Our new Kingdom Hall!

Some have been wanting to see our new Kingdom Hall so here it is. On July 21st the brothers and some sisters helped in redoing the front wall of the K. Hall. It was deteriorating and needed to be redone. A lot of asbestos in it. Yuck! They also did some work on the parking lot. Here are a few pics of work being done followed by what the rest of the Kingdom Hall looks like:

Mike getting right in there to help!

 

Morgan & Natalie Perez helping out!

Almost finished! Will need paint and the meeting signs put back up!

Some working on the parking lot.

Street view

Another street view

Front of the hall

Inside looking towards stage (yes that is Rue in the brown suit)

View towards back of hall from stage(Makes you appreciate your comfy hall seats doesn't it?)

Time sure flies....

Well we, Morgan and I, have been here for 5 1/2 weeks! Hard to believe! Mike finally arrived on Friday July 4th at 1:00am! What a sight for sore eyes! He and Miguel was exhausted and boy do they have stories to tell! We'll save them for you all when you come down to visit! ;0)  On July 7th at 5:30am we were awakened by an earthquake! The friends here say it was the strongest they have felt here so far! No damage or injuries here in Pana, the lake absorbs the shock of them so they really don't do any damage here! Thank goodness! On Thursday the 10th we moved into our new home! Here is what it looks like:


Mike at the front gate



Outside front view



View as you come in the front door



Kitchen with Morgan doing the dishes!

Small pila aka washing machine :0) across from frig



Frig area



Dining room area



Living room



Stairs leading to second level



upper landing area



Bathroom



Morgan's bedroom



Our bedroom (needs a little work-going to take care of that!)



View outside the gate



View on our way home!

Our rent is 2500Q which is about $385. It includes electricity, internet and cable tv (most channels are in Spanish but we do have several US channels), and water. The only thing that runs on gas is our cook stove and we have to pay for that but it's cheap. We have settled in pretty quick! We have about a 15 min walk to the Kingdom Hall, 12 mins to the market and about 20 mins to other shopping and restaurants. We pretty much walk everywhere including service unless we go to other towns. On Mondays the service group goes to Sololá by chicken bus, Tuesdays they stay in Pana, Wednesdays across the lake to San Pedro by boat which costs 20Q per person one way and it takes about 30 mins or so to get across, Thursday we stay in Pana, Friday's across the lake to San Marcos, and Saturdays we stay in Pana. Of course you don't have to go across the lake if you don't want to, you can work here in town or get on the schedule to sit at the literature table. Service times here are early, Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays at 8:20am, Wed & Fri 7:45am and Sat at 9:00am. Just in case you were wondering the exchange rate here is about 7.5 quetzals to $1. If you don't want to walk you can get a tuk which is 5Q per person about $.60.

Ashlie and Austin are currently staying at the Welkers for a few days and then they will be house sitting for a couple here in the congregation for 6 weeks, then they will find their own place. Todd has settled in too!

Pretty cute huh? He has become a true Guatemalan dog...he has pooped in the streets just like the other dogs do!
Well better close this one for the evening, service in the morning for me and Mike & Morgan are going to the hall at 7:00am for some repairs to the outside front of the hall. We love and miss you all!!! By the way, our magic jack number is 816-659-4413 if you want to call us for free. If you can't get through for some reason it is because we are experiencing a TWP (third world problem of sporatic internet service!)