One miracle that happened today!

So I was at Paiz (the local grocery store as many of you who follow our page know) today. (Why is it that so many of my stories begin this way?) I was just in the checkout lane beginning to unload my groceries on the belt and thinking about my busy day ahead. I had to rush home and make muffins for snack for pre-school storytime, then get Maya & Caden from their half day of school and we had made plans to go out to lunch with our friends, the Larimers, and then it was off to PriceSmart (think Sam's Club)...when I heard this noise. I look up to see to see Lily throwing up all over the groceries that were still in the cart. And it didn't stop (poor girl). So now I'm trying to catch it with my hands saying "Basura pro favor" (trash can please) to the check out girl. She is trying to get a plastic bag open and meanwhile the groceries that are still in the cart are now covered. Finally she stopped...Wow what a mess! One guy cleaned the aisle (grocery carts are no good at containing contaminates) the check out girl walked with me to the bathroom where she helped me mostly wash off Lily & the groceries that were still in the cart, and two others cleaned up our trail to the bathroom. Then we still had to check out and all I could say over and over again was "muchas gracias" (thanks so much) and "lo siento" (I'm sorry). On the car ride home the smell was almost overwhelming. With Lily in the shower I commenced washing off my boxes of food in the sink, calling friends to fill in where we couldn't be, and waiting for our maid to come so I could share with her the adventure our morning had been. Maria Luisa came very late about 10am and our morning had been nothing compared to hers. Her daughter Dulce, who was with her this morning, had been up all night with breathing issues due to her need for nose surgery. Finally at 5 am Maria Luisa had been so worried that she took Dulce on a bus to the emergency room where she had a 3 hour breathing treatment to get her breathing under control. When she finally got to our house her oldest daughter's school had called and told Maria Luisa that her eldest daughter had been suspended from school because the group of girls that she was hanging around had done some very bad things. So because Lily had gotten sick, I could send Maria Luisa & Dulce home to take care of things and get some sleep. And I also had the chance to get on Facebook since my plans were shot for the morning. It was there that a friend who we haven't seen in years had looked up Aaron & I and had asked if there was anything he could do to help our mission here in Guatemala. I told him about the surgery that Dulce needed (after doing much checking on circumstances and talking to many people about what could/should be done) and he said just let me know where the money needs to be deposited. Wow! Go God....Amazing, Incomprehensible! All of this only possible because my child threw up and God knew that that was the only way I was going to stay home today. Don't tell me that God doesn't have a sense of humor or that He doesn't have everything in control. I just wonder how many other miracles I have completely missed because I was upset by plans being spoiled or the messiness of the situation. I'm still in awe and couldn't wait to testify that God can even use vomit to make us able to serve others. God, you are awesome! At His feet, Amy

Are you great at something or are you truly great?

On Sunday evenings we go to a church called The Gathering near our house. It is a group of missionary families who meet at 6 on Sunday evenings for a time of worship...the worship band is one of the best I've ever heard...and spiritual growth. Our sermons so far have been videos of Andy Stanley and Clay Scroggins who have been preaching on a series entitled Being Great. The premise is that instead of wanting what the world wants, to be great at something, we should want what we were truly meant to be which is great people. And what does it mean to be great? What does the Bible say? To be great we must be a servant. We had messages on The "Great" Samaritan and the disciples argument about who was greatest among them, but tonight we looked at Jonathon, King Saul's son. An amazing look at his character. And a reminder to all of us...that even when we are not the lead in a story (David was all the headlines in the Jonathon plot) even if we pass for the briefest moment, we are still a part of someone else's story...many times a day. Each time that happens we make a choice...to be great or not. How many times do we let a moment slip away? At work, with our neighbor, at the store, with a friend, with the car ahead of you in traffic? Are we willing to set aside our own agendas and be a servant to someone else, who we just happened to cross paths with today, and put their needs before ours? Or is our "greatness" dependent on having enough time, or money, or convenience? Our time in Guatemala was solely dependent on the greatness of many of you. You gave time teaching us, sharing with us, caring about us, giving prayers, money & time to us. You, even by reading this, have shared in part of our story and you have been great...What is the next opportunity God is going to give you? Seize the moment and be great, by continuing to serve those around you...not because of what they can give back, or because they were nice to you, or because you like them...but simply because it is the right thing to do. I am going to work on choosing greatness. Imagine with me if you will...what would happen if all Christians world round would choose greatness...what if all the Christians in the country...how about all the Christians in our church...how would the world or country or community be changed? It all starts one person at a time. Let it be you. Let it be me, Lord. Seeking greatness at His feet, Amy

