It all comes to an end.....sorta

So our time in Guatemala has come to an end, for now. How do you sum up 10 weeks working hand in hand with my husband and children serving the Lord?
The last day of classes that we attended, March 21st, was a special day for Seth to be able to say goodbye to his friends while Heath and I wrapped up some details (and also said some sad goodbyes). We let Seth choose some of his toys to give to any of his friends. We thought he'd choose 1 or 2 toys that he didn't like and give them away (kind of like adults do with can drives) but nope, he pulled out 3 bags and put his favourite things into each of them. Esmelin got all the favourite Buzz Lightyear figures and several cars, Carolyn got his favourite books on cd and some other things, and Samantha got some wind-up toys that Seth has loved forever. He so eagerly brought these toys to his friends and LOVED giving them away.
On the last day of school, Seth also chose a sponsor child for Eden (he had already chosen to sponsor his best bud Esmelin from class). For Eden he chose Estrellita, also from JK. This little girl (whose name means little star) sat beside Seth most of the year and quietly helped him in class. A very cute and gentle little girl....much like our Eden.
So...what did we accomplish while helping at the school? We worked closely with the teachers to implement 4 parts of a literacy program - Shared reading, independent reading, guided reading, and reading to the children. Each grade (JK to 5) has been using books in any class possible to teach. Heath made classroom libraries and resources by printing and putting together leveled books. We assessed the reading levels of the whole school.
More importantly, we learned about sacrifice and not complaining. These teachers all work and serve because they love God and love these kids. They have so much to complain about (where's a stapler, why don't we have power today, what, no water again?, etc.) but they never do. I just got home from doing groceries and spent more time complaining that I had to wait in line for 10 minutes than any of the teachers complained in the 10 weeks that I got to spend with them.
There is so much more to say. Basically, we took away friendship and life lessons that will stay with us forever. It was a renewing and refreshing time for us spiritually. We are so thankful to Global Shore for the opportunity to serve with them and look forward to when we are able to return to Guatemala.

Here are some pictures of last day at the school and some of our favourite friends. Thanks for following the blog and please challenge us with questions or reminders of anything that we've shared!



View from back of school



School when we arrived in January - no roof

School when we left...and much more progress has been made in April

Bottom floor of school complete, top floor ready for paint and flooring

Prepa classroom (SK) at start of year...now there are words, rhymes, and stories all over the walls!

Grade  2 class now - with lots of literacy on the walls

Seth & one of his teachers "Seno Alexia es mi favorita"

Heath & Luis (the do-everything guy & he speaks English, therefore Heath's buddy!)

Seth with Seno Pahola (SK teacher, who speaks English so often helped Seth if he was stuck!)

Estrellita y Carolyn (from Seth's class)

Seth giving his toys out

Eden with her 2nd mama - the principal Seno Karina

Diane with some Grade 3 & 4 girls

Recess everyday looked like this...Seth & Esmelin hanging out and trading snacks

Recent pic of the kids...early April

:) Diane and Heath

March 18th Feria de Libros - Book Fair

Spontaneous Buddy Reading

Grade 3 girls reading Kindergarten flip charts at book fair

Book Fair Buddy Reading

Grade 5 student Luis Carlos reading to Kinder student Kevin.

Kinder Class with teacher Mirna displaying their homemade books

Seth and best bud Esmelin

Grade 2 displaying ALL their homemade books

Grade 3 class with their books about what they want to be when they grow-up

Children at the book fair having fun

Grade 4 class with their books

Kinder & Prepa (JK & SK) books displayed creatively on the wall!

Grade 1 & their books. The balloons are the high frequency words they've been learning!

Friday March 18th was the school wide Book Fair. It was a display of all the kids (and teachers) work from January to March. Each class presented some of the books they had been making and each class made a book display table. After all the presentations, the older kids took the younger kids around to look at all the tables. Spontaneously, the children started taking books off the tables and reading them to each other! Spontaneous Buddy Reading....one of the many goals we had worked on during previous 10 weeks. All the children did a fabulous job - we were all so proud! Here are some fotos.

Home!

