Why Not?

WINDING DOWN

2011-06-10T22:48:00.012-05:00

Sorry for the lateness of this blog. My fingers were willing last night, but my brain and eyes were shutting down.

In the previous blog I said that the team was going to the seminary to help in the con-struction of an apartment complex. It was more like de-struction. We moved a lot of broken concrete blocks that came from a wall that had been torn down and put them in a pile for a truck to come in and carry them off. We also dug up a lot of sod so the ground could be leveled. Someone made the comment that this was the most physical labor they had done in a year.

Most of the team is off to Monterrico on the coast today for some sand, sun, ocean breezes, and swimming. Three of us older heads stayed back to tour Antigua. (Rusty may take exception to being called an older head, but that's what he gets for having gray hair.)

The entertainment we enjoyed Thursday evening at Restaurante Don Rodrigo bears further description. Although, words cannot completely describe it.....you needed to be there. At one point during the dinner, a group of Guatemalans came out dressed in elaborate costumes complete with masks and did a dance routine to the music being played. After they danced for a while, they invited members of the guests to participate, which several of our group did. It was fun and entertaining and then, one of the members of our team, I'll not mention a name, but he is head, shoulders, and overall body bigger than the dance team. He started doing the can can and the Guatemalans retreated to the sides of the dance floor, their routine blown out of the water. If it had not been for the masks, I am sure we would have seen stark terror on their faces.

All in all, the trip this year has been a success even with some of the delays and at times not knowing if we were going to be able to accomplish what we came to do. But God is good and is able to complete His work in spite of us.

Hopefully, we will get the vehicles out of the parking lot at an hour much earlier than the attendants want to open and be on our way to the airport. It has been fun blogging and from time to time I hope to continue. God bless you all.

Luisa

THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS

2011-06-09T22:51:00.003-05:00

Four families in Alotenango have a new house today with a new rocket stove. No more smell of smoke in the house, no more red eyes, and no more fighting to breathe. The ladies of the house were shown how to start the fires and safely operate the stoves.

Manuel Chavez brought a short gospel message at each house dedication and two people made a profession of faith in Christ. One other person is a believer and the others were not ready yet to make the commitment. They have been given the Word so they have it in their minds and we pray that as they think about what they heard, the Holy Spirit will convict them and draw them to Jesus Christ. We build houses, do dental clinics, hand out food and clothes and play with children, but the main focus is to present Christ to the Guatemalan people.

Just a short note about Manuel Chavez....he is a dentist by profession and an evangelist by calling. He does not miss an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus. We got to know Manuel when Don was looking for a dentist who was willing to do dental work for free if we bought the equipment. Manuel has been more than willing to fill that position. I count him as a dear friend and will miss him tremendously.

Tonight we are in Antigua in a hotel and dined at Restaurante Don Rodrigo. The food was excellent and the entertainment was.....entertaining. I hope to have pictures soon. Tomorrow we are off to the seminary to help in preparing the ground for the construction of an apartment complex.

I think the team will rest well tonight, they are tired. Rusty fell asleep at the table in the restaurant.

Luisa

THE GREATEST GIFT IS LOVE

2011-06-08T20:52:00.002-05:00

This week has been about giving in the form of building houses, pulling teeth, feeding and rocking babies and we're not done yet. There have been four houses built complete with concrete and the dentist have relieved toothaches for over 100 people. Tomorrow plans are to build rocket stoves in each of the new houses. A lot of the people here suffer from respiratory illnesses due to the open cooking fires inside the house. The rocket stove is a cook stove as well as a source of heat and the smoke goes out the chimney instead of in eyes and noses. Late in the afternoon, the team will congregate back in Alotenango to dedicate the houses.

I realize I am prejudice, but this has been one of the best groups I have been a part of. The ages range from 12 to 72 and everyone has been treated with love and respect. They have worked together in harmony to give to the Guatemalan people and have discovered that it is hard to out give them. They want to show their gratefulness by giving something in return.

It is time to pack and get ready to vacate the mission house since another team is coming in tomorrow. Please continue to pray for the team as they finish the work and continue to be an example of Christ love to the people here.

Luisa

SOUTH OF THE BORDER....THEY CAME OUT TO PLAY

2011-06-07T21:32:00.004-05:00

God has blessed, the weather has been good and the houses are almost finished. The dental team was busy and another group returned to Amor del Nino. Kids were loved on and our own Mr. Fixit did some maintenance.

Tonight was a night of cross cultural dining, fellowship, and games with several families from Chimaltenango here to eat and visit. On a personal note, it is probably the last time I will see some of these folks so I was especially glad they could come.

Everyone is doing well with the exception maybe of one young man by the name of Jackson Doshier. We have nicknamed him "popper" and he may still have blisters in his mouth. Don bought some little peppers that he calls poppers that are just a little smaller than a pea and hotter than blue blazes, Jackson took one and popped it in his mouth and instantly regretted it, hence the nickname.

Tomorrow the team hopes to finish the houses and Thursday morning will leave the mission house and move to Antigua for a couple of days. We are buying four rocket stoves to assemble and put in the four houses that were built and those will be installed Thursday and Friday.

Hasta Manaña

Luisa

AND AWAY WE GO

2011-06-06T12:48:00.007-05:00

For a bunch of people that didn't get to bed until almost 1:00 a.m., this team was up bright and early and ready to go to work this morning. Razorbacks are tough!

Rusty Castleman from Batesville has been here with the Arkansas team along with his family before, and he is here again. He is the original Mr. Fixit and spent the day repairing things in the mission house. He was in his element.

The team broke up into three groups....one to build houses, one to do a dental clinic, all in Alotenango, and one working at Amor del Nino. Two houses were almost finished, 30+ dental patients are in less pain tonight, well maybe not tonight, but soon, and Shyrel at Amor del Nino had help taking some children to the doctor for vaccinations. Before returning to the mission house, 75 families were blessed at a church near el Tejar with food packages and shoes.

New teams have cultural shocking/eyeopening/life changing experiences and those were shared tonight as the group met for devotional and sharing. It is not hard to see Jesus in the lives of some of the Guatemalan people with their gracious attitudes and generous spirits. May they see the same attitude and spirit in our team and may God be honored by what they do here.

