Thursday, July 31, 2008

Viña's offices spruced up & Jericho's walls go up

SOLOLÁ — Viña Studios’ offices are getting a welcome sprucing up, and the walls of Jericho are being raised again some 3,000 years later.

Since their arrival on Sunday, the eight-person team from Lampeter United Methodist Church in Lancaster County, Penn. has been nose-to-the-grindstone. Outside walls are freshly painted, curtains are sewn for the conference room and first-floor windows, and, yes, Jericho’s walls are on their way up. Up to about 2 inches high, that is.

Work projects are divided between indoor and outdoor work; crafts and carpentry. Several members of the team have been working on set design and soldiers' costumes for Viña’s finger-puppet “Deditos” videos, telling the story of the Israelites conquest in Judges 6. Others are completing unfinished construction projects on the addition that was underway when I was here in 2003.

Besides work, the team has taken the initiative to visit a staff members’ house to pray for him and his family as well as spending time after work to pray with staff members.

The team includes Rev. David Nissly and his wife, Linda; Youth Pastor Mike Yowler, former Guatemala Bible translator Sue Hoiland and her daughter, Heidi; Carl and Pam Campbell and Kelly Becker.

Asked to quickly describe her return to Guatemala (after being away from the country for nearly a decade), Sue Hoiland searched for superlatives.

“I’m trying to think of something other than wonderful. ... It’s been really special to be back to share this experience with my daughter and to introduce friends from my church to this beautiful country,” Sue Hoiland said.
“We’ve had a great time, enjoying the culture, the scenery, the mountains,” said Pastor Nissly. “(Lake Atitlán) is just spectacular. Probably the highlight for our group is going to be those times of prayer that we’ve been able to have with the staff and the relationships we’ve been able to build, even with the language barrier. It’s just been a great experience.”

Several construction projects involve outdoor painting and carpentry on outside walls, the roof, where rain can hamper progress. Indeed, rain intervened today, but so did an eight-hour power outage.

We lost power at 7 a.m., and it returned at 3 p.m., in time to accomplish a few chores. Several of Viña Studios’ staff, including our computer expert and our videographer, grabbed shovels and hoes to fix potholes, filling them with concrete. Unfortunately, a sequence of torrential downpours arrived, carving out much of the freshly mixed concrete and washing it down the hill. Flavio, Viña’s videographer, sported four handsome blisters after his morning’s work.
“For me (the highlight has been) developing the friendships and fellowshipping with Viña’s staff,” Mike said. “Coming in with that language barrier, it’s subsided. We’re communicating very well. I feel comfortable around them as if we’ve known them for a while.”
“Knowing it’s helping people in minority language groups access God’s word in their own language is very satisfying,” Carl said.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Work team leaves homes snug, solid & warm

SOLOLÁ — Three Viña Studios staff families will be warmer, face fewer mosquitos, less dust and have all-around improved living conditions as a result of the recent work by a St. Louis church team.

South County Christian Center sent its Youth Pastor Ryan Stoops, his wife, Katy, and 10 young people here for a week, beginning July 8.

They put their hands and backs to work at the homes of three of Viña’s staff members, in addition to doing some studio work on a promotional Deditos finger-puppet video and some sprucing up at our offices.

Earlier this week, I wrote about the team’s work at Isidro’s house, but we were a bit rushed to finish in time last Saturday and I forgot to take any photos of the completed work until today. (My dad would never have heard of such a thing on one of his projects.)

“Now, it feels like the house is finished,” Isidro told me.
Prior to the team’s work, a crooked, wobbly wall divided the family’s sleeping area.

Now, it’s straight and solid with doorways into the two bedrooms. The ceilings also look much better with narrow trim boards covering the sheathing joints and perimeter.

A couple of days ago, I hiked a shortcut mountain trail to visit Carlos and Pedro’s homes to photograph the finished work there. The families are quite pleased with the work. At these brothers’ homes, the team installed ceilings to protect the families from the cold, humid air; the wind and the racket. Noise reduction was an added bonus.
“It’s already much better. Now, when it rains, we hardly hear it,” Carlos said.
Their homes are protected by corrugated tin roofs, which can create a deafening roar during the downpours we frequently get here.

