The Selfs in Guatemala:

This 4th of July we tried to make the day special for Soly & Grace. We got all decked out in our red, white and blue and had some fun at a park. After that we ate hotdogs, chips and dip, and chocolate cake. You know, all the essentials. We listened to some patriotic music on Youtube and then ended the night with a literal bang by shooting of some fireworks! With every holiday we miss our friends and family back home, but we also get a chance to create new traditions for our family.

Ok, seriously guys, let’s try to be ready for the next shot!

Language learning is going really well for me (Hannah). It’s probably one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. If you’ve never learned a second language to the point of communicating fluently in that language it’s easy to have grandiose ideas about what it would be like to learn one. Me, being the imaginative idealist that I am thought I would just naturally pick up the language during my every day activities. I mean, I just have to listen to some Spanish praise and worship songs right?

Yeah right. The truth is it is really hard work. The only way to really learn is to put in the time and effort and practice with real people a LOT! So far I have successfully been able to shop at the grocery store (this includes ordering ground beef and bacon at the meat counter), play the bargaining game at the market, spend a night in the hospital with Soly when he had a bad case of croup, and go to the dentist by myself among other things.

There are times when I want to rush through learning Spanish and begin our “real” ministry, but almost everyday I am faced with the need to communicate with Spanish speaking people. It is vitally important for our family’s survival here to become as fluent as possible. We have heard stories where the wife of a missionary wasn’t required to learn the language. Many times the outcome is a wife who feels trapped in her own home and a stressed out family. I am so looking forward to all of the ways that I will be able to use my Spanish to communicate, help and teach others!

My Spanish teacher, Yolanda, and Me at the Cerro de la Cruz. Yolanda is an incredibly smart amazing teacher! God knew who the right teacher for me would be!

Thank you Springville Road Community Church Children for your sweet cards! It is so encouraging to know that children are praying for us and learning about missions. The kids had some really cute comments from “Mrs. Hannah do you have a lot of laundry? My mom does.” and “I love you very much that I can’t breathe.” to a simple “I am praying for you.” We love it! Keep ‘em coming!

“But Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.’” Luke 18:16

So much has happened since we arrived in Guatemala over three months ago and yet it’s difficult to sum it up into words. I (Hannah) am taking Spanish classes for four hours a day. Almost every day I get to use my Spanish that I’ve learned, but almost every day I realize just how much I don’t know. I can’t even count the amount of times that I have said ridiculous and possibly offensive things to people thinking I was saying something else! I have an incredible teacher who has given me the confidence to keep talking even though I make SO many mistakes. I have learned that speaking Spanish will be a lifelong learning process, but that the LOVE of Christ is a universal language!

(My view on my walk to Spanish class)

While I am in language school for the next few months, Jordan is helping me by taking care of Solomon and Grace in the mornings. He was worried that he wasn’t going to be used by God in any way during this phase of our journey. God has once again taught us amazing things and proven us wrong! Jordan has such a heart for people and specifically youth. There are so many young people in the central park in Antigua who shine shoes or sell goods to help support their families. Many people walk by without even acknowledging them, but Jordan has befriended a few and has spent many afternoons getting to know them. One boy named Jonathan David recently accepted Christ! The last time we talked with him he had almost read the entire New Testament that Jordan gave him. If only we all were so eager to read God’s word!

(Jordan & Jonathan David)

(Solomon is 3 and Grace is walking!)

I am finally getting a glimpse of what it means to be a missionary kid. Jordan told me stories of his childhood experiences and I read books but I could never really understand. In these few months here in Guatemala I have had many precious people come into my life for a few hours or a few days or a couple of months and then they had to return to their home or the next place that they were going. It’s easy to love with half of your heart when friends come and go so quickly. I am learning to love boldly and realize that I’m just extending my lifelong friends. As my friend Judy says “Small world, big family.” I am thankful that God has allowed me to learn this as an adult. I can only imagine what this life feels like for a child or youth and I am thankful to be a part of helping some MK’s appreciate and grow from their lives in Guatemala! I have included an excerpt from a poem written by an anonymous MK that has given me the best understanding of who a missionary kid really is:

Who is an MK? I am a combination of two cultures. I am neither and I am both… I am the six-year-old who cries herself to sleep the first two weeks away from home…I am the one who desperately worries about fitting in, but I am the one who wears my native wrap around the college dorm and doesn't care what anyone thinks. I am the one who has lived under strict school rules, and I am the one who returns to America and questions what my real values are. I am the one the churches make a saint out of, and the one some people pity and laugh at. I am the one who traveled halfway around the world before I was four, and I am the one who has no home. I am the one who promises to write, but never does because it's too difficult to deal with the reality of separation…I am the one who knows and understands world missions, life and death, heaven and hell. I am the one who has seen God work miracles. I am the one who knows prayer works, but I am the one who sometimes finds it difficult to pray…I am the one who has learned to live with a politically unstable government, and I am the one who waits impatiently by the phone for news that everything is safe. I am the one who has spent only three months a year at home. Yet I know, beyond question, that my parents are the best in the whole world. I am the one who speaks two languages, but can't spell either…I am the one who wears a thousand masks, one for each day and time. I am the one who learned to be all I'm expected to be, but is still not sure of who I really am…I am the one who laughs and cries, sings and prays, gets angry and doubts, fears and questions, expects and receives, hopes and dreams. And I am one who cares. I am an MK, and I am proud of it!

