Stephen left on Monday for his first out of town research trip. The kids and I did a great job holding down the fort for the three days he was gone. Well...I should say that Leyda and I did a great job holding down the fort while he was gone. I don't talk about it much because it sounds so spoildy-bratty, but I have help with child care and cleaning five days a week for about 6 to 7 hours a day.
Stephen was in a town called Chiquimula (fun word, huh?) primarily to interview a prominent evangelical named Edgar who runs a Christian radio station and who also is a bit of an ammateur historian. While in Chiquimula (how fast can you say it?), he stayed with a family from Edgar's church. The family was very hospitable and even served Stephen every meal while he was there. My favorite story from his trip:
One evening at the dinner table, Daniel, the three year old, was asked to pray.
"No," Daniel says, "I don't want to pray" (but in Spanish, of course, so picture it with me...).
"What?" his family asked. "Why not?
"Because," Daniel responds, "I want to pray to a saint."
That right there will make about any Guatemalan evangelical's heart stop.
Gasp! "Que?!" "Daniel!"
Little three year old Daniel was about to get an important theological lesson until...
"No, mom and dad," he says, "I don't want to pray to God. I want to pray to a 'santa'....Santa Claus!"
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Our Little Angel
Sam's starred in his school's nativity last Thursday as the Angel Gabriel. I had a fun time creating the costume and, as I did, I realized why he was cast as the Angel. Do you?
We're so proud of Sam and all that he accomplished at his new school this past month. LOVE him!
We're so proud of Sam and all that he accomplished at his new school this past month. LOVE him!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Ruth Noel
Why Ruthie is the most amazing baby/daughter/little girl/joy of my life.
Ruth Noel has grown and changed so much during our three and a half months here in
- Ruth can dance. She was born to move and it’s always so fun to watch. I play music everyday just so I can see how she reacts. She doesn’t just bounce up and down to the music, but she moves her feet – back and forth and left and right – and almost always to the beat.
- Ruth is so polite! I’m not kidding. Ruth is doing an amazing job with her communication (baby signs and new words everyday) and she is especially kind when playing with others. I rarely see her grab a toy from her brother; instead she points to what she would like and says, “Please, please, please.” It’s so darn cute she could point to the moon and say, “Please, please, please” and I would try my darndest to go get it. She’s also really great at saying “Thank you.” I have witnessed several times Ruthie trying to get Sam to say thank you after she’s given him a toy. Brothers! Will they learn?
- Ruth’s appetite is amazing. Ruth has this great, big, jolly belly that’s she’s rightfully earned by her fantastic eating. Just a few mornings ago she alone at an entire orange, a cup of yogurt and two pancakes. She loves food and I love watching her eat. At only 17 months old, she handles her fork like a pro and self-feeds beautifully.
- Ruth is creative. I know it has a lot to do with having an older brother to mimic, but Ruth loves to pretend. At first I thought she was way too young to really understand her imaginative play and was merely copying whatever Sam was doing. I’m not so convinced anymore. Just yesterday Sam was playing restaurant and Ruth decided to pretend like she was carrying a try of food, served the food, and walked back to “cook” more. She also likes to pretend to feed and rock her baby doll. Most recently, she acquired a set of fairy wings and a wand and likes to go around the house, touch her wand to things, and say, “Bing.” (OK, that last one was prompted a bit, but she continued it all on her own. J )
- Ruth has unbelievable comprehension. Daily I am surprised by what she overhears and understands – in both languages. She responds to directives (e.g. put your shoes away, go give Daddy a kiss, tell brother night-night, etc.), but she will also occasionally respond appropriately when she overhears a conversation. Last night we asked Sam if he would like a candy or chocolate for his dessert (not even thinking Ruth was paying attention as she sat and ate in her high chair) and all of a sudden Ruth shouts, “Cocat!”
- Ruth is happy. Really, joyfully happy. She teaches me everyday
For these reasons and so many more Ruth is the most amazing baby/daughter/little girl/joy of my life. As her Daddy said recently, “Life is good when you’re Ruth Dove.”
Sunday, November 28, 2010
A Guatemalan Thanksgiving
While we also have lovely Guatemalan friends, everyone on the guest list was American (or married to one) and we ended up having 15 people (counting babies and children) over to celebrate. It was pot-luck and we ended up having the most delicious feast. Some how or another, I even managed to have someone else bring the turkey and stuffing. At the end of the party, Stephen and I both agreed that it really did feel like Thanksgiving.
Here is the guest like and some pics. Maybe you can try to guess who’s who. J
Melina, Peter, Callie (age 2), and Oliver (6 months) – Friends from
Brittany, Luis, and Ian (age 3) – Another family in our neighborhood.
Seth, Leslie, and Natalia (age 18 months) – Friends at our new church. Seth is from Minnesota and Leslie is from
Judy and John –A missionary couple that lives across the street from us. Judy prepared the turkey and it was deliiiiiicious.
Judy and Gene – Another couple from our neighborhood. Gene and Judy are retired boaters and have lived here for six years.
Maritza – Maritza lives across the street from me, too, and is my closest friend here in
Monday, November 22, 2010
LIBROS!!!
I love to read. When I lived in California I was so jealous of my mom’s book club that I started one of my own. It was a great group and we read lots of great books. Maybe I’ll start a Guatemalan book club, too.
It’s easy to say that my love of reading came from my mom (she has her book club, she spends entire vacations reading, she was a former librarian, she loves to talk about books), but the truth is my love for reading came from both my parents. I can always remember both my mom and my dad having books by their night stand and our house was full of magazines and newspapers.
Since both of my parents are way more tech savvy than me, they of course both have Kindles. I’m pretty sure my dad was one of the first to ever buy a Kindle. For my birthday I got my own Kindle and have really loved it. It’s the perfect solution - I am still able to read books even though I no longer have access to a library. Since we moved here on August 16th, I have read thirteen books. If you’re curious, here’s a list and a little book talk. (The books are listed in no particular order.)
Blue Like Jazz: Non-religious Thoughts on Christianity – Donald Miller - Please read this book. This book challenged me, encouraged me, and made me laugh. Donald Miller captured and shared his love for Christ in this memoir in a way that I strongly identified with. If anyone asks me what I believe, I think I’ll just say, “Read something by Donald Miller. He says it better.”
Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn - So I saw my best friend’s Facebook status a month or so ago that said she finally caved and read Twilight. I decided to use my Amazon gift certificate she gave me for my birthday and buy the first novel. And then...I read all four books (each book between 500 – 800 printed pages) and watched all three movies in about 3 weeks time. These crazy books are a drug. And yes, I’m addicted. I probably need help.
The Alchemist – Paulo Choelho – This book is deep. Most of it probably went over my head.
Sh*t My Dad Says – Justin Halpern – This book is funny. Like milk coming out of your nose funny.
Rooms – James Rubart – This is a Christian fiction book. I enjoyed it, but wasn’t crazy about it.
Water for Elephants – Sarah Gruan – This is an historical fiction book about the circus. I thought this book had great writing and I learned tons about the circus.
Ford County Stories – John Grisham – Short stories by John Grisham. There’s a reason the guy is a bagazillionaire. He writes well.
Little Bee – Chris Cleave – This book was tragic (also, technically, historical fiction). I learned a lot from this book about present day refugees. There’s so much pain in this word that most of us are simply clueless about. Thank God for books that give me insight.
The Other Daughter – Lisa Gardener – This book was like watching a really long episode of CSI. I read to the end because I had to know who done it, but it wasn’t really my style. I’m a romantic comedy girl.
