T-Minus Two Sleeps...

So we now have two sleeps until all the parents arrive! We have word that my (Kenneth's) parents safely arrived at Joy's parents and are now organizing the suite cases for the trip. Please continue to pray for them as they will be travelling Tuesday and arriving here in Guatemala on Tuesday night.

On the home front we're all improving. We've had consecutive not-terrible nights -- which is an improvement. Tomorrow Sara goes in for a followup checkup at the pediatrician. Thursday Joy goes in for her followup with Dr. Ruata.

Abigail and I (Kenneth) continue to put one foot infront of the other (and hope we don't walk into each other). This is the last week of classes until January so there are lots to prepare for.

Until next time,

-knm/jr/ab/eb/sj/e

Scratch that Date!

Well, well... Sara had another plan.

At 10:30pm Joy went into labour. She started out at 5 minutes between contractions. We waited until about 3am to call the doctor because Joy had had a period of contractions on Wednesday. After listening to Joy have a contraction over the phone he said to come on in.

After Jean and Richard arrived we headed in. They checked her BP and then pretty much said that, "We and she are ready".

Unlike WDH I was not permitted to go into the OR so I had to wait for the pediatrician to bring her out. She was beautiful. She was 6lbs and 11oz and measured 20.5 inches.

Mommy and Sara are resting peacefully.

-knme

Houston, we have a date!

After much waiting and many trips into the capital to visit the doctor .... and have fun ultrasounds performed we now believe we have a date for the c-section.

Barring an early (and unexpected) arrival Joy will go in for the c-section on Wednesday, 24 November, at 7:30am.

We will spend the weekend finishing up any last minute items. I (Ken) am expecting to take off next Wednesday through the following week -- maybe going in to the office for an hour here or there.

The school has been very supportive and has encouraged us to take whatever time we need.

-knme

Show Information

If you are interested in tuning in to see the CAG production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" the link information is below. The show starts at 7pm Central American Time (8pm Eastern).

Site: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cag-charliebrown

Password: youreagoodman

Three more days to go!

-knme

Blessings Abound

The Lord has blessed us with a van! Last week we completed the deal of buying the van from our Yanaga friends... they ended up buying a car from another missionary teacher here at school -- everything just worked out.

To finance this we had to be creative with the finances... we ask that you continue to be in prayer about continued support towards this cause.

We're about nineteen (19) days out from the birth of our newest family member. As I write this Joy is at the baby doctor for a routine checkup (rescheduled twice due to the doctor being called in for surgery).

Preparations for the show continue yet we're looking forward to the down-time between the show and the baby-birth.

-knme

Weekend Update

Good morning. It is 6:26am. The sun is shining over the eastern mountain. Coffee is brewed. Family sleeps.

Our friends from Chichi (Don, Heather, Aiden, Ali, and Olivia) left yesterday noon. It was awesome to see the kids playing together again. It was also good for us to have little Olivia here because it helped us to see the little things a little one will get into. Granted we have a wee bit of time before our new baby girl (*sigh* - yes, she is still unnamed) starts crawling and walking.

The rest of our weekend was peaceful. Abigail has taken the "writers workshop" to the next level. She has personally penned three stories. We are really excited to see her truly enjoying this new hobby. We're thinking of taking out stock in the paper company.

Ohhhhh, we may have an awesome answer to prayer! It looks like our transportation problem has been solved. Richard and Jean, the owners of the van we've used off-and-on for the last month or so have found a vehicle from another missionary family (friends of ours) for a very reasonable price. So it looks like we will be able to get the van from them for much less than we were originally thinking - $2,500.

However, we still need to pay for it (slight complication). Please continue to pray over this because we see it as the Lord blessing us with a reliable vehicle for about 50% of what the vehicle is worth.

Moving on!

-knme

Canadian Thanksgiving

Well with the anticipated date for thesection being 24 or 25 November we decided to go all out forCanadian Thanksgiving this year. We invited a few of our friends, boughta turkey, and enjoy ourselves.

The food was wonderful. I believe a

good time was enjoyed by all.

-knme

Picture day? Whooops...

So our noble cause this morning was picture day.

I (Kenneth) got up at 5:40am and blew through the shower. I took considerable care to make sure every hair was in place. On the way through to get Abigail I poked the pregnant sleeping beauty (life in own hands, I realize).

Abigail was unusually pleasant with the idea of the "bower" (Daddy's cross between a bath and a shower). I literally scooped her up and placed her in the tub. One squeaky clean girl later we were getting her dressed. Beautiful dress on, teeth brushed, hair combed, smile on... ready!

Emma, pre-"bowered" from the night before, gets dressed because she gets to hang out with Daddy this morning.

Upstairs we all go for breakfast... Abigail spills a little bit of milk on her dress... no big deal (recalls some famous saying about spilled milk).

Lunch packed after considerable distress at the idea of having her first sandwich in over two weeks -- oh the agony. Compromise: left over rice, corn, and crock-pot-chicken -- ok, we're happy now. Her sandwich will have to wait for another day.

Dog out, kids in car, computer in car, 'rents in car -- all set and ready for take off. Not bad, only 10 minutes late. We're in good shape. Have to be to school for 7:30 for staff picture. Normal 10 minute drive -- 20 minutes in the morning due to traffic. Departure time: 7:15... *sigh*

Oh yeah, elementary picture day is tomorrow -- no time to change Abigail now... off we go.

Traffic.

Oh why do they have to come down the two lane road (one lane coming and one lane going) side-by-side?! I mean there are two lanes: one for us and two for them? What?!

Oh yeah... today was pizza day for Abigail... *sigh*, serious?

