A Guatemalan Christmas

Merry Christmas! 

This week has been hard as I thought about celebrating Christmas away from home and missing all of the usual events and traditions that my family has.  But I'm very blessed to have my Guatemalan family here to celebrate with and to experience something new.  It has certainly been interesting! 

Mary and Joseph probably didn't want to go back to Nazareth and chill in Bethlehem for a few years, let alone have a baby in a stable there.  But God was, of course, leading and guiding them the whole way, providing for them and giving them family with which to celebrate, like the shepherds and the wise men.  Now, I'm not trying to make myself like the "holy family," but my comparison is what it has been in practically every blog post, simply that God brings us through hard times, and I know that he is providing for me and leading me, like he did with Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and the wise men. 

So, a Guatemalan Christmas is really interesting.  We went to church last night, which lasted about 2 hours, and then we ate dinner there, which we had prepared here at home during the day yesterday for everyone.  Traditional Christmas meal is tamales and "ponche" to drink, which is sort of like apple cider with cinnamon, but with less of an apple taste and more of a sugar taste, with lots of fruit in it, like pineapple, papaya, and coconut.   But since tamales are kind of expensive and time consuming to prepare, we had chicken sandwiches with ponche.  It was really good, and fun for everyone to spend time together.  The church service was good, though almost totally without Christmas carols, which was the most noticeably different thing about the service for me.  One very exciting thing for me was that the husband of one of the woman I've been meeting with came to church last night and gave his life to Christ!  The woman has become a dear friend and I'm working on a blog post totally about her because she has been helping me a ton with my quilt and she's a very precious young woman.  Her husband is abusive and controlling and typically does not come to church with her.  He punished her when she was baptized in October and gave her a very hard time when she defied him and got baptized when he told her not to.  It's very cool that he has surrendered his life and please pray that his life and his family will be transformed. 

So, after church we came home and watched a movie through the projector onto the wall in the Casa de Refugio, because it's really big and could hold a whole bunch of us watching in there.  Several of us family members, along with a few teenagers and a few men from the breakfast for alcoholics joined us for this.  Now, if you're calculating, all of this would bring us to close to midnight!  At midnight, we ran to the roof and watched tons of fireworks being shot off all over the city.  It was pretty incredible, and really, can you think of a better celebration of the birth of Christ than with fireworks??  :)  Normally I get kind of angry with all the people shooting off firecrackers around here because it's constant and very loud, but this time it was really cool.  After the fireworks and wishing everyone a Feliz Navidad, we finished watching the movie.  I finally went to bed at 2, though several others stayed up until 5, 6, or 7 this morning, and it is customary to stay up all night, play games, watch movies, and open presents if you have them. 

Today was a great day too.  We slept in, played Monopoly (I won!) and the family opened presents that they had been sent from a good friend in the US.  After that, we had a really good turkey dinner and ice cream sundaes!  Overall, a very Merry Christmas, and hope you all had a blessed Christmas as well! 

one thousand gifts

One of my dear friends Diane started doing this, after getting the idea from another blog, and I thought it was a great idea, and a great way to stay focused on thankfulness and daily grace and God sightings rather than on my tendency toward negativity and pessimism.  So I'm starting my list of a thousand gifts.

#1. An amazing, supportive, funny family at home that's always there for me
#2. Hair that can go a couple days without needing to be washed and still look halfway decent
#3. Skype
#4. Megapaca (Goodwill/TJ Maxx type of store), an entire day of shopping and awesome women to share it with
#5. A new pair of jeans that fit just right, found where I thought you could never find a decent pair of pants--a secondhand store.
#6. The community of believers, near and far, and lessons of giving and receiving and supporting each other. Yesterday I had the privilege of having a great conversation with one of my boys, who feels angry all the time because of the situation he's in, his abusive past, and feels ashamed because of the help he and his family receive from the church.  We talked about how as a community of believers we all need to join together and help one another, giving where we can, and receiving when we need it.
#7. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
#8. A plastic candy cane filled with M&M's like we used to get in our stockings that I found at the grocery store.  I got so excited when I saw it strung across the aisle, and then my eyes welled up with tears!  It will be worth every penny when I put it in a sock and open it up on Christmas morning!
#9. Pablito's prayer "gracias por la lavadora" (thank you for the washing machine) because he absolutely loves it!  It's hilarious, but it also reminded me to be grateful for the little things. Many people here don't have a washing machine, and have to wash their clothing by hand.  So, thank you God for the washing machine and how it makes life a bit easier! 

Pictures

they should have tried to fit a couple more people in there!

at Lake Atitlan!  Beautiful! (the lake, that is, not this picture of me!  :)  )

 Pablito, helping with the laundry.  He LOVES the lavadora (washing machine).  He likes to watch it make "vueltas y vueltas" (turns and turns)

some of my favorites...Bryan, Darvin, and Sandra--one of my roomies.

Three of the teens, helping make balloon animals for some of the kids at the church.  They were working very attentively.

vacation letdown

You know how when you go on vacation and then come home, it's good to be home for like a minute, but then there's a major letdown and you're like, what the heck am I doing here, can I just leave again because there's no point to all of this crap that I'm doing?  Yeah well, that was me at the beginning of this week, and it was totally unexpected because I didn't really think I went on vacation.  My parents visited, so they went on vacation, but I didn't think I was getting one because I had to stay here. However, I did technically get vacation because we hung out all week, I didn't have to work, and I had a "vacation" from my everyday environment.  So, after they left there was a major letdown.  My health has been better, which has been a huge blessing, but I was really struggling with feeling like maybe God made a mistake by calling me here....like, am I really making a difference?  Yeah, people like me, but is God really using me?  Was this really necessary, especially since I've been so sick?  What is the point of all this?  Maybe next time God you could pick someone who has a stronger stomach, and likes beans, and doesn't mind getting really dirty, and doesn't freak out over cockroaches and spiders? 

