Guatemala Trip Wrap Up

One more post about the week in Guatemala.  In addition to VBS in the morning and VBS at Casa Shalom in the afternoon, we had nightly family festivals.  Because the afternoon VBS overlapped with the evening campaigns, the team was divided into two groups.

Since Stephen and I went to the orphanage on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we weren't available to take pictures on those evenings.  About 15 team members went out each night and were faithful to share door-to-door.  Pastors Nelson and Javier were extremely excited about the decisions and contacts they made during the week.  Even though it was quite chilly at night, the crowds were large and the people were hungry to hear the gospel presentation.

Everyone participated in the Monday and Friday campaigns, so here are a few pictures of the work.

Celebrating Stephen's birthday

Stephen's 64th birthday was last Thursday, November 20, and we were in the middle of the Guatemala campaign.  So, we decided to wait and celebrate on Saturday afternoon when we were back at the Rivas home.  We slept in at the hotel Saturday morning and then loaded up the pickup with everything left over from VBS and drove to their house about 10:30 a.m.  

The girls set up the special birthday canopy and set the table.  Rosemarie and I made the white chicken chili and Stephen, Don and Mauricio (with a little help from Camilia) worked on the homemade ice cream.  It was a great birthday lunch with our Guatemalan family and friends.  There was also pumpkin pie and tres leches to go along with the ice cream.  As usual, no one appreciates the ice cream as much as the birthday boy!

Camila learning how the machine works.  She was responsible for the salt!

Hard at work!

Brother Don taking his turn

Table for 10 outside, please

Packed and waiting for us to finish lunch 

Music included "happy birthday" in various styles

Nothing better than a meal shared with good friends

Serving up the ice cream

Fabi is excited to try it 

Cake and ice cream! 

Stephen opening his birthday gift--a picture of the kids 

Thanksgiving in El Salvador

A room full of American missionaries celebrated Thanksgiving today and it was an awesome day of food and fellowship.  Steve and Pam Kern invited us, the Blackstock family, the Vasquez family and Tiffany Lewis to have dinner with them.  More than that, Pam wouldn't let us bring anything--she did it all by herself, including homemade rolls and three pies (pumpkin, pecan and apple.)  The rest of the menu was the typical turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green been casserole, sweet potatoes, etc.

So thankful to spend Thanksgiving day giving thanks with our ministry family here in El Salvador.  Sorry I didn't stop eating long enough to get any good pictures.

VBS in Guatemala

The VBS theme for this year was Agency D3:  Discover, Decide, Defend.  It was apologetics based, with lessons, Bible verses and songs that helped the kids discover the answers to the following questions:  

• Monday--Is Jesus really God's Son?
• Tuesday--Was Jesus more than just a good man?
• Wednesday--Was Jesus' death real?
• Thursday--Is Jesus alive?
• Friday--What do I do with the evidence about Jesus?

As always, the church did an excellent job with theme-based decorations.  

The kids loved the songs:

Stephen made a new friend.  Her name was Nicole and on Monday she was inconsolable, crying for her mom.  Stephen happened to walk by and she said, "Papa."  Once he took her she settled down and was his shadow the rest of the week.  We asked the friend who brought her if Stephen looked like her dad and she told us that her dad is mostly "absent," so we don't know why she was so taken by him.  She warmed up to a few other people during the week, but only if Stephen wasn't there or was busy.

 

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The group of mom's met each day for crafts and Bible study.

It was an awesome week and such a blessing to serve with teams from Oakland Baptist, Decatur Baptist, Valley Baptist and First Baptist, Murrells Inlet.  

WE MOVED!

I thought yesterday was busy, but, of course, today was even more so.  We got up early to finish the last bit of packing.  The movers arrived about an hour and half late, but within the "normal" range for here.  The six strong Salvadoreños loaded everything in the truck in just over an hour.  They followed us to the new apartment and we realized that the truck had to stay parked outside on the street because it was too tall to enter the parking lot.  This meant that in addition to carrying everything up six flights of stairs, they had to unload it from the truck and carry it across the parking lot to get to the stairs.  It seemed like an impossible task, but they finished it in about two hours.  

