Greater

        Yo espero que todos quienes lean esta publicación estén bien. Mi español está mejorando. En las últimas dos semanas mi maestro ha tenido más estudiantes empiezan clases entonces su esposa tuvo que ayudarlo. Entonces algunos de mis clases su esposa me ha ensenado. (I’ll stop here and translate J) I hope that everybody who reads this post is well! My Spanish is improving. In the last two weeks my teacher has had more students start classes so his wife had to help him. So a few of my classes his wife has taught me.

        

         We are coming back to Pennsylvania in June for two weddings, and we would love to bring you some different items. If you are interested in purchasing Guatemalan coffee, chocolate covered coffee beans, Guatemalan style bracelets, belts, scarves, or wallets let us know. We can send photos of some options or examples. We would love to sell enough items to pay for our plane tickets!

Recently a couple of my Spanish classes I have had to cancel because of our busy schedule. Yesterday we went into Guatemala City to pick up Krishauna’s passport with her new official residency stamp inside. She was already a resident, but needed to get her name changed. We also were able to use some of our Christmas money as I was able to purchase a few tools. This coming Friday we are headed to a place called Panajachel (prounced Pawn-a-hachel) for a weekend conference for Guatemalan missionaries. Please pray that the time will be an encouragement for us as well as a great time to interact and get to know others here serving in Guatemala. 

From the conference we are headed directly to Quetzaltenango (nickname is Xela – pronounced Shayla). We will be spending four days with a family there who has a soccer ministry as well as an after-school program. We look forward to getting to know them as well as seeing how their ministry operates. One of our other goals while there is to see a little bit of the area and be asking God if that city is where He wants us to settle permanently. Please be praying with us that God will make it clear and evident if this is where He wants us.

I wrote in an update a couple months ago that Push The Rock would be sending down a couple of guys near the end of March. I received an e-mail this past week saying that due to schedule changes and other things they couldn’t control they would have to visit in the fall now. In a way this is a blessing, because, Lord willing, by then we will be in a more permanent location in Guatemala, we will have a vehicle, and when they visit they can see the area we are living. In the meantime, I will be starting the application process for full-time status under Push The Rock. We will also be able to start to make more connections and begin to explore what ‘type’ of ministry would work best in the area where we live. (Ex. After-school programming, during school physical education programs, sports training, community events, tournaments, and tutoring.) I will also be keeping my eyes open for good deals on sports equipment to start building up some inventory. Please pray that details would begin to fall into place and that we would make decisions with God’s guidance and trust Him that His timing is always right.

Sometimes God’s timing is annoying or frustrating, but I am learning that He will do greater things than I ever could imagine. It’s also pretty cool here in Guatemala our church’s theme for this year is “Greater.” The church of Jesus Christ needs to be greater. Our love needs to be greater. Our trust needs to be greater. God is going to do greater things. John 3:30 says, “He must become greater and I must become less.” Through Him we can do greater things!

May God be greater in your lives!

Andi and Krishauna

A glimpse into my life

Checha has been doing really well with his schooling, We hit a wall a while back when it seemed that he was forgetting many of the letters he had already learned. I wondered if seizure activity was causing this so he went in for testing and they determined that he wasn't having seizures. This was great news to hear, but it made me realize that it was going to be more difficult for him to learn so I had to reevaluate the teaching strategies I had been using with him. I realized that I had to come up with a new way to help him remember his letters. Checha can communicate well through speaking, but he started learning to sign the letters as well as saying a word that starts with each letter. This helps him to make connections through multiple senses. He is seeing the letters, doing the signs with his hand, hearing the sounds each letter makes, and then saying the name of each letter. It is amazing how well he is doing with all of this! If he forgets what letter it is, he can usually come up with the sign and the word that goes with it which then helps him to remember the letter. He just finished learning the while alphabet this past week! In addition to that, he can now spell his name (Cesar) and his nickname (Checha) and he has been practicing writing his name on his own. It has been made clear that writing is extremely difficult for him because of his coordination and difficulty with fine motor skills so we are beginning typing classes. He is so excited about this! He is still working to be able to write his name, but we believe that reading and spelling can be best learned through typing for him. Please pray for Checha as he has such a desire to learn, but he gets discouraged when he can't get it right away.

My sisters, Carissa and Taryn, who have been in Uganda are here for a visit!! There were some issues with visa renewal and plane tickets so they ended up getting to come to Guatemala for a few weeks.

