Christmas in Xela

In case you haven't picked up this information from our previous posts, or this is your first time visiting our blog, allow me to state the obvious - our new life here in Xela is very different from our old life in Iowa. Everything is different. Little things. Big things. Daily things. And, especially, holiday things.

This is our first Christmas in Guatemala, and we have really been struck by what a big change it's been! For example:

In Iowa we would sometimes have poinsettias on the table as a festive centerpiece. Here, poinsettia bushes grow in people's yards and can be up to 10 feet tall.

Yep - that's a poinsettia bush blooming behind my lovely daughters!

In Iowa it is usually very cold, and we would often have snow for Christmas. The kids could go outside and build a snowman. Here, we went to an outdoor Christmas party one evening. We did have a snowman, though. Granted, it was a pinata, but a snowman nonetheless. Apparently, in Xela, children destroy snowmen instead of building them.

(image found on pinterest)

In Iowa, almost every school-aged kid cuts out paper snowflakes at some point during December. At my school, I suggested to my students that they should make some for my room, but none of them had ever made them before! In fact, many of them had never seen actual snow before, either. We were all fascinated by the craft-inspired cultural exchange.
 

(image from crafthubs.com)

In Iowa, people enjoy going caroling (though usually inside, like in hospitals and retirement homes) to spread cheer and joy. Here, people have Posadas, where groups of friends gather and walk through the streets carrying lighted candles, blowing whistles and banging on drums, and knocking on doors to find room at the inn for Mary and Joseph. One similarity here, however, is that both caroling and posadas end with hot chocolate and cookies. Those things might be nearly universal!

In Iowa, one of our family's traditions for many, many years was to put together gift boxes for Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child. This year, we didn't. And, though we heard about local people doing distributions of these goody-filled shoe boxes from this GREAT organization, we had the opportunity to do something little more personal. Some friends of ours who help out at a shelter for abused women and children invited us to come along as they distributed gifts, gave out a delicious tamale supper, and shared a simple gospel message.  These activities had the same purpose, but different methods and locations.  I must admit, getting to hug teen moms, tease (and be teased by) kids, and hold babies was pretty awesome!

 In Iowa, we always had a two-to-four-hour drive (depending on where we lived and where we were going) to get to where we celebrated Christmas. In Xela, we will always have a two-to-four-hour drive (depending on road conditions, how many protests there are, and how often we get lost) to get to the Mexican border to get our passports stamped.

This is a section of the curvy, mountainous road on our trip.

In Iowa, we always loved it when Papa (my dad) made a roaring, crackling fire in the fireplace. In Xela we also have roaring and crackling, but here they're from fireworks. It's a tradition in Guatemala to set off fireworks at midnight on Christmas Eve.  (To be honest, they set off fireworks for a LOT of things!) I have literally never seen so many fireworks at once, and I'm a certified pyrotechnician in the States! It is a breathtaking spectacle to behold, and I'm excited to see the repeat performance on New Year's Eve. (I told you they really like fireworks.)

In Iowa, Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. In Xela, it's... oh, yeah! It's the same thing! Though Christmas in the U.S. has too much focus on Santa and commercialization, and Christmas in Guatemala has too much focus on "Santa Maria" and religious traditions, the heart of this holiday is still about the fact that the creator of everything loved fallen, broken humanity enough to come and dwell with them on Earth.

(Image from pinterest)

No matter the language, the traditions, the climate, or the location - it's still the best story ever told, and cause for celebration! So, Merry Christmas from the Farriers of Faith in Xela, Guatemala. May you be truly blessed in the year to come!

 

Recap

Sheesh! Feels like it's been forever since we've posted. Sorry 'bout that. Life got really busy, really fast the last few weeks. I guess we haven't had time for much self-reflection, let alone writing! So, here's a brief recap of what we've been up to:

• Our semester is over at school. Wow. Half a year is under our belts. The girls have settled in to the school routine well, though it's still a big adjustment. Their grades on their final report cards were very good. But, even better, they are really feeling like they're starting to fit into the groove of things there. I, also, no longer feel like I'm scrambling to keep one day ahead, and have really gotten to know my students and their needs well. I was also able to sign my contract for next year. So, I'm officially going to continue to be the High School English teacher, and we'll officially be here for the 2015-2016 school year. 

