Seond Graduation

About three weeks ago I posted pictures of our trip  to Guatemala for Fabi Rivas' high school graduation.  It was a formal, elegant occasion with long dresses, excellent food and a special time to celebrate with dear friends.  I have been in Guatemala this week to help with VBS preparations, and, as such, had the opportunity to attend Fabi's second graduation.  What? Why?

Let me explain.  First, graduating from the German School of Guatemala is no small accomplishment--all of the students are tri-lingual (German, Spanish, English.) I can't even imagine!  Some of the students in the class pursue the International Baccalaureate diploma, as well, and those who complete all the requirements and receive the requisite scores on the oral and written exams, were honored at the IB graduation ceremony on Wednesday night.  The event was held at the German Club of Guatemala and consisted of speeches (in German with a written translation into Spanish) by the German ambasador to Guatemala and other dignataries, seemingly endless repetition of Pomp and Circumstance and the typical calling of the graduates to the stage for handshakes and pictures.  What was different was that we were in a banquet room and when the ceremony was over we had an excellent dinner.

A benefit to receiving the German IB diploma is that graduates receive a full scholarship to attend their choice of colleges in Germany.  Wow! 

Fabi and her family haven't yet decided if she will go to Germany for college.  Right now she is taking a SAT prep class to prepare for the January test and is working on applying to several Christian colleges in the US.  They are praying for God to open doors for Fabi and are trusting Him to provide the resources for her to go wherever He wants her to go.

I was so honored to be a part of both of her graduations!   Enjoy a few of the pictures.

I Like Change!

If you have known me for very long, you know that, as a rule, I like change.  If you read my last blog post, you know that I like to change up the things I eat and the things I cook.  Well, the same thing goes for the things I do.  So, the good news is that I live in a place where it really isn't hard to change things up.  You see, things rarely go as planned here and as our friend, Dave, says, "when anywhere in Central America we must acknowledge the 11th commandment:  Thou shalt be flexible!"

It's almost VBS time!  Public schools all over Central America will be winding up their year by the end of October.  I'm sure that there are countdowns written on many white boards in classrooms across this country.  We are having VBS (goes by the initials EBDV, in Spanish) at the church in Guatemala City on November 11-15.  Last year, Stephen and I drove over a few days early to help with last minute preparations.  A couple of months ago, Pastor Nelson Rivas and his wife, Rosemarie, invited us to spend October 23-28 at their home in Guatemala in order to help with VBS preparations. Of course, we said we would love to come and that we would drive over on the morning of October 23.

A little over two weeks ago, a tractor trailer carrying a very heavy load of vegetables (almost 3 times over the weight limit)  caused extensive damage to the bridge between the border of El Salvador and Guatemala.  It was a miracle that the bridge didn't completely fall, plunging that truck, other cars and people to their deaths.  

Obviously, the border was closed and all traffic re-routed to one of the two other borders between the countries.  Trucks were asked to use the more southern border near the ocean, while car traffic was routed to the more northern border.  Since we have never driven the northern route through San Cristóbal, everyone thought it best not to take off on our own.  So, 11th Commandment time--on Sunday, we bought bus tickets to leave at 6:15 a.m. tomorrow morning.  First time on a commercial bus, not the church's school bus!  I have to admit that the bus looks pretty fancy--our tickets are for the 2nd level.

 If only the roads were going to be as smooth as the interstate highways in the states and not the pocked marked, sink hole, narrow and congested roads that are normal here.

Current news reports announce that one lane of the damaged bridge was reopened to car traffic yesterday; they are allowing one car at a time to cross. 

Full repairs are another 1-2 weeks away.  Since normal traffic on the bridge is more than 5,000 vehicles, the lines will be horrendous. Not to mention my confidence level about bridge repairs is not very high. We're very happy that we opted for our first bus ride!  Hopefully, everything will be back to normal when we travel (on the church bus) to Guatemala for VBS in November. 

My next blog post will be on the other side of the border and, hopefully, I will be able to report that the trip was painless!  In any event, we'll have a great time of fellowship with the Rivas family while we're cutting, pasting, painting, printing and preparing for VBS!

Appreciate your prayers for traveling mercies!