Top Ten written by my teammate Bekah Phelps.
Guatemala Top Ten!
(I will upload the Cribs video & more pics ASAP when I get better internet!)
-Worship in the park! The music caught the attention of everyone around and suddenly you saw
more smiles.
-Construction, Construction, Construction! Whether carrying 600-20lb concrete blocks up
a flight of stairs, or building arched windows, or making cement...Crux did it
all! We now know all the tool names in
Spanish.
-Kid's Programs! Spending 2 hours a day teaching little kids leap frog, sharks &
minnows, and relays to exhaust them as quickly as possible.
-Fruit! Chocolate
covered pineapple slices for 15cents (USD). You can't beat it!
-Taken! Watching the
thriller ‘Taken' and then walking home after dark through Antigua
will cause a bit of paranoia of being kidnapped. I've never seen Braedon act so
protective!
-Truck rides! Riding
in the back of a pickup truck along the coast was our favorite mode of
transportation.
-Toot-Toots! A
3-wheel mini taxi that is apparently equipped with the engine of a scooter,
because Steph, Cindy, and Katie tried to take one home and had to get out of the taxi so it could make it
up the hill.
-Benjamin's Testimony! We worked with Pastor
Benjamin for 2 days in Panajachel and I've never
heard a testimony like his before. It
includes drugs, rape, adultery, attempted suicides, satanic worship,
and cannibalism while being possessed by a demon. God's grace truly
covers ALL sins as seen
through Benjamin's life! Praises!
-Great Flood #2! Yes,
we flooded yet another house in Panajachel. Somehow we hit a water line underground and flooded the house we were
trying to renovate. No worries though,
it was fixed before any major damage was done.
-Spanish Guitars! Pastor Antonio and his brothers played classical guitar & sang for
us on our last night. Their melodic
voices are beautiful!
-Cindy's Stitches! Cindy accidently ran into a street sign in Antigua
and sliced her head open. She had to get
4 stitches, but luckily they were free. (God's favor!)
-Cooking! We cooked 3
meals a day for 10 people on only $12/day without a fridge or oven. Props to the master chefs, Steph & Cindy!
-Napoleon Dynamite! Braedon's alter ego is Napoleon and ironically Antonio's 11 year old son
is named Pedro. They were 2 peas in a
pod this month. Not only did they
unknowingly dress alike, but they eat slowly and have the same sense of humor.
-Audrey's 24th! Happy Birthday
Audrey. We
celebrated with deviled eggs & rice krispie treats. Unbeknownst to
us, Guatemala birthday tradition
includes the lighting to firecrackers. While eating our treats in the
kitchen, minding our own business, Pastor
lights firecrackers right outside of the window...at the exact moment
Steph is
lighting the gas stove. We hear loud
bangs and see smoke and think the stove blew up. Everyone is screaming,
I hit the deck, Audrey
runs out of the room, and Katie pushes Cindy out of the way to
escape. I thought we were being shot at. We finally calmed down once we
found out it
was a joke. We also realized Katie &
Audrey have learned nothing about family on the Race...'when the going
gets
tough, every man for himself'!
-Pacaya Volcano! Hiking 5 hours over jagged volcanic glass to the top of an 8,000ft
active volcano to toast marshmallows. One time was more than enough; I never need to hike another volcano
again.
-Katie's Shoe Ministry! Katie gave her sneakers to Jeremiah (Antonio's brother who leads the
construction) and her flip flops to a man in church. She now walks around barefoot or borrows our
sandals. She has given away a total of
13 pairs of shoes on the race to people in need.
-Spanish Names! The
family couldn't pronounce all of our names, so Braedon became ‘Freddie', Katie
was ‘Jessica' and Audrey was ‘Adrianna'.
-Katie's Jokes! Katie
doesn't have a brother so she loves to pick on Braedon. We got the wild idea to pretend Cindy pierced
Katie's ear, leaving a gushing wound of "blood" (ketchup). She screamed and ran into Braedon's room to
trick him, thinking he would flip out and help her. He simply said, "You've got to be kidding
me," and returned playing on the computer. Better luck next time Katie.
-Broken Spanish! Pastor asked Crux to sing a worship song in Spanish to his
congregation. Only Cindy can speak
Spanish, but we tried to learn the words. We're on stage in front of 150 people trying to sing this song in our off-beat;
incorrect pitch, broken Spanish and I start thinking of how crazy we
sound. Audrey must have had similar
thoughts because at the exact same moment the two of us burst into a fit of
uncontrollable giggles in the middle of the song! We can't stop laughing! Tears are streaming down our faces as we try
to blurt out Spanish words through our laughter. All of the joy of the Lord, right?!
-Cliff-Jumping! The
girls took a water taxi to San Marco and hiked through the jungle to find a
cliff over Lake Atitlan. Gorgeous view and refreshing water!
-Creepy China
Doll! Above my bed, is a creepy doll
from China
called "Lovely Baby Interest". The
package has captions such as, "Want to play with me, I will give you a lot of
surprised and pleased!" and "When I sing a song, pressing my mouth me will send
out to have rhythm of the du-du voice". Baby Interest has made for plenty of laughs this month.
-Smelly Feet! Building a house is hard work and leaves one with stinky feet. Katie asked Audrey for a cookie and Auds said
she had to smell her dirty, sweaty feet for the cookie...Katie actually did
it. Welcome to the World Race.
-Accident-Prone! Our
first day in San Pedro and Braedon broke a window carrying rocks up the
stairs. Crux strikes again.
-Futbol Games! Cheering for Pastor as he played in the futbol league next to our
house. He's pretty good, too!
-Colours! Little kids
teaching me the colors in Spanish...azul, rojo,
-Ladies' Joy! Guatemalan women are so full of God's joy; it's contagious. I loved seeing them laugh, smile, and enjoy
life.
-Quotable Quotes!
"Ya know, when Jesus took his disciples to Olive Garden"...
Audrey trying to describe Jesus on the Mount of Olives.
"Tienas hombre?" (Got a man?)...Audrey trying to ask Pastor
‘Do you have hunger' but confusing the word for hunger with man.
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Katie, Cindy and I under my Christmas tree in Ohio!
race!
She is an amazing woman of God who pours out love to every person she
meets. I´ve enjoyed growing alongside of her and learning how to find
joy in every situation just as she does. Please consider supporting
her so she can finish the year with Crux. Visit her blog at