SYMPHONIES OF HOPE

Time to renew our visas for Guatemala… every three months we go through a bit of torture. Our
papers expired January 4 so we wanted to get things renewed as soon as possible. We left on
Dec 30 to go to the La Mesilla border crossing (2 hours away), to get three more months
permission. It is a very crowded, noisy, confusing place. The Guatemala side at this crossing is
very friendly but the Mexican side not so! All we needed was for Mexico to stamp our passports
and Guatemala would give us more time. But when we explained what we needed in Mexico they
said we needed a special permit to be doing projects in Mexico. We would need to drive to
Quetzaltenango to the Mexican Embassy for that. So… back we went without more permission.
The following day we made the 2 hour trip to Quetzaltenango. .. But when we arrived we were
told we needed to go to Tapachula… 4 hours away. Chris was frustrated now. He finally got a
phone number for the embassy in Tapachula and they said we were too small to warrant the
special permit… so back to La Mesilla again.
The next day we went back to La Mesilla and when we arrived we were asked for our car
papers. The man there said we would have to stay out of Guatemala for 3 months before we
could come back. Already frustrated and discouraged, we parked the van.
We said a prayer that if God wanted us to stay another two months He would have to help us
through the various problems that always arise at the border. Chris got out and went to the main
office to see if there was anything they could do. It turned out that because of the holidays the
head of the SAT office happened to be there that day. And he was nice. He said if we got our
passports stamped he would bend the rule. Wow… step one accomplished.
Then it was on to the passport office. They said if Mexico would stamp the passports they
would too… Step two accomplished! We took the van this time and drove across to the Mexico
office. We said another prayer and then Chris went in with the cutest of the children. He told
them we were going to do a little shopping in Comalapa and return in a few hours. The guard
knew who we were but there was nothing he could do. We had said the magic words! He grumbled
as he stamped the passports but we were on our way! We drove 30 minutes into the town and
went shopping at a Bodega (a Wal-Mart in Disguise).
After a couple of hours had passed we returned and the guard stamped the passports again,
still a little grumbly but we didn´t have to pay a dime! The rest was easy… return to Guatemala
for the passport stamping and back to the vehicle office. The man in charge was showing
pictures of his baby to Sarah and Jonathan while Chris did the final paperwork. We said thank
you prayers and sang as we left. It was a long drive back but at last we were set to continue!

Update December 08 - January 2009

Symphonies of Hope– Choirs of Faith

Saturday started out like any other day… Getting up and starting our morning routine. At
breakfast Luis seemed a little quiet and pale. He ate quietly but a few minutes later said his
stomach had been hurting all morning. He began to feel nauseated and at first we thought it
probably was a virus. As the day went on he became much worse and the pain became very
sharp and focused in the lower right part of his abdomen. Chris examined him more closely
and we began to wonder if he might have appendicitis. All of his symptoms were very typical
so we decided to take him in to the local hospital to be checked out. At about 8 pm they did
the surgery for appendicitis and he came through fine. In the morning they had him up and out
of bed and we picked him up at noon. He is very sore but his color is good and he says he
feels much better. The hospital was surprisingly friendly and allowed one of us to be with
him through the night and in the day even though usually no one is allowed with patients
outside of visiting hours. It is a contrast how short they keep patients here in Guatemala
compared with the U.S. When I had my appendix out 20 years ago I was in the hospital 4
days and not allowed to eat for 3 days. Here they feed you the next morning and you’re out
by noon ! We are thankful that he was with us and we were able to recognize the problem
early enough for it to be a simple and quick procedure. Thank you for keeping him in your
prayers.

We have all been stricken with a very powerful flu which has made our start a bit sluggish and
difficult. Only today have we finished many trips to the hospital attending to Luis for his
appendix surgery. His surgery happened on the same day that we had invited many families
to attend the first meeting of introduction—a meeting where we explain what the classes are
all about and what we hope for their community and children. The meeting went well but we
were a bit preoccupied with Luis’s surgery so we forgot to take any pictures. We will be
doing a combination of violin classes, typing classes, and Christian messages for young
people and families. Pray for those young people who have not yet made a decision of what
to do with their lives. Pray that they will attend the meetings and feel loved and encouraged
in a Godly way. Pray that we, with them, will be able to create something special and
beautiful that encourages everyone to put God more at the center of their community.

