Belated "Merry Christmas"

Merry Christmas to everyone! We hope that you, friends and family enjoyed your Advent and the celebration of 'God with us'! We can celebrate Christmas every day because He continues to be 'with us'. This was our first Christmas without friends or family around. Elaine Hayden and her daughter, April came to visit for about a week and a half and we enjoyed their company. It was a Christmas delivery for the children as they hauled more donations of toys for them. We had two separate fiestas for the big kids and the smaller ones. It can become somewhat dangerous when you have large kids diving over the little ones to collect the candy and toys. We had a scavenger hunt in which they had to find the baby Jesus (who was hiding in the chapel....)One child was a little ticked that he was not in the winning group and pouted the whole entire time afterwards. Pretty stubborn. Elaine, April, Diego and Veronica and her kids helped us decorate and trim the tree. April and I made sugar cookies which we all got to decorate and had hot chocolate to boot. I enjoyed playing 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' on the boom box.....over and over and over again. I really enjoy that CD. We had the employees from the San Lucas Mission Hospital over for a fiesta and now we know that we can fit 38 or more into our sunroom which is where the kids have their classroom! Lots of outdoor cooking....we had tortillas and meat and chicken BBQ, fruit punch and ofcourse, those Christmas cookies, some things you cannot be compromised. Diego wrote out the Christmas story and used our puppets to tell the story once again, of Jesus' birth.We plan on using this form of storytelling in the future. Maybe even teach them how to present lessons for one another. The kids seem to enjoy it. (Thank you again, Glen, for your labor of love!)By now, some of you know Will had a little accident on the scooter and fractured his fibula. So now he is on crutches and healing. There are some pretty good size holes in the roads due to the wash-outs from those past storms. He had a brief encounter with one of them. He's doing well but ofcourse, it's difficult doing those things he normally does.

The other picture is of our new guardian family. Juan, Felipa, Jose and little Miriam. Juan was one of our masons who worked on the chapel. He brings alot of skills to Opal House as well as good character. We thank God for leading him here.

We hope that this blog finds all of you well. It's hard to believe how quickly this year flew by. But I need Will to remind me of those blessings that God has given us as this year was somewhat difficult for me. I am reminded that He will never leave me or us or forsake us. God tabernacles with us each and every day. I am grateful for the quiet moments where I can just reflect on who He is and what He has done. May you all know contentment and peace this year.......

Winter

It's not winter here but it feels like winter inside my soul, a need to bundle myself up. No pictures this time, just reflection. Autumn and winter are necessary for nature and for us, I suppose. I know suffering is part of the clothing we wear here. I read this today and thought I would share it. I know many who are suffering from different trials and tests, I am one of them. I'm trying to be still because I am in a place where I can do nothing but wait and pray. This year has been a year like that....waiting....praying.

(From the devotional "Streams in the Desert"
"Steel is iron plus fire. Soil is rock, plus heat, or glacier crushing. Linen is flax plus the bath that cleans, the comb that separates, and the flail that pounds, and the shuttle that weaves. Human character must have a plus attached to it. The world does not forget great characters. But great characters are not made of luxuries, they are made by suffering.
I heard of a mother who brought into her home as a companion to her own son, a crippled boy who was also a hunchback. She had warned her boy to be very careful in his relations to him, and not to touch the sensitive part of his life but to go right on playing with him as if he were an ordinary boy. She listened to her son as they were playing; and after a few minutes he said to his companion: "Do you know what you have got on your back?" The little hunchb ack was embarrassed, and he hesitated a moment. The boy said: "It is the box in which your wings are; and some day God is going to cut it open, and then you will fly away and be an angel."

