New Every Morning

It's amazing the wonders that become dull. We've been here almost three months now. I remember the first day I took in our view over the mountains, and suddenly, I couldn't breathe as well. And now, after day after day of seeing the same amazing landscape, it's a good day if I pause at the bottom of our steps to look off the balcony. How can that become boring?
I can look at it, and conscientiously decide that it's beautiful; I know that it's beautiful. But why does my heart no longer beat faster when I look at it?

Any time we leave the compound, we are bombarded with images that three months ago were completely new. Now, they are part of the routine, lost in the goal of whatever we're out to do. Why do we become used to things? Why are we so fickle? Things lose their lustre so quickly.

Be wary of newness. It is exciting, and new things can be very good. Adventure is very good. But let not your joy be in the novelty. It will soon wear away. Rather, enjoy God in the newness. Experience God in the newness. And as the newness fades, say with Jeremiah, "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

We need to experience the new. How else can we grasp the sustained newness of God's mercy? The mountains outside my window will not be new tomorrow, but my joy in knowing, seeing, and tasting God will be fresh and vital.

Beams of Glory

I have come realize that I am overwhelmed with blessings everyday here at La Senda. John Piper and C.S. Lewis helped me to understand these blessings more clearly tonight. Although this is long, listen to what they have to say.

C.S. Lewis writes:

"I was standing today in the dark toolshed. The sun was shining outside and through the crack at the top of the door there came a sunbeam. From where I stood that beam of light, with the specks of dust floating in it, was the most striking thing in the place. Everything else was almost pitch-black. I was seeing the beam, not seeing things by it.

Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my eyes. Instantly the whole previous picture vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no beam. Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny at the top of the door, green leaves moving on the branches of a tree outside and beyond that, ninety-odd million miles away, the sun. Looking along the beam, and looking at the beam are very different experiences."

Piper concludes:

"The sunbeams of blessing in our lives are bright in and of themselves. They also give light to the ground where we walk. But there is a higher purpose for these blessings. God means for us to do more than stand outside them and admire them for what they are. Even more, he means for us to walk into them and see the sun from which they come. If the beams are beautiful, the sun is even more beautiful. God's aim is not that we merely admire his gifts, but even more, his glory."

Wow. This was convicting and eye-opening for me. So many times, when I actually recognize a gift from God, I simply thank him and enjoy the gift. Oh, how I am missing the point!

Here in Guatemala, I wake up every morning to the beauty of the sun over the mountains. I get to see Steven's smiling face everyday. Marili tells me many times a week, "Te quiero mucho" (I love you so much). Dave and I get to teach eight kids about the Bible everyday in devotions. I get to cook dinner for five kids about twice a month. I pray with my first hour class every morning. And these are only a few!

More than these, I get to see and experience everyday first-hand the command from James "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Twenty-one abused, nelgected and abandoned children are cared for, loved and most importantly taught about Jesus and I get to know them and know the people God has chosen to care for them!

I could easily choose to stand on the outside and only see these blessings. But, that is not what God has intended. He wants me to stand in the beam, look back to its source, and say, "God you are so great and worthy of all glory and honor! You are even greater than all of these things!"

Midpoint

We're right about at the midpoint of our time in Guatemala. It brings a mix emotions--even contradictory emotions. I can't believe it's already been two months. It sounds so much longer than it has felt. At the same time, I can't believe we have two more months until we get to see family and friends. Our moments of homesickness are coming much more often. In a random moment, I'll be struck with some little experience I can't wait for, like Fall. How stupid is that? I'm very much a Summer person. I've always complained about Winter, and I secretly want to punch people that say, "But aren't you glad you get to experience the seasons?" We've been here since February; we haven't even missed a Fall! But for some reason I can't wait.

Last week was Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Spring Break, and it was a nice halfway point. It was good to simply have a break, and my parents were also here. We spent a couple days in La Antigua, and a couple days here. It was so good to be with them. We had a blast showing them around and sharing some of our experiences with them (like riding in a chicken bus). It was great, too, to see them with the kids. They are fantastic parents, and it was fun to see them interact with the kids. It made me so thankful for them. I had almost forgotten how lucky I am to have such great parents. You would think that would be hard to do while helping in an orphanage, but such a man am I.