Outliers: The Story of Success – Malcolm Gladwell – This book is fascinating. After reading this book, a lot of my conversations for a while started with, “So I read in this book, Outliers…” Basically, Gladewell argues the reasons for certain people’s success and points out that it’s not always as cut and dry at it seems.
It’s easy to say that my love of reading came from my mom (she has her book club, she spends entire vacations reading, she was a former librarian, she loves to talk about books), but the truth is my love for reading came from both my parents. I can always remember both my mom and my dad having books by their night stand and our house was full of magazines and newspapers.
Since both of my parents are way more tech savvy than me, they of course both have Kindles. I’m pretty sure my dad was one of the first to ever buy a Kindle. For my birthday I got my own Kindle and have really loved it. It’s the perfect solution - I am still able to read books even though I no longer have access to a library. Since we moved here on August 16th, I have read thirteen books. If you’re curious, here’s a list and a little book talk. (The books are listed in no particular order.)
Blue Like Jazz: Non-religious Thoughts on Christianity – Donald Miller - Please read this book. This book challenged me, encouraged me, and made me laugh. Donald Miller captured and shared his love for Christ in this memoir in a way that I strongly identified with. If anyone asks me what I believe, I think I’ll just say, “Read something by Donald Miller. He says it better.”
Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn - So I saw my best friend’s Facebook status a month or so ago that said she finally caved and read Twilight. I decided to use my Amazon gift certificate she gave me for my birthday and buy the first novel. And then...I read all four books (each book between 500 – 800 printed pages) and watched all three movies in about 3 weeks time. These crazy books are a drug. And yes, I’m addicted. I probably need help.
The Alchemist – Paulo Choelho – This book is deep. Most of it probably went over my head.
Sh*t My Dad Says – Justin Halpern – This book is funny. Like milk coming out of your nose funny.
Rooms – James Rubart – This is a Christian fiction book. I enjoyed it, but wasn’t crazy about it.
Water for Elephants – Sarah Gruan – This is an historical fiction book about the circus. I thought this book had great writing and I learned tons about the circus.
Ford County Stories – John Grisham – Short stories by John Grisham. There’s a reason the guy is a bagazillionaire. He writes well.
Little Bee – Chris Cleave – This book was tragic (also, technically, historical fiction). I learned a lot from this book about present day refugees. There’s so much pain in this word that most of us are simply clueless about. Thank God for books that give me insight.
The Other Daughter – Lisa Gardener – This book was like watching a really long episode of CSI. I read to the end because I had to know who done it, but it wasn’t really my style. I’m a romantic comedy girl.
Outliers: The Story of Success – Malcolm Gladwell – This book is fascinating. After reading this book, a lot of my conversations for a while started with, “So I read in this book, Outliers…” Basically, Gladewell argues the reasons for certain people’s success and points out that it’s not always as cut and dry at it seems.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A few weeks...
The end of October and the first half of November have been eventful and wonderful! Here are a few highlights:
• Sam has started a new school – Angel Gabriel. It’s quite the story, but I started becoming too concerned that Sam and his class were being left unattended too frequently (being left unattended at all crosses a line for me, but regardless we decided to search for something new). The school year in Guatemala runs from January – October. November and December are their summer months; so technically, Samuel is currently enrolled in a summer program. We REALLY like the school so far. The summer school is a blast. It includes weekly activities such as: karate class, yoga class, choir class, and swim class. Sam gets to swim once a week with an instructor at a local hotel with a beautiful, heated pool. He’s learning lots and doing so well. His Spanish is more and more spectacular everyday. He never ceases to amaze me.
• Stephen’s parents (Maybelle and Joe) came to visit for one week, starting October 31st. It was a great week and I was so glad to share our beautiful life here with them. We spent mornings letting Mimi and Granddaddy have Ruthie time while Stephen and I worked and Sam went to school. Afternoons were spent sight seeing in our beautiful city. Evenings were relaxed and Stephen and I even got to go on our first dinner date here while grandparents babysat. We were (of course) spoiled by the Doves all week. We decided to exchange Christmas presents while we had the time together. We’ve been enjoying our new patio furniture on our roof, which is where we spend a lot of our time. Thank you, Maybelle and Joe! It was sad to see them go, but we’re hoping Sam’s departing tears let them know we want them back soon.
• Sam calls Saturdays our “days off.” This past day off, we were around the breakfast table talking about what we should do for the day. Sam said, “I know! Let’s build a sandbox!” So we did. By 3:00 that afternoon and $12 later, we had a new sandbox on our roof. (Yes, our roof is quite the spectacular.) The kids have had a blast with it, and so have many of our neighbors. Two of our neighbors, Fatima (5 years) and Haisha (9 years) had never seen a sandbox except for on the “tele.” It’s so fun and Sam is proud to tell anyone that it was his great idea.
• Ruth is changing and growing so much every day. The coolest thing is that she babbles and “talks” more and more. She speaks several words, but what I love the most is that she loves to copy the cadence of what we say. I think it’s another sign of her definite musical abilities. For example we might say, “Hey! Where did it go?” And she’ll copy, “Hey! Blah blah blah blah?” But with the EXACT pitch of the phrase. Sam and Ruthie are becoming better friends as she grows. It’s always my favorite part of the day when I catch them really playing together.
• We continue to enjoy the blessings of our church.
• The kids and I have joined a play group every Thursday afternoon. Tomorrow will be our second time to attend.
• Sam has started a new school – Angel Gabriel. It’s quite the story, but I started becoming too concerned that Sam and his class were being left unattended too frequently (being left unattended at all crosses a line for me, but regardless we decided to search for something new). The school year in Guatemala runs from January – October. November and December are their summer months; so technically, Samuel is currently enrolled in a summer program. We REALLY like the school so far. The summer school is a blast. It includes weekly activities such as: karate class, yoga class, choir class, and swim class. Sam gets to swim once a week with an instructor at a local hotel with a beautiful, heated pool. He’s learning lots and doing so well. His Spanish is more and more spectacular everyday. He never ceases to amaze me.
• Stephen’s parents (Maybelle and Joe) came to visit for one week, starting October 31st. It was a great week and I was so glad to share our beautiful life here with them. We spent mornings letting Mimi and Granddaddy have Ruthie time while Stephen and I worked and Sam went to school. Afternoons were spent sight seeing in our beautiful city. Evenings were relaxed and Stephen and I even got to go on our first dinner date here while grandparents babysat. We were (of course) spoiled by the Doves all week. We decided to exchange Christmas presents while we had the time together. We’ve been enjoying our new patio furniture on our roof, which is where we spend a lot of our time. Thank you, Maybelle and Joe! It was sad to see them go, but we’re hoping Sam’s departing tears let them know we want them back soon.
• Sam calls Saturdays our “days off.” This past day off, we were around the breakfast table talking about what we should do for the day. Sam said, “I know! Let’s build a sandbox!” So we did. By 3:00 that afternoon and $12 later, we had a new sandbox on our roof. (Yes, our roof is quite the spectacular.) The kids have had a blast with it, and so have many of our neighbors. Two of our neighbors, Fatima (5 years) and Haisha (9 years) had never seen a sandbox except for on the “tele.” It’s so fun and Sam is proud to tell anyone that it was his great idea.
• Ruth is changing and growing so much every day. The coolest thing is that she babbles and “talks” more and more. She speaks several words, but what I love the most is that she loves to copy the cadence of what we say. I think it’s another sign of her definite musical abilities. For example we might say, “Hey! Where did it go?” And she’ll copy, “Hey! Blah blah blah blah?” But with the EXACT pitch of the phrase. Sam and Ruthie are becoming better friends as she grows. It’s always my favorite part of the day when I catch them really playing together.
