So much to catch up on . . .

Gigi saying goodbye to some of the kids.

Saturday, May 26.  It was a whirlwind last day on campus for Gigi.  It was a "saturday workday" with continuing work at House 2 and the apartments preparing for all the coming visitors.  We squeezed in a trip to town for haircuts and got back to campus just in time to teach English class and then got in the van and headed for Guatemala City and the Barcelo Hotel.

Sunday we hung around Guatemala City waiting to welcome the Sosa's who were driving in from El Salvador.  They are such a sweet and precious family.  What an answer to prayer it is with them coming to live on campus.

Monday, May 28, Memorial Day in the States.  We drove 3 hours up to Lake Atitlan.  What a beautiful drive.  It was like driving 200 years back in time.  The native Mayans working the fields in their traditional handwoven clothing.  The drive is pretty much straight up the mountain so it got cooler and cooler as we drove.  We stopped in the village of Panajachel and took a boat across the lake to the village of Santiago where we had lunch and shopped a bit.  We visited a church that dates back to 1547.  Very cool.

Our taxi to the village of Santiago

Where we had lunch.

Tuesday we drove to the Pacific Coast town of Monterrico.  Another drive back in time.  The beaches are black sand and the waves were strong.  I guess what stands out most about Monterrico compared to other beaches is that it was raw and very non-touristy.  In fact, we were the ONLY tourists there.  We had the entire beach all to ourselves.  A local family served our every need.  They brought us umbrellas, lunch, drinks, provided showers, bathrooms, and parking - I think they would have changed our tire or trimmed our hair if we would have asked.  It was a fabulous and private day at the beach.  We spent some time chatting with a local and that is always so interesting.  Guatemalans are nice people with a relaxed feel about them.  The local guy "told" us (it is important to remind you of the language barrier here) we "should" ride the "ferry" back because the drive in was so long - and it was - very long through raw Guatemalan villages with tumulos (speed bumps)  every 100 feet.  He even provided a personal escort for us to this "ferry".  Holy cow!  No way am I putting my entire family on that raft with our 15 passenger van!  But, away we went . . . maybe that local was warning us not to take the ferry . . .

the "ferry"

I can't believe we are going to drive onto this thing . . . 

I have to stop here for now . . . our Internet is provided by a mobile Claro stick and by the end of the month our time is pretty much used up and our connectivity crawls.  I will edit and add photos later.
(Let me just make a note to myself . . .  the constantly being lost in Guat city and the driving on the pedestrian foot bridge by accident, James puking in the van, the uncanny number of men relieving themselves in public all over town, the giant cockroach, Mom leaving, the truck accident, passing the Bell's up the mountain, the apartments, the tour) 

I'll edit later.  Thanks for your prayers, keep them coming.  These last two weeks are going to be very hard for a very many reasons.

My last night at Casa de Esparanza

(Linda)
This will be my last night at Casa de Esparanza and it is with mixed emotions that I leave this awe-inspiring Oasis for children that I've become quite attached to over the last 5-1/2 weeks.  The Anderson's and I are leaving tomorrow afternoon for Guatemala City and will spend the night there Saturday night.  We will be following the Bell's (who live in House #3) to the Barcelo Hotel, and then on Sunday we will meet the Sosa family who will be moving into Casa #2 (the house we've been working on and painting since last Sunday).  We've done an amazing transformation on that house in just five short days.  The Sosa's and Bell's will then return to Casa de Esparanza and we will spend the day in Guatemala City and go to Lake Atitlan on Monday.  Steve says if you Goggle it, it will say it's the most beautiful lake in the world.  Then, we will return to the Barcelo Hotel Sunday night and go to the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, then back to the Barcelo Hotel Tuesday night.  Then, the Anderson's will take me to the air port in Guatemala City Wednesday morning for my 8:25 a.m. flight.  I have gotten to know and love the children who live here with the Bell's and the Korean family in House #5 which is next door to House #6 where we've been living.  I will carry their memories in my heart forever, and I will return home with a whole new perspective on the world around me.  I just hope I've made a positive difference in their lives because they have made a lasting impression on me.  I feel I have received more from my stay here than I'm leaving behind.  It's been a lot of very hard work but extremely satisfying.  It will be difficult to say adios to all the wonderful people I've met and gotten to know so well here, but it will be good to get back home too.  I will never take air conditioning for granted again. 

typing with wil

(wil)

Yesterday, we went up on to the other apartments, the ones that don't have any stairs to get up there.  We climbed a ladder and went up there to sweep the front porch/deck.  And while we were up there we went into one of the apartments and discovered bats.  And not baseball bats, real live vampire bats.  There was a reason I was the only one in our family brave enough to climb up the ladder to take a picture.  When I first took the pictures I didn't look at them too closely, but when I got out of the apartments and looked at them, I figured that was enough pictures.


