Southern Sensibility - Part 2

In my previous post, I wrote about my struggle with certain aspects of our new Guatemala culture. There are several things that don't sit well with my Southern sense of right and wrong.

Let me ask you a question....do you believe that our government can and does brainwash the American people? (before you think I have become a conspiracy theorist - just hang with me) If your answer is no, I have a little experiment for you to try. Run down to the Quiktrip and get yourself a Coke and a candy bar. I want you to go stand outside and enjoy your snack. When you are finished, I want you to throw the bottle and the wrapper on the ground. Don't try be sneaky about it - do it in plain sight of everyone. Go ahead, I'll wait right here.

Could you do it? NO - you cannot! Why can't you do it? I'll tell you why - because you give a HOOT and you Don't Pollute, right? Just like me, you have been brainwashed by the "Keep America Beautiful" campaign. Since the early 50's, we have been taught through Public Service Announcements that we can't throw our trash anywhere we want. Who remembers the Crying Indian commercial from the 70's? This organization coined the phrase "litterbug." It worked, they have succeeded. We cannot in good conscience throw our trash on the ground in plain view of God and man. It has been ingrained in us, it has become part of our culture to care for our surroundings. Those who litter can and will be punished - because pollution hurts all of us, right?

                                          

Well, no one has ever heard of a "Keep Guatemala Beautiful" campaign. It is common to see people throw trash and litter on the ground. They have no shame or conscience for disposing of their waste wherever it happens to fall. In Antigua, we have seen a garbage collection truck picking up trash from local businesses and the wealthier residential homes. Antigua is unique - they believe in preserving the city for it's historical value as well as it's tourism value. Most parts of Guatemala have one of two methods for disposing of their waste. They burn it or they throw it down the hill. Of course, this is very unsanitary, since the rain also washes down the hill and picks up all manner of bacteria and disease before it joins a creek or river which in turn becomes bathing, washing and drinking water.

Trash and debris around town.

Speaking of unsanitary - it's not just the trash that bothers me. At least once or twice a week, I see someone (usually creepy men) peeing in the street. Sometimes it's on a tree, a bus tire, or just in the corner of a wall. Really?? I know there is a shortage of public restrooms, but somehow I manage to live without peeing in public. (So do all the males in my household.) I kinda understand if you're in the middle of nowhere, but not in the middle of town!

My thoughts are very conflicted as I try to reconcile myself to these cultural habits. The American in me is of course, disgusted and repulsed by such behavior. I find it uncivilized and barbaric. I know, I know - it's very arrogant and pretentious of me to look down from the mount of self-actualization and take such notice of others. I recognize that most Guatemalans are consumed with surviving their daily life - they can't be concerned with pollution and waste management. It is the luxury of proud and conceited Americans to concern ourselves with writing tickets to litterbugs.

Vegetables and garbage in the market.

Somehow, I don't think God's heart is crushed because they have a litter control problem in Guatemala. I think His heart is crushed by their hopelessness. I see this problem as symptomatic of their hopelessness. Why does it matter what they do with their trash when life is so uncertain? Can I find work today? Can I feed my family today? Can I pay the rent? Will the crops fail? Are we safe?

I am asking the Lord to give me compassion for the lives of these people. Kill in me all, that wants to look down on these people. May I see them as He sees them - a people in need of hope for their future.

Southern Sensibility - Part 1

Every morning our walk to school begins on this lovely path 

next to the ruins of Santa Rosa Cathedral.

Several weeks ago I wrote about the process of Culture Shock (see Lost that Loving Feeling post). Here are more thoughts on the cultural differences we experience on a regular basis. Recently, there have been several things that really bother me. I have had a hard time naming exactly what it is that drives me crazy ... then one day I realized that not only does this culture rub my "American" skin the wrong way; my southern sensibilities are often offended as well.

For example, in the South we are generally considered to be polite, warm and hospitable. We like our tea sweet and our vowels wide. We love our country, our family and our church. We really love food and gatherings built entirely around food - we invented "comfort food." In the South, we go out of our way to show kindness and respect for one another. It's just the way we are, it's in the soil, our roots soak it up and we become Southern. With the exception of sweet tea and wide vowels, Guatemala is very similar. The people are warm and hospitable, they love family and food as well. Yet, there are some major clashes with my southern heritage.

