Life in Tactic!

Hi all,

This past week we have experienced a full range of weather - everything from 2 earthquakes, hurricane strength winds, extreme heat, to only 7 degrees! Everyday has been a new experience.

The sounds of Tactic are as varied as the weather! I remember before I came to Guatemala the first time, I thought roosters only crowed at dawn. I was shocked to find out that they crow all day and - if they want - all night! This weekend was some sort of celebration in town and the music and other sounds continued well into the night. Between that and the roosters, crows, cows, pigs, and, my personal favourite - the vultures landing on our tin roof - and, well, it is a noisy place. Sometimes, when we go to bed, we lie there and have to laugh at all that we hear.

Today was Sunday and church here begins at 4 because Sunday is a major market day. Many of the people who attend the Rio de Vida church sell their produce in the market in the morning. The message today was that we were made to be filled with God and nothing short of that would satisfy. How true! We can seek after all sorts of things - material possessions, etc - but we land up feeling empty and thristy. Only God can truly satisfy.

After church a group of us Canadians went out for Tacos. There are a few great places in Tactic to eat. They aren't much to look at, but the food is amazing. In the photo are Harm and Linda, a couple from Alberta. They look after the team housing and meals. The three girls in the picture, besides Hope and Arryn, are Heather (Saskatchewan), Kara (Manitoba), and Julie (Alberta). The girls are living here for 1 year and working in the schools, among other things. We have really enjoyed getting to know all of them and it is a blessing to share time with them.

I have a new Spanish teacher - Seno Flore - and she does not speak a word of English! Wow, talk about stretching. I'm not sure how much my Spanish is improving, but I am feeling more confident about speaking, even if I sound horrible. Rocky is struggling with the language a little more than I am, but he is improving as well, even if he doesn't think so.

Thank you all for continuing to pray for us; we really appreciate all of the support and encouragement we receive from you all. If you want to communicate with us via email, please feel free (klchupa@yahoo.ca or rockychupa@yahoo.ca). We really enjoy hearing from you.

Bless you,

Karren, Rocky, Arryn, and Hope

We woke up to an earthquake!

This morning at 4:52am, we woke up and our bed was shaking. It felt as though someone was at the foot of the bed rocking it back and forth with all their might. It took a minute - well probably closer to a second - to realize we were experiencing an earthquake. The shaking lasted only 30 seconds or so, but it was enough to wake us all up and rattle us a little. Rocky went on-line and found out the earthquake's epicenter was about 150 miles from where we are and it measured 5.6 on the richter scale!

This week are are recovering from the team that just left and planning with fevor for the upcoming bunch of teams. The team that just left was an amazing team. They were mostly young adults who had been here before. It was such a pleasure to work with them. They earnestly desired to work, serve and connect with the Lord and it made our job so easy. They worked and did children's ministry out at Mocohan and Arryn and Hope were able to join in a couple of times. One of the big projects out there is installing a well. Mocohan's water system was established for 100 homes and they now have well over 1000 using the system. As a result, you cannot get more than a trickle of water out of the tap. We have drilled and cemented in a well and are working on the pump and delivery system. This will be huge for the school in Mocohan.

Rocky is now getting all the work and equipment lined up for the KCS team. I have prepared their schedule/itinerary and am now working on the Bearspaw itinerary. When they arrive, we will have essentially 3 teams to balance at one time. They are a total of 44 people, which will be divided into two student teams and a medical team. Creating that itinerary and ensuring we have enough vehicles and translators is a bit of a juggling act - but I love it!

I am starting some intensse language study tomorrow and I am a bit nervous. I have been doing okay with my Spanish, but now I have been lined up with a retired teacher, who taught Spanish grammar in high school here! She does not speak any English, so my entire time with her will be in Spanish. This will be so good for me, but I know it will also be exhausting. Please pray that the Lord opens my mind to this language so that I can better communicate. I did lead a group in the hospital prayer time last week, but it was a real challenge for me to come up with the right words. I need to know more Spanish to really do my job well.

