A Quick Quote

I've been trying really hard to keep up with the blog and post weekly, but with facebook and e-mails, I often forget I haven't posted here as well. Since it's getting pretty late tonight, I'll just entertain you with a simple kid quote...Enjoy!

1st (my class) and 2nd grade are meeting together during Social Studies each day this week for a collaborative mini-unit on the first Thanksgiving. While activating some prior knowledge of students today, I asked who was involved in the first Thanksgiving. Someone accurately named the Indians, but the kids were having trouble remembering what the other group of people was called. Then I saw a student very confidently raising her hand, and when I called on her and asked who the other group was, she shouted with a smile, "the Philistines!" :)

These are a few of my favorite things...

Life continues to be very busy, but very fun. Here are a few of my favorite things I've been up to recently...

-Taking 15 children from New Life Children's Home to the Harvest Fair at school: It was tiresome trying to keep up with the kids, but so much fun to see them so excited and enjoying a simple outing.

-Visiting a children's home for kids with AIDS: Lots of running, laughing, tickling, story reading, and hugs.

-Hair cut: I was super blessed to spend an evening out at NLCH and get my hair cut by a visiting team member. I LOVE the haircut and I'm still getting compliments on it over a week after it was cut. It's wonderful how God can use every gift He gives us to bless others.

-Planning for my parent's visit!: Wish-list making, finding subs, requesting time off, and getting very excited for my parents first visit to Guatemala!

-Shopping in the market in Zone 1: A wonderful place to buy anything and everything!

-Survivor Nights: A huge blessing by a parent from school. Each Wednesday night she prepares a delicious dinner, complete with dessert, and a number of us teachers (mostly single elem. teachers) are invited over for dinner and watching the show "Survivor".

-Bible Study: Monday nights we have a ladies Bible study with other CAG teachers/staff. It's been stretching me and growing me. Also, though it hasn't begun yet, I'm preparing to begin a Beth Moore Bible study on Esther with the older girls at NLCH. Can't wait!

-Time with one of my best friends, Rachel: Sleepover when we had off school for day of the dead. Dinner outings to Miraflores (a local mall). Chatting in the car when I take her home after Bible study. Recess duties together. Hang-out time after Survivor nights. Spanglish conversations. Walking during lunch. I can't express what a blessing Rachel has been to me and how grateful I am the Lord blessed me with her friendship!

From Conferences to Cake

Yesterday we had parent teacher conferences at school. I was thankful for the peace the Lord gave me about them and how well each one turned out. The best part about conferences though was that I was done by lunch! I ate lunch at school and then spent a bit of time working in my classroom before leaving for the children's home.

It was great to be able to go out there on a beautiful Friday afternoon! Traffic was better than in usually is on Saturday's and it was a sweet blessing to watch and join in with all the kids playing outside. The main reason I went yesterday (other than because I left school early) was because one of the girls--Angie--was celebrating her 13th birthday. It's been quite some time since I was able to celebrate a birthday with the kids at the Home so I really enjoyed that. I also really enjoyed my piece of chocolate peanut butter banana cake!

Highlights of the day:

-"Easy" conferences

-Playing with the kids all afternoon

-Hearing Jason Alejandro say another word (his 2nd that I'm told he actually says 3 words now.)

-Squeels and running hugs (you know...the kind where a kid runs and jumps into your arms!) from several of the newer, younger kids who finally know me well enough to get excited when I'm around.

-Birthday cake baked by Wendy Wheeler :)

-Making it home in the dark without any trouble and in pretty good time

Thanks for your prayers and notes of encouragement! It was a long and challenging week trying to work through some kinks in the new online grade program and prepare for conferences, but thankfully the Lord provided me with a sweet blessing at the end of it all. Tomorrow is a new adventure...trying to drive to church alone for the first time. Why? Because after church I'm going to play with kids at a home for children with AIDS! Can't wait to love on some more sweet kids!

