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.