List of Tools

This is the official wish list for power tools and accessories needed at Las Palmas Refuge in Honduras for building the houses on site. This entry goes with the one following.

Porter Cable ½” right angle drill – model #7556----------2 ea.
Porter Cable ½” keyless chuck drill – model #2614-------2 ea.
Porter Cable 3/8” keyless chuck drill – model #2610------2 ea.
Wood drill bit set –1/4” to 1” -----------------------------2 ea.
Metal drill bit set – 1/8” to 1” ----------------------------2 ea.
Porter Cable 7 ¼” circular saw – model #324mag---------2 ea.
7 ¼” circular saw blades – combination / framing---------24 ea.
Porter Cable Tiger saw – model #9741--------------------2 ea.
Tiger saw blades – wood cutting---------------------------24 ea.
Tiger saw blades – metal cutting---------------------------24 ea.
50’ electric extension cords--------------------------------5 ea.
Porter Cable Job Boss Air Compressor – model #C3551----2 ea.
50’ air hoses-----------------------------------------------6 ea.
Male and female quick coupler hose connections------------18 ea.
Air hose splice / repair kits---------------------------------12 ea.
Teflon tape for threaded connections—rolls-----------------2 ea.
Porter Cable Framing Nailer – model # FM350A-----------2 ea.
#10 galv. ring shank wire collated nails – box---------------5 ea.
#12 galv. ring shank wire collated nails – box---------------5 ea.
Porter Cable Finish Nailer – model #FN250B---------------2 ea.
2 ½” straight galv. trim nails – box-------------------------5 ea.
2” straight galv. trim nails – box----------------------------5 ea.
1 ½” straight galv. trim nails – box-------------------------5 ea.
Porter Cable Stapler – model #NS150A---------------------2 ea.
1 ½” narrow crown staples – box---------------------------3 ea.
1’ narrow crown staples – box-------------------------------3 ea.
¾” narrow crown staples – box-----------------------------3 ea.
Porter Cable Jig Saw – model #9543------------------------2 ea.
Jig Saw blade sets – metal and wood cutting – package------3 ea.
Dewalt Mitre Saw – model #715-----------------------------1 ea.
Dewalt 10” table saw w/ stand-------------------------------2 ea.
Extra 10” blades for table saw--------------------------------12 ea.
Framing Square----------------------------------------------6 ea.
6” Speed Square----------------------------------------------6 ea.
Tri Square----------------------------------------------------6 ea.
20 oz. framing hammers--------------------------------------6 ea.
16 oz hammers-----------------------------------------------6 ea.
10# sledge hammer------------------------------------------2 ea.
Flat bar – wonder bar----------------------------------------6 ea.
Pencils-------------------------------------------------------many
24’ extension ladder – 250# capacity-------------------------2 ea.
6’ step ladder – 250# capacity--------------------------------4 ea.
Single electrical rough in boxes – plastic new work------------500 ea.
Double electrical rough in boxes – plastic new work-----------250 ea.
100 amp panel boxes – Square D-----------------------------6 ea.
Meter base---------------------------------------------------6 ea.
Wire nuts – red-----------------------------------------------1000 ea.
Wire nuts – yellow--------------------------------------------1000 ea.
#14 – 2 w/ ground romax-------------------------------------4000 lf.
30# felt paper – roll-------------------------------------------50 ea.
2 ½” galv. deck screws – 50# boxes---------------------------5 ea.
Field line 4” slotted black pipe---------------------------------3000 lf.

Update on Tools

Shelly and I will complete Spanish school tomorrow at 12:00 pm. Be thinking about us between 10:05-10:15 am tomorrow as our names are called out at our graduation ceremony. We are excited about it! We will fly to Honduras on Saturday and will begin working bright and early Sunday morning. We are eager to see what God has in store for us next. We will be returning to the States October 6th for 10 days for our fundraiser dinner and to visit friends and family.

I am also including the most up-to-date email below from Mac Hughes who has put together (along with Mike Hayes) our first team of men to come down in February to build the first house at Las Palmas Refuge. Mac needs your help in paying for the tools which are necessary to build the house in 7 days. Remember, any amount counts! Is it worth it? What a difference all of us can make if we just give a little. God blesses in amazing ways!