• We continue to enjoy the blessings of our church.
• The kids and I have joined a play group every Thursday afternoon. Tomorrow will be our second time to attend.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
La Vid Verdadera
I like this story – it’s a good one. But I anticipate it will take me more than a few paragraphs and a couple of bullet-point lists to tell it well. I want to do justice to this story.
For the nine Sundays we have been in Guatemala, we have attended four different churches and have attempted to attend five. (One of the mentioned churches doesn’t have Sunday morning services, which we didn’t find out until Sunday morning.) Here’s a run-down of the first three:
1) El Camino de Dios – Sam calls this church the “bread church” because they have a beautiful basket of sweet bread in the foyer. This church is bilingual. All the worship is done in both English and Spanish. An American pastor preaches in English and a translator relays the message in Spanish. We enjoyed this church very much, but couldn’t resist the feeling that it was a church geared more towards tourists and mission groups. We believe the church is doing great things, but weren’t so convinced it was for us.
2) Cordero de Dios – This church had a very familiar feel. This means they sang hymns we recognized, followed a familiar format, etc. There was something about this church, however, that didn’t make me feel like it was the right fit.
3) The Presbyterian mission – This particular Sunday we even had someone from the church come pick us up and welcome us very warmly. This church was very small (perhaps 20 members). This was our saddest Sunday, because Sam had a very hard time at this church. Basically, the children’s pastor didn’t take the best approach to introducing Sam. He pointed out to all the kids that “God has sheep, all sheep are different colors, and today we have a little white sheep.” Unfortunately, kids pointed…and laughed at my sweet little white sheep. (I was on the scene by this point). Sam got very upset and said that he didn’t understand why they were laughing so much when he hadn’t even told a joke. The rest of the morning progressed in a bit of an uncomfortable manner. We took Sam to McDonald’s that day for the first time. He ate chicken nuggets and felt much better.
After about a month, we really began to pray diligently about where we should worship, what would be best for our children, where we could serve and find community and have all the wonderful things we all desire in a church. We had prayed before, but perhaps not so diligently.
Around the same time, we started to consider hosting a home-church here at our house. There were several reasons we thought we were feeling lead this way and began to pray to ask God to pave the way if it was right. Here are a few reasons we thought seriously about this option:
• We are acquaintances with two missionary couples who had both expressed a similar frustration with finding a church home. We had thought perhaps a home Bible study group would minister to them. And plus, we thought it would be cool to be a missionary to the missionaries.
• We very much desire a church home where we can invite friends. At this time, I already had a good friend in my neighborhood that was asking wonderful, spiritual questions and told us she would be very interested in attending something in our home.
• We could be flexible with the time.
• We had at least two other encounters with people that we felt like we could invite to a home Bible study.
Granted some of the reasons were a bit selfish, but I really feel like we approached the idea openly – meaning we were happy if it happened and we were happy if it wasn’t the right thing. The one thing we wanted to avoid was starting a home church just because we “didn’t like” the other options, or because we wanted to serve ourselves only. We want to serve God.
Three weeks ago Saturday I had coffee with one of the missionary wives. I told her about our idea and had honestly anticipated planning out some details with her. Surprisingly to me, she wasn’t very enthused. She felt like it wasn’t something they were interested in at the time and explained that their current schedule wouldn’t allow consistent commitment. I was bummed.
Later that same day (the same day) we were in the park. Ruthie started to play ball with another little girl about her age and so naturally, I started to talk to the little girl’s mom. The mom (a Central American woman whose name is Leslie) shared that she is a missionary and is married to an American named Seth. After a nice conversation, I asked about where she attended church and explained that we were really hoping to find a place to worship.
She shared with me the name and location of her church, but didn’t seem too enthused about inviting me. She shared that her church is very expressive and that her own husband was uncomfortable when he first started attending. She said we were welcome, but she wasn’t sure how we would like it.
That evening Stephen and I went back and forth with the idea of attending and finally decided we should. I called her at 9:00 p.m. that night to clarify directions and we were at the church the next morning.
It was amazing. It was different. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The church is pure Pentecostal love. The music is very loud. They prophesy. They speak in tongues. During prayer, the women cover their heads. They dance in the aisle with tambourines. It’s wild.
When we left the service that morning I could sense that Stephen and I were both even nervous to ask each other how we felt about it. Stephen finally broke the ice and admitted that he really liked it. I felt such relief because I did, too!
The congregation is about 300 members strong. The impression that we get is that the majority of the congregation is working, middle class. The pastor is very dynamic, intelligent, and educated. They have a structured children’s area that is well-staffed and loving. Sam has enjoyed himself all three weeks. Last week he cried because we didn’t stay longer.
Unless something really creeps us out, we feel pretty committed to the church even after just three weeks. Here’s a few reasons why:
• It’s different. I think God likes different, or we would all be the same. (That’s deep if you let it sink in a second.) It’s nice to experience something so different sometimes.
• I like the pastor.
• I feel God’s presence.
• I like that they have structure and freedom in their worship service, which is a hard combo to pull off.
• It’s a place I can invite others.
So, if you remember earlier in the story, I mentioned a good friend I have that has been asking wonderful, spiritual questions. I invited her to my new church. Today she came. I confess, I somehow I managed to be confident and nervous about inviting her all at the same time. You just never really know how someone who has been mostly unchurched will respond to all the Pentecostal love. I took a deep breath and trusted God. And of course God moved and worked in his amazing ways. During the worship time, the pastor came over to her, and very privately told her that God loved her, God wanted good things in her life, and that God was the source of real life. My friend started to cry. Really cry, because she was obviously touched. As the service progressed, my friend participated more and more. We debriefed a little in the car on the way home, but I can confidently say that God wants her so badly and is moving in some great ways. I am privileged to be a part of it. I’m happy my wild Pentecostal love church has something to do with it, too.
For the nine Sundays we have been in Guatemala, we have attended four different churches and have attempted to attend five. (One of the mentioned churches doesn’t have Sunday morning services, which we didn’t find out until Sunday morning.) Here’s a run-down of the first three:
1) El Camino de Dios – Sam calls this church the “bread church” because they have a beautiful basket of sweet bread in the foyer. This church is bilingual. All the worship is done in both English and Spanish. An American pastor preaches in English and a translator relays the message in Spanish. We enjoyed this church very much, but couldn’t resist the feeling that it was a church geared more towards tourists and mission groups. We believe the church is doing great things, but weren’t so convinced it was for us.
2) Cordero de Dios – This church had a very familiar feel. This means they sang hymns we recognized, followed a familiar format, etc. There was something about this church, however, that didn’t make me feel like it was the right fit.
3) The Presbyterian mission – This particular Sunday we even had someone from the church come pick us up and welcome us very warmly. This church was very small (perhaps 20 members). This was our saddest Sunday, because Sam had a very hard time at this church. Basically, the children’s pastor didn’t take the best approach to introducing Sam. He pointed out to all the kids that “God has sheep, all sheep are different colors, and today we have a little white sheep.” Unfortunately, kids pointed…and laughed at my sweet little white sheep. (I was on the scene by this point). Sam got very upset and said that he didn’t understand why they were laughing so much when he hadn’t even told a joke. The rest of the morning progressed in a bit of an uncomfortable manner. We took Sam to McDonald’s that day for the first time. He ate chicken nuggets and felt much better.
