Christmas Eve fireworks

For the last ten years that we have lived in Guatemala, our family has enjoyed going outside at midnight on Christmas Eve to watch the fireworks display put on by many individual families.  The beautiful display lasts about 15 minutes. Now that we live on our property, we have a view of a wide area.  There were fireworks all the way to a mountain range in the distance!  Next, we will repeat the fun experience on New Year's Eve!

Immigration

We have had an interesting time trying to keep up with Guatemala's residency requirements.  We live 3 hours away from the Guatemala City immigration office, so each time we try to submit paperwork, we have to pay a courier to take the documents, as well as our passports and identification cards, in his private vehicle.  He then waits for the lawyer's assistant to stand in line at the immigration office and handle the transaction for us, and then the courier returns everything to us later that day.  

Earlier this year, before the pandemic hit, we tried to send our yearly paperwork.  The immigration office didn't accept it because we hadn't paid our newly required yearly fee.  So we tried to pay our fee, but the office closed for the pandemic while our lawyer's assistant was in line, and they didn't open again for several months.  Then we tried again, but they had introduced a new document required for the girls and wouldn't accept their fee without it.  So we paid to obtain those documents for the girls and submitted their fees.  Then, after finally paying our yearly fees, we tried to submit our paperwork again, which we had to completely redo because it was now more than 6 months old.  This time we were told we couldn't submit it because we had already paid our yearly fees, the opposite of what they told us earlier in the year.  Go figure.  Five trips to the immigration office and still no resolution to our yearly requirements!

The rules are often changing, and the information we receive from the immigration office seems to depend on which teller is asked or what day we ask!  Let's hope things work better in 2021!

Our workers

Whenever we ask our friends here for suggestions about construction workers to hire, we are told the same thing, "I know some workers, but I won't recommend them because they are dishonest."  We have also had workers that we wouldn't recommend to anyone else and that we have had to fire due to dishonesty.  

Right now, our construction team is down to three boys, all of whom are hard-working and very respectful:  Manuel, age 18, his brother Sebastián, age 16, and their cousin José, age 16.

Hurricane Eta

The following post by Mark W. Wakefield, a missionary in Guatemala, describes the situation here well!  A large part of Guatemala was affected by Hurricane Eta, with large floods and deadly landslides, and now Hurricane Iota is heading towards us.  We are grateful that here in Chichicastenango we only received a modest amount of rain from the first hurricane.  Please join us in praying for the people of Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, that the Lord will have mercy and that Hurricane Iota will dissipate and not do any more damage!

SUNDAY MORNING POST:

“The luxury of building correctly”

 

    So, how come those poor people in the mountains of Guatemala can’t build their houses right? It seems that every time a storm comes through, it washes away houses, and in the case of Hurricane Eta, entire villages were wiped off the map. Maybe people are too dumb or too careless to build on solid ground? Maybe someone should go and show them how to build better houses so they can live in safety and not fear getting buried in landslides?

    Interesting thoughts. So, allow me to defend the poor, the marginalized, and the indigenous who live in remote mountain communities. But first, our home is built safely, and we are on solid ground. We have deep foundations and culverts to keep water away from the house. While we have some adobe walls, they are fortified with plenty of rebar and cement to hold them in place. We have been blessed to have the money, the know-how, and a decent piece of land to work with. But, back to those poor souls, “Who can’t seem to get it right”.

    People build where they have land. “But, the wise man built his house on the rock”. Yes, but you first have to own a rock or a solid piece of property. Family is foremost here, so many people inherit land. Most of the time that land is slowly divided and inherited as the family grows. What was once many acres has often dwindled down to a small plot for each family. You work with what you have. Families like to live in close proximity. So many times houses are built in clumps, where they can share a single water source and if they are lucky electricity. That thing called “sewers” does not exist, so people guide their waste water to wherever is most convenient. That often does not provide for the best sanitation, and often sewage rivers wind their way through the land, homes, and community until it finds a river or stream to empty into.

    Guatemala is extremely mountainous. If you are super-very lucky, you may get a flat spot. Most people don’t. So they find a way to cut into hills and mountainsides and hold up the dirt however they may. If you are on a plain or flat spot, you are also at risk of getting flooded. That is what happened to a lot of the flatlands when Eta or any tropical storm hits. And building a house is complicated. If you have the resources and know-how, you can make mud blocks called adobes. But many people live far away from road access, so the most abundant material is wood. They chop down trees to make wood structures. Some have money and cover that with sheet metal. Others depend on thatched roofs made from palm leaves. Many people simply have pine wood walls where huge cracks form as the wood dries out. And those trees and boards were probably cut with an axe and chainsaw.

