Learning to knit

I have more free time living here than I ever imagined.  This has been both a blessing and also a struggle for me (more on the struggle in a later post)...but it has caused me to pick up a new hobby...knitting.  I have been a novice knitter for years, but with the arrival of one new niece a month ago and another arriving a month from now, I decided baby blankets need to be made.  It has also given me opportunity to get to know one of my housemates, Flori.  She is the nurse who lives and works here, but she only speaks Spanish & Q'chi, so it's been challenging to get to know her.  She wants to learn how to knit, so I've begun to teach her.    Knitting has also been a great thing to do when ladies come up to our house just to sit and talk.  Since we can't really talk because they all speak Q'chi, it at least provides some entertainment for them to sit and watch me knit.  I am thankful for knitting because it has been one thing that has given me joy while here.

The Corn Grows Ripe

It is harvest time in the valley.  Everywhere you look people are harvesting their corn.  They have massive corn fields and they break the stalk in half, tear off the cob, and hurl it through the air into a pile.  Once they have their pile large enough, they gather all the cobs in bags that are about 200 pounds each and carry them on their heads back to their house where they dry the corn and will use it throughout the year to feed their families.  They primarily use the corn for making tortillas and they dry it by hanging it in the roof of their house, lighting a fire, and letting the smoke dry it out.  This is obviously a bit dangerous and we have already heard of one house burning down in a village near us.  But at this point, it is the only way they have to preserve the food they have for their family for the year.

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to help our neighbors with their harvest.  We were really not extremely helpful, but we bagged a bit of corn and helped carry a very small amount (no where close to 200 pounds) over to their house.  They are our closest  neighbors and they also have four children....one boy and three girls: Don Juan, Dona Helena, Olga, Susannah, Selbin, and Sandra.   I would like to get to know them better, but it has been difficult to spend time with them so far because they have been so busy with their harvest.  The kids, however, have enjoyed playing together a bit.

Also, if you are interested in learning a bit more about the culture where we find ourselves, there is a fabulous children's novel called, "The Corn Grows Ripe".  Little Man read it to kick off his school year and it was highly educational.  What we are currently watching, with the harvest, is exactly as it's described in the book.  The descriptions in the book about believing in all the different gods of nature and appealing to them for a bountiful harvest are very true.  The people here very much believe in such things and we are trying to help our children understand what we can learn from them such as appreciating and respecting nature, diligently caring for their families, and living a simple life that we busy Americans can certainly.  At the same time, we are trying to teach our children that we also have a responsibility, given by God, to care for and steward the resources this earth has given us.

Dona Helena shows us a small part of their harvest.

Little Man carrying a bag of corn on his head.

 

Oh, the laundry!

There's really not much to say here except that I will never again complain about doing laundry in the states with a washer & dryer....at least I certainly hope I will never complain...you can hold me to that.  6 people, lots of wet beds, lots of clothes, it's just a lot.  The picture below shows how my house generally looks.  And this is why sunny days are really important for us.  Sunday morning, I was woken up by Mark saying, "Bad news is...we have another wet bed.  Good news is...we are going to Coban today, so we get to throw it into a garbage bag and take it to a laundromat!!!"  We delivered two huge plastic boxes to first thing Monday morning and we are now on our way to pick them up...washed, dried, and folded all for about $25!!

Nina & I washing, and washing, and washing.  When we have a full "load" of laundry, it generally takes one person about 3 hours to wash it all... and depending on the sun, the drying could take 2-3 days.

Our internal clothes line when it is raining... and generally the way our house looks all the time.

A visit from Papa!!!!

We had a visit from Papa McKinney these last few days.  I'm sitting here in Coban (with the delightful invention of high-speed internet...which is why your inbox may be full of posts from me), while Mark drives him back to Guatemala City to catch a plane in the morning (please pray for safe travels for all involved).  A big thank you to all those who sent sweet notes, pictures for the kids, and supplies we requested/needed...you all are awesome and our kids felt very loved with your treasures.