Symphonies of Hope
Chris & Coleen Anderson
P.O. Box 1061, Pharr, TX 78577
In the U.S. : 608 - 313 - HOPE
Message phone in U.S. : 956-781-5133
Email: chriscoleen@symphoniesofhope.org
Email: chriscoleen@choirsoffaith.org

SymphoniesOfHope.Org
ChoirsOfFaith.Org

SinfoniasDeEsperanza.Org
CorosDeFe.Org

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Our weeks of Christmas and New Years were both joyful and
challenging….
As we prepared to leave the little orchestra in Malacatancito
we worked very hard with the parents and students to weld
together music stands for them and us. The stands came out
well and we now use them daily.
We had a very meaningful Christmas with Domingo’s family,
reading the Christmas story, eating tamales and building a
village of gingerbread houses—everyone very much enjoyed the
time together.
We spent several days between Christmas and New Years
trying to extend the Guatemalan registration of our vehicle and
the expiration date of our visas. This was not as easy a task
as it used to be and despite repeated c alls to the Capital
there was no easy arrangement to be made. In the end a very
understanding immigration officer at the border arranged for the
extensions. We were very thankful and give special prayers of
thanks for the outcome. We are now set to remain in
Guatemala until March—at which time we will need to return to
the US border to attend our son Joseph’s wedding. Though
we will be returning to the US border for a brief time, we are
planning to continue our mission work without interruption.
Pray for us in this.
The incubators that Elizabeth started have been working well
but the thermometers haven’t. Good thermometers are very
difficult to obtain but we keep trying.
Just before we left Malacatancito, Guatemala we had a final
concert with the new violin players at a church banquet. There
was prayer, a sermon, violin playing, and plenty of food
afterwards. For the young players the evening was very
special. After the concert the church gave them nearly enough
to purchase another violin.
Two days after arriving in Santa Rita, a community that has
been waiting for about 2 years—one of the Guatemalan young
men helping us and staying with us came down with
appendicitis. We were a bit nervous as they made preparation
for his surgery—the last time we took a patient to the Xela
hospital she died 2 hours later. God heard the prayers of many
of you and his surgery was completed without any complication.
Today he is returning with us again to our campsite.
The miraculous support and encouragement from many of you
has made it possible for us to stay an additional two months in
Guatemala and more….We are currently in the process of
obtaining 12 new violins from the US to encourage the newly
formed groups—we greatly appreciate your prayers of thanks in
these things.
We are very thankful to all of you for your letters and kind
words of hope.

A new command I give to you: Love one another. As
I have loved you, so you must love one another. By
this all men will know that you are my disciples if
you love one another.
Luke 9: 24

Update #13

Quick Summary

Christmas With Domingo’s Family

Domingo´s family was happy that we were delayed in leaving until after Christmas.
They had invited us to spend the holidays with them and it worked out that we were
able to do just that.
Traditions here are a bit different than in the United States. Here, if they are able,
they do find a tree for Christmas but not like we use. The tree that Domingo cut was
not a regular cone shaped pine tree but a large branch of cedar. Elizabeth and Noah
accompanied them on a 2 hour hike up a mountain to get “Christmas Flowers” to
decorate the tree with. The flowers are bright red waxy stalks with many small spiky
branches coming out from the sides. They also climbed up into trees to collect a
Spanish moss. I imagined the tree being the center point but it is just the backdrop for
the nativity scene. Domingo’s family had a very old and mismatched nativity scene but
Jesus was at the center of all and when it was done it was quite beautiful.
Christmas Eve in most households is the day when the fatted turkey is killed and made
into Turkey tamales (or the duck). All day long tamales are prepared and then at
midnight everyone sets off fireworks and eats tamales. Several of us had birthdays in
the next few days so they saved Mr. Turkey for the birthdays.
We had several hours to wait for midnight so we all made “gingerbread houses” out of
graham crackers and frosting, and decorated them with candies. There were lots of little
sticky hands and frosted smiles! L think everyone looked forward to eating their house
as much as making it. It has become somewhat of a Christmas tradition for our family
over the past few years. After our village of houses was made, and we took pictures, we
read the Christmas story from the Bible is Spanish and opened a few gifts. This was
an exciting Christmas for Domingo’s children… They usually don’t exchange gifts. It
was a combination of their traditions and ours. At Midnight the fireworks started and
the baby Jesus in the manger was uncovered… We set off a handful of fireworks and
gave Christmas hugs to each other before eating our hot duck tamales. We will remember
our Christmas with their family as a very warm and special night.

Frustrating Paperwork

There is always the nitty-gritty. Music stands are one of those things. Portable music
stands have been a constant nuisance to us. Many times they break. They blow over in the
wind. And they don’t work at all if the ground is not level. We desperately needed to solve
the music stand problem for ourselves and for the new little orchestras. Chris worked many
hours with one of the fathers who is an iron smith and together they created a design that
seems to work well. Unlike the $30-$40 U.S. Models, these stands are somewhat
indestructible. They don’t blow over, they work on a hillside, and when packed up you can
just about drive over them without causing damage. Working with the students and the
parents we set out to make 21 stands—that should be enough for 42 players. It was very
encouraging to work hard together with the parents and children in order to make them.
There were many pieces to be filed and it was a test of patience for everyone at times. We
want to leave each group with at least 7 stands. For the most part they have greatly improved
rehearsals. There is one weakness—if someone happens to kick the back leg the whole stand
falls down and everyone breaks out in laughter—well there’s always room for improvement.

