Hi Folks
We are taking a week off of language training. All of Guatemala shuts down for Semana Santa, the Holy week. I wanted to try to go fishing at the coast but since all the locals also head to the ocean beaches we decided not to go. We did some shopping for birthday presents for our children and grandchildren. I bought a light coat. The guy just kept dropping his price until we finally we realized that he was only asking 160 Q ($22 Canadian) Sheila was going to make one for me, however she cannot buy the material for that price. Shirts are the same thing 90 Q for a stylish bright lime green shirt. Hmmmm the material was going to cost 350 Q. So some things are just less expensive here. Speaking of inexpensive we could have bought 10 mangos for 10 Q. It takes 6.5 Q to make a Canadian dollar. Well I must get working on our next newsletter so will signoff for now. More great pictures will be on here soon.
All the Best.. Tim
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Last Sunday was a sight to behold here in Antigua. The streets were covered with these temporary alfombras(carpets) made of many different things. Some were colored sawdust, others a combination of fruit, vegetables or flowers. The one on the right had
alligators made of bread! All of these were going to be walked on, then removed by the cleaning crews in preparation for next week , when it will happen again on Palm Sunday. The exception was the vegetable carpet. Yes, it would be walked on, but then the onlookers were going to pick up whatever they could, to take home and consume.The procession on Sunday lasted almost 20 hours, as the participants made their way from a village (pueblito) near Antigua, into town and up and down the many streets, over all these works of art. I took almost 120 photos, and Tim wasn't far behind with the other camera. It made for a long walk, trying to capture as many carpets on film as possible. This Sunday is rumored to be even better! We'll be out then with the video camera.
We are taking a week off from school to rest, then we are back at it for another 8 weeks. In the meantime, we are also working on our 2 year resident visa, which has entailed many afternoon trips into the city (about an hour trip one way on a good day). Hopefully, we'll have everything together by the beginning of next week, and make our submission then. This week, it's 2 trips to get our tourist visa renewed. Why 2 trips, you ask? The first is to drop off our passports and application, the second to pick them up. Nothing is instant here!!! It takes 2 days to send the paperwork to the 4th floor to put a stamp on it. It has been the same thing in every office we visit. Some are only open until 3, which means we finish school at noon, jump into the car and eat on the way, so that we can visit at least 2 offices before closing time and rush hour, which actually never seems to end. Parking is the other challenge, as we found out on Monday at immigration. Today, Tim is just going to sit in the car, while another missionary runs in to pick everything up.
You see something that rattles you a bit every day. This fellow has his spot on a particular street, and we see him when we take our mid-morning walk. The sad thing is that he isn't alone. Several people have their 'spots' on the street. We don't know where or how they live. I know that this happens in Canada as well, but there, there is help for those who want it. Here, there is nothing, not even a soup kitchen. There are so many needs here that you can't begin to meet them all. You just have to stay focused on what you are called to do and trust that God will take care of the needs that are outside of your calling.
Here is a great quote for you to ponder:
“Missions is primarily God’s work and we God’s people, in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit, come alongside and join him where he is at work. The initiative and direction comes from God not from ourselves.”
Does anyone recognize where this quote comes from? Email us if you do. Winners will receive a free liquado when you visit Guatemala.
Tim
Here is a great quote for you to ponder:
“Missions is primarily God’s work and we God’s people, in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit, come alongside and join him where he is at work. The initiative and direction comes from God not from ourselves.”
Does anyone recognize where this quote comes from? Email us if you do. Winners will receive a free liquado when you visit Guatemala.
Tim
Monday, March 19, 2007
Hi
It has been a good week or more since I contributed to the blog. I trust all of you are enjoying reading about this missions adventure.
We decided to start the process of acquiring our 2 year residence papers. We drove into the city on Thursday night to attend a Friday morning breakfast meeting and meet all staff at the William Cornelius. We had ID pictures taken and listened to a guest speaker in the courtyard. The water fountain and greenery is wonderful thanks to the team from Crowsnest Christian Center under, of course, the direction of Deb and Ernie! After the meeting, we headed for the Canadian Embassy to have copies of our passport authenticated. Just getting there was a challenge but we did it and proceeded up to the 8th floor. Upon completing the paper work we began talking with the Embassy employee to discover that she had given us the wrong certification so we had to cough up another 160 Q (total of 400Q). We then discovered that our criminal checks also have to be stamped at the embassy, so we have to return on Monday. Why so soon you ask? Well it is because once the process starts we have 30 days to complete it or the first authenticated documents expire. We left the embassy to find green water under our vehicle. A good thing that our next stop was to pay the mechanic what we owed him from last week. We got there just in time to discover where exactly the leaking was coming from. So there we were at 11:30 with nothing to do until the repair was made, which was expected at 5:30. What to do?? We ended up calling the school and Alan had to rescue us from the heat. We made it back to the school and I began working on a fund raising idea for the Vocational School. After I have reviewed the plan with the rest of the missionaries and completed revisions I hope to share this with everyone!
