We Bean Drink'n Coffee

check out these coffee locations and links and note Jeff's rating 

10 - Café Barista

 Jeff loves a good cup of coffee!  

As soon as he arrived, we started keeping a record of ratings from all the Guatemalan coffee locations that Jeff would try.

0 - 3.5 Poor

3.6 - 6.9 Good

7.0 - 8. 4 Excellent

8.5 - 10 Superior

 9.5 Casa Palopó

 coffee 

We learned that this Restaurant serves Mike's coffee

from Cross Roads Cafe

 6 Cables X-tremos

Jeff grabbed a cup of coffee just before he and Kathy did zip-lining in Panajachel.  I'm wondering if it was to calm his nerves?  But the coffee wasn't as good as specialty café here in Guatemala.

 8.7 Fernando's Kaffee

We were told to try Fernando's Kaffee in Antigua. The Patio atmosphere was nice.

Then we tried

8.0 McDonald's

Jeff was a little hesitant to stop at McDonald's in Antigua and have a cup of coffee at the very quaint McCafé near the plaza!

 Jeff never did try Starbucks coffee here in Guatemala.

  Jeff and Kathy met our friend Caroline and her husband who have a coffee business right near the Guatemala City airport.  Jeff purchased some bags of  Godoy's , so he will have to rank it himself.  It was fun to watch them roasting the coffee and smell it too.

9.8 & Cafe

 Just as Jeff and Kathy were leaving, we had him try the coffee shop upstairs at the Guatemala City Airport, & Café.

 6.9 Pilandros Café

 Glenn served Jeff coffee from Jope coffee (medium and dark roast) (7.9) and Cafe Altura   (8) here at our house.  His least favorite was Pilandros cafe which is a coffee shop and a candle making location too.  We understand that scents from candles just don't mix with coffee.

8 El Cafetalito

Jeff's first cup of coffee here in Guatemala was at El Cafetalito. He was impressed even though he was drinking out of a "to go" cup.

What is your favorite Guatemalan coffee?

~J

Long Time Bolivia Friends

Jeff and Kathy came to visit us recently for 10 days.  We had a blast!  It was also fun to re-connect with some old friends too, even though we were in Guatemala - we made some connections.

Marj served in Peru for many many years with South America Mission.  Now she is retired and lives with her daughter here in Guatemala.  We enjoyed going over to visit her and recalling precious days when she worked in Peru.

Jordan grew up as a missionary kid in Bolivia and now he serves here in Guatemala with his wife and 2 kids.

Tom and Mariellyn served in Bolivia for many years and now serve here in Guatemala.  They worked at SCCLC, the missionary kid's school where our kids attended, and Mariellyn was Ellen's kindergarten teacher.
~J 

Blog Away

A friend asked me the other day "Are you still alive?  I haven't seen blog posts from you recently."

Yes, I'm still alive but I haven't blogged in several weeks, however that my goal to get back on track in the next few days.  As a matter of fact, we are in Guatemala.  We've just been busy with ministry and life.  We've done some traveling to Panajachel and here in the city.  We've been blessed to have good friends, Jeff and Kathy here for a short visit. 

In the next few "posts", I will be writing about some of the ministry we shared with Jeff and Kathy.

~Judy

Rains in Panajachel, Guatemala

Rain, Rain and more Rain

We arrived here in Panajachel on Monday night, having come the "back way" because the main road from Sololá to Panajachel was washed out.  Fog, potholes, landslides and rain made the back road challenging and scarey at times.

Yesterday, we ate breakfast at Casa Del Mundo (notice how high the water is...over 18 feet higher than normal).  Delicious!  Then we had lunch with the Foote family. What a sweet family. 

We had to introduce Jeff and Kathy to Mike at CrossRoads Café in Panajachel.  Jeff loves Coffee, so this was special. The coffee was only "outdone" by the entertainment. :)

All day today it CONTINUED to rain.  We have had a fire going in the fireplace.  We hear dynamite blasts off in the distance where they're working on reconstructing the road between Sololá and Panajachel.

We don't know what the road conditions will be like tomorrow, but hopefully, we'll be able to get out.

To view more videos about the recent rains in Guatemala, check out YouTube.

~J

Our Friend, Jesse

Jesse is Number 4 out of 11 children. 

His mom and I attended Moody Bible Institute together back in the 70's.  Over the past 30+ years, we would run into Jesse's family either in their beach home in Florida, cabin in Wisconsin, Founder's Week and Moody Alumni Reunions in Chicago.

Back in the summer, Jesse came to Guatemala for a 3 month visit to do various things, such as reflect, study the Word, study Spanish and learn the culture.  When he arrived, we introduced him to several dear friends in Antigua.  We loaned him a cell phone that had recently been donated to us. (Thanks Richmonds!).  We didn't see much of him during his 3 month stay.

Just a couple of days before Jesse returned home, we hosted him in our home.  He was able to help Glenn set up 2 computer monitors down in his office.  We showed him different ministries here in Guatemala, such as Casita Benjamín, SETECA, TGN and even gave him a "birds eye view" of the city dump.

