The Graduates

Well, we have officially finished language school.  5 weeks, four hours a day for Mark & a bit less for the kids & I.  I think what language school has taught me more than anything is how much Spanish I still have to learn.  It's a lot!!!  But we made progress & I can see that we will only continue to learn so much as we move into "real life" here.  We were not expecting the exhaustion that would come with learning a second language.  Mark & I have both found that we are pretty worthless most afternoons after we have been in class all morning.  Though we enjoyed our school & had wonderful teachers, we are glad to be finished.  Mark is ready to begin his work and I am ready to be mommy again.  So.... off we go!  I would ask that you all please say some very specific prayers tomorrow, Sunday, & Monday.  We will be driving a lot those days & the roads can be very dangerous because of traffic accidents, so please pray for a great deal of protection as we drive.  Thanks so much!  I'll try to post again on Sunday from Coban so you know we've made it safely that far. 

Kid's perspective-- issue 3

written by Little Man:

You guys know bananas are yellow, right?  Well here, bananas are yellow too, but they are also pink!!!!  That's right, I said pink bananas!!!

And you guys have had pizza!  I'm sure you have.  Well, guess what topping they put on their pizza.... PEAS & CARROTS!!

Did you know that when coffee beans are ripe, they are red?  And you have to squeeze the bean to get the actual coffee bean out.  The actual coffee bean is green...  it turns black when it gets roasted.

Did you know the Spaniards (people from Spain) brought an instrument to the Mayan people that is like a flute, but it sounds just like a saxophone?  I heard someone play one today.

Did you know that chocolate is actually made out of cacau (pronounced Ka-Cow) beans?  I got to make chocolate out of the beans.  It took a long time.  Here's a little of the instructions about how you make the chocolate, like the chocolate bar we eat.  First, you have to roast the beans and remove the cascara (peel or shell).  Then you have to grind up the beans and make a paste.  Next you add some milk and heat it up.  Then you pour it into a mold and add whatever you want-- like raisins, nuts, coconut, sea salt (my mom likes that).  Then you stick it in the refridgerator, come back in 1 1/2 hours and they are ready to eat. 

Did you know you can actually drink chocolate?  It's not like our hot chocolate.  It has spices, honey and the ancient Mayans even would cut themselves and put a little bit of their blood in the drink to say thank you to the Mayan god for telling people the secret of that cacau tree.  We made it, but we didn't cut ourselves, we just put in a red spice to "fool the gods".  My dad really liked that drink.  They also used the cascara to make a hot tea drink.  My mom and dad both liked that drink.

Here's a picture of us at the Chocolate Museum in front of a cacau tree.  It's not real, just in the museum.  The yellow and red things are ripe cacau pods ready to be picked and start the process of making chocolate!  They grow right from the trunk of the tree.  That's pretty crazy!   Mom is going to put in a few other pictures. 

Dancing Beauty crushing the cacau beans.

Little Man making his chocolate

Daddy mixing one of the drinks. 

Glimpses of Catching My Breath

Right now I am sitting on the back porch of our rented home in Antigua.... it is 10:45 am & I am still in my pajamas.  But unlike my typical life in Knoxville.... I am not still in my pajamas because I have not had time to change, but simply because I'm choosing to stay in my comfy pj's.  This is a big change for me!!  This weekend has been just our family in our house.... it's been really nice to just REALLY rest!!  We have read books, played games, watched cartoons in Spanish, and slept.   It's the first time that I have felt like I"m starting to catch my breath.  I feel like I have been running at a crazy pace since February when Mark came home & suggested we move down here..... and really since August 2006 when Dancing Beauty was born-- that's when life's speed really seemed to pick up & I feel like it has only increased since then.  However, today, I have caught a glimpse of what my sister's have promised is coming--- for about an hour this morning all my children were playing happily together-- all FOUR!!!  And Mark & I have been sitting, reading, drinking coffee.....????  What????  This seems so foreign I almost don't know what to do with myself.  And even still, Little Monkey is down for a nap, but the other 3 are still playing!!  It's a sweet glimpse that maybe, just maybe there is a chance that I will be able to catch my breath for real sometime in the near future.  Don't get me wrong, I love this season of life with little kids.... but it is very physically exhausting.  I have told Mark several times that this year, it seems we have been given a gift of time--- time to enjoy our children, time to teach them-- really teach them, time to learn another culture, time to breathe, time to really love people.  I know there may be times when we are bored (well, not Mark--because he actually has a job, but the rest of us).... but I can't tell you the last time I was bored, so I'm almost looking forward to it!  So, pray that we will use this gift of time well, savor it, and really look for what it is the Lord is trying to teach each one of us.

