So Far, so good.....

Sunday….
We left Charles City at about 11:00 am. But not without some drama, that most of us did not know about. The bus was sent out to do the usual Sunday Morning pickups, but they noticed that the engine was not sounding quite right. Dave went into ‘plan B’ mode and tried to figure out how we were going to transport fourteen people half way across the country. They had it checked out and determined that it was the usual sounds for this time of the year and that everything was fine. The group from Nashua arrived in Charles City just in time to catch the last minutes of Pastor Dave’s sermon and the sending part of the service. We had the ‘veverdar’ (we were there) picture in front of the bus and we were off.
It was not long…..actually we made it to Plainfield…..and we determined that we were hungry. We dug into delicious sandwiches, grapes, chips, and snacks that the WELCA ladies had prepared….yumm! Movies were put in and we motored along until we reached Kentucky where we stopped for the night. Thanks to our good friends, Dave and Kaye Smith we have a very comfortable place to stay.
Our day was not so exciting (and that is a good thing at this point J), and it was good to get to know each other in the relaxed atmosphere of the bus. We ended the day+-- with devos, where we saw the face of God, and “blessings and boo boos”. As I write this the kids are quiet and hopefully sleeping with dreams of mission and service dancing in their heads…..

Ready to Go!

If it is not done now, it is not going to be....It is now after midnight, morning is going to come fast! But all the last minute things are now done and emailed to the people who needed it...I hope! Anyway, the newsletter stuff is done, a proposal for a ministry team, final project contacts have been made, and the suitcases, food, donations, and even my pillows are loaded on the bus....

The kids will come in the morning with their stuff. The bus will be very full. Not just of stuff, but of excitement and hopes....with mission on their mind. Both groups will worship in their respective churches and participate in a sending service. Dave will be preaching in Charles City. There is a congregational meeting in Nashua to go to before heading to Charles City to get on the bus.

Our first stop will be Sunday Night near Cincinnati, Ohio. We will be staying at Hebron Lutheran Church in Hebron, KY. Our host, Pastor Dave Smith and his wife Kaye are friends of ours from Seminary. They have been so kind and helpful. We thank God for them and their ministry. Hebron is also familiar to us, Dave served near there while on Internship in Dillsboro, IN almost 11 years ago.

Our Bible Studies are going to be looking at "Called to be Salt and Light to the World". We will start them tomorrow as we are traveling down the road in the big bus.

Can't wait!

Here We Go Again! This time we are headed to Baltimore MD

Yup! We are going again....This time we are taking 13 youth and adults from St. Johns in Charles City and Nashua (Iowa) to Baltimore and Washington DC. We will leave on Sunday July 26th after worship services. Our first stop will be near Cincinatti, Ohio. And then we plan to reach Mt. Airy, MD on Monday evening, July 27.

This week we are packing and getting the final prep work done. The bus is sitting in our driveway so we can get things set up. Sunday will be hectic enough without having to finish packing.

Our Bible Studies will be looking at Called to be Salt and Light and Matthew 5.

Please keep the group in your prayers as head out for another adventure. And watch here for updates, news, and pictures!

Dave and Elayne

Putting it all into perspective....

We have been home for a week, I find myself thinking about how richly we have been blessed in this country and how much we take for granted. I will be stuggling with that for awhile and how I will be changing my own behavior. Life is so fragile and so many do not have access to basic services like health care and clean drinking water.

Thank you to everyone for the support and the prayers. It touches our hearts to have such a wonderful family, supportive friends, and the opportunity to go to Guatemala. May God bless you all!

Love, Dave and Elayne

Friday...and now for something different

We got up and had breakfast in the hotel. Our tour van came and picked us up and we headed for Lake Attilan. It was a two hour ride that lasted three. But the ride was well worth it when we caught the first glimpse of the lake, it was the most beautiful blue you can imagine. We had lunch at a local restaurant and then took a ride across the lake. Our plan was to go to some of the villiages but we were only able to go to one. The area is known for it's artists....so.....again....we went shopping! The difficult thing was being choosy, we didn't have the suitcase space for alot, but we were able to get some cool stuff....

The views were spectacular....the lake is in a volcano crater, there are active volcanos around the lake. We were happy that today was not the day for them to erupt. The lake was choppy but well worth the trip.

We caught our ride and headed back to Antigua for our last night and to pack to be ready to go....

The rest of the trip

On our final Wednesday, we packed up our things, and said goodbye to Reu and our new friends. We headed for Antigua, a city near Guatemala City. Antigua has language schools so there is great diversity in the city. There are people from all over the world there that are students.

Antigua is also known for it's incredible Artisen markets....We had a shoping list of what we wanted to pick up....but after walking through the market, our list grew. We wanted to look for rainsticks, something for Kolton and Kamryn, table runners, a tortilla squisher, a lemonaide press....to name afew. It did not take long to figure out that the tortilla squisher and press were not going to be practical given we were flying home and not taking the bus back.

However, during a conversation about how they made black beans, we decided that we needed a bean pot. Esturado came to the rescue and through his amazing ability to network, found a woman who knew a guy in her village who made the pots. So we put in our order. The pots were delivered on Saturday morning just before we had to leave for the airport. I wrapped it in the table runners and pillow covers that we bought and put the pot in my backpack.

It is actually a small miracle that the bean pot and the 5 foot rainstick all made it home safely. Both ended up being carry ons for the flight home. But they did. The rainstick found a home in Elayne's office. And we are waiting for a day when we can tend a fire all day to try out the bean pot.

Thursday we said good-bye to Diane, Theresa, and Katheryn as they left for the airport. Due to an emergency at home, Gabriel went home as well.

After the good byes we went back to the markets to see what we see. The markets were an experience. You could get just about anything. It was strange to my eyes to see beef and other meats hanging and ready for your purchase. I passed.... There were all kinds of fruits and vegtables that were being hauled in huge baskets on top of their heads.

But the artisen market was a feast for the eyes with the colors and things that were available. Like everthing else, there were no listed prices, you had to tell what you wanted to pay and go from there. Bargining was not only the way it was done, but it was expected. I had fun with it, but I don't do math, so there were challenges with converting dollars into Q's. It was to much fun!

We decided to do something different on Friday....