21st-24th

Tortillas we made
Coca cola on a nice day
The river we played in with the kids in Jovente
So many wonderful kids
Conquering my fear and riding a horse

I’ll try to update more later. I’m super tired now though seeing as we just got back from Jovente and we are going to the Zoo tomorrow.

If praying is your thing it would be wonderful if you pray for:
Traveling mercies
My Dad’s back
Saying goodbye to everyone here in Guatemala


June 24th

We got to Jovente this morning and as we drove past the health center that we were to build the fence around – it was already built!! We bought the stuff and the community built the fence for us, which was awesome. It still needs a door, which we might have the opportunity to build and we might work on this concrete slab. So Jerson (one of the guys who went with on our trip and was on the work and witness trip) became a part of the evangelism and discipleship group and Mehir and I joined the children’s ministry group – though still looking for potential work jobs. Which is great! We are still doing the ending service and we finished planning that yesterday.

We invited kids to Remi and to play futbol with us. There were 59 kids playing futbol with us before lunch. We also got to play with the kids in this river that they were diving into the women a little further down were washing their clothes in.

As I’m writing this – I wasn’t feeling very well while playing soccer and needed to set down – needless to say about 20 little girls came up to me and started speaking to me in Espanol and Catchee. Juan said it looked like they were going to eat me. Then Catherine came around a horse and we all got the chance to ride a horse. It was awesome to be able to conquer that fear of mine and super fun.

June 23rd

We drove the 5 hours to Puerto Barrios today, we ate at the same restaurant as when we went last time – only this time I didn’t get the fish! Then instead of staying at the District Superintendents house, we stayed at a friend of Scott’s house – it was super nice. It even had two showers. We also got a little American treat when we got there – ice cream! Us American girls slept outside while the others (boys and girls) slept inside the air conditioned house (which is a rarity here in the areas of Central America I’ve been to). It was quite the tropical experience with the thunder storm and the rain falling on the tin roof. Not many can say they’ve slept outside on a giant porch in Guatemala.

June 22nd

The last couple of days have been literally crazy, barely anytime to sleep. We are all really worn out. We leave for Jovente tomorrow. Today we did a children’s church and I was King Josiah as a puppet and Kendra was the other character and then Esther and Claudia were the voices. Then as a group we did the youth service (Sunday School); I was Potiphers’s wife who tried to suduice Joseph (who had the coat of many colors aka my scarf). And Joseph was Mehir, it was really funny- everyone was laughing. After church we went to Julio’s birthday party and had some good food – chicken, thick bean dip, corn on the cob, guac, this juice with cut up fruit in it, chips, corn tortillas and cake- and watched the euro cup. It was really nice and then we went to Gotitas de Amor. Instead of helping out with the literacy thing again – Catherine and I played a game with Eddy (one of the kids there). After a bit Danielle (the leader of the literacy workshop) came in and let me do the literacy workshop – it was like I was learning how to read. I can just imagine how frustrated the 50 year old women get – like the ones I was helping with the previous day.

I keep hearing, “…you can’t help everyone…” or “…you can only do so much.” I feel like that’s something I keep continuing to hear constantly throughout my lifetime. I think it will be a bad thing when I don’t hear those words anymore, because it will mean a piece of my passion has died or that I’m not trying hard enough. I never want to get used to it – will that mean I won’t be seeing life through Christ’s eyes if I get used to the pain and the suffering? I think so. I don’t think that He ever gets used to His children suffering. I think that’s a part of why I’ve been so tired, because I haven’t had time to process what it going on through all this culture shock, righteous anger, struggling, passion, brokenness – we’ve been so busy. I learned tonight though that this is the life that Christ has called me to. There are going to be times where I’m exhausted and I don’t have time to process but I just have to continue to pray that Christ will be my never dying strength – I don’t have another choice. My heart breaks but I continue to let God – not myself – LET GOD!