You can pray for us as we wrap up language school this week.  We will be leaving Antigua early Saturday morning, spending the day with Nina's family, and heading to Coban early Sunday morning.  Pray for us as we enter another time of transition.  We're not sure what internet will look like once we're there, so the blog entries will probably slow down significantly, but we'll still be posting as much as we can!

Adjustments--part 1

I thought those of you who have lived in other cultures would appreciate just a few of the adjustments we are all having to make:

1.  Don't turn on the water when you brush your teeth.
2.  Put the toilet paper in the trash can, not in the toilet.
3.  Little Monkey has had to learn how to navigate stairs as our living room has stairs in them.  3 weeks ago, she fell down stairs.... now she goes up & down without difficulty.
4.  All kids have had to learn the benefit of walking slow on hard tile floors-- a few big knots on heads helped that one sink in.
5.  The trick of pouring a full box of milk (yes.... milk comes in boxes) without spilling it everywhere.
6.  The trick of getting the 5 gallon jug of Agua Pura on the dispenser without completly soaking yourself & the kitchen (that's when you're thankful for tile floors).
7.  Keep your mouth closed in the bath or shower. 
8.  Lots of language adjustments..... is it really necessary to have 14,000 ways to say is/am/are????

.... I'm sure there will be more to come--- especially when we move out to the "sticks" as we call it in East Tennessee.

Generations and God's provision

70 years ago Mark's grandparent's moved to Siguatepeque, Honduras to begin Hospital Evangelico-- the goal was to train Honduran men & women as doctors and nurses and leave the hospital in their hands.  21 years later, that goal was accomplished and the hospital is still Honduran-run today.

56 years ago a couple named Paul & Ruth Phillipi moved with their one year old son to Antigua, Guatemala to work as missionaries planting churches.  Part of his work included filming a documentary of sorts about a hospital in Honduras called Hospital Evangelico.  A man named Mac McKinney was featured in the film as the doctor who was working to turn this hospital over to the Honduran people.

3 1/2 weeks ago, in a little town in North Carolina, my brother-in-law had lunch with a friend.  It happened to be the day we came to Guatemala & this friend of his recalled a missionary couple who had been supported by their home church who lived in Antigua, Guatemala.  When they realized that we were living in Antigua for 5 weeks, my brother-in-law got the name, email & phone number of said missionaries & sent them to me.

2 1/2 weeks ago, when my daughter was struggling to breathe due to pneumonia, I called Mr. Paul Phillipi in desperation to find a reliable pharmacy.  He graciously offered not only to tell me about a pharmacy, but to come pick me up & take me there.  I was so grateful since I would not have been able to communicate with the pharmacist & get the medicine we needed.  During our drive, we realized that he knew Mark's grandparents!!!  On Sunday, we joined the Phillipi's at church and then had lunch in their home.  WHAT A SMALL WORLD!!!!! 

   

Fuego

Fuego was acting up yesterday!!!  I took this picture from right outside of my bedroom.  I hear you can see lava spewing out sometimes.... I would really like to see that! 

What a difference a week makes

A week ago I was at a real low.  Really struggling.  But this past week has been so different & I feel so much better about life in general.  What has changed???

1.  Mark & I are on the same school schedule.  We had been opposite, which meant we had been like passing ships.  He was going to school from 8-12.... I was playing tag-team with the kids-- taking care of kiddos in the morning & early afternoon, then my spanish lesson was from 3-5:30.  For those of you who don't know me well, I'm completely worthless in the late afternoon.  This is naptime/rest time at our house and that includes mommy.  So for me to have to engage in learning a second language during that time of day was rather brutal for my brain & body.  For two weeks I did not have any time to myself & I was about to lose my mind.  This past week, my lessons were from 8-10:30.....oh my.... so much better.  I can think in the morning.  Lots of coffee & I'm good to go.  Plus I have had my afternoons to be with Mark, rest, run errands, enjoy the city, etc.  And that's exactly what I've done.