Generally speaking, in the South drivers give a wide berth to cyclists and pedestrians on the street or in parking lots. It's bad form to hit people with your car. You also don't want to scare them or in anyway give the impressions that you might run them over. This is definitely not the case in Guatemala.

Walking in Guatemala can be very dangerous for a number of reasons. The first being - respiratory health. The streets are full of diesel and gasoline fumes. I don't think the Commission for Emissions Control has ever heard of Guatemala. The second danger is the sidewalks themselves. They tend to be narrow, many places you cannot walk two abreast - single file only. The sidewalks are crumbly, they have varying elevations or open holes - perfect for breaking an ankle. In addition, one must always be on the lookout for dog poo. Completely foreign concepts - Walk your dog on a leash and clean up after your dog. The dogs don't look well fed, but the sidewalk has evidence that proves otherwise. One thing I love about Antigua - the amazingly beautiful window boxes - until you whack your head on one. They make the sidewalk even more narrow and they are the perfect height for causing brain injuries to even the most observant of pedestrians.

Watch your step - it's a big drop!

Window box - perfect height for bashing your brains out!

So far, I have only covered the dangers of walking on the sidewalk. You can see why we frequently end up walking on the edge of the sidewalk or in the street. Here is where the cars, tuk-tuks and motorcycles become really dangerous. At times it seems as if they want you think they are going to run you over. The street can be wide open, no traffic and a tuk-tuk or motorcycle will ride right up next to you, within inches of your body. It's one thing to do this to me or Lee but I really get bent out of shape when they do it to my children! I keep thinking  "Really, you have to drive right here? REALLY? You can't make a little room for pedestrians?"It's infuriating.

Sometimes the sidewalk is there, sometimes it's just dirt.

We pass this hole in the sidewalk everyday on our way to school.

That's a broken ankle and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Pedestrians beware!

So how do I reconcile this new culture with my Southern sensibilities? I can't decide - "Is it me? or is it them?" Well, there's more to it than just getting used to the insanity of walking and driving in a foreign country. I keep looking deeper at what this behavior says about our new culture. What does it say about me? More thoughts to come....

Despite the dangers, the vistas are truly amazing!

Our first visitor from home...

This past week, we had our first visitor from home - Mimi! Lee's mom arrived on Monday afternoon. She had three suitcases full of gifts and goodies. (She only need half of one for her clothes - the rest was LOOT!) The kids thought it was Christmas in October!

We had treats like M&Ms, decaf tea, movies, new games, flip flops and much, much more.

We took her on a tour of Antigua - we drove up to the Cross on the hill which overlooks the city of Antigua. We took a tour of Jades SA - which is a shop that mines and cuts Jade into jewelry. We took her to see some ruins, some cathedrals and of course the market! Apparently, she can shop in any language. She loved all the beautiful textiles in the market.

View from Cerro de la Cruz (Antigua and Vulcan Agua)

Wednesday was my birthday. Mimi had some special gifts from friends and family. What a treat to open fun and thoughtful gifts from home. That evening, Patty was able to meet several of our new friends. Lee organized a birthday party at the home of our friends, The Ericksons. (Our place is too small, so Maureen was so kind to host for us.) We had so much fun laughing and telling fun stories about life in our new country.  Too much FUN!

Erickson family, Radfords, Amy & Andy, Joy & Jared (photo by Katey Erickson)

So many great new friends!!

On Thursday, we drove her to Pana. She was amazed by the sights and sounds of the Guatemalan countryside and terrified by the driving down here. We were able to see the house we will be renting in December. She really enjoyed seeing where we will live for a while. It was good for me to see it again too. I can start planning how to set up our next home. (This nomadic life is very different for me - I have to make a plan - I'm not a fly-by-the-seat-f-my-pants kind of girl!) We ate a really fabulous dinner at the Posada Don Rodrigo and the kids swam in their pool. We took Patty shopping on Calle Santander (market street).

View of Lake Atitlan from Sunset Cafe

On Friday morning, (we did some more quick shopping) then we went up to Eagle's Nest and took the grand tour. We had a delicious lunch with some of the EN staff. Then we drove back to Antigua. It was fun to show her all the places and people who will be part of our new life in Pana.

The week seemed to fly by; good times always do! On Saturday, she flew home to Atlanta. What a blessing it is that friends and family can come to visit! (It's cheap and only 3 hour flight from ATL - you know you want to come see us!) Who's next???