Mr. Bell went into Guatemala city for a surgery Thursday.  He had some strings removed from his last surgery.  So for over a week he was not able to lift anything that weighed more than a gallon of milk.  So Mr. Bell is doing a lot of directing the next few weeks.  That slows us down a lot when Mr. Bell can't lift things around the campus. 


Lately I have been doing a lot of work around campus.  Waking up at 7:00 and going to bed at 11:00.  But I'm OK with that because it is cool I think to have put your mark on the campus.  When I come down with a team, it will be cool to say, "I helped with that" or "I've been there". 

That's mostly all,
Type to you guys soon,
Wil

Music lessons in the cafeteria.

A humming bird in our front yard.

Santos installing the light fixtures.

Prepping Josue's roof.  Only Josue, Raul, and Me, showed up to finish the next day.  We painted 5 gallons of silicone on the roof to keep it from leaking.

Typing with wil

(wil)
Yesterday we went to a xela revival.  The only reason I bring this up again is because before the event actually started,  Josue went to open one of the side doors to let in the air.  He walked over to the door, opened it, and while he was opening it he looked out side, then quickly shut it again.  We looked at him strangely and he said, "There is a man out side changing."  He waits for a little bit, looks out side again, but now he is putting on his pants.  And eventually the man finishes and comes in side.  Josue said that happens a lot. 

 Today, The Xela team did a drama for the kids on campus.  It was a big ordeal.  Each person from this team had a part in the play.  And the play lasted about 2 hours.

These were the 4 kids who did not fully participate in the Hokey-Pokey.  So they had to stand up in front of the whole campus and do it.

Miriam being asked a question from the clown.

Miriam was chosen for each activity they did,  She is very shy.





After the skit's, the whole team came out and prayed over the kids, then they all came in a huddle, and some chosen members prayed over all of them while the rest prayed over individual ones. 

Those kids lying on the floor have passed out from praying.

I have never seen teens and pre-teens, act so serious about prayer.  All of the kids were either crying, or passed out.  It is like nothing you have seen before.

Changing subjects,  Wade and James caught and killed an iguana.  They showed it to mom thinking it was so cool!  Mom didn't think it was cool. Mom made them clean it, cook it, and made them eat it. 

Later when we were painting house 2,  James developed a rash around his face, and started losing his memory.  Mom blamed the candy they got from the drama/ skit.  And goes on to explain how bad candy is for you.  So be careful kids when eating candy, for you could lose your mind.  But iguanas are OK. 

Oh and another thing we did today was finish painting the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and hall in house 2. 

Before

 We washed the windows and also cleaned a bathroom.  We had to clean that bathroom before you could do any thing to it.

After

One of the plugs that had termites nesting in it.

So today was a very busy day.  Most of our day consisted of painting house 2.  We will go back there tomorrow to paint the cabinets, base boards, and the upstairs.  I will post some pictures of the finished product of that too.

Josue put on one of the clown wigs.

Edwardo with a balloon in his shirt.

Flor with the clown wig on.

Flor with a hat one of the clowns made.

