A Good Sight to Wake Up To

This was a good sight to wake up to this morning!

Oh Canada!

We're all set now! Done, done, done! Estimating 4 weeks to arrival of new passport.

It is the Small Victories We Hold On To

Thank you all for your prayers. There is a lot to update y'all on:

The Van: We hope to get the van back tomorrow. With the exception of two days it has been there since we got it nearly two weeks ago. Before y'all think, "Oh no - they got a lemon" let us put it all in perspective - things move a bit slower here. It is harder to find certain parts. After getting the van to his shop Cesar was able to do a better check. He was unable to find (either at all or at a reasonable price) the oil pressure switch nor the shocks. Those two parts made up Q5,000 (about $560) of the original estimate of Q16,000 in work. He found the parts online in the States for roughly $300. We're going to try to get them down here in the next month or so.

God protects: Had we gotten the van back last weekend we would have used it to drive to Monterrico with our friends. Had we done that we would have had numerous problems with it overheating. God protects.

Passports: On February 12th we attempted to renew both Abigail and my passports. Some might recall the term "epic" used to describe the day as we failed horribly. Well, Joy and I tried again on February 20th and missed our window by 20 minutes. Horribly epic once again.

Finally, today I made it to the US Embassy and successfully completed Abigail's application. They're estimating two weeks to get her new passport. Next, I turned to the Canadian Embassy. Sadly, today (of all days) the consular division was closed for training (insert frowny face here.) I will go tomorrow and try again.

Edward continues to do well - considering the altitude and air conditions. He took a day off last week and pretty much slept the entire day.

We have new situation developing at school with one of our students. At this point we cannot share details but if y'all could lift up this unnamed person and their family in your prayers - they would truly appreciate it.

Blessings and thanks to all,

-knme

Ok no pictures of the Oddy yet...

So yeah - today is the 17th and I was hoping to post pictures on the 15th - Ooops. We took the Oddy to the shop on Sunday. We couldn't "really" drive it until Tuesday because of the insurance switch over so we figured we'd take it in to have the work done on it.

Tonight we got the list of work needed. All totaled it is going to cost us just about Q16,000. The number seems high but the big cost items are new tires, security tinting the windows, shocks and engine and transmission mounts. Most of these bigger parts could only be found at the Honda dealership so they cost more.

We're still feeling good about the decision to buy the van. A fellow family at C.A.G. has been searching for a vehicle since early January - similar to what we were. Every vehicle they have looked at has had  a USA salvage title. Finding un-crashed vehicles is not very easy.

Hopefully this weekend we can post some pictures.

Blessings.

New (to us) Odyssey

The deed is done.

Today we said goodbye to the 2000 Toyota Sienna and hello to a 2003 Honda Odyssey. The journey today was not without adventure, however, in the end everything is ok.

The Odyssey needs a bit of work - but we knew that going into it. For being a 2003 it has only 116,000 km (72,000 miles.) Cesar said the work it needs is routine and should not be major.

All-in-all we're happy. Continued thank yous to those folks who gave above and beyond their normal to help us out.

I will post pictures tomorrow.

Some Might Call Today "Epic"

Epic - it is such a great word. It can be used in a multitude of ways to describe various situations. Today you could use the word in the following way, "Today was an epic failure."

It started so well - we got away from C.A.G. at 12:15 p.m., just as we planned. We had absolutely zero (0) traffic - praise the Lord! We got to the Embassy  an hour ahead of Abigail's appointment. We took a number, 63, then looked up and saw, "Now servicing #23" About 15/20 minutes later we were at the counter. Then the wheels fell off.

"Sir, may I have her birth certificate?" Say what? Uh, I don't have it with me. It wasn't requested on the application checklist. Sure enough, however, he printed off a sheet of requirements from the website and it was there.

"Sir, did you bring your photo evidence showing her physical feature change since her last passport?" Say what? Uh, no - it wasn't requested on the application checklist. Sure enough, however, it was on his printed sheet of requirements.

*sigh* I'll have to go back in next week with the other documents.

Off to the Canadian Embassy - this should be easy - right? WRONG. Apparently two things happened (1) I totally spaced that passport services fall under "consular services" and (2) I misread their website information which states "consular services available on Friday mornings."

As I cannot go in tomorrow due to commitments at school I will go in next Friday.

Just a note: I had both Joy and Ed read the instructions for US passport renewal (DS-11) and neither could find anything about birth certificate or photos (except the standard "don't smile and look scary" passport picture.) Apparently there is some disconnect between what is published on the website and in their downloadable instructions.

Hopefully Saturday we'll have an update on the van.

Thanks for praying.

The "Odyssey" Continues

We are still without a "new" vehicle - but do not despair.

