For Prayers and Praise

Writing about trying times is always difficult for me. I never want to sound complain-y about following God's call because I am truly blessed to be here serving Him. And I don't want to project the sense that I am not appreciative of the support people send my way, both spiritually and financially. But there are times when the circumstances surrounding the location that I've been called to get tough. And it's human nature, unfortunately, to allow ourselves to feel discouraged and even afraid at times. So I'm writing to today to inform and solicit prayer for this small part of God's Kingdom, which continues to be relentlessly attacked by the enemy.

This past week has been an especially sad one for Guatemala. I love this country and the people here, and being witness to their pain is not easy. Below are two links to news coverage by the Latin American Herald Tribune, describing the situation, much more concisely and objectively than I could.

Guatemalan Bus Drivers on Strike to Protest Murders

Two More Bus Drivers Slain in Guatemala

In addition, here is a link to a recent report from the Council of Hemispheric Affairs that I found interesting in light of all the press being given to the lamentations of the U.S. about their Mexican border issues:

COHA Report on Guatemala

"...the drug crisis that Guatemala currently finds itself in is due primarily to spillage from Mexico..."

"In December 2008, Carlos Castresana, Head of the United Nations International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, stated “if the Guatemalan authorities are unable to stop the infiltration of Mexican drug cartels in two years they could take over Guatemala City.” "

I post these items not for shock value or effect. I do it because people often ask: "How can we pray for you?" and to be honest, I feel so blessed to be here doing what I am, that I don't often have a good answer. The above articles, however, mention thousands of people who are much in need of prayer, and I ask that you direct your petitions on their behalf.

That being said, these events do affect my work here as well. My call is to find ways to provide normalcy for kids living here due to the call of their parents to serve here. How do I balance addressing the situations swallowing up their environment with finding ways to let them be kids? It's a ministry of fine balance. Kids are still kids even in the midst of everything else. And they still want to do kid things. So, I do pray for wisdom about how to do that appropriately. In the attempt to let them lead kid-friendly lives, I try everyday to move forward with regular kid/school activities. And here are some recent highlights:

Felicita has been accepted, with a full-tuition scholarship, to
Berea College!!!
(This is a story all it's own, that I will someday have Felicita share.)

My Middle School Destination ImagiNation team was commended for providing the "Most Creative Solution" at their practice problem-solving competition last week!

Junior/Senior Skip Day was bright, sunny, safe, and FUN!!!!

Elisa, a seventh grader, blogged: "This is getting FUN! :)" in response to EXTRA work she's been asked to do!

Javier and I will have a chance to celebrate God's love and grace with students at
High School Banquet
tonight!!

In all we do, let's find conviction and inspiration from God's word:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,

and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Job 1:21-22

Can't Believe I Forgot!!!

Oh my goodness!!! In all the hullabaloo I am now realizing that I never posted one of my most exciting adventures so far!!! Check it out here:

Just a Simple Comic by Sherry L. de Alvarez, M.Ed.

Of Middle Schoolers, Midwesterners, and Medals!

Middle Schoolers: I distinctly remember the days of substitute teaching many years ago when the thought of being placed in charge of middle schoolers had me shaking in my boots! Now I mostly just shake with laughter from enjoying them. Recently my English Enrichment class planned their own class party in celebration of all they've learned this year. There was pizza, board games, and live music courtesy of Yo Han, an extremely accomplished pianist. How refreshing to see these simple pleasures able to truly entertain kids of this age!!

In the world of Destination ImagiNation, my other groups of middle level kids have been recently participating in skills workshops to get themselves prepared for the big competition on April 18. Prayer support is GREATLY appreciated here as they work on time management and teamwork issues.

Midwesterners: This past week Javier and I were blessed to be able to share great meals, fun times, and enthusiastic conversations with friends of family and other friends who had ventured down this way. We loved having the opportunity to keep in touch with folks back home, make new friends, and hear about how others are working in and enjoying Guatemala. Sarah and Howard were here from Tennessee with other members of their church on an annual trip to help build in Mazatenango. And Mark, Fran from Wisconsin, and their friend Walt, told about their new found love for Guatemala and how they'd like to help an NGO build a library in Santiago. (*My apologies if Tennessee isn't technically in the midwest...I was working on a catchy title!)

Medals: Just yesterday I ran in my sixth annual Avon Run Against Breast Cancer. Although this is something familiar to most people in the States, it is a relatively new event here in Guatemala. Each year, however, I've watched it grow and grow. This year over 4,000 women of all ages ran! I was able to get our first grade teacher and two girls from our high school to run along. We are hopeful that even more ladies will join us next time around!!