Being Thankful!

This morning, it is raining.  As I got up, I was thinking, "this is going to be a slow day," because the rain seems to slow everything down.  Then, as I hopped into the shower, I started to think about how different my morning is in comparison to the majority of those who live around us here in San Simon (that is the name of the village we live in outside of Chisec). 

I wake up in a warm, dry bed, walk over to the indoor bathroom and get into a warm shower.  When I get out, I have a dry towel to use and dry clothes to put on.  Although my kitchen is outside, I have a covered cement walkway over to the kitchen, where there is electricity and the coffee is warm and ready.  I take some milk out of the refridgerator for my breakfast, and sit down at a table out of the rain to eat my breakfast and have my morning coffee. 
This is not a normal morning routine, here in San Simon.  I am in a very small minority here who can share this type of morning experience.  In fact, I am pretty spoiled. 
Most here wake up in a one room house with wood walls, a thatched roof and a dirt floor.  Depending on how strong the rain was throughout the night, their floor could be muddy inside their home in the morning.  If they have a bed, it is most likely a wodden pallet with a woven matt and, hopefully, a blanket or sheet.  First, they'd untuck the mosquito netting that protects them from unwanted bugs while they sleep. They would dress quickly, back into the clothes from yesterday and slip on their shoes. They would need to get a fire going - a challenging job when all is wet - in order to begin to prepare breakfast.  If the kitchen is inside the house, the room would quickly fill with smoke, as the wet wood is forced to flame.  A breakfast feast would be warmed up beans and tortillas from yesterday and a bit of mosh (runny porridge) with sugar and cinnamon.  Breakfast would be quickly consumed so they could begin their day.
No, my life is not normal; it is very abnormal and privileged.  The very fact that I have a camera to take a photo and a laptop with internet access to write this blog, places me in the top minority group in San Simon.
And the truth is, San Simon represents the lifestyle of the majority of people in the world. 
This morning I was reminded of the importance of giving thanks for even the simple things in life.  I am so blessed! 
What are you thankful for today?  Tell someone about it and thank the Lord for it!   

Settling into our new routine!

On Monday we said goodbye to the last of our wedding guests, packed up all our belongings that were still in Coban and left for Chisec.  Before the wedding, we had been going out to Chisec for the week and then spending weekends in Coban doing wedding stuff.  Now, Chisec is our full-time home.  It feels great to be finally settling in. 

A new challenge for us is the poor internet connection.  As I type this, I am sitting outside at a table set up specifically because it is as close to a direct line to the cell tower as we can get here so it is the best possible connection on this property.  Myles, Rocky's brother, was here for the wedding and he kept saying how slow our connection was in Coban (we thought it was pretty fast!).  Man, he would go crazy here.  As I loaded up Blogger, I clicked "open" and then left to go use the washroom.  By the time I returned, the home page was opened.  This is going to take a little getting used to!  I have to say, although, if I am going to wait for the internet connection, I cannot think of a more beautiful place to wait.  The crickets and frogs are going crazy as the sun dips behind the mountains surrounding us.  The sihlouette of the palm trees are backlit by a wonderfully turquoise and orange sunset!  Man, it just doesn't get better than that! 

So, back to the wedding.  We now have a married daughter!  I wish I could say it all "went off without a hitch" but that wouldn't quite be true.  Friday morning, when I went to the flower stall in the market to pick up the flowers we ordered they told me they didn't know anything about our order.  Thank goodness this is Guatemala and there are flowers everywhere.  In about 30 minutes I was able to find all that we needed and more.  There were numerous little glitches like this, but in the end, it was a beautiful ceremony and reception and I think everyone had a good time, including the bride and groom!   

We had 15 guests come from Canada for the event and it was a little like hosting a team in our house.  I cooked the majority of the meals in our little house, and although we didn't have a lot of space, we did get to spend lots of quality time together.  We took them around a bit and showed them some of this beautiful country.

Marshal was able to come, so he took the majority of the photos.  I haven't had the chance to see them all, yet, but the ones I have seen are really beautiful.  Arryn made a radiant bride and Hector, a handsome groom! 

It was fun to watch the two of them during the ceremony, because whenever it was in English, she was translating for him so that he would understand all that was happening. 

The two of them are now living in our little house, as they wanted to stay in Coban until the end of December.  They both got work in the Christian school in Chisec.  Hector is going to be the principal of a K-12 school and Arryn is going to teach English.  We are so excited that they will be close by (about 15 minutes away) and that they were able to both find such good work.  God is so good! 

And, as for us, Chisec is now home and we are settling into our new routines.  Rocky is busy with lots of construction projects here, one of which is building us a little studio apartment.  For now we are living in one of the rooms used to house teams.  We need to be out of there by January, as that is when the team season begins. 

I am spending time in town with Cindy, meeting principals, teachers, and families that we are going to working with.  Today, as we drove through the streets of Chisec, I was once again struck by the intense need in this community.  It is pretty rare to see a block house, most are simply made of rough cut lumber with thatch or tin roofs and dirt floors.  There is no indoor plumbing and access to water is a problem.  What a challenge!

We are so blessed to be here and to be able to be the hands and feet of Christ to these amazing people.  What an honour...what a privilege! 

We stopped by one home and picked up a young man who is just entering grade 8.  Cindy was able to find a sponsor in the US who is willing to pay for him to attend the Christian School in Chisec!  He was so excited.  As we waited on the school property, I listened to Cindy explain to Herman, "I want you to remember that you are a very special young man and that God has a plan and purpose for your life.  Your job is to seek the Lord and study hard.  He will direct you.  You don't need to feel as though you are less that some of the other students who may have more money than you.  Remember, you are all equal in the eyes of the Lord."  How awesome is that!

Thank you for all of your prayers, love and support!  We are so thankful for each one of you and know that we are part of a bigger body of believers reaching out to build the Kingdom, one life at a time!  Muchas gracias y Dios le bendiga!