New Neighbors. October 18, 2016
At the end of this week, we'll be moving into our new apartment in Bethania. Yup, just now realizing the majority of you didn't know this was even happening because we've been too busy producing Bollywood-caliber films to keep our dearest friends informed on important movements of our life.
Bethania is the community in which I (AJ) have been working, or better said, discovering things for the last 6 months. Work makes me think building things, wearing certain clothes, and having a clear direction of the task that you are to accomplish. On the contrary, I show up in athletic shorts with a backpack and a bike helmet, and puzzle over exactly where my efforts ought to be concentrated and what kind of shared effort could make the community noticeably stronger in the long run.
I think I wrote about things that are happening in Bethania in an August email...tutoring, business consulting, soccer academies, connecting with families, and hopefully empowering the local church to disciple the lost. Of note, my pal Abdiel accepted a different job last week so I'm currently running things solo...except that God put Dostin in our path who is Bethania born and bred, 21 years old and without a job and he's been a huge help in the tutoring program. How neat is that? And hopefully more help from the community for the community in the future.
I will now answer the two burning questions you're feeling in your chest, even if you don't yet know what they are, they're there, trust me.
1) Why are you moving to Bethania?
We think it's where God's calling us to, in that we both can better serve and be better servants if we live in the community, among the people. Like "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us," we believe making our dwelling among the people we're serving will allow us to better ambassadors for Christ in that space, and allow us to learn a lot more about the community by being there at all hours, not just select hours. Alaina's excited to do some extracurricular reading with the kids there and invest in young women, but up till now she hasn't been able to do more than pass through Bethania because of all the fantastic work she's doing at the clinic. As for me, being in Bethania during the day is great, but all those who work during the day are not present the community when I'm there, and I often feel the tension of leaving by bike to get home before dark, with the drawback of missing out on the hours where really people are most active throughout the community: 6-10pm! So really, I've taken a liking to Bethania enough to want to call these folks friends and neighbors, and we really believe God can and will open up some doors through just being around more. Other notable items: Shorter drive to the clinc for Alaina, much cheaper apartment, close to the market, on the same block as the soccer coaches who I know well (trust factor), still close to Iglesia Reforma, easier access to pick-up soccer games.
2) What are you moving into?
As a community, Bethania's got a bad reputation among Guatemalans because 10 years ago it was pretty violent and whatnot. In actuality, things have settled down now that the drug lords keep petty violent gangs out of the picture and the environment is "muy tranquilo" (very chill; nice and relaxed) according the majority of residents, as long as you stay out of a few choice areas. God's got us, and we know enough folks close by that we're not so much strangers as we would have been a year ago, and that goes a long way. But still, prayers for safety please!
We'll be in a second-story apartment that consists of a bedroom, an open space to make a kitchen and living room out of, and a lil bathroom. It's quite the downsize, so we sold some things and bought some space-savers and off we go. It's not on the (single) main road in Bethania, but on 12 avenida, highly trafficked by pedestrians, food vendors, and motos so it might be a little harder to sleep at night. There's a flat roof area upstairs and, much to our disappointment, an ice cream store just below us. Oh, the horror!
Bethania is the community in which I (AJ) have been working, or better said, discovering things for the last 6 months. Work makes me think building things, wearing certain clothes, and having a clear direction of the task that you are to accomplish. On the contrary, I show up in athletic shorts with a backpack and a bike helmet, and puzzle over exactly where my efforts ought to be concentrated and what kind of shared effort could make the community noticeably stronger in the long run.
I think I wrote about things that are happening in Bethania in an August email...tutoring, business consulting, soccer academies, connecting with families, and hopefully empowering the local church to disciple the lost. Of note, my pal Abdiel accepted a different job last week so I'm currently running things solo...except that God put Dostin in our path who is Bethania born and bred, 21 years old and without a job and he's been a huge help in the tutoring program. How neat is that? And hopefully more help from the community for the community in the future.
I will now answer the two burning questions you're feeling in your chest, even if you don't yet know what they are, they're there, trust me.
1) Why are you moving to Bethania?
We think it's where God's calling us to, in that we both can better serve and be better servants if we live in the community, among the people. Like "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us," we believe making our dwelling among the people we're serving will allow us to better ambassadors for Christ in that space, and allow us to learn a lot more about the community by being there at all hours, not just select hours. Alaina's excited to do some extracurricular reading with the kids there and invest in young women, but up till now she hasn't been able to do more than pass through Bethania because of all the fantastic work she's doing at the clinic. As for me, being in Bethania during the day is great, but all those who work during the day are not present the community when I'm there, and I often feel the tension of leaving by bike to get home before dark, with the drawback of missing out on the hours where really people are most active throughout the community: 6-10pm! So really, I've taken a liking to Bethania enough to want to call these folks friends and neighbors, and we really believe God can and will open up some doors through just being around more. Other notable items: Shorter drive to the clinc for Alaina, much cheaper apartment, close to the market, on the same block as the soccer coaches who I know well (trust factor), still close to Iglesia Reforma, easier access to pick-up soccer games.