Please pray for Shelly and my safety over the next few days and be sure to take a look at Mac’s email below.

Adios
Chad

Berry’s Chapel is opening a commercial Home Depot account for this effort. This will benefit all groups that travel to Las Palmas to do work in the coming years. Anyone that wants to participate in this additional effort can make donations payable to Berry’s Chapel Church of Christ – Las Palmas Tools and mail to:

Mac Hughes
308 Monticello Road
Franklin, Tennessee 37064

Folks can review the list we put together to see exactly what these donations will purchase. It is my goal to raise the necessary funds, make the purchase from the Home Depot where James Lynn works, and deliver all of this to Healing Hands for a shipment at the end of October ’06. I will need to have everything delivered to Healing Hands two weeks prior to shipment.

The commitment that James has at Home Depot will allow us to get about $14,200 retail value for right at $11,500.

Thanks!!!

Mac Hughes
THE HUGHES GROUP, LLC
615.790.4482
615.504.8777
mac@thehughesgroupllc.net

Journal #26

Our days are very limited at CSA. We cannot believe we have been here 2 months. Sometimes it feels like 8 weeks and other times it feels as if it has flown by. Our brains are full and there is not much more that can be put in them. This has been an intense time of study but I believe it will be all worthwhile when we actually talk to the Hondurans in their language.

We are very busy getting everything done at the last second so I must go to my next task. Be thinking about us between 10:05-10:15 am on Friday as our names are called out in our graduation ceremony at school during the break. You might just be able to hear the fireworks go off from the US!

Chad

Journal #25

This weekend was our last one in Antigua. Friday night we had dinner with our “gringo” friends at a little Italian restaurant. It was a great time. Saturday we were invited to go with our family to a town about 30 minutes from Antigua called Chimaltenango. They wanted to go to Guatemala City but had heard the traffic between here and there was terrible. There is a new “mall” in Chimaltenango that they wanted to go visit. There were tons of shoe shops and cell phone stores. There was also a big grocery store so Maria did some grocery shopping. We walked through the grocery store with them and found things we have not seem since we have been here in Antigua. We found peanut butter, something I have been craving for about 2 months now. We also saw different kinds of cereal, Ramen noodles, Aunt Jamima Maple Syrup (we have been hoping for some on the table on the days we have pancakes for breakfast), and other things we have missed since being here.

When we got up to the counter it was one of those moments that made me take a second look. The cashier had rung everything up and the total came to 1,131.95. That was Quetzales, but I at first thought it was dollars. It shocked me for a second and then I thought about it. I told Chad that if I went to the store and saw the total as $1,000 I would flip. I guess the people here do not have that problem due to they are used to it. I know that is it something I am going to have to get used to especially in Honduras because the exchange rate there is 19 Lempiras to $1.

We loaded the car with groceries and headed back into the mall area. We had found a food court while we were there earlier and so we decided to eat dinner there. It was about 5:30 and our family had a Lions’ Club meeting to attend, so we thought that would be the easiest way to take care of dinner. I had Taco Bell and everyone else had McDonald’s. It was really good. I had been craving nachos!

Sunday morning we decided to get up early and go to Hotel Casa Santo Domingo for their famous breakfast buffet. We have talked to many people who have recommended we go there. We arrived there about 8:20. Our breakfast was very good. We had fresh omelets, hot chocolate, bacon, sausage, muffins, fruit, cereal, hash browns, and coffee. As you can see it was huge but wonderful. We did not eat lunch because we had such a big breakfast.

We walked to the church building after our breakfast. There was a guest song leader and speaker. The song service was beautiful. There were about 45 people present and it seemed that every person was singing to their fullest. The lesson was very powerful. He spoke about how we as Christians can defend ourselves in spiritual warfare.

