Fun and Fellowship

We have had a good week.  We had several opportunities for fellowship and fun.  We had good Bible studies in the villages and visits as well.  Here is a look at our lives over the past several days.

At the beginning of the month I started a reading incentive for the boys.  They have been reading all summer but I wanted a good push before the new school year began.  We came up with a good prize system and they have been doing well so far.   We begin every morning by reading.  I plan to keep it going until the end of the month.  Not much excites me more these days than seeing my boys with a book in their hands.

 Cruz reading a book by Clyde Robert Bulla.  He is one of my favorites.

On Monday evening we met our friend Miguel at a local restaurant for a pizza supper.  He has some nieces and a nephew down visiting from the States.  Not only did we get to see Miguel but also his sister, her kids, and the kids from the States.  Our boys have enjoyed getting to play with them while they are here.  We had a fun evening together.

On Tuesday morning we made a few visits in the mountains. Our first stop was to see Dionicia in Lagunetas.  A few weeks ago she fell and hurt her ankle.  Thankfully nothing is broken, but she has had a hard time recovering.  We spent some time visiting with her and then was able to pray for her before we left.  Join us in praying that she will heal quickly.  They have not given us permission to return and teach there in quite some time.  Pray that our visits would show them God's love.

Next we made a visit in Churischan to check on our contact family there.  We love to just sit on their porch and talk with them.  They are believers so our conversations there are different than most stops. 

On this particular visit I got to have a lot of one on one time with this sweet lady while David was sharing with her husband.  She is having some health issues so please pray for her.  We are going to try to visit them again next week with our team. 

Our boys love when we visit there because they get to climb trees while we are sitting and talking. 

my little monkeys

a beautiful mountain view as we drove back down to town

That evening we joined a mission team for supper at the hotel next door.  They are from FBC Lake Wales, FL.  They have been coming down to this area for around ten years  now working with another group.  We enjoy getting to visit with them when we can. We are also able to share with them what we do, and thank them for their support to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  Here we are with the team leader and his sweet wife. 

On Wednesday afternoon we had Bible study in Nearar.  There is a group of young boys who hang out and play soccer every week while we are there.  They are the same group who just a few months ago were throwing rocks at the church every time we met.  Since the land was cleared off and they have no where to hide the rock throwing has almost ceased.  Anyway, the ball they use was in terrible shape.  They have been asking us for a new ball for a while.  This past week we took them one.  They were thrilled.  During the service Ben looked back and noticed that two of them had slipped into the back of the church.  They were sitting down and listening.  That made us happy.  I also see them peeking over the tin wall almost every Sunday morning now listening in to my kid's class.  Pray for the hearts of this young group of boys.  Pray for us as we try to point them to Christ.

That evening when we returned to town we met Miguel's crew at the mall playland.  As we walked inside we noticed Batman and Spiderman standing there handing out sale ads for one of the mall stores.  Of course we had to take a picture with them.

Miguel had a meeting to attend so we agreed to watch all the kids for him while he was gone.  It was seven in all including ours.  We let them have some time in the ball pit.  They loved it!  This crew has had a lot of fun together this week.

On Thursday afternoon we had Bible study in Muyurco.  Here is my class making funny faces at the end of our lesson.  I love spending Thursday afternoons with them.

I loved this t-shirt that one of the boys was wearing.  It says "Eat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts". It sure made me want to. 

That night we stopped by a new taco stand in town to check it out.  The boys and I had quesadillas and David tried the tacos al pastor.  They have a trampoline, a swing set, and a large area to run and play.  The boys made a few new friends there and we stayed extra long just to let them play.  I am sure we will be back soon.

We were getting in the car on Friday to go buy our team supplies and noticed this flying object in the sky.  Turns out it was three hang gliders coming in to land on the hotel property behind us.  The boys loved seeing them and wanted to know if it was something new that the hotel was offering.  I doubt it, but it sure was fun to watch.

Friday night we had our weekly pizza, popcorn, and movie night.  This week we watched The Little Rascals.  Afterwards we made a few laps around the block before calling it a night.  Friday night is probably our favorite of the week.  We love family movie night!

Our team arrives tonight from Texas.  David and Cruz will be picking them up.  We are excited about spending the next week with them.  We have three couples coming.  One of those couples is Mark and Debby Fricke.  They are retired IMB missionaries who served many years here in Guatemala.  We are especially excited about our time with the two of them.  We anticipate a great week ahead.  Pray God's blessings over all we say and do.