Building Music Stands

In a place where modern drum driven Spanish rock type music is constantly blasted at full
volume from large public stores it is hard to find those who would appreciate a small little string
orchestra trying to form with faith and God at its center.   Finding local sources of
encouragement for these beginning groups is very important. Without such encouragement the
students do not feel valued and are unmotivated to continue.    One day as I was driving to
town to purchase more materials for our music stand making project I was called with an
invitation for our new little band of string students to come and perform at an end of year staff
gathering for one of the larger churches in Huehuetenango.   This was very exciting for the
young people involved and an encouragement to us. We held a few extra practices and talked
about the upcoming event. It was a good opportunity to teach them the questions they should
ask themselves in the future. Will alcohol play a role at this event? Will our attending this
event compromise anything that we want the orchestra to stand for? How should we dress and
why? How can we or should we conduct ourselves to bring honor to the name of God and
Jesus? We hope they continue to ask themselves these questions…if not, they will cease to be
something special.
The evening came. Our family worked busily to prepare the instruments and empty out the
van.   Including our family we were a group of 18 in all. We were a bit tight in the van with all
of the instruments, but nothing too challenging for Guatemalans who commonly fit 30 people
into a van like ours. The evening went very well. Our family played 2 pieces and then we
introduced the new young players. They were greeted enthusiastically. After a small sermon
and words of appreciation for their staff the church invited us and the other children to play a
few more pieces. When the performing was over there was a banquet style dinner for
everyone. A number of the children—coming from poorer families—had never seen so much food
on one plate! They had a hard time leaving food on their plate even though they were stuffed.
(They have all been taught never to waste food. )   It was a fun and encouraging evening for
all of us.

Staying With The Orchestra

them--continuing to provide them guidance and encouragement. Parent involvement is
critical and we have found that visiting parents house to house has been the best way. In a
personal visit Chris explained again some of the goals of the small beginning orchestra—
following God’s ways more closely, serving others, valuing honor, respect, obedience, etc.
To practically all of the parents this was welcome news. Many parents here feel that their
children are lost to the street life and really want to see something beautiful and Godly
grow—they just feel lost. Many parents are single mothers—and though they are very
enthusiastic about what is happening—their children are not always honest about where
they are and what they are doing. Taking extra time to talk with the parents of each family
was very encouraging and well worth the effort. We are trying to find some means by which
they can get a regular report of how their children are doing.
In an effort to make sure that the little orchestra of hope does not die we are trying to call
them every week during class time. Chris has each student play a little bit over the
telephone and gives them some guidance. Chris and Noah have also made a special
Spanish CD to guide them through playing the first songs of the Suzuki book. We would
like to see them learn a couple of hymns before we leave. We hope to continue steady
communication with them by phone even when we are in Mexico and the U.S. but we will
need some prayer so that we can find an inexpensive solution for this.
The orchestra now has 3 violins that we brought with us but there are hopes for more. The
students that continue to come to rehearsals and make regular progress are welcome to use
them indefinitely. If more than a few practices are missed and there is no clear progress then
the violin is loaned to another student. We are excited that soon they will have more violins—
some will be purchased by parents, and others will be provided by us by the miraculous help
that God has provided through some of you.

The egg incubator projects have been going a bit sluggish. We have been experiencing our
greatest frustration with thermometers. A common outdoor thermometer—the kind that is
most suitable to use for an incubator—is virtually impossible to find here in Guatemala. I
Guatemalan is not going to want to travel that far. Can you imagine having to travel to
Washington DC in order to buy your outdoor thermometer? The other parts of the
incubators have been functioning well and we have been hatching a few chicks but there is
still much room for improvement. We are involved with about 6 or so families in helping them
obtain more chickens—it is a journey of challenge that we are pursuing together with them.

Starting in Santa Rita

Luis has a Medical Crisis

Joseph’s Big News

Joseph called us the other day with some big news. He made a decision to get married. We
all had been expecting to hear something … We knew he had been spending a lot of time with
Pattijane. We are pleased that he has chosen a Godly young woman and are looking
forward to getting to know her better in the future. The wedding date is set for March 27 so
we will be heading for Texas in the first part of March. We got to know Pattijane a little
when she was part of our little choir in McAllen last year.

We plan to continue here in Santa Rita for the next 7 weeks and then head north to
Texas. From there we hope to continue and visit the little orchestra in Monterrey. And
after that who knows where… We just know that if it is possible we would like to continue
as long as possible. Please keep us in your prayers and continue to pray for the young
people in Malacatancito and in Monterrey that we already have worked with. We hear
very encouraging reports from Monterrey that the little orchestra there is doing very well
and their teacher is continuing to work with them.
We appreciate hearing from any of you and thank you so much for your continuing
prayers and encouragement! Until next time… Adios
With Love From All of us,
Chris, Coleen, Noah, Elizabeth, Sarah, Jonathan, Samuel, Luis, & Wilmer

In Conclusion

A Special Night For The Orchestra

No camera tricks! This plant
really IS huge!

Crossing another swinging
footbridge...

Christmas Flowers