The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round, and Round!

 This was our bus in 2011 - I hope it will be the same type on Tuesday!

Prayer Needed

This morning, September 3, we are taking our 2 year old grandson on an 18 hour bus ride.  Just call us crazy!  We have to be at the bus station by 3am, as it leaves by 4am and is supposed to arrive at 9pm into Guatemala City.  This will be a long day.  We have to cross into 2 countries before finally reaching Guatemala.  The stops will be

• Nicaragua/Honduras border
• Honduras/El Salvador border
• El Salvador/Guatemala border

All in all, it will be a good 18 hours (hopefully not any longer) leaving Managua, Nicaragua, changing buses in San Salvador, El Salvador to continue on to Guatemala City, Guatemala.  We have a lap top with us, and we're borrowing plenty of Veggie Tales and Thomas the Train videos for David to watch.

As the crow flies, it is 470 miles between Managua, Nicaragua and Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Pray for a 

• well behaved toddler
• smooth border crossings (we have legal documents signed by Ellen and Luke to give us permission to travel with our grandson).
• Dry underwear.  We started potty-training David several days ago, and he is doing great.  Sure hope the on board bathrooms are decent.

~J

A Cut Above the Rest

This time we took David to Donald's for a haircut.  It is located in MetroCentro Mall.  We were disappointed that there wasn't a barber shop for kids in the Galerías Mall.

 Getting started with his haircut!

Notice the guys in the background.  They were not standing outside the window to watch David get his hair cut, rather to watch the fútbol game (soccer) that was being shown in the Barber Shop.  They have their priorities right.

Grand Dad helping keep David's head still.

Aww, all clean cut and ready to...  

... go and play.

 ~Grammie

You Never Know

On our layover earlier last week, Glenn and I found out via FB, that Beverly would be in Miami helping her parents obtain their visas.  We conveniently met at a local Wendy's for lunch.  We talked a mile a minute and got caught up on each of our families.

Thank you FaceBook for keeping me connected with friends from long ago.

Signs of the Times

I have taken photos of signs from time to time.  Obviously, we are in the mountains and the road has many winding sections to it.

You don't need a sign here to tell you to watch out for land slides.

I liked the article about 25 Hilarious Signs from Around the World.  Click on the link.  Enjoy a good laugh.

~J

Bear Each Other's Burdens

 

This is a story about the suitcase that was amazingly recovered after having been lost. 

On their layover in Mexico City, the Herringtons had to claim their luggage and then check it back in for their next flight to Guatemala.  All seemed to work well except one carry on bag was accidentally left with the checked bags (BUT IT DID NOT HAVE A CHECKED BAGGAGE TAG).  The Herringtons realized this once they got on the plane.  They were instructed to call AeroMexico and explain. 

When we picked them up from the Guatemala City airport upon their return and after hearing this story, I thought to myself, "Well, kiss that baby goodbye!"  But lo and behold, they got a call from AeroMexico and the bag was found and was shipped to GUA.  I couldn't believe it.  But now they needed John's passport and a letter from him describing the bag and the contents.  He lives 3 hours away.  Glenn was able to get digital copies of what AeroMexico was requesting. Although we were at an all day seminar Saturday, on Glenn's lunch break, he drove to the airport and picked up the suitcase.

We all have baggage and sometimes get "lost" along the way.

It is good to know that that we need others to help us out and vice versa.

"Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." NIV

Tantalizing Tradition

It started back when we were missionaries in Bolivia with our growing family.  As someone from our missionary community would get a "new" or at least newer vehicle, we would take them to the local ice cream shop, normally Karina's or our version of the drive thru Dairy Queen by Plaza Placú. The key is that they give us a ride in their new vehicle.

Glenn and I are still living that tradition.  Several nights ago, we went with the Makidon family to POPS Ice Cream to celebrate their new purchase of an SUV.

Looks like we'll go again next when when they get their 2nd vehicle.

I love tradition.  Especially when it involves something sweet and delicious.  Ice Cream

Psalm 103

 Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.  And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases;

Who redeems your life from the pit;
Who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

Amen!

Juicy Fruit Stand

Along the coastal road heading back to Guatemala City, there are fruit stands that serve the most delicious pineapple.  We stopped. The lady cut the pineapple up for us and served the pieces to us in a plastic bag.  As Sheila said, "The work is getting the pineapple cut up!"

Bananas anyone?

Sugar Cane

Fruit Stand

Where is Waldo? {I Mean Glenn}

I found Glenn at Auto Zone

And at a Home Depot

And finally at a Walmart,

all in Mexico

It was interesting to walk into an Auto Zone and Home Depot.