After about a month, we really began to pray diligently about where we should worship, what would be best for our children, where we could serve and find community and have all the wonderful things we all desire in a church. We had prayed before, but perhaps not so diligently.
Around the same time, we started to consider hosting a home-church here at our house. There were several reasons we thought we were feeling lead this way and began to pray to ask God to pave the way if it was right. Here are a few reasons we thought seriously about this option:
• We are acquaintances with two missionary couples who had both expressed a similar frustration with finding a church home. We had thought perhaps a home Bible study group would minister to them. And plus, we thought it would be cool to be a missionary to the missionaries.
• We very much desire a church home where we can invite friends. At this time, I already had a good friend in my neighborhood that was asking wonderful, spiritual questions and told us she would be very interested in attending something in our home.
• We could be flexible with the time.
• We had at least two other encounters with people that we felt like we could invite to a home Bible study.
Granted some of the reasons were a bit selfish, but I really feel like we approached the idea openly – meaning we were happy if it happened and we were happy if it wasn’t the right thing. The one thing we wanted to avoid was starting a home church just because we “didn’t like” the other options, or because we wanted to serve ourselves only. We want to serve God.
Three weeks ago Saturday I had coffee with one of the missionary wives. I told her about our idea and had honestly anticipated planning out some details with her. Surprisingly to me, she wasn’t very enthused. She felt like it wasn’t something they were interested in at the time and explained that their current schedule wouldn’t allow consistent commitment. I was bummed.
Later that same day (the same day) we were in the park. Ruthie started to play ball with another little girl about her age and so naturally, I started to talk to the little girl’s mom. The mom (a Central American woman whose name is Leslie) shared that she is a missionary and is married to an American named Seth. After a nice conversation, I asked about where she attended church and explained that we were really hoping to find a place to worship.
She shared with me the name and location of her church, but didn’t seem too enthused about inviting me. She shared that her church is very expressive and that her own husband was uncomfortable when he first started attending. She said we were welcome, but she wasn’t sure how we would like it.
That evening Stephen and I went back and forth with the idea of attending and finally decided we should. I called her at 9:00 p.m. that night to clarify directions and we were at the church the next morning.
It was amazing. It was different. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The church is pure Pentecostal love. The music is very loud. They prophesy. They speak in tongues. During prayer, the women cover their heads. They dance in the aisle with tambourines. It’s wild.
When we left the service that morning I could sense that Stephen and I were both even nervous to ask each other how we felt about it. Stephen finally broke the ice and admitted that he really liked it. I felt such relief because I did, too!
The congregation is about 300 members strong. The impression that we get is that the majority of the congregation is working, middle class. The pastor is very dynamic, intelligent, and educated. They have a structured children’s area that is well-staffed and loving. Sam has enjoyed himself all three weeks. Last week he cried because we didn’t stay longer.
Unless something really creeps us out, we feel pretty committed to the church even after just three weeks. Here’s a few reasons why:
• It’s different. I think God likes different, or we would all be the same. (That’s deep if you let it sink in a second.) It’s nice to experience something so different sometimes.
• I like the pastor.
• I feel God’s presence.
• I like that they have structure and freedom in their worship service, which is a hard combo to pull off.
• It’s a place I can invite others.
So, if you remember earlier in the story, I mentioned a good friend I have that has been asking wonderful, spiritual questions. I invited her to my new church. Today she came. I confess, I somehow I managed to be confident and nervous about inviting her all at the same time. You just never really know how someone who has been mostly unchurched will respond to all the Pentecostal love. I took a deep breath and trusted God. And of course God moved and worked in his amazing ways. During the worship time, the pastor came over to her, and very privately told her that God loved her, God wanted good things in her life, and that God was the source of real life. My friend started to cry. Really cry, because she was obviously touched. As the service progressed, my friend participated more and more. We debriefed a little in the car on the way home, but I can confidently say that God wants her so badly and is moving in some great ways. I am privileged to be a part of it. I’m happy my wild Pentecostal love church has something to do with it, too.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Ruth Noel
In Ruth's short 15 months of life, she has had three bouts of breathing/lung issues. We have been told by the doc that her symptoms are most likely precursers to asthma and are allergy induced.
This past Saturday Ruthie started coughing and showing signs of shortness of breath. It didn't really surprise us, considering her history, so we monitored her and pulled out the nebulizer.
On Monday, I took her to a pediatrician (Dr. Rivas) just to verify my hunch was correct. He, too, diagnosed allergies and said she had no lung infection, no ear infection, no throat infection. We went home and continued with the Zyrtec.
By Wednesday, unfortunately, Ruthie was obviously doing worse instead of better. Lots of coughing and looooottts of crying. (OK, I contributed to the looooootts of crying because I cry when I'm tired. Or nervous. Or just because sometimes.) Thursday she woke up with a fever and was very lethargic. I called Dr. Rivas back who had us come in yesterday to the office. This time he did hear infection in her lungs and was much more concerned. (So was Mommy! There's just something about having a sick child in a third world country that is unsettling. It's just my American mentality, I'm sure, but I'm a Momma and I felt nervous yesterday. I even called our pediatrician in the US because I'm such a nervous American. She assured me his treatment was good and that she was sure Ruthie would be better soon.)
So, more breathing treatments and the antibiotic started yesterday. By last night she as already markedly better! I think Ruthie and I both got our best nights sleep last night since her cough intially began. Today we go back again to Dr. Rivas so he can monitor the response to the treatment after 24 hours.
Ruthie is tough and I'm proud of her. I know what a life of allergies and asthma is like and I know she hasn't felt good all week. Thanks be to God for the 21st century, doctors, advancement in medicine, telephones, Internet and all the lovely technology that helps my Ruthis feel better. Thanks be to God for God who is truly the great physician.
This past Saturday Ruthie started coughing and showing signs of shortness of breath. It didn't really surprise us, considering her history, so we monitored her and pulled out the nebulizer.
On Monday, I took her to a pediatrician (Dr. Rivas) just to verify my hunch was correct. He, too, diagnosed allergies and said she had no lung infection, no ear infection, no throat infection. We went home and continued with the Zyrtec.
By Wednesday, unfortunately, Ruthie was obviously doing worse instead of better. Lots of coughing and looooottts of crying. (OK, I contributed to the looooootts of crying because I cry when I'm tired. Or nervous. Or just because sometimes.) Thursday she woke up with a fever and was very lethargic. I called Dr. Rivas back who had us come in yesterday to the office. This time he did hear infection in her lungs and was much more concerned. (So was Mommy! There's just something about having a sick child in a third world country that is unsettling. It's just my American mentality, I'm sure, but I'm a Momma and I felt nervous yesterday. I even called our pediatrician in the US because I'm such a nervous American. She assured me his treatment was good and that she was sure Ruthie would be better soon.)
So, more breathing treatments and the antibiotic started yesterday. By last night she as already markedly better! I think Ruthie and I both got our best nights sleep last night since her cough intially began. Today we go back again to Dr. Rivas so he can monitor the response to the treatment after 24 hours.
Ruthie is tough and I'm proud of her. I know what a life of allergies and asthma is like and I know she hasn't felt good all week. Thanks be to God for the 21st century, doctors, advancement in medicine, telephones, Internet and all the lovely technology that helps my Ruthis feel better. Thanks be to God for God who is truly the great physician.
Friday, October 8, 2010
A Little out of Order
Should have posted these pics with the entry about Sam's school. Better late than never. Enjoy!
Sam and Miss Andrea.
Where all the pre-school action happens. 
Lining up for the morning assembly. Each morning the entire school prays and sings songs together.