2.  Last Monday I went grocery shopping to the market & grocery store.... not restful, but necessary & nice to be able to take care of the necessary for my family.  Last Tuesday Mark, Nina & I hopped in the car (exciting) & went on an adventure into Guatemala City to Walmart!!!  I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED TO GO TO WALMART!!!!!  I purchased the afore mentioned pajamas for Dancing Beauty.... now she is warm at night!  We also bought necessities such as towels, washcloths, toiletries, and 6 dressers to hold our clothes for the year (aka large plastic storage boxes) and a few other items for our life in the Ulpan Valley.  Wednesday, I rested.  Delightful!!  Thursday we went on a field trip with our school to the Jade Factory.  It was really interesting and we learned a lot about jade and also a bit more about Mayan history.  Friday, Mark had a meeting and Cata & Nina had to run an errand.  The kids were all resting & I had a miraculous 2 hours all to myself....what a difference that makes!!!

Saturday was a really great day.  We are in a really wonderful city right now, so I've been wanting to get out a bit & enjoy it.  We did that.  As a family, including Nina & Cata (Nina's sister), we walked to a gorgeous hotel in the city (Hotel Santo Domingo) and let the kids walk around in the beautiful courtyard and visit the macaws, etc.  Little Man has decided he wants to own a macaw.  Not sure that will happen, but he can hope! 

Then we went out for ice cream, headed home & had a restful afternoon. 

our appetizer-- chiles rellenos

That night, Mark & I went out for a much needed date.  However, before we left the chiles rellenos being cooked in the kitchen were much too enticing, so we had an appetizer before we left home.  Oh my..... so delicious!!!  Mark & I questioned why we were going out for dinner when such a delicious meal had been prepared at our house, but we could say that every night.... and it was really good to get away and have a good long conversation... first time we had been alone in over 3 weeks!!  It was good.



I really wish you could see the gardens we were looking at.... it was absolutely gorgeous!!!

So...that's our week in a nutshell....we both passed on first Spanish exams, so we're moving along!  We've even made friends with a really friendly taxi driver in Antigua which is wonderful when you have tons of groceries to carry on a 25 minute walk-- choices:  walk 1 hour every day to the market to buy just what you need for the day or make one giant trip once a week-- taxis are our friend!     

Kids perspective-- Issue 2-- A Day in the Life of a Guatemalan Child

Today, we could not go to Spanish class because we had to experience what it is like for a lot of Guatemalan kids who are not able to go to school.  The ladies who live with us and help us are named Nina and Cata.  They are Mayan and when they were little girls they had to work and not play.  Cata could not even go to school.  The Mayans are the very first people who lived in Guatemala.  This is the Mayan rule:  the oldest child of most families can't go to school because they have to work in order to help provide food for their family.  Cata used to have to wake up at 2:30 a.m. to make tortillas to sell in the market each day.  We saw a little girl trying to sell stuff who went up to my dad and said, "Do you want one of these?"  She was selling homemade towels and we think she was about 6 years old.  Daddy said, "No gracias," which means no thank you.

So, today we had to spend had to spend half the day working and cleaning our house and we were not able to go to school.  So.... what did we learn??  Little Man says, "I don't like mopping.  I also learned that I like school and I am thankful for school.  School is a privaledge."  Dancing Beauty says, "Kids in Guatemala have to do a lot of work and not a lot of play.  And other kids have to do the work that their mom and dad do."       

Here's a Spanish word for you.... can you figure out what it means??  Limpiar

Write me back in English & tell me what that means!!!

Lluvia

Hay mucha lluvia aqui en Guatemala.  And sometimes, you just have to get out of the house... even if it's raining.  The other day Mark & I went out to buy some ice cream.  When we left it was sprinkling a little bit, but the more we walked, the harder it rained.  Shirley Temple insisted on riding on Mommy's back for our little outing (even though we were trying to get away just the two of us).  So, on my back she went & the rain got harder.  Up went the hoods on all jackets & Ergo's.  We arrived at our destination (Epicure for those familiar with Antigua) & decided to linger for a bit over some coffee and pecan pie/tart (an impromptu date w/ said bebe on back), but she was sound asleep by this time.  Once the rain subsided a bit, we began the trek back home, still in the rain.  To our shock, Shirley remained asleep walking through the streets of Antigua, all the while rain dripping down her legs! 