Retiro de Mujeres

Last weekend, I had the privilege of teaching at a retiro de mujeres (Ladies Retreat) which was hosted by Eagle's Nest. We had almost 100 ladies from the western regions of Guatemala join us for food, fellowship and fun.

We had four North American missionaries who were teaching on various aspects of prayer life. We each taught a workshop four times as the ladies rotated through in group of 20-25. We each had a craft or activity to help reinforce the teaching time.

Getting the ladies registered for the retreat and assigned to room.

(Notice the lady with traditional Mayan dress and her beautiful braids with ribbon)

This was a new experience for me, as I have neither taught at a retreat nor have I taught with a translator before. The first workshop felt a little stilted, not very natural. As we went through the weekend, each time was a little easier and more natural. It really helped to have a great translator. A wonderful missionary named Tammy was my translator. I really enjoyed getting to know her between sessions and playing with her sweet baby Jenette. (Tammy is not only a fabulous translator, but a wonderful mother of seven.)

Together we taught from Matthew 6. Jesus was teaching about prayer in secret - private prayer. He warns against the proud and arrogant prayers of men who like to hear their own voices. The emphasis is on seeking Him in private - when we are humble and honest before Him. We pray because we want to be in relationship with God, because we love him - not because we want to be seen a certain way in the eyes of men. "Prayer doesn't change God, it changes me."- C.S. Lewis

The ladies in my class made secret prayer pillows from fleece blankets. They wrote little prayers on a piece of paper which they inserted in the pillow. When the Lord answers that prayer, they can insert a new prayer. The pillow is meant to remind us to seek Him in prayer for all our needs.

This was my classroom. 

Working on pillows.

I have learned many things about women in Guatemala. Most get up about 4:45 every morning. They start the day by preparing food for breakfast, lunch and snack time (Guatemalans have a mid-morning snack at 10 am because it is a long time from 5:30am to 1:00 pm) Lunch is the large meal of the day, so there is much work to do. Some women have to gather firewood or get water from outside sources for cooking meals. They have children to care for, husbands to send out to the fields, and an endless list of chores like laundry and shopping in the market. Many of them also try to earn an income for the family through small businesses like handicrafts, jewelry making, domestic cleaning or running a tienda (corner shop) I have always wondered if a Proverbs 31 woman really exists. I am realizing they exist all over the world, just not in the US. Women here rarely have time to relax or time alone - forget about time with girlfriends. It simply doesn't exist here.  As North American women we are so spoiled. It was a special treat to see these ladies spending time with one another. They were given an opportunity that most of us not only take for granted but often feel entitled to - uninterrupted time with girlfriends.

What a privilege to serve these ladies and their families. May the Lord bless and keep them, make his face to shine upon them!

Adventures of Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley goes to Guatemala - by Parker & Anna Kate

Who is Flat Stanley you may be wondering....well, Flat is the main character in a very popular series of children's chapter books. Flat can travel the world easily because he simply mails himself everywhere. Anna Kate has been enjoying this fun collection of books. A young friend from Marietta named Kelly is also reading through the book with her class. Her dad asked if they could send Flat to us and we could show him around Guatemala. Well, he arrived by First Class Priority Mail last week. The following is a brief history of Flat's adventures in Guatemala with the Radford family.

This is a picture of Flat Stanley watching passion 2011 live in our kitchen. We loved singing along with Chris Tomlin.

Our family took a quick trip to Panajachel on the shore of Lake Atitlan. We were lounging by the lake. We had a lovely view of the lake and a volcano. We watched boats traveling across the lake.

This is a picture of Flat Stanley in some flowers at Los Buenas Nuevas (The Good News) on our one week vacation from language school. Guatemala has many tropical plants.

While we were in Panajachel, we climbed trees. This is a limon (lime) tree. We also saw orange trees, mango trees, avocado trees and banana trees. We watched some pretty orange and black birds catching breakfast in these trees.

This is Flat, Anna Kate and me (Parker) on a wall on lake Atitlan. This is a view of Vulcan Toliman. There are many small villages all around the edge of the lake.

While we were sitting by the lake, Flat decided to climb the volcano. Don't worry, this is an inactive volcano. (Picture by Parker)   

We walked up the main street of Panajachel called Calle Santander. Many locals come to the market area and sell their goods. We saw colorful fabrics, jewelry and souvenirs.