Sunshine, Black Beans, First Words, and Wet Kisses

There's nothing like a Saturday at New Life Children's Home to remind me that despite the ups and downs of change--new home, new roomie, new school, new students--I am just where the Lord wants me. While I always enjoy my time at NLCH, sometimes the drive itself if...well...rather stressful. Last weekend, the trip took an entire hour. Today before I left the house, a friend said she'd pray I made it there quickly. I couldn't help but smile along the way as the road was SO clear and empty (comparatively)! It only took about a half hour. :)

Because the trip went so quickly, I had plenty of time to hang out with the kids before we had lunch. I went first to visit the little boys house. As soon as I walked in, I was pulled by two little guys upstairs to where everyone was watching a movie. Then, on the way to lunch, the newest addition to our Home--Jason Alejandro--saw me and ran up to me with a big smile! :D That was huge. Until today, I was just another white face that tried to give him too many hugs and kisses. I carried him over to the dining room where I met up with everyone else and joined the little girls at their table for lunch. Our lunch for the day was was black beans and rice. Simple as it is, black beans have become a comfort food for me because they remind me of all the peaceful, joyful days I've spent at NLCH. So, I enjoyed my very Guatemalan lunch.

After lunch, I helped some of the boys to do their chores of cleaning the tables in the dining room. Then we all went out to the playground where we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful, sunny day the Lord blessed us with! There was lots of swinging and playing chase, accompanied by lots of smiles and laughter. There's nothing quite so tiresome and yet quite so peaceful as a game of tag with a little guy just old enough to be way faster than you! :) Once I tired of the game of tag, I sat down in the rocks with little Jason Alejandro. Jason is nearly 4 yrs old, but he's physically very tiny and sometimes chooses to crawl rather than walk, and he's mute. At least for now. Tests have revealed that he has no physical impairments, rather he was just never stimulated before so he's never learned to talk. I love working with children who have speech difficulties, and I love signing with those who cannot talk, so I'm pretty excited about developing a relationship with Jason Alejandro. Today one of the house mom's left just the two of us to play together on the playground. It was wonderful to hear him TRYING to talk! For a bit, he even echoed me as I counted rocks, though his echoes were not recognizable as any particular letter sound.

Later I took Jason Alejandro back over to his house, but we continued playing outside with some of the girls. While we were playing, I heard a semi-recognizable word from Alejandro!!! The first and only recognizable word I've heard him say!!! As his big brother rode away on the bike, he waved and said "Adio" (adios)!!! Praise the Lord! He said it again quite a few times throughout the afternoon.

As I was preparing to leave this evening, I gave hugs and kisses to all the little ones. As I was saying good-bye to our sweet one-year-old Gabby, I made the mistake of saying "besos" (kisses). Usually we give kisses on the cheek. Gabby doesn't quite have the kiss thing just yet, and her kisses are more like her pushing her open mouth up against your cheek. Well, as I went to kiss her on the cheek, she tried to kiss me too...which resulted in a wet slobbery "kiss" on my lips! :P I couldn't help but laugh...a lot!

I'm so grateful for each and every child and staff member the Lord has brought to work at NLCH. Today as I cuddled with one of the little boys while watching the movie, I just smiled and said a prayer of thanks to the Lord. Then it crossed my mind...this is what I was made for. This is what the Lord has called me to. And I couldn't be more grateful!

The rains came down and the floods came up...

Ok, first, I must begin with that line that so many bloggers find themselves using sooner or later...I'm sorry for my long absence! I had set a goal of posting at least weekly, but somehow I fell behind and have been so busy I didn't even realize it until just recently! There's been so much going on around here, I should have more than enough to write about. However, tonight I just want to share a single prayer request.

Guatemala has experienced an excessively wet rainy season this year. We started the season with Tropical Storm Agatha, which brought a great deal of damage and flooding throughout the country. It was estimated to be the worst storm Guatemala had experienced in years. People struggled to get back on their feet, with entire houses washed away and the main roads blocked by landslides. Fixing and rebuilding has been difficult with the regular rainy season rains continuing to fall. Worse still, several other tropical storms have hit Guatemala this season leaving the land absolutely saturated. Each rainy afternoon brings with it the risk of flooding or a new landslide. And when it rains the full day as it did both yesterday and today, you can take the "risk" out of that and instead be certain more damage to roads, bridges, and buildings is occurring.

I remain grateful for the roof over my head that doesn't leak (I can handle the mold for now!), the car that keeps me dry as I travel to school, and the blankets that keep me mostly warm as I sleep. However, I know there are MANY less fortunate. The sound of rain that used to be so soothing, now brings heartbreak as I consider the lives being so negatively affected by the excess rains.

With this in mind, I plead with you to pray for the people of Guatemala. The heavy rains we're experiencing now (I believe the after-effect of the tropical storm that hit us last weekend) are expected to continue for 2 more days. Please pray that the rains will lessen and that God will provide for the poor and needy here who are hurting in the midst of all the rain. Thank you for your care and concern, not only for me as I serve the Lord here in Guatemala, but for His precious people that have grown so dear to me.