    Getting materials into many communities is nearly impossible. There is the luxury of being able to buy cement or blocks, but then you must carry them on your back for 2-8 miles, uphill, both ways. No joking! Even ministries who dedicate themselves to building homes for the poor seldom go out that far. Logistics is a nightmare with roads being muddy and treacherous. Mountain paths are difficult to travel on foot. Only a select few have access to a donkey or horses to help drag wood or cart needed items. So, building a home with a solid foundation, cement floor, or sealed walls is pretty much off the table. They make do with what they have.

    And families live in groups. So during Eta’s pass through here days ago, entire families were wiped out when landslides hit. Deforestation and people planting crops on the sides of mountains have destabilized many areas. It is easy for the land to shift and slide. A man explained that in one home a family member was feeding dozens of children when the landslide took them out. And even homes built out of rebar and cement are not totally safe from the rains. Many people create “level ground” by building their homes on stilts. You can see this in many communities. So, with weak foundations built on dangerous hillsides, even “stronger homes” often do not survive.

    But, can’t families invest and build safer houses? When you make under $200 a month to support a family of seven, you are limited in what you can build. There is little access here to any type of loans. And unlike first world countries where people amass huge amounts of debt to build gigantic houses with more space than they need, many people here simply live day-to-day with what they have. They are truly impoverished and at the mercy of nature. But, they are debt free and content in their small humble home.

    However, many are incredibly happy. They live in family communities on inherited lands owned for centuries. They work their fields and crops together, making a living to survive each day. Many would have it no other way. It is a luxury to think they can just evacuate every time there is a risk. Most have nowhere they can go. It is a first world problem to have to deal with the insurance companies when tragedy wipes out your home. Here I know of nobody who has insurance on their home, I’m not even sure if such a thing exists.

    It is easy to watch the news and judge the world’s poor. If you have a vehicle, live on flat land, own your own property, or live less than 15 miles from a Lowe’s or Home Depot, you are of the world’s elite. And unless you actually come here and live with the people for an extended period of time, I’m not sure their reality can be fully understood.

Video presentation

 This is a video presentation of our ministry:

Creative cooking

Our youngest daughter Veronica is quite the chef.  She loves to bake and is always surprisingly innovative with the recipes.  For example: plain chicken crescent rolls?  Boring.  Must color the cream cheese filling with at least three colors!  Here is a look at them before wrapping and baking.

And she's not the only one baking artistically in our house.  Our daughter Andrea made this desert scene cake!

Everything is yummy and creative!

Hail

During rainy season we get some big thunderstorms, occasionally accompanied by a few minutes of hail.  This hail was the size of marbles and punched a marble-sized hole in a section of clear polycarbonate roofing which we later had to patch up.

The photos make it hard to see, but it was certainly LOUD on our metal roofing!  The corn fields growing all around us had their leaves shredded a bit, but fortunately not too much damage was done by the hail.

The cross

This is the intersection where we turn to the right off the main highway to our community.  The name of the intersection is known by everybody here as "La Cruz," which means "The Cross."  We're not exactly sure why (although the telephone pole in the middle of the photo is appropriate.)  When I took this photo a "chicken bus" had just passed by, leaving this unfortunate bicycle rider in a black cloud of fumes!

More posts

We have been planting posts and have quite a garden now!

These are about half the posts we will need for the house.   The rest of the posts go in a running foundation, which would fill with rain water like a bathtub during rainy season.  So we are currently doing other preparatory work while we wait for rainy season to be over.  Here comes another shipment of posts ready to be welded together:

Dogs

I wanted to title this post "Making it through a pandemic with dogs for company," but that was too long!  We are staying at home in Chichicastenango every day of the week but one, when Michael goes shopping.  Veronica and I (Heather/Erica) go with him and wait in the car.  It isn't a very social outing, but at least we get out of the house!  During the long days at home, it is nice to have a dog's company!

On the other hand, having a dog around can also be hilarious, as our other dog Dorado has demonstrated recently.  We had been separating out our burnable trash into a bucket with an easily removable lid, which Dorado got into easily. 

I assured my family that the other trash cans, where we separate the food from other items, would be harder to get into because the dog's head would get trapped...  I went outside for two minutes and came back in to this scene!  Hahaha.  Guess it wasn't such a problem after all!

