Feeling settled... kinda

It has been just short of a month since we left the U.S. and we are finally starting to feel settled here in Guatemala! :)

So we aren't repeating ourselves too much, here is a link to Andi's last blog post that tells about some of our adventures over the past month of being here: http://andibrubaker.blogspot.com

After multiple trips to Guatemala City, Chimaltenango, and Antigua to get all our furniture and other household items, we got to move into our house on September 7th. Since then, we have been figuring out how to adjust ourselves to this new and different lifestyle.

This is our kitchen (left). Like most Guatemalan houses, we do not have running water in our kitchen. Instead, we came up with our own makeshift kitchen sink (right). One large jug has purified water for drinking, washing fruits and vegetables, and cooking (if needed). The other jug has tap water in it. This is used for washing off hands while working in the kitchen, rinsing dishes that may need it immediately, and for any cooking that doesn't need purified water. You can also see here that we also do not have real cabinets in the kitchen. This means we need to check for bugs and dirt on the dishes and usually wipe them out before using them.

Our pila is outside off of our courtyard. A pila is what is used to wash dishes along with doing laundry. The middle section gets filled with water and is scooped out with a small dish into the sides where the washing is done. The left side has grooves on the bottom to use to scrub the laundry, but that is something I really don't like to do if possible (it takes so long) so my parents are letting us do laundry at their house using their washing machine for now. We will have to eventually decide if we are going to get our own washing machine or if I will get over my stubbornness and start hand washing our clothes.

Here is how we are supposed to get hot water in the shower. It is called a widow maker. It uses electricity to heat up the water right there in the shower head. So far, we haven't had hot water (or even warm water), but it hasn't been really cold water. You can step into the water without shivering, but it doesn't make you want to stay there for long. I got a little shock once when I tried to adjust it... I think I will just leave it alone from now on to keep from making it mad.

We have a tin roof on our house. This is fine because we have quite high ceilings so it doesn't get too hot inside, but we have a couple fans that are on pretty regularly. One morning, I woke up suddenly to something hitting our roof. I ran outside to see what it was. Our next door neighbors were knocking Güisquil (right) off of the vine growing up the tree that hangs over our house so it was falling hard and hitting the tin roof. Not my favorite way to wake up. On the positive side, the rain sounds amazing on the tin roof! It can be difficult to have a conversation when it is raining too hard so maybe we should learn sign language :) 


Open air houses mean that dirt gets everywhere. We're still working on getting used to sweeping and moping more often to try to keep things clean. It also means we can hear everything the neighbors do. Sometimes is sounds like someone is walking through our courtyard, but we realize that they are in the next house over. They also like to blast pop and techno music. Keeping a fan running helps to block out some of this noise. 

Bombas (colorless fireworks) being set off during the night can be quite scary. Especially when it is coming from right next door and in the middle of the night. This was something I had gotten used to when I lived here before, but I am having to readjust to this again. 

Only in Guatemala... do you get asked by your neighbor to turn off the light in their property because the switch for that light is on your property. Now we put tape over that switch so we don't accidentally turn it on again.


These days, we are staying pretty busy.
Andi is taking Spanish classes for 12 hours a week (4 hours each day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and he has homework to do after each class. Please pray that Andi will pick up the language quickly. While he is at class, I am teaching Checha (Cesar) who lives at Hogar de la Esperanza (my parents' home). As far as we know, he has never had any formal education so at almost 18 years old, he is learning to identify and write letters, addition, and other basics. I am very excited for this opportunity to work with him. He is excited to learn and even asks me to give him homework. Please pray that he will continue to be excited to learn and that he will not be discouraged through the time of learning the basics (he understands that he is behind for his age and this can be discouraging especially if he is having trouble with a concept). And pray that I will know when to push him and when to back off and give him a break.

We are also taking trips with my dad. These are ministry trips to different villages where we take wheelchairs, medication, and food to families and get to spend time talking to and praying with them. This gives us an opportunity to see different areas of Guatemala and seek God as to weather or not He wants us to move to those specific areas in the future. I was able to go to Jalapa (Andi couldn't go because he was sick at the time) and then we both got to go to Canillá, Quiché. These are really neat experiences for us. Please pray that we will have open ears and hearts to follow God's call no matter where He leads us!

Thank you for all your prayers!

Krishauna