After my parents left, I had some time to reflect and look forward. We're so thankful for our first two months' worth of experience. We've been able to do things I've never imagined. For instance, I never thought I'd be able to read Jungle Book to a Guatemalan six-year-old taking a bath. I never thought I'd pray on a dark, quiet cliff while looking at a well lit city two miles in the distance on a nearby mountain. I never thought I would ride three-to-a-seat on a school bus again...with two grown Guatemalan men. I look back and think about how rich our experiences have been, and it makes me anxious for the next two months. We're refreshed and renewed.

Grande es tu Fidelidad

There is something about singing to God in another language that is amazing. I have been thinking about this for a while but couldn't completely understand how I was feeling. We have been to a Spanish and English speaking church as well as a Spanish speaking church during our time here. We have spent most of our time in the Spanish speaking church.

Most Sunday's I can follow along with most of the songs and comprehend some of what I am singing. During the preaching I can usually follow along for the first five minutes and then my brain is so overloaded that my attention goes somewhere else. I was anxious to be a part of the Easter service and worship in another culture on such an important day in the life of Christians. Luckily for me, there was only singing this Sunday, so I understood a lot more of what was happening!

Great is Thy Faithfulness is one of my all time favorite worship songs. I will never forget hearing Luke (my brother-in-law for those of you who don't know him) sing it at Dave's and my wedding. It was an amazing worship experience. If you didn't hear it, you truly missed out. This morning I had the privilege of singing this song and worshipping our great God in Spanish. As I was singing "Grande es tu Fidelidad" I realized why it was so amazing to be able to worship God in another language. There are so many times in prayer or in song that I feel I just don't have the words. That what I am saying just doesn't portray how I really feel. Worshipping God in Spanish gives me more words to worship Him. I can worship Him with new words. It was such a great worship experience and I am so thankful that God has given me new words to worship Him with!

"For when I am weak, then I am strong"

Today was a hard day for me. I really struggle with my second grade class. They are difficult to teach and, at times, hard to like. Today I just didn't have the energy for them. I felt like a horrible teacher and that they all hated me. The hardest part about this class is that three of the five kids we look after when school is out are in this class. I have been afraid teaching this class was going to strain our relationship and I worried about it even more today.

On top of all of that, I started to get a migraine headache in that class. I barely finished out my classes today, but I forced myself to since I have already been sick twice. When I walked back up to my apartment after my last class I just felt worthless. I was not able to go back out and take care of the 5 kids, which is my favorite part of the day. I just rested and tried to sleep it off.

When I finally got up, I sat on our step and watched from afar as Dave played with the kids outside. I was (and am) so proud of him. He never stops with them. It is like he has all the energy in the world. I really started to get down on myself and wonder what the heck I am doing here. I started to tell myself that I wasn't making a difference at all and if anything the kids are just liking me less. I began to doubt myself and my role here.

After a while, Dave came up and I started to make dinner. Then there was a knock on our door, it was Marili. I was out of the room so Dave told her to come in (which means stand at the bottom of our steps since we live in a loft). Dave told me she was asking for me. She doesn't speak much English so I have to speak Spanish with her. I asked her if she needed anything or wanted anything, she said "no." She just stared at me with her beautiful eyes and in her own way was just saying, "I just wanted to know where you were." We talked for a little bit and I asked her to come up. (The kids rarely ever come up to our place, I think they have been told not to). She came up and hugged me and we talked for a little while longer.

Then there was another knock. It was Yeny. She walked in and said "Can I pass?" We said of course, and she came up with Brenda following behind her. None of them wanted anything but just to spend time with us. Normally, if one of the kids comes to the door it's because someone needs something. Today, it was just to spend time with us.

Soon, they left for dinner. I felt comforted after their visit. I know God was reminding me that He is in control. I cannot make a difference. Only He can. We most likely will have no idea what God's overall purpose in bringing us here is, but I do know that I trust Him. He is always faithful.