Journal #24

This has been a tough week. I passed my Grado B test on Wednesday with an 84. I dove right into Grado C. Silvia, my teacher, had an internet student from 4-6 pm Tuesday-Friday so she asked me if I wanted to take 2 hours in the afternoon (2-4 pm) since she was here anyway. She had nothing else to do and was willing to teach me some more. I thought it would be a good idea so I started the additional 2 hours on Wednesday after my regular 4 hours. 2 more hours make a big difference.

We have moved at a very fast pace and taking classes in the afternoon does not give you as much time to study in the afternoon and evening. Plus you are covering more material. I am glad that I did it for 3 days but am glad that it is over. We are halfway through Grado C already and I should be able to take the test next Friday. I will end my Spanish class experience with a test. How appropriate!

We usually have no life outside of school and studying since it is so intense. This week has been even more "lifeless" for me with all the hours. Our days are limited now and we want to cram in as much as possible. Next week will be an intense week for both of us.

Our friends we have made here are leaving tomorrow so things will quiet down on that end. It was great to see all of them graduate today during the break. Only 5 more days and I get my diploma! Fireworks may go off when it happens. We are going out to eat with all of them tonight to celebrate and say good-bye. Other than that, our (or at least my) weekend is full with studying. I am eager to get to Honduras to see how much I have actually learned. Have a great weekend!

Adios,
Chad

Journal #23

Yesterday I got to visit the market again, but I went to the Artesian area of the market. I bought a beautiful poncho to wear to school because it has gotten very cool here in the mornings. Chad is in class during the afternoon for the rest of the week. His teacher has an afternoon student from 4-6 and so she asked Chad if he would like to come back from 2-4. He agreed and I think he is enjoying the extra class time.

Things are quite tranquil here right now. We are studying more and more because our time left is so short. Things are beginning to change around us. Our friends are leaving this weekend, class is coming to a close, and we are getting ready to head off to our new home in Honduras. Please pray for us that these changes will be easy for us to manage and that we are safe in our upcoming travels. Please also pray for our friends T.J. and Holly McCloud as they are leaving next Tuesday for a 2 year commitment in the Dominican Republic. They will be working with children. Also, please pray for our friends Blair and Brad. They are going to another town in Guatemala to help with special needs children. They have not made a time commitment, but know that there is work there for them.

It is amazing the number of people we have met while here in Antigua that are going into the mission field. God has truly blessed us with the presence of such loving people. We have met so many people that are devoted to helping others and serving our Heavenly Father. There are many families here that have given up their comfortable lives in The United States to go to a foreign land to help others.

Chad and I will be in Nashville the week of October 8th for our annual Las Palmas fundraiser dinner. Please know that we would love for each and every person to be in attendance to get an update on our work and the progress taking place at Las Palmas Refuge.

Shelly

Journal #22

My teacher and I talk every day about food and recipes. Last Thursday we were talking about things that we really like to eat for breakfast. I could not help but to mention homemade cinnamon rolls. She asked me how to make them and I told her a guesstimated recipe. I decided that afternoon while I was on the internet at school to find a recipe that I could share with her. I found one in English not really thinking clearly about it until yesterday in class.

Chad was not feeling real great Tuesday morning and so I decided to lighten his load and carry the computer bag to school. When we arrived at school I just took the bag with me to class and when I got to my table I remembered that I had the recipe saved on the computer. I thought what a great activity for me and my teacher to do – I could translate the recipe into Spanish for her. We had a great time and I learned more vocabulary, and these are words that are part of my favorite hobby, cooking. Lucy, my teacher, wrote while I read the English and translated to Spanish. It only took us about 25 minutes. I did have to rely on my dictionary for some things.

We visited Hotel Casa Santo Domingo for dinner on Sunday night. Our friends that we have met while here, Holly, T.J., Blair, Brad, and we all went to eat because this past weekend was their last one here in Antigua. We wanted to celebrate with a nice meal. We all met outside of one of the Catholic Cathedrals and walked to the restaurant about 7 or 8 blocks away. Most of the day Sunday was cloudy, but not much rain, not until we were having dinner.