We are HOME...in Canada and in Sault Ste. Marie. We have some final blog postings that we'd like to put up (with lots of pictures)....I promise to do it within the week! Here is the quick summary.... we flew home March 22nd with the 2 best kids in the world! Arrived to Detroit and into Leamington with Heath's family that night. After 6 days in Leamington, 2 days in London, an afternoon in Port Burwell, 5 days in St Catharines, 1 day in Oakville, and 1 week in Ottawa, we arrived home to the Sault on April 11th.... Now back to real life. We have yet to unpack ALL the bags, mostly because the cupboards and dressers of our home are FULL with all the stuff we didn't need to live for 3 months.....so there is no where to put the things we did need to live! Another lesson that we are learning (p.s., if you need any household items, stop by our house with a shopping bag).

Much more to say and process....there are some new photos and articles on the global shore website, if you are interested. http://www.globalshore.org/

Post final stuff soon :)Diane & family

Mixed feelings...

So 1 week from now we will be on Canadian soil....or at least American....or maybe not. Our flight is scheduled to leave March 22nd....however Seth has developed chickenpox....yes this complicates things. He technically cannot fly with Chickenpox....which means we are praying that the spots scab over ASAP so that we can make the flight on March 22nd. This also means that he is not able to go to school anymore as we don't want to infect any other kids....so Seth's trip to the zoo, fun in Fisica (gym) and chance to spent quality time with his best-buddy and sponsor child, Esmeling, is all not going to happen. Now we are also hoping that Eden doesn't get Chickenpox.
Mixed feelings...the teachers and all of our friends would love for us to push back our flight to stay longer....and in many ways so would we! But we are also wanting to be home as hanging out in isolation with a three year old is tough work (poor Heath).
On a HUGE positive side....today we had an AWESOME PD Day with the teachers. We worshipped together, ate a typical Guatemalan breakfast (eggs, beans, cheese and tortillas), ate sweet bread with coffee, then had cake....oh and we spent several hours as a team talking about how to continue the literacy program once I'm gone and not nagging the teachers daily! Before our literacy PD (talk), we watched a video of Cash Luna (a preacher from Guatemala). He talked about vision and excellence in everything we do. It was so inspiring! He talked about how Jesus' first act on earth was to change water into wine...and He turned it into the BEST wine...why? Because Jesus only turns things into GOOD and doesn't know how to do a task poorly.... So as we chatted - all the teachers & I - about how to keep up the good work, we were inspired to give our BEST and do our jobs with excellence! What a great day :)

Other huge positives....we finally got the wood shelving units which will be the Play Centres for the 2 kindergarten classes and grade 1. They are beautiful and made locally (meaning, made by the guys just down the street....down that HUGE hill we walk daily). The classrooms look great and the teachers are working so hard! This Friday we have the big book fair which will display all the books that the kids have made over the past 2 months and all the work that the teachers have done. Oh, and Heath mentioned in the last blog that it will display my work....but he failed to mention that he has essentially created a library in 2 months. He's been folding books, glueing books, printing materials, and taking care of Eden ....which has created a library and allowed me to be in the classrooms everyday. Wow!

The hill...so remember that hill that we walk up daily (and Heath sometimes twice a day...like when I forget to bring diapers up and he just 'runs' down to get some)? Well, I too walked up twice the other day....once carrying Eden while Heath pushed Seth in the stroller and carried the computer bag....then I went up again without Eden...and it only took me 7 minutes to get up the hill!! It took us like 20 minutes our first days here! Today, I had to push the stroller up by myself while carrying the computer bag....and 20 minutes later and soaking wet with sweat, I made it to the school. Now I feel a little badly about how much extra stuff I'd put in the computer bag that Heath carried everyday or for the several times that I asked him to run back to the house to get stuff (and then walk up the hill again)! Oops!

1 week to go and filled with joy for what the Lord has been doing! We are all in Good hands.

:) Diane (and family)

March 11 Blog

 Hello Friends,

It's been a while since the last blog and lots of things have taken place since then. The school is continuing to develop nicely and the roof is almost completely finished now! In Guatemala at this time of year it hardly ever rains so they are taking their time...unfortunately it has sprinkled a couple of times and has caused us to have to quickly move the library into a covered room. You'd have to be here...it doesn't seem odd for Guatemala for some reason. :)

We had a nice surprise on Saturday in that Marco and Clara, our host family, took us to the Pacific Coast to a town called Monterrico. There we dined on freshly caught fish, shrimp (a bit different than in Canada) and ocean waves. Lastly, Clara bought the roadside stand's entire supply of mangos...and wow, I cannot begin to describe how tasty they were. “Muy Rico” just doesn't do them justice. We even picked some off of the local trees!

