Child Rescue Center, Dec 21/09

So, today we got to go to the Rescue Center for the second time. The first time we went with Pastor Wes. We were introduced to Pastor Marco Pablo, the founder of the center, and wow he is a great guy. Today, our friends John and Tracy with their kids showed us the way. Both our cars were full of presents and joy. We were on our way to bless the children not just with presents but with love. We first went to Marco's restaurant to eat a quick bite which was on the house (thank you Marco). Then we were off to the Center. While I was leaving the restaurant I ran over a small, almost invisible concrete pillar. It was a miracle that I didn't damage the van.....much. I apologized to Marco at the Center and he was very forgiving.

We entered the Center with our gifts in hand. Pastor Marco called all the kids to the seating area where he introduced all of us. He told them that we had come to give them a few things. They said, "Thank You," and clapped for us. It was really nice to see how happy the kids were.

Tracy, John, Chantelle and I all said a few words then we started with the face painting and it was shortly followed by the presents. It was a great time and we were all blessed. Of our family, Chantelle and Emma painted the kids' faces as well as some of the workers' faces. Carsten and Addison helped with the presents and balloons. We all played with the kids and I was able to take a few pics along the way.

There are around 21 children. The Center does not adopt out. They have legal custody of the children and provide for them until the age of 18. They get these kids off the street and out of really bad situations.

A set of almost 2 year old twins weighed only 11lbs and couldn't walk when they came to the center because of malnutrition. It was too late for their 11 month old brother...he died of starvation before they could get him out.

A nine year old girl was sexually abused for years by her family members before the Center rescued her.

They all have a story of where they came from and thank God for Marco Pablo and the rescue Center.

We have a great opportunity to help out on a monthly basis. We plan to visit and play with the children monthly and provide them with what ever we can, even if it is just a hug and a smile. They will be doing some construction projects in the near future and I would love to help them out.

Thanks for following along on our Missionary journey. We love the life we are living here.
We covet your prayers. We also ask that you please prayerfully consider supporting us financially. We can not do what we are doing without your prayers and financial support. Thank you so much friends for the prayer and support that is already being sent. We are so very grateful for your help.

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

Please look for our Christmas video coming up this week.

The Virags

its been a long time since our last post but here is the volcano we climbed today

So we climbed a volcano today and it was pretty tough. It's approx 2700 m which is about 8850 feet. The volcano is inactive and now has a lagoon in the center of it. I need to get in shape. Our spanish teachers brought us there to show us some sights and learn spanish outside instead of in the classroom...no mas por favor

the differences between our lives in Canada and Guatemala

These facts are strictly based on our observations and experiences. We are not implying that these facts apply to all Canadians or all Guatemalans. The following list is what we found to be the differences between Canada and Guatemala. We have purposed to enjoy the difficulties as well as the simplicity of our days in Guatemala.

Canada

has hot water
houses made from wood
homes have heat
electric panels are adequate
power in homes is constant
elec. panels located safely
has many closets
internet is very fast
they flush toilet paper
have water most of the time
garbage goes to landfill
recycling is practiced
catalytic converters a must
most dogs are inside pets
streets are in good condition
streets are paved
speed bumps in parking lots
use of horns is moderate
fireworks are for Canada day and illegal to buy
buses are reserved for people only
the amount of people in a car is limited by the amount of seat belts
hanging out of moving vehicles is dangerous and illegal
you must stop at all stop signs
lumber is dried, shipped and stored at stores or lumber yards
gasoline is sold in liters
Currency is in dollars
kids are not able to work until they are on average 14-15
16 yrs old to get your begin drivers license
meat, milk, mayo, eggs and much more are refrigerated
you can not buy goat heads at the local market
walking down the street with knives is illegal
guns are illegal
security guards have flashlights
don't mix water and electricity
elevation in Vancouver and Windsor 0'above sea level
the only thing you put on your head is a hat



