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.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
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
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
Saturday, February 7, 2015
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
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
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
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
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
Monday, February 2, 2015
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Moderate Flurries, World Takeover, and Cars
Greetings from Guatemala!
A few weeks into the second semester and we are almost back into the swing of things. It feels as though it was just yesterday we were hanging out with the Nyatsambo family. Ah, those were the good ole' days.
Alas, back to school! This year is an accreditation year for C.A.G. - this means a lot of work. These past couple of days we have had an ACSI representative on campus doing an initial review of our findings and work. We would ask you to lift up and pray for the entire school during this process.
Abigail, Emma and Sara continue to do well. Abigail and her class recently had a "self governance" day whereby their teacher let them run the class. Their teacher said it was, "surprisingly boring" as they, apparently, did a good job getting through the day. Emma returned to her class sporting a cute new doo and continues to enjoy her teacher and classmates. Sara - on the other hand - likely believes she runs the school. She recently asked one of the students if she "wanted to be her slave," in a tone that definitely said it was the job opportunity of a lifetime. (Again, prayers appreciated.)
We are delighted to have Joy's father, Edward, with us until early April. He confesses that Guatemala is not nearly as warm as he believed it would be. The mornings are about 55F and the highs in the day may reach 77F. Now, as I type this paragraph I am aware of a moderate flurry happening in the Northeast so really... we (he) has nothing much to complain about. He muses that in the Northeast you expect it to be cold this time of year and therefore you would dress accordingly. (Remember though, we have no heat in our home.)
Ed has slipped into helping at C.A.G. during the days. We were in need of an adult to supervise our computer based AP classes during a few periods and he agreed to help out. Seems he likes to sit and read and he can do that while they do their work.
I do need to put something out there - our vehicles are in pretty bad shape. Our family vehicle, a 2000 Sienna, just rolled over 241,000 miles and needs a good $300-400 of maintenance to keep it safe and on the road. Our 1996 Mazda, 184,000 miles, should have about the same maintenance. We feel we have reached that point where it is just not wise to put any more than necessary into these vehicles.
We are working a couple different angles to see what is available both here in Guatemala and in the States. Unfortunately it seems buying in the States, shipping, and importing to Guatemala may not be any more cost effective than buying here.
We have gifts amounting to about half of our anticipated need (which will be 9-10 thousand dollars) to replace the Sienna.
We are praying for wisdom and God's leading as we try to figure out what our best plan might be. For now, we're asking for two things: first that you'll join us in prayer for wisdom/discernment on this matter. Secondly, if you will consider supporting this project financially there is a link to the right of the blog site - please notate the gift as for the car replacement.
Thanks so much!
A few weeks into the second semester and we are almost back into the swing of things. It feels as though it was just yesterday we were hanging out with the Nyatsambo family. Ah, those were the good ole' days.
Alas, back to school! This year is an accreditation year for C.A.G. - this means a lot of work. These past couple of days we have had an ACSI representative on campus doing an initial review of our findings and work. We would ask you to lift up and pray for the entire school during this process.
Abigail, Emma and Sara continue to do well. Abigail and her class recently had a "self governance" day whereby their teacher let them run the class. Their teacher said it was, "surprisingly boring" as they, apparently, did a good job getting through the day. Emma returned to her class sporting a cute new doo and continues to enjoy her teacher and classmates. Sara - on the other hand - likely believes she runs the school. She recently asked one of the students if she "wanted to be her slave," in a tone that definitely said it was the job opportunity of a lifetime. (Again, prayers appreciated.)
We are delighted to have Joy's father, Edward, with us until early April. He confesses that Guatemala is not nearly as warm as he believed it would be. The mornings are about 55F and the highs in the day may reach 77F. Now, as I type this paragraph I am aware of a moderate flurry happening in the Northeast so really... we (he) has nothing much to complain about. He muses that in the Northeast you expect it to be cold this time of year and therefore you would dress accordingly. (Remember though, we have no heat in our home.)
Ed has slipped into helping at C.A.G. during the days. We were in need of an adult to supervise our computer based AP classes during a few periods and he agreed to help out. Seems he likes to sit and read and he can do that while they do their work.
I do need to put something out there - our vehicles are in pretty bad shape. Our family vehicle, a 2000 Sienna, just rolled over 241,000 miles and needs a good $300-400 of maintenance to keep it safe and on the road. Our 1996 Mazda, 184,000 miles, should have about the same maintenance. We feel we have reached that point where it is just not wise to put any more than necessary into these vehicles.
