La vida de Guatemala (Guatemalan life)

Field Update (Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers):

1. For salvation for those with whom God has given me the opportunity to share the Gospel here. Their names are Dorothee, Rianne, Sasha, and Alma. Also, pray for Mario and Odila, the family with whom I am living, that they would come to know Christ as Redeemer and Lord.

2. For my language learning. It is truly one of the hardest things I've ever done (maybe more difficult than pharmacy school, although I can't believe I just said that! :)), and there are so many times when I just want to pack it in and give up. I'm a perfectionist, and I'm impatient, and that is a terrible combination in language learning. Please pray that I would persevere and that the Lord would enable me to learn.

3. For encouragement for the team in Bolivia. They have had some disappointments in the village of Qhochumi, where the response has not been what they would have hoped. Please continue to lift up the people and ask that their hearts would be opened to receive salvation.

Inquring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

Life in another country is... hmm, what adjective should I pick? There are so many to choose from! Interesting, confusing, fascinating, frustrating, different, new, amazing. Yeah, it's all of those things and more. So I'll just give you a quick run-down of my activities here:

1. Language school. Easily the most frustrating thing I've ever done. I think I'll make another post about this at some point in the future... hopefully, when I'm feeling a little more optimistic about actually learning the language. :)

2. Living with a local family. This is definitely one of the best parts of this experience. I live in a house with two older people who have essentially become my local grandparents. Mario and Odila have been taking in students from our school for many years and are such a sweet older couple, and their granddaughter Cristal also lives with them. We also have a dog, a cute little Dachshund named Kalua. The family is very Catholic, but Mario has been asking me lots of questions related to spiritual matters. In my limited Spanish, we have been having some wonderful discussions!

3. Interacting with other students. There are two other students who live in the house with me. Dorothee is from Germany, and Rianne is from Holland. Neither are believers, but I have had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them once. I am hopeful that the Lord will open up more chances to share before they both leave here in a couple of weeks.

4. The food. What can I say? Odila is a wonderful cook! We have lots of fruit and vegetables, though meat is a little less common in our meals. I know some of you carnivores would have a problem with that diet, but it's really fine with me. They have great squash, avocadoes, and papaya here, so I have no complaints!

5. Finding a church. Guatemala is predominantly Catholic, and there is no Baptist church in Antigua. There is a Baptist church in neighboring Jocotenango, which is a little over a mile away. There are also a couple of other evangelical churches here (non-denominational), so it's been a good experience to be with other believers. I attended one of the non-denominational churchs last weekend and the Baptist church in Jocotenango this past Sunday, and I enjoyed both. The non-denominational church is bilingual, while the Baptist church is only in Spanish. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but I'm likely going to spend most of my time at a predominantly Spanish-speaking church. I really need to hear the language!

6. Life in Antigua. There's so much to say here. Some of its offerings:

Three gyms - The one we joined costs a little over $20 a month. Don't hate us because we live in a cheap country. :)
Two supermarkets - One is similar to Wal-Mart, though certainly not as big or as comprehensive in what you can buy.
Many cafes and restaurants - They pretty much have all kinds of food, even sushi!
Three volcanoes - We're going to climb one in a few weeks!
Earthquakes - Yeah, I experienced my first one a few days after arriving. It was crazy.
Crime - Just like everywhere else, I suppose, though we gringos with our laptops are prime targets here. I've learned to not carry my computer around all the time and to never walk alone at night.

7. And lastly and most importantly, sharing Christ. God has given me three amazing opportunities to share His light with others, and all three just blew me away. The first time was with my housemates, Dorothee and Rianne, and they both listened very intently and seemed very interested. The second time was at the local gym (yes, there is a gym in Antigua!) with an American named Sasha, and she also listened very closely. And, finally, I got an opportunity to share the Truth with my teacher, Alma, this past Friday... in Spanish! Granted, it was a very simplistic presentation, but I was able to tell her that salvation comes only by Christ, not through any good works, and that it is by the grace of God alone. It is only by the grace of God that I had the language to be able to tell her all of that! She even accepted a Spanish Bible from me and promised to read it. Although none of these accepted Christ at the time, I am hopeful that the Lord is at work, and it's fine with me to be the seed planter. He is the One Who gives the increase!

¡Bienvenidos a Guatemala!

That means ¨Welcome to Guatemala!¨ for those who didn´t know. :) I´m writing this from one of quite a few Internet cafes within walking distance of my home, so I should be able to stay connected fairly regularly. What a huge blessing!

Field Update (Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers):

1. That we would shine the light of Christ to those around us, particularly the host families with whom we will be living.

2. That we would be attentive and motivated in learning Spanish.

3. That we would grow in our personal relationships with the Father and that we would be unified in fellowship with one another so that God may be continually glorified.

4. Continue to lift up the Xtreme Team in Bolivia. They were able to go out into one of the indigenous communities this week. Pray that the hearts of the people would be prepared to hear the Truth of the Gospel.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

It has been a very eventful and very tiring day... but a very good one! The long and the short of it is that all 12 of us have arrived here safe and sound, and we are still awaiting one more from the States who should be here shortly.

After much time spent in airports and a VERY packed car (I have great video that I´ll upload later), we arrived safely in Antigua, Guatemala. We saw our language school, and they will give us a tour of the city in the morning, followed by afternoon classes for the next couple of days. We begin morning classes, in addition to the afternoon sessions, early next week.

My host family is very sweet. The wife´s name is Odila, and the husband is Jorge. They also have a niece named Cristal, and there is another language student named Rianna who is staying with them.

I´ve only been here a few hours and can already feel the frustrations of not being able to speak the language. I want to speak with my hosts, as they are very hospitable. They certainly speak to me enough, but I mostly just nod my head and smile like I understand. Oh, and I say, ¨No comprendo¨... a LOT. :) I cannot yet communicate well enough to discern whether or not they are followers of Christ.

Thanks so much for your prayers, as they are greatly needed, greatly appreciated, and greatly felt. I truly want to be devoted to language study so that I can share the Gospel as quickly as possible. You are a vitally important part of this ministry!