Today we started our day with an email from our Home Church - Word Fellowship, that a donation came in for our ministry here in Guatemala.  We are overjoyed with such a blessing.  

Three hours later, we received a knock on our door from a women in need of food for her children.  We went through our pantry and pulled out a few items that would help her out.   It just made us realize that we really need to be better prepared for these types of things.   It made me realize we have been a bit selfish in our shopping habits and have only been purchasing what we needed.  The next time we go shopping, it will definitely include some items like rice, beans and powdered milk for times like this.

The best part is God's Perfect Timing.  Butch was knowledgable enough in his Spanish to be able to understand her need and God provided the funds and realization that this is going to be a continuous void we can help fill.  It may be just a little at a time, but this is where relationships begin.  Our opportunity to share the Love of God and become more connected with our community.  What a joy to be used in such a way.  It may not seem like much to us who have more than we need, but we have no idea the impact it can have on His Kingdom.   This is just the beginning! 

If you are lead to help out with something like this, you can give any amount online by clicking on the Donate Button below.

I just love the faces!  If you have ever been on a mission trip with us, you know that I love taking pictures.  Sometimes at the most inopportune moments.  But when I am able to capture faces like this, oh it is worth more than any amount of words.  

I think we are beginning to come off the the fast paced life of "busyness" we have been used to back in NJ and getting used to the fact that things just do not work the same.  Everything is much slower, in some ways it is good.  We have much more time to spend in God's Presence and observe life here in Magdalena.  As I look from the third floor just outside of our bedroom, I have noticed one of our neighbors properties.  Last week they had a pile of ears of corn laying out to dry.  A few days later I noticed one of the ladies removing the corn from the cob.  Now there is a pile of something brown.   I am not sure what it is, but I am curious to find out.  It is just those little things that help me to understand a bit more of what life is really like here.

Just to fill you in as to our belongings, housing, Spanish classes and finances...  

Our Belongings...
The container with our belongings was delayed leaving the port in New York for one week.  Then delayed another week in Freeport, Bahamas because of engine problems with vessel.  We have been able to track it's course and it is "scheduled" to arrive in Guatemala on April 17th.  We have no idea how long it will take to clear customs and finally be released, but our shipping agent tells us it will not take long.  We are praying it will be quickly and that they will be gracious with duties and taxes we will be charged.  

Housing...One of the reasons we hope things move swiftly is that we are now living alone and have a big, and pretty much empty house, as Chris, Holly and the boys are now living in their new home a few blocks away.

We have been blessed by Chris  and Holly allowing us to live with them for our first 2 months here, and for all of the help and guidance they have been giving us.   We will continue to live in this house for the next few months.  In July or August, we will be moving into another home that is more suitable to our needs.  We will still have extra room to accommodate visitors and teams. : )

Spanish Classes...
We have been moving on, what we feel is a pretty fast pace.  Not really grasping everything, but we feel it will all work out in time.  We have Spanish on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings for four hours.  We started out learning together, but four hours is a long time.  We have split our time to two hours each, which is much easier and it allows each of us to work at our own pace and tackle our individual struggles.  Our Spanish teacher, Julio, is a great guy and we both feel very comfortable with him.  He asks us a lot of questions about life in the US and he also shares much about his life and life in general in Guatemala.   So we are getting a bit of a history lesson also.

Finances...
Some of you have provided very generously to our need and we are blessed by your provision.  However, we have had a few  expenses end up costing us more than we expected - registration of our car, insurance, our residency application, Spanish lessons and a few others, and we are praying that our container expenses will not exhaust the balance of our initial start up funds and allow us to be able to start purchasing some furniture items will need.  

We also have not yet met our regular monthly expense request.  We have an ongoing expense which we now estimate at about $2,500 per month and a monthly commitment of $300.  We are confident God will provide all of our needs, but we just wanted to give you an update as to where things presently stand. 

Here is a slideshow of current happenings...

Catch A Glimpse - April 1, 2013