When a large group of Amish immigrants came to the United States in 1737, they built their lives with the work of their hands, bringing the land to life with true horse power. To this day the Amish choose to live a life of separation consistent with the traditions that have lasted for generations. The Amish remain separate from the rest of the world by living their lives in the age-old traditions and religion which they uphold. Continue reading ‘The Amish: Separated by Simplicity’
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Banking outside of your home country can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. With a little help and patience, you can transfer, access and use money anywhere in the world. Especially with online banking, it’s easier than ever to manage your finances from wherever your road takes you. Here are some tips from my experience as a foreigner living and banking in Guatemala.
How to get money from the U.S. to Guatemala
1) You can bring cash with you (Up to US$10,000 can be brought in with out declaring it.) but then you’ll have to go to the trouble of
keeping it and yourself safe until you can deposit it in a bank or use it. (Note: you’ll need your passport with you to exchange this money into local currency at the bank.
2) You can use an ATM card to withdraw up to your daily limit. Just be sure to notify your bank that you’ll be doing this or they’ll lock your card down like Fort Knox.
3) I recommend that you have a bank account in the U.S. that receives funds for you and then take checks with you to Guatemala. By writing a check to yourself you can deposit money to your account in Guatemala (see more on this below). Continue reading ‘How to: Banking in Guatemala’
King of Hearts
A wordless drama about how our masks of hurts and sin can be a barrier between us, God, and others. This drama shows Jesus can set them free from these masks with his love.
Redeemer
Clincher (An original YWAM skit)
A powerful drama about how sins bind us and will destroy us but how Christ took our sins and set us free from them!
Hand Clap (great way to get attention)
Demonstrating the Polaroid Pogo Printer
I was invited to talk about computer technologies with a special needs school for children in Chichicastenango, Guatemala recently so I took my Polaroid Pogo printer with me and some extra paper. Using my iPhone 3gs, I snapped photos of the kids.
Getting the pictures with my iPhone
I use Camera+ because I like the features it has for editing then I transferred the photos over to the standard photo album by saving them and from Apple’s photo album, I sent them to the Polaroid printer. (I jailbroke my iphone and use Cydia’s Celeste Bluetooth File Sharing to connect with the Pogo via Bluetooth.)
The kids liked hearing the quiet hum of the Pogo Printer as their faces appeared from inside this little box.
The prints made for a nice gift and a handy way to show the kids how technology can be fun!
Miguelito
Making a smile!
Driving in Guatemala with my GPS in action.
Getting around in Guatemala can be tough. Finding a good road map of the capital or this nation that is roughly the size of Tennessee is difficult as well. That’s where Global Positioning Systems (GPS) come in handy.
We have a Garmin Nuvi 1350 that has great maps of the U.S. but a very rough and, frankly, inaccurate base map that shows some highways in Guatemala but when I drive the highways the basemap proves to be , the highway . So, I went in search of GPS maps that I can download and I found a few options:
Guatemala Screen shot from GPSWORLDNET
I found a number of negative comments on GPS Travel Maps so I had to go with another option…GPS World Net and I’m very glad I did. They have maps for all of Central America, (though I have only tested the Guatemalan one). I have found GPS World Net’s GPS maps to be accurate and very useful in the field. Not only that, I once had a Garmin Nuvi that I had loaded the GPS World Net maps on but it disappeared. I had downloaded my points to Garmin’s Road Trip so I was able to save those!
I had already paid the $80 for the map specifically for my first Nuvi. I thought I’d have to re-purchase the map, but when I contacted GPS World Net they graciously provided me with the download of the map for my new Nuvi and it’s working great! Two thumbs up to GPSWorldNet.
Here are key reasons I like my Guatemalan GPS map:
- Accurate maps of Guatemala City, Villages, and local roads.
- Lots of local points already loaded (though more pool halls than I could ever want!)
- Easy functionality with Garmin devices. (Just follow the simple instructions to load the map on the device!)
- Maps function for Windows Symbian and Android as well as Garmin devices.
If you’re looking for a good map I recommend GPSWorldNet for all of Central America.
If you’re an expatriate and you’re having a baby in Guatemala, be ready for some paperwork. It takes work, but it’ll be worth it.
