The Top 5 Weirdest things I've seen in Guatemala...

5. a 30 foot kite (also one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life) at the Day of the Dead festival in Sumpango.

4. The guard in our neighborhood riding a bicycle in his fatigues carrying a very large gun...how dangerous is that?

3. Today the curbs of the main boulevard (for Michiganders think of US 31 with no shoulders and downhill & curvy) were being painted by hand. This means as crazy as driving in Guatemala is there are still people who work along the side of the already narrow roads, standing in the road bent over painting the curb white with large paint brushes on either side of the street at the same time with nothing but an orange cone to fend off traffic.

2. A fleet of 10 guys cutting the grass in the median with machetes, whacking away at stuff with the next guy mere inches away...did I say that these were machetes...imagine bending over for that job all day!

1. Number one weirdest thing I've seen in Guatemala...On our way to church Sunday night 3 weeks ago we were waiting to turn left on the boulevard when I noticed something blocking the lights of a car that was coming. Thinking it was simply a car that was driving without its lights...a common occurrence here in Guate...I warned Aaron to stop and then down the boulevard doing about 30 mph was a man sitting on a pile of crates with some kind of small wheels underneath. He was holding on to a rope he had fastened through the bottom crate and seemed to be wearing rubber boots for braking power. And down the boulevard he went...in the dark...with no lights...riding crates...with practically no steering...and absolutely no brakes. Aaron and I just looked at each other...only in Guatemala!

A Picture for You!

Hello from Guatemala. I don't have time to write right now but thought a few of you might like few pictures just so you can see for yourself that we are fine. These were taken by our friend, Heather Houskamp on the way to the Day of the Dead festivities which took place on Nov. 1 in most Central American countries.
We are overlooking the city of Santiago...Lots of kites there but lots of people too.

This is a picture of part of the group that we went with. We met some new friends from England and enjoyed time with some other friends who have become our Guatemalan family.
Here we are standing along the road for the view over the valley of Santiago...common occurence in Guate.And my favorite part of the day...riding in the back of Malczewski's truck back & forth (20 miles or so) to the festival. I felt like a kid again! We had a great day and we'll blog more about it later! At His feet,
Amy & the Klandermans

Mr. K needs some love!

Wow! I just realized that title sounds a bit weird, sorry everyone. Listen, what I mean is that I love getting emails from all of you guys, it's like a great little piece of home. So, for someone like my man Schaefer (thanks for all the notes my friend), I can't respond back to you from the Blog, so if you guys want to respond to the Blog that's great, but if you'd like to hear back from me, write me an email. Here's my email for all of you again:

klandera@gmail.com

I miss all of my good Grand Haven and Hamilton friends. It's fun to hear what all of you are doing. Remember we miss you and we are also praying for you. Thanks for the well wishes and prayers, keep them coming.

Thanks everyone.

Love,

Aaron/Mr. K

Answers for Questions....

Thanks everyone for some great questions...Here are some answers via Amy...Aaron may have more to add later.

Besides family and friends for answers: What do you miss the most?
*We miss walks on the beach and Outdoor Discovery Center, watching the sunset, having a variety of things to do, being able to go places and not be worried you will get lost. We miss traffic laws, watching TV shows we missed on the internet, 84 East (Italian Restaurant), falling leaves & autumn colors, our cat, wearing jeans & turtlenecks, understanding what people say as you greet them, knowing what is rude or funny, and having resources to use (like who has what skills and who is willing to do what and where stuff is.)

What did you take for granted the most in the US?
*Freedom. Freedom to roam where you want, mostly being safe wherever you end up. Space to walk or ride bikes. Being outdoors. Maps! Carpet! Changing of the seasons.

Even though you have awhile to go... what will be the first thing you want to do when you get back to the US? *Besides visiting our family who has moved around the country...Go camping.

What food (besides Jif :)) do you miss most? *Pudding, Crescent rolls, Frozen Bread Dough, Cool Whip, Cottage Cheese (this is definitely not Aaron writing).

Do you receive alot of our local news (Hamilton, church,school,Holland, etc)? *None, except what people e-mail us.

Are you able / can you vote for US issues this November? *Could have, should have, would have...In all our adjusting here, we missed the deadline for absentee ballots. The process then would have still been iffy at best but we are out of time for this election.

What is your cure for homesickness?? *There is no cure for homesickness. We cry a bit, vent frustration a bit, e-mail/skype more, pray more...but mostly what gets us through, quite pleasantly most days, is we pour ourselves into what the the Lord has provided us with for that day. Some days it's sick children, some days it's getting to know people we have met better, some days it's school, school, school, and some days it's cleaning and groceries. What ever it is that the Lord has placed in our way that day we treasure it...for you just never know what tomorrow may bring. It was only one short year ago that God placed it on our hearts to be here...things move quickly and through all of this we've learned to treasure whatever opportunities arise. One other constant that has helped us is to keep our Sundays sacred. Worshiping God no matter where in the world you find yourself on a Sunday is a great source of comfort and renewed strength in our lives...just as it was at home in Overisel. It is so good to meet with God's people, to share in God's word (even if it is by video that we do on Sunday nights), and to be challenged to go out and live like God wants us to...not pining away for something that is out of our grasp right now, but where you are in that moment...what is God's purpose for you right now. It truly has been a lifeline we have been clinging to and enjoying to its fullest.