We had just sat down in the restaurant and the rain started. It was such a beautiful sound and it kept getting harder and harder as it fell on what I assume was somewhat of a tin roof. As we talked we kept noticing how we had to keep adjusting our voices to be heard over the rain. We left the restaurant at about 10:00 and the rain had stopped just a few minutes before. We had a lovely dinner and the atmosphere with the rain made for a perfect evening together. We then woke up Monday morning and it had turned winter over night. Not really but it sure felt like it all day on Monday. I was told that starting Monday the temperature would only get cooler from now until January. Yesterday however was an exception. It was freezing in the morning and all during class, but in the afternoon the sun was out bright and shiny and it was like a nice summer day. It was not too hot, but not to cold either. I walked to a little café to study with Blair and it was just the perfect day to walk around and enjoy the sun. While we studied a little rain storm came through and passed very quickly. When we were ready to leave the sun was out again and it was a great walk home.

We only have 7 more days of language school. I cannot believe how quickly the time here has gone so far, but we are ready to move on and get to work in Honduras. Please continue to pray for us as we finish up here in Antigua. Our brains are tired, but we have more to learn.

Shelly

Journal #21

This weekend was one of my favorites so far in Antigua. I got the privilege to cook lunch for our family in their house. Of course I had some help because I am not used to cooking with a gas stove. It is something I better get used to though. I went to the grocery store with Maria on Saturday morning. We were going to buy as much there as we could and then go to the market for the meat. We were having spaghetti. Maria had told me earlier that morning that it would be best to go to the market to buy the beef for the sauce. She said the best thing to do was buy it in a slab, take it home and clean it and then put it in the food processor to grind it. I have no clue how to clean meat. I am accustomed to just dumping it into the pan from the container it came in at the store. Anyway, we ended up buying already ground beef from the grocery store and I did not have to do all of the cleaning and stuff.

I started preparing the dessert around 10:30 because I was going to have to use the oven. As many of you know, I was going to make a chocolate cobbler about 4 weeks ago and the oven was not working so I did not get to make it. It still has not been repaired, but Friday for lunch Maria made lasagna. It took about an hour and a half to cook. I asked if I could try to make my chocolate dessert on Saturday and she said she thought it would be fine.

I got everything ready, poured all the ingredients in, lit the oven and put the dessert in to cook. An hour later I checked the oven to see how things were going and the oven was cold. It had completely gone out! Luckily, the daughter-in-law was making an apple pie also and she needed an oven too. She called her friend down the road and asked to use her oven. We loaded the car, one of the maids and I held the desserts, and when we opened the door to leave, there was a car parked outside blocking the driveway. While the two of us holding the pans waited in the car, the other maid and the daughter-in-law went looking for the driver of the car. Here there are signs on every garage door telling people not to park in front of the door. When the driver of the car returned to the car, about 15 minutes had gone by and he just jumped in his car without an apology or anything. The daughter-in-law just said to him that we had been trying to get out for 15 minutes and he just drove away.

We were then on our way to the friend’s house. When we drove out of the driveway the pans sloshed all over the place. Luckily the chocolate had a larger pan under it and did not get all over the place. The apple did spill all over my lap. We went a back way to the house because it was the time of day where there was a lot of traffic. We of course got stuck behind a delivery truck that was trying to turn around in the middle of the road and everyone was blowing their horns. It was crazy. We finally got through and arrived at the house. The oven was ready and we put the pans in. I went back to the house to finish preparing the rest of the lunch which was already late. We were supposed to eat at 1:00 but due to our oven problems we did not eat until 2:15. Our meal was very good, but I was glad it was over.

This was an experience to teach me that everything is not always going to go exactly as planned and I need to be willing to change and not get frustrated. I learned a big lesson and realized that everything turned out the way it was supposed to in the end.

Shelly

Journal #20

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Let me catch you up on what we have been doing. Thursday afternoon we went to the official flag raising ceremony in Central Park which begins the holiday festivities. There were at least 1,000 people there if not more. The mayor and governor both gave a short speech and the holiday began. It is a very festive time for Guatelmaltecos.

