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.

Ground Hog Day - the first month

Ruins at San Francisco Cathedral c. 1700

As we have reflected on our first month in Antigua, we are reminded of the movie Ground Hog Day. In the movie, Bill Murray must repeat the same day over and over until he gets it right. This is painfully similar to our life in language school. Here is a general picture of a day in the life of a Spanish student:

6:00 - 6:15 - Wake up and start shower schedule
6:45 - 7:15 - Scrounge up breakfast - usually cereal, bagels or toast.
7:30 - 7:45 - Walk to school
8:00 - 10:00 - Learn new vocabulary, conjugate verbs and TRY to converse like a 3-year old in Spanish.
10:00 - 10:30 - Snack break
10:30 - 12:00 - More Spanish class (kids work on homeschool work)
12:15 - Walk home to make lunch - usually sandwiches or leftovers
1:00 - 2:00 - Mandatory rest time - recharge brains
2:00 - 5:00 - Misc activities for kids, but mostly Spanish homework for L & A.
5:00 - 7:00 - Make dinner, eat and wash dishes
7:00 - Kids get showers, sometimes Skype friends & family
8:30 - Kids in bed reading, L & A reading books or email
9:45 - 10:00 - lights out
REPEAT Monday through Friday. (you might also note that all the above activities include all four of us being together ALL the time - 24/7!) Maybe one day we will get it right and can move on to the next thing.

Sometimes, it feels exactly like the day before except MAYBE we got a few more right answers in Spanish class than the day before. We do get a small amount of variety in the daily schedule. For example, at least once a week we eat lunch out and then go to the supermarket for the week's groceries. It always seems to be pouring down rain when we leave the store - so Lee hails a couple of tuk-tuks (taxis) and we bounce home. On Sundays - instead of language school, we go to Spanish/English church. Then we have lunch with Jared & Joy - our new friends in Antigua.

This is a tuk-tuk (taxi)

Despite the sameness of our daily schedule - we have managed to have a few new experiences in the mix. We have explored many different areas of Antigua. We have shared some meals with new friends. One day, we went to the market and bought bikes for Lee and the kids. (Then walked them home in the pouring rain) The boys walked up the hill above Antigua to the Cross on the hill. We have toured some really beautiful ruins and ancient buildings.

Parker & Anna Kate on their new bikes!

El mercado at San Francisco

Close up of carved angel in ruins from 1700's

Please don't believe the above ramblings to be a rant or a complaint. We are really enjoying the experience of living in Antigua. This is a wonderful place to transition our family into the culture. We love school, even if it is really hard! The Lord has some very special purposes to accomplish during this time. He is challenging us, changing us, refining us. This isn't always comfortable, but we are humbled to be in the process of chasing after Him and his call on our family. Not to us - but to His name be the glory forever!

Healthcare in Guate....pay attention America!

Well - we have had another new experience on this wild adventure to Guatemala. Lee and Anna Kate have both had a nasty cough for several days. We know with all the rain and damp conditions its not likely to go away on its own, but rather get worse. SO - we made the decision to go see a doctor. YIKES! Where do I start on all the reservations I have about this prospect.
Let me just say that I am seriously prejudiced against most doctors that are not our beloved pediatrician from home. We love him and I hate seeing other doctors who always pale in comparison to his calm, friendly, knowledgeable bed-side manner. I was dreading this experience.
Lee's Spanish teacher helped us get an appointment with her pediatrician for Anna Kate and the school recommended a doctor for Lee, but we had to just walk in without an appointment. When we walked into the doctor for Lee, the waiting room was open to the outside where it was POURING down rain. The waiting room consisted of one receptionist at a small desk and several plastic outdoor chairs and of course the waiting room magazines. (Side note - they had a huge stack of American Airlines in-flight magazines in English - I read at least four!) Praise the Lord - the receptionist could speak enough English to tell us that the doctor was at an emergency and would be back around 5:00 pm.
We walked around the corner and went to the pediatrician's office. He shares office space with a dentist and an OB. Nothing in this waiting room looked like a waiting room in the US. It was old, dingy and NOT sterile. If I went to this pediatrician in the US, I would promptly turn around and leave and then bathe everyone in hand sanitizer. I like my doctors office clean, pristine and sterile. It's funny how your attitude changes when the options are limited. We waited a while and then the doctor himself called AK and I into his office. You see, his office and the exam room are one and the same. We sat by his desk and Praise Jesus he could speak just enough English too! He asked the normal questions, he weighed her and measured his height, etc. He did all this himself - no nurse! Most of his equipment for examining her came right out the laptray drawer of his desk. He checked her out, said she just needed a good cough medicine to knock it out. Surprisingly, I was pleased with the experience. He was warm, interested and thorough. He gave us a cough medicine from his unlocked cabinet next to his desk. We paid for the appointment and walked out the door.
We returned to the other doctor's office and waited for his return. He arrived a little after 5:00 and he took Lee back to his office. Again, he did all the work - no nurse. He spoke English well and was very warm. He took great care of Lee, prescribed some meds for the cough and irritated throat. Meanwhile, I was in the waiting room with the wild indians. (Parker & AK) At this point, we had been out and about for several hours and they were bored out of their minds - not sure why I didn't think to bring a book or games to play. I kept thinking - this is taking forever. Well, Lee struck up an interesting conversation with the doc. The doctor is also a local pastor of a church - which makes him a very busy man. He teaches Crown Ministries at his church as well as some parenting and family ministry classes. He recommended some great materials to Lee. They had a very interesting conversation about the culture here and how that effects ministry among the indigenous people. He really enjoyed meeting the doctor and felt he got excellent personal care.
We walked a few blocks to the Farmacia (pharmacy) and purchased the prescribed meds. Here is the big kicker - when all the receipts were added up for two office visits and meds - it only cost $80. That's all up and in - no co-pay. Back in the US - we would have spent more than $80 just paying for co-pays on the office visit and the prescription co-pays. (For those wondering about our insurance - we do have insurance, but we won't submit these minor incidents for reimbursement. It drives the cost of our premiums up. We will use our insurance for emergency or major medical expenses.) Anyway - I was astounded that we got excellent care for such a small cost. Perhaps I won't miss the medical community in America as much as I thought. Nationalized healthcare might have something to learn from the small independent doctors of the less-developed nations.
Lee and AK are already on the mend - both slept well last night with no coughing. Just another day in a foreign land...the adventure continues...we continue to learn and grow....the Lord continues to provide and care for us. Blessings on you our dear friends and family!

La Cocinera de Guatemala

Today we had a really fun cultural experience. Our Spanish teachers, Carola and Magaly came to our apartment for lunch. They prepared an authentic Guatemala meal for our family.

After Carola tortured me with zillions of new verbs to conjugate in past tense, she and I walked to the tienda/tortillera. This is a little shop around the corner from school that sell fresh, handmade corn tortillas. I was mesmerized watching a young woman make the tortillas. She would grab a small fist of dough, wet her fingers, then pat-pat-pat into a perfectly round tortilla. She would slap them on the flat grill and flip them with her bare hands. She made 30 or more in matter of minutes.
With tortillas in hand, we all embarked on the 15 minute journey to our apartment. We had the most incredible weather this morning, so it was a very pleasant walk - even if we did have to practice Spanish all the way home. Once we arrived, Magaly and Carola took over the small cocina (kitchen). They made us a traditional Guatemalan dish called hilachas. This is similar to a beef and vegetable stew. They brought arroz (rice) which was similar to rice pilaf - it had some small vegetables in the rice. They served the hilachas over the rice. Hilachas is shredded carne (beef), zanahorias and papas (carrots and potatoes). The broth is made from pureed tomate, tomatillos, onions, and garlic. You eat this stew with the corn tortillas and salsa picante (hot green salsa). It was so delicious. Our kids licked their plates clean.
We also tried two traditional Guatemalan drinks. Horchata - which is made from rice and tastes really sweet. I did not enjoy this very much, because it looks like milk. My mind couldn't get past the idea of milk. So it just didn't taste right for it to be super sweet. Lee was kind enough to drink plenty of it. The other drink is called Jaimaica (pronounced Hy-my-ca) This is made from flowers grown in Jamaica. The dried flower petals are boiled and steeped in water. Then you add more water and plenty of sugar. It was very tasty!!

Angel, Carola, Magaly, Anna Kate & Parker

We really enjoyed the time with our teachers. They are precious gifts from the Lord. They are truly gifted in their profession and genuinely love what they are doing. We are blessed.

A virtual tour of our home in Antigua

This past week we made a short video of our home in Antigua.  It is a great home for our four months in language school.  We are a short walk to both school and church.  Parker and Anna Kate have made friends with the other kids in the apartment buildings.  Today they were all playing badminton and our kids were keeping score and cheering each other on in Spanish.  We are blessed that they have made some new friends so quickly.

We miss seeing all of you!!!

http://vimeo.com/14228184

Exploring Antigua

Over the weekend, we decided to do some exploring. We took the camera and walked in the eastern district of Anitgua. We had never walked this area before. We told the kids to snap pictures of anything they thought was interesting. We let them each pick their favorite photo and write a short blog about it. (Of course, this is a homeschool assignment - have to take advantage of the something different for a writing exercise.) We decided to do this every weekend while we are in Antigua. At the end of our time here, we might make a coffee table photo book or something with all the beautiful shots and blog entries. Here is what we found this weekend.....

(Anna Kate)
One day we went for a walk and took a bunch of pictures. My favorite was the one of a water cannon on ruins. This building was built in 1694.  We could see a pretty garden through the gate.   The water cannon was actually a rainspout. It looked like an animal.  There was a plant growing on the waterspout. It looked cool.

The entrance gate of this ruin was built in 1694

The garden courtyard inside

Water cannon (rainspout) and plant

(Parker)
One day dad and I walked to Cerro de la Cruz or Hill of the Cross in English. It wouldn't have been nearly as fun without my dad. We got to take some cool pictures you can look at. It was a really long walk, if I hadn't brought my Camelbak water bottle, I probably would have melted into a puddle. We got to the top to be greeted by a great view of the entire city and ....bugs. From up there we saw a bunch of red roofs, about 4 ruins and a dome that looked like a space observatory. We could almost see our apartment complex but some trees were in the way. The girls stayed home - I don't know what they did. We had the best dinner called Fiesta Casserole or Dirty Rice whatever you prefer to call it. It was a fun day.

View of Cerro de la Cruz from Antigua

Dome of a cathedral

The Cross on the hill is a great point of reference - due North from anywhere in Antigua.

Hope you enjoy these views and thoughts on exploring Antigua.