Parque Central

There's a large, very pretty park that takes up an entire block right in the center of the city. It's always buzzing with people and activity- kind of the social center of Antigua. And it never fails to be an interesting place. One thing that it doesn't take very long to notice is that apparently PDA by young couples is socially accepted here- you can't walk in the park without seeing evidence of this (much more evidence than you'd care to see).

Today after church was especially interesting. The weather was perfect and we weren't hungry for lunch yet, so Emily, Kara, and I decided to sit in the park for a while. We found an empty bench and it only took a couple of minutes for someone to think, "Hey- it's white people. I bet they have money- I think I'll ask them for some of it." I've written before about our struggle to learn how to live in a Christlike way with all of the beggars we encounter. A lot of the people we see are in very sad situations... some others, like the guy we encountered today, are a bit more comical.

He came up to us and I could tell that he was asking for money, but I couldn't understand anything he was saying. He wasn't speaking Spanish at my necessary west-Texas gringo speed, and he just kept mumbling things. I kept telling him I didn't understand and I was sorry that I couldn't help him, but he just kept talking. Normally, I would have been a bit more compassionate toward him, but I did understand that he said he was asking for money for food- all the while holding a crushed beer can in his hand! Whatever it was that he said- that beer can didn't make his story very believable.

After a couple of other uncomfortable encounters on that bench, we decided to move. We found another bench, in the shade this time, and were enjoying ourselves very much, when a young lady walked up and asked us to help her with a project that she and some classmates were doing for their English class in the university. We were a little skeptical at first, but it was legit... she and some other classmates had to videotape themselves interviewing people in the park in English. They had their questions written out- both so that they could remember them and so that we could read them incase we didn't understand their pronunciation.

Emily was first... her interviewer asked her questions mostly pertaining to the night life in Antigua, like if she'd been to any "disco-techs". The highlight of the day was when they asked her what her favorite drink is and she replied, "Umm... I like water." I don't think it's exactly the answer they were looking for.

Then our interviews... they asked Kara what was her favorite thing about the indigenous villages (which we haven't seen) and if she likes to dance (which I haven't seen). Then they asked me what was my favorite sport, and I told them basketball- they asked me how much I practice, and I told them I don't practice much at all anymore. That ended up being a good answer, because then I looked at her questions and if I'd answered differently, her next comment was going to be "Show us something you can do." Not sure what I would have done in a park without a ball.

Emily

We have a friend! Emily Miller is from Pennsylvania, and she's come to work with us at the children's home for 9 months. She'll be here in Antigua studying spanish with us for the next 6 weeks. It's nice to have someone to do things with. Personally, I'm especially glad that she's here because now Kara has someone else to go to the market with- I hate it! Hooray!

The Congo

Our friends at New Hope International Ministries (who originally connected us with the children´s home here) recently sent a team to do some work rebuilding a campmeeting in the Congo. It was a difficult trip for the team, but the Lord did some amazing things... read more about it in New Hope´s newsletter here, especially the article from Roy Lauter.

I wish I could have seen it!

A Guatemalan Willie?!?!

What do you think?



Maybe it's a stretch, but think about it... Willie loves independence days. He always has a big 4th of July picnic in Texas, and this guy was playing at the independence day celebration here in Antigua. Too much similarity to dismiss easily.

Our First Month

We´ve now got more than a month behind us in Antigua. In some ways it seems like we´ve been here forever (like if I think of the last time I got to have chips & salsa in TX), in other ways it very much feels like we´re still just getting started (like when I try to understand any conversation between two Guatemalans).

The first month has had quite a bit of both the good and the bad. Some things have been and continue to be frustrating. Kara´s just had to deal with one thing after the other; first it was our stomach problems, then she´s had problems with her back, and then after some pain in her ear we had to take her in to Guatemala City right away to get see a specialist- turns out she had a pretty bad ear infection. Also, we knew we would face isolation down here, and we are. Thankfully the internet allows us to keep up with family and friends, but it´s still difficult.

On the other hand, there have been tremendously positive points to our first month here. We´re as close to each other as we ever have been, and we were able to celebrate a wonderful 5th anniversary together. Also, one of the big reasons we came was so that we could learn to live more dependently on the Lord, and we are. We realize more and more how much we need him for everything, because we´re miles away from being self-sufficient down here. Everything from depending on him for finances and material things, to being more dependent than ever on prayer and the scriptures to help keep us focused- we wanted to come here to know God more closely, and I can´t express how thankful I am that that´s already happening.

Independence Day

We are enjoying our day off today. The morning started with a parade of what seemed like a hundred high school & middle school bands... a lot of noise and a lot of people!! The students started in the central park and marched about a mile to a large soccer stadium.

Above is Mickey (Miguel), the youngest member of our host family. He is so cute and such a sweet kid!

The streets around the central park are full of vendors selling all kinds of things. I thought that the man above had an interesting booth -- he was selling pieces of this large ball of meat. For some reason I thought of amoebas when I saw that!

Hooray!...they sell cotton candy here! Probably the only other person that might get excited about this is Sarah Lobello -- I miss you, Sarah!! I hope that it works out for you to come next summer!

A Fun Parade

Friday is Independence Day in Guatemala. That means no school for us...hooray!! This week has been filled with special activities to celebrate the holiday. Below are a few pictures from a parade of elementary school students that was held on Wednesday.

There was a little bit of everything in this parade... boys in Biblical (?) costumes carrying a statue of Jesus, and cute little guys with painted gotees and sideburns.

I don't think that this would be allowed in the States! This group was celebrating the diverse cultures represented in Guatemala The three in the back were celebrating "negros."