2) What are you moving into?
As a community, Bethania's got a bad reputation among Guatemalans because 10 years ago it was pretty violent and whatnot. In actuality, things have settled down now that the drug lords keep petty violent gangs out of the picture and the environment is "muy tranquilo" (very chill; nice and relaxed) according the majority of residents, as long as you stay out of a few choice areas. God's got us, and we know enough folks close by that we're not so much strangers as we would have been a year ago, and that goes a long way. But still, prayers for safety please!
We'll be in a second-story apartment that consists of a bedroom, an open space to make a kitchen and living room out of, and a lil bathroom. It's quite the downsize, so we sold some things and bought some space-savers and off we go. It's not on the (single) main road in Bethania, but on 12 avenida, highly trafficked by pedestrians, food vendors, and motos so it might be a little harder to sleep at night. There's a flat roof area upstairs and, much to our disappointment, an ice cream store just below us. Oh, the horror!
We're going to miss having 2 extra bedrooms for guests and storage. We're going to miss the coffee table, the balcony/herb garden out back, and our big dining room table. We're going to miss the view of the volcano, the enclosed 1/2-mile loop to run in, the community grill-out space on the 5th floor, the birds that wake us up in the tranquility of the morning and the retreat and sense of home we have here. But it's worth it.
As we move this weekend, we'd appreciate your prayers for
1) safety in this new space,
2) for us to choose joy when having unexpected/inconvenient encounters with people
3) for those new encounters and more consistent connections with people would have eternal implications, and lasting earthly implications for the community and the local Church
4) that we might have the humility and open ears to learn in and from the community, but also be effective teachers and ambassadors of the Truth.
5) protection against anything Satan wants to do to really spoil this opportunity, the rotten brute!
Happy Autumn to everyone. Thanks for your love and prayers and support and beauty.
-AJ and Alaina
thewestys.weebly.com (new pictures up from September!)
guatemala.team.org
p.s. Things We're Into Lately
1) Music: Johnnyswim's new album, Georgica Pond.
2) Visitors: Mom and Tia Maria came armed with Spanish kids books and autumn pleasures (including smuggled Michigan apples!), and we worked in clinics together as well as hiking and kayaking by Lake Atitlan!
3) Health Group: Alaina and Amie led a class for diabetics at the clinic this month that was just overall great. More news to come in the next update I reckon!
4) Exercise: Fartlek (Run/Sprint/Run/Sprint/Walk), although the affinity is fading as the app gives Alaina less and less walking breaks.
5) Remote Destination: Lake Lachua and Calendaria Caves. Stunning beauty on a weekend road trip with friends and Germans.
6) True Word: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
We're going to miss having 2 extra bedrooms for guests and storage. We're going to miss the coffee table, the balcony/herb garden out back, and our big dining room table. We're going to miss the view of the volcano, the enclosed 1/2-mile loop to run in, the community grill-out space on the 5th floor, the birds that wake us up in the tranquility of the morning and the retreat and sense of home we have here. But it's worth it.
As we move this weekend, we'd appreciate your prayers for
1) safety in this new space,
2) for us to choose joy when having unexpected/inconvenient encounters with people
3) for those new encounters and more consistent connections with people would have eternal implications, and lasting earthly implications for the community and the local Church
4) that we might have the humility and open ears to learn in and from the community, but also be effective teachers and ambassadors of the Truth.
5) protection against anything Satan wants to do to really spoil this opportunity, the rotten brute!
Happy Autumn to everyone. Thanks for your love and prayers and support and beauty.
-AJ and Alaina
thewestys.weebly.com (new pictures up from September!)
guatemala.team.org
p.s. Things We're Into Lately
1) Music: Johnnyswim's new album, Georgica Pond.
2) Visitors: Mom and Tia Maria came armed with Spanish kids books and autumn pleasures (including smuggled Michigan apples!), and we worked in clinics together as well as hiking and kayaking by Lake Atitlan!
3) Health Group: Alaina and Amie led a class for diabetics at the clinic this month that was just overall great. More news to come in the next update I reckon!
4) Exercise: Fartlek (Run/Sprint/Run/Sprint/Walk), although the affinity is fading as the app gives Alaina less and less walking breaks.
5) Remote Destination: Lake Lachua and Calendaria Caves. Stunning beauty on a weekend road trip with friends and Germans.
6) True Word: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."