For the handful of people who read the blog, I apologize for no updates for the past 2 or 3 weeks. Preachers can blog daily, but missionaries are very busy–LOL!!!
We finished 2nd quarter of classes. We are operating as a “feeding center” which means we feed the children, have Bible classes with them, and have academic tutoring. The teachers are only allowed to have small groups of children so we have a morning feeding center and an afternoon feeding center. What’s our biggest problem? Some of the children are basically begging to come all day! I keep telling one boy that he can’t come in the mornings. He just shows up any ways.
I traveled to the states in May. Long story but my dad was buying vegetable plants from a Mennonite man in Rocky Ford, Alabama. Somehow the conversation focused on Guatemala and the man shared that he is the director of the Spanish curriculum for preschool through 9th grade. Guess where their distribution center is? About 20 minutes from our school. When I returned to Guatemala, I immediately emailed the contact person and asked for a meeting. The same day, Soy and I traveled about 1 1/2 hours from our house to look for houses to build in a village. I was talking to a pastor only to find out that his family are Mennonites in our town and they work for the curriculum distribution center. Small World! From Rocky Ford, Alabama to the middle of nowhere, Guatemala! From standing in a greenhouse on a paved road with electricity in Alabama to standing on a dirt road surrounded by corn stalk houses with no electricity in Guatemala. From talking to a Mennonite pastor to a Church of God pastor. Did we like the curriculum? Yes! I can’t tell you how many hours I have spent trying to find curriculum that is quality and a decent price. We have ordered Social Studies because it was our greatest need, but we believe the other curriculum is going to be excellent for our students also. I have to laugh as I hear God whisper, “Those people were not in your rolodex!” (I have no idea why God uses rolodex and not contacts with me. Truly shows my age.) Just another reminder to trust Him.
A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to one of our teachers about the need to educate our students on sexual abuse and the basic knowledge of developmental stages. We discussed the sensitivity of the subject and the desire to have an expert teach them about the subject. At 8:30 am we agreed to pray for God to send someone to talk about these things with our middle school students. At 2:30 pm I received a text from a person telling me of a Christian based organization that teaches children about sexual and physical abuse. They wanted to know if we were interested in having this group educate our children. The group is Christian based and works with the Guatemalan government to educate children. Six hours later! My thoughts? God answered this teacher’s prayers within only a few hours, so I gave her a list of other things that she can pray about! Again, these names were not on my rolodex. The presenter will speak to our middle school students this morning at 8:00 am.
One of our students had hernia surgery from a temporary medical clinic. Unfortunately, this medical clinic was being performed by doctors and nurses who were not legit. Our student is experiencing some pain and we will continue to monitor her situation. Please pray for this sweet 9 year old girl.
We are still involved in helping the youth group and church every Wednesday night, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. We are seeing God bless the church. Please continue to pray for Iglesia JET.
It is rainy season which means buses and cars get stuck in mud at the school. This past Sunday the bus was stuck really bad. There were about 60 people needing a ride home or they were going to walk down a muddy road. Matthew, Chino, and I had a taxi service for the people. If I had a dime for every time I have to teach someone how to open the car door. I unlock it–they lock it–I unlock it–they lock it. Pulling the handle while pushing the door–complete confusion. I usually just end up rolling down the window and walking to the outside of the door to teach them how to do it. It is very comical!
All of our Guatemalan friends and children know that I go to bed early. My children tend to find all of the candy that I hide after 8:30 pm. This morning I woke up for Soy to tell me that sweet Ms. Betty Jane brought me some banana pudding last night! It’s the little things! I also went to bed as Soy told me that they were going to hunt zompopos. Basically zompopos are giant ants with large wings. They are very desirable and found at the beginning of rainy season. This morning I watched the videos of my children eating zompopos. They loved them! My children may not eat Chik-fil-A, but at least they have flying ants for a late night snack. (Soy has videos and pics on his facebook).
The mountain is filled with noise again! Thankfully, we have teams at the mission house during the months of June and July. All of the teams are pretty small, but we are thankful for their willingness to come. I think everyone is surprised at the normalcy in Guatemala.
Shining Light Abroad Ministries 