Guatemala Diary, Day #3 – A Day of Three Oportunidades
No, these have nothing to do with today's story, but I thought they were pretty, so I thought I'd include them. Gladys tells me they're called "camarones" (shrimp), and I guess I see the similarity. There are all sorts of flowers, fruits, and vegetables growing in the garden here!
Time-Sensitive Prayer Request: Dr. Gladys de Chávez, my hostess and translator for most of my time here, has been sick con gripe (with the flu) ever since I arrived, and she seems to be getting worse, not better, despite repeated times of prayer for her. She is to translate Sunday morning and for two two-hour sessions on Monday and Tuesday. (Her sister-in-law, Lilian [yes, no double “l”] will translate for me Thursday and Friday.) Please pray for complete healing for Gladys. And as a matter of prevention, please pray that I won’t catch este gripe from her. ¡No lo quiero! (I don’t want it!) Now back to our regularly scheduled daily blog post…
Me gustan las oportunidades de Dios. I love it when God gives us opportunities. That should be even more true when those opportunities are beyond our means to seize, and we have to rely on Him. I had three opportunities today, one pequeña (small), one mediana (medium), y una oportunidad grande (large).
My Teaching Materials Are Finished: The day started early, as days do around here at Casa Chávez. Maybe the six singing canaries outside my bedroom [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Al Strickland,
Atilio Chávez,
Bobby Hoyle,
Gladys de Chávez,
Guatemala,
Jorge Cerritos,
LendAHand Mission Teams,
Marlón Villa-Toro,
missions,
Sue Strickland
Guatemala Diary, Day #2
Our planning meeting at Hamburguesa del Rey. Following the "U" from left to right -- Dr. Gladys de Chávez, Pastor Jorge Cerritos, Pastor Jorge Perez, Superintendente y Pastor Atilio Chávez
I got to bed at 22:30 local time (half past midnight home time) last night, and were I still in the habit of praying my childhood prayer of “Now I lay me down to sleep,” etc., I would have gotten as far as “Now I lay m….” At 4 AM it seemed like the whole neighborhood, maybe the whole city, erupted in fireworks. I woke up for an instant, processed the noise as a celebration of “el día de la madre” (Mother’s Day is today, whereas in los estados unidos, it doesn’t occur until Sunday), then I passed out for another two hours or so.
Gladys fixed un desayuno (a breakfast) of homemade granola, huevos con queso (eggs with cheese), refried beans, and sliced plantains boiled with cinnamon sticks. Then we were off to our morning appointment at Hamburguesa Del Rey [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Atilio Chávez,
Glady,
Guatemala,
Guatemala Journal,
Jorge Cerritos,
Jorge Pérez,
missions
Guatemala Diary, Day #1
Coat of Arms of Guatemala
I’m writing this day after, because I was too wrung out to do it last night. Al Strickland, bless him, picked me up at “o’dark thirty” (04:40 to be precise), and I was being checked in at the Delta Airlines counter by 05:10. Both flights went well – on time, aisle seat, empty seat next to me, onboard WiFi working (until somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico). It was a productive time. I caught up on my New Testament reading in my pocket Bible, did my Old Testament reading on my Kindle (a weight-saving packing alternative) and fired off various e-mails and a few Facebook messages.
Upon arrival, the lines were short for inmigracion, but long for customs. Yet once it was my turn to be processed [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Atilio Chávez,
Gladys de Chávez,
Guatemala,
Guatemala Journal,
Jim Kerwin,
missions
Guatemala or Bust!
Flag of Guatemala
There’s not much time to write this. In 29 hours, Al Strickland is going to be loading me and my suitcases into his SUV, so that I can get to Norfolk International Airport by 5 AM. About an hour after that, the sun will rise here on the East Coast, and by 7 AM my Delta flight should be “wheels up” and nosing toward Atlanta. Assuming that flight arrives on time, I’ll have just 75 minutes to catch the flight to Guatemala City, which leaves at 10:10 EDT.
Our prayer requests for trip, along with a bit of other info, is contained in this month’s newsletter. If you received a copy in your e-mail inbox, then great; you need not [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Al Strickland,
Colossians 4,
Costa Rica,
Guatemala,
missions trips,
Philippians 4