Guatemala

very few homes have hot water (electric shower heads are optional)
houses made from block and concrete
homes do not have heat (frost in Dec,January)
electrical power is not sufficient(lights flicker)
lose power frequently
electrical panels are located in showers
our house has no closets
internet is not fast
toilet paper goes in trash can
frequently have no water
not uncommon to burn garbage and recycling
they don't even know the word recycling
nope....man I see a lot of black smoke
most dogs roam the streets and are treated bad
u can get lost in some of the holes in the roads
some roads are paved and some are dirt
speed bumps are in the middle of the road for no reason and are huge
horns are a constant background noise all day
Fireworks are used for any reason and can be bought at corner store
buses included people, iguanas, chickens, dogs, etc
the amount of people in a car is only limited by imagination
people hang on the outside of vehicle when no room inside (bumpers,roof, etc)
stopping at stop signs is rare
lumber is custom cut from trees while you wait and is not dried
gasoline is sold in gallons
Currency is in Quetzales
kids as young as 6 yrs old are working in the fields or on the streets selling stuff
18 yrs old for drivers license but 12 yr olds drive school buses often....for real
markets do not refrigerate meat, milk, mayo, eggs and a lot more
you can buy any animal head at the market
a lot of people carry swords (machetes) every where they go
guns are not illegal
security guards carry big rifles and shot guns all the time
you must wire in your shower head which has water constantly running out of it
elevation where we are 8800' above sea level
people carry everything on their head like groceries, tables, big bags of stuff etc.


We hope this puts a smile on your face and provides a snapshot of the world around you. The people here are amazing, so loving and we can't imagine being anywhere else other then Latin America.

Thank you so much,

the virags

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

videos for your viewing pleasure

check out our newletter

What you've done to the least of them...you've done it to me....first outreach done

We just got back from our week in Mexico and man it was good. I was invited to preach at a conference with my friend Miguel who translated for me. The theme was "Putting God First". They thought I would be a great person to share on this topic because we decided to serve as missionaries. So I shared. I preached the first night to approx. 300 people and everyone said it went well. The next morning I did a bible study and talked about being redeemed and if we realized what Jesus had done for us it is easier to put Him first. Chantelle said it was awesome and so did the people. It is only God, I take no credit for it. The last night God lead me to speak briefly on having a testimony. I then opened the microphone and the people came. We had testimony after testimony about the goodness of God. We had salvations, restored marriages and many people wept. It was a great conference and I enjoyed meeting some new friends.

We also had a great opportunity to go out into the community and do what we came to do, serve.

We had met many families the last time we went to Mexico who live in absolute poverty. No running water, no heat, no shoes, no food, etc. They drove us around for days about 2 weeks ago to show us all the needs in hope to get us to help them. The people who drove us around were just as shocked as I was. They were moved so much that they decided even if we couldn't help these people that they were going to. The need was so big that they couldn't wait... they had to help. So, Mario Alonzo and Miguel decided to buy 2 families food and medicine. When we heard about it we said our family would love to help out as well. Our 3 families pooled our money together, went out and bought food, medicine,candy and toys for the kids. We also donated 1000 pesos to each family. The food is needed because they just don't have any. The medicine is needed because the people have parasites. It is common for most of the people to get parasites because of the conditions. If they are not treated they can get very sick and even die. We also decided to size all the children for new shoes while we were there because they didn't have any. Tamara, Oriana, Chantelle and all of our children had a great time doing games with the children. We were so proud of Addison, Carsten and Emma for loving the kids.

Miguel, Mario and I spoke about the living conditions as well.

The first family we visited live in a 1 room house with a grass roof and partial bamboo walls. The man is handy and has started to build a block house but it has taken him 1 1/2 yrs to do very little. The reason it is taking him so long is because he makes the blocks by hand and only when he has a few extra pesos.

The second family's house burned to the ground a little while ago and they also live in a 1 room house, with a grass roof and bamboo walls. Just a quick story about this second family.

We visited this family unannounced the first time and they had almost no food. As I mentioned before it is customary for people to cook or present food when visitors come, but this lady had none to share. It bothered her so much that she didn't sleep that night. The next day she asked God to please bring us back so she could prepare her best for us. When we came this second time she was not expecting us. When we showed up, she was so happy. She knew the other people were coming so she had prepared her best, chicken and turtle head soup. This is a huge deal for these people because turtles are very expensive. When she saw us come out of the car she knew God had answered her prayer... we came back for her best! When she shared this story with us near the end of the night it gave me a lump in my throat. We ate her chicken and turtle head soup with smiles. It could have been dirt soup, we would have eaten it anyways.

They are all hoping we will come to Mexico and minister there. I shared with this lady a promise. If God calls us to Mexico and we get a home, I would love for her and her family to come for dinner so we can give her our best.