-knme

Teeth, Sleep and Pickles

The big news of the week around here - Abigail lost her first tooth. She was SO excited, telling everyone. At first she talked about the tooth fairy, and then on the way home from supper decided she would rather keep the tooth than get the money. We explained to her that she could do both things, and asked what she thought of the tooth fairy. She then declared matter of factly - I don't think she's real, because there are no real fairies. This of course launched another discussion, or rather monologue, by her on the parents out there who are still "lying to their children" about Santa Claus. Gosh, can't get much past her.
This morning was spectacular. Friday's are the only morning on which I can occasionally sleep in, like really sleep in, during the week. Emma woke up at 7:20ish, but miracle of all miracles did not come into my room and tap me, or even speak to me until 8:57. The first thing she did was apologize for screaming at her sister last night, which made her miss story time and go straight to bed. Then she pointed out to me that the clock had a 7 on it which meant I should get up. (How glad am I that she doesn't realize the 7 is normally in the first spot on the clock when that weekend rule is in affect.) In the time between wake up and grand entrance I had heard her talking to herself and playing in her room while I dozed. What I didn't know, but quickly noticed, was that she had gone to the bathroom, gotten herself dressed, and as I was excitedly told - "And I put my jammies under my pillow so I would have them tonight."
So proud of her was I that I didn't even sway in my excitement to see that the clothes that she was wearing were from the dirty laundry (and her dress was on backwards so the buttons were open down to about her naval.) Nor did I falter when she told me she had searched through the pile to find just the right pair of panties. Not a flinch when I realized her pants were soaking wet - we all have accidents (and besides, they could have been that way from the laundry I suppose.) Not even when she told me that the jammies she had been wearing, which were now under her pillow, were also soaking wet. I didn't laugh either, I'm so proud of me :-).
Emma was a perfect angel all morning so I rewarded her by letting her go to class with Mommy. My middle school choir girls thought that was the greatest thing ever. I managed to miss an extreme meltdown by Abigail (who had great behavior all week at school, go figure.) Had a great rehearsal after school. Taught a voice lesson in exchange for babysitting which allowed me to go on a date with my husband. Had very little traffic on the way into the capital. Randomly decided to have dinner at Chili's where my husband discovered that they had FRIED PICKLES on special. We were treated to some stellar, and yes that is sarcasm, karaoke in Chili's. It was SO bad. And now as I sit here writing, our neighbors up the street are having a really loud birthday party with guess what, really stellar karaoke. I think there may be three different tunes to the same song going on right now, plus the instrumentals. Ohhh, it's bad - I so wish you all could actually hear it.
I will rest in the fact that I had a wonderful day, and not think about the fact that parties like this normally don't end until well after midnight. I wonder if there will be fireworks to wake me up five minutes after I finally fall asleep during the dull in which everyone walks outside to set up the fireworks. Hmmmm......

Rain, rain, go away...

If any of you have been watching or reading the news you've not doubt heard that the weather here in Guatemala has been wreaking havoc in the country.

Unlike last rainy season, which was comparatively dry, this season has been VERY wet. This last week has seen a lot of rain which has caused major damage throughout the country. Here in San Cristobal we're fine but many areas have suffered horribly.

We ask that you join us in praying for the country.

-knme

Catch Up

Every time I realize we should update the blog I'm either 1/2 asleep, 1/4 awake, or no where near the computer. Tonight I was convinced I wasn't going to let that happen again.

Last time we were overjoyed to see (again) two of our three boxes we shipped back on 8 July! With minimal casualties we considered them major successes and awaited the next arrival.

Well... Monday was the first day of school -- and all things considered it went remarkably well. The school principal was feverishly working on getting the students schedules set and Ken was helping where possible. Joy was still working out of a suite case in Ken's office because her new classroom wasn't done (until Tuesday). The last of the new school books arrived the same time as our first two boxes so Joy (and other teachers) had spent a large chunk of the weekend planning her curriculum.

Tuesday and Wednesday were not too bad with one exception - Abigail had had some difficulties in school and had her "clip" moved to yellow. Thursday we had a very good meeting with her teacher where we encouraged to hear how overall Abigail was actually doing very well in class and that the clip movement was a precaution to ensure the teacher still had discipline. Now, given my current tired-state this may not make a whole lot of sense but please rest assured that Joy and I are in full agreement and understanding with the teacher.

The week ended on a good note as Joy had had her first auditions for the Charlie Brown musical and was very excited by the prospects of casting AND Abigail had ended the week with two consecutive "green clip days".

Emma has mostly been along for the ride. She started her homeschooling -- err, a misnomer because she is being schooled at her way-cool desk in Daddies office with Mommy.

As I recall it was also Thursday when box number three arrived... and then it sat in our garage until Sunday. Joy had audition call backs Saturday afternoon and a drama planning meeting Sunday afternoon. Ken wrestled with the girls, did some cleaning around the house and took a nap (shhh, Joy doesn't know).

Oh yeah, Saturday night around bath time we emptied one of our gas tanks so there was no hot water for the girls bath -- not to worry because we had a spare tank... yeah right. In the nozzle of the tank is a small rubber gasket-like-thing which ensures a tight seal so no gas escapes. Well, apparently they come in tight and really tight sizes. We needed the tight size, however, were blessed with the really tight gasket. Bottom line: really tight rubber gasket = no gas because hose nozzle don't fit = no hot water = no gas range (electric stove, ok) = no shower before church Sunday morning :0/

After Joy's drama planning meeting we went over to chez Hanken for supper (delicious chili and cinnamon rolls) and a hot shower/bath. Life was good.

Today marked the beginning of week number two of school. Gas guy came and changed really tight rubber gasket for a tight rubber gasket (w00t!) The night before we had quickly pulled everything out box 3 and put it in the house so after school today Ken assembled Joy's piano and our futon -- ah the comforts of home! Joy had her first batch of rehearsals today and was really encouraged. She feels like she might end up with less work in the end than originally thought. Abigail had her clip moved to yellow again today. We ask for prayer for her as she continues to have some difficulty adjusting to a new teacher and new expectations.

