Life Lately May 2026

 Here is a look at some of our family activities during the month of May. 

 

The first Sunday of each month local churches do the Lord's Supper.  We were in two churches the first Sunday in May and enjoyed it twice. 

 

In early May David attended a pastor's conference at Lake Atitlan. 

 

 

I enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day celebration. 

 

 

Cruz and his friends have discovered a love for pool and have found a few places in town where they can go play.  These three do a lot together.  In addition to pool and meal outings, they went bowling and saw two movies in May. 

 

 

David made a trip over to the Chiquimula area to make visits. Below are a few of the people he saw while there.

 

 

He was in La Libertad with Nicolas. 

 

He drove up the mountain to Nearar to check on the church and visit with Pastor Rafael and his wife Luz. 

 

He stopped by Camotan to see the Lubecks. 

 

 

Also in Camotan, he visited with sweet Jane.  She runs El Olam school, which is where Cruz attended preschool when we lived there years ago.

 

 

I enjoyed a long lunch outing with my friend Susan, who was back in Guatemala for a visit.  She lived in Antigua for several years but has since returned to the States.  She loves playing cards, and I miss getting to play with her.  It was fun to catch up!

 

For many weeks now Cruz, a few friends, and the youth group leaders have been going out to eat together after Wednesday night youth group.   He loves these outings!

 

 

We had our last day of school on Friday, May 15. That is always a fun celebration day.

 

 

Our night-blooming cereus or sometimes called Queen of the Night cactus bloomed in mid-May. I had been watching it all week knowing that it was getting ready to bloom. The blooms only open at night and last just one night.  By the following morning they close up and die.  They can be as big as 8-12 inches across.  In all, over a three night period, we had thirty-six blooms!  It's a beautiful sight with the sweetest smell.

 

 

 

David and our teammate, Mark, made an overnight trip to Ixchiguan to visit with ministry partners and make plans for our upcoming Indigenous conference.

 

 

On Cruz's birthday eve he enjoyed a meal and outing in town with friends.

 

 

He turned 16 on May 26. 

Here is a look at Cruz's 16th birthday celebration. 

 

 

The following day he got his Guatemala driver's license.  He was very excited! 

 

 

We traveled as a family over to Copan, Honduras to visit with Pastor Nahum. 

 

 

While in Copan, we made a visit to Macaw Mountain to see the birds. 

 

 

Lastly, we ended the month watching baseball.  It was fun to see the Ole Miss Rebels advance to the Super Regionals.   We'll be watching this weekend hoping they advance on to the College World Series.

 

Spending Time With David's Family in Mississippi

 We were excited to be home to attend an engagement party for David's niece.  It was a fun celebration for them. We miss so many family activities and it was extra special to be there for this one.

 

the happy couple

They will be getting married in March 2024.

 

David's dad showing Ben how to play pool during the engagement party.

 

We spent a day at Spinner's bowling and roller skating with family.  Here are the boys with their cousin Larsen.

 

 

 

 

Here's a video of us bowling.

 

 

Here is a video of roller skating. 

 

On the way home we all stopped by the swinging bridge in Byram.

 

 

 

A video at the swinging bridge.

 

We had a meal together at Cock of the Walk on the Ross Barnett Reservoir. 

 

David with some of his family.

 

The boys at the Reservoir.

 

 

A video of our time at Cock of the Walk.

 

On another outing they spent the day fishing with family at the Ross Barnett Reservoir.  The boys especially enjoyed this fun day!

 

 

A video of Cruz fishing.

 

 

 

A video of Ben fishing.

 

 

This video is a little blurry, but it shows Cruz getting to kneeboard for the first time.   He loved it!

 

We made an overnight trip to Oxford to visit with David's dad and step-mom.  We always enjoy our time with them.  Here are three generations of Whites.

 

Mr. Harold, Jodi, David, and the boys in Oxford

 

We drove around the Ole Miss campus, and I took this photo of Cruz at the football stadium.

 

He also picked up a few things at Rebel Rags.

 

 

Before we returned to Guatemala, David's family planned a meal for us and did an early birthday celebration for David.

 

the boys with their cousin Sawyer

 

the cousins playing baseball in the backyard

 

Our family enjoying one of our last beautiful Mississippi sunsets.

Road Trip to Alabama and Georgia Post 2: Visiting the Pearsons

After a wonderful visit with Ms. Jane, we left Alto, GA headed to Newnan, GA to spend a few days with the Pearsons.   We arrived mid-afternoon just in time for coffee.  We spent some time catching up and getting settled in before heading out for supper at the Beasons.

 

 

When we arrived at the Beasons, we saw this on their sidewalk.  Mr. John had made us a welcome sign.  How sweet is that!!

 

While we visited, the boys enjoyed looking at Mr. John's tractor collection.  

 

the boys with Mr. John

He soon took them outside to his shop to show them around.  He had planned a wood class for them to make an ink pen.  They were excited!

 

teaching them about his tools

 

Cruz with the pen he made.

 

Ben working with Mr. John

 

 

 

So fun!!

 

 

They also got to do a little fishing while there.

 

 

 

We enjoyed a delicious meal around the table.  Mrs. Diana is a wonderful cook! We also spent some time reminiscing our times together in Guatemala.  The Pearsons and Beasons were on our very first mission team that we hosted in Guatemala back in March of 2007.  It was four couples from their church, Flat Creek Baptist in Fayetteville, GA.  They have been our sweet friends and encouragers ever since.  We have plans to host their church again in 2022.  Yay!!

 

our family with the Beasons

 

 

On Tuesday morning I spoke to the WMU ladies at Flat Creek Baptist. Many of them have been on mission teams in Guatemala over the years.  

 

 

me and Mrs. Joyce at the WMU meeting

 

Tonya is another person at Flat Creek that I love.  She is the Pearson's daughter-in-law. She has served with us in Guatemala too.  She has a huge heart for missions both in her local community and around the world. 

 

One of the boys favorite things about staying with the Pearsons is their basement pool table.  They passed a lot of time there during our visit.  It was also a good incentive for them to get their school work done.

 

On Tuesday night we were gifted tickets to see the Atlanta Braves. It was the boy's first baseball game and they were excited.

 

 

 

Go Braves!

 

It was such a fun night!

 

The Pearson's son, Tabb, joined us at the game.  We loved spending a little time with him.

 

On Wednesday night we were back at Flat Creek to share with the adults and kids.  Cruz had initially planned to help me do a presentation to the elementary students but after we got everything set up and ready he decided he wanted to do it by himself.  We did  a quick practice run before supper.

 

For the Wednesday night meal at Flat Creek, the Hispanic ministry group cooked a taco supper.  It was delicious.  We enjoyed getting to talk with several of them before the service.

 

 

Cruz did a fantastic job of sharing with the kids.   He made me very proud!

 

David shared with the adults.

 

our family at Flat Creek Baptist Church

 

 

our family with the Pearsons

 

We love them dearly.  It has become a Stateside tradition to spend time with them in their home.  It was our fourth visit and the boys third.  What a joy they are to us and all who know them. Our visits just get sweeter as the years pass by.