Who needs toys.... just give me a box!

 I was hopeful upon moving here that my kids would learn to be more creative in their play. I get really tired of fighting "all things with screens" for their attention. We still have that battle here as we have brought many screens along with us, but they certainly have less to play with. Last week we came home from the store with several large boxes & so far they have created robots & trains.  We even had a Robot Show the other night. I love that creativity!

Willing

I'm still reading the book Reflections, by Jim Branch and have been struck once again by its relevance in my life right now.  I was studying the passage in Mark 11 when Jesus is going to his death in Jerusalem.... he was so willing.  Jim breaks apart willingness a bit.... here is what he says:

     "Willingness is such an essential ingredient in the life of faith.  It involves absolute trust and total surrender; requiring the release of  our will and our agenda for the sake of God's will and God's way.  Ultimately willingness involves a submission to following his lead, even if it takes us to places we'd rather not go.
     To be willing is to be obedient to his words and his call.  To be willing is to let his Spirit have its way with us.  To be willing is to stop being consumed with ourselves and start being consumed with God-- his desires, his puposes, and his work.  To be willing means to love him above all else."
    
So....where am I in all of this?  I feel like thru this whole process, I have been thinking.... okay-- I can see this is what the Lord is calling us to, so I will obey.  So many of us are homesick..... I hear daily from one of the kids, "I want to go home".... and I feel the same way.  I completely identify with what Jim wrote "willingness involves a submission to following his lead even if it takes us to places we'd rather not go."  What I really want is to simply be living my normal life in Tennessee where I speak the language, know where to buy simple things like pajamas & salad, start my kids in school on Tuesday, let them play with their friends, and be with our family.  This is what I want.  But... obviously God wants us here.  Will you pray with me that I will have a willing heart??

The last few weeks have been discouraging because it's been much more difficult emotionally than I was expecting.  I thought our time in language school & in Antigua would be the easy part of our year.  I mean, here we have electricity, high-speed internet, a washing machine-- most of the creature comforts... plus lots of people to help.  But it is not proving to be the easy part for my heart.  Just lots of emotions.... hard, sad, frustrated, longing for life to feel normal.... if that's even possible....

I have thought many times during the last two weeks that we must have lost our minds thinking that bringing four really tiny kiddos to a country where we don't speak the language and don't really know anything about the way things work was a good idea.  We really must be crazy.  But then I go back to the way the Lord worked it all out in crazy miraculous ways for us to be here--- so I have to rest in that. 

I am also really thankful for my beautiful Little Monkey who finds joy and fun in all that she does wherever she is.  She is currently throwing Quirkle blocks around the room & finding such joy in that activity!  She makes me smile and I'm thankful for all the kids because (for the most part) they bring me immense amounts of joy.

Please pray for me that I will be able to really BE here.  To be present to all the Lord is teaching us & not to simply "make it" until we go back home.  Thanks for your support!  Your notes of encouragement and emails are a life-line to me.

Kid's perspective-- issue 1

What is your favorite part about Guatemala so far?

Little Man:  Getting a new soccer ball and seeing volcanoes.  I also liked seeing the festival.

What festival?  Tell me about that.

Little Man:  We saw a parade on our street.  There were babies, a priest, people playing instruments and just regular people.  The ice cream cart man was even in the parade.  He pushed it and rang the bells on his cart.  It was something to do with their church.  People were marching and there was a baby trying to blow out a candle.  It took him a few tries, but he finally did it.  The babies were dressed up like angels.  They were shooting off las bombas (fireworks).  Some of the houses had balloons over their doors and there were rose petals in the street.  

What else do you like?

Little Man:  I like our house.  There are two floors and you can even go on the roof.  We have a good yard for playing soccer in.  I kind of like Spanish class.  I am learning the countries in Central America.  My teacher's name is Dina.  She is nice and funny.  She likes to laugh... she laughs all the time. 

What's your favorite food that you have eaten?

Little Man:  Domino's Pizza, vegetables, fish, rice & beans.  I love the fruit-- el mango, la pina, las uvas, and la papaya.  I really like to eat!