Sam's super best bud at school, Diego. I think they mostly communicate thelanguage of friend love. :)
And finally, props to little sister Ruthie (sitting in the common area at school). Sister helps take and pick Sam up from school everyday. So sweet and so helpful!
A Rough Go...But Not Really
The sun eventually comes out after the rains, but sometimes it's just hard to believe. The Dove family is starting to see the rays peek through the dark clouds both literally and figuratively after a (sort-of) trying week and a half. (Disclaimer: I say "sort of," "not really," "a bit," etc. because everything must be seen with perspective. What I'm about to share is really not that bad...comparatively.)
Tuesday of this week (October 5) was the first day in nine consecuetive days that it did not rain constantly. It's amazing the effect weather can have on a disposition, but the nine days of non-stop rain was rough. There was definitely a sense of feeling trapped inside our indoor-outdoor house.
During these nine days, Ruthie, sweet Ruthie, started to cut her top molar teeth. I thought this was strange since she has yet to cut her canine teeth. Then I realized she's cutting all four of them at once and the molars just happened to break through first. Poor baby still doesn't have totally sunny skies. It's been a rough go for her.
During these past nine days, Sam has been in quite the mood and it unfortunately continues. Sam's behavior is atrocious and I'm racking my brain and praying hard to figure out the best way to handle it. The behavior issues are not just as home, but at school as well. Today the teacher reports he threw crayons...at his friends...on purpose. I know something more is going on because he's also wet the bed on a few occassions this past week and a half. Sammy is in dire need of some metaphorical sunny skies. His mommy is, too.
Then there's my sweet hulsband. Stephen unfortunately was the first of the four of us to get hit with a stomach bug. I'll respect him enough to keep details at bay, but I hated seeing him sick this week. Stephen also had to endure having me as a terrible nurse because I'm too afraid of getting sick myself.
So Tuesday when the rain finally stopped, we experienced our first earthquake. The center was 8 kilometers from our house and was a 3.8 on the Richter scale. No, it wasn't that big of a deal, but the bed moved and I was scared. And then I started thinking about the danger of earthquakes...and torrential storms...and erupting volcanoes...and you get the idea. I can easily freak myself out.
So, it's been a bit of a rough go for the Doves, but not really. Because the rain eventually ends. Sometimes when the rain ends, there's a earthquake and that freaks you out, too. But then everything really does end and the sun comes out. I'm looking forward to playing in the sunshine on our beautiful terrace.
Tuesday of this week (October 5) was the first day in nine consecuetive days that it did not rain constantly. It's amazing the effect weather can have on a disposition, but the nine days of non-stop rain was rough. There was definitely a sense of feeling trapped inside our indoor-outdoor house.
During these nine days, Ruthie, sweet Ruthie, started to cut her top molar teeth. I thought this was strange since she has yet to cut her canine teeth. Then I realized she's cutting all four of them at once and the molars just happened to break through first. Poor baby still doesn't have totally sunny skies. It's been a rough go for her.
During these past nine days, Sam has been in quite the mood and it unfortunately continues. Sam's behavior is atrocious and I'm racking my brain and praying hard to figure out the best way to handle it. The behavior issues are not just as home, but at school as well. Today the teacher reports he threw crayons...at his friends...on purpose. I know something more is going on because he's also wet the bed on a few occassions this past week and a half. Sammy is in dire need of some metaphorical sunny skies. His mommy is, too.
Then there's my sweet hulsband. Stephen unfortunately was the first of the four of us to get hit with a stomach bug. I'll respect him enough to keep details at bay, but I hated seeing him sick this week. Stephen also had to endure having me as a terrible nurse because I'm too afraid of getting sick myself.
So Tuesday when the rain finally stopped, we experienced our first earthquake. The center was 8 kilometers from our house and was a 3.8 on the Richter scale. No, it wasn't that big of a deal, but the bed moved and I was scared. And then I started thinking about the danger of earthquakes...and torrential storms...and erupting volcanoes...and you get the idea. I can easily freak myself out.
So, it's been a bit of a rough go for the Doves, but not really. Because the rain eventually ends. Sometimes when the rain ends, there's a earthquake and that freaks you out, too. But then everything really does end and the sun comes out. I'm looking forward to playing in the sunshine on our beautiful terrace.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Just a Little Misunderstanding
Everyday I pick Sam up from school I ask his teacher how he did and how he behaved. For the first time, he had a negative report today! The teacher proceeded to tell me that Sam got out of his seat without permission and that when she told him to come back, he did, but slammed the door and was very angry. Yikes.
On our way home, Sam and I talked about what happened. Sam's response? "Mom, I just had to go to the bathroom and sometimes she doesn't understand me. That's why I'm frustrated."
Poor Sam is on such a big learning curve! We practiced how to raise his hand and say, "Bano, por favor" lots this afternoon. Sam's got it down, but I'm thinking I'll teach the teacher tomorrow that bathroom = bano. :)
On our way home, Sam and I talked about what happened. Sam's response? "Mom, I just had to go to the bathroom and sometimes she doesn't understand me. That's why I'm frustrated."
Poor Sam is on such a big learning curve! We practiced how to raise his hand and say, "Bano, por favor" lots this afternoon. Sam's got it down, but I'm thinking I'll teach the teacher tomorrow that bathroom = bano. :)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Mundo Sesamo
Samuel attends a preschool for three and a half hours each morning, five days a week. Although they have “English class” once a week (in which Sam is the STAR), the program is entirely in Spanish with all Spanish-speaking classmates. The main incentive for enrolling Sam in school was to expose him to the language and to new friends.
Sam has been attending his new school, Mundo Sesamo, for four weeks now and what a difference four weeks can make! The very first day we left Sam, he cried and pulled at his ears and cried and begged us not to go. (I’m pretty sure the ear pulling thing had to do with hearing, but not understanding, so much Spanish.) I was SO nervous to leave him and called the school at least twice that morning. The entire first two weeks went something like the preceding description. Sam kept crying. Mommy kept calling the teacher. Except each day that passed, the teacher would report on the phone that he wasn’t crying as much during the day and that as a matter of fact, as soon as we left he did great.
And then on the third week came…the brave cape. Yes, the “brave cape.” Mommy suddenly had the idea to pretend to sew an imaginary cape, infused with prayer and bravery that would protect Sam throughout the day and take away his tears when we left. So Sam donned the brave cap and viola! the tears stopped.
The basics of preschool here are the same - Sam’s teacher, Andrea, is very loving; they have a daily schedule; Sam colors; Sam and his friends play on the playground; they all do crafts, etc. One time a week they have the following: English class, French class, music class, physical education, and what they call “Montessori class.” Besides the language, it may not be that different of a school day for Sam, actually. But for Mommy, it’s very different!
In the first four weeks alone, Sam has had only one actual full week of school. It is super common to be warned only one day in advance that school is cancelled the next day, or that he needs to bring some special treat or item to school, or that he will be in a parade, or that parents’ attendance is required at a special event, etc. We were given a September calendar at the beginning of the month showing the theme of the month and the specific activities scheduled for each day. This is great, but they don’t follow it! The month of September showed having one holiday…when in actuality there have been seven. At first I was pretty annoyed. Then I realized I’m in for a year and a half of annoyance if I just don’t adjust to the different cultural approach.
So…Cheers to adjustment! Cheers to Sam for his successful adjustment! Cheers to Mommy for slowly getting there!
