Thursday, March 13, 2008
March 13, 2008
Big day today. We have both passed the 500 mark in mosquito bites and still counting.
March 8, 2008
Our first five-week session of the Bible Institute ended today. We had a closing session with the four students, instructors, and Brad. Saul spoke briefly and then Brad spoke about the Great Commission, why we are here studying the Bible is to better fulfill the primary mission of the church – evangelizing the world, and if what we are learning at the Bible Institute doesn’t make us more committed to evangelizing the world than we are wasting our time. We ended the closing with all of us on our knees, hands, and faces praying for about 30 minutes. Wow, what a way to end the first five weeks.
March 13, 2008
We are starting to feel the effects of living in a country where we don’t speak the language or know the culture. We are mentally and emotionally worn out. Things we were excited and looking forward to doing a few weeks ago we dread.
Brad is headed to the southern part of the country tomorrow. He will be spending four days traveling with a significant amount of time being on the road. Last month he was excited and looking forward to going. Now, he just wants to stay home. We have decided it is best if Cindy stays home for this trip.
It is very draining to day after day work so hard just to communicate on a very basic level. You just want to have one day where you do what you need to do without wondering “I am catching everything? Or, is there something I’m missing in the conversation that is very important and will come back to cause me great problems in the future? Am I agreeing to what I think I’m agreeing to or am I agreeing to something else.”
This is not a complaint. Just the reality of where we find ourselves at this point. The quote from Vince Lombardi “Fatigue makes cowards of us all” is true. We are losing confidence in our ability to make decisions at the present time. We are trying to check with each other before we make any big decisions because we are not as confident in our decision abilities currently. Very strange feeling.
Brad is headed to the southern part of the country tomorrow. He will be spending four days traveling with a significant amount of time being on the road. Last month he was excited and looking forward to going. Now, he just wants to stay home. We have decided it is best if Cindy stays home for this trip.
It is very draining to day after day work so hard just to communicate on a very basic level. You just want to have one day where you do what you need to do without wondering “I am catching everything? Or, is there something I’m missing in the conversation that is very important and will come back to cause me great problems in the future? Am I agreeing to what I think I’m agreeing to or am I agreeing to something else.”
This is not a complaint. Just the reality of where we find ourselves at this point. The quote from Vince Lombardi “Fatigue makes cowards of us all” is true. We are losing confidence in our ability to make decisions at the present time. We are trying to check with each other before we make any big decisions because we are not as confident in our decision abilities currently. Very strange feeling.
March 13, 2008
Today is Cindy’s birthday and she wants to thank all those who sent emails and electronic birthday cards. They really made the day special. Thanks so much!
Cindy had a birthday party with Casa 3 (House 3) tonight. Several of the girls that live in the house have birthdays this month and it’s the house parents’ anniversary this month. Cindy made cupcakes, brought chips, cokes, ice, birthday plates and cups to the house. They all had a great time. Especially Cindy.
Cindy had a birthday party with Casa 3 (House 3) tonight. Several of the girls that live in the house have birthdays this month and it’s the house parents’ anniversary this month. Cindy made cupcakes, brought chips, cokes, ice, birthday plates and cups to the house. They all had a great time. Especially Cindy.
March 12, 2008
The police came by today. We are getting to know them a little. Usually they come by wanting money and we all try to hide from them so we don’t have to deal with them. Today Brad saw them just standing outside the team house and so he went and asked them if they would like a coke. We’ve given them cokes before and they always appreciate them. They are always very nice and polite when they drop by. They wanted a coke so while he was getting the drinks from the house Cindy came out and was talking with them. She asked if they would like some medicine and so they said yes. Cindy got them some vitamins for themselves and for their children. We continued to chit-chat and eventually decided it was time for us to go. Cindy asks them if they need money for gas for their truck. Surprisingly they say “no.”
We continue to talk with them and they say something that sounds similar to the word for run. But then they use the same word along with morning and night. Ah, they are telling us they patrol around Faith Home in the morning and the night. We thank them for doing the patrols and tell them that’s great.
Later that evening one of our teammates calls us and wants to know who gave the police permission to jog around our campus because all four of them are out running around our campus. Woops! That communication language barrier has reared its ugly head again.
Apparently the word they were using for “run” was the word for run. They were asking we would let them using our campus for them to run around in the morning and the evening. It looks like we said “yes.” So, at least for a few days, the police will be using our campus to train in the mornings and the evenings.
We continue to talk with them and they say something that sounds similar to the word for run. But then they use the same word along with morning and night. Ah, they are telling us they patrol around Faith Home in the morning and the night. We thank them for doing the patrols and tell them that’s great.
