September Letter

A few persimmon trees at Monte Flor are bravely showing their 'fall' colors. 

Dear Friends,

As I sat down this morning to start writing this letter, my plan was to give you a time-line of the highlights of September to fill you in on the 'goings on' around here. I had half a page written when I had to head off to work. 

I was going to include more pictures of the circus that we had a blast at one evening the beginning of the month. 
I was planning on writing in detail about our overnight stay at the Barcelo (hotel) in Guatemala City when we took our passports in for visa renewals. Then, I was planning on writing in depth about the frustrations and two 'wasted' days the following week when we went in to pick them up. (Talk about extreme frustration!)
I was going to extend that little adventure to talk about a family the Binduses and Pattersons have been helping - the young mother of 3 suffered a major stroke 9 months ago, but was doing very well several weeks ago. The same day she was walking well enough to want to sweep their bedroom on her own, she started complaining of pain and suffered another stroke. Her husband doesn't expect her to live much longer, so Rachel and I went to visit and pray with them after we got back from the City; that kind of pain made the frustrations from the day before fade into the background. 
I was also planning on expounding on more of the Independence Day celebrations and parades that happened around the 15th. 

I was going to close with stories of things we did with the minions and co. while Craig n Trish Bindus and Lance n Lauren Patterson took a trip to TX for a week.

And end with the news of how Rachel's mom arrived on Sunday for a week-long visit (which is why she wasn't along for work today). 

However, this morning I left this half-finished letter to head out to work and things took a little turn, as far as my plan for this letter is concerned. 
We had five families scheduled to visit today, so I thought I'd take you through a little 'play by play' of how a regular day of visiting looks like in the life of this intern. Each day is different because each family is unique, but they all look a bit similar and today is a good one to draw on. 

Family #1 of the day -
Anastasia's youngest son, 5 year old Tomas, is mute. When he was born the operation needed to 'loose his tongue' was too expensive for her to afford. However, in spite of his handicap, he is one of the most friendly little 5 year olds I know! He got this big grin on his face when we pulled up to their house and tried to talk to me as soon as we stepped out of the truck but finally resorted to pulling on my hand to welcome me inside. Then he proceeded to bring out his few toys [including a little home-made bow and arrow made out of sucker (aka - lollipop) sticks and string] then hop on and off my lap for the duration of the visit. 

Family #2 of the day -
Six year old Juan and his little cousin are those adorable, big-eyed kids who hang back a little til they warm up to a person, then after some time, they start the 'tickle tag game' and soon warm up enough to the point that today they brought me flowers! It wasn't the first time they brought me flowers but they made more trips this time and added some rubber band bracelets to the gift pile!
Juan's father left him and his mother for her cousin when Juan was just a few years old. Her family is burdened with heavy bank debts that keep her up at night with worry. The devotional today talked about how God knows everything little detail of what will happen in our day before we even have a clue. We prayed for peace and trust. 

Family #3 of the day - 
Yenifer and Shirly are a several of the few kids who speak Spanish more fluently than Kiche. They are sweet little girls at the top of their classes.
Today their grandmother brought some fruit drinks in for us while we were talking with the girls and their mother. The families rarely offer us the customary offer of something to drink that usually happens with guests in this culture because we come so often and tell them not to give away what little they have to us but to keep it for themselves. So, when she insisted that we take it, Gloria asked what the special occasion was. Apparently an engagement took place yesterday so they had extra drinks left over from the celebration. Their youngest daughter (Yenifer and Shirly's 16 year old aunt) is getting married in 5 months! 

Family #4 of the day -
Juana and her mother attended a wedding today and returned from the reception just a little before we got there. Shy quiet little Juana barely speaks except to answer questions when we are there. She and her mother also gave us something to drink and some crackers left over from the celebration. This visit was a short one but her mother took the time to genuinely express her gratefulness for the help she and her daughter receive thru the Sponsorship Program. 

Family #5 of the day - 
Rudy's family was our last visit of the day, so we took a little extra time with the tutoring session. His little sister Lesvia was at the top of her kindergarten class this year but failed two of her subject exams this last quarter. She was really sad about it but was soon her cheerful self as Henry talked her thru what she needs to work on in her assignments. Rudy has always had to work a bit harder for good grades, but he has really improved this year so Gloria took time to praise him on how his efforts have paid off. 

We always take time to pray with each family after the devotional time before we leave. Although these little descriptions don't say everything, it hopefully gives you a good picture of what happens on our average visits. Little details add up to strong relationships that build up trust and experiencing the love of Christ invested into each visit.
A normal thing this month that didn't happen today is that Gilma (she and her husband run Casa de Sarita and head up the feeding programs for Manos de Jesus) has been going along to help the kids do drawings and make little letters to send back to their sponsor families in the states, but she didn't accompany us today. 

Other notes:
It's been raining basically every day this month, sometimes twice a day. So, Rachel and I have been enjoying our cozy fireplace in the evenings. We and the minions also started spending most Saturdays together cooking (which has included several root beer floats ;) and being goofy.
With no teams for a whole month, we ladies have started doing a devotional time together every Friday and working out together almost every day - it helps fill in empty spaces and builds relationships at the same time. 

Thank you again, each one who prays for the work happening here on this mission field. Please continue to pray for workers to be sent into the harvest. (Luke 10:2) 

Blessings to you all,
Rose Bontrager

Bonus Picture: Skyping my family :D