If you’re curious, the school’s website is very cool and very informative. The preschool is one of the best in the city. I really am happy he’s there.
http://www.colegiomundosesamo.com/
Sam has been attending his new school, Mundo Sesamo, for four weeks now and what a difference four weeks can make! The very first day we left Sam, he cried and pulled at his ears and cried and begged us not to go. (I’m pretty sure the ear pulling thing had to do with hearing, but not understanding, so much Spanish.) I was SO nervous to leave him and called the school at least twice that morning. The entire first two weeks went something like the preceding description. Sam kept crying. Mommy kept calling the teacher. Except each day that passed, the teacher would report on the phone that he wasn’t crying as much during the day and that as a matter of fact, as soon as we left he did great.
And then on the third week came…the brave cape. Yes, the “brave cape.” Mommy suddenly had the idea to pretend to sew an imaginary cape, infused with prayer and bravery that would protect Sam throughout the day and take away his tears when we left. So Sam donned the brave cap and viola! the tears stopped.
The basics of preschool here are the same - Sam’s teacher, Andrea, is very loving; they have a daily schedule; Sam colors; Sam and his friends play on the playground; they all do crafts, etc. One time a week they have the following: English class, French class, music class, physical education, and what they call “Montessori class.” Besides the language, it may not be that different of a school day for Sam, actually. But for Mommy, it’s very different!
In the first four weeks alone, Sam has had only one actual full week of school. It is super common to be warned only one day in advance that school is cancelled the next day, or that he needs to bring some special treat or item to school, or that he will be in a parade, or that parents’ attendance is required at a special event, etc. We were given a September calendar at the beginning of the month showing the theme of the month and the specific activities scheduled for each day. This is great, but they don’t follow it! The month of September showed having one holiday…when in actuality there have been seven. At first I was pretty annoyed. Then I realized I’m in for a year and a half of annoyance if I just don’t adjust to the different cultural approach.
So…Cheers to adjustment! Cheers to Sam for his successful adjustment! Cheers to Mommy for slowly getting there!
If you’re curious, the school’s website is very cool and very informative. The preschool is one of the best in the city. I really am happy he’s there.
http://www.colegiomundosesamo.com/
Saturday, September 25, 2010
La Casa
This summer when we were makingn plans to come to Guatemala, we anticipated Stephen making the trip ahead of the rest of the family in order to scope out our potential residence. Due to the cost airfare, the idea of traveling separately, etc., we decided to hire a realtor. It was a bit nerve-racking choosing a place based on Internet photos and our realtor's advice, but it worked out better than we could have ever imagined. Our realtor was wonderful and we have adored our house, the location, our neighborhood and our neighbors. Praise God!
Take a tour through our house. Consider taking it in real life, too! We would love to have visitors!
Above is the view of the front of our house. Directly across the street is the neighborhood green area. I open the window in our living room (to the right of the front door) and have a beautiful view of the fountain and the flowering park.
To the left is a shot of the front entrance (the black door you see is the front door). The class doors lead to our living room and dining room, shown below.
Living area on the first floor of the house is L-shaped. If you continue walking on the indoor/outdoor hallway, you arrive at the doors to Sam and Ruth's rooms. Yes, technically Sam's room and Ruth's room open to the outdoors, but they are totally secure inside the walls of the house (remember the yellow wall seen from the front view of the house?). As I mentioned in an earlier post, I love the concept of the house. It's a very cool advantage of living in a place with perpetual Spring weather. Above the kids' rooms, on the second floor, is the master bedroom. You can see the window to the master bedroom in this pic.
Ruth's newly decorated nursery. We got permission from the ownder to paint and decorate and we're having so much fun with it. Sam's room is currently under "paint-struction" and I will post a pic of that soon.
Our master bedroom. The views from the window and the high, vaulted ceilings are what make this space spectacular. Too bad I didn't include pics of either of those...what's up with that?
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Surprise!
Things that surprised me after moving to Guatemala:
• Most everything really is cheaper, but not everything. I can feed my family of four on about $80 a week. Produce is delicious and super inexpensive (ex: $.50 for a pound of strawberries) but other things are not. Cheddar cheese is sometimes hard to find and costs about $8 a pound. I also had a big surprise buying soap for my dishwasher at $7 for a small box of Cascade. Most of the reason certain things are so expensive has to do with supply and demand. I think I have one of only about five existing dishwashers in the whole country (I’m exaggerating, but probably not by much…)
• The size of my house totally surprised me. It’s the first time in my adult life that I’ve had tons of space and not a lot of stuff. Usually it’s been just the opposite (I mean I lived in LA…remember?)
• The views from my roof didn’t just surprise me…they amazed me.
• I’ve been pleasantly surprised about how wonderfully easy it’s been to make friends. I pray this continues
• I am definitely surprised that we haven’t been able to find a church that feels comfortable. Regardless of the fact that I’ve lived in Mexico three times and found a church I liked all three times; regardless of the fact that Guatemala is the largest evangelical country in Latin America; regardless of the fact that Guatemala has more missionaries than any country in Latin America…we still haven’t found a church. (I'm pretty sure those semi-statistics are correct...) We called a local missionary our first week here and asked her for a recommendation and/or the directions to the church she went to. Her response? “Yeah…well…if you find one, let me know.”
• I didn’t anticipate wanting a car so badly, nor did I anticipate the dread of relying on public transportation. (As a matter of fact, all taxis are on strike today…relying on the unreliable is tough.) I am so fortunate we had the support to get a car. Yeah to the ’95 Nissan!
Things that haven’t surprised me after moving to Guatemala:
• I knew they would, but my kids really had to toughen up (literally and figuratively). Everywhere we go, including our own home, is hard, tile floor or make of rock. They fall…daily…they scrape their knee…they cry…they fall again. I think I deal with either a Sam or Ruthie fall about five times a day. I knew they also would have to be strong in adjusting to cultural and language differences. They have been strong, brave, and resilient through the change.
• I knew we would all miss home. I think it’s probably toughest for Sam. We moved our entire lives without being able to move all our familiar things. Usually once a day Sam remembers something he used to have (and really still does) and asks for it. That’s tough. Things are just things, but a three year old is just a three year old. And he misses his Lightening McQueen car, his light-up airplane, his sandbox, you get the idea…He really missed his stuffed dog, Blizzard, but Nana and Grandpa helped Blizzard make the trip through the postal system. I’m so thankful for that!
• Even with all the rain, the weather is still so lovely.
• I really do enjoy my schedule as much as I thought I would. I liked teaching high school for six years, I really did, but I didn’t think I would miss it and I don’t. Not yet anyways.
• I have enjoyed my Kindle (and yes, I am willing to advertise for them!). I have read four novels in the past six weeks. Keep it comin’ Kindle. I love you and I love my books. Recommendations from the past month include: Little Bee, Outliers, and Ford County Stories.
• The coffee really is good. There’s a reason Starbucks features coffee from Antigua, Guatemala.
• Most everything really is cheaper, but not everything. I can feed my family of four on about $80 a week. Produce is delicious and super inexpensive (ex: $.50 for a pound of strawberries) but other things are not. Cheddar cheese is sometimes hard to find and costs about $8 a pound. I also had a big surprise buying soap for my dishwasher at $7 for a small box of Cascade. Most of the reason certain things are so expensive has to do with supply and demand. I think I have one of only about five existing dishwashers in the whole country (I’m exaggerating, but probably not by much…)
• The size of my house totally surprised me. It’s the first time in my adult life that I’ve had tons of space and not a lot of stuff. Usually it’s been just the opposite (I mean I lived in LA…remember?)
• The views from my roof didn’t just surprise me…they amazed me.