The conditions of both the families' homes are not good. Both of them have started to build new block homes on their land.

It won't take much if we all get together and pitch in. I am willing to run both projects as well as help with the labour. We have 8 other men who we found that will also donate their time (plumbers, electricians, bricklayers etc). Between all of the men, we have the labour needed to finish these 2 houses for free. All we need now is a bit of money.

We could finish building both homes for $3000 US. Our prayer is to have both homes finished by Christmas. If you would like to help either one of these families out please consider donating below. Please specify Christmas homes if you want your donations to go directly to these projects. We are also contacting organization in the Vancouver area to help out. Please pray for these two families and the projects.

By the way. We found a company who has donated a brand new bible in Braille for the blind Pastor we met a few weeks ago. Thank you.


Thank you so much,

the virags

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

Thank God for Good Friends and His goodness!

Last night a friend of ours emailed us to let us know we had a few bills that have been finalized and payment was due. We knew that a few bills would not be ready for payment before we left and this was not a surprise to us. This did cause us to go into our bank account to make the payments. While looking in our bank account I made a few calculations in my head to see how much we could do with the money we brought. I wasn't worried but it did cause me to think. I thought of different ways to make money here in Guatemala or maybe I could go to Mexico or the States. I even thought about returning to Canada if I needed to. All these different thoughts and they all had to do with ME providing the funds. I know that God is our ultimate provider but I must say I like to help Him along. As I went on thinking about money I did grow a bit concerned because my family and I want to serve God as Missionaries indefinitely.

I needed to give it to God but I didn't.

I woke up this morning to a great email from our friends Tyler and Karen. The email went something like this:

Our friend Karen and her husband Tyler heard from God and are going to hold a fundraiser for us in the month of November.

Karen is a professional photographer and she is donating her time by taking Christmas photos for a nominal fee and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to us! Karen and Tyler are awesome. They heard from God and they are obeying Him. I forgot to mention. Tyler is unemployed right now and this is a huge sacrifice for them. I am so happy, not only because they are helping us out but I am more happy at the blessing they are going to receive.

If you live in the Vancouver area please contact Karen for your session (info below). If you are not able to book a session or live too far away please pray for Karen and her business. I would love to see her prosper in a huge way.

Thank you God for gently reminding me that this is your mission and not just ours. We are not alone in this. We are you hands and feet but ultimately you are in control. We will do our part and do all we can, but it is comforting to know that You are in control.

Karen Dyke Photography
http://www.karendykephotography.com/
Coquitlam BC 604.464.8490

PS all the pics I take are because of the generosity of Karen and Tyler. They donated a camera to our missionary cause.

Thanks again Karen and Tyler for you have done and all you continue to do.

the virags

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

it's dangerous in Guatemala..only when your doing construction at home

So the kids and I had a few building projects to do today. Each room needed shelves so we could put our clothes on them. We decided to have a quick lesson on wood cutting, proper use and safety of air tools, how to use a square and general clean up. As you can see from the pictures the safety part of the class was ignored. If you look close at the picture of Shawn's finger the nail went all the way through. The picture of Carsten's leg shows what happens if you stand in front of a table saw when the blade kicks back the wood. All three shelves were built for $58 (labour was free). Even though we had a few minor injuries the class was good.

If anyone is interested in custom built books shelves we are all for hire

Rates

Shawn - $35/hr shelves are guaranteed to be straight, square, sanded and paint of your choice
Addison - will work for video games or a used t.v., work will be ok, reasonably straight, not square at all, sanded but not painted
Carsten - will work for bread, he loves the pan (bread) in Guatemala, work will be done
Emmas - will work for Q8 ($1 US dollar) she still doesn't know the money thing yet

Up and running.

Here is the latest update...

We are settling down in Guatemala. We found a nice little 3 bedroom apt. with 2 baths within the first 24hrs of being here. Chantelle and I love the market. It is so cheap and the people are interesting to watch and speak to. We finally have our internet. It wasn't easy getting internet because we had to go to the store ourselves and speak our broken Spanish. Shawn will be preaching at a men's conference in 2 weeks(keep him in your prayers please). Our friends left today and Chantelle cried with Oriana. We bought a stove today, it has no oven and it can fit in a suitcase. It reminds me of a camping stove with the external propane tank. We don't have a fridge yet so we still have our cooler going but we think it's leaking. We are all really missing our friends back at home but we will be ok. This is when all the fun starts...no one to translate, no one to drive us around and no one to help. But God is always with us.. He promises to never leave us and He knows Spanish, and His way around Guatemala. We are the Virag's and we are missionaries.