So last night after Gotitas we went to their church service and I lead worship and sang songs in SPANISH! It was amazing!! And we lead the service too – I was a tree in a mime skit and Maddai was a snake – it was fun and Father’s day themed. And Eddy learned how to say “Your eyes are beautiful” in English for me and then later asked me if I had a boyfriend, haha!! I that kid. He is pretty wonderful and has a wonderful heart. He wants to be a missionary when he grows up. I love their church and Gotitas de Amor – it’s such a wonderful blessing. I can see God here; the language barrier doesn’t even exist, the love of Christ surpasses such earthly things. Thank the Lord. I am so thankful for the experience He is putting in my life.

June 21st
We worked at Gotitas de Amor. We were split into three groups, one for games with the kids, another for maintenance and another for literacy workshop. I was in the literacy workshop one with Catherine and Lindsey. It was really amazing; I went from at one point helping a 50 something year old woman to a 9 year old learn how to read and write. It was amazing to be able to help but my heart broke at the same time for them. A lot of the women couldn’t see very well and so it made it really hard to the workshop. They can’t afford glasses – I assume.
I also learned how to make corn tortillas today with the women of the neighborhood.

On the roof of a hotel in Honduras- Myself, Claudia, Lindsey, Catherine, and Wes
Lindsey and I before Antigua
Wes, myself, Catherine and Mehir painting the walls at Gotitas de Amor
A service in a small town in Honduras - performing songs for kids
In Honduras: how things are carted around and people rode around on mainly horses. SO AMAZING!!

June 8th-18th

June 18th –

Today we had a semi day off and got to sleep. So for me that meant I woke up at 8 instead of 7…it was kind of weird for me that I couldn’t sleep in any longer. We had our devotional at 2 and then met with Scott and then Carlos and then Emily about the different things we had planned for this next week. We get to go to the zoo with Gotitas de Amor!! I’m so excited!!!! Then Emily talked to us about health things for the next couple of weeks, she is still a certified nurse in the states so that’s really helpful and nice to have here. The rest of the day we just worked on planning for different things going on and hanging out with one another.
We also danced in the thunderstorm rain, it was amazing!! Then Catherine, Lindsey and I started choreographing a dance to a song that we will make a video of soon.
Anyways it’s getting late and I’m exhausted.

Hope you enjoy the very long update from the past couple of days that have been a wonderful mix of experiences.

This is what I’m thankful for:
Clean water and lots of it
A roof over my head
A bed or sleeping bag to sleep in
A shower – hot or cold
Sturdy shoes
My Bible
Pen and Paper
The Small things…

If praying is your thing, here are some prayer requests:

These will always be prayer requests:
Team unity
Language barrier
Family situations
God will continue to work in our lives and transform our hearts

June 17th –

We started off the morning with the usual devotional that I lead – it was about the direction of your attitude, mainly about even just saying to yourself I get to do this instead of I have to, because there are many things we don’t want to do but we need to have a better attitude about it.
We traveled all day!! I sat shotgun the whole way and talked with Scott and watched best of youtube videos on his computer. We stopped at a place called Bongos for breakfast, it was a buffet and then for a late lunch we stopped at a random restaurant about 5 hours from Guatemala City. Once we finally got into the city it was raining cats and dogs and it took about an hour to actually get back to the School of Missions when it should’ve taken about 15 minutes. When we finally made it back home it was still pouring and the power was out and all of our stuff was on the top of the micro-bus (covered with a tarp of course) but still pretty wet. At that point, I was excited that I bought a nice backpack from REI and everything was dry, whereas my teammates stuff was all wet. Though we were all really excited to be home and be able to rest and play more Uno ☺.

June 16th-

Today we got up early and had breakfast at the church. We traded vans for the day, so that our van could get fixed (it needed a new clutch…or something). We drove around for a while getting the part for the microbus and picking up people and dropping them off. Then we realized we didn’t have any purified water for the day, so we drove around for another half hour looking for places with purified water- I was in amazement.
After that we drove an hour to the village of Santa Ana, it was out in the middle of nowhere. Most of us (Juan, Lindsey, Esther, Kendra, Claudia, Julio, Leslie, and myself) went to the school while the others (Mehir, Catherine, Wes and Maddai) went to a house about 20 minutes away and taught a service about the Nazarene doctrine – one person came to Christ during that service. We stayed at the school and did Remi and played games with the kids afterward. A bit after that Juan, Leslie, Esther and Claudia and I got out Wes’ guitar and played songs and had a nice reflection time.

After some time the other team that had been teaching the doctrine showed up and we left and walked to a pastor’s house close by. We ate rice and tortillas there and then had a church service where another person came to Christ. We also performed a couple songs for the people in the church – as a Juevenes de Mision (Youth in Mission) group.
Then we got to go to another pastors house and learn about some of the needs in the community. We got to try green mangoes right off the tree- they were amazing!! Although mangoes are possibly my favorite fruit, so I got lucky. It was like natures natural dental floss that takes some effort getting out of your teeth. Now that I think of it…I have one in my bag now…AMAZING!!

In the evening we went to a local restaurant – one of the pastor’s who church we visited owned- and had the Honduras national food called baleadas. They were pretty tasty. It was the first time we had flour tortillas since we’ve been in Central America. They aren’t serviced as much as corn tortillas because they are more expensive. Then we got milkshakes and I got a mango, it was outstanding!! After we went back to the seminary and packed up our stuff and played lots of Uno and then went to bed.

June 15th –

Happy Fathers Day!! I love you Dad and Grandpa!!!!

Today we went to church and taught Sunday School to the youth and played games with them and Leslie and I, both shared our stories of how we had made it to this point, in terms of being on Youth In Mission. Then we went to church and Scott preached. One person came to Christ during that service.
I heard music today at church that I feel like I’ll hear when I’m in heaven, it was so beautiful. It’s almost as if at that point the language barrier doesn’t even exist; love diminishes all barriers. There was an undoubtedly love and confidence in that room, something I feel you never see in The States. People were kneeling on their knees and no one cares what anyone else thinks, its like the Spirit just pushes out these judgmental thoughts and gives you a new sense of being, that you’re solely with Him and maybe with His angels or this community that’s behind you no matter what.

June 14th –

So on Saturday we were up and out at 7:30 AM on the way to the church for food. After that we had a crazy bumpy trip to a church – I thought our old Igelsia del Nazareno microbus wouldn’t make it. Though it did. We got there and were dropped off without any adults or leaders – only the first group. The second group was dropped off at an alternative location. We had about an hour to invite kids to the Remi show and evangelize as well. We split ourselves into two teams – Esther, Wes and myself and then Mehir, Catherine and Lindsey so we could cover more ground. Our group spent most of the time sharing the evangecube. It was really amazing; a lot of the time Wes and I were hanging out for moral support as Esther rapidly spoke Spanish. We could understand what was going on, she just has this wonderful gift. We also prayed for some people too. Our group went and talked with this woman that had said that Jesus is in her heart but she just has a problem with the people in the church and had been hurt a lot in the past. Through all the tears and pain we experienced while in her house we prayed for her and her family and she made a commitment to start going to church again. We prayed over several people that day. A lot of people seemed to be non practicing Christians in the area that seemed like they just wanted some love and were very willing to try and put their faith out there.
After that we did Remi in church for the kids and then played soccer with the kids while we waited a couple of hours for Scott to pick us back up in the microbus.

We then had lunch and went as a big group and did Remi and some evangelized. Scott did a game after that is was hilarious – he sang Boom Chicka Boom!! The kids absolutely loved it.
Then we went back to the church and gave the Sex, Lies and the Truth workshop it was awkward because we were in a church and it came on really strong.

It’s really interesting how it seems that futbol in the only sport that exists in Central America. You’ll see basketball courts that have been turned into futbol fields everywhere, its really funny.