Luisa

MISSION TRIP TO DALLAS

2011-06-05T20:27:00.004-05:00

It seemed for a while that the Arkansas mission team to Guatemala was going to be doing mission work in Dallas, Texas. Due to mechanical problems with the airplane in Little Rock, the team arrived late in Dallas after switching airlines and is 24 hours late arriving in Guatemala. However, Don, DJ, and John are on their way to the airport as I am writing this at 7:30 p.m., Sunday night, to meet the team and bring them to the mission house.

Don, DJ, John, and I attended church in Pastores this morning where Max Lara is pastor. Danny Lafferty is visiting here now, so we got to hear him preach. We enjoyed lunch in Antigua then returned to the mission house for rest and regrouping.

Come back tomorrow and I'll try to update you on what God is accomplishing through the team in Guatemala.

Luisa

Last Day

2011-03-18T18:16:00.004-05:00

Today, Friday, March 18th, is my last day in Guatemala after a visit of five and one half years. That visit was supposed to be for six months. Often when I start in one direction, I find that God has other plans. Many people have asked me what I'm going to be doing in the states, and at this point, I have no definite plans.

I took one last turn in my garden this afternoon and looked at all the flowers and lanscaping that Freddy has done. He is truly an artist when it come to gardening. Some have inquired about Freddy, Pedro, and Berto. All are very much still in need of prayer. Freddy does not have a job yet and his spiritual condition needs improving also. He is a hard working young man who is trying to keep his life on the straight and narrow and a relationship with the Lord would help him so much. Pedro is still incapacitated and is in need of physical therapy. I don't know if the hospital here provides that or not but I intend to keep up with his progress. Berto is not doing well as is to be expected. He is increasingly getting worse. The only thing that can be done for him is to make him as comfortable as possible. He is with his mother and dad now as there has been some difficulties with him and his wife.

I've said goodbye to a lot of people this week and have more to see tonight. If all goes well, I will see many of you this Sunday in church. God bless you all and thank you for following my blog. My plans are to continue to blog from time to time, just to vent if nothing else.

Luisa

Walking the Walk

2011-03-14T08:30:00.005-05:00

I did not realize the symbolism until today of people walking with the family to a cemetery to bury a loved one. For those of you who know Samuel who works with teams here in Guatemala building houses, you may know that he and his wife Reina lost their four month old baby girl yesterday. They are still reeling from the shock and disbelieve that this has happened.

Today at about 1:00 we will walk with the family from their house as Samuel carries the casket with little Genesis Raquel's body to the church then to the cemetery. It will be the longest walk he and Reina have ever made and he will have many friends and family walking with them. This is what the body of Christ does. We walk with our brothers and sisters in grief and sorrow as we try in our feeble way to comfort them and love them. As much as we may try, there is no one who can comfort them like God's Holy Spirit.

Last night we went to the wake which is different from anything I have been to in the states. They actually had a service at the house with singing and a sermon and then all the guests were served food and coffee. I watched Reina as she sang right along with the rest of us and thought "how can a person sing when their heart is breaking". Of course, the answer is only by the grace of God. God is truly their Sheperd as they walk through this valley of death, He is with them, His rod and staff comfort them. He is the strength of their heart.

Please remember Samuel, Reina, and their teenage daughter, Denise, in your prayers today and the days to come.

Luisa

Un Hombre Muy Feliz (One Very Happy Man)

2011-02-18T14:56:00.005-06:00

When I first started trying to sell my Nissan Patrol, I had a lot of inquires and several people looked at it and drove it. Almost to a person, they said it was a good vehicle and worth what I was asking for it. Two people at two different times even went so far as to pay a deposit on it with intentions of buying it. Neither person was able to come up with the rest of the money for it.

I don't remember when the thought came to me that if no one bought it before I was ready to go to the states, I should just give it to Manuel Chavez. Today, that's exactly what I did. He was, to say the least, very surprised and pleased.

This man rarely comes to my house that he doesn't bring his Bible. I didn't notice until after I had taken the picture that he had it in his hand. He read scripture to me this morning and told me what it meant to him. I told him he reminded me of what Jeremiah said about not being able to not preach because the Word was a burning fire in his heart if he kept quiet. That's a paraphrase, but it describes Manuel.

My prayer is that the Patrol will give him good service as it did to me and that he will use it to keep spreading the Gospel and ministering to the people of Guatemala with his dentistry and evangelism.

Luisa

Team and a half

2011-02-06T16:29:00.012-06:00

The 29th of January the biggest team yet came to the mission house....53 people in all. Every house on the mountain had team members staying in them with the exception of the huge one in which no one lives. There were a number of doctors, nurses, and one dentist. The pictures in this blog are of the dentist, his wife, the dental clinic, and the dental waiting room. This is what Don Tibbett and Foothills Bible Church wanted to accomplish when they purchased all the dental equipment and instruments. The dentist, Dr. John Gissal from Michigan, tried to count the number of people he treated, but gave up before the end of the clinics. All together, with dental and medical, over 2,000 people in five different villages were seen and treated. I was able to help with the pharmacy three of those days and thought by the end of Friday if I had to say "tres veces al dia" one more time, I would pass out. By the end of the week, everyone was tired but content.

Six weeks from now, I will end my extended stay in Guatemala....extended because originally I had planned to come here for six months. By the time I leave, I will have been here almost five and a half years. A lot of things have happened in those five years, most good and some not so good. One thing I hope has happened during these years is that I have grown in the Lord. I think I have, some, although I am not fully grown yet and God help me if I ever think that I am.

I think I have met more people here in the last five years than I have in my whole life and have made a multitude of friends....some from Guatemala and some from many parts of the U. S. It will be hard to leave the ones in Guatemala, but Lord willing, I will see them again. I am looking forward to being with my family and friends in Arkansas.

Luisa

My Excuse

2010-12-04T17:41:00.005-06:00

Webster's Dictionary defines lazy as; disinclined to activity or exertion: not energetic or vigorous. That is my excuse for not blogging for these last three months.

This week's events though compel me to write something in order to let the folks at FBC see the gift given to them for providing help to a gentlemen here in Guatemala. I wish I could bring it home with me, but that not being possible, at least the folks can see it. We call this a poinsettia...here it is a pasqua.

The gentleman's name is Pedro and he is 38 years old. Over a month ago, he fell off a bridge while working and broke his hip. He has been in the national hospital ever since needing surgery, but not being able to pay for the materials. The surgery is free, but the pins needed in his hip have to be paid for. The price for the pins is Q2,000, approximately $250. His mother came here this week to see if we could help and we did. He is scheduled to have the surgery Tuesday, Dec. 7. Today the mother, Maria, came to bring this pasqua and to thank me for helping. So while you folks have to be content with a picture, just know that this is a token of appreciation for the compassion you have for others. If you think about it Tuesday, please pray for Pedro.

