Doing Without

Some people say they could never work as a missionary because they would have to do without too many things. It is true that I have had to make do without many of the conveniences of a developed country and without many of the things I grew up using. Here are some of the things I have learned to make do without this year.

I've learned to wash dishes without a dishwahser, without hot water, and without liquid soap.
I've learned to mop without a mop.
I've learned to bake without knowing what temperature the oven is at.
I've learned to accept a schedule change without any notice.
I've learned to enter a house without taking off my shoes.
I've learned to eat steak without a fork and knife.
I've learned to eat food without knowing what it is.
I've learned to have a conversation without knowing what we're talking about.
I've learned to dry clothes without a dryer or the sun.
I've learned to teach without a curriculum.
I've learned to manage a class without knowing the names of all the students.
I've learned to get around without a car.
I've learned to shop without converting the price to dollars.
I've learned to survive without a printer, without salt in salt shakers, and without carpet on the floor.
I've also learned to NEVER leave the house without my keys, umbrella, and toilet paper.

So yes, I have had to do without a few things this year. Did I survive? Yes. Did I learn through it? Yes. Was it all worthwhile? Yes. So I want to encourage you. If God is calling you to missions, if He is asking you to make do without some things for awhile, or if He is bringing you to a place of sacrificing luxuries, don't be afraid. God knows what you NEED and He will provide. It may not be easy, but it will be worthwhile. 

Masapan. A fruit I bought in the market without knowing what it was.

A typical churrasco meal of thin steak, refried beans, and coleslaw.

It is eaten with tortillas and your fingers rather than a fork and knife.

Home Stretch

It's hard to believe, but this school year is over. I have been here now for nine and a half months and have less than 2 weeks to go before going home. I have worked hard, learned a lot, grown closer to God, and overall really enjoyed my experience here. Now that classes are over, this week I will be attending end of the year assemblies in all 5 schools. High school already had their grade 10 and Grade 12 graduations. This was the 12th class of Grade 10 grads, and there were 46 of them graduating this year. This was also the very first grad class for Grade 12, with a science diploma and a major in agriculture and forestry. There were 8 students in the graduating class. It was so great to see these students reaching their goals and achieving such an accomplishment.

Grade 10 students crossing the stage

Grade 12 graduates

This week I have ceremonies in the mornings and dinners in the evenings for the Grade 7's finishing elementary school. Aside from that I will be wrapping up odds and ends, doing some planning for the English program the following year, packing, saying goodbye, and enjoying being in Guatemala while I still can. Already it has been a mix of emotions. I am excited to be done and I'm looking forward to going home, but I will miss a lot of things here, including morning devotions, my students, the culture, speaking Spanish, and spending time with the many friends I have made here. I'm happy, sad, excited, and relieved to be done. It's going to be a good two weeks, despite the emotional rollercoaster that's already started. I'm on the home stretch.  

Saying goodbye to some of my high school students

Me and two of my high school students

Library Update 4

Over the past 9 months the library has changed, grown, and improved. When my mom came to visit in August, the team brought a number of books that had been ordered. Other people as well have brought books down. We now have 740 books in the library!!! Thank you to Hope for cataloguing them all! These include picture books, levelled readers, novels, devotional books, science non-fiction books, science experiment idea books, and various other books. The problem now is there isn't enough shelf space. Many of these books are sitting in boxes because the one book shelf that there is, is not big enough to hold them all, even with many of them lent out.

It is great to see that many teachers have been borrowing books to use in their classes, or devotional books for personal study. Thank you to Ruth for being in charge of the library, which is currently in the sponsorship office in Chamche. Unfortunately the sponsorship office is only open Monday to Friday mornings, which is exactly when all the elementary school teachers work. This may be one reason why books are not being returned. This is of increasing importance as the school year ends for the 2 month vacation. To try and work out both of these problems, we have decided that it is best if teachers borrow books as a school, rather than individually. That way the secretaries can return the books on their photocopy day. Thank you to Miriam, the secretary in Chamche, who receives returned books outside of library hours.

Before I left Canada, a member of my church, Jose, offered to ask his family in Mexico to collect used Spanish books for the library here in Guatemala. Thank you to Jose for that offer. We are still trying to figure out the best way to make this happen. While here, I get my mail (normally just cards), sent to the Peters' house, and their address is merely a highway marking. I would not trust the postal systems in Central America, however, to deliver a valuable box of books to Tactic. Thankfully one of Les's contacts at Seteca in Guatemala City has agreed to have the books delivered to the seminary, which has an actual postal address. Now we are trying to figure out if it is worth it cost-wise to send a box of books by mail from Mexico to Guatemala, or if will cost more than the books are worth. We might have to wait until someone drives down, through Mexico, to Guatemala for those books to be brought here. All of this is still in the works.  

I am excited to watch how the library has grown over the course of this year. Of course with any new endeavor, the bugs need to be worked out. But I am excited to see how the library will continue to change over the next school year, and to see borrowing and using books within and outside the classroom becoming a regular habit for the teachers and students in these schools. The more people use these books, the greater the blessing will be to them. Already though, many teachers and children have been blessed by the books in this library. Thank you to everyone who donated money to make this possible.

Some students from Chamche enjoying a library book

What to choose, what to choose?