Leaving Guatemala

To some this may come as a shock - the Eisner family will be leaving Guatemala. We have sent out messages to our regular supporters about this but have not yet updated our blog. Our apologies if you are hearing this for the first time here.

As part of this we will be selling off most of our Guatemalan items. I'm going to post pictures here and send an e-mail to the IntermissionsGT group. Please contact Kenneth via email if you are interested in one or more items listed here.

Bunkbed - Q575 SOLD

End Table - Q150 SOLD

File Cabinet - Q375 SOLD

Queen sized Sleep Number bed - Q2,250 SOLD

Book Shelf - Q450 - SOLD

Single Sized Bed - Q2,500

Blinds - Q50

Book Cabinet - Q750 - SOLD

Decorative Wall Shelf - Q50 - SOLD

Cabinet - Q150 - SOLD

Carpet - Q40 SOLD

Dehumidifier - Q300 - SOLD

Lamp - Q50 - SOLD

Wood Desk - Q225 SOLD

Dryer - Q2,250 SOLD

Washer - Q2,625

Freezer - Q750 SOLD

Refrigerator - Q3,750 SOLD

Stove/Oven - Q3,000 SOLD

2003 Honda Odyssey EX-L SOLD

What Can I Give Him?

Twenty Years.  That is how long I have been directing my own choir.  Makes me feel old.

In that amount of time there has been one, yes one Christmas season in which I was without a choir. That was in 2013 when we were in the United States on another furlough that only God had planned. And here we are again.  Last year during the craze of the Christmas season I don't think I thought I would miss it all if I were not to have it...turns out I do.  Being a choir director has become a huge part of who I am.  I love it more than teaching piano, more than being in the classroom, even more than leading worship I think.  There is just something about it that only others who also love directing choirs would understand.  So watching someone else conduct tonight was hard, very hard (thankfully he did a great job so it wasn't also painful.)

Here's the thing though.  As much as I love being a choir director, I love being a mom and a wife more.  Last week and tonight I was able to just sit in the audience with my husband and watch my children perform, and not have the stress that goes along with getting the performance ready.  It was very different than working together as a family to put on the performance, but at least we are still together.

Please continue to pray for us as we adjust to this time in the United States.  It was unexpected, but very needed.  For those of you who are unaware we are here because of some pretty traumatic events that happened to us in Guatemala.  We are okay, none of us are physically harmed, but we needed to be in a safer place as a family for a little while.  We had to leave in the middle of a semester and as a teacher that has been very difficult for me to come to terms with.  I am so thankful though for a mission board and a home church who care enough about us to make the difficult decision that we would not have been able to make.

Please also pray for CAG and our students and friends there.  We know that some students are having a very hard time adjusting to a new director after having been with me for 6 years.  I am having a hard time adjusting to not having them as well.

And please, as we enter this season of Advent, remember just what Christmas is really all about.  It makes my having to leave Guatemala seem a lot less big to realize that Christ left heaven.  Heaven.  I'll say it again - heaven.  He left heaven to be born amidst a bunch of animals and all that comes with them, for me and for you.  He came here not just for Christmas, that was not the end goal.  Easter, or as I now like to call it - Resurrection Sunday, and his eventual return - all of that entered the world on that one night (which probably was not so silent when you think about all those tourists in Bethlehem) so many years ago.  If He can leave all of that for 33 years, I suppose I can leave Guatemala for a little while if that is what God has asked me to do.  What is he asking you to do that maybe looks just a little bit smaller now in the perspective of the reality of Christmas?

One of my favorite pieces of the Christmas season is not one that you would find in many hymnals, I am not even sure where I first learned it.  The title is "In the Bleak Midwinter."  Some days I feel like that is where I am right now, in the middle of a bleak Midwinter.  But the song is not about sadness.  Read the lyrics below, please, and meditate on what they mean to you this season.

 In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, 
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; 
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, 
in the bleak midwinter, long ago. 

2. Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain; 
heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign. 
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed 
the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. 

3. Angels and archangels may have gathered there, 
cherubim and seraphim thronged the air; 
but his mother only, in her maiden bliss, 
worshiped the beloved with a kiss. 

4. What can I give him, poor as I am? 
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; 
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; 
yet what I can I give him: give my heart. 

