Hi everyone,

Here's our most recent update! If you would like to receive it by email, just leave me a message and I'll add you to our list.

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello friends and family,

After a wonderful 6 months in Canada, we returned to Central America on January 27th. We spent a few days in our town in Honduras, and then headed off to Antigua, Guatemala to begin Language School. After a month full of travelling through 4 different countries, we are happy to be settled in one place, at least for a few months.

We hope you enjoy reading about our life at the moment. A new feature in our newsletter is, “Dave Speaks” (see below). While I (Esther) normally write our newsletters and Dave takes the photos for them, we thought you might like to hear straight from him about how he sees life in Latin America. Writing isn’t his favourite thing, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy, “Dave Speaks”.

To give you an idea of our lives at the moment, we have Spanish class from 8-12 each morning, Monday to Friday. Then, we spend either the afternoon or the evening doing homework – memorizing vocabulary, practising correct pronunciation, working on our verb conjugation – fun, eh? J We also try to speak to each other in Spanish as much as we can. We are currently staying at an apartment at the school. This is our first place of our “own” since July, so we have really enjoyed it. In a few weeks, we will begin living with a local family, to further facilitate our language acquisition. Please pray for us as we adjust and begin to build relationships with our Guatemalan family. We have already had a number of opportunities to talk with our teachers about spiritual things, so please pray for courage to speak about Jesus Christ, in Spanish and in English.

In our time off and on weekends, we explore the city, take in the various cultural activities, or just relax! We met another young Canadian couple and started attending a bilingual church with them which has been a real blessing! We also had our first visitor from home – one of our supporters, who is originally from Guatemala, is here with a short-term missions team this week. It is always encouraging to see a familiar face in a new place!

We continue to trust that God will provide the rest of the finances for our time here in Guatemala, and as we return to Honduras. At this point, we only have the finances to take classes until mid-May, though we would like to continue into the beginning of June. If you are interested in supporting us, please contact us or the LAM office at info@lamcanada.ca

Our next update will likely be after we return to Honduras, in mid-June. We plan to be there in time for the Gr. 11 Graduation at my school. The students that I taught in Gr. 9 and 10 will be graduating and we look forward to celebrating this exciting time with them. I continue to be involved with recruiting teachers for the school, as well as making lots of plans for next year in my new role as the Director of the English Program. I am forcing myself not to take on too much right now though, and try to focus solely on learning Spanish. If you know of anyone interested in teaching at our school next year, please have them email me at recruitment@ceehonduras.com or check out our website http://www.ceehonduras.com/

Dave Speaks . . .

Greetings from the beautiful colonial city of Antigua! What a privilege and a blessing it is to be here to learn another language. So far our studies are going well and I will continue to ask for your prayers for motivation, quick learning and a continued heart for Latin America. We are being taught in a one-on-one style which gives us more time to ask questions and be answered right away. I have come to realize that Spanish will be a lifelong commitment for there is lots to learn and everyday we add more to our Spanish.

There have been many opportunities to get some wonderful shots with my camera and I hope you have been enjoying the photographs (if you haven’t seen them, please see our blog: www.daveandesther.blogspot.com). All of my pictures can be purchased at various sizes, so please let us know if you are interested. This is another great way to support our ministry in Central America.

While we were in Honduras for a few days before heading to Antigua, I had a chance to meet with some missionaries in our town. I am interested in their ministries in Siguatepeque, and I am taking time to pray and think about what God has for me when we return to Honduras. I believe God has given Esther and I this time in Antigua to really reflect and spend time with Him. We want to grow in our personal relationship with Him, His word and continue to learn to hear His voice.

Thank you for your encouragement in Canada that continues as we are here in Antigua, Guatemala.

With all of God’s blessings in your daily walks with Him,

Dave

We want to thank you for your continued support as we follow God’s call back to Central America. It has been a different transition this time, as we start again in a new country and as full-time students. Please continue to pray for us that our time in Language School will prepare us to serve more effectively in Honduras. We feel continually blessed by your friendship and support!

Blessings,
Dave and Esther

Praise

¨ Safe travel throughout January
¨ Settling into Antigua
¨ Continued good health
¨ Enjoying Spanish classes and learning lots!

Prayer

¨ Spanish classes – understanding, discipline, retention of new language
¨ Finances – to finish Language School, set-up a house, buy a car (in June)
¨ Direction for Dave in which ministry to serve with in Honduras
¨ Finding a place to live in Siguatepeque, Honduras