Carlos and Isidro are Viña's main Scripture recording tandem, frequently traveling far afield, leaving their families for two months at a time. Sometimes they get weekend visits every two weeks; sometimes not.

Pedro works in Viña’s video-editing department, mastering original videos or films that have been dubbed into one of Guatemala’s 21 Mayan languages and dozens more dialects.


*****

For some reason, the photos come through clearer if you click on them individually. I couldn’t find any other way to sharpen them up as they appear on the blog.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Church team to deliver audio Scripture players

SOLOLÁ — Next week a U.S. church team will deliver precious cargo here: Six audio-Bible “Proclaimers” and some audio testaments on digital discs in the local Mayan language, Western Kaqchikel.

About the size of a loaf of banana bread, each Proclaimer has a dramatized recording of God’s Word embedded on a digital chip and can be powered by the sun, an outlet or a hand crank.

By accident, I recently learned about a program which provides free audio Scriptures. The “Every Church, Every Village,” program sponsored by Albuquerque, N.M.-based Faith Comes By Hearing, offers up to six Proclaimers and a number of compact discs in MP3 format.

Sandy Jackson, who provides customer service at Faith Comes By Hearing, explained the program to me and sent out a shipment, delivered here by last week’s church team from the St. Louis church, South County Christian Center.

This week, Sue Hoiland with Lampeter United Methodist Church in Lancaster County, Penn., agreed to bring a shipment with her team, which flies here July 25. Sue and her husband, Paul, lived and worked 20 years in Sipacapa, Guatemala as Bible translators, working on the Sipacapense translation. Sue and her daughter, Heidi, who was born here, will be on the team of eight people. Sue was a bit overwhelmed, I think, with all the things we were sending her way for delivery down here, but she graciously agreed to help us out and load their bags even heavier.

I was worried we might be too late for the audio Scriptures to reach Pennsylvania in time, but Sandy assured me it wasn’t a problem.

“It takes a couple of hours” to load the Scriptures onto the Proclaimers’ chips, he told me Tuesday. “If we need to get them out the same day, we can get them out the same day. Technology’s come a long way.”

Until now, audio Kaqchikel Scriptures had only been available here on cassette tapes. A number of our staff have the tapes, but they don’t use them. They say the 90-minute tapes wear our their cassette players.

When I handed out audio Scriptures on MP3 discs to our Kaqchikel staff members last week they reacted with surprise and delight: “Where did you get this?” “Is this in Kaqchikel?”

Please pray for God’s blessing on the audio Scriptures, that they may bless and edify local Mayan believers.

*****

These photos demonstrate how much more compact the MP3 CDs are when compared to the cassette-tape version of the audio New Testament. The photos of the Proclaimer above, demonstrate its flip-up solar panel and hand crank, which folds down. For a cool 360-degree view, go to this link and drag the sliding dot to spin the machine.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Medical missions couple pays visit to Viña

SOLOLÁ — After several months of trying to get together, talking by phone and reading each other’s blogs, I finally got to meet Matt Bell, his wife, Dr. Heidi Bell, and their son, Isaac, here at Viña Studios on Wednesday morning.

The Bells have been serving in medical missions here in Guatemala for two years through a Texas-based ministry called Agape In Action. Dr. Bell is a specialist with pregnancies and gynecology. Matt is a musician and studio technician, assisting Heidi in the ministry. Their one-year-old boy, Isaac, is a Guatemalan citizen, as he was born here.

I came across their interesting blog a few months ago. More than 400 blog entries describe their lives, ministry and a few of the more interesting medical cases they come across. They met online in 2004, married the next year and followed God’s lead to Guatemala in 2006. Heidi works at several medical clinics, including at least one in a very remote area that cannot be reached by horse or by car.

A very talented pilot, Dwayne Ficker (pictured here with his family), flies them down into the rain forest town of Zona Reyna, where villagers clear a short runway with machetes — sometimes finishing the work just steps ahead of the plane, running to get out of the way. The runway clearance is only 8-feet wider than the plane’s wings, and the pilot gets just one shot at the runway. If he misses, that’s it. He cannot pull up and circle around again because he has to slow down so much to land on a hillside that he doesn’t have the velocity to circle around for a second attempt.