Community and Culture

I was talking with a friend today about how most of the time I'm really happy to be here in the city, but how a part of me still sometimes misses Xela. That's when I think I finally realized what I like and what I miss about the respective places.

Community: I think I knew it, but I didn't...community is what I have been missing and desiring for the last two years. Sure I had a couple close friends in Xela, maybe a handful that I wanted to make plans to hangout with, but I spent a large amount of time feeling like I just didn't fit in or click with anyone. I got along with people fine, but it seemed nobody understood my passion for loving "the least of these" and few took any interest in hearing about it. My views on a lot of things were more conservative than most, leaving me home alone many a Friday and Saturday nights. I was mostly content with life in Xela, but each time I made a trip to the city I found it harder to return. Now, I recognize that it's because I experienced community here like I never did in Xela. I felt accepted and loved. I got to hang out with people who shared my passions, beliefs, and convictions. And that's where I find myself now. It's amazing, even almost overwhelming at times, to be surrounded by so many people involved in so many different ministries, but all here because they've felt the Lord calling them to preach the Gospel here in Guatemala. Some are involved with education, others with childrens homes, orphanages, and shelters, and still others with medical ministries. Then there are many who are a part of miscellaneous ministries that don't fall into one overarching ministry--aviation ministry, helps ministry, ministry to prostitutes...Some are more conservative than others. Some have been here longer than others. But we all share a common denominator--a desire to see the people of Guatemala loved into the arms of Christ. It creates a common bond that leads to almost immediate friendships.

Culture- Though I feel tremendously blessed to finally be a part of such a positive and encouraging community, I have still felt as though there is a little something missing--culture. The city is so...American. Everyone has cars, there are bigs malls and movie theaters, most shopping occurs in the grocery store, not a market...Sure it's convenient at times, but I long for the opportunity to hop on a bus for Q 1.25 (less than $0.25) to be taken across town without having to worry myself about traffic. I long to be able to safely walk the streets. I long to be able to purchase fruits and vegetables at the market and get anything made out of plastic from one of a million "plastic stores" near the market.

Today I was able to mix community and culture with a visit to the market near the children's home. It was wonderful to buy things at a more reasonable price, and to KNOW what a reasonable price is! And to make it even better, I got to do it with two friends who both speak Spanish. When we entered the market we agreed to speak only Spanish so we'd stick out a little less, and we mostly kept to that...even for a bit after we left!

As I become more comfortable driving here, I hope to be able to balance the culture and community experiences, making the most of living here in the city.

New-ness

I've been here a week and it feels like forever. So much has gone on over the last 7 days! It's amazing to think that I've been living in this same country over the last two years, and yet, living in the city feels SO different...almost like living in a whole different country! Here's a bit regarding some of the changes that have been happening...

New #1: Location- Obviously, I'm in a whole new place and that's oh so apparent every day! The new place became truly official Wednesday when I moved my things down to the city from Xela.

New #2: Friends- I've got a new roomie named Tabitha and I've met a number of other teachers and families from the school. I also spent this afternoon/evening at a new young adult group and really enjoyed making new Guatemalan friends there. My roomie and I hope to attend regularly.

New #3: School- I'm really excited about a lot of things at my new school, but change is change and it will take time to get used to. For example, my new classroom is significantly larger than my old classroom, BUT I have about 4 or 5 different sized/shaped/designed desks.

New #4: Adventures- I'm learning to drive here!!!!! Let me tell you, this is HUGE! Guatemalan drivers are CrAzY, especially in the city. I don't even like driving in cities in the US, so this is a big step. My roomie is not so scared so we've had some adventures out and about getting to know the city.

(Re-) Newed #5: Passion- I've desired for so long to live close to New Life Children's Home and now I finally am! I spent all day Thursday with the kids and couldn't have been happier! When I arrived, school was still in session, so I was able to visit with my school kids and afterwards I had the afternoon to hang out with my kids from the Home. One of the highlights was definitely rolling around in the grass having a tickle fight with a few of the girls. :) I was completely exhausted by the end of the day, but it was so worth it. I love those kids SO much...words can't really express it.

So, there's an update on some of what has been going on in this past week. The days have been very full so it's hard to believe it's only been a week. I expect that this week will fly by, however, and I'll soon be starting school. Thank you for your prayers! There's lots to be done this week!