A New Perspective

Day 5 of no running water....emphasis on 'running'. As you can see there is no shortage of water around us. This view says it all. But it's just not finding it's way into the houses. Workers and Will have been at this since it happened and still trying to find out where the malfunction is. Starting out this morning as Will and I are discussing the hope of finding the problem, Will gave me a little bit of wise advise..."Consider this a type of fasting." How true, I'm grateful for his insight. Taking something that you need but turning it into a luxury which becomes a 'necessity' and then a right. Just like food. But with us it's running water. The water is there but we have to get off our duffs and go get it. The Mayans and I would gather to say the majority of the third world (which Will and I have come to understand is actually the majority world) still have to go and obtain their water elsewhere other than their homes and lug it back on their heads or in their arms. Welcome to another reality, Diane. So, this morning I was craving to be clean, shampoo and all. So.......I got off my 'duff,' onto the ATV, drove down the mountain to the where our springs are, hiked into woods with shampoo, towel and razor, climbed UP into a cavern with one of the running springs coming out of a hole on the side of the hill and had my shower! I LOVED IT! What a carthartic moment! Yes, we have water, all the water we and the rest of Guatemala can use and all I had to do was access it. Lesson learned. And God confirmed all this with today's daily scripture reading of the Israelites grumbling at God and Moses for bringing them out into the desert without food and water...which ofcourse makes no sense since they lived 'without food and water' for 40 years. So, take the situation in front of me and do with it what I can......just too bad about all those razor knicks :)

We Need Water!

Yes, this just looks like a 5 gallon jug of water. But it's not. It's one of 3 jugs that Will and I brought up from one of the new springs that we have way down below the property. I mean 'wayyyyyyyyyy down' the property. We hiked in carrying the 3 empty jugs and hiked vertical to get them out. My neck and shoulder are sore from lugging them back to the ATV as we precariously drove them back up the windy terrain to the house. We ran out of water 3 days ago after a LOUD thunder and lightening storm. One of the lines broke and so we are all on a water ration. A water ration......ha, ha, ha. How ironic when we have 5 new springs gushing out of the mountain. I get nervous watching it thinking that it's all going to gush permanently out of the property and we will have to go to our neighbor below and ask him to borrow some back. I was half-tempted to bring a bar of soap and do a little shower under one of those gushers. Now, I'm wishing I had. Josh and Allison, the medical students and future P.A.'s are pictured above. They have joined us for a month, helping us out here with the children and volunteering with Dr. Tun at the clinic in San Lucas. Last night, Josh heard the rain begin and so he left the dinner table and ran to take a quick shower outside while the rain was pouring in torrents. Unfortunately, it stopped after 5 minutes or so but not before he got the rest of the shampoo out of his hair. We are all going to do dreadlocks here pretty soon. Thank goodness for baseball caps. Water is such a precious commodity. Here or anywhere, and you don't know how much you need it until you can't get ahold of it readily. We've had to jump into the pool for our bath.....nice.

First Day of My Summer Vacation...

The weather has let up and it's incredible! Beautiful blue morning skies, lots of sun, even a gentle breeze now and then. Oh, how I miss it through all this monsoon weather. I just sit on the steps near the patio and stare straight into the sun with my cup of coffee. Very satisfying. Here I am with our grandson Ryan who came to visit us for 3 1/2 weeks! We are swimming in our very loooonnnnng cistern! I wish you could see the beautiful wildflowers that we planted nearby ~ gorgeous. Lots of color, and a great place to have some quiet time. It's embarrasing that my grandson is in his shorts and I'm swimming in my wetsuit, but I'm a chicken when it comes to cold water. We just simply fill it and add some anti-algae stuff and walla! A pool....Ryan really enjoyed his time with us. Riding on the ATV with his 'papa', swimming with his 'nana', learning some spanish with Diego, our spanish teacher, jumping on the trampoline. We hope to have him here every summer if mom and dad will let him go :) The chapel is to the side, as you can see. It is really coming along. Will and I walked through it this evening, marveling at how much bigger it looks with the wooden frames for the windows and the doorframes in now. Our work team has done a great job with the walls, lots of stone actually that fell off the volcano during Tropical Storm Agatha. Will and the workers gathered it and found that it really looks great on the back chapel walls. You can't imagine the hard work for the men to hammer that rock into workable pieces and then put it together like a puzzle on the wall. We're so grateful to them. They are a good work team.