Later that evening one of our teammates calls us and wants to know who gave the police permission to jog around our campus because all four of them are out running around our campus. Woops! That communication language barrier has reared its ugly head again.
Apparently the word they were using for “run” was the word for run. They were asking we would let them using our campus for them to run around in the morning and the evening. It looks like we said “yes.” So, at least for a few days, the police will be using our campus to train in the mornings and the evenings.
March 8, 2008
We were at the airport today and Brad decided he would go buy a coffee. It wasn’t that he wanted a coffee as much as he needed a confidence boost. He just wanted to do something he knew he could do without it becoming a hassle. He went, ordered the coffee, they understood what he wanted, he understood when they told him how much it cost, and he got his coffee with NO hassles. It may seem small where you are but from this side it was very nice.
March 5, 2008
We have our dates for language school in Guatemala. We will be at language school from March 30 – June 27. Brad is excited to go Cindy is not so sure. She is getting adjusted to our new surroundings and is not looking forward to having to adjust again so soon. Brad is excited because he just wants to be able to talk with the people he has to interact with everyday.
March 4, 2008
Needed to get some gas today. Went to one of the stations we usually buy gas from and before would could even stop the truck they were waving us off. Telling us we couldn’t get any gas. We went to another gas station and the same thing happened. A little frustrating that you can’t get gas at a GAS station. It ended up we had to drive to San Pedro Sula – about 30 minutes away – just to get gas. So our one hour trip resulted in us being gone from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm. Once you get into the city you might as well do everything you need to do in the city because it can be such a hassle to go. Plus while you’re there people are calling you asking if you can pickup things for them while you’re there. Time just seems to disappear once you get to the city because nothing can be done quickly.
March 3, 2008
The day the Medical/Dental team left our son, Michael, arrived to spend his spring break with us. We had a great time with him. We just took him to do whatever we had to do and we all seemed to enjoy just spending some time together. Each night we watched a new movie. We have started quite a collection of movies since we’ve arrived. They only cost about $3 – of course they’re not the originals. But they do work ok. It was fun just relaxing in the evenings with our son.
Cindy is realizing she’s adjusting to the culture somewhat when it dawned on her she is now haggling with the guys selling pirated movies. Getting from them down from $4 to $3 is a big success.
Cindy is realizing she’s adjusting to the culture somewhat when it dawned on her she is now haggling with the guys selling pirated movies. Getting from them down from $4 to $3 is a big success.
February 29, 2008
Since it’s been a month since we last posted something – how has it been that long – we are just going to offer random thoughts and updates.
We had the Medical/Dental team here the last week of February. It had about 50 people along with Cindy and I, most of the rest of the team here helping in one way or another, and the help of 13 translators. All which had to be transported back and forth to the site each day.
Couple that with the fact the school we were using was at the top of a VERY big hill (or a small moutain) which could only be reach using a windy dirt/gravel, one-lane road that was right beside a drop off to the bottom of the large hill all the way up. Most of the team made this journey in an old, yellow school bus. This made for an interesting adventure twice each day – once going up in the morning and another coming down at night.
The last day was especially interesting since it rained all night the night before our last day. This made the road muddy and a little slick. It then drizzled most of the day we were at the clinic which made the road worse. When we were packing up to leave on the last night the some of the people who lived in village said we should not use the road we had been using to go down the hill. Because of the rain it was too slick and we could go over the side of the hill. This made us a little nervous because the bus driver, Steve Comfort, and Brad had checked out the other road down the hill earlier that day and thought it was worse than the one we had been using.
The people of the village insisted we use the “other” road. We discussed it and concluded they live here, we don’t, they probably know best. We took their advice and used the road they suggested. Obviously we made it safely or we wouldn’t be typing this.
The medical/dental clinic lasted four days (Mon-Thurs). We saw over 2,300 people in those four days. The village we worked in didn’t have running water. Each person went to a church service (either adult or kids), triage, worming, had a family photo taken, then had the opportunity to see a doctor, dentist, be tested for hearing and fitted with a hearing aid if needed, have their eyes tested and fitted with prescription glasses, and finally visit the pharmacy were they were given any medications that had been prescribed along with a “family pack”. The family pack included such things as: soap, toothbrushes, washcloths, toothpaste, etc.
The days were extremely long. Rolling out of bed between 4 and 5 am., returning to Faith Home around 9:00 at night, and finally getting to bed between 11 pm and midnight. Yep, we were pretty tired come Friday.
