Christmas with the Widows

Last Thursday, our entire family went to Chiminisijuan for the Widows' Project.  We bought their handmade baskets and then I read them the Christmas story from a Children's Spanish Bible.  Micaela translated it into Quiche for me.  I am so grateful for her and her willingness to translate my Spanish!

 

While I read, the kids helped the moms, grandmas and children make a Nativity scene with stickers. Caleb was helping this cute group of boys.

 

Samuel found a buddy to help as well.

 

Bethany had some cute little girls to assist.

Hannah was keeping her eye out for anyone who might need a little attention.

 

Flor is helping to hand out gifts to the widows.  We filled market baskets with tin coffee mugs, a pot for hot water, spoons, sugar and instant coffee.  It was so fun to shop with Leslie for them!  Praying that the gifts bless them!

 

It was such a fun time and I was so thankful to have all of the help!  Praying that the Lord used my rudimentary Spanish via Micaela's Quiche to touch these ladies' hearts.  They were giggling and enjoying the stickers so much that I am not even sure how much they heard but they were so cute!  May He touch each of them with His deep love.  Merry Christmas!

Newsletter/Christmas Letter

We wake up and go to bed surrounded by the majesty of the Lord’s creation every day.  Our home is in a valley located in the highlands of Guatemala.  We live in a community of others who have come here to serve as we have.  It has been over nine months since we crossed the border between Mexico and Guatemala.  The ministry that we serve with is called Adonai International Ministries.  Its primary focus is medical but it is also involved in agriculture and construction. We have adjusted well and are somewhat settled into the roles that the Lord has for each of us.

Don: Anything medical is Don’s primary focus within the ministry.  He is involved in 5 regular clinics – 4 that meet weekly and one that is held monthly.  He has also been spending much of his time working on our vehicles.  The biggest challenge is finding the necessary parts.  Often the only option means waiting for a visitor to bring what he needs from the States.  Don is also facilitating communication with individuals from the US who are obtaining the necessary, medical equipment for the Expanded Clinic construction project.

Lori: Homeschooling and managing the house take the majority of Lori’s time no matter where we live!  Lori also spends her time handling the ministry’s finances.  Our move to Guatemala has made this job both much easier and much larger! She also facilitates our Widow’s project once a month.  The ministry purchases hand-made baskets from the widows in the program as a way to assist them in providing for their families.  The monthly gatherings also include a short devotion as well as food distribution.

Caleb:  Much of Caleb’s time is spent either studying or worshipping.  Caleb will complete his bachelor’s degree from Liberty University online in December.  He is also in charge of our worship/prayer sets.  He organizes 3 prayer sets each week and one night of worship for the ministry.  He participates in a Spanish worship night occasionally and led a Spanish prayer set when Adonai’s school was in session.  Caleb also tutored math for some of the guys in the college preparatory program.  It is so amazing to watch him grow into the godly man that the Lord has called him to be.

Bethany:  School, music, babysitting, cooking and assisting with clinic fill Bethany’s time.  She is thinking of a medical career so she tries to help in one of our weekly clinics with her dad.  She also enrolled in two online courses that will count for both high school and college credits. She is teaching guitar lessons as well as participating in the worship and prayer sets with her brother.  Her days are full but she eagerly steps into the roles that the Lord has laid before her.

Hannah:  There are so many little kids within our community here.  Hannah has stepped into the babysitter role for many of the families and all the kids love her.  She is working on high school as well as stepping into cleaning and cooking for our family.  She also enjoys the prayer sets.  Her smile and fun personality have been such a blessing!

Samuel:  Babysitting has been a new role for Samuel here.  There are several little boys who just adore him.  He also spends his time playing as well as doing school and chores.  His comic relief often gets us through our days here!

The ministry, Adonai International Ministries, is growing and expanding.  Our family tries to assist with all of the visitors that are coming to help with the construction, the clinics or other projects.  The Expanded Clinic project is amazing to watch.  We are hoping to utilize part of the new facility in early 2016 for clinics.  For more information or to see the progress, go to our blog at allisonfamilyinguat.blogspot.com.  Thank you for your prayers and support!

A Shower Caddy?

We have been living in Guatemala for a little over 9 months.  We are finally feeling settled and at home . . . and then Thanksgiving happened!

First of all, it is not cold here!  This is really awesome . . . but it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving. Or at least Thanksgiving in Nebraska.  On the positive side, flowers are blooming and it is super pretty!

 

Thanksgiving was always a time to have lots of people at your table. My dad used to be the Chief of Police in our small little South Dakota town and he would always invite his police officers to join us. Later we usually had Thanksgiving at our house because Don would have to work on the Friday after.  We would sometimes have some of my family and some of his family.  It was about making the table bigger and having a huge meal together . . . but it never looked like this!

 

 

We had almost 50 people at our Thanksgiving table in Guatemala this year.  The girls and I baked some pies the day before and we figured out how to make homemade French fried onions.  The kids requested the traditional green bean casserole but we couldn't buy the onions here.  It was fun and felt like 'home' to cook together.  Even on Thanksgiving morning it was fun to cook with everyone and share the day together.  However, later the kids all said that they missed being at Meema's house (my mom).  It wasn't 'cozy' - in their words.  Hard to be cozy with that many people!

 

We did manage to stream the Nebraska/Iowa game the next day.  As I was dozing, I mean, watching the game and laying on our couch, I had this thought of 'now this feels like Thanksgiving' . . . until Don had to go to see a patient in clinic. And then the Guatemalan furniture guy from town drove up to our apartment with my Christmas present from Don. (Yes, it was a little early but better than late, right?). 

Today we pulled down the Christmas decorations from the attic.  We had packed one large Rubbermaid with our favorite decorations and brought it in the camper with us.  When we got here we stuck it in the attic right away because Christmas was so far away.  But here we are. 

Christmas will definitely be different this year.  My family is coming but we will be celebrating in Guatemala City since they arrive on Christmas Eve night.  The kids are super excited about some of the things that we have talked about doing, but it will certainly be a different way to celebrate.

As we opened up the Rubbermaid, it 'smelled' like Christmas. We pulled out some lights and decorations and then we got to this.



 

 

My mom, my sister and I all have the same Nativity set.  It is one of my favorite things about Christmas.  It made our apartment feel like Christmas . . . and home!  But I realized that 'home' was not really about the place.  It is about the memories and the people.  The familiar.

 

We are making new memories and traditions.  We are deepening relationships with the people that we are living and serving with.  It is sometimes hard to move forward and accept the changes but it is also such a blessing to experience the new and different.  We feel so blessed to be in this place that the Lord has called us to.  We have our moments of sadness and times of missing our family and friends, but we love the people that we are getting to do life with here.  

 

It is nice, however, to have some 'pieces' of our old life with us. We love having our couch (the kids think it still smells like Bumpa - my dad!  It was his before ours!)  We brought some of our wall hangings from the States as well as comforters and bedding. 

The funniest thing reminded me of 'home' this morning.  Don hung a shower caddy in our bathroom yesterday.  It immediately made me feel like I was 'home'.  Our shampoos, soap etc. have been sitting on the edge of the tub since we arrived. I think that made it feel more 'temporary' like we were just visiting or at a hotel.  The shower caddy feels like I have a place where all of my stuff belongs and that feels like 'home'!