A Boat Ride on the Passion River

I had told Cruz before we ever left our house to travel to Sayaxche that we would be taking a little boat ride down the river while we were there. I knew he would love it and I was eager to take him. He was pretty excited about it. We ended up making two stops on the way there that were both near water (Rio Dulce and Flores). That confused him a little because he didn't understand why we were not riding the boat at each of those stops. Then we got to Sayaxche on Tuesday and by Thursday we still had not gone in the boat.  Cruz was patient, but it was wearing thin.  So, on Thursday morning he and I decided to just take one of the taxi boats across the river and back that the locals use.  It was a short trip, but he had fun.

Cruz and I crossing the Passion River in Sayaxche

here he is hanging over the side watching the other boats cross

Later that afternoon when the retreat had ended several of the team joined us and we all set out on a little ride together.  We told the driver just to take us about 30 minutes up the river and then turn around and bring us back.  We didn't really want to go anywhere, we just wanted to ride.  It had rained that afternoon and that delayed us about an hour leaving, but the weather was much cooler afterwards and the cloudy skies made it more pleasant. 

walking down to the river to catch a boat

Aren't these some sweet smiles!  Mr. Wendall and Mrs. Jane Parker

Ms. Shirley and Ben

a back view of our group

Mr. Wendall, Mrs. Jane, Carol, and Bro. David

 Ms. Shirley, me, and Cruz

Cruz kept everyone entertained

here he is being silly with Bro. David

Ben was a little entertaining too, but not in a good way.  He was sleepy and as you can see by his face he was not a very happy camper.  When he is tired he wants to be laid down in his bed.  That was not possible on the boat so it took him several LONG minutes of screaming and crying to finally give it up and fall asleep in our arms.  I know it was very unpleasant for the group, and we felt bad about it.  But, after he was asleep the rest of the ride was good.

our group on the Passion River

We returned to our rooms in time to play a few hands of Phase 10 with the Parker's before supper time.  The team went out to eat and our family stayed back to do a picnic in the room and start packing up our things to leave the next morning.   I would have loved to have gone with the group to eat, but with small kids sometimes it's just easier to say no and stay home.  The boys loved us sitting on the floor and having a picnic together anyway.  Cruz thought it was cool.

The boys enjoying our family picnic (one of several we did that week) in our hotel room in Sayaxche.  They also enjoyed getting to watch cartoons while we ate.  That is something they never get to do at home so it was a treat.

The boat ride was a fun way to end our time there together with friends.  We left early on Friday morning heading back home in time to get Cruz to his school's graduation program.  I'll post about that next.

Our Week In Sayaxche

We ate breakfast in Flores on Tuesday morning and then finished the last leg of our trip on to Sayaxche. We arrived around lunchtime.

Here are Cruz and I on the ferry that crosses the Passion River at Sayaxche.  He and I got out of the car as we crossed so we he could look at the water.  We then waited until all of the cars got off and we walked off last. He loved it.   We crossed on that ferry many times when he was a baby although he has no memory of it.

We then drove to the motel to make sure the rooms were ready for the team to arrive.  I'm glad we got there early.  They had lost our reservation and already had other reservations for the week.   In other words, they were full.  Well, when David finished talking with them we were shown our room and the four rooms for the team were ready also.

We ate a hot dog and nacho lunch at the Oasis (our favorite place in town) and then waited for the team to arrive.  They got there mid afternoon.

Here I am greeting Mrs. Jane and Ms. Shirley as they arrived

I'd say we were happy to see each other

We spent some time hanging out and getting caught up with everyone before supper

Here is the team after breakfast on Wednesday morning.  In addition to our family there was Jim McGriff (retired IMB missionary who was our former supervisor), Jim and Carol Browder, Shirley Hammond, Wendall and Jane Parker (retired IMB missionaries and our former mentors), and Bro. David (the Parker's pastor from Georgia).

As I mentioned in an earlier post the reason for our trip to Sayaxche was to attend a retreat for the Kekchi national missionaries.  For many, many years Jim McGriff and the Parker's have done an annual retreat for them.  Even after retirement they have continued to come down each year to do this retreat.  It is a time for the Kekchi brothers to fellowship, have Bible study together, pray, and encourage each other.  These men are passionate about sharing Christ among their people group, and starting new churches in unreached areas.  We got to work alongside of most of these men for several years while we were assigned to the Kekchi.  Those were some of our favorite years!  We love these men and learned a lot from them.  We miss working with them but are happy to hear how the Kekchi work is continuing on through their faithfulness to serve.

The Kekchi national missionaries who attended the conference.  There were some who couldn't make it.  I think there are around 25 total.

Each one had a time to share about their work.  They talked about their struggles and also shared about the good things God is doing where they serve.  Afterwards they were prayed over by the group.  It was an encouraging time for them.  This is Bro. Miguel Chub who serves in the Lanquin/ Cahabon region near Coban.  We always enjoyed getting to minister with him.  He has a servants heart!

This is Bro. Javier who serves in the Peten region. 

Mr. Wendall and Mrs. Jane led the group in a few songs before each session.

Bro. David (the Parker's pastor) came down to teach the Bible study.  It was his first trip to Guatemala.  He taught the study and Mrs. Jane translated for him into Kekchi.

Below are some other miscellaneous photos from our time there-

Here is our group having devotion one morning.

A breakfast meal one morning at Don Rosendo's restaurant.  He was our former landlord and the house we used to live in was in the background to the left.

