Happy Birthday to You!

Happy 32nd Birthday to Enrique!

I just wanted to take a moment to say Happy Birthday to my great husband.

I love you,

Your wife

Starting to Feel like Home

I had an interesting couple of weeks. Chrissie and I have been doing a lot of traveling in Guatemala lately. When we travel it seems that we are always running a lot of errands in the same places. Last week we took a couple of days to enjoy some time with friends who came from South Carolina. As we were walking in the lobby of our hotel, one of the hotel employees said, “Hello, Mr. Coreano.” Many of you may know I am a simple person. You can call me just about anything, but don’t call me late for a meal. Chrissie looks at me and says, “Do you know him?” And I said “He works at the front desk.” I thought to myself we come here way too often (mostly because this hotel is where teams spend their last night). Yesterday, we were walking through the local mall and I spotted a man walking towards us. I recognized him and we exchanged greetings. Chrissie looks at me and says, “Do you know him?” And I said, “Yes he is the manager of the Toyota dealership where we get the RMI trucks serviced.” Then today, I had to go and get the tire for the truck looked at and repaired. I took Marissa with me and the same man from the mall was there. He came over and greeted Marissa and myself. How interesting that Guatemala is starting to feel like my home. And why shouldn’t it as we are no longer strangers, but starting to become locals.

*Enrique

Building Relationships

We just returned to Xela after spending 3 days visiting with three different sister churches in the Comitancillo area. We began preparing one of the churches for their upcoming visit from their Sister Church in November. Then, we spent time following up with the 2 other churches who had already received their sister churches this past summer. It was a great opportunity for us to get to know the hearts and minds of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Overall, we believe the meetings were a huge success as we continue to build relationships here in Guatemala. We are already looking forward to the next time we can make a visit out to each of these unique bodies of believers.

Marissa and her friends in Chipel

Changing cultures

Well, we have been in Guatemala since April 2006. We have encountered many obstacles and as a result we have had to learn a new way of thinking. As we continue to change our thinking, we continue to adjust more and more to the culture here. Luckily for me, I have had the luxury of looking at many of these obstacles differently because of my Hispanic family background. This has helped me adjust much easier to life in Guatemala. All this adjustment has given us a different perspective on just about everything we use to take for granted like electricity, clean water, clean fruits & vegetables, and the list could go on and on. Really, we all have to adjust to different cultures whether you are living in a foreign country or just visiting the other side of town. Good thing that Jesus transcends all cultures!

*Enrique

A Day at the Zoo

Welcome to the La Aurora Zoo

We just returned to Xela after spending a great 3 days in Guatemala City with our good friends from South Carolina. They were in town to visit their daughter as they wait for their adoption to be finalized. One day during our visit we decided to go and check out the Guatemala City Zoo. The zoo was a lot of fun and very cheap (only $2.50 per adult admission)! We had a good time just hanging out and it was the first time that Marissa really got excited to see animals.

I know this won't be our last visit to the zoo!

In With The Old Out with the New

Why do we always find ourselves trying to keep up with the Jones? We always want the latest gadgets or technology. Well, sometimes older traditions and things are far better than we could imagine. Recently, I had the great privilege to take part in an ancient Mayan tradition. I got to visit a chux!

Chrissie & Marissa in the Chux

Let me tell you exactly what a chux is. It is basically a very tiny little mud hut, so tiny that you have to crawl into it. It is set up like a sauna with boards to lay down on. The way it works is that you get naked (don't worry I went in with my swimsuit on) and take in a bunch of freshly picked herbs. Once you get in, it is so dark you can't see your hands in front of your face. There is a pile of rocks with a fire burning beneath it in one corner and two buckets of water. One bucket is warm to throw on the rocks and the other is cold to use later. First, you beat your body with the herbs as you begin to sweat. Then you lay down and relax. Once you are ready to come out, you pour cold water over yourself and exit. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. I felt refreshed and relaxed all at the same time.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Guatemala, make sure you find the time to check out the chux!

*Enrique

Chrissie's Bible Study Continues...

So, I am sure you remember that I had started a Bible study a while back with two of my good Guatemalan friends here. Well, I figured it was time for an update, especially since one of them, Shirley, just accepted Christ!!!

Shirley's entire family is Catholic, so I was very shocked when she called me a few nights ago. I thought she was calling to get the

latest update on one of our favorite television programs, but it was an entirely different update. She said, "I accepted Christ

tonight!" I was completely shocked. She started to tell me how her boss at work is Evangelical and had been inviting her to a Bible study for awhile. Well, this night she decided to go and although she went on to tell me it was so boring that half the women were sleeping, God still worked a miracle. It happened during the prayer time at the end of the meeting. Shirley felt like God was talking directly to her and she knew she needed to make a decision to follow Christ with her life. I was so excited for her. It was perfect timing because the next week she was going to help us with Marissa while a Sister Church team was in town. She was so encouraged by the team and the women's meeting during the week. That she actually asked me if I had any Bible studies like the one they did during the Sister Church meeting. The study was a Beth Moore study and I do have 2 others in Spanish.

So, our Bible study continues, but this time with a Beth Moore study on believing God. I am so excited to see how God worked through all of this and I can't wait to see what else He has planned.

Keep praying for Shirley that she would begin to grow in her relationship with Christ. Also, pray for Paty that she would see the need to rededicate her life to Christ and begin to walk with Him once again.

*Chrissie