Ok...... you have experienced the advent of these answers for a week now, time to reveal the GuaTrivia answers!
1) B. Aguinaldo is equal to a month's pay, which for a full time job generally varies from Q2,000 - 4,000 for a full time job. It has to be paid in part by the 15th of December and in part by the end of the month.
2) A. Agua refers to POP (soda?) in Guatemala. Agua pura is water, but if they just say 'quieres agua' they are talking about a carbonated drink!
3) B. 'pasar la muni' is used because the town is responsible for cutting the grass in the medians of the roads. Getting a haircut (which I finally did this week!) is like mowing the lawn, I guess!
4) C. About 8 quetzales in $1!!
How did you do?!?
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Bucket Filling
It seems as though God wants to teach me something. There have been continual messages around me lately, reminding me of an indispensable and precious discipline - PRAYER.
I am the type of person who likes to dream and act; to plan and pursue... Thus it has often been a struggle for me to dedicate my heart and my time to prayer.
This past week a team came to Guate with the sole purpose of prayer. They visited minstries, sat with leaders, and offered up an abundance of prayers. I had the privilege of translating (a skill I am far from perfecting...) a sermon one of the team members gave on prayer. He pointed out the importance of "fervency" in prayer; reminded me of the fact that God's hand and heart are moved by passionate prayer. He also reminded me that praying hard is a time commitment.
I appreciated an illustration Pastor John shared with the congregation. Visualize the enormous buckets in the kiddie pools at waterparks. Water pours into them, and little by little the level rises. Once it fills completely, a little bell rings, everyone runs to gather round, and water rushes over them like a giant tidal wave. God often answers our prayers in the same way. We must continue to pray, not knowing how much time and passion and faith God will require of us, until the bucket begins to overflow with petitions. Then, the bucket begins to tip and the water rushes over us. And we rejoice that God has answered our petition.
Two such examples of this 'bucket-filling' might be the prayers of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, and Elijah in 1 Kings 18, in case you would like to dig deeper into the concept of faith, persistence, and passion in our prayers.
However prayer's effectiveness is not determined passion and fervency alone. The most important element of prayer is FAITH, without which our prayers are like a paper airplane resting on a tabletop. It cannot lift itself to soar on the breeze. It needs a hand to thrust it into the wind.
I love the story from Acts 12, when Peter and James are imprisoned by Herod. An angel appears to Peter in the night, and miraculuously delivers him from prison. Each locked door swings wide and Peter finds himself suddenly on the street, asking if what happened was a vision or reality. He goes to Mary's house, the mother of a friend. Gathered there is a group of believers, vigilantly praying through the night for Peter. When he knocks on the door, the servant girl recognizes his voice, and excitedly runs to tell the rest of the believers. This is the first door, ironically, that which the church is behind, that does not open supernaturally. However they simply do not believe her - they think she has seen Peter's angel. But he keeps knocking, and in the end they let him and he shares with them what God has done for him.
Pastor John pointed out that the Christian were praying fervently for Peter. They spent all night in a prayer vigil, dedicating their time and passion. However they were missing a key ingredient. God uses this story as a lesson to his church. The believers prayer fervently, but without hope of seeing fruit. Peter rescued was recsued and they simply could not believe it! They lacked the faith necessary. Yet God fulfills their prayer even despite the lack of faith, in order to teach them. We must also believe that God is powerful to do whatever he desires. Our fervent, faith-filled prayer reaches to his heart.
Praying with you!
Kim <><
PS -- A ministry update will be coming soon via email. Watch for it!
I am the type of person who likes to dream and act; to plan and pursue... Thus it has often been a struggle for me to dedicate my heart and my time to prayer.
This past week a team came to Guate with the sole purpose of prayer. They visited minstries, sat with leaders, and offered up an abundance of prayers. I had the privilege of translating (a skill I am far from perfecting...) a sermon one of the team members gave on prayer. He pointed out the importance of "fervency" in prayer; reminded me of the fact that God's hand and heart are moved by passionate prayer. He also reminded me that praying hard is a time commitment.
I appreciated an illustration Pastor John shared with the congregation. Visualize the enormous buckets in the kiddie pools at waterparks. Water pours into them, and little by little the level rises. Once it fills completely, a little bell rings, everyone runs to gather round, and water rushes over them like a giant tidal wave. God often answers our prayers in the same way. We must continue to pray, not knowing how much time and passion and faith God will require of us, until the bucket begins to overflow with petitions. Then, the bucket begins to tip and the water rushes over us. And we rejoice that God has answered our petition.
