Yesterday (May 10) was Mother's Day in Guatemala, and in the kid's school, they had a special program for the moms. Sydney's class "sang" - more like lipsynced - a song, and Elijah's class recited a poem and danced the "Baile de la Ranita" (Dance of the little frog).
Sydney came out in true drama form, and cried through her whole song :). We were told by her teacher that she did really well in the rehearsals, but apparently she couldn't get up enough courage for the big stage.
On the other hand - we've found our drama king in Elijah! He LOVED the stage! He did great job with the poem and the frog dance. He had a smile on his face the whole time, and was so proud of himself when he was done! I have to admit, to see him doing so well brought a few tears to my eyes!
As you all know, Elijah's 4th birthday is coming up shortly - we are planning a party for him, and going to invite his friends from his class. In his class there are 7 other boys (no girls!) - so we are going to invite them for a pizzy party after school is over and a piñata. Elijah wants a Quincy piñata (a character from the Little Einstiens) - they don't have Little Einsteins here, so we are going to have to see if we can find a piñata shop to make one special. If they can't well have to improvise! I'm sure his party and pictures will be the next post on the blog!
A few things you can pray about - We have a SUPER full schedule for the next 4 months.
- May 13-May 16 - Scott in Houston for Border Initiative meetings (please pray for safety, but also for us as we mobilize a lot of people to make this project a success)
- May 27 - June 2 - Project Isaiah and Caleb training - our 7 volunteer missionaries who are going to Spain and the Middle East will be arriving in Guatemala City for a week of training with us. Also pray that the Lord continues to provide financially for their trips (they are all raising $7,000)
- June 3 - July 26 - Youth in Mission time
- During Youth in Mission, we are hosting to Maximum Mission groups - one from Nall Avenue Church of the Nazarene in Kansas (55 people - 29 June to 8 July) and the other is the women's soccer team from Olivet (21 people - 15 July - 25 July)
- August 5 - August 18 - Formal Missionary Training. We have 6 people arriving to Guatemala City that are being put on a Regional Missionary Contract, and we are training them in the scholastic and practical sides of missions.
- After all that is over, we are planning a vacation (much needed by that time!) We will be gone from Sept 8 - Sept 16. We are looking at going to Belize, because we can drive there, and we've always wanted to check it out.
As you can see, we've got lots on our plates. We appreciate all the prayers that you send our way.
Elijah's Funny Quote: I debated about posting this quote, because it's a little brash, but it was SO funny, I just had to put it! "Mom, can you help me open my graham crappers, I'm ready for my snack." (said when he was trying to open is package of graham CRACKERS!
We love you all very much. Hope that these pictures and thoughts help you feel a little closer to us, even though we are far away. Lots of hugs and kisses!
Emily, Scott, Elijah and Sydney