This upcoming week will be our last full week at the school and there is a lot going on. There is the first ever PD day (which means Sether and Dad are heading to Antigua for cheescake and cappucinos while Mom goes to work...ok...Seth might have espresso instead :)). Wednesday is a trip for the entire school to the Guatemala city zoo, and Friday is the culmination of much of Diane's work here...it is a reading book fair in which all the students exhibit books that they have made. Seth will be going to school on the following Monday for his last day while Mom and Dad pack up all our belongings and prepare our 4am departure for the next day. Time flies.

Lastly, we continue to be moved by the generosity of the people here in Guatemala. At the church we are attending, they are trying to purchase a piece of land and have asked the congregation for help. Many of the congregation members have chosen to donate anywhere from 500 – 2000 Quetzal ($65 - $250) in the next 60 days of their own money for this project. This might not sound like a tonne...but to put it into persepective, the average teacher makes about 2000Q ($250) per month. Their generosity is astounding and encourages us to live with this same attitude.

Adios for now,

The Bishops

Clara, Adriana and Sether off to the beach!

Relaxing before a nice meal.

Ok, Seth actually liked the shrimp...(p.s. you don't eat the eyes).

The Pacific!

Seth hard at play.

Eden's first taste of baby cereal...check out the thighs!

March 2nd Post

At the school – El Colegio Avivando el Fuego – every morning starts of with devotion time “devocional”. This 30 minutes brings the whole school into the gym to sing (worship) and pray. After devotional time, all the kids eat soup (yes soup at 8am). In the gym, there is a picture of all of the families who sponsor a child at the school. EVERY morning, the school prays for these families and thanks God for these families. Today, the whole devotion time was spent praying for these families. 1 or 2 children from each class came to the front to pray for the families and give thanks for them. Many of the prayers included thanking God for provided paper, pencils, and soup for the school. It was so touching to hear child after child sincerely thank God for the families that financially support the school.

During this time, I thought about the World Vision sponsor children that we've sponsored over the years. We don't even notice the $30 or $40 a month that we sent to them. I'm sad to admit that I don't even really think about my sponsor child, except when I get letters from him. Today, listening to the gratefulness of the children who are sponsored through Global Shore, I realized how far our money really goes. We easily spend $40 on dinner at a restaurant. Most months I spend $40 on take-out coffee. Yet $40 a month here let's 1 child have all the school materials they need for school. It also gives them a bowl of soup every morning, a qualified teacher and therefore, and most importantly, a real education, Laslly, this money provides a unique educational experience in which the principals and teachers lovingly treat them as their own children. Ultimately it can give them the chance at breaking familial cycles of poverty and/or illiteracy.

When we leave Guatemala, I am so comforted to know that 180 children will be praying for my family daily. The kingdom of God really does belong to children such as these.

If you are interested in sponsoring a Global Shore child who attends the school here in Guatemala, here is the link http://www.globalshore.org/. The cost is about $450 a year. Our last day at the school is March 18^th and we'd be glad to get you a picture or video of your sponsor child before we leave. We know all the' children now....they all know Heath as “the guy that always gets the ball when it gets stuck up high” or “the guy walking around with the baby” and they know me as the reading teacher.

Here are a few pics of the kids...

 

Just pics for now...post to follow. :)

All this for the price of a Super 8!  A great way to spend our only weekend away. :)

View from our room...Volcano beside Lago de Atitlan



View from inside our room



Eden enjoying the weekend away

Eden exposing chin number 3

Dining area in restaurant of hotel

Panajachel artisans

More views from room

Wow...if that doesn't spell trouble, I don't know what does!

Just a cute shot

Before breakfast on the patio

The little blue dwarf at the bottom centre is Sether



Our room from the outside



Birds of Paradise Flowers

Local artisans

Hotel at night

Lago de Atitlan