We arrived to Guatemala on a Fri. night. The border crossing was CRAZY and we don't have any pics of it. Let me just say, the border crossing over from the U.S. into MX was CAKE compared to this! Colin and Calvin (interpreter) went and did all the running around, taking papers to different buildings. Colin chose a nice man (who turned out to be a little crooked but not so bad) to help him out, who was actually a money-changer, but a pretty good guide none-the-less. Emily, Devon, Ty, Tiff, Tameeka, Keta, and I stayed at the car. We parked in a parking lot where everyone waits to get paperwork done to cross. We had stopped at Wal-Mart before we got to the border to buy new church clothes for Calvin and Devon (they had the most clothes stolen out of everyone), since we knew we'd need those for Sunday. So we arrived at the border later than we would have liked to, around 5pm I think. So the kids and I sat in the car, but after awhile, we got out of the car, and Keta was our guard dog, although everyone seemed nice and I didn't feel in danger at all. After about an hour, Colin came back, and had left Calvin with a police man with all our documents. So, now it was time to exit the parking lot. Easy right? Well, not when the man in charge of lifting up the gate was more interested in getting more cars in (more money) than in letting cars leave! So there we sat. And sat. Finally I got out of the car and asked the man very sweetly in Spanish when he was going to lift the gate. He told me I had to pay 20 Quetzales. So I did. Got back in the car and watched him totally ignore us and go back to his work at the desk. You're kidding me, right?? Meanwhile, I decide to go check on Calvin who was just around the corner while Colin sat in the car waiting for Mr. Gate man. It reminded us of a Brian Regan joke about the switch flipper. "Come on, flip the switch! Can I come flip the switch Mr. flip-switcher?" Calvin was fine, and he told me all about the man who got his foot run over. Then the cop said he'd take our documents to his office and wait for us to cross and he'd give them to us. (hmmm....do I trust him? We were still a little on edge and wondering who to trust after getting our stuff stolen). I told him and another authority looking guy about the problem exiting the parking lot, and they didn't have much to say about that. Then I saw our "guide" walk by, and I told him, and he went over to the gate man, but to no avail. Calvin and I decided to head back to the car since we were standing where they sprayed the cars with some kind of insecticide (not every car got sprayed, just some of them). We got back in the car, and I felt happy we were all together, and FINALLY he lifted the gate! Now that wasn't so hard now, was it Mr. Gate lifter man?? We continued to drive around the corner, and got to the car spraying area, and even though we knew from our friends who had coached us through all of this that it wasn't a requirement to get our car sprayed, they told us, "no spray, no go to Guatemala." Ok, fine, no big deal. Spray our car. Then Calvin and I ran into a copy store and made some final copies (what do they do with all these papers anyway?!), gave them to the cop who was indeed waiting with our paperwork just like he said, and then we drove off! Yeah, we made it to Guatemala! It was dark by now and we had about 1 1/2 hours left to go. After driving a ways, we saw two LDS missionaries on the side of the road hitch-hiking! (pretty sure that's against mission rules!). So we pulled over and picked them up. They were such nice young Tongan men, one from ID and one from TX. We talked up a storm for the 10 or so minutes we were together, and then we dropped them off near their apartment. After such a stressful border crossing, the Lord sent us missionaries to brighten up our night! It was truly a blessing, and I'm sure they were glad to get a ride too.
We tried to stay at our favorite water park hotel but they were all booked. So we drove a few minutes down the road to a different hotel which was beautiful, and they had rooms available. We had a late dinner, then went to bed. Next morning, we went to the largest water park in Central America (can't think of the name just now). We went there last time we were here, and had such a blast, so we came again. What a fun day of water slides and good times! The triplets went on lots of the "big kid" slides so we were all together most of the day which was fun.
After the water park, we drove to Panajechel, and arrived at Dos Mundos hotel in the evening. It was a windy night, and we were all pretty tired, but thrilled to be here! We got a hold of our friends, the Dennings and Jensens, and they stopped by since they were close by our hotel having "date night." It was so fun to have a welcome party and visit with our friends who we hadn't seen for about 6 months! Lots of catching up, and lots of laughs!
The next day, we found a house! It's a beautiful 5 bedroom house that used to be a bed-and-breakfast. One of the rooms is a "maids' quarters" and the other is an outside casita set-up. The house came with a gardner, Gregorio, who Keta is making friends with, and a maid, Berta, who comes twice a week. Of course we wanted Jessica, our maid and good friend from last time, to come as well. So Jessica cleans/cooks 4 days a week. It's been so wonderful having her again, and catching up (well, as much as I can with the language barrier!).
