Day 12

Friday, October 29, 2010

I went back to San Antonio Agua Caliente yesterday to visit again with the family I met on Tuesday, and to meet the other handicapped children and their families.  There were already many families inside the home upon my arrival.  The family had borrowed chairs from a local church and had them sitting all around the home.  More families arrived after only a short time.  The home was quickly filled to well over its capacity.  The father of the home stood up in the center and introduced me to everyone there.  He then gave a presentation of the need the community has for a place for these handicapped children to do physical and speech therapy.  After he finished, he called out each handicapped child’s name individually.  As each child’s name was called out, the parent would bring them over in front of me and give the story of their child.  It was very heart breaking as the families would stand and weep in front of me.  The children would hug me, and I held onto each of them for a long time.  Many have spinal bifida, and many cannot talk and/or hear.  Some are mentally challenged as well.  The stories and needs of each of these families came to me one by one.  There were tears, laughter, and the complete presence of the Holy Spirit.  They were so excited when I presented to them that my family is moving to Guatemala in January as missionaries.  I promised them that I would share their stories with my local churches in the States, and that my family will help them any way that we can.  I watched the parents intently in the room.  I imagined if this was my child.  The hardship it would be for me to have a handicapped child in the States.  It would be very difficult and stressful on my family.  But I would have the means of insurance, hospitals, and all the other professional help that I could get.  These families have no money.  No means of transportation to the capital for the help they need.  No work because they must stay home and take care of their children 24 hours a day.  The need is to rent a large home in the community for these children to go to and get physical and speech therapy.  It would need to feed them breakfast and lunch, and have the necessary equipment and teachers to meet each of their needs.  What I would like to ask of you is to pray.  Pray for these needs to be met.  Pray for wisdom that can only come from God for my family to assist these people in meeting their needs.  Pray for the finances to come in for the place that each of these children can get the therapy they need.

God Bless

Day 10

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

God continues to bless me and I praise him for it.  I only wish each of you were here with me to share in this experience.  

Monday morning, I took a taxi from Antigua to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City.  My passport was stolen on Saturday, and I needed a replacement.  The process was a little painful and lengthy, but I will receive a brand new passport in 10 days.  I will have to go back to the Embassy on November 5^th to pick it up, and then go to the Guatemalan Immigration office to replace my entry stamp.  I did find out, however, that if you needed to leave the country immediately they would issue you an emergency temporary passport to get back in the States.  After I got back into Antigua, I checked out of my hotel and picked up my keys to our new rental home in San Pedro las Huertas.  The house is basically empty.  It has a twin bed, futon sofa, end table, washer, and dryer.  I will need to buy everything else including a stove, oven, refrigerator, etc.  I took an afternoon walk into my new little town.  The center park consists of a catholic church, a handful of concrete benches, and a very large community washing area (pilla).  I wanted to try out the local bus transportation (chicken bus) that takes you into Antigua.  A “chicken bus” is an old, repainted school bus that has been brought from the States and has its own name (similar to how some people name a boat).  It cost me a whopping total of 1.5 Quetzales.  That is equal to 19 cents in the U.S.   The ride was a unique experience.  I was sitting against the window and had 3 other people sitting with me.  The walkway in the middle was filled with people standing in it.  And, of course, I was the only white person on it.  Not a bad trip though.  I have made 3 other trips by “chicken bus” since.

This morning I went to Antigua (by bus) and priced much furniture and appliances again.  The prices are not much different than what you would find in the States.  After lunch, I was scheduled to meet with a local Spanish teacher that wanted me to go with him to a town called San Antonio Agua Caliente.  He does a lot of volunteer work with his students and wanted to check out a group of handicapped people he had heard about that are not being helped by the government or any local church.  We left Antigua, by “chicken bus”, and headed south-west towards the town.  This trip cost 3 Quetzales (38 cents).  Once we arrived, we didn’t know where to find these handicapped people and the locals were not of much assistance.  After around an hour of walking through the streets asking people in every local tienda, we finally found a man that helped us.  He took us to a small house and there we met a family with a 17 year old handicapped boy.  We talked with the family for some time and found out that there are 36 children and adults in the neighborhood that are handicapped either mentally, physically, or both and not receiving any assistance.  This family was a Christian family and they welcomed the thought of any assistance that may come their way.  They have been promised this and that, and even were sent two exercise bikes to a school in Antigua, but have never actually received them.  The school kept them for themselves.  This father has a vision of having a place in the community that the handicapped people can go to during the day to receive rehabilitation and an education.  They are in a desperate need of some help.  The Spanish teacher and I talked about this opportunity to possibly work together and help these people where we can.  This Thursday we are going back to San Antonio and to this home.  The father is going to invite all 36 of the handicapped and their families to share with us.