As most of you know, my time in Guatemala is drawing to a close. And I will miss things like this....seeing people helped who have no way of helping themselves.

The Lord willing, I will see most of you next Sunday, Dec. 12th.

Luisa

WHEW!

2010-08-15T15:14:00.003-05:00

I apologize to those who are following my blog. There has not been anything to follow for several weeks now. Since the 20th of May, there has been a team in the mission house everyday with the exception of one week when my favorite team canceled their trip.

Last Thursday, August 12th, I waved good-bye to the last team of the summer. In May, that day seemed eons away and I wasn't sure how I was going to manage through the summer. However, with the help of Teresa Lara and some of her daughters and Kirk and Michelle Lightfield, we made it. As far as I know, all the teams were blessed and excited about their trips and the things they accomplished.

The ministry I have been doing here has been ongoing. There have been people who come from Santo Domingo who need medicine, medical exams, and taken to the doctor. One little girl in particular needed to have a rash tended to on her arms. Turns out it is eczema and she is doing better. Her little arms looked as though they had been burned.

The last team here was from Michigan and they were so glad to get to some cooler temperatures. It seems it has been 90 degrees for a lot of their summer. They got very little sympathy from me knowing what the temps have been in Arkansas. Could you folks see if you can do something about that before I get there on September 3.

Luisa

The Show Must Go On

2010-06-10T17:52:00.010-05:00

You can imagine my disappointment when the FBC team canceled their trip to Guatemala this year. Of all the teams coming after the disasters that struck Guatemala, it had to be from my home church....bummer. However, that did not mean that the people who had been promised a dental clinic would be disappointed.

Manual Chavez is one of the most dedicated, energetic, committed people I know. He was more than willing to carry on with the clinics on his own. He is pretty much a one man show anyway. The pictures above were taken at the first clinic in El Durazno at a little church called Iglesia Fuerte Ciudad Majanaim. The man in the picture with Manuel is Pastor Hector.

I went to the clinic around noon to take him some lunch and he was in the midst of extracting a tooth from the lady in the first picture. These are some tough people. He was having a hard time getting the tooth out and while I won't go into detail, just know that if I had been that lady, I would have been hollering like a banshee.

The next day's clinic was in Taxisco, about an hour and a half drive from here. Again he saw around 40 people. He also took 80 sheets of lamina (tin) for houses for which FBC provided funds. The third day was in a village near Chimaltenango and again he saw another 40 or so people. In three days Manual has relieved the suffering of between 100 to 120 people.

The last clinic was to be today, Thursday, but the pastor asked him if they could postpone it until another day. He leaves tomorrow for Panajachel for a five day jornada (dental clinic) there.

Guess what....I get to have lunch with Scott, Julie, and Aidan tomorrow. Nanner, nanner, boo, boo.

Luisa

Let Me Tell You About Fredy

2010-05-25T15:44:00.012-05:00

I almost forgot I had a blog.

Grandparents are notorious for saying "let me tell you about my grandchildren". Probably the reason I don't have grandchildren is because I would be so obnoxious in my bragging on them that people would run when they saw me coming. So, let me tell you about Fredy.

Fredy is my gardener, but he is more than my gardener. Fredy's story is typical of a lot of Guatemalans. His dad was killed when he was five years old and his mother was an alcoholic. I didn't know at the time when I first met him that I knew his mother. About three years ago we (FBC) helped pay for one of her son's funeral. This was one of three of Fredy's older brothers who died in the last four years due to alcohol related incidents.

When Fredy's dad was killed, he and a brother and sister were taken out of the home and placed in Casa Aleluya where he lived until a little over a year ago. He came to my house looking for a job and I hired him as my gardener on a trial basis. I didn't even know I needed a gardener, but if it weren't for Fredy, I wouldn't have a garden.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Fredy and I talked, although I did most of the talking. He would hardly talk at all and very seldom smiled. His answers to my questions were a short "yes" and "no", so I tried to think of questions that required longer answers. A couple of things that I learned were that he is a Christian and that he did not finish school in Casa Aleluya, but that's another story.

He wanted to go back to school, so I am sending him to America Latino, a Christian school here in Chimal. He goes on Saturdays to a special school for older students who, for whatever reason, did not finish their education.

He is a hard worker and is very talented. He has made my garden a work of art. Last week he said "come see". He had carved out grass in the lawn spelling my name and was getting ready to plant flowers in it.

Fredy has captured my heart, and God willing I will do all I can to keep him from following the path the rest of his family has taken. His remaining brothers try to get him to go drinking with them and he refuses.

So, why am I telling you all this? I would like to ask, if you think of it when you pray, please pray for Fredy. He still does not have an easy life and it would be so easy for him to become discouraged. Thanks for listening. Now aren't you glad I don't have grandchildren?

Luisa

God's purpose....our reality

2010-04-18T18:47:00.004-05:00

How do you reconcile God's purposes with our reality? Only by the grace of God...His unmerited favor to us, and last week I witnessed His grace in action. I went to the states last week for a selfish reason. I needed to see some of my very best friends who had experienced a tragedy. I needed to see how they were. I needed that. I couldn't stay in Guatemala not knowing, not seeing for myself.

In a lot of ways their lives will never be the same. That's reality. In a lot of ways their lives will go on as before. That's also reality, but it is also grace. When we suffer loss and tragedy and are unable to face the reality that life can return to some semblance of normalcy, we stifle God's grace and do not accept it. This family has been covered with the prayers of God's people and God has answered. Do they still have moments and days of sorrow and grief? Sure they do, but in ways that probably they don't even realize, God's grace brings them relief.

I'm back in Guatemala now and can rest in the fact that God's grace is at work, not that I ever doubted it, but I am grateful that He let me see His grace in action.

We can try to guess and speculate as to God's purpose for what happened, but the truth is, we don't know and probably will not know in this life. Only God knows the purpose, and that is also reality.

A Time to tear down...a time to build

2010-03-06T20:03:00.004-06:00

One of the hardest things for me to do here in Guatemala is to discern who to help, when to help, and how to help. I have decided that the Guatemalan branch of the Feed the Sheep Shop was not such a good idea after all. My list of families had grown to 25 and there were people coming for food who I knew were capable of buying their own, but I found it very difficult to turn them away. Compared to J. Paul Getty, I am as poor as Job's turkey. But compared to most of the people here, I am rich.