The Day with Chad in Antigua

What a day we had in Antigua this past Saturday. Having Chad here was a blessing in so many ways. He opened our eyes to the little things we'd been missing, a local bakery, the fresh tortillas around the corner, the good places we should explore when we get a chance, and great tacos right by our local grocery store. I posted pictures on my facebook page of our Saturday in Antigua and hope you enjoy them. Thanks for all the prayers while Chad was here...It was a great weekend. Pray for him as he flies through Houston today (the first day since Friday that it has been open because of Hurricane Ike). He should be home by 6ish EDT tonight. Thanks God for a great time and blessings on each of us as we seek your will and way where ever we are right now!

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6283&l=9f299&id=1268589118

Check out our pictures of Antigua!

By clicking on the following link you can see our pictures from Antigua, Guatemala. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5940&l=f4aff&id=1268589118

This is on Amy's facebook page (Aaron has one too). Look us up if you get a chance.

You know your children watch too much TV when...

You know your children watch too much TV in Guatemala when your 3 year old's favorite phrase in Spanish is "Aqui en Discovery Kids." (Here on Discovery Kids)

Lily's Spanish is getting better...here are a few things she can say...

Buenos Noches...Good Night
Buenas Dias...Good Morning.
Muchas Gracias...Thank you very much.
and No!...No! (which I'm afraid gets a lot of use when you are 3).

More Picts from Guate

On Saturday, Aug. 22. we went with the Newcomers club from school to Guatemala City. The above picture is of one of the settlements that continues to grow out of the central city. This is much steeper than it looks.
To help show the steepness. Many of these areas have no electricity. They start out as people put up cardboard sides with tin roof, then as people have a little money they start with the concrete. Once these areas are settled then the demand for electricity makes the city have to deal with their homeless. These areas have limited to no sanitation and are unsafe for many reasons (mudslides in the rainy season, pollution, no security, and disease). Thousands of people live in these situations because they move to the city to get a few cents more for working.
The valley here is called a barranco (ba-ron-co). The barrancos divide the city into sections and make for interesting travel. You can be walking or driving along and suddenly there is one of these very deep valleys. This one is quite wide but most go down at least 100 yards or more. It also makes traffic bumper to bumper most times of the day because everyone must go over bridges like this to get around the city.
This is the center of Guatemala City. Central park is to the left. To the right is the National Cathedral, and straight ahead is the Palace (used only on formal occasions, not for an actual residence.
This is one of the side streets to the Central Market (Central Marcado). The real market is actually inside. The Street level is textiles, leather goods, and knick-knacks (Guatemala pens & magnets...tourist stuff!), the next lower level (yup it's underground folks!) is produce & meat market, and the lowest level is the whole sale level...everything from dog food, to woven baskets, to candles to clothes. It is at least a block square and Aaron had to duck quite a lot!
I think this is Volcan de Agua (Water Volcano). We can see this from near our house as well. I'm not sure if it is active or not.
Caden & Lily relaxing in our purchase from Central Marcado...a new hammock.
Eat your heart out Dad! This corn is huge...but I believe it is field corn. Every extra scrap of land has something planted on it. This field is less than an acre surrounded by condos near our neighborhood.
The barranco located in our neighborhood. It must be about 100 yards (probably more) literally straight down. Those are full sized houses on the far side. Muy grande!
Caden with some sort of Grasshopper he found. Standing near the edge of the barranco! I can't believe how these pictures lose the extreme heights and depths of this land. Here is one of the homes on the edge of the barranco on our way to the top of the hill from our condo.
About 100 yards down the mountain is this house also near the edge of the barranco. Amazing the disparity of income with in feet of each other. This house is very unusual also because it doesn't have concrete walls around it with a gate...highly unusual here!
Sisters. Maya reading her homework to Lily. The kids even in Elementary School have 20-40 minutes of homework each night. They really make them work.
Sunset from our bedroom balcony. This picture does no justice to the view. Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into our world again. God bless! At His feet, The Klandermans