God Bless

Day 8

Wow!  So much has gone on this past week that I don't really know where to begin.  How about if I only share the thing that is all over my mind right now.  It's not the new house, the details of getting furniture, a car, or even the fact that my passport was stolen yesterday.  What's on my mind is the people of Guatemala.  The family's that live on such a small amount of money each day.  Everyday is a worry if they will make enough for their family to eat that day or not.  What's on my mind is the need I see all around me, even in the tourist area of Antigua.  The need for Christ, the need for love, the need for a Hope that they do not have!  One family particularly I would like to share with you today is a local family that are trying to make a living through the tourists in Antigua.  I recently sent out an update via email that included a little information about this family.  Tonight, I went to their home outside of Antigua and learned a lot more about my new friends.  The home is the same as I have seen in the "dump" area of the capital.  One room, tin siding and roof that is lined with plastic to help keep the rain out, dirt floor, two twin beds, a box with a few broken toys, no stove, etc.  It cost the family 300 Quetzales per week to live there (which is roughly $37).  This family averages about $5 per day on income.  That is - only when the kids are out of school and able to work too.  The work is selling goods to tourists and locals in the central park in Antigua.  The boys, Domingo (11 yrs) and Antonio (7 yrs), shine shoes.  The two older girls, Alicia (12 yrs) and Rebecca (10 yrs), also work in the park.  Alicia sales ice cream from a push cart with her dad, and Rebecca sales chewing gum.  The youngest girl, Katy (2 yrs tomorrow), stays home mostly with her mother and grandmother.  Occasionally Katy, the mother, and the grandmother go to the park and try to sale material for making clothes.  This family is not in church and do not know Christ.  They were open to listening to me tonight, but not willing to commit.  They are an indigenous people, Quiche, and have strong cultural and religious beliefs.  The kids speak mostly Quiche, but do know a good bit of Spanish.  The parents and the grandmother only speak Quiche.  God has proven himself to me again with giving me the ability to speak Spanish more than I should be able to.  I have been able to communicate rather well with the kids, and through the kids to the parents.  The kids have even taught me a little Quiche.  Please be in prayer for this family.  They need Christ and the hope that only he can bring!

Day 6

Dear friends,

I have now been in Guatemala for 6 days.  Much has been accomplished already, and I am ahead of schedule as far as our new home.  I will be signing the rental contract tomorrow, Oct. 23rd.  It is a little tricky for a North American, but it is underway.  My closest friend here in Guatemala has generously accepted to co-sign with me.  I haven't had a co-signer on anything since I was 16, so it was a little awkward to ask him that big of a favor.  Our home is located in San Pedro las Huertas, which is between 5-10 minutes drive to Antigua.  I have priced many refrigerators, stove/ovens, beds, etc. here in Antigua.  I should be living in the house this Saturday, and start attempting to purchase the furnishings next week.  I have not been able to set up a bank as of yet.  I will try to do so when my friend comes to sign on the house with me.  I have not really looked at many vehicles here.  Our Expedition has not sold in the States and I needed that money to purchase one here.  That will have to wait until the family moves here in January.

God has blessed me greatly, and I owe everything to Him.  I praise my Lord and Savior for the opportunity He has given our family to serve Him in a different land.  Without Him, we are nothing. 

God Bless,
Danny

4 Weeks Gone

This time next week Danny will be back in Guatemala.  He will be there for four weeks and we will miss him very much.  He will be very busy during this time finding a rental home and vehicle for us.  He has many things to do to get things ready for our family's move there in January.  Setting up a bank account which is a very small thing in the U.S. is going to be time consuming and may take a few days.  That is just one small item on his "to do" list while he is in Guatemala.  Everything takes time.  No one gets in any hurry and we will need to adapt to this way of life.
We are going to be able to send 6 checked bags with the One Way team going down in just a few weeks.  That will help a lot with getting some of our clothing, books, and toys down now.  We are still going to have to be very selective with what we choose to take.  Imagine packing your closet into suitcases and keeping it within 50 lbs. each.  It is harder than you think!
We had our big yard sale recently and the kids really surprised me with how willing they were to get rid of so much.  I'm sure it was hard to see some of their toys being purchased for other children, but they never complained.  Both were adding items to the trailer to take to the sale without having to be asked.  It is like they knew what they could and could not take.  Praise God for children with willing hearts!