Monday, January 30, 2012

An MK's advice.

In my writing class we had to write an essay about life as an MK; this was mine.


Growing up as a missionary kid can be very interesting. You get to meet lots  of new people. Many MKs have to learn a new language and new culture. Most importantly, you get to see God work in your life and in the lives of the people you serve. I think growing up as a missionary is the best childhood ever!


Growing up as an MK can be interesting in many ways. When you're an MK in a third world country, you usually have to overcome many challenges. For example my country has a rainy season which causes mudslides. If you're going somewhere and you get stopped by one, it takes a lot of patience to wait for the road to clear. That's why you keep something to entertain you in case of boredom. Being an MK you also meet plenty of new people. Meeting new people can also have problems attached. We have a friend who needs to move. I think we have found a few possibilities, but none are ideal. In these types of situations you should pray for wisdom.


Many MKs have to learn a new language and/or culture. Some cultures are cool; others can be classified as scary. Some languages sound easy like Spanish, but others sound really hard like the Mayan dialect, Kachiquel. It sounds like you are choking! If you have trouble with your new language or culture, I recommend praying.


Finally the best advice I can give you is as follows. When you find unexpected rough spots and difficulties pray for wisdom. For all your missionary problems I recommend praying.
My money is on this not being there by the end of the next rainy season.

This hill is scarred by a mudslide.


Thursday, January 5, 2012

My Christmas and New Year Special.

I'm very sorry I haven't been posting lately but my grandma was in town. I'm going to show a few pictures from each day to explain her trip. Sorry if this take a while to load.

These four were taken on the way to a town called Godinez.
                                                    This is an amazing view.

 

This family was drying their corn on the roof. 

Beautiful fields.

That night we ate dinner at a hotel called Hotel Atitlan.

Cool sunset.

They had magnificent gardens.

For anyone planing a wedding, come here!

There was a stunning moon rise.

More pretty plants.

On Tuesday we drove two towns over from us to San Antonio Palopo. 

That view never gets old.

That boat scares me!

The church had a nice Christmas tree.

They make amazing pottery here.

That's a difficult way to live.

On Wednesday we went on an adventure to Guatemala's second biggest city. . . Xela (Shay-la).
I only took pictures of the view because the city itself is not interesting whatsoever.

This is a waterfall on the road out of Panajachel.

We don't have rolling hills, we have beautiful hills.

This one speaks for itself.

We also have rolling cliffs.

Thursday we took a boat across the lake to the cleanest town around the lake, San Juan.

Far left; Vulcan Atitlan, far center; Vulcan Toliman, close center; Cerro de Oro.

Vulcan Pedro.

I took this, but Anna Kate edited it.

Telephone pole / tree!

 This is called George Washington's nose.  

Everywhere Ali goes she finds friends.


Then Friday we went to a Mayan ruin called Iximche.
You can only see about 2/3's of this building.


I love the tree on top of this one!

Ancient Mayan trash!

I think this was a water pipe.

All I took for Saturday was lunch at a nice restaurant in Antigua.

They had a nice fountain.

Nice mask.

They also had a nice wall ruin.

New Years Eve/Day fireworks.

That's pretty!

That's awesome!

Christmas colors.

This one looks like a palm tree!

Our friend's cat was freaking out and hiding in the fireplace!

On New Years Day we went to a coffee farm called Filidelfia.

Cherry red= ripe, green= unripe, and black= hard as a rock and useless.

This little coffee plant has been grafted in the middle. 

They have about 60,000 little grafted plants.

This is a three year old, when they're 3 they start making berries.

Inside are two slimy beans.

These are the drying beans.

On Monday we drove to Guatemala City to go to Oakland Mall.

This is the logo for a restaurant called Skillet.

They had a nice Christmas tree.

They had STARBUCKS!!


We love our Starbucks!

Tuesday we went to the Zoo!

This is the most interesting fake tree I've ever seen!

This puma's not afraid to make eye contact.

They had about 100-120 turtles and tortoises.

. . . And this little fox slept in a tree.

They called this a mini Jaguar, but I think it looks like a land-otter.

You probably are wondering what this is. I want to know what you think it is!

This is a Marmoset, also known as a pocket monkey.

This bird is cool but the tail is even cooler!
Now all I have to say is Merry Christmas and happy New Year!!