Thanks for all you prayers and support.

The Virag's

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

We are at the border of Guatemala

So we made it through MEXICO, yeah. It wasnt easy but we did it. We had to endure 7 police stops just because we are white, most asked for money, and one told me he had a pistol. We drove over 7100kms, had over 23 gas stops, tons and tons of topes(speed bumps that just killed the bottom of my van), multiple military stops, a few stops by people who told us they were police, only 3 or 4 unexpected stops for peeing, one emergency stop to a mechanic to fix my lights because the bumps were so big they ripped all my wiring off and my head lights didn't work either. Its very hot here and I sweat 24 hrs a day.

I took my first shower from a garbage can the first night we got here. You fill up a clean garbage can with cold water, use a small bucket and dump the water over your head, wash and repeat as necessary. I haven't seen a house with hot water yet but because its so hot here we don't mind the cold water. Can't drink the water of course so all of our drinking water is bottled.

We have been invited to stay with Mario Alonzo for as long as we are in Mexico...his family is very nice and we are blessed to know them. Mario has an office that is not finished yet so it is our new temporary house. The office has no lights, shower, hot water or toilet seats but we are missionaries so we don't mind.

We visited the local churches and communities to check out the conditions. Our friends in Mexico are praying that we stay here to do our missionary work. Some of the conditions are terrible here. We met many locals and all of them were so nice. It's amazing to me when we asked them how they were doing most of them said good or very good, but all of them had nothing. In these areas people have little or no food. We met a family of 7 that had one potato, 5 tomatos, 1 onion, 1 chayote, tortillas, sugar, and coffee and nothing else. It was heart breaking. To watch them interact as a family and see them love each other, laugh and have a good time was great. We who live in Canada and the US have got it so good. These people didn't even own shoes.

I was presented with a great local dish and would have been offensive if I said no. It had everything in the bowl that I swore I would never eat, a dead fish with head and lips included, and shrimp with head and tenacles as well. My wife was so proud of me because I ate alot of the food. Thank God for helping on this one.

The hardest thing that we saw to date was a blind pastor. We were able to see his house and talk to his family. It is customary when people come over that you prepare food and drink for them but this man had nothing. I mean nothing. When we were introduced to the pastor he told us that he had no gold or silver and nothing to offer us except the power of God. He prayed a blessing over us. It was too much for me (Shawn) to handle and I broke down and cried. It was overwhelming to see such generousity and love encased in poverty. Addison mentioned that our dogs live in better conditions than some of these people.

The children are loving it here and would be happy to live here. They are enjoying Miguel's family as well as Alonzo's. They are trying hard to learn the language. We are so proud of their attitudes.

I have much more to share but we have to leave and eat with some more people.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.


the virags

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

What a Day in Mexico!!!

Pastor Brad, you were right, we haven't a clue what we are getting into!

So, we made it to the border today but not without incidents. Took us 6 hours to get the papers we needed to enter and cross through Mexico. This process in Canada or the USA would have taken approx. 10 minutes. However, the people at the first port of entry told us they couldn't give us the necessary papers and we would have to wait until tomorrow. The other option that the nice Government man gave us was to give him approx $300US and he would make it happen. We opted out of his options and we went to the other port of entry.

Two minutes into our travels in Mexico we met our first police man who said we were speeding (but we weren't). He asked us to follow him to the police station to pay a big fine. He also had a second option which was to pay him directly and avoid all the trouble. Our great new best friend Mario Alonzo helped us out of the 2 expensive situations and at that point we had spent no money on bribes. We don't see how we would have been able to do this without Mario Alonzo.

After finally arriving at the next port of entry we were not able to be helped again, but wait, it gets better.