Do they have different fun Guatamalen (sp?) games there that your children are learning at school? *Not yet. We honestly live in a very American society here but we hope to learn more as we venture out further in our area. We have been enjoying Basketball here as the high school season just finished last week. The rules are a little different and the officiating slightly biased toward the Guatemalan schools but overall it has been good...just so weird to be watching during the summer season instead of dead of winter! If we learn any new games we'll pass them along.

What will you miss the most about Guatemala? *So far just as in the states, it will be the friends we work & play with here. Other than that cheap pineapples, these little vanilla cookies that are to die for, fresh tortillas any time of day, Maria Luisa (for more reasons than just cleaning), the ability to make it through a day without being tempted to buy stuff (commercialism is way more rampant than even we realized before we came), good service and clean restaurants at McDonalds, the challenge of learning a language while being immersed in it, hearing testimony after testimony of what God is doing in lives daily (should be in the US too...not sure what's up with that)

what are some things you didnt expect? *How American the city is. In Guatemala City there is a 3 story mall (food courts consisting of BK, Mc D's, Pizza Hut, Sbarros, Dominos), our local grocery store has pretty much everything a person could want (except what I listed above), we are eating mostly the same as we did in the US, the difficulty of travel, the busyness of life yet, how much we would miss fall, how high we are and the view of the city that we have from our housing area.

What is the weather like, always rainy? *Weather is always 60's or 70's. Usually sunny in the morning, turning to rain about 3ish (or whenever I have to run into school). It is very humid (ask anyone with an open bag of potato chips...an hour or two and they are mush...or any gum that doesn't have a hard outer coating...liquefies within a day), but without heat so it even feels a bit chilly if the sun is not out. The "rainy" season is over in a month and then I'll share about that...apparently December is the most lovely month here. We'll see.

eatin good? learning new recipies? *Yes & No. I still do most of the cooking and if we eat "Guatemalan" it's at a restaurant, or out at the market and I honestly don't know the word for recipe in Spanish and even if I did, they would rattle it off and I'd still have no idea what they said or how to make it. We have had a chance to make fresh guacamole and use some veggies we don't have in the states but there's still time and I'll pass those along as I learn.

Thanks for the questions and if there are more things...let us know...and when we get time we will share a little more with you. God bless...At His feet, Amy

More "You know you're in Guatemala when..."

So, it has been a very interesting educational day here at Christian Academy of Guatemala. Allow me to elaborate. My room is on the second floor in one of the corners of the building. Outside the one window, in clear view for almost all of my students, the neighbor is climbing this 80 foot tree (no harness!) with his chain saw and machete. He is piece by piece taking this gigantic tree apart. He had the chain saw reving for most of Social Studies, and by the time we rolled into Math he had moved over to the machete. Needless to say my kids were somewhat distracted.

Now out the other windows our shop teacher was working on the metal railing outside the gym. He was doing a mixture of welding and sanding the metal down. Fascinating!

I was a one point shouting during Math just so kids could hear me.

Ah, Guatemala, you've got to love it!

What Questions Do You Have?

I got this idea from my friend Katie and thought this might be a good way to find out what interests you that we could blog about. Sometimes things get so "routine" here that we forget how strange we would have thought them from home. So leave your questions as comments below and we will get to them as soon as we can. From weather to food to housing to whatever you are wondering...we're game. God bless and we look forward to hearing from you.

New Sermon Series Makes Me Think

We have mentioned before how much we enjoy our worship experience here in Guatemala. We have two very different churches we attend and it is amazing how God coordinates the messages to speak to our hearts every Sunday. The Gathering, which we attend on Sunday Nights, began a new series last week by Andy Stanley entitled Faith, Hope & Luck, looking at how these things are very different and the basic principles of faith that we as believers should consider and hold fast to. Last week the message was about what the foundation of our faith must be...God sending His very Son to die for each one of us and redeem us onto ourselves. Many of us place our faith on circumstantial things, how God has blessed us and our decisions or the seeming lack thereof, and when those things don't make sense to us, we change our views or "lose our faith". Christ dying on the cross for us will never change, and that is where we must rest our lives if we are believers. Last night was about the definition of Christian Faith. So simple.

Faith is confidence that God is who he says he is and that he will do everything he has promised to do.

Faith is based on God and none of it has to do with us except for us to choose it and act in it. If God never answered another prayer the way I hoped, or took all my loved ones from me, or left me destitute...it has nothing to do with my faith. God is who he says he is and he has or will fulfill every promise he has ever made. And I have the awesome opportunity to live in that eternal hope, and live out my life in faith everyday from now until the day I die. What a life he has prepared for us! Have faith, dear friends. And don't let circumstances sway what you believe. If you would like to hear this message yourself, you can click on the you tube link below. God bless as he has given us a new week in which to praise him, proclaim him, and watch him at work. At His feet, Amy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCRgahj2G-U