Monday (7/2)
We knew it was time to leave today...we were planning on walking, but Hno José Manuel and Hna Jocabed and Hno Yuri and Hna Any wouldn't hear of it. They told us that they were going to take us to Xela. We agreed and then spent the day playing with Fernanda and Ale.
We made contact with some missionaries in Xela...we weren't planning to stay with them, but we were planning to get out at their house. We planned to find a hotel from there and to work on the blog and on catching up on e-mails. Before we left town, Hno Yuri and Hna Any wanted us to visit one more family. They are all Christians except for the husband of one of the daughters. We prayed for them, and then headed out of town. We missed the 
ice cream tradition on Sunday, so Chris invited Hno José Manuel and Hna Jocabed and Hno Yuri and Hna Any for ice cream on our way out of town.
By the time we got to Xela, the missionaries were in a meeting, and we couldn't go to their house. We weren't sure what we were going to do. Chris and I were just praying...we hadn't told Hno José Manuel, Hna Jocabed, Hno Yuri, or Hna Any yet. Hno José Manuel wanted us to visit his other grandmother, 
Edna, who lives in Xela, before they dropped us off. Vicky, one of her granddaughters (whom she has raised), is deaf! I was pumped up...I tried to sign a little to her, but what I know is American Sign Language. It's a little different. Hna Edna called her daughter, Berta (pictured in this photo in burgundy), to come in to translate for us. The next door neigbor, Hna Berta, also came over. Hna Edna asked us where we were staying. We didn't have an answer. We told her we were still praying, and we were going to see what God opened up. We really wanted to just go to a hotel so we could work. God has been doing so much here in
Hno José Manuel and Hna Jocabed and Hno Yuri and Hna Any wouldn't hear of just letting us out...they insisted on entrusting us to somebody! Hna Edna invited us to stay with her. Chris and I didn't feel very comfortable about that, but it was basically decided for us. We finally agreed. We didn't plan on staying very long...God had other plans!
Tuesday (7/3)
We spent almost all of Tuesday visiting with 
Hna Edna, her daughters--Berta and Fabiola, her granddaughters--Marcela and Vicky, and her grandsons--Fernando and Pedro Elias. Berta (missing from this photo) and Fabiola are both extremely talented artists!! Some of their work is below! Marcela and Vicky's dad was Hna Edna's oldest son, but he died of an anurism of the brain in his early 30s. The girls' mom left not too long after that for the
The rest of the day we worked! That night we went to church at House of Adoration with Marcela. When we got home, 
Vicky taught me about 20 signs! I've been practicing a ton!!
Wednesday (7/4)
After breakfast, 
Marcela gave us a tour of the downtown area...the buildings are beautiful. We saw the theater, the municipal building, the gardens where they have the plants growing in the shape of the city's shield, the library and several other monuments. Then Marcela went back to the house, and we went to work on the internet!
For lunch, we went to McDonald's...I know that's sad in a foreign country, but sometimes it's nice to have something familiar!! We saw so many tourists...a lot from the
That night we went to church with Hna Edna. She goes to Palabra en Accion (the mother church of the one in
When we got back to the house, Vicky was ready with another lesson for us! It was great...I remembered most of the signs from the night before. I'm just praying that God will use what I'm learning and that I will be able to learn more!
Thursday (7/5)
Another workday...washing clothes, more working on the blog, and e-mails. We also spent a good amount of time chatting with the family! We received an e-mail today from a lady that we “met” on this journey. She told us that Scotty, one of the ladies who drove us to
Friday (7/6)
Another workday...we went downtown again...we went in to buy a phone card and there was a girl with a Univ. of Virginia shirt on...she seemed to be trying to figure out which service had the best coverage, so we were able to help her with that!! Then we went to McDonald's again...we saw a guy that we thought was from the US, but it turns out that he's from Australia. We talked to him a bit...he and his brother have been traveling the world...the door wasn't very open for us to share, but we did plant a few seeds!
Then we worked again...this time burning pictures...we decided that we were going to try to mail some stuff home. We wanted to clear off on of the chips for the camera, so that we would be able to take more pictures. We spent about 2 hours this afternoon trying to find the places that we could use to send a package...TO NO AVAIL. I was a little upset at first...the packs are starting to get heavy...but I know that God has a plan in all of this! We don't know what it is yet, but God is in control.
Saturday (7/7)
After breakfast, we headed out...again we planned to walk, but Berta and Fabiola insisted on giving us a ride. We have heard about a place called Almolonga all along this journey. It's a small community in a valley near Xela that had a revival sweep through their small town changing them forever about 30 years ago. Before, it was a town full of poverty and lots of problems. Now the agriculture has flourished and supposedly almost the entire town is following Jesus. We wanted to see it...
When we got there, people were lined up in truck to drop off produce. The market place was filled with 
people, and the vegetables were everywhere. Trailers were lined up to haul the produce to other countries. Check out the size of these carrots!
I couldn't believe it. We were a bit overwhelmed. The entire day we didn't see any poor looking houses or people.
We decided to walk around and see what we could see. We turned up a small alley and met two guys who were on their way to a funeral. We asked them about the revival...Juan told us that they were just normal people...the difference was in the way that they worshipped God now. He told us that we would need to go to a service on Sunday night to see what he meant. He also told us that we could stay at his house that night and go to church with him on Sunday. We would just have to come back later. He directed us towards a path that we could climb to see the city and to have some peace and quiet to worship the Lord.
