Upward Focused

Live from Home: Guatemala Wrap-Up

2011-07-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it home, but we're already missing Guatemala and can't wait to return. Our last few days were filled with more "touristy" activities, which we thoroughly enjoyed! Here are some pictures of beautiful things to see and do if you ever get the chance . . .

Parque Central in Guatemala City:

The National Palace:

The Metropolitan Cathedral:The beautiful indigenous Mayan dress, and all of the things they sell:
More Guatemala City:
Gorgeous Lago de Atitlan (the view from our room in Panajachel):
Boat ride to Santiago, a village on the other side of Lake Atitlan:
Highlight: Seth and Sally got to drive the boat for awhile!
Santiago de Atitlan:
Mourners in a chapel cathedral:
Ziplining through rain forests above the lake:
Seth's turn:

My turn (can you see me?):
Sally's turn:
Sunset view from our room:
Saying goodbye to Antigua, one last time:
El Arco de Santa Catalina en la Antigua:
Bittersweet farewells to our Guatemalan hermanos . . .

And to our wonderful American friends and family, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your generous help and support--financially, spiritually, emotionally. This was a life-changing experience that we will never forget. We are anxious to see what God has in store for us next!

Live from Guatemala, Part VII

2011-07-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some final VBS pictures with our friends . . .

Live from Guatemala, Part VI

2011-07-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Long day. I'm exhausted. But here are some more random pictures. Enjoy!

The view from the top . . .

My arms are getting buff :)

More VBS and babies . . .

This last little guy is my favorite :)

Love and miss you all back home . . . especially my hot shower and warm bed . . . but trying not to think about that. xoxox

Live from Guatemala, Part V

2011-07-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

We are now in the middle of our Vacation Bible School week, and it seems to be going very well. I can't figure out where all of these kids are coming from! But they are so cute and friendly, and it is truly a joy to work with them and talk to them. Here are some random pictures:

Sally helped with this puppet show (below). She was the one with the braids, of course.

And the seminary is coming along nicely as well. Over the last two days, we've been moving piles of sand and gravel, bucket by bucket, to the top of the building. Seth and Sally are on the bucket-filling crew. I am on the receiving-and-dumping crew. It is rather freaky to be so far above the ground, but I am overcoming my fear of heights--somewhat. Here are some more random pictures:

Thanks for all of your prayers, and keep them coming. More updates soon. . .

Live from Guatemala, Part IV

2011-07-12T22:24:00.001-07:00

We're now in Guatemala City, and more of our mission team has arrived. This morning, we went out to the construction site--a seminary building that will ultimately be four stories tall. There are currently three floors and we're tying rebar to help frame the fourth. My kids and I have never tied rebar before, so we're learning handy new skills. Sally is now a pro!

We also got to help with lunch. The kids had lots of fun making tortillas.

And during lunch, Seth volunteered to give his testimony. He did a fantastic job, and Victoria, our program coordinator, served as his translator.

Okay, that's all for now. VBS starts tomorrow, so we'll be posting some kid pictures soon. Keep praying for us!

Live from Guatemala, Part III

2011-07-12T21:19:00.001-07:00

So before we left Antigua, we did some hiking. Here are some pictures from Cerro de la Cruz, which is on the edge of the city and offers a beautiful view.

Another (much more intense) hike was to Pacaya--an active volcano about an hour outside Antigua. In May 2010, it last erupted, and rivers of lava ran for months. This year, however, it is pretty quiet. There were some cool steamy holes and tunnels to climb into, but we didn't see any lava. And it was quite a workout. It took us at least two hours to hike up but only one hour to hike down. . . Phew!

Stay tuned . . .

More to come.

Live from Guatemala, Part II

2011-07-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

After finishing our week of Spanish school, we took a tour of a coffee plantation just outside Antigua. It also included a very cool museum, featuring the history of Guatemalan music, musical instruments, and ceremonial traditions. Below are some highlights:

Walking through rows of coffee plants . . .

Being goofy with the displays . . .

Grinding coffee beans (the hard way) . . .

Visiting the roasting facility . . .

Later that evening, we had dinner at The Kids' Restaurant, which is coordinated by a charity organization (T.E.S.S.) that provides various educational opportunities to the local Guatemalan children. The school holds free classes in English, math, and computer skills during the day, taught by volunteers from around the world. Then every Friday night, they open the restaurant for a special dinner prepared and served by the kids (under adult supervision, of course). The children learn wonderful cooking skills as well as restaurant etiquette, and this also gives them a chance to practice their English. They were so sweet! All of the proceeds from the dinner go back to the kids to help pay for the classes and materials.

Below are some pictures. (We are trying to think of ways to organize something similar in the United States . . . Any ideas?)

