Maria's Mom

Many of you are aware that Maria returned to the States just one week after we got back to Guatemala. Her mom had a serious adverse reaction to a new medication. She had started the medicine while we were there but it took awhile for the side effects to show up. The new medicine interacted adversely with her Coumadin, causing her blood to become very thin. This led to severe bruising, fatigue, and shortness of breath. She was admitted to a hospital and
Maria went straight there when she arrived in Birmingham. Mom is home now and doing very well. She needs to regain her strength and still address an underlying heart condition. Maria will stay with her and I will fly to the states in February as we had originally planned to do. We have several churches to visit and missions conferences to attend. Pray that Mom's health will remain strong and for our travels. We look forward to visiting with many of you.

Johnny's blog

Most of you know Maria usually does the "blogging" in this family, but since I have the computer it now falls to me. Maria wanted me to blog about my experience yesterday at one of our local churches. I had been asked to be there with my computer and projector to show a DVD for the congregation. I got there early to set up but the pastor said the dvd had not arrived yet. So, I sat there as he stalled for time. Finally the dvd arrived and I put it in the computer. Nothing. It would not play. The computer would not read it. I asked the pastor if by chance this was a pirated dvd and he said,"Probably". He then asked if anyone had a dvd of some kind with them. One member offered to run home and get one. He returned with a dvd and just in case, brought a video and VCR. Again, the dvd would not play. Then I realized the problem. Many of you may not know that dvds are made for regional showing. The US is Zone 1 and Central America is Zone 4. Look on the back of your dvd case and you should see a globe icon with a numbver inside- that is the zone number. The dvds we buy here are usually good for both zones. Since our computer was bought in the states it was set for zone 1. It can be changed but only so many times before the change becomes permanent. So, no dvd showing. I hooked up the VCR to the projector and put in the tape. It was a US movie dubbed in Spanish called "A Thief in the Night", about the rapture. Great story line, but the film was made in the 70's. Did we really look that bad??? Polyester leisure suits, bell bottoms, mini skirts, Elvis sideburns, one girl had her hair in those giant curlers with a scarf over them that I remember my sisters using. It was hysterical to watch but I was on the front row and couldn't laugh without detracting from the message. I was glad it worked because the pastor had no back-up plan, like a sermon prepared. Some days you just shake your head.

Some December remembrances...

On December 2nd, my daughter Lindsay, who designs jewelry, had her first "trunk show". Mother and I drove to Nashville to help her and her friend Kat, who was hosting the show, set up and assist in whatever way we could. We had a blast and got a kick out of seeing Lindsay as the artist and designer she is!Ladies from all over Nashville crowded into Kat's dining room to see the jewelry Lindsay had displayed.
This is just one of the tables that contained almost 300 one-of-a-kind pieces available at the show.

Each piece is named with a girl's name

and given a personality.

I'm proud of my daughter and her talents and wanted to brag a little to all of you. She did very well at her first "trunk show" and hopes to have other shows in the future. Her designs can be seen on her website, Simon and Ruby, found at www.simonandruby.etsy.com.

I am happy to announce...

We are connected!! Finally, after 4 years, we have internet in our house! It's not high-speed yet, but it's better than we have ever had (anything is better than nothing!). This photo was taken last night as we tried to find the Sugar Bowl on the web. The closest we got was ESPN-Radio and the ESPN play-by-play diagram. But before getting the internet, we probably wouldn't have known for several days that Alabama lost!

I hope to be able to blog much more often, to the delight of some of you and the chagrin of others! Keep an eye on us here for more from...

CENTENNIAL CAMP!

Happy New Year 2009!

Here's wishing you a Happy New Year in 2009! Check back soon for news of internet at the Camp!

#1 Extranjero of Nahuala

Last week, Johnny was named #1 Extranjero of Nahuala! This means he completed his paperwork for residency and is the first foreigner to be an official resident in Nahuala. When we return to Guatemala after the holidays, I hope to be #2!

Christmas and Music

Christmas, to me, has always included music. Old favorite Christmas hymns such as O Holy Night and The First Noel, newer ones such as Mary Did You Know? (I will always picture John Godwin singing that one) and The Messiah. Songs that tell the story of the gift given to mankind with such undeserved love. Songs that tell of the unprecedented event that occurred over 2000 years ago. Songs that still my heart each year with wonder.

Tonight I had the opportunity to attend a Christmas Dinner Theater at the First Baptist Church of Sylacauga, Alabama. It was what I needed to start the Christmas season with...something to remind me of the true meaning of Christmas.

Brr...

I was feeling sorry for those of you having cold weather already while we had warm days where we could still wear short sleeves. The nights were cool, but the days were sunny and great! About the time our team from California arrived, so did the cold weather! Because of where we were working, they stayed on the mountain with us and got to experience a little of what we live thru. You have to remember that our houses have no heat, so our house and the dormitory where the guys stayed was cold - with mornings in the high 40's, low 50's. There was frost on the ground each morning until the sun rose above the mountain and you could see your breath in the air - inside the house! Welcome to balmy Guatemala!

All I can say is...

Roll Tide Roll

Alabama still #1!

Thank you!

This is the time of year for Vacation Bible Schools in Guatemala. The children are out of school from the end of October until the middle of January, so many of the churches plan their VBS during this time. Many of you that have visited and worked with us this year brought craft supplies that we help supply the churches with. In the above photo, our guard's three children are separating big bags of beads into smaller bags with the colors for the "Gospel" bracelets. They were a big help with a monotonous task and enjoyed making bracelets of their own to be able to tell the Gospel story! In the background, you may can see the piles of supplies that are being divided and given out. We have had more visitors in the last week asking for our help. We couldn't have done it without you! Thank you to all of you that sent supplies or money to help the churches with this particular form of evangelism. Don't be surprised in Heaven if someone comes up to you and says they are there because of you!!!

