Graduation ceremony

Our K'iche' teacher, Carolina, invited us to her brother's high school graduation ceremony at the church her family attends in Chichicastenango.  He was the only student participating in the ceremony since the church is very small.

Gerónimo, nicknamed Roni, was 23 years old when he graduated, having taken 7 years off from school before starting high school.  While he attended high school, he would work all morning as a bricklayer for his dad's business then rush home to shower and change for school, which had classes all afternoon.  High schools here are very different from American schools.  They are called "carrera" (career), and the students specialize in only one area of study for three years.  Roni chose "accountant" since that is one of the few options available in this area.  Actually, the school he attended is on the same road as our house.

Finishing school here is quite an accomplishment since it hasn't been encouraged until recently.  Most parents here have only completed first or second grade.  Congratulations, Roni!

Closing ceremony

Schools in Chichicastenango always have a "closing ceremony" at the end of the year.  We were invited to the one for Jesus' Little Lambs school for special needs children at ASELSI where we volunteered several times this year.  We are looking forward to helping again this coming school year, which starts in January.  We are praying for healing for these precious children.

Each of the students received a gift.

Christmas Dance

What a fun day my dancers and I had at ASELSI's Christmas Party!
For a great overview of the event, go to the Christmas Party Video. 
For a video of our dance, go to our Christmas Dance.

We walked to a local gas station, close to ASELSI, at 6:00 a.m., where the children arrived walking, in tuk-tuks, in microbuses, or in pick-up trucks.  Four teachers from the church class also came to help.  Then we walked together to ASELSI.

We presented our dance 3 times.

 
We also participated in another dance a few times with the group from Texas that was there for a week to help at ASELSI.  We had learned the dance the day before at the dress rehearsal.

We estimate that there were close to 3,000 people watching the event, divided into 4 groups.  There were 2,000 gifts given out to children that day, and 14 people gave their hearts to Christ.

Thanks, ASLESI, for allowing us to participate in this grand celebration of Jesus!

Dancing again!

It seems wherever we move in the world, I (Heather/Erica) end up teaching kids to dance for Jesus.  And I'm happy to be doing it again in our new Guatemalan church! 

Last year I choreographed a dance that was presented at ASELSI's annual Christmas party for the poor, and this year I volunteered to choreograph another dance.  Last year we had 9 kids, mostly missionary kids.  This year I'm blessed to work with (in addition to 3 of my own daughters) 23 Guatemalan kids from our new church in Chichicastenango, called Admirable Príncipe de Paz (Wonderful Prince of Peace).  

There are 17 angels (girls) and 9 shepherds (boys), ages 8 to 13.  The dance is to the Spanish version of the song "You Are Good" by Israel Houghton.  The "multitude" of angels dance for joy as they announce the birth of Jesus, and they invite the shepherds to dance with them.  This photo was taken in the sanctuary of our church.  The outfits were sewn by a local tailor after I realized I didn't have time to sew them all myself!

The Christmas party this year is on November 29, this coming Thursday.  Please pray for my dancers as they present the dance four times that day!  And pray for wisdom for me as I try to direct them in Spanish.

Basics or luxuries?

One of the things God has been teaching us lately lines up well with Thanksgiving...

We're learning to be thankful for simple things that we never appreciated before.  Like tile floors instead of dirt.  Washing machines instead of washing clothes by hand.  A variety of food instead of only beans and tortillas.  A car instead of public transportation or walking.  Thermal underwear instead of shivering in lightweight clothes.  A computer at home instead of having to pay at an internet cafe.  A gas stove, oven, and microwave instead of cooking over a fire.  Water faucets in the house instead of carrying water from the river.  Hot showers instead of sponge baths.  Toilets in the house instead of an outhouse.  A refrigerator and freezer instead of having to buy food in small amounts because there is no way to keep it.

Just the basics for us Americans, but unattainable luxuries for most of our neighbors.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brrrrr...

Wow, was it cold in our house this morning!  The outside temperature was 38 degrees and the indoor temperature was 57 degrees.   We wished our apartment had a fireplace!  The temperature during the day shot up to 70 degrees, though.  It was sunny and beautiful.  This is the first place we have lived where, due to the huge swings in temperature, condensation forms on the outside of the food packages stored in the cupboard!

Mexican checkpoints increasing

We just returned from another trip to Mexico to renew our visas, where the Mexican government is really becoming more active in checking cars.  This time we were stopped four times on the way through Mexico to our hotel in Comitán.  Each time they wanted to see our passports and vehicle identification card and asked several questions about where we were from and where we were going. 