We then went to the third port of entry and there the fun began. We spent a long time there, approximately 4 hours and this is what happened:

-Mario did all the speaking (thank GOD)
-he spoke to 2 people
-first guy said things looked good, second guy wanted $100-$150 to make it happen
-our options were to go back to USA, get another hotel and hire a lawyer, then come back to Mexico and pay a ton of fees (much more than necessary)
-after speaking with Miguel, we decided it was cheaper to pay the cash to the Government man. We would not go higher than $100US.
-he charged Mario Alonzo $100US but after hearing about us being missionaries and God not being happy with him the man gave $40 back and must have thought that God would be happier with him for not taking as much.
-it wasn't over yet
-we then went to the other nice people in the office and paid the regular fees
-then we went outside...talked to more nice people who asked us to empty the trailer. I was not happy, but I did it.
-after the nice lady looked in the almost empty trailer she asked us for more money
-Mario Alonzo explained to the lady we were missionaries and we were going to help people, and told her that God would not be happy with her either. Not only did she not charge us any "extra" amounts she actually reduced the allowable charges by 85% due to the number of people in the van
-cost us a bit
-saved a ton
-God is awesome!!!
-5 minutess after we left the border...you guessed it... we were pulled over again
-police asked for the proper papers which we showed them...this police sent us on our way without any requests for money. We were relieved.
-had to stop at a check point approx. 1 hour away... yep they asked for money too... unbelievable..Mario got us out of this one too.

We have never prayed so much in one day in all of our lives.

Sounds exciting doesn't it?

Well, we made it to the hotel and we are going to have a well deserved rest now.

Thanks for your prayers and support. Please cover us with prayer. We will be with Miguel and Oriana in two days. We can't wait.

Goodnight all,

The Virags

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.


-

A Scary Moment Looking for Documents

So today was our last day to drive in the states. We ended up in McAllen, Texas around 6pm to check into our hotel.

We were able to celebrate Emma's birthday today in the van and dessert at Burger King. Happy 12th birthday to my little girl who is growing up fast(love dad).

It was cool to drive along the Mexican border, you can see it while driving in Texas. The drive was no problem. We had a great hot breakfast before we left.

I laughed at my wife so hard today. It was getting hotter and hotter as we got more south. In order to keep our van from overheating we don't run the A.C. I didn't find it that hot but apparently my wife did. She had Addison get her a cup of ice and water. Chantelle took the ice and water and rubbed it on her head, arms, legs, back, and where ever else she could get it. I found it so humorous and laughed at her hysterically. Chantelle told me she was so hot that she couldn't continue in the van anymore. I'm not sure if she realizes that it will continue to get hotter and we still have 3 days of driving in Mexico. lol She will be fine. It was a momentary unrest.

We almost forgot to tell you that we dodged a dead skunk on the road. As we heard a loud thud we realized that we centered the trailer over the skunk and bashed it instead of dodging it. We also hit a bird and numerous butterflies. Hours later at a gas station Chantelle noticed that the skunk took out our wiring harness and the paved road ground it away to nearly nothing. There happened to be a marine store across the road where we bought the replacement. I'll have to put that on in the morning. The strangest road kill I have seen was still the flattened rabbit blowing upright in the wind. This trip has been full of laughs. The kids are up beat and loving the ride.

We have friends who are currently living in Mexico named Miguel and Oriana. Many of you know them. They have a friend who flew to Texas to conduct some business and offered to drive with us the 3 days through Mexico. This will be a big help to us since we will be in Mexico with a Mexican.

Our new passenger doesn't know it yet, but he will have the privilege of driving with a husband, a wife, 3 children, and 2 dogs in a van with no A.C. pulling a trailer which prevents the vehicle from going any faster than 100km/hr. He doesn't know this because he speaks little English and we are not at all able to translate the above sentence in Spanish. If I were him I would have taken a plane home. haha He is a kind man.

Now for the scary document part. We have a book that we call "The Guatemala Book" which contains all of our important immigration information, canine documents for entry into Guatemala, notes from our Pastors', Guatemalan contacts, etc. It is our life line and, well, you guessed it... we lost it. Chantelle and the kids tore apart the van and I looked through the first half of the trailer and we found nothing. Chantelle insisted that it was in the trailer. Right when I had given up looking she persisted and climbed in the trailer. Chantelle found it safely inside the back pack she forgot that she had placed it in. She was thrilled and our van is organized and ready to go for tomorrow.

Well, that is all for now. The next time we write we will be in Mexico. Thank you so much for your prayers for our safety. We need you.