This was a game they played.  They were saying shrimp and candy, but in Spanish they sound similar, like a tongue twister. And the one who messed up was out.

clowns worshiping

And that's all for today!
See you guys soon,
Wil

A Flurry of Activity

(Jeana)  This campus has been a whirlwind of activity.  The blessing of servants for the kingdom is about to rain down on this campus.  It has been an "all hands on deck" couple of weeks.  Gigi, Guiermo, Sarita, Daveed, Santiago and myself had been assigned to work on two of the new apartments.  We have been cleaning, staining, painting and then falling over into bed at night.  As of last night, our focus has now shifted to House 2.  We are in a big time crunch to prepare that house to receive a new family on campus.  It is such an answer to prayer to have this family from El Salvador coming to serve with this orphan ministry and we want to welcome them into a freshly painted home.  House 2 is very large, built to house 15 rescued children and the family is to arrive on the 27th - yep, that gives us about 8 days.  It's going to be "Extreme Home Makeover" for a while except that we will only have 6 adults and 4 kids and $0 to complete the transformation - yikes.
 In addition to the family moving into house 2, we are preparing for  team season.  This year this campus will host 8 teams from the states.  Can you imagine caring for 13 children and then hosting around 100 strangers at your house?  Neither can I. These house parents are true warriors and humble servants and I will forever treasure this time that has been given to me and my family to serve alongside them.
In addition to the teams and the new family coming, there are the interns that come to stay for the summer.  So, to add to the 13 kids, 100 strangers and one new family - these house parents take on additional teenagers from the states.  And, all this happens within the next 2 weeks.  To say that we have been busy is an understatement to be sure.
I have never seen my kids so consistently happy and content.  They work hard and never grumble.  In addition to helping with all the painting, cleaning and moving on campus they are having to do routine life chores that they have never been called on to do before.  I am sure that none of them have ever washed clothes by hand before this trip.  The daily sweeping and mopping and cleaning of our personal residence is handled with never a complaint.  The hand washing of all dishes. And, the lack of any personal electronic device.  I truly am amazed at how content they have been.

Currently, there is a team here.  We have had some amazing times of worship and prayer with this team.  They hosted a revival type gathering down in LaFrogua that was attended by hundreds of people.  It was a really cool experience to worship in the night air alongside all the Guatemalans.  Though we haven't mastered the language, worship is understood in any language.
While we were at the revival, Daveed and Santiage caused quite the stir.  There was a line of girls wanting their picture taken with them.  Some of the little boys were trying to pluck out their blonde hairs.  In addition to worship, play is understood in any language.  They had a great time.  They also ate tacos prepared by a village lady.  I came onto the scene too late to stop them.  They were half done with those tacos before I noticed.  I will post a pic.  I am so glad that I brought all those pro-biotics.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the Anderson's have taken over the campus English classes. All of us go to the school twice a week and teach.  It is a blast.  We love these kids.

Off to work,
Va Pues!

a typical house in the village where the tacos were prepared . . .

P.S.  The little hummingbird lived!  We nursed him through 24 hours with the sugar water and he regained his strength and flew away. 

Typing with wil, Moving!

2 Days ago was the official start of the rainy season.  I am still working on getting you that lightning photo.
Yesterday, I helped move Josue and Santos in to there new homes.  Josue moved into one of the apartments next to Kevin and Kristin.  And Santos moved into house 4.  They took every thing out of house 2 except for the things that wouldn't fit through the bedroom's door, or the dishes.  Santos moved into Rosemary's room, and Rosemary moved into house 3.
That's it for today,
Type to you guys soon,  Oh and some pictures.

A picture of the storm coming in.  That is house 6's roof.

The wasps that decided to move in by our back door.  Raul burned them!

House 5's birds.

The electrical job in Zacapa.

Wil

We thank God for beans and rice.

(Linda) Greetings to all our family and friends:

We forgot to mention that we finally finished filing the windows in Casa Patsy on Thursday so to celebrate, we skipped the beans and rice that we usually have and headed off to Fancy's for a special dinner.  Since I've been here (April 18th), we've been to Fancy's four times, had tortillas de harinas one evening and yesterday evening we went to a new place called El Establos (The Stables) restaurant.  Aside from those outings, we've had beans, rice, home-made tortillas, and home-made salsa almost every day.  We had stir fry meat and veggies one evening but weren't real sure what kind of meat it was.  Every time we go to Maxi Despensa's, we cruise the meat counter and after perusing the selection, we lose our nerve and opt for our old standby....beans and rice.  Jeana and the kids have been here since April 4th and tonight for the first time, we started hearing grumblings about the steady diet of beans and rice.  The kids started talking about Taco Bell, Chipotle's, Taco Bueno, La Hacienda, and Christina's.  Sounds like they may be getting homesick for some good old Texas cuisine.  And I have to admit, my mouth started watering just thinking about some of my favorite eating places.  But, we prayed over our beans and rice and thanked God for the opportunity to be here and serve in His name.