• The Bible college where Mark works follows a Guatemalan school calendar, so they have been on break since the end of October, and will start back again right after New Year's Day. Even though there haven't been students, there has been a lot of work to do. They've been working on tiling the floors of the classrooms, painting, doing some work on the roof, and keeping up on general maintenance needs. Once school starts again, Mark is planning on trying his hand at teaching a course or two. It's a very exciting step, and I can't wait to see if he'll get bitten by the teaching bug!

• We had the privilege this past week of going with our friends to the women's shelter to help hand out gifts and provide a supper. There are about 35 people living there, more than half of whom are young children. It is hard to think about what they must have come from to end up there. We already help support the shelter financially each month, but are hoping to be able to do more in the future. It was hard to see so many people hurting, but good to know that they are safe (for now) and to get to be a part of bringing some Christmas joy.

• Spanish lessons are going well. Mark has been doing two hours per day, five days per week. I do one hour lessons, twice a week. We've been working on squeezing in some time for Rachel, as well. Our Spanish tutor is a wonderful Christian man, and we are grateful for both his excellent skill and the ability to bless his family financially by paying for his services. Over Christmas break we're planning on doing around 30 hours of lessons, mostly for me and the three girls. It's not exactly the way we'd planned on spending our time off, but we desire to do so much more here, and language has been a limiting factor. So, more lessons it is!

• One of the requirements of our travel status is that we leave the country every three months, whether we want to or not. So, I'm writing this blog from a hotel room in Tapachula, Mexico. In a way, we have a forced vacation (of sorts) every 90 days. Though we technically have other options, Tapachula is the closest, easiest, fastest, cheapest choice, so here we are. And, we'll be here again in March. This was our first 'solo' trip, and all went fairly well, aside from getting lost twice on the way. (Oops!) The border was very chaotic because of people heading to Mexico to do Christmas shopping, but we still managed to go the right places and get the right things done. At least our first trip alone is under our belts!

We know that there will be many more things that God will enable (and ask) us to do in the months ahead. For now, however, we're awfully grateful to have three weeks together to rest, relax, eat some good food, and just "be." Though we're missing our families and friends terribly right now (especially because of the holidays), we know that we know that we know that we're right where God wants us to be, and that He's big enough to keep hearts connected even across thousands of miles. 

Extremes

Life here is surreal. I have come to think of Guatemala as a land of extremes. It is home to the highest mountain peak in all of Central America, but also contains over 200 miles of sea-level coastline. There is a city with a metropolitan population of 2.5 million people, as well as hundreds of tiny, dusty, remote hamlets scattered throughout the rural countryside. We've got cutting-edge technology, and subsistence farmers who dry their hand-planted, hand-irrigated, hand-picked corn on the tin roofs of their houses. Remember - all of this is in a nation roughly the size of Tennessee.

These facts and figures about the landscape and the population, though, aren't the most surreal part. The most surreal part comes in our daily lives and interactions, where we keep finding ourselves face-to-face with the truly startling juxtapositions of Guatemala.

I'll give you some examples.

A few nights ago we had a friend over to our house for supper. As you'd expect, our conversation was varied and interesting. We discussed chili recipes, favorite books, places we'd visited in the U.S. And, then, without even a pause, we turned to other local matters - like how she'd seen the youngest shoe shine boy in the park (ten years old) getting arrested for sleeping in the park instead of going to "the dorms," which the government provides for these homeless kids. Despite his pleas to be left alone, and explanation that he can't go to the dorms or he'll get raped by the bigger boys, he was still taken to jail. Or, there was the 16 year old prostitute who delivered her baby on a park bench and then abandoned it at the hospital so she could go back to getting high on glue and making money selling her body. After all, she had to eat.

These things really happened.  Recently. A few blocks from my house. In the same park where wealthy tourists and the rich locals celebrate with too much booze and giant suppers every Friday night.

But, they're not isolated incidents, either. We see these types of things all the time.

The view of the mountains here is truly breathtaking, but so is the smell from the street dogs, trash, diesel smoke, and people urinating in the streets. 

Amidst the dazzling array and amount of food for sale in the market (everything from fresh shrimp and fish, to exotic fruits and veggies), there are also people who are literally starving.

We've never yet gone to grab a bite to eat at a fast-food place without having our meal interrupted by a street kid trying to sell us gum or candy for 1Q in order to get enough money to buy some tortillas to fill their bellies. The irony of seeing food go to waste right in front of hungry kids is painful. (We always buy the candy, by the way.)