Also, Brittney and Joel moved to the area for a couple weeks as the due date for their son was getting close and their doctor is in Antigua. The baby decided he didn't want to wait any longer so Christopher Caleb Caal Fulp was born on Friday, Februlary 3rd (10 days early)! 

Christopher Caleb Caal Fulp

We are loving this time with our new little nephew!

We have been attending Shoreline Guatemala church in Antigua since November. The church has been such a blessing to us since moving here. It is a new, quickly growing bilingual church plant of Shoreline Dallas. The church just found a permanent place to meet so that is very exciting news. The past couple months, we had to wait for an email on Friday or Saturday telling us where and what time the church was going to meet on Sunday. That's just something to get used to living in Guatemala; being flexible and patient like this is an everyday thing here. On Sunday, we were getting our message from the Shoreline Dallas pastor. We had our regular worship time, mingle time, some announcements, and then our pastor got up to say that the message was on it's way... literally on a motorcycle on it's way to the church. Shoreline Dallas had to upload the message and then we had to download it, but internet speed slowed things down. It's funny how in this culture, nobody even cared. We just got extra time to get a drink or donut or just sit and visit with those sitting around us. 

I told Andi a couple weeks ago that I know there are things I can be doing to get ready for future special education ministry, but I lack the motivation right now to get those things done. Earlier this week, my dad contacted me with an opportunity to do exactly what God has called me to do. There is a family here who has a daughter with Down syndrome. She attends a school, but her teacher doesn't know how to help her learn. They asked me if I would go to meet and evaluate her to then come up with an educational plan. I met her yesterday and she is such a joy to be around! There is a special place in my heart for those with Down syndrome and I am excited about the chance to work with her more!! The goal is for me to work to train her teacher and possibly an aide so they know how to best help this little girl. God knows that I often need a push to make me start into something new. My fears keep me from moving forward. This opportunity is exactly what I need. I am excited to see how this will build my confidence and push me forward!

Thank you for your prayers!

Krishauna and Andi 

Broken Vessels

We spent the past week spending time with my parents who were here visiting us. On Wednesday we were able to hike up to Cerro de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross) which looks out over Antigua which are what most of the pictures are from. We were also able to introduce them to my Spanish teacher while I did some translating, which was a great experience. We went on a walk around town, went to the market, and celebrated Christmas as well!  On their last evening here we all went out to a Guatemalan restaurant in our town with Daryl and Wanda (Krishauna's parents) and all six of us ate for $18! Crazy right? It was a blessing to have them here. The morning they left we were able to look out in the darkeness at 4:00 a.m. and see "Fuego," the volcano we can see from our house, erupting and bright orange lava flowing down all sides. Such a beautiful example of God's creation. 

Dad and I also went with Daryl to go deliver and make adjustments to two wheelchairs on Tuesday afternoon to two young boys with disabilities. Here is an excerpt from Daryl's facebook page. The pictures of the two boys are below.

We wanted to give an update regarding our vehicle fund. We are halfway to our goal of $12,000! Thanks to those who have given and if you could be praying that we will be able to find the vehicle the best fits our needs and that is in great condition and in our budget. (Our dream vehicle is to the right!)

We also wanted to say thanks to all of our family and those from Dillsburg BIC church who took part in the Christmas video sent to us along with all those who signed different Christmas cards for us!

Here is quote from the sermon last Sunday at church: "God is not content with who you are He is violently passionate about having all of your heart." He doesn't just want us to have specific times set aside to spend time with Him. He wants us to constantly communicate and be with Him. He is a consuming fire which means as He is in our lives He wants to burn up the stuff that is not of Him. This will hurt, and is not easy, but when we go through the process we come out cleaner and more full of Him.

One of my favorite songs that I have been playing and listening to recently is "Broken Vessels" (Amazing Grace) by Hillsong. Here is one of my favorite verses:

You take our failure

You take our weakness

You set Your treasure

In jars of clay

So take this heart, Lord

I'll be Your vessel

The world to see Your love in me

May we all be God's vessels so that the world can see His love in us. Thanks for your continued prayers and support.

