Israel

The interior is finished! It looks really good! I will have to get some pictures...

Mom and Dad have been gone for about 10 days, they are in Israel! First they went to the states and spent a couple of days helping Ryan and visiting everyone. Then they left on last Sunday, it was the shortest birthday of Dad's life! These really good friends of ours from the church paid all expenses for Mom and Dad to go. It was really nice of them!!

We have been really good here. The girls have been surprisingly good with Mom and Dad gone. They are coming home on the 16th and I can't wait to hear about their trip!!!

Heidi has been in Chichi for the last week and wasn't able to come visit us so we visited her! Yesterday Aaron, Katie, Grace and I left at around 11ish and drove to Quiche. The roads were actually pretty good and we got up to 45 mph on a little stretch of dirt road!! Anyways we met her and then ate at Pollo's (Pollo Camperos). Then we went to the Agape house by the hospital to pick up some parts they had brought for us. We dropped Heidi off, went to the bank and then came home. It was really good to see Heidi! We were a little sad Matt and Isaac didn't come but way glad to get to see her!!

They are home!!!

David and Joseph finally came home! They were only supposed to be there for 2 weeks but ended up being there for 6! Man it was so boring here without them at nights. I felt like an only child! Anyway they went up and began by finishing painting the house, barn garage, etc. Then they got a truck ready for Martin to bring down on his next trip through Mexico. So they packed up some dirt bikes, medical equipment, took apart the grain bins, loaded them and fixed a truck. Don Barton, a good friend of ours, let us use his shop to fix the truck, we are really grateful! So they finished with most of what they had to do and were ready to come home. They finished that night and left at 3 in the morning to get to the airport. They had buddy passes and they got on both flights!! Everyone was really thankful they didn't get stuck in Atlanta again! So they came home on Thursday and yesterday was Josephs birthday. Craig left to the states on the 14th to go home and see his family and will stay for another week.

Juan has started going out to the villages to gather information for the Corn Project and we are trying to get a little organized with system.

Nicolasa, our worker that has worked for us for 7 or 8 years went back home to San Andres. Her kids were ready to live there and be with their father and family. So Thursday morning we helped her pack up all her things and load it onto a truck, they left that afternoon. They had mixed feelings they were going to miss life here and were excited to leave also. It was a sad and chaotic day.

Yesterday we went and played Volley ball for Jo's birthday, there were only 5 of us and we are way out of practice!! Oh well I guess we will just have to catch up!

Corn Project

As you know we have been calculating and figuring out how to get a container full of corn down here to store so we can feed the poor. So Craig just set up a blog for the corn project. In fact it's called Corn Project! I put a link to it and it will tell you all the information updates about the corn project.

First Class, Spanish Class and Independance day

The boys made it to the states! They kept monitoring the buddy passes and they finally made it on Sunday. They kept almost trying then the flights would fill up so they waited until Sunday and got on. Then they were stuck in Atlanta for the night and the next morning they walked around from flight to flight until they made the 4:30 flight. So they are there and happy I'm sure (not that walking around the airport all morning isn't fun :D).

I had my first day of Spanish class yesterday. I am taking an online class at a site called Potters School. The first day went great the teacher was really nice and there were about 10 other students. So you might think it's pointless because I am fluent in Spanish but that way I can see how I like the school and see if I will take a class in any other subjects. And since I already know Spanish there isn't much chance that I will fail it.

And today is Independence day!! We don't really celebrate it but people here sure do! We just got back from the parade in town. Here are some pictures.

The Golden Stripes!

Yesterday we finished painting the Aztec!! That's the last step to painting now we have the interior and clean-up you know little stuff like that. It looks great! We took off all the plastic and it was like opening a Christmas present, only it was bigger and had a lot of tape on it!

Catching up...

Okay time to catch up! So the team was great and we had a lot fun with them. Everyday (besides the clinic days) they were here we went out to schools in different villages and taught about the stars and the universe and how much bigger God is. So the team came in on the 9th and Aaron and Katie picked them up and then spent the night. On the next day they left the city and over lunch we all had bets on when they would come and we were all wrong!! They were early! So all in all we went to 4 different villages and there were 3 clinic days. On Wednesday we left for Pana we got there around lunch time and checked in at the hotel. Then we ate out and then we all went in pairs and shopped up and down the strip. All except for Mom because our friend Debbie Sweet called, Mom's aunt Aunt Verna was in the hospital again...Mom called her sisters and Ryan and found out that the doctors had thought she had a heart attack but she hadn't and that her heart was failing. So we made arrangements and Mom was to go to the states when Dad dropped the team off. So the next day David met us at Los Encuentros and and picked up Jo, the girls, and I, and they left. So from there we went to Chichicastenango and picked up Heidi and Chris (a medical student that made the trip with her) and came home. The next day Katie, Craig, Heidi and Chris all had a trip to San Pedro. So Dad flew them out there and they spent the day in the heat seeing patients.

Mom got on the first flight and got stuck in Houston but eventually got to St. Louis. Over a couple of days Aunt Verna did not respond to treatment and she passed away. There were many tears but it was the best it could be, everyone of her close family was there and the hospital was great. She was buried on Monday and then Mom came home on Tuesday. It was good to have her back but Ryan and Katie missed her soon afterwards. Please pray for uncle Tom - he is sad after losing his wife. They were married for 60 years. Pray that he is at peace. We are so thankful to the friends that helped them through that time.

Joseph has been studying a lot for his private pilot's test these last weeks and Ryan is overloaded with work so Joseph and David are going to the states. Joseph will get his driver's licence and pilot's license and David will help Ryan repaint his house and maybe fix his car. Today Malachi and his sister Rachel are coming in and the boys thought it would be a good time to go, so they went to the city with their buddy passes and had no luck. Every single person on the flight showed up. So right now Dad is flying back with Joseph, Malachi and Rachel and David will hitch a ride with a friend to Quiche and Dad will pick him up there. It stinks that they didn't make it but they will try again next week.

The Katies are 5 months pregnant now! Well those of us who voted boy against girls on the poll are losing but I still think it's a boy. I also know Mom is always right about that kind of stuff and so it might be a girl. We checked today and couldn't get a good shot so next week. We will see!!

Plane Pictures

I got them uploaded!