Dios te bendiga (God bless you)

The things you learn...

There are things you learn, living in a foreign country. After nearly four years in Guatemala, I learned something new yesterday. I already knew that the rainy season kept things damp...all of your envelope flaps prematurely stick together as do your stamps. (Thank goodness for the "pre-stick" kind!) Anyway, yesterday I learned that Listerine strips stick together also. Johnny and I were in a meeting with about 30 people when I offered him a "breath strip". What I didn't know was that three or four had stuck together! Now, these things tend to be strong anyway but three or four of them together about burned his mouth and he couldn't do anything about it! We did not have any water available so he had to sit there and take it, eyes watering and about to choke. Yes, it's funny the things you learn...

Graduations

We have developed many relationships since moving to Guatemala. Last week, we were invited to a graduation where we were introduced as the grandparents!

Psycho kites

The dry season is here, we haven't had rain in almost a week now. Along with the sun comes the winds. So far, our roof has survived although when the wind comes down the chimney and blows the ashes from the fireplace all over the house...

As I said yesterday, this is the season for flying kites. Wilder (left) and Fabio (right) made their own kites and were out bright and early Saturday morning.

They were up on the soccer field where the wind was really getting their kites up!

We always knew that Xiba didn't like cows and goats...she would go crazy at the twice-daily parade of bovine. Now, we have discovered another dislike of hers...Kites. When the boys were flying their kites, Xiba was going absolutely crazy!

We will always be protected from psycho kites!

Dia de los Muertos

November 1st...The Day of the Dead. Sounds grusome, but it is an annual Catholic holiday that is followed by All Saint's Day on November 2nd. To celebrate, the people go to the cemeteries, decorate the graves and spend the day. Meals are eaten over the gravesites with food being left for the departed. Kites were traditionally used with noisemakers to attract the attention of God to pray their family out of Purgatory. I don't know how much the kites are used for that today, but it is traditional to fly them during these two days.

Sumpango, a small village just outside of Guatemala City, is famous for their large kites that they fly each November 1st. The size of the village triples during this time.

Here is a typical scene at a local cemetery. There are particular flowers that are grown specifically for this day.

Kites are even flown at the cemetery.

These are just some of the ways we see the darkness of Satan's realm. The evangelical church does not celebrate with these traditions, but due to the large Catholic population in Guatemala, most people are off from work, making it a "national" holiday. Pray with us that the Evangelical church in Latin America will be light and salt in an unbelieving world.

Victor and his family

Everyone was laughing and having a great time before I took the picture. This is typical of the indigenous culture, they are very solemn for pictures. Juana, Victor's wife is teaching me Quiche - she speaks little Spanish so I am learning her language!

Maria

A Real Vacation!

We returned yesterday after a week on a 46-foot catamaran with 10 people. Yes, we are still smiling! It was a wonderful trip, even if the boat got small toward the end of the week.

These were our "family" for 6 days. All were U.S. citizens, although most lived elsewhere. We had lively conversations about life in Belize, Guatemala, California and New Zealand!

Meet the crew that sailed us around the Belizean reef and fed us. From left to right:

Elias, Carlos and Capitan Raul.

As I told the others, we were "living our dream"! The hammocks were cool during the day and great for sleeping...

the fishing was sporadic but enjoyable...

and I went thru three books between swimming and sitting and soaking up the sun.

Elias was a great cook and after arriving in the Gulf waters, we had fish or lobster every meal except breakfast!

These are some of the beautiful waters we swam and they snorkled in. I found I was a little to claustrophobic for snorkeling but enjoyed paddling around in the water and doing alot of sitting and sunning!

Johnny's first catch

The only time on shore was a couple of hours walking around Livingston. As you can see, we did get a little rain, but that didn't stop us!

We are ready to get home and gear up for the final team of the year in November. Rainy season ends around the first of November and the kids are out of school the end of October. Should be an interesting next couple of months!

Pure Water

In June of this year, the Emmanuel Church in Panajachel received a water filtration system from First Presbyterian Church of Visalia, California. Since that time, they have offered filtered water free of charge twice a week. Since Panajachel's water comes from Lake Atitlan without any cleaning, this has given the people of the town an inexpensive way to stay healthy. Benefits of drinking clean water are learned along with the spiritual benefit of living water for your soul!

Some recent work at the Camp

OK, Jess, you wanted some updated pictures! Here are the walls Victor and Johnny built. This incline will go from the parking lot up onto the soccer field. It can be used by vehicles, wheelchairs or, hopefully one day, a lawn mower!
The building on the left will soon have a second floor, with the steps going up! I talked them into adding a bodega (storage area) under the steps for cleaning supplies.

Poor Francisco! I caught him putting stucco on the ceiling of the women's bathroom. He was in semi-darkness and I blinded him with the flash! Oh well, the hazards of working around a woman with a camara!

The grass on the soccer fields is filling in nicely and by the end of the rainy season, we should have a good playing field!

Maria

Latest changes to LBN

Here is a recent picture of the new construction here at LBN. Eventually, these will be apartments for guests, office areas and storage. It will be beautiful when it is finished!

Maria

Restful weekend

This is a holiday weekend here - Independence Day for most of Central America. A group of us from CAM met at Las Buenas Nuevas for a restful weekend and time to catch-up with each other, our ministries and prayer requests. Some of the newest missionaries with CAM have little children, so it has been an experience to plan things around toddlers and kids under 10! But we had a great time and look forward to more fellowship time with each other. Two of the newest couples (and the ones with all the kids) live closest to us! Still an hour or two away, but closer than anyone else!!

Maria