Raul, the Korean who lives next door, found a baby hummingbird today and gave it to David and James.  Of course, we were thrilled!!!  So, we've been hand-feeding it sugar water, but it's not looking too healthy.  Earlier, it was able to fly about 4-5 feet, but hasn't attempted to fly in the last several hours.  Not sure it's going to survive.  Raul and Gloria have two parrots who yell and carry on every morning and evening, so Wil has been trying to teach them to say, "tastes like chicken."  They speak a combination of Korean and Spanish, so maybe they can add a little English to their vocabulary by the time we leave.

Early this evening, we started seeing big storm clouds developing and moving in from all around us, so we got all excited thinking it might rain, but they were just tormenting us again.  Zacapa is a desert encircled by mountains, and we can see the mountain rain nearly every day, but it never reaches us.  It did rain here this morning before church for about 60 seconds which just turned the area into a sauna.  Mountain-Pastor Jimmy says it will start raining on May 15th, so we're still hoping.

I'm posting pictures of the baby hummingbird, and hopefully, we can post pictures of a rain storm in the near future.

The baby hummingbird

His nest/bed of leaves.

Storm clouds over the mountains.

More storm clouds and sunset over the other mountains.

Wil's failed attempt at capturing the lightning.  Church in foreground.

Korean birds.  Every morning, they yell, "Hola."

   

Typing with Wil

(wil)
Yesterday it almost rained. Even Mrs. Bell thought it was going to rain. 

There was lightning everywhere and windy.  The wind was coming over the mountains so fast it sounded like a jet engine.  And it came out of nowhere.  But, it didn't rain.

Today was work-day-Saturday.  And we had to pull out all of the grass around the cafeteria/church.  Gloria gave all of the girls a working hat. (we don't know what it is used for)  When we first came outside, all of the girls were wearing one, so mom went back and got hers that Gloria gave her yesterday.  They said that Gloria made these hats herself.

After I helped pull up some grass in the front of the church, I went to the apartments to help them paint the walls.  I painted around the A/C unit, and on the highest wall.  We got dos whole walls done and one bathroom.










After that, we went to a new restaurant called Establos.  I thought it was OK.  I have been to better places before. But the food was good. 

After we got home, Santos stopped by our house.  And we talked about his new job, and how he doesn't get any free time or days.  And he really doesn't, we haven't seen him in a week. 

We are now playing cribbage and getting ready for bed.  We will probably be painting tomorrow too. 

I am still waiting for that big rain storm to come!  When it does I will post pictures for you guys. 

That's all for today,
Type to you guys soon,
Wil

Rosemery watching us paint.

Sarah's giant mango.  All of the mango trees are filled with ripe fruit.

Elliott with short legs.

Hugo showing off his moves!

The front of Establo's

Typing with wil

(wil)
Happy Mothers Day!
Or in Guatemala,  Feliz Dia de la Madre!
This is our second time celebrating this holiday.
Three of the Bell kids came over to our casa and made a surprise cake for their mom.

It is two layers, the bottom is chocolate, and the top is vanilla, with cookie crumbs in the middle.


Mom took us to lunch at Fancy's for Gigi's mothers day.  And for mom's mothers day, the three boys went and got a hair cut.  After wade and James got their hair cut they went across the street to play soccer with some kids.

Wade just saw him self in the mirror.

James forgot how to smile.

Of course, I look the best

We stopped into Maxi-D on the way home, and while wade was in line to check out, he saw this man behind him.  So being wade he whispered to mom, "Do you think he is a gringo?"  The guy turned around and said, "Yes!"  So we started talking to him, he didn't know about house of hope, and we didn't know about his prosthetic arm company. 
And that is how the Anderson's make friends around here.  If we whisper things around you when we get home, it is because we are not used to people understanding us.





Well that's all for today folks.
Type to you guys soon,
Wil

The latest picture of Dulce

Gigi's feet swell up so big she can't put her shoes on.  any suggestions?

All of the kids put together a skit, dance, or reciting for the mom's.

This is the closest thing Gigi could get to being a Margarita.