We only have Walmart stores in Guatemala. 

Over the weekend, we drove the Tarwater family to the Guatemala/Mexico border for them to renew their 90 day tourist visas.

One Shoe On and One Shoe Off

You know with 8 children, you are bound to loose something.  At least we didn't loose any children.

I casually yelled back to the kids in the van and said, "Now, put your shoes on, we'll be stopping in 5 minutes to grab a bite to eat."  Then to my surprise, John Mark said, "I can't find one of my tennis shoes!"  He had it on earlier in the morning and had walked to the van.  We hadn't gotten out of the van since all the kids had piled in one by one.  Where could the shoe have gone?  Surely it was just stuck under the seat, or was shoved off to the corner.  We scoured the van.  It was not there.

We figured that it might have fallen out when a police officer opened up the van door to see who was in the van at the Guatemala/Mexico border. With all the commotion, that was probably when the tennis shoe fell out.

So, someone along the Mexico/Guatemala border there is probably someone who found a tennis shoe and is looking for a matching one.  Meanwhile, there is one large family here in the city that has one less matching pair of tennis shoes.

There was a young lady who lived in Guatemala,

She had so many shoes, she did not know what to do.

Deuteronomy 5:33

You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

New Cachiquel Families

What is a trip to the lake, without going to Nancy's shop and checking out the local clothing store?

Tarwater family

Makidon family

And how about some zip-lining?

Our 3 day long weekend was filled with

• Hot meat loaf, mashed potatoes and homemade bread
• Zip-lining adventure, "Cables Extremos"
• Walking up/down Santander
• Getting dressed up at Nancy's shop
• A private boat ride back to Panajachel
• Orientation on roads, culture, customs, and missionary history here in Guatemala
• visiting the Centennial Camp
• Quick Potty Stop in Xela to visit the Lastrapes and Julie R
• Half Day at the Xocomil Water Park
• Several stops along the winding road because of sick kiddos
• Overnight in Mexico to renew 10 passports
• Visiting an Auto Zone, Walmart and Home Depot in Tapachula, Mexico
• Thankfulness for prayers offered up on our behalf as we drove long hours on pot-hole strewn highways
• Only had to stop once for road repair and once for a bicycle race

We are thankful for the time of bonding with the Makidons and Tarwaters as we fit into 2 cars for most of the 650+ kilometer trip. 

~J

Jesus Loves the Little Children

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world; Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in his sight; Jesus loves the little children of the world.
 

Guatemalan Doll

 We were stopped for road construction between Centennial Camp and Quetzaltenango.  Venders would walk by selling us anything from cell phone chargers to Japanese peanuts to pirated CDs.  

I bought this Guatemalan doll for my grand daughter, Emily.  I bought one for myself 40 years ago as a high school student visiting Guatemala.  That doll is in my blue trunk at my parents' house in Dallas.

International Space Station

Sunday afternoon, I just happened to check my ISS app, and noticed that the International Space Station was flying right over head like in 20 minutes.  The sun was setting, and it was perfect timing to go out on the patio and watch the "star" scream across the horizon.

In Guatemala!

Have you ever seen the Space Station over head?  Back in 1995, our family was visiting with an old college roommate of Glenn's in the DFW area, and we went outside to watch the Space Station and the Russian Mir fly overhead just miles apart from each other.  Cool.

Psalms 104:14

You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth.

Psalms 104:14 

While driving on the "back road" from Panajachel to Patzun, we captured these shots of the hills yielding their crops,

literally on the side of the mountain.

And yes, it's true, Guatemalan farmers have "fallen out" of their corn fields and have died.

Part 3 of 3 Friends' Visit

A visit to Casita Benjamín

A visit to the cemetery and city dump

The wind was blowing from the North and the smell was terrible.  After the recent rains, the garbage smell was overwhelming.

It was quite a contrast for our friends to experience POVERTY (City Dump/Cemetery/Casita) and then WEALTH (Media Cancha), as we took them to eat at our favorite steak restaurant and then to show them the aquarium at the Oakland Mall.  These are only just a few miles apart.

Silly Samantha Fish, the girl with gills.

The week ended with Glenn picking up 4 of the 8 Tarwater kids to play Monopoly (in Spanish) with Samantha.

{courtesy of Barbara R}

The evening ended when Glenn joined in and gave lessons on Mexican (Guatemalan) Train game with the kids and a set of 15 dominos.