Hey everybody,
Here’s a quick update on what’s going on in the Herbst household:
The biggest news for our family is a month-long trip to Guatemala this summer that we’re beginning to prepare for. We’ll be staying in a small village in the Guatemalan highlands from July 1-30. We’re doing this for a few reasons:
- Ever since we brought Townsend and Ellory home, we’ve wanted to take them back to Guatemala for extended periods of time so they can understand the country and culture from where they came. Obviously, that’s been difficult up until now given their ages (and throwing Marin into the mix). But this summer provides a good opportunity to give it a try.
- We’ll spend a significant amount of time learning Spanish. Norton will be taking formal classes and we’ll all be living with a family that doesn’t speak any English. Doing this for a month straight will go a long way toward improving our Spanish skills and introducing all the kids to Spanish.
- We’ll be going to the village where our church has developed a partnership and we’re even going to be staying with the pastor with whom we’re working. We’ll be spending a significant amount of our time attending and working with the church and building our relationship with them. Simply living with the pastor and his family will go a long way toward that.
- The final eight or nine days of our trip, we’ll host a team of seven additional people from New Denver Church on a Partnership Trip (we don’t call them Mission Trips because we really want to make the focus of our goals building a long-term partnership with our sister church in Guatemala). We’ll be doing various kinds of things (construction and health and hygiene education) and also potentially working with the only other organization that’s doing any work in that village (AAZI).
So, even though we’ll only be gone for four weeks, given where we’ll be staying and what we’re doing (and taking three kids all four and under), we’re having to do a lot to just prepare for the trip. We’re exciting about it and hope it’s a wonderful experience, not only for our family, but our church’s new partnership in Guatemala!
Here are a few other quick updates:
Norton – super-busy right now. He’s preaching a new series at church, helping organize a Guatemala Partnership trip (more on that below), just finished co-teaching an online church history class for Denver Seminary, and about to wrap up two graduate classes at the University of Denver!
Janis – had a wonderful time at the NDC Women’s Retreat in April (she helped plan it as well), enjoyed a couple of weeks with her sister who visited us in Denver, and wrapped up her last MOPS meetings for this year.
Townsend – is becoming quite a painter, draw-er, and builder and is so excited about going back to Guatemala this summer!
Ellory – had her 4th birthday and loves being back in her own bedroom with her sister Marin (after a year or so with Townsend).
Marin – has more energy that all of us combined and makes sure that nothing is ever dull in the Herbst household.
Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and support. We’ll try and keep you posted from Guatemala this summer!
–Norton, Janis, Townsend, Ellory, and Marin
