Lost In Translation

Well, before I begin, I will explain the titles of the last entry and this one. Last one, the land of eternal spring, is a bit self explanitory. But here in Guatemala it is winter (which did not even cross my mind until we got here). Yet the weather is high 60s-mid 70s. Thus, Guatemala is called the land of eternal spring, because here in Xela it is perfect weather year-round. This title, lost in translation, should be obvious. Here in Guatemala they speak Spanish, and my 4 years and Adrienne's 2 years are getting us by, but a lot of things get lost in translation. The other night the family tried to tell us a joke, and I got the meaning of most of it, but I didn't get how it was funny whatsoever. But it made it even more funny, and started a huge laughing fit that ended with everyone in tears, not understanding why we were all laughing.

I will begin where we left off. Friday after we wrote on here we went to the market with Josias and Candy. We ended up going to 2 supermarkets and 1 street market for all the supplies that were needed. It is definitely an experience to go to a market here. There are fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere, and a lot of them are things we had never seen before. It was fun watching how Candy shopped and bargained and got everything she needed. After we were done shopping, we went back to their house to put everything back and then went to the government home: el Hogar. On Friday nights Josias gives a devotional to all the kids there, and Adrienne and I got the chance to play some guitar for the music. Adrienne also taught the kids Jesus Loves Me in English so that when the group meets up with us the kids can surprise them with their English. It was a pretty cool experience. Saturday morning we woke up nice and late and after eating breakfast headed back to el Hogar. This time we were taking the girls out for a fun day at the park. But Adrienne and I had to take care of the lesson. We started by trying to teach all the kids Yo Tengo Gozo and Aunque No Marche, fun kid songs that we've learned from Mexico in years past. It went alright, but wasn't as smooth as I would have hoped. Then it was time for the Bible story, Noah's Ark. We had a busy day on Friday, so I had nothing really planned. I knew what story I was going to tell, and Adrienne came up with the idea to have all the kids make animal sounds when I said certain animals, but that's about as much as I knew to do. To say the least, telling a Bible story in Spanish is easier said than done. But I got through it. I'm not sure if the kids understood anything I said, but it was worth a try. Afterwards we played futbol (soccer), volleyball, and basketball with the girls for a while. It then started to rain (which it does almost every day), so we left the park and took the girls back to el Hogar. After lunch we discovered that Saturday was everyone's day off. There wasn't much to do here at the Residence, so we just played games and relaxed. We also went to the store with Pastor German and Vicky and some of the girls to get supplies for Sunday's dinner expedition. But more about that later. Saturday night we just hung out and had dinner. The meals here are some of the best I've ever had. Not because of the food (some of it is hard to eat, but some of it is amazing), but because of the company. This family loves eachother so much, and they are just so much fun. Almost every meal ends with all of us in tears from laughing so hard. Sunday morning we woke up for church at about 7:30, not knowing that the service didn't start until 9:30. But anyways, we had breakfast, rested for a bit, and went off to church. It's definitely a whole different world of church here. We had gone to 2 services already, but neither was like this Sunday service. It was the longest service I'd ever been to at a whopping 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was really cool to see how they worship, it was just a lot different from anything I've ever seen before. There is more praying than is ever done in our services, more singing than is ever done in our services, and more sermon than I'd ever heard before. But then again, they had plenty of time for all of it. At times it was a little strange, but it's just not what we're used to. Anyways, Sunday afternoon was very relaxed with sleeping and journaling until dinner. We ended up making pizza, with pre-made crusts. A young guy from the church came over and made an additional crust, so we ended up having 6 pizzas. There was definitely a lot of leftovers, and I'm sure there still are. But the pizza was edible, and we tricked everyone into thinking that we actually knew how to cook. I think now we have to cook again next Sunday, but we're hoping we can do hamburgers, so stay tuned for that fun. Nevertheless, thank you for your prayers; dinner was a success. After dinner was the best part of the day. We went and played volleyball with people from the church. It's something they do every Sunday night, and Adrienne and I were expecting it to be just a little wimpy game. When we got there, we realized that some of those people really knew what they were doing, and we put our game faces on. We were laughed at quite a bit, but I think that everyone was surprised that the white girls could play. We played for about 2 hours, and didn't get back to the Residence until around midnight, but it was definitely worth it. Yesterday started out as a really good day. Mondays are our day off from going to el Hogar, so we were able to just stay back and relax. After breakfast we went back to bed until lunch (we eat ALL the time here), so we were able to get caught up on sleep from the night before. After lunch we had our first round of English lessons for the kids here at the Residence. It was a lot of fun to see how much they knew and try to help them pronounce everything. Hearing them pronounce English words is one of the best parts of every day. They've learned the phrase "oh, man", and it always brings a laugh to hear them say it. Lessons ended with them teaching us some new Spanish words. They were supposed to continue studying after, but we ended up sitting and talking to them about every teenage girl's favorite subject: boys. We learned how dating and marrying happen here, atleast in the church, and to say the least it's very different from home. But if you're interested, we can explain when we get home. There was a huge storm last night, and so we sat in the living room after talking and read while they studied. Then it was time for dinner. Almost every meal consists of fresh fruits and/or vegetables, sometimes prepared in different ways than we're used to, but usually it's delicious. Last night was no exception. During dinner they asked us a little about our family, and they asked us if we had Skype so that we could skype with our mom. We were very excited to get to talk with everyone, but soon it changed from a great night to the worst night here.

This whole trip God has been convicting me with Jeremiah 29:11. Yesterday was the first day that I really felt like I could do this, like I could trust Him to take care of everything at home and enjoy every moment here. And then last night came a huge shock; my uncle had died. There's something very unreal about hearing news like that and having to compose yourself enough to ask for a phone in Spanish and explain everything that happened. This is our first death of the family, and to have it happen while we're so far away has been one of the hardest things I've ever dealt with. We're having to trust even more that God knows what He's doing, that He has a plan, a good plan, to prosper and not to harm.

To say the least, today has been a hard day. Fortunately we were able to Skype with the family, but now trying to give English lessons and keep composed isn't easy. I know that we will be fine, but thinking about not being able to be with our family through this time is terrible. Please be praying for them. We are going to be fine here in Guatemala. God has us here for a reason, and I have already learned so much in the short week that we've been here. Our family needs your prayers.

Uncle Shorty, I'm sorry I didn't take the time out to really talk to you before we left. You tried to talk to me, and I didn't pay much attention. I never thought it would be the last time we would get the change to talk.

Our family, we love you. I hope that you're all doing well and resting in Jeremiah 29:11 through this time. Thank you for your love, know that our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Until next time...