Sololà.

First day in service up the hill from Panajachel,  in Sololà.  City and surroundings of about 100k people. Three congregations-one Español, two Cakchikil. Not as hilly as San Antonio or San Marco since it is primarily a plateau,  but still hilly enough. And some really beautiful views.

I was paired with our Sister from Wales,  Deborah (mum of Adam,  Lydia's new best friend). We were canvassing English door to door, and I came across a local who did speak English.  After I gave my presentation asking for English speakers and he said "si", I froze like a deer in headlights. I had been concentrating so hard on getting the presentation right, that I hadn't anticipated or prepared for anything beyond the initial presentation. All I could do was mutely turn to Deborah like a four year old and let her take over.

Ricardo had lived in New York for 6 years and now was back in Guatemala for 4. He listened attentively and agreed to a return visit next week at his shop near the town square.

Pointer from Deborah,  carry English and Spanish versions of tracts to cross reference between the two. Most English speaking locals would benefit from the comparison, and it's a way for us to improve our Spanish.

Suero

What is suero? It is an ingredient in 0% cholesterol milk. Milk without cholesterol?  Yes. Looks like regular milk in the same plastic jug, but is basically a manufactured product - skim milk, powdered skim milk (literally translated "dust"), vegetable oil (to replace milk fat), suero  (whey), and your usual assortment of milk additives - vitamins and such. The only ingredient surprisingly missing is sugar.

This or ultra pasteurized boxed milk are the alternatives that we've found so far. Ultra pasteurized means ultra cleaned, not only of impurities, but also of much of its nutrition.  We have to look closer at Challo's or Sandra's for the real thing, or investigate the Mercado. Fresh raw milk may come with its own dangers. But there is a simple relatively easy way to convert that to cream cheese. Google "suero ".

Today was the first day Rob and I went in service separate times by ourselves.   He took the morning shift and went to a neighboring town by pick up truck and returned on a chicken bus.   While Dad was in service,  the kids and I went shopping by ourselves.   Went OK but I still was overwelmed and Josh was to antsy to go my pace😮.   It's hard understanding the labels.   I needed more detergent for laundry and was trying to make sure I didn't by something that would bleach my clothes!  We are having a hard time with the detergent smells,  can't find perfume free.   Lydia wants to walk,  which is OK on a quiet street.   Once we get where it is busy I put her in a sling,  she fusses and makes shopping a bit more difficult.  I wanted to go without Rob to see how I would do.   If this is where we move I think shopping solo is going to be a must🙄  Funny thing was Rob went shopping  after service on his way home, only thing we bought the same was tortilla chips!  He made a great dinner: WHOLE chicken,  his version of Spanish rice and some Chilean wine I found.   I did the cart from 3 until 5 with a sister that has been here 4 years with her husband.   She was very encouraging and is going to help me with a few things I would like to buy.  She wanted to know how I was really doing....I told her I had a breakdown and she said totally normal,  she still has them.   The Watchtower for last Sunday really helped me,  the scripture about leaving mothers,  brothers,  and LANDS, what?  I don't ever remember it saying lands.   That is what this congregation here is made up of... those that have left their lands.. but Jehovah blesses them and they are so happy and joyful.   I think of leaving my friends and it makes me cry but you will all visit me right?  But leaving my land?  Why is that a sacrifice?  Rob mentioned Aldis,  I think of driving passed the lake, showing Josh what house he was born in, taking a mini vacation to Kopps to get custard, driving up to Door County to go camping, going out for breakfast,  taking a bike ride, having a bonfire.  Maybe it's not the the places but who we do these things with and why.   OK OK I'm done being sappy.  Breakdown over.

Juice.

Diet here is much different than what we're used to, not so much the cuisine,  but the quality.  There are all types of restaurants and cultural foods available- American, Mexican,  Middle Eastern, Japanese,  Texas BBQ,  even Guatemalan. But what is hard to find is healthy groceries. And it started with Copa Airlines.

