Good Evening

Just had some corn bread to die for. I always wondered why people like that, now I know. The receipe used is different than Sheila's.
Today we ventured onto the streets with the Ford Expedition a rather large vehicle. Seems big but with all the crazy drivers I like having the mass! I will tell you one thing the motorbike operators are suicidal!
Anyway we headed out with good directions made an early wrong turn and quickly arrived at a sign saying we were leaving Guatemala City. Looking down I realized that the vehicle had 1/8 tank of gas so drove until finding a station , picked up 200 Q of gas 21.66 for regular per gal. then started back for home. We started over found our mistake and arrive at the William Cornelius in a mere 1.5 hours . Not bad for a 20 minute trip!! Boys I think you might like driving here, vehicles have the right of way and everyone looks at you funny if you stop to let them cross. I did this for 3 pedestrians on my right and 8 heavily armed soldiers on my left. Big guns and little people!! You can ride a little on the wild side and it is normal.

The William Cornelius Vocational Training Center will be open for business on Jan. 15. and they will start with 30 students. The place is a buzz of activity in preparation for the big service to be held next Saturday. We will post pictures before heading off to language training.

Saw an old man walking. He had sewn the back end of his pants so many times I was amazed. He picked up some sort of a large bag with a harness and walked off with the load on his back.

Some people are paid by missionaries a wage equivalent to $10 per day, and they work 6 days per week. They are happy??? I ask it as a question because it seems to me that they accept it because it has always been that way. Me a big gringo would like to change the wage so that a better standard of living is available to all however the problem is systemic. If we were to start tomorrow paying someone say the equivalent of $5.50 per hour guess what would happen? Word would get out and that individual's family would be in jeopardy (I am not talking the game) with someone assaulting them or holding them for ransom. Systemic problems such as this do not go away easily and it is my belief must be dealt with by changing the culture one person at a time. It is our hope that we can improve lives and begin the needed changes.

It is surprising that when required to speak spanish I am almost unable to speak what I do know. Like learning the guitar I could for a long time strum the strings on cord but as soon as called upon to do so in public I became a fumbling ninnie. Well I am looking for breakthroughs and am keeping up my language cd learning.

Have a great Sunday and I will try to connect tomorrow night.

Oh I bet your wondering what a Quetzel is worth? 7.75Q = 1 USA dollar. and 1.21 canadian dollars = 1 us dollar(6.61Q=1 Canadian $). Have fun converting the prices.


Tim Juhlin

Juhlin Missionaries to Guatemala

It is one oclock and we are back from purchase of phones. Both bought for 850Q. Goshinmons just has a couple of phones stolen and apparently they are the most desired theaft item down here. Oh that price also included 100 minutes of time on each phone.

Now shopping for food. We went to a huge store called Hiper Paiz which is now owned by walmart! All the workers have walmart name tags. Things look similiar until you read closer.... oh there is the oat meal quaker man, I recognize that. Wow look at the shrimp at 23.50 Quetsel per libra(pound). Some are huge.

Pert Shampoo 400 ml at 31.45 Q

We are told not to shop for bargins in markets because the chance of being robbed is too great. Check out this store at www.hiperpaiz.com.gt

Next we head over to the cosco of Guatemala called Price Smart. Looks the same again. At the little food center near the check out I see a bucket of 15 pieces of cooked chicken (pollo) for 110 Q. and a hot dog 100% corn de Rio at Q 16.

Here are some other shopping prices:
Colgate 6 pk /100ml tooth paste at 107.95 Q
Salmon 57.95 per kg
Cooked roticery( no time to spell this correctly) chicken just like home 2.25 lbs for 39.95Q
Scott toilet paper 16 rolls 55.45Q
tic tacs for 3.95Q
coca cola 4 -3 liter bottles for 53.45Q

Traffic is something and I am not sure that if I leave here I could find my way back. No left turns!

Once back to our home base I listened to Cary talk to a worker about a pepper plant living up on the roof and I had a sickening feeling that I could not learn the language!!! will just have to continue and see how I do. I was feeling good about what I know to date, but the reality of normal conversation here (i.e. moving 5 times faster than I would like) is shocking.

I am able to blog this because my laptop to working well here on the goshimons wireless system.

Will blog again tonight if time.

Tim

Hi Well we are in Guatemala!

Before giving current information I want to go back to the night before leaving. I started to make an entry however was too tired to complete it.

What I wanted to say then was that becomming a missionary is a little like dying. And indeed dying to self is mandatory in this process. But anyway it is a little like dying because:

-You review your will
-Deal with banking matters
-last good byes and people cry and you cry with them
-People say nice things about you and stretch the truth emphasising your virtues and ignoring your faults.

Of course when you die you cannot cry with the people. But enough of this.

So it is January 5, 2007 and I wake up just after six and hear pigeons and other strange bird sounds. Sheila awakes and I say: Honey this is not kansis! We are here we did it!

Looked at the devotional in the washroom here and was surprised that the first verse I read was the last verse that I spoke on at the Crowsnest Christian Centre on Dec. 31, 2006. Must be a God moment!

Anyway we may end up at the William Cornelius site today or may begin looking for a vehicle.

It is more humid here and about 66 degrees (19 C). It should be about 21 midday.
Not affected by culture so far although all my walking and language listening is paying off. I understand a fair bit, and suppose that I am a high beginner on the language scale.

Oh, Sheila broke a tooth on the way down so we will be seeking out a dentist. Had not planned on this kind of activity.

Must run . Bye for Now

Tim

Christmas Eve
Here are 2 more pictures of our family. Anty Beth with baby Duric and Beth's children Kaci and Brody playing high above Coleman on one of the few volcanic fidges found in the Crowsnest Pass.

Thinking about adjusting to life in Guatemala. They tell me that I will have to speak baby talk and will loose most of my personality. I am working hard to come up with some small jokes in Spanish to counter this.
Separation from friends and family will also affect us in that we will be lonely. Hmmmm how does one deal with lonelines. I know the obvious that is abiding in Christ however there is a kind of peace that each must come to grips with.

Well those are some of my thoughts as we move into Christmas day our last in Canada.

May you all have a Blessed day keeping the significance of Christ the baby in perspective as the Christ who died a lamb for the sins of the world.

The picture of 4 men below was that of Me my son Dan, my Dad and my newest grandeson Duric.

Hi Everyone

Life continutes to move full speed ahead. I am very busy at work trying to finish up on an Aboriginal Consultation. In the evenings I sort through files and drawers improtant stuff into the plastic container for Guatemala other neet stuff into a box for storage, and then there is the garbage, several bags so far!

We have a new Grande Child and were able to see our Fort McMurry Grande kids down here in the Crowsnest, we fished, dug snow caves and climbed mountains. A good last visit before the big flight south!

We took a 4 generation picture of our Grande Child Duric, my dad and son Dan. Has anyone ever heard of the name Duric. A one of!.

We are having our criminal check done which we will need in Guatemala and I still need to review my will. The list is large but time is short so some things are just not going to get done.

We have a new address in Guatemala:
Apartado #216
Pieriferico
Guatemala City
C.A. 01011

It would be nice if a few people would send us some snail mail so that we could see if it actually works. Do not send a million dollars because I here that nothing of value makes it past Florida.

Well I am off on another long week but Christmas is coming and our chance to reconnect with the Birth of Christ in preparation for the death, burial and resurrection. I trust you will have a blessed Christmas.

Remaining Faithful in Christ
Tim

Well it is November 21, 2006. Yesterday I sent in my notice of resignation to SRD effective in early January 2007. Finally, the process is started for our move to Guatemala. The number of items requiring attention is troublesome. They include the renewing our Passports (which we received this week), dental and doctor appointments, ordering a spare set of eye glasses, buying extra shoes & clothes (nothing down there if you are taller than 5'4" and that's the men!), updating our wills, setting up American funds bank accounts and money transfer protocols, signing forms of all sorts, the purchase of airline tickets and making decisions on what goes and what stays.We have budgeted $500 dollars for extra baggage. In the midst of all this I am working full time on an Aboriginal consultation process and to top it off the elk are too ellusive to allow me to successfully bag one! I did take some time with our son Adam to try hunting out on the prairies for deer and we were successful. Should keep insurance claims for deer collisions down in the New Dayton area.

We visited Harvest Life Community Church in Sherwood Park where we presented an update on our journey to Guatemala, and I preached a sermon. During the potluck that followed, 2 precious souls accepted Christ! Always good to see that the Lord is working on hearts even despite our preaching!

This next Sunday we will be out of town again across the province to Medicine Hat where we will give an update and I will again deliver a sermon.

We must begin developing our Christmas Newsletter and would like that completed well before Christmas so that we can focus on family and final packing arrangements.Oh yes, and there is the new grandchild due to arrive next week! That will keep Sheila busy helping out the new parents. I will probably try another video and we hope to place more pictures on this site.

Well, that is about it for now. May the Lord bless you with an ongoing revelation of his love.
Tim