We enjoyed our day off yesterday from school. Besides regularly talking in Spanish with our family, we put the language aside and took a break. A needed one! You can only take so much. Yesterday afternoon we went with our family to the material store because Maria wanted to buy some material for some new tablecloths. She bought 5 different ones and will sew them to fit her table. I entertained Ana Inez (the 2 year old) at the store while the ladies shopped. The store was more of a medium size warehouse with rolls of material on shelves. Ana Inez thought there was a monkey on the second floor and she wanted to go see it. It was not safe to go up there so it was fun trying to keep her down. You can imagine a her and I making monkey noises back and forth to each other to keep her occupied.

After that, we ran back home to pick up the son and go out to their family farm where he works. It is in Duanas which is only about 20 minutes away. Maria's husband established the farm and worked it for many years. His son has now taken it over since his death. It is not large, only about 5 acres maybe but they have every square inch of it covered. The largest and most productive part of the farm was an acre worth of tomato plants. It was quite impressive to see. They sell them for salsa. He had two cows which are named after his daughters (How about that for a compliment) and about 50 pigs which were absolutely HUGE. If you have been around pigs much, they are just plain SLOBS! He breeds them to sell their piglets. There were several ready to be sold. He has 3 concrete tanks of fish, advocate trees, orange trees and flowers which he grows. It is a nice job for him and their family and seems to provide the necessary money needed to survive. We enjoyed seeing the farm and how proud they are of it.

Today does not feel like Saturday since we had yesterday off. Shelly and I keep thinking that we should be in church this morning but that is not until tomorrow. Shelly is fixing lunch for us today. She is making spaghetti. All the ladies have gone to the grocery store to find all the needed products. She is also making CHOCOLATE COBBLER! No, the oven is not fixed so it will take about 2 hours for it to bake. I hope it turns out. Just think, chocolate cobbler with vanilla ice cream. My mouth is watering as I type. We shall see if it turns out.

Other than the update, we are doing well. Enjoying our break and look forward to finishing strong the next 2 weeks. Shelly and I both want to cover a lot of ground so we plan on working long and hard to finish. One thing, we have had some problems with some of your emails going into our Spam file and we cannot get all of them. If we do not respond to you in a few days after you send your email, please send it again to make sure we get it.

Have a great rest of the weekend!
Chad

Feliz Dia de Independencia!

Parque Central es loco! (Central Park is crazy!) Today started the "official" day of Independence for Guatemala even though they have been going crazy all week. The tradition is to have all the schools show up at the park (which is in the middle of the city) and run around the road with torches to symbolize something. We have asked many times why but have not recieved an answer. They seem to enjoy it and that is all that matters.

They all have whistles and blow them as they run so you can image the noise a thousand school kids are making as they run around with fire. There is food all over the park as seen in the pictures above. I am not brave enough to try any though. I like my health right now. It should be interesting as the evening progresses because we have been told that it gets even more crazy at night. Shelly and I are going to bunker down in our room and take it easy.

We have a day off tomorrow from school. A three day weekend will be nice. Even though our teachers did give us a little more than usual work to do, we will enjoy the time off. Everything is suppose to be closed tomorrow. We have been told to get everything we need for the weekend today because of that.

We are doing well. Our time is limited in Antigua now. We are on the backstretch and working hard to finish strong. We are both trying to finish Grado C before we leave. I will take my test on Grado B on Wednesday and then work like crazy to finish C. My teacher is up for the task though so that is encouraging. Have a great weekend! We will enjoy the day off for you. You owe us one for Labor Day anyway.

Adios.
Chad

Journal #19

Tuesday, September 13, 2006

We did not write yesterday because it was a bad day for both of us. In class, we could not even remember the basics of Spanish. They say you have some of those days because you are learning so much so quickly that you are literally saturated. I believe it after yesterday. Shelly and I had to get away from Spanish for a while yesterday afternoon so we took a long walk around Antigua (Shelly was actually looking for the Dunkin Doughnuts because she was craving one but we never found it). It was good to get Spanish off the brain and do something else.