Urgent Prayer Request

Dear support team,

We need your prayers! Tonight as we were returning to our car from a birthday party in the town of Antigua we were robbed. The man only got away with Ken's wallet thanks to friends of ours who pulled up in the scene as it was happening. The husband of the birthday girl jumped out the window of the car and joined Ken in trying to chase him down, but they were unable to catch him. 

We feel that is probably for the better as they were so amped up they could have seriously harmed him and they we would have to live with that, and live in another country. Please pray for us as we go through the aftershock of what could have happened and as we try to cancel all the credit cards and get him his new licenses and such. We are thankful, so thankful, for God's provision and protection and covet your prayers for continued protection over our finances.

Summer Update

Wow, another summer in the books. Hard to believe.

Our summer was pretty eventful, even though our main ministry is "offline" during that time. Joy and Sara flew to New Hampshire to attend her neice's wedding. While there they tried to meet with as many supporters and friends as possible. It was a fairly jam-packed three weeks - but we're thankful for all they were able to accomplish and thankful for all the love and support they received while there.

While that was happening Ken, Abigail, and Emma remained in Guatemala... doing? Not much, actually. The kids continued their summer studies and Ken continued part-time with C.A.G. Abigail and Emma attended a week-long camp for missions kids shortly after Joy and Sara returned.

Near the end of July our family got in the van and drove eight hours to the rural community of Nebaj - the same community Joy and the C.A.G. choir visits each year. Joy started work with one of the local church leaders in assisting them in crafting and creating worship music in their own native tongue - Ixil (ee she al.) This was a great time in a different region of the country.

After returning we started to gear up for the return to school. Teachers and staff reported back on August 3rd and we've been going ever since. The air and atmosphere surrounding the start of hear has been positive. We're encouraged by this and feel this is going to be a great year.

Abigail enters seventh grade, Emma fourth, and Sara Kinder.

Taco Night Coming Up! - June 4th - see you there!

Hey there everyone!

Joy and Sara are presently in New Hampshire! We would love to individually sit down with everyone and catch up but due to time restraints that simply is not possible. So on June 4th, at 6:00 p.m., Dover Baptist Church will be hosting "Taco Night & Ministry Update Night."

We invite everyone out to eat some good food and hear about the Eisner's ministry to third culture kids at Christian Academy of Guatemala. There will be opportunity to win some prizes as well...

We ask that you RSVP online via our Facebook event.

Hope to see y'all there!

Blessings,

Update from Nebaj

Greetings from Guatemala!

Some of the adults who are with the C.A.G. Choir posted the following snippets to Facebook:

Yesterday was a full day for the choir. In the morning Joy Wilson Eisner led a singing workshop for the Nebaj choir (our kids helped teach), they sang on the Ixil radio station (that can be heard online all over the world) and they performed at the Iglesia Emanuel with their choir. -- Candy Siklosi

Another shared this:
The choir trip has been amazing so far. We've had amazing opportunities to connect with the Ixil choir which was formed after our last visit to Nebaj. The church service last night was beautiful. Several of our youth shared their testimonies and preached, and then prayed for many, many people who came forward for prayers. We have five more opportunities to share today and tomorrow. Please pray for us as our youth have a unique opportunity to share the reason for the hope the have with the youth here, many of whom feel alone, desperate, and hopeless in light of their circumstances. Parents, I love your kids! They are all healthy and doing well, and taking care of each other. -- Jessie Larimer

There are some videos as well - which I have reshared on my Facebook page.

April Update - only a month to go!

Yikes!

It is April 23rd - that means in one month school will be done. I cannot believe it! That will mark the end of our seventh year at C.A.G. We continue to thank God for each and every one of our team members who have faithfully supported us over the past seven years.

It dawned on me (Ken) recently that this year's graduating class is the class I started with when we arrived in 2009. Wow - time flies.

Yesterday was a busy day. Joy and her choir students departed C.A.G. for the city of Nebaj in the Quiche area.

This is the second trip for the choir to the Nebaj area. They will be performing many concerts both live and on the local radio station. Also this year their local missionary contact, Mr. Mike McComb, requested they do a series of choral workshops for the locals. The choir group was very excited to return to Nebaj.

They left C.A.G. at about 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Nebaj at about 5:30 p.m. Joy said it was an uneventful trip - which is a blessing.

