Off We Go to Guatemala - Our Prayer Requests

Dear Family, Friends and partners in our trip!

Here are our itinerary and prayer requests. Thank you for all your prayers and love and support. We are humbled by how so many of you have come along side us.

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." (Colossians 1:9-12)

In the joy of Christ,
Jacqueline and Danny

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Saturday, October 22  Team members arrive in Guatemala City at various times throughout the day. Pray for coordination in pickup and transportation to the team staging area.  Pray also that all the dental supplies team members are transporting in their luggage will clear customs without any problems.

Sunday, October 23  Worship in Guatemala City at La Iglesia Camino Y Verdad, pastor Andy is preaching. The team will travel 4 hours into rugged highland terrain (6,000+ ft elevation) to Piedras Grandes, a village area.  Pray that there will be no rains and that the roads will be passable.

Monday-Tuesday, October 24-25  Dental clinic evangelism in Piedras Grandes. Pray for physical endurance for the dentists, patience for the team members supporting them, and wisdom and enthusiasm for the team evangelists. Pray that many people will respond in faith to the gospel.

Wednesday, October 26  Travel back to Guatemala City... safety.  Pray for Andy and Tom as they engage in pastoral counseling for an on-going situation for a local family in the church.

Thursday, October 27  Convoy into Ciudad Quetzal, a drug-gang controlled area of the city that is very dangerous.  The team will set up a dental clinic in a new church (Casa Mana) starting with mostly women and children.  Pray for a good response to the gospel and for safety coming back out at night

Friday, October 28  Convoy back to Ciudad Quetzal and the team’s preparations for a large children’s concert in the afternoon with Chochy Ruano, recording artist.  The team will canvas the neighborhood extending invitations to children for the concert, which could be both the most exciting and dangerous part of the whole trip.

Saturday, October 29  Pray for a safe return to the USA

Aspiring to Be More Than a "Hobby" Painter

I think I mentioned earlier this fall that I was taking my painting class again.
My motivation, focus, and some inspiration I think has come from spending the past year looking at and talking about the art in the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Being a docent is a wonderful experience, but it left me empty, and hungry to paint. It has been a real force in making me once again try to be courageous to paint seriously.

I have had some of the best hours painting that I can remember and find myself staying late after class because I can't tear myself away. It is almost painful to have to clean up and know I have to wait a whole week before I get to paint again.

I have described the experience of painting/creating -- when you're in the "high" of it, it is like communing with God. I know, that sounds over the top, but think about a runner's high. When you're in the "zone" --- its a time when I think God connects some of the deepest parts of my heart and spirit and mind.

Last week, I was scanning Craigslist for a used easel with no success, but came across an ad for a "Studio Roommate." So I checked it out and its not only affordable, its 10 minutes from our house in downtown Raleigh. Known as the "Carter Building" it is a space specifically for artist studios in Raleigh. This is PRIME real estate and these studios get LOTS of public traffic during First Fridays each month.

The other artist I will be sharing the space with is in her mid-twenties to early 30's(??). I hope to move in this weekend and start to spend some significant time there after our trip to Guatemala. My hope is to be there 3 times a week at least.

What an amazing blessing from God out of no where! Danny's excitement and encouragement has also given me the courage to further pursue all this.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This is a piece I started a couple of years ago and in fact, posted the beginnings of it in a post. Click here to see.

Here is the finished painting: "Three Graces: Yellow"

What Happens When the Gardners Descend.....

Labor Day weekend was a full weekend as the Gardners, YES all 6 of them came for their first full family visit! In the past, its only been a couple of Gardners here, a lone Gardner there, but this time it was the entire village. It was a full weekend that was filled with the start of college football season, "guy" time, "chick" time, wear-out-Jasper-time, and culminated with birthday festivities for Bear, who turned double digits, 10 on Sunday.

Stuart, Zoe, Danny and I met met up with Bill and Sue in Chapel Hill for the UNC vs. JMU game. You did not have to be there to know what the outcome was going to be. It was most convenient for me as I wore my JMU t-shirt and my Carolina hat and earrings and purse! The weather was nice but HOT in the sun and even Lauren was able to join us near the end of the game. UNC kicked some Duke dog butt with a final score of 42-10. The worst part was when JMU finally made a touch down and the cheerleaders ran around the stadium with the flags to celebrate. Each flag had a letter: "J"  "M"  "U"
Problem was the cheerleaders got mixed up or didn't know how to spell and ran around the stadium in spelling "JUM" ...... The Carolina fans had a field day with that one!

The rest of the weekend Zoe and I joked about how we couldn't do this or that because we graduated from "JUM." Oh dear. I have higher hopes for UVa when they visit in a couple of weeks.....

Sunday we met up with Lauren for church in Durham so the Gardner kids could see her for a wee bit.
After lunch the men all went to get snow cones (flavors to include 'grenade' and 'dill pickle' and 'sour tsunami') and play some putt-putt. The ladies headed to see the movie The Help which lives up to the hype, I recommend it.

We all met up again for birthday dinner for Bear at Five Guys. After that Bear wanted to play tennis with Uncle Danny so we all headed over to our neighborhood courts and played some sort of activity resembling the simplest forms of "tennis" :)  Jasper and the Gardner kids were all terrific ball boys.

I got some much needed best friend time during walks with Zoe and before we knew it, they all left the Dulins as quickly as they arrived. Monday I not only took a nap to recover, but went to bed by 8! Whew!

I have to say that the Gardner kids are truly some of my favorite kids to hang out with. They are all so different but each are eager to engage in a relationship with Aunt Jacqueline and Uncle Danny. Let's face it, having 4 kids in my townhouse could have been a stressful thing, but not with these kids. They are helpful, kind, respectful of our home, willing to serve others and always, always thankful. They aren't perfect kids, but they make being around kids FUN!