THURSDAY & FRIDAY

I had a quiet morning and took my time getting ready for the day. Had lunch at the base and then at 1:30 went into Antigua to meet Clara and get the other bracelets she had made for me and then we went to lunch. We went to Cafe Condezza and had a nice lunch and good time together. Afterwards when I was leaving to come back to the base I saw Maria who said she was going to Guatemala City Saturday to be with her daughter in the hospital and her husband was going to come back to stay with their other kids. I had planned on seeing Maria on Saturday so it was good I found out she wasn't going to be around. She wanted to see me before I leave because she had a gift for me. Spent the rest of the night at the base. After dinner I was in the Sala and some of the people from the team were in there also and told stories about different missions experiences they had had and it was pretty interesting. Friday After breakfast Susy and I went into town to the women's bible study at Camino Church. It was by a lady named Lisa Harper on Hebrews. I went last week also and I really enjoyed both weeks. Then Susy and I picked up Olga and went to the Macadamia Nut Farm for lunch. It was good as always. Then Olga had to go to school and Susy had to drive the group to ministry. I rested for a while. I needed to go into town and meet up with Maria and asked Delmys if she wanted to go with me which she did. It was challenging because both Maria and Delmys only speak Spanish. I found Maria at the park and we went to Cafe Barista and I got her some lunch. It was going to be dinner time soon at the base so Delmys and I only got a drink. Maria gave me a Guipil she had made for me. It was such a generous gift on her part and really nice. I liked that she wanted to give me something special and she said it made her happy that I liked it. It had rained quite hard for a bit before I went into town and then it stopped while we were in town which was a blessing. Came back to the base and had dinner. Visited with Bruce over dinner. It was pretty interesting as he told me stories about some of the outreaches he has been on. The night is winding down and people are going to bed so I guess I will join them.

SO FAR THIS WEEK

So far this week I have done a few different things. Monday in the afternoon I took the bus into Antigua to meet up with Susy because Lea was going to meet us in town. I had not seen her since I have been here. I went to Cafe Barista and waited and they both showed up about the same time. Lea has not been feeling good, she has a big lump On her shoulder and it bothers her to carry her stuff to town and try to sell. I'm sure the problem stems from the fact that she has carried that stuff around for years selling. When I was standing to order us some food for us in Cafe Barista Maria came by and I invited her in. It was a little awkward trying to talk with both of them at the same time. Susy really does all of the communicating between us all. Maria was telling us how her daughter is doing, she has been diagnosed with leukemia. She has been in the hospital in Guatemala City for quite a while and her husband has been staying with her since he is out of work and Maria has been trying to support the family on what little she sells. It's really heartbreaking. Maria believes God has said he is going to heal her daughter and I praise the Lord and say Amen! After that it was Monday night service at Camino Church. Bruce spoke and it was pretty good. Tuesday was a big day for me. Clara had invited us over to her house for a visit. I wasn't sure what to expect, if she would offer us food or what. Clara has a couple of sisters she is close with and it was her sister Sandra's house we went to becUse it was closer and easier to get to Clara said. Clara had come home from selling early and had prepared pepian for us to eat. I thought it was very tasty and enjoyed it. Clara was wearing an apron which was interesting because I had never seen her in an apron. She said she only wears one at home. After we ate one of Clara's relatives was doing a weaving on a back strap loom and we were just sitting around visiting so I had time to watch her for a while and it it very interesting how they do it and just completely labor intensive. After I just came back to the base. There is a new team that just came To the base so they were here when we got back. Florecita had prepared pepian for our dinner here so it was funny to have it twice in different places in the same day. Florecita's was good but I think Clara's was a little more flavorful. now I have another lady staying in my room also. She is nice enough. This morning Karin Bedford came and picked me up and we went to Olga's house. I had not seen Olga's family since I had been here. Karin had made some coffee cake and Olga's mom had made coffee and fixed refried beans and fried bananas. It was all pretty good. I really liked the refried beans. She had made them fresh this morning. It's was good to see Olga's parents and visit with them. After I got back to the base I decided to go to town and see if I could find Clara. I wanted to buy some bracelets from her that she makes. I found her and she had three bracelets in the colors I liked but I needed a couple more so she is going to make them tonight. I will go in tomorrow to get them from her. It started pouring rain and I had brought my unbrella but by the time I got back to the base I was soaked. Got my wet clothes changed and them it was time for dinner. I guess I had not had enough beans today because we had black and red beans for dinner. It's still raining which I think they really need. This is the rainy season and there really hasn't been much rain since I've been here. I'm going to rest the rest of the evening.

