Team Work

The countdown has begun for the last few weeks of of work (and the end of the world by the way). These tend to be the most hectic as well with heavy clinics, planning for the coming year, church activities and of course the year-end ABC Celebration. This year the the ABC event will be over 2 days with about 1100 people attending.  Sheri has offered to update all of our photos for the 376 ABC kids in the program as well as any families who want to pay for a portrait.  That's going to be a lot of pictures! 
Today we had the high school and scholarship students over to our house to plan out our craft stations. They were a great help and we got everything organized and ready for action. A big thanks to our supporting congregation Eastside Church of Christ for donating all of the craft materials and ideas for the event! Afterward we ordered chinese food (yeah, can you believe we have that here???) for 28 people--yum!

Here is a rare photo of Sheri.  While she is always johnny-on-the-spot with her camera, she usually finds a way to escape being photographed herself!  This one's for you, Ginny!

"Hey you know all those 700 bags you filled with pens?  I need the pens for the other groups' activity..."

Preparing lesson and the colored visors for the "Think on these things..." craft. Kind of a lavender gansta look going on there.

Poster work and lots of supervisors!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends.  We were blessed to spend time with our coworkers from the Quiche and Suchitepequez areas last night in Clinica Ezell.  We shared a turkey and ham dinner in honor of the American holiday with some local touches as well.  Our sides were sweet potato casserole, buttered green beans, salad toast, tomato salsa, and horchata to drink.  We rounded it off with several cake options and coffee.  It was nice to catch up with everyone.  We laughed because I was trying not to greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek because of my cold/sinus infection, but everyone said, "don't worry we're all sick here already! 
We hope everyone back home enjoyed their time with family or friends as well as delicious treats!  Thanks be to our Lord for his generous gifts in our lives!

All Saints Day

Kemmel and I are sitting in a hotel room in Guatemala City enjoying the local holiday.  We are both at our computers and drinking McDonald's coffee after Kemmel's morning swim in the hotel pool.  Nice!  We decided to come to the Capital because we received our absentee ballots and can turn them in tomorrow at the embassy. The other amenity we have here is U.S. news stations so we are just now seeing all the coverage of the damage from the storm in the northeast. 

Although this is a pagan holiday honoring the spirits of the ancestors coming down to visit, I can't help think of the verse in Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,...

Our blog has been neglected a little this last month, and wanted to update you on the work here.  We have all been so busy with clinics and classes and church activities in the area.  Our clinics have been getting busier lately, I think because of a respiratory virus going around.  But we have had some great evangelistic contacts through the clinics and pray that they will choose to follow Christ soon.

Our education programs have been going well and this last weekend we kicked off our reproductive health education classes in two of the ABC communities.  They were well received despite the giggles and shocked faces in the beginning.  Several parents thanked us for coming and enjoyed learning too.  Kemmel and I taught the class with Gaspar and Martina translating into K'iche' for us.  They did a great job and we are so grateful to have them working with us! Here are some pictures from that weekend (it was a 2.5 hour trip to get to the area Xejox and Chuchuca so we spent the night in the church building at Chuchuca so we could get to Xejox the next day without the long ride again).  To make the trip even more productive, Dr. Ruben Romano did all the ABC kid check-ups for the two churches on alternating days and we delivered water filters to new ABC families.  It was long and tiring but worth it!  We were treated to great meals and competitions of top spinning.

Martina with some of the young ladies at the class in Chuchuca. 

Kemmel and I passing out water filters to the newest families added to the ABC program.

Hot and heavy top spinning competition.  They throw them down, then pick them up on the palms and aim them at coins on the ground to try to skip the coin into a goal area.  Impressive!

"Roughing it" at our sleep over.  The ladies prepared our meals while we stayed there.

October and November are also big months for church conferences so we have been making the rounds.  Many of the churches are growing as well and we are starting to see more interest in bibe study and children's classes.  Sheri is doing some great classes for several ladies groups in the churches as well and we are noticing that the biggest challenge for people is reading comprehension.  We assume that because they can read a little that they understand the words, but most of the time there is uncertainty.  So be praying for us and them as we help guide people in their bible study and try to teach some basic reading skills as well.

Kemmel and Miguel in a baloon popping contest at Paxot II's childrens celebration.

Kemmel selling Bibles at the Mactzul 6 church conference.

Standing room only and mucho rain!  Over 1000 people that day in Mactzul 6.
 

Our pretty little orchid blooms in Oct/Nov.  So beautiful!

Well, we are off today so we are going to head out walking and maybe take in some kite sightings as people celebrate.