Although we only got to spend about three full days with them, we were sad to see the Salisbury team from North Carolina go. This team was led by John and Debbie Salisbury. John sits on the board and is one of our many bosses. They are a wonderful couple though and it was good to get to talk with them and report in on our summer so far.
This team did work on Evy’s house, which now has the beginnings of walls, painted, and did some more mural work in Casa David. Pumba from the Lion King now looks down on the Casa David boys! Needless to say they love it!
This week was a week off for the kids at school so this team took the kids to a water park one afternoon. We were gone, but from the pictures we saw and stories we heard it was a great time! The team also had a day of games for the kids. The kids were doing ropes courses, playing with shaving cream, jumping in pools of oatmeal, tossing water balloons, and much more!! They had a blast!!
Dropping this team off was sad for us because also going home with them were three girls who had been here since beginning of June working in the school. Two of the girls were John’s daughters and another was a friend of theirs. Scott and I developed great friendships with Claire, Elvia and Emory so it was tough to say goodbye. We are sure going to miss seeing them around.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Where are the Pictures???
So I know you are all probably wondering where the pictures are that we were supposedly going to post!! Please don’t be frustrated…we’re working on Guatemala time here in Guatemala conditions.
When Scott’s computer died he had pictures on there of The Rolls (Sophie’s family) at Agua Viva and some pictures of the kids eating ice-cream and playing water games. Those we won’t be able to get to until we are home and even then they might have been lost so you probably won’t be seeing those. Sorry!
We do have pictures of our volcano trip, Tikal trip, all the teams, Evy’s house progress, and snapshots of the kids to share. We can’t do anything with pictures here at Agua Viva because we use up too many of the week’s megabytes. We tried in Antigua but the computer that we had wasn’t able to do it. We’ve battled lightening our computers and our internet connections (even wireless) here at the home.
So when we make a trip into town with free time we will upload tons of pictures to share. Its not a matter of if, just when.
Hopefully it won’t be much longer… for now just imagine pictures in your head! :)
When Scott’s computer died he had pictures on there of The Rolls (Sophie’s family) at Agua Viva and some pictures of the kids eating ice-cream and playing water games. Those we won’t be able to get to until we are home and even then they might have been lost so you probably won’t be seeing those. Sorry!
We do have pictures of our volcano trip, Tikal trip, all the teams, Evy’s house progress, and snapshots of the kids to share. We can’t do anything with pictures here at Agua Viva because we use up too many of the week’s megabytes. We tried in Antigua but the computer that we had wasn’t able to do it. We’ve battled lightening our computers and our internet connections (even wireless) here at the home.
So when we make a trip into town with free time we will upload tons of pictures to share. Its not a matter of if, just when.
Hopefully it won’t be much longer… for now just imagine pictures in your head! :)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Annviersary In Tikal!!!
Hi everyone! We made it back from our Tikal trip safely and are now back working at the home. We both said that we never would have believed that we would be standing on the Mayan ruins on our two year anniversary! It was such a neat experience.
Our first night we spent in Antigua (the colonial city near us where we take the teams). We spent a wonderful evening dining at a restaurant we’d never been to before called Las Palmas. It was so beautiful (flowers, fountains, etc.) and the food was delicious!
We left bright and early the next morning, 4:00 am to be exact, to hop on our shuttle to Guatemala City where we would catch our plane to Flores (an island near Tikal). When we got to the city we didn’t leave from the main airport, we instead left from a smaller airport near by on a 30 passenger propeller plane! It was so cool! After about 45 minutes in the air we touched down in Flores. We landed in the same airport that the cast of Survivor Guatemala landed in, which as you can imagine we loved!
There our guide met us and we drove about an hour to Peten, where Tikal is located. I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful this was. We have pictures to post, but they won’t even do it justice. The ruins are located right smack in the middle of jungle. As you drive through the rainforest to get to the park you pass “jaguar crossing signs” and the guide is telling us about the snakes, monkeys, birds, and other creatures that we might run in to. We got to see lots of animals while we were there. We saw both howler and spider monkeys up close (a spider monkey actually about jumped on Scott’s head), tons of cool looking bugs, a special kind of animal to this area (it is like a cross between a raccoon and an anteater, if you can imagine), pretty much everything but the jaguars!
Also in the greenery we saw two very interesting trees. One was a tree that was used to make paper by shaving thin sheets of the bark. The second tree was the tallest in the entire area that to the Maya represented the underworld, the world and the superworld (heavens). It was truly breathtaking. You could see perfectly the representation that the Maya saw. This tree also instead of producing leaves, produced cotton which was used for clothing by the Maya. Again, we have pics of these to post later.
Then there were the ruins…
The ruins were SPECTATCULAR. We saw and climbed temples; we saw the living quarters of the wealthy; we saw the main plaza, which included an underground mask; we saw the arenas where they would play their famous ball game; we saw stages where they performed; we saw burial sites….all it absolutely amazing! We both climbed the tallest temple, temple 4, which was where one of the Star Wars scenes was filmed. The view really and truly took your breath away. We also climbed a temple in the main plaza. Scott then got really brave and climbed temple 5, which happens to have a teeny tiny foot space at the top, (he learned this upon arrival at the top). Keep in mind no safety railings, or signs warning against falls…just wooden steps and my prayers from the bottom!