This is Flat wearing my bracelet that we bought from the vender. Flat loved all the colorful bracelets and fabrics.

While we were wondering around Pana, we stopped at Crossroads cafe for a cup of hot chocolate and some coffee. Mr. Mike was very happy to see Flat Stanley in his shop. Mr. Mike made a smiley face from foamy milk in my hot chocolate. The coffee and hot chocolate are really yummy!!

DANGER - Gringos driving in Guate

This is a mudslide just above Panajachel. (200+ ft. high)

As many of you know, we took a break from Spanish school this week. We went to a missionary retreat center in Panajachel called Los Buenas Nuevas (LBN). The drive to Pana was nerve-racking because it was rainy and foggy. Guatemala has had more rain this season than they have had for about 60 years. The rain has caused lots of mudslides. The higher in the mountains we drove the more mud, dirt, trees and rocks were in the road. The main highway is supposed to be four lanes (two in each direction). Since many places are covered with mud, the lanes switch back and forth and often go down to one lane each way or 1 1/2 lanes for both directions. It makes for some very tense travel.

We made it to Pana on Tuesday a little after noon. We enjoyed some quiet days of reading and resting. Although, we did take some Spanish to study - we didn't do it. We will probably pay for it on Monday. Anyway, we walked around Pana, had coffee at Crossroads, met some friends for dinner one night. The kids played outside and loved on the neighbor kitty. It was nice to read and relax by the lake. It rained alot on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday evening you could have confused the Rancho Grande Avenida for the Pana River. It had 3-4 inches of water running down the street toward the lake. With so much rain, another mudslide covered the road out of Pana. It was closed all day yesterday and didn't look like it would be open today either.

Thus we had to take an "alternate" route in order to be back in Antigua today. It started out pretty good, but we saw some serious mudslides and had one very tricky crossing. Several places looked like we were driving upstream in a river instead of driving on a paved (semi-paved) road. As we came over the top of one mountain we saw this enormous mudslide across the valley on another mountain. It was probably 100 yards across at the top and 50 yards tall. As we got a better view of it, we decided to try and photograph it. We soon realized the road we were traveling was headed right to it. We ended up driving at the base of the mudslide. As we continued, we came around another bend where traffic was backed up, mud every where, trees in the road, chicken buses coming in the opposite direction....total insanity. We had to drive off-road - towards the CLIFF - in order to pass the mud, which was piled higher than the window of our Landcruiser. THEN, it started to rain again.

This is the small mudslide.

This was the BIG mudslide.

This was the SCARY off-road mudslide. 

(I was too scared to take a picture up the hill)

Did I mentioned the road signs? We very frequently see tree branches or rocks used as Bob's barricade signs. Sometimes, they have a large sign with a big arrow. This indicates that you should change lanes and you will be sharing with the oncoming traffic. This is all fine except, the arrow is usually about 3 feet from the space where you change lanes. If you pay close attention, you usually know when you are supposed to start the lane change, but you don't always know when it ends. In addition, if the traffic in the opposite direction shifts to your side, you don't always have warning until there is a chicken bus headed right at you on your side of the road.

Here is the really crazy thing - it took three hours to get from Panajachel to Antigua. It's only 60 miles. The good news is - the Lord was with us, we made it home safely and we are SOOO happy that we bought a 4-wheel drive vehicle. So those of you who drive up and down 75/85/285 - remember your friends in Guatemala and thank the Lord for an orderly method and good signage of road construction and repair.

This is a waterfall and mudslide that buried the road to Solola. 

This caused us to take the "alternate" route out of town.

Our God - Is With Us In Guatemala

In January of this year Angel and I had the opportunity to attend Passion 2010 with the college ministry at North Metro Church.  We went to spend time around college students who love Jesus.  We were about 3 months away from leading 18 college students on a trip to Guatemala and we felt that we needed to be around young adults.  We spend most of our time with an 8 year old and a 10 year old, and it has been a long time since I was in college (not so long for Angel).

Well Passion 2010 blew us away.  God showed up and helped us solidify our vision for Guatemala and helped us get ready to lead college students.  One quick aside - we fell in love with 18 of the most incredible college students.  Well tonight we had the opportunity to link into a Passion 2011 event via the Internet.  It was an amazing time of worship by Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockels and teaching by Louie Giglio.  I am thanking God for technology.  We needed a "taste of home" and this hit the spot.