Well... I think that is all... umm... yep -- goooood night!

-knme

2 of 3 boxes arrived

W00t! Two of the three boxes arrived at the school this afternoon! The Guatemalan staff were amazed at the size of them.

So far, as we quickly unpacked, there has only been one casualty - a small black que card holder. The toy box, Canadian glider, and dishes all seem to have survived.

The remaining box has Joy's keyboard, our bed, and futon in it and may arrive tomorrow or Monday. We'll see.

-knme

Boxes

Our boxes that we packed and shipped still have not arrived. Please join us in praying that they get here soon. The grownups don't really mind, but some of Abigail's school supplies are in there and it would be nice if she could have them for start of school on Monday. Thanks!

Oh, and I (Joy) am learning quickly that just because I am getting up earlier, like way earlier because of teacher's week and my morning classes - doesn't make me a morning person. This stinks!

Let the fun begin

And they're off... Yesterday marked the beginning of the school year for us (teachers). Teacher orientation/workshop week is here with full vengeance. No more sleeping in -- bless the alarm which rings at 5:50am.

In all we have around 61 teachers and staff this year. I have yet to learn much more than their names but I'm sure that will come in time.

We've continued work on the news letter. Our hope is to have it out to all of you in early-mid september.

Not much more to talk about right now.

-knme

PS: since returning Joy has changed her mind twice on the name of our new baby...

1st day back: ultrasound & unpacking

Good day today so far (nearly 10pm -- I think I can call it a good day).

We unpacked some stuff this morning... realized we forgot a few things (Joy's new Tim Horton's mug and one of Emma's new sippy cups)... oh well. We'll either get them in December or next year.

Joy went to school to check in and sit in on a couple of interviews.

Maribel had such a huge smile on her face when she was greeted at the door by the kids.

We went to the OB today for a routine checkup -- all is good. Joy is 22 weeks + 1 day and the baby is right on the line for normal growth to this point. We believe the OB is currently looking at 25 November for the surgery but Joy isn't in love with that date for obvious reasons (thanksgiving)...

Kim and the girls brought Snickers and Molly home tonight and stayed for supper. Snickers missed us (we think). Emma was chasing her around all night so I think it is safe to assume that she missed Snickers terribly.

Well, that is all for now...

-knme

Safe Arrival

It is Tuesday morning and we're safe in Guate!

We arrived around 8pm (CAT) with all our bags. In all the trip was rather uneventful. We left our family and went through security. After clearing security we proceeded to McD's to get lunch (to go) and then right onto our plane. We found out that the car seat we brought was not permitted on the plane b/c it was not FAA approved -- which was fine, but the ticketing agent told us it was fine. The gate agent was rather obnoxious to Joy about the whole matter.

We were blessed to arrive in gate D45 and leave out of Gate D43 in Miami. At one point it looked like they were going to change our gate but they decided to bump the other flight to after ours.

We want to extend a very sincere thank you to everyone who helped us during our furlough. It was really awesome to see those we were able to and sad to miss connecting with others. We learned a lot about this furlough so we'll hopefully be more prepared for next year.

From Guate,

-knm/jr/ab/eb/tg

Final Week

Our final week in the States was pretty busy. We fit in a promised trip to Story Land, a family pool day, packing, presentation/potluck at DBC, "back to school" shopping... our heads were spinning.

We realized there were many folks we did not get to see and we're really sad about that. We pray that next year we'll be able to schedule things a bit differently.

-knme

Oh Canada!

For our third full week back we got in the car and started the (long) drive to Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada. We left New Hampshire around 1pm and drove as far as Woodstock, New Brunswick. There we stayed overnight at the house of the parents of one of Joy's college friends.

We arrived around 6:30pm (eastern time, 7:30 atlantic). The girls played a bit and Marjorie's parents prepared a little bite to eat for us. It was a good time and we all slept well. The next morning we got away around 10:30 and continued the drive to Chester.

We arrived at Chester around 6:15pm. Everyone was excited to see everyone (goes without saying, really). We had a bite to eat and relaxed for the night.

Tuesday we did some shopping in Bridgewater. Wednesday we had a huge turkey dinner (my mother must love us a lot to cook in that heat). Thursday we stayed close to home recovering from our tryptophan hangovers. Friday we went to the Atlantic Playground and enjoyed water slides and kid rides pretty much all day. Saturday we went to a local island beach where the kids (old and young) got to explore the water and rocks -- finding star fish, periwinkles, and crabs. Sunday we worshiped and spoke at Chester United Baptist Church and then enjoyed a youth sponsored BBQ. Seriously we packed a lot into that week and the goodbyes were difficult for all of us.

We left Chester early Sunday afternoon and stayed the night at the Best Western of Woodstock -- where we found out that we had forgotten Joy's purse back in Chester. That seemed to be the only thing that really went wrong for the trip so we can't complain at all.

On to the final leg of our furlough.

-knme

US Visit #1

Wow. We've had a fast-paced stay in New Hampshire (first go-around). We spent the first week frantically packing to get our shipment boxes ready. This entailed going through all our State-side stuff and deciding what goes, what gets kept, and what gets eliminated. Of course this week was one of the hotest I can recall. The garage was registering between 95 to 104F for most of the week.

Once we had finished with the boxes and they were (manually) loaded onto the truck (Thursday) we finished prepping for our yard sale (Saturday). Of course on that day New Hampshire tried to remind us of Guatemala when it had a deluge of rain which flooded Meridian Drive. Ed and Ruth both commented that they've never seen anything like that there before.

Both our first Sunday and second Sunday back we worshiped at Dover Baptist Church. It was great to be there to reconnect with friends and family.