One of the hardest juxtapositions is when we see fancy cars or big, expensive trucks narrowly miss the homeless (often drunk) people who pass out/sleep on the sidewalks and end up with an arm or leg in the street. Unfortunately, the swerve often comes too late, and there are frequent fatalities and serious injuries around town from such situations.

One extreme we were pleasantly surprised to find was just how nice almost everyone here has been. Yes, we've had some unpleasant experiences with people harassing us a bit, and one or two vendors in the market who refused to wait on us. But, mostly what we experience is a level of warmth, openness, and love that we were unaccustomed to in the states. People here greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek. (This takes some getting used to. Trust me!) They genuinely are excited to talk with you, and ALWAYS take the time to really connect with those around them. We have felt so very, very welcomed here!

On the other hand, there are the deep spiritual challenges. The superstitions, the mix of religious practices, and the fervent and  faithful processions - many times carried out by people who believe that is the way to salvation, and unaware that Jesus is the ONLY name by which man may be saved (Acts 4:12), and then by grace and not by works (Eph. 2:8).

The latter is even harder to be surrounded by than hungry kids or desperately poor adults. And, it is what we primarily came here for. Physical poverty and starvation are nothing compared to spiritual poverty and starvation, after all. Though, with the help of God and all of our faithful supporters, we are endeavoring to be an answer for as many of these problems in as many people's lives as we can.

When it comes down to it, Guatemala really is a nation of extremes. Some of them are discouraging. Some are astonishing. Some are downright heart breaking. But, there's nothing so extreme as the unending, unparalleled, limitless love of God, and His ability to change lives and eternities through Christ. That's the extreme I'm going to embrace to the fullest, because I know it's the only one that really matters. It's the only one that lasts. 

No Place Like It

When  I came to Guatemala two years ago for the first time I remember remarking to someone on the trip that I had never been any place like it. His response was I felt that way because I wasn't having to go to work. (I think he was making a joke.)

On Sunday, when I climbed up the stairs to check on the laundry and looked out over the city, I was filled with the same thought - there's no place like this. God has put this place on my heart. I don't know for how long.  I cannot see myself anywhere else right now. Yes, Iowa is my home, and I shed a tear when we crossed the border and I realized I would not be returning for awhile.  The rows of corn. The beautiful sunsets. The hot summers and the cold winters.  The way the evenings cool off just enough in the summer to enjoy going for  a walk.

I have been blessed with the chance to go many places and see many things.  The dryness and vastness of the Arizona desert.  The scope of the Grand Canyon.  The beauty of St. Louis (one of my favorite cities).  The laid-back atmosphere of Jamaica.   The energy of New York. (Oh, I hope to get to go there again!)  The beauty of the Appalachian Mountains in the Carolinas.  The BBQ of Kansas City.  The awe-inspiring cliffs of the Ozarks in Missouri.  The friendly people of Alabama.  And, of course, the ocean, and all the oceans and coasts I have gotten to be on! Some of my best prayer times have been on a beach or standing in the waves.  So many wonderful places.

But, there really is no place like Xela, Guatemala.  God has planted me here.  I love the mountains. The volcano. The wonderful people who still believe that relationships are the most important things.  There may be challenges, but there is nowhere I'd rather be.

How to Get Sick (and Recover) in Guatemala

WARNING: This blog post contains medical information, including humorous descriptions of symptoms from a real medical disorder. Reader discretion is advised. The post is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent illness. Although, if it does - awesome! 

So, we all had a new experience this last week - amoebic dysentery. (Ok, it wasn't quite to the point of technically being dysentery, but it was close.) And, while it doesn't rate high on my list of things I'd recommend that you experience when you visit Guatemala, I think it will at least be one of the more memorable 'firsts' that we've encountered. So, in case you'd like to repeat the experience (or, maybe in case you DON'T want to repeat it), I've decided to include a step-by-step set of instructions. Without further ado, I present:

Amoebas 101

1.) Eat something. Or, drink something. Or, don't, and just touch stuff that someone else has touched. Really, there are no guarantees on this step of the process. Ameobas are very, very, very common here - both in the food and water, and on people's hands. The life cycle of amoebas makes them very easy to transmit from person-to-person. Even with the best of preventative measures (cooking things thoroughly, being careful what you drink, washing hands often) you might still end up with amoebas. Think of it as a little surprise gift from Xela to you! (How thoughtful, right?)

2.) Start feeling symptoms. Or, think you're starting to feel symptoms, but you're not sure. Or, don't, and just harbor these little suckers in your gut with you apparent side effects. Any of these are possibilities. In our case, it's likely a mix of all three. We've all struggled with <ahem> loose stools since our arrival. It's likely that we picked up amoebas sometime in the past month or two, had only a few symptoms, and managed to pass the first life cycle fairly easily. (When I speak of life cycles, by the way, let's just say it's possible to diagnose how long the amoebas have been in your gut by the presence or absence of their various manifestations. The word 'cysts' might have been thrown around in the lab report.)

Once the amoebas do start to cause symptoms, they are not pleasant ones. Severe diarrhea (up to 10 times per day), stomach cramping and aching, gas, high fever, and terrible headaches are all common... and that's just if the amoebas don't penetrate the lining the of your intestines, get into your bloodstream, and colonize in your liver. (Or BRAIN! Ewwwwwwwwww....)

3.)  Go to the doctor to get a diagnosis. This is an especially challenging thing if you don't know where to go, or what to say, since you don't speak the language. ("Un examen de heces, por favor," by the way - in case you're wondering.) This is where I am, once again, grateful to be in the embrace of a wonderful group of people who are very kind and take very good care of us. I was driven to the private hospital here in town, where I had the distinct privilege of paying 30Q (approx. $4) to give a stool sample in a urine specimen cup! I'll let the realities of that challenge remain unwritten and up to your imagination. Later the same day two other people from our family got to repeat the process. (I'm thinking this is a skill we should all include on our resumes.)

4.) Pray. (This really helped with the duration and severity of our cases!) Get medication. Again - this can be a challenge if you don't know what to say or where to go. Because lab results get emailed to you (in Spanish, of course), and there are no actual paper prescriptions, you'll once again either have to rely on the kindness of those around you, or dumb luck. (I would highly recommend the former!) Medication, though over-the-counter, is still not cheap. You should expect to pay between $50 and $75 per person for a full course of treatment. Thankfully, this is not a case where the cure is worse than the disease. The pills themselves aren't terrible, and only have to be taken three times per day for ten days. I've been told that (like most medications) it is of the utmost importance to complete a full treatment. It's bad enough to think about amoebas living in your intestines. I can't imagine having mutated amoebas to boot!

5.) Like the instructions given on shampoo bottles - lather, rinse, repeat. (Although, if you think about it, that means that we'd all be stuck in the shower forever if we followed those instructions.) Anyway - after fully recovering, you're back to step number one all over again. And, though you'll continue to do your best to wash foods carefully, watch out for what you eat and drink, and wash your hands frequently, there will still be no guarantees that you won't pick up a new batch of free-loading little amoebas who will, once again, try to colonize your intestinal tract and anything else they get access to.

The good news is that the second time around at least you'll be familiar with the process, know how to say all the necessary words in Spanish, and already be skilled at giving a sample.  ;)





 

I Am Healed

I believe in healing.  

 There - I said it. 

I do not believe it is ever the will of God for his children to be sick. Of course, this doesn't mean that I know why some people don't get healed, or that everyone I pray for gets healed. I don't really want to get into the details of this belief in this blog - maybe in another one.  This is just a statement of faith post, with personal stories.

There are two things I have learned  since my Mom passed away. 1.) God is good, all the time, all the time, all the time. Never does God do evil.  2.) God does not want his children sick and never causes sickness. 

If you want to blame someone for your sickness, let me give you what Jesus said in scripture: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10, NKJV. (The thief is the Devil, by the way, if anyone was wondering.)

But, this is not a post where I discuss proofs, so let us get to the stories.  I have three personal stories to show that healing has happened in my life.  These all happened to me. They are not third party accounts.

1st Story - Dental Pain - I think dental pain is the worst of all the pain, and I have had a lot of it (almost all because I didn't take care of my teeth like I should have.)  I had a filling done, and when they were drilling I bit down onto the drill.  (Once you get  that image out of your head we will go on.)  What I was left with was a filling right next to the root, leaving my mouth extremely sensitive to temperature changes.  The reason I say temperature changes is because even drinking room temperature water hurt.  

