WE'VE MADE OUR MOVE ....and survived !

That's right ! The Evans have a new home in Guate. I still do not have the photos to upload YET but will do that soon. I have to figure out for our security purposes the best way to do it so that you can share visually in our joy without causing possible headaches later. So, please bear with me as I make our security transition as well as our physical transition - gracias !

Well, where to start ! We have been spinning around like a tornado (although we don't have those ....that I'm aware of here in Guatemala) since we made our move and David and Jacob returned from the states. Which brings up a good point to mention...we now have a new driver in our family. Yes, Jacob has received his LEARNERS license while in the states and now we have potentially FOUR people in our family who could be killed in a car accident while DRIVING a vehicle now. smile- it's a morbid statement but all I can say is ....ya just gotta live here to get it ! Life has little to no value and art of patience is like out of date milk.....no one wants to touch it. The driving conditions here are awful and we would be grateful for your prayers in this area . One thought that I had is making a coupon type photo in our newsletter for folks to cut out and tape to their dash boards of their own vehicle to remember our safety daily while driving the streets. Our children are going to have to be on the road as well. David and I just cannot get everyone around that needs transportation so this is a risk for the children as well. What do you think about that? Do you think that people would cut it out and use it ?

David and Jacob had an amazing time in the states. They were exhausted when they returned here. Another note of prayer....When David arrived back in Guatemala he dropped Jacob off at our church for a concert that he was playing in. David was VERY tired and had some small issues at the airport (visa related) .. small but stressful... and he had been up since about 3 or 4 in the morning. This was about 2 in the afternoon that he was traveling home in a friends van. The traffic was moving VERY slow which is a common occurrence IF it is not giving the impression of a ride at SIX FLAGS and so as he tinkered along until he eventually pulled up next to the cause. A man had been hit by a car and was lying dead in the highway. Due to the traffic being at a dead still David was caused to be sitting next to what he described as a man looking like " a dead animal " in the road. I say that so graphic so that you can understand David's emotional state when he arrived home. For several days he had this image. Please pray for him and his rest these days. He is sleeping fine now and although we are unsure of what purpose it served for him to see that ...we know that God WILL use it. Peace will come. Only days later, near our home a woman was killed in the same manner. She was also hit by a car after returning home from ministering to her pastor who was ill in his home. Please pray for the gospel of JESUS alone to rapidly spread in this nation and in particular on Rosevelt Hwy....

Life can be gone so quickly ! There is such an urgency.

I have so much more to add but I want to have you check in again.... OH BIG NEWS..... I am IN MY HOME AND ON LINE at the SAME TIME!!!!!! I haven't had to buy time, a coke or a meal for you to receive news from us. So, hopefully a newsletter will be out quickly and our support and prayer team informed very soon ! We (I ) have had some very sad days here with some adjustment issues. Our life, as expected , is very different in the city. Praise be to God !.... I am feeling so much better these days and expect things to continue to be on the up hill! Thanks for lifting us up to the Lord! We FEEL the presence of your petitions at work in our lives!

Melinda

Not Your Adverage Trip to the Furniture Shop.....

The photos are from our recent trip to the "furniture shop". There is probably an easier way to load these. I am just unaware of it. Therefore, make sure that you look at the last several post for the new photos. They are like being in another world.... which, most of the time is quite acurate- smile-. What an experience it was !!! I have way more photos to share but to spare some time I decided to split them up . These photos are of the trip to hunt down some sofas and a kitchen table for 10...with chairs...So, enjoy the trip to San Juan. I sure did !!!! 

More photos and funny stories of our trip to the furniture shop are coming so check back in soon... it was not your adverage trip to grab some sofas and table for sure ! 

This woman is weaving a typical cloth that is used on tables. She will also use this loom to make bed covers, table clothes and skirt material on this loom. She has is tied to a post and will sit in this same position for 2 hours at a time to work on her project. This is her means of income for her family. 

We were at a local hotel the other day with the children. They have a "pay by the day" pool that you can swim in. We often use this for excercise with the little ones because we have no yard to mention and it is very dangerous for them to be outside of the house to play. If you can see the dark cloud in the background... that is a volcano and the dark smoke is it preparing to erupt.We can often hear it brewing but only a very few times have we seen one erupt. It is really a sight to behold. David asked his language teacher "What do we do if one erupts and spills into the city?" I think he was looking for an evacuation place -smile- she simply told him without flinching "We all die". I CRACKED UP!!!! How's that for a evengelical message ?.... the volcanoe could errupt at any time...are you ready? heeeheee .... It is a good question though? Are you ready? 