In my attempt to save the world, I rushed off to Russia a little over 10 years ago to convert the whole country. People had been trying to do that for centuries, but I was convinced they were just waiting on me. I'm not really sure when the revelation hit me that "each one reach one" is a much better concept, but somewhere along the way, it did.

Right now, most of my efforts, aside from cleaning the mission house, are concentrated on the needs of particular individuals, such as Berto and his family. They have had to move twice in the last few months due to the fact that he cannot work and they could not pay for the property where their house was, nor pay the rent for the one they moved to. They are living in a very small house now with no water and no electricity. There are eight people in the family and the Q300 rent and money for food is just not there. Please pray that an affordable lot will become available that interested persons can purchase and on which a team could perhaps build them a house.

Luisa

Los Gozosos

2010-03-01T18:00:00.006-06:00

Taking three hours to make a one hour trip is not my idea of a fun afternoon. Last week, Maureen Casey, director of Los Gozosos, a children's home in Chimaltenango, and I went to the city to buy some supplies for the children. Traffic in the city was at a standstill because of a demonstration by the teachers. They were blocking the main road and no one was going anywhere. Whether or not they accomplished their purpose remains to be seen. At one point, Maureen wanted to give up and turn around and go back. However, turning around was not an option as we were blocked in. All's well that ends well and we finally made it to Price Smart, made our purchases and returned home...a one hour trip this time.

Los Gozosos (The Joys) has about a dozen children and all of them are physically and/or mentally handicapped. These children attend the same church that I do and I marvel at their behavior. They are so well behaved, they love to clap their hands with the music and one little girl was doing the twist to "God is Good" last Sunday. They are always dressed to the nines and well groomed. One boy in particular, Daniel, has caught my attention. He is always smiling and Maureen said before Christmas when there were no gifts under the tree that he knew that God was going to fill their tree with gifts, and He did. Maureen has my utmost admiration for the job she is doing. Last year, a team wanted to go there to take pizza for the kids, so we did. One little girl scared the wits out of me eating so fast that she started choking. A worker came over and helped her and she went right back to stuffing in the pizza. I vowed not ever to do that again.

The season for teams is about to start. A team from Canada arrived yesterday. I really think the reason they are here is to get out of the cold and snow. Whatever their reason, it should be fun having a group from Canada here, ay.

And Time Marches..no..Races On

2010-02-07T10:04:00.007-06:00

Just a little over ten years ago, we were told that we would probably be living as folks did back a hundred years ago. All our money would be gone, water supplies and other utilities would be shut down, and all computers would crash. And now we are to believe that global warming is a threat. Tell that to the people in Arkansas and the Great Lakes area, Al.

Three teams in as many weeks does not leave much time for blogging. But they have been good weeks...many houses have been built, food and clothes have been handed out, medical needs have been seen to and the gospel has been presented to many.

I was privileged to have in my home a missionary couple, Mario and Amuy Munroy, and their two children, Kathrina and Josiah, for almost two weeks. They had sold practically everything they had except the clothes on their backs to go to the mission field in Spain. They were here at the request of a couple of the teams to work with them in the villages. It was very hard to see them go knowing that I will probably not see them again in this life.

It was also my privilege to work one day with the medical team last week as "Dr.'s assistant". That consisted of writing down the prescription for the medicine needed to treat a person. Each person was seen by a doctor, given a prescription, then had to go listen to the pastor for a few minutes before they received their medicine. We saw 307 people that day and out of that number, twelve made a profession of faith.

They say it is approaching springtime here, but I really don't know how they can tell, except it has been close to 80 degrees during the day instead of 70 to 75. Maybe it's because it is time to plant the corn again so it must be spring.

There is a tad of envy in me toward those who get to preach the Word. One of the teams asked me to give my testimony and bring the devotional one morning and it blessed me tremendously. I don't know how they perceived it, but my spirit was refreshed. Is there an opening for a preacher at FFBC?

Luisa

Christmas in Guatemala

2009-11-25T18:04:00.006-06:00

Christmas is a very big deal in Guatemala. In some ways that is good and in some ways not so good. It is good in that no one objects to being wished a Merry Christmas, the term Christmas, or Navidad, is still used in all the shops, and the reason for Christmas is celebrated without fear of repercussions. On the other hand, traffic from now until after Christmas will be a perpetual snarl. I can joyfully say that I will not be sorry to miss that. I leave for my homeland two weeks from Thursday.

The poinsettia in this picture grows on the hillside just behind my apartment. It is not as tall as some that grow here, but it is by far the most beautiful.

November has been a very busy month here in the mission house, with three teams in as many weeks. The last team left this week, some on Monday and the remainder Wednesday. Tomorrow will be spent with my neighbors, who are gringos, celebrating Thanksgiving.

This has been a good year for groups coming to the mission house. Many houses have been built, much food has been handed out, many people have received medical attention, and the gospel has been presented with good results. Only eternity will reveal all the fruit of the laborers. In 2009 there were 22 teams that came and spent a week at the mission house and as of right now 2010 promises even more with 27 teams scheduled. HELP!!!!!!!!!

The word "Thanksgiving" takes on new meaning here when people tearfully express gratitude for a house not even as big as my dining room made from a few posts and some sheets of tin. It goes without saying that my outlook on "things" has drastically changed over the last four years. Happy Thankgiving to all.

Memorial Day Guatemala...Sort of

2009-10-31T16:45:00.002-05:00

This is just one end of a block long market where vendors are selling flowers for November 1st, a holiday known as Day of the Dead. The people do pretty much the same as we do in the states except they carry it a little farther. They not only decorate the graves of departed loved ones, they go to the cemetery and have picnics and spend the whole day there. It is also the day of the national kite festival.

Can you believe it has been a month since I have posted to my blog and I thought it had only been a few days. October and November are beginning to shape up a lot like this past summer, with one team after another.

The last team that was here, one from Wilmington, N. C., built 15 houses in a village about an hour and a half drive from the mission house. Sometimes I wonder how these people ever found these places to build a village. I went to the village to help with the food distribution, always an humbling experience. Can you imagine lining up outside a little church with 150 other families with a little ticket in your hand that entitles you to go through a line to receive a small bag of rice, sugar, salt, pasta, oatmeal, and a few other things? I can't. But they do it and are grateful for everything they get. I am grateful God has allowed me to be a small part of this.