The picture above our the little 'pequenos' class, Will, Ryan, and Diego is on the right in the back. We have 'adopted' Diego. He has now been with us a little over a year. Over a year and we're still at it. We are now in a tense called "subjuntive". It's phrases like "I hope that, I suggest that, I wish that, I believe that...." on and on and on and on. I should be pretty fluent by the time they wheel me into the old folks home. Diego comes to our house on Tuesday afternoons and tutors the group of kids that sleep over. Then Wednesday morning, Will drives the kids to school (while I sip my well-deserved cup of coffee) and then we're off to clinic (the 3 of us). When we come back, we have our little kids afternoon school time. It's nuts here, absolutely nuts. But I love them. Now I know their names and all there funny little ways. They love coming here to do nothing but play. They have a lot of room for that. On Thursday, Will and I are back to class to conjugate, conjugate, conjugate. In the afternoon we have the bigger kids. Diego and I are co-teaching that class. He is enjoying it. He is in the discerning stage of whether or not he wants to be a priest. I told him this is a good way to see if he can 'shepherd'. On Fridays, we have the little ones back for their Bible class. I am so much more comfortable with my spanish now. I still have to read the stories but I don't struggle with pronunciation as much and I can just talk to them without all the notes.

We've had two special birthdays this past month, little 3 yr. old Mishel who is now 4, and her brother Rudy who just turned 1 yr. They are the little family who lives with us. Their mother is Veronica.

Now ofcourse, the tropical depression that we had recently. Because I cannot figure how to get these pictures in some kind of reasonable order, the storm pictures show up first. I knew we were in trouble when the rain continuously poured day and night. Normally, we have sun in the morning and at around 1 or 2 p.m. the clouds begin to pour over the mountains towards the lake and we get the afternoon dump. This time, we have MORE landslides all over the main highway and every road on the way to our home. We lost some big pine trees on the outside of our large gate, but the picture above is of the mudslide that was about 25 feet below the chapel, ran down the hill, across the neighbors avocado farm and continued over to the other side of a road that leads to the town below us. He said he had a river of mud through his property. The sink holes in various places along the roads are frightening. They don't have official transportation workers here in the mountains and so local villagers will try to paint some rocks white and mark where the sinkholes are....if we're lucky. Or they lay some branches around it. Coming back from the city was like some kind of crazy expedition. One part of the canyon was one continous flow of mud. Fortunately, we were in the Suburu....I love that SUV wantabe. The other picture is a chicken bus that didn't quite make it through the landslide and all the mud. And the one with Ryan our grandson standing on the park bench is actually a brand new park put in at Santiago Atitlan. The lake has come up 10 feet because of the rain and so it flooded it and the kids were swimming where normally people would be sitting or eating. Anyway, this is 'our summer vacation' though it's winter here. But hopefully not for long. Like I said the last two days have been heaven.......

Character Lessons

Hard day this week. A couple of weeks ago when the kids were here for the sleep-over our phone disappeared then re-appeared when the kids returned. There is only one of the kids that is permitted in our house and so that and the guilty look that followed let us know that we had to have another talk with them. So, with the heart of a mother, I reminded them that taking things that didn't belong to them was wrong. One had been caught stuffing something into his hoodie before and so we had a group talk then. The kids come from one cul-de-sac and are all related to one another. So many cover up what the others are doing. I hate being the police. After that long talk the very next day one of the little ones also tried to stuff a toy into his pants and had his sister help him to cover it with his jacket, unfortunately for him I was right there when it happened. So with two of their relatives caught stealing they were asked to leave. This is the part of being a mom that is difficult for me. I had a heavy heart last night and recognize that this is all part of teaching them about love and respect. I have even tried to head off the stealing by giving them toys before I put the rest out so they have something to take home and play with. I understand that they don't have much so the temptation is always present. It was pretty interesting to see their faces when I was going over the ten commandments and we got to the 'do not rob' commandment. Eyes were darting here and there. It was so obvious that the missing phone was part of their non-verbal communication. But I have grown to love this family. They are the least in this neighborhood. Some of their parents are known thieves. So we have challenges. But I'm reminded of God's long-suffering love when it comes to my own growth or the growth of my own family........

"Eat Your Vegetables!!"

Malnutrition is a huge problem here, especially in the rural areas of Guatemala. But it' now pretty personal to me because of the children that attend my classes. One of the little girls was bleeding when she went to the bathroom. We took her to the hospital, and I thank God that there was a visiting pediatrician. She told me that this little girl's intestines were impacted with waste (or poopoo as we would call it...) She now had fissures from the internally tearing. She was not eating enough fiber in her diet. The father said that she 'refused' to eat vegetables and fruit and because she hardly ate anything (wonder why....) when she wanted a snack she got chips or other junk food. Also, she doesn't drink enough water but her father did say that she drank 2 or 3 glasses of cola daily. This is also a common problem here. Many suffer from headaches and when I ask them how many glasses of water they drink daily the answer lets me know that dehydration is also a problem. Especially since we live up in the mountains. We thought for awhile that the people here are short in stature because of their genes but one of the main reasons is that they are malnourished. More protein and fresh fruits and vegatables are needed but they have come to love what has been imported for the most part into their country: chips and pop. And it cost the same for a small bag of chips as for a piece of fruit, but they want the chips. Some of the children that attend here have rotten teeth due to the pop and sugar. So we now give the kids more fruit and less cookies. But I think I will begin to be more inventive with their snacks. I heard you can actually substitute beans for the oil in some cookies or brownies. Sounds weird....If anyone out there has a good nutritious recipes for kid's snacks, drop me an email, okay??

Our First Surgery Week In San Lucas

A medical group from Kansas City came to San Lucas for the first time bringing a container full of medical supplies including anesthesia machines! Oh how good God is to bless us with all that we need to provide surgery to those who need it! And the parish raised the funds to renovate the operating room, I hardly recognized it from when we first arrived here. The medical group was so kind and provided the space, equipment and anesthesiologist for our surgeries. Thank you, everyone of you! We hope to see you in the future :) From what I remembered, they were averaging about 15 surgeries a day! They worked hard and some days were very long. But they blessed those who couldn't have those surgeries otherwise. I have to admit that a bit of melancholy came over me when I first entered the operating room while a surgery was in progress. I perused the mayo stand and back table where 'my instruments' would be and had to really think hard to remember some of the instrument names. But, like riding a bike, it came back. I had the opportunity to assist a local Guatemalan doctor with some general surgery. I was so grateful. I hope with all my heart that I will have more opportunities to scrub, not only with Will, but other surgeons here and from the U.S. I so desire to keep up my skills. Now that we have 2 anesthesia machines, the Guatemalan surgeon from the capital said that he will bring someone to run the machine and I can assist! Answer to prayer.........

Tropical Storm Agatha

Life can change in an instant. Here we are standing with Dr. Tun on the top of what used to be his relative's homes. You can see in the background the top of another home. I wish you could see the landslide. It looks ominous even now. And now that there are no trees holding the soil in place, with the next downpour, it can only get worse. Only a few blocks down an entire family was buried alive with only their 16 yr. old daughter surviving. We are hoping the church can contact her and we can provide a home for her. The next picture above is one of many 'derrumbes' (landslides) in the street to San Lucas where we volunteer. Again, it's not hard to predict the continuing downpour of not only rain but soil that will erode as we begin the rainy season here. One blessing is that the people now have wood to cut. There are trees in the streets for miles. The next picture is a town close to San Lucas. The landscape is horrendous now. It was once a finca, or coffee plantation. That was then. Now it looks like another planet. Only gigantic boulders and rocks which tumbled down from the volcano Toliman with the gushing rainwater and leveled the homes where the workers lived. Veronica lost her grandmother and grandfather in the landslide. This finca is gone forever and the jobs and the homes of their workers. The force of nature can be terrible. The government promises that the people will receive land for rebuilding their homes. And where will that land be?????Next to another mountain? That's the only type of land around here. Who knows if we end up having to construct more buildings for future use. Will and I have already planned in the past to store food for our neighbors should the roads cut us off from getting to the stores. We have been supplying water to the people in Agua Escondida. They lost their pipes in the storm. Infact, three villages close-by have no potable water. Our friend in a town below us said that his hotel is now a refuge for those that lost their homes. And they are cut off from the surrounding areas because of the landslides. So now we are watching and listening to see how we can help others..........

