In Guatemala City, waiting for departure!

Hello Folks!

This has been a whirlwind week!  We were able to connect with the missions trip from our church in Denver, Mission Hills, as they worked in a community very close to Huehuetenango.  So fun to see familiar faces in a very unlikely place!  We spent half a day with a couple from Mission Hills before they headed home, and were able to chat and connect and debrief a bit together.  There is something very comforting about sharing these crazy experiences with others that we can connect with later.

Friday we took a bus to the capital... a trip that of course again was epic... 6 hours instead of 4, but not because of the landslides this time.  There is a bike race in the country that shuts down some roads and slows traffic, so we heard the race, "play-by-play" for three hours on the radio in the bus.  A very haggard looking couple walked into the lobby of our hotel, which we'd found online for $70 a night... hoping against hope that it was worth the money and not super sketchy.

Well, it is AMAZING here.  Bellboys wearing tuxes and gloves, huge fresh floral arrangements, and waiters in the restaurant that uncover your meal with a verbal "voila!"  And a bath... clean, bubbles and all.  It has been a huge blessing to us to finish up our trip in this setting.

Finish the trip?  But what about Costa Rica?  I know, I know, that was the plan.  Last week we made the decision to shorten our time away, and are not going to Costa Rica at all.  Instead, tomorrow we will be flying straight home to Denver.  As we thought and prayed about it, it was very clear that we needed to do this.  We've both had our share of sickness, but during the last two weeks, Anna has been particularly sick and losing some weight.  We've been living in a place that is very uncomfortable, without many or any conveniences, and for health and sanity we decided that it would be better to get home to get checked out and to recover.  Ah, beans and rice and rice and beans.  And chicken and rice and beans.  And black beans and red beans and zucchini.  And tortillas and beans.  I'm not sure that they'll be missed for a very long time.

We still plan to post more pictures and video and our thoughts after returning to the U.S. so we hope that we don't lose you all immediately!  We need a few days/weeks to process this trip, and come to some conclusions.  It has been a grand adventure, perhaps more adventure than we'd expected!  Pray for logistics of travel tomorrow, Sunday.  Oh, I'm so excited to be home...

Wait a minute, Pesos? Where are we...

This past week we decided to get a little R&R up in old Chiapas Mexico. The place where we're staying at we were told is about two and a half to three hours from the border crossing of Mesilla. Our driver did it in less than an hour and a half and that is taking into account a ten minute stop while they were clearing some debris and detritus from the latest landslide. I will say that I only thought we we're going to die twice on the way up. From the border it's about another three or four hours to the town of San Cristobal de las casas. A very beautiful town full of beauty, intrigue, mystery and a lot of tourists. It was nice for Nick to actually be shorter than a few people for a change. He also bought a very poorly made and decorated "gallo" from a kid who came into where we were having breakfast and unloaded his wares on our table before we got our food. I liked his persistence and also the lesson in naming all of the animals in Spanish. He was very good. We were there from Tuesday to Friday and it was a nice break where we got some rest and could eat whatever and whenever we wanted; including some tacos from an Argentinean restaurant and some tasty pastries from a French bakery. We were able to visit a museum dedicated to a local indigenous people group called the Lacandones. We had the privilege of talking with a friend of theirs and also of the people who worked with them for years translating the Bible into their language. For all the years that they were there they didn't have one convert. The Lacandones worship drinks that are more or less made of fermented honey and tree bark and the only  way to commune with the gods. Also the people of the tribe were obligated to follow what their leaders said and both men were hardened to the Gospel. It wasn't until the 90's that a leader of the tribe named Chan Kin accepted the Lord two weeks before he died, he was 104 years old! What a testimony to the power of the Spirit of God! After our long trip we are now back in Huehue, safe and sound. Hope you enjoy some fotos from our trip.

Fundacion Salvacion

It's been a couple weeks since the last update, and we have been quite busy.  We started serving at an orphanage here in Huehue called "Fundacion Salvacion".  We work in the mornings until about 1 with "bebes and ninos", usually the younger children, while the older children are in school.  The orphanage is home to over 100 children and young adults.  What is unique about this orphanage is that it is also home to children who do have a parent, usually a single mom, but the family cannot afford day care, so the children live at the orphanage for the week, and then are picked up by their moms to spend the weekend with family.  So it is a unique mixture, and honestly, I don't know all the stories of the children we are working with.

It has been a huge blessing to play with and hold the little children who are all very much in need of love.  We've heard some heartbreaking stories of how the children came to the orphanage, and I've been all the more challenged to put my love of God into action, however that might look on any given day, whether at the orphanage, in Guatemala, or elsewhere.

On Friday I was playing with some kids on the playground when a girl about 10 years old came up and sat down next to me.  I greeted her and asked her what was up, and that is when I started to see her lip quiver and tears well up in her eyes.  "Uh-oh" was sadly my first thought, as I realized I was not going to be able to communicate too well.  I'm all over the vocab of playing with 2-3 year olds, but this looked like it was going to be more of a challenge.  So, in broken Spanish, I said the equivalent of, "My name is Anna.  My Spanish is not good.  But I talk to you.  How are you?  Are you hungry?  Are you sad?  Talk with my husband?  He speaks Spanish."  Well, she definitely seemed to be nervous to talk to anyone else, so we went on a little walk.  Now that was a challenge, as it is pretty awkward to walk around with a crying girl and not know what is going on or what to say or how to help.