So, I started listening to one of Rob Bell's sermons from this past April that I had heard and loved, and knew I needed to hear it again.  It's called The Sacred Waste, and he talks about how all God asks us to do is make the sacrifice---use the gifts He has given us.  We don't get to control the outcome, all we need to do is use our gifts, sacrifice ourselves, and that is sacred.  As long as we are doing that, nothing is wasted.  It's easy to think that this time or that relationship was a waste because nothing seemed to come of it, but the sacrifice, the love poured into it, makes it sacred.  The people that I'm meeting with, talking to, hugging, smiling at, loving---it's not wasted. 

Now if only I could remember all this consistently!  Seems like I remember, then forget, then remember, forget, etc.  The vacation letdown week ended up turning out pretty well once I got myself put on the right track.  I know God brought me here for a reason, even if I can't seem to figure it out.  That's probably where trust comes in huh?  That's so stinkin hard for me. 

I know many of you have been praying, and I appreciate it so much!  My parents' visit didn't go quite like I hoped, since I ended up getting really sick on Saturday, and it hung on long enough that I got really dehydrated and ended up with a new adventure--a night in a Guatemalan hospital!  It was a nice hospital though, highly recommended, and I'm out today and feeling much better.  It drove mom crazy that she couldn't talk to the nurses and doctors and ask questions about what they were doing!  It was so great to have my parents here to help me through this though, and so good to know that so many people back home are praying.  So, I think I've had my fair share of sickness for awhile and I'm ready to be healthy for the next three months!  It was great to see how God provided this week in all different ways, from our hotel here in Antigua having just our room open on the night we needed to extend our stay, to lots of support from my friends here, and to having mom and dad here to help with it all.

Parent visit!!

My parents arrive today to visit me for a week!  I'm sooo excited to see them!  We plan to spend the week together seeing different parts of Guatemala and spend lots of time talking and catching up.  It might be hard for my dad though, because when the conversation turns to tears and feelings he won't be able to leave the room to "check the steaks" like he did when we talked on Skype!  :) 

I've been back to work in Villa Nueva this week at the Cerritos' house.  It has been great to see everyone again.  I missed my friends and family here, and they missed me too!  I've had really good conversations with some of my teenagers and women.  I had to miss sewing class again this week, which I was bummed about.  I heard that many of the women are finished with their quilts and presented them to the class this week.  I heard that they are amazing and I can't wait to see them.  I have quite a ways to go before I am able to present mine, so I bought a beautiful quilt at the market in Panajachel, near Lake Atitlan over Thanksgiving weekend when I was there so I can present that!  :) 

After much prayer I have decided to serve at a different ministry within the Strategy of Transformation network at the beginning of the new year.  This was the way my internship was originally designed in order to provide different experiences and learning opportunities.  I'm looking forward to what God has in store.  I don't know yet where I will be working, so we will see where God leads. 
Please pray for safety as my parents and I travel this week.  Also, one verse God has been showing me is, and I forget where it's found, but to "set my heart and mind on things above, not on earthly things." So please pray that I will be able to do this, and that I can trust in His unfailing love.  Thank you!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  My time of rest and retreat has been really good, and I'm feeling very refreshed.  I'm so thankful for the support of my family and community at home, as well as from the friends and community I've found here.  Most of all, I'm thankful for God's promises, to raise me up, to renew my mind, to transform me, and to give me peace that passes all understanding. He is faithful, and I will sing because He's been good to me. 
Thanks for the birthday wishes!  I had a really good day.  I spent the morning just hanging out, and then we did some shopping (I bought myself a couple birthday presents!) and went to Applebee's!  It was great to have some familiarity and enjoy Applebee's, which looks exactly the same here!  However, Bob (which we affectionately named my parasite) did not so much enjoy the Applebee's food, but it was so worth it. 
I'm looking forward to going back to work on Monday, and then taking another week off to enjoy a visit from my parents, who come into town next week Friday!!!! 

retreat

The past two months of ministry, and then being sick, have taken their toll.  My fatigue got to a place where I couldn't go on, and I left the pastor's house yesterday to stay with a staff member from Strategy of Transformation, the organization I'm partnering with here through World Missions.  I'm using this as a chance for a retreat, to focus on healing physically, spiritually, and emotionally, and to regroup and ask God to renew my mind and my spirit so that I can be a more effective servant for Him.  Thanks for your prayers as I go through this valley.

2 months down

I think I get along with and connect with teenagers so well because I have regressed to one here, or maybe I never grew up!  I think the whole culture shock/language barrier thing has made me extra emotional and moody.  Like, one minute I'm laughing and loose and dancing (I know, right? Me, dancing? In public? Crazy.), and the next minute I'm crying and upset about something.  Hormonal teenager.  And the dependence on people for everything also makes me feel like I'm 14.  I feel like a child because I can't communicate and say what I want to say when I want to say it.  It's so frustrating.  I learned a lot at language school in Antigua and it was really beneficial, but it still takes a few seconds for me to work out what I want to say.  And then if I'm excited, or upset, or scared, or emotional, it takes even longer to think in Spanish, and usually it doesn't even come out, it only comes out in English, because that's easier.  So, please keep praying for language acquisition!  And for my crazy emotional health.  And for my teens.  We had a couple of crises yesterday that kept us very busy.  Nothing serious, just kids going through stuff and trying to help them get it worked out. 

