

Chicken Graveyard in the Rose Garden

  I have begun to have a taste of what it will be like to be bi-lingual.  We`re not there yet, but we`re to the point where I can switch between languages without really realizing that I`m doing it... most of the time anyway.  It`s been two and a half months of language school to get here, but I can see our progress and it feels great to be getting somewhere! 

    Now I can understand when people talk about Z`s blond hair as we weave our way through the market, or surprise people by responding to questions they didn`t think I`d understand.  Makes every minute of study worthwhile when, for example, I was walking through the market with the chicks that I`d bought, and two ladies started talking about the chickens and wondering where I`d got them.  I just smiled and said, “oh, I got them from the lady in the next alley over from here.”  They laughed, realizing the gringa could understand them!   

    

Some of the current DTS students at our house to meet the first batch of chicks

 

      The real advantage though is to finally be to the point where we can minister more effectively.  Dave continues to love being part of Bible distribution every week, and has had the chance to go into many homes and pray for people in difficult circumstances.  We took a daytrip into the city to celebrate our Spanish teacher`s birthday at the Zoo, and got the chance to connect with her daughters, which was very special for me... like have little sisters around again.  J 

       

None of the pictures of us all looking turned out... so this is the group of us wandering through the zoo. 

     The green house is beginning to feel like home, even in its continued state boxes and suitcases since we don`t have any more furniture than we did in my last update... just goes to show how little is really necessary to live.  We have five little chickens, four of them are new, because three of the original four died within the first week.  So now we have a chicken graveyard in our garden, along with a few new plants that Dave put in alongside the roses that were already here when we moved in. 

  

    Z loves the remaining yellow chick (from the first batch), and has named her:  Huddle Beedo Stian.  I`m assuming that the last part is named after a friend from our DTS Outreach team, but the first two names I don`t know about... and why a chicken needs three names I don`t know.  But anyway, Huddle Beedo Stian and Z have a wonderful time together, and H.B.S. is the only chicken that will let Z pick her up... so that must mean she loves him too. 

 

Z with Huddle Beedo Stian

 

      Well... as you can see, nothing too exciting is happening these days... thank you for praying for us as we continue to build a life here in Guatemala.  We walk in the hope that the Lord will use us in mighty ways to bring the people to a full and saving life in Jesus Christ... but some days it just feels hard to be so far from home... every day is an act of faith that God has called us here, and we wait for His promises to be fulfilled.  Thanks for reading!  

And the 1st Family member to visit us in Guatemala award goes to... Cousin Sarah King!!!  She came on a missions trip and we got to meet up with her in Antigua for a fun afternoon of shopping and ice cream! 

 

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.