Home in Guatemala Once Again!

It seems we live between two worlds - our home in Canada and our home in Guatemala.  I am not speaking of the building called a home but rather our hearts. We spent just over 2 months in Canada and were so amazingly blessed to be able to share time with family and friends.  All 4 of our kids and our 3 son-in-laws were together for Christmas!  Being that none of them live in the same city, or province, or country, for that matter, it was a  real miracle.  We stayed with my parents when in Kamloops and my mother-in-law when in Chilliwack, we got to spend good, quality time with them and extended family, too.  In addition, we were able to connect with many friends for coffee or al meal.  Overall, we had a wonderful time.
But, I have to say, as we got ready to travel home (to our Guatemalan home), I started to get excited.  It did take a full day to rid the house of mold and mildew - one of the joys of tropical living - but to comfortably work in shorts and a tank top was a nice change!
Last night our pastor from the little church we attend in Chisec called to see if we'd be in church this morning and we are excited to see everyone again.  We are also really looking forward to catching up with Manny and Cindy later this afternoon. January is  a super busy month for the ministry work because the new school year starts in January and this year we have even more kids involved in the education project, so more supplies, shoes and uniforms to distribute.
The work that the Lord has called us to here is a huge blessing in our lives.  We really do count it an honour and a privilege to be here, in Guatemala, serving the Lord and the beautiful Kekchi people. The team M2G had booked for early February cancelled, so we are able to really focus on getting started on developing the new property.  As Rocky works on the infrastructure for the land - water, road, septic system, and electricity - I will see how the education project started up and find out how I can help to ensure all our kids are settled in and all the supplies have been given out.
Our Guatemalan Residency has come through, so we need to make another trip to the capital city to do the final paperwork and then we will no longer be bound to the 3 month tourist visa.  The final papers for our property have also come through so we will be completing that transaction and filing our papers with the Municipality.
I will also be doing some in-service with the staff at Galilea and officially open the library for staff and students.  I still have some books to catalogue for the Spanish library as well as the teacher resource library and English library to get up and running.
We will be continuing the process of registering our own Canadian Charity as well. Receiving Canadian teams last year was a bit of a hassle, so it became clear we needed to take this step to better accommodate the teams coming from Canada.  We already have our name - COMPELLING LOVE MINISTRIES - and our board of directors - Lawrence and Pat Lepp, Myles and Karen Chupa, Harald and Leeanne Bartel - and our constitution and bylaws are in the hands of the government at this point.
In February, David and Elenor Hawkes, faithful supporters, are coming for a visit.  We are so excited to show them around this beautiful country and share with them, first hand, the work we are involved in.
So, as you can see we certainly will have many things to keep us busy!  But, it isn't about being busy for busy sake.  It is about giving ourselves away and investing in the Kingdom. For you, that may mean taking the time to have coffee with your neighbour or helping to shovel the snow off of their driveway, or maybe it means visiting a shut in or taking the time to minister to those with dementia in a care facility or volunteering in the hospital.  For us, we happen to have "our work" in Guatemala, but the truth is, we all have "our work" laid out before us.
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died.  And he died for all , that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again...We are therefore Christ's ambassadors...!  2 Cor 5:14, 15, 20.
Blessings,
Rocky & Karren
Compelling Love Ministries
CTEN Canada
    

Merry Christmas!