"...It has not yet been revealed what we shall be...." (I John 3;2)

"Our natural inclination is to be so precise-trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next-that we look upon uncertainity as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainity. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, "Well, what if I were in that circumstance?" We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been. Certainity is the mark of a commonsense life-gracious uncertainity is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed by a sign of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we simply become a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God-it is only believing our belief about Him. Jesus said,"...unless you...become as little children..." (Matthew 18:3) The spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next. If our certainity is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self-righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainity and expectancy. Jesus said, "...believe also in Me" (John 14:1), not, "Believe certain things about Me." Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in-but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.".....Osawald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest"-------

A Life Interrupted

A great picture of Matt, our visiting missionary, and the kids during our Saturday kid's club. It can get crazy at times. And as I've shared one way or another, I am un-learning how to not have a sterile, predictable day or a life for that matter. Case in point, last Saturday one of the girls mentioned that they wanted to spend the night with their siblings. So I planned on having a few but 7 showed up. This was Matt and Molly's last night and they wanted to be present for as they termed it "the last supper". So we had a sleepover and the next day I decided to bring the kid's to church with me and Veronica. Well, preparation was chaotic, there was shouting and laughing and water everywhere as they each tried to get a shower in before church! Then some of the girls showed up in their p.j.'s before we set off. I asked them why on earth were they in their p.j.'s? They said because their clothes were wet and dirty. So off we went, p.j.'s and all. The p.j.'s were actually quite cute with their dangling earrings. I took them to the market with me and we had ice cream afterwards. Typical Sunday morning! But it was unexpected, life always is at some point. It reminded me of something that I read in one of Amy Carmichael's books regarding how God will not allow you to be a 'private' Christian. You are intended to be a superhighway:

"It is the way of the Psalm that shows us a cross-section of the life of the man in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Highways are open roads. Roads are not made for admiration, but for traffic. "God breaks up the private life of His saints and makes it a thoroughfare for the world on the one hand and for Himself on the other. No one can stand that unless he is identified with God," said Oswald Chambers...."

And so when others say that we are not called to be a doormat for others, well, take it up with Him........

Coffee and Cookie Time

After a little time of hesitation, with fear and trembling I invited the mothers of the children that I teach to our home for an introduction that is somewhat late considering that I started the class last year. I say with 'fear and trembling' because I am not one to just be spontaneous. I need to know from Will when he wants to be 'spontaneous' ahead of time, so that I can be ready. I go over the scenarios in my head until they feel comfortable then I do it. Crazy, I know, yet there have to be others like me out there, right?? Anyway, twelve moms showed up and 20 small children with them. Thank you Lord, that Molly was with me. I would have drowned in a sea of chaos. I introduced myself, our mission, our desire to help strengthen their children's faith. The mothers seemed to be very open and some were just smiling and were very encouraging to me. I explained that I also wanted to have an after-school program for the little kids to give them a headstart with learning to read and write. What great timing....right in the middle of my explanation one of the mom's interrupted the meeting saying that they needed to leave shortly because they all needed to attend a government mandated class that teaches these mothers to read and write their own names! I couldn't believe it. So, next week I will begin by the grace of God. Before the mother's left we served them cookies (luckily I overbake) and what we consider very weak coffee with LOTS of sugar. They thought it was yummy. Then we continued our class with the kids, haphazardly.....Stepping outside of my comfort zone is always a challenge for me. I hate the fact that I have to ruminate over ever detail in my head before I do anything. It's the curse of living my life up in my head. I'm learning to live in the present and out of my heart. Takes time.....