But we walked, and I did what I could.  I would point to an object and ask "How do you say this?  What is this?" and she would give me a word.  A miniature Spanish lesson!  All was going pretty well, until we came to a picture of a butterfly on the wall.  "Como se dice?"  I already knew that in Spanish, the word for butterfly is "mariposa", but why not.  Well, she gave me an entirely different word!  So it was through that exercise that I learned that this girl didn't speak Spanish!  At least not as her first language.  She is from an indigenous area where she grew up speaking one of the Mayan languages.  And here she was, surrounded by Spanish speakers and no friends.  She'd been left at the orphanage a week before, and I don't know the story except that she was really broken up about it.  What a scary time for her.  I was humbled and very blessed to be able to hold her hand and hug her and call her friend when all around her was scary and new.

Another highlight of our time there has been that I have made a Swedish friend!  There is another younger woman volunteering at the orphanage for the next 6 months who lives just a few kilometers from Upsala, Sweden, where many immigrants to East-Central Minnesota came from.  I've also been to the city on choir tour, so we were able to connect a bit IN ENGLISH about our favorite Swedish foods and traditions.  Quite fun!

We're planning to get away for a few days next week to the city of San Cristobal, just inside the border of Mexico, about a 5 hour bus trip from here.  It has been a bit intense living in a place that lacks most of the comforts that we're used to, so we're going to spend a few days as tourists, to recuperate and regain sanity.  Internet service has been super slow, so we've not been able to upload video, but if our situation changes, we'd love to show you all our current digs. :)

Prayer for upcoming travel and health and food issues would be so much appreciated.  Much love from Nick and Anna

Family of one of the recent graduates heading back home

Choir composed of grads, students, and faculty of Berea

Nick's Birthday dinner in Antigua

Recap of the week

Well, we made it. This past week has been a whirlwind. We were able to go out for Nick's birthday our last night in Antigua, and both had some delicious coffee and dessert. The next morning, the taxi man remembered to pick us up and was punctual... we actually got to the bus terminal in Guatemala City before they opened their doors that morning. It rained steadily for the five hour bus ride, but thankfully there were no roads closed due to landslides, which have been very common this year due to the heavy amount of rainfall. A missionary couple who were leaving the next day for the States picked us up at the terminal in Huehuetenango and dropped us off at the Berea Bible Institute, where we are staying for the month.

A fairly major “fly in the ointment” would be that the misisonary couple that we were coming to work with are actually still in Guatemala City, awaiting a fairly major medical procedure. We've been praying for them, as we know that they're wanting to be here to help us, but need to remain in the city. So, we're here, waiting, and honestly feeling a little bit out of it. There is a family here at the Institute that we take meals with, and they have been very generous in helping us out.

While we were here last week we were hooked up with another missionary who works to the North, in rural communities where there is very little Christian presence. Some of the indigenous people do not have the Bible translated into their language, so this man and others are working to provide materials – books, CDs, DVDs, that are in their dialect.

We spent three days with this man and his family, who have made a 10 year commitment to live in the town and work with the people, particularly the youth. They have plans to build a school, though with the translation, I'm not entirely sure if it is for children, youth, or more of a college for young adults.

So here's the fun part of the story... I awoke the morning we were to leave for the rural town very, terribly sick. You can imagine. I took some Imodium and we headed on our merry way. One of the roads was blocked due to landslides, so the trail we took was a six hour trip up to 10,000 feet and back down again. Imagine the type of off-roading path that one would take to get to the base of a 14er. Or your worst nightmare. No, that's too strong of language to use yet. I was pretty sick. I couldn't even knit, and if you know me, you know that is saying a lot. We arrived at the village and found out that we were speaking that evening at a meeting of young people. Yep. We had an hour or so to think of something really motivational (and for Nick, in another language, which is an added challenge!) Well, we survived that engagement, and made it home again to a home that due to the rain and I'm not sure what else, had no running water. And only one bathroom. Seven people. Did I mention that I was terrifically ill? I'll let you put two and two together. Well, an overnight trip turned into three days, and a whole lot of conversations. I hope that our presence there was encouraging to their family. I was able to talk to the kids about being a PK, and some of the joys and challenges that that brings, which PKs everywhere can relate to. We pray for the family of Rene, who are so busy laboring for the Lord in a place with not a whole lot to encourage them. And we pray for the kids, as we recognize that sometimes children of ministry folks are the first ones to be sacrificed, which grieves us.

So we made it back to Berea in time for the graduation of the future pastors and missionaries, and it was a very special time to witness. The families of the graduates traveled long distances to celebrate. I kind of felt like I was in the middle of a National Geographic issue! The indigenous women still dress in traditional clothing and I just wanted to soak it all in! I did manage to get a few pictures, though I wasn't extremely gutsy to take as many as I wanted.

We're not sure what this next week will hold as we are still kind of on our own to find ministry spots, but will hopefully be able to start some work with a nearby orphanage. As this is a pretty public forum, and after all, fairly missionary letter-esque, you can imagine that there is always more to the story. It has been hard, frustrating, lonely.  Please pray for us as we're not sure what to do now, yet desire to learn and grow and encourage those around us. And continued prayers for gastro-intestinal issues would always be appreciated!