My heart has really been smiling since I’ve been here. I feel such a strong call to this area. Most of you might not know that I have felt a strong call towards Honduras – especially working with orphanages, though that’s not something I will be able to experience while here this summer, I’m still so thankful and assured. I’ve had a lot of different persons throughout the more recent years ask me and tell me that I should work in orphanages and even leave school to do so. Although, I don’t feel the call to leave school to do so. I know that by the end of this summer and these trips to Honduras I will have left a piece of my heart here in Honduras. Even if I don’t get an opportunity to visit the country again – I know it was right for the time that I was there and I will have it documented forever in my journal of how God allowed my being to be stretched that summer. How He let my heart smile and break so much I could cry. I experienced more heartache and pain for the people there than I have in a long time. It may have been part of my culture shock, but it was a kind of confirmation that I wasn’t expecting. I had no idea what a strong pull God was going to put on my heart in such a short trip to Honduras. I couldn’t let myself in my heart complain about the food, the smog, or any of the worldly things, I was and am still in everything I do, like it says in Matthew 25:35-40 excited “…to serve the least of these.”

June 13th, 2008

We woke at 4:45 AM – having to be ready and everything by 5:15 AM and then we were on our way to Honduras. It was a 10-hour drive that took 14 hours because of traffic. I ended up feeling sick during the trip and spent the remainder of the car trip in the front seat exchanging stories with Scott.
Something I didn’t mention is that I absolutely feel in love with Antigua – they have several upon several language schools there and I’d love to attend one someday. I want to learn the in’s and out’s of Spanish- like the back of my hand.
Once we got to Honduras we had dinner the Church of the Nazarene there. A nice lady is cooking our meals here and we’re staying at the Nazarene Theological Seminary here. Most of the guys in my group say that they think that God is calling them here – mostly because of all the beautiful women.

June 12th, 2008

In the morning Danielle taught us about a literacy program at Gotitas de Amor. It was so fun learning about it, I would love to be involved in the program, it would be a wonderful way to improve my Spanish.
After that we went to Antigua, Guatemala – which is a beautiful ancient city about an hour or so away from San Cristobal (where we live). We got to go to this look out which was for the Guatemalans to see when the Spaniards were invading. And there is a giant stone cross up there, it was so beautiful, you could see the whole city. We got to by a couple cathedrals and then go to this beautiful fountain. At that point we split into groups and went shopping. I was with Wes, Juan, Catherine and Lindsey. Juan helped us and introduced deeper into the world of bartering. He said that there are markers a couple of hours from his hours like the ones we were at – so he didn’t buy much- I’m going to need another suitcase. Then we drove back, had an hour break – I slept.
Then we went to Gotitas de Amor where we had been the day before and played games with the kids there and then Carlos (the leader) spoke and then we played more games. We then came home and packed for Honduras and then went to bed.

June 11th

Scott has us write out what God has been doing in our life and then translate it into Spanish – so Juan helped me A LOT. And then it goes into a BlogSpot of Scott and Emily’s. I finished mine last night. The last couple of days we have been back from Jovente we haven’t done a whole lot. During church on Sunday the Pastor talked about The Great Commission and then had us come up and the church prayed for us. Scott and Emily individually laid hands on us and prayed for us. It was really amazing. He was using us for an example of The Great Commission. I was astonished. Then we went to Sunday School and they talked about what I feel has been a continuing theme in my life lately: Love your neighbor as yourself. I have really been learning to love every part of myself. God has been ever present and transforming my heart.

June 11th, 2008

Today we went to Gotitas de Amor and did maintenance work. We washed and painted the walls a peach color on top and a brown color on the bottom. At the end of the painting day – I had so much paint all over me – it was kind of ridiculous. His wife made us lunch and then Carlos made us dinner. It was so nice of them. Then we went to a service at his church with the kids involved in Gotitas de Amor. I think I should donate money to them. Then as we –the second group (our YIM group)- first group (all the kids) – anyways, as we were leaving the church, we had to go in one of the later car rides because the kids took up the first one and as we were waiting with Julio (he works with Gotitas de Amor and in the school of missions) at the corner of a street where there is a Christian convenience store and all of sudden BAM!! a soda bottle smacks down on the ground and a dog from a balcony begins to bark. The bottle was filled with urine. A lady from the church came up and said that the couple that lives up there are mentally ill and threw it because it was a big group and they hate Christians. There is no way they could’ve known we were Christians except for the fact that we were standing in front of the store. Our first hateful at performed against us. I don’t understand where that much hatred comes from – it made me want to cry.