Thank you,

The Virags

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

somewhere in texas

So we made it to our last state, Texas. It's a cool state, and the drive has been good. A quick praise report... our friends prayed for us before they left and they prayed for great gas mileage and no problems with the van... since then we have gotten over an extra 100 km's per tank, our van hasn't overheated and our tranny is not making any noises.. how great is our God!

We will be meeting Mario later tonight. Mario is a friend of Miguel's who was nice enough to offer to drive through Mexico with us. This is a big deal and could help us out a lot. We will be seeing Miguel and Oriana in a few days.

Please continue to pray for us.

We will be getting ready to start working on our construction projects soon as well we are wanting to do a soccer ball drive. A soccer ball will cost approx $10 US and we are hoping to get 50 balls to donate to the local children
If you are interested in helping us minister in Guatemala
Make cheques payable to:

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R8X8

When making cheques, please make sure you do not put our names on the cheque. Just drop a quick note in the envelope. Please indicate what amount is for soccer balls.

thank you,

the virags

Saw the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon

We are now back on the road. We dropped our friends, TJ and Lin, off at the airport today and said good bye to Chantelle's sister and brother-in-law. It was a great visit with them.

It was a quiet day for the most part. We took an unexpected stop at the Hoover Dam. That thing is really cool. I can appreciate it from both the engineering and construction fields. We didn't plan on stopping but after driving over it, we just had to stop for a few pics.

We then drove to the Grand Canyon . As we were driving down the 22 mile gravel road we decided to drop the trailer off and stop for a quick pee. Chantelle and the kids had to go so I was standing at the road when I heard screams from Chantelle and then the kids. Their feet and shoes were full of thorns from all the cacti trees. It was one of the most painful stops so far, lol. The thorns pierced through Chantelle's flip flops and got stuck in the runners and Crocks. It was fun and worth the adventure.

The Grand canyon is amazing, colourful, and massive. God is so creative. We have a ton of pics. THERE ARE NO RAILINGS AT THE EDGES!!! That was mind boggling to us. We threw rocks over the edge for Tyler and yelled for Karen, they wanted us to do both for them. The kids loved that.

It was a good day. We took longer than we expected today so we didn't make it into Texas, should be there tomorrow.

Just wanted to thank all of you for your prayers and financial support. As asked we have included the address for tax deductible donations:

Make cheques payable to:

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

Hope you enjoy the pics from today and feel free to leave comments. We would love to hear from you all.

the virags

getting ready for our last leg

so today is our last day of rest. we will be heading out early tomorrow morning to continue our trip to Guatemala. We were able to hang out with friends and family for a few days and it was great. My back is killing me because of the heavy lifting I did while moving (those big boxes full of books). The weather has cooled down a bit so this should help out our overheating problem. We will be travelling through Texas then Mexico and finally we will enter Guatemala. We will keep you updated as we move on.

the photo of the monkey is from our friend Pablo who went to the fair and won it. Before we left he gave it to us, so we have decided to take pics of the monkey where ever we go. Thanks Pablo.

The other pic is of some cool little canyon with water at the bottom.

thanks for your prayers,

the virags


WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

we are doing well in the middle of nowhere

just a quick note. really quick because we are using a computer in radio shack. We are doing well, in the middle of nowhere, desert.

the tranny in the van is making some funny noises and it is overheating quite a bit. We are driving in 100 degree weather with the windows down and the heat on full, not good.

We are taking a quick break and staying a few days off the road to visit friends and family.

will update you as soon as we can.

please continue to pray for us.

thanks

the virags


WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

day 2 on the road soon

we are up and almost at em'
Going to eat a great breakfast of muffins, eggs,cereal, juice and whatever the kids want.
I am tired already but we must drive on.
yep thats me, sleeping and driving.

shawn
the virags


WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

1st day almost over, now we stop to rest

So we did it.

We made over 1000km's only 3 stops, 0 pee breaks other then at time of fill up, 1 country line, 3 state lines and one hotel stop.

We tried leaving the house at 6 am but of course we were late. I lost my patience before we left the driveway so the start was a little rough. We prayed in the driveway, made a few last adjustments and we were on our way.

