The Most Negative Post We Will Have on This Blog

Driving on the way to our first camp in Guatemala, the three of us gringos riding in the pickup had plenty to say about the things we were not looking forward to about what was to come. Driving on the way back, I said, "Well, as bad as we were talking about it on the way here... it was that bad. Maybe worse."

I mentioned the climate before we left, and people's descriptions were true- hot (90+ degrees with 100% humidity) and mosquitos everywhere. When you combine that with the fact that the bunk beds were so small that even Kara couldn't straighten her legs in bed, you can imagine that I didn't sleep very well on the 4-inch-thick mattresses. Honestly, though, the climate was the least of my dislikes...

It's tough to tell what things about all that we did not like are just cultural differences. For example, they literally did get everyone up at 6 a.m. (after the guys in my room went to bed at about 3) and then we had an hour of fairly difficult exercise, complete with teachers yelling and blowing their whistles at people who weren't doing the exercise well. That was definitely a culture difference.

I could write about how much I did not enjoy all of the games they made me play. (I never liked camp games as a youth, never made my kids play them as a youth pastor, and then here I am having to play them now). I could write about how uncomfortable I felt being put in charge of a room full of boys I could barely communicate with, when I didn't even know what the rules were or how to enforce them. Or about how they mocked me when I tried to get them to go to bed. I could also write about the differences between what I would think of to do to minister to these kids and what we actually experienced there, but I don't see what good it would do to complain any more than I already have done here, so I will leave my descriptions vague.

One incident from the weekend kind of sums it up... One of the teachers was speaking and was getting ready to close. She asked all of us to stand. I was slow in doing so as a result of the lack of sleep and unexpectedly difficult exercise. Just as she was about to lead the kids in prayer, I took one last stretch in my chair before standing up- unfortunately the chair had even less will to keep going at that camp than I did and it broke under me. I fell to the floor with a pretty good crash, adding quite an interruption to whatever it was the teacher was saying.

I didn't take many pictures over the weekend, but I wanted to have this one.

Campamento

We leave at 5 am tomorrow to go help with our school's jr. high camp. I was told a few days ago that I'm one of the speakers, plus every time someone speaks of the place where we are going, they always tell us how great it is and then mention the words "incredibly hot" and "mosquitos." Want to come?

Camps are different here- the schedule says that they get the kids up at 6 for an hour of exercise, and there's not a minute of free time during the trip.

One thing is sure- we will have some cultural experiences to blog about when we return.

I Miss Milk

One of the things that we have really missed from home is good milk. Prior to coming to Guatemala, we each drank about a gallon a week so it has been a huge adjustment to go to not drinking any at all. There is milk here, I just have a difficult time drinking it. Guatemalan milk comes in boxes that sit unrefrigerated on the grocery store shelves. Supposedly, the milk is processed using a creative "long-life" process that does not require refrigeration until after the box is opened. It also allows it to keep longer. For instance, look at the expiration date on the box that is currently in our refrigerator. It doesn't expire until the end of September! Something just doesn't seem right about that! Plus, it tastes like weird butter to me so it is hard to drink a glass. I don't mind wetting my cereal with it though.

When my parents visited in January, they brought us a huge container of dry milk. When you get past the lumps that float to the top and never seem to completely mix in, it is not too bad. It still has an odd flavor but it does beat the odd butter taste. The powdered milk has more of a chlorine flavor -- of course, that might be due to our filtered water.

I thought the slogan for the powdered milk was funny. Look at the picture below. The slogan is "just one step away from fresh." That is not exactly how I would describe it, but I guess it is good for advertising! When I abandoned a pitcher of it in our refrigerator for two weeks and it turned green and slimy, Daniel commented that it was now two steps away from fresh.

Bed Bugs

We recently moved into our new apartment and are loving it! It has been almost a year since we have really had a place of our own. After leaving Douglasville last May, we spent a month with my parents, a month with Daniel's parents, and then six months living with our host family in Antigua while we were in language school. It is so nice to now have a place where can both invite the kids over when we want to spend time with them and escape from them when we don't!