Apple juice or orange? Manzana or naranjo? Except it's not juice, it's "nectar" or "pulp". Water, sugar, and pulp or concentrate,  natural and artificial flavors, colors, and additives. And not just drinks, but almost everything. Whole milk? No, cholesterol free Milk! What?! Salsa, packaged flavorings, - MSG.

One really has to be careful and search for unadulterated,  good quality food when shopping.  Partly the language barrier for us, partly store size and limited brands, and partly unfamiliarity of where to look in each store and what store to look in. And the premium foods come with a premium price,  more so than at home.

How we miss Aldi's!

Apple juice?
We've been told that best juice is fresh squeezed at the market or street vendors.
But have to be cautious that it is not somehow contaminated. 

Buenas Noches everyone! 

Sorry we haven't blogged in a few days... we are still getting our bearings in our foreign territory.   I started this blog saying I've all ways wanted to do this.. now being here with a toddler is truly an adventure.   We have stopped using the stroller for now and I'm trying using the Moby wrap even though it makes me very hot.   We can get places faster with her strapped to my back.  A sister is taking a few sisters shopping Thursday,  so I hope I can find some lighter material to use as a wrap. 

Friday morning we went on a boat over to the town San Marcos which is known as the"hippy town" for service.   Lydia sat up front with her bud Adam, who is from Wales. His mother Deb and he are here for 3 months.   This is her trial period to see if she wants to be a permanent need greater here.   Deb,  Gemma (the COBE's wife from Australia), Lydia and I worked together.   Gemma was able to have a nice conversation with a shop girl.   I'm going to call back on her next Friday and share a video with her (Gemma and her husband are heading back to Australia to visit family for a month).  We ate lunch at a local restaurant.  Indian curry, soups,  sandwiches and pizza!  We headed back on the boat,  windy in the afternoons.   It truly was beautiful on the lake.   Here's some pictures

Oh I forgot,there was a scorpion in Josh's room tonight😲

What kind of tree is it?

Lounging in the hammock on the guest house porch I noticed a spindly twig of a tree with small fruit orbs at the top. It is a papaya. So far, have identified o-wanges,  lime, and now papaya. There are also hibicus or similar and a rose.

Papaya. 

Lime off of veranda. Scratch the skin with your nails to identify by smell.
Each citrus is distinctive. 

Orange at corner of veranda. 

Our citrus Grove to leftside of front porch. 

Yellow and white hibicus? 

Red and blue. 

Some other plants are budding and should blossom within the next few days and weeks.

Lydia is getting more and more independent.  "I do. I do. " She wants to do everything herself. After setting her on the potty,  she got back up herself and made stinkies.  I'm not sure if she actually did, she flushed before I could check. And it's getting very difficult to keep clothes on her, she's constantly stripping them off.  "Naked girl".

Her and Josh are growing closer together,  playing nicely together. It's so good to see.  There's still some teasing and screaming, but not as much. We are all growing closer. This alone has made this trip worth it.

Raquel's thoughts for the day: We've been here one week.   The language barrier is the biggest challenge here.   Living in a city of 50,000 people, coming to a city with only 12,000 people,  I was thinking it was going to be small town living.  Obviously,  I was mistaken.   Everywhere we go there are people,  Tuk tuks, motos,  bikes,  pedestrians.  Someone told me that there is no personal space in this type of culture.   They were right.   I'm not complaining just expressing what we are adjusting to.   Today we explored the open food market,  it was very crowded.   I was pretty overwelmed,  we ran into a sister who gave us some tips on what to buy and for how much.   Rob bought some cut up watermelon he and the kids ate.   Intestinal whoas followed for Rob and Josh.   Lydia was perfectly fine,  maybe her immune system will adjust better then ours.   I also had a bout of whoas and the western grocery store we were at had no toilet paper.   I had one kleenex.  I was warned ahead of time this may happen.   At least I got a bottle of wine afterwards😂

We arranged through our landlord to have a house cleaner come today.   Her name was Silvia and what Spanish I knew I found out she had dos bebé one taller than her and one half her size.  The landlord fixed a few issues (Josh had cold showers) and he went out and bought us a new hammock and hammock chair and  fixed a chair that broke.  We were able to ask him a few questions about schools and buying or renting a house here.  He told us where to go so we can show Lydia and Josh monkeys😀 and maybe I'll be brave enough and do ziplining (Sherry where are you!?!?)