Sabado de Gloria

Took the kids to the local park in San Lucas for a picnic and swim! Two car loads later, we made it. Had a hard time finding a grill to use, Will had to coax a group of Mayan ladies to let him grill our hotdogs and he would leave the briquets (they wanted to know all about them). It was a crazy time of noise and people and more noise and people. It seemed like all of Central America was at this park. All the parks here were the same way. This is how they spend their Saturday before Easter morning. The kids had a blast and we survived. All adults needed a siesta afterwards.....

Good Friday in Antigua

Got up early (whew...6 a.m. we were out the door) and headed to our first Easter celebration in Antigua! Here's a pic of our missionary friends, Matt and Molly and our Guatemalan kids and our first family (Veronica, Michelle and Rudi). We were amazed at the artwork of the alfombras (carpets of colored sawdust) and the amount of time and effort to construct each one. It truly is a labor of love. The main procession was HUGE! The platform was like one enormous flat casket. The men's faces wore the pain they must have experienced carrying it around the streets of Antigua. The first parade was about 3 hours long. We spent our time watching the floats, the children collected the little adornments that were within the alfombras (so did Will!) He actually collected some of the flowers left behind. For the family and kids this was their first time in their own old capital. They hardly ever get out of the rural area they live in. They couldn't sleep the night before because they thought they would sleep in and we would leave them :(.....We had a wonderful time, despite the heat and crowds....

HE IS RISEN!!

What an incredible gift!....Pictures for the first time since I've begun this blog! And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks Molly :) This is a picture of our table center piece. The flowers are from the local market, the risen Christ made from a carpenter that really got into it and made him a little larger than I needed, but hey, it works! And the tomb is my attempt at paper-mache. Worked out really well, it's amazing what you can do with modge podge and a little chicken-wire and leftover stationary. Last night we watched "The Passion" again. And it still is a picture that leaves you overwhelmed and silent at the end. All for the love of each one of us, that's our Jesus. He is why we are here, He is the reason I continue on this journey of transformation...I expect it, I long for it.

Our other picture is an attempt to capture our new method (new for us)of teaching the history of our faith to the children. It's the montessori method. It's called "Godly play". Instead of traditional teaching of just transferring information from my head to their heads with lots of motion to 'keep them interested', you leave space for God to speak. By simply using our little props we share the story but leave space for the children to wonder, to listen, to be present. You don't have to fill every moment with speech. And it teaches the children to just sit and listen, meditate. Alot of times it's more about entertaining the kids, and eventually you have to be more entertaining then the last time. And even the 'craft time' is really time for them to express what they feel the Holy Spirit is saying to them through the story. I don't need to create the 'craft', they simply are offered the medium in which to express themselves. Hard at times because this requires them to be self-directed. But getting 'out of control' is a good thing. God can speak to them directly. I receive alot of joy just using my own imagination (and some input from others ideas) to create the individual props for each story. Our Resurrection story had all the disciples, Jesus, Mary and her friends, the Roman soldier, Judas and his money bag, the bread and wine, the crosses, the thieves...all made from old-fashioned clothespins. And let me tell you trying to dress all of them was a challenge! But I love it, absolutely love it. To see the children sit practically in silence as we place all the figures during the story is priceless to me. They just watch with intensity and then at the end we ask what is called "wondering question", open ended not asking them the questions expecting them to answer like a parrot whose been trained to know what to say. I'm already onto my next set of props.
This is our first Easter here and we look forward to celebrating with our friends and neighbors. Tomorrow we are off to Antigua to witness one or more of their processions through the streets. We hope to find parking! Then on Saturday we are taking our children to the neighborhood waterfront for a picnic and fun. For some it will be there first time there and it's just 7 miles away. I'm grateful for this time of remembrance for all the joy and grace that has been given, not only to us, but to the world!

