Our third group of the summer, which is here now, is the group of John Salisbury. John is one of board members and he and his wife actually served as the American hosts for three years. Because he is very experienced and technically one of our bosses, our being here to help his group isn’t really necessary. Because of this John has allowed Scott and I to take a vacation while his team is here, so we will be spending our 2 year anniversary on the Maya Ruins in
Sunday, June 22, 2008
We're heading to Tikal!!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Southwood's Team (aka Super Team)
Yesterday we dropped off at the airport our team from Southwood's Christian Church in Kansas. This is Scott's Aunt Laurie's church. The team was a mix of young and old, seasoned and rookie travelers, but they all had in common the desire to work very hard. They had such a desire to work hard that they earned themselves the nickname of "Super Team" by Scott and me. They were fast workers and good workers. Everything that they did they got done in a flash, but it looked like they spent years on it. In their 6 days here, they finished painting the interiors of Casa David and Josue (including five murals), painted the exterior of the office building, repaired the road leading back to the laundry area, made great strides on the new house, plugged the holes in the gymnasium that the birds had been using, and helped Eduardo prepare games and movies for distribution to the houses. They also prepared meaningful and fun activites for the children every night. We were also pleased to accept their many new applications for sponsorship of children in the home.
This group also was adventurous enough to scale the Pacaya Volcano! This time Sophie took a horse, hiking it once was plenty for her. :)
It was a trip to remember for all of them, and they were very sad to have to leave. We were also very sad to see them go. They left this note to the home and it's supporters:
As we prepare to leave Agua Viva, we are filled with many emotions. There is great satisfaction seeing the work that God, through His grace, enabled us to complete in order to be a blessing to the children and staff.
But, even more, our team is filled with a great love for the children and staff. We have formed lifelong relationships and our hearts ache to leave these wonderful and amazing children.
We are so thankful for the opportunity to come to Agua Viva, and will not only treasure the memories we have made here, but also look forward to making new memories in the future. May God bless you all and keep you close until we see you again.
Sandra Priest,
Southwoods Christian Church.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Lots of News!
Hey everyone. We’re doing fine in Guatemala, but there have been some events here! We’ll start with the bad one first!
Yesterday afternoon, as is typical, a big rainstorm came in over the home. During the storm there was a lot of thunder and lightning, and sure enough, we had a big lightning strike come down really close to our house. As this happened, our computer went blank and is fried as best as I can tell :( When living in a developing country, you realize how much you take for granted things like surge protectors! We’re in the process of getting Sophie’s computer brought to us by another team that is coming next week. In the meantime, our blogs and pictures might be a little delayed! We’re hoping the hard drive is not fried, because we have documents and pictures we don’t want to lose on there! The great thing is that Scott will be getting a computer in the fall…which brings us to the GOOD NEWS: Scott accepted a job as a teacher at Columbus Signature Academy in Columbus, Indiana! Praise GOD! It is a brand new school, officially termed a “magnet school.” The first year, we will only have 9th grade, followed by the next year with 9th and 10th, until it is a normal 9-12 grade high school. Each class will consist of only 100 students, so when it runs at capacity, there will be 400 students total. Scott will get to be part of starting this brand new school from the ground level. The most exciting thing is that it is not a traditional high school. It follows something called the New Tech , which you can research online if you are interested, and utilizes project based learning rather than traditional lecture/notetaking utilized around the world. It is exciting to be part of a brand new type of school. I’m sure you’re thinking “Who is Columbus Signature Academy? Last we heard, they weren’t even in the picture!” So much has happened, we’ve been talking with 4 different schools and the Lord has been working at every turn. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to update every detail, but we’re so happy God has opened and closed the doors that he has, and we feel this is where God wants us. To update you on Mooresville, God closed this door. I got an email from Megan (who is staying in our apartment), that I got a letter, saying they had offered the job to someone else. In the same inbox, I had two emails from other schools (one being CSA) that both expressed interest in an interview. Specifically, CSA’s principal said that he kept putting down my resume, but coming back to it over and over. If that isn’t the work of the Lord, we don’t know what is. It’s been so neat for us to watch God disciplining us and teaching us reliance upon him, while we’ve been out of the country, unable to “mess up” his workings!
The last bit of news was that last night, at 9pm Guatemala time, we had a 4.0 earthquake! Nothing scary, but a first for us since we slept through the Indiana Earthquake! We were mostly surprised that it was more of a rolling feeling than a shaking feeling. We both sat up in bed and were looking at eachother as the bed started rocking across the floor! In all, it lasted about 10-15 seconds, but it was definitely a moment to remember!
Love you all!
Yesterday afternoon, as is typical, a big rainstorm came in over the home. During the storm there was a lot of thunder and lightning, and sure enough, we had a big lightning strike come down really close to our house. As this happened, our computer went blank and is fried as best as I can tell :( When living in a developing country, you realize how much you take for granted things like surge protectors! We’re in the process of getting Sophie’s computer brought to us by another team that is coming next week. In the meantime, our blogs and pictures might be a little delayed! We’re hoping the hard drive is not fried, because we have documents and pictures we don’t want to lose on there! The great thing is that Scott will be getting a computer in the fall…which brings us to the GOOD NEWS: Scott accepted a job as a teacher at Columbus Signature Academy in Columbus, Indiana! Praise GOD! It is a brand new school, officially termed a “magnet school.” The first year, we will only have 9th grade, followed by the next year with 9th and 10th, until it is a normal 9-12 grade high school. Each class will consist of only 100 students, so when it runs at capacity, there will be 400 students total. Scott will get to be part of starting this brand new school from the ground level. The most exciting thing is that it is not a traditional high school. It follows something called the New Tech , which you can research online if you are interested, and utilizes project based learning rather than traditional lecture/notetaking utilized around the world. It is exciting to be part of a brand new type of school. I’m sure you’re thinking “Who is Columbus Signature Academy? Last we heard, they weren’t even in the picture!” So much has happened, we’ve been talking with 4 different schools and the Lord has been working at every turn. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to update every detail, but we’re so happy God has opened and closed the doors that he has, and we feel this is where God wants us. To update you on Mooresville, God closed this door. I got an email from Megan (who is staying in our apartment), that I got a letter, saying they had offered the job to someone else. In the same inbox, I had two emails from other schools (one being CSA) that both expressed interest in an interview. Specifically, CSA’s principal said that he kept putting down my resume, but coming back to it over and over. If that isn’t the work of the Lord, we don’t know what is. It’s been so neat for us to watch God disciplining us and teaching us reliance upon him, while we’ve been out of the country, unable to “mess up” his workings!
The last bit of news was that last night, at 9pm Guatemala time, we had a 4.0 earthquake! Nothing scary, but a first for us since we slept through the Indiana Earthquake! We were mostly surprised that it was more of a rolling feeling than a shaking feeling. We both sat up in bed and were looking at eachother as the bed started rocking across the floor! In all, it lasted about 10-15 seconds, but it was definitely a moment to remember!
Love you all!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Our First Team
Our first team for the summer arrived on Thursday, June 5th and is here until the 14th. The team is made up of 19 folks from Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is so cool for us to see the array of personalities and know that God has each individual here for a reason! Their main jobs have been taking apart, moving, and reassembling playground equipment; starting construction on Evy’s new home; and painting, painting, painting! We’ve had a great first time experience as hosts with this team. We have certainly learned a lot. It has been neat for us to be on the “other end” of a mission team. Although we’ve lead a trip before and been team members many times, we’ve learned more about these roles by observing them and hosting them.
Tomorrow plans are to hike an active volcano (something we would never maybe choose to do on our own, but that is a tradition for the team) and visit Antigua (something that we will do with every team). Hopefully we can post some pictures in Antigua for you all!
For now we are off to dinner. The team purchased pizza for the entire home! It is going to be a surprise treat for the kiddos and an unexpected blessing in the form of a night off for the cooks!
Please pray for us that we can continue to minister to the Colorado team and also that the Lord prepare us for our next team arriving on the 14th after this team leaves.
Tomorrow plans are to hike an active volcano (something we would never maybe choose to do on our own, but that is a tradition for the team) and visit Antigua (something that we will do with every team). Hopefully we can post some pictures in Antigua for you all!
For now we are off to dinner. The team purchased pizza for the entire home! It is going to be a surprise treat for the kiddos and an unexpected blessing in the form of a night off for the cooks!
Please pray for us that we can continue to minister to the Colorado team and also that the Lord prepare us for our next team arriving on the 14th after this team leaves.
Monday, June 9, 2008
What’s for dinner?...BUGS!!!!!
Yes, Scott and I had an unusual side dish with one of our recent suppers….fried bugs! As we were going through the supper line one of the cooks called us into the kitchen saying that she had something special for us. Scott and I headed back and with a big smile on her face she showed us a frying pan full of very large winged ants called “sonpopos.” Explaining that Miss Evy had purchased them especially for us and that they were actually quite delicious she began dipping spoonfuls of the critters into tortillas.
We headed to our lunch table each carrying our tasty treats. After Scott ran to get the camera we took our first bites (with a million little eyes glued to us to see what our reaction would be). Believe it or not they were actually good! The crunchy little things are hard to explain, the best I can do is say that it was kind of like burnt bacon.
We have more pictures to show of the bugs before and after they were cooked (these things are HUGE) and pictures of us eating them, but we’ll have to wait until a trip into town to post them. They are coming though!
We love you all and can’t wait to have you over for dinner! ;)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Family Vacation Report!
Hey everyone!
Sorry it’s been awhile since an update! As you already know, we have been traveling with Sophie’s parents since May 24th. We wanted to give you an update on what we did and give you some pictures.
On the 24th, we got a ride to Guatemala City and waited for the family to arrive. Jeff, Krisanne, Tully, Abe, and Levi all got there fine and had a wonderful flight. The two youngest girls stayed home with Meme. We spent 3 nights in Guatemala City. What made it so neat was that it was the same hotel that Jeff and Krisanne stayed in when they adopted Levi and nothing had changed. We saw the seat that they sat in when they saw him for the first time. We spent 3 days touring Levi’s birth city getting to see the things that Sophie and I had not yet been able to see. We saw Maya ruins on a Maya holy day with 3 different groups of worshippers doing their ceremonial celebrations. What an experience! We took tours of the city which included the presidential palace, national cathedral, and the central market. Another interesting place was a 3D relief map of the entire country which was so neat. One of our drivers took us right into “the dump” an area of the city totally controlled by gangs where kids fight each other and dogs for their food scraps. It burned images into our minds that won’t soon be forgotten. If you know us, you know we ate A LOT! We got to eat at some really great traditional restaurants and sample true Guatemalan fare.
Probably the most exciting thing that happened in the city was driving past the hospital where Levi was born and being able to meet the attorney who did Levi’s adoption 11 years ago. For Jeff and Krisanne, they all laughed that they all looked the same, just that there was more of them! Oscar, the attorney, recognized Levi immediately and said he still looked the same as he did as a baby and resembles his birth mother. For us who hadn’t met Oscar, we saw what Jeff and Krisanne loved about him and fell in love with him ourselves. We hope to meet with him again before we leave. One of his new projects is to start a home similar to Agua Viva now that the US is not open to Guatemalan adoptions.
From the city, we drove to Antigua and spent 2 nights in the colonial city. In Antigua, the family got their first taste of Pollo Campero, a Guatemalan favorite. Its like KFC, but 1000 times better. In Antigua, we SHOPPED SHOPPED SHOPPED and took a carriage ride through the city. It was a more relaxed place than the city and we enjoyed the laid back, international atmosphere.
On Thursday morning, we headed from Antigua to Agua Viva. It was so great to be able to show the home to the family and have them see where we are working. The boys and I played soccer with the kids and the others settled into our house. Jeff and Krisanne brought a lot of donations for the home, so we spent some time sorting them.
Friday morning, Evy invited us to see Lake Atitlan, a beautiful lake surrounded by 3 different volcanoes. There, we took a boat ride across the lake and did some more sightseeing and shopping in one of the most beautiful parts of this country. That night we celebrated the May birthdays here at the home and the kids got to watch a movie.
The last two days at Agua Viva, we did different activities with the kids. They included mask making, pinwheels, painting nails, temporary tattoos, and beach ball fights. It was a great night with the kids. On Saturday, Jeff wanted to learn the art of making tortillas, so we went to the kitchen. The oldest cook on staff, maybe the more “old school” one, promptly told him sorry, but men are not allowed to make tortillas. Oh well! What a hoot! Sunday was visitation day, so some of the kid’s parents came to church and got to spend a few hours with the kids. We had a guest preacher and a group of kids who sang for us.
Monday morning, we sat around, drank coffee, and finished packing. We took them to the airport and sent them on their way. We had such a great time getting to show them around and sharing our love of this country.
Thursday, our first group arrives. Keep us in your prayers as we prepare for their arrival!