We returned to the mechanic at 5:15 and the job was complete at a price of 1050 Q. So we paid him 300 (which was all we had on us) and will have to return on Monday to pay him the rest.
Traveling to the city is a big deal if you go at the wrong time. It is roughly 48 KM but seldom make it without waiting in a line of traffic, where to our amazement there are always venders selling something, everything from water to nuts, sunglasses to sponges etc.
Life is a bit of a drag at this time although we are doing a little better in Spanish. It is a drag because we are here living out of a suit case 24/7. We walked to the central park and watched the people. We have a bet on regarding how long it will take for a shoe shine person to ask about my shoes. I threaten to paint NO on the tips and just point. In any event it took 30 seconds. Over 20 minutes we had about 10 requests. I am too cheap to spend a nickel on my shoes although if they needed it I would.
Coming up with a personal strategy towards the needy is a challenge. Who do I give to? I decided to carry some 25 centavos pieces. It takes about 60 of them to make a Canadian dollar. I give one to anyone who asks. My thought is that at least others might see the donation and also consider doing so. Of course I do not flash around the large amount of money donated. The other day a man was walking down the street as we drove by and his whole right leg was gone and his left arm. An industrial accident I suspect. I stopped and gave him 3 Q. and drove on. The needs are so great that trying to meet all would be impossible so I will stay focused on the tasks at had and learn Spanish so that I can be as effective as possible at providing a real need of the people of Guatemala.
Each Sunday for the past 3 weeks, the Catholics have put on processions. They are something to see. People pay the big bucks to carry huge displays of graven images of Christ and Mary etc. For this they receive forgiveness for another year. The Catholic faith is, as I said in the past, a different thing from Canada’s version. You will find some pictures from the taping we have done to date. I feel like carrying a placard stating:
But He Lives!
I think in one respect the Easter season is celebrated here in a better way than in Canada where it is a 3 day event. Christmas is not a big event down here I am told, but Easter is another matter, although Easter Sunday is totally dead around here. The holy week is called Semana Santa and goes on for a number of days, however everyone is tired by Easter Sunday and I guess the risen Christ has little meaning. Here it is the suffering Christ that is identified with along with ritual and ceremony which perhaps adds meaning. Personal walks with Christ as Lord are not, it seems, part of the Catholic faith.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.
I have been reading the Book How Now Shall We Live by Chuck Colson- student edition. It is great and talks about world views, in particular how the Christian world view differs from the dominant world view of today which at its core is built upon a false foundation. The foundation is constructed to provide an alternative to the view of Creation as an act of a loving creator. Instead of a loving creator, this world view is entrusted to cosmic muck and random chance. I will complete the book and provide a review. Many of you who do not go to church and do not believe in God may discover that you are religious! But enough of this for now.
We are doing well and counting the weeks until we can leave our Antigua language studies and head into to Guatemala. Oh, that reminds me! We have been blessed with a chance to housesit for 6 months. The only costs we will incur are for utilities so we are going to redirect our monthly budget into the purchase of some basic home furnishing in preparation for January 2008 when we finally get into our own place.
Well that’s all for now.
Tim
It has been a good week or more since I contributed to the blog. I trust all of you are enjoying reading about this missions adventure.