I'm glad we're taking a few days off just to figure Pana out.   Friday is our next service adventure.   Boat ride to a town across the lake and do more canvassing.
I have been invited next Thursday to go with the sisters on a shopping day.  Looking forward to hearing her barter with the vendors.

Adios for now

A Sign From Jehovah (?)

Completed our first run to the  Mercado  (open air market). Got 3 slices of fresh cut sundia  (watermelon)  and inner woes. Don't think they were necessarily related,  Josh and Lydia ate and didn't get,  Raquel didn't eat and got. May have been breakfast or what? Anyway cut our excursion short to find a baño and to escape the heat, the sun was intense this morning (still only in the 70's).  We did pick up tangerines,  avocados,  and a piña.

Finally found facial tissue so I could blow my nose properly.

Stopped at Sandra's, the high end US/Euro supermarket.  Got ham and cheddar, vino Blanco, and Jose Cuervo. (Rum is made in Guatemala so is the liquor of local preference, but I've grown a recent taste for tequila.) We then ate at Guajimbo's again  (3rd or 4th time) and had ano instructive conversation with the owner,  Jim or Jumbo.

During the conversation, Raquel repositioned our backpack of market goodies from the seat of the stroller to the handlebars alongside our Sandra's shopping bag.  Bad move. The whole contraption tipped backwards and came crashing down with the sound of glass on ceramic tile. Did we lose one or both precious bottles? I opened the shopping bag, unwrapped the newspaper from around the tequila, and it was Okay!  I unwrapped the wine, it was okay aLook! We thought for sure something had to have broken, but everything was fine.  Was this possibly a sign from Jehovah? This is the place for us? Or as more likely a freak non-accident in repudiation of Ecclesiastes 9:11.

We expect the real sign will be the coming weeks here in Panajachel and the coming months back home in Sheboygan.   Will we all continue to acclimate to this new life, and will things fall in place to make it permanent? Only time and Jehovah will tell.

Long-sought tissue, the miracle bottles, and two oranges and a lime from our yard.
Tequila.  Lime. Coincidence? I don't think so!

Porton Verde.

Calle de Rio, Porton Verde. (River Street, the Green Door.)

The three gates...car gate, house gate, garden gate.

At the garden gate, apparently doesn't keep out monkeys. 

Called de Rio to Lake Atitlan - 

Calle de Rio to Kingdom Hall. To the right is the river, just three trickles currently.

Three Congregations, One Kingdom Hall.

Meeting signs at Kingdom Hall gate. 

Our first meeting...Brother Ebony gave the talk.

So many visitors, so many names and faces.  It's hard to keep track of who's who.  I have great empathy for the Watchtower conductor,  Brother Tim. Brothers and Sisters are constantly coming and going here,  some for a few days,  weeks, months. Both elders have only been here since last August. I can usually remember faces, but then to place a name... Sometimes I  remember the first name, other times the last.

8 or 9 were supposed to have left in the past few days, but some may not make it out as planned. Supposedly there is to be a general strike or protest today and tomorrow,  and the streets are to be shut down. Walking should be possible, but no vehicle traffic, maybe not even tuk-tuks. First thought is that this is a disorderly third world country, but perhaps more accurately this strike may represent a greater national unity and freedom of expression than we experience in the  US.

We do not expect this strike to affect us overly much, we've mostly walked everywhere so far. We did take one tuk-tuk ride on Sunday to a hotel for a farewell party for the Ybarra family. They are ones that may be stuck here for now. Lydia loved the ride, but in spite of her excitement,  managed to fall asleep on the return trip home. (She also fell asleep on the pickup truck ride back from San Marco.  She woke up with a start near the end and shouted "Plane!" Must have dreamt the truck noise was a plane engine.)

Today is midweek meeting,  so we are taking it easy. We need to find me a hat today or tomorrow because I got terribly sunburnt in the San Marco ministry yesterday. Wednesday and Thursday are both unscheduled relax and shopping days. Wednesday is also cleaning day, a local woman is coming in to do housekeeping for us.

It is somewhat more difficult traveling with Lydia because she needs to be carried or strollered wherever we go. We end up being exhausted before we get half of what we expected to get accomplished. Plus the troops are often famished because we haven't developed a routine or have sufficient food at home yet.  Everything looks a lot closer on a Map! Distances are getting a bit shorter as we get more familiar with the streets, but still manage to take the long way.

Lydia just got her wish. "A plane, a plane." A helicopter just flew overhead,  maybe part of the government response to the protest?

We are taking precautions with the stroller so it hopefully lasts the month. Lydia gets carried over the rougher terrain and rides on the smooth (smooth here is a relative term).

Our front walk ... smooth.

O-wanj, o-wanj. Harvesting off the ground. 

The upper drive...still sort-of smooth.

The lower drive to Porton Verde. 

San Antonio (Marco, Not!) JW Boot Camp

On the way to San Marco. Hang on! A twisty,  turny, bumpy ride.  23 JW's plus Lydia on the back of a small pickup. 

Four more on scooters behind. Hang onto the bumper Adam!

View of San Marco looking back towards Panajachel. 

Typical San Marco calle  (street).

Vincent directing us.

Now which way? 

Beautiful landscaping on main street of San Marco. 

End of the day.  We're exhausted.  (Young Brothers are ready to go climb a volcanoe!)

Correction: Wherever I've written San Marco, it should read "San Antonio Palapo". Rob

Layovers are not all bad.

This is how Lydia spent some of her time when she got too bored in Panama City Airport. (I'm adding some videos and pictures that I didn't have time to before this.)

Going Native.
Lydia loves taking her shoes off.  Unfortunately often when we're traveling with the stroller  ("pram" the British say). Two days in a row she took her shoes off, and by the time we got home,  one was lost. Fortunately she lost opposite foot shoes, so now she has an unmatched pair. She is going native!

The yard is the house.

We've had the doors wide open every day. This is normal in Guatemala. Temperate climate, little or no bugs. Hence the concept of the fenced and gated home. Coming into the yard is coming into the house. Privacy is still cherished, and you don't want just anyone wandering in on you.

This secured outdoor perimeter has a secondary benefit, a safe enclosed area for little ones.  Lydia absolutely loves it. She is free to wander wherever she likes, digging in the dirt, picking grass or flowers or leaves (can't reach the oranges), capturing eeants. Just every once in a while "Where's Lydia?  Oh, there she is." She never had this freedom in Sheboygan,  just too dangerous. Ironic, isn't that. Here in a third world country in some ways we can feel safer.

Roosters, dogs, and firecrackers (pyrothechnica).

Panajachel is a busy place, people constantly coming and going--trucks, shuttles, chicken buses, cars, and tons of motos (motorcycles and scooters). And people Walking! All of this commotion creates a  din that masks background noises,  sounds that seem to be there during the day,  but really become apparent at night.

Lying in bed one hears this irregular Symphony. Barking. Howling. Squealing. The packs of dogs get into a tussle about every hour.  It goes on for five or ten minutes, and then they quiet down until the  next hour.

Firecrackers.  What time is It? Doesn't matter - 12, 1, 3, 4 am - someone sets off a whole package of firecrackers.  Never one or two, but always the whole cluster. Are they Partying? Get up at irregular intervals with an urge for some Explosions? Have a vendetta for the neighbors? Who knows,  but you can bank on it, several times each night...bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

But behind it all, day and night,  most prominently at night, the crowing.  Cockadoodledoo, keekeekadee. Roosters. Not at dawn,  not at dusk, but always, constant. They. Just. Don't.  Stop. Errerra-err.

I'm not complaining.   This is just a different concert than we're used to. Raquel thinks that this noise has disturbed my sleep.  It really hasn't. This cacophony just emphasizes what I said yesterday afternoon while sitting on the veranda (I love that word and want to use it often because of what it implies - we are sitting OUTSIDE in February!). I said "We're in a foreign country." Raquel gave me the "duh" look, of course Stupid! But here we are,  in Guatemala,  living and preaching, testing out a new life.  We did it!

Sleeplessness?  Some, but not so much because of the (sheep Yasuda - for some inexplicable reason autotype keeps offering up this phrase, what does it mean? Why now? Why anytime?)  noise. More so because of anxiety, thinking about things we have to do, things we'd like to accomplish,  things at home required to make this happen, worrying about keeping my family safe, excitement, dreaming about motos. The Watchtower today is about anxiety.  That may help. At least a little.

Wait, I think the roosters have stopped crowing!

Day 3 (Raquel is posting)

I did cart witnessing with a Guatemalan sister,  Georgina.  She was a pleasure to talk with and ask her a ton of questions.   We didn't have anyone stop, except a little spanish girl named Marina.   She watches all the videos and shows her mom (whose selling her wares right next to the cart).  Marina is a regular and even witnesses to some and let's the sisters or brothers know which book they need or want.   Her Great Teacher book was very worn out.   Georgina and  another sister took her for ice cream one day.   These little ones are truly hungry for spiritual things.
Rob had a tough two hours trying to exchange money from a bank.   He waited 30 minutes in line, only to find out you can't exchange $20 bills,  needs to be $50 or $100.  Weird.  No, $20 are drug money.   So many things to learn.   This is why we really need a month,  maybe longer would even be better.

Day 4
We went out in service as a family today.   We arrived early and waited outside for the Spanish to finish their meeting.   Groups were made by raising your hand if you didn't have a partner.   You were them paired with someone.   Afterward about 4 pairs went to an area to canvass for English speaking personas (persons).  ¿Buscamos personas que hablan ingles?  We are searching for people who speak English.   The sister with me said it took her about a week to feel fluent in doing that, she and her son have been here one month,   then you can add more.   Why were there and who we are.   I was able to say it about 6 times.   Felt like a baby learning to talk.   Glad things will get easier with more practice.  Most of the friends we met were visiting family or friends or staying for a time to see if they want to live here.

KingdomHall

Inside Kingdom Hall

Eating Lunch

Lunch

Heading home up our drive

Lydia waiting patiently

The sister I worked with is staying for 3 months,  going back to Wales,  working one more year and then if all goes well moving here as a need greater.   Two brothers in our group started a Study with an El Salvador man on the initial call.  It was an enjoyable morning, I felt I got my feet wet😀  After service on Saturdays some go to a barbecue place and have lunch. Lunch was lovely!   The meeting is tomorrow at 10 am so guess I should get my Watchtower done while Lydia is napping.

(Rob, posting as himself). Smokin' Joe's pulled pork was the best ever! Flavorful, juicy, fatty. Not the grisly, choke-it-down-the-back-of-your-throat-gag-reflex fatty, but the Charcoal Inn butter-dripping-down-your-chin, best-fatty-parts-sacrifice-to-Jehovah fatty. It was simply delicious. And mustard-mayo potato salad, fresh green beans, corn on the cob, beans and rice, coleslaw,  homemade corn bread, garlic bread.  And Josh had a huge cheese burger with smoky Bacon.  Huge portions.  All for solo (only) Q190 (about $28, drinks not included).

I did the canvassing presentation 3-4 times. Had a wonderful conservation with a store owner, didn't understand a word of it. But we both enjoyed it.