Happy Birthday, Glynis

She's the best wife I know. She is the best mother I know. She is the best missionary I know. Everyday, I am the recipient of her love and care, and I am blessed. She rides with me on roads where most people do not travel. She rides with me for hours without access to a bathroom until the only option is a solitary place alongside a mountain road- easier for a man than a lady! She stays with me in little hotels where most people would be challenged to stay. She eats with me in places where most people might decide that they are not hungry. She has shared more peanut butter and banana sandwiches with me than I can count as we found ourselves in remote areas at meal time. While doing this, she continues to be my greatest encourager just as she has been during our thirty-three years of marriage. I am the most blessed man in the world, and with great joy say to my sweet wife, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GLYNIS!  

From the Air...

Recently we traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico for a research training meeting. David enjoyed taking pictures from the air and I thought for your enjoyment as well, we would share a few of them.

We left early in the morning and could see the triple three volcanoes Fuego, Acotenango, and Agua as the background for Guatemala City.

Mexico City is such a awesome sight...everywhere you see there are houses...houses...and houses.  With nearly 9 million people, it is the 11th largest city in the world.

Maybe David did get a little bored as we were flying...close up view of his jeans...haha

Beautiful clouds guided us to Oaxaca.

Coming into Oaxaca...love seeing these "spikey mountains with the road down the middle of the range.

On the way to the conference center, we passed the area where the circus was setting up for the week.  Don't you just love these camels?

Here they are even smiling at us.

The morning we wer to leave Oaxaca, there was extensive fog and cloud cover.  This is as we were leaving 4 hours later at 3:00 in theafternoon.

It was a good conference offering new insights for research into the world of unreached people groups.  So many still needing to hear the message of salvation in their own heart language...where are they located?  how do we get to them?  how do we share?  who will go? 

Will you pray? 

Will you give?

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is coming soon.

What will you give so that others may hear?

Kent Welcome

Last night, the family gathered again to welcomed new friends to Guatemala.  I am sorry that I didn't take a photo of the pot luck dinner we shared...just like an old southern church potluck dinner.  There was chicken tetrazinni, chicken echaladas, chicken pot pie, (notice a pattern here?), chicken and dumplings, pasta chicken salad, fried chicken (KFC no less - we have had two to open in the capital this year YUM!), lasagna (sorry it was beef and not chicken), slaw, brocolli casserole, garlic green beans, corn casserole, and biscuits.  Oh yes, then the big temptations - chocolate chip cake, chocolate cake, and another chocolate cake, blueberry cheesecake, peanutbutter/chocolate delight, egg custard pie, apple crumb pie, peach crumb cobbler and ice cream.  Not too shabby...and that is just what I remembered.  I think there were a few other thing there that I forgot to mention.  It was so good!  We baptists sure know how to cook...and the fellowship was great too.  Welcome Kents to your new family.

Training...Prayers...

Pray for us this week as we are in training to refine our tools for our research work.  We are learning and sharing much together.  Then later in the week, we will put into practice some of the tools we are learning.  Pray for alert minds, abiility to grasp new concepts, and protection as we go out.  Updates will be forthcoming after it is all over...just enlisting your prayers.

Please pray diligently for Jeronimo this week...his trial began today.  Our lastest update from tonight...

Jeronimo Update: It is now 7:15 p.m. in Guatemala and the court is still meeting. Today, the judges moved all the prosecution's witnesses to the front of the line and listened to them first. Jeronimo's witnesses spent all day waiting to be called and no one was. Who knows how late into the night they will go. Let's pray for tomorrow...

Please pray with us.  We will keep you updated.

The way home again...

As we traveled home, we stopped in Cobán to refresh ourselves and enjoy time with special friends.  We stayed in a different place, a little hotel outside of town and found ourselves in the midst of garden beauty.  It was a quaint little place we hope to visit again.

Returning the next day, we passed the recent derrumbe near Salamá.  It had happened on Saturday, but we didn´t take a picture on Monday as we passed.  Saturday, it was MUD pushing its way down the mountain.  A week later, it was dirt still sliding down the mountain but with one side of the road cleared for traffic. 

What do you do when you see it coming toward you?  Thanks for praying for us as we travel.

Peten, Guatemala

We exited the river ferry and continued our trip north to Lake Petén, the second largest lake in Guatemala.  Since we were interested in the Itzá, we continued to San Jose on the northern side of the lake. 

We turned left on one of the roads into the town and looked.  I wish I had taken a picture but I just forgot...I was too busy praying while David was driving.  I don´t believe that road even had an incline...just vertical straight up!  When we got to the top and turned left, David said, "Wow, we haven´t done THAT before!"  Well, just to relieve your mind, we didn´t go back down that way...we would have ended up in the lake...haha  It was worse than a roller coaster!!

This is the road we took down...

what a rewarding view!

It was hot, hot, hot but as we traveled and researched the area, we enjoyed some other pleasant rewards.

This little fellow welcomed us to our room one evening.

It is especially for Anna Grace, our "little elefante AG."

And sunsets like this cooled the evenings.

One afternoon, we drove around the lake and enjoyed "postre and café" at a neat hotel on the lake as we saw some other interesting sights.

It was macadamia nut brownie with ice cream and delicious coffee.

We passed this really neat looking fence...rock between two layers of tree saplings.

Close-up view of the fence.

Yes, we love our job...not everyone gets to see such beauty!

New Travels

The recent numerous landslides changed our travel plans last week.  Instead of going to Uspantan to continue our work among the Quiche' we headed to the hot country to investigate the Itza'.  It was a long trip (just a 9 hour drive) with a few interesting sites along the way...

Sorry it is blurry but note the oil pipeline beside the road.

Love these buses around here...there is NEVER too much to go on top.

Our first stop was in Sayaxche where we visited with friends Wendall and Jane and David, Regina and Cruz. David, Regina and Cruz will soon be moving to this town so they (and the Parkers) were looking for suitable housing. It will take another trip or two to find just the right place for them. We enjoyed our time together and stayed in a nice hotel.

Recently, Jane and Wendall had stayed in room 6 (our room for the night) and when they left, informed the management that they had been shocked when they turned on/off the water in the shower. They were told it would be repaired. 

This shower was equipped with a widow maker (remember a tale of a widow maker in another hotel?)

We checked it out, and they certainly did fix the problem.

Close up view of the "fix"- black electrical tape around the handle...haha

As always, it is good to share time and meals with special friends and we try to take advantage of as often as we can.  Here is a photo of us all before we left to go our separate ways on Tuesday morning. 

David, Glynis, Wendall, Jane, David, Regina and Cruz

The road runs out in Sayaxche, but have no fear, we can cross on the ferry and continue on to Flores. 

The ferry that crossed ahead of us.

We only had an hour wait before we could cross the water and continue on our way.  The roads in this area are asphalt and flat...a welcomed relief from our usual rocky side of the mountain drives.