We decided to start the process of acquiring our 2 year residence papers. We drove into the city on Thursday night to attend a Friday morning breakfast meeting and meet all staff at the William Cornelius. We had ID pictures taken and listened to a guest speaker in the courtyard. The water fountain and greenery is wonderful thanks to the team from Crowsnest Christian Center under, of course, the direction of Deb and Ernie! After the meeting, we headed for the Canadian Embassy to have copies of our passport authenticated. Just getting there was a challenge but we did it and proceeded up to the 8th floor. Upon completing the paper work we began talking with the Embassy employee to discover that she had given us the wrong certification so we had to cough up another 160 Q (total of 400Q). We then discovered that our criminal checks also have to be stamped at the embassy, so we have to return on Monday. Why so soon you ask? Well it is because once the process starts we have 30 days to complete it or the first authenticated documents expire. We left the embassy to find green water under our vehicle. A good thing that our next stop was to pay the mechanic what we owed him from last week. We got there just in time to discover where exactly the leaking was coming from. So there we were at 11:30 with nothing to do until the repair was made, which was expected at 5:30. What to do?? We ended up calling the school and Alan had to rescue us from the heat. We made it back to the school and I began working on a fund raising idea for the Vocational School. After I have reviewed the plan with the rest of the missionaries and completed revisions I hope to share this with everyone!
We returned to the mechanic at 5:15 and the job was complete at a price of 1050 Q. So we paid him 300 (which was all we had on us) and will have to return on Monday to pay him the rest.
Traveling to the city is a big deal if you go at the wrong time. It is roughly 48 KM but seldom make it without waiting in a line of traffic, where to our amazement there are always venders selling something, everything from water to nuts, sunglasses to sponges etc.
Life is a bit of a drag at this time although we are doing a little better in Spanish. It is a drag because we are here living out of a suit case 24/7. We walked to the central park and watched the people. We have a bet on regarding how long it will take for a shoe shine person to ask about my shoes. I threaten to paint NO on the tips and just point. In any event it took 30 seconds. Over 20 minutes we had about 10 requests. I am too cheap to spend a nickel on my shoes although if they needed it I would.
Coming up with a personal strategy towards the needy is a challenge. Who do I give to? I decided to carry some 25 centavos pieces. It takes about 60 of them to make a Canadian dollar. I give one to anyone who asks. My thought is that at least others might see the donation and also consider doing so. Of course I do not flash around the large amount of money donated. The other day a man was walking down the street as we drove by and his whole right leg was gone and his left arm. An industrial accident I suspect. I stopped and gave him 3 Q. and drove on. The needs are so great that trying to meet all would be impossible so I will stay focused on the tasks at had and learn Spanish so that I can be as effective as possible at providing a real need of the people of Guatemala.
Each Sunday for the past 3 weeks, the Catholics have put on processions. They are something to see. People pay the big bucks to carry huge displays of graven images of Christ and Mary etc. For this they receive forgiveness for another year. The Catholic faith is, as I said in the past, a different thing from Canada’s version. You will find some pictures from the taping we have done to date. I feel like carrying a placard stating:
But He Lives!
I think in one respect the Easter season is celebrated here in a better way than in Canada where it is a 3 day event. Christmas is not a big event down here I am told, but Easter is another matter, although Easter Sunday is totally dead around here. The holy week is called Semana Santa and goes on for a number of days, however everyone is tired by Easter Sunday and I guess the risen Christ has little meaning. Here it is the suffering Christ that is identified with along with ritual and ceremony which perhaps adds meaning. Personal walks with Christ as Lord are not, it seems, part of the Catholic faith.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.
I have been reading the Book How Now Shall We Live by Chuck Colson- student edition. It is great and talks about world views, in particular how the Christian world view differs from the dominant world view of today which at its core is built upon a false foundation. The foundation is constructed to provide an alternative to the view of Creation as an act of a loving creator. Instead of a loving creator, this world view is entrusted to cosmic muck and random chance. I will complete the book and provide a review. Many of you who do not go to church and do not believe in God may discover that you are religious! But enough of this for now.
We are doing well and counting the weeks until we can leave our Antigua language studies and head into to Guatemala. Oh, that reminds me! We have been blessed with a chance to housesit for 6 months. The only costs we will incur are for utilities so we are going to redirect our monthly budget into the purchase of some basic home furnishing in preparation for January 2008 when we finally get into our own place.
Well that’s all for now.
Tim
Friday, March 09, 2007
And to think that I saw (you) on Mulberry street….. (with apologies to Dr. Seuss)
It’s amazing the people you see in Guatemala, sometimes without planning it. Who would have thought that we would run into someone from our home Camp on the streets of Antigua? She isn’t someone we know well, but rather a comforting presence, someone you always see in the food lineup, or sitting down across from you in the evening service. Just seeing her made me feel that Canada and home really isn’t that far away, something I have needed from time to time as we settle into a new culture and the rigors of language school!
Others are happy coincidences. A team came down from Ontario. With them was a young lady who had been friends with our daughter Beth when they were in junior high. We lived in Edmonton at the time and her dad was the senior pastor at the church we attended.