First, we stopped at a newly opened customs site where they verified that we hadn't brought anything worth taxing into the country.  Then we stopped at a military checkpoint where we all had to get out of the car (except Veronica) while they poked around inside.  We were glad that they just looked at our mountain of luggage, left everything in its place, and let us go on.  Then the third stop was at a government office by the roadside where a man walked out toward us waving his hand for us to stop.  We guessed it was because of our Guatemalan license plates, but after he reviewed my documents and asked a few questions, we passed on through.  Then we passed through another military checkpoint, where they also let us go through quickly.

We aren't nervous about these stops any more, since they have gone well so far, but we are always on guard.  So far the authorities seem content with two things:  that we are Americans there as tourists, and that we are only going into the country as far as Comitán.  They also seem pleased that we speak Spanish!  But I must confess that they speak much more quickly than the Guatemalans in Chichicastenango, and we end up asking them to repeat themselves.  Our friendly smiles and a bit of chatting seem to help a lot, too!

Independence Day Parades

Guatemala celebrated their Independence Day on September 15.  Well, actually, Chichicastenango has parades on three days, starting with the preschoolers on the 13th, then the high school students on the 14th, followed by the elementary students on the 15th.  The girls and I walked into town each day to see all three parades.  

Veronica only came with us the first morning
to see "the babies" as she calls the preschoolers.  The
other days she stayed home to take her usual nap.

They closed off the main highway for a few
hours each morning while the parade
slowly made its way through Chichi.

Waiting for the parade to begin!

There were several school bands...

and lots of pretty costumes...

as well as several groups representing the
traditional Mayan beliefs...

and the traditional Mayan religion still
in practice today.

Some of the highschoolers did
crazy stunts.

All of the children were precious...

and beautiful!

Carolina, our new K'iche' teacher

We have a new K'iche' teacher named Carolina.  She is a very good teacher, asking us to speak using the little bit of K'iche' we can remember, but trying not to overwhelm us.

In the above photo, you can see Heather (Erica) and Carolina holding a book.  Heather helped with the translation of a children's book into K'iche', working together with Carolina to ensure the K'iche' was correct for the Chichicastenango dialect.  This book will be used in ASELSI's school for handicapped children since the children's primary language is K'iche'.  In fact, some of the kids don't even speak Spanish well yet.

Helping with Jesus' Little Lambs School

The girls and I have helped twice with Jesus' Little Lambs School, which is ASELSI's school for mentally and physically handicapped children.  We plan to continue helping about once a month.  These children are such a blessing to us, and we hope to be a blessing to them!  They are in the physical therapy program at ASELSI and come for a half-day of school once a week.

Evelyn, age 17, has muscular dystrophy. 
She has trouble speaking, but if you listen
carefully, she answers all the teacher's
questions correctly.  Very smart girl!

Carrie, age 12, played soccer for a while
with Gladys (left), age 20,
and Cassandra (right), age 17

Elena played Connect Four with Evelyn.
She told Elena where to play her piece
by giving the number of the slot she wanted.
Evelyn won the game!

Both of these girls are named Andrea.
My Andrea is age 9, and the Andrea who
fell asleep on her lap during storytime
is age 11.

Storytime! 
I brought Veronica over (on left)
after her nap.  We live within walking
distance of ASELSI.  This is the teacher,
Jessica.  She is such a blessing!

I helped translate a children's book into
K'iche', and I read it to the moms during
snack time.  The moms were surprised
an American was speaking K'iche'!

Perks in Mexico

We recently completed yet another trip to Mexico.  We have written about some of the difficulties in traveling to Mexico to renew our visas, but we shouldn't complain too much because there are some perks when we arrive.  In Comitán, the hotel we stay in is very nice, and we get to shop at Walmart, as well as another similar big store.

All packed up and ready to go!
We take mats for Michael to sleep on
which are better for his back than
a hotel bed, but fill up the car.

This truck was parked in the road
to load cattle from someone's house.
We were grateful that the driver was
willing to move for us to pass by.

We had to wait awhile while a construction
crew was working on road improvements.
This is a stretch of road where
there are many landslides, so we
were glad they were working on it!

Our hotel, Villalba Suites, is very
comfortable, and the room is spacious
for our family of six.

The selection of products in this Walmart
is mostly Mexican, but we can still find
wonderful things like chocolate chips,
raisin bran cereal, peanut butter,
and 100% apple juice, which we
can't find in Chichi.  Let's stock up
for another 3 months!

Exploring the countryside

We have been looking for land to buy for our ministry.  (See post labeled "Looking for Land.")  As part of our search, we have gone out driving around the countryside to see if there are even any "semi-flat" areas around.  There aren't many.  Mostly there are steep drop-offs yielding beautiful views.