I went to bed right after supper which was about 8:00 pm because I had a huge headache. I woke up this morning at 6:30 a.m. and was ready to start the day. I could tell a huge difference. My teacher, Silvia, even questioned if I was the real Chad today. She thought I was a clone. It is amazing what sleep can do for you. We both feel a whole lot better today.

Guatemala is getting ready for their "4th of July" which is Friday, the 15th. People are decorating their homes and businesses with flags and such. There is a huge flag raising ceremony in central park tomorrow at 6:00 pm to commence the special day. There are to be thousands of people present. I think we are going to try to stop by there on the way to Bible study.

We finalized our travel plans to the States this week. We will be arriving in Nashville on October 6th and returning to Honduras on the 16th. I will be giving Berry's Chapel a short, but important, update on us on the 8th. We are excited to return back after 2 months. It will be so good to see people we love.

We have our 2nd fundraiser dinner for Las Palmas Refuge set for October 10th. If you are hearing about this for the first time, YOU ARE INVITED! Get with my mom (Debbie Hedgepath) at hedged@Brentwood-tn.org or Mac Hughes at mac@thehughesgroupllc.net for more information. I hope to see many of you there.

We are receiving a great donation from Franklin Special Schools for the Mission Lazarus preaching school. They are donating a 40' trailer full of school desks and furniture. That will help these men as they study to preach the Word of God and adjust to their new building they just moved into.

Have a great rest of the day and be thankful for the English language that we know so well.

Adios amigos!
Chad

Journal #18

Monday, September 11, 2006

This weekend we visited the Casa Popenoe. It is an old colonial style house that they have open for tours every day. It belonged to a family that lived here many years ago and it is a typical Guatemalan house. It was a self guided tour and we were there about 30 minutes. It was neat to see what the inside of the original style homes look like. There was one really neat part. Upstairs there is a room that has hundreds of little houses for birds built into the walls. There are windows where the birds could come and go as they chose, but they had a place to protect themselves and get food. It is a really neat thing to see. I wish we had taken pictures.

Sunday we went to worship and afterward we wanted to go somewhere a little nicer than Burger King or McDonald’s for lunch. We ended up at a restaurant called “Las Palmas”. Can you believe it? It was not a Mexican restaurant either. Anyway, everything about the restaurant was excellent. The service was great. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was beautiful. We tried attaching photos of our experience there, but it is not working today. We will try again tomorrow.

Saturday morning I got the opportunity to accompany our “Senora” to the market to buy food for the weekend. We went to a different area of the market than where Chad and I have been. The prices were unbelievable. We bought 4 pounds of potatoes for about .50 cents and 4 pounds of tomatoes for about .75 cents. She bargained with people and even told one man that she would buy from him but his prices were higher than someone else’s. Oh well, there are tons of people that shop there. Chad and I returned Saturday afternoon because he wanted to see where I went that morning. I could not get over how much of the food had disappeared in a little more than half the day. There are so many vendors, that I know some of the food has to go bad before they sell it.

Chad and I were walking a talking about the things the local sell here. It is a wonder that any of them make any money because they all have practically the same things that they are selling. We went to an area Saturday afternoon that has souvenir type items. Each booth that we walked passed, we saw the same things. They sell authentic blankets, jewelry, table linens, clothes, etc. The only difference we could see was the colors are all different. They even have the same patterns. It is just amazing to think that they make money selling those things.

Well, we have 13 more days of class and we are counting. We are continuing to study hard and learn a lot. Chad will have his Grado B test probably next Monday or Tuesday. I began Grado C today and hopefully will finish late next week and get to move on to Grado D the week before we leave. This is my teacher’s plan. We are communicating more openly and the fear of messing up is gone. When we do say things wrong everyone is so willing to help us say it correctly and explain why. That is a great help.

Shelly

Some of our favorite things!

Journal #17

Thursday, September 7, 2006

Well, this week is flying by. Chad and I were talking just before lunch today that it is already Thursday and we are already out of class for the day. The time here is going so quickly for us, but yet it seems we have been gone for so long. Today is our one month anniversary of starting our classes in Antigua. My mom brought this to my attention through a comment she wrote on our blog today. It is amazing what we have accomplished in just one month. I am excited to get to use what I have learned in my every day life.