Dinner for Five

(From left to right: Carlos, Marili, Jeffie, Steven, Gerson)

Dave and I have decided to start having the five kids up for dinner once in a while. We told them on Friday after school and they were so excited. They all said thank you right away and wanted to know what time dinner was. From then until 6:00 we never heard the end of it. We were told to be careful about having kids up to our apartment because they may steal from you. We thought we would just have them eat on our balcony and then they would never be in our place.

That plan did not work! At about 5:30 they all starting streaming in one by one wanting to help make the pizza. If you look at these kids faces you can understand how hard it is to say no to them! They looked in our refridgerator, cabinets, and even the trash. They actually found an apple in our trash and almost ate it! Dave caught it and at least washed it off and cut it up for them. They all helped to make the pizza and set the table.

They were so well behaved. They waited patiently as we served them their food. They made sure to say thank you for everything and even helped to clean up. I think they would have kept eating as long as there was food! We talked about doing this again and they all gave their ideas on what kind of food they would like to have. Tamales, pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, "Pollo Campero" (the Guatemalan version of KFC, supposedly Guatemala's pride), and coca-cola were all suggestions.

They best part was actually the next day. In the morning I went out on the balcony to get our clothes and saw Steven playing and he yelled to me, "Hey Katie, do you remember last night?" I saw Jeffie later and he said, "Do you remember last night?" In the afternoon I was talking to Marili and she said in broken Engish, "More pizza tonight?" They were still excited about it the next day and wanted to make sure we thought it was special. We will definitely be doing this again!

Toast in a Frying Pan

So, after a month of being here I started to think that maybe I was such a healthy person that I wouldn't get sick. Boy, was I wrong! Dave and I spent most of the day on Saturday and part of the day on Sunday in Antigua this weekend. We love going here because it seems like such a safe place. We don't worry too much about getting robbed, where we are going to sleep at night, and most importantly the food we eat.

We are still careful and make sure not to drink the water and only drink out of glasses with ice cubes that have holes in them (for some reason those ice cubes are safe). We have actually sat down at a restaurant and left after seeing how the food is cooked. We haven't been stupid. But, you cannot control everything.

We got back to our place in the early afternoon on Sunday and I felt fine. We ate a really light lunch before we left Antigua and got so busy doing other things that we didn't even think about eating dinner until about 7:30. We both heated up some leftover lasagna, but my body was telling me not to eat it. Good thing I didn't! From about 8pm last night until 5:30am I was waking up about every half hour. I won't go into details, but it was an awful night!

There are a few things that my mother has given me since childhood to eat and drink when I am sick. I continue to need those things now as an adult! I need ginger ale, campbell's chicken noodle soup, and toast. Well, it's not like Dave can just go to the grocery store and get me ginger ale, plus I don't think they even have it here! I had some noodles and chicken broth, so I thought I would just cook the noodles in the broth and make due with what I had. I thought that canned goods don't expire, but something was definately wrong with my chicken broth. It was black and smelled horrible! So, ginger ale and chicken soup were out. Toast was my only option, except we don't have a toaster! I resorted to cooking toast in a frying pan. It did not turn out to be the comforting food I had wanted it to be. Toast in a Frying Pan just doesn't hit the spot when you are sick!

Steven

So we thought, in order to give you a better take on our experience here, that we would do a short description of each of the kids we've been asked to concentrate on. They are the five youngest in the home, and Steven is six years old, the youngest of the five. He was left in the hospital by his mother as an infant. When Steve and Pam went to court, his mother was there and relinquished parental rights, claiming she couldn't take care of him and his father didn't know he was born.

Look at this guy's face. I can't tell you how much joy this kid brings us. I have him in my first grade classes, too (English, Science, and Math), so I get to spend a lot of time with him each day, and consequently, I attached to him pretty quickly. He's such a nice, sweet kid, but very ornery and mischevious, which I love about him (when we're not in class anyway). He's the kind of kid that's disobedient in class because he's ambitious and curious, not because he wants to be disobedient. When he realizes he's being disobedient, he shrugs his shoulders and says, "Sah-ree," with a big grin. About once a week, he draws me a picture in class, and labels it, "to: Deybid". And much more often than that, he reminds me that I'm crazy, although it comes out more like, "Yer crdacy."

