Adjusting and Settling

A few days have passed since we have provided information and stories about Guatemala. Really, we are still trying to settle in and adjust to our newfound environment.

Our first priority was to settle in our new dwelling. The apartment that we are residing is very quaint, but sufficient for our time in Guatemala. When we first moved to New Orleans, the seminary provided us housing in a hotel room. The place was very small and it didn’t even have a full fridge or stove. Before then, we were living in a two-bedroom house in Citronelle. That was one of the hardest transitions that we have ever experienced. Thankfully, God used that occurrence to prepare us for future transitions. We are grateful that our apartment in Guatemala at least has a fully furnished kitchen! The apartment is in a large house that has been converted to an apartment complex. The house has a beautiful garden courtyard in the interior, and a beautiful terrace with a view of the mountains. The staff that works at the house has taken to Cadence like she is their own. Our only complaint is that it cost $3.50 per load of laundry. There is a Guatemala saying for this, “Ay, Ay, Ay!”

One of our favorite areas in the adjustment process is the task of buying fresh produce from the markets. We both love fresh fruits and vegetables, but they are so expensive in the United States. In Guatemala, you can buy produce for a third of the cost. The markets are saturated with multihued varieties of fruits and vegetables. The colors are beyond fabulous as the tables are neatly organized based on the type of produce. So far, we have bought limes, peaches, apples, strawberries, avocadoes, green onions, garlic, onions, potatoes, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and carrots collectively for about eight or ten dollars. The fruit and vegetables are absolutely remarkable.

Sunday, we took a small mental break from all of the adjustments and went to Pastor Max’s church in Pastores. The service was amazing and encouraging! I wish that every Christian had the experience to observe and worship with people from another country that are passionate about their relationship with Christ. Pastor Max preached a sermon on Christians focusing on Christ, and not on things of this world. He used 2 Timothy 2:4, John 17:17, and Colossians 2:6 as focal verses for the morning. People were genuinely happy to praise God, passionate in their prayers, and broken before the Lord. I am thankful for Pastor Max and his compassionate heart for the physical and spiritual broken people of Guatemala.

Yesterday marked the first day of our language school. Currently, this is our greatest need and hindrance for adjusting to life in Guatemala. We have a great Spanish tutor that comes to our home for four hours and teaches each of us two hours apiece. Our prayer is that our minds can become a sponge and absorb everything that she is teaching.

We want to thank everyone who is supporting us and praying for us everyday. In the last update I informed you of the vehicle situation. Yesterday, I found another vehicle that was significantly cheaper than the prior vehicle. Tomorrow, we are going to look at the vehicle in greater detail. We are hoping that everything will be fine so we can have transportation. We are ready to go out and minister to the village where the church will be planted. We are slowly growing impatient daily, but we are aware that it is necessary to learn language and settle first. Our goal is still to Live. Love. Go. We pray that your goal will be the same. Daily live in a relationship with Christ, love God and others, and go share his story with all.

Here are a few things that we would love for you to pray for:

            *Vehicle situation

            *Adjusting and settling

            *Absorb, retain and apply the Spanish lessons

            *Represent Christ in the way that we live everyday in Guatemala

Greater Than Our Expectations

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” –Ephesians 3:20

The preceding verse was gloriously at work within us over the last two days. Yesterday, we left the United States and arrived in Guatemala. Stan Clayton, our Pastor at Bethel Baptist Church, sent us a text message that stated he was praying for our family. He also included the reference to Ephesians 3:20 in that message. That verse was a proclamation of how God was going to exuberantly display his greatness in ways that we did not ask or imagine.

Our experience in the Pensacola airport is a testimony to God doing immeasurably more than what we expected. Since we have been preparing and packing for this journey, we expected to pay for a few extra pieces of luggage. If anyone has a baby or small child, than you know how much luggage is dedicated to him or her. (Honestly, we pack three bags when Cadence stays at her grandparents’ homes. Half of our vehicle is overflowing with her toys, and her closet contains more clothing than the racks at Goodwill)! When we arrived at the airport, we unloaded the bountiful offering of luggage. Collectively, we had one large suitcase that weighed 72lbs, a small suitcase that weighed 55lbs, a trunk that weighed 61lbs, pack and play that was packed full, two backpacks, a car seat, and a stroller! We were unsure if we could bring the stroller, car seat, and pack and play. We figured that we would have to pay $100-$150 for our extra luggage, but we were under-estimating! An amazing lady from Continental Airlines assisted with our check-in. When she weighed the bags, she informed us that the excessive weight would be an additional $400 charge, and that did not include paying for extra bags. I almost passed out, but God was about to show out. The lady offered us a huge duffle bag, so we used that bag and began moving things from one bag to another until everything was under 50lbs. The only problem was that this new bag would bring our checked luggage count to five bags, and we could only check two bags. Let me interject at this point and proclaim how God done more than we could ask or imagine. When we went back to the desk, the lady informed us that we were Continental Airlines Elite Access Members. Let me assure you, the only thing that I have from Continental is frequent flyer miles. I wondered if the lady changed our status, but she said that we were classified as Elite Members when she first looked up our tickets. The amazing part of this newfound membership is that is grants each traveler the ability to check-in three bags without an additional charge. Plus, it allowed us to bring an extra piece of luggage for the baby. Wow! The overwhelming feeling that I had was that God is in control and is working things out that we have not imagined or expected!