Other meetings are planned. We had some friends (Ian and Marilyn Strachan) come here from our hometown, and they were bringing a couple of bags for us. Yet, before they could find us, we found them! We just ‘happened’ to be walking on the same street at the same time. Tim and I had decided on the spur of the moment to visit a shop that keeps us supplied with almonds to snack on (they are expensive, but a fairly good source of calcium, and better than chips!).
There are a lot of tourists here at one of the forty language schools in Antigua. As a result, we get to meet people at church and school from many parts of North America and Europe. Each has a different reaction to being here. Some check their email daily to see how their friends/family are doing. Others (mostly Canadians!) check the weather back home to see if they are getting their money’s worth from the ‘Land of Eternal Spring’. I must confess that I was interested in weather bulletins from home at first, but the weather here is so constant, that I gave up wondering what tomorrow would be like. And I still feel sorry for those who have to drive on those ice covered roads, although I’m not really sure which is more dangerous, winter driving conditions, or Guatemala City at any time, not just rush hour.
We’ve met some marvelous people. Some are missionaries like us, others are just here to get enough espanol to travel in Central America during the worst of winter at home. They all have stories to tell, and it’s interesting to see the different paths our lives take.
It’s amazing the people you see in Guatemala, sometimes without planning it. Who would have thought that we would run into someone from our home Camp on the streets of Antigua? She isn’t someone we know well, but rather a comforting presence, someone you always see in the food lineup, or sitting down across from you in the evening service. Just seeing her made me feel that Canada and home really isn’t that far away, something I have needed from time to time as we settle into a new culture and the rigors of language school!
Others are happy coincidences. A team came down from Ontario. With them was a young lady who had been friends with our daughter Beth when they were in junior high. We lived in Edmonton at the time and her dad was the senior pastor at the church we attended.
Other meetings are planned. We had some friends (Ian and Marilyn Strachan) come here from our hometown, and they were bringing a couple of bags for us. Yet, before they could find us, we found them! We just ‘happened’ to be walking on the same street at the same time. Tim and I had decided on the spur of the moment to visit a shop that keeps us supplied with almonds to snack on (they are expensive, but a fairly good source of calcium, and better than chips!).
There are a lot of tourists here at one of the forty language schools in Antigua. As a result, we get to meet people at church and school from many parts of North America and Europe. Each has a different reaction to being here. Some check their email daily to see how their friends/family are doing. Others (mostly Canadians!) check the weather back home to see if they are getting their money’s worth from the ‘Land of Eternal Spring’. I must confess that I was interested in weather bulletins from home at first, but the weather here is so constant, that I gave up wondering what tomorrow would be like. And I still feel sorry for those who have to drive on those ice covered roads, although I’m not really sure which is more dangerous, winter driving conditions, or Guatemala City at any time, not just rush hour.
We’ve met some marvelous people. Some are missionaries like us, others are just here to get enough espanol to travel in Central America during the worst of winter at home. They all have stories to tell, and it’s interesting to see the different paths our lives take.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Tim & I took a walk with our teacher this morning to a church to see this glorious carpet. The sad thing is that it is temporary. It's all made of colored sawdust!! This is part of the preparations for Easter here. This carpet is protected, but soon the streets of Antigua will be covered so that people can walk on them, in the processions leading up to Semana Santa, or Holy Week. We watched one small procession last Sunday, and it was a new experience for us. They make a lot of Jesus' suffering and death, but little celebration of his resurrection.
I've been asked to include some photos of us, but as I'm usually BEHIND the camera. I'll try to get something this weekend of the two of us.
Tim Here
We are going to take in the Guatemala Intermissions event this weekend here in Antigua. This is a big event for all missionaries in Guatemala. This will involve meeting other missionaries and from our perspective will provide opportunity to look for synergies between all our efforts.
The Catholic church here is a different organization completely from what we see in Canada. Each week leading to Easter there is a parade and things happening in churches. We will try to post some pictures in the near future perhaps even this afternoon.
Tim
We are going to take in the Guatemala Intermissions event this weekend here in Antigua. This is a big event for all missionaries in Guatemala. This will involve meeting other missionaries and from our perspective will provide opportunity to look for synergies between all our efforts.
The Catholic church here is a different organization completely from what we see in Canada. Each week leading to Easter there is a parade and things happening in churches. We will try to post some pictures in the near future perhaps even this afternoon.
Tim
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