Dear Family and Friends,
Here we are in Guatemala. The second picture is of Kayley and Joshua on their first day of school at Guatemala Christian Academy. (Notice the lack of coats!!! Quite different than the Iowa winter we left a mere week ago!) The first picture is of the kids walking down our street. We take them to the Slingerland's home (missionaries with us here) and they take their two kids as well as ours to school in the morning as David and I need to leave for Antigua at around 7:15 am to make it in time for our 8am language classes.

We are in the process of buying a red 1996 Nissan Pathfinder. This will be a good vehicle for us as it is in our price range and in good shape for driving the terrain and bumpy Guatemalan roads. It has a security system which we are still trying to figure out. It has gone off on us at the Shell station and at the kids' school. How embarrasing as we try to get the thing turned off. A series of rituals is involved in this process!

We have many conveniences near our home: a Shell gas station, a McDonalds, a Pollo Campero (like KFC kinda), a Burger King, a Chinese restaurant that is excellent, a grocery store and a bakery. God has put things at our fingertips to keep us from having to go to far for anything we need. The kids' school is a 10 minute drive from our home.

Our house is good sized and since we came with only our suitcases, it seems a bit bare. We are glad to have a nice kitchen with a gas stove. We have laundry facilities here in the house as well as a water filter for pure water. The kids have their own rooms and Joshua especially enjoys that part. I hope to purchase a microwave and a TV sometime soon. The TV will be helpful for our language learning as we listen to Spanish shows.

We'll sign off for now as it is getting later and we are all tired this week. Thanks for your prayers as we study and adjust each day. God has provided all we need and we are thankful.

Love and prayers to you all,
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley