Clean, Economical, Healthy, Safe, Environmental

This is how most Guatemalan's cook. There aren't many benefits to this. The one benefit I can think of is heat when it's cold.

The damages are numerous. The smoke is thick. Lungs and eyes are constantly irritated and related illnesses are common. Children are often burned when they pull burning sticks onto themselves or fall into ground fires. The metal roofs are ruined by the soot and smoke. The walls and everything in the kitchen are blackened and filthy. The cost of the wood is very high, either by time collecting it or purchasing it. One woman told me she spends $14 a month on firewood on this kind of fire (we spend the same on propane for ours). An estimated 6 trees are cut down each year in order to provide firewood for one family.



I've been spending the last three days delivering, installing and photographing new Onil stoves in people's homes. These of course eliminate the smoke, soot and burning dangers (unless someone sits on griddle, the concrete only gets mildly warm). They use up to 70% less firewood on top of that.

I really enjoy seeing these stoves go into people's homes. Their quality of life improves so much! What's funny is that when we drop off the stove, they often have it almost completely put together before I can get in to make sure it's put together correctly, they are so excited. It's quite the treat!

Shoot

So we got 50 bullets.



Picked up Erick's pistol.



Put up a target.



And mostly missed.



Comment: It was really loud.

Failed States Index

The Fund for Peace publishes an annual report called the Failed States Index. This year it studied 177 countries and rated them on 12 criteria which polled social, economic, and political factors.

A few observations:

• Canada's three greatest weaknesses are shown to be:
  • Mounting Demographic Pressures
  • Massive Movement of Refugees or Internally Displaced Persons creating Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
  • Uneven Economic Development along Group Lines
• Only 18 of the 36 most failed states are in Africa
• The United States is failing as a state better than 17 other countries
• Guatemala is failing more as a state than Mozambique, Madagascar, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mali, and Vietnam
• The 5 countries that are succeeding the most all have high taxes and are in Europe
• South Africa is the most successful country in Africa
• Haiti, Columbia, Bolivia, Guatemala are the biggest failures in the western hemisphere and also the sites of US military intervention (and the cause of much of the failure)

Papa's Day #2

Amber put together a splendid father's day for me. I was nearly as pampered as the kids. It was my second year as a father (my first year we hiked to a waterfall) and already look more haggard (see above photo).

The dear mother of my children got a DVD* for me and let me watch all 6 episodes on the disc throughout the day. We went out for brunch and played at the playground outside the restaurant. Amber cooked up my favorite pumpkin soup with biscuits. Then after the lambs were in bed, we watched Pan's Labrynth (superb!!).

My papa wasn't home all day so I couldn't call him. Besides there was no signal on our phones most of the day anyway. I'm going to call him later today.

I only had to change 2 diapers the whole day too!

* Thanks Saison for picking it up and thanks Tureena for bringing it to Guate. The DVD was The Office, Season 1

House Hunting in Tactic

We had two visitors to our ministry over the weekend. One of them sponsors a girl, Olga, and so I ventured to take her yesterday to see her. It went like this.

1. Stop by Oscar and Evelin's to see if they know where Olga lives. They don't know, so they direct me to Olga's aunt's house (Alma), close to Tienda Amarilis (store).

2. Stop by Tienda Amarilis where the lady at the counter sends me next door to Alma's house.

3. Stop by Alma's house/store. She tells me that Olga just recently moved. She doesn't know where she lives now except that it's in a small village up the mountain. The road there has a sign that reads "Salam."

4. Stop by the SDA Church because Olga's father is the pastor there. It's Sunday and no one is there, so I ask the owner of the store across the street if he knows where the pastor lives. He doesn't know, but he knows that Porfilio Ayala knows where the pastor lives. I get directions to Porfilio's house.

5. Stop by Porfilio's street and ask a teenager where the Ayala house is. He says that no Ayala's live on this street. I should try the street over.

6. Stop by the street over and ask a woman there if she knows which house is the Ayala house. She says the Ayalas live on the street I was just on. The teenager was wrong.