After serving two years in Guatemala, the Bells will return to the United States at the end of the month. I happened to notice a recent blog entry and photos, which described Matt visiting an area not far from here to record a church’s worship team. Until then, I didn’t know Matt is a musician, playing violin and trumpet. So, I called him, telling him about Viña and our recording studios. It was great to have them here for a visit. Although Matt said he wished he would have known about us sooner, at least we got to meet before they left. Perhaps in their future visits to Guatemala, we can meet again.

While they were here, we borrowed their voices for a demo video of our Deditos finger-puppets, which we’re dubbing into English. We hope to present the promotional video to a U.S. audience, inviting partners to help support this new series. We’ve found Guatemalan children are often ignored by churches and lack discipleship materials to develop a Christian worldview. So if you happen to see the video, you’ll be able to hear Dr. Heidi Bell’s voice as “Dahlia,” a servant to Pharoah’s daughter, who fetches Moses out of the water, and Matt Bell as one of the neighbors who ridicules Noah as he builds the ark. The day before, I got to play the part of an angry Pharoah, ordering Hebrew midwives to kill the baby boys born to Hebrews. Wow! That was a lot of fun!

Matt and Heidi have been continuing a work begun by Dr. Jim Street and his wife Kathleen, assisting people like Dwayne and Leslie Ficker, who serve poor Guatemalans in a remote area and John and Sharon Harvey, who began ASELSI, a Bible institute and health clinic outside of Chichicastenango. The Fickers have taken in some children such as Martina, a disabled girl whose parents abandoned her tied to a bed; Martina was severely burned when she suffered a seizure and fell into a cooking fire.

As the Bells depart Guatemala, they hope to find a replacement. One had been found, but it fell through. If you’re interested or know a committed Christian doctor who desires to serve Jesus Christ in medical missions, check out this website about Agape In Action, which describes the position and provides contact information.

Medical problems are common and accepted as part of life here in Guatemala. In some ways, it seems like it’s not too different from the time of Christ. Sometimes I wish I were a doctor and could do something about all the needs I see. Virtually every time I walk through the market in Sololá, I see people with obvious medical problems — feet turned the wrong way, eyes going different directions, large goiters on the neck — many of which probably would have been fixed in America during the people’s childhood.

In speaking with my friend Wilma Hull, a former missionary jungle nurse in Peru, about any possible replacements for the Bells, she noted that the best long-term solution would be for God to raise up national Guatemalans to serve their own people. This indeed makes a lot of sense. A group that sponsors the Bells is now training Paul and Lindsey Argueta, a young Guatemalan couple, to serve in medicine. Please pray God would raise up more people who would share God’s heart and passion to minister to poor Guatemalans.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Bus service resumes between town and highway

Bus service has resumed between Sololá and Los Encuentros (the closest major stop along the Pan American Highway), after bus companies shut down the service last week for several days under threat of violence.

Local Kaqchikel residents became upset last week, when the bus companies began charging three quetzales instead of two quetzales and fifty cents (in U.S. dollars, that’s a price jump of 7 cents: up from 33 cents to 40 cents).

A crowd detained three buses along the road above Sololá, threatening to burn them. Fearful bus company owners shut down service in response.

I don’t know how everyone got things worked out, but I’m glad they did. The price is now three quetzales — a response to gas prices over $5.15 a gallon. It’s a wonder how any of these Guatemalans can afford to drive with these gas prices; average monthly salaries, for those who have salaries, are about $200.) The old U.S. school buses are a lot better transportation than riding in the back of pickups, in which passengers are exposed to rain and wind, or the insufferably cramped minibuses.

*****

In other crime news, Guatemala’s criminal networks continue to demonstrate strength, killing a top prosecutor who was investigating the killing of three Salvadorean politicians last year and four allegedly dirty police officers killed in jail, allegedly by gangs before they could testify. A group of 13 accused gang members was recent acquitted, leaving the prosecutor feeling his work was in vain.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Church team improves homes for Viña staff

After all Isidro and his family have endured this past year with their sick little boy, it was a joy and a privilege to join a church team from St. Louis and make a difference at his home last week.

