great blog Dear Sigsils,
I loved, loved, loved reading this blog. You all are such good ambassadors!!!! So fun and kind and open. Just like you appreciate all the Guatemalans, I know they appreciate you all too. You are the best! So glad you're having fun.
love,
May
Hey! Hey to Everyone--including Franklin, Archie, Sammy and Bill and whomever turns up next!
It's fun to read your stories and see all the pictures. Thanks for sharing.
I am just wanting to check in and confirm what we are supposed to bring for you all. Jeanine is meeting us tonight with the most recent book from the Hunger Games series. I thought there was something else, but I can't remember. Was there something else?
Also, I'm sad to hear that your arrival in Cuba is being delayed. I hope I still get to see you. I leave Cuba on the 6th. Stan will have the book and whatever else you request, so not to worry about that. Any ideas when your arrival is? We leave for Miami next Saturday and then to Havana on Sunday. We may or may not have access to email after we leave Asheville.
We remember you with love,
Kim
blog You remind me that, in India, we learned to shake out our shoes every morning before putting them on. A previous blog mentioned lizards.
We had a lot of those (actually not a lot at once) but saw them frequently on our walls in Pakistan and everybody just ignored them as they
ate insects. Kiran, I sympathize with some of your situations even though I've never worked in such conditions, but when we got bad emergencies in Murphy, one of the first things we did was to look outside to see if it was too foggy for helicopter transport or too icy for long
ambulance transfers if we didn't have the personnel, equipment etc.. Sometimes we just had to treat the pain and the family but not the real
problem. Be good to yourselves. Love, Lee
Happy Birthday Leigh! Leigh - I hope you're having a very special today - what do they do for birthdays there? Thanks for keeping us entertained with your tales in your blog - I look forward to reading them. Miss you all,
Lynne
Joy is becoming quite the story teller. What a gift she has for sharing what she is living. I love reading about the rituals and culture you are experiencing. It is SO rich. I have contacted Joyce and she is working on our trip but haven't heard any details yet. Sorry we missed the Skype session last Sunday. Jack and I were returning from a tennis tournament in Greensboro. tell Joy that when we went to the church retreat that Graham commented that he wished Joy could be there.
what a special time in guatemala Wow, I just gave myself the luxury of sitting down and reading all the entries of your family blog at once. I´m excited for you and my heart is so full with your photos and stories. Greg and I spent two months in Guatemala 16 years ago and so many of the sights and smells and markets and creatures you are sharing remind me of that time. The hospital stories and last bath are incredible. And we Walker Wilsons can surely share with you in your language learning moments of pride, exhaustion, growing comprehension, plateaus, and amazement that there are so many languages and so many different words and meanings in each of them. Caleb is now reading novels in literature class in spanish...and listening to both our kids play with friends in spanish (and correct my pronunciation or grammatical errors on occasion) is so cool.
We relate to the central role of laundry in one's life in the South--with the many days of drying needed putting off one´s washing for a day or two could lead to no clothing left; to the abundant fruits and veggies beyond anything WNC could offer us fresh or imported; and the deep respect for courageous local folks living richly with so little but also, at times, suffering mightily. Mud. Critters climbing the walls. Tummy troubles. And extreme natural beauty are things we´ve shared too this past year. But Caleb and Ascher who go on a long, long school bus ride every day in private school uniforms with coat and tie will be super envious to imagine your hammock life and tutoring schedule that ends at noon each day (they leave our apt bldg at 6:20am and get home to it around 5pm...the price one pays for going to a good school in a city of 8 million). They will smile at the dirt soccer field you posted which looks very much like the soccer fields of Sincelejo and many of Bogota too. Imagine how playing soccer in that mud fits with the laundry by hand thing?
We have prayed for each of you with word of Larry´s death and Ascher and Caleb were really thinking of you grieving his passing so far from home. Somehow our dog, Shiloh, who now lives with my mom, is often a lightening rod for moments of our homesickness...easier to let it flow in response to missing one´s dog than other things harder to identify and name.
The blasting evangelical nightly praise (and here, at least, fear and trembling of God) sounds are super familiar too. Though we attend an incredible mennonite housechurch now with music we adore.