Last week our little Sara decided it was time for a new dew... yup she cut her own hair. As it turns out she might have a future in hair dressing as she did a pretty good job at keeping it straight. Unfortunately she cut a lot off the left side and only some off the right. Last night we got her "evened up" with the thanks of our local hair-dressing-friend, Jen!

Thankfully curls are not all gone... but it really was time for a trim.

Also this past week Emma participated in the Elementary drama production, "Where the Wild Things Are." The show was done entirely by the Independent Study Drama class (three seniors) which was co-coordinated by Joy.

Where the Wild Things Are Cast (Emma front right in Pink)

This coming summer Joy and Sara will be returning to New Hampshire for three weeks (May 25th through June 16th.) She will be attending her niece's wedding and also hopes to meet with supporters. Right now we are hoping for a dessert night or pot luck event held in Dover. We hope to have more details about this in the coming weeks.

Well, that about wraps up another update.

Blessings and thanks to all!

-knme

Blessed Semana Santa

Oh Semana Santa - how we were so glad to see you come... now we are sad to see you leave.

Happy Easter to one and all! Last year at this time (almost exactly) we were in attendance at the Union Church of Guatemala Son Rise Service on the C.A.G. campus. This year, with no Son Rise Service, we took our time getting ready for our Easter service. The Easter Services was really nice. Worship and message were on point. An afternoon of final resting before the final push of the school year.

Easter 2016

I stand amazed that one of the most difficult things for us to accomplish has been to get a "nice" family picture. I've been trying to remember about every Sunday for the past month. Well - finally this morning we were able to accomplish the task.

Just before Semana Santa began Emma had an unfortunate incident with her roller blades and her soccer ball. Apparently, as the story goes, Abigail thought it would be great fun to play soccer whilst wearing roller blades. Needless to say it was not successful. She fell and hurt her wrist. Nothing serious, praise the Lord, but since the pain had not subsided by later that evening we decided to err on the side of caution and took her to one of the ERs in the city.

ER in Eskala Mall

She was a real trooper. Personally speaking the best part of the evening was when the doctor asked her if she wanted her pain med orally or by injection. Unsurprisingly she took it orally.






Backing up to before that Abigail sang a solo at the Middle School Banquet. She sang "Ever Be" and did a fantastic job!

Tuesday we will say goodbye to Joy's father. He has been with us here since the middle of November. It has been tremendous having him here. We will miss him and hope he will have safe travels back to New Hampshire.

Before signing off we wanted to say a heartfelt "thank you" to everyone who continues to support us (prayerfully and financially.) We continue to feel as though we're in the center of God's will here. None of what we do would be possible without our awesome team. Thanks to one and all!

-knm/jr/ac/eb/sje

Calling our Prayer Warriors

Good evening,

We would like to ask that you join us in praying for friends of ours here.  A close relation of theirs was severely injured in a horrible accident today.  

Please include them in your prayers.

Thanks,

AnotherMonth Down

A pleasant evening to everyone!

Had some free time so I thought I would take a few moments to share how January has come and gone... And I can't believe it is practically gone already!

We were very sad to say goodbye to Jon, Cheri, and Ian on New Year's Eve. We had a great time with them and are very thankful for them choosing to spend their holidays with us here. So far, seven years into service in Guatemala, and we have always had family around for Christmas (whether here in Guatemala or in the States.) We are very thankful for this!

Emily was able to stay with us through the middle of January - and that was also incredible. She was able to serve with us at C.A.G. for a couple of weeks. She even got to share a training session on "Technology in the Classroom" with the entire teaching staff!

We had previously posted about the mudslide near our area... and how it had affected traffic. Well in anticipation we moved our school start time to 7:30 - hoping we would be ahead of the traffic... well, that was epic. Not the good kind either.

Well we re-evaluated the situation and will start school later starting next week. There were some families in our school who were getting up at 4:00 a.m. to be to school by 7:30. Other families were forced to cut out youth group, Bible studies, and other activities because there were getting up so early. That is not what we, as a school, want to promote. We're hoping this change will help.

January is almost gone which means February is just around the corner. That means our anniversary is too. Cannot believe that 14 years has past. What a ride! I want to be the first to wish my wonderful wife a very happy anniversary! I love you!

Why not?

