Pray for a burst of energy!

Hi, all. This is just a quick request for a burst of energy as we are on the home stretch of our time at Casa Bernabe. We finished 4 more quilt tops yesterday, and have plans to finish several more today. The guys are divided up with Bob leading the men who are finishing wiring the rebar to hold the blocks in place and Norm in charge of grilling hot dogs for lunch today (I'm sure you're all surprised by that ;-), as one of the things we decided to do is host a luncheon for all of the kids and staff today at lunch time. At 5 pm the kids will perform their final holy week skit, and then tonight will be the despodida - a celebration the kids put on for guests. We have been joined by another team of 6 ladies and a team that is just a mother and daughter, who have all volunteered to help where-ever we need them. Pray for wisdom, strength, energy, and that we would see God's hand in all we do. Thanks, all!

Busy Days

The past couple of days have been really busy. We seem to finally be hitting our stride with accomplishments. We have taken over the all-purpose room for our sewing. So far I have set up all of the machines we brought and made sure they are working correctly, and checked two of the machines that are already here and succeeded in getting one of them working. I also altered three aprons to better fit the diminutive size of the sweet ladies that are cooking for us. Dawn has put together several quilt tops, so that project is moving right along. The rest of the ladies have been working in various areas including helping in the baby house, pulling weeds, and helping the guys with the re-terracing project. At the end of the day yesterday the guys from our team offered Tony the friendly challenge that if they were able to get all of the blocks moved and laid by 3 pm today, Tony owed us ice cream, and if we didn't succeed we owed him ice cream. At 2:45 pm Max came flying into the main house to announce that the job was done, so Tony owed us. He was very happy about that, as he really wanted to get in on a soccer game this afternoon. The soccer game took precedence even over taking a shower. Montezuma seems to have subsided for most of us, though Norm was sick again, albeit not and bad as earlier in the week, and Sarah has had a few episodes. Tonight there is a rousing game of Bananagrams going on, and a couple of the ladies are still sewing.  There's pizza in the oven for an evening snack, and I expect that we will all be happy to hit the hay tonight after a couple of long days.

A Day off Campus

Our day off campus yesterday was great! We started out with a cold cereal breakfast, and everyone was ready to go and the bus was even here waiting for us at about 8 am. We had discussed doing some singing on the bus, but we were all enthralled with the view as we were taken on the scenic route to Antigua. Our first stop was a scenic overlook with a view of one of the volcanoes. We were blessed to actually be able to see the top of it, as it is usually shrouded in mist. The next stop was at a cross that is a monument on a hillside overlooking Antigua. Once we arrived in Antigua, our first stop was at the bank to exchange currency. That took much longer than expected (we though we were now on Guatemala time - but even Tony said it took a long time), so by that time we were finished it was lunch time. At that point, our group split and headed in different directions. Bob, Jared, Grace, Lauren, Max and Mary decided to do a volcano tour, so rented horses to go up, then walked back down. Of course, they stopped and got some marshmallows along the way so they could try roasting them on the hot lava. The lava wasn't hot enough to brown them at this point, but they did get pretty gooey according to the reports.

The other group that consisted of  Norm, me, Dawn, Erich, Hunter, Nan, Tony, Wayne, Sarah, Terry, and Ann opted not to do the volcano tour. Hunter was still not feeling great, but he was determined NOT to miss the trip to Antigua, and Nan got a visit from Montezuma, as well - but again, refused to miss out on our one day away. It turned out fine, as they both ate lightly and we allowed them plenty of opportunities to sit down and rest. We took Tony to his favorite restaurant for lunch as part of his birthday celebration, and enjoyed a delicious meal that included omelets or scrambled eggs, or sandwiches for some as well as some wonderful desserts. I tried an almond torte with a kind of whipped cream that is more tart than sweet and almond syrup. Tony had an American favorite - apple pie and ice cream. After that we did a short tour of a ruins of a basilica in downtown Antigua, then checked a few jade stores, but nobody found anything they couldn't live without. The highlight was following the scent of freshly baked cookies to a small bakery, for a little treat. They also offered smoothies. Ann and I tried the mango smoothies, and they was awesome! We concluded our afternoon by doing some shopping in the Artisans market, and even did some bargaining for the few items we bought. By that time was nearly time to return to the bus, so we headed back that way. Dinner was a late evening stop at Pollo Compoyo - a chicken restaurant similar to KFC in the U.S. that Bob particularly enjoys. At that point we were all ready for a good nights sleep, so went in search of our beds.

A Full Day

It has been a full day. Hunter and Norm spent most of the day sleeping/resting. Norm is finally on the mend, and was able to eat a bowl of cream of chicken soup tonight. Hunter felt well enough to take a shower but eating still doesn't feel like a good idea. Pray for a good nights rest for all and a fun day on our one day off campus tomorrow.

