Greetings from Guatemala!With this month being Mother’s Day,Bob thought it would be a good idea for me to write the newsletter.So here goes!First,I’d like to acknowledge all the Mothers we know and love, and trust you all had a good Mother’s Day. I actually got to celebrate 2 of them.Bob and I are part of the Hospitality Committee and it was our turn to greet our members .We had purchased some small clothespins that said Happy Mother’s Day in Spanish.They were a hit and it was a blessing for us to get to hand them out.In Guatemala,they celebrate Mother’s Day exactly on the 10th.A friend of mine took me to lunch and later,in my English class,my students had a party for me with pizza and an ice cream cake.It was such a nice day. The Thursday before Mother’s Day,one of my students from last year invited me to a concert he was performing in.He is studying to be a Marimba player.My Spanish teacher and I went and watched him,it was an honor for me to be invited.
I’ve really enjoyed teaching in the English program because it’s helped to form relationships with people.This is one of the outreach programs in our church.This year there were nearly 400 people signed up for classes. We have classes on Tuesday and Thursday in Antigua at the church. I teach on both nights,advanced students on Tuesday and beginners on Thursday.It was a challenge at the beginning of the beginners class because I had to treat them like children by using few,simple words and lots of hand motions and pictures.It’s a lot of fun now,I’m blessed to be a part of this program.
Josh and Jessica,our friends at Casa Shalom are in need of your prayers.They went home for a 10 day visit in April,right before Semana Santa,and she started having problems with her pregnancy. She had developed pre-eclampsia and the doctors had to do an emergency c-section at 34 weeks.They had a scare at first with them both,but God is faithful and both are doing fine .Sophia Kate entered this world on April 22 at 3 lbs.10oz.16&1/2 inches long.She has been in NICU this entire time until this past Friday .Please pray for this tiny baby and her parents and grandparents.This is a first grandchild on both sides.hile they have been gone we’ve painted the baby’s room,picked up the crib,Bob is going to put it together for them and we are trying to do what we can at Casa Shalom until they return.
Bob took a load of food to Rio Bravo Saturday and talked with Pastor Freddy about a program a friend of ours in Boston wants to start.Kevin Pettiti,has a friend who goes into a poor village and trains one person for medical purposes,such as first aid,general treatment,assessment and medication.This man has initiated this program in Honduras and El Salvador.Kevin would like for this program to be started in Rio Bravo.Pastor Freddy has said that he could provide space for a small clinic area in one of the churches down there.
In June,I’ll be attending the annual Joy in Jesus conference at Pat and Charlie’s retreat center.This is put on by Pearlene Nolan and a team of ladies from the area.It’s a real blessing to the missionary ladies here. Also,later in the month we have a small team from Florida coming to stay with us for a week.Then it’s home for the summer.
Prayer requests for this month are:continued safety in this country,my Spanish lessons and my teacher and her family,all my students,my hairdresser,Sophia and her growth and health,efforts at Rio Bravo.