Our second full week back was Vacation Bible School. The kids had a great time. I believe the program had a record turn out of kids. Much hard work was done by many volunteers and we give them thanks.

Our third Sunday we split up -- sending Abigail and Emma to DBC while Joy and I worshiped and spoke at Exeter Community Church. We had a good time there. Immediately following the service we met up with the girls and headed to Canada.

(PS - Pictures will be posted later)

-knme

Arrival in NH

We're back! After a long day we arrived in NH at about 3:30/3:45am.

Miami International Airport was a challenge but we finally got through. There was about an hour delay from the original flying time but overall, that wasn't bad at all.

-knme

Homeward Bound...

Sorry for the delay in the posting. We've had a whirlwind couple of weeks. Back on June 4th we moved into our "new" home. It was a good move and we're very grateful for all the help we had.

The following week Joy came down with a "slew" of amoebas which wrecked havoc on her -- even to today. She felt awful. We had a very difficult time locating the medicine Joy's OB prescribed for her. Eventually it was found and Joy did start the recovery. Until...

Tuesday, 15 June, Joy was hospitalized with a hemorrhage and clot near the baby. Later we found out that the clot pretty much saved the baby. The Doctor originally said she'd be in the hospital for three days and then bed rest for likely four to five weeks.

Friday, instead of getting on a plane to return to the USA, Joy was having another ultrasound to see if there was any change in the clot. One of our CAG friends, who is a mid-wife, had come to visit and helped to explain the drawing our doctor had left. She thought, however, Joy might be on bed rest for ten to fifteen weeks. None of us was prepared for how God was about to work.

Friday morning the ultrasound showed nothing. No blood. No clot. Nothing -- except a healthy baby. Both the doctor and the sonographer had no idea where the blood and clot went.

A follow up ultrasound on Tuesday showed the same results. At that time we received clearance for Joy to fly (w00t)!

We have tickets for Tuesday which will land us in Boston at 1am Wednesday morning. We will return to Guatemala on Monday, 2 August.

We look forward to seeing all of you next week.

In Christ,

-knme

Now that's some dirt!

These are pictures of our drive home from Chichi today. The drive up was even worse, but they worked all weekend to get things cleared up. In this picture you can tell that the mud was at one point across the whole highway due to the amount that is still in the center median.




Ken took this next picture out the passenger window. That dirt is covering 2 lanes of the four lane highway. We were traveling on the "incorrect" side for this time. No way it had stopped there, it must have been covering the whole thing at one point. This will take some serious time to clean up!
















This picture just shows a small bit of how they are cleaning everything up.













So, can anyone else see the four lanes of the highway? Yeah, we couldn't either. There were other parts of the highway that were just washed away. Overall they did a very good job making the roads passable and keeping us away from any danger. We did still avoid the outside lanes though, because you just never knew when you might turn a corner and run into a small mud slide.

Vista Hermosa Photos

This photo shows the steep grade of the hill on which this village is built. The people who live here are very poor, beyond the comprehension of most North Americans. A comment was apparently made on one of the news channels -"Well, what can they expect if they build their houses in places like that." One might think that, but these people have no choice. Because all of Guatemala's wealth is held by only 40% of the population, the other 60% suffer. It is heartbreaking to see people driving around in Jaguars and BMWs who will do nothing to help their own countrymen.


Standing in Vista Hermosa, amongst the tin shacks, the wealth of the city beyond can be seen at the bottom of the hill. Flat ground with no danger of landslides wiping out the homes.



Inside one of the homes are students from Escuela Integrada. The parents are both working and the young boy at right is in charge of the family for the day. We delivered a bag of food and hygiene staples and then took time to pray over the children. They had a lot of water in their home after the storm, but no mud thanks to a new roof that was put on by a missions team.


The father of this home, like so many here, is an alcoholic and often absent from the family.





These pics are of the river that flooded the town with 2-3 feet of water. This is its normal height, or depth, or whatever - so you can see how crazy this storm was. They are trying to repair the river bed as quickly as possible before any more storms hit.

Agua

When using that word as a title I get this image of someone crawling through the desert, desperate for a drink. There are many people here desperate for water right now. We learned through our friends Don and Heather last night (the ones we visit in Chichicastenango - say that three times fast) that the entire town up there is without water due to the storm. Worse than that they have been told it will be two to six MONTHS before they get water again. They have water because they live on the grounds of a hotel with a well. Unfortunately hotel policy is that they can't even share the water with their employees.
Please join us in praying today that the hotel owners will modify their stance in this time of crisis, and for the ministries in the area trying to get water to distribute.

Off to clean the old condo - joy, joy.

Great Pictures

This article has some great pics of what was going on around the country. It was nowhere near this bad where we live.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/a_rough_week_for_guatemala.html

Please take a minute and check them out, and pray for the people that are still digging out.

Tropical Storm Aftermath

First off, for those of you who have seen news of the sink hole, it is clear across the capital from us. The area of the country we are in has seen the least damage and disaster from the storm due to our good infrastructure. The majority of deaths have been out in the country where people are still living in mud and tin shacks, on the hillsides.

There was a lot of damage to roads around the Antigua area, but we are now able to get into that city. Our secondary ministry, L.A.C.E.S and their school are located there. All of our students have been accounted for, but many have lost all but the clothes on their backs to mud and water damage. We hope to help directly with that after our time at teacher work days is finished. At this point it looks as if we may help with delivering water and food to some of the greatest affected families from the school.

Please pray for the many people in the country who have lost so much and are displaced. It affects more than the poor, but they are affected the most. Also, please pray that the airport will reopen quickly as there are many ministry teams trying to get out and in, as well as many of our teachers from the school. The news tonight said it should reopen tomorrow which would be wonderful.

