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!
November 21, 2012
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!
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!
September 21, 2012
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.
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| 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. |
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| They closed off the main highway for a few hours each morning while the parade slowly made its way through Chichi. |
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| Waiting for the parade to begin! |
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| There were several school bands... |
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| and lots of pretty costumes... |
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| as well as several groups representing the traditional Mayan beliefs... |
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| and the traditional Mayan religion still in practice today. |
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| Some of the highschoolers did crazy stunts. |
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| All of the children were precious... |
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| and beautiful! |
September 9, 2012
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.
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.
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| 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! |
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| Carrie, age 12, played soccer for a while with Gladys (left), age 20, and Cassandra (right), age 17 |
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| 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! |
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| 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. |
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| 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! |
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| 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.
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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! |
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| Our hotel, Villalba Suites, is very comfortable, and the room is spacious for our family of six. |
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| 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! |
August 2, 2012
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!
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!
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