With love,
       Andi and Krishauna

A Journey closer to Him

“The Bible is not a magic book. It doesn’t reveal its treasures simply because you read a passage. It doesn’t make you holy simply because you hold it in high esteem. Many cults use the Bible. Even Satan quotes Scripture. We desperately need the Bible and all it has to say to us. We also need the Spirit of God to guide us in reading and study. We need God to help us understand his Word. The Bible is meant to be read in fellowship with God. But what do I read? Well what if you ask God? Simply ask, ‘What would you have me read today?’ Letting your Shepherd lead you in your reading allows Him to take you right to a passage that you need for that day, struggle, joy, time in life, dilemma, or challenge.” (Walking With God –John Eldredge 43-44)

For awhile I was stuck in a rut of just reading a book of the Bible at a time and reading a chapter or two a day, but most mornings I couldn’t see application and wasn’t getting any challenge or growth out of what I was reading. After I read the first few chapters of this book “Walking with God,” I was challenged and decided to try what Eldridge challenged his readers. So before I picked up my Bible I would shut my eyes and talk to God about the day and some other things, then I would ask Him, ‘What do you want me to read today?’ So far everyday He has answered in one way or another. It hasn’t been in an audible voice, but a book of the Bible has been put on my mind. In the book Eldridge recommends that if you start to get an impression, thought, or hear God say something, ask it back to Him. For example, the other day I was asking God what He wanted me to read and the book of Joshua came to mind. Then I asked God, ‘what chapter do you want to lead me to today.’ I was waiting and didn’t have a sense for any specific place. After 30 seconds or so a chapter in the 20’s came to mind. I had no idea how many chapters were in Joshua. So I asked God again, ‘Is there a specific chapter in the 20’s?’ The number 22 came into my mind and I asked God, ‘Was that chapter 22?’ I didn’t sense any sort of response so I started flipping to chapter 22 hoping there actually was a chapter 22 in Joshua and hoping that I didn’t just think of that number by myself. Well it turned out there is a 22 and I looked at the title, “Eastern Tribes Return Home,” and I thought, 'wow this looks thrilling, but God led me here today so there must be something He wants me to see.' I started out and nothing really stood out in the first two verses, but the 3rd verse (it’s crazy it was only three verses in) I stopped and underlined the last part of that verse which states: “you have not deserted your brothers, but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you.” First of all this stood out to me because 1. I have brothers and 2. I know God has called me on this mission to Guatemala. God wanted me to see that because He has me here for a purpose and recently it has been pretty difficult because I came here almost four months ago and I feel like I haven’t done much except spend an excessive time working on Spanish. I’ve missed my friends, my brothers, my family, having a vehicle to go places whenever I/we want, having my dad’s shop down the road to use and borrow tools, and just familiarity with the area. It is difficult, but no one said following God would be easy. To move to a new country, a new language, new people, semi-new food, and new culture is part of the mission that God has given me. Adjusting and learning takes time and often it gets irritating, but if I call myself a follower of Jesus I need to trust Him more than anything else. As the title of Eldridge’s book says, I need to be ‘Walking with God’ more than ever before. The example of Joshua was just one day, I asked God, ‘What do you want me to read today?’ So every day I have asked Him He has always given me a challenge or led me to something I needed that day. It is so awesome to know that God’s Words are in our hands in the form of a book, but that The Holy Spirit can guide and lead us. This process of asking God what to read was a challenge, because doubts started coming into my mind like: What if I don’t hear anything? What if nothing stands out in the chapter? What if….what if? I realized that was Satan putting those thoughts there and I just need to trust God. So I challenge you. Are you asking God what He wants you to see or hear in Scripture? Or are you just reading a certain book of the Bible and not getting anything out of it/reading because it’s the ‘right thing to do?’ (Side note, I’m not saying that following a reading schedule or going through the Bible in order is bad. I just needed a new way to read scripture and God laid this on my heart to try so I decided to give it a shot.) Give it a try, practice, and let God guide you. I would love to pray for you as you try this out or any other things that are going on in your life right now, feel free to let me know.

The past few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to practice driving a manual transmission vehicle. Manual transmissions are much more popular here in Guatemala than in the states. So it’s pretty important to know how to drive one. My first experience driving here has been on some amazing roads as you can see in the pictures :). While I am on the vehicle topic. We are starting to keep our eyes open for a vehicle to purchase. There are some specific things that we are looking for: diesel (diesel is cheaper here than regular gasoline), manual transmission, preferably 4WD, and something higher off the ground than a normal car because of the road conditions and terrain. There are many things in this culture that are cheaper than the states, but vehicles are not one of them. The prices are comparable to those in the states. So to fulfill some of the requirements we have, it is not going to be a cheap purchase. We have $4,000 set aside already, but are looking for at least $8,000-$12,000 that to be able to purchase a good quality vehicle. Then we will have insurance and gas prices as well. If you would consider helping us out with this purchase it would be such a blessing and we would be extremely thankful. If you have any questions or want to know how to designate it directly to this expense let us know. 
   