A few Photos

These are from our house and the area. Everything around here is fine, drying out and all. Our friends who live up in the mountains have heard that about 100 people have died in their area from landslides. Everyone we know is safe, as far as we know, Joy has not heard about all of her students from the school in Antigua.
From L-R: A small pile of debris, we called it ash but really it is dirt, that our gate guard had to shovel off the driveway. The grooves in our plastic roof (over the laundry room) filled with said debris. A dump truck in the middle of our boulevard park divider thing - they were out with small metal shovels cleaning off all the streets and putting it in trucks like these. Who knows where it will go from there.

Soggy

So, how much fun can we have in a 60 hour period? Well, let us see: Thursday night between 6 and 7pm Volcan Pacaya started erupting -- but we knew nothing about it. See, the rainy season just started so rain in the evenings is rather common place. And with the rain comes some changes in temperature so when it sounded like hail around 7pm we thought nothing of it. When it started "thundering" about 30 minutes later we also thought nothing of it.

We literally knew nothing about what was going on until about 7:30 the next morning when Abigail and I (Ken) left for school -- Abigail asked me, "Daddy, why is it all black out here?" Still I refused to have a clue, "Oh Abigail, maybe the rain came from the other direction last night and washed the dirt and dust off the roof and covered the ground and cars (about 15 feet away from the house).

I asked Alba, the wife of our gate guard, "Where did all the dirt come from?" -- to which she replied, "Oh, Pacaya erupted last night between 6 and 9pm" -- to which I said (after picking up my jaw off the ground), "Seriously!?"

It wasn't until later in the morning until I put 2 and 2 together to get 4 -- the hail wasn't hail (falling sand/ash) and the thunder wasn't thunder (Pacaya's eruption). Duh!

Well then the rain came back... and it rained... and it rained... and it rained... and finally Saturday noonish, while chatting with another teacher after graduation, we found out that the rain wasn't because of the normal rainy season -- rather it was because of the tropical storm Agatha coming in from the Pacific. Oh -- good to know about, right?

Well, these are things we'd likely known about much sooner if our Internet at the house had been working. It's been out since sometime Tuesday which has played havoc with our ability to stay current on such important newsworthy stories (like the Canadian and American Embassy Warden's messages regarding the coming Cyclone/Typhoon).

Alas, better late than never -- eh?

Anyway off to check more news -- while we have working Internet.

-knme

Hail, Debris, All the same right?

Will post more later, with pictures, but wanted to let everyone know that we are fine. Our guard has been shoveling ash off the driveway all morning, but that is the most we were affected by last nights volcanic eruption.

Stones and Cannibals

Find me another school that prompts this kind of conversation from a kindergardener:

Abs: Mommy, I want to go to China. Wait, no I don't because in China you can't go to church you'll get arrested.
J: Where did you hear that?
A: Eli (a classmate.)
J: And why is that?
A: Because the government wants everyone to worship a stone. I mean, What good does it do you to worship a stone? Can a stone help you? Duh!

Hmmm...This launched a discussion of bringing the Bible to unreached lands, how maybe in the future China will be open to missionaries and she will go there, the story of Jim Elliot. Goodness, I love that my 6 year old can carry on such intelligent conversations. I do pray that someday she will be able to hear the voice of God clearly and will follow Him wherever he asks her to go, even if that means China. We'll work on her presentation a little before then though, I don't think the "Duh" would really benefit her.

Give me 10

I continue to marvel at how fast the year has gone. There are just ten days left of classes!

Friday afternoon we celebrated the service of Joe, Sharon, and Lois at CAG. The holes they leave will be very difficult to fill but we also continue to trust in the Lord that He will fill them.

Joy had her 2nd-to-last school event last night (Middle school Murder Mystery party). Tomorrow she will be participating in the Baccalaureate Ceremony at Union Church and then I believe she will be done.

For me, to some extent the end of the year will be my busiest time as I will be aiding in final grade storage and generation and review of report cards and transcripts and beginning upgrades to the school's central servers.

We will move into our new home 4-6 June. Then our next family event will be our return to the USA/Canada for a quick furlough (18 June through 31 July).

Well, that is all for now. We look forward to seeing all of you over the time we will be around.

In Christ's service,

-knme

A Test of Flexibility

All was good and peaceful, until I drove onto campus and saw smoke pouring out of every building. A little concerning since we had a recital scheduled in the chapel tonight. I wouldn't even have batted an eye if the buildings were on fire, because that at least would have been unplanned for. Fires overrule schedules, period. It was however, smoke from the fumigation which had just happened. Fumigation which closes everything down until the next day. Fumigation that was not communicated to those of us who needed, and had reserved, the use of the buildings this evening.
Oh well, the bugs in the chapel might still live. I thought about rescheduling, and then realized I had no time (and really the kids that suggested it were just nervous.) At that point we had (not me, the maintenance man) already opened the doors and windows in there and were waiting for the smoke to clear. I thought, we can just start late, but was quickly reminded that we really couldn't enter the building for 8 hours. Hmmm...plan C. We hold our breath, take short trips in and take all the stuff outside and have the recital there. So that is just what we did. A few wind blown pages, lots of dead bugs thanks to the rigged up lights, fear of rain on the piano, and great performances later - my first ever all outdoor student recital is finished.
Just think about how that would have rattled the old Joy. Not anymore! HA - I've got this flexibility test aced (at least tonight.)

Wowzers... where has the year gone?

Someone tapped me on the shoulder the day. Boy was I surprised when I looked around and saw the "end of the school" year! I can honestly say I did not see that one coming.

With the end of the school year comes many plans. Plans for moving from our current condo to the new house we'll be renting. Plans for what to do with our gas-guzzling Astro van. Plans for going to the US and Canada to visit family and friends. Plans for what we're going to try to ship back over the summer. Plans for where we're going to speak and when.... and what. Plans for how we're going to get Joy to the Cold Stone Creamery every day while we're in the US.

The girls are taking the new about a new brother/sister pretty well. Emma has already asked that we bring the baby into her room to sleep with her... when he/she wakes up. Abigail is also excited and has declared she is ready to be a big helper with the new baby but -- BUT -- she isn't going to change any diapers!

Well, that is all for now.

-knme

And then there was three

Courtesy of BabysOnline.com.

Scruff Scruff

So I've been erring on the side of lazy and have not shaved in a couple weeks.

Abigail has been all over me to shave off that scruff. She has been threatening to withhold kisses and snuggles if I don't shave.

This morning she declared that if I don't soon shave I'm gonna look like that guy we got Snickers from. Now, in reality we Snickers from Joe and Lydia Groen but I suspect she is thinking of either Fenton or Warren Groen. Funny girl that one.

-knme

Close Connections -- Ever Harder

We are missionaries to Third Culture Kids in Guatemala serving at Christian Academy of Guatemala. After God laid this on our hearts we did our research. One thing we learned is that a TCK has a hard time bonding with people because of the constant turnover in their lives.

At CAG, for example, students sometimes are hesitant to bond with teachers because there is a rather high turnover in teachers from year to year. With our mission being aimed long term we were excited to offer these kids some stability during their years at CAG.

Early on in the school year we had the opportunity to experience the kids side of this as we found out that Joe and Sharon, two people at CAG with whom our family bonded rather quickly, were being obedient servants of Christ and accepting a new position at Dakar Academy in Senegal, West Africa (after 15 years at CAG).

We revisited this sensation/feeling this past Sunday when we found out that the Pastor of the English Church we've been attending since January has accepted a position at church closer to his wife's parents. Again, another family being obedient to Christ's call to move their ministry. Again, another comfortable bond our family made which will be changing because of turnover.

Now, being a bit older I can better understand "calling" and the "why" of moving. This understanding doesn't make it any easier, at first. Like with Joe and Sharon it took a while for us to truly accept it -- but we're there and we're excited for them. For Pastor Dave, Sheryl, and their boys the news is still new. With the Lord and with time I know we will accept it and will be excited for them. The Lord will provide -- I'm ever confident of that.

Now, enough of that... Sara Johnson took this picture a couple weeks ago during prayer time in church. She just happened to look up at a good time and snapped this shot. We were comfortable at El Camino however due to the language barrier Abigail and I were struggling to be (spiritually) fed. Union Church has been a nice fit for our family.

-knme

Oh dear Emma... Thanks...

So Joy, Emma, and I were on the couch. Joy had just finished reading the book "Tails" to Emma. She then declared it was her turn. She flipped back and fourth within the book explaining it to us in her own way.

Then she came to the the monkey page and Emma says, "Look Daddy, it's you when I have a accident" as she points to the rather unimpressed monkey on the left (tail being pulled).

Ah, priceless comment from our littlest girl.

-knme

SNOW DAY!

Guatemalan style at least. We got a call early this morning that school was canceled today. Apparently the bus drivers have gone on strike. Now that doesn't affect us in the traditional North American way, we don't actually take buses to school - so it's not like we needed them. We do however need to travel on the roads, and here when the bus drivers go on strike that becomes impossible. They take their buses and use them as roadblocks, blocking people from entering the capital. They have reduced the number of available streets to get in to 5, in a city of more than 2 million people. The boulevard running through our part of town is apparently open, but you wouldn't go on it unless you want to sit in traffic I'm guessing. What do you think would happen in the North if strikers did this?

A Hobby?

Where on earth did the word hobby come from? I mean, how could that word have anything to do with a pleasurable pastime? I was wondering this on the way home from the banquet tonight, for the first time. So, I looked it up. I still don't really get the connection. It comes from hobbyhorse. Now I know what a hobbyhorse is, the horse head on a stick, got it. And that is where hobby comes from, seriously? English is stupid. Apparently in the 1600s people were comparing the pursuit of any activity to the riding of a toy horse. Maybe I didn't ride enough toy horses as a kid to see the connection.
Where is this all coming from you may ask? Some distinct need to find a hobby to pursue, or just the time to do one. Nope. We were at the Middle School banquet listening to all the biographies. In addition to music, almost all the kids had the same hobby. Can you guess what it was?
Facebook. I wonder how the people who came up with the word hobby would feel about facebook being considered one. Now what on earth does facebook have to do with a horse head on a stick?

Epic Fail!

Where do I draw the line? I understand that my students at the Guatemalan school haven't had as much education. I get that there philosophy of learning is different. But this is ridiculous. I just graded their first music exam of the year. In the 8th grade class the majority failed, we're talking 50s - and they admittedly did not study. In the 9th grade class things were brighter. Some students even scored higher than 100, and then there was the 47 and the 28. Yes, 28 out of 100. Argh! I have decided I will give a makeup test during recess next week. It will be much harder, and the highest grade they can get is a 90. There, I guess I drew the line.

Comedy of Errors

It was to be a great day. We have been planning for a few days to make today our spring cleaning day. That was solidified when mice were found in our storage area. The plan, simple as it was - back the car out of the garage and empty the storage area out slowly into the garage - trying to find and destroy said mice. Well, we have reached a small snag. As Kenneth was backing the car out, he crashed into the spicket - sending water spraying everywhere. The gate guard/handy man is gone, the condo assocation head people are gone - and water is rapidly leaving the cistern. Enter the son of the assocation owner (how wonderful that in this culture they live with their parents until they get married.) He turns the water off at some hidden valve, leaving us with no water in our house. At least it is only our house. No big deal. Unfortunately the car is still sitting in the garage, well part way in the garage. See, while trying to not get the water in the car Ken closed the door, and it then proceeded to lock itself, with the keys in the partly on position, in the ignition. So, here we sit. Hoping that someone from the school will get here fast enough to jimmy the car so that the battery doesn't die. There was only supposed to be one thing dying today, and it wasn't the car battery!