I Will Make You Fisher's of Men

Beautiful Sunny Saturday. But I do enjoy an afternoon rain shower every now and then to give the flowers and trees a little drink and dampen the dusty roads. "I will make you fisher's of men"...Words of Jesus that changed for me this morning as I became a fisher of 'avocados". Matt, one of our long-term missionaries, made an "avocado catcher" with 3 long paint brush extender rods all attached with duct tape (love the stuff...) and the bottom part of a liter bottle of soda....plus more duct tape, and walla! An avocado catcher. There's a method to yanking avocados off the tree without causing it to 'jump' out of the catcher and rolling down the hill. Unfortunately, the majority of our land is hillside and so I had to go a hunting quite a few times. I was reminded of one of those sports fishermen shows where the guy is on a boat with a huge fishing rod trying to pull in a big marlin. That's about what I looked like trying to snag a big avocado high above my head. Tough....just plain tough. But I proceeded to reel in a quite a few and then called it a day. Unlike fishing which you have the reward of a meal afterwards, we must wait a week or so for the avocados to soften. But my hope is to try some of the recipes in an avocado recipe book given to me from some good friends. All things avocado. Soups, salads, deserts, jewelry, cosmetics.....it's amazing what you can do with this fruit. I'm not that crazy about avocados (the texture bothers me, like eating butter), but Allie, our German Shepherd, loves them. She runs with them in the grass, tossing them for awhile before she proceeds to devour them with great gusto. Then she has the pit in which to entertain herself with. This morning she ran with me around the milpa (cornfields). This dog actually does not run, she gallops like a horse. We had a few close encounters as she grazes by me, on her way to the next thing. I found myself just laughing and enjoying the scene. She is a picture of unfettered joy.
And so life on the farm can be full of simple joys. Like 'catching avocados', galloping with Allie around the cornfields, eating a sweet lemon off one of our fruit trees, hanging laundry out to dry in the fresh morning air, hearing our 3 yr. old, Mishel, chatter about what? We can't figure it out!
These are the things that I remind myself daily to be present to. As a good friend once said "Today is a gift, that is why it is called "The present"........Stay in the present.

What it might be like to have an orphanage....

We had our first 2 night sleepover for our kids! Crazy, absolutely like zoo-keeping! Kids running around playing, doing their homework, taking showers, laughing, shouting....I think you get the picture. The showering was the funniest thing. The kids loved it. I'm assuming having warm water for bathing is like a ride at Disneyland. They laughed and shouted, it was very funny and I'll never forget how they enjoyed their new p.j.'s. A huge 'thank you!' to those who donated those p.j.'s. They were so cute on the children. They each got a new headband for their hair. We had story time just like we are used to doing with our grandson, Ryan. We received some beautiful large (and I do mean large) children's books that were very much appreciated. Thank you to Jack and June Bower for that gift! I tried to type out some rules and regs...who am I kidding???!!!! Try, try again. Will and I were exhausted after the second day and I thought to myself 'how on earth did you think you could maintain an orphanage?'. But ofcourse, we would need help, lots of it!
Last night we were invited to one of our worker's daughter's first birthday. First birthdays are a time of thanksgiving and celebration. We missed our guardian's son's first birthday because we were in the U.S. But we got to see what a celebration looks like. We walked into a courtyard with pine tree boughs spread on the ground everywhere. They had set up tenting to keep out the rain. There were benches and lo and behold a band! An eight member band with speakers 7 ft. high! And lots of them. I was worried because we were sitting closeby. I haven't figured out why so many speakers are needed in such a small space but it was the same way in Venezuela. The Pentecostal churches would be very small, but the speakers would be enormous! The music was great, I danced inside a house with the kids but did not have the courage to do it solo outside where the music was being played. There was a reading of the daily Liturgy and lots of prayers and blessings for the family. They had 6 large cakes and they blessed us with dinner of chicken and rice, which is an honor when people do not have much money for their own families. The people were very gracious to us Norteamericanos. For some reason I was a child-magnet. I couldn't help talking to them (I'm much more comfortable with them than with the adults. They are much more understanding with errors in speech). And at the end I had to invite more of them to my little school that I hold on Friday and Saturday afternoons. We're growing out of our sunroom which is where I not only hold the classes but store all my supplies. I so need to get organized and purchase or have cabinets made. I look forward to having my little escuelita (God willing). I see flower and vegetable gardens, parrots, chicks, rabbits, a soccer field etc., in our future. Glen is finishing the children's play area and it's a smashing success with the kids. He even constructed a see-saw from wood. Yesterday the kids were standing and sitting on it for a total of 10 kids! We were concerned that it would not hold up! He also made a climbing rope which they also enjoyed. We are still trying to purchase palm roofing for the treehouse. Glen even made outside balconies for the little house! Amazing. I can only imagine what the adults feel when they see such fine construction for a child's treehouse.
Our lives are becoming busier, much like in the U.S. and that concerns me. I love it and yet I don't want to become unable to enjoy a sunset or sit with others and just chat. I try to stay prepared for the classes even as I am trying out a new method of teaching that is in keeping with the Montessori method. Breathing deeply helps. I thank the Lord for our rich life that even with all it's little frustrations (yes, and big ones too) we are very grateful for having the sense that we are becoming true neighbors here and for the fellowship that God sends our way.......