As I write this, it is about 4:00 on Halloween day and it really looks spooky outside with dark clouds, lightning, and thunder. I expect Freddy or Jason or some other creepy crawler to appear any minute.

I decided to go to town today, and should have known better. The day before a holiday is always chaos traffic wise. The traffic cops try hard to direct traffic, but even they give up eventually and just let the people fight it out amongst themselves.

Maybe it won't be a month between posts this time...and maybe it will with three teams coming in November.

The Spirit of Fear

2009-09-29T20:53:00.000-05:00

I've done a lot of praying for courage over the past few weeks. A couple of years ago, there was an occurrence on the road to el Tejar that scared the bejeebers out of me and I had not been back down that road since....until about two weeks ago. The city is putting stone down on the other road to Chimal and it is blocked. Since staying on the mountain for three months without going to town was not an option, I prayed for courage, got in my Patrol, started out. The road is in such bad shape that my mind was too occupied with missing the holes to be afraid. God does answer pray in strange ways sometimes.

FTSS Guatemala branch is going good. Last week I bought enough food for ten families and by the end of the day only had four bags left. Those were gone very shortly. This week, I bought enough for fifteen families.

Max Lara is doing much better. I went by to see him on my way back from Antigua yesterday and he and Teresa had gone to Chimal. His daughter said he is doing fine.

Due to some family difficulties, Berto and his family have moved from Santo Domingo. Laurie King and I found their new home last week, in Chimal, and paid them a visit. He is about the same and in good spirits as usual.

The fall is rapidly becoming as busy as the summer. We have six teams scheduled for October and November.

Favorite Things

2009-08-30T19:38:00.000-05:00

Today is Sunday...my favorite day of the week. The time spent in God's house this morning was, for lack of a better word, good. It's not FFBC, but it is pretty close....except for the language. The music is lively and uplifting and is one of the few churches here that doesn't blast you out of the building with speakers as big as all outdoors. After church I usually have lunch at Los Cebollines and think about my favorite people I used to have lunch with in the states.

It is so quiet up here on this mountain on Sundays that a person can hear the corn growing down in the valley. If I want noise, all I have to do is go a couple of miles to Chimaltenango.

My friend and resident nurse, Laurie King, and I went to visit Berto Friday to take him some stronger pain medicine and some antibiotic. He is so thin his arms look like bones with skin on them. Laurie made the comment when we left that she hoped that if she were ever in that situation, she would have the same attitude he does, always grateful and thanking God. I ditto that.

Tomorrow is back to work painting the inside of the mission house.

Luisa

FTSS - Guatemala Branch

2009-08-18T17:51:00.000-05:00

We are in business! With the money sent by FFBC, I was able to buy enough food for ten bags and nine of them have been given away this week. Each bag contains rice, beans, consumme, dry soup mix, margarine (that doesn't have to be refrigerated, yuk), cooking oil, Incaparina (a vitamin fortified drink), and moosh (oatmeal) and the cost of each was approximately Q43.50 or $5.50.

Right now, each family is limited to one bag per month....that may change to every two weeks depending on circumstances. I tell them not to tell anyone else and they say "no tenga pena", don't worry, we won't, and I know they can't wait to get back to the village to tell someone. The one thing they would like to have that I don't provide is sugar. IMHO sugar is poison....clogging your veins, rotting your teeth, and causing all sorts of health problems. So if they want sugar, they will have to buy that themselves. See my mean streak.

I now have two English students, my gardener, Freddy, and Manuel Chavez, the dentist. Now I wish I had paid closer attention in English class, although it probably would not be helpful now if I had, it being 50 years since I sat in an English class.

Rain, Rain, It's Some Other Day

2009-08-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

Normally, it would be pouring down rain about now, but this is obviously not a normal year. It has been about six weeks since we have had any significant rain. According to one of the local papers, the corn corp this year will be down by about 40%. That is devastating for a people whose staple food is corn. They can't eat a meal without tortillas. The road to Chimaltenango cuts through corn fields where there are corn stalks fifteen plus feet tall with tassels and small ears. If it doesn't rain soon, and a lot, the ears won't get much bigger. This is a crucial time for corn as it needs moisture to develop the ears. Some of the gringos who have lived here for over 30 years say they have never known the rain to stop for this long in the rainy season.

I went to see Berto yesterday to take a few things to him and his family. He is in a lot of pain and at this point, I think he is ready to go to the hospital. Whether they will take him or not remains to be seen. Please pray for him and his family and for us as we try to help make him as comfortable as possible and for wisdom to know how to deal with the situation. He is so humble and grateful for everything that is done for him. It hasn't been all that long ago that he was cutting wood, loading it on his donkey, and taking it to town to sell. Now he can hardly get out of bed.

Now that summer (for me) is over, maybe I can keep up on the blog a little better, you think?

Luisa

Where'd Everybody Go?

2009-07-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

Every morning since May 28 there have been people staying here in my apartment and in the mission house. Thursday morning when I got up, it was deathly quiet. Everyone had sneaked out in the middle of the night and left me all alone. :-) There will be one more team coming Sunday and then a respite until October.

For the last three or four weeks it has been truly "The Land of Eternal Spring" in Guatemala. There has been a break in the rain and the weather has been too beautiful for words.

Sometimes I wish FFBC were here with the Feed the Sheep Shop. The word has gotten out that if you go talk to Senora Luisa, she will give you money for food. Now I'm not talking about lots of money. I'm talking Q5, Q10, Q20....that's from less than $1 to $2.50. Maybe I should never have started it, but when a mother comes here with a baby in her arms and three or four more hanging on her skirts and says they are hungry, I can't turn them away. Maybe I'll just start my own Feed the Sheep Shop.

Luisa

Summertime and the living is not easy, but it is fun

2009-07-07T21:25:00.000-05:00

Summer is more than half over and I still don't know where the first half went. Summer for me is the end of May until mid-August. By the time the year is over, there will have been 21 teams that have come to the mission house for a week and have gone out to build houses, hold medical and dental clinics, pass out food to families, hold block parties, do evangalistic work, get sick, climb volcanos, overeat, make new friends, share their hearts, listen to some good singing and preaching, and a host of other things. A lot of them come here as strangers to me and leave as friends. Some of them I get closer to than others and it is hard to see them go.