We are working a couple different angles to see what is available both here in Guatemala and in the States. Unfortunately it seems buying in the States, shipping, and importing to Guatemala may not be any more cost effective than buying here.
We have gifts amounting to about half of our anticipated need (which will be 9-10 thousand dollars) to replace the Sienna.
We are praying for wisdom and God's leading as we try to figure out what our best plan might be. For now, we're asking for two things: first that you'll join us in prayer for wisdom/discernment on this matter. Secondly, if you will consider supporting this project financially there is a link to the right of the blog site - please notate the gift as for the car replacement.
Thanks so much!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
New Years Greetings!
My, it has been a long time since we wrote. We are truly sorry! Here is an update of what has happened since, well, September.
Our basic daily life is pretty boring really, unless you count the traffic jams, psycho motorcycle drivers, people riding hanging off busses, firecrackers at 5 am....I guess for us it is boring - the rest of y'all should come visit to remind us that our normal has changed.
Seriously though, our day to day life is not filled with directly helping orphans, feeding hundreds, or healing the sick. We wake up, go to school, have rehearsals and piano lessons, come home, eat and go to bed. (Most of the time we remember to eat before collapsing into bed. If we didn't have three hungry kids we would probably forget. Although, if we didn't have three hungry kids we probably wouldn't be so tired at the end of the day either.)
So, we'll highlight the big events.
September was pretty uneventful - we had one day off of school during which we sat around the house. Wait - there was one event. Guatemalan Independence Day was celebrated in style at school with Sara doing a traditional dance with her class, and Abigail doing a dramatic recitation of a Spanish poem. (Hard to imagine her being dramatic I know.) Every day Joy, and some days the girls, had rehearsal until 6 or 6:30. The dog did get groomed once during the month, for those of you who care about her needs.
This is a picture of Sara and her best friend ("though sometimes she is mean to me") in their "traje tipicos" worn by the Mayan here still.
October brought our annual Harvest Fair. The theme was Mario (from Nintendo) and the girls went dressed as Koopa Troopa (a turtle), a knight, and a butterfly. Not so close to the theme on a couple of those - but who has that kind of time or money, besides they chose and made their own costumes with help from Maribel. Kenneth had the job of watching the girls as Joy is a class advisor and was helping work the sophomore class booth. She was also a good sport (if she does say so herself) by participating in the pie in the face booth. She made quite a bit of money for the juniors that night. Not that she isn't well liked, she just teaches the whole school. Really, we have lots of great testimonials about how well liked we are - we just don't share them - that would be kind of arrogant we think. If you want to hear some though, let us know - we'll share :-).
December 20-27 we had friends and supporters from the States come for a visit. We had a big party at our house Christmas Eve (as is the tradition) to watch the midnight fireworks. We spent part of Christmas day ministering at an orphanage. It was so much more exciting than sitting around waiting for the turkey to cook!
Our basic daily life is pretty boring really, unless you count the traffic jams, psycho motorcycle drivers, people riding hanging off busses, firecrackers at 5 am....I guess for us it is boring - the rest of y'all should come visit to remind us that our normal has changed.
Seriously though, our day to day life is not filled with directly helping orphans, feeding hundreds, or healing the sick. We wake up, go to school, have rehearsals and piano lessons, come home, eat and go to bed. (Most of the time we remember to eat before collapsing into bed. If we didn't have three hungry kids we would probably forget. Although, if we didn't have three hungry kids we probably wouldn't be so tired at the end of the day either.)
So, we'll highlight the big events.
September was pretty uneventful - we had one day off of school during which we sat around the house. Wait - there was one event. Guatemalan Independence Day was celebrated in style at school with Sara doing a traditional dance with her class, and Abigail doing a dramatic recitation of a Spanish poem. (Hard to imagine her being dramatic I know.) Every day Joy, and some days the girls, had rehearsal until 6 or 6:30. The dog did get groomed once during the month, for those of you who care about her needs.
This is a picture of Sara and her best friend ("though sometimes she is mean to me") in their "traje tipicos" worn by the Mayan here still.