Well, we have been in Canada now for just over a month and we have thoroughly enjoyed our time so far.  It has been a huge blessing to share this adventure with our son-in-law, Hector.  We know it has been a very interesting experience for him!
This week marks the beginning of our Christmas celebrations.  Today we are off to Harper to go tubing with my side of the family and then later will go to my sister's for appies and games.  Tomorrow we are having the Duerksen family Christmas at my parent's place and will have all of our family in one location for the first time in years!
Then on the 24th we are off to Kelowna to have Christmas with our kids at our daughter and son-in-law's house (Alex and Alan).  Our family has grown from 4 to 7 over the past year and a half, and we are looking forward to hanging out with our kids!
On the 26th we will head out to Chilliwack for the Chupa/Teschke family Christmas!
So, lots of celebrating to enjoy this week and I am sure lots of good food, too!
Yesterday at church, our pastor spoke about "what are you bringing to the table?"  It was a message that really spoke to me.  I have an amazing opportunity during what can be a crazy, stressful, busy time.  I have the opportunity to bring peace, joy, and love to the table.  I can choose not to worry about the little things that really don't matter and simply enjoy time with family celebrating our Saviour's birth.
This is what Christmas is all about - relationships!  God sent His Son to be in relationship with us; to restore our relationship with Him; to give us fellowship with one another.
So, along with the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, bring love to the table and have a very Merry Christmas!

The Great White North

 Well they don't call it the "Great White North" for nothing!  This is truly a beautiful land.  We are in Grand Prairie for one more night and then are heading to Edmonton tomorrow.

We have been blessed with mild weather and amazing roads...Praise the Lord...so our driving times have been relaxing (at least for me - the passenger!).

We had the opportunity to share at Brent and Robbie King's church last night and will share again this evening in their home.  It is always such a delight to talk and share with other like-minded people.

Tomorrow morning we will leave early for Edmonton and have a couple of nights with Hope and Josh.  We are excited to see where they have set up house and spend a bit of time with them on their turf.

After that we will stop for a night in Calgary and re-connect with Glen and Carol Switzer - the couple that set us up on a blind date!

Then it's back to Kamloops, where we'll stay put for a little while.  

The Adventure Continues!

We have had a busy, but very fulfilling three weeks in Canada so far.  We have had the time to see family and friends and get caught up. We have also been blessed with many speaking opportunities (Bible Truth Church, Kamloops Christian School chapel, KCS Staff devotional, Pritchard Community Church, Pritchard/Scotch Creek Guatemala Team dessert night, one of the Alliance Church Senior Care Group's Christmas pot luck, and Highroad Academy Primary, Intermediate and High School chapels).  It is such a joy to share what we are learning as we journey along with the Lord as well as share the vision for the future that He has given us.  

This morning we left Chilliwack for our "Northern Loop" adventure.  We are visiting Williams Lake, Prince George, Grand Prairie, Edmonton and Calgary.  I am so thankful for the vehicle that we have and that Rocky loves to drive, regardless of the conditions.  That frees me up to just be a passenger and enjoy the amazing scenery along the way.  

As you begin to get geared up for the Christmas Season, I pray you will be able to sit back, relax and soak in the presence of the Lord.  I also pray that you will have time with those you love and hold dear and will be able to share the joy that is within you with others who may find this season a challenging time.  

The Lord willing, we will be back in Kamloops on Saturday, December 13th and will be in Kamloops until Christmas Eve.  We look forward to more "connecting" and "sharing!" 

If you want to connect with us, you can do any one (or all) of the following:

text us at:  250-574-7611; call or text us at 250-320-8443; email us at rockiechupa@yahoo.ca or karrenchupa@hotmail.ca; or message us on facebook.   

Blessings,

Karren & Rocky

It's going to be a white Christmas!

Well, we’ve been in Canada for a week already.  I am amazed at how quickly time has flown by.  Rocky’s brother, Myles, picked us up at the airport and we spent a few days with family in Chilliwack.  Then we were off to Kelowna to see our daughter and son-in-law, Alex and Alan.  They bought a house last spring and it was neat to see all the work they’ve done since moving in.  After a couple of days there, we made our way to my parent’s place in Kamloops, where we are now. 

After a long and somewhat stressful process, Hector did receive a visa to visit Canada and he and Arryn (Lizzy) arrived in Vancouver on the 22^nd.  They are currently in Kelowna, but will be arriving in Kamloops tomorrow.  We are so excited for Hector to meet family and friends and to share this beautiful province with him.  This Christmas we will have all 7 of our kids together!  We know this will probably not happen again for a long time. 