After school, we make sure the kids do their chores. It rotates based on a point system between picking up trash and dog poop, taking out the trash, sweeping different parts of the complex, and some chore in the evening that Katie and I aren't around for. Steven's chore this past week was picking up the trash and poop. It's a bit difficult to get him to focus, and when we find poop, he tries to pick it up with two sticks.

Another part of our responsibilities with the five is to supervise baths. Steven's definitely a shower singer. He usually sings, "Quiero mover el bote," which I believe translates, "I want to move the can." It's from the Spanish version of Madagascar when they sing, "I like to move it, move it," if that helps you put a tune to it. He also does this hilarious dance where he clasps his hands over his head and moves his hips back and forth.

About a week ago, Jeffy was taking a bath, so I was sitting on the toilet lid while he was washing, and Steven bursts through the door, exposed and pinching it off already. When he saw I was in the way, he got all panicky, and wide-eyed he started yelling, "I gotta go, I gotta go." Except before he actually said anything pee started spraying everywhere. There was no stream to avoid because he isn't circumcised, so it was like buckshot. I wanted to be mad but I couldn't; it was so stinking funny. I was a little grossed out, though.

After bath time, Katie and I get to basically hang out with the kids. Sometimes we read with them, or I'll play soccer with the boys. They were on a swing fix for a couple weeks, and after I showed them the underdog, all I heard was, "Dave, can you do me the underdog? As higher you can!"

Well, I hope you guys can get an idea what Steven's like, and I wish you all could know him. He's such a special kid, and I'm sure you all would love him like we do.

Yo Soy Nada

The more time I spend out of the country, I am further convinced I have much to learn of suffering. Our experience so far in Guatemala is quite a bit removed from our experiences in Haiti. In Haiti, the poverty and suffering are engulfing. I don't remember seeing an area of Haiti unaffected by disease and hunger. Currently, we are teaching in a private school (please don't imagine American private schools), and the kids who live at the home are very well cared for and know they are loved. So we have not yet had direct interaction with intense suffering in Guatemala. Nonetheless, the kids at the home have all been abused, neglected, abandoned, or, for some, a combination of the three. Many of the older kids here have years of memories of hunger, abuse, or homelessness. It is still pervasive here. My worry is this: I am quite ill-equipped to share the satisfying grace of Christ with a suffering world.



So much of the language in Scripture used to describe the work and person of Christ is rooted in suffering. Very literally, the crux of the Good News is suffering. You cannot remove suffering from the experience of Christianity. So how can I explain what it is like to hunger for righteousness if I've never hungered so badly for food that I've filled my stomach with mud? No, my young friend, you explain it to me. I want to know. Could I dare to discuss with my once unjustly captive friend, Jean-Claude, what it's like to be a slave to sin and to be set free to union with Christ? No, Jean-Claude, for many additional reasons, could you share it with me?


Let me borrow some solid exegesis from (big surprise) John Piper. In Colossians 1:24 Paul writes, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of the body, that is, the church." What could possibly be lacking in Christ's afflictions? Certainly he isn't speaking of the atoning work of his suffering. That would be heresy and utterly incongruent with anything else Paul wrote. In Philippians 2:29-30, Paul is writing to the church about returning Epaphroditus to them: "So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me." What was lacking in their service to him? A person--the physical presentation of their service. What is lacking in Christ's afflictions? The physical presentation, here and now, of his suffering.

However, I am sad to think that much of my experience is representative of the American church. Shouldn't it be a suffering church that presents a suffering Savior to a suffering world? I am starting to see how the "Name it, Claim it", "Ask not, have not", and whatever other cleverly rhyming prosperity movement can catch on. When the church can't credibly say, "God is more satisfying than food, shelter, or health," to people that don't have them, I can see how the church would be tempted to say, "If you follow Christ, you can have what I have." The problem with that is the message is no longer, "Know Christ and be satisfied in Him," but, "Know Christ and be satisfied in what he gives you."

How can we possibly be effective? Yet another reason I savor the sovereignty of God in missions.

THE RODENTS ARE COMING!!!!

