As promised, and only slightly behind schedule,
here is a summary of Spanish school and youth institute… and more.
In A Nutshell…
From
Monday to Friday (September 9th to 15th) I planned to
study Spanish at “La Enseñanza” in Antigua. I left El Chal on the night bus
on Sunday evening planning to arrive in Antigua by 8:00 for my class the following morning. I
knew that it would be pushing it a little bit to make it by then, but what’s
the fun in giving yourself enough time? I traveled on the “Maya de Oro” bus
line. If you know anything about Guatemalan bus lines, you’ll know that when
travelling with “Maya de Oro,” it’s not uncommon to wake up in the middle of
the night to find that the bus is stopped. However, when you wake up and
discover that the bus is stopped, go back to sleep for an hour and a half, then
wake up again only to see that you’re in the same spot… you know you’ve got a
problem. The double-decker bus that I was riding was obviously not going
anyplace soon, so another bus had to come pick us up. A fairly nice looking bus
showed up and all the people that were sitting in the bottom of the
dysfunctional bus hopped in and left. Those of us in the top waited until an
old, rickety, bus labeled “Fuente del Norte” showed up. It was hard to find the
door to get in due to the cloud of black smoke that constantly hovered around
the bus. Surprisingly enough, this bus got us all the way to the edge of
Guatemala City, where we switched busses one more time before finally arriving
at the station, a good three hours late. Tim Korver and Harold Kaufman were
waiting for me and took me to mission headquarters, where I caught the chicken
bus to Antigua.
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| La Enseñanza |
I arrived at the school right around 10:30. The
Spanish practice started right away, because I had to explain to her in Spanish
why I was late. They were really nice about everything, though. They even
offered to do an extra half hour each afternoon to make up of the lost time. I
took them up on their offer. I definitely enjoyed my week in Antigua, and I
think I even learned some stuff. It was nice being the student for once instead
of the teacher. I also liked walking through the streets of Antigua in the
afternoons. The small city has many cobblestone streets, old buildings,
beautiful parks, and a McDonalds. Another thing that was different from what I
am used to was the climate. It wasn’t scorching hot all the time. In fact, it
even got cold! Thankfully, I had my under armour sweater
along.
After the week of Spanish school, I went to
Sumpango for the youth institute. It was encouraging to see quite a few young
Guatemalan youth that I hadn’t met before. Besides
lectures, there were a few “workshops” as well. The boys had a class on
electricity and the girls learned how to make tamales. There was also an music
class taught by Stephan. It was a good weekend for me, and I think that
everyone learned a lot. I know that I did. On the last evening, Stephan talked
about his “Secrets” to living the Christian life. He mentioned a lot of
helpful, practical ideas. I was reminded throughout the weekend that I still
have some things to work on. You can keep praying for me.
The week
after institute was the last week of English classes in fourth and fifth
grades. After those classes were done, I had some more time to help make
windows and doors for a new classroom. Danny Beachy’s son Marcus was in Petén for a week or so to help Neil with the windows and doors as well.
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| Two new doors and a refurbished door! |
Another
thing that I have been helping out with is the movie of the story of Joseph
that the basico classes (grades 7 and 8) are making. I’m doing some of the
filming as well as the editing. They are doing an excellent job! It has been a
lot of fun going out to fields outside of town with views that look similar to
what it might have looked like in Bible times. The basico classes are full of
talented actors.
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| Jacob's large family |
 |
| Simeon and Judah |
Top 5 Highlights…
>>Burgers at Stephan’s. Brenda
invited me over to their house for supper one evening because they were having
hamburgers and she knows that hamburgers are my favourite food. I’m thinking I
should find more favourite foods!
>>Finishing English Classes. I really enjoyed teaching English this year, but it will be nice to
have a break from it, too.
>>Buying a plane ticket. I’ll
be home for Christmas!
>>Skyping with my family. I
like technology. There’s something about being able to see their faces that
makes it seem like your just a little bit closer.
>>Mcfluries from McDonalds. I had to get at least one Mcflury when I was in Antigua. Okay…
maybe two.
Top 5 Quotes…
“Ricky, I don’t know what I’m going to do... I
can’t find my shoehorn.” – Craig
“If the power ever goes out for a month… we’ll
be prepared.” – Brenda (while taking a huge candle out of a box)
“Ricky, what will be the last name of your future
wife?” – Harold Kaufman
“What do you mean? We haven’t had an unbearable
day yet. We’re still here. We beared them!” – Neil
“Buy PC! Half the price and the webcam works!”
– my uncle Todd (he found it funny that the webcam on my MacBook Pro was experiencing
technical difficulties)
Spanish Vocabulary…
Escape (es CAH peh) – it means “exhaust pipe”
…or “escape”
Memory tool: I just think it’s cool that
“escape” and “exhaust pipe” are the same word. I mean, why not?
Fun Facts…
>>The mosquitos here in Petén have apparently exhausted the supply of blood in humans. They’ve
moved on to the cinnamon buns.
 |
| Just in case you thought I was lying... |
>>If a guy comes to the gate wanting to
borrow 100 Quetzales, and says that he’ll leave his belt here for collateral
and return the money tomorrow, and you take him up on his offer, you probably
just bought a belt.
>>October first is “Children’s Day” in
Guatemala.
>>I honestly can’t think of anything else
to say about Coke.
More to Add…
One of
Stephan’s “secrets” to living a successful Christian life was “Spend your
entire day with God.” For me it’s easy to think that if I read the Bible and
pray for a while in the morning, I’m good to go for the rest of the day. But
God wants us to be with Him every minute of every day. He wants us to “Pray
without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17). This is something that I want to do better at,
and I challenge you to do the same!
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