On Our Way Home

Well, I finished the last of the cleaning and packing to be ready to go back to Canada. I was so thankful for 3 days of warm, sunny weather, so that I could get all the laundry done! I also cooked and baked enough to fill the freezer so that Rocky will have some good food when we are gone.

This year we had the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing people. Heber, the young man third from the left in the photo, is someone I work quite closely with. I have come to really appreciate him. He has a real way with people and I admire the way he works with both the teams and the Guatemalans. Things don't always go as planned in our work here, but he rarely gets frustrated. I forget sometimes that he is only 20 years old.

We have also worked with numerous Guest House hosts, the last of which are on the far left in the photo - Al and Judy Willms. They were such a huge blessing to us the way they not only served the teams, but also really embraced Hope, allowing her to stay with them while we were in the capital picking up or dropping off teams.

Les and Rita Peters, of course, are in the center, and we continue to marvel at how the Lord is expanding this ministry under their leadership. We know it is not always easy work, especially as the ministry grows, but they are committed to the vision the Lord has given them and are here for the long haul.

As you know, Rocky will be staying back for 2 additional weeks, hoping to really focus on the work projects now that there are no teams here. He has worked so hard this year, taking on not only his team responsibilities, but also trying to supervise the many work projects. I know he has been a big blessing to the ministry and they are thankful for his input.

For me, I just love being able to serve the Lord here. I know I am not perfect - far from it - but I also know that the Lord is using me to advance His Kingdom both with the teams that we serve as well as with the Guatemalans we are so privileged to know and work along side. This little girl in the photo with me is Darlin and she attends our Chicoy school. A few months ago I was visiting Chicoy with a team and noticed she was not playing with the other kids the way she usually does. I picked her up and she snuggled right into me and I could feel she had a fever. I held her and rocked her and quickly discovered she had an ear infection. We just happened to have a doctor along with that group and so in a matter of minutes we were able to check her out, give her some Tylenol for the pain and some antibiotics for the infection. What could have gone on and on and perhaps even damaged her eardrum permanently, was corrected, just like that!

This last week when I was back at Chicoy, she saw me and came to me. I picked her up and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I felt so blessed to have been able to be a part of helping Darlin in her time of need.

Before we came here, people said to us that we were sure selfless for giving so much up to go to Guatemala. I don't think we have given anything up at all. What material things we sold or left behind are nothing compared to the honour of serving the Lord here. I keep thinking, that if just one person is impacted for the Kingdom because of our presence here and the Holy Spirit working through us, then whatever we have had to "give up" is so worth it.

We may not see the harvest, this side of heaven, but we know that our time here is of eternal value and we are so privileged to do what the Lord has called us to do.

Blessings to you and your families!

Karren, Rocky and Hope!

Our Last Group for 2011!

At 5:30am, on Friday, October 14th, we said goodbye to the Kamloops Alliance Church team and at 7:30pm that evening we received our last team for this season. It is hard to believe that we have worked with 22 different groups this year! Our teams have come from across Canada, from BC to Prince Edward Island and now, our last group is from Davenport, Iowa.

Impact Ministries is establishing itself in the US, with the help of some wonderful people who have been here in the past (Tim and Candy Weaver, Debra Cole, Phil and Beth Claussen, and many others). As we move into 2012, the ministry hopes to be able to host more American teams. That means we will be needing some help on this end!

Our last group leaves on October 24th, which will give me a week to clean up around here and pack things up so that when we return in January, all will be dry and bug free! That is a bit of a job, so I am thankful that I have a little bit of time to do it. Hope and I fly out on the 31st of October and Rocky will join us on the 12th of November. He is staying on in order to spend a bit more time on the worksite, building the new guest housing complex.

We will be having a sharing night at St. Andrew's on the Square on Saturday, December 3rd, and look forward to seeing some of you there!

Bless you, Karren

Sunday Morning

Well, it is Sunday morning. If we were in Canada, we'd get up, get ready and head out the door for church. Maybe we'd join friends for lunch out at a restaurant and then spend the remainder of the day relaxing or sharing time with family.

Here, Sundays are very different for us. It is the biggest market day in Tactic and we don't meet for church until 4pm. When groups are here, they do a "market activity" in the morning, which essentially consists of them doing some of our team grocery shopping and trying to complete a variety of tasks. The idea is to give the team a feel for what it would be like trying to function in a foreign environment. We turn it into a bit of a competition and it is a lot of fun.

After lunch, we take the group to a coffee plantation that is about a 1/2 hour drive from town. When we finish there, we come back home and get ready for church. Church ususally goes from 4pm - 6:30pm, so when church is done, we have supper. Following supper we spend time with the team, leading a debrief. Our day usually ends around 9:30pm.

The reason I am able to write this blog right now is because we have a couple living in the guest house - Al and Judy Wilms from Calgary - and they are taking care of the market activity so we don't have to. If they weren't here, we'd be "on" from 8:30 am to 9:30 pm - a 13 hour day! Not exactly like home!

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. This has actually become very normal for us and we really enjoy it. When our days are not filled with activities with the teams, we have other duties that we perform. Rocky, of course, is constantly going between the various work

projects making sure everything is progressing as planned. I do some administrative work for the ministry and have also started doing translating for the sponsorship office. Our days are full and we feel so blessed to be able to serve in the way that we do.
We are looking forward to a rest, although, and returning to Canada to see family and friends. Hope and I will be arriving in Canada on November 1st and Rocky 2 weeks later. We hope to be able to connect with you sometime during our time at home.

Bless you, Karren