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!