One day during the clinic we gave a mom three large cans of baby formula. The mother had a small child she was holding and another one barely walking. We thought we would help and we offered to carry the formula to her house. How far could it be? The village we were working in wasn’t that big. We started walking, and we kept walking right out of the village. We had been walking down the hill for about 15 minutes when the lady points to the bottom of the hill and then some and says “me casa.” What? We had no choice but to walk the formula to her house. About 30 mins after we started we arrived at her house. Realizing of course that we had to walk back up the hill now.
So we started our trek up the hill. All along the way people were stopping to stare at us. Finally Cindy says “I know what their thinking. These gringos took a wrong turn in Texas.”
Being so busy we had many friends on this team but got to spend very little time with them. That was disappointing. The good side is 109 people said they are now new members of God’s family.
We had the Medical/Dental team here the last week of February. It had about 50 people along with Cindy and I, most of the rest of the team here helping in one way or another, and the help of 13 translators. All which had to be transported back and forth to the site each day.
Couple that with the fact the school we were using was at the top of a VERY big hill (or a small moutain) which could only be reach using a windy dirt/gravel, one-lane road that was right beside a drop off to the bottom of the large hill all the way up. Most of the team made this journey in an old, yellow school bus. This made for an interesting adventure twice each day – once going up in the morning and another coming down at night.
The last day was especially interesting since it rained all night the night before our last day. This made the road muddy and a little slick. It then drizzled most of the day we were at the clinic which made the road worse. When we were packing up to leave on the last night the some of the people who lived in village said we should not use the road we had been using to go down the hill. Because of the rain it was too slick and we could go over the side of the hill. This made us a little nervous because the bus driver, Steve Comfort, and Brad had checked out the other road down the hill earlier that day and thought it was worse than the one we had been using.
The people of the village insisted we use the “other” road. We discussed it and concluded they live here, we don’t, they probably know best. We took their advice and used the road they suggested. Obviously we made it safely or we wouldn’t be typing this.
The medical/dental clinic lasted four days (Mon-Thurs). We saw over 2,300 people in those four days. The village we worked in didn’t have running water. Each person went to a church service (either adult or kids), triage, worming, had a family photo taken, then had the opportunity to see a doctor, dentist, be tested for hearing and fitted with a hearing aid if needed, have their eyes tested and fitted with prescription glasses, and finally visit the pharmacy were they were given any medications that had been prescribed along with a “family pack”. The family pack included such things as: soap, toothbrushes, washcloths, toothpaste, etc.
The days were extremely long. Rolling out of bed between 4 and 5 am., returning to Faith Home around 9:00 at night, and finally getting to bed between 11 pm and midnight. Yep, we were pretty tired come Friday.
One day during the clinic we gave a mom three large cans of baby formula. The mother had a small child she was holding and another one barely walking. We thought we would help and we offered to carry the formula to her house. How far could it be? The village we were working in wasn’t that big. We started walking, and we kept walking right out of the village. We had been walking down the hill for about 15 minutes when the lady points to the bottom of the hill and then some and says “me casa.” What? We had no choice but to walk the formula to her house. About 30 mins after we started we arrived at her house. Realizing of course that we had to walk back up the hill now.
So we started our trek up the hill. All along the way people were stopping to stare at us. Finally Cindy says “I know what their thinking. These gringos took a wrong turn in Texas.”
Being so busy we had many friends on this team but got to spend very little time with them. That was disappointing. The good side is 109 people said they are now new members of God’s family.
February 23, 2008
The Medical/Dental team arrived today. We picked up about half of them (there were ~ 50 people on the team) in the afternoon and then had to go back to airport that evening to pick up the rest. When the team arrived that evening and we got up from the table to greet them Cindy realized her purse had been stolen. She had it sitting on the floor, under her seat, and between her legs. Everything was in it: debit card, driver’s licenses, money, etc.
When we got back to Faith Home about an hour later we called our banks to let them know what had happened. We checked our accounts online and they had already charges $89 at a gas station on our credit card. We later found out they also charged $180 on our debit card at another gas station.
Trying to deal with banks in the states from another country in a situation like this is not the most enjoyable experience. Thank goodness for Skype. We must say that Integra Bank was just wonderful to deal with. Absolutely wonderful. Don’t think they could have been any more helpful.
When we got back to Faith Home about an hour later we called our banks to let them know what had happened. We checked our accounts online and they had already charges $89 at a gas station on our credit card. We later found out they also charged $180 on our debit card at another gas station.
Trying to deal with banks in the states from another country in a situation like this is not the most enjoyable experience. Thank goodness for Skype. We must say that Integra Bank was just wonderful to deal with. Absolutely wonderful. Don’t think they could have been any more helpful.
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