Home and one last adventure

Home tomorrow!  Happy and sad.  Pray for safe travels, wisdom for next steps, patience. 

And of course, I couldn't get out of here without one last adventure.  I went to the immigration office with my Guatemalan brotha on Friday in order to pay my fine for letting my visa expire.  In true Guatemalan style, his plan to pick me up at 2 pm turned into 3 pm, and then he finally arrived at 3:30 pm.  Because no trip can be completed without at least one stop, and without some traffic issues, we arrived to the immigration office at 4:20 pm before their 4:30 closing time, after leaving Wan to drive the van and dashing out in the middle of traffic to get to the office.  Once we arrived at the office we ran to the 4th floor office to find out that the bank to pay the fine at closed at 4:10.  Jorge ran to the bank to find out if we could still pay, then ran back and said we could, so the paperwork was cojmpleted, and we ran to the bank.  The bank said they were closed!  But he explained that we just asked, and they checked with someone, who had one form left for the day, and she printed my receipt!  I paid at the bank, ran to the 1st floor to make copies, and ran to the 4th floor to finish the paperwork!  Thankfully, everything worked out well.  However, in the meantime, Wan had been driving the van down through the city and got lost!  So when Jorge wanted to have him come pick us up, it wasn't possible.  When we finally figured out where Wan had ended up, Jorge said we needed to take a bus there!  Yikes.  It was a little scary, but when we got off the bus we were in front of the Eiffel Tower!  Or at least, the Guatemalan replica of the Eiffel Tower.  There was a Guatemalan president many years ago that had been fascinated with France and had a replica of the Eiffel Tower built in Zone 1 of Guatemala City, and also had many of the streets in that zone structured like the streets in Paris.  So since we were there I had Jorge take my picture in front of the Eiffel Tower.  The ambience leaves a bit to be desired though, since it is surrounded by busy streets and car repair stores.  I imagine it is a bit different from Paris.  

Anger management

When I work at the shelter I lead group with the women, and we talk about various topics, like self esteem, emotions, communication, and this week the topic was controlling our emotions and anger management.  At first, the women had difficulty opening up, and even denied having any anger issues at all.  They said they didn't really need to address that topic!  It was really funny, especially since I know for a fact that at least one of them does have serious anger management issues, since she has told me her story and admitted that she used to be part of a gang, and her old way of dealing with issues was to physically hurt or kill others.  So, I pressed on with the topic of the week!  :)    They did open up a bit, which was cool.  I provided a handout of principles for managing anger, and one of them was to talk with the person you're angry with, which really surprised all the women!  They couldn't believe that I would ask that of them.  CO MU NI CA CIÓN (communication).  They are finally understanding its importance, and we got to have a good discussion about it.  But when I asked for a demonstration and provided an example--they were so stubborn!

We continued with the anger management discussion on Friday, where I was able to provide a great example of anger management and communication.  One of the ladies, the one who particularly struggles with anger management, pointed out while I was speaking that there were bugs on the couch behind me.  Of course, she told me this in Spanish, using words I didn't know, along with some gestures. I understood enough words and gestures that I got that there was something going on behind me.  And I freaked out, big time.  Especially since there had recently been a lice outbreak at the shelter.  I jumped, and squealed, and said things in English that no one could understand (good thing, for sure), when the women said "What's the problem, you're scared of some little bugs?"  Umm, ya think?  I explained in an agitated tone of voice that I don't like insects, and it's difficult for me when I don't understand what they are telling me. To which the women replied, ANGER MANAGEMENT and COMUNICACIÓN.  Oops.  Nailed.  I then showed them my stellar emotional control (haha) by stating that I felt frustrated when I couldn't understand what she was saying, and then I really was scared by the bugs, and then I felt sad that they were laughing at me.  And then I took several deep breaths.  And we continued talking.  Group session saved! 

I thought you all would like that!  :) 
Thanks soooo much for your support.   

Newsflash

I can't fix people.  Nor am I supposed to.  I need to remember that God did not put me here to save the world--He already did that.  He is choosing to use me in this world, to show love to His people and use the gifts He has given me, but I CANNOT FIX PEOPLE.  I need to get that through my head.  My only job is to show them the hope they have in Christ.  God is faithful, and He is good.  He is good. He is good.  Even when life is hard, and it hurts, and people we love get hurt, and struggle, and we have to watch them struggle and hurt because we can't fix them.  Or beat up or fix the people who are hurting the people we love.  God is good, and He gives grace, and He is faithful.  Please continue to pray for my friends in Villa Nueva--Satan is working really hard there to break down that community and hurt my friends.  Please also pray for the women at the shelter as the work to heal from old wounds and move forward with their lives. 

Only 10 days til I come home!  The anxiety continues to build, as much as I tell myself to trust God and His plan for the next steps.  The unknown is just plain scary.  Please pray for wisdom, patience, and a smooth transition. 

On Monday I climbed the Pacaya Volcano!  It was the volcano that blew up last May.  It was really fun, but a really hard hike.  And a little anti-climactic too, because I just expected it to be really cool once we got to the "peak" or whatever, but it wasn't like an amazing sight or whatever, just a lot of burned rock.  There was a cool cave that we walked into that was really hot like a sauna.  Our guide said it was safe as long as we didn't touch the rock!  We also roasted marshmallows over the lava of one of the craters that had been carved out when the volcano erupted.  That was awesome.  And then we kept climbing!  I'm not sure why, but the boys in the group wanted to keep going, so we went higher and higher, and saw more of the actual peak of the volcano, and then slid down all kinds of loose rock, like running down a dune but with rock and reallllly thick black sand instead of the nice stuff at Holland beach.  It was dirty.  Overall, a very fun Guatemala experience that I'm glad I got to do.