I'll have to post some pics of our house some time. Anyway, there's events that I don't have pictures of, but am working on getting copies from my friend Rachel. Christmas was spent at the Jensens playing games, going to an outside neighborhood party including pinatas for the kids, and then home for massive fireworks (I don't think there was a soul in Panajechel who wasn't setting off fireworks!). Next morning, Christmas, we were still getting things organized and settled in a bit, but we did have the chance to buy a few gifts for the triplets the day before (plastic dishware with disney characters). The older kids got 100 Quetz each (about $13 U.S., but it can buy quite a bit on Santander!). The older kids gave the littles each an "angry bird" ball, and Emily a dog paw necklace and a zebra striped bracelet.
Last week we helped our branch president on a perpetual self-reliance project the Jensens and Dennings started for them. They've done quite a bit of fund-raising, and the project is going well! So we spent the day up there, husking corn for pig beds, putting up barbed wire to prevent thievery building a pig pen, leveling the ground, hammering posts in, etc! It was great fun for all the kids and I just kept thinking, there was nowhere else in the world I'd rather be, and nothing I'd rather be doing that day than what we were all involved in. It was a wonderfully peaceful feeling and a rewarding day. We look forward to many more days up there. Cameo Johnson (we love the Johnson family who we just met!) and I walked 15 of the little kids down a huge steep hill (the hill that the branch president's wife hikes up and down every day with produce and eggs on her head to sell at her store....incredible!). We caught a truck back down to the marcado, then walked the rest of the way to her house, which is right around the corner from mine. The triplets stayed with her and all the other kids while I went Paca shopping, and bought a few replacement outfits for a couple dollars.
Yesterday we visited Eagle's Nest orphanage! It was so neat seeing all the kids again, and seeing their happiness when they recognized us. There were lots of hugs and smiles. I loved seeing the babies, and how much they have grown and changed in the last 6 months.
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| This little girl was new. She has some spinal problems, but is a spunky and a happy little girl! |
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| Abby! She was just a newborn when we were here last, and such a sweet little baby. She's in Calvin's Eagle Project video he made. Abby is so peaceful and happy! I loved holding her and seeing how she's growing and thriving. |
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| Dulce was kind of sad, but she cheered up later. |
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| Victoria has been able to go to the U.S. with Pedro and Feliz (they run Eagle's Nest) to get some corrective surgery on her ears. She has been improving greatly! |
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| This is Lizzy. Last time we were here, she didn't want much to do with anyone, and would shake her head "no" when I held out my arms. This time though, she was full of smiles, played with Tameeka and Tiffany, and interacted with me. She was found in a garbage can at birth, and luckily was found and brought up to Eagle's Nest. I just love Lizzy! |
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| Why can't I bring you home with me, Abby?! Pedro said in a few years, they might open adoption in Guatemala, special needs only. Right now the President is focusing on keeping Guatemala City in order, and adoption isn't an area of priority right now. Well, maybe if children had homes and loving parents, they wouldn't turn to crime and violence! Maybe if they opened up adoption again, and kids could have families, things would improve!! |
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| This little guy was new too. He is special needs. Colin played a game with him, where he set a fabric book on his stroller, and the boy would throw it off. Colin would laugh and the boy cracked up laughing too! Again and again they played this game. When Colin left to see what the older kids were up to, this boy almost started to cry! I began to play the game with him, but he wasn't having as much fun. Later Colin came back and he got a huge smile, and breathed in a literal sigh of relief. They played again. Later, I took him out of the stroller because he was fussy. I held him in my arms and sang him songs. Poor little guy has pretty bad teeth decay for one so young. That's pretty common here. I sang primary songs to him and rocked him in a chair. His unfocussed eyes swirled around as he tried to stay focussed on my face, and hardly moved at all, enjoying the rocking and singing. |
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| Beautiful view of Lake Atitlan from Eagle's Nest |
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| These girls were flying down a steep hill on this shared skate board. |
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| The older kids had a blast playing soccer with these Guatemalan pros! When it was time to go, they just wanted to stay and keep on playing! |
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| This is sweet Jenny- she came to my sign language class a few times. She's hard of hearing, and an amazing lip reader! |
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| The kids thought it was funny to take Colin's hat off and wear it! |