We thank you for faithfully praying for us every step of the way! Love,

Jordan, Hannah, Solomon & Grace

(My super sweet friend Hillary who I met my first day of Spanish class. Miss you Hillary!)

(Antigua is beautiful! Even and old wall looks like art!)

(The Guatemalan Mother’s Day is a few days after the one in the US so I got to celebrate twice !)

I met a new friend named Carol who works for Servants 4 Him in and around Antigua, Guatemala. After supper last night I was trying to get Grace to fall asleep and was wishing that I had brought my Moby wrap. Carol said that the women in the villages that she ministers in have asked her “Why don’t American women like their babies?” She asked why they thought that and the women replied “Because they leave them at home when they go to the market or to work. They also kick the children out of their homes as soon as they turn 18. Our children stay in our homes until they get married and even then our sons usually bring their wife home to live with us.” Carol explained that American women do in fact like their children, they just prefer to be hassle free in the market. Also she told them that in America we like our children to become independent of us and have homes of their own. We like to spend time with them, just not all in one house all of the time. In the villages here the women pretty much toss their baby on their back and wrap a blanket around themselves to hold the baby on. They carry them around all day no matter what they’re doing. This goes on until the child is at least two years old. Children in villages here don’t really ever crawl. They just go straight to walking. I asked Carol if she knew why they did this and she said the women think the ground is too dirty for the kids to walk on.

It’s easy to look at the ways that people here do things and think they are silly or weird, but it makes sense to them. In a village where clean bathing water is hard to come by it does make sense to not let their children crawl around on the ground. I personally LOVE having my own home and get a little overwhelmed when I spend long periods of time with any friends or family other than my husband and children (and even then I need to get away ). But you could argue that the Guatemalans have it right. They are more concerned with quality time with family then getting their children to the right college or the right job. They are almost never too busy to have a conversation with you. I’m excited to see what God will teach me through Guatemalan culture. I’m planning on taking a trip with Carol into some of the villages that she goes to as part of my language learning!

Almost exactly three years after our survey trip to Guatemala we have returned to live! A lot has happened in that three years including the addition of our two sweet babies. Our flight here went as smoothly as it possibly could have. The ice melted enough for us to drive to Atlanta and take off almost on time. We had to edit down all of our belongings that we were taking to eight suitcases and six carry-ons. Most of our team was at the Guatemala City airport to welcome us and make us feel more at home.

Since we arrived we have been basically living out of our carry-ons. We are staying with Glenn and Judy Stewart for a few weeks in Guatemala City until Hannah’s language school begins. We have already gotten bank accounts, cell phones, and found an apartment to rent. Our next step will be finding a vehicle.

The kids have adapted well. The first day we arrived we ate lunch at a fast food restaurant called “Pollo Comparo”. As soon as Solomon saw the playground he jumped right in with the local children. He also went to the kid’s Sunday school class at a local church and loved it! He will be teaching us the correct way to speak Guatemalan Spanish soon. Grace gets a lot of positive attention here just because she’s a cute baby that obviously isn’t from here!

We will have many obstacles ahead while we continue to adjust and learn the new culture. We can’t drink any of the tap water here even when brushing our teeth. Fruits and vegetables have to be soaked in a special solution before we eat them. We line dry our clothing here because of the high cost of electricity. Many nights we have been awakened to fireworks that sound a lot like gunfire (not what you want to hear when there are armed guards at every neighborhood).

There is a lot to be afraid of in Guatemala, but there are so many more reasons to fall in love with the country! We get to see one or more volcanoes at almost any time. There are tons of fresh fruits and vegetables and beautiful foliage everywhere. It’s been sunny and 75 degrees every day that we’ve been here so far. Many people here don’t make much money, but will go out of their way to be friendly to you. We met a woman named Irene who travels on the dangerous public transportation buses two hours each way just to work as a maid in a middle class neighborhood where she makes less than $15 a day. Instead of wasting time on the bus ride she preaches the gospel to anyone on the bus who will listen to her!

We are excited to get through language school and start working at the Christian Academy of Guatemala. There is much need there and they are anxious for us to start. We are equally excited about the people that we will meet and opportunities to minister to others during Hannah’s time in language school. Please continue to keep us in your prayers! Paul tells us in Ephesians that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We have to remember that while we have many physical struggles, we will also have spiritual struggles in which “the effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much”. One part of our journey has ended and now an even more difficult part has begun. The financial support of our partners is a necessary avenue to keep us here, but prayer support is even more important. Please feel free at any time to drop us a note through email, Facebook, Skype or our blog to encourage us or let us know that you are praying for us.

May God Bless You!

Jordan, Hannah, Solomon & Grace

Life is good!!!

Poor Soly got bitten up by mosquitos. No more sleeping with the windows open at night!

The view from Glenn & Judy’s apartment.