We started up the trail, but realized that we didn't have enough water to make an hour hike up a mountain. We turned around and went to a store to buy some water. The store belongs to 
Pascuala (far left with her son) and her daughter, Maria (right of RE), was there working as well. When we were getting ready to leave, Pascuala's mom, Maria (left of RE), came in. We asked if we could pray for the store, and Pascuala agreed. Her mom is the one who ended up praying though...whew...she was pouring her heart out...(they speak a dialect-Quiché) so she was praying in Spanish, in Quiché, and in tongues. We didn't know what she was saying most of the time, but she was in the presence of God. Wow! When she finished praying, Maria (the daughter) was about to burst...she said "Did you hear what God said?" She looked at her mom, Pascuala to see if she heard it. Both of them began to excitedly explain to us that there was a Light around us and that It (God) was opening doors going before us. Then she said there was something about gold...where we lived it was golden. I almost passed out...it was the same message that we've heard about 3 times now. We don't know exactly what all of this means, but as God reveals it to us, we'll share with y'all! God is moving...we just have to be available and obedient when He reveals His will!! We're nothing special...this life (maybe not walking to
We did 
climb up the mountain, but I think we made a wrong turn because we never arrived to a place with a lot of rocks. We did, however, get an awesome view of the city. We sat up there and prayed for the city and read God's Word. It was beautiful!!
As we went back down, we looked for a place to eat lunch. We met some really nice people there and even talked to quite a few of the teenage girls. 
They all wanted to get their pictures taken when they realized that they could see it immediately on the back of the camera. Aren't their dresses beautiful?!! This is the traditional dress for the area...they are really expensive, but they save and save until they can afford one. Then men are pretty much dressed normally...we hear in other parts the men have a specific way of dressing as well.
We walked around town quite a bit that afternoon, praying for open doors. We actually saw Juan and Diego again, but Juan didn't even speak to us and Diego just barely did as he walked by...he definitely didn't stop to chat. The doors appeared to be closed. We didn't have anywhere to stay. We continued praying and walking. We even sat on the corner for a while. A man stopped to talk to us twice. He couldn't believe our testimony. He asked a ton of questions and finally walked off. I think we baffled him!
Around 5pm, we decided that we should head back to Xela. We prayed the whole way back that if we were wrong, that God would turn us around. We made it all the way back to Xela. Then came the next dilemma...did we go back to Hna Edna's house or find a hotel. We didn't know what to do. We were praying for God to make it clear. We even checked the price of a hotel...$13, and they had hot water...it was nice! We couldn't believe it. We were looking for a spot to sit and pray when the phone rang. It was Fabiola...she wanted to know where we were. When I explained that we were back in Xela, she told us that we were welcome to come to the house...they would be waiting for us. Okay God! We can take a hint! We aren't sure why we are back...we're praying for the Lord to reveal that...and that we'll be obedient!! We'll see...maybe we were just going in the wrong direction, maybe there's something more?!
Sunday (7/8)
After breakfast, Marcela, Chris and I all went to church at Bethania...we heard that name about 5 times yesterday and saw a sign...plus it's the church that sent Pastor Sergio out to plant a church in San Pedro Sacatepequez. It was a good service. Pastor Efraín talked about 4 types of discipline--human, parental, religious, and divine. All are necessary for forming our characters.
From there we got ice cream...I'm kinda liking Chris's tradition!! Then we got a few pictures developed for Hna Edna and her family.
I think we are finally caught up...at least on the blog! E-mails...well I'm working on that little by little!
We think that we are headed out tomorrow morning, but we'll have to see what happens...we desire God's will in this and we want to go where He wants us to go! We'll be in touch soon! God bless y'all and keep y'all! Keep walking for Jesus! We just encourage you to be His hands, feet, and mouth where ever He's planted you! We love you!
a) the main cathedral en Xela; b) Xela's shield
a) Fabiola hard at work...painting a table runner b) the finished product
Fabiola teaches art classes as well...
a & b) place mats, table runners, table clothes, etc that Berta has painted!! It's all hand painted...I could hardly believe how beautiful it all was!
We've shared that they family grows coffee, but they also harvest mushrooms...look at the size of these things! They prepared them several different ways so that we could taste them! I was surprised at how good they were!
a) Pedro Elias gave Chris and I a shirt from the youth group (Bethel Church) so that we would always remember them. b) This lady helped us burn cds at one of the internet places...she even put ENGLISH Christian music on for us to listen to while we were there!
More flowers!!!
The landscapes in Almolonga...please notice how many of the fields are on the side of the mountains...most of the areas are so steep and hard to get to that ALL of the work is done by hand...no oxen or mules and especially not tractors!
A couple of the girls wanted their pictures taken...we wanted them to find themselves if they check out the page...
The women carry their loads on top of their heads...sometimes even with no hands
and some times barefoot! The men carry their loads by a strap around their heads...
mom's often "tie" their baby's on their backs so that their hands are free...Chris wants me to learn how to "tie the baby up" like that too, so that one day I can do that with our kids! ha, ha, ha
a) My personal favorite for of the coffee that the family grows...covered in CHOCOLATE! b) the view of Xela as we hiked back from Almolonga
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