Reconnecting.....

Back from a two week stay in the States. At about day 2 I felt I was ready to go back 'home'....home?! Yup, up here in the rural mountains of Guatemala, I feel like I am home. How on earth did that happen? Life in the states looks so sterile and feels sterile. The only home we seem to find is with our faith community. And I suppose that is by God's design. We do miss fellowship on a larger scale. We are integrating little by little but at times I find it hard to listen ever so carefully, until my headaches at sermons or dialogue that run too fast. In time, I tell myself, in time.....And the spanish class goes on.
A scripture that has really stuck with Will and I is Isaiah 49:8-12 (from the "Message"):
"God also says: When the time's ripe, I answer you.
When victory's due, I help you.
I form you and use you
to reconnect the people with me,
To put the land in order,
to resettle families on the ruined properties.
I tell prisoners, 'Come on out. You're free!'
and those huddled in fear, "It's all right. It's safe now.'
There'll be foodstands along all the roads,
picnics on all the hills-
Nobody hungry, nobody thirsty,
shade from the sun, shelter from the wind,
For the Compassionate One guides them,
takes them to the best springs.
I'll make all my mountains into roads,
turn them into a superhighway."

What a description of what we feel is going on here....Reconnecting. I pray that we are reconnecting the children with God. Each weekend, we put a story together from the Scriptures or other material focusing on His great love for them. Always a struggle with the language but I trust that some seeds are going out and landing in soil made ready. Putting the land in order is very prophetic. We've stopped the planting of the corn to give the land a rest. Pedro, our guardian planted about 4 acres with his usual amount of fertilizer and he yielded such a small amount of corn. I think the land is just flat our tired. We hope to compost and restore it. We have the word of the San Lucas Mission that they will help us to plant about 10,000 tree seedlings this coming rainy season beginning in May. Just this morning I walked only a portion of the property and tried to imagine what it might look like sometime in the future. Patience. We hope to plant some grass in order to have a play field for the kids. Just let them run in something other than dirt. As for the hungry and thirsty around us and having picnics and foodstands.....well we're opening up our home for our kids to come on Monday and Tuesdays for dinner and a shower and a clean bed in which to lay their heads. One of the children told me she sleeps on a carton and that her back hurts. The 'foodstand along all the roads' is actually quite amazing, in that we have been planning to open a little foodstand near the lookout point at the edge of our property. What we'll sell remains to be seen, but the ideas are building. This may be a future venture for the women who live here. It's not easy creating options for them. They may weave but hardly have an outlet for them as the place is saturated with textiles. We think that we may have a good location to have the women sell their foodstuffs since it is now unoccupied and there seems to be lots of traffic at times. We also have springs that are actually running off into the next property. We hope to capture that soon.
Most of all, I'm grateful that the Compassionate One is guiding us. How on earth could we make sense of all this without Him? My heart is that the children will know that we love and care for them. Their families will continue to be poor, continue to search for work that lifts them above the poverty level. We wish we could 'employ' them all, give to everyone who asks of us (and we hope to if it's in our power to do so....). But we take it one day at a time, one request at a time, one life at a time. And all the while, I find that the transformation that needs to take place is in me. But ofcourse, that's how it works.......