The most amazing part of the event happened right at our kitchen table.  We were eating Chicken Parmesan and singing with our mouths full.  We could not stop worshiping (or eating), we sang with our mouths full.  I think God is OK with that.  As a dad it was a sweet time to look across our tiny table and see Parker and Anna Kate singing every word of every song.  Their hearts were in a posture of worship and as I often do these days, I cried.

We have hit some pretty tall speed bumps over the last 8 weeks, but God continues to be faithful even when we are not.  We know that He will be faithful to finish the good work that He has started.

Check out a few seconds of a video clip by a young Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockels.

God is good and we can trust His promise to provide – Matthew 6:25

We recently celebrated our 2-month anniversary here in Guatemala.  There have been so many good days, but there have been days when this seemed like an experiment gone awry. 

As a guy, husband, dad, and leader I am accustomed to “making things happen” for my family, career, and pretty much anything else.  I am very good at using the wisdom that God has blessed me with to strike out on my own and conquer a situation.

Life in Guatemala has been humbling for a headstrong Type-A personality.  When you do not know the language, customs, and work-arounds it is hard to make major purchases like renting a house and buying a car.  With the grace from a God who has a lot of patience our family is the proud renter of a beautiful home and owner of a ’01 Toyota SUV.  Neither of these blessings are because I figured how to get things done here – but rather because God provided.

A few weeks ago Angel and I were getting consumed with worry about where we were going to live when we leave Antigua and move to Eagle’s Nest.  There were tears from Angel and I am pretty sure my blood pressure was out of the healthy range.  We prayed, read the word of God, and called home to talk to trusted friends. 

In the midst of trying to figure out how to take the hill in my own strength I got an email from a friend telling me about a home in Panajachel.  I knew of the house and had heard that it was beautiful and in an area that would be great for our family.  During that same time our new friends the Erickson’s got us connected to a missionary website where stuff gets sold – kind of a private Craigslist for Guatemalan missionaries.  On our second day of membership to the group I saw a 2001 Toyota Land Cruiser for sale.  Turns out a young missionary couple was returning to the States and needed to sell their car.

So in the midst of trying to use my strength to provide for my family, God provided.  Please don’t read this and congratulate me for trusting and learning – God provided while I was at a low point of trust and a high point of fear and frustration.  God did not reward me; he rescued me.  Looking back on the situation God gave us one option for a home and one option for a car.  He gave us what we needed, when we needed it.  In reality both options are more than what we need and go way into the area of wants.  God did not simply clothe the lilies of the field, he dressed them finer than Solomon.

Hitting the Wall...

As of today, we have been in Guatemala for exactly 8 weeks. Many of you have asked about how our children are adjusting to the new environment. We have been pleased to tell all of you that they seem to be handling it so well - and they have. But today we finally hit the wall, and a small meltdown ensued.

I was trying to help Anna Kate with some Spanish homework this afternoon, which was tricky because I haven't had that particular lesson. I didn't know some of the vocabulary, so Parker was trying to teach me so I could teach her. As we were untangling the events of their day at school, I found out she wasn't really prepared for her class and she was "daydreaming" during class. I started to fuss at her a little bit, her lips started to tremble and this voice in my head said, "Wait a minute. She's eight years old. She's in a foreign country trying to learn a foreign language - do you think it might be more than one little girl can handle? I have had a couple of meltdowns, it's been eight weeks, somebody besides me is due for one" So now we are both crying.... and I am having to ask for forgiveness. As we dried our tears, we talked about how hard this new life can be. It was a bitter sweet moment.

I told Lee the other day that I miss our normal homeschool routine. I don't like that they have a teacher who assigns them work and I have to make sure it gets done. I don't like that they are working independently and I just check to make sure it's correct. I miss the daily teaching and working through school with them - I even miss grammar! (What is wrong with me, it must be the water.) I know the kids miss it too. Spanish school is a lot more intense than we expected. Lee and I have a tendency to push through it and get it done, but we realized our kids can't push anymore. Everyone is exhausted, our brains are saturated.

