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Monday, December 7, 2015

A Foreign Land

Today is December 7th, I know, same as there.

I was unaware of the importance of this date until about three hours ago. Shortly after the sun began to set, around 6 pm, the kids and I noticed, actually it was near impossible to ignore, the multitude of fireworks and loud, loud music.  The annual town wide party/fair/carnival will begin tomorrow, I think.

I have since learned that today is "Burn the Devil" day.   I don't know if this limited to Guatemala or is a Latin holiday.  I am sure this is highly unimportant to most of,  if not all of the 15 or so people reading this (I cherish you all).  I only mention this because I was reminded today of a time about 6 month ago, when I was struggling to feel as though my feet had landed in a place where they would ever settle.  This 'holiday' with a festive yet slightly unsettling purpose, reminds me that no matter how comfortable we may become here, whether thru adjusting or compromising to the point where we don't leave the confines of or homes to avoid the surroundings of the day,  that I will always be living in a foreign land. I pray I will never loose the memory of walking into Grandmas house for Christmas, or enjoying a warm summer night with fireworks and hot dogs, and what it felt like to feel a scene of normalcy.

I pray I am not only able to recall those memories for myself, but so that I can remember the importance of each day with my own children. For them, this is home now. They cant remember 10 years ago, much less the good ol' days, back in the 90's, when I remember life being simple and easy. This is their time of building memories and creating traditions. I don't want them to remember all the days we spend in the car, but the way we stuck together on those long days. I don't want them to think of the battle we chose to fight as parents raising our children by faith each day, but of the way we had food on our table and warm beds to sleep in, even on the not-so-quiet nights, like tonight.

Construction is moving along on the new facility. We have completed all concrete work for the interior of the building, and we can shift focus to the roof, water, electrical and septic. Plenty to do for now.

I thank you for reading, loving on us, and praying for all of us here in Guatemala.
Jacob 

Joshua helping out with floating the concrete
A months worth of supplies.
Enjoying the journey

The most active volcano in Guatemala, erupting a little.