I am going today to study with our friend from Texas. She and I both have our Grado B test tomorrow. I thought this morning in class how nice it would be to study with someone instead of trying to study alone. Yes, I have Chad to study with, but he and I are not at the same level in our book. I am looking forward to the afternoon.

We will go to Bible study tonight. We have a new lady that wants to joins us. She is from Washington state and seems very nice. Chad talked to her today for a while during the break at school and learned a little about her. I am hoping to get to know her this evening as we study together.

We visited the market on Monday afternoon. I am telling you it is unlike any market I have EVER been to. If you can imagine the largest flea market you have attended and quadruple it. That is probably not as large as this market. I wish you could see it. I could not get over all the booths they had there. There were shoes, clothes, baby items, leather shops, food, food and more food. They had meat (chicken, beef, sausages, pork, etc.) hanging everywhere. I am sure there were things that we could not identify. I also was totally amazed at all the fruits and vegetables that these vendors have. Saturday morning I am going with Maria, our host mother, to do her shopping at the market. I am excited about that experience. I am sure some of you have experienced something like this before. It was a first time experience for me and WOW I am amazed.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Only one more day until the weekend. Lots of love to you all!

Shelly

Journal #16

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

There is nothing exciting to report today. We have to study even more each day as we learn a ton of verbs and their irregular declensions. The more we get into the language, the more difficult it becomes. We are marching on though. It will come to us (hopefully sooner than later).

We had a large crowd for lunch today. All the regular family was present along with another son and his family. We had a total of 11 around a table for 8. It was enjoyable though. It gave us a chance to hear others talk in Spanish and try to understand their dialect. We had rice, chili (almost like in the States) and fruit. It was good.

I asked for a new teacher this week and that has been a good decision. I really liked my other teacher but he was talking too much English to me and we spent too much time on his personal problems. My new teacher is named Silvia. She leaves her house at 6:00 am in the morning to catch a bus to travel to school. After 3 buses and 2 hours of traveling, she arrives at school. How about that for dedication! She hardly speaks English which forces me to listen more and look up more words for myself if I am going to understand her and she understand me. It is challenging but I can already tell I am more confident talking out loud because she forces me.

I am a good book worker. I can understand what is being said on paper, but when it comes to speaking, it is a challenge. My brain does not want to function that way. It wants to keep everything inside. I am learning that you can not translate everything into Spanish to comprehend it. You have to depend on your knowledge and understand what is said in Spanish. I want to translate everything in order to understand but I have to break that habit. It is difficult but I am making progress. You truly have to know two completely different languages.

Shelly and Tristan are taking a nap on the bed. I need to start studying more verbs and complete my homework. I hope you are having a great day back at work! For those who have asked me to write our journal in Spanish, here you go: Que le baya bien!

Chad

Journal #15

Monday, September 4, 2006

Shelly and I did not go to Nancy Moon Gonzalez’s house this weekend in Guatemala City. We sat in the coffeehouse where we were to meet her for an hour on Saturday before her husband, Manuel, showed up. He said that Nancy was really sick and that the weekend was not going to work out. We were able to talk to her on his cell phone. We had packed a suitcase (probably weighing 100 lbs.) for them to take to Gerardo Flores in Honduras when their youth group goes to Baxter in two weeks for a youth seminar. It will lessen our weight for our plane trip to Honduras at the end of the month. Manuel still took it which was a relief. We plan on visiting them next weekend.

It has been a rainy weekend. They say Antigua gets more rain in September than any of the other months combined. I believe it. It has rained and rained and rained. It is nice to hear the sound of the rain outside as our room is wide open to the breeze (and sounds of the day). The rain sounds so much better than the trucks, horns and dogs.

Today is Labor Day in the States. We do not have Labor Day in Antigua but there is a stirring in the city for Independence Day. Guatemala’s Independence Day is September 15th and the celebration has already begun. Decorations are going up around town and you can tell that the Guatemaltecos go all out for this. We have heard that the 15th is a day full of activities but you would think it is already here. The city is very busy right now.