After moving in, I kept finding termite dust under the bed. I thought, "surely there are not termites in my bed!" I asked our director if she would come and look at our bed because I was afraid that it might have termites. She matter-of-factly replied, "oh, it does. That is just a way of life here. They are in everything."

The next few nights following that conversation I would lay down in bed and imagine my bed under a microscope with millions of bugs crawling around and crunching away beneath me. I kept waiting for the bed to collapse!

This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "don't let the bed bugs bite!"

A Surprise Visit Home

For the past five months, my sister and I secretly planned a surprise visit home for my mom's retirement ceremony. I was amazed that we were actually able to pull it off without her suspecting a thing. One of the main reasons for this was that very few people knew that I was coming. We didn't tell my dad until a few weeks before and only because we had to after finding out they were planning to be out of town last weekend. Although he is terrible at keeping secrets from my mom, and nearly gave the secret away on several occasions, I was very proud of him for his ability to recover from the slips and maintain the secrecy.

I arrived last Wednesday evening and stayed a full week. I was praying that everything would go smoothly for me to leave Guatemala since I still do not have my visa, and after the awful experience of being turned away at the border on our attempt to go on the youth trip to Coast Rica. Thankfully, three employees at the airport looked at my passport, but only the first page and not the stamp. They actually forgot to give me an exit stamp, which worked to my advantage both in leaving and returning.

My sister picked me up at the airport (my luggage didn't make it until the next day -- it did not make it on the connecting flight in Houston, was sent to Salt Lake by accident, and then rerouted through Newark, NJ before finally reaching St. Louis!). It was so much fun to surprise my nieces and nephew. I had a slumber party with Kaitlyn & Kyle in the basement that night -- the three of us on a pull out couch. I felt like I was in a straight-jacket. I slept in the middle with both of them holding onto my arms. I woke up to Kyle kissing my arm in the middle of the night. I certainly didn't get the best night's sleep but waking up to those sweet little faces and giggles was certainly worth it!

We spent Thursday during the day retrieving my luggage and playing games at Chuck E Cheese. Then that night, we arrived at the banquet and surprised my mother. I wasn't prepared for a room full of teachers to burst into tears. We all passed around a box of tissues and then enjoyed a great night as they honored my mom and a few other retiring teachers. I am so glad that I was able to be there! My mom is an amazing teacher and has impacted so many lives.

The rest of my time flew by way too quickly. I had some wonderful meals (Oh, how I miss American food!), spent lots of time with family, attended Kaitlyn's first t-ball game, saw a great Cardinal's game (despite their loss), and enjoyed drinking lots of milk and tap water!

I am looking forward to October when both Daniel and I can come home together for a visit. He was pretty jealous when he was eating his nightly meal of black beans while I was feasting on steak!

While I love Guatemala and the people here, there is no place like home. When my plane was flying into Houston, I will never forget seeing the first American flag flying in the breeze. My heart was filled with such overwhelming pride and love for my country. It was great to be home!

Welcome Javier & Eliseo

This week we had the joy of welcoming two new little guys to NLCH. Edgar Javier is 10 and his brother, Eliseo, is 7. These are the pictures we took of them when they arrived as two understandably scared little boys.

It didn't take them long to warm up to the place and make some friends, though. They got haircuts and new clothes, and it was fun to watch the other little guys introduce themselves and show their new buddies what to do at meals. You can see the contrast in these pictures from the very next day.

I couldn't help but laugh (and take video) yesterday as Eliseo was on the swings and trampoline, probably for the first time in his life. He loved it so much that he just kept giggling continuously while he played. (He's the smaller one on the trampoline video below.) The previous day, I thought he was going to be a shy little guy that we wouldn't hear much out of for a while, but I was wrong. Right now, I hear him outside laughing even harder as someone is pushing him around on a skateboard. It's so great to get to see in such a dramatic way how the Lord gives new lives to these kids.

Jenni's Visit

One of our college friends, Jenni, came to visit us last weekend. She is connected with another children's home here in Guatemala, La Senda, run by fellow Asburians Steve & Pam English. Jenni comes to La Senda every year to help out, and we really enjoyed it that she took time out from her trip to stay a night with us. (She even brought us Dr. Pepper!)

This picture is of her at La Senda with her sponsored child, Gerson.