Check out the pictures from our travels on our photopage! (http://photos.scottandsophie.com)
Love,
Scott and Sophie
Sorry it’s been awhile since an update! As you already know, we have been traveling with Sophie’s parents since May 24th. We wanted to give you an update on what we did and give you some pictures.
On the 24th, we got a ride to Guatemala City and waited for the family to arrive. Jeff, Krisanne, Tully, Abe, and Levi all got there fine and had a wonderful flight. The two youngest girls stayed home with Meme. We spent 3 nights in Guatemala City. What made it so neat was that it was the same hotel that Jeff and Krisanne stayed in when they adopted Levi and nothing had changed. We saw the seat that they sat in when they saw him for the first time. We spent 3 days touring Levi’s birth city getting to see the things that Sophie and I had not yet been able to see. We saw Maya ruins on a Maya holy day with 3 different groups of worshippers doing their ceremonial celebrations. What an experience! We took tours of the city which included the presidential palace, national cathedral, and the central market. Another interesting place was a 3D relief map of the entire country which was so neat. One of our drivers took us right into “the dump” an area of the city totally controlled by gangs where kids fight each other and dogs for their food scraps. It burned images into our minds that won’t soon be forgotten. If you know us, you know we ate A LOT! We got to eat at some really great traditional restaurants and sample true Guatemalan fare.
Probably the most exciting thing that happened in the city was driving past the hospital where Levi was born and being able to meet the attorney who did Levi’s adoption 11 years ago. For Jeff and Krisanne, they all laughed that they all looked the same, just that there was more of them! Oscar, the attorney, recognized Levi immediately and said he still looked the same as he did as a baby and resembles his birth mother. For us who hadn’t met Oscar, we saw what Jeff and Krisanne loved about him and fell in love with him ourselves. We hope to meet with him again before we leave. One of his new projects is to start a home similar to Agua Viva now that the US is not open to Guatemalan adoptions.
From the city, we drove to Antigua and spent 2 nights in the colonial city. In Antigua, the family got their first taste of Pollo Campero, a Guatemalan favorite. Its like KFC, but 1000 times better. In Antigua, we SHOPPED SHOPPED SHOPPED and took a carriage ride through the city. It was a more relaxed place than the city and we enjoyed the laid back, international atmosphere.
On Thursday morning, we headed from Antigua to Agua Viva. It was so great to be able to show the home to the family and have them see where we are working. The boys and I played soccer with the kids and the others settled into our house. Jeff and Krisanne brought a lot of donations for the home, so we spent some time sorting them.
Friday morning, Evy invited us to see Lake Atitlan, a beautiful lake surrounded by 3 different volcanoes. There, we took a boat ride across the lake and did some more sightseeing and shopping in one of the most beautiful parts of this country. That night we celebrated the May birthdays here at the home and the kids got to watch a movie.
The last two days at Agua Viva, we did different activities with the kids. They included mask making, pinwheels, painting nails, temporary tattoos, and beach ball fights. It was a great night with the kids. On Saturday, Jeff wanted to learn the art of making tortillas, so we went to the kitchen. The oldest cook on staff, maybe the more “old school” one, promptly told him sorry, but men are not allowed to make tortillas. Oh well! What a hoot! Sunday was visitation day, so some of the kid’s parents came to church and got to spend a few hours with the kids. We had a guest preacher and a group of kids who sang for us.
Monday morning, we sat around, drank coffee, and finished packing. We took them to the airport and sent them on their way. We had such a great time getting to show them around and sharing our love of this country.
Thursday, our first group arrives. Keep us in your prayers as we prepare for their arrival!
Check out the pictures from our travels on our photopage! (http://photos.scottandsophie.com)
Love,
Scott and Sophie
Sunday, June 1, 2008
We're still here!
Hello All!
So I've heard from some of you that you are checking the blog daily and not getting any updates! This is because I haven't made any updates! :)
Sophie's parents and brothers have been here since the 24th and we've been doing a whirlwind tour of the country while they are here. For this reason, we haven't had time to update the blog. But be ready! We have lots of pics to post and a good rundown of our trip with them.
Thanks for keeping up with us!
Scott and Sophie
So I've heard from some of you that you are checking the blog daily and not getting any updates! This is because I haven't made any updates! :)
Sophie's parents and brothers have been here since the 24th and we've been doing a whirlwind tour of the country while they are here. For this reason, we haven't had time to update the blog. But be ready! We have lots of pics to post and a good rundown of our trip with them.
Thanks for keeping up with us!
Scott and Sophie
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