May 2024 Newsletter

 

Mission Team During April David helped our IMB teammates host a volunteer team from Denver Baptist Church in North Carolina.  They held a health fair in the Departments of Quetzaltenango and Huehuetenango.  Thank you for praying for this team!  In addition to offering medical assistance, the team shared the gospel with everyone who came. Continue to pray specifically for the hearts of the people in the Department of Huehuetenango.  While there, David and Mark were able to gather more information on the Kanjobal people group. This is part of the Digital Engagement initiative they are doing. The information they gathered will help us determine future visits and ministry there.

Team Meeting IMB Team Guatemala We made a visit to Quetzaltenango to have a quarterly meeting with our IMB Guatemala team.  We meet every quarter to set goals and plans for the next three months. Continue to pray for each family on our Guatemala team- us, the Stones, the Robertsons, our journeyman Lauren, and the English family, who are in language school in Mexico.  We are all uniquely gifted, and it is cool to see how God is using each of us to advance the gospel here. Pray for wisdom for us as we serve as Team Leaders for this team.  Pray also for us as we oversee five more teams just like it in Mexico.  It's a big job, but God is faithfully equipping us to do it. Celebrating We had two fun celebrations in April.  Ben turned twelve, and we had our 28th wedding anniversary.  Coming up later this month, we will celebrate Cruz turning fourteen. Both of our boys are growing up fast.  Pray for them to continue to grow in the Lord.  Pray for us as we disciple them and teach them how to be men of God. Did you know? In addition to Spanish, there are many different languages spoken throughout Guatemala.  During our time on the mission field we have served among the Q'eqchi' people in Alta Verapaz and Peten (#16), the Ch'orti' people in Chiquimula (#4), and are currently serving among the Kaqchikel (#9). Thank you for praying for us!                                            www.imb.org

Our 28th Wedding Anniversary

On April 27 we celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary.  This year we decided to celebrate at beautiful Lake Atitlan in Panajachel, Guatemala.

 

Our wedding day

April 27, 1996

 

On the drive to the lake, we stopped for lunch at KFC in Tejar and picked up a dozen donuts from Dunkin for our anniversary dessert.  I love donuts!

 

 

Dunkin Donuts in Tejar, Guatemala

 

 

Yum!

 

The view from our Airbnb at Torres de Atitlan in Panajachel.  On a clear day you would have beautiful views of the volcanoes.

 

anniversary morning photo from our balcony

 

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast for two.

 

Torres de Atitlan in Panajachel, Guatemala

 

 

view of the grounds

 

There were flowers everywhere.  I took photos of a few of them.

 

 

 

View of the pier and Lake Atitlan

 

 

 

 

 

 

For lunch we went into town to eat pizza at Circus Bar. 

Our anniversary lunch

 

We spent time that afternoon sitting on the pier and watching the boats pass by.

 

 

Lake Atitlan

 

David and the boys enjoyed swimming in the pool.

 

We played a lot of cards during our time there.

 

 

I love fireworks!  I was excited to see some on our anniversary night.  We actually got to see two different firework displays, most likely from weddings taking place at the lake.  

 

 It was a perfect ending to our day!

 

 

The view on Sunday morning was the clearest of all but still hazy.  You can see an outline of one of the volcanoes in the distance.  Our favorite part of the getaway was sitting on the balcony, drinking coffee, talking, and soaking in the views.  It was fun, relaxing, and peaceful.

 

 

A video of the waterfall as we drove up the mountain leaving town. 

We enjoyed a simple, quiet celebration.  In this busy season of life, it was wonderful to stop and relax for a short while. I am thankful for another year of life together. 

 

 

  

"True love is spending one day getting married,

and the rest of your life feeling glad you did."

Ben's 12th Birthday Celebration

 On April 16 Ben turned twelve years old.  Here is a look at how we celebrated him this year.

 

On his birthday eve we had friends in town who invited us to supper at Hotel Antigua.  After our delicious meal, they had the waiters sing to Ben and present him with a dessert.  

 

 

 

When we returned home we sent the boys to bed, and I stayed up to decorate the kitchen.

 

He did not choose a theme this year, but when I saw these gaming themed balloons I knew they would be perfect.

 

Ben asleep on his birthday eve.

 

He had chocolate chip banana pancakes for his birthday breakfast.

 

We took several photos before we started our school day.

 

For lunch we had a mother & son outing to McDonald's.  It was great one on one time and might be something we do again in the future for his birthday.

 

The main reason he wanted to eat at McDonald's was so that he could try their blue raspberry Sprite.

 

We returned home for dessert.  Instead of a cake, this year he wanted a lemon pie.

 

birthday pie

 

For supper, we enjoyed a family meal at Ta'Cool.

 

His party invitation.

 

 

He got to choose a few friends to go to Sky Zone.

 

 

 

Pizza lunch at Sky Zone after a morning of jumping and playing.

 

Ben's 1st through 10th birthday photos

 

 

11th and 12th birthday photos

 

 

Our family celebrating Ben's 1st through 10th birthdays

 

Our family on Ben's 11th and 12th birthday

 

The day he was born.

April 16, 2012

Guatemala City, Guatemala

 

 

Ben's birth video