Our trash cans, by the way, are now up on plastic tables!

Upside down sign

This sign was on a temporary detour which directed traffic from our community into town by back roads while part of the main road was being paved with paving bricks.  No kidding, the sign is backwards.  We are guessing they accidentally painted the arrow going the wrong direction, but since the letters are invertible, they found an easy solution: flip the sign!  There were actually three signs like this along the way.  But hey, even as we chuckled, we were very grateful for the signs!

Needy newborn

I (Heather/Erica) got a message this week from Odilia, a lady in our church, asking if I knew if ASELSI's milk program is taking new clients.  She wrote that a lady from her neighborhood, Roxanna, had come by asking for help because she had no milk to nurse her 3-week-old newborn baby.  Roxanna's husband had recently left her to live with another woman, and Roxanna had given birth at home alone and scared.  Her husband had come by to threaten her that he would take her two children away (the newborn and a 4-year-old girl) if she didn't take care of them, and the stress of the conflict caused her milk to dry up.  Her husband has not given her any money, and she has no way to earn an income during this pandemic in order to buy formula.  She was only giving water to her baby, and Odilia said the baby was tiny and thin.

I wrote to ASELSI's director on her behalf, and he informed me that they are only able to support their currently registered clients since they have been shut down by the government during the pandemic.

We wanted to help Roxanna buy formula, but we didn't want to give her cash.  So I arranged with Odilia to come by our house and pick up a cash donation.   Then she went the store and bought formula and a supplement to help boost milk production.  She delivered the formula and supplement to Roxanna, who was very happy for the help!

Then, several days later, Roxanna brought her baby back to see Odilia.  What a nice surprise to see a healthy, round baby!  We ask for your prayers for this little life!

Thanks to Odilia for the photos!

Trash troubles

One of the services we took for granted in the United States was trash pickup and removal.  Now that we live just outside of Chichicastenango, the municipal trash truck doesn't arrive at our door like they used to before we moved further out of town.  And there is no public trash dumpster available.  So for the last two years we have been taking our trash weekly to a missionary friend's house in town, and she would set our bags out with hers.  But recently her landlord asked her to stop helping us. 

So we decided to venture out to the area's trash dump.  It is about 20 minutes away, down the curvy highway into a ravine and back up again on the other side, and then down a narrow dirt road towards billowing white smoke. 

Vehicles can drive in and drop off their
trash, where it is tossed into the
ravine on the left and burned.
The smoke is thick and smells bad.

This man came to charge us the Q10 fee
(about $1.30) for dropping off our 6 bags
of trash.  The fee is higher for larger
loads of trash.  It isn't healthy for the
workers to be breathing this smoke
all day!

When the coronavirus lockdown started in Guatemala a couple of months ago, we heard that there were many children and adults waiting in this trash dump to rummage through the trash and see what they could find to eat.  I don't think our safety was in question, but since we are trying to avoid gatherings of people for any reason during this time, we decided not to go back for now.

Michael had found a couple of public trash barrels in the market in town, so for a few weeks he took our trash there when we were in town for shopping.  But when the government closed all markets, he no longer had access to those trash barrels! 

Our current temporary solution, which we are very grateful for, has been to take our trash to ASELSI, a local ministry.  Before their clinic closed for the coronavirus lockdown, they weren't able to add our trash to theirs because they were already at the maximum volume of trash allowable for the municipal trash pickup.  But since the government closed their clinic for now, they have room for our trash!  Thank you, ASELSI!!!

Who knew trash disposal could be so complicated?  Hahaha!

Measuring

Unbelievable.  And yet due to past experiences with these boys, believable.

On Tuesday we were excited to start measuring to begin our house construction.  Our planned trip to the U.S. has been postponed due to the coronavirus, so we decided to press on with construction instead.

The house site has been leveled and is
ready to go!

But after our construction workers helped us measure, the space seemed to be 4 cm too short in one dimension.  Odd and disturbing.  Later, when we went to investigate the measurements for ourselves, Michael discovered that the boys had made several small errors that added up.

Please pray that our workers will think and pay attention, and that we won't grow weary as we double-check their work.  As Michael aptly put it, "Not an auspicious beginning."  But with God's help we will soldier on!