When we got to the border the officer was nice enough to want to talk inside the building, so he pulled us over. They noticed we had fruit that wasn't allowed to enter the USA so they took our oranges and mango. Carsten wants us to go back for the mango cuz it looked like a good one. We went in the nice building with all the other smugglers and crooks where we showed our ID. The officer needed me to give him some papers that were conveniently located in the front of the completely packed trailer with only a back door access and alot of stuff in the way. After I removed most of the contents I found the paper, showed the officer, then we were on our way. Approx 1 hr delay. Bonding time with the CBP officer was priceless.....haha

Snapshot of rest of day

started ok with cool weather
got warmer and our van started to regularly overheat... needed to turn the heat on to prevent damage to engine (outside temp was 30'C)man it was hot in that van
because windows were down kids couldn't do much school due to excessive winds
we couldn't read out loud due to above mentioned problem (wind)
bought healthy yogurt that cost a fortune from gas station
had to go to the bathroom so bad I used the women's (owner said it was ok)
Kids argued over eraser so we threw it out the window.... problem solved
kids had to do homeschool early in the morning...they were all asleep within minutes
ate some beef jerky.. not addison because he wouldn't eat his apple.. he is still mad at us for that one
Dogs went poo 2 times on gas station grass area
chantelle spill dogs water on herself so she through the water and cup out the window at 100kms/hr
did I mention we can only go 100kms/hr because my wife has so much stuff. Seriously I can't go any faster then 100km/hr
I love going downhill way better than up, and my feet were a bit itchy half way through the day.

Day ended somewhere where only potatoes grow and Denny's was great.

All in all the day was good, the above did happen but we thought it might make you laugh. We all loved the day.

Must go to bed

Until tomorrow


thanks for everything,

Shawn
the virags


WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

Gas leak in the house for our last days here

We had a gas leak in the house today. 2 days before we leave, we had our regular hvac maintenance and they found a gas leak. The gas company was called, we had to evacuate our home. The gas company confirmed we had a leak, they turned all the gas off, and we now have no heat or hot water. We are really living like missionaries now....no furniture, no heat, no hot water, no plates, etc. Our life just keeps getting more exciting

the virags



WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

the good bye party at the Burrell's

We had a great time at our friend's house today. Peter and Irene were nice enough to have a going away party at their house. They are great friends and we will miss them a lot. We will miss all of our friends. Thanks to all who came out and made our day a great one.

the virags


WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

the calculations

So I taught the kids homeschool today and I thought it would be fun to combine a few subjects. We decided to calculate the amount of km's, gas cost, hotel cost and a few other things. This is what we came up with:

BC to Guatemala - 6626 KM's (for my USA friends 3982 miles)
Cost per gallon - $3
Size of tank 20 gallons
Amount to fill tank $60 US, because most of the driving is through USA
Gas mileage 400km per tank
Amount of tanks needed to drive to Guatemala - 17
Gas Cost - $1020
Hotel Cost - $480
Total cost without food will be $1500 US.. we didn't add any money for food because I haven't told anyone yet but we will be fasting the entire trip(no food or water,). This will not only save us money but it will drastically cut down on washroom stops. HAHA!
Shawn


WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

bought the trailer....

well Chantelle, Emma and I went to Abbotsford and bought our trailer today. I thought it was a big deal because without it, we wouldn't be able to bring anything. Less than two weeks to go.... Thinking of putting some decals on the trailer.. any suggestions



WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

My God is my protector!

I have a significant praise report to share with all of you. This morning I was unexpectedly prompted to go check our basement patio door while I was getting ready to go to church. To my surprise it had been left unlocked the entire night. I locked the screen and the glass door, finished getting ready, and left for church. After arriving home in the late afternoon I returned to the patio door to let my dogs out. The screen door had been torn enough to unlock and open it. Some one had tried to break into our house. If it hadn't been for the Holy Spirit"s prompting we could have had our remaining possessions, ID, and moving sale money stolen. I see this as a total victory and a significant reminder that MY GOD IS MY PROTECTOR. How timely is this reminder. Thank you God for making your voice clear. I am so glad that I listened to You. You rock God!!!! xo Chantelle

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

Man, We are close!!!!!!!!!

