The Guatemalan ZOO!!

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Zoo. We went with Pedro & Ana Samuc and one of their daughters Heldi. We had a great time together. It was Naomi's first time to the Zoo. She loved seeing all the animals but was vary scared of the elephants. I guess because they were sooo big!!



We went in the late afternoon and a lot of the animals were up and running around. The monkeys were jumping and playing chase. The leopards were pacing back and forth, then started wrestling. It was neat to see so much activity at the Zoo.

Little did Naomi and I know we had some wild Tz'utujiles behind us!!


The last thing we did before we left the Zoo was get a snack, the kids went straight for the cotton candy. We also enjoyed grilled corn on the cob with lime and salt on it.




It was a good little Zoo, we all had fun and it was good to spend time with Pedro, Ana & Heldi Titus wanted to see was a Quetzal bird, but they did not have one in the Zoo. It is the national bird of Guatemala. Titus said "Seems to me if it was the national bird it would be in the Zoo, I guess I'll have to find it in the wild".

Cornerstone Community 2009

One of our supporting churches Cornerstone Community Church came down last week. It was so good to see familiar smiling faces. This year we were able to visit 3 different schools in the mornings. We went in and had a gift for each student and teacher. We told them this was a gift from the team but we wanted to tell them about the best gift ever. We explained to them that God sent his Son Jesus to earth to live a perfect life and took the penalty of sin and died for each one of them. There were 3 elders from our church 'Alpha & Omega' who went with us every day. They told us before we entered the schools that most of these children had probably never heard the gospel before. We were able to share the love Christ has for them. You could have heard a pin drop in most of the classes. In the end we were able to share with about 1000 students and their teachers. Praise the Lord!!

In the Afternoons we had the privilege of joining a few visiting teams from Alpha & Omega. The men went together and the women split up into two different groups. We were able to go and pray for families in the church who had needs or were very sick. It was awesome to see what prayer warriors these brothers and sisters are. I think we all learned a lot from visiting with the Tz'utujil people. My team went to visit a lady who was diabetic and really suffering. We prayed for her and her family that God would comfort & heal her. Two of the people that our teams visited passed away the next day. It was such a reminder of how our days are numbered. We were all praising the Lord that they were no longer in pain and with their Savior!!

One afternoon we had the team over for lunch and introduced them to Patin (home made tomato sauce with meat wrapped in banana leaves) the most typical dish here in Santiago. We had Patin, with(hand made) tortillas, guacamole, cheese dip, rice and beans. We also go to hear the testimony of one of the deacons from Alpha & Omega. It was incredible what the Lord has done in his life.

I don't want to tell you all too much.. I want you to come for yourselves :)

pictures 'our time in the states'

We literally hit the ground running, we signed the kids up for school two days after we got back, which meant getting uniforms, book supplies, new shoes for those who had grown, ect....Danny was studying as much as he could on Genesis, from the time we got home he had exactly two weeks before he had to teach the 17 translators.



As I was going through some pictures of our time in the states I decided to post some in a

slide-show. Enjoy!!

School has Started Again

Here in Guatemala the school year is from January to October. Last year our kids got to attend the church school here in Santiago 'Colegio Alpha Y Omega' for about one month. We decided to send them again this year so they could really perfect their Spanish and meet more friends.

My kids are not the only blonde kids in school right now! We have a few Doctors who are volunteering at the Hospitalito who have decided to send their kids too.

"Pablo's Fish Camp"

We have a neighbor who has a little restaurant/hostel in Santiago. He is from Colorado and spends the winters in Guatemala. We have enjoyed getting to know the English speakers in our town through his little restaurant. There is a small Hospital in town and they have volunteers from all over the world work there. It has been fun to meet the different people who have come to work here in Santiago. Pablo serves fish on Fridays and we all enjoyed it last Friday. He has a big Jocote tree in the patio and the kids really like to climb it.Another treat has been PIZZA with "real peperoni's".

Thanks Pablo for the good cuisine!

My Day Out...

The day after we got to New Orleans my sweet (awesome) sister in law said she would like to keep mine & Heathers kids while we go out for the day. Let me tell you, not too many people offer to keep 8 kids (4 mine & 4 Heathers) plus 3 of her own!!! Thankfully mom was also there to help.

I had not seen my sister Heather since May and had only spoken once since then. I live on the side of a volcano in Guatemala, she lives in the boonies in Mexico so communication is rare. It was great to be able to talk and catch up on life and how each other was doing. We laughed and we cried, it was wonderful. Even though we live in different countries and have different lifestyles and live in different cultures so much of what we go through seems to be so similar.

We jumped in the car, left the house, looked at each other and said now what:) We went to get pedicures with a massage. The lady who did Heathers toes was fascinated with her, she kept telling her "You so beautiful" and she is it was just funny hearing it so many times in one hour from a stranger! We had a good laugh about that.

Then we went to the mall and got a few things, and finished off the afternoon with some good ol coffee from Cafe Du Monde.

Thank you Patty and Mom I had a much needed day with my sweet lil sister whom I admire and look up to in so many ways. She is an inspiration and encouragement to me and I am so blessed to have her as my sister.

First few days in New Orleans (Nawlins for those of you not from there):)

All the cousins had a blast swimming at Uncle Warren & Tia Patty's house.


The boys got to play video games too! (left-right Titus, Isaac, Tucker, Diego, Silas)
Chloe Ann & Andrea were so excited to see each other, they spent every moment they could together.

Heather with her two youngest, Annie & Ruben

Annie & Naomi loved the oranges Tia Patty had. We could not resist this photo with us all around the kitchen counter. (left-right Heather, Annie, Ann Carolyn (mom) Naomi, Daphne(me:)