My sweet husband in his wisdom called an audible today. We are taking next week off. We planned to be off the second week of October, but that's not soon enough. The toll of the last eight weeks has finally hit and we need a respite. We are still planning to be off in October when Lee's mom visits, but next week we are going to Panajachel to stay for a couple days in a missionary retreat center on the amazing Lake Atitlan. My plan is to load up the Kindle and read for three days straight.

Thank you Lord for the opportunity to rest and be still.

Anna Kate used her Scrabble apple tiles to build a city block of Manhattan, New York. 

(She even used strips of paper with car-shaped dots to represent streets)

Have you seen anything cuter? I doubt it! 

Lost that loving feeling....

Anyone who has been out of your native country has at least heard if not experienced Culture Shock. Culture shock is that feeling of "whoa, this place is really different!" When we train teams for mission trips, we teach them that there are several stages to culture shock. The first stage is called the honeymoon stage - everything seems really new and wonderful and exciting. You love everything because it new and different - Americans in general like new and different. So you think, "hey, maybe I should move here" Well, it doesn't last forever, the next phase of culture shock is called "lost that loving feeling". You realize some of these new and different experiences are inconvenient, uncomfortable and disagreeable. You think, "these people really need to learn........(fill in the blank)" The new culture has now become undesirable and your one desire  is to get back home where life is known, predictable and comfortable. Fortunately, this doesn't last forever either. Eventually, you move on to acceptance and reconciliation with the new culture. You can appreciate the differences and accept them as simply that - different - not offensive.

A couple weeks ago, I looked at Lee and said "the honeymoon is over!" I'm tired of the rain, the open, damp house. I'm tired of going to language school everyday. I'm tired of walking EVERYWHERE - usually in the rain. I'm tired of everything taking twice as long as it does at home. I want to my stuff in my house, I want to be at my church, I want to drive my car to Target, I want to eat at Chickfila, I want to shop at Publix (where shopping is a pleasure!) Do I sound like a bratty 4-year old or what??

There were several days that I spent most of my prayer time complaining about how things were different than I expected - "this isn't what I signed up for Lord. Is this some kind of bait and switch scam?" Fortunately for me, the Lord is patient, kind and faithful, especially when I am not. He gently reminded me that He knows better than I what's best for me. I recalled the days of saying to my little 4-year olds "Who knows what's best for you? That's right, mommy knows, so get with the program little one!" (or something like that.)  He reminded me that he is very capable of providing what I need when I need it. BUT I have to be WILLING - willing to submit to his sovereignty in my life.  Willingness is a big deal, it requires trust and patience to wait on Him to move. It requires that I be still. He doesn't need me to flesh it out. Be still and wait for me to bring it to you.

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend from home about our recent experiences. The last couple of weeks we have been trying to figure out how to buy a car and find a place to live after language school. At home, we know exactly how to go about doing these things. We are very capable of accomplishing such tasks. Here in Guate, we don't have a car, so we can't drive to the city and look at cars, we can't drive out to look at houses. It's complicated. We can't make it happen. We are waiting for the Lord to bring what we need to us.

 Last week, the Lord brought us an opportunity for renting a house in Pana. It is exactly what we would choose for ourselves. We haven't finalized the details, but it affirms what I know is true. The Lord knows me, he knows what I need and he is faithful to provide. We can't steal his glory, because we did nothing to make it happen. He alone provides what we need.

Last Spring, we looked in the community where this house is located. These aren't pics of the actual one we might rent, but it is similar to these.

On Friday, we had a driver take us to the city to look at a potential car. It turned out to be in poor condition, so we won't be buying it. The whole excursion took about 4-5 hours. Lee said, "I feel like we wasted the entire afternoon." I said, "it wasn't a good afternoon for buying a car, but we did meet a guy who does international shipping. We might be able to use his services in the future. We know more about how to go about the car buying process." I realized later, maybe I am moving beyond the "lost that loving feeling phase." Maybe I am beginning to accept the culture here. I am reconciled to the fact that things take longer, time gets "wasted". But God uses these "wasted moments" to teach us about waiting on Him. He hasn't forgotten about us, he knows us. He's got it. In the process of waiting, He is refining us. As I am finishing this post, this is the song playing... Lord - to you alone belongs the highest praise. We lift up our eyes, we lift up our eyes to the giver or life, to you alone belongs the highest praise! 

We nicknamed the community "Shangrai La." It's very tropical and beautiful.