I've been here for 2 months now.  I finally felt like I was adjusting pretty well, getting used to things, settling in.  But for like the past week and a half or so I've not been feeling well again, and have been focusing a lot on all of the negative things.  Having a hard time connecting with why I'm here and what God is doing in and through me.  Instead, I've been longing for the comforts of home, my family and community there, and thinking about missing my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas at home.  I think being sick off and on hasn't helped, because that makes it harder to be engaged here.  I was so upset one morning this week that I emailed a friend and said I wanted to come home, and the response I received was an encouragement to write a couple stories about how I'm seeing God in the midst of the suffering, how I'm seeing him working in and through me.  In the midst of my complaints and negativity, the good stuff got lost.  Andrea and Federico continue to open up to me.  Federico has such a hard time showing emotion and expressing himself, but he's willing to be pushed to talk about it and has come a long way in the past two months.  Another woman in the church talked with me the other day about being beaten by her husband, and she wants help to get out of this situation and her husband is willing to receive counseling.  Another woman we visited on Tuesday came to church on Wednesday for the first time in months, and her children want to be involved too, and have borrowed Bibles and are so interested in reading the word of God.  I've also been praying prayers I've never thought I would pray.  For example, one of my teens lost one of his family's chicken, the fattest one.  So I prayed last night that he would find the chicken that had crossed the road!  :)  LOL.   

How great is our God. 

pictures

the journey of sewing and life

I've been asked several times about my goals for my time here, what do I want as the end result?  This question had me stumped.  I have one personal goal, which is to go home speaking Spanish really well, but as far as ministry related goals or things I want for my future, I got nothin'.  So when I got home from class today I was thinking about it, while listening to music and sewing.  I started learning sewing because Hermana Lety teaches the sewing class at the church on Thursday mornings and I go in order to teach a little lesson to the women about parenting or relationships.  I decided it would be fun to learn to sew, so I'm trying to sew a quilt, by hand, square by square.  It is taking me forever.  I am soooo slow.  And it's frustrating.  But the finished product, some day, will be really good.  And in the meantime, it's all about the journey.  Most times when I'm sewing, I'm really enjoying it.  It doesn't matter what the end product looks like (I mean, I'll be disappointed if it looks crappy, but work with me here), what matters is the journey.  It's good to have a goal, this quilt that I'm trying to make, but if I didn't take care with every stitch, every square, every part of the journey and only focused on the end goal, the end result wouldn't turn out quite as well.  And to really take advantage of the analogy to the best of my ability, because I would never want to go just halfway...every knot, every time I had to take it out and start over, just made the quilt stronger, better.  What I thought was a mess, a complete piece of crap because the lines weren't straight (I cán't cut a straight line to save my life, nor measure 5.5x5.5), could be corrected, renewed, fixed, with help.  Throughout the whole process so far, I've had help. I don't have to do it alone.  Í don't have to finish my quilt alone, I'm not on this Guatemala journey alone, we're not on this life journey alone.  So even though I may not have any concrete goals for my time here beyond "I want to make a difference in people's lives,"  I have numerous things I can look back on and say I've accomplished along the first 1/3 of this journey.  I've built beautiful relationships, had incredible adventures, am learning to rely on God for all that I need, the list goes on....  

Festival of Barriletes and a week in Antigua

Hi friends!  I'm feeling much better!  Thank you so much for your prayers. 

There are many people here that I'm loving getting to know better, but one who is close to my heart is one of the teenagers who goes to the church.  She is so precious and has so much pain in her heart from a broken past with an abusive and dysfunctional family.  She is incredibly smart and talented and works so hard, but can't see her own talents and value, not because of what she is able to do or how hard she works or the grades she gets, but simply because she is made in the image of God.  As a mental health professional and social worker, I can tell she's battling depression, but given the cultural context it's much more complicated, so helping this teenager work through this and open up and trust me has been very difficult.  It's an awesome relationship though and I love her very much.  Please keep her in your prayers. 

This week, I decided to take a week and go to Antigua for an intensive week of Spanish language study.  I started yesterday and will go back "home" on Friday.  However, yesterday was also Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, a national holiday.  On this national holiday, there is a huge festival of kites in Sumpango, about a 45 minute drive from Antigua.  The Spanish word for "kites" is "barriletes" which I think sounds so much cooler than kites.  So a group from the school was going to the kite festival for an outing yesterday and I went along after studying for a couple hours.  The kites were so amazing!  They were ginormous, some as big as four stories tall, and made of tissue paper!!  It was unbelievable.  The biggest ones couldn't fly, but some of the medium sized ones could, which was awesome.  It's a big competition for most creative, ability to fly, size, etc., and then when they try to make them fly, the crowd is all around them, and one of them almost crashed on top us!!  It was wild.  I'll try to post pictures tomorrow.  You'll have to see this to believe it. 

My week here in Antigua has been really good so far, and I'm enjoying getting away a little bit to relax.  The city is beautiful, and the shopping is amazing!  :)  I even ate pumpkin pie today!  It was delish. 