7. Stop by the Ayala house and no one is home. They've just left according to a neighbour. They went to their other property on the highway next to the Telgua phone tower. They have a white car.

8. Stop by the white car parked on the highway and ask three neighbours and several pedestrians if they know where the people are that came in the white car. No one knows any Ayalas nor to whom the car belongs.

9. Drive down the road leaving town looking for the "Salam" sign. We don't see it anywhere.

***

10. We meet Olga at school this morning with her sponsor. After the morning devotional, Olga carries a flag in the morning's civic ceremony that happens once a month. It's her class's turn to lead the service. Olga also proudly leads the school in the Guatemalan National Anthem.

I guess I could have been pro-active and talked to Olga on Friday and gotten directions to her house. It's usually not that tricky to find a house though. Usually it's 2-4 stops.

Will Salomé get two in a row?

Any crackers out there to crack this one?

Kids' Favorite Verses

Our latest mailout to sponsors from their sponsor children was the child's favorite verse. It took a long time to translate the 450 sheets. The younger ones added drawings and the older ones explained why they chose the verse. There were some very funny and very touching verses that I thought I would record here.

There were lots about obeying parents and God such as:

Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. (Colossians 3:20-21)

For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:12)

There were those on poverty, like:

Blessed is he who considers the poor;
The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, (Psalm 41:1-2a)

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6)

Those about judgment such as:

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, (Hebrews 9:27)
(the accompanying drawing was of Winnie the Pooh)

and the very popular

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)

To obscure verses, perhaps open and point), for example:

Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. (John 3:23)

Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:12)

And the ones that had special meaning for certain students:

So he said to them:
“Out of the eater came something to eat,
And out of the strong came something sweet.”
Now for three days they could not explain the riddle. (Judges 14:14)

from 13-year-old Ervin:

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth
For your love is better than wine.
Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you. (Song of Songs 1:2-3)

from 10-year-old Jessica whose father abandoned his family to go work as an illegal in the USA nine months ago:

When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me. (Psalm 27:10)

From 18-year-old Juan:

do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9b)

This is my favorite verse because when I am in a place where there are many guys drinking alcohol and there are people passing in front of them and the drinkers hit them, but when I pass by there, they don’t do anything to me because God is with me always.

The 23rd Psalm was the overall favorite, edging out John 3:16. One boy had this to say about John 3:16:

God loved the world so that the world would love Him. I love Him. God sent His only son to die for us. God gives us eternal life because God loved the world He sent His son so that he who believes will not be lost and have eternal life.

16-year-old Eddie adds perhaps a little more coherence to why he chose John 3:16:

...in my life there have been many problems and temptations, but I remember this verse and I feel that the burden is lifted, to know that God loves me and loves me a lot. He has a hope for my life and also has prepared something for my life.

And for the hasty:

Jesus wept. (John 11:35)

Early Morning Rain

I've been so messed up by this quick trip to Guatemala City. We got up at 4:30 AM to pick up Tureena at the airport and I can't nap, so I've been passing out early in the evening ever since. This means I wake up early; this morning it was 5:30.

It was just dawning and there was rain. The temperature, light, humidity, sounds of birds chirping, fog in the mountains, and being alone. It just brought me back to so many other mornings in the woods growing up, standing on our patio in Montreal, walking to the beach on Carlos, packing up the tent on the Mackenzie or on the bike trip, delivering the newspaper at CUC, and on and on. Mornings all over the world are awe-inspiring. Add rain, and you have purity.

The atmosphere was so perfect, I had to indulge in one of my current favorite passtimes: pissing off the back step.

Disney DVD Deal

Between movies #1 and #2, and right after eating a quick supper, I shot into an appliance store that also sells movies. You know, just to see if there were any deals. Before I could get to the shelf with adult movies - by adult I don't mean pornography, I mean not for children - I ran accross a big shelf that had a sign "Liquidation of Disney Movies."

I'm not a big big fan of Disney movies. My sisters watched The Little Mermaid religiously when we were kids and I laughed when I saw Aladdin. But I never sang Disney movies or watched one over and over again.

