On Tuesday I was able to visit One Hope Ministries which runs a transitional home for girls who have grown up in orphanages, and it helps prepare them for a life on their own.  It was a huge blessing to me as the directors of the ministry, John and Judy Prim, have experience in both running an orphanage and in helping kids adapt to life afterwards. I really enjoyed seeing their vision for the girls, hearing their experiences, and listening to their advice for me.

The best part was definitely that two of the girls from Casa Shalom now live at this home, and it was great to know that they were being taken care of so well.  The verse that stuck in my mind after visiting was 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8.

We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

The home is also hoping to bring in six new girls soon, but like most ministries right now, really needs financial help.  I encourage you to take a few minutes to check out www.onehopeministries.com to learn more about them and their very essential minstry.

The buses used for public transportation here are fondly referred to as “Chicken Buses” because you never know what you’re going to find inside or on top of them! They’re like our old yellow school buses that have been painted crazy colors and stuffed completely full of people. On Saturday the bus I was on was so full that three guys had to hold on from the outside. I don’t have a car yet, so I’ve had to use them a lot lately each time that I want to travel over to visit Yuli, and it is always quite an adventure. It typically takes three different buses to get over to her town and has taken me between 45 min and an hour and a half. The journey has certainly made me appreciate having a car normally, as the journey would be less than a half hour otherwise. But it’s certainly a very authentic adventure with incredible views of the Guatemalan countryside all the way there. I’ve kind of enjoyed the experience because it’s allowed me to just watch the countryside and get an idea about what each town is like. I haven’t taken any pictures of the buses yet, but here are a few I found on the internet:

Tomorrow morning I leave for Guatemala! I’m very excited that my month long trip to plan for the future has finally arrived. I feel like I’ve been praying and planning for this trip for so long that it’s hard to believe that it’s finally here.

I fly down tomorrow, August 15th, and I will return on Saturday, September 19th. While there I plan to continue updating this blog with everything going on.

My cell phone number in Guatemala is 011-502-5233-6220, but I will also check voice mail on my regular phone. And I can still be reached by email, of course!

I really appreciate all your prayers and support! This past week so many people have encouraged me and it has really been a huge help. Thanks!!!

This post may be a little boring to some, but I find it interesting!

The currency used in Guatemala is named after the national bird of Guatemala, the quetzal, and to the right is a picture of a quetzal in the wild.  I’ve never actually seen one as they are very rare, but quetzales have the longest feathers of all animals.

Here in the U.S. we’re in a recession, and I’ve been asked how that affects countries like Guatemala.  Well, I’m not an economics expert, but I do know that Guatemala’s economy is very closely tied to ours.  A large part of their economy is agricultural exports like coffee, bananas, sugar, and other produce. They also have large number of clothing factories that export here.  But the surprising thing is that the largest source of income is actually from Guatemalans living here  in the U.S. and sending money back home!

So a recession here means that we buy less from them, and also that there are more Guatemalans here unable to send money back.  I’ve been watching the exchange rate between dollars and Quetzales, and since I was last visiting over Thanksgiving, the rate has gone from about 7.5 up to 8.2 quetzales per dollar.  Here’s a plot below of the exchange rate over the last 5 years, and you can see how much it’s risen since last year.

I feel bad saying this when this graph shows that their economy has been having troubles, but it also means that compared to last time I was there, the value of the money that I’ve been saving for a Guatemalan house has risen by about 10%!

Time is flying by, and I’m only 1 week away from flying down to Guatemala for a month to make preparations for moving back down! The week before every trip is always a very busy time as I finish getting everything ready to go, and this one is much more so because of all the plans that I have for this time.  I feel like I’ve been working on preparations for this trip nonstop over these last few months, and I still have so much more to do!  I will be very relieved when I’ve made it through this last week and get down there.

I am mailing out a prayer card to everyone that I have an address for. It’s just a little reminder that I’m doing my best to follow God’s will for my life. Please put this on your refrigerator or someplace that you’ll see frequently because I really need your prayers while I’m away and as I seek God about jobs, houses, ministry, and relationships!  If you want one, just email me your address.

The verse on the prayer card is Jeremiah 29:11 & 13, and it is one of my favorites because it reminds me that God loves us and is in control of all things.  When life and the future seems so uncertain, I can be certain about God! He has shown me time and time again how faithful He is to us, even when we are so unfaithful to Him.  And so it is such a comfort to know that He is in control!

One of the comments I regularly get about visiting Guatemala is about how hot it must be because it’s located down in Central America. Well… believe it or not, but it is very cool there. Most of Guatemala’s cities are located in a very large mountain range, and we live at about 7000 ft. So the high for almost every day of the year is in the lower 70?s, and the low is typically in the 50?s. For this reason, Guatemala has been called “the land of eternal spring”.

Because Guatemala doesn’t have regular seasons like we’re use to, they call the summer months from June through September winter because that’s when the rainy season is. It’s still located in the northern hemisphere like us, but because the daily rain cools the days down, that’s winter. And when I visit during the 100+ degree summers here in Austin, Guatemala certainly does feels like winter!

Here’s the current weather near the orphanage:

Here’s another video from when I first lived at Casa Shalom in 2004.  The house of teenage boys is called “los embajadores” which means the ambassadors.  I was living with them and we created this music video together from all the short videos and pictures from our time together.  It’s certainly not professional, but it brings back lots of great memories!

This is from back in 2004, but it’s a really well done video about Casa Shalom.  Check it out here!

I’ve been given the opportunity to preach and share my testimony at my church this Sunday! If you’re in the Austin area you should come this Sunday and cheer me on! If you’ve never come to North Austin Christian Church, then you DEFINITELY have to come! We start at 4:30 in the afternoon.

North Austin Christian Church
1734 Rutland Drive
Austin, TX 78758

There’s only 1 month left until I head back down to Guatemala for a month! This trip will be to make preparations for moving back permanently at the end of the year. So I fly down on August 15th and return to the United States on September 19th. If you haven’t seen it yet, I wrote about my vision and plans for the future on my main website here.
Here are the main prayer requests for this month before I go:

• Car to borrow while I’m there
• Job leads to pursue
• House leads

Thanks for your prayers and support!