South County Christian Center in St. Louis sent a team of 12 people, headed by Youth Pastor Ryan Stoops and his wife Katy, here to Sololá to help with several construction projects. The church also sent a team of about 20 to work on a Christian school construction project in Joyabáj, a few hours northeast of here.

Viña Studios’ leaders selected three of our veteran staff members’ homes — Carlos, Pedro and Isidro’s — for repairs and improvements, and we targeted several projects around our offices here as well. In addition, the team lent its voices in the recording studio for an audio history of Viña Studios and a video demo for a U.S. audience, telling children’s Bible stories with Viña’s “Deditos” finger puppets.

At Isidro’s house, I worked with him and several members of the team, including Pete, Katelynn, Katy, Lindsay, Josh and Jamie (sorry guys if I misspelled your names). We removed a crooked wooden wall, which wobbled back and forth if you pushed it. In its place we erected a much sturdier wall, turning a corner with another short wall to create a doorway for the second bedroom.

We also helped Isidro install trim pieces on the ceiling where panels joined, smoothing out wavy areas and making it look a lot better. In a couple places, we added missing ceiling panels. Once the new walls were in place, the team got to work painting them.

Isidro’s wife, mother and other relatives helped prepare meals for us: a delicious beef and vegetable soup the first day, and the traditional local soup, “pulique,” with small tamales another day. On Thursday, when asked about the day’s highlight, Pete said enthusiastically, “I really liked the soup!”

During our first visit at Isidro’s house, we got to witness what the locals here call an “aguacero,” a real Guatemalan downpour. It was fun seeing the team’s reaction to so much water and noise as it hit the home’s tin roof.

The team worked well together, and Isidro’s Kaqchikel family seemed to enjoy having us there. At first, Isidro’s four-year-old daughter, Debora, was shy around the team, but on the third day, she figured out that if she peeked around a corner and said, “Hola!” to the girls they would always answer back, “Hola!” She milked that little game for all it was worth, and they really took to her.

When the team finished painting the wall, Isidro and I stood in what will be Debora’s bedroom and looked over our work. “I really like it,” Isidro said. “It’s so much better. Now, it’s solid.”

That meant a lot to me, knowing what he and his wife have experienced with Juanito, their 18-month-old son who has suffered fevers and convulsions that appear to have caused brain damage.

Unfortunately, Juanito’s bad spells, including this past May, have often come during times when Isidro has been far from home. Isidro is one of Viña’s two main Scripture recording technicians, and he often travels to a distant language area to record the translated Word of God into a Mayan language for the locals to hear because the vast majority cannot read their mother tongue. To God's glory, Isidro stuck with it and the Lord blessed them by profoundly touching one of the Scripture readers during the recording.

The St. Louis team seemed to enjoy their time here, and they did a great job of eating whatever they were served, especially Pete. For the most part, they stayed healthy. Unfortunately, Pete got hit on the second day by a powerful allergic reaction to the dust and whatever else may have been in the environment from the chickens, dogs, puppies, turkeys and corn fields. The team amused local Guatemalans with their enthusiasm for riding in the back of Isidro’s old Toyota pickup to and from his house each day.

The team at Carlos and Pedro’s houses also finished their work, erecting ceilings that should help keep out the chill during the cold, windy nights we sometimes get here in Sololá, which is at 7,000 feet elevation. According to the reports I heard, their little boys really enjoyed having gringos around.

I told the team how much I appreciated all they did, helping to fulfill Galatians 6:10,

“Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”


Thanks for your help, guys! We really appreciate it, and miss you already.

*******

Click here to see a photo of the St. Louis team and photos of the Viña workers and their families, showing all three projects, before and after.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

St. Louis church sends team to Guatemala

A church group from St. Louis will arrive here tomorrow to help with several construction projects at the homes of several Viña Studios employees’ homes and some projects here.

This is the same church that sent a team here to check out opportunities in April. South County Christian Center is sending 30 of its number to Guatemala to help out in two different towns in Guatemala. About a dozen young people will be here, and the rest will be working several hours northeast of here in Joyabáj, helping erect a Christian school along with Bible translator Bill Vasey.

