Ministry Update

We had missed several weeks of the Bible study in Tunuco Arriba due to our trip to the States.  We were very thankful that our ministry partner Miguel stepped up and agreed to drive Mrs. Diana each week to continue the study.  I think he really enjoyed getting to be a part of it.  This past Wednesday we all were there together to celebrate the end of the study for the school year.  The official end of the school year for Guatemala is not until October but due to the Lubeck's fall travel to the States we end our time there a little earlier.  Mrs. Diana put a lot of work into the closing program and did a wonderful job.  The kids, parents, and teachers all enjoyed it a lot.

The Lubecks use these puppets that are dressed in Chorti clothing in their ministry.  The kids love them!

Mrs. Diana presenting awards to some of the students

they presented each teacher with a Bible

Please continue to pray for the students in this village over the next few months.  Lord willing the Bible study will be back up and going for the 2017 school year that begins in January.

On Thursday afternoon we headed to our weekly Bible study.  This week we met in the village of Porto Suelo.   We were invited into a new home there to have a Bible study.  Some of the family in that home have been attending our study in the other areas and wanted to host us in their home.  There were several people we met for the first time.  David gave a great clear presentation of the gospel and we ask you to join us for new believers in that area.  We hope to get invited back again real soon.  

We turned off of the normal mountain road onto a lesser traveled trail to get there.  If you have been with us on this road to Nearar, Porto Suelo, and Muyurco then you can only imagine what a road off of that was like. 

my boys playing in Porto Suelo while David parked the car

This picture doesn't really show the steepness of this hill but it zigzagged straight up those rocks.  This was on the hike back to the car.  Most Thursdays we get a pretty good workout.

On Saturday morning we made a few home visits in the villages of Lagunetas and Churischan.  Our next study in Lagunetas will be on August 27.    Be praying for that day.  Pray also for Rigoberto and his family in Churischan to stay strong in their faith. Pray for his wife Luz Maria who has been battling bad headaches for some time now.  Pray for God's healing in this area of her life. 

Ben, Brooke, and Cruz hiking in Churischan on Saturday morning

Brooke is a student from the States that spent the week with us.  She is spending the summer with another missionary family but they could not host her last week so we took her in.  My boys really enjoyed having her around.  Pray for Brooke as she is seeking the Lord about her future plans. 

David led Bible study in Nearar on Sunday morning.  This week Miguel was able to go with him.  Continue to lift up that weekly study and for the construction project that the group is doing.  

This week we will be back in Muyurco on Thursday afternoon and in Nearar on Sunday morning.  Pray for these two times of study and that we would share the Bible with passion and power.  What a blessing it is to teach the Word of God and help make disciples of Christ.  Pray for us as we do both of those each week. 

Reading, Raining, Riding, and Running Around

It's been a fun week around here.  Here is a recap of our life lately-

I mentioned in one of my last posts about my boys new obsession with turning their bunkbed into a fort.  I peeked into their room one afternoon this week and found them in their "fort" reading.  It made me smile!

They had left part of it open this time so the fan could blow on them.  It was 102 that afternoon.

"hey Cruz, look at this page"

sweetness!

I was done taking photos when they picked this book up to look at.  If you know me at all then you know I have a huge phobia of snakes.  I struggle just to have this book in my house, ha.

On Tuesday afternoon we got our first good rain of the season.  Praise the Lord for rain!!!  This photo shows how everyone around was feeling.

 My boys playing in the rain.  We really do celebrate it's arrival each year.

 While I cooked supper that night Cruz built some tunnels for his train using Jenga blocks and some cardboard dominos.  He was very proud to show me what he had done.  

While eating supper I got a text inviting us to the circus.  The power was out at our friend's house due to the rain so they decided to go to the circus.  It was 2x1 which was great considering it was our third time to go.  Have I mentioned lately that we love the circus!

On Wednesday morning we traveled up the mountain to Tunuco Arriba.  It is a two hour drive one way to get there.  We spend about 2.5 hours there and then drive two hours back home.  It's a long day.

Mrs. Diana teaching the Bible to the Chorti school children

The lesson was on honoring your parents.  She wore a heart shaped necklace with photos of her mother and father inside.  Here she is showing the photos to some of the children.

Mrs. Diana and the children singing "This is the Day" in Chorti

Chorti school children

school girls in their typical Chorti dress

 This is what my two usually do all the way back home.  It might be a long ride but thankfully it's a quiet one.

 Late Wednesday afternoon it rained again.  Yippee!  My boys were right back out playing in it. 

Cruz wore his hat to keep dry.  It didn't work out too well.

 playing in the rain

That evening we had planned to eat pizza but instead my boys begged me to make eggs, beans, and tortillas.  It really is their favorite meal.   While I made the cheese omelets and beans I sent Cruz to the restaurant next door to buy tortillas.  Here he is walking back home with them.  He was so proud of himself.  It was his first time to go buy them alone.  He is growing up!

It was a rainy night so I decided to mix things up a bit and we ate our supper in the living room floor while watching cartoons.  That was a real treat for my boys.

On Thursday afternoon we had Bible study in Muyurco.  Like every other week before we got started Ben spent his time chasing chickens.  That boys loves chickens!

Here he is petting one the family had tied up.  He said "look mama, I'm petting this chicken and it's not even beaking me".  He says beaking instead of pecking or biting.