Letter to nursing home

Our daughter Elena was given a wonderful assignment in one of her classes at Lee University.  She was asked to write and send letters of encouragement to residents at a local nursing home.  I was personally so blessed by the letter I wanted to share it with you here:

Hello! I wanted to take the time and write to you just to say that you are special, and I am thinking of you! I know that the present situation of staying inside and isolated is challenging and can become lonely. I want to remind you of one person who will never catch this virus and that we do not need to keep our distance from: Jesus Christ! He promises to never leave us and never forsake us. As He says in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” I have drawn strength from this verse because I can rest knowing that no matter what happens in life and during this crisis, the one constant that we will never lose is Jesus. The Bible also assures us in Psalm 27:1 that “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” With God on our side, we can rest knowing we are safe in Him despite what is happening around us. As Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” God knows what we need before we ask and promises to always be with us during our time of need. His promise in John 16:33 remains true even now: “In this world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Jesus is more powerful than this crisis; it did not surprise Him. We can rest in His peace and trust Him knowing that He will never leave us alone. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 15:15). I will be praying for your protection during this time and that you will experience God’s peace and comfort. You are special and loved! “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:8).

Waking up the moon

On Saturday night, March 28, our neighbors were banging pots and pans, blowing whistles and air horns, and setting off fireworks for about half an hour.  A Mayan friend in town messaged us to let us know that people were trying to wake up the moon!   This is what the moon looked like that night:

Our friend sent us this description of the old Mayan tradition here that used to be practiced when the moon was eclipsed:

"One should make noise with something
silver colored, like the moon; a pewter
or metal item, so the moon won't be
allowed to die."

Our friend said some men had been spreading the news that the coronavirus came because the moon had died.  We were quite amazed by the amount of noise our neighbors were making.  Even the dogs were edgy. 

Well, the good news is that in the following nights, the moon did indeed come back, little by little, so they must have done a good job waking it up!

Friends and family

Even though the coronavirus has all of us here in Chichicastenango separated in our homes, I wanted to share a few photos of our wonderful friends and family here in Guatemala.  We haven't been able to get together for a while, but we are keeping in contact by Facebook, Messenger, and cell phone, just like the rest of the world.

Veronica swimming in our carport with
her friends Andrea and Zury.  Those three
sure know how to "make a joyful noise!"

Our church leaders in our living room
for a small group worship time.

Some of the girls playing with crutches
before the church service.

Special prayer for the children of our
church in January, at the beginning
of Guatemala's school year.

Art class with Eliana, on the right,
who came as a missionary to
Guatemala for a couple of months to
evangelize children through art.  While
 here, she offered 8 free art classes
 to the missionary kids in Chichi!

Making cookies with "Grandma Carol,"
a missionary from New Jersey who we
 will miss greatly when she returns to the
U.S. soon for health reasons.
We love you, Carol!

Crates and slime

The Sunday school director at our church is a sweet lady named Clelia.  She had an idea to buy crates to use for decorative storage in the classroom, and she wanted to paint them bright colors.  Since we have an air compressor for painting, I volunteered to have our workers paint the crates.  What I didn't realize was that they were going to soak up the paint like a sponge, even the primer!  So the paint she bought was used up very quickly, and I ended up going back to the store twice to buy more paint!  But 6 or 7 coats later, the end result was beautiful.

Soon after that it was my turn to teach Sunday school.  Here in the public school system there seems to be a lack of good teaching about science, and the kids didn't know much about the existence of germs.  So I taught them about germs, tying it into Sunday school by the fact that God made very small things.  We made slime as a craft because when talking about germs it seemed appropriate!  The kids had a great time!

Naya and Dasha

Adrian (blue jacket), Byron, Maily, Any,
Heber, Abdi, and William (brown jacket)
The crates can be seen in the background!

Selling cookies

Recently Veronica opened a "traveling convenience snack store," selling chips, candy, popcorn, and homemade cookies to the kids on the dance team after practice. She brings all the goodies in a suitcase with wheels!

This brings us to another event which is happening at our church (Open Heavens Freedom Church): we are trying to raise money to buy a piece of property on which to relocate our church building.  The building itself, which is currently on "borrowed" land, is pre-fabricated and can mostly be disassembled and relocated.   We have to move out by April 2020 because the family who owns the land left our church and asked us to leave two years earlier than we had originally planned to move.

Therefore, Veronica had the idea to sell her cookies (oatmeal raisin bars, sugar cookie bars, brownies, and M&M bars) to the church members after the church service, only keeping a small portion of the proceeds for ingredients and giving the rest to the church.  She was influenced by my story of doing the same thing in Puerto Rico to raise money to send our pastors to a retreat.  By the end of the fund-raiser, the church members were so accustomed to eating my cookies after church, they begged me to continue selling them.  And I did!