So, we had our big moving sale on Saturday and most of the stuff went. We now sleep on blow up mattresses and eat from paper plates. It was a good sale and we made a bit more money that we can bring and help people in Guatemala. We are all very excited to go. Had a great time at our Church corn boil. Our Church is great and they are behind us 100%. Thanks to all our WIA friends and Pastor Wes, Brad and Ian. We will miss you all. We are leaving in less than 2 weeks....


ps the pic is one of our friends and pastor.... Brad

shawn

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

A Word from Emmariah

It has been my heart's desire to be a missionary in Mexico or Guatemala since my mom started homeschooling me a year and a half ago. The first YWAM book my mom read out loud to us was about Cameron Townsend. He was a missionary in Mexico and Guatemala. I really like the YWAM books because they are all about missionaries. I always ask my mom to read longer to us. I was thinking that I would be a missionary after I finish University. Wow, things are happening much quicker.

We went to Tijuana, Mexico already to build a house for a poor family, play with children, and hand out goodie bags. To see the look on those kids' faces was priceless. I didn't want to leave Mexico. I prayed that we would move soon to do mission work. Well, we are moving September 26th, 2009 and going to Guatemala. I am so excited, happy, and sad. I will miss my friends in BC. I am blessed that God put this on my heart and that He is now allowing that desire to come to pass.

Thank you for taking your time to read this. It means a lot to us. I would love to share the experience with you. Please reply to my blog if you want to. Thanks!

God bless!
xo Emmariah

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

Quetzaltenango

Our missionary adventure starts Sept. 30, 2009!

We are DEBT FREE and ready to go to Guatemala! Debt entangles and is a hinderance that we are not willing to bring into the mission field with us. We committed to being debt free before going and we have reached our goal. God has given us favour and Shawn has worked so hard to make this happen. We are continuing to put aside as much money as possible for our stay in Guatemala.
We are committed to going to Quetzaltenago, Guatemala for three months of language and culture training. This is where our pastor spent 20 missionary years pastoring and church planting. We will also be renovating two churches and a school and painting murals in individual class rooms as well as volunteering at a children’s rescue center. We are so excited and honoured to be going to serve. We will be checking out missionary organizations and are planning to get connected with one. Please agree with us for God’s clear leading and wisdom. We want God’s perfect will for our lives.
It is a priority to share this experience with you. We desire to keep you posted and we would also love to hear from you about what is going on in your lives. If you do not wish to receive these updates please let us know. We value your time and input. If God so leads you to support us financially that would be wonderful but please do not feel obligated to do so. We desire above all else to connect with you. We are so blessed to know you all. Our lives are richer because of people.

XO Chantelle on behalf of the Virag family.

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

Just a quick note to let everyone know what's up. We will be putting out our monthly newsletter later this weekend to keep you all updated. I have to tell you that on July 31/09 we paid our last bit of debt off. We officially have no debt!!!!. This is a huge milestone for us because one of our conditions was we had to be out of debt before we went to Guatemala. God is good! It is very freeing to be out of debt. The world says that we need credit and debt but I disagree. Anyways we have about 8 1/2 weeks before we start our adventure to Guatemala. Please continue to pray for us and our beginnings as missionaries.

the virags

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.

Guatemala Here We Come
We will be moving to Guatemala before the end of the year. We will
focus on learning the language and culture. We are planning to help
out in the Word in Action Children’s Rescue Center, distribute food,
evangelize and research and design a building project system.

COME WITH US TO GUATEMALA!


Preparation
During the last 1 1/2 years we have been preparing for this time. Chantelle has been
homeschooling our children in order for us to be portable and provide them with
stability where ever we go. Our family has been learning Spanish since September.
When in Guatemala we will be immersing ourselves to become fluent in the language

Note from Shawn
Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that
was me-you did it to me. Matt 25:40 Message

I have always had a heart for humanity and benevolence. From my early childhood I would help kids out in the playground. I progressed through life helping people out as much as I could. Now, I am honoured to be able to move into a full time missionary position doing what I love, helping and sharing the love of God. Thanks for sharing this experience with us!
Sincerely,

Shawn

Some will go and some will stay. We have the privilege to go and so do you. We would love for all of you to come with us to Guatemala. For those of you who can not go
physically, you can go through prayers and financial support. We are needing support
in order to do all that is needed. Please pray for us through these last few months before we go, and consider helping us help others by donating to:

WIA
151-10090 152nd st
suite 314
Surrey, BC, Canada
V3R 8X8

If you are donating and would like a tax receipt make the cheques out to WIA. Do not put our names on the cheque, simply drop in a quick note allocating the funds to the Virag family.


Thank you,

The VIRAG’S