Normal life around here isn't as exciting as some missionaries, we get that.  We have even been told by some in our travels "Oh, you teach, you're not real missionaries."  (And we nicely smiled and moved on.)  But what we do is really important too.  We recently were discussing the importance of hope in someone's life in our Sunday school class and one of the other members sent us a note the next day.  In it she thanked us for bringing hope to our students every day. We help them discover gifts and talents they never knew they had, and challenge them to do their best and to use those gifts and talents to not only glorify God but to make the world better.  I often say to parents "your child was born to do" xyz, and this is what we were born to do.  So, to all of you who believe in the importance of our ministry here - thank you.  (For those of you who have no idea what we do, or why we need money all the time, see the links on the right of the screen.)

I feel it is important to remind you readers who send us financial or prayer support, that when we talk about "our" ministry we are including you in that.  We could not be here to do what we do without you.  You are working in this crazy world of Guatemala with us!

 We have often been asked by people why we do any of this, and my typical response is "why not?"  We have been given everything, we have been immensely blessed, we have the gift of salvation, God loved us enough to humble himself and come to earth as a baby to be born in a nasty stinky cattle stall - in light of that "why not?" After a while, when you live in a community like this, you say yes to things without a second thought that most people would think are crazy.  Yup, that's us.  We have lots of opportunities to do "crazy" things but are normally too busy, so we do them during our vacation weeks. Here is a snapshot of what we (and you) are going to do today.

We have friends here whose children are all part of the Creative Arts Program, and immensely talented.  (I honestly think all of them could have a future in theater if they choose to.)  These friends have been some of our biggest encouragers over the last two years.  We know that our working with their kids is part of what allows them to do the things that they do every day.  Those things fit the "normal missionary" mold much better than our teaching.  So, when they asked us (yesterday) if we want to go with them today to help in their ministry, I had one of those say yes without thinking moments.  This was not an uniformed decision, I know exactly what their ministry is, but I think you should know too.

Please....read this blog post to find out more about them.  The rest of our day won't make any sense to you if you don't.







Did you read it?  I mean it?  It might challenge you, and it should.  Please if you didn't read it, go back and do so.  And I highly suggest reading everything my lovely British friend writes, she's brilliant and honest.

If you read any other of her posts you would see that there is going to be a big party.  That's right, a party for prostitutes and their children.  Women who have a life that I would guess all of our readers could only imagine.  Children who spend their day locked up in their house so Mom can work.  And why are we going to do this, you ask?  Because it is EXACTLY what Jesus would have done.  It turns out Jesus wasn't known for hanging out with people who had it all together, people who gave lots of money to the church, people who were accepted by society.  If that is what you think of when you think of Jesus, then please read or reread the gospels.  If you call yourself a Christ follower and that is all you do, then please rethink what it means to actually follow Christ.  Find opportunities near you this season to serve the people Christ would have chosen to serve.

I am really proud to know Natalie and Shawn, and be part of supporting their ministry.  I am really excited to go and see that first hand today.  I am also really excited to be taking my sister-in-law and niece with me.  I am proud to have family that are willing to lay down their ability to sleep in on vacation, and go and do things like this with a willing heart.  I am proud to be able to be a little more like Jesus today, and allow our supporters to do the same.

(If we have opportunity to take pictures today, I will post them later...)

Recent Events

Wow - I just realized that we've had a lot of stuff going on recently. All good stuff, mind you...

Cast of Peter Pan (2015)

Many of you follow us on Facebook so you've likely seen recent posts about this little event we just completed in November, called "Peter Pan, the Musical" - yeah - it was a tonne of work, oh, and it was worth it!

It started as just Joy and Abigail (Michael), however, as usual it was a whole family affair in the end. Poor Sara didn't make it to the end at all.

Oh, but what an awesome event! We're so proud of everyone.



Right in the middle of Peter Pan was Sara's 5th birthday. Our little girl is growing up! As is tradition in our family when the 5th birthday comes we allow them to get their ears pierced. We did not know what sort of ordeal this was going to be.

So, when plan A for the piercing fell through we had to go with plan B - "The Doctor." He really was awesome - Sara was not so excited. But in the end she was a real trooper and now has awesome cross earrings in!

Sara, waiting for the Doctor

End Results

Emma Baptism

On November 29th we were proud to witness Emma making her public profession of her believe in Christ and what He has done for her. We're thankful for Pastor Conner and Union Church of Guatemala for everything they did for us!