We were told this would happen, but I wasn't prepared for how fast it would come! Fotunately, it hasn't hit us yet. The other two Americans (McKenzie and Jessica) have the privilege of dealing with it first. They live right below us and McKenzie has been hearing scratching in the ceiling for the past two nights. Tonight, as they were sitting down for dinner they noticed the rodents had left many presents for them all over their plates and many other things. They have put rat poisoning everywhere you can think of. So what was my reaction? I put EVERYTHING in the refridgerator! That's right, bread, pasta, rice, tortillas, peanut butter, sugar, popcorn, poptarts, and cookies. Our refrigerator is very tiny, so this was hard to do, but I refuse to deal with rodents.

Stayed tuned to see if we get hit!

Other wonderfiul things we have to look forward to:
swarms of flies, giant, hairy spiders, and swarms of beetles!

His Grace is Sufficient

"And I, when I came to you brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.

I read this verse before we left for Guatemala and it became my prayer for our trip. It has definately become something I cling to everyday! Dave and I have both found the school day to be very frustrating with a language barrier. It is hard to teach when no one understands what you are saying. It is even more difficult to gain control of a classroom when no one understands you! It has to be Christ in us that people see because there is nothing we can say that these kids will understand apart from the power of God. Pray for us as we continue to teach the children in the school. Pray that we would have patience and rely on the power of God instead of our own strength.

After school is over we get to spend time with five specific kids who live in the children's home. Steven, Jefferson, Gerson, Carlos, and Marili. They are the sweetest and most loving kids. We enjoy every moment we get to spend with them. On a daily basis Jefferson asks me if we "are going to take care of him today." This is all they desire. They want to be taken care of and loved. From 3:00 to 5:30 we are there to help them do their chores, get baths, and love on them as a parent would. We read to them, play soccer, and simply laugh together. The boys are so funny. Dave says during shower time the boys will put their feet over the drain and let the shower fill up with a couple inches of water so they can play in it. Marili is the youngest girl in the home and is such a joy. She speaks little English and always has a smile on her face. She reminds me of my neice Madi when she laughs. We love each of these children so much. Dave feels as though he knew these kids before we even got here.

At 7:00, 5 nights a week, there is prayer time for anyone who wants to come. The children ususally come and sit in our laps which gives us the perfect oppotunity to pray for them individually. My prayer for them is that God's love would be enough. That they would fall passionately in love with Him and desire Him only. It is then that our cup overflows and we have all that we need.

We love you all and thank you for all of your prayers and support.

We're Here!

It's been a long day, but we made it. It started dark, cold, and early when we left my parents' house at 3:30 a.m. As long as the day was, it was some of the easiest traveling I've ever experienced. The connection went very smoothly, and customs was a breeze. The only thing that was a little disconcerting was when we landed seeing old, broken-down hangars and rusted out planes that looked a little like something Baloo from TaleSpin might fly. But we saw the lone white guy waiting outside the airport, and, sure enough, it was Steve.
Driving through the country was interesting. We thought it looked a lot like what Haiti might look like had it not been so deforested. We arrived at La Senda, our new home, in the afternoon and were able to unpack, take a tour, and meet most of the kids. We found out they all speak English! Although that means we may not be as motivated to learn Spanish, it sure is nice to be able to communicate with them right away. They all make us smile, and the ones Steve wants us to pay special attention to are the ones I would have chosen myself. We can't wait to see what craziness comes next.

Our Address

Hi Everyone! As we prepare for our trip, we wanted to give our contact information out to anyone who would like it. We will not know a cell phone number until we purchase a phone when we get down there, but we do have our mailing address:

For letters through the USPS
Steve English
c/o David Weber
Apdo. Postal 303
La Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez
Guatemala, Centroamérica

For items sent through FedEx, UPS, or other courier:
La Senda
c/o David Weber
Km. 41.5 Carretera Interamericana
Sumpango, Sacatpéquez
Guatemala, Centroamérica

Please pray for us as we anxiously await our trip. There is a lot to remember and prepare. Pray also that God would be preparing our hearts for what He has for us!

The First of Many

So we're bloggers. We thought we would set one up to share with everyone while we are in Guatemala rather than sending everyone e-mails. We figure this will be an easier way for us to update you on whatever comes while we are away. Who knows what this forum may contain in the near future? Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. We hope to update this often once we leave the States so you all can share in our experiences. We love you all.