Sick :(

Last night I started not feeling well, and woke up this morning feeling even worse, so they made me go to the doctor.  They literally made me because I didn't want to go. I had my grumpy face on and just thought I could rest some and would feel better later.  But my stomach hurt, and I had a headache and felt dizzy and tired and nauseated, so off we went.  Going to the doctor's office was interesting.  Not bad, because it seemed really clean and professional, but I definitely miss my Dr. Brian (and my mommy) right about now.  Frank came along to help me translate, which was a little awkward, but we managed, and after some tests, I was diagnosed with having parasites and an infection.  Ummmm.....parasites???!!!!  Yikes.  So, please please pray for quick healing and good health. 

This past Saturday I went to the National Palace with Hermano Neftali, Hermana Lety, and their kids.  It was a lot of fun and seeing the palace was very interesting.  We also went to the market nearby, which is likely where I picked up the parasite, since we ate lunch there.  Last Wednesday was a national holiday, Revolution Day, and the exhibits at the Palace centered around that.  There was a billboard right outside the entrance that said "Conocer tu historia es conocerte a ti." or To know your history is to know yourself.  I really liked that because knowing our story is how we determine who we are and who we want to become, and how we recognize the work of God in our lives. 

Untitled

A lot has been happening here over the past week and a half, and I haven't really known what to say about it, so I decided not to say anything.  Since I love you all and appreciate your support, I'm back and ready to talk about what's happening in my life. 

First, my favorite part of this experience is being involved in the community and building relationships with people.  One girl I'm working with, Andrea, has become a good friend and both her little brother and sister had birthday parties in the past week that I was invited to.  It was very fun to be a part of that.  For her brother's party her mom made us a meal, sharing what little they had with us, which was kind of hard to accept because it wasn't necessary for them to do that, but it was a very nice meal and really sweet that they shared that with us.  For her sister's party, Won and I bought pizza and Won and Frank made a chocolate cake to share.  Esmerelda turned 6, and she put away 3 pieces of pizza and 2 pieces of cake!!  :)  What a little sweetheart.  She was so excited that she got all dressed up in a fancy pink dress for her party!  It's so fun to be a part of these things. 

This past Sunday was Baptism Sunday.  We went to Aguas Termales, near Chimaltenango.  It was like a big swimming pool that was a hot spring.  Both Frank and Andrea got baptized, along with 8 other people.  It was a very cool experience, seeing their excitement about taking this step in their relationship with Christ, and making this public acknowledgment that they belong to God. 

Last week Friday was a really terrible day.  In some ways I can see how God was working, and on the other hand I'm still all jumbled up.  Without going into much painful detail, God led me to go next door earlier than usual last week Friday morning, and Frank and I, along with the three boys, ended up seeing a girl being sexually assaulted in a vacant lot behind the house.  When I went down to talk with the girl, she was frozen with fear, in shock.  I went with her to the police station/government offices where the report was filed, and I was glad to be there with her.  What I've been wrestling with most is that I could have done something more to stop it, lots of guilt feelings, and I keep seeing the whole thing replaying in my head, over and over.  I get scared for all these precious children, knowing that this is danger they face up close everyday.  One of the blessings that came out of this was the opportunity it presented to debrief the incident with the boys.  We talked about what we had seen, how it made us feel, what we were thinking.  Because I was so vulnerable and emotional at that point, they opened up a little more and we were able to connect in a way that we hadn't been able to previously, especially the oldest one.  As a follow up, today the oldest boy shared part of his story with me, talking about the abuse he suffered.  I know it took a lot for him to trust me with that, so I feel really honored. 

Thank you so much for your prayers.  There's no way I would be able to do this without them! 

different but the same

There has been so much about this experience that has been so hard because everything is so drastically different from what I'm used to.  But one thing that I notice as I listen to people's stories and build relationships is that people are the same wherever you go.  They struggle with self esteem, loneliness, getting along with others, depression, anxiety, alcoholism, relationship issues, etc.  I've really been enjoying connecting with the teenagers in the community, and last Friday I had the privilege of connecting with one teen who was having a particularly hard day.  As we cried and prayed together it struck me how much we have in common, and as he spoke beautiful words about how grateful he is that I am here for him, the feeling is definitely mutual and it was a very affirming moment.  I feel like even though my Spanish isn't great yet, God is using me.  And He's showing me that I want to work with teens in the future! They're fantastic. 
Please pray for my teen friend, and for the other teens of the church and community. 

Pictures of El Salvador!

 This is the traffic jam at the border!

 Vicky at her baby shower

The Pacific Ocean

Boys will be boys

The current was strong!

First taste of coconut water

The whole group!

Fixing the brakes

Reparando movie premier

Reparando is a documentary about Guatemala's struggle to repair itself and its people following a 36 year civil year.  It follows two extraordinary Guatemalans, Shorty, an ex-gang member, and Tita, who started a school in Guatemala City's most notorious slum.  Reparando premiered at the Grand Rapids Film Festival at the end of August, and I had the privilege of seeing it at that time.  It was so good and I loved how it was so positive and hopeful, despite also depicting the poverty and effects of the civil war.  I also had the privilege of meeting Tita the first weekend I was here, and she is truly amazing and inspiring.  She's doing great work.  The organization I'm here with, Estrategía de Transformación, was very involved in helping create this documentary and it's definitely worth checking out! 
SO....all that to say, Reparando is premiering again in Grand Rapids on Wednesday and Thursday this week, October 13 and 14, in Grandville at Rivertown on Wednesday and at Celebration on East Beltline on Thursday.  For details and to buy tickets (can only be bought online) check out the website, http://www.reparandomovie.com/.  Please consider checking this out this week!