The projects here in Sololá involve installing ceilings in three employee houses — those of Isidro, Carlos and Pedro. Until now, their families have simply had corrugated tin roofs over their heads. During cool, damp nights this can be quite cold. During heavy rains, it can be deafening. I can vouch for both because I have the same kind of roofing at the room I rent.

I’ll be working at Isidro’s house with one group. Our project should make my brothers and dad smile because I didn’t get to do much of this sort of thing with the family business: building a wall. I mostly tore down walls. But I think we should have a pretty good chance of improving what’s there now. Isidro had never built a wall, and what he put up is pretty crooked. We’ll take it apart and try to start over, anchoring the wall in the concrete floor.

I’ll try to keep you updated on our progress with a few photos. Here are a few photos of what the guys’ houses look like now. Please pray for safety and positive attitudes as the new groups learn to work together.

I think there are also some studio projects for the group as well, involving recording and possibly “Deditos” finger-puppet video set construction.

*****

I’m hoping we won’t have any trouble on the roads. Today, we heard that rural residents became irate with a proposed bus fare increase and were threatening to burn three buses up the road not far from one of our work projects.

The threat prompted a halt to all bus traffic between Sololá and Los Encuentros this afternoon.

Bus companies were proposing an increase of half of one Guatemalan Quetzal — about 7 cents, raising the price to 40 cents for the 20-minute bus ride to Los Encuentros.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Mango purchase invites currency scrutiny

U.S. currency invokes “trust” in God, but my mango purchase in the open market this week taught me how fears can corrode faith, even in basic business transactions.

We’re on the tail end of the mango season here, but diligent searching can still bring delicious rewards. After lunch the other day, I was on the lookout for mangoes as I meandered through the market back to Viña Studios.

Turning aside from the usual path through the market, I spotted an old Kaqchikel woman with a small basket of passable mangos. We negotiated briefly, as is customary, and agreed on a price: four medium, spotty mangos for five quetzales (about 65 cents).

Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything but a 100 quetzal bill (about $13). She said she had change for it, but first she set about inspecting the bill’s authenticity, holding it up to the sun to view its watermark, rubbing its texture and studying its details. As a man passed by she asked his opinion. As they talked and studied it, I felt a surge of annoyance but told myself I would just “sit back and watch” to see what would transpire. He took out one of his own for comparison, pronouncing it authentic. I asked him how to identify a counterfeit bill. “By the feel,” he said. “They’re smooth.”

Despite his assurances, she wasn’t convinced, shaking her head. She turned to two nearby Kaqchikel women, asking them to look it over. They felt it, studied it and shook their heads. A pronouncement of doom. By now, most of the dozen to 20 people nearby had taken notice of the spectacle and were watching to see what would happen. (A friend told me later that locals suspect outsiders’ money because we could more easily bring in counterfeit bills from elsewhere.)

After the women made their assessment, a muscular young Mayan man in a tight, black T-shirt strode toward us, followed by about eight other guys. “She doesn’t want it,” I said, joking. “Perhaps, she just wants to give me these as a gift.” Smiling, the man took the bill in his hands and pulled out one of his own: a crisp, clean bill for comparison. As the men crowded around, looking at it, feeling it and holding it up toward the sun, the woman sat down. The men began to tease her, saying, “You’re asleep. It’s real. There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re asleep.”

She began to shrug with a meek look on her face, feeling embarrassment at the men’s joking. Finally, at least five minutes after we had agreed on our price, she gave me my change and I went happily on my way.

Do you know whether you have the real thing?

The Apostle John wrote,

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life — the life was manifested and we have seen, and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His son Jesus Christ,” I John 1:1-3.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Boy's convulsions result in hospital stay

The son of a Viña Studios staff member is back in the hospital after frightening his parents with seizures last evening.

Isidro, one of Viña’s Scripture-recording technicians, took Juanito, about 16 months old, to the hospital at about 8 p.m. last evening after his body temperature seemed to fluctuate drastically, feeling feverish at one time and chilled at another.

Doctors provided medicines that seemed to improve his condition, and the family went home thinking everything was fine. But once they got home, Juanito began to experience convulsions and fevers.