After Thanksgiving, and some rest time, we realized that Christmas is pretty much right around the corner. What does that mean for a musician and a sound guy? Concerts - that's right!

For the second year in a row the C.A.G. Band and Choir went to play a live concert at the San Kris mall. It was another great experience. We, again, are so very proud of the students in the band and the choir - they did a fantastic job!

This coming weekend the annual Christmas concert will be held (Friday) and then on Saturday the choir will be performing at a nursing home in Antigua ...

In other recent and relevant news Volcan de Fuego, a very active volcano near Antigua (roughly 44 km from where we live), has been at it again... Please continue to pray for safety for us. 

Volcan de Fuego

We thank everyone for their continued prayer and financial support! We cannot be here serving the Lord without your help! Merry Christmas to one and all!

-knm/jr/ac/eb/sje

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we come to the season traditionally thought of as the "season of thanks" our family pauses to recognize that we cannot be here doing this without all of you. With that thought in mind we want to extend a heartfelt "thank you" to all of those who continue to (and have previously) supported us - both with financial gifts and with endless prayers.

With Christmas just around the corner we would also like to get a jump start on wishing everyone a Christ-filled merry Christmas and, of course, a happy and safe new year!

-The Eisner Family

E.I.G. Update

Greetings and salutations!

A lot has happened since our last post. School has started and both Joy and I have made short trips to the US.

This year marks a new chapter for C.A.G. We started the year with complete new administration and a lot of new teachers. Teacher turnover is nothing new for an M.K. school but a new administration - that is a different story.

Our former principal did a lot for C.A.G. - and only in his moving on do we see just how much. Mark was, and still is, a great friend and a terrific principal - he left huge shoes to fill. There were challenges but our team got the job done. Many things were learned and we'll be all the stronger the next time around.

Both Joy and I are teaching this year. Joy continues with her normal course load: general music K4 through 5th. Plus high school choir. Plus AP Music Theory. Plus the musical (Peter Pan.) Plus private piano lessons. This year I have added an "Intro to Computer Sciences" course. I _never_ knew how much work it was going to be. Lesson plans, grading, teaching...*sigh*

Abigail is in middle school and learning it is quite a bit different than elementary. She has made a new friend, Julia, who has been a tremendous support for her. Actually, I think it is mutual. Her and Julia are the only girls in the 6th grade until Claire returns in January.

Emma is settling in to her new grade (the 3rd.) She is learning that new teacher means things need to get done a bit different. There wasn't a lot of change in the make up of her class so most of the class dynamics are the same. She has two awesome friends: Catherine and Eve - and they get along really well.

Sara started K4 with her very best friend, Sterling. To our surprise this talkative combination has apparently not caused many disruptions in class. Sara has been a lot more tired at nights - this has been good for us :0)

Bambi & Loren (2012) Panajachel

On August 22nd, a very close family friend, Bambi Schanck, went to be with the Lord. Her passing was sudden and unexpected. Like many others, the news hit our family hard. We were blessed to be able to send Joy there for the memorial service. I was able to come up to spend the past week with Loren. We served with Bambi for at least nine years in various church capacities. Bambi had been to Guatemala to visit us twice. Bambi leaves a legacy of being a dedicated and loving wife, friend, and mentor. Everything she did was done with love and the heart of a true Christ-like servant. Though she leaves huge shoes to fill, she did a tremendous job preparing and training us all to step up and fill them. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Loren and his whole family. We ask you to join us in praying for them as well.

Well, that about sums it up. We thank you all for your continued prayer and financial support. It has been most helpful and truly appreciated.

-knme

Back!

It is good to be home.

Panama City, Panama is a nice place to visit. After seven and a half hours I was ready to leave, however.

It is good to be home. Let the summer continue.

We do have a prayer request - our car needs some work. We have to replace the tires and rear brakes. Cost is going to be around $450. Please join with us as we pray about this upcoming expense.

Many thanks.

Neighbors!

I would imagine that most of you reading this have neighbors.  You can see their houses right now, their cars parked out front, their lights turn out as they go to bed.  Goodness, you can see into their homes.  You need to appreciate your neighbors - I mean it, truly.