Everything about the ruins was so interesting. It was amazing to see how everything lined up certain ways with the rising and setting of the sun. Their monuments and altars were well thought out with beautiful decorations that held tons of historical information. Standing in the grand plaza you could instantly travel back in time and just see them going about their daily life. It was all spectacular. We would walk from area to area in total awe. We cannot wait to someday go back with Levi and admire alongside him the remarkable work of his ancient ancestors.
After seeing all of the amazing sites we learned that only 20% of the ruins are uncovered! We were blown away! Plans are not to uncover all of them because the maintenance would be too hard and it would be such a tragedy to uncover them and then dishonor the Maya’s hard work by letting them get destroyed.
At the end of our tour we ate a restaurant right in the rainforest and then headed back to the Island of Flores to our hotel. Our hotel was nice and we spent the next day just relaxing at the pool. Thursday afternoon we headed back to Antigua where we met up with the team again and came back to Agua Viva.
We were so thankful for the break and chance to celebrate our anniversary. It was such a blessing. However, one of the best things about going to Tikal was coming back to Agua Viva. The second we stepped out of the van little voices whispering “Scott y Sophia” started popping up and the kids came running up to us saying that they had missed us and asking when they could look at pictures. Each child that greeted us had their arms wide open and didn’t reject our kisses in return. It was a warm, warm welcome and it reminded us why our Father has us here.
Our first night we spent in Antigua (the colonial city near us where we take the teams). We spent a wonderful evening dining at a restaurant we’d never been to before called Las Palmas. It was so beautiful (flowers, fountains, etc.) and the food was delicious!
We left bright and early the next morning, 4:00 am to be exact, to hop on our shuttle to Guatemala City where we would catch our plane to Flores (an island near Tikal). When we got to the city we didn’t leave from the main airport, we instead left from a smaller airport near by on a 30 passenger propeller plane! It was so cool! After about 45 minutes in the air we touched down in Flores. We landed in the same airport that the cast of Survivor Guatemala landed in, which as you can imagine we loved!
There our guide met us and we drove about an hour to Peten, where Tikal is located. I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful this was. We have pictures to post, but they won’t even do it justice. The ruins are located right smack in the middle of jungle. As you drive through the rainforest to get to the park you pass “jaguar crossing signs” and the guide is telling us about the snakes, monkeys, birds, and other creatures that we might run in to. We got to see lots of animals while we were there. We saw both howler and spider monkeys up close (a spider monkey actually about jumped on Scott’s head), tons of cool looking bugs, a special kind of animal to this area (it is like a cross between a raccoon and an anteater, if you can imagine), pretty much everything but the jaguars!
Also in the greenery we saw two very interesting trees. One was a tree that was used to make paper by shaving thin sheets of the bark. The second tree was the tallest in the entire area that to the Maya represented the underworld, the world and the superworld (heavens). It was truly breathtaking. You could see perfectly the representation that the Maya saw. This tree also instead of producing leaves, produced cotton which was used for clothing by the Maya. Again, we have pics of these to post later.
Then there were the ruins…
The ruins were SPECTATCULAR. We saw and climbed temples; we saw the living quarters of the wealthy; we saw the main plaza, which included an underground mask; we saw the arenas where they would play their famous ball game; we saw stages where they performed; we saw burial sites….all it absolutely amazing! We both climbed the tallest temple, temple 4, which was where one of the Star Wars scenes was filmed. The view really and truly took your breath away. We also climbed a temple in the main plaza. Scott then got really brave and climbed temple 5, which happens to have a teeny tiny foot space at the top, (he learned this upon arrival at the top). Keep in mind no safety railings, or signs warning against falls…just wooden steps and my prayers from the bottom!
Everything about the ruins was so interesting. It was amazing to see how everything lined up certain ways with the rising and setting of the sun. Their monuments and altars were well thought out with beautiful decorations that held tons of historical information. Standing in the grand plaza you could instantly travel back in time and just see them going about their daily life. It was all spectacular. We would walk from area to area in total awe. We cannot wait to someday go back with Levi and admire alongside him the remarkable work of his ancient ancestors.
After seeing all of the amazing sites we learned that only 20% of the ruins are uncovered! We were blown away! Plans are not to uncover all of them because the maintenance would be too hard and it would be such a tragedy to uncover them and then dishonor the Maya’s hard work by letting them get destroyed.
At the end of our tour we ate a restaurant right in the rainforest and then headed back to the Island of Flores to our hotel. Our hotel was nice and we spent the next day just relaxing at the pool. Thursday afternoon we headed back to Antigua where we met up with the team again and came back to Agua Viva.
We were so thankful for the break and chance to celebrate our anniversary. It was such a blessing. However, one of the best things about going to Tikal was coming back to Agua Viva. The second we stepped out of the van little voices whispering “Scott y Sophia” started popping up and the kids came running up to us saying that they had missed us and asking when they could look at pictures. Each child that greeted us had their arms wide open and didn’t reject our kisses in return. It was a warm, warm welcome and it reminded us why our Father has us here.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
We're heading to Tikal!!
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
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.
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