Between the mountains are one-lane bridges.  We liked this one because it actually had guard rails.

The roads, called "highways" by the locals, are generally precarious, steep, and unpaved.  Occasionally, we have to to figure out how to pass an oncoming vehicle on a one-lane road by the edge of a cliff.

We go bouncing around on the dirt roads, trying to dodge pot holes.

The only other vehicles we usually see are microbuses, pickup trucks filled with people, or motorcycles.  Most of the people who live in this area don't have cars of their own.  In fact, most of the countryside is not even accessible by roads, but only by small footpaths through the woods.

Sometimes, out in the middle of nowhere, we find a dirt soccer field in the distance.  This is an indication of the many small adobe homes in the mountains where no roads reach.

There are several churches in the area that are filled with K'iche'-speaking people whose only Bible is in Spanish.  We hope to bring them the Bible in their own language some day!

After traveling for miles on dirt roads, it is interesting to find small sections of road paved with paving stones where communities have collected money to improve their particular 1/4 mile of road.

In several steep places, they have also installed strips of concrete in the road to help with erosion problems.  The people here don't have much money, but they do what they can to deal with difficult situations.  The government doesn't help much in the communities, so the communities collect money from the residents to maintain their roads, bring in water pipes, and slowly make other small improvements.

We immensely appreciate your prayers for our search... that we would hear God's leading to the right place for the right price, and that Michael's back wouldn't hurt so much on our outings.  Thanks!

Perfectly normal

Veronica knows that if you want to carry a baby, you tie it on your back.
So this is how she insisted on carrying her baby doll to the store.
It's perfectly normal... here in the Mayan part of Guatemala, anyway!

Of course, if you ask this two-year-old to smile while taking her picture...

It's also perfectly normal to cook up some beans for supper,

and stir up some powdered milk to drink.

Looking for Land

So, what does "looking for land" in Chichicastenango look like?  Well, good question.  So far it goes something like this:  Ask EVERYONE you talk to if they know of any land for sale...  the pastors, the stove technician, the lady selling vegetables, the dentist, etc.  So far the answer has been, "I don't know right now, but I'll look into it for you." 

There has been one exception: the dental assistant Ana said her grandfather actually has land for sale!  But when we went to look at it (with Ana, her grandfather, and one of her cousins in our car), it was on a very steep mountainside.  Michael and I had an adventurous hike down the beautiful mountainside following Grandpa (who we thought might be part mountain goat), but it was just too steep to build on.  So we will keep looking.

We have also been going out and driving around (for hours on bumpy dirt roads) to get a feel for the land, since most of it is too mountainous to build on.  We're not just talking steep hillsides, we're talking sheer cliffs.  Usually there are little houses perched up on top of the edges, but we need more land for more buildings, NOT on the edge of a cliff.  We would at least like room for a house with a yard for us, as well as a ministry area including a soccer field, a pavilion, a few class rooms, a sports court, and a playground.

We've found a few nice "rolling hills" areas, but only God knows who owns the land and if they might want to sell or not!  I'm thinking we might take a Guatemalan out with us and start asking around those areas in person.

That's our method for now anyway.  We haven't found the Real Estate office yet!

Raincoats and Boots!

Last year during rainy season, we bought raincoats to keep us dry... 

Well, that worked for the top half,
but when we walked to a friend's house
recently, our shoes got soaked.

So this year, we decided to buy
rubber boots from the market!
Rainy Season, here we come! 

Electric Lines Don't Like Trees

The evening right after we returned home to Chichicastenango from Mexico, we heard a crash outside and the electricity went off.  We could tell that there were lines down right outside our gate, but we didn't venture outside until the next morning.  I called the electric company and other missionaries who lived nearby to alert them of the possible danger of live wires.

The next morning we saw the culprit.  A tall pine tree had fallen in the nearby ravine, taking down our electric lines and landing with its top across the road.

ASELSI is down that road and a lot of people walk by, so they sent workers to clear the way.

Rapidly, the area filled with various workers clearing the road and cutting down other trees and branches that might cause problems in the future.  The guy in the photo below climbed the tree and was using a machete to cut the same branch he was standing on.

The next guy put his ladder on a scrawny tree and used his machete to chop down the upper part of the tree next to it.  Whack, whack, whack!

Then they used an ax to chop down a smaller tree by the road, and it almost fell on a tuk-tuk passing by.

It was quite an exciting morning on our street.  We were very happy that our electricity was restored by mid-morning.