We only did a night meal once with the team.  It was just too hard with our rowdy boys.  So while they went out one night we visited a new pizza place.  It was not there when we lived there so we thought we would give it a try.  It was a cheap meal ($5.00) and not too bad.  It was also raining that night as you can see by David's soaked shirt.

Here is Cruz with Bro. David one afternoon when we finished.  Bro. David had a picture Bible story book and was going through it with Cruz.  It was soo sweet to watch the two of them together.  It blesses my heart when people take up time with my kids!!!

and here are my two rowdy boys doing what they do best- playing (and getting dirty, ha)

The retreat ended at lunch on Thursday and all the Kekchi men returned to their homes.  We had to leave on Friday morning because of some commitments we had back home, but the team stayed and made some prayer visits on Friday and Saturday and attended a Kekchi service on Sunday morning before starting their journey back to Guatemala City later that day.  Before departing ways we took an afternoon boat ride together down the Passion River.  I'll try to blog about that tomorrow.  We had a great week together and we were very happy we got to be there to be a part of it all. 

On The Road Again

Last Monday morning (I cannot believe it's been a week already!) we set out on a little road trip up north to meet up with some former missionaries and friends who were here to do a retreat for the Kekchi national missionaries. The retreat took place in Sayaxche which is a 7+ hour drive from where we currently live.

Let me back up to Sunday night before I continue on.  David had been out until about 9:00 visiting with a team that was working in our area last week with the Miller's.   About an hour after he got home the power went out.  It stayed off until 1:25 a.m.  Ben decided to wake up at 1:30 a.m. as if he had slept all night and did not go back to sleep until 4:00 a.m.  I was up at 6:00 a.m. to finish packing, cook breakfast, and finish getting ready to leave.  It had been a LONG night and not the best way to start a long road trip.

We left home after breakfast and planned our trip to be in the Rio Dulce area for lunch. We had a recommendation from a fellow missionary to eat at a little restaurant called Mary's which is right on the river. They spoke highly of it so we thought we would give it a try.

The restaurant had a main eating area and then had these little individual covered tables all along the deck.  I thought it was the cutest thing and loved getting to sit/ eat under there.  The boys did too!

They were right on the water and the views were so beautiful of the river!

The boys loved getting to see all the boats.

The only drawback was I was a nervous wreck the whole time thinking Ben was going to jump in.  That boy has no fear and was dying to get in the water.

If you have ever passed through Rio Dulce in the background you will see the big bridge you cross over.  In all of our years of traveling that way we have never stopped before just to eat.

This was the sink outside of the bathrooms.  It was a carved out wooden canoe.  I thought it was the coolest thing.

The food was good, the views were beautiful, but our favorite thing of all about being there was getting to feed our leftovers to the fish.  The boys just LOVED it!

I'd stop there again if for nothing else to enjoy a bottle Coke and let the boys feed the fish again. (and by boys I mean all three of them, ha ha)

Cruz watching the fish

Ben was in little boy heaven

our family in Rio Dulce

We left there heading on north and made a stopover in Flores for the night.  We took a few family pictures while there-

that is Lake Itza in the background

my precious family October 2013

and this was my precious family back in April 2011 sitting in almost the same exact spot.  Cruz was just 11 months old and it was just a few short months before we found out that sweet little Ben was on the way.  Have I mentioned lately just how much I love my family!!!

We ate supper at Pizza Hut, took an evening walk around the lake, and then called it a night.  We were beyond tired from a long sleepless night and a long day of travel.  It had been a good day though, and the boys both traveled very well. 

Thankful For My Pumpkin

I love fall! I love the way it smells. I love the way it looks. I love the way it feels. There is not much about it that I do not like expect not being able to enjoy it in person. This is only the second time in seven years since coming on the mission field that we have not been home on vacation during the month of October and I'll admit that I am just a little sad about that.

Another thing I love about fall is taking pictures with pumpkins and I was concerned that I might not get to do that this year. Now I know that is a small, insignificant thing and there are much more important things that I could be "worrying" about, BUT it's something that I love and enjoy doing. So, you can imagine my joy when David surprised me with a beautiful pumpkin that he found at a store in Chiquimula (never mind that he paid a small fortune for it). It just made my day!!! When I asked him why he bought it he said "I just knew you would want it". I did.

So here are the first shots of our kiddos with our pumpkin.  I plan to do a few more as time permits.

Busy Brothers

Don't let those sweet smiles fool you- those two are a MESS!

The small pumpkins are not real.  I brought them back from the States a few years ago.  The bear was a gift to Cruz on his first October trip to the States from his Mimi back in 2010. 

What a difference a year makes!  This was my sweet boys last October while home in the States.

 

 

Our sweet little Ben

last year and this year

He is becoming such a big boy!

Cruz- he is one of a kind (and those that know him well would say that's a good thing ha ha).

It makes my heart sad to realize just how fast he is growing up.  I can barely remember him being that small!  

I know it's just a pumpkin and I could live without it, but it's just a small reminder of home.  It makes me feel warm and happy when I look at it.  It makes me feel loved (because David bought it for me).  It makes me be able to keep a tradition (of taking photos).  It helps me to teach my boys about fall.  It makes me be able to bake a few treats (hopefully before we leave for the States).  It just makes me smile!

Happy Fall Y'all!  It's 90+ degrees here, but we're celebrating!!! and for that I am thankful.