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!