Week 2 Blog - July 17th 2016:

A series of snippets:

Monday and Tuesday this past week Seth and Heath were on the construction site helping with the building of the new high school. They were scraping dried cement off window bars.

On Wednesday, Heath pulled a back muscle – a small tweak from nothing in particular…just turning as he walked. He has done this before in Canada, but this time it was pretty intense. So he went straight to bed, found a comfy spot and stayed there for most of the day. Thursday the kids and I headed up the hill, Seth carrying the back pack to fill in for daddy missing (sweet boy). Thankfully, both Thursday and Friday, we got a ride up the hill! Once by one of the school buses and once in the back of a pick-up (gotta love Guatemala and this small community). 

Thursday afternoon, when we got back from school, Heath was up and about moving carefully but moving well. So Friday Heath came back up the hill with us, but didn’t carry the backpack and did school material prep stuff to keep care of his back. Friday evening the Canadian summer students and Heath played cards while the kids and I caught up on sleep J .

Saturday morning, while walking up the stairs in the compound, Heath moved slightly to one side and basically collapsed to the ground with pain. It was very unexpected and he gradually made it back to bed….where he stayed, unable to get up until Sunday morning when we decided to take him to the hospital I’ll come back to this later).

Saturday – Eden and I went into Antigua on the chicken bus to get medicine for daddy and get some groceries. It was the busiest bus ride EVER! On the way home, we were carrying 2 pizzas (they have Little Caesar’s Hot & Ready here, lol), a bag of groceries and a backpack. I shoved Eden into a seat with 2 Guatemalan ladies and stood beside her with my leg keeping her in the seat and holding on to the bar on the ceiling to stabilize myself. When we finally got to our stop, 6 people had to get off the stairs to let us off! Eden and I laughed most of the way...especially every time I slammed the backpack into her head, oops.

A little cultural difference: So, I’m not a very tall lady in Canada. I’m generally shorter than many and don’t really mind. I get the nickname “little Di” often and that fits me well, most of the time.  Well, this past Saturday on the bus, I experienced feeling like a giant. I was at least a head taller than every other lady on the bus and definitely taller than all of the men. When the Guatemalans sit in the bus seats, they sit 3 to a seat, no problem, and their heads barely go 3 inches above the seats…I on the other hand sit a full head above the seats and sitting with Eden on my lap, have to squish to let the 2 other Guatemalans join me in the seat…lol. Lots of fun and thank goodness for the blasting techno music to keep us bopping the whole ride.

Back to Heath’s back. At the hospital on Sunday, they gave him an injection of muscle relaxant and a prescription. He is feeling MUCH better. Taking the bed rest and should be back to ‘light duties’ by tomorrow. Amazing. 

Through this trial, which seemed so huge just a few days ago, we have once again seen God’s grace in our lives. Obviously, when Heath was first in pain, I thought “okay, no big deal, he will sleep it off and be okay”. Then as things weren’t improving those crazy thoughts start to enter your mind…what if he has nerve damage? How do we get him home if he can’t stand up? What if he has this injury for a very long time? Heath maintained a very positive attitude through most of the lying there trying not to move. It allowed him time to read a book, pray and read the Word. I too was able to stay joyful mostly…until Sunday when the circumstances seemed insurmountable. How do I care for two kids and Heath while in another country? Why is this happening? Through this, I know that God had not changed. In my frustration with the uncertainty of Heath’s back, I let myself get grumpy and caught up in the thoughts. But by Sunday afternoon, after the hospital trip and a sense that Heath’s back issue was on the mend, I was no longer grumpy but joyfully baking muffins. Then at Church, the message that I needed to hear was spoken (of course). God is good and wants to give good gifts to his children (He is in fact a fantastic Father). He doesn’t change. His nature is good. He is good and loving. Our circumstances, thoughts and emotions change (by the minute sometimes)…but God doesn’t change. We can rest so assured in His love and goodness. We can rest in the fact that he doesn’t change. This was a bit of a challenge this weekend, but today we are here, alive, awake, walking, eating, laughing, breathing….all of which are blessings not to be taken lightly. God is good.

VBS – Canadian students and awesome turn out

-          This past week we joined the 7 Canadian summer students in running the first VBS (Vacation Bible School) here in El Tizate - 74 children showed up!!! Every week of their 7 weeks here, they will run a 3 day VBS in a different community. Seth and Eden LOVED the VBS and were a huge help! Seth participated in the games, songs and crafts. Seth and Eden both LOVED the skits put on by the students. And Eden helped with the crafts (I helped translate how to do the crafts). This group of students have been so wonderful to be around. They have helped with Seth and Eden and just found ways to include them in everything.

        Random pictures...

Found this gal on the worksite…made sure to keep my distance!

Our Family Bedroom

Eden, Lady-like as always.

Our Family Bedroom

Main eating area in our house

Fountain in Artisan Market

 

Yard below our eating area, another family, they have chickens that the kids watch daily

Can’t seem to get away from this guy (this has to be one of the nicest McD’s in the world though).