And we served him our traditional Bolivian Monday night dinner - Beans and Rice!

~J

Photo taken in 2009 at MBI Founder's Week.

7 of the 11 kids.  Anybody else know them?
~J

Cheezy Chower

 If you have these ingredients, you can make a delicious soup!

I cut the recipe out of an old 1980's Good Housekeeping magazine during our first year of marriage.  We love it.  I have served it many times to my family.  It is easy to make, quick and simple. It is delightful for a rainy day.

1 Chicken Bouillon cube

1 1/2 cups boiling water

2 cups chopped potatoes

1 10oz pkg frozen mixed vegetables

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 can Cream style corn

1 8oz. jar of Cheez Wiz or 1/2 lg box of Velveeta cheese

1/2 cup of milk

Dissolve bouillon cube in hot water;

Add potatoes, milk, vegetables and onions.

Cover, simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked

Stir in remaining ingredients;

Heat until cheese is melted and chowder is hot

Makes 6, 1 cup servings.

~J

Hang On for Dear Life

This is a normal occurrence.  Small mini-van/buses that are full of passengers, even have some passengers hanging on for dear life.

We were literally going 70 kilometers (42 miles) an hour.

This young fellow collects the fares as folks get off the vehicle.  He might try to get inside if there is room and if the driver stops long enough.

That is one way to travel.

~J

Junk or Treasure

 

One Man's Junk is another Man's Treasure

Earlier this week Glenn and I were driving in Zone 3 near the Guatemala City Dump and I couldn't help but notice the trash that was gathered on the street.

These guys were literally stripping the car apart, salvaging any possible part to re-sell.

"Junk is stuff you throw away, stuff is junk you keep."

In this case they scavenge for everything.

~J

Ruinas De Iximché

Boy and girl near the Iximché ruins

The Sandwich Years

They call it the  

Sandwich years.

I can tell you that we are a living example of the "sandwich years".  On one side we are experiencing new birth, new life, new beginnings as we are blessed with our new, little grandson David.

And on the other side, we are experiencing moments with my parents, known to so many as GrandMommy and GrandDaddy, as we watch them experience the changes that necessarily come with older age, known in Latin America as the "tercera edad".  Recently we have noticed that GrandMommy is having difficulty with her memory.  Although the doctors have not given her condition a name, they have prescribed some medication.  

Mom and Dad still hold hands while walking into church.  They continue to be a blessing to many many people.

We love GrandMommy!

I cherish the moments I have with my parents.  I value their wisdom and example that they have shared with us kids for so many years.

Do pray for Glenn and me as we balance our ministry and life with our adult children and now as we seek to be more available to my parents in more tangible ways. (as needed)

We are right smack
in the middle
of a
sandwich...

~Judy

My Favorite Home-Cooked Meal

What's my favorite meals my mom prepares?

This was BREAKFAST....

Biscuits and Gravy - doesn't get any better than this!

 

D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S

And Supper

 was all vegetables

purple hull peas

new potatoes

fried okra

purple onions

slices of tomatoes

hot cornbread

and 

cantaloupe*

mmm, mmm ,mmm, mmm, mmmmmmm 

When I get hungry for home-cooked meals by my mother, I just go to these recent photos and my mouth begins to water.

*(of course with salt and pepper)

Does anybody else like only vegetables for a meal?

~J

4 Countries in 18 hours

Just show my adventurous spirit, we followed through with a decision to take the bus from Managua, Nicaragua back home to Guatemala City, Guatemala.

The bus left at 3am and arrived on the east side of Guatemala City at 9pm that night.
18 hours.
Yes, we are crazy.

But we have done worse things. How about the 36 hours from Arica, Chile down through the Atacama desert to Santiago, Chile, in 1994 with the Orcutts and Boerckels. Or, how about the 48 hour bus ride from Corumbá, Brazil to San Paulo, Brazil back in 1988 as a family?

We were in

Nicaragua

Honduras

El Salvador

and then Guatemala

 The best part of the 18 hour trip, was the last 4 hours from El Salvador into Guatemala where the bus had free WiFi. I turned on my GPS and could see the road map, and we also made several Skype calls to friends.

We prayed for uneventful travels and border crossings and we were blessed by both and the added bonus of traveling on the front row of the double-decker bus.  Thank you Lord.


~J

Future Dallas Cowboys Player

While visiting little David, we couldn't resist lavishing some Dallas Cowboys items on him to remind him of
"America's team".

 

I love the Dallas Cowboy pacifier!


Sunday night football against the New York Jets, the Cowboys were not looking too good.  David's first NFL game was a disappointment! 

~J
(aka Grammie)

In My Seat

Yesterday, September 11, we did not have the TV on. We did not see any of the video footage.

However, late last night, I came across this you tube video. I cried.  It is a little long, but worth the watch.

I was aware of the 10 anniversary of that riveting day. I remember that day so well, as I watched in honor on TV as the planes flew into the World Trade Towers and then the buildings tumbling down. I was glued to the TV for several days grieving the loss of life, the uncertainty of the future and the realization that life was going to be different from now on.

~J