Even the picky eaters enjoyed it! :)

More updates soon!

Live from Guatemala, Part I

2011-07-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it to Antigua safely and are thoroughly enjoying the culture here. The Guatemalan people are friendly, and the food is awesome--what more could we ask?

Here are some photos:

These are some ruins of a Mayan sanctuary/Catholic church. There is a very significant Mayan influence on the Guatemalan culture.

This is the church by Parque Central:

This is a typical artisan marketplace. There are people selling things everywhere--both in the streets and in shops--and it's important to barter or you will pay way too much for your souvenirs. We're still learning those skills . . .

This is Sally and her cousin Emily. The girls are having lots of fun together:

This is the Spanish school where we took half-day lessons this past week. It was fabulous. I recalled much more than I expected to from my high school courses, and I was very proud of myself:

Please keep us in your prayers. We will begin more laborious mission work next week in a village outside Guatemala City. Those will be long days involving hard work, and hopefully our sharpened Spanish will come in handy :)

The Guatemalan Adventure

2011-03-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

So here's the latest with us:

We're going to GUATEMALA this summer!

We're very excited, but we need to raise A LOT of money.

PRAY FOR US!

Below is our fundraising letter:

__________________________________

Dear Friends and Family,

We are very excited to tell you about a short-term summer mission trip we have joined with Valley Community Church and Beyond Partnership Ministries. Our team will be based in rural Guatemala City, and we will be there from July 11^th through July 22^nd. Throughout the trip, we will be ministering in a Vacation Bible School program and also working on the construction of a church building for the local congregation.

We have been praying about this trip for several months, and I believe that this will be a powerful experience for my kids, especially at this stage of their lives. They have such tender hearts for the Lord, and they are eager to serve Him—both of which I want to encourage.

Currently, we volunteer in random service projects around our community, such as tutoring at the Bakersfield Rescue Mission, and Sally Jayden has had wonderful service experiences with her Girl Scout troop as well. But this mission trip is obviously a much bigger step in faith for us, and it is especially exciting for me because I haven’t done this type of international mission work since I was in high school.

However, we cannot accomplish this task alone, so please join us with your prayers. We are praying specifically that God will give us strength and boldness, and that He will be preparing the hearts of those on our team and those in the Guatemalan community where we will be serving. We are confident that God will do amazing things while we are there.

We are also asking you to be a part of this mission trip by investing in our lives and in the lives of the people we reach in Guatemala. During the next three months, we will be working very hard to raise the finances to go. Any amount that you could donate would help significantly.

The total cost of this trip will be $2,000 per person ($6,000 for the three of us), which includes all of our expenses: airfare, accommodations, food, and training.

If you would like to donate to our Hewett family mission fund, it is a tax-deductable donation payable to Valley Community Church. In order for you to receive a tax deduction for your donation, please do not write our name on your check. Instead, simply enclose a note, specifying that your donation is going toward the Hewett Family Guatemala Mission Fund, and place that note in the envelope with your donation. Mail all donations to

Valley Community Church

4455 Del Valle Parkway

Pleasanton, CA 94566

Thank you so much for your consideration. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated, and we are looking forward to returning with deeper faith and life-changing stories to share!

God bless you,

Rebecca, Seth, and Sally Jayden Hewett

Stagecoach Festival 2010

2010-04-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been far too long since I've posted any updates. Keeping Facebook current consumes enough of my time, I guess. Sorry, Blogspot.

Here are pictures from our most recent adventure: The Stagecoach Festival. An entire weekend of fabulous country music concerts! This year's artists included Brooks & Dunn, Sugarland, Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Billy Currington, Phil Vassar, and even Bakersfield's own Merle Haggard. . . plus many, many more.

In between shows, the kids and I roamed around, rode the mechanical bull and the ferris wheel, and took lots and lots of pictures.

Since I had attended all three of the previous annual events without them (2007, 2008, and 2009), I felt brave enough to bring my kids this time. It was fabulous, and the coordinators added even more things for the kids to do.

I warned the kids ahead of time, "You'll see a lot of skin and a lot of ink." And they did. But everyone was amazingly nice, as usual, and Seth and Sally loved it! We'll be back again next year, Lord willing. . .

Cambria, Sweet Cambria

2009-07-22T18:29:00.001-07:00

Despite all of the negative issues Californians are dealing with--the state budget, the housing market crisis, increasing taxes--there is no denying our gorgeous beaches and the sweet, convenient access we have to them. A short drive gives me and my children a long day's break from the Bakersfield heat to enjoy a taste of paradise.

Something about Cambria has made it a favorite . . .