When she asked me about it, to me it seemed like a very small amount compared to the price of land.  Veronica responded to my doubts, "But God can use it!  What is a small amount to God?"  I was reminded of the widow that gave only two small coins in the offering, impressing Jesus with her faith.  Our pastor was also reminded of the boy who offered 5 loaves and 2 small fish to Jesus, who multiplied it to feed many thousands!

So this week after church, Veronica started selling her homemade cookies and other snacks and was able to deliver Q136 (which is about $18) to the church treasurer.  It's a faith-filled start!

If any of you would like to contribute to our church's fund-raiser and help us purchase land for the church building, we would be very grateful! 

Please send donations by check made payable to "Michael Montgomery" and mailed to Christian Life Fellowship, P.O. Box 5043, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-5043.  If you desire the donation to go toward our church's land, please include a note with your check, and we will personally deposit the money into our church's bank account.  Sorry these donations will not be tax-deductible, but they will certainly make an impact in the Kingdom!

Leading worship

This week it was my (Heather/Erica's) turn to lead worship at church.  So, whenever I can, I like to include the children.  We used our hour-and-a-half weekly dance practice to review the kids' participation.  First they sang a few songs on stage with me (we play worship songs from YouTube since our church currently has no musicians), then the girls danced while the boys sang, then we invited the congregation to follow along for three more dances, and then the kids sang a few more songs on stage.  My favorite part was looking over to the right during the girls-only dance and seeing the boys paying attention and singing with gusto!  Those who work with children will agree with me that sometimes after an energetic hullabaloo of a practice, it is a wonder the kids do such a great job during the presentation!!!  It always amazes and blesses me!

During the last song I had the chance to pray blessings, miracles, and victory over our pastor's wife, Flory, while she was kneeling at the altar.  The other people in the photo are our pastor Gregorio with their daughter Marjorie and grandson Mateo.

Birthday parties, Chichi style

We have gone to several birthday parties in Chichicastenango, and they all have a very common order of events:

1.  The party's starting time is apparently only a suggestion.   The people who arrive on time (and there are always a few, including Veronica and me) just sit and wait for at least an hour for things to get started.  The party is often outside with large tarps (made of sturdy plastic sacks sewn together) spread between wooden posts covering the seating area.  Lots of balloons and streamers decorate the area.  Mostly cousins and children from church are invited, and it is assumed that the entire family will come with the invited child and stay for the party, so there are always seats for many people.

2.  There is often face painting offered as people are arriving.  It is normally just for the kids, but I joined in because not many people had come yet.  At this party the clown was doing the face painting.

3.  Let the show begin with a clown!  The clown does magic tricks and challenges with the kids and adults, getting many people involved and always involving lots of laughter.

4.  Moving on to the piñata, the clown will invite the littlest kids to swing at it with a long stick first, not blindfolded.  Then the older kids are blindfolded and spun around a couple of times, and they have three chances to swing.  Usually the girls go first, then the boys.  The piñata hangs from a rope that two men pull up and down and back and forth, making it harder to hit.  Eventually one of the rambunctious boys finally opens a hole in the piñata and candy starts to spill out.  At that point everyone dives in with the shopping bag they brought for the occasion, children and adults alike, while the clown finishes ripping open the piñata and dumps the candy all over the ground.

5.  Then everyone gathers again and a family member or pastor prays for the birthday child and the cake is brought out.  We all sing "Feliz Cumpleaños," followed by a funny pronunciation of the English song "Happy Birthday," followed by a Spanish traditional song to the same tune, "We want cake, we want cake, even if it's just a little, we want cake!"  Everyone counts loudly to the age of the child and then shouts, "Mordita, mordita, mordita...!" (which means "Take a bite!") and the birthday child leans down and bites the cake, coming up with a face full of frosting and ending in lots of applause and laughter.

6.  While the cake is being cut and served onto plates for the whole crowd, the birthday child is stationed up front and the guests who brought gifts line up to give their gift, hug the special person, and have their photo taken.

7.  Then everyone eats cake and a tostada with tomato sauce and crumbled white cheese, with hot tea to drink served in styrofoam cups.  (We actually don't eat at events here, because of the possible uncleanliness of the food.  Our friends know this, so they usually run to a local snack store in the neighborhood and bring us each a bag of Lay's potato chips and a bottle of Gatorade.)

8.  Little by little the guests leave to go home.  Happy birthday!