• I’ve been pleasantly surprised about how wonderfully easy it’s been to make friends. I pray this continues
• I am definitely surprised that we haven’t been able to find a church that feels comfortable. Regardless of the fact that I’ve lived in Mexico three times and found a church I liked all three times; regardless of the fact that Guatemala is the largest evangelical country in Latin America; regardless of the fact that Guatemala has more missionaries than any country in Latin America…we still haven’t found a church. (I'm pretty sure those semi-statistics are correct...) We called a local missionary our first week here and asked her for a recommendation and/or the directions to the church she went to. Her response? “Yeah…well…if you find one, let me know.”
• I didn’t anticipate wanting a car so badly, nor did I anticipate the dread of relying on public transportation. (As a matter of fact, all taxis are on strike today…relying on the unreliable is tough.) I am so fortunate we had the support to get a car. Yeah to the ’95 Nissan!
Things that haven’t surprised me after moving to Guatemala:
• I knew they would, but my kids really had to toughen up (literally and figuratively). Everywhere we go, including our own home, is hard, tile floor or make of rock. They fall…daily…they scrape their knee…they cry…they fall again. I think I deal with either a Sam or Ruthie fall about five times a day. I knew they also would have to be strong in adjusting to cultural and language differences. They have been strong, brave, and resilient through the change.
• I knew we would all miss home. I think it’s probably toughest for Sam. We moved our entire lives without being able to move all our familiar things. Usually once a day Sam remembers something he used to have (and really still does) and asks for it. That’s tough. Things are just things, but a three year old is just a three year old. And he misses his Lightening McQueen car, his light-up airplane, his sandbox, you get the idea…He really missed his stuffed dog, Blizzard, but Nana and Grandpa helped Blizzard make the trip through the postal system. I’m so thankful for that!
• Even with all the rain, the weather is still so lovely.
• I really do enjoy my schedule as much as I thought I would. I liked teaching high school for six years, I really did, but I didn’t think I would miss it and I don’t. Not yet anyways.
• I have enjoyed my Kindle (and yes, I am willing to advertise for them!). I have read four novels in the past six weeks. Keep it comin’ Kindle. I love you and I love my books. Recommendations from the past month include: Little Bee, Outliers, and Ford County Stories.
• The coffee really is good. There’s a reason Starbucks features coffee from Antigua, Guatemala.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Repeat from FB as I get this started...
Tomorrow will mark the start of our fourth week in Guatemala. Before we left I was considering our move here to be more like a life pit-stop - just a quick pull off the side of the road, but not the real destination. I realize now that I even packed with that mentality. “Ah, we’ll just get (fill in the blank) there. It’s no big deal.” Thinking in my mind it was just a week at camp and anyone can survive a week at camp without (fill in the blank). I now understand that I don’t want to be at camp for a year and a half, I want to be home. We are slowly making our beautiful house here a home, but we still have a ways to go!
We arrived Monday, August 16th at 2:30 in the afternoon. Our flight was very smooth and the kids were amazing. By the end of the first week, we had acquired most of the essentials we failed to or were unable to pack – a crib, towels, groceries, Internet, a new microwave, and even a new (very small) TV and we’re settling in nicely to our new house.
Although we had seen many pictures on the Internet, our house was still a wonderful surprise. We have what’s called in Spanish a “casa de corredores” or a corridor house. Our house is like nothing you would see in the United States. We call it our indoor/outdoor house. Our house is a big square. In the middle of the square is a patio terrace. The living room, dining room, kitchen, and both kids’ rooms run along two sides of the square and the doors to all these rooms open right to the terrace. When Sam wakes up and opens his door he is essentially outside inside our house. Stephen’s and my room is on the second floor. Our door opens and leads either to the roof top terrace or our indoor outdoor stairs. I think it took me about 24 hours to adjust to a totally new style of house and then another 24 hours to absolutely fall in love with it. My children have never had so much wonderful, fresh air!
Our house is in a very nice and very secure residential neighborhood on the south side of Antigua, Guatemala. Antigua is a sheik tourist attraction town. The local adjective for the town is “tranquilo.” It is essentially a ten by ten block town mixed with old churches and new hotels, flanked by three volcanoes and all paved with cobblestone streets. It took me about 24 hours to adjust to walking and commuting on the quaint cobblestone streets and about another 24 hours to absolutely hate them. OK, not hate, but I’m easily annoyed by them. Sam loves to imitate driving on them – bump bump bumpidy bump bump bump.
We have lived three weeks in the middle of Guatemalan winter. This essentially means that it rains everyday (EVERYDAY) and is often cool in the afternoon and evening. Come November, we will adjust to Guatemalan summer, which apparently means perfect temperatures all day long. Regardless, it’s beautiful.
By the second week we attempted to start a normal routine. Ideally, Stephen works a full work week on his dissertation. The University of Texas has offices in the middle of town (five blocks from our house) and three days of the week he walks in to work. Two days of the week, Stephen travels into “Guate” to do further research at archives and libraries not available in Antigua. I am home with the kids, but work most mornings on my translation job through Wayland Baptist University (a wonderful opportunity that materialized this summer). Monday through Friday, I have a woman named Sonia that comes from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 to clean, help watch Ruthie while I work, and help with lunch. Samuel attends a new pre-school every morning while the three girls (me, Sonia, and Ruthie) keep the home fires burning. The afternoon is naptime and play time for me, Samuel, and Ruthie. We have already had many fun afternoon adventures (playing in our neighborhood park area, the public park in the middle of town, and playing at one of two indoor play lands when it rains).
In just 20 days, we have already met many wonderful people. Our neighborhood has been an amazing blessing and so far all of our “friends” are in our neighborhood. Some of the important people in just the first few weeks are:
• Sonia, Antonio, and Cecilia – Sonia is the woman that comes everyday to help. Her family is lovely and includes her, her husband, and their three year old daughter, Ceci.
• Judy and John – The house across the street from us belongs to a missionary couple. Judy knocked on our door the first week with a smile and a loaf of delicious banana bread. Judy and John operate a “transition home” for girls who come from orphanages but now need help “transitioning” to find a job, perhaps continue their education, etc.
• Fredi, Amalia and their three daughters – Right next door is a beautiful Guatemalan family. The younger two daughters (ages 5 and 9) have fallen in love with Ruth. Amalia, the wife, works in Guate and Stephen has been able to ride with her when he goes to work in the city. What a blessing!
• Maritza – Already a dear friend. Maritza was raised in Puerto Rico, lived 25 years in Atlanta, Georgia (after moving there for college) and has now lived here for two months. She is very kind and I am excited about our growing friendship.
I am proud of how our family is adjusting and I am soaking up the beauty of where we live. So far, there have only been two real hurdles and I am confident we will successfully jump over them soon. The first has been transportation. Before we moved we had planned on depending entirely on public transportation. While we have done well with that (Stephen takes Sam to school every morning on a “chicken bus” and Ruthie and I pick him up every afternoon the same way), it has gotten old fast. Relying on public transportation has make some days hard getting Sam to and from school, going grocery shopping, taking the kids to the park, and more. We have decided to buy a car (thanks to the help of my in-laws!!) and will hopefully be acquiring a 1989 standard Mazda 323 this week. Niiiice. I’m SO excited if it all goes smoothly this week and I’m looking forward to finally learning how to drive a stick-shift. Having a car will make so many things easier. The second hurdle has been finding a church. Granted we’ve only visited two so far, there are many things that make this tough. We actually have another missionary friend here that I didn’t mention above. When we called her the first week and asked her where we should visit she said, “Yeah, if you find a good one, let me know.” We pray we are sensitive to understanding how to adjust to this cultural difference and where we can best serve our community and raise our children.