When we got ready to leave the family gave us all some corn they had just roasted.  We ate ours as we hiked the trail back to the car.  It's a little tough and chewy but it tastes like popcorn.  We like it.

I snapped this photo as we passed through Nearar on our way back down the mountain.  It is a picture of the land that our Bible study group there is in the process of purchasing.  Lord willing it will be the future site of a Baptist church one day soon.  How exciting is that!  Would you pray for this project and everyone involved in making it happen.

Hooray it's Friday morning!!!  It's also our last day of school.  We are celebrating our little kindergarten graduate today.  I am so proud of him!  We are looking forward to a fun weekend of celebrating the high school graduation of a few of our MK's.  We will be making a trip into Guatemala City to attend their graduation ceremony and receptions.  It should be a fun few days ahead.  Have a great weekend everyone! 

A Little Of Our World

Here is a small glimpse of our life over the past week or so.

I have already blogged about being in Guatemala City last weekend for Ben's birthday.  While there we also spent some time doing a few other errands.  Our first stop after arriving was the pediatrician's clinic. The boys were due for a few vaccines.  They were really thrilled about starting our weekend off with shots- not! 

me and my sweet boys at Dr. Figueroa's office in Guatemala City

I couldn't resist snapping a photo of Ben in front of the baby scales.  Here is a comparison of him at 2 weeks old and the day before he turned 4.  They grow up fast!

Next they got much needed haircuts. 

We also did a little shopping.  Ben found these boxing gloves and bag at one of the stores and had a fun time playing with them.  And no, even though he asked, we did not bring them home.

We celebrated Ben's birthday on Saturday and then enjoyed a special treat on Sunday morning of going to church together.  Union Church is an English speaking church in Guatemala City that we like to attend from time to time when we are in the Capital.  It was very refreshing to worship and be a part of a service in our heart language.   We attended the early service and then drove back home to Chiquimala.  We stopped by KFC before leaving the city for a family size popcorn chicken to-go.  We shared it in the car as we traveled.  The boys loved that idea and said we were having a family picnic.  They can be so funny at times!

our family on the way to church in Guatemala City

We have been doing a Flat Stanley project this week and taking him around with us everywhere we go.  It's been fun for the boys.  On Tuesday afternoon we had appointments at the dentist to have our teeth cleaned.  Stanley got to sit with Cruz during his cleaning.

Cruz and Flat Stanley at the dentist in Chiquimula

Flat Stanley has spent a lot of time traveling up and down the mountains this week.  We took him to Tunuco Arriba on Wednesday.  Here he is with some of the school kids and one of the school teachers. 

On Thursday afternoon he went with us to Bible study in Muyurco.  The boys took turns toting him on the trail. 

The family that hosts us for Bible study had some new baby chicks.  Ben loved holding them and playing with them.  Both of my boys have always loved the chickens in the villages.

Flat Stanley, Cruz, Ben, and some of the kids from our Thursday afternoon Bible study

We finished up a week of school on Friday morning just in time for the Lubecks to stop by for a visit.  Mrs. Diana made us one of her delicious coconut pies and brought it by for a morning snack.  I had a pot of coffee brewed and waiting for their arrival.  While the boys spent some time watching a Magic School Bus video for our Science lesson we got to sit still and enjoy our company.  We ate, drank, laughed, and talked right up to lunchtime.  I had put on a pot of taco soup that morning just in case they wanted to stay for lunch and thankfully they did.  We ate lunch together and then they headed on into town to run some errands.  We always enjoy their fellowship!

our family with the Lubecks

me and my sweet friend Mrs. Diana

I am thankful to have her in my life.

Mrs. Diana's coconut pie

Here are the Lubecks with their new puppets.  We were so tickled to see them.  She had a local lady make Chorti outfits for them and had just gotten them back.  They look great and the kids at Tunuco Arriba are going to love them.

Like all weeks it's been hot around here.  Friday afternoon we went next door for a swim.  We took Flat Stanley with us.  He didn't swim though but instead hung out with me in a lounge chair as I read my Mississippi magazine.

trying to beat the heat on a hot Friday afternoon

Saturday morning we made another trip up the mountain to lead Bible study in the village of Lagunetas.  It was quite cool and breezy there so we were thankful to have jackets in the car to wear.   The family there also had some baby chicks.  My boys chased those poor things all over the place.  Below is a video of Ben trying to catch one.

                                   

That big smile shows you just how excited he was to be holding that chicken.

While Ben was chasing chickens Cruz was climbing trees.  Here he is with Flat Stanley high up in a tree in Lagunetas.

A typical village house.  This is where we have our Bible study.  You can see Flat Stanley peeking out from the top.

A sweet little boy from our Bible study.  Isn't that a cute grin!

another sweet little boy with a cute grin

two of the little girls that came to Bible study

A view from our Bible study host home.  It is a long way down!  You can see the dirt mountain road winding down the middle of the photo.  Our boys often ask us why do the mountain roads have to be so bumpy.  We just tell them it's to make us appreciate the good roads even more.  And we most always say ahhhh when we get back to the pavement.

I didn't set my alarm last night because I planned to sleep in a little later this morning.  Well, the boys woke us up at 5:50 a.m.  Who needs an alarm with my two around? ha  David is teaching in the village of Nearar today and that will wrap up our fourth Bible study in the past five days.  It's been busy but good.  My old body is tired though and hoping to spend the rest of the day sitting still.  We have a really exciting week planned and I need to get all the rest I can before the fun begins.