I built up my faith ,and then prayed over that tooth to no longer be sensitive.  I went to the dentist and he X-rayed it during my normal check-up. He told me that since it had been more than eighteen months, it would always be sensitive and the the only way to fix it was a root canal.  When he told me this, I chuckled and thanked the Lord for my healing.  Two months after that appointment I was drinking some refrigerated pop and forgot to drink only on the left side of my mouth. This would have normally dropped me to my knees in pain, but the only sensation I was left with was the good taste of root beer. It has now been ten months since I drank that pop, and ever since I have put ice in my drinks and love my drinks cold.  The Lord healed my tooth.

2nd Story - Fear of Heights and Flying -God does not only heal physically, but also mentally and emotionally.  I used to have a horrible fear of heights, and especially of flying.  One day I got a chance to go to Guatemala and be used by God, but I had to fly. I had flown before, but it had always bothered me, and it was getting worse.  The Devil will always take ground when you are living in fear. 

I worked up the courage and flew to Guatemala. It was horrible.  When it was time to go back I was terrified to even get on the plane, but how else was I going to see my girls back home? The first leg of our flight was the worst I had ever been on. The plane would not stop shaking and hitting air bubbles.  Though it may seem funny now, I actually considered jumping out of the plane. I felt death would have been better.  We finally landed, and our group prayed for me. They knew how scared I was.  I really wanted to rent a car and drive back from Atlanta to Omaha, but I also really wanted to see my girls. 

So, I took a leap of faith and got on the plane.  Andrea and I sat with someone who had knowledge and experience with how to walk out the process of asking for and receiving healings.  We prayed, and by the time we took off I felt better. I thought it was a great flight, in fact. Everyone else in our group thought it was the worst we had been on.  Since then I have climbed ladders and done things that would have been impossible before.  I still do not enjoy heights, but when I have to do them, I can.  I was healed of my fear of heights.

3rd Story - Stomach Problems - In Guatemala it is considered normal to have stomach issues.  In September I had horrible stomach pains that lasted almost two weeks. It felt like someone was grabbing my stomach and twisting. It was very painful and I lost at least five pounds during this time.  In mid October I started to have the same issue again.  I prayed over my stomach, had faith, and trusted God. The first day was just as bad as it had been before. The next morning started out the same.  Then, by lunch, my stomach only hurt a little, and by dinner I was feeling fine.  I actually felt so well that I forgot I had been sick.  Luckily, the Holy Spirit brought it to my mind and I remembered to thank the Lord, otherwise I would have gone on forgetting to thank him because the healing was so complete!  I was healed from stomach problems.

I know as people read this they may be able to poke holes in the stories.  I don't really care.  I know what I went through.  I have seen greater miracles than these with my own eyes - people having chronic pain go away, diseases disappearing, and other such things.  But these happened to me, so I know and can testify personally that they were real. I know these things for sure: God heals, and God is good all the time!

Brain Dump

There are times when, for whatever reason, I don't have the time, focus, or ability to create an entire blog post, but there are lots of little things floating around in my head that really want to come out and play. It is for such times as these that I created the 'Brain Dump' post. Enjoy!