We were exhausted by the time we arrived in Guatemala, and we went to the house and passed out. Later, we joined Pastor Max for a church service. During the meeting, he encouraged us to stay strong and read Psalm 91. Both of those aspects of worship impacted us and our direction this summer. 


Today, we have been extremely busy! The priority of the day was to secure and settle into our new apartment, and find a vehicle. Somewhere in there, we found time to start a bank account for the church plant in Santa Rosa el Rodeo. Thankfully, everything worked fine for the apartment. Unfortunately, the same is not true regarding the vehicle. Please pray that God will provide a vehicle that will be used for his glory and affordable. 


We are so thankful for God being God! He is YHWH or "I Am!" He is doing immeasurably more than what we ask for or expect. The following verse in Ephesians  proclaims, "To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations!"

Quick Trip and Byes and New Orleans

Yesterday, we spent the day in the greater New Orleans area. Some of our fondest memories were made while we lived in New Orleans. God has given us a heart for missions, and New Orleans is a melting pot of cultures. There is a fingerprint of various cultures found in the Crescent City. We enjoyed living there, learning the culture, serving and ministering in the city.

Our trip was very swift, but we were able to see a lot of family and friends yesterday. Our first stop was in Slidell to visit with our newest (soon to be) family member Brandy. Then we drove to the Westbank and saw Jennifer's former co-workers at Amedisys. They couldn't get enough of Cadence, and she entertained them for almost two hours. Our next stop was with a precious friend that was so supportive of us while we were in Seminary. He is currently serving at Edgewater Baptist Church. Please lift him up in your prayers. One of our last stops was at First Baptist Chalmette.

First Baptist Chalmette is where we served on staff while living in New Orleans. The church was completely ravished during Hurricane Katrina and was still recovering when we started attending in 2009. We were thankful to see all of our former church members, and receive the warmth and kindness of their love. The church is still trying to recover financially, and yet they blessed us with a love gift for the Guatemala mission.

God is so good and we are thankful for everyone in New Orleans that support and pray for us. We are thankful for our friends and the people that live in this area. The trip was quick and exhausting, however we were overwhelmed by God's blessing (and the dessert at our friends Eric and Anita's house was definitely the icing on the trip) Thank you!

Thankful for Eureka and Toxey Baptist Churches

We are extremely thankful and humbled by the hospitality and love shown to our family yesterday. Two churches invited us to come and share about Guatemala and our heart for missions.

First, we traveled to Lisman, AL to Eureka Baptist Church. The church is pastored by Bro. Donald Gentry. He is one of those people that you meet and immediately feel loved and accepted. He pastors a great group of people that is struggling from the storms that devastated much of central and north Alabama. However, they were willing to give and support us in spite of the tragedy that they are trying to recover.

Last night, we went to Toxey Baptist Church. The pastor of this church is a man that keeps you on your heals! Bro. Ervin Mooney will keep you laughing, while also covering you with encouragement and love.

We were overwhelmed by the support that we received from these two churches. People were interested in the work going on in Guatemala and desired to reach out to help support. Again, we want to thank everyone yesterday that encouraged, prayed, supported (and loved on our baby girl Cadence).

Update: We have purchased our airplane tickets. The flight is for May 25, 2011. Please continue to pray that God will allow us to raise the rest of the money for the vehicle.

Excited and Preparing for Summer in Guatemala

We are officially excited and nervous as the days quickly fade, and the reality of our summer in Guatemala is almost upon us. The plan is to leave the Unites States on Wednesday, May 25th and return on Monday, August 8th. There is an apartment waiting for us in Antigua upon our arrival. Also, there is an Isuzu Rodeo that we can buy when we arrive. Our prayer is that God will supply the money for the vehicle. The largest hurdle that we face is purchasing our airplane tickets. Unfortunately, the prices shot up $25 dollars per ticket since we checked on them last Friday. We know that the Lord will provide. Our goal for the summer is to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Guatemala. Jesus was described in Philippians 2 as a servant. He told his disciples that he didn't come to be served, but to serve. Then he made an astounding commentary on his statement, "No servant is greater than his master." If Jesus came to serve, than his followers should desire to serve others so they can experience the life in Christ, love in christ, and a desire to go share the story of Christ. That is our hope and desire for our summer in Guatemala. We will be involved in specific areas of ministry on behalf of Bethel Baptist Church in Citronelle, AL. Our main task is to coordinate the church plant and building project of a church in a village near Finca el Zapote. There are other places that we want to serve such as "Amor de Ninos" Orphanage, the Seminary in Chimaltenango, and medical missions. Our overall focus is to worship the creator and connect others to Him. Thank you for your interest in the ministry that we will be involved with the summer in Guatemala. Please continue to pray for us and we will continue to keep you informed.