We have had a wonderful time with him including:  hiking, games with the kids, stories with the kids, lots of talking about teeth, speaking lots of Spanish, and eating plenty of delicious food.  We even got to celebrate his birthday while he was here...not bad for this Honduran-born man to get to have black beans & rice, fried platanos, corn tortillas, and key lime pie for his birthday dinner.  There have been tears since we said goodbye, but we are so incredibly thankful he was able to come.  We look forward to more visits from family and friends.  Thanks for coming, Papa!!!

Under the Weather

Miraculously, I am not referring to anyone being sick.  I can only count it as a miracle that aside from a few sniffles, sore throats and rumbly tummies, we have not had any sickness since Shirley Temple had pneumonia the first week we were in the country.  So, we're going on almost 3 months with no sickness.... Dr. Glover's records will show you that this is the Lord because I know I've been to see him more often living in Knoxville.  Keep the prayers coming....they are working!!!

What my post title refers to is literally, the weather....we are under it!!

The view from my bedroom door on a typical day

The view from the exact same place on a clear day!!...the banana tree in the previous picture just got cut down before I had a clear day to take this picture.

The other day, our science lesson was to research and journal about a cloud forest.  So, what is a cloud forest?

Dancing Beauty:  A really foggy place that has lots of rain.  We have lots of rain here because we are in a cloud forest. 

Little Man:  A moist forest.  It's really wet and cool.

But then, we do have the occasional unbelievably beautiful picture like this:
I have an even better one as the rainbow got closer to us as the rain moved in, but it's not on my computer yet.  I'll try to post it another time.  Pretty, huh??

Milestones

This is a special post dedicated to the grand and great grands that we have left back in the states.  Now that we are living in the boon-docks, we are not able to video skype nearly as often, so I thought I would send a post giving everyone an update on the kiddos and some of the milestones they are hitting...

Little Monkey continues to be just that.  She is now running everywhere, talking up a storm and into everything.  We call her houdini as she has figured out how to crawl out of her pack & play and open the gate onto our porch since we have been in Guatemala.  Her new words are "na-nu" (her own name), "ma-na" (her biggest sister), "ola" (hola), and "tee-ya" (tortilla).   I think she will be speaking a lot of Spanish before we come home.  I do believe we are going to end up potty training her in a 5-gallon bucket before this is all said & done...she is showing many signs that she is ready for this!  She is also growing quite the mane, as you can see!!

Shirley Temple continues to be as sweet as ever, but she has definitely hit the age of three...going on 13!!   She keeps us laughing and is always good for a snuggle, but she also will give you the occasional sass and eye-roll if you're not careful.  She enjoys playing here with anyone who will play with her (which is just about everyone) and she is great about making everyone feel very welcome.  She is getting excited about learning and loves to sit and "do school" with her big brother & sister.

Dancing Beauty is really starting to mature and is taking off with reading!!  This is a huge answer to prayer.  She is excited about school and we are having a great year of "pre-first".  She is happy and can certainly hang with the boys around here.  Most of the girls are in skirts all the time, but this princess kicks around (literally) with her pants and rubber boots.  She still loves to play "baby" with her little sisters & of course, she is always the mommy!  She has also lost a few things since we moved here, as you can see from her picture!  Did you know in Guatemala, the tooth fairy brings quetzales??

Little Man is doing much better than I had hoped.  He is happy here and was able to join Daddy for a hike earlier this week.  He is making friends, a few of whom have come to stay at our house (whose father & grandfather work on the project here) and really loved having a few boys his own age around.  He has also enjoyed playing with the neighbors down the hill from us, who have a son a year younger than him.  He's working hard through school, though, this is certainly not his favorite part of the day.  He got a sling-shot at a local market a few weeks ago, so he, Daddy & Kris have been having some shooting contests with empty plastic bottles!

The kids made a terrarium using banana leaves for a lizard they caught in their room....but I don't think we were good enough bug-hunters to suit him, so he found a way out of the terrarium in order to survive.