It's been a busy week!  Sunday was national children's day here in Guatemala, so there was a big festival at church, complete with clowns!  Many many children, combined with a large crowd and scary clowns made for a very anxious Amy, but the kids had a great time and it was really good for engaging the community.  Then I went to play soccer with a bunch of the teenagers from church. It was so much fun to run around and push people (gently and in love).  :) 

I can't remember what I did on Monday!  If I remember I will let you know!  OH------Vicky had her baby!!!  She went in for a checkup and it was discovered that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck, so she had an emergency C-section.  She had a beautiful, healthy baby girl, named Holy Elizabeth.  So I went with Shirley, Norma, Pablito and Abuelita to visit her on Monday night.  Vicky and the baby came home from the hospital yesterday and are staying with Junior and Shirley. 

A few weeks ago a huge container of literature--Sunday school materials, Bible studies, books, Bibles, etc., came here, arranged by TJ, an American who works at the Christian school in San Cristobal and is also involved in a children's home near here.  He is storing the books at the Casa de Refugio and is distributing them to various ministries throughout the area.  Because the books are right next door, our community has benefiitted, and on Tuesday, we got to invite pastors from all over Linda Vista and Villa Nueva to come here and receive materials.  There were representatives from 12 different churches, and it was so awesome to see their faces when they saw all of the boxes and bundles of brand new books they got, like Beth Moore studies.  A couple of pastors came to talk to Pastor Jorge afterwards, one who had always had hard feelings toward him, and asked for forgiveness about this because he was humbled by the gift he had been given.  Another said he came reluctantly, not believing that the books would be free, or if they were they would be old and broken and used, and asked for forgiveness for his attitude because he received more than he had ever thought.  It was really awesome. 

On Wednesday I got to ride along as we were the receivers of amazing gifts from a mission group from Alabama.  They gave 3 schools and our church water filters so that the children and those in our community can have clean drinking water.  What a thing we take for granted!

I've had a couple rough days this week, not feeling well, missing home, being a little cranky.  I was reading in the book of Psalms and came to Psalms 13, where it says "How long O Lord....How long O Lord must I wrestle with my thoughts?"  I liked the honesty of this question because it seems like I'm always wrestling with my thoughts, letting them run away from me, getting all anxious and stuff.  But then the Psalm goes on to say "But I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord for He has been good to me."  And that's what it comes down to.  Trusting in His unfailing love, and singing to Him because He's been good to me, no matter what thoughts I may be wrestling with.

Adventures in El Salvador

Last Monday Pastor Jorge came home from his trip to visit his daughter in San Pedro and said we would be leaving on Tuesday for El Salvador.  He also came home from this trip with his daughter Vicky, the most pregnant woman I have ever seen.  She will be staying with us until she has the baby, which could be anytime now.  I had known the trip to El Salvador was coming in order to renew papers for Junior and Norma because the Cerritos are originally from El Salvador, but thought we were going in about two weeks.  Instead, we left right away because Vicky had to come with us to renew her papers as well and of course, we wanted to try to get her there before the baby.  So we piled 9 of us into a Suburban and were on our way.  Along with us were Jorge Sr and his wife Annie, Junior and Shirley and Pablito, Vicky, Norma, me, and Wan (the Korean American who hangs out with us).

The first obstacle came when we reached the border of Guatemala, when they discovered that Wan's 90 day visa in the country had expired by 2 days. They said the only way to fix this was to go to Guatemala City the next day, get it renewed, and pay a fine. However, they eventually let him out of the country, and we proceeded to El Salvador.  I was sitting in the back of the truck that you can see in the picture here, and it was funny to cross the border like that because the guards come through with their lights and open the door, peer inside and see Junior, Pablito, and then me and Wan and give strange looks, like hmmm...these two don't fit.  It felt like we were being smuggled in or something.  But, it really did turn into a problem because of Wan's visa, and we waited for nearly an hour and a half before he was allowed to pay a fine that allowed him five extra days to get it renewed.  So, we were on our way again, this time to find some dinner!  Finally, after stopping for dinner to eat pupusas, which is apparently an El Salvadoran specialty that is like 2 tortillas stuffed with cheese or meat or beans, we arrived at our destination around midnight! 

Other adventures included going to the mall, playing the most competitive game of monopoly ever, traveling with 2 pregnant women and a 2 year old, a baby shower for Vicky, going to the beach, and drinking out of a coconut.  We had planned to travel back on Thursday, but received word that 2 of the border crossings were closed, leaving just one open, and because of so much rain, the roads would likely be treacherous and full of traffic. So, we decided to wait until Friday, which allowed us to go to the beach!  It was cloudy and windy, but very fun to see the Pacific Ocean, with huge waves and full of debris from the storms they've had. After we got home from the beach, there was an earthquake!  A short one, and no damage, but strong enough that I felt us shaking.  Pretty scary!  And now I know that in an earthquake you are supposed to leave the building, something I did not know, so did not do! Apparently the center of the earthquake and strongest place was right where we had been, at the beach!  