Hope and Arryn are going to be starting their English classes on Monday! They are a little nervous, but I know they will do well and really enjoy building relationships with the little ones. They will be teaching grade 2 - 6 (5 classes) for 1/2 hour each twice a week. I have been given a group of teachers to teach! They want to learn English, so we are going to help. Arryn is also going to help look after little Tim - Les and Rita's baby. She is excited about that; she loves babies. Hope is also busy with her schooling - she is already caught up and in fact ahead of the pacing for her courses. I think she's nervous she won't get it all done, but I am nervous she'll finish by the end of March! Just kidding. That would be great.

The photos with this blog are:

Arryn at Mocohan with one of the little girls.

A boy drawing with sidewalk chalk - Te amo Dios (I love you God)

A well for Mocohan! They have been without water for over a year!

Paint for Mocohan.

Bless you and thank you for your support and prayers! We know we are protected by the Lord's covering and feel His blessing each and every day!

Karren, Rocky, Arryn and Hope.

Only in Guatemala!

About 1 1/2 years ago, Rita Peters was woken up in the middle of the night. A single mom had given birth to twins and was not able to care for two babies at once. So, she bundled up one of the little boys, only days old, and dropped him off in a box with a note saying she wanted Les and Rita to raise the child. The Peters embraced the baby, named him Timothy Moses, and he is now a vibrant, very joyful part of their lives.

Last week, it happened again! One of the ladies in the church was woken up in the night. She heard someone in the street calling her name. She opened up her door and looked around, but no one was there. She looked down and saw a box with two little boys in it. Someone had left newborn twins on her door step. Once again, there was a note and it read, " Sister Alena, I have been watching you and I know you are a good mom. I know you have already had twins and know how to raise two babies at once. I cannot care for my babies and am giving them to you to raise as you sons." Wow! The babies are less than 4 lbs each - tiny bundles of joy! Yesterday we had a baby shower for her and her four daughters. She believes the babies are a gift from the Lord and she is honoured to raise them. She is a single mom and does not have the resources she needs, but she is trusting the Lord to provide.

Blessings,
Karren

The Girls Arrive!

Rocky and I have been in Tactic now for two weeks and it seems as though we just arrived.

We were very excited to pick up Hope and Arryn from the airport on Friday, February 12th - 1 day later than we expected. Their flight from Houston to Guatemala City was cancelled and they had to overnight at a hotel in Houston. We were very proud of how well the girls handled this "bump" in their journey. I know how it can stress you out when travel plans change part way through and you are uncertain what you should do. So, when we greeted them the following morning, I don't know who was more relieved, them or us!

I am working with Hope today to get her set up with her course work. We again had computer problems, but Sunday afternoon everything was straightened out. We have a team here from Calgary, but Rocky is out at Mocohan working with them for the day so I can make sure Hope is settled with her courses. It also gives me a chance to cook some meals to freeze for the girls when we are tied up over the supper hour.

Pastor Rod Barks is here - he was the pastor that did our marraige councelling in Kamloops! It is great to see him and some of his family. As many of you know, Rocky and I have had some significant hurdles to jump over the past 6 months and at times we started to wonder if coming to Guatemala was really God's will for us. We don't know what the future holds much past this first chunk of time here in Guatemala and we have many questions with very few answers. Sunday at church, Pastor Rod had a word for us that affirmed our decision to leave what we had behind and come to Guatemala. He also reassured us that we really don't need to be anxious about the future, all we need to do is focus on the Lord and follow closely behind Him; He will determine our path. Walking in the will of the Lord is where we want to be.

The two photos included with this blog are just to give you an indication of where I do my shopping. When I say we are eating fresh, I mean, we are eating fresh! It is a great adventure to go to the market and see fruits and vegetables that I don't know what they are and then try and ask, in Spanish, what they are and what you do with them. It is great fun!

I made a pot of chili the other day and it was a 3 1/2 hour task. I had to make my own tomato sauce and cook my own beans. That was a first for me. There is a nice lady who works in a small tienda (store) across the street. She gave me some help with the beans. I brought her a bowl of my chili to say thank you and she politely told me I had used the wrong beans for chili. I then got a compete lesson on what beans are used for what type of food or meal. I guess black beans in chili con carne (chili with meat) was a no no.

God bless you all and please remember to pray for us as we serve the Lord, Impact Ministries, the Guatemalan people and Canadian teams.

En El nombre de Jesus,

Karren and Rocky

Life in Tactic

We have been in Tactic for a week now and it is amazing how the time has flown by. Rita has been teaching us Spanish almost every day. I have enjoyed, in particular, learning Spanish worship songs and how to pray in Spanish. When you are learning a new language, the words don’t hold any emotion for you, like words in your native language do. For example, we learned the word “digno.” We sing it is worship songs all the time, but I had no idea what it meant; I had just memorized the word and sang it. Well, I learned it means “worthy,” so when we sing, “Dios, tu eres digno a mi amor,” we are saying to the Lord that He is worthy of our love. Suddenly, the words take on emotions. That is amazing. Sunday in church we were able to sing along with all but one song and it was more than just memorized words. For that we are very thankful. Please pray for us that the Lord will open our minds to learn the language so that it isn’t a hindrance to our work here.

Internet connection has been a real challenge up until Monday. Jairo, a young man who manages the tech stuff for Impact, hard wired our house, so now we have a strong connection all the time. This is great, as both girls will be doing online schooling, so connection is essential.

We are still working on getting everything together in the house, but it is coming. We got our lawn cut yesterday and we have a nice little yard. All around the perimeter are poinsettia trees! Most middle class homes in Guatemala do not have hot water in the house. They use what is called a widow maker to warm the water in the shower. It is a contraption that has a live electrical charge that the water passes over and is heated. When we first arrived, the widow maker in our shower gave us an electric shock every time we turned it off and it only really took the chill off of the water. For both Rocky and I, not being able to warm up on a cold day was probably our only physical comfort concern about coming to Guatemala. Although a great deal of the time it is sunny and warm, there are days that are cold and rainy and ending the day with a cold shower and a cold house is a challenge. On Monday, Juan, the man who is the caretaker for the Impact properties, installed a new widow maker in our shower so we wouldn’t get shocked, and, praise the Lord, we have really warm water in the shower now. It is really cool to see how the Lord is looking after not only our needs, but some of our desires as well.

I am learning how to shop and do my own cooking - somewhat of a challenge - but I'm thankful that I have had a week here to practice before the girls arrive. Fruits and vegetables are in abundance - mangos, bananas, pineapples, papyas, oranges, watermelon, cantelope, onions, garlic, carrots (the size of my arm!), potatoes, green beans, peas, wiskil (like a round zuchini), tomatoes, avacados, cucumbers, and a host of others. Yesterday, I bought a papaya for 77¢, a pound of potatoes for 12¢, and 3 ripe avocados for 12¢. The meat is a challenge to find, although, but I found a shop the other day that sells chicken and beef and sometimes ham. The owners attend the Vida church and are a really nice family. They have their own slaughter house as well as butcher shop, and they slaughter daily, so their meat is fresh. I asked for chicken breast and the butcher took a chicken and cut the legs off and gave me the rest. I guess that is chicken breast! We have a freezer on top of the fridge, so we can store meat and leftovers there, which is great.

All in all we are doing very well - missing the kids and the rest of you - but well other than that. It will be a stretch for us to make friends here and bridge that language gap, but we are praying the Lord will stretch our minds and enable us to learn Spanish quickly.

Karren and Rocky

We are here!

Hi everyone,

Well, Rocky and I arrived in Tactic yesterday and we were totally shocked when we saw our home! It is amazing. We were expecting something very small and crowded, but what we got was a spacious place to live. We figure the main room (kitchen, dining room and living room) is about the same size as our basement suite. We also have our own washing machine - yeh, no hand washing towels, sheets and jeans. God is so good.

We are having a bit of trouble with our internet connection tonight, so I'm going to keep it short.

Blessings,

Karren and Rocky.