I love the Market!

I love going to the market. We buy most of our produce there because they have such great deals. We bought all of this food in the picture for 137 Quetzals or about $15. So here is a list of what we got: a bag of 100 tostadas, 2 pineapples, 1 watermelon, 1 papaya, 12 oranges, 10 tomatoes, cilantro, 6 mangoes, 4 green bell peppers and 2 red bell peppers, 2 cucumbers, 2 onions, and 2 carrots. Man I love a good deal. When we go home we are going to miss being able to eat pineapple, watermelon and mangoes every week.

School Project Continued

Here are some new pictures of the school Craig has been working on. They have put in new decking, hand rails, and some stairs. They are also having to replace some of the roof. It is going well and everyone is learning as they go. Craig has been challenged but is doing well being there by himself. So far so good!

Isaac's 4th Birthday!

We had a great day for Isaac's Birthday! We started with his favorite breakfast, pancakes, and then his favorite luch, PB&J. We opened presents, played games, talked to family on Skype, played with buubbles, played cars, ate cake and watched a movie. I think it might have been a dream day for Isaac. So glad we were able to have a low key but fun-fillled family birthday! We love you Isaac and we can't believe you are already 4. You are and amazing boy that is full of life and joy. We are blessed to have you as our son.

Isaac's new REAL tools, just like daddy!

School Project

In an earlier post I had shared how a local school had been set fire by some gang members. Now Craig and some of the boys form the center are working on fixing all that was damaged by the fire (pictures below). Craig is the head guy on this project because he has a background in carpentry. It has been going well and the boys are learning a new skill. The carpentry they have done up to this point has been making furniture and things like that. It has been a new challenge for Craig , but a good one. Starting this Sunday he will be flying solo at the school because our friends that run the program will be gone to the states for 3 weeks. He has been given permission to teach whatever he wants after they finish this school project. Pray that he would not be to stressed over this new responsibility and that his communication with the boys would be good even with the language barrier.

Craig's Birthday!

We surprised Craig at the center with cake for his birthday. Some of the boys even brought some firecrackers (well that is the only thing I can relate them to at home). They doen't make anything pretty in the sky but they are exteremly loud and Craig was quite surprised. I wish I could have gotten a picture of his face because it was priceless. Here are pictures of the family and Craig with some of the boys from the center in front of the cake.

Hard Lesson Learned

Isaac had to learn a lesson the hard way last night. He likes to jump off our bed onto his bed. We let him do this but last night he wanted to jump over Josiah. Of course we told him this wasn't okay, mostly for fear that their would be a collision of 2 kids and then lots of screaming. Well, he decided to ignore Craig and jump over Josiah. Thankfully he was extra cautious about Josiah. He jumped extra far. But that posed another problem because he jumped so far he ran right into the cement wall with his forehead. I have never seen an egg so big on someones forehead. The picture doesn't even capture how big and ugly it really was. I guess he had to learn the hard way. Hopefully next time he listens to us.


This is Isaac's head this morning. It is amazing how quickly kids heal. We still have a major bruise but it is 100 times better than last night.

House Projects

We have been blessed to be able to stay at our place here in Guatemala rent free. In return we are trying to do some work on the apartment to make it nicer when we leave. Our most recent project was putting a tile backsplash behind the counter and a tile windowsill between the kitchen and living room. So here are some picture of Craig and Isaac's handywork.

Isaac being ever so helpful!

The finished project!

Newest Project

Near where Craig works at the center is an elementry school. Bio and Derida (our friends we are working with here) used to be involved in the school. Derida was even one of the teachers there teaching English. As they got busier with the center they have stopped working there but are still involved somewhat because their daughter Albana is in 6th grade at this school. Unfortunately last week the school was set fire by some local gang members seeking revenge for a failed attempt at stealing the schools generator the previous week. Thankfully the night guard at the nearby clinic spotted it quickly and called the fire department and the damage was contained relatively quickly. But one classroom and a little more of a hallway was damaged. So Bio, Craig, and the boys at the Center are volunteering their services to fix the school. This will be a blessing to the school and also to the boys who will get to learn more about carpentry (most of their carpentry work is building furniture). Craig will be a key part in this because he is a carpenter by trade, so they are very excited to have hime here to help and teach. Another blessing is that the lumber is being doanted by a local lumber yard and several others have come forward to donate money to help fix the school. I pray that this sad situation ends up being a blessing to all that are involved.

Our trip to Guatemala City

Visiting with old friends Monica and Claudia.

Flooding from Tropical storm Agatha. It was much worse than this but it was raining so hard we couldn't get a picture.

The black sand-like ash from the volcano.

The streets after the volcano errupted

We needed to take a trip to Guatemala city to renew our tourist visa for another 90 days here in Guatemala. The city is on the other side of the country from us so we took an 8 hr bus ride there and planned to visit friends and see a few sights along the way. The trip ended up being quite the adventure. Our visas ended up taking 3 days to get figured out with documents being e-mailed from the states and many photocopies made of everything you could possibly imagine. On day 2 of our trip a volcano only 30 miles out of the city errupted dumping a black sand-like ash to cover the city. Everybody scrambeled to try and clean this up because a tropical storm was coming and all this sand would clog the street drainage causing flooding. Well, day 4 of our trip tropical storm Agatha rolled into town flooding all of the streets and causing some serious sink holes in the city. We had planned on visiting some other nearby sights but new that was now impossible due to mudslides so we determined it best just to catch the bus home. But now the bus couldn't leave either because of a river that had flooded over its banks and the road back home. So, we waited. We were blessed to be staying with friends instead of stuck in a hotel. And we are very thanbkful that we were all safe. Yesterday we were finally able to return and it feels good to be home. Above are pictures of some of the sights on this trip.