Back they went at 10 p.m., where Isidro stayed till 3 a.m. this morning, finally returning home. His wife remained with Juanito in the hospital as facility rules only allow one parent to stay overnight with the child.

Isidro was thankful that his rickety pickup managed to make it to the hospital and back (about 5 miles each way) twice because his gas gauge was on empty the whole time and he didn’t have any money to buy gas.

Juanito had seemed fine earlier last evening, Isidro told me, saying he played with the boy for quite a while before dinner. Later, Isidro’s wife noticed Juanito’s extremities were unnaturally cold.

Please pray for Isidro and his family, especially Juanito, as they struggle to find out what is wrong with the boy. Last month and at other times, Juanito fell ill while Isidro was hours away recording the Bible into one of Guatemala’s 21 Mayan languages and dozens more dialects.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

In darkness, even a weak light shines bright

SOLOLÁ — In the daylight, my cell phone’s LCD flashlight barely has any effect, but one night last week it led me and a neighbor stumbling and sliding down a steep path in search of a lost boy.

As I arrived home late that night, a crowd of people had gathered by the gate. “Uh-oh,” I thought. “I’m late, and I’m in trouble.” My landlady had told me she would lock the gate at 9 p.m. and here I was more than an hour late getting home. I didn’t think it would be a problem, though, because I can reach over the gate and move the boards she props against it for “security.”

That evening, I left Viña Studios late enough that I decided I didn’t feel like cooking. So, I walked to the central park where a Kaqchikel woman and her two teen-aged daughters offer hearty, economical meals for $1.75. Fortunately, they were still there at 10 p.m., and I enjoyed my meal.

Once home, however, I learned something had happened. A neighbor’s son, under the influence of alcohol, had turned down a dark path by our house, reportedly running full speed ahead, throwing himself down a steep, wooded bank, high above a small stream. A friend had been with him and witnessed this.

Several neighbors and I walked toward the canyon to see what we could see, but all we saw was darkness. A man there needed a light, so I followed him down the path, lighting the way with my cell-phone flashlight in one hand. With chagrin, I realized I was still wearing my backpack, carrying in my other hand, my umbrella and a papaya I had purchased in the market. Tree branches and shrubs were in short supply so we both went sliding at different times. The man turned out to be the boy’s father. We reached the creek bed and found nothing. But some neighbors located him in thick woods above us and downstream a bit. Later, volunteer firefighters arrived and climbed down the steep bank to fetch him.

I didn’t realize it till he was past me, but the boy, who is just 15, exited on his own strength and went running past us. “Grab him!” his father shouted twice, and several people, including his sister, ran him down. Then, as the boy crouched on the ground, his father kicked him twice on the bottom, prompting cries and shouts. I was afraid a fight would break out, and I tried to calm the father and guide him elsewhere.

After the firefighters and the father left, taking the boy to the hospital, I noticed my landlady in the narrow dirt road embracing a neighbor; the boy’s grandmother, sobbed and cried.

Jesus said his followers are the light of the world. Although believers may feel puny, and our light may be weak, against the dark night we must let the light of Christ shine in and through us. Even a puny light like my LCD flashlight may be useful in darkness.

*****

On Sunday, I happened to see my neighbor carrying a Bible and on his way to church with his family. He thanked me profusely for accompanying him down the trail and apologized for his son. He spent quite a while explaining that the family “goes to church.” Families certainly have their troubles, even families who follow Jesus. Please pray for this family that church attendance may not be the sum total of their religion but that they may know Jesus, whom to know in reality is to have eternal life (John 17:3).

*****

Jesus said that he is the Light of the world. The Apostle John wrote “God is light and there is no darkness in him,” (I John 1:5). Jesus also said his followers are the light of the world. Light reveals things otherwise hidden by darkness. His followers come to the light of Christ and leave behind the works of darkness.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. — John 3:16-21.
*****

At the time I published the news about Flavio, Viña Studios' videographer, being robbed on a bus I didn’t have any photos of his kitty backpack. Later, he purchased a new motorcycle. Flavio & his girlfriend, Linda, recently made a trip down to Lake Atitlán. He provided some photos for me today. You can view the photos at this blog post.