Tuesday June 10th-

Today we learned more about Gotitas de Amor (Droplets of Love). The ministry’s passage is Luke 18:16. The ministry is in the Red Zone, which is one of the poorest parts of Guatemala-the houses are built on an old park. There are 3-8 kids in a family; 6-12 years old and once they finish 6th grade they can be volunteers and help the other kids. On Monday afternoon’s and evening’s they help the kids with their homework-if materials are needed for art projects for school the ministry provides it. The kids that aren’t in school, they have crafts for them to do. On Saturdays/Sundays they provide breakfast or dinner for the kids.
This guy named Carlos started the ministry because kids started wanting to go to church with him and his family; and the ministry is in his house.
Their finance is provided by a man with an interesting story-
A man and his wife have twins and one of them had a heart problem and because of doctor negligence the kid died. The man sued the doctor and has used all the money for children’s ministries and absolutely none for himself. The ministry started with 65 ninos. It’s a wonderful thing to get a chance to be a part of.

After learning about Gotitas de Amor, we were filmed for the How to of Remi. It was really exhausting but of course fun. We are going to be the people other people will make fun of in 10 years. It will be awesome. A LOT –over 150,000 -of people will see and use this film. We did it twice!! Then hung out the rest of the day and I got to talk to my mum.

Monday June 9th-

We worked on Sub-Commission things for when we go back to Jovente. I am in the Work and Witness section, we’re building a fence – barbed wire on the top and metal fencing and then barbed wire on the bottom – around the health center and then doing a concrete slab possible. I’m also on the commission that is in charge of the ending service. We will be in Jovente for 5 days and we will be really busy while we’re there; we have so many wonderful things planned. After we did that we worked on the revised schedule for the summer. At night as we were about to practice for Remi, we played around with the puppets and made movies. They’re hilarious!! Our group is really like a family.

June 8th – Evening

So during church the service was about The Great Commission and the pastor was basically saying that you don’t have to be out of the ordinary or particular spectacular to fulfill God’s commandments. You can do it and then the pastor used us as an example and he had us (YIM group) get up and go to the front and pray for us. Scott and Emily walked behind and prayed for each of us individually. It was amazing that we’re actually doing it, HE USED US AS AN EXAMPLE. I was like WHAT?!! ME?!? Then we went to Sunday School and the leader continued with the same message and said that he really admired us for what we are doing, it was so sweet. He also talked about how we need to be released from our material things and be able to give it away if needed. Then he talked about what I feel has been a continuing theme recently- love others as yourself- which I have been learning so much from recently. It’s so key to living as a human – loving yourself in totality takes a completely different kind of courage than loving others. I have been learning how to love every part of me lately and see myself through the eyes of Christ. Still learning every day. All the people in Sunday School wanted pictures with us, part of me wonders why me.
After church we went out to lunch for a couple hours- they had Pizza Hut restaurant – it was GREAT!! We were also taking care of Elijah and Sydney, they are such fun kids. Then we walked around the mall trying to kill time and Catherine and I totally saw a girl shoplift and no one even flinched as we watched her book it across the mall.
After that Scott and Emily picked us back up we went to the Seminary and played duck duck goose, I raced Elijah and we played soccer as we were waiting for Scott and Emily to pick stuff up from their friends.
So much for a day of resting but we ended up being able to skip church because we’re all exhausted and we’re going to have a service at Scott and Emily’s house, which will be fun. Time for a half hour nap.
Adios.