Two such examples of this 'bucket-filling' might be the prayers of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, and Elijah in 1 Kings 18, in case you would like to dig deeper into the concept of faith, persistence, and passion in our prayers.
However prayer's effectiveness is not determined passion and fervency alone. The most important element of prayer is FAITH, without which our prayers are like a paper airplane resting on a tabletop. It cannot lift itself to soar on the breeze. It needs a hand to thrust it into the wind.
I love the story from Acts 12, when Peter and James are imprisoned by Herod. An angel appears to Peter in the night, and miraculuously delivers him from prison. Each locked door swings wide and Peter finds himself suddenly on the street, asking if what happened was a vision or reality. He goes to Mary's house, the mother of a friend. Gathered there is a group of believers, vigilantly praying through the night for Peter. When he knocks on the door, the servant girl recognizes his voice, and excitedly runs to tell the rest of the believers. This is the first door, ironically, that which the church is behind, that does not open supernaturally. However they simply do not believe her - they think she has seen Peter's angel. But he keeps knocking, and in the end they let him and he shares with them what God has done for him.
Pastor John pointed out that the Christian were praying fervently for Peter. They spent all night in a prayer vigil, dedicating their time and passion. However they were missing a key ingredient. God uses this story as a lesson to his church. The believers prayer fervently, but without hope of seeing fruit. Peter rescued was recsued and they simply could not believe it! They lacked the faith necessary. Yet God fulfills their prayer even despite the lack of faith, in order to teach them. We must also believe that God is powerful to do whatever he desires. Our fervent, faith-filled prayer reaches to his heart.
Praying with you!
Kim <><
PS -- A ministry update will be coming soon via email. Watch for it!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Being a parent...
What does it take to be a parent? I've only got some ideas. But I had a taste of some beautiful, image-bearing parenting last week.
I went to visit a dance class with Artes Muy Especiales (Very Special Arts), which offers classes in dance, art, and music to mentally or physically disabled children and adults. Some of the gals had Down syndrome, and with others I was unsure of their diagnosis but they struggled notably with coordination and their processing time was much longer. During their 2-hour dance class, their mothers waited in the next room.
I started to chat with the mothers, my goal being some quality trust-building, since we are organizing an art camp for their children in November. Naturally the conversation turned to the high needs of their daughters. One woman commented on the 2-hour routine of the morning - getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing teeth... If she helped her daughter it was a mere 30 minutes, but if she patiently waited for her daughter to prepare herself for the day, it was an ordeal that lasted all morning.
Another mother told me that her daughter's doctor had given them a very bleak prognosis- never walk, never talk, incapable of independence. However, as a teenager, she was learning basic classroom skills, how to dress and care for herself, and dancing flamenco!
Another woman drives into the city from Antigua each week for her daughter's classes. She has the dream of opening an arts school in Antigua for disabled children. She says there is lots of culture and art to the city, but nothing available for her daughter. She has seen the progress in confidence and intelligence that her daughter has made while taking classes with AME. I witnessed her ability to learn the choreography of a dance with a patient, loving teacher.
Then I shared something from my heart. This is where I thank God for the proficiency he has granted me in Spanish. I encouraged these mothers to keep bringing their daughters to classes. I encouraged them to keep being patient, even when it's hard. I encouraged them to keep being the grand mothers that they are. I acknowledged that I can't possibly enter into their circumstances, but that I could admire their strong, beautiful love.
With the mothers in tears and me resisting the urge to do the same, it was a precious moment.. and I keep praying that God supplies them daily with the strength to love their daughters.. regardless of the added challenges!
It also makes me marvel at the great God we serve... he never gets worn out, and I know I require a lot of patience! And there are a lot of us!
Well, See you soon to those of you in Michigan and Ontario, can't wait to catch up a bit.
Blessings from Guate!
Kim <><
I went to visit a dance class with Artes Muy Especiales (Very Special Arts), which offers classes in dance, art, and music to mentally or physically disabled children and adults. Some of the gals had Down syndrome, and with others I was unsure of their diagnosis but they struggled notably with coordination and their processing time was much longer. During their 2-hour dance class, their mothers waited in the next room.
I started to chat with the mothers, my goal being some quality trust-building, since we are organizing an art camp for their children in November. Naturally the conversation turned to the high needs of their daughters. One woman commented on the 2-hour routine of the morning - getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing teeth... If she helped her daughter it was a mere 30 minutes, but if she patiently waited for her daughter to prepare herself for the day, it was an ordeal that lasted all morning.
Another mother told me that her daughter's doctor had given them a very bleak prognosis- never walk, never talk, incapable of independence. However, as a teenager, she was learning basic classroom skills, how to dress and care for herself, and dancing flamenco!
Another woman drives into the city from Antigua each week for her daughter's classes. She has the dream of opening an arts school in Antigua for disabled children. She says there is lots of culture and art to the city, but nothing available for her daughter. She has seen the progress in confidence and intelligence that her daughter has made while taking classes with AME. I witnessed her ability to learn the choreography of a dance with a patient, loving teacher.
Then I shared something from my heart. This is where I thank God for the proficiency he has granted me in Spanish. I encouraged these mothers to keep bringing their daughters to classes. I encouraged them to keep being patient, even when it's hard. I encouraged them to keep being the grand mothers that they are. I acknowledged that I can't possibly enter into their circumstances, but that I could admire their strong, beautiful love.
With the mothers in tears and me resisting the urge to do the same, it was a precious moment.. and I keep praying that God supplies them daily with the strength to love their daughters.. regardless of the added challenges!
It also makes me marvel at the great God we serve... he never gets worn out, and I know I require a lot of patience! And there are a lot of us!
Well, See you soon to those of you in Michigan and Ontario, can't wait to catch up a bit.
Blessings from Guate!
Kim <><
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sweet Escape
This post has nothing to do with Gwen Stefani. Just a disclaimer.
I had the privilege about a week ago of hanging out with some doctorate students taking Joel VanDyke's course on leadership in urban missions. We did a lot of field trips. One morning we spent some time in La Limonada, the largest slum in Guatemala city, with a ministry working in the community. We visited the home of a couple with 4 kids, the husband an abusive alcoholic, wife overrun with despair and fear, and 4 children. The oldest of these children, Laddy, has been mentally and physically handicapped all 16 years of her life. She literally lives in a corner of the small shack, on a mattress stained with food and rieking of urine. When we arrived she unsteadily held a mug of pepsi and there was a pile of bread in front of her on the mattress. He mother was trying to help her eat.
This woman's 2 daughters were at school. They just recently began attending, mainly because they got a gov't visit and if the kids aren't in school there are repercussions for the family. Their mother shared her fear for her children, letting them go out in the dangerous neighborhood and be in school for such a long period of time, and the difficulty there was in walking them to school if her husband was not home because her handicapped daughter cannot come with. Yet she also stated that she knew it was best for her girls, even if she was scared for them. After further conversation, we learned that her youngest son, just 2 years old, had cried the whole previous day because he lost his plastic ball out the window and down the side of the cliff where their house is perched. It was his favorite toy.
We proceeded to pray with this mother, seeking to encourage her and intercede for her family. I remained for a time with my eyes open as we prayed, trying to take in the entire situation. The son begin to complain to his mother, until she finally begin to nurse him. I noticed a scrawny kitten wander in from the back room. She hopped onto the chair, dresser, and then onto a rafter of the home. She curled up on the rafter but remained with her cautious eyes wide open. As we prayed, Laddy also began to make noise. At first she just mumbled, but then she started to weep. It was a haunting sound, resembling a laugh could not be sustained and thus turned to moaning. This moan represented to me the circumstances of Laddy, her mother, and her entire family. They sought to be happy, to keep on living, sought to escape, but under the weight of their circumstances their laughter only turned to weeping. No doubt they feel as if God does not see them. After the prayer the woman began to pour out her heart. She was tired, overwhelmed by responsibility, and frustrated that she could not protect her family. Laddy sapped her energies, needing constant attention and clean up, and her husband was not working or trying very hard to help anyone but himself. She wept and wept while we wept with her.
During this whole time, the husband remained in a curtained-off side of the shack. Some of the men in our group had gone in to pray with him. Over the murmur of their voices praying in the other room, the words to a song playing on the CD player jumped out at me. It's called 'Ayer Te Vi' (Yesterday I Saw You) by Jesus Romero:
The image is not word for word what I was seeing in this home. However it is a picture of someone clinging to life in the midst of affliction; l someone tired and despairing. grasping for hope.
The image of the kitten in the rafters remained in my mind even after I closed my eyes to finish praying. Even she has a sweet escape from the sufferings, the beatings, the fears, the rages that no doubt occurred inside these 4 walls. But what about Laddy? What about her mother? There were no rafters.
I was left challenged to discern what might be seen as good news to Laddy and her family. Sometimes 'evangelism' can be more difficult than it seems. And I didn't come up with a great answer. But I do believe the Lord has good news for this family. I'm simply still in the process of working out how to articulate it. What would you say?
