Guatemala Update #1

You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

Psalms 40:5

We have internet! We've only been in Guatemala for 12 days, but we feel like we have been here forever! It is safe to say that learning to live and minister in Guatemala has been nothing like we thought it would be. In the last 12 days we have had to relearn everything we know. (Like how to wash your dishes in the same spot you wash your clothes and where your neighbors take a bath). And did you know that roosters don't just start crowing in the morning? No, they start randomly at all times of the night along with the barking dogs that roam the streets. We have had several sleepless nights as we adjust to our new surroundings, but I think we have finally hit our exhaustion point where we're able to get some sleep! When we landed in Guatemala we encountered problem after problem. The airline had temporary lost our suitcase with all of our household supplies that we had brought so that we wouldn't have to buy things right when we got here. Praise the Lord they found our bag and it safely made it to Poptun several days later with only minor things missing. We also realized as soon as we got to Guatemala that we forgot our Guatemalan debit card in the States. The only way we had to get money! Then our rental car company couldn't receive our payment. So we stayed up working with them at our hotel in Guatemala City until midnight getting only two hours of sleep before heading back to the airport for our regional flight to northern Guatemala. We made our flight the next morning only to circle around the regional airport for hours waiting for the fog to clear. We were about to run out of fuel because we were not cleared for landing so we were sent back to Guatemala City. Our one hour flight turned into six hours on the plane. It has been a journey! But, we are now set up in our little bungalow and very thankful for the many blessings the Lord has surrounded us with. Our landlords are wonderful and live on the same property we do along with several Mayan students and the guard dog. Harry has been loving waking up early to make the students breakfast. We have also been loving on a single mom with five kids that we have known for several years. They just recently moved to Poptun so we have been able to help them adjust. We were able to get all five of the kids signed up for school and have been on drop off and pick up duty every day. There hasn't been many hours in a day where we don't have someone at our house. There is a lot that the Lord is doing that we will be talking about in months to come, but for now please continue to pray for us. We need your prayers. Pray especially for Harry as he starts Spanish school tomorrow! Now that we have internet we will be able to keep in touch better. Please continue to pray that we remain obedient. Praise God for all our prayer warriors and generous financial donors that make this all possible. We could not do it without you. Please also pray that God would send the people we need to accomplish all we need to accomplish. May God be glorified! Serving Him Together, Harry & Shelly