Spanish lessons are still going well and I can see improvement day by day which has been so encouraging. I started meeting with a guy once a week from our church who lives in our town to do a language exchange. He wants to practice English and I want to practice Spanish so we take time to speak in both languages so we can learn and practice and correct each other!

Last Sunday afternoon we were able to spend time after church at our friends, Rob and Laura’s house. We had quite the experience making our own sushi :)

Two weeks ago we also had a Christmas celebration with  the employees of Hope for Home Ministries at a local garden which was a lot of fun, great fellowship, and great practice for talking in Spanish! The pictures below are some fun we had at the end of the celebration!

               

We have also been thinking, talking, and praying about where God wants us in this amazing country. Shauna and I both brought up a name of a place that seemed to be set on our minds and it turned out to be the same city. So continue to pray that God will make it clear if this is a door He is opening. We will hopefully be visiting this place in January or February.

As we have been in this advent season and with Christmas only a few days away. Here are some thoughts to ponder that I’ve been challenged with recently.

• The more prepared I am the less I have to trust God
• God wants to be first- you will never be satisfied until He is first in your life.
• He wants us to constantly run toward Him.
• Expectations impact the quality of any and all of your relationships.
• He wants to be wanted.
• There is nothing more important than the chase for Christ.

May you feel the presence of our Savior Jesus Christ during this Christmas season as you spend time with family and friends. Most of all though remember there is nothing more important than knowing Him and sharing His love to the World. He is Christ The Lord! Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.



With love,
Andi and Krishauna

Christmas, Spanish, Residency, and Tea Parties

We have Christmas decorations up!! This is my absolute favorite time of the year! I love the decorations, lights, music, and almost everything else about it (I just really miss having snow)! Andi survived back to back Christmas Tree days with me. The day after Thanksgiving was Brubaker Christmas Tree Day and then we joined my family for Fulp Christmas Tree Day! It was so much fun... but Andi might feel differently ;) 

I have been working on my Spanish on my own just through talking to friends, books, and online resources. I am feeling pretty good about how I am doing, but I still make plenty of mistakes. I didn't want to pay for more Spanish classes (I took classes after my family moved here in 2011) because I felt that more grammar work wasn't what I needed. I talked to a friend and we are getting together once a week for a language exchange. I am helping her with English and she is helping me with Spanish. We just talk with each other and help or correct when we say things incorrectly. It is a really neat opportunity for me and I am really excited about it! Hopefully this will help me become more comfortable speaking Spanish.

Last month, we began working on residency stuff for Andi and began the work for my name change (I am already a resident). This past Thursday, we went into the city for another appointment with our lawyer. After signing some papers, standing in lines, paying a fine, getting pictures taken, and lots of confusion (Andi and I were confused... not our lawyer), Andi is officially "in process" now and my new passport is off getting the residency stamp! The appointment only took about 1 hour and 45 minutes! This is amazing for the immigration office in Guatemala and for everything we had to get done! YAY! Pray that the rest of the process goes smoothly.

Andi and I have been having different members of my family over to our house a few at a time to hang out and play games. Last week, it was Kimmie's turn. She came over and we had a tea party (well, it ended up being a coffee party) and played some games, but we didn't let Andi join because it was a girly party. It is so much fun being able to spend time with family like this!

We are starting to look for a vehicle now. Because of road conditions all over Guatemala, there are certain things we are looking for in a vehicle. This means we can't just go with a cheap little car. We already have some money put aside for a vehicle, but we will need more than we have at this point. Please be praying with us as we look for the right vehicle for us and pray that God will provide the money. If you would like to help us out, you can give to Hope for Home and designate it to "Brubaker vehicle". Thank you!

Krishauna and Andi 

We are here on assignment from Jesus

      Many of you probably wonder exactly where in Guatemala we live. So these maps should help you with location (You can click the photos to enlarge them). We live in the town of San Antonio Aguas Calientes, about 15 minutes drive from the bigger "city" of Antigua. Antigua is not really a city, but it a very touristy and historic/colonial area and has many restaurants, shops, stores, and other places. Guatemala City (shown on the map as Guatemala) is the capital and where the main airport is located that we fly into.

             

 
 
            

The pin is right on top of our roof
Directly beside the pin to the NE is
a little gray rectangle. That is our
patio/courtyard.