So this shelf had about 50 different titles - most of them straight to video sequels of originals, but some were the classics like Dumbo and Pinocchio. The more I looked around, I found more really great cartoons - some recent ones too like Chicken Little and The Emperor's New Groove. They were selling for Q43 ($6.14 & no tax, no shipping). From what I remember in Canada, Disney movies sell for $25 and old movies only come around every 15 years or so.

So I did the only thing any film-addicted parent would do: I bought every original theatre release they had: 19. I may never have to buy another Disney DVD again. Sweet.

Action, Action, or Action

I will spend tomorrow afternoon and evening at Proceres, a mall in Guatemala City. I'm picking a friend up a the airport at 5 AM on Tuesday, so we're heading in early because driving in the dark is scary and it might take 8 hours to do a 3 hour trip, you never know!!

So, at Proceres, there's a nine screen cinema where they play English language movies with Spanish subtitles. I saw The Last King of Scotland there a few months back and so I am excited to return and perhaps pull off a triple-feature. I just looked up what is playing there and I'm mildly enthused. I'm wishing there were more compelling dramas, but alas! I'm stuck with 3 of 7 films playing in all of Guatemala:

1. Piratas del Caribe 3
2. Spiderman 3
3. Panico en Alta Mar* (Adrift)
4. Crank, Muerte Anunciada** (Crank)
5. Prueba de Fe*** (The Reaping)
6. El Tirador (Shooter)
7. Exterminio 2 (28 Weeks Later)

Looks like I've got a choice between Action Adventure, Action Horror, and Action Thriller. I will endeavor to see Action movies behind curtains 2, 6, & 7. (though #6 is at another theatre... and it might be the best film of the three!)

*translated Panic in the High Seas **translated Announced Death ***translated Test of Faith

No Pets Allowed... No Pets Needed

When it gets dark, the toads come out, and so does Blaise.



A flashlight is commandeered and the creatures are probed.



The toad is the usual main attraction and Blaise enjoys ordering them around.



Tonight's beetle is a bonus. It's BIG. And relatively quick too.
(You can see it in the second photo in the middle)



Acadia is more comfortable with tamer, plusher organisms.

Ultimate iPod Advert

No clothes needed.

Rained Out

I'M NOT BEING RAINED OUT BECAUSE I'M GETTING WET (WELL, NOT YET). IT'S BECAUSE IT'S SO LOUD! AMBER AND I SAT DOWN TO WATCH THE GOOD GERMAN AND BEFORE THE OPENING CREDITS HAD ENDED, IT STARTED TO RAIN. WE STRUGGLED THROUGH THE FIRST 40 MINUTES AND DECIDED WE BETTER JUST GIVE IN.

FORGIVE ME FOR SHOUTING, BUT IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN BE HEARD. ITS THE METAL ROOF THAT IS THE PROBLEM. WE EVEN HAVE A BUFFER OF PLANKS BETWEEN US AND THE SHEET METAL.

Memories, courtesy of Salomé

My sister Salomé gave me a little notebook for Christmas. In it she asks probing questions like:

What is your earliest childhood memory?
Do you have any regrets?
When you were a kid, what did you want to do when you grew up?
What are your favorite memories of Mom? Papa?
When you tell others about our childhood, what do you talk about the most?

The purpose is for me to answer the questions and then return the book to her as a gift next Christmas.

I hadn't touched the book until tonight, on a whim as it has been sitting by my computer for a couple months now. I shocked myself at how these questions opened up such emotional memories, both joyful and sorrowful. There really is a magic in memory and its power to influence how you think about yourself and others. I look forward to completing the last 2/3 of the questions on other upcoming nights. I feel blessed tonight to have been given the opportunity to reflect and make some concrete decisions about the future because of these reflections.

Daily Review

I got the Harper's Weekly Review email today, so I'm going to try and write my day out in a similar fashion.

The paper cutter arrived at the stationary store and so Flor and I cut translated verses up and stapled them to letters to children's sponsors. Pablo hasn't shown up to school since telling Hector David on Thursday that he's going to come back. The principal says he's afraid of the strap. Picked up a check and delivered it to the school to pay for 75 sweaters, bank client assistant Alejandra dialed 4 times to get VISA approval for my cash withdrawal and I added 200 minutes to my cell phone. I left $6 at the school to buy a friend's mariachi band's CD, heard to Mexican worship music in the office, and didn't listen to my iPod once. Met Margarita at the appliance store and bought her family 2 beds, 50 lbs of corn, 12 lbs of black beans, 6 lbs of noodles, 2 lbs of salt, 4 lbs of sugar, 5 lbs of potatoes, 10 limes, 4 lbs of coffee, 6 lbs of tomatoes, 4 cucumbers, and a bag of cookies with remaining funds from a donation to the family. Another abandoned mom came asking for her money this morning.

Beerseba School was deworming the elementary this morning, I delivered hemorrhoidal suppositories to a friend who spends his entire working day sitting on a small wooden bench, and Blaise peed 4 times in the potty and still managed to wet his diaper 5 times. Amber made me oats for breakfast, meat sauce pasta for lunch, and pesto pasta with salted sweat peas for supper. Blaise wouldn't go to sleep for his nap, 5 letters to sponsors didn't come in, no one was home at the top of the mountain, I lost $1000 on my iPod Texas Hold 'em game, and the power went out at 2:10 PM for 45 minutes. I talked to Salomé, I got an email from Remy, 7 people added me as a friend in Facebook, and Mike still won't confirm that I am his father.

Face in the Book

Alright. OK. Fine.

I joined Facebook at the behest of numerous friends.

So far I've made 56 old friends.

I can't make friends when the internet is down though.

You too can be my friend - search for me by my full name after you join. And you will join. Even Amber joined.

kicking around the house

Got this monster in the market: 15cm long, 34 cm around it's widest girth and 40 cm around top-bottom. Yum.



Amber got me these. On the packaging it says "for ages 3 and up." This is ridiculous. Blaise loves playing with them and he's not even two yet! Who makes these executive decisions?



This is my 3 times a week morning ritual. Fresh beans ground and then pressed. The smell is often better than the taste; Though with fresh unpasteurized goat's milk and granulated cane sugar, it's pretty hard to beat the flavour.

Puzzle Solved by Tenacious Girl in Sweatpants

Good job Salomé.

Those who are curious can see the answer here.

All The Excitement

I just woke up to Blaise barking at stray dogs and Acadia sneezing repeatedly next to me in bed.

Let me offer you some highlights of yesterday though.

I picked up 4 classes worth of cards for sponsors from one of our schools. The students are writing their favorite Bible verse and either drawing a picture or writing about what the verse means to them. I'm enjoying this because most of the translating I do copy-paste from QuickVerse. I'll post some highlights of these translations another time when I have all of them done.

We get the call that our new personally designed piece of furniture is ready in Cobán and is going to be delivered in 30 minutes. I have all the money with me, so I come home to meet the guys from the carpentry shop. They've done a fine job and I spend the next hour setting it up - surround sound baby.



I call the dentist first to confirm that he'll be at the appointment before I take our sponsor child, Zoila, to her braces adjustment. Along the way, She tells me about an accident she witnessed the night before...

the sun has set. a large truck is parked on the side of the highway, changing a tire of something, and has no lights on. The truck is also taking up half the lane. coming behind it is a pickup truck full of mangoes. coming towards it at the same time is a tractor trailer carrying logs. the pickup doesn't see the parked truck in time and has to choose whether to hit the oncoming logging truck or the parked truck. the parked truck gets hit. mangoes all over the road. two people dead.

While Zoila is at the dentist, I go to the bank to make a withdrawal on my VISA. I'm in Coban, but when I walk into the bank, two of the workers are from my Tactic bank. They ask about my new baby.

The dentist never showed up. He had his secretary inspect the braces and tell him over the phone how they were.