SABADO Y DOMINGO

Saturday July 11th I had a quiet morning then took the bus into Antigua. I went to a restaurant I have heard is good called Cafe Condezza. I did enjoy it and would go there again. After I decided to walk over to the small market area they have on the weekends that Clara and Faoustina sell at. I bought a small thing from Faoustina and then visited with Clara for a while. She has a bunch of stuff that she is selling stacked up around and she invites me to sit on some of it and visit with her. She has two sisters that sell near her also and they have some nice stuff and good prices. I bought 2 covers for like couch pillows from her sister and then today I stopped by there real quick with Susy and bought this great bag that is big and I'm going to use it for a reusable shopping bag. No one at the store is going to have a bag like mine. When I left there to catch a bus to head back to the base I got turned around and half way lost. I walked and walked before I finally found my way to catch the bus. By the time I got back to the base I was exhausted. They were having dinner here and then it was Soul Patrol which I would like to do but I was too tired from all my extra walking in town. I rested the rest of evening. This morning we all went to church, they were having a special service and after some food because a missionary couple that have been here with YWAM since they started here in Antigua about 10 years ago are leaving. Mark and Dayle Annand are the ones leaving. They have touched hundreds of people's lives here since they began and will be missed by many. They are from Minnesota and will be leaving here in a couple of days to go there for a couple of months. Their oldest daughter is getting married next month. Then they are going to Japan to be missionaries with YWAM there. They feel that is where God is calling them. What a huge change. After all that Olga came over to the base and visited for a while. I have not seen her very much this trip. She goes to school in the afternoons and it has just been hard to connect. Then later Bruce, Susy, Olga, and I went out to dinner at a place Bruce knew about a ways out of town and way up on the side of a mountain. It had amazing and beautiful views from up there. We had a good dinner and a good time being together. That has been my weekend.

CATCH-UP ON THE PAST WEEK

I'm going to try and write an overview of this past week. Today is Friday July 10th. Last Friday, the day after Chris left I relaxed more or less all day. Saturday after lunch I went into Antigua to where Clara and Foustina sell on the weekend. I hadn't seen Foustina yet and I wanted to connect with her. I bought a few things from her and then in typical fashion Clara had things she wanted to sell me that I really didn't want to buy but ended up doing so anyway. I also bought a belt, like the ones the ladies wear with there skirts from Clara's sister. Then I stopped at Cafe Barrista and had a salad before going back to the base. It was the Fourth of July and David and Florecita made a special American Fourth of July dinner for us which was fun and they played the song 'God Bless thr U.S.A. Sunday I stayed at the base, read and relaxed most of the day But that night Susy and I went over to Joe and Karin Bedford's and played a game with them and their son Josh. It was good to see them and spend some time visiting with them. Found left overs in the fridge to eat. Monday was the Monday night service the base does at Camino church, and I went. Bruce gave the message and it was pretty good. Tuesday I went into town in the afternoon, talked to Clara and then went to cafe Barrista and got something to eat with her and talked for a while. Florecita made some black beans for dinner (other things also) and they were just really good. I want to find out how she made them. Wednesday was just a chill day. Thursday Karin asked if I wanted to go into Antigua and go to the market with her which I did. It was interesting going to the places where she buys things like her vegetables and stuff at the market. I bought 'roasted' macadamia nuts that they sell at one place she buys stuff. That is the only place I have ever heard of them roasted like that. I went there with her last time I was here and bought some. They are quite different when you first try them and then they were quite addicting and I just keep eating them until they were gone. This time I'm not going to even eat one while I am here so I don't end up eating them all because I want to share them when I get home. I also bought a mango that was totally huge like I had never seen before. It was at least 3 times as big as a normal mango and it cost about $0.80. When Karin was done with her shopping we went and got coffee at this place I had gone to with Aaron last Friday that is outside and is a nursery where they sell plants. Aaron and I got breakfast there last Friday and it was pretty good and it's a pleasant place to sit and visit. At the church Karin, Joe, and their family go to they have a Thursday night service and she asked if I wanted to go. Joe was giving the message that night. I hesitated because I'm not fond of too many 'church meetings' but I went and actually enjoyed it. Joe's message was good and Olga's dad was there and it was good to see him. Today is Friday, Susy and I took the car into town and went to a Bible Study that she has been going to. It was with some of the ladies I had met at Bible Study with Susy the last time I was here and it was good to see them. The study was also very good and I really enjoyed it. Afterwards we ran some errands and then drove to the base and I drove the car. Susy showed me how to get to Olga's house. Driving across Ciudad Viejo is crazy and I'm sure like most towns in Guatemala. The streets are narrow and there and people walking, people on bicycles, people on motorcycles, cars, dogs, big trucks, speed bumps, and just plain crazy to drive. Then we drove to the macadamia nut farm to have lunch. When we left there I passed on driving and let Susy take over. She always says she doesn't like to drive but she is a good driver and knows the ways of driving here. I had macadamia nut pancakes which I really enjoyed. we stopped and got some new wiper blades on the car then went back to the base. I had dinner and now I am typing this.

