We began the month celebrating Kid's Day. It is an annual holiday similar to Mother's Day and Father's Day but is all about the kids. It falls on October 1. This year it was on a Sunday. After church we met friends for lunch at Finca Azotea. We enjoyed a great meal and then the kids spent the afternoon playing and riding bikes.
enjoying a little friend time on Kid's Day
sweet friends
silly boys!
Our country was practically shut down for around three weeks due to protests and blockades stemming from the recent presidential elections. Protests and blockades happen regularly around here, but they generally only last a day or two. This one was different in many ways. Thankfully, things have calmed down and are back to normal.
We flew to Virginia to attend a homeschool conference with other IMB families serving in the Americas.
The boys doing math in the airport while we waited to board our flight. They are both doing a live online class for math this year so we had to keep up their work even though we were traveling.
boarded for our flight to the U.S.A.
That is always a great feeling!
The sunset view as we landed in Atlanta.
Like most all missionaries, our first meal was Chick-fil-A. We enjoyed it in the Atlanta airport.
Ben loved seeing this car in the airport.
We enjoyed watching SEC football while waiting to board our flight to Richmond.
The conference took place at the IMB's International Learning Center. It is one of our favorite places to be! Just entering the property gives you a sense of peace and calm.
We had the best time of the year to be there. The leaves were changing. The weather was nice and cool but not cold. It was just perfect! Fall is my favorite time of the year and we miss the changing of seasons when we are in Guatemala. Many of our missionaries serve in very hot climates so getting to experience fall weather was an extra treat for them also.
So beautiful!
The conference consisted of a wide variety of activities to enjoy. The parents had daily classes to attend. Some of our topics included having challenging crucial conversations with your kids, TCK trends, mom challenges, growing up globally, online learning tips, record keeping for high school, artificial intelligence and the homeschool classroom, internet safety and outside influences, preparing for college, and much more. Our classes were fantastic and we all learned a wealth of valuable information.
The kids were in their own classes during the day. The volunteer team planned many fun educational activities for them to do. The team also proctored the IOWA test that the kids took.
Other activities throughout the week included an elementary and middle school science fair, high school oral presentations, a game night, a graduation service to recognize the juniors and seniors, a talent show, a curriculum fair, a parent panel, a college fair, and a surprise birthday party for our wonderful TCK educational consultant.
The homeschool conferences are always one of my favorite things to attend. This one fell at a much needed time for me. I left feeling refreshed and ready to continue doing the task. It is not an easy one and now I feel a little more equipped to keep going.
Ben's science fair project.
Cruz's science fair project.
The moms had a great time together but it was especially life-giving to the kids. They all had the best time hanging out and spending time with each other. MK's have such a strong bond and really understand each other well. I am always thankful for times when they can all get together. It sure makes our two feel a little more normal. Here is Cruz with some of his middle school peers on our last night together.
The sunrise view as we landed in Atlanta on our trip home.
Breakfast at Chick-fil-A in the Atlanta airport.
arriving back in Guatemala City
volcano view in the distance
The next day David attended the Bible Institute graduation service for Rafael and Luz. They lead the church in Nearar.
Luz
Rafa
We are very proud of them!
We celebrated seventeen years of service with the IMB on October 24.
In late October we attended a production of Beauty and the Beast in San Cristobal (near Guatemala City). It was a fantastic play!!
The boys knew several students who were in it. Here they are with their friend David who played Cogsworth.
The last day of the month was cool and rainy. We built a fire, roasted hot dogs for supper, and continued our tradition of watching Charlie Brown on Halloween night. We also enjoyed some pumpkin pie.
hot dogs cooking over the fire
It was a fun night!
And now we enter Thanksgiving season. This year has flown by fast!
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