I didn't realize how much I missed having neighbors until we moved into our new neighborhood, really until tonight.  Before we moved here we lived next to a great family, we could hang out on the porch and talk together and still see our kids playing in our own yard.  The family before them, also great, we used to leave the baby monitor on in one house and go sit in the other house and have adult conversation - the houses were that close.  I lost all of that when we moved here, and man I have missed out.

Our last neighborhood here was all walls.  We lived there for five years and did not ever learn the names of the people who lived next door to us.  We have no idea what their house looks like - on the outside.  The only time the other neighbors spoke to us was to ask us to move our car, and it wasn't even really us it was the people who were house sitting for us that week.  So, I guess we never spoke to them.  We do know that there was only one other family that was caucasian that lived in the neighborhood - but we never even spoke to them in the neighborhood.  For a relational culture there was just no relating.

It turns out I like to be around people.  Sure, I have my times when I like a little alone time and privacy.  But, I really get refreshed by sitting with people and laughing together, crying together, talking together, plotting world domination together, etc...  For six years I have missed out on having neighbors.  It's not that I never am around people, not even close, but I really had no neighbors.  I had people that lived in houses near me, behind their high wall with barbed wire, but I didn't have anyone I could run to for a cup of sugar, or a cry when my kids were making me crazy.

For years we said we would never move into the neighborhood where we live now, it was filled with too many Americans and we would never have any privacy.  I feel like an idiot for that.  Tonight I had one of the most refreshing nights ever.  The girls were watching this ridiculously stupid Disney movie, my neighbors girls were watching the same thing, and all the moms were bemoaning it on facebook.  So, we decided to go sit in one of our garages.  (It was only 50 feet from my house, if even, so do not be worried that I abandoned the children.)  We called it the "Moms against Teen Beach Movies" support group.  SO REFRESHING!  We sat and talked, and laughed, and laughed until we cried, and cried a little, and grew a little closer as women.  I walked away with a smile on my face, knowing that moving into this neighborhood is one of the best decisions we have made since leaving North America.

I remember my Mom and the next door neighbor meeting at the fence to give each other missing baking ingredients.  I especially remember the day us kids got too much for Mom and she ran away - at least that is what my brothers told me.  In reality she had just gone next door to Mrs. C's house for a little break from us.  It is so freeing to me that now I can do the same thing, I walked over to the neighbors for a cup of water for my rice the other day when our jug of water ran out on me.  In our old house I would have had to scrap the rice.  So, please get out there and appreciate your neighbors, throw a block party, play kick the can - and love it!

Thank you to all the neighbors I had in North America, for so many years, and thank you to my new neighbors.  You all have had a part in shaping my life.  I appreciate you!  (And feel free to call me anytime you run out of butter - we can meet at the fence.)

Back from the West - Success!

First - Happy Canada Day!

What an adventure!

An unexpected trip to Dulles International, sprint to the gate at O'Hare, and two quick interviews.

My itinerary west was supposed to be Boston - Chicago - Seattle. But when I printed my boarding passes I got a free trip to Dulles. Sweet. I feel like half of the trip from Boston to Chicago was spent taxiing on the runway at O'Hare. Sprinted from terminal C to B to make it in time. Still arrived on time in Seattle Sunday night.

Gretchen and I arrived early to the 8:00 a.m. appointment. We were admitted at 8:10 a.m. and were out by 8:30 a.m. Approved. Done. Unbelievable! The oath ceremony was about 75 minutes and was really quite nice.

I enjoyed my time with Gretchen and her parents. They are amazing people. I'll say this too - Seattle-Tacoma International airport is a quite nice airport too.

I flew back Tuesday. Another sprint in O'Hare and then on to Boston.

This morning I had an 8:00 a.m. appointment at the Portsmouth Passport Center. We arrived early and were in and out by 8:02 a.m.

My return ticket to Guatemala has been secured - 22 July. The end is in sight.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed with our family during this long process. We are very grateful for all of you.

-knme

Wheels Up! Next Stop - Seattle!

The Lord continues to amaze us. This has all come about in the past 17 hours - I have not even had time to properly update Joy as she is at Music Camp. I sent her a message this morning but I don't know if she will get it before Saturday.

Gretchen, my lawyer, is even surprised at how fast USCIS has come back with an appointment.

I have to appear at the USCIS office in Seattle this coming Monday morning (29 June.) The oath ceremony is the same afternoon. Lord willing, I will be a naturalized US citizen by Monday supper time.

