The McKinney Family Journey in the Ulpan Valley: April 2013

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Update on Cesar

Lots of you have been asking me how Cesar is doing. If you remember, he was the little boy who we found severely malnourished back in early March. The latest report I received was last week. He is still in the hospital and we aren't exactly sure why. The only person who can give anyone information about him is the doctor and he hasn't been available anytime Ricardo, DeeDee or Cesar's mother have been able to visit him. So, we are going on a lot of assumptions right now. There could be several reasons for him being kept in the hospital so long: One is that he is having other complications. The other is that they are waiting for space to open in a recuperation center. Another possibility is they are waiting for the authorities to figure out the best place for him to go.

We do know that the Guatemalan equivalent of DCS has been doing a good job of following up on his case. They have visited his home and his mother had to go to Coban for a formal interview. I know she was questioned about why he was chained up outside their home. I am not sure what her answer was.

Please continue to pray for wisdom for all those involved with his care and with decisions about his future. Please pray that he will be in an environment where he knows love and is nurtured in a healthy way. Pray that he will know that he is a precious creation and he is worth being loved.

The day we found him...March 6th, 2013

The most recent pictures we have of him...March 24.

Boys are coming home

Mark and Little Man have begun their journey home. During their final few weeks, they were able to help with a GIS team that came and surveyed several villages, gathering necessary data for current and future water systems. Mark was able to write several reports and Little Man worked hard on his school work. Most importantly, they made some really sweet memories with our co-worker, Julio...stay tuned for their first hand reports on those experiences.

Please pray for them as they travel. They are on the "bumpy road" as Little Monkey calls it right now (Tuesday evening) and will be staying in Coban tonight. Then they will head to Guatemala City on the bus tomorrow. The buses aren't my favorites, so this mamma would really covet your prayers for their safety all day tomorrow. Thursday they will head to the airport and make their way to Knoxville. They are supposed to arrive into Knoxville on Thursday evening.

Thanks so much to all of you for your prayers and support through the last year plus of our lives. The transition continues and today I find myself very thankful for a microwave. I didn't think I missed it, but I just melted a stick of butter in 45 seconds. More transitions coming as Mark will re-enter the 8-5 work force on Monday!!!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Journey into History

Temple of the Jaguar

Well..this journey was over a month ago, but I wanted to give you all a glimpse of one of the coolest things we did while living in Guatemala. When Nana (my mom) came to visit, we went to see Tikal. Our whole time in Guatemala, we have been learning a lot about the Mayan people...since they were our neighbors. We have read books for school about the farming practices (which we saw lived out daily), read folktales about the various Mayan gods, and learned much about the ways of the Ancient Maya...which is really not so different from the present-day Maya people in the Ulpan Valley.

Nana, Little Monkey, and Nina

So, going to Tikal was like a culmination of all of our studies. It was especially sweet to take Nina there and be able to allow her to see the history of her own people. She had been one time before, but very briefly, so she enjoyed being able to take her time on this trip. It was amazing to see the massive temples, pyramids and palaces and realize that everything was built by hand; however also rather sad realizing it was probably built by slaves. During the height of the Mayan civilization, Tikal was the largest city. The city dominated the region from 800 BC until 900 AD. It was abandoned around 900 AD and the reasons why are still debated today. It was large, about 40.3 square miles with a peak population of almost 200,000 people. And now...80% of it is covered by rain forest! It's crazy to look at it and think about some of our largest US cities in 1100 years. Will they be buried by forest? Will archaeologists come excavate and speculate about the things we leave behind? It is also a reminder that we can't take anything with us and all the "stuff" we build here on earth will eventually be buried and forgotten. A great reason to be "storing up our treasures in heaven".

This is a model of the way Tikal may have looked

This is the view from the top of Temple Four...imagine only being able to see city 1100 years ago!

The kids with a view of the Grand Plaza behind them.

Temple of the Jaguar

I really appreciate the respect the Mayan people have for nature. Though I do not believe there is a sun god, a god of rain, fire, and 20 other gods, I do believe our Creator God put an order into nature to help us live here on this earth. The Mayan people are very smart and in its hay-day, Tikal was a center for astronomy and mathematics. In Mundo Perdido, there were three temples which were behind a large pyramid. During the spring and autumn equinox and the summer and winter solstice, the sun would line up with certain temples and cast a shadow directly in the center of the pyramid...amazing!!! How did they do that? In this way, they knew the proper time to plant and harvest. It is also how they created the famous Mayan calendar which has gotten so much press of late. On that note, the Mayan calendar did end on December 21, 2012. However, it was not as western media reported it. The Mayans never believed it would be the end of the world. What they did believe was that is was the beginning of a new era. This new era is called Baktun. I love this! So, 2013 is the beginning of a new era!! PRAISE GOD FOR NEW BEGINNINGS!!!

A carving of Chac, the god of rain

Mark & the kids are on top of this

New creation in the midst of ruins

Little Monkey hanging on...

