My buddy Edwin who works for the ministry too came by this afternoon. He told me about a family in Chicoy. The father died of an illness very abruptly on Tuesday. The mother was very ill and needed medicine and he had a list of the three medicines. I looked up the stuff and phone … [Read more…]
Today was exciting and tiring and hilarious and heartbreaking and frustrating and inspiring. It was training day for the the 60 stoves that we are going to install in people’s homes. I wrote about this before when we trained in March and installed in July. I was a little frustrated at how slowly the training … [Read more…]
We were invited to attend the graduation ceremonies of the Colegio Blaise Pascal as one of our church members / students was graduating from computer studies. We attended, dutifully. I don’t even remember having desire to attend anyone’s graduation. Ever. Not even my two grads. It was LOUD. Really LOUD. We couldn’t even shout at … [Read more…]
Yesterday Guatemalan went to the polls for a second time to vote for the two candidates in the presidential run-off. No one got more than 50% of the vote in the general election, so the top two candidates campaign for another 6 weeks. The orange guy lost and the green guy won. Speaking with most … [Read more…]
Les turned 52 the other day and our cell group, which includes three of his children, threw him a party. The last short-term mission team of the year (#16) was here so we made it extra Guatemalan for them: Churrascos and Marimbas. We didn’t have firecrackers though. That’s good, because my babies don’t handle those … [Read more…]
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees,who write oppressive statutes,to turn aside the needy from justiceand to rob the poor of my people of their right,that widows may be your spoil,and that you may make the orphans your prey!– Isaiah 10 Thursday night I visited with a couple widows in the small village of Chicoy. This … [Read more…]
Or “Tour de Guatemala.” This is the pre-eminent cycling event of Guatemala and early yesterday morning we got to listen, thanks to a van with huge speakers a block away, to stage four being announced all morning. Once people started gathering on the highway, we decided to see what all the fuss was about. Of … [Read more…]
This is the first time we’ve been in Guatemala for September 15, the date found on Guatemala’s flag commemorating its independence from Spain in 1821. Many people just run around, some carrying torches and blocking traffic for miles. Others play LOUD sirens on BIG speakers all day long as they drive slowly around town and … [Read more…]
Last Friday, after 8 months of school, we officially opened school #3 (though 4 are operating) with a big to-do! I decided that I would film and photograph the event, though no one asked me to. Hey! It was better than sitting in the sun. I actually enjoyed the event quite a bit. The worship … [Read more…]
After an eight year hiatus, Guatemala again has a 1 quetzal bill. People were melting the coins down and selling the metal, so the Gov’t took action. The new bill is a polymer (plastic product). So, in a time when Canada has moved from bills to coins, Guatemala is going the other way. GTQ 1 … [Read more…]