It has been a while since I wrote an update on Berto. Someone left money here for him and his family for food and other needs. It is to be doled out to them weekly rather than giving it to them all at once. Last week I went to take it to them and every time I go my heart nearly breaks. They have absolutely nothing, and are always so grateful for anything they receive. He is in the bed most of the time now and Vilma cannot work because of needing to stay home to care for him. I have no idea how much longer he will live, but his main concern is what will happen to his family when he is gone. Please pray for him and his family.

Luisa

Where Have I Been?

2009-06-21T20:27:00.000-05:00

Talk about hitting the ground running! When I returned to Guatemala on May 23rd, I thought I would have a few days to get ready for the team coming on the 28th, relax a little, and catch up on my blog. Was I ever wrong! Plans change hourly here.

We are on our fourth team now since May 28th and there has not been a day when there has not been a team in the mission house. One of those, of course, was FFBC which made me extremely happy. What didn't make me happy was that I was sick the day they left and didn't get to say goodbye to them.

Even though the days have been busy the people of Guatemala still have needs. For example, some ladies brought me a written diagnosis from an ob/gyn doctor in Chimal of the aunt of one of the ladies. Discretion demands that I not go into detail as to her condition, but let it suffice to say that she was no doubt in very much pain and discomfort and was in desperate need of surgery. The family did not have the money for surgery so pleas were sent out by email for help and the surgery was paid for. I visited the lady a couple of days after the surgery, the day she was going home from the hospital, and she was most grateful.

In a couple of other instances ladies have come to ask for money for food. Two ladies asked for Q10 each, the equivalent of $1.25. Another lady needed money for an x-ray for her son who had been beaten and robbed.

Health care here in the national hospital for the most part is free, but no one wants to go to the national hospital because of the poor quality of care. Doesn't say much for socialized medicine, does it?

I have a work crew this summer to help clean the mission house and it is great. I actually have a couple of days off each week. My crew fell in love with Don and his team. They call him Pastor Don, so I fully expect to hear him preach next time I am home.

Luisa

Shake, Rattle, & Roll

2009-05-29T08:57:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I just happened to be awake in the wee hours of yesterday morning when my bed started to tremble, then shake, then really shake. Several thoughts went through my mind and being the slow thinker that I am you know that this quake was a long one. My first thought was, it will quit in a few seconds. When it didn't my next thought was, maybe I should get outside, but I didn't. My next thought was, o.k., it's time for this to stop. When finally, after 45 seconds, the shaking started to subside, my next thought was, wherever the epicenter was there is probably damage. When I did finally get up and check the news, I found that it was a 7.1 and there had indeed been damage and death. This was the longest quake I have experienced since being here. They usually only last 10 to 15 seconds....it only seems longer. The mission house and apartments have been built to stand a quake of the magnitude of 8 or higher, but when I look at some of the cracks in the concrete, I can't help but wonder.

In one of my early blogs, I stated that there were plans in the works to teach English to the principal of the school in Santo Domingo. So far, that has not come to pass and now another person has asked me to teach him English. What's up with this? Am I supposed to teach? First of all, I have had no experience as a teacher and also there are other obstacles to overcome, none of which God cannot overcome, in fact already has if this is His plan. Please help me pray about this and be open to His leading and enabling.

Luisa

On the road again....or rather in the air.

2009-05-18T20:25:00.000-05:00

My time in the U. S. is rapidly coming to a close. It has been good to spend time with my family and friends and to once again worship with my church family.

But now it is back to Guatemala to make preparations for the teams coming this summer and to check on some people in the villages. It is going to be a very busy summer starting a few days after I get back and continuing until mid-August.

Hopefully, I will be able to make time to blog and keep everyone up to date on what is going on in Gautemala.

As I read the news of things that are happening in the world and especially in our country, it mystifies me that so many people cannot see a connection between the economic problems and unrest in the world and the prophesies in the Bible. That is until I read that those who are not spiritually enlightened are not spiritually discerning.

Maybe the reason I like my job so much is because I get to be around people who love God and are not afraid to say so.

Luisa

Soapbox Time

2009-04-24T08:54:00.000-05:00

It's soooo easy! Just swipe your credit card through a little machine, sign your name and you are in debt. I had to learn this week how to use one of those little machines, now I have it down pat.

There was a friend of mine once, when I lived in Michigan, who was a truck driver and received a monthly expense check. He decided to put all his expenses on his credit card then pay that bill off when his expense check came. Unfortunately, his expense check first and he spent it on other things so he didn't have the money to pay the credit card bill. This friend eventually declared bankruptcy. Do the phrases "take responsibility for your actions", "payday someday", and "paying the piper', come to mind?

When I used to work as an escrow agent doing loan closings for people who were refinancing their homes in order to pay off some debts, it was astounding to me the amount of money some people owed to credit card companies. How could they let this happen? It is so easy. It is amazingly easy to obtain a credit card and even easier to use it, often times irresponsibly.

What is it about us that we almost think we are being unpatriotic if we are not in debt. You might say we are helping the economy when we buy things because if we don't buy, there won't be a demand. We have been demanding things for years and where is the economy.

Sadly, I see the same thing happening in Guatemala. More and more people are handing over the little piece of plastic in Maxi Bodega (Wal-Mart).

I heard on the news just this week that the average person has eight credit cards. My word! Why would a person need eight credit cards? I don't mind being below average in this respect. I only have one and have considered shredding it, but it is so convenient. Oh well, if I get too far in debt, my faithful government will bail me out.

Luisa

The Sky is Falling

2009-04-13T11:15:00.000-05:00

What is that stuff falling out of the sky? There has been little to no rain in Guatemala since mid-October and the day after I arrived in the states, it rained all day. I'm sure the Easter egg hunters were disappointed, but it looked good to me.

Just before I left Guatemala, a couple of people came to me with needs for help in paying for medical exams. One was for a woman's son who needed x-rays and other exams on his back and another was for a lady who needed an ultra-sound to determine if she had miscarried. She got the results a couple of days before I left and it looks as though she has lost the baby. Whether this was brought on by stress or would have happened anyway, I don't know. It can be very stressful when men show up at your house with shotguns demanding to see your husband as they did at hers. She managed to close the door on them and no one was harmed, just frightened out of their wits.

As I spend these few weeks in my home country, I am reminded again of how blessed we are here with material things. If material things were all that we needed, America would have no needs. We don't know that we are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and naked, and blind. But there is hope....in Jesus Christ.