On Friday morning we received word that the border crossing we wanted was open at that time, so we prepared to leave. However, I had to get used to traveling with a different family from my own!  My dad, the organizational person that he is, (Someone, I can't imagine who, may have accidentally called him an organizational freak once) would have had us out the door by 6 am, but it is a bit different here.  We took time eating breakfast, getting ready, fitting everything back in the truck, making 2 different stops, and then we were on our way.  But WAIT!  We're on our way out of town and the brakes on the truck went out!  So we pulled over into a mechanic shop and they said they'd start working on them while we waited.  Of course Vicky, who ate like every 45 minutes because "the baby is hungry" :)  was hungry, so we walked to a restaurant for lunch, took our time, and then sent Vicky, Norma, Annie, and Pablito to Abuelita's house (Senior's mom) in a taxi to rest until the truck was done. And then we waited.  Thankfully, the brakes could be fixed, and we were officially on our way again about 3:30.  HOWEVER, by this time, for some reason, only one border crossing was open again, it was the longest route home, and it would likely be packed.  Naturally.  But we kept going and hit traffic about a mile and a half away from the border, where tons of semi trucks were stopped.  Annie and Junior got out to see what it looked like in front of us and saw that there was a restaurant with pupusas, since surprise! Vicky was hungry :) and it was dinnertime, so Wan, Annie, and Junior went ahead to order pupusas.  In the meantime, we started moving a little and ended up ahead of them!  After we had gone ahead and then stopped for a minute, I asked to get out and take pictures and stretch.  At the same time, Norma asked if she could get out and see if she could find a bathroom. Junior misunderstood and ran me all the way back to the pupusería and said here you go. I said "But it was Norma who had to go! I just wanted to take pictures!" So he ran back to get her.  And we continued to wait for the pupusas! And the car kept moving.  Long story short, Wan, Annie and I ended up walking a mile and half to the border in the dark, surrounded by truckers!  Thanks for your prayers, because it was scary!  And the pupusas were delicious!  :)

After we crossed the border there was a huge back up of semi trucks, a traffic jam that ended up lasting 4 hours.  Waiting in that traffic jam was pure torture.  I felt bad being grumpy about it when everyone else seemed to be taking it in stride, since there was nothing we could do, but it is what it is. I was grumpy. I was uncomfortable, and hot, and even though I love my family, I wanted to be alone!  More thoughts about this in a later post. 

When all was said and done, we made it home at 4:30 am.  Many obstacles, many trials, many laughs, many jokes and stories, made for a great adventure to El Salvador! Biggest blessing, besides making it home safely, was that no babies were born!  :)  I fully expected Vicky to go into labor, which would have been very traumatic for me :) so I'm glad she made it.  Thank you everyone for praying.  Please continue to pray for language acquisition and relief from culture shock, as I struggle with all the differences, missing things from home, getting used to being dependent on other people for so much--rides, communication.  Also pray for Vicky and her health and the health of her baby. 

I'm having trouble uploading photos today.  So I'll try again tomorrow! 

Baking a cake, and a late night brush with death

The past couple days have found me to be quite sick.  Tuesday night I had a really high fever and a very sore throat.  On Wednesday, the fever was gone but the sore throat remained.  It made for a miserable day and a half or so, but by Thursday I was feeling much better!  Still some remnants of a cold, but certainly manageable. As far as ministry, this week has been a little slow since Pastor Jorge is out of town, which is good given that I'm not feeling 100%.  Still working on teaching my kiddos next door...eventually I'll have to come up with a better plan than having them copy Bible verses and write out multiplication tables!  :)  Something to pray about. 

Yesterday Shirley, Jorge Junior's wife, felt like baking a cake and asked if I wanted to help her.  Definitely!  So we baked a cake, from scratch of course, with bananas in it.  It was delicious! 

Last night, since Pastor Jorge is gone, Jorge Junior got a phone call from a church member that someone who attends the Saturday morning breakfasts was very sick and needed to be taken to the hospital. Jorge Junior was working and not able to take him, so Juan and Frank said they would take him, and I tagged along.  If only I had known what I was getting into!  :)  We picked up 3 church members on our way to this man's house.  It is raining, and has been all day so the roads are very muddy.  We arrive at his house and walk inside, where he is lying in bed, writhing in pain, covered in blankets, shivering, but sweating at the same time.  Frank says that this man is an alcoholic, and had been drinking RUBBING ALCOHOL all day yesterday, and is now sick and suffering from the effects of this.  We prayed over him, and prayed for his family, but ultimately decided that it would be safest if he were taken to the hospital.  Driving to the hospital was OUT OF CONTROL.  Juan drove in a vehicle he is not familiar with, the defrost wasn't working, it's raining, and we're on a Guatemalan highway filled with semi trucks with a terribly sick man in the front seat, hunched over looking like he's about to throw up.  Talk about praying your heart out.  But, we made it safely, and unfortunately, the only treatment our friend was given was an IV and some pain meds, no tests for internal bleeding or internal damage or anything, and we arrived home very late, with a ride home that was a repeat of the ride there.  Abuelita, bless her heart, told me this morning that she couldn't sleep last night until she heard me come in last  night!  So cute. 

And, just because he's so stinkin' cute, I'm adding a picture of Pablito. 

These chickens live on my roof.

This is part of my house, taken from the roof

This is where we do dishes, and right to the left of that is the bedroom I share

The women doing the activity I came up with

Holding a baby!

Me, Andrea, and Hermana Lety after Andrea gave her life to Christ!