MONDAY JUNE 29th CHRIS'S BITHDAY

We headed to town early for coffee and a little breakfast. After we got off the bus we saw Maria and invited her to come to McDonalds with us. It was good to be able to share time and breakfast with her. Then we headed over to the Museo de Chocolate for the class we signed up for. It turned out to be really good and fun. We learned the history of chocolate, how it started with the Olmecs then to the Mayas, onto the Aztecs and then the Spanish. how they prepared it for a hot chocolate drink and then was finally made into to chocolate. We ground coco beans, made different hot drinks and finally made our own chocolates from the pure chocolate. Afterwards we went to a Jade store and they had a small museum about Mayan jade and some beautiful jewelry. Then it was Dona Louisa's for lunch. It was good. It had started raining outside but didn't get too bad. We met Susy and went to a travel agency to set up a trip to go to Mayan ruins in Copan Honduras the following morning. We finally made it back to the base and had some dinner. 3:30 Tuesday morning Bruce took us to town to catch the shuttle for our Copan tour. We got to Copan at 10:30 a.m., got checked into our hotel and at 10:50 a tuk tuk came to take us to the ruins so we had no time to rest or eat. The ruins are pretty interesting and amazing. It is hot (low 90's) and humid in Copan. When we got done at the ruins we were pretty exhausted so we rested in our air conditioned hotel for a bit then set out to find some dinner. We found an interesting British restaurant. It turned out to be pretty good and we both enjoyed it. Next morning breakfast at the hotel then left to go back around noon. The shuttle van was pretty full when they came to pick us up but it got worse. It was a 15 passenger van and there ended up with 16 people in it. That was too many but it was what it was. We were suppose to be back to Antigua around 7 but traffic was really bad in Guatemala City and we didn't get back till 8. Again we hadn't eaten all day so we ate at Pollo Campero before catching the bus back to the base. Now it's Thursday and Chris's last day and we have mucho things to do. We head into town on the bus Then catch a tuk tuk to a hotel that has a shuttle that goes up to El Tenedor restaurant. We made it there and had breakfast. It was very good and it a beautiful and interesting place to look around and spend some time. When we got back down from there we found Clara in the park because Chris had told her she would buy a couple things from her. Then we walked over to another hotel that had a shuttle that went to Finca Filadelfia Coffee Farm and we went and did a coffee tour. That was pretty interesting and learned a lot but we had to hustle back to town to go to the Museo de Textiles before it closed at 5 p.m. Made it there around 4:30. It was very interesting and we learned a lot about the clothing they make in the different villages around Guatemala. Had dinner at Cafe Barrista then back to the base to get ready for Chris to leave. At 9 p.m. The driver showed up to take Chris to the Airport.

GUATEMALA ONCE AGAIN 2015

I left home on June 24th so I am now 11 days into my trip. My sister Chris and I started out together with a late flight to L.A. Then on to Guatemala City arriving about 4:45 in the morning. Susy and Olga were there to pick us up. We came to the YWAM base where we were going to stay and unloaded our stuff and got set up in our room. Susy had things to do so Chris, Olga and I headed off to catch the chicken bus to go into Antigua. Chris was about to have some new experiences and we both were going to be kept busy doing everything. We went past McDonalds and I had to take her in and show how beautiful it was and why I liked it so much. We walked to Central Park and right off ran into Clara Luz. She naturally had stuff she wanted to sell us. We went into cafe Barrista to eat and since it was still pretty early the only thing we could order was breakfast. Clara came in and ate with us also. It was pretty good. We went back to the base and Olga had to leave. We ate at the base that night and relaxed since we had pretty much been up since the day before. Priscilla had come with her new husband for a few days and it was good to see her and meet her husband. The next day we took the car into the mechanic shop because the clutch was going out and that is where it ended up until the next Friday before we got it back. Then we went into town to do a few things. I got minutes on my phone, Susy showed us where the Chocolate Museum was and we signed up to take the class on Monday then we went and paid for the shuttle and hotel for the Lake. It was a Holiday weekend for the Guatemalans and we had a tough time finding a room in Panajachel but it worked out and found a place that was pretty nice and right on the street where I like to be. Susy's mother was coming there with a group of people from El Salvador and Susy was staying with her. Then we went to this great coffee place called Fat Cats that is like no others coffee house I have ever seen. They make some very different coffee drinks. We each picked something different and they were all very good. We also saw Maria selling at the park. Clara had told me that Maria's daughter was sick and in the hospital. Sure enough Maria said her daughter had been very sick and they had to move her to the hospital in Guatemala a city. They diagnosed her with lukemia. Maria's husband is out of work so he is in the city staying with the daughter and she is trying to sell and keep things going at home. We prayed with her. We had to head out at 6:30 Saturday morning to catch the chicken bus into town to catch the shuttle for our trip to the lake. We had breakfast at the Bagel Barn. The shuttle ride wasn't bad, we were the only three on it which I liked. We checked into our hotel and then went and had lunch at Posada de Don Rodgriguez then walked down to the lake. Later chris and I went the museum of old Mayan pots they have there. It's pretty interesting. Susy's mom finally made it and we met her which was good. They left and Chris and I explored and bought fun stuff and then finally retired to our room. The next morning was Sunday, we had breakfast at the Hotel which was included and wandered around some more. The town was really busy with people there on holiday. We caught the shuttle back at 4 p.m. and got back to Antigua around seven.