Last night we had the opportunity to share at Bible Truth church and it was a wonderful time of celebrating missions and what the Lord is doing around the world.  It is such a blessing to be able to share with others what we have been learning and doing, and to talk about the vision that the Lord has given us for the future.    

I thought some of you may like to know what our schedule looks likes while we are in Canada. 

November 15^th – arrived in Vancouver

November 16^th – 18^th – Chilliwack

November 18^th – 20^th – Kelowna

November 20^th – December 2^nd – Kamloops

·         November 23^rd – Bible Truth

·         November  26^th – Kamloops Christian School High School Chapel

·         November 27^th – Kamloops Christian School Staff Devotional

·         November 29^th – Pritchard Dessert Night

·         November 30^th – Pritchard Community Church

·         December 1^st – Kamloops Alliance Church Senior’s Cell Group

December 2^nd – December 6^th – Chilliwack

·         December 2^nd – Highroad Academy Primary Chapel

·         December 2^nd – Highroad Guatemala Team Pot Luck

·         December 3^rd – Highroad Academy Intermediate Chapel

·         December 5^th -  Highroad Academy High School Chapel

December 6^th – December 13^th – the Northern Loop

·         Williams Lake (6^th)

·         Prince George (7^th)

·         Grand Prairie (8^th, 9^th)

·         Edmonton (10^th, 11^th)

·         Calgary (12^th, 13^th)

December 13^th – 24^th – Kamloops

·         December 16^th – 18^th Sun Peaks

·         December 22^nd – 23^rd Christmas with Duerksen family

December 24^th – 26^th – Kelowna

·         Christmas at Alex’s with all 7 kids!

December 26^th – 29^th (31^st?)– Chilliwack

·         December 27^th – Christmas with Chupa/Teschke family

·         Arryn and Hector fly back to Guatemala on the 31^st 

January 1^st – 19^th  – Kamloops

·         January 18^th – Scotch Creek Church

January 19^th – 22^nd – Chilliwack

·         January 22^nd – fly back to Guatemala

We are really hoping to connect with as many of you as possible.  If you see that we are in your area and we would like to go for coffee, please call us at 250-320-8443 or 250-377-6996 or message us on facebook. 

Blessings!    

Home for Christmas!

We arrived in the capital this afternoon and are flying out for Canada in the morning.  It feels like it has been a long time since we've been home, but it has only been 5 1/2 months.  As Rocky and I were driving today, we were talking and realized our last trip in May was a real whirlwind.  We were in Canada for only 2 weeks and during that time, we moved all our possessions to storage, had a garaged sale, re-roofed the house and our youngest daughter, Hope, got married.  We were hardly able to connect with family, let alone spend time with anyone else.  The one Sunday we were home and went to church, we were an hour late - they had changed the evening service time and we arrived just in time for the alter call!  Oops!
This trip is going to be different.  We are "home" for 9 weeks!  We do have a speaking schedule and some travelling/visiting that we are going to do, but we have 9 weeks to do it in.
We are super excited that our son-in-law, Hector, was able to get a visa and he and Arryn will be joining the rest of the gang for Christmas. We are really looking forward to hanging out with family and reconnecting with friends.
As we won't have a cell phone while in Canada, if you want to get together, please call us at my parent's place 250-377-6996, send me an email, or message me on facebook.

Today I remembered...

This morning we attended church, as usual.  After a wonderful time of praise and worship we shared in communion and as I was looking at those serving, I remembered a word that was spoken over me about 2 1/2 years ago.
In a church in Coban, the worship leader came to me after a service and said as we were worshipping  she saw a picture of me ministering to women in white guipils (the traditional tops worn here by women).  I received the word, but had long forgotten...until this morning.
As I looked to the front, the 6 women helping with serving communion were all wearing white guipils and the word from 2 1/2 years ago came flooding back.  There was a moment of confirmation from the Lord - I am where I am supposed to be!
How cool is that!