Busy days

Lots to write about, so settle in for a long one today.  My Friday morning parenting class went pretty well.  The handout I prepared seemed to maybe be a little hard to follow, but everyone really liked the activity, which involved writing a letter to their children, cutting it up like puzzle pieces and putting it in an envelope to give to their kids to open and put the puzzle together with them to read the letter.  It was fun to spend time with the women too, and then Pastor Jorge gave a message and Hermana Lety handed out fabric so they can begin to sew.  It was a good morning.  At the end, Hermana Lety mentioned to Pastor Jorge that one of the young moms, Andrea, who is 17, had broken a rule during the handing out of fabric, so we went across the street to where Andrea lives and asked her to come back.  Pastor Jorge said that she has suffered a lot of abuse and wants me to work closely with her and meet with her on a regular basis.  When Andrea arrived they talked about following the rules, and then it appeared that something deeper was going on.  Andrea began crying and we invited her to talk about it, but she refused.  Pastor Jorge and Hermana Lety talked to her about how much she is loved and how God created her in His image, and they continued to speak His truth and love into her life.  After some time she got up to leave, but then we said one more time that she could talk to us about anything, and she finally said that God had been working on her heart, but she had been fighting Him because she didn't think she could be forgiven for the things she'd done. Pastor Jorge talked with her and led her in prayer, and we prayed with her as she accepted Christ into her life!  It was awesome! 

In addition to working with the women I have also been asked to work with three boys living in the Casa de Refugio next door.  They have not been attending school so I am working with them to get them up to grade level.  The youngest, 10 years old, is the farthest behind, as he doesn't know the alphabet or how to count past 100.  The other 2, 13 and 15, can read and write but have other struggles and are behind in math and grammar and only know the very basics.  They are very sweet kids and always have a hug for me.  I've really enjoyed working with them so far.  The 13 year old just had a birthday and we bought him shoes for a present.  He looooved them.  It was so cute. 

On Saturdays the church has a breakfast for men who struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse.  I had not planned to attend this, as I needed a break from the many church activities that take place, but I was caught standing in the hallway as they were heading out and they said come on, so I went.  It was one of those rough mornings of culture shock and loneliness, frustrated about not being able to understand anything and having to just sit there by myself, watching it all happen around me, which happens to be kind of boring.  So, naturally, in front of all of these drunk men and church people who were helping, I started sobbing.  I ran to the kitchen, where I found a beautiful group of American women!  They were helping serve breakfast that morning and had come into town from San Cristobal, near Guatemala City.  They scooped me up, gave me big hugs, said they knew exactly where I was coming from, and invited me to their English speaking church on Sunday night, to have pizza afterwards(!!) and to spend the night!  What a blessing.  Though I didn't know this before I went with them (sorry mom!)  :)  some of them teach at the Christian school, and others are involved in other missions in the Guatemala City area.  God provided just what I needed this weekend! After the breakfast, I went with Pastor Jorge and Annie (his wife) and Pablito and Flory, one of my roommates, up to Flory's home in Tecpan, about a 2 hour drive.  Flory's grandmother is very sick so we brought Flory there to spend several days with her family during this time.  It was a good trip to see more of the country. 

Sunday morning after church we went to a birthday party for Jorge Jr's wife's brother's daughter.  It was an interesting party, complete with piñatas.  Those piñatas are serious business!  We were all running after the candy, and because I'm a bit sugar deprived here, I was participating whole heartedly.  I kept reaching for candy, and this little boy was stockpiling his and apparently I was getting awfully close because he began wailing on me, literally punching me with all of his might!  All I could do was stare at the little devil, while Jorge Jr laughed his head off and took a picture!  I just let him have the candy because it wasn't any good anyway, but if it had been chocolate, I probably would have hit him right back!  When we sat back down, he kept giving nasty looks to my sister, Sandra, because he had mistaken her for me, and then yelled at her for stealing the candy, and she was like, I don't know what you''re talking about, I wasn't anywhere near you!  It was hilarious.

Right after the party I was picked up by TJ, an American from Iowa who works at the school.  I stayed with him and his wife last night.  We went to church and then to Pizza Hut!  Church was great and I met lots of very cool people.  While I have been to many many church services in the past week, it was very refreshing to attend one that I understood and have fellowship with people that I can communicate with without having to think very very hard about what they're saying. 

So, to end this very long post, a couple prayer requests.  I'm doing laundry today and I hope I don't break anything.  Also, pray for Andrea and her new faith.  Frank, who eats with us and spends his time here and is basically part of the family is having surgery tomorrow to repair a hole in his skull.  It's a very delicate surgery, as you can imagine.  And pray for me as I continue to try to adjust to all of this newness and learn the language. 

Next post will hopefully be all pictures. 

El Día de Independencia

Yesterday was Independence Day here in Guatemala.  Just like in the US, it's celebrated with fireworks and flags and parades.  The kids are still in school, but it's a holiday, so they have the day off, and they had special activities in the schools today too.  2 of my sisters here are in school and on Tuesday night they had to go run through Villa Nueva with a torch for Independence Day! Tuesday night is when they had the fireworks, and we stood on the roof and watched them come from all directions.  It was very cool. 

There is a group here this week from a church in Iowa and they spent two days working on the Casa de Refugio (House of Refuge) the domestic violence shelter next door to my house.  On Tuesday morning the women of the group did a sewing class for women of the shelter and other women of the community with a history of domestic violence.  It was really fun to be a part of that, and I learned a little bit too!  Many of the women already knew how to sew, but some of them didn't, and they got some new tools to help them.  A woman from my church here teaches a sewing and quilting class too and I want to participate!  She showed some of the stuff she makes and it's beautiful.  What a good skill for these women to have, because a lot of these things can sell in the market for a significant amount of money. 