So....that's the update from the kid-front.  If you have any questions for the kids about life here, I'm sure they would love to answer them....

Generator's On!

This what happens when someone turns the generator on when you live with no grid power:

What you don't see is the deep cell 12-volt battery also connected directly to the generator.  Needless to say we haven't exactly unplugged from our electronic gadgets.

Mark

Power Source

Power is something I have taken for granted most of my life.  You want to use something electronic....simply plug it in.  I have found myself in the past extremely frustrated and feeling a bit lost when the power might go out during a storm back home.  I completely take for granted that lights come on when we want them to, I have hot water due to power, and I can cook almost anything because I have an oven.  Life is a little different when that is taken away.  We have power here.... it's just all solar power.  And when you live in a place where 95% of the days are cloudy and rainy, it makes for interesting power situations.  Since we have been here, we have installed another solar panel (bringing us up to two---for 12 people...more on the expanding family in another post).

The past two nights, the battery in our room (which is charged from the solar panels), hasn't had much charge, so the single light bulb in the kid's room hasn't been working & they have had to get into pj's by flashlight.  Also, due to the crazy power issues, having a computer that is a power-hog doesn't really work here.  My computer was ancient in computer years and Mark says living on solar & battery power only sped its demise.... nonetheless, it was sad for me when he officially pronounced it dead...fried.  As Shirley Temple said...my computer has gone to be with God.

The power issues have kind of been like a metaphor for my life these days.  I haven't written much about where my heart is lately because I have been in a very low place & have been chewing on many things.    I am an extrovert in many ways and being in a very isolated location with very little community has been very difficult for me.  I have been very lonely and have questioned why the Lord would bring me here when he knows how much I depend on family and my community of friends (aside from the obvious of my husband working on the water project here).  I have struggled with the lie that everyone would be better off if we were in Knoxville--life would be easier (but that is a lie too...more on that in another post too), we wouldn't be in anyone's way (remember...12 people in one house), and we really just create more work for everyone involved.  But I recognize that this is a lie from the Great Father of Lies and that he works wonders through dispair and division and separation.  I feel like over the last few weeks what Jesus has been saying to me is, "What if that's one of the reasons I have you in this place?  What if you need a season of being lonely to show you how you have depended so much on those other people...perhaps too much.  Perhaps you need to be putting all that dependency on me."

DeeDee handed me her book the other day, Jesus Lives, by Sarah Young.  Here's what it said:

    "I want to make your life a glorious adventure, but you must stop striving for a lifestyle that feels safe.  I know how ambivalent your heart is in all of this:  You long for that adventure that a life abandoned to Me can be, and at the same time, you cling to old ways because change frightens you.  Though you feel safest when your life is predictable and things seem to be under control, I want you to break free and discover the adventures I have planned for you.
     The greatest adventures of all is knowing Me abundantly:  discovering how wide and long and high and deep is My Love for you.  The power of My vast Love can feel overwhelming.  That is why many people choose to limit their knowledge of Me, keeping Me at a distance.  How this grieves Me!  People settle for mediocrity because it feels more comfortable.  Meanwhile, they continue to battle fear.  Only My Love is strong enough to break the hold that fear has on you.  A predictable lifestyle may feel safer, but it can shield you from what you need most of all---Me!
     When unexpected events shake up your routines, rejoice.  This is exactly what you need, to wake you up and point you toward Me.  Recognize that you are on the threshold of a new adventure and that I will be with you each step of the way.  As we venture out together, cling tightly to My hand.  The more you abandon yourself to Me, the more exuberantly you can experience My Love."

So this kind of sums up where I am.  I feel like many of the things I have held very dear are being stripped away from me for this time.  And Jesus is telling me to cling to him.  Life feels completely out of my control right now...and He is telling me to cling to him.  And that predictable life I had in Knoxville felt a heck-of-a-lot safer, but he is telling me that His Love is bigger than my fears and I need only cling to him.  He is to be my power source.