Baseball/Softball

2009-07-15T20:19:00.001-07:00

This was Sally Jayden's first season playing softball, and she did great! We had so much fun--awesome coach, awesome season, awesome learning experience. Here are some pictures of her looking cute:

Seth loves this game. He has been playing since he was four years old. He especially loves shortstop, but this season he got put at catcher most of the time. We could say a lot more about how and why this happened; however, we will say only that we're glad this season is over and look forward to a much better experience next year. Nonetheless, without complaining, Seth donned the catcher's gear every game and made the best of it. And I have to say, he became a fabulous catcher in these short weeks.

We hope you've been enjoying a fun and restful summer as well.

More Track

2009-05-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pictures of the kids and their friends at the school track meet.

And here's Sally at the hammer throw. She rocked this one! She threw it over 50 feet and took first place. Blew the others away! We were quite proud, and that was the highlight of the day.

Track

2009-05-03T23:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we've been a little busy and I'm a bad blogger. I feel like I'm on the computer all day long, but this blogging thing hasn't quite made it into my routine of checking email, facebook, online classes. . . .

Seth's latest endeavor is track. He runs the 100m, and he's on the 1600m relay team. He also does the long jump, but he's not particularly proud of that one. He looks so cute in his jersey, and we've enjoyed the experience, but we're not totally sold. Track meets are chaos and it's hard to get any good pictures. The event times are scheduled loosely, and everyone spends the morning running around, trying to figure out where to go next. It's much easier to watch (and play in) an organized baseball or football game.

But here are the best results of the few available photo ops I had:

the relay team

Our Globetrotters Tradition

2009-02-15T23:45:00.001-08:00

So we saw the Globetrotters again on Thursday night. We love them. This has become an annual tradition for us. And finally, we have the whole experience down to a science.

We pack a purse full of snacks and goodies, so we don't have to buy the over-priced ones at the arena.

We buy our souvenier program early in the game, preferably before half-time, so we're ready to get autographs as soon as the game is over.

We take our silly self-portraits, and we predict what's going to happen next in the "game."

Then as soon as they will let us, we run onto the court and make our way around to each of the players, sending Seth up to wiggle in front of people to get autographs. When we get about half the team, Sally and I stand in line for one of our favorite "star" Globetrotters (this time it was Flight Time), and we wait for our chance to get a picture with him. In perfect timing, Seth finished his rounds just as we were next in line, and the three of us dove into a picture:

And just like that, the horn sounded and time was up, and all the team members filed into the locker room, while the ushers pushed everyone else out of the arena.

And I'm sure we'll do it all again next year.

Boys' Mountain Weekend

2009-01-22T00:14:00.000-08:00

So I took Seth and some of his buddies to the family cabin for a weekend of stomping around, getting dirty, shooting pellet guns, and tubing in the snow. Boy paradise!

This is what he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday. And to be honest, I was a little apprehensive at first. Maybe it's the mom in me. It just sounded like a stinky, sweaty pain in the butt. But now, I gotta admit, this was one of the most fun birthday adventures I have ever planned. (And I have planned some kick-ass parties, let me tell you!)

Anyway, here are some pictures to give you an idea. We ROCKED that mountain!

I even took a turn or two! (I thought for a minute that I was going to die, but it was AWESOME!)

My Boy Is 9

2009-01-05T21:21:00.000-08:00

Today my boy turned 9 years old. Where did those years go?

He's turning into a little man--definitely the alpha male of my household, and I love it. I couldn't ask for a better guy.

Like all mothers, I clearly remember the day he was born. Unlike many mothers, I had the insane idea to do the "natural" childbirth thing. Boy, was that nuts! They say you forget the pain after awhile. They lie.

I vividly remember hallucinating about Austin Powers and other such nonsense between contractions. I was going out of my mind, and I thought my body was going to explode in every direction. Scared, exhausted, confused. . . I remember apologizing to everyone in the delivery room because I didn't know what I was doing.

That just isn't a very pleasant place for me to be--the realm of utter cluelessness. I don't like being totally out of control and unable to predict what's going to happen next. No lamaze class or video can fully prepare a woman for the reality of that miracle.

And what a miracle! Out of chaos comes perfection: a healthy, spotless child, screaming to the world . . . loudly proclaiming the beauty of God's sweet attention to detail and His boundless grace. The depths of His love are seen in the precision of every tiny finger, down to the unique pattern of the prints. I stand in awe now, as I did then, that He would place this tender life in my care. And I try now, as I did then, to maintain control.

Ironically, God has spent the last 9 years teaching me how totally out of control I am. Every day.

But fortunately, I'm also learning how totally in control He is. Every day.

Starting a New Year

2009-01-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Angela gave me a blogging 101 lesson and convinced me to give this a try. How hard could it be, right? So here I go, jumping on the technology bandwagon in yet another venue. Let's see where this year and this adventure take us. . .