Feats of Stupidity

Just when I think I will see nothing new that will surprise me here, I am wrong. I need to learn to keep a camera in the car. Last week I was driving along the road behind a car whose entire trunk on the left side was basically crunched into the back seat. No problem, there are no inspections here. Then today I was really shocked. As I was returning from the capital (having brought Emma to the doctor) I pulled around a chicken bus. Hanging off the side, by gripping onto the open windows, were five grown men. Seriously! I mean how stupid is that when not only is the bus moving, but you are hanging on the side towards the traffic that is also moving. One slip of the fingers, or enemy who wacks your hand from inside the bus and you are a goner! Wait for the next bus! These are some of the reasons we don't take public transportation, inside or out.

The At Long Last Friends

Oh what a different life we live. I was just sitting down getting ready to write a deep blog entry when we heard a noise and Ken went off on a "Is it a cockroach or a rat" hunt. Shudder. I stood on the coffee table for a while, but now as he is discovering evidence of a mouse (at least I hope it is that small) I am simply keeping my feet up as he searches. I'm not sure - OK, sorry, had to get up on the coffee table again. It has been discovered. And lost. Those little buggers are fast. Now I'm probably not going to be able to sleep tonight, since apparently our dog doesn't have a clue when little critters are on the loose. I thought cockers were supposed to be good hunting dogs. Hmpf.
I officially now don't like flying creatures, or fast running ones, or snakes. The jury is still out on the dog.
Now I shall try to be a little more serious.

We just had an amazing weekend! Every year in Guatemala there is a missions retreat weekend. This year it was hosted up at the lake, which is amazingly beautiful. (It was nice to get out of the congested city and see some beauty for a little while.) We basically took over two of the larger hotels in town, and used the missionary retreat center for children's camp. The whole thing was amazing. A "servants team" flew in from Pennsylvania, and another from Texas, and still another from Scottsdale (I assume Arizona) to make the weekend successful. There was a speaker and worship team provided by Green Acres Baptist Church (a 15,ooo member church in Texas.) There was a complete children's program, we really only saw the kids at lunch and after 9 pm. Programs for singles, high schoolers, married couples, you get the idea. In addition to all that, get this - people fly down to give us free hair cuts, manicures, pedicures, and massages. Free - that's crazy. These teams not only pay their own way, they raise $500 each towards offsetting the conference fee for missionaries. I still can't believe that - it was amazing.

Beyond all that, there was one really important thing we gained from this weekend. A new friend, that is a girl, for Abigail. She has, unfortunately, had a really difficult time transitioning as many of you know. The clique situation in her class is quite bad (at least for Kindergarten) and she is the only new girl, we think the only girl MK, and the only American girl. Odds sort of stacked against her there. Anyway, we have been praying for some time (and we thank those of you who have prayed along with us) that God would provide her a friend like her. This weekend that finally happened.

The story actually starts before we even arrived in Guatemala. We were at CTEN orientation with a few other couples that were heading to Guate, and one in particular we really enjoyed being around. We sort of kept in touch, but had only seen each other once (very briefly) since we moved to the country. They live a few hours away from here, and honestly we just hadn't tried very hard. All that will now change.

After the first night of camp we had reconnected and were standing around waiting for the kids to come back. I think I had already told our colleague, and friend, Don of the hard time Abigail was having. Talk had also happened about how his kids were struggling being the only Americans in their school. How excited I was when the kids came back and they had all played together? Not nearly as excited as I was when Ali leaned in on the way back to our rooms and gave Abigail a giant hug. You know, I think that is the first hug she has had from a girl her age since we left the United States. I, of course, started to cry immediately. Then Ali, Aidan, and Abigail all linked arms and walked together. It was a good weekend indeed.

Now we look forward to making the drive up to Chichicastenango (that's a mouthful huh) where the Logan's live so that we can all spend more time together. We have intentionally planned Abigail's birthday party for a time when the twins can be here. Please join us in praying that this will be a lasting friendship.



I am including a link to the Logan's blog about the weekend so you can see thoughts on this story, and the importance of MK friendship, from another parent. Don writes really well, and has captured the essence of what we often feel as parents in this strange world. Please, take the time to read it - and take the time to check out their families ministry as well.

http://loganjourney.blogspot.com/2010/03/messed-up-kids.html

Off to attempt to sleep, with the covers around my ears, the night light on, and the mouse traps set.

And then it was done...

As I sit here this morning (Sunday) enjoying time with the girls and catching up on life I realize what am amazing accomplishment it is to be done.

I'm very proud of my wife for all the hard work and countless hours that went into the musical. The final product was truly amazing and was enjoyed around the world.

I'm also proud of her students for how hard they worked to memorize the music and dance moves. I'm proud of Jordan, Andrea, John and Pablo for how much work went into the music. Not having a musical bone in my body I can only imaging how many hours of practice each committed to it. Thank you!

Last night Mark and Joy mentioned how amazing the stage and costumes were. I don't know how well that came across on the camera but let me tell you something -- amazing doesn't do it justice. Mandy, Rhoda, Dina, Kim and Jana did a FABULOUS job! Thank you!

The drama crew (Dina) nailed it! The kids came together and just did an excellent job. Thank you all!

Liz was a constant help with the tickets and program. Thank you!

Greg stepped in last minute to run the camera and webcast. Without him folks in the States, Canada, Slovenia, and other would not have been able to enjoy it. Thank you!

I also want to say thank you to CAG: the administration was awesome in accommodating us in the weeks leading up to the show. Jose was running errands for us on the very last day to get some last minute equipment. Richard was repairing the left curtain hours before opening night. Mynor was there to setup chairs and clean up. Thank you!