I have the task of purchasing 2 electric keyboards and a guitar for the ministry that were purchased from the gift catalog I made last Christmas. It takes an hour to make the purchases because I have to test each item (store policy), negotiate the price, wait for them to pack everything up and then for them to write out a receipt. Mercy.

As I walk in the back door of my house, Blaise leaps out of my office and scares the tar out of me. Later as I'm in the bathroom, I notice that his diaper pattie has plugged the toilet (a real Robichaud! I'm so proud).



He's pushes Acadia around in the stroller. He says "no tikiktikitkittik" when he wants me to stop tickling him.



He has a new chore of lining up the cans (he came to me this morning wanting me to open a can of olives for him).

My final task for the day is to attend a dehydrated soup (donated by the Okanagan Gleaners) giveaway at a Nazarene church in Pansalche. The service started at 6, but the giveaway is scheduled for 8 pm so I leave home at 7:30 with my camera.

Pansalche is on the side of a mountain. At night it looks like a ski run the way the path is lit. I walk straight up for 12 minutes and arrive at the church, welcomed by my favorite student's father. They sit me down in the pastor's adjoining house and visit with me while the service rages on. I'm given a cup of coffee and a quarter of a cake. After a while, I suggest we go inside (it's 8:20 and I don't want to miss the soup giveaway).

The pastor is preaching in Poqomchí and I enjoy catching the occasional "Ruth" and "Noemí" and some Spanish words mixed in. After seeing me sit down though, he switches to Spanish, though only for 10 minutes, then back to Poqom. I'm asked to share a few words. I apparently am the one who has blessed them with all this soup - so I give credit to the Gleaners and say how it's a pleasure to be with them and see God's work done. I completely miss my opportunity to share the similarity of the gleaners and Ruth's story and to explain how this soup is brimming with vitamins.



Three people explain how this vegetable soup is prepared that the people are going to be given.

Next comes the Mother's Day service.

The band is loud. As in LOUD. Amazingly, the mixing on this occasion is quite good. There is a drummer, a scraper, 2 keyboardists (who also sing), and a bass guitarist. There is nothing like hearing a bass driven "How Great Thou Art." I was standing at the back of the church and I can see my clothing move to the beat. I also watch as an esperanza flies into the church and lands in a girl's hair. Honestly, it takes about 30 seconds to pry this insect away from her head. Very funny.

At 9:45, they are serving Kak'ic to everyone in the church - including tamalitos to use as spoons. I am not served though and I wonder whether it's because I didn't eat the cake served to me (it was a tenth of all the cake they had there).

Finally at 10:10, the soup is distributed at lightning speed. I have to pull the "after I take your picture you can see yourself in my camera" trick in order to get any photos. The people are shy, but desperate to see themselves in this magical device, so I get some nice photos.











This is Oliverio's family.



Believe me, she asked me for this photo.

I am then ushered back to the pastor's house and seated with the band and pastor to eat a heaping bowl of kak'ic and a tall mug of coffee (my second of the evening). They get me a spoon, bless them.



I visit with the pastor, Apolonario. He works full time at our building project in Purulhá as a mason's assistant. In the evenings he studies and has 3 services a week. On Saturdays, he works until noon then takes a bus to the capital where he takes seminary courses from 5-11 pm. Then he gets on a bus and comes back home (3 1/2 hours). On Sunday he preaches again.



It's 10:50 and I'm sent off with a topped up mini-pot of kak'ic (oh, it's a smoky, spicy, thick soup with a chunk of chicken in it - very tasty). I walk gingerly straight down the mountain without meeting a single soul. I drive the 4 minutes home. Lock the gate. Fall fast asleep until...

"A-Choo!" and "Woof woof woof woof woof."

Fixture

You can't have a moustache for just a day. Apparently.



Moustache Men seem to be required to wear a moustache for years in order to be accepted. I remember seeing a band of misfits at a music festival in Stony Plain, all 20-somethings, all with moustaches. It really seemed out of place.