Max reported that the guys were able to remove some of the terracing today and get a start on replacing it with the concrete block that was delivered. I made an ironing board cover for one of the ironing boards that didn't have one and helped some of the girls chooses fabric for either a dress or a blanket. One girl, Debora, who is eight shows quite an aptitude for machines. She helped me figure out how to thread the new sewing machine we brought. Two of the houses needed help with coverage, and Terry, Nan, Grace, Sarah, Lauren, and Ann helped with that. Dawn helped nurse our sick ones, and is putting together a quilt for one of the boys, Favien. That's all for now.

Prayers needed!

This will be quick! We need your prayers, desperately! Norm and Hunter are both sick with nausea and all that goes with. Hunter woke up in the night and made life interesting in the guys dorm for awhile. They have both been sleeping on and off all morning and still not starting to feel like they are recovering. Erich was up with him for several hours in the night, after two poor nights sleep, so he is running on fumes. Tomorrow is supposed to be our day in Antigua, and we hope they are all rested and well enough to join us!

We had one adult lady and several 10-year-old girls interested in learning quilting this morning. Good - but time-consuming to teach bi-lingually. Thank God that Mary paid attention in all those spanish classes she took. She has stepped up to the plate in a marvelous way to translate for us. We are so grateful for her ability! That's all for now.

Alleluia!

Casa Bernabe worship team

The sword illustrated



 A few of the kids.

It’s late afternoon on Sunday. The light is on indicating that there is fresh coffee, of which there seems to be no lack. We had an energetic worship service this morning which even included a few familiar songs, though the language was different that we are accustomed to. The message focused on the uses of a sword, and concluded by emphasizing the importance of the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. During the service the aroma of cooking food, notably chicken, wafted up to the all-purpose room that serves as a chapel on Sunday mornings. Last night we fell asleep to the sounds of the worship team practicing. During the church service it truly came home to me that kids are much the same everywhere – some shy,  some more outgoing, some fidgety, and some engaging fully in the moment like the four little girls who danced with abandon during the worship singing this morning. Tony is here in the main building where we are housed, and as I listen to him talking to the kids, I notice how comfortable he speaking Spanish after five years here.  I am a bit surprised that there are quite a few words of Spanish that I actually understand, but it is far from enough to actually be able to string a sentence together. Pretty soon we will go and inventory the items we brought with us, and begin moving them to where they need to be. God has been so good to us to bring us this far, and we look forward to how he will use us this week. Already we know that Dawn and I will be teaching quilting classes everyday this week – two 2 –hour classes each day. Edgar, one of the primary staff here, also came to us while we were at lunch and let us know that they need coverage in the baby house tomorrow so one of the house parents can attend an all-day class. Tony will go in the morning and order the blocks to be delivered so the guys can get started on the re-terracing project. Pray for Gods leading as we go about our days, divine appointments, and for restful nights sleep as we have two dorm rooms, one for guys and one for girls. (Snoring might be part of the scenario.)

We're Here!

March 23, 2013

It’s between 1 and 2 in the morning, and we are now boarded on our plane at O’Hare airport. We had a good ride down from Madison to Chicago with plenty of interesting conversation. I think we will have quite the opportunity to get to know each other better on this trip. Tim Aure and Merrick were with us at church and prayed with us before we departed. Things went smoothly with parking the cars at the park and ride, and we all were able to get checked in without getting bumped to another flight. I think I might be ready to sleep once the flight takes off. Not sure as there was an extra cup of joe this afternoon to add to the adrenaline that tends to pump when faced with a new and exciting experience.  That’s all for now.

It’s 7:32 am Mexico time, and we are relaxing in the airport. A few of the guys have a card game going, and some of the girls have a tile game going. Mary and Ann are sleeping, Mary on the floor and Ann across some benches. Those who were hungry have gotten something to eat, and now we are just waiting. So far we have not had any complications with getting the totes through. Pray that God’s grace continues to see us through. Security was a bit tighter coming into the airport here in Mexico City, but we made it through with just a few people having to open carry-on bags .

It’s now 4:46 pm and we are starting to get settled in at Casa Bernabé. We arrived around 1 pm and were immediately served a delicious lunch that included a wonderful cauliflower dish made with cauliflower from the garden, rice, a very tasty guacamole made with fresh avocadoes that Bob has been looking forward to and telling us about,  and the fresh tortillas that we’ve heard so much of. Today has been a day of food, as we were also served meals on both of the flights we were on, which was unexpected.  After lunch Tony took us on a tour. We got to see the houses where the kids live with their house parents, the workshops, and the garden, amongst other things. After that we had orientation with Sarah from Casa Bernabé, and shared a few of our thoughts for plans for this week. Now some of our young people are out playing with the kids, and those who need it have a little time to rest, and several of us are feeling the need to do so after a long night of travel. Signing off for now.