Life Lately June & July 2026

Hello blogger world!  I took a break during the summer and will try to get caught up in the days ahead.  Here are some random pictures from the months of June and July. 

 

In early June David preached at a special Father's Day service at the Baptist church in Jocotenango.

 

We met this sweet family from Maine and enjoyed visiting with them over coffee at a local coffee shop in town.  They were in Guatemala on vacation.  We love opportunities like this.   

 

 

A highlight of my June was watching the college baseball playoffs and World Series tournament.  Of course, we cheered on Ole Miss until they lost.  

 

We all had dental cleanings.  This was the view while we waited to see the dentist.  Not a bad sight!

 

 

The boys attended Camp Guamiski, which is a summer camp for MK's living in Guatemala.  They love this week!   

 

 

While they were at camp, David and I spent some time in Guatemala City doing annual medical checkups.  What a pretty view from Zone 10. 

 

 

A highlight of our city time was having lunch at Del Griego.  We love gyros!  We also enjoyed a meal at P.F. Chang's.  It is a tradition while the boys are at camp. 

 

 

As soon as camp ended, we flew home to Mississippi for a few weeks of summer in the South.  You can read about that HERE.

 

 

We returned to Guatemala mid-July and then just three days later flew to Peru for a work meeting/ training. 

 

Landing in Lima 

From the Lima airport, we had a two hour bus ride to our location.  Peru's Independence Day was coming up so that meant we saw their flag flying everywhere.

 

A highlight was the alpacas and llamas that roamed the property where we stayed.  We loved seeing them every day. 

 

 

 

While we were at our training, Cruz enjoyed spending the week with other high school TCK's whose parents serve in the Americas.  This annual retreat is one of his favorite things!  This was his second year to go.  You have to be fifteen to attend, so next year Ben will get to join him. 

 

Cruz with some of his friends at the retreat. 

 

They loved dressing up for an evening meal.  They also had a hoedown and a decades night. 

 

We are thankful for the way the IMB invests in our kids! 

 

 

We returned to Guatemala with one week left of summer break.  I spent most of the week getting ready for the new school year.   

 

Here are some photos of our classroom this year- 

 

I bought this wall decoration because it reminded me of Colorado, which I greatly love! 

 

 

 

We started back on August 3.  I'll share about our first day of school in an upcoming post. 

 

 

The boys spent the week catching up with friends.  They both had sleepovers.  Ben joined a friend to see the new Spiderman movie.  Cruz enjoyed a workout with a friend and a visit to a coffee shop.  They both joined friends at local pools for a day of swimming.  They had a busy social week!  On this particular day we enjoyed lunch with friends at a local coffee farm.  This is Ben with his friend Josue. 

 

A cute planter at the coffee farm.

 

Overall, it was a fun summer, and I'm a little sad that is has come to an end.  But, new adventures lie ahead, and we are fully embracing what fall has to offer.  What am I most looking forward to?  SEC college football!!!  Football season is my favorite season of all.

Snapshots of our Beautiful Town

I love walking!  It is one thing I was looking forward to getting back to doing when we returned to Guatemala.  We live in the "Land of Eternal Spring" so our weather for outdoor walking and activities is perfect.  Several days a week I walk with a friend.  On the other days I walk by myself in town.  It's fun having a walking buddy, but I also enjoy walking alone listening to praise music.  

Our town is beautiful!  The views never get old to me.  Many times I stop along the way to take photos.  Here are some random photos of our town that I took on recent walks.

 

My walking buddy, Betsy, ordered us these matching hats.  She knows I love purple. 

 

I especially love the gates and doors in our town.  Many are colorful and unique. This blue gate with the pop of color from the flowers always makes me smile. Another great thing about where we live is that flowers bloom here all year round.

 

Many people have flowers in their windows. 

 

We have beautiful ruins all over town. 

 

street view 

 

I love this purple!  I have some of it at my house.  I think it looks like grapes when it's blooming.

 

As I was crossing a street, I looked up and noticed that you could see the cross from where I was. The cross is a famous overlook in our town.  The views from up above are fabulous. 

 

 

On the path that I walk with Betsy, we pass by a coffee farm.  Lately, the beans have been bright red and ready for picking.   It's harvest season for the coffee growers.  

 

 

 

 

The purple Jacarandas are in bloom all over town. They are my absolute favorite!

 

Bougainvillea

 

Our town is colorful as you can see from these buildings. 

 

Inside view of one of the ruins. 

 

a local fruit market 

 

 

The entrance to a hotel.  How unique to use chairs for decorations. 

 

This made me chuckle. 

 

Another hotel entrance.  

Most everything here is open air.  I love that about where we live! 

 

That yellow building was once our language school. We spent six months there back in 2007 studying Spanish. Every day at break we’d sit in that park and eat our snack. We rarely talked because our brains were too tired . It’s now a hostel, but I will always smile and reminisce when I pass by it. 

Hope you enjoyed this glimpse of our town.

Life Lately May 2025

 I am way behind on updating my blog!  I will try to get caught up over the next several days.

 

We began the month of May saying goodbye to Gary and Lily Stone.  They began their final furlough before officially retiring later this year.  They will be missed! 

 

 

David and Gary 

 

 

supper with the Stones 

 

 

I had a wonderful Mother's Day celebration! 

 

 

last day of school 

We wrapped up 7th and 9th grade and began our summer break.  

 

 

We took an AMAZING family vacation to Colorado.  While there we visited the four national parks. It was the best family trip we have ever made!  I wrote several posts about the trip that you can see further down on the blog. There are way too many to link!

 

 

Cruz turned 15!!! 

 

  

Ben spent a Saturday morning playing tennis and swimming with his friend Josue. 

 

 

On another day they made a visit to the local arcade. 

 

 

We attended a play at the Christian Academy of Guatemala in San Cristobal. 

 

 

Ben's friend, Kingston, was in the play. 

 

We had a wonderful time catching up with an old friend over lunch one day.  Keturah and her family served many years in Guatemala, and we lived near them for a short season in Sayaxche.  It is in the Peten Department of northern Guatemala.  They were back with a team doing some ministry, and we got to see her while she was in Antigua.

 

I took my computer to a local coffee shop one afternoon to catch up on work reports and training courses. Sometimes a change of scenery helps make me more productive.  Iced coffee and dessert helps too. 

 

 

David and I enjoyed a Wednesday night date while the boys were at youth group.  In addition to eating, we made a stop by a local hardware store to pick out a new toilet.  I took this photo and sent it to a friend as a joke that this was a new first for us.  

 

On another day, I enjoyed a coffee and dessert date with Cruz. Getting to have those moments with him have been special.   

 

 

On one of my afternoon walks, I passed by a coffee farm and noticed the plants in full bloom.  

 

They produce the prettiest white flowers with an amazing sweet smell.

 

Next, I'll share photos from the month of June.  It was a busy one!