My Work Begins

This is Mark.  I wanted to give everyone an update on what I have been doing the last two weeks.  Our work on water projects here in the valley is picking up.  The Lord has been very good in spurring on the hearts of the leaders in several villages to pursue us - with regard to them requesting our (CAFNIMA's) assistance - with bringing water to their villages.  This is an important and long prayed for event.  The leaders in the village are much more interest in participating in their own development when they are the ones who have asked for assistance.

Water Samples

Last week we took 26 water samples from all over the valley where we have water systems already operational to test for bacteriological contamination.  We should receive the results today.  This information will help us know if there are any problems with any of the springs we are using.  If there are problems we will be able to determine if we can correct the problems with source protection or if we need to engineer some sort of treatment.  My role in the water sampling effort was to drive the truck.  We had to take all the samples into Carcha which is about a 1.5 hour drive one way on very bumpy roads.  We made this drive on Tuesday with part of the samples.  On Thursday, we drove to the other side of the valley (2 hrs.) then to Carcha and then back.  I don't mind driving (four wheeling is kinda fun), but on these roads - 7 hours is a bit much.  My shoulders have never been tired before after driving, but they were last Thursday.

Meetings

Last Wednesday we went to Sesalche II to meet with their Water Committee to have training on how to do administration of a water system.  We ended up running out of time to discuss the training material, but we talked for a long time about how much each user should pay for their water.  Part of what we are trying to do is help each water committee function more or less like a utility board in the states.  They will operate, maintain and administer the water system.  Part of the administration is collecting a fee from each user so that they will have the funds to do maintenance and fix their system when it breaks.  In Sesalche II, it is a struggle to help them understand why they need to pay as much as they do.  You can pray for us and them, that they will have understanding for the need to pay and that the water committee will manage and administer well; and that our team will communicate well with the committee.

Julio Leading the Water System Administration Training for the Sequixpur Water Committee

Also last week, we met with leaders from Semesche to write an "Acta" in their "Acta" book giving permission for the community to use a spring near the village and giving land for tanks so that they can store water from the spring for their system.  This has been "in the works" since I was here in February and we are very excited and grateful that this spring will be able to provide water to the Semesche community.  We will be working on this design in the coming weeks and hope to have this system constructed before we return for Christmas.

On Friday we went to Sequixpur to do the administration training.  Katy and I went with Julio and we had the meeting in the house of the water committee's president.  Julio presented the training material and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that they are already doing most of what the training recommends.  Sequixpur has a partially working system that was installed in the early 1990's so that have a little bit of a head start compared to the other villages in the valley.  We were excited to find out that they are already administering well and hope their example and history will be able to encourage others in the valley.  Sequixpur is also important, because the spring that feeds their water system has lots of water.  One of our ideas is to use the overflow from their spring box to serve several other villages with water.  I was able to hike to this spring box this past Tuesday with Julio and the amount of extra water pouring out is amazing (see picture below - all that water pouring out is the extra - overflow).  The other advantage of this spring is that it is so high.  It sits above every village in the valley so we can move water without pumps.  Julio and I will return to Sequixpur tomorrow to discuss where there existing system does not work and try to determine why.  Next Tuesday, we will return again to discuss where there are families that do not have a "choro" or spigot.  We will be working on the design of their system fix and extension soon.

Existing Spring Box above Sequixpur.

I am very grateful for the team we have here in the valley and the work which CAFNIMA and others have done to make this work possible.  It is humbling to be a very small part in a much bigger story that the Lord is writing.  My prayer while hiking through the valley is mostly that the Lord will raise up leaders who will genuinely care about increasing the health of the valley without ruining the culture of its people.  I pray that we will be able to offer our knowledge and skills in a way that will not promote dependencies but increase the knowledge and desire of the people to improve their own situation.  I pray that the Lord's Spirit would fall on this place with hope, peace and love.

We are always grateful for your support and thankful for your prayers.  I hope that all of you are well.

Mark