As new missionaries in this beautiful country, we moved to Guatemala while we were pregnant and started getting all the advice we could on what paperwork we needed for our baby. Here are some of the things we learned…
Step 1: Schedule a US Embassy appointment
If you’re anywhere within three months of the birth go to the US Embassy website and set up an appointment for a couple weeks after the due date. These appointments fill up and it can be very difficult to get in if you don’t get something scheduled early. You can change it if you have to, but better to have the appointment scheduled than to find out you can’t get an appointment for two or three months after the baby is born when you may be wanting to travel.
TIP: I think you could probably have your spouse sign up so you have two dates to chose from. Then just cancel the appointment you don’t want! Continue reading ‘US Citizen born in Guatemala = Paperwork’
HACIENDA REAL TECPAN
This elegant restaurant and roadside attraction provides classic dining, shopping and and a colonial style day resort all in one location.
Located on the Interamerican Highway between Guatemala City and Lake Atitlan, this resort is a great place to stop for clean bathrooms, to stretch your legs do some shopping and grab a high class meal. Check out the photo gallery for images of this nice place to visit.
Contact Info
Address: Km. 82.5 Ruta Interamericana, Tecpán Chimaltenango
Telephone: (502) 7774-3000
Hours: 6:00 a.m. a 21:00 p.m. SERVICIOS
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- Nice clean bathrooms at Hacienda Real
We live abroad and we want international health insurance for our family. While companies that provide international health insurance are many, we wanted something that provided some key options:
- Reasonably good coverage (of course!)
- Maternity coverage
- A track record of good service to customers (see reviews)
- A high deductible option,
- Coverage inside and outside the U.S.,
- Inexpensive, money-saving rates
We searched around, talked to fellow expatriates and discovered some options. Below is a break down on what we found.
(Spoiler!) After reviewing a number of options, we chose to go with IMG for these reasons:
- Price ($200 less per month than previous insurance)
- International experience and options
- Maternity options
International insurance options we checked out:
Global Medical Insurance from IMG (International Medical Group) Continue reading ‘International Health Insurance for Expatriates’
Camera+ logo
Camera+ is my new favorite App for the iPhone. ($1.99)
I’ve been using the standard camera option on my iPhone 3GS. It was handy but nothing fancy and with pretty much no options or editing capabilities. Camera+ has so many options, filters and editing tools built right in that it turns your iPhone camera into a photo machine that gives you customized images that look awesome!
Summary
Fresh bean dip
Easy to use and great additional features for your iPhone camera including zoom, filters, self-timer, and more! Many options are available without paying more than the basic 99 cents. (There are additional features available for additional costs but they’re just more filters.)
Things I love about it:
- Quick button response — The Camera+ App provides quick response times. When you push the shutter button…the photo is taken. What a concept!
- Timer — Want a photo of yourself? Camera+ includes a self timer with audible warning. There are 5 second, 15 second and 30 second timers available.
- Cropping — Get just the good stuff when you crop down the image as you desire. Options allow you to keep a variety of ratios or crop freestyle.
- Borders/Frames — This option really makes your presentation look good before you post your images out to your friends. Includes a variety of options to choose from
- Filters — One of my favorite things… I really like the options that are provided. From antique looks to HDR and limited depth of field , cross processing and more, this App provides a wide selection of filter effects that can be expanded (paid service).
- Sharing – With Camera+ it’s easy to share your favorite images via Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, or by emailing the image size of your choice to your friends. Continue reading ‘Camera+ App for iPhone’
Recently a friend asked me what I thought about leadership. Is it an art or science?
I think it’s both.
While personality traits that lend themselves to leadership may be born into an individual, I believe that most of the qualities of good leadership are developed through the experiences, examples, training, and effort that an individual has or gives.
Similar to musicians, there are those naturally born with an ability to lead and there are those who have to put in much time and effort growing into a leader. However, those who hone, craft, and develop these skills are the ones who receive the benefits of good results. Leadership is a science in that it is developed through processes, but it is an art in how it must be executed in a way to be well received by others.
It’s a bit like engineering and designing a chair. The engineer makes the structure so it won’t fall down. The designer makes it look like something upon which someone will want to sit. You need both. A leader who is all science will probably have difficulty finding people to lead.
Someone who is all ‘art’ as a leader will not really have somewhere he is leading the people to. You need both art and science in your leadership development.