One of our favorite parts about our time there was the wildlife. We stayed in a hotel within Tikal National Park and the wildlife was everywhere. Spider monkeys, wild turkeys, pizote, tarantulas, and howler monkeys. Howler monkeys were probably the coolest because they sound like this. Crazy...I woke up the first night thinking there must be a jaguar outside our hotel room. One morning Mark & I got up for a sunrise tour. We woke at 4:30 and climbed to the top of Temple 4, also known as The Two-Headed Snake Temple, in order to watch the sunrise. About 10 minutes before the sun was supposed to appear, the clouds rolled in. So, although we didn't see a magnificent sunrise, we did experience a symphony of birds and howler monkeys. Ask any of my kids to give you a demonstration of said symphony and they will be happy to oblige.

Pizotes--cousins to raccoons

This guy just pulled this tarantula out of a tree!

Spider Monkey

Can you see the little monkey on the mama's back?

Our own Little Monkey

Our "sunrise" tour

Temple Four coming up out of the trees

All of us on top of Temple Four...something around 190 steps. As one who isn't crazy about heights, I was kind of a nervous wreck with all my kiddos up there.

Friday, April 12, 2013

New Perspective

As you can imagine, re-entry into the United States has brought with it a flood of thoughts and emotions from me.

First of all, there are things I never appreciated before, that I am now so very thankful for. Things like (in no particular order):

toilets that flush and don't tip over-- so nice that Shirley Temple can go to the potty without help!!
water that flows from the faucet and I don't have to worry about using it for rinsing sippy cups, brushing teeth, bathing kiddos, drinking, etc.
Being with extended family...need I say more?
BATHTUBS!!! Let's just say my kids were all out growing and getting sick of bathing in a Rubbermaid box! We are thankful for bathtime & they have certainly come out with pruny fingers more than once since we've been home...just enjoying the warm water!
HOT WATER!!! Oh, I do love showering in a hot shower!!
High-speed internet...do you know that the blog I posted the other day with lots of pictures, it took me like, 10 seconds to upload a bunch of pictures!!! It was amazing!!
Solid walls. Oh my...just being able to go into my bedroom (even if it's at my friend's house, parent's house, sister's house or any other house we've been staying in the last few weeks) and have a conversation or read a book without worrying about waking up all the kids...oh, so nice!!!
Smooth roads! My mom and I drove to Florida last week to visit my sister. One would think after all the travel we've done in the last two months, driving to Florida wouldn't be top on my list of things to do upon my return to the states. However, driving down I-75 with three kids (remember Little Man is still in Guatemala) is NOTHING! I mean, roads are smooth, people stay in their lanes, you can hop off at any exit and use the bathroom, get food, or buy medicine and a thermometer for Little Monkey running a fever (yes, we have already been sick...welcome back to US germs!)...TRAVEL IS SO EASY HERE!!!! You know you've lived in an interesting place when some of your two-year-old's first words are Dramamine and Bumpy Road!
Washer and Dryer! I have probably done at least 25 loads of laundry in the last few weeks and it has been so delightful!!
WORSHIP!! If you see me at church, don't be surprised if I'm in tears. It is really sweet and such a gift to worship with the BODY OF CHRIST!!

However, there are also things that are a bit of culture shock:

We have been looking for a house to live in and I am really excited the contract we have on a small house, by US standards. But for our friends in the Ulpan Valley, this house is extravagant!
There are SOOOOOO many choices in the grocery store. Do we really need 15 different brands of peanut butter and hundreds of cereal options? If you see me wandering around a grocery store looking a bit lost...that is why. So many choices!
We have begun a good habit of healthier living while in Guate and we really want to keep it up. Yesterday I went and took a tour of a local health club we have thought about joining. Oh wow!!! Talk about culture shock. I left with an unexplainable pit in my stomach. I'm really not sure why it bothered me, so I need to sit on that one for a while.
I am reading the book 7, by Jen Hatmaker, and it is really right where I am. I was growing tired of the excess before I moved to Guatemala. Moving there really showed me that I can live with much less than I thought I could. And I return very ready to purge. You are welcome to hold me accountable to that. Watch out, Craigslist!!
The rapid pace of life here is exhausting. I am approaching life as if coming up to an icy river and putting my big toe in and letting myself slowly get used to the cold water. So, I'm not sure what life will look like for me, but I really have a desire for it to not be so busy. I realize I have four children, so this may be completely unrealistic, but it's still my desire.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

No adios, pero hasta luego

These were the words I said to Nina as we were getting on the plane last Tuesday..."Not goodbye, but see you later." They are words of hope and not reality at this point. Certainly saying goodbye to Nina was really hard for us all. We have become family and not knowing when we will see her again is hard. We were able to Skype with her a few nights ago and that was sweet, but not the same as being able to sit in the same room and chat with her. Little Monkey, especially, is missing Nina.

However, we were really thankful to make some wonderful memories our last month in Guatemala. From a visit with my mom, a trip to Tikal (more on that coming soon), a team from Lipscomb University, a visit to Semuc Champey (um...gorgeous!!), saying goodbye to our friends in the valley, and a sweet final few days with our precious teammates. So...here are a few pictures of our last few weeks. I promise I will update you on our visit with my mom, little Cesar, and how we are transitioning back into life here. But we have been caught into a major whirlwind, so those updates will come as I am able to breathe. Mark and Little Man are heading back to Guatemala on Friday. We would certainly covet your prayers for them as they travel.