My papa had a moustache for years (after he cut his beard off). I never really felt like he looked like papa unless he had a moustache. Now he has a goatee and it's just not the same.

So, I guess that's my reason for not keeping a moustache: I haven't had one for years. It certainly has nothing to do with Amber telling me that I am not allowed to have a moustache.

I wonder if things would be different if I could wax the tips and twirl.

Moustache.

The Season is Mango

From March to May, we enjoy mangoes. As many as we can eat. They usually cost between 15-23¢ each. The eat them green here too, which isn't bad with some salt and seasoning. We whip them up with milk. We cook them up in crisps. We stir them into pudding. We dice them into waldorf salad. We bake them on top of chicken.

But mostly we just slice, dice, invert, and chomp.







Then we wash our faces.

Might

The sheer size of Acadia overwhelms me. And she's strong too! All 8 lbs of her.

This picture reminds me of those tiny monkeys that clutch to a pinky finger that makes into nearly every edition of those hologram Guiness Book of World Records.

Growing Fast

Two things this morning blew me away.

First, at breakfast, Blaise was saying thank you to Mamá for something she put in his dish, but he began saying it in a deeper and deeper voice, over and over. Amber would respond "You're welcome" in just as deep a voice. Blaise continued to push his chin into his chest and get as low as he possibly could, until it was just a whisper. We couldn't contain ourselves. He wasn't copying anything he had seen before.

Second, he took 5 colourful plastic cups from the cupboard and began playing with them on the kitchen floor. I was on the computer and Amber was in the shower, so he just played by himself, quietly. What intrigued me was that he began spinning them and attempting to keep as many spinning at the same time as possible - exactly how I used to do with coins when I was a boy. Genius!

Moneda Guatemalteca

Perhaps more for my own sake in remembering these fun (yet nearly valueless) coins, I'm recording them here. And for those who like to learn trivial facts about other countries... I present to you the coins in circulation in the Republic of Guatemala:



TAILS.



All of the coins feature basically the same thing on the tails side. It's the coat of arms. It consists of two bayonette rifles crossed and two sword crossed representing the fight for independence, the declaration of independence 15 Sept, 1821, and the quetzal (national bird). They have a lifesize coat of arms in the national palace in Guatemala City that I've seen several times. I've never been in the country on Independence Day (arrived 23rd Sept, then we were in eastern Canada late August until the 16th of Sept last year. I've neither seen a living quetzal, though I've walked through the quetzal reserve 30 minutes away.



HEADS.



One cent. This is Fray Bartolomé de las Casas. He's the Spanish monk who defended the Mayans against atrocity and wrote several books about them 450 years ago. From what I've heard, he also taught them to read. There's a town 4 hours away that is named after him - it's very hot there and there are snakes.



The five cent coin says "Free Grow Fertile." Pictured is the ceiba, the national tree.



The dime carries the picture of the Quirigua Monolith, an obelisk ruin situated about 2 1/2 hours away from where I live. I haven't been yet, but when I head up that road, I'll stop for a visit. Apparently the ruins are pretty cool there too.



I don't know who this is on the quarter, but I think it's just one of the indigenous people of Guatemala to recognize them.



The monja blanca (white nun) is on the half-quetzal. It's the national flower, but it's actually an orchid. It's also the name of a bus line here, and a heap of restaurants, stores, and other touristy stuff. It's against the law to pick or sell them, but I've been offered them quite a few times. They ask Q100 ($15), but what am I going to do with a white nun?



The Quetzal coin commemorates the signing of the peace accord between the army and the guerillas on December 29, 1996. This marked the end of a 36-year civil war in which more than 200,000 people (mostly civilians) were killed (93% of the killing was done by the army). Across the top of the coin is says "Peace, firm and lasting." The word Paz (meaning Peace) is written again in the shape of a quetzal.

Guatemalan Centavos	Canadian Cents
1	0.16¢
5	0.78¢
10	1.56¢
25	3.89¢
50	7.78¢
100 or Q1	15.56¢

The Quetzal was on par with the $US until 1987. Something happened. What?