It is What it Is

I'm reminded that 
"it is What it is...
but it will become what I make it"

CAG Graduation

Saturday, we attended the High School Graduation for Jonathan.  Born in El Salvador, adopted by American missionaries and then he came with his family over to Guatemala 9 years ago, Jonathan completed his Senior Year at CAG.

We are super proud of Jonathan.  His full name is Jonathan David.  A fitting name for this gentle giant. We are all excited for you, Jonathan!! Way to go:)

Have You Met Melvin?

Glenn recently connected with Melvin at SETECA.  Melvin and his family works in Rio Hondo/Estanzuela, on the road to the Caribbean coast.  

Each summer, an army of folks from Northwest Bible Church in Dallas, converges on the community and shares the love of Christ with the children, teens and adults in this tropical area.

Glenn has been able to secure some biblical materials, tracts, biographies and Bibles at a reduced cost and then he has been able to pass them along to Melvin to use in that ministry.

We look forward to reconnecting with Melvin and the group from NBC (the church where we got married 36.5 years ago) in a few weeks towards the end of June.  Although we will not be directly involved in the day-to-day ministry of the Campamento, we will be able to help with some transportation logistics on the last day to help folks get up to Antigua, do some sight seeing and get back to the hotel before they head back home the next day.

747 plane

Its not every day a 747 lands at the GUA city airport.  When the airplane was taxiing on the tarmac, the traffic stopped for people to see this big bird. We were all curious where it came from, what it was carrying and who might be on the plane.

One school bus stopped, let the kids out to poke their nose through the chain link fence and watch this humongous plane.

As one of my favorite quotes goes, 

"Where there is a will there is a RunWay."

From the Heart

The other day, I called up Gail.  I said, "Gail, I have some new stamps!  Come over and we can chat and make some cards."  Sure enough, Gail took me up on the offer.  She dropped Lydia off for some math tutoring, and then came on over.

We had about 2 hours to ourselves. 

 We stamped.  

We laughed.  

We giggled.  

We enjoyed catching up on our families.  Now, where is so and so these days?  How many grandchildren do you have now?  We talked about how our lives have changed these past 10 years here in Guatemala.  Becoming "empty nesters" to grandparents.  We smiled as we shared "grandchildren stories".

Gail was a great encouragement to me as we sat in my craft room and shared our lives together.  Thank you, Gail, for your example of love, hospitality and your kind friendship.

Gail shared from her Heart.

Gail even taught me a new technique where I could put the "Bible Verse" down at the bottom of the card, instead of in the middle or at the top.  Wow!  Thanks! Always learning.

Baccalaureate Service

Saturday afternoon, Glenn and I attended the annual Baccalaureate service for those teens who are graduating from the missionary kid school here in Guatemala.  Has it been 9 years since Gary participated as a Senior from CAG?

We are so proud of Jonathan.  We look forward to seeing how God will continue to work in his life as he continues follows God through the next years.

Congratulations, Jonathan!!  We are all proud of you.  Your grandparents and family are proud of you, too.  Congratulations, Ruth and Paul, for seeing your youngest grandchild through this important step in his life.

Missionaries are Real People

We have an author in the family. 

Ellen recently wrote a book entitled, Missionaries Are Real People  She published the book through Amazon.  So, for now, you can download it to any electronic device.  Click on the above link.

Glenn and I read the book with great anticipation to understand how Ellen has processed her life as a  missionary kid, what she has learned from her adventures of going to the mission field as a missionary single gal and what advice and counsel she might offer both missionaries and sending agencies through her more recent experiences as a missionary wife and mother.

Additional information: 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a missionary or a missionary kid? How can you grow in your understanding of some of the every day struggles that missionaries face? Whether you are currently a missionary, are preparing to go to the mission field for the first time or whether you are one of those special people who support missionaries through your friendship, prayers and gifts, you will find this insightful book helpful in suggesting some specific ways to survive, adjust, empathize and encourage.

{photo: Courtesy of Ellen R}

Thank you, Ellen, 
for sharing
  your life, 
your insights,
 your frustrations
  and
 challenges
  as well as your joys that you have found living on the mission field.  

As you turn the pages to open the next chapter of your life, may you continue to share, learn and enjoy as you experience God's love and delight in you.

I love you Ellen.

Mom