Sara enjoying the music during the dance
Sara and her classmates lining up for the dance
Abigail dressed up as our national bird, the quetzal, about whom the poem was
October brought our annual Harvest Fair. The theme was Mario (from Nintendo) and the girls went dressed as Koopa Troopa (a turtle), a knight, and a butterfly. Not so close to the theme on a couple of those - but who has that kind of time or money, besides they chose and made their own costumes with help from Maribel. Kenneth had the job of watching the girls as Joy is a class advisor and was helping work the sophomore class booth. She was also a good sport (if she does say so herself) by participating in the pie in the face booth. She made quite a bit of money for the juniors that night. Not that she isn't well liked, she just teaches the whole school. Really, we have lots of great testimonials about how well liked we are - we just don't share them - that would be kind of arrogant we think. If you want to hear some though, let us know - we'll share :-).
One of the elementary kids letting her have it
At the end, pretty sure she had whipped cream in her ear for days
Emma the knight
Abigail the turtle Sara the butterfly
October was also the High School Retreat, which Joy had to chaperone. It was great fun, but she realized she's not as young as she was when we did youth group staff and Snow Camp. Joy also spent most of October, and all of November, and well December battling some sort of laryngitis. Since she really couldn't rest her voice she still hasn't fully recovered. Some days he can sing, others not so much. If it lasts much longer a doctor's visit will need to happen. (Great, she loves doctors and communicating medical things in Spanish.)
November was the farthest thing from boring. Rehearsals for the musical started going until 8 some days. (That made for 13 - 14 hour days for the Eisners as we didn't get to go home between school and rehearsal like most others did.) We also had lots of Saturday rehearsals. It was SO worth it in the end though. The musical productions are the one thing that our whole family does together, and it is a huge ministry to these students and joy for us to serve together. On the 20 - 22 we presented Seussical the musical and it was a rousing success. Even Joy thinks so, and she is pretty critical of her work. We have only a few pictures, since well...we were kind of busy the whole time. These are stolen from facebook. (By the way - if you want to see pictures of the stuff we are involed in, and you are on facebook, like and follow the Christian Academy of Guatemala page on fb.)
The Cat in the Hat and Mayzie - both seniors who have been in our shows since year 1
Emma as Cindy Lou Who, posing with her teacher
Who knows what number this is - Joy choreographed it so she should, but not so much
Horton the Elephant and Gertrude - both first time on stage and phenomenal performers
Cast Picture - But this is only about HALF of the cast: Yes, we are gluttons for punishment :-)
Abigail is in the second to last row, 2nd from the left in the orange - she really shone vocally in this performance (even in the shadow of the amazing student who played her mom)
So, that was it. Just kidding! We can't stop at one big production. Two weeks later we begin the Christmas concert season. In our last post we talked about getting a concert at our local mall. It was a great success! All the choirs sang, the band played, and the band director (who being Guatemalan has way better Spanish than us - go figure) was able to share the gospel..right there, in the mall, in the sound system. The week after the mall concert we had our school wide concert on campus. Even the preschoolers performed in that one. We were able to use the new instruments that one of our supporters purchased and it was enjoyed by all. (If you wish to see videos of that - go to our CAG facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CAGMKS and search for the Christmas concert section.)
The High School Choir - New concert attire!
Vox Laudis - audition only children's choir we started in January (E and A in front row)
The small, but extremely fun, middle school choir
The secondary girls and Vox Laudis singing Sleigh Ride
Joy with the Creative Arts Mission Statement we were asked to display at the mall
The preschool through 1st grade students at the school Christmas concert
The audience: These are the missionaries who you support by supporting us as we educate their children. Quite a big crowd - and that is not all of them! (OK, some of those are Guatemalan family members so I guess it works out to be about the right size for the body we support.)
December 14 Emma turned 8 - and she and Abigail participated in the church Christmas pageant.
December 20-27 we had friends and supporters from the States come for a visit. We had a big party at our house Christmas Eve (as is the tradition) to watch the midnight fireworks. We spent part of Christmas day ministering at an orphanage. It was so much more exciting than sitting around waiting for the turkey to cook!
December 30 Joy's Dad arrived. He will be "snowbirding" here this year (and hopefully many other years - hint hint Dad.) When he opened his lap top, and our blog was the home page, we realized what slackers (at least in blogging) we are and resolved to make it our home page so we feel guilty more often and take care of the problem.
December 31 - Joy and her Dad went to the hospital to visit a couple of kids from the orphanage who had taken ill. Praise God they should be able to go home tomorrow - and remembered Joy and lit up when she went in the room.
Thanks for taking the time to read, or at least look at the pictures and skim (hey, we're realists.) Hopefully we will not take so long to post next time. May you have many blessings in 2015! Thank you for your continued emotional, spiritual, and economic support which allows all of the above to happen
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