Tomorrow I've been asked to teach a 20 minute session to the women that came to the sewing class.  The session is to be about parenting, especially for young new mothers.  Piece of cake.  Because you take one look at me and think, I could learn a lot from her about how to be a good parent.  That was very sarcastic, but seriously, I don't know a thing about parenting (except for the excellent examples I've had :)  )  and I feel a little out of place talking to them about this.  So please pray for me tomorrow morning!  I do think that I've come up with a pretty decent plan for it, so we will see if it's appropriate given education levels and cultural differences.  It will definitely be a learning experience. 

I love spending time with Pastor Jorge and this family.  Pastor Jorge always says that God will provide, and He always does.  It's pretty awesome to see it so clearly because at home everything was provided so readily that so often we don't see God at work.  Another learning process.  I think my brain is going to be maxed out with all this learning, especially after spending months unemployed!  :) 

Many blessings

On Saturday I came to live with the Cerritos family, which consists of Jorge Sr (referred to hereafter as Senior) and his wife, his mother in law, whom everyone calls Abuelita, his adult children Norma and Jorge Jr, his wife Shirly, their son Pablito, and three young women that Senior and his wife took in, ranging in age from 12 to approximately 30 (rough guess).  We also have two young guys, Frank and Juan, who come eat their meals here, but live in a separate apartment.  Jorge Jr and his wife and son live in a separate house, but right now I'm staying with Senior and everyone else I mentioned, sharing a room with the other "adopted children."  I'm not sure yet what the plan is for the future, if I'll be going to live with Jorge Jr like I'd previously thought.  Either way, it is such a blessing to be with this amazing group of people.  Senior is the pastor of the church, Ciudad de Refugio, and is passionate about showing God's love to the community in which they live, and he and his family want everyone to know the hope they can have in Him.  He is so cute and I am so blessed to be a part of this family.  The community working together that is lived out here in this household, with such a broad mix of people welcomed in and gifts being used, is pretty sweet.
Right after I arrived to the house on Saturday we went straight to a Quinceañera (15th) birthday party that Senior had been invited to preach at.  It was fun to be a part of.  It was very fancy and kind of like a church service, with singing worship songs and preaching, and then presenting gifts to the birthday girl and a big entrance and exit.  Very interesting. 
I had previously mentioned being afraid of Pablito, the 2 year old.  While he appears to be like what most would expect from a 2 year old, with the crying and such, he is also extremely cute and has beautiful brown eyes.  I was going to take a picture today but I couldn't pin him down long enough to do it.  He will come close enough to me to say Hola, but not close enough that I can catch him.  It's probably better that way!
Some prayer requests:  Everyone in the house is either coming down with or recovering from a cold.  Please pray that they will recover quickly and that I will not catch this bug!  Also, please pray for language acquisition.  It has been frustrating that I cannot understand what people are saying.  I had expected to be able to catch on quicker, even though it's only been 4 days! It will come.  And finally, though the past few days have been really good, I hit a bit of a roadblock today, longing for familiar foods and places and people (mostly foods though!). 
Thank you all for praying and thinking of me here.  I am blessed.  I should get to bed.  They have prayer meetings every morning at 5 am at church.  I was told I don't have to go every morning, but I wonder if that means if I can not go every morning?  :) 
Also, could anyone walk me through how to post pictures on here?  I have been taking some! 

No outlet

Today was the big day.  After months of planning and preparation, I was on my way, excited, but more than a little nervous.  So it was ironic and kind of hilarious that driving into the airport there's a traffic sign that says No Outlet.  Yup, this was it.  The flights and travel all went well, and I didn't even cry as I left Grand Rapids. But leaving Houston was another story.  By the time I found my gate I only had a few minutes before boarding, so I didn't get to find anything to eat or buy a Starbucks or anything!  I only had a minute more to talk to my parents and that last conversation with mom was hard, but it's looking like we will still be able to communicate a lot here. 
I am staying with Liz, the internship coordinator I've been communicating with, until Saturday, and then she will take me to my family.  Liz seems great and it has been nice to relax in her house this afternoon.  She did give me a little more information about my family, which leads me into a prayer request.  She forgot that my family has another child, a 2 year old, in addition to the one they're expecting, which is due in November!  YIKES!!  For those who know me well, small children aren't my thing, so this will be a stretch!  No outlet indeed.  :)   I also learned more about the ministry though, and I'm very excited about getting started with that.  It sounds like the church is doing great things in the community. 

First post!

So this is my first post on my first blog.  Neat.  I'd really like for this to be a place where I can share my thoughts and feelings and experiences and be pretty transparent about it, because not everyday is going to be a good day, and I have no expectations that this will be easy either.  In fact, I'm expecting it to be pretty stinkin' hard and I really really hope I can handle it.  I've given this a great deal of thought and prayer and talked with God about it over the past weeks and months and concluded that I can't handle it on my own, so it's a good thing I'm not doing it on my own.  He's called me to serve Him in Guatemala and opened all the doors, so He is going to give me what I need.  He is able to do "immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." (my favorite Bible verse and title of my blog!)  :)  Now I just need to constantly remind myself of this. 

I leave on September 9th, just 2 weeks away.  Every time I think about that for more than a second I have a miniature panic attack and have to distract myself with something else.  Needless to say, my to do list (which isn't even on paper yet) is getting done very slowly.  While there's definitely anxiety, I'm also very excited.  I'm going to be living with a young couple, the Cerritos family. Jorge Jr and his wife, and they are expecting their first child.  I'm going to be working with a ministry called Ciudad de Refugio (City of Refuge), which is a church, and helping with their various outreach ministries and using my social work background where I can. Not many other details right now, but glad to know these things and able to pray for the ministry and the family.