Miscellaneous Photos From November 2019

I realize that it is mid-January and this blog post says "November 2019".  That is not a mistake.  I slacked off on blogging last fall and now I am playing catch up.  This will be a long post.  I will just combine a little bit of everything into one post.

We began the month of November with a trip to Chiquimula.  We went for the purpose of attending the anniversary service of the church plant in Nearar. I shared about the service already.  Here are a few miscellaneous photos from that trip.

Did you know there is now a McDonald's in El Rancho???  That is the half way point between Guatemala City and Chiquimula and also between Guatemala City and Coban.  Up until our move back to Antigua we traveled that direction for twelve years.  For the longest time there was only a Sarita's restaurant.  Now they have Pollo Campero too and also a grocery store.  That area has grown a lot since we arrived in Guatemala.  While waiting on our food the boys headed to the playland.  I pointed out this sign to Cruz.  It was the first time he realized that he is now officially too old to play.  He was not happy about that.  It seemed like a rite of passage.  Indoor playlands like the ones at McDonald's have been life savers for us over the years. 

Another change we noticed was at the hotel restaurant in Chiquimula.  We stayed at the hotel next door to where we used to live.  This is the same hotel where we used to house all of our teams.  They have now enclosed the restaurant with windows and added a/c.  It was quite a change.

Here we are enjoying an ice cream break after a hot morning of making home visits.

Cruz relaxing in a hammock while David and I visited in a home.

The boys enjoyed a few swims at the hotel pool.  Getting to swim in this pool year round, any time we wanted is something we miss greatly about living in Chiquimula.  

We also miss riding the mountain roads on a weekly basis.

This feels like home to me.

 and the views.  We all miss the mountain views.

We miss Miguel too and enjoyed getting to visit with him while there.

Just a few days after we returned home David attended the Guatemala Baptist Convention in Guatemala City.   Here are some of the missionaries being prayed over by the nationals.  

And then just a few days after that he flew to Florida to attend the Florida Baptist Convention.  The boys and I will usually eat out one night while David is traveling.  One of our favorite places to go is Doña Luisa.  Here is Cruz enjoying his supper.

From time to time my mom will send us photos of the moon from Mississippi and we'll go outside and send a photo from Guatemala.  She had sent us one that night so we sent her this one we took as we walked back to our car after eating.

Every November (and sometimes in the spring) the zoo in Guatemala City hosts Nights Under the Moon.  We have never been able to go until this year and we were very excited.  They open the zoo at night and let visitors come in with flashlights and observe the animals.  You have to cover your flashlight with red cellophane paper.  It was a very fun way to experience the zoo.  The night we went they were kicking off the Christmas season.  They had the tree up and decorated with Pollo Campero stuffed animals.  We joined a homeschool co-op family there and had a wonderful evening.  We cannot wait to go back in 2020. 

Supper at the zoo food court to kick off the night.  

Monkeying around at the zoo.  Outings are always more fun with friends.

Another November activity we enjoy is attending the Antigua Flower Festival. This was our second year to see it.  It is such a beautiful time to be in town.  Last year we went on Saturday morning.  This year we went on Sunday afternoon after church.  It was soo crowded!

me and the boys at the Antigua Flower Festival

The boys playing on a firetruck that was on display at the central park.

There were so many pretty displays.  I love flowers!

One of our favorite restaurants, Sunset Terrace, had recently moved locations.  We tried out the new location that day for lunch.

A few of their tables have these swings as seats.  The boys loved them.

Before heading back home we visited this new donut shop called Danuts.  The boys and I love donuts!!

We picked out a few to go.    We really liked them and have since returned a few times.

The last week of November we hosted this couple.  They came down to serve and spend time with our family.  We have known them for many years and first helped host them when we served among the Kekchi.  They have a big heart for missions and serving others.  We are blessed to have them in our lives.  

We spent a few days with Pastor Apolinario visiting in some new areas.

I was tickled pink to get to hold this newborn baby girl.  We visited with her family and spent some time praying for them.

Visiting with another family who had recently lost a daughter.  We love making home visits.  It is a joy to sit and listen to people share their heart and then get to pray for them and encourage them.

An early Thanksgiving meal I prepared for us while they were here. Another thing I love is hosting.

We visited the Antigua cross while they were here.

and the market a few times.  Here are the boys in the market one afternoon after just eating lunch at Pollo Campero.  The kids meal theme was Tom and Jerry.  They were giving out these fun masks to the kids.

We had a mission luncheon that week to say goodbye to a family that was leaving the field.

We also enjoyed a Thanksgiving Day lunch with our mission family.  The Browders flew home that weekend and David got packed up for another travel trip he was making the next week.  It was a busy month.  When you add in school there is no wonder I did not get much blogging done.  I cannot complain though.  We were having fun and making memories.