The Test

The Challenge: 
      To order a pizza for our dinner.  We wanted a large hawaiian pizza delivered.  Did I know our address?  How to say all of this in Spanish?  I called and had NO IDEA what they were saying--- he spoke so crazy-fast!!!  But I muddled through and.....

.....I passed!!!

On a much more important note.... for those tracking the status of Shirley Temple.... she is doing much better.  Augmentin is a wonderful drug-- and down here all we have to do is walk into a phamacy & ask for it!  Wild!  I think Dancing Beauty is fine.... we're still watching Little Monkey.  Thanks SOOOOO much for your prayers..... I slept all night last night for the first time since we got here!!!  Our brains are hurting from all the Spanish, but it's coming.  And we're also safe from Hurricane Ernesto.... seems to be going north of us.  We just got an e-mail from the US Embassy that the Alta Verapaz district (where we'll eventually be living) should expect very, very high rains.  Thankfully our teammates are on their way here right now, but you can pray for the people of the Ulpan Valley.

Feliz Cumpleanos!!!

We've started off with a bang & celebrated two birthday's already.  This one was for Dancing Beauty, so we have a very appropriate pinata of Angelina Balleriana.  We took time during our Spanish class on Thursday & went with our teachers al mercado comprar la pinata para la fiesta (to the market to buy the pinata for the party).  She was very excited & they even took the pinata back a la escuela and decorated it with their teacher. 

The Good, The Bad and the Beautiful

The Good:
1.  Lots of help around the house.... more than I've ever had before.
2.  Great Spanish teachers.  The kids especially love their teacher.
3.  Spanish lessons at home beginning next week for Katy & kids!!!  No more walking in the rain.
4.  Tuk-tuk rides when it's pouring down rain.
5.  A friend from Knoxville to escort Shirley Temple & I to el medico (doctor).
6.  Ability to call any number in states from my great phone--- I LOVE SKYPE!!!!  (if you want to talk, just e-mail me & we'll set up a date :-).
7.  Great food!!!  Buen provecho!!
8.  La pelota de futbol (soccer ball) for Little Man purchased en el mercado.... has made for much happiness & laughter in our little garden out back.
9.  A really awesome, super old house to live in for our time in Antigua.
The Bad:
1.  Shirley Temple has pneumonia.  Little Monkey & Dancing Beauty are also both coughing.... but no fever yet.  Pray, pray, pray!!!!!
2.  Not much sleep at all for Mommy & Daddy due to #1.
3.  Las bombas-- they are really crazy loud firecrackers.... like fireworks, but all they do is make noise....and they shoot them off ALL THE TIME... for all kinds of reasons:  baptisms, birth, wedding, birthday, because they had a good day.... who knows!  But they are crazy loud and go off in the middle of the day or night.  What are we celebrating at 5 am?.... I would love to know that... and is it really necessary to wake up the entire neighborhood?
4.  Homesickness.
5.  Lots of rain and a really leaky roof in the really awesome, super old house.

The Beautiful:

This is my view sitting on the balcony outside my bedroom while I study Spanish.  Three amazing volcanoes!!!!!!!  Not bad, huh??

Fitting in

Nina seems to be fitting into our family very well.  Tonight as Cata & I were washing dishes, all I heard was Nina & the children running around playing hide & seek.  Lots of laughing and lots of Spanish.  They will learn Spanish very quickly from her!!!  I will too, for that matter.  Dancing Beauty is also learning how to make homemade corn tortillas.  For those of you from Honduras, I'm sure you can hear the pat, pat, pat even now!  I have heard the patting in my kitchen several days and it makes me think of you all!!  Please be praying for us as we all get to know each other better and become community for each other.  Also, pray for Shirley Temple & Little Monkey.  They both have nasty coughs & Shirley has had a fever for 5 days now.  I'm in communication with our AWESOME pediatrician back home and he's helping us know what we should do for them.  Hasta luego!  Yo voy a estudiar mucho vocabulario de Espanol.

She's Fwee!!

Here are a few pictures from the birthday party we had the night we arrived. The kids also had a pinata the next day... Dancing Beauty has quite a swing and has requested another pinata for her birthday this weekend. They had a blast! Thanks to our sweet friends who made Shirley Temple feel so very special!



Our teammates:  Kris & DeeDee