I hope your homestay is wonderful and that the transition on to Cuba is smooth and joyful. It´ll be like a homecoming in so many ways. Bless your time together as a family and the slower pace of life you can claim right now. Bless birthings and healing hands in the hospitalito and in the campo too. Bless your conjugations and may God especially bless your forays into subjunctive and pluscuamperfecto and other grammatical hurdles :)
We are eager to read more and inspired by your offerings here to find the freedom to blog somehow from here too. Love to all four of you, Susanne (Greg, Caleb and Ascher too)
Love the blogs! dear Kiran, Mark, Joy and Leigh!
Great blog you guys. I love the pictures of all the wildlife and the description of the rosepetal bath and all the other things I learned about your life in Guatemala. Sorry it has rained so much, but you guys seem to be able to stay on the bright side. Thanks for sharing.
love,
May
I identify what a great visit with special information. as you know i light a candle for you each day as i begin my day and i also take a rose petal bath each day. i just recently refreshed my rose petals and now antonio and I can relish the same benefits. Leigh know that on the 14th I will let my candle burn all day for your birthday and remember those snuggles from car seat days. i love each one of you more than i can say amos, amare, amant.
Buen mensaje! Beautiful stories! You people are amazing. Can't wait to see you in Matanzas. Raining here, but no floods, all roads are open. No critters in our cornflakes. Can't make the spoons stick. Lots to learn. Hasta pronto!
learning a language Yes, Joy, learning Spanish is exhausting! I'm proud to hear of your accomplishments, and your capacity to understand some of what they're saying. It gives me hope! You all are an inspiration!!!
Great and exciting entries You guys are doing some great reporting ... and with corresponding photos that depict the words. Thanks. It is fun to accompany your family on this venture.
blog Hello all, Love the pictures and the descriptions of what you are doing. Especially enjoy the new encounters with the people there as well
as the unusual veggies etc. Feel sure that the Guatamalans you meet are appreciating each and every one of you. Your lives will certainly
be enriched. Lee
Hola! Hello Sigmon Silers! Holly forwarded me this link and I've been enjoying your wonderful descriptions and photos. I'm supposed to be working but this is way more fun. I've subscribed to keep up with the blog and look forward to more updates. Please tell Leigh that her buddy Leah says hello!
thank you what a treat to turn on my computer and have an up-date with my precious family in Guatamala. so glad you have such wonderful friends who sound like they are like family. we are excited about monday evening sckype from the siler-jones. be prepared to tell me how i can get in touch with my dear grandaughter on september 14. we are so grateful for you and all that you are doing to prepare for your time in cuba. i love you more than i can express.
jo Thank you Sigman-Seilers:
The pictures were amazing. So glad to see Joy enjoying her book in the hammock, better than those benches at Circle, huh Joy? Leigh, I don't think you are going to need much practice on that diving form, looks to me like you have it mastered!!
We talk about you often and continue to be curious about what you are about, so keep the blogs coming.
Looks like fun Hey there folks. It still looks and sounds like you're having fun. I'm glad you're meeting some friends. That's great. I'm sure it's hard to sit at school and learn Spanish for people who would much rather be climbing trees, flying through the air in some form, or swimming. I can imagine that. We miss you, but we're glad you're doing what you're doing.
one pineapple a day Dear Kiran, Mark, Joy and Leigh,
So glad to hear your news. I love the pictures. I also liked the list of firsts. Why did Kiran limit herself to one pineapple a day? That is a sad thought. I love you all!!
Hello from Memphis! Glad to read your very informative blog. The food does sound very good and healthy. Glad the lessons are going well. Interesting that each of you has your own teacher! Great pictures! Shelly is in New York City until Sunday. Luke turns 4 on Monday. Hope Joy is feeling better!! It is not as hot here as we expected--90 instead of 100! Love to all from all of us, Louisa
Ah! Hey guys! I hope everything is going great; it sure looks like it! The pictures are beautiful, I can't believe the view you guys have from you back porch! Its amazing. The food sounds wonderful- fresh tortillas, fruits, and veggies everday?! Yummmm. I'm so glad I will be able to keep up with ya'll while you're away. I hope learning the native dialect doesn't prove to tricky. I hope ya'll continue to have a great time and I'm happy I found the blog! Love love love all of you.
-Hannah
PS- Have you guys gotten a hold of Mockingjay?! I just got it yesterday, very exciting!
May
non-member comment
great blog
Dear Sigsils, I loved, loved, loved reading this blog. You all are such good ambassadors!!!! So fun and kind and open. Just like you appreciate all the Guatemalans, I know they appreciate you all too. You are the best! So glad you're having fun. love, May