Here we go again!!

This is a first- Johnny blogging instead of Maria! Maria usually handles the blog but she is at a ladies retreat this week-end. Good time for her to relax and fellowship (in English!) with the women of Union Church of Guatemala City. So- bear with the second string.

Just when we thought it was safe to unpack- Today we got word that our apartment has been sold and we have a month to move. Actually, we only have two weeks because we leave for the States Oct. 17th. After the initial scream of frustration, we could only grin (and laugh a little) and bear it. We have been so nomadic over the last few months we are ready to buy a camel and herd of sheep. As Maria said, we can't sell a house in Decatur and can't keep one here. Fortunately, there are some other apartments available in the same building that are not for sale, so we will start the process over again next week. At least we have the process down. God is helping us remain F.A.T.- a wonderful acronym taught to us by some visiting Alabama nurses- Flexible, Adaptable, and Tolerant. Pray that we maintain this attitude because this does take away from our ministry responsibilities. We are preparing for a team coming in November and time is essential. Pray also we manage our time wisely.

That's all for now. Maria will resume the regular blog duties in the next couple of days. I know my limitations and don't want to push this too far.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in October,

Johnny for the Cokers

Centennial Camp

Several of you have asked what is going on with the Centennial Camp house. This was taken two days ago. As you can see, this year we have added a fence around the property, placed an underground electric line from pole to house, added the sewer and field lines, graded the property and completed the garage (except for doors). Things that can't be seen are the kitchen cabinets and new wiring for the house. All we lack is the electric transformer and to dig a well. At present we are waiting on the people that are to do these things.



This is a glimpse of our new apartment. You can tell Guatemalans love color! There is one bedroom, a storage area where we put up metal shelving for our clothes and 1 1/2 baths! We are very comfortable here and plan to stay until we can move to Centennial Camp!








Kitty loves the balcony. She is three floors up and has nothing to jump to so we feel pretty safe with her going out there, although we do keep an eye on her and close the door when we are not here.



Hope this helps you "picture" us in our setting! The Lord has blessed us with a place where we feel settled, for now. This has really been a year of dependence on Him, but we have both grown in our faith because of it. Thank you for being a part of His work in Guatemala.

Maria
jcoker@email.caminternational.org

Feeling more at home

It's funny how living with your own furniture, towels and such can make you feel at home. Once we got the apartment "fixed", we are feeling much more at home and settled. Being on the third floor, the bugs (mainly spiders and ants) haven't found us - or maybe they don't want to climb 3 floors to get to us! Suits me! We had a "dinner party" night before last with the couple that took our place at Las Buenas Nuevas, Steve and Beth Kennedy. Those of you from First Bible may have met them when they were there for the TEAM missions conference several weeks ago. Steve and Beth are great friends with Jess and Janet Montegudo and we discussed the great sadness in the Montegudo and Barthel homes over LSU's loss to Auburn last weekend. Yes, we got to see the game on television!!!! Don't know if we will get to see Alabama play, but Auburn and LSU were ranked high enough for them to be televised on national television on CBS, one of the stations we can receive. (We have cable and internet at the apartment and are taking advantage of it because we will lose it all when we move to Centennial Camp.)

We understand that many of you are beginning to have fall weather! As we end the rainy season, it rains more of the day and is a little cooler. But we miss the color change in the leaves. Many of the area trees are pine and the temperature doesn't change enough for the leaves on the hardwoods to change. Other than that, the area of the Camp feels much like North Alabama!

Thanks for all of your comments on the blog - I'm glad that we can connect in this way. I am occasionally surprised at the different people that read about us and many of you commented on the pictures. I will try to post plenty of pictures so you can "picture" us in our new setting!

Maria
jcoker@email.caminternational.org

Latin American Independence Day

Today, September 15th, is Independence Day for most of Central America. We are a half block off the main street in Panajachel, so we were entertained for an hour or so this morning with all the surrounding schools' bands in a parade. We could watch the festivities from our balcony and could hear it from anywhere in the apartment!

We have had an interesting first week in the apartment. First, it is on the third floor, so we are losing weight carrying things up the stairs. Second, the hot water heater blew up on our second day here. Actually, it was an intake water pipe that managed to spew water everywhere after the big boom! After two days of repairing, we finally have hot water today - with the lights on! We are settling in and feeling more at home.

Maria
jcoker@email.caminternational.org

Moved in

We have completed our move to an apartment in Panajachel! As I mentioned before, unfurnished here means more than no furniture - it also means no stove, no refrigerator and, in this case, no cabinets. So, we made a trip to the capital this past weekend for shelves to store clothes and food and to pick up the fridge and stove we had previously bought. Last night, we discovered a "little quirk" about this apartment - when you turn on hot water, anywhere in the house, the overhead lights flicker and blow a breaker! Imagine Johnny's surprise when the lights went out during his shower! We hoped it was a fluke, but it happened again this morning when I ran the water to wash dishes. Just a "little quirk" that I hope can be fixed!

I'll post pictures later!!

Maria
jcoker@email.caminternational.org

Just where do you live?

For those of you that still have problems figuring out where we live, here is a pictorial to help! Check the map for "Antigua Guatemala" - not to be confused with the island of Antigua! The town of Antigua is land-locked and is a beautiful
Spanish colonial area. This is where we first lived
when we came to Guatemala for language school.

We now live in Panajachel, a small town on the side of a mountain, next to Lake Atitlan. Look westward on the map for the lake and Panajachel is on the northeastern edge, right under Solola. We will be moving this week to an apartment in the town, but have been living in a house on CAM's property there.

This is our ultimate move - Centennial Camp. On the map, it is about at the "z" in Santa Cruz La Laguna. This is our house, which still needs an electrical transformer and well before we can move in.

Hope this helps!

Happy birthday to our son-in-law Micah today! Wish we were there to help you celebrate!

Maria

jcoker@email.caminternational.org

An interrupted nap

Her favorite spot in a sunny window - the better to watch the world go by...when she's not sleeping!