June 8th – During church

Today I woke up at 4 am and missed my alarm to call Matt. But I got up and wrote him an email and called and talked to him for a bit. I’m wondering and trying not to put too much into this because I don’t want to get hurt of course and I really want to focus on the amazing experiences going on here. I wonder if we all didn’t have significant others back at home if we would be putting more into this experience. Ad I don’t want to regret not giving this time in my life my all.
Right now we’re at church and it is purely Spanish speaking. Lindsey will turn to me every once in a while and tell me what’s going on.
I’m not feeling super well and neither is Wes, Catherine, or Kendra. I think we’re all getting the Guatemalan sickness. I guess its good it’s happening now rather than later.
The church is really amazing. It started (the service) with a few people in it and grew immensely and basically filled the entire sanctuary. The people here are very loving and beautiful. They all greet you with a kiss on the cheek. I am continually surprised and thankful. I have a wonderful Father.
The rest of the day we’re just resting and hanging out and then we have another service in the evening. I’ve mostly been using this time in church to pray and reflect –not necessarily on everything I’ve encountered- but how wonderful the love of Christ is. Thank you.
Peace.

Just some pictures

MORE to come:
Lupe (Juan's clown name) playing rabbit in the cage game
Beautiful Guatemala, this is almost everywhere in the country
Mehir and I
MacBook fun, Lindsey and I as clowns with the kids
Having fun with the kids and my computer

June 5th -7th

My Guatemalan family
From left to right: (Skipping the first puppet) Catherine, Leslie and Remi
Eating beans and eggs and tortillas



Beautiful children here

June 5th

Luke 5:1-11- We’re going to be used as God’s tools to further the Kingdom- I feel unworthy!!
Today we learned about Maxima Mision!! We will be leading two groups – one from Chicago and one from Kansas City. We will be going to Honduras once before we go with the group from either Chicago or Kansas City, so we can see the need in Tegusegalpa. Then when we go back we can meet the need. We are leaving on Friday and it’s a 10 hour drive. We already know we will be building a fence, playing games , being with the kids in the school, teaching Sex, Lies, and the Truth seminar.

June 7th
Yesterday was amazing and fascinating in so many ways. Well on Thursday we drove 5 hours from the city to Puerto Buarres and spend the night at the DS’ (district superintendent) house. And for dinner we went to this restaurant and I ordered fish and it came out like a fish, eye ball and everything-it was good but I ended up trading with Emily.
Then drove another 3 hours and went to the house of man who is building/planting the new church in Juevente, which is a town of about 600 people and its said to be a very indigenous culture/place. Some of them speak Catchee which is one of the few Mayan languages left. We worked at the school in Juevente and had a house down the hill that we would eat our meals at. So for breakfast we had eggs and beans and lots and lots of tortillas and for lunch we had chicken is some type of broth and lots and lots of tortillas.

At the school we did Remi (the puppet show) while another group did Sex, Lies and the Truth seminar in the morning. Every child who was present at Remi excepted Christ in their life. Its amazing to think that God is using ME as His tool. God is so good.
I definitely experienced a lot of culture shock while in Juvente – garbage lining the streets, girls with razor cell phones – yet they don’t have running water or even a solid flood and they don’t sweat or not even near as much as we do.

So after the show (Remi) we played games with the kids – all the children crowded around me, hanging off me, almost every single girl was holding my arm or rather Bubuhas’ arm (I’m a clown and that’s my name, its Bubbles in Spanish) – I’ve never felt so loved. It was so fun playing with all of them as well as even just sitting with them. They kept saying me name – Bubuhas!! I had a couple of girls that would just continually hang on to me. They were so sweet.