• Why is it that I have to duck through every doorway in my house, but the mirror in my downstairs bathroom is so high that even I (giant Gringa that I am) can only see my reflection from the nose up? 
• Is it worth taking the time to tell my phone to remember every word I type on messages and texts, or should I just continue to be content having it try to autocorrect everything I write into some random Spanish word instead? 
• There really is nothing quite like seeing a valley full of clouds from above. They look a giant, white lake, with only the highest mountain and volcano tops peeking out around the edges. Guatemala is a truly spectacular land. 
• I love that the presence of the Lord breaks language barriers. There is something immeasurably thrilling about standing in the midst of dozens and dozens of people who are crying in their own language, and I'm crying in mine, and even though we can't understand each other, we understand each other perfectly. It is at once familiar and novel every time, and I can't get enough of it. 
• I wonder when I'm going to start "feeling" like a missionary. 
• Being stared at for the color of your skin and how much you stand out is a very strange feeling. I'm not sure I like it, but I also know it's good for me, and for our family, to understand life on this side of the equation. 
• I keep mixing up the words for old (viejo) and trip (viaje). Yesterday I told my Spanish tutor that I was taking an old this morning with my students. <sigh>  He's very patient with me, and tries his best to only chuckle instead of laughing openly at my mistakes. 
• How far should one go to assimilate into one's new culture? Should I feel compelled to throw my kids big birthday parties at a local restaurant, and invite all of their classmates? Should I think about having a Quince Anos party for Rachel, even if she's not really interested in having one? Where is the line between rude and just different because of our background? 
• So, here's something strange - I buy fresh fruit from withered, ancient, Mayan women at an open market. I live and drive on literal cobblestone roads.  I hang my clothes to dry on the roof. Everyday I see people who carry things on their heads. It is no longer startling to spot cows, goats, and chickens in the road, but I do a double-take when I see a dog on a leash. These things are still hard to believe sometimes.
• Cats walking across plastic roofing in the night sound really loud. And really big. Unless, of course, there actually is a 500 pound panther walking across my skylight each night at 2:00 a.m. Could be, I suppose. Could be.
• Around here there are places called 'Auto Hotels.' Let's just say they call them that because they're places that your car goes to sleep, but <ahem> you don't. (My understanding is that they rent by the 20 minutes.) They are everywhere, and sometimes have startling American icons or logos. Like, cartoon characters, for example. I saw a billboard for one a few weeks ago that featured Chewbacca from Star Wars. Seriously, Guatemala - you never cease to amaze and confuse me. 
• Some street food smells reallllllly good. It's becoming increasingly hard to resist.  I'm beginning to think it's worth the risk of catching amoebas or accidentally eating dog meat. You only live once, right? 
• There is a kind of bread here called Pan de Muerte (bread of the dead), but I don't think it has to do wtih the Day of the Dead. (I might be wrong.) On that day people eat a cold meat and vegetable salad (of sorts) called fiambre. I'm told it's delicious. Can't wait to try it.
• I love that students have identified my room as a safe place to be, and that many of them go there to eat lunch. To hang out. To cry. To ask for prayer. God is so good.
• Every roadtrip I take (or everytime I'm in the car for more the 20 minutes, for that matter) I see someone peeing on the side of the road. There are signs up all over town admonishing people not to throw trash or use the bathroom on the sidewalks, walls, and empty lots. 
• I have yet to figure out how to write about life here in a way that really captures the beauty of this place and my genuine, pleasant wonder at it all. Somehow everything I've written sounds negative, even though I meant it just the opposite. I guess you're going to just have to believe me when I say that everything here (even the hard stuff) is a blessing and part of the place that God has truly made me love with all my heart.

Identity Crisis

Learning a foreign language is hard, especially at my age. (I'm not old, of course, but I'm also not  kid anymore, either.) Figuring out new pronunciations, conjugations, phrases and idioms - I'm not gonna lie, it's taxing to say the least. I never before understood the reality of a physical headache that comes from language strain. Let me assure you, though, it's very real. But, despite how challenging and annoying that can be, it's not the hardest part about learning a language. That hardest part is losing your identity.


Allow me to explain.

In the U.S., I speak English, and I speak it well. I am an English teacher, after all. I'd like to believe (and years of experience have supported the idea) that it's easy for fellow English-speakers to assume within just a few moments of conversation that I am a Christian, educated, informed, intelligent, open, friendly, kind, trustworthy, sincere, genuine, and contain a sharp wit and a great sense of humor. (Alright - maybe people don't think all of those things, but it's my blog, so I'm allowed to take a few liberties.)

Here, though, it's not so easy.

I'd like to think I'm still all of those things, but now I don't have any way to communicate them to others. Let's face it, someone unable to come up with the word for 'sit' doesn't exactly come off as amazingly smart. I'm afraid that the long pauses in conversation during which I roll my eyes heavenward, searching (physically and metaphorically, as it were) for a certain phrase or way of saying something tend to make me look a bit untrustworthy at best - as if I'm engaging in a lie and trying to keep all the facts straight in my head. At worst, I'm afraid some people have wondered if I literally had a mental disorder or disability. And then there is the inappropriate level of exuberance I express in voice and energetic hand gestures when trying to convey such simple things as wishing to buy two pounds of potatoes, instead of one.

Of course, it also doesn't help that, apparently, we no longer know how to say our own names. Mark has (out of necessity) become Marcos. Rachel is now Raquel. Even Rebecca, Sarah, and myself, whose names are technically also Spanish names, have had to learn to drastically change the pronunciation. As for 'Farrier' - forget it! It's strange how even American words from American corporations (like Big Mac, or Angus Deluxe, for example) have to be said with a pronounced local accent in order to be understood. It is a surreal experience at McDonalds to ask for chicken nuggets and be received with a blank stare, but be understood perfectly by contorting the word into "noo-goots".