Luisa

Joy, Joy, Joy

2009-04-01T08:12:00.000-05:00

What a difference a few days and a little good news can make. Last week I received word that my residency has been granted for me to stay in Guatemala. It has been well over a year since the process was started to bring this about. What this means is that I can now stay in Guatemala for two years without having to leave the country every 90 or 180 days. After that I can apply for a permanent residency which I understand is a much simpler process. All that's left to do is go to the city Friday to pick up my passport from my attorney.

This probably doesn't mean much to a lot of people, but to me, it is a big deal. Without the residency there is always that time limit hovering around in the back of my mind like a little gray cloud. To me, it means freedom to think and to plan things that I was hesitant to do before.

There is a young man here who has become an object of my prayers. He has no job, no money and through the generosity and good graces of a friend is attending the seminary here in Chimal. This friend is looking for a way to set the young man up in a business in order for him to support his family and continue his studies at seminary. This bears more investigation and as I said much prayer. Please join me in praying for him and for direction and wisdom for me.

Luisa

Gloom, Despair, etc., etc...

2009-03-20T07:59:00.000-05:00

Being sick is depressing to say the least and I almost forget what it feels like to feel good. I have heard it said that there is something good in everything...a silver lining behind every cloud. It is hard to see anything good when a person is flat on their back and their body aching from fever. However, after four of five days in bed, I noticed that some of my body parts were getting some much needed rest and weren't as sore as they had been. So maybe there is something to this silver lining business.

During all this, there has been a team at the mission house. This team is comprised totally of college students from the University of Alabama. I enjoy young people.....from a distance. They are so enthusiastic and full of energy. They are creative and flexible. They haven't yet learned that they have limitations, that there are certain things they aren't able to do, so they just do them anyway. This team of young people built five houses, held a basketball camp, visited homes and took food to families, conducted VBS, and had a block party. Now I can imagine what a block party in Guatemala must have looked like. In the states, it would consist probably of the people in one block or neighborhood. Here, I am sure people would come from everywhere to join the fun of a block party.

March has been relatively quiet and the time is rapidly approaching for me to leave for the states. It will be good to spend some time with my family and friends.

Luisa

Wise Friends

2009-03-09T08:23:00.000-05:00

Whether accidentally or on purpose, I don't know....I prefer to think on purpose....a very good, wise friend helped me this week to understand something that only someone who was standing back from the forest enough to see the trees could.

I have been put into a situation the last few days that has causing me not some small degree of stress and this friend made me see that what I was doing was protecting myself rather that reaching out to someone in need. That does not mean that I intend to roll over and play dead, but I have been able to formulate a plan that has relieved the stress somewhat.

I have another very good, wise friend who said something long ago that has stuck with me, but I have yet to figure out how to accomplish it. He claims that this was not original with him, but it sounds like something he would say. He said, "humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is not thinking of yourself at all."

We, meaning Laurie King and I went to see Berto last Thursday and he is doing surprisingly well. He has seemed to be doing better ever since his week's stay in the hospital. He has some pain, but it is not unbearable. On Saturday, I went back loaded with tangerines, Ensure, vitamins, and pain relievers for him. He is still adamant about not having the surgery....his choice.

I have decided that these posts need to be shorter and more frequent. I can promise shorter, but am not too sure about more frequent.

Luisa

If I Were King, or Queen....

2009-02-20T10:08:00.000-06:00

It is a good thing I am not the one in charge of deciding who gets a house built for them here. When a lady comes to my house to pick up a pair of shoes for her child and asks me if it is possible for her to have a house built because she has eleven children and some nieces and nephews living with her in a one room house, I want to grab my hammer and say "let's go". But wiser heads than mine have been chosen to make those decisions. I would probably bankrupt the coffers very quickly.

There has been an ongoing project here since last August that has seen some good results. Without going into a lot of detail, the story is about a little boy, Joel, who was told by a Dr. in a visiting medical team that if he did not have surgery on his eye, he would go blind. As it turns out, after visits to a couple of Drs. here, he does not need surgery. He is allergic to the sun and with the help of a group of generous people in the states, he now has medication and instructions on how to protect himself. His eye has greatly improved and his sight is much better. He and his sister both had lesions on their arms and those are almost gone.

It is my natural, fleshly tendency to be a hermit. If ever I have any tendency to be cordial or hospitable, it is an unnatural or maybe supernatural one. My hermitishness has been stretched this week when a family...mother, dad, and baby came to stay with me for three days so the baby, Felix, could see a doctor here in Chimaltenango. Felix was born with a birth defect which probably can be corrected with surgery. He is 16 months old and they were told at one time that the surgery could be done when he was one year old. The specialist here said usually that kind of surgery is not done until the child is two years old. Another complication is that he has severe anemia. He is being treated for that now and in October, hopefully, they can come back for the surgery. There was something almost like regret when they left. I had gotten to know them and Felix is one of the few babies here that doesn't scream for his mother when I pick him up. They will be coming back in three weeks for a follow-up visit with the doctor.

The parents, Jorge and Ada, were very disappointed about the surgery....first for Felix's sake and second because they rode a chicken bus for eight hours to get here. They live north of Huehuetenango, almost to the Mexican border. So, how do I know about Felix? Through our on site dentist, Manuel Chavez, who not only is a dentist but an evangalist as well. He travels far and away throughout Guatemala holding dental clinics, preaching, and ministering to people.

I took some photos of Felix and the family and printed them out for them. I have never seen anyone so excited over a small thing like some family photos. It makes me wonder when was the last time I got excited over some small thing.

Luisa

Can You Say Mountain?

2009-02-11T18:37:00.000-06:00

Little did I know what I was getting into last week when I volunteered to drive a truck to a village to haul medical supplies and team members for a medical clinic. I had driven this truck before so I thought "no sweat". No one told me where this village was so I just followed the leader....straight up a mountain. Did I say straight? Strike that....there were hairpin curves, one after another. By the time we reached the village, at an elevation of 8,000 ft., the truck was overheated and steaming. To add to the problem, when we got in the truck to return, I smelled brake fluid. My thoughts were of all those curves and while the scenery was beautiful, I didn't want us to end up a part of it rather that just looking at it.

It was a good day though. The doctors attended to about 190 people with everything from coughs, sore throats, and ear aches to athletes foot. The doctor who treated the athletes foot said it was so severe that the fellow was near to losing some toes. One lady who came to the clinic wanted treatment for her two little boys who were not eating and were sad. I was helping translate for the lady taking names, ages, and problems, so we put down depression for her boys. I thought this was kind of strange for two little boys until the doctor told us later that her husband, their father, had been killed in the landslide that occurred in Guatemala City a few weeks ago.

