Using the Library - What Fun!

For the past month I have been spending time at Colegio Galilea teaching the teachers and students about the library.  Right now the library is super tiny, but it is a beginning and some books are better than no books at all.  

As an educator, it was difficult to understand how the students could receive a full and complete education without a library.  I know they can do research on the internet (that is if they have access to a computer and then the internet)…but to hold a book; turn its pages; read its words; look at its pictures; choose what to read and what to pass by…this is a vital part of an education. 

So, today I got to spend an hour with the grade 2 class, teaching them about books in general and then how to use an encyclopedia.  What a joy!  Our task was to “hunt” for an animal in our encyclopaedias.  We had great fun discovering all of the wonderful things that each volume of the encyclopedia contains.  They were so fascinated with all that they saw, it was difficult for them to choose just one thing to focus on. 

By the end of the hour, all the students had completed their assignment, but more importantly, they had discovered how much fun looking through a book can be. 

I hope to have many more opportunities to teach staff and students alike and pray that as the year passes, the library will grow and become a vital part of every student’s education at Colegio Galilea. 

If you share my love for books and reading and would like to contribute to the library, you can do so by either sending books (Spanish) with a group who is coming our way or by giving a financial donation to purchase books here.  Message me and I can give you the details on how to help grow the library.  

Canadian Visitors - The Joy of Fellowship!

Last week we had a first...a couple came to visit us in Guatemala.  They were not on a team and had no agenda apart from spending time with us and seeing into the life we live here.  It was so much fun! David and Eleanor Hawkes have supported us since we left for the mission field over 5 years ago.  When they first emailed saying they wanted to come for a visit, we were surprised, because we are not on the "top 5 destinations for an amazing holiday" list!  But we were on their list, praise the Lord.

We met up with them in Flores, Peten and visited Tikal together.  It was so impressive to see how flexible and easy to please they were.  (For those of you wanting to visit missionaries out in the field, flexibility is a huge gift you can give those who receive you.  No matter how much planning goes into a trip and how much you think you have everything in place, something always goes wrong...or maybe not wrong, but not quite as planned.)

Then we travelled to Chisec - our home base - and spent a few days just doing life with them here.    We had numerous "God appointments" as we visited homes and spent time with the people.

We also visited our property and shared the vision God has given us for the future.

Then we were off to Antigua for a couple of days.  David and Eleanor were not only flexible, but they have quite an adventurous spirit, too.  They were willing to try new foods and new experiences.

It was such an encouragement to us that they would want to visit and that they would trust us with the details.  It was an honour to show them first hand some of the impact they have had in this community simply by supporting us.  We are in this work together with all those who pray for us and support us financially.

If you are thinking about a different kind of vacation...give us a call!






 

Pour Day

For those of you who work in construction (or have spouses who do) you will understand this…pour day. It is the day when you need all hands on deck. You have set forms, tied rebar and snapped lines in preparation for pouring concrete. You have double checked that all safety regulations are being met on site. You have done all your calculations, scheduled the pump truck and communicated with the cement company how much you need, what kind you need and when you need it to arrive on site. I remember many days like that back in Canada. 

And on a day like this in Guatemala, I think of Jon, Peter, Dean, Josh and others whom I have had the opportunity to work alongside pouring  concrete. I draw on those experiences to help me make decisions here on the mission field. Today we poured concrete for the roof of a water tank. This tank will enable the village of Yalicoc to collect water that will sustain them over the dry season. Currently, they hike to a cave during this time to retrieve their water. Those who came on a team in October from Pritchard/Scotch Creek know this cave.

So… we have set forms, tied rebar, and snapped lines in preparation for pouring concrete, but here’s where the picture changes. There are no safety standards to meet and no pump truck to call.  Mission 2 Guatemala has a portable cement mixer we used for the pour, but the rest is all in the hands of the men (and boys) of Yalicoc.  Modesto (the village leader) summons the men of the village by blowing through a conch shell. It takes about ½ hour for everyone to show up. They have prepared a breakfast for the two lead bricklayers and me. We eat during this time of summoning. Fried eggs, onions, tortillas, and coffee of a sort.

They set a platform in place to reach the roof of the tank (not quite up to WCB standards) and begin to arrange themselves as the lead bricklayers shout out orders. They fire up the mixer and away we go. The men are in good spirits and there is a lot of laughter as they move the cement in 5 gallon buckets down the line.

Guatemalan Water Truck

Guatemalan Gravel Truck

Guatemalan Line Pump

It is always a joy to watch this process and I marvel at the way these men find comradery in the act of physically working together. What would take 20 minutes or less with a pump truck in Canada, took about 5 ½ hours here. I would consider this a successful pour. No one was hurt, we didn’t have any blow outs and the job was finished in good time.

I am very thankful to be a part of the work that results from the teams from North America.  They come and invest their time, energy and money into a community and the love of the Lord is expressed to the people by helping to meet a practical need.  What a blessing!   

Back to School!

For us in North America, back to school happens in September but here in Guatemala, January is back to school time.  In October we had a team come from Grand Rapids and pre-pack, assembly line style, back packs of school supplies for public school kids.  Then in November, before leaving for Canada, Rocky and I packed the bags for the sponsor kids who attend Galilea Christian School.  

In January, when Cindy and Eileen arrived, they worked like crazy to make sure all the sponsored kids had their school supplies, uniforms, shoes, etc and were ready to begin the year.  For 2015 we have 38 students attending Galilea!

Then, once all of those students were set up, they got to work on distributing the backpacks to public schools.  Working with the school principals to determine the most needy students, Cindy and Eileen distributed around 190 bags!  What an amazing blessing.  

 Education is something, as North Americans, we take for granted.  But not here.  In Chisec, many school aged kids are not in school because their families simply cannot afford to buy the necessary supplies, shoes and uniforms to send them.  It is an amazing privilege to work on behalf of all of you who have given so generously and enabled these precious little ones to attend school.  

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.