I had the privilege about a week ago of hanging out with some doctorate students taking Joel VanDyke's course on leadership in urban missions. We did a lot of field trips. One morning we spent some time in La Limonada, the largest slum in Guatemala city, with a ministry working in the community. We visited the home of a couple with 4 kids, the husband an abusive alcoholic, wife overrun with despair and fear, and 4 children. The oldest of these children, Laddy, has been mentally and physically handicapped all 16 years of her life. She literally lives in a corner of the small shack, on a mattress stained with food and rieking of urine. When we arrived she unsteadily held a mug of pepsi and there was a pile of bread in front of her on the mattress. He mother was trying to help her eat.
This woman's 2 daughters were at school. They just recently began attending, mainly because they got a gov't visit and if the kids aren't in school there are repercussions for the family. Their mother shared her fear for her children, letting them go out in the dangerous neighborhood and be in school for such a long period of time, and the difficulty there was in walking them to school if her husband was not home because her handicapped daughter cannot come with. Yet she also stated that she knew it was best for her girls, even if she was scared for them. After further conversation, we learned that her youngest son, just 2 years old, had cried the whole previous day because he lost his plastic ball out the window and down the side of the cliff where their house is perched. It was his favorite toy.
We proceeded to pray with this mother, seeking to encourage her and intercede for her family. I remained for a time with my eyes open as we prayed, trying to take in the entire situation. The son begin to complain to his mother, until she finally begin to nurse him. I noticed a scrawny kitten wander in from the back room. She hopped onto the chair, dresser, and then onto a rafter of the home. She curled up on the rafter but remained with her cautious eyes wide open. As we prayed, Laddy also began to make noise. At first she just mumbled, but then she started to weep. It was a haunting sound, resembling a laugh could not be sustained and thus turned to moaning. This moan represented to me the circumstances of Laddy, her mother, and her entire family. They sought to be happy, to keep on living, sought to escape, but under the weight of their circumstances their laughter only turned to weeping. No doubt they feel as if God does not see them. After the prayer the woman began to pour out her heart. She was tired, overwhelmed by responsibility, and frustrated that she could not protect her family. Laddy sapped her energies, needing constant attention and clean up, and her husband was not working or trying very hard to help anyone but himself. She wept and wept while we wept with her.
During this whole time, the husband remained in a curtained-off side of the shack. Some of the men in our group had gone in to pray with him. Over the murmur of their voices praying in the other room, the words to a song playing on the CD player jumped out at me. It's called 'Ayer Te Vi' (Yesterday I Saw You) by Jesus Romero:
TE VI EN UN NIÑO DE LA CALLE (I saw you in a child ont he street)SIN UN LUGAR PARA DORMIR (without a place to sleep)
TE VI EN SUS MANOS EXTENDIDAS (I saw you in his outstretched hands)PIDIENDO PAN PARA VIVIR (asking for break to live)TE VI EN SUS OJOS SUPLICANTES (I saw you in his begging eyes)Y EN SU SONRISA TITUBIANTE (in his hesitant smile)AYER TE VI (yesterday I saw you) This song goes on to beg the Lord see those who are in the midst of affliction, and turn his face toward them.The image is not word for word what I was seeing in this home. However it is a picture of someone clinging to life in the midst of affliction; l someone tired and despairing. grasping for hope.
The image of the kitten in the rafters remained in my mind even after I closed my eyes to finish praying. Even she has a sweet escape from the sufferings, the beatings, the fears, the rages that no doubt occurred inside these 4 walls. But what about Laddy? What about her mother? There were no rafters.
I was left challenged to discern what might be seen as good news to Laddy and her family. Sometimes 'evangelism' can be more difficult than it seems. And I didn't come up with a great answer. But I do believe the Lord has good news for this family. I'm simply still in the process of working out how to articulate it. What would you say?
Monday, July 5, 2010
GuaTrivia answers!!
1 - A (is this because everybody WANTS the end of the loaf of bread or because they DONT??)
2 - B (The students of my English class taught me this!)
3 -C (Know who they are?? Look them up online!)
4 - B (Sometimes also written Coatemala!! there are a LOT of trees... but also lots of birds and water.. especially in the RAINY season..)
Thanks for learning with me! :o)
2 - B (The students of my English class taught me this!)
3 -C (Know who they are?? Look them up online!)
4 - B (Sometimes also written Coatemala!! there are a LOT of trees... but also lots of birds and water.. especially in the RAINY season..)
Thanks for learning with me! :o)
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