Bus with Wifi

Well, you know you are going to be late getting back when both of the movies are over and the bus is still at the border.  We left Guatemala  City a little late and then the traffic at the landslide area took another half hour or so.  Not too bad, we thought.  Then we got to the border and the line of trucks was incredibly long. 

We did not have to get off the bus to wait in the immigration line,but it really doesn't make any difference if the traffic line is this long.  We were there for at least an hour, but have finally started  moving.  All this time (and on the trip over) I had my Internet turned off because the bus info said that free wifi was only for the first class passengers.  While sitting at the border I accidentally turned it on  and saw that the wifi was free and open. Silly me!  Nevermind that typing on these rough roads is quite difficult, at least I can check Facebook, and everyone knows how important that is.

Desde Guatemala City

I'm sure nobody is worrying whether or not our bus made it to Guatemala City, but, just in case, I'm letting you know today (2 days after) that we arrived on time, well fed and in one piece.  The trip was awesome from start to finish.  We left our house at 5:30 a.m. and arrived at the bus station (inside the Hotel Sheraton) at 5:45; got checked in and made our way to our seats--second level, first row.  Before we left the station, they distributed our breakfast which was warm pancakes from San Martin (one of our favorite restaurants) along with orange juice, coffee and water.  

The passed out blankets and pillows, so I slept for the first two hours.  Stephen watched the movie.  About 8:00 we arrived at the El Salvador border and the immigration employee boarded the bus and reviewed our passports.  After he cleared us, we all exited the bus, walked about 250 feet to Guatemala and presented our passports at their immigration window.  There were no lines so we were all back on the bus and on our way in 10 minutes or less.  The rest of the trip passed without event--Stephen watched the second movie while I read a book.

We arrived on time at the Holiday Inn in Guatemala City--Rosemarie picked us up.  We arrived to a houseful of VBS helpers and joined right in painting, taping, cutting, etc.

I was able to help Haisey, one of the women in the church, understand the leader guide and Bible lessons (written in English.)  Although, it's a bi-lingual VBS, she is working with the 3-4 year olds who, of course, have all of their stories and activities in Spanish.  

We've been working hard and eating well these last two days.  Wednesday night Rosemarie made pupusas (go El Salvador) and last night we brought home from Del Puente, a new restaurant close to the house, and ate them with homemade french fries.  Cross cultural eating--suits us fine.

Last night Rosemarie and I worked on a baby quilt she is finishing for a baby shower tomorrow!.  We made the bias binding (if you're a quilter you'll understand) last night.  Today, she is going to machine quilt it.  Just one of the many small, regular-life projects in the middle of the VBS prep.

Today, I've cut 22 yards of felt into the sashes (think boy/girl scouts) that the kids will put the "badges" on.  Unfortunately, we need to buy another 20 yards or more and repeat the process.  Once they're all cut, we have to sew them together.  Stephen managed to find time to play the piano and even gave Javier his first piano lesson this morning!  

Tonight, Nelson returns from the states where he's been sharing in the mission conference at Blue Springs Bible Baptist Church in Blue Springs, Missouri.  

Please pray for the kids who will be coming to VBS, November 11-15.  This is a major evangelistic outreach for the church, and they are working hard to invite kids who don't know Jesus.  

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!