Then we had lunch at the house at the bottom of the hill and then went back up to the school where we did another workshop and then played soccer with the kids while Dr. Rene did a seminar on AIDS for the parents. Oh my lanta, playing soccer was so much fun, I did get called a chicken from one of the girls because of my pants that were rolled up, it was really funny and then another girl walked up to Juan and said you’re too big/tall and another girl called Wes a trampoline and Leslie clumsy. So we all have alternative nicknames now. After soccer all the kids took us down to this river and man was it a hike but they were all running- the whole time was a blast.
Then on the way back to PB last night we stopped at a restaurant and ate dinner and I got quizzed on my Spanish. I’m learning so much Spanish and when I was talking to my parents on the phone, I was speaking Spanglish. One of my team mates said that it makes her heart smile when I speak Spanish. So its getting a lot better than I expected and we’re all getting so close and our family is continually getting bigger. There are wonderful people here, who have blessed my heart emensely; I am so thankful to finally be here. I feel like I have known these people for so much longer than two weeks (for the North Americans) or 6 days (for the Mexicans).

We got back from PB in the late afternoon and were all really happy to be back. We will be taking our first trip to Honduras on Friday, the drive in 10 hours. I think it will be a fun experience. We are just going to see the need and then when we go back later in the month we will meet the need.

Well the eleventh member of our team just got here- she seems really nice thus far. Please if you might pray for team unity, because the rest of us have already had a week or two to bond and she is coming in late and that might be hard for all of us. And that we will be safe and I will continue to learn more and more Spanish as this adventure continues.

I really want to say thank you to everyone who has been such a big role in my life – chances are if you’re reading this, that’s you. I can’t believe my dream has actually happening. At times it has seemed surreal but I’m just trying to soak up as much of it as I can and love this life I am able to live.

Have a wonderful day everyone. I’ll keep sharing my stories when I get the chance.

Love you all!!

More pictures to come

June 3rd and June 4th

Some of the girl clowns doing Remi; Top left: Catherine, Claudia, Lindsey, Bottom: Kendra and Me
This is the place we are living while in Guatemala
The open door is the girls room-8 girls 2 showers ITS AWESOME!!
Catherine, Lindsey and I after we read Scott and Emily's vows, so sweet.
Wes and I - our first day as clowns!! So fun, I'm notorious for the orange wig.

We got here on our 3rd try to Guatemala, the airport opened back up and we were able to land.

June 3rd
Today was a busy day! We had to get up, be ready and have our breakfast eaten by 7:30 am.
We had a devotional this morning by Scott with Juan translating in English. Juan is one of the Mexicans on our team who is studying English, so he knows both languages quite well. The other Mexicans are Claudia, Mehir and Esther (and Maddai is coming on Friday).
We learned about "Remi" today. Remi is a puppet show, it is a Vacation Bible School like "show" for los ninos with clowns (payosos) and puppets! We get to dance A LOT and sing A LOT of songs in spanish.
Today we went to the store-split up into groups-mine was Leslie, Juan, Julio, and were given 40Q (7.3Q to $1.00) to buy cleaning supplies to clean bathrooms in Carlos' neighborhood- same place they have a ministry called Gotitas de Amor. We only got to clean 3 bathrooms, we got to wash dishes at the first house. The 2nd house we went to we cleaned the toilet and swept the floor. The 3rd house we went to we prayed over someone with muscular dystrophy and swept the floor. The church will continue to keep that family in their prayers. Also a lot of the persons whose bathrooms or casas we got to clean were from the church. A lot of the children's parents are alcoholics and have no sense of a future or what they want to be when they grow up. They don't think they can get out of the area, but a big part of the ministry is giving them a hope for the future.
It was surprising that so many people said no but thank you. They lived in a place that used to be a park and just built homes there- some had tvs, but it was a very poor area. Juan and I talked about where other persons priorities lie as far as what they put their money into- very interesting how that worked. He said that a lot of people in his neighborhood many homes were made out of mud- something and they don't had floors but really nice sound systems, tvs, etc. Juan said that thats not where his lie. We were in an area where a lot of children saw their parents die from violence, gangs, etc. There was a bullet hole in the door of the ministry. It has mostly died down about 3-4 years ago but its still happening a little.
I was surprised how left out you can feel when you have 6 other people on your team that speak fluent english and choose to strictly speak spanish. Every once in a while after talked to them they'd remember I don't know what's going on. It's kind of draining and hurt my feelings because I don't really feel like an active part of the group. It's really hard when Scott and Emily (our site coordinators) do it too and don't translate even though they say they'll say everything in both languages but it hasn't been that way I will continue trying even though its been tough. I've been trying to learn new things too, its getting better day by day.


