The Journey Continues...

Yesterday we had a great time visiting with friends. For lunch, Cohen and I met Jackie and her daughter Jenna at Panera. Jenna was also born in Guatemala and is just three days older than Cohen. The two of them were so sweet together holding hands and smiling at each other. Cohen would lean over and act like he was giving Jenna a piece of his bread. As she was about to take it, he would quickly change his mind about sharing. Of course everyone in the restaurant loved seeing the two of them together and both Cohen and Jenna loved all of the attention. I think a few people thought they were twins. I hadn't realized before how much they do look alike. Can you believe I took no pictures during lunch?! Jackie and I said we would definitely plan a playdate soon, so pictures of Cohen and his future prom date will be coming soon!

We were so excited to have Laura Beth and Cory over for dinner last night. Laura Beth and Cory are missionaries in the Dominican Republic and we met them in Antigua while they were in language school. We quickly became good friends with them and were so excited to find out that Cory's parents live about 30 minutes from our house. They are in the States for Christmas and we are so happy they were able to come over for a visit. Of course we took no pictures with them either so I am posting a picture of all of us from this past summer. Notice Cohen's expression... think he was definitely ready to leave the restaurant and take a nap!


I think I've shared Dick Rutger's blog before, but if you don't check it you've got to just read his entries from the week of Christmas. Dick is the missionary we met in Guatemala who took us to several orphanages while we were there. He travels all over Guatemala providing wheelchairs for children and adults with special needs. Many missionaries serving in Guatemala live in gated and very private communities. Dick took us by his house in Chimaltenango and I love that he lives on a typical street in that town. The kids on his street play soccer in his front yard, eat supper at his house most nights, and ride into Antigua on Sundays to go to church with him. Just reading about his experiences makes me miss being in Guatemala.

In a recent post, Dick wrote: "Even though most of the people living in Maria’s area appear to have very little as far as material goods are concerned, we were told that nearly every one of them are Christians. Judging by the songs that they were singing and the smiles on their faces I wonder if perhaps these people are a lot richer than we realize."