Little House in the Ulpan Part 2

So, I have to admit something.... I am a bed snob.  Back in Tennessee, tucked into the engineering masterpiece of our old house, lies the most comfortable mattress in the world.  I have known this for quite sometime, but it has been confirmed moving here.  I have struggled to be comfortable sleeping in the house we lived in in Antigua, in any hotel, and now on the air mattress here in the Ulpan.  It has been a struggle & I truly shed tears the night before we moved out of our old house--- because of my mattress. 

Yesterday, I was convicted however, that my love of mattresses translates into a bit of an idol of comfort in my life.  I really like to be comfortable.  I like my comfortable mattress, a comfortable couch, a nice comfy recliner, a comfortable rocking chair, comfortable chairs around a kitchen table, warm blankets (lots of them)--- these are all things I value.... perhaps too much.  Yesterday, I went with Mark to a meeting in another village.  The meeting of the water committee took place in the home of the president of the water committee.  They invited us in & we sat in some terribly uncomfortable wooden chairs & benches as well as on a bed.  Here is where my heart was convicted.  There was NO MATTRESS!!!  I'm not just talking a relatively uncomfortable mattress.... I'm talking none at all.  And each bed had one blanket on it--- it's cold here.... have I mentioned that.  I mean, I've been sleeping in fleece pajamas, wool socks, covered with several blankets & I'm still cold!!!  And this family sleeps on a wooden bed with nothing soft underneath covered with one blanket.  I was humbled!!


Our kitchen--- with Nina waving to you!

The other side of the kitchen is our school room

I am even more humbled to show you these pictures.... because although we share this house with 9 people, we have SO MUCH MORE than any of our neighbors.  And it is humbling.  The things I found myself complaining about the first week we were here, I now find myself being very thankful for.  I pray that I will continue to have eyes to see what the Lord would teach me here and that my heart would change and that would translate into changing my life.  Here's hoping!!!  But.... I think I will still come home & sleep on the most comfortable mattress in the world with a new found love and appreciation for it.   


Our awesome porch.... we spend lots of time out here and it's really nice to be able to still be outside even when it's raining (which is really frequent)

Meeting the neighbors

the best thing we packed & the only way to contain Little Monkey

Our bed-- notice the boxes under the bed-- that's our dressers



we bought an inflatable couch while in the states a few weeks ago--- did you know such things existed?  I didn't, but I'm sure thankful for it--- again.... idol of comfort, but it sure beats sitting in a plastic chair.

our wash station where we wash hands & brush teeth



Another view of the school room

Little House in the Ulpan-- part 1

For those of you who don't know, we are big fans of Little House on the Prarie.... and we are certainly getting our fill of that life this year.  But truly, our house is really great and we are settling in quite well.  I'm not sure if my internet connection will allow me to post pictures, but I'm going to give it a shot.   I will send another post soon with pictures of the our room, kitchen, school area, porch & view.

Shirley Temple & Dancing Beauty's beds

Little Man has the top bunk which we tarped off to give him some space from all the estrogen.  The bottom bunk is his "lego table".

Little Monkey's bed & play area in kids room.  And for those of you who prayed for a wall.... there it is along with a door leading to our room next to the toy shelf.



Little Man's space


 

I never thought I would be so thankful for 5-gallon buckets & a box built toilet.  We do have a shower with cold water.  Mark is brave, but the kids & I opt to bathe in a rubbermaid box with water heated on the stove.

 I am having to get used to a few things:  creepy, crawly critters--  I don't like them in any shape or form.  At 2 am last night, we made a discovery of an ant infestation under our mattress--yuck!!!
I am also having to get used to having a "bath day" as well as "laundry day".  Bathing my family is an all morning affair...very much like Little House.  And as I learned yesterday, if any school is to be accomplished, bath day & laundry day should not take place on the same day.

Thankful

As we went home, everyone asked me if we were thankful to be home & have all the "comforts" that home brings.  Honestly, the thing I find that I miss the most living here-- and therefore the thing I was most thankful for at home was FAMILY and FRIENDS!!!  We will post more about our life in the valley once we are back there & can take some pictures, but truly, I can live with the bucket-toilet, heating water to bathe, no ice cream (though I probably miss ice cream more than a flushable toilet).  We live in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life, but I daily find myself waking up & saying, "Man, I wish __________ could see this."  I usually fill in the blank with a dear friend or member of our family.  So, that is what was so wonderful about being home this last week.  We really just soaked up time with family like a dry sponge.  We have been spoiled in that we live near much of our family, so being away has been a shock to our system.
 

Being able to be there for the funeral of Mark's grandfather was so very special.  We were really glad we made the trip.  He was a veteran from World War II, so the military portion of the service was particularly moving.  We were able to visit with extended family from all over the country and it was very special to spend the weekend with Mark's sisters.... both of whom are expecting babies...one is scheduled to arrive a week from today!!!

And we loved spending sweet time with our little nephew--- he and Little Monkey can get into trouble faster than you can blink.  And, of course, Little Man would have been remiss had he not spent some time teaching his young apprentice the art of Jedi warfare. 

All of this made me realize how very, very thankful I am for family.  I talked on the phone with my sisters and dad (who don't live in Knoxville) as much as we could and found myself incredibly thankful for the wonders of modern communication. 

There were, of course, several "creature comforts" I was really thankful to enjoy this past week..... here are a few:
smooth roads,  hot showers,  high-speed internet,
comfortable chairs and mattresses.

