Afternoon in the Park

Yesterday after church we had a picnic in the park. There is always a lot going on in the park on a Sunday afternoon -- live music, vendors selling handmade items, and ladies making hairwraps. We ran into Magdalena, a sweet lady from our church, and she did hairwraps for Leah, Miriam, Paola, and Lupita.

Lesly's Chicken Tacos - Que Rico!

Lesly has the most delicious recipe for chicken tacos and the girls agreed to fix them for everyone last night.

Start by making pico de gallo, finely chopping tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.

Then cook miltomates, tomatoes, red peppers, and onions in a pot of water. After fully cooked, blend in a food processor until it becomes a smooth sauce.





Cook chicken and set aside. They only season with a little bit of salt.


Cook red peppers and onions in a little bit of water. Lesly adds some soy sauce and some sauce called Salsa Iglesia -- church sauce? Not sure, but this might be like worcestor sauce. Finally, add the chicken to the peppers and onions. Put the chicken mixture in a tortilla and roll it up. Top with the green salsa and pico de gallo. The girls also like to add a little creme on top. Absolutely delicious!!

Kimberly

We met Kimberly's parents through Orily who is working with Robby on finding families with the most needs to receive homes in El Tejar. Orily is also one of the hardest working people I know. During construction projects you will find her (dressed in a skirt) laying concrete block, delivering wheelbarrows full of concrete, or digging twice as fast as anyone on site. We absolutely love Orily and her heart for the people of Guatemala.

So when Orily told us about her pastor's daughter being sick and needing to see a doctor we wanted to help. She said that this little girl, Kimberly, was pale and sleeping all the time. We decided to take her to Hermano Pedro, which is a hospital in Antigua. The prices are affordable, which means that even though we arrived at 6:30 in the morning we had to wait in muchas colas (MANY LINES!) and Kimberly was not seen by the doctor until 10:00.

When we first saw Kimberly we were relieved to see that Kimberly appeared to be in pretty good health. I think Orily just exaggerated a little because she really wanted to help her. After talking with her mom I learned that Kimberly had been born prematurely via C-section in an El Tejar medical clinic. I think the complications from her birth have caused her to have some special needs. Her mom's main concern is her hearing and speech.

The doctor at Hermano Pedro said that he agrees she needs to have her hearing tested and that an audiologist will be there in February. I knew I must be confusing my months of the year -- he couldn't possibly mean that she would need to wait 8 months to have her hearing tested. But he really did mean February was the soonest that an audiologist would be there.

Thanks to a donation from Holly and Brad Clark (who have an amazing yard sale each year to raise money for several ministries in Guatemala) we will be able to look for another doctor in the city and try to get the help that Kimberly needs. What an encouragement to this sweet family that opens their home each week since they do not have a church building.

Sunday in Antigua

This morning we loaded up in the Suburban and headed to Antigua for church. After church we treated the girls to lunch at MonoLoco thanks to a special donation from Kelly Gross. Thank you so much, Kelly! It was such a treat for the girls and they all had a wonderful time!

Paola & Myriam



Julissa & Lesly

Lupita & Evelia

We enjoyed some HUGE nachos -- thankfully we have been exercising as well! The girls are loving my zumba workouts.

Quick picture on Arch Street

Chase Moyer is here for the summer as an intern. His mom sent some clothes for each of the girls and they love them! It was like Christmas morning this afternoon as they ooh-ed and ahh-ed at each other's clothes. Thank you so much, Mrs. Moyer. The clothes were a huge hit!

Rainy Season is Here!

We hear it is hot in Kentucky right now, but here it is cool and rainy. We won't complain about the rain though. Today Edgar showed me a plant growing in our yard that is in the kiwi family. The inside of this fruit is a beautiful purple color!


The girls at Mimi's House continue to work hard at school. Julissa and Lesly were working on their typing skills this afternoon, with Cohen supervising their work.

Robby is still busy preparing for the summer projects. He has been building the doors and windows for all the houses that teams will construct this summer. (Thankfully our house has a carport area, so he can work even during the rain.)

From Belize to the ER

Since we had overstayed our visa here we were required to leave the country for at least 72 hours. After talking with other missionaries who had done the same thing, we decided to drive to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala (about 5 hours) and take a boat to Punta Gorda, Belize. We stayed in a small B&B and enjoyed some family time in the pool.

We left Belize early Monday morning after I had severe stomach pains the night before. The bumpy boat ride and Guatemalan roads didn't help my stomach situation, but we made it safely back to the city. Yesterday morning the pain wasn't so bad, but we still decided to go to the ER to get everything checked out. The symptoms sure seemed like a problem with my gallbladder and we were praying I wasn't going to need surgery here in Guatemala.

The doctors and nurses at the hospital were all very friendly. After my attempts at explaining everything in Spanish, the doctors started speaking English much better than my Spanish. For those of you who know me well, you know my extreme fear of needles and hospitals. As the nurse was wheeling me to the ultrasound room we passed the surgery area and my mind began to picture me having surgery there. I started sweating, my ears started ringing, and everything went gray. I came so close, but thankfully I did not pass out!

The ultrasound and bloodwork came back normal, but we are waiting to hear back from a few more tests. Possibly just stomach problems because of the stress of living in a different country and all that comes with it. Our prayers were definitely answered that I did not have to have surgery!

Paula and Fontaine will be in the States most of June speaking at churches, so we will be full-time parents to the girls at Mimi's House. Tomorrow the girls have exams, so we will be quizzing them tonight making sure they are ready for their tests. Robby is gearing up for a busy summer building houses. His former teacher has not had any students since Robby, so he will be working with Robby and the teams coming to build houses. This week they are going to be purchasing supplies for the houses and putting together doors and windows. This will save time and allow the teams to complete each house in two days.

We have a busy summer coming up and we are excited about the opportunities God has given us here in Guatemala. We can't say enough how thankful we are for all of you who are keeping our family in your prayers. We appreciate you all more than we could ever explain!

Water Project Update

Yesterday Robby, Edgar, Ramiro, and Pastor Mario met with the mayor of Magdalena's assistant and the municipality's engineer. They had expected to receive the final approval for the water project in El Gorrion. There are existing pipes that cross thirteen different properties. We were told that we could use these existing pipes to bring pure water to the small town of El Gorrion. Yesterday, however, we were told that several of the land owners wanted money. Edgar explained that we only have the money to complete the construction of this project and not for paying easements to the property owners. Clearly the land owners don't want the project completed because ten of them showed up with machetes while they were meeting at the water site.

Today Robby, Edgar, and Ramiro went back to explore another alternative to bringing clean water to El Gorrion. This option would allow us to run new pipes through the municipality of San Miguel and not have to deal with individual property owners. They checked the elevations of different points along the proposed pathway and this is feaseable, but they need to check how much pipe is needed because we would be using more with this option.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.