There were several doctors in this team as well as nurses and a pharmacist. As well as treating the physical ailments of the people, they also covered them with prayer. Our table was set up outside, but I managed to venture inside the building a few times. More than once, I saw the group who was treating someone praying with them.

We closed up shop about 4:00 and started back down the mountain with me holding my breath, as though that would help if we had no brakes. However, everything went fine and we met up with the rest of the team at Paulino's Restaurant in Tecpan for some wonderful food and fellowship.

This team was the third one in three weeks and now it is back to putting the mission house aright in anticipation of the next team later this month.

Luisa

The Name of the Game

2009-01-29T07:38:00.000-06:00

The name of the game here in Guatemala is "flexibility". There is a sign posted on the mission house wall that reads, "Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape."

It seems that it is either a flurry of activity or agonizing waiting. Such was the case yesterday with a three hour wait at the opthamologist office with Maria Reyes for an eye exam and then back to the mission house to clean before the team returned from their day's work. Plans can be made in the evening for the next day only to be thwarted by a team member being ill and needing medication and someone to stay with them.

January has been a busy month what with going to the school to help register some children, taking Berto to the hospital, getting Maria an eye exam--for right now her old glasses will do-- and having two teams at the mission house back to back. Feburary will probably be shoe shopping time.

Sometimes when I drive through the village of Santo Domingo, or go to the school, or to a home, it doesn't take long for the word to get out that I am there. Folks come out of the woodwork asking for something....shoes, medicine, medical exams, etc. Quite often, it is overwhelming and I want to say "give me a break". Then I think of the numerous scriptures which tell of Jesus not being able to eat or rest because of the people coming to Him for healing and casting out demons. The scriptures say...."and He healed them all." He raised the dead and fed the multitudes. The only time I can remember Jesus not helping someone was when the guy asked Him to make his brother share the inheritance with him. Jesus asked him, "Man, who made me judge over you?" Jesus was not into greed. Jesus was compelled by compassion. He could not not be compassionate

The King James Dictionary defines compassion as; suffering with another, painful sympathy; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration.

Webster's Dictionary defines compelled as; forced; constrained (urged irresistibly or powerfully); obliged.

In spite of the people coming to Him just to have their bellies filled, He still had compassion. He knew that, He knew they were seeking Him just for their physical needs, but He still had painful sympathy and pity for the people, even affection for His enemies. This compassion compelled, or constrained Him to heal, to forgive, to raise the dead. Even the ungrateful experienced His compassion as evidenced by the lepers who were healed and only one returned to thank Him.

If I were to compare the sufferings of different cultures of people, the suffering I see here would not be as great as the suffering I see on TV of war torn countries, countries where famine and disease is rampant, or where persecution for one's faith is the order of the day. But if I compare it to the suffering in the United States, of life as I know it, the suffering here is great. If I had to live in the conditions that I see people living in here in Guatemala, I would be seeking relief too.

So I have to ask myself, “where is my compassion, my painful sympathy, my affection for an enemy?” Jesus had compassion for me, painful sympathy, pity, for my lost condition and the fact that I could do nothing to make my life right nor to bring me into a right relationship with God, His Father. Out of love and compassion He died for me. He has not yet asked me to do that...I've just been asked to have a little compassion.

Luisa

2009-01-13T18:30:00.000-06:00

Sometimes working with folks in Guatemala brings joy and sometimes it brings heartache.

We were finally able to take a gentlemen in one of the villages, who has been ill for quite sometime, to the hospital. He has passed off his illness and pain as of no consequence for a long time until he could no longer stand the pain. Now it is too late. He has cancer and more than likely has about three or four months to live.

I didn't want this to happen. I don't want Beto to die. I want him to get well and go back home to his family, to work and take care of his wife and children, of which he has five. But I don't always get what I want. Things don't always turn out the way I want them too and I'm sure as much as I want him well, his family wants that more. He is not an old man, probably in his forties. His wife will make it o.k. work wise. She has been pretty much supporting the family for quite a while anyway but had to quit as of late to take care of him. I truly don't know how they have been living.

At times like this, there should be something deeply profound and spiritual I could think to say, but I can't think of anything, except a scripture I read this morning in Psalm 84 where it talks about those whose strength is in the Lord who passing through the Valley of Baca, (the Amplified Bible says Valley of Weeping) make it a place of springs.........they go from strength to strength (increasing in victorious power).... [v 5-7] One step at a time, one day at a time, strength for today and building on that for strength for tomorrow.

From all that I have been able to observe of Beto, he is a believer, as well as his wife. So they have a source of strength.

2009-01-09T08:37:00.000-06:00

The gauntlet has been thrown down and I have decided to accept the challenge. The books have been ordered and now a time and place is all that remains to be decided. Senor Elfi, the prinicpal of Santo Domingo school, is definitely serious about learning English and I am just as serious about my inability to teach him. Hence, much prayer is requested in this endeavor. First for him that he will learn quickly and easily. He is a young man so that shouldn't be a problem. And then for me. First of all, that my patience and wisdom will greatly increase and that I will truly teach and not just read the book to him, he can do that.

In my last blog, I referred to paying for something and feel it is necessary to clarify something. When there is a mention of paying for something, that does not come out of my pocket. I am not that benevolent, in fact, I have been known to be quite tight-fisted. Those funds come from other sources, chiefly from my home church in Arkansas, and sometimes from other sources.

What's it about?

2009-01-06T13:23:00.000-06:00

First of all, this blog is not to be about me, as much as I would like it to be. My favorite words are "I" and "me". This blog is intended to be about people in general and Guatemalan people in particular. The Guatemalan people, for the most part, are a very gracious, humble people and exhibit much gratitude for any little thing done for them.

School starts here in Guatemala in January and it has been my practice for the last three years to go to the school in Santo Domingo to help pay the Q40 for some children whose families could not pay. This year I was a little unsure about going because my buddy, who had gone along in the past, was no longer around to go. "Was there going to be anyone there who needed help?" Would they understand my faulty Spanish?" Questions, Questions. Upon arrival at the school, I was told that enrollment this year was free. (Thankfully the principal speaks some English) However, several people could not enroll their children because they had not paid for last year's snacks the school serves the children each day. So I paid that for several children and will go back tomorrow to pay for some more.

During our conversation, the principal said I needed to learn Spanish and he wanted to learn English....could I teach him and he would teach me Spanish. Now there's a challenge if there ever was one.