Now we are back in Antigua... We will be here for a few days as Mark will be a part of some important meetings.  We would appreciate your prayers for these meetings-- for clarity, unity, and a clear vision for the project ahead of us.  Once through those meetings, we hope to  return to the Ulpan Valley and begin (again) the life and work the Lord has for us there. 

We are also very thankful for safe travel yesterday, friends here in Guatemala who took care of our car while we were away & picked us up at the airport and others who have opened their home to us these next few days.  Returning has been easier than I expected-- so far.  It is nice to return and things not feel quite so foreign.  And we are all eager and ready to return to life in the Ulpan Valley.  When we left, I expected Little Man to say, "I don't want to go back."  But instead he said, "I want all our family and friends to come with us!"  That was a good change, I think.

Finally, we are so very thankful for the support system we have-- all of you are so wonderful and we value your prayers, love, support, and encouragement more than you could ever imagine. 

ON A PLANE AGAIN

We have had a really good week with our family and remembering my grandfather.  We find ourselves on a plane again - traveling with 4 kids.  To their credit, they are becoming much more acustom to traveling and are certainly easier than our first flight, but please pray for patience today.  Pray also for our travels once we get to Guatemala and a very important meeting while we are there. 
We are looking forward to re-settling into our home in the valley and updating you on what that looks like.  Hopefully internet, time and pictures will all align so that we can post a blog about everything. 
Thanks for your prayers.
Mark

Another travel day!

Just a quick note to let you know we're back in the air tomorrow.  I will post again once we're in Antigua & share with you a bit about our week.  But we would really appreciate your prayers as we travel.  We leave Knoxville at 7 am & should be to Antigua sometime mid-afternoon.  We are so very thankful for all of you & your prayers are so very obvious in our lives.

Unexpected Homecoming

We found out Monday that my grandfather passed away.  This was not a surprise, we knew that this was a possibility because he has been very sick for several months and was 93.  My initial reaction was that we would stay put.  Before we left, my parents told us that they were okay if we did not come back if Granddaddy passed away, so that was my first reaction.  Then my infinitely more emotionally tuned wife told me that because I was the only grandson that I was going. After a night of sleeping on it I told her that I agreed, it was probably important for me to be there.  She quickly responded, "Please don't leave us here - we will be fine but it will kill me to know that you are with the whole family."  So we started looking at tickets on our excrutiating slow internet connection and they were really expensive - twice what we paid to get here. Then we had the idea of trying switch our return flight and then purchasing new tickets for next week to Christmas.  I got on the phone with AMEX/Delta and they were wonderful.  They made all the arrangements and changes in less than an hour and now we are sitting in the GUA airport waiting to board our flight home. Some friends of my family (the Valverdes) let us stay in their home in Gua City last night and gave us a ride to the airport. 
We are very grateful to get to spend this time with my family and remember my grandfather.
We will update you soon on our experiences in the valley.
Mark

Oh, the driving!!

Since I last posted, we have driven all over this country.  It's been wonderful to see the beautiful countryside.  On our way to Nina's family's house on Saturday we were surrounded by a range of volcanoes and fields of sugar cane.  Our time at Nina's house was really sweet.  They had a wonderful lunch and we celebrated Kris & DeeDee's birthdays.  We enjoyed meeting all but two of her 7 brothers and sisters.  Her nephews had a great time playing with Little Man--- the language barrier just isn't an issue for kids.  It's great to see. 

The struggle with driving around here for me is absolutely the carsickness that I struggle with.  The crazy thing is, on our way home from Nina's house as we were dodging potholes and I was trying not to throw up, all four of my kids were sound asleep and we were having to hold their floppy heads.  I was amazed that the same thing happened with Shirley Temple yesterday also...and that road was far, far worse.  I couldn't believe she could sleep.

Sunday was a great travel day.  We  made it from Antigua to Coban in no time.  There was very little traffic or construction, so the drive was really smooth (plus the road is a good road).  Yesterday is a different story.  Oh wow!!!   The road from Coban to the Ulpan Valley is a dirt road for about an hour.  And it's not just a smooth dirt road to a quaint farm like in East Tennessee.... it's full of very large ruts, lakes, and rocks.  Thankfully I didn't throw up, but I was really close. 

When we arrived the goal was getting all the beds made.  We did that.  Today the goal has been to make our room to where we could walk through it.  We've done that.  I'm completely exhausted.... physically, mentally and emotionally.  But we are here.

The neat thing has been to watch how the Lord has a very obvious purpose for kids as a part of our team.  Our team is now composed of a majority of Guatemalans, which is awesome--- that's the goal.  So last night four of the men on our team came over to meet the kids & I (Julio, Roberto, Ricardo & Cesar).  Mark & I spent a bit of time talking to them & then returned to our room to get our bed made before dark.  The next thing we know, Dancing Beauty has taken Roberto's hand and invited him to skip down the porch with her.  Before we know it, all four of the men are skipping down the porch holding the hands of our children.  We were all dying laughing and standing amazed at how the Lord is using our children to break down the cultural barriers and form a team among us.

Here are a few prayer requests: 
sleep--- none of us slept well last night
routine--- now that we're getting settled, the kids (& their mommy) need a routine
team-- that all of us would understand our role on this team and that we would really be a team (Guatemalans & Americans) working together for a common goal