Last time I wrote about another Odyssey Joy and I looked at on Saturday. Well, on Monday Cesar, our mechanic, and I went to look at it. Cesar was awesome. He checked everything except, because we did not have the correct adapter, the diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs.) He said it does need some routine maintenance but otherwise he likes it. "Better to get a car that has had no crashes but needs maintenance due to age rather than a car with a history of crashes." They, the company, have accepted our Sienna as a trade in.

We were hoping to return today to read the diagnostic trouble codes and, if the codes are clean, buy the van, however, the bank needs extra time to clear the deposit to our Guatemalan account. The money should be ready tomorrow, however...

Tomorrow we have two appointments at the US Embassy and then another at the Canadian Embassy for passport and immigration items. So we cannot go tomorrow. Friday we have a missions team from Keswick Christian Academy performing a concert in the afternoon - so I'm needed to provide sound tech. Friday is out.

So early Saturday morning, Lord willing, we will head over with Cesar to do the final DTC reading and buy it.

Possibly not a moment too soon. Today, on the way to school, the check engine light in our Mazda started blinking. I took the car to Cesar and he read the diagnostic trouble codes - we knew about the one for the O2 sensor, however, it had three other codes which basically do not exist in any DTC database we could find... Cesar said that when a car starts making up trouble codes it is a sign that the on-board computer is having issues. Fantastic!

The time between now and Saturday is going to be a test of our patience. We remain firm in our belief that this is in God's hands and will be according to His schedule. If the company sells the Odyssey before Saturday then so be it - God's will be done.

Well, that is it for now. Hopefully another post on Saturday.

-knme

Vehicle Update

On Wednesday I wrote, "We feel blessed to have found this vehicle. We continue to pray it is as good as it appears." Sadly it was too good to be true. After putting down the Q2,000 "reserva" we slept on it. Thursday morning I decided to run a Car Fax report on the vehicle identification number. The report reported an accident - which the guy had disclosed. However, it also reported that the last odometer reading before it left the States was for just over 207,000 miles - not the 92,000 miles it was currently reporting. We are attempting to get our money back, but, as Guatemalan laws are not quite as strict as the US/Canadian laws we may not be able to.

Friday I resumed my search for a vehicle. We're currently looking at another 2003 Honda Odyssey. Joy and I went to see it today as we were nearby for Joy's dentist appointment. It is in good shape and also has low miles (just over 116,000 km ~ 72,000 miles.) They say they might accept our Sienna as partial payment which lowers how much we'll need to spend.

On Monday I will take our mechanic, Cesar, and his engine diagnostic tool over to the vehicle to do a more thorough check. If it receives the "Cesar-seal-of-approval" then we will likely take it. As we were pulling out the guy said he also just received a 2005 Honda Odyssey - but he thinks it has 90,000 miles. With those miles I'm concerned we might need to worry about the timing belt. Hopefully it'll be there and Cesar and I can cross compare.

No further movement on the citizenship. First step will be Thursday when we submit Abigail's passport renewal. Friday I'll submit mine.

Thanks to all for your continued prayers.

-knme

Update on Car & Citizenship

Happy Wednesday!

First a thank you to those who have offered both prayer and financial support for our automotive situation. Today we checked out a 2003 Honda Odyssey, much similar to the one we sold before we moved here in 2009. We had our mechanic check it out and, as much as any used vehicle here in Guatemala can be "certified", he gave it his seal of approval.

We put a Q2,000 holding on it and are working on moving monies here for the final payment. We feel blessed to have found this vehicle. We continue to pray it is as good as it appears.

Now, about the citizenship ordeal. I take full responsibility on this - I procrastinated this and now we are in a timing problem. We are working out the sequence of events which will now need to happen. It appears as though the Embassy here will collect my biometrics - we'll hopefully receive confirmation via e-mail this week or at our appointment next week. Please be in prayer about this.

Thanks again for all who continue to pray for us.

-knme

Open Positions - the C.A.G. & the wheels on the car go 'round & 'round...

Greetings everyone,

We are asking that you add the following to your prayer list - The Christian Academy of Guatemala will be losing their Principal at the end of this academic year. The Agrellas family has faithfully served both the C.A.G. and El Refugio for nearly a decade but will be returning to the USA.

This leaves a pretty sizable gap in the Administrative Team at the school. Though the search has thus far not yielded any results we remain prayerful that God will fill this position with a qualified individual before the start of next year. We're asking that you also join us in this prayer endeavor.

Also, the C.A.G. continues to search for a full time director. Dr. Herod has been Interim Director for nearly two years and is nearing the end of his agreed term. Please join us in praying the fulfillment of position as well.

Now, should anyone reading this be qualified and interested in either of these positions - drop me a line and we'll set up something with the school.

About our vehicles: We continue to praise the Lord every time we arrive at our destination! We really have settled on a minimum of a six seat vehicle. This of course limits the years and makes of vehicles. Our search for a vehicle continues. Ken will be going to look at a vehicle Wednesday morning. More news to come.

Thank you to all who continue to pray with us on this matter as well as our continued safety.