And, the teachers -- the last week I was busy enough that computer problems not including fire, smoke, or virus' were put on the back-burner.

Many people were lifting us up in prayer. Thank you all too!

I'm sure I'm forgetting someone... If I did, I'm sorry and thank you!

Well, that is all for now.

-knme

Upcoming Musical

As many of you know Joy and her choir students have been working very hard in preparation of the Broadway Musical, "The Life We Knew". The performance is this Friday, 19 February at 7pm Central time (8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific) with an encore performance Saturday night at the same time(s).

We are planning to webcast both performances in a similar way as the Elementary Christmas program. If you would like to tune in you can point your favorite web browser to the following link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cag-thelifeweknew

You will need to know the super-secret-password: broadway. You may need to enter it twice.

We had only minor technical problems with the Christmas program so we're praying for similar results.

We'd also ask that you continue to lift up Joy and her students in prayer as for some of them this is their first major production.

Thank you all!

-knme

Happy Anniversary (8)

Eight years ago today Joy and I were married. As we ate lunch today we looked back on each year and we were both amazed how fast the time has gone by. There have been many good memories over these years.

Now, as of today we're tied one to one for "kidnappings". For Joy's birthday I kidnapped her and took her away. Today was her turn. We enjoyed a nice quiet lunch at a nice steak restaurant.

I love my wife -- the mother of my children -- my one-flesh mate.

-knme

Youth Group all Over Again

How exciting to be able to go to a Super Bowl Party even here in Guatemala. It really felt like we were on youth staff again. (Of course, teaching at CAG every day tends to feel a little like that.) Our friends TJ and Dina, he is the school chaplain, hosted the shindig at their house right around the corner from ours. We even had a GaGa court in the garage. There was one huge difference from other Super Bowl parties we had been to...everyone was either watching the game, or hanging out outside. Not too hard to do here considering even after dark it is currently 60 degrees. We are wondering if a lot of the kids watch it so intently because it is a connection to their home country, even the girls who had no idea what 1st and 10 meant were intently watching and trying to learn the game. We had a very fun evening!

It was great to have that fun and relaxation in the middle of the last two weeks before our big musical. I (Joy) had a six hour rehearsal yesterday, at which I never sat down. Things are going all right, but they need to be going better at this point. The choir sounds great, but boy does their choreography need help! We have 6 rehearsals left as the students are all going away to various parts of the country for Servant Days this weekend. Pray for my sanity, and for me to continue being able to be gentle with them. The most frustrating thing lately has been that they double scheduled the gyn (where our stage is) and I have been forced to yell over the sound of the volleyball teams practicing in the afternoons. Argh! I am losing my voice, and just made it worse by cheering at the party. Guess I should set a better example for the kids huh?

We will post information on how to see the show as soon as we have it. The dates are the 19th and 20th, and the show will air at 8pm eastern time. Hope you will be able to join us!

Thanks for your prayers and support, for us and for our students.

A Day Long Awaited

Years ago my friend Becky and I began dreaming about the day when our family would move down here, and I would start teaching music at the school that they run. Well, that day has finally arrived! Although God called us to a different primary ministry - which we absolutely love - we feel that he still wants us to help the school however we can. So, today I began teaching Theater and Music to their 8th and 9th graders.
For those who don't know, the school Escuela Integrada por los ninos trabajadores is a no cost to the students program. Most of the children who attend leave school at 3 and go to work, even many who are in the elementary program. Some of them shine shoes, some of them clean houses, some of them take care of their siblings while both of their parents are working. They literally do not have enough money to go to public school, where you must pay for books supplies and uniforms. We love the program because it not only offers them a wonderful Christian education, it also feeds them. Without the feeding program many of the students would not be able to attend because they would be out earning money for food.
We began working with them back in 2003, and I am positive that some of the students who were there then are now in my classes. Scary to think that the kids who were in 1st and 2nd grade are now in my classes. Scary and wonderful, because they have made it this far. Many students stop in the 6th grade. I will have to look for old pictures from the 2005 team to post so people can see the differences.
Anyway, the day went really well. They originally had me scheduled to teach all day, 6 periods, every Thursday. Thankfully they found a different teacher already on staff for the 7th grade classes and I now only have to teach in the morning. (This means that we can have our nanny come in the morning and stay with Emma, because our attempt for her to hang out in the Kindergarten class today was short lived. So, Maribel is going to start teaching her Spanish on Thursday mornings, we even went and bought her special Spanish school books this evening.) My day will still be plenty long though as the classes are taught entirely in Spanish, and of course I don't know all the necessary terminology for Theater and Music in Spanish. Last night was more of a studying the language than prepping my lessons time for me - but it went off really well.
Now if I could just get the girls to talk in front of their classmates....

Bye bye Mom + Dad

Wow, we had not realized that it had been nearly a month since our last post. That means Christmas was almost a month ago.

On the eve of Mom and Dad returning to the States we realize just how fast time can move. It seems like only yesterday Dad, Joy and I were standing on the roof of the condo watching the New Years Eve fireworks. It seems like only yesterday Mom defied us all by climbing to the top of one of the highest Mayan temples, Templo IV, in Tikal. It seems like only yesterday that Ken won the two week long Rummi cube game. It seems like only yesterday that Ken off-handedly commented that Mom could be in the Smithsonian... oh wait... that was just the other day.

Ah... good times.

But it went by so very fast. We'd ask you join us in praying that Mom and Dad have a safe trip back to New Hampshire. They have a somewhat short connecting flight in Houston. We'd also ask that you pray for us and the girls as we now transition back to "normalcy".

For those who are curious, Ken was the only one of us who felt the earthquake the other day. Given the recent quake in Haiti it made everyone a bit nervous. But we're all fine.

Thanks to all who continue to support us in prayer and finances!

In Christ,

-knm/jr/ac/ebe