       We are currently working on becoming permanent residents of Guatemala. Before we moved here we had to get our marriage certificate, birth certificates, background checks, and a letter from the organization we are working under all certified and notarized by the state and Guatemala consulate of PA. All those papers are needed in order to bcome a resident here. Two weeks ago we headed into the city to a laywer's office to start the process. We paid a deposit fee, gave all the paperwork, then realized we needed one other thing. We needed to get headshot photos taken for the resident

application for me and name-change application for Krishauna (she is already a resident here, but under the last name Fulp). So a week later we headed back in to sign a few more papers and hand in our photos. On December 8th we have another meeting at the office to head to immigration with someone from the laywer's office to pay VISA fees, then Lord willing we will be 'in process.' This means we will not have to pay anymore VISA fees, and will not have to leave the country every six months (which you have to do if you are not an official resident). We should be official residents within the next 6-8 months if all goes according to plan. So you can be praying that all the processing will go smoothly and there will not be any hiccups.

     We have official dates where Push The Rock will be visiting Guatemala! Two guys are planning on coming down at the end of March to see a little bit of the culture and area of Guatemala, along with meeting some of the people here. They will also be learning and hearing about Hope for Home Ministries. They will be here for aproximately a week and we will spend a good amount of that time praying, talking about vision and plans for the future of what PTR Guatemala would look like, and brainstorming. So excited to see what God has in store!

     Shoreline is the name of a church we found three weeks ago. It is a church of about 100-125 people and it meets in Antigua. It is in English, but they do a translation over in-ear headphone in Spanish for those who do not know English. They are a church plant from Shoreline Dallas, Texas. We have just started to get connected with some people and have enjoyed the church a lot. Last week the lead pastor from the Dallas church came and spoke a powerful message. We lost power in the building and sound at points, but we still had church. A church doesn't need power and lights to be the body of Christ. It needs the people to rise up and be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are here on this earth on assignment from Jesus and the church should be movement not a monument. However, we just received an e-mail on Friday that they are changing the service time from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday's. We currently meet in a nightclub building, and supposedly due to the noise on Sunday mornings the church makes the neighbors were not happy. So we were extremely disappointed to hear that because it cuts into our Sunday afternoon lunch and schedule along with some other reasons. We are going today, and hope to hear some more explanation, but we will probably not be able to continue going if the time stays at 1:30. You can be praying for the church leaders as they have to make decisions about location/timing as well as for us in our decision making.

Blessings on you and your family during this Christmas season. Here's a picture from Christmas tree day (Decoration day) from the Fulp house!

Glory Be To God! 

-Andi and Krishauna

I love my job!

Can I just take some time to brag about my student for a little bit? 

As I shared in a past post, I am teaching a young man in my parents’ home. His name is Cesar (he goes by Checha) and he is 18 years old. As far as we know, before I began working with him in September, he never had any formal schooling. He is smart and very anxious to learn, but he hadn’t been given the chance to learn so he lacks many of the basics. 

Touchpoint addition

I go to Hogar de la Esperanza to work with Checha one on one for 2 1/2 hours three days a week. We have been doing touchpoint counting (dots on the numbers that the student touches and counts to figure out what number it is) to work toward addition. Just this week, we started addition and Checha is doing great! We have spent the majority of our time working on identifying letters, tracing them, and listening to the sounds each letter makes.

Writing name on iPad app

At the beginning of September, I evaluated where Checha was to know where to start. He knew most numbers 0-9 and all basic colors and shapes, but he could only identify four letters of the alphabet. After really working on learning letters for a month, on October 5th, I tested Checha and he knew six letters (only two more than a month before). I felt extremely discouraged because we had been working so hard with so little progress. I was trying everything I could think of to help him, but nothing seemed to be working. Teachers often see students struggling, but it is important to try new things and not give up. We kept working together. Checha worked on his own when I wasn’t at the home. After lots of work, on October 31st, he knew 13 letters! He learned 7 letters in 26 days and since then, he has learned a few more. He also is working to write his name (picture shows his progress). I am so proud of Checha and how hard he is working!

Who says those with disabilities can’t learn?! THIS is why I am in Guatemala.

Leading up to Thanksgiving, my family has a thankful tree that sits on the kitchen table. When someone thinks of something they are thankful for, they write it on a piece of paper and clip it on the tree. Checha asked someone to help him write one. His paper says, “Thanks for school”. How exciting is it that Checha finally gets to have an education and that he realizes how blessed he is to have the opportunity to learn! 

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Krishauna