This whole day (Monday) has been surreal. Emily woke up at 4 a.m. this morning,sat straight up and said, “I am so excited!” From Josh driving us, to the guy who loaded ALL our foot lockers on a cart, to the lady who didn’t weigh them, to the security guard who said he’d put zip ties on them…the morning could not have gone smoother. Todd got us from gate to gate and after a lay over in Atlanta, we were on the plane to Guatemala.

As we were getting ready to land, the flight attendants passed out immigration forms to be filled out by each passanger. LOL! Those of you from Destiny Church will be proud, I passed out Destiny pens to all the people around me. This older looking Guatemalan man, in a cowboy hat, motioned to Clay for help. He deferred to me and I used what broken high school spanish I remembered to help him out, eventually taking his passport and filling out as much of the form as I could. What struck me was that the form was both in Spanish and English. It hit me that he could not read it. It was then that I looked at Todd, totally choked up in tears and said, “I am so glad we are here.”

I love Jesus and education. And my thought has always been, if I teach people to read, they can read the Bible! so i asked this man to come live with us….ok that is not true.

We made it through the Guatemalan airport and were greeted excitedly by Forrest and Carol. While getting all of our stuff loaded on the ROOF of the car, we talked to an airport employee who wanted to practice his english! He says he is studying at the university.

The ride was interesting, traffic is crazy. Guatemala City was poorer and more crowded, and much sadder than I was ready for and I wondered what people would think when they came to visit. We stopped at Pollo Compero, and got dinner to go. They have one in Herndon but for those of you, like me, who have not eaten there, it is like KFC. When we got to Antigua, we were awed by the sites of ruins that we drove by. Then we arrived home, once again I cried! The pictures do not do it justice. Our home is beautiful. God has given us a place to do ministry and a place to feel safe. The architecture is an added blessing. This house has amazing character, unlike any I have ever seen, with gardens and balconies.

Our stuff was unpacked and we were welcomed by an amazing young guatemalan lady named Wendy. She lives an hour away by bus and before helping in the houses, had never seen a washer and dryer. However, she does know how to weave cloth and that is an art I cannot even begin to attempt.

It is the rainy sesson, and today it poured. Many things in the house feel damp, but was very cool and comfortable with no air conditioning. There is a fire place in the living room and our bedroom. This is for when it gets cold outside, since there is also no heat. Every floor is tile or cement. And we have the Disney channel, in SPANISH!

Forrest and Carol have already been irreplaceable to us and for that we are grateful! Wednesday Estuardo takes us to Price Mart, Friday the kids can go to a youth group event and then next week we start language school!

Is this overwhelming to read? Try experiencing it all in one day!! But God is gracious and we are trusting Him. I promise not to write this much every time, but let me say this….we went around as a family and prayed in each room of our new home and I can honestly say, if you don’t come and at least visit, you will be missing out on an opportunity of a lifetime.

We love you guys,
Maureen