The View From School

Hi Everyone,

I know, I know. It's been a while since Aaron has got his act together and had a moment to sit and add to the BLOG. We'll here's your chance to read a bit of classic Klanderman babble.

So, we are now in our second week of school here at CAG. (It's actually the third week for Amy and I, those of you who are teachers out there can attest to the fact that inservice week certainly counts!) I have been amazed at the similarities, as well as the differences between the two schools I have worked at now, Peach Plains in the States, and CAG here in Guatemala.

First let's talk about the similarities. I am so impressed with the level of dedication to the kids here. Teachers are really willing to share their time with students. There is so much interaction/relationship building. You can just see the ease and the comfort that these kids have with their teachers. It's so great to have kids come up to me, instead of me seeking them out, which I thought I might need to do. The same could be said for the staff I worked with back in the States. Teachers want to serve their kids. We are SERVANTS first and foremost. If we didn't approach this job with that attitude we would never make it, it simply wouldn't be worth it. But when servanthood is the place we are coming from first, this job is AWESOME, and REWARDING! I feel so blessed to have now been a part of two staffs that I really feel were committed to that philosophy.

The other similarity that strikes me is that kids are kids worldwide. They are silly, goofy, and wonderful. Kids lose homework here just as much as they do in the States. Kids wrestle with their self image here too. Kids love to laugh and play, and generally try to get the teacher to fall into the same wonderful trap, which often works with me. The kids have been wonderful, and I also feel blessed to have them ministering to me and my needs just as much as I feel I am doing that for them.

Smiles are the other similarity, even though I feel that they flow a lot more easily here. Don't forget that people back home. Smile at others. Greet them as they pass. Why don't we kiss each other back home? People actually stop and kiss each other every morning here. WOW! No I don't think I'm going to do that to Mr. Dean and Mr. Wiegel when I see them in the hall in the future. I think Brandon would probably punch me. (Just kidding Brandon, I know down deep you're a pacifist.) Hug someone today. I miss hugging quite a few of you.

The differences and relatively small between the two places. I still feel a little trapped here. What I mean by that is that there are fences everywhere. Here at school the grounds are large and are of excellent quality. (Cool basketball floor especially.) But we are still surrounded by a huge wall, and a gate, that is guarded.

A small difference in copyright philosophies here, Amy could explain that later. Just to let you all know, Amy and I are still big supporters of not violating copyright laws.

Prayer is the main difference. You know I cannot tell you how comfortable and at peace I feel here, because whenever there is a problem we pray. Has God answered every prayer perfectly the way I wanted it to be answered, NO, but so many times it has turned out even better than I could have imagined. We were short teachers here for a while, and we prayed. God literally brought a teacher to CAG's doorstep that afternoon. I'm not kidding. We get nervous in class, and we pray, and the student's all talk about how at ease that immediately makes them feel. Maya was nervous about dance class the other day. (They don't teach in English.) We prayed. She came home and talked about how much fun she had! I think too many times in the States we cross our fingers in some stupid ritualistic manner and HOPE that things will turn out OK. Why don't we get on our knees, and then get up and KNOW that things will turn out OK. (Again, it may not be according to our mapped out plans, but as our minister said the other week, "Where is the safest place to be?.....In God's plans.")

I miss all of you reading this back home. I hope to write a little more frequently now, especially since both my fantasy football leagues draft in the next two days, and my homework/preparation for those will lessen.

With love,

Aaron