Gilma came to the house in the morning to help and Francisco spent all day helping us.  We have put the whole kitchen together--more or less.  I might decide to rearrange when I start using everything, but for now it's all in a cabinet, drawer or on a shelf in the "pantry."

The cable people arrived this afternoon and moved our service from the old to the new.  So, in addition to the kitchen, the living room and dining room are usable.  We also set up the beds, but all of our clothes are still in suitcases and the spare bedroom and office are still full of boxes.  I think the rest will have to wait until tomorrow as we're completely exhausted and we didn't even climb the steps!  

I want to get the our bedroom and our closet as organized as I can before we leave for Managua on Friday morning.  The rest will have to wait until January when we come back from the states.  Maybe in mid-January when we return from the first mission trip to Bogota, Colombia, I will be able to put things on the wall and, then, it will really start looking like home.

 

Tomorrow is Moving Day

Busy day . . . . spent the morning trying to finish up our packing.  We went to the attorney's office to sign the rental agreement at 11:30 a.m. and picked up the keys to the new apartment.  After lunch we decided to try to take a few of our fragile things over ourselves.  Unfortunately, we when arrived we found that it had not been cleaned up by the workers who installed the air conditioning wall units in the bedrooms.  There was dry wall dust--enough to write your name--in the master bedroom, bathrooms, living/dining and kitchen.  Even the glass top on the stove was covered with white dust.

We were so disappointed, but glad we discovered it today and not tomorrow morning when the movers are ready to unload the furniture.  We called the landlord who was also frustrated that the workers didn't clean up as they were paid to do.  He was going to personally go over tonight and clean up.  We hope he has a powerful vacuum.

Back here at the "old" place, we are walking among the boxes and sitting on chairs because our couches are wrapped in plastic.  We had them cleaned last week while we were gone and the company wrapped them when they finished.  We decided to leave them covered for the move.

Here's a few pictures:

Tomorrow I'll try to post a few pictures of the new place . . . even though it will be a mess.  For sure, I'll take a picture of our beautiful view. We're very excited about living close to the hotel (where church is on Sunday mornings) and to the church itself.  The move means less gasoline to buy, more time at home and less time dealing with the traffic!

Don't know when I'll have a chance to bring the blog up-to-date after our great VBS in Guatemala, but I'll try.  

Two Full Days

It's been two very full days of VBS preparation and we're done with some things, but not others.  We've just printed some documents that we need for the orientation tomorrow and are heading to "Kinkos" to get the copies made.  

I spent most of the day cutting fabric for the crafts which will be made by the mom's and grandma's who have signed up for the adult VBS class.  They are making a different Christmas craft every day and the adult teachers are preparing a kit for each women each day.  

Stephen spent time making buttons, helping wrap the props and decorations and loading them in Javier's truck and then unloading everything at Javier's house.  We also finished up the translator/gringo assignments and made the maps/visual aids which will be posted at the registration desk.

Among other things, yesterday we did shopping for the snacks and for the prizes which will be given away during the closing session each day.   

Today there were 14 people here for lunch and 8 of us at dinner time. So in the midst of all the work, Rosemary stops and makes lunch for everyone.  

It's amazing to work along with the people from the church here.  They have a heart for kids and VBS is a great way to reach children and their parents.

The team from Bakersfield arrives tonight; the rest fly in tomorrow.  The Salvadorans are leaving from the church in San Salvador at 8:30 in the morning.  Everyone should be here in time for orientation before the evening campaign tomorrow afternoon.

Prayer requests:

1.  Kids and parents to respond to the gospel message presented in the music, Bible verses and Bible stories in VBS.

2.  Endurance for the workers--it will be a tiring week

3.  Divine appointments during the evening campaign and an overwhelming response to the gospel that can only be explained by God's unmerited favor.