And, ahh, my children. I will close with a brief description of how they are. Samuel is amazing. It is obvious he loves our home, his new room, and the routine we’ve established. His biggest adjustment has regarded going to school. Most days when we drop him off he is in tears, but smiling when we pick him up. The school is very nice and his teacher is very loving. I feel confident that after a year and a half his Spanish will be beautiful, but now it’s a source of frustration for him. He has asked me several times if we can only have English in our house (which is tough with our visitors, neighbors, etc.). Ruthie has grown even more in the past three weeks alone. She turns 14 months old tomorrow and still is not walking. She is close, though, and I think this will be a big month for her. The cobble stone streets don’t help, though! 100% of her words (besides our names) are in Spanish. Some things she loves to say are: agua, abre, patcha, leche, Bubba, “Ruti,” and of course Mama and Dada. She has a smile on her face from the moment she wakes up from the moment she goes down. She is very outgoing. Anytime I’m on a walk with her or out in the middle of town, she waves and smiles. Both my kids have become “popular” in town (they’re easy to spot and remember!).
Although we are enjoying our new home, we really do miss our family and friends. We love to hear from you (e-mail, Facebook, snail mail, skype). Know that it is only with your prayers and support we have been able to bask in the blessing of this transition. We love you!
We arrived Monday, August 16th at 2:30 in the afternoon. Our flight was very smooth and the kids were amazing. By the end of the first week, we had acquired most of the essentials we failed to or were unable to pack – a crib, towels, groceries, Internet, a new microwave, and even a new (very small) TV and we’re settling in nicely to our new house.
Although we had seen many pictures on the Internet, our house was still a wonderful surprise. We have what’s called in Spanish a “casa de corredores” or a corridor house. Our house is like nothing you would see in the United States. We call it our indoor/outdoor house. Our house is a big square. In the middle of the square is a patio terrace. The living room, dining room, kitchen, and both kids’ rooms run along two sides of the square and the doors to all these rooms open right to the terrace. When Sam wakes up and opens his door he is essentially outside inside our house. Stephen’s and my room is on the second floor. Our door opens and leads either to the roof top terrace or our indoor outdoor stairs. I think it took me about 24 hours to adjust to a totally new style of house and then another 24 hours to absolutely fall in love with it. My children have never had so much wonderful, fresh air!
Our house is in a very nice and very secure residential neighborhood on the south side of Antigua, Guatemala. Antigua is a sheik tourist attraction town. The local adjective for the town is “tranquilo.” It is essentially a ten by ten block town mixed with old churches and new hotels, flanked by three volcanoes and all paved with cobblestone streets. It took me about 24 hours to adjust to walking and commuting on the quaint cobblestone streets and about another 24 hours to absolutely hate them. OK, not hate, but I’m easily annoyed by them. Sam loves to imitate driving on them – bump bump bumpidy bump bump bump.
We have lived three weeks in the middle of Guatemalan winter. This essentially means that it rains everyday (EVERYDAY) and is often cool in the afternoon and evening. Come November, we will adjust to Guatemalan summer, which apparently means perfect temperatures all day long. Regardless, it’s beautiful.
By the second week we attempted to start a normal routine. Ideally, Stephen works a full work week on his dissertation. The University of Texas has offices in the middle of town (five blocks from our house) and three days of the week he walks in to work. Two days of the week, Stephen travels into “Guate” to do further research at archives and libraries not available in Antigua. I am home with the kids, but work most mornings on my translation job through Wayland Baptist University (a wonderful opportunity that materialized this summer). Monday through Friday, I have a woman named Sonia that comes from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 to clean, help watch Ruthie while I work, and help with lunch. Samuel attends a new pre-school every morning while the three girls (me, Sonia, and Ruthie) keep the home fires burning. The afternoon is naptime and play time for me, Samuel, and Ruthie. We have already had many fun afternoon adventures (playing in our neighborhood park area, the public park in the middle of town, and playing at one of two indoor play lands when it rains).
In just 20 days, we have already met many wonderful people. Our neighborhood has been an amazing blessing and so far all of our “friends” are in our neighborhood. Some of the important people in just the first few weeks are:
• Sonia, Antonio, and Cecilia – Sonia is the woman that comes everyday to help. Her family is lovely and includes her, her husband, and their three year old daughter, Ceci.
• Judy and John – The house across the street from us belongs to a missionary couple. Judy knocked on our door the first week with a smile and a loaf of delicious banana bread. Judy and John operate a “transition home” for girls who come from orphanages but now need help “transitioning” to find a job, perhaps continue their education, etc.
• Fredi, Amalia and their three daughters – Right next door is a beautiful Guatemalan family. The younger two daughters (ages 5 and 9) have fallen in love with Ruth. Amalia, the wife, works in Guate and Stephen has been able to ride with her when he goes to work in the city. What a blessing!
• Maritza – Already a dear friend. Maritza was raised in Puerto Rico, lived 25 years in Atlanta, Georgia (after moving there for college) and has now lived here for two months. She is very kind and I am excited about our growing friendship.
I am proud of how our family is adjusting and I am soaking up the beauty of where we live. So far, there have only been two real hurdles and I am confident we will successfully jump over them soon. The first has been transportation. Before we moved we had planned on depending entirely on public transportation. While we have done well with that (Stephen takes Sam to school every morning on a “chicken bus” and Ruthie and I pick him up every afternoon the same way), it has gotten old fast. Relying on public transportation has make some days hard getting Sam to and from school, going grocery shopping, taking the kids to the park, and more. We have decided to buy a car (thanks to the help of my in-laws!!) and will hopefully be acquiring a 1989 standard Mazda 323 this week. Niiiice. I’m SO excited if it all goes smoothly this week and I’m looking forward to finally learning how to drive a stick-shift. Having a car will make so many things easier. The second hurdle has been finding a church. Granted we’ve only visited two so far, there are many things that make this tough. We actually have another missionary friend here that I didn’t mention above. When we called her the first week and asked her where we should visit she said, “Yeah, if you find a good one, let me know.” We pray we are sensitive to understanding how to adjust to this cultural difference and where we can best serve our community and raise our children.
And, ahh, my children. I will close with a brief description of how they are. Samuel is amazing. It is obvious he loves our home, his new room, and the routine we’ve established. His biggest adjustment has regarded going to school. Most days when we drop him off he is in tears, but smiling when we pick him up. The school is very nice and his teacher is very loving. I feel confident that after a year and a half his Spanish will be beautiful, but now it’s a source of frustration for him. He has asked me several times if we can only have English in our house (which is tough with our visitors, neighbors, etc.). Ruthie has grown even more in the past three weeks alone. She turns 14 months old tomorrow and still is not walking. She is close, though, and I think this will be a big month for her. The cobble stone streets don’t help, though! 100% of her words (besides our names) are in Spanish. Some things she loves to say are: agua, abre, patcha, leche, Bubba, “Ruti,” and of course Mama and Dada. She has a smile on her face from the moment she wakes up from the moment she goes down. She is very outgoing. Anytime I’m on a walk with her or out in the middle of town, she waves and smiles. Both my kids have become “popular” in town (they’re easy to spot and remember!).
Although we are enjoying our new home, we really do miss our family and friends. We love to hear from you (e-mail, Facebook, snail mail, skype). Know that it is only with your prayers and support we have been able to bask in the blessing of this transition. We love you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)