The very cool thing about this is that Gretchen had pre-scheduled vacation time beginning Tuesday morning!

Okay cool - so, what is next?
Great question! Once I'm a naturalized citizen I can file for my US passport. Gretchen is encouraging me to do this at a passport center in Seattle - just to get it done. If I cannot find it or run out of time I will do that upon my return to Dover. The processing time is, apparently, eight to ten business days. So I should have my passport on or by 10 July - which clears me to return to Guatemala. I'll finalize those arrangements once I have my passport in hand.

We continue to thank all of you for your diligent prayers and ask that you continue praying with us through the weekend and, especially, Monday.

Thanks!!
-knme

Parallel Parking and the Camp Mascot

Wow, what a month has passed.  We had the Spring arts presentation, finished school, moved into a new house, had friends move into that house with us the next day, said goodbye to numerous friends (including those who moved in,) got new bosses at school, sent Kenneth off to the USA, finally gotten a Guatemalan drivers license, and now are hosting a team for Music Camp Guatemala.  And that about sums it up.

For those of you who want more details though - read on :-).

New House:  We really love it in the new neighborhood.  The girls have made new friends, and there have been more lemonade stands than I can count.  Our close friends live 2 houses away, and many other missionary families live in the neighborhood as well.  This has proven to be a great help with Kenneth being gone, for peace of mind and things like stuck patio doors.  Thanks for those of you who prayed us into this neighborhood!

Kenneth:  He is in NH staying with my Dad and waiting for his appointment to get his interview.  He is studying for the Civics test and passing better than I would I'm sure.  We talk daily, numerous times, thanks to the miracle of modern technology.  (Normally I say that Satan lives in tech, but this is definitely a God thing.)

License:  A ridiculously easy test.  Apparently I could have asked the proctors for help and they would have given me the answers.  That would have been helpful when I had to answer some questions about the parts of the car.  I don't need to know what the "neumaticos" or "suspension" or anything else are - I have a husband and a mechanic.  Thankfully the No U Turn sign came up 2 out of 25 questions.  I had to drive around this little course which was nothing like the Mario Kart driving that we do every day here.  Admittedly I did fail the parallel parking - but all of us drivers know you don't really have to do that, you could just go back to the store another time and find a different parking space.  In my defense though I had brought Ken's small car to be able to pass that part and they made me borrow their stick shift pick up truck instead.  I have NEVER driven a pick up and it turns out its not really the same as my automatic van.  The poor guy had pity on me and didn't make me try to park again after I landed it in the dirt.  He did make me drive backwards in a snake pattern through the cones - because that is something I might actually need to do in real life.

Music Camp:  I am so proud of my older girls!  They have been getting up every morning this week and making breakfast for the small team that is staying with us.  I am not a morning person, so this has been beyond helpful to me.  The fact that they are doing it together is amazing also, since it seems they spend most of their time bickering these days.
I have been working hard to do the shopping for the team, and prepare my workshops that I am presenting to the staff.  Today I am teaching about multiple intelligences and learning styles - sum that up in an hour.  Tomorrow I am presenting on how to make music theory fun.  Last night I found out that the Guatemalan staffer who was supposed to be preparing the music theory classes wants me to just do it.  So, please be praying for all those things.  It turns out it is not easy to get work done here while the children are awake, so my presentation that I am giving in six hours still isn't done.  (Those of you who knew me in college will not be at all surprised by this fact, but I swear I have changed since then and don't normally wait this long...I swear.)

Next week the older girls will be headed to Camp Guamiski ( an overnight camp for GUAtemalan MISsionary KIds) and Sara and I will most likely be headed to Music Camp to teach theory classes and translate.  Well, I'll be doing the work - Sara will most likely turn into the camp mascot and offer to have everyone come to our room for a sleepover.

Will post more after all this craziness is done - just really wanted to let you all know what was going on down here on our "vacation."

New Hampshire Bound!

Well - I do not believe I have ever bought a ticket from Guatemala City to Boston for $80. Really! Go United Miles Club!! 17,500 miles and $80 later I have a ticket waiting for me.

I will be flying on June 8th, arriving near  midnight in Boston.

It is truly bitter sweet as I will be leaving, again, my wife and kids behind. Please continue to pray for them. It is going to be a very difficult adjustment for all of us.

Blessings,
-knme