June 4th
Today we Carlos taught us a new workshop that we will be teaching to the youth this summer. Particularly the youth in Jovente which is where we are traveling to this weekend. The presentation is called "Sexo, Las Mentiras y Verdad" ("Sex, Lies and the Truth"). The powerpoint was very good, but some of the images were even hard for me to see. The effects of the STI's and some of the mental things are just hard to think about. The youth in places near here are actually dealing with so many pressures which definitely plays into my culture shock, its a totally different world down here.
By the time he was done giving us a taste of the presentation it was lunch time. We sat around and chatted. Around one we met with Emily for our next activity. She split us into two groups telling us that when we deal with children we need to always have games to play as ice breakers as well as to fill the time if need be. We came up with games like link tag and red rover also a few games that the Mexicans taught us that the Americans didn't know. Then Emily brought Elijah and Sydney (her children) to play the games with us to make sure they were good for that age. We got to pull out the soccer ball and play with it for a while!!
Then around 3 we got the rest of the afternoon and evening to work on our presentations of "Remi" and Sex, Lies and the Truth. Around 6 we started to make dinner. I helped out with dinner a lot..I don't cook often, but I cooked the steak and chicken, it was pretty fun (but often I mean never). We made quesadillas with either chicken or steak and a special sauce known here as pico de gallo with orange juice. It was good! Emily's birthday was yesterday so we made her a cake. We got Scott to help us surprise her and sang a special version of Happy Birthday to her.
Happy Happy Birthday
From all of us to you
We wish it was our birthday so we could party too
Happy Happy Birthday
From our Guatemalan Team to you!!

Then we got them to tell us how they met-which was through YIM and at Olivet-and how Scott proposed to Emily!! It was a cute story!! I like them a lot and am really excited to spend the remainder of summer here!!
We were given permission to get online tonight for a bit, but tomorrow we leave for Jovente which is quite a ways away so I have to hit the hay pretty soon here. We were practicing for Remi for most of the day, which involved lots of dancing and singing in Spanish and its a workout.
Time for sleep. Hope to write again sometime soon!!
Also..pray that we're all healthy and that language would soon cease to be a barrier. Gracias.

Peace.

June 1st and now June 2nd

We departed late (by only 15 minutes) from El Paso, TX and arrived in Houston with plenty of time to spare, we had a layover that lasted a couple hours and then off we went to Guatemala City, Guatemala...only we didn't make it there.
We are currently in San Salvador, El Salvador for the second time in two days.
There were really bad storms in Guatemala City and the cloud ceiling was too low to land so they detained us for several hours on Sunday (June 1st) and then finally let us off the plane and put us up in a really nice hotel called the Sheraton about 45 minutes away from the airport. It was such a nice hotel but we crashed as soon as the five of us got a room.
Then this morning at 6:30 am we left the hotel and drove back to the airport and waited in the airplane about an hour more then made an attempt to fly the 24 minute flight back to Guatemala City. They couldn't even see the runway!! So I'm in San Salvador for the second time.
I did get a pretty sweet stamp in my passport as well as some fun times. And let me just say customs wasn't at all what I thought; I was so nervous and there was nothing to be nervous about whatsoever. We are all pretty exhausted though. We have been taking breaks sleeping and we're all working really well together. At this point, I can't wait to get to Guatemala and just sleep, recover and have fun.

I had my first culture shocks last night as well as this morning, even with the little part of San Salvador we saw. Everywhere, buildings, homes, stores had gates, fences and barb wire surrounding them. I found that interesting because you hear how genuinely friendly the people here are in comparison to Americans yet they have gates around their homes.
Also, its different (which is ok) to see the armed guards EVERYWHERE!! They have giant guns in their hands with helmets that say PM (police martial).

Well I'm hungry, we're getting ready to board the plane for the 3rd time so time to peace out.