We went to church on Sunday morning and for the first time, I really felt a part of the congregation. People recognize us now. You know that awkward time period when you first go to a new church and you are trying to feel everything out. I guess Shelly and I are past that now and settling in. They do not use songbooks at church but they have seen that we are not able to sing without the words because we do not know the songs. When we arrived on Sunday, the song leader instantly gave us a songbook to share and mentioned the numbers before they sang which they have not done before. It was comforting and encouraging.

I was thinking (and have been thinking) since Shelly was sick what a blessing it is to be part of a church that accepts you no matter where you are. God provides in mysterious ways! Can I be honest with you? It would be very easy for Shelly and me to not attend worship and Bible study each week. We hear many people say that they are “going to do their own” or that they are “going to seek out other alternatives” to worship. “Test the waters” to see what is out there. It made me start to think about what we would have done when Shelly was sick if we had never met Dr. Raul Duran. Would we have had to go to the hospital to get her checked out? In third world countries, that is a very scary thought.

It opened my eyes to see that God blesses His children who are faithful to Him. Does God hold back blessings in our lives because of our unfaithfulness? I believe so. You may not agree with me but it can be seen in the Bible. Shelly has gotten better physically because of a preacher/doctor who teaches at the Iglesia de Cristo in Antigua, Guatemala. The only one for that fact. What kind of coincidence is that? I don’t believe in coincidences alone, I believe in HOLY coincidences where God puts the right people in your path at the right time.

My last lesson at Berry’s Chapel was about how God has placed people in my life up to this point to steer me in the direction I am going today. God is not done though. He is continuing to put people in my life who I need at just the right time. Isn’t God powerful? God is working in our lives and He has the power and authority to provide us with every need which we may have if we are faithful to Him. It makes me think about my commitment level. What is yours?

Chad

Journal #14

Friday, September 1, 2006

We went to Bible Study last night. The building is an old hotel with a kitchen, 2 bathrooms and 4 rooms downstairs and the rooms/living quarters upstairs. When we got there, there was a circle of chairs set up in the first room where you walk in and then we have Bible Study in the room to the right. Everyone was in there getting ready to start. We sang for the first 25 minutes. Chad and I have learned that when we have a songbook and are able to sing along with the congregation we learn more Spanish. After singing, we stood for a prayer and then the preacher got up to share the lesson. He wrote the scripture Matthew 6:25-34 on the white board that is in the classroom.

He spoke for a few minutes and then started splitting the congregation into 2 groups. He asked 6 people to go into the other room where the circle of chairs were set up and the rest of us stayed in the room where we were and formed a circle with our chairs. He came over to explain to us what we were going to do and he asked me to lead the discussion in our group. It was me and Chad and 4 Guatemalteca women. We each shared something that we thought Jesus wants us to know in our lives today from the scripture in Matthew 6. I immediately began to feel pressure because I was afraid I would not know what they were sharing with us. However, it was quite the opposite. I was able to understand and write comments that each person had shared.

After we finished in our groups, we had about 10 minutes; we all came back together to discuss what we had learned. I had taken notes and Chad was asked to share what our group had talked about. He had to do it in Spanish. I could tell he was very nervous because he has never spoken in Spanish in front of a group like that. He reviewed what I had written and asked me how to pronounce a few words and then he was called up to speak. He did a terrific job. The people agreed with the things he was saying so we knew they understood him. Afterward he was applauded for the job well done.

We both learned a huge lesson last night. We both had fear and anxiety about the job we were called to do. But, God helped us through it. That was just a preview of the enormous job that we have ahead of us. I truly believe that even though we have anxiety about what we are doing, God is going to take the fear away and He is going to succeed through us. We have all been called to do a special job and that is to share the good news of Jesus Christ to others. No matter where we live and no matter what our income is, we all are to work for God. I am certainly glad we had the opportunity to be a part of the wonderful fellowship last night. Our friends did not go with us last night and today when we shared with them what we did they were saddened at the fact that they chose not to attend.

May God bless you this Labor Day weekend!!

Shelly