The Weekend

We are back in Antigua again for the weekend!

The week at school went really well this week i didn't have any problems at all with my classes. Friday was half a day for the kids so we got finished by 12:30 and Pam took Jessica and me to a very nice restaurant here in Antigua and commended us on the jobs we were both doing and told us how appreciative everyone at La Senda was for us so that meant alot to us both and was really nice to hear! We are excited for church tomorrow we have been hanging out alot with the people we have met there this weekend and went to a park today with a few of them and played soccer! It was a blast the Lord has blessed us greatly with the people he has placed in our lives while we are here! Sorry for not writing as much as i have previously things have picked up quite a bit and we have also gotten in such a routine that it's the same thing everyday and that leads for very boring blogs for you guys! Hope everyone at home is doing wonderfully and have a great weekend!

The Beginning of Week 3

Today was the first test for my 2nd grade math class. Suprisingly they all did very well. No one made less than a 85 so i was really excited to see that! Everything has become so smooth here and school online is starting to be just as good! I can't stress enough how thankful i am to everyone for your prayers i know i wouldn't be having the success i am without them all.

All my other classes are going extremely well as well. My kindergarten math class finally learned their months of the year and days of the week in english which is a huge milestone for them! As soon as i walked in the classroom today they all started singing it to me and were extremely proud of themselves, as they should be. I can not wait to come home and share all my experiences with everyone in person. Hope everyone has a great night!

We went to Antigua again this weekend, once again it was amazing. We met quite a few people and even went to lunch with three of the girls from the church we attend out here. The service at Camino today was a amazing service once again. The people in the church who are here on ministry work gave their testimonies and it was very eye opening. It is an awesome place that continues to grow and share the Word of God with this country and it needs to be kept in everyone's prayers! Brother Jonathan will be happy to know we met a guy from Kentucky today. He just graduated from UK and is out here doing some missionary work as well with a hospital out here. It's so great to see and hear the stories of all the other people who are here for the exact reason we are, to share the love of Jesus Christ. Everything here is going so well. I can not believe we are about to start our third week here. The time is flying by. I'm excited to start another school week and see what the Lord does in our lives this week. Thank you to everyone once again for your prayers and support. I hope everyone at home is doing amazing!

January 22, 2009

I'm sorry i have not been writing this week things have been crazy. Things with classes have been going extremely smoothly all week i see the Lord's work more and more every day. I'm excited to see how far the kids go and mature in the time i spend here! We've finally gotten down a daily routine and so that helps out alot, it also leaves for less exciting news for you guys. Sorry!

I am in very much need of prayers. I found out today that a close friend of mine from home was killed in a car accident this morning and am struggling to keep it together here please keep me and his family in your prayers. His name was Bradley Krantz

La Camino

As you read in the last post we found a christian cafe this weekend called Cafe Ywam owned and ran by English Christians in Antigua. While we were there we were told about an English church in Antigua called La Camina. It is a bilingual church that was started a few years ago. It was absolutely amazing. The preacher would preach a few lines and then there was a girl who translated it to Spanish. The songs were sung one verse in English the next in Spanish. The way these people brought the two cultures together to worship the same Lord was a very amazing experience. I have never felt the Lord so present in my life. The pastor asked specifically prayer for his staff so that's what i'm asking from everyone is to be in prayer for the staff of the church and also just the church in general. What they are doing is amazing and very inspiring. I wish everyone had the chance to get to experience what Jessica and I were able to this morning it is a life experience all in its own. Be praying for that church and for further success for them!

Weekend in Antigua!

This weekend was so amazing! We went into Antigua and stayed at a place called Casa Rustica it was extremely secure and the management there was extremely nice. They were very helpful and very patient with our lack of knowledge towards their language. We found a little Cafe called Cafe Ywam, which is a christian based coffee shop ran by Americans! There werre quite a few American people there that were studying spanish and staying at homes in Antigua that we got to meet. We also met 3 German guys that are our age that were in Antigua for the weekend because they were on vacation from teaching at an orphanage in Honduras. They have been there for 6 months and still have 6 more to go they were amazing people make sure you keep them in your prayers. Their names were Mario, Benidict, and Nils! We also met a girl from Alabama who is just traveling the world studying different languages and cultures! Our trip to Antigua this weekend could not have gone any better! We have already made reservations again for next weekend:)

Antigua!!!!

WE had another very good day with classes! I did a review with my 2nd grade math class on what we'd been over this past week and they've learned alot more than what i realized, so that was extremely good to see!

Two of the teachers here are taking us to Antigua where me and Jessica will be staying for the weekend. we are both extremely excited to be getting off campus and being on our own for a couple of days! Hope everything is going well at home! Keep the prayers going they are working miracles. I've realized the past week how amazing the Lord we serve really is! It's great!

January 15, 2009

Today was one of the better days! In my second grade math class we got alot accomplished! So that was extremely exciting! We have gotten pretty close with one of the teachers and she has helped us alot and is even going to teach us spanish! Maybe i'll come back fluent:) I just wanted to give everyone an update and thank everyone again! See everyone soon!

January 14, 2009

Today was better! My math class seemed to comprehend what i was teaching a little better than the past couple of days. We've been a little extra tired and moving more slowly than normal but Steve came up to our rooms earlier and explained that there had been a phone call telling him and Pam that they were really impressed with the "American Volunteers" he said that is the first time that they have EVER had a phone call to compliment their volunteers so that also picked our spirits up a little bit:) hope all is well with everyone!

Tuesday

Today was a little bit better but not too much. All the students have pretty much forgotten the english they knew so it's VERY hard to communicate with them. I am trying very hard to get the patience i need but it's starting to get very difficult. Still the main class that needs to be prayed about the most is my 2nd grade math class. They are all very full of energy and are hard to control especially when you have 17 spanish speaking children running around a classroom not able to understand the commands i give to them. I'm praying really hard right now that God will allow some kind of something to take place to restore my patience and enthusiasm to show me that these kids are understanding just a little of what i'm teaching atleast. I hope all is well at home and thanks againg to everyone for their prayers and support

First day of classes

The first day of classes went pretty much as expected. The children who do not live at La Senda(which is the majority of the students) have been without English for about 3 months now so they've all forgotten what they learned so it's pretty much back to square one with that. It was pretty frustrating but i know the Lord will be with Jessica and I as we struggle to communicate with the children. In my second grade math class is where i'm going to be needing most of your prayers. The first lesson was reviewing counting up to 100 and only a few select students knew how to count higher than 30 so i've got my work cut out for me in there. I appreciate all the love and support everyone is sending our way it's one thing that keeps my spirits high and frustration low. I think it's just beginning to settle for jessica and i that we are away from everything we know and are in a completely different place where all we really have are one another so i really need some prayer when it comes to us keeping our spirits high and knowing that we are here for a reason bigger than us. Thanks again to everyone and sorry for no blog yesterday the internet was down! I'll be sure to get on again later and fill everyone in on the events of today!

January 11, 2009

Today was a good day all in all. Me and Jessica decided to sleep in today and we both slept till about 10! So that was good:) Instead of going to church with Pam and Steve and the kids we decided to have our own little worship time together where we shared our testimonies and just got to know each other a little more and after that i honestly can not imagine having anyone better to be here with to experience all this with. We are both in very similiar places in not only our walk with God but also in life. We both opened up with each other quite a bit today and i really enjoyed it and am extremely glad we took the time to do that! It just shows how amazing the Lord we serve is he knew exactly who to place me here with to get the most out of the experience! After that today we(and in saying we i mean jessica) fixed a very good lunch for us, we ate very well today and are both a little more relieved about what we're going to have to eat here...we also went back into the city today to the hardware store with Steve a four of the older children, where we figured out Jessica and I were scammed when we got our phones! The man selling them to us sold us 150 regular minutes and 600 guatemalan bonus minutes which we were told could be used for international calls, but today we were informed they were only for local calls so we are now stuck with 550 local minutes on our phones that we will not use! But it's ok...we're trying to stay optimistic with that! Tomorrow is the first day of classes so be praying for us we are both extremely nervous! We are both extremely grateful for everyone's support and prayers we are very fortunate to have such amazing people behind us. Thanks to all and see you all soon!
Mackenzie

La Senda

Today was the day we met with Pam to figure out our curriculum and exactly what is going to be expected of us and it's quite a bit more than what Jessica or I either one really expected I think. We will definately need to be remembered in everyones prayers that's the only thing, along with the Lord of course, that is going to get us through. We are both very anxiously awaiting Monday to arrive to see if we are in for more than what we bargained for. I'm very excited to see what the Lord has in store for the two of us, we both know it's going to be something amazing and that He will not give us more than what we can handle but at the moment we are a tad apprehensive. Other than that everything is going amazing i couldn't imagine it going any better. We are both completely settled into what will be our home for the next three months and have been amazed at how great our accomodations are. We both got our own bedrooms and bathrooms! The Lord has blessed us in so many ways already and it's only the second day:) As i said before i can not wait to see what lies ahead for the next couple of months. I miss everyone so much already but know i will be home before any of us ever realizes I've left! I hope everyone has a fantastic night and I am sure i will have plenty more to fill everyone in on in the following days. Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers and keep them coming! Until next time!!!
Mackenzie!

We made it!!

We finally made it! It's been an extremely long journey today but we are finally at La Senda and unpacked and settled in! So far everything has gone extremely smoothly! We haven't had any major complications thrown our way the Lord has been great to us and made everything for us so easy and which helps alot since we're both stressed out about teaching and getting everything prepared for monday(the day classes start) Please keep jessica and myself in your prayers. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support! I am so blessed to have the amazing family, friends, and church family that i have to help me through this. I love each and every one of you!! Everyone have a great night!

Until next time!
Mackenzie!