<sigh> I'm afraid that all of Xela have become aware of the family of giant gringos living in their midst, and they're thoroughly convinced that we're all a bunch of idiots.

So, to overcome that misconception, we're doing our best to smile a lot. We are very well versed in the Spanish phrases for, "I'm sorry," "please," and "blessings from Jesus." And, we do our best to express the love and grace of Christ everywhere we go. Perhaps we can at lesat be known as polite idiots who love the Lord, after all.

For all of you out there living in the land of your native tongue - soak it up! Enjoy being able to express who you are, and never forget how powerful your words can be! (I'd try to say that in Spanish for you, but I'd rather maintain my reputation as an intelligent, intelligable person instead - at least in one country!)

Bienvenido a Nuestra Casa!! (Welcome to Our Home!!)

I know we've written in the past about how excited we were when we found out about this house, and how much we'd love to have visitors, but we've been getting a lot of requests lately for blog post giving a little tour of our new home. I think that's a fantastic idea! 

So, here it is - our house:

This is the view down the street:

This is the view up (literally! note the steepness of the hill) the street:

From our front door you enter into the living room, which is long and narrow and cozy:

Immediately to my left in this pic is the door that leads to the courtyard area. (The curtain behind the TV in this pic also looks into it.) This is the view as you're standing in that doorway. You can see the stairs, door the bathroom (open), and door to a closet (red). 

This little cubby hole is under the stairs. It's the place to store garbage until trashday - Wednesday mornings. We have to be sure to have it out before 6:00 a.m., but don't dare put it out the night before or the 649 neighbhorhood dogs (give or take) will make a mess of it.

This is our downstairs bathroom - just off the courtyard. I hate to be indiscreet, but you'll note the full trashcan near the toilet. That's because you can't flush the TP. Took a little while to adjust to this, but we're totally used to it now. 

Here are the shower and sink in the downstairs bathroom. We usually use the upstairs shower since it has the option of using the gas-powered hot water heater. However, despiite how scary these electrical lines look, this shower does produce pretty decent hot water.

The next door in the courtyard area is for a closet that we use to store cleaning products, brooms, etc... Nothing much to see. The anatomy pic in the lower right is a handpainted/embroidered piece made years ago by one of the family members of the house's owners. There are two more as well. I think they're just about nifty and folk-arty as they can be, but they freak Rachel out a little. :) 

This is another view of the courtyard. The owners left us several lovely plants, which I am doing my best to keep alive! You can see the windows on the left which lead into a small room downstairs. The arched door goes into the kitchen. The arched windows lead into the diningroom.

This is the small room downstairs off the courtyard. For now, we're not using it for anything except storage. It needs a new coat of paint, and smells of midlew to me. We're hoping to get it freshened up and be able to use it for an office / study area. 

This is our dining room, which will hopefully soon have a bigger, better table and chairs. We're still deciding on what we want to get. Can't wait to have many family meals and visitors gathered around our table!

Adjoining the dining room is our kitchen - probably one of the best kitchens in all of Xela! :) Most houses don't have any built-in cabinetry, so even renters have to buy/build storage. Our kitchen is a real luxury, and we love it.

One of the curious things about life here (one of MANY) is that we don't have hot water at our kitchen faucet. One of the best purchases we've made here so far is our electric water kettle, which is SO much faster than trying to boil water on the stove at 7,500 ft elevation, and comes in super handy when we are doing dishes, making oatmeal, having a quick cup of tea, trying to sanitize something, etc.  In this picture you'll also notice our baskets, perfect for storing fresh fruits and veggies from the market.

One more item of note before we leave the kitchen: the way people wash dishes here. Instead of using liquid dishsoap, they typically buy little, round containers of gritty, semi-solid soap, and just dip their sponges/rags into when they're washing the dishes. Works like a charm! Sorry about the dirty dishes in the sink, but at least you can see what our stuff looks like that we bought to use. 

Time to head upstairs. The stairs are located at the opposite end of the courtyard from the kitchen. They're very steep, and very narrow. (We have to walk up sideways with our giant Gringo feet.) This is the view of the courtyard and stairs from the kitchen door. You can see all the way to clear roof, and the walkway upstairs. The door  you see on the lower left goes into the livingroom.

Thisis what it looks like from the top of the stairs. You can see the bathroom door below. At the top of the stairs, you can either turn around and go up 4 more steps into the prayer room, go straight ahead into the guest room, or turn left and go down the walkway toward Rachel's room and the rest of the bedrooms. It's a very funky and small landing.

This is our prayer room. We're SUPER excited to have a place designated in our home for prayer, Bible study, worship, etc... Right now we don't have much in it, but we've decided to go 'Moroccan style' with it, and just get a bunch of nice rugs, pillows, maybe more bean bag chairs, etc. (The rug you see in there now is a hand-woven one we bought at the market last weekend.) I'm looking forward to spending many hours there, and hoping to host Bible studies there as well. 

This is our guest room. Though it doesn't look inviting yet, we're hoping to be able to get a very comfy bed soon. Poco a poco (litle by little) as they say here. Another unusual blessing in this house is that each of the rooms came with an armoire. Most homes have no closets, and you have buy them. Our landlords left theirs for us to use, which saved a lot of time, money, and hassle! 

This is a view down the walkway from the guest room - looking toward Rachel's door (on the right), our room (at the end of the walkway), and the little girls' room (windows on the left).

Rachel really loves her room, especially since she got a double bed instead of a twin, and has lots of storage for her things.

Next up is our room, which is pretty simple, but nice. Our bed is comfortable. The closet is roomy. And, as long as remember to duck, we don't hit our head too often on our arched "hobbit door." (Oh yeah - forgot to mention there are numerous doors and stairways we literally have to duck in so we don't injure ourselves.) 

Across the hall from our room is the room the little girls share. These two are best friends, and really love being together. Thankfully, the bunk bed was already here, along with the closet and the bookshelf. All we had to do was unpack their bags and buy bedding.  The windows in this picture as the same ones you saw from the walkway. They look out into the house over the courtyard. In fact, the only exterior windows in the whole house are in the prayer room, stairs, and guest room. Except for skylights, two of the bedrooms have.

Just next to the girls' room is our laundry area, neatly tucked in under the stairs to the patio. It is SUCH a blessing to have a washer and a good place to hang clothes to dry! Most people here handwash their stuff in a big sink called a pila. We have a nice pila in the courtyard, but don't use it often. Also in this picture is a gas water heater. It is kind of pain to light, but the joy of being able to have hot showers (and even baths, if we want to ) is indescribable, especially on the cold mornings we so often have here. Though the weather is much more temperate here than in Iowa, it does get down near freezing some nights, and we have no insulation, no heating system, and only wire mesh between us and the upstairs patio. A hot shower is a blessing beyond description some days. 

Just to the right of the washer is our upstairs bathroom. It's pretty roomy, and very nice. 

Beyond the bathroom are the stairs that lead up to the rooftop. We have to be especially careful to mind our steps and our heads here, since they are narrow, steep, and have a low overhanging ledge. Oh, and they make a corner. In the first picture the window to the right looks into the bathroom, and just to the left (behind that wall) is the washer.

At the top of the stairs you can look behind you to a platform on the roof that has a water holding tank. This is a blessing, since the water and/or electricity are often shut off here in Xela for hours at a time in one sector or another in town. You just never know when your sector is going to lose out! This holding tank has really been wonderful for those times when we'd have otherwise been without water. 

Directly ahead of you at the top of the stairs is the doorway that leads to the patio. If we don't close this door and latch it (using a string and nail) each night, we're told we're likely to end up with stray cats in our house. As it is, we frequently hear them walking across the roof and skylights. 

We re-oriented the rooftop patio when we moved in so that the clothes drying lines went vertically from side to side on the back half of the patio, leaving the front half free for a few chairs and tables (someday). Since we usually only wash one or two loads a day, at most, this leave us plenty of clothes drying space, and room to go up there and enjoy the view. 

Speaking of the view... here it is!! It doesn't get much better than this. It's especially beautiful at night. You can see the whole city from here - everything except the volcano. OH well. We can see the three big Catholic churches in town, the Mormon Temple, and even the school where I work! (Oh, yes - and McDonalds.) We're also told that the fireworks during Christmas and New Year's Eve are unbelivable from up there. Can't wait to see them.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little tour of our part of the world. We feel increidbly blessed to have the privilege of being here, and of sharing our home with you. Until next time...