This is my language teacher. Her name is Olga. She is the typical size of a "healthy" Guatemalan woman. This is the first time in my life I've been considered "tall". 

Big news for Jacob...........................

Jacob is coming "home" to the USA for his 15th birthday. We saved some sky miles and he and David are traveling home for Jacob to take his driving test for his learners license. This is pretty necesary if he wants to drive at 16 years old. Here in Guatemala the legal age is 18. However, if you have a license from the USA or other country it is honored... so we've heard anyway heeheeh...... So, two of us from Central America will see you very soon.! 

Love to you all and THANK YOU for the encouraging messages... THEY ALWAYS come at the RIGHT time!!!!!!

mel

Cooper and Jacob having a "sweet" moment...totally posing for the photo.

We celebrated David and Eli's birthday Aug. 1st. Eli turned 6 and David TURNED 40!!!!!! 

Sarah Joy was brave enough to try drinking from a coconut that I brought home from the market. 

David was NOT brave enough... he too is only posing for the photo!- smile- 

These are some of they typical fruits here in Antigua. I specified Antigua because the climate varies greatly here and what is grown in Antigua would not be found in other parts of Guatemala. The red fuzzy fruit is called a "leech". I thought that the older guys were going to fall out of their seat when I told them that my language teacher took me to the market and we were going to have leeches for dinner- toooo funny!!! 

H-E-L-L-O !!!!

Wow !!!! If you are reading this please take a moment and thank the Lord for your internet connection -smile- I am right now! 

Seriously, I am sooo sorry that it has been so long since we've updated anyone on anything. Our connection at home is non existant now and I am up to my collar bone in Spanish trying to finish up my first book in language school by the end of next week. Yes, collar bone is a strange analogy but that's where I'm at. I have a tiny bit more space until I'm up to my neck in work for Spanish....at that point I may truely stop breathing from the weight of my vocabulary cards...( laugh if you must but you'll really crack up when I am able to post the photos of ONLY my voc. cards) not to mention the book work.... So, moving on ....

I must say that the emails and PRECIOUS notes left for us on our blog were a beautiful gift today. This morning AT THE CRACK OF DAWN I was standing in front of my kitchen sink looking out at our flowers in the back "space" - calling it a yard is a stretch (smile) ... but it is very beautiful. I struggled to not have tears. We are moving again at the end of next week. Although I am thrilled at the chance to FINALLY unpack ( we still have ALL of our stuff packed in tubs because our rental home is furnished) it is ONE MORE adjustment that we are having to make and it's hard. Getting off of the plane and "landing " in Guatemala caused us to cling tightly to our new surroundings in an attempt to figure out "home" and now we will do it again. The difference between living here and living in the city is almost like getting on the plane again and re- landing. Here is a quick list of the things that my heart will greive when we say goodbye to Antigua : the sound of horse carriages, the reality of poverty lived out in very approachable people, children running through the city park giggling at the top of their lungs, greetings of "hola " and "Buenas Dias" on my way to school at 6:30 in the morning, motorcycles, busses stuffed with people flying by , the smells of bread baking (it's everywhere here), the butcher shop that makes me gag every morning because of the naked meat hanging in the doorway, the man who has no legs and sits in the breesway cleaning the bricks everyday, the women who sits with her daughter painting with her feet because she has tiny, tiny, arms that almost don't extend from her shoulders, the little boys who dress to a "T" in the park shining shoes, my friend Mary who sells necklaces made from beans and sits with me every morning teaching me new Spanish words when she could be selling her goods, my sweet friend Florie who is only 12 and makes an income selling hair weaving and braclets for her family each morning...she sits with us too. We are all quite a sight in the park at 7 am ... one gringo and 3 women from the village who are clearly outcasted from the "social " scene ...we hug and kiss like we've known each other forever.... I LOVE it... I feel like the Lord himself hugs and kisses me through them each morning. They embrace me like they are clinging on for life. I LOVE it and need it so much.I will miss our security guard who watches over us closely, the cobblestone streets that kill my knees, the volcanoes that are either errupting or smoking quite often.... Ahhhhh, how can a life so strange feel so comfortable so soon? I can't help but wonder how the Lord will make the "city" feel like "home".  How will a billion people everywhere, tons of busses, crime, smoke and smog, no walking , very little "fresh" air ever be home? .... only because the same Lord that we followed to Antigua will carry us to the city. After all ...home will always be where your heart is right? .... King Jesus, I ask that today you would hold our hearts in your hand, carress them Lord that we might know that in this foreign land your have us tightly. Amen

Thank you for reading the thoughts of this teary eyed missionary - tears of great expectation for things not yet to be known or seen but CONFINDENT that it will ALL be good and well used, 

Mel