Life In A Suitcase...

Well I have arrived back on American soil, and I am not quite sure how I feel about it yet. As, i roamed around the house thinking of what to do, I realized that I wanted some ice cream. While in Guatemala, I had some form of ice cream once a day (this is probably where my 5-10 pounds of extra weight came from. While I said I would not eat at McDonald's until next time I return to Guatemala, I found myself wanting to drive through to get a McCono dipped in chocolate...I decided to settle on a sugar free fudge bar that I stumbled upon in Mema and Bo's freezer. I also had my first apple with Nutella today. They had Nutella in Guatemala, but it cost more than $7 per jar. I decided that I could do without Nutella for the month and opted to settle for Hazella, which is the Guatemalan version of Nutella. Needless to say, it did not taste the same, and I forgot just how delightful Nutella was until my treat today! As I roamed around the house, I thought to myself: Self, I miss Guatemala. There were things that I vowed not to do for a very long time. These things included eating at McDonald's, taking a cold shower, sleeping with the windows open and fans on, and living out of a suitcase. What I found out upon my arrival home was that I wanted to do each of these things, and I even found myself doing some of them. When I arrived back in the states, we made a two hour trip to Tyler to visit Melanie at camp and have dinner with my grandparents. We came back to Dallas and I have been staying at my other grandparent's house the past two days. When we arrived at their house, there was no air conditioning. One thing that I did not miss while I was in Guatemala was the hot Texas summers. We were spoiled with 60 to 70 degree weather (it is currently their winter and rainy season so it was cool) and there was not a necessity for air conditioning. When it is 90 to 100 degree weather, there is most definitely a need for air in a house. Luckily, a storm blew through Dallas and the house cooled off a little bit, but it was still hot. So again, I found myself sleeping with the fan and windows open. I also found myself taking a cold shower at 11 at night to try to cool off and wash all the airplane grime off of me from the long day of travels. I thought that I would never say this, but it was quite refreshing and comforting. It reminded me a little bit of the place I had called home the past month.

Today I have arrived in McKinney, Texas and I will be living here the entire week. I am in a wedding this coming Saturday and instead of traveling three hours to Georgetown and three hours back in two days, I decided to stay here and rest. And rest I will. This place is like a second home to me. I lived here for a summer and the family that I lived with is nice enough to let me come back anytime I want. I find this place very peaceful. It is in the country, with a wrap around porch, and rocking chairs. This is the perfect place to relax and reflect on my past month and prepare my heart for my future and returning home to "the real world."

This is my life back in America so far. I am safely back home, but there is a weird feeling in my soul. It is a wierd feeling because I miss Guatemala so much more than I thought possible, but I am also loving being back near familiar faces and familiar territory. Even though living out of a suitcase can be unorganized and sporatic, I am still enjoying it. It is sort of a liberating feeling and a feeling that I have learned to appreciate. I was talking to my grandma this morning and she was asking my plans for this week. I gently said: "I don't have any. I am a free spirit." She laughed and agreed with me. For those of you that know me, you would laugh at this as well because a free spirit is not a term that is generally used to describe me, but over the past month the Lord has been teaching me flexibility and how to delight in the stillness and quietness of Him, His timing, and plans for my life. This has been one of the most liberating experiences. While I may not be a free spirit, I am letting the Spirit teach me how to trust Him and enjoy life. I know that one day God will show me what his plans are for me in His timing, but for now, I am going to just enjoy living out of my suitcase and continue to the Spirit set me free! Until next time...be blessed!

The Time Has Come...

Well it has happened...the trip is basically over. We are going to spend the day at the hotel tomorrow and then bright and early Saturday morning we are leaving to go home. I am not fully ready to go home... I am ready to see my family and friends but other than that I could stay...or pack a few kids in my suitcase and bring them home....since I can do neither I suppose I will just leave. I am exhausted physically and mentally which means that I must have done something right since I have been here. All good things must come to an end I suppose. Please pray for safety and mercy as I travel home and prepare my heart to leave this precious country which has grown so dear to me....until next time be blessed...

Livin in the Dump....

Today was a very eye opening day. My team and I went to the dump. This sounds utterly disgusting, which it is, but the most saddening part of the entire situation is that people live here. The dump is the place where all of Guatemala´s trash is disposed. There are communities of homes, or one room shacks, that live all around it. The women work at the dump collecting cans, silver, and gold to recycle and make money. It is one of the most saddening, humbling, eye opening experiences I have ever had. I can definately say that I am humbled and there really are no words to explain what I experienced today. I can honestly say that I caught a small glimpse of the life that Jesus led today. He loved on the poorest of the poor and the dirtiest of the dirty....and he did it by merely loving them and not judging them....Once again, the most humbling experience...

We were joined by the boys and girls from the transitional homes. These young men and women live at the Buckner transitional homes, meaning that they are too old for the orphanage but that they are not ready to be on their own. Living here is a reward to them in a way. They have earned their way to these homes by good behavior, grades, etc. They range in ages from 12-20. These young adults have had rough lives of their own. Yet here they were handing out food to these poor people that live in the dump. Just as we had a humbling experience, these youth also had an eye opening and humbling experience. It was neat to see their energy, enthusiasm, joy, and ministry in their own community. It was a joy ministering with these young people and developing relationships with them along the way!

As I sat in church this morning and then ventured to the dump, God has laid some things on my heart. Here are all of these people from Guatemala ministering to people in their own community and here I am in another country ministering to their people and yet I do not take initiative or time to minister to people in my own community and surrounding area. This hit me hard. The missions coordinator and his daughters and family pour their heart, body, and soul into ministering to the people in this country...pour is not the correct term. They dump their entire life in their ministry here working 7 days a week with the toughest situations and with the toughest people. Yet they give and love unconditionally. It is such an inspiration to me. I am sad to leave here and go home because I have gotten so accustomed to the culture and the people, but I am also extremely excited to dive deep into ministry in my own community and country!

This is a mere glimpse of my day today. For updates on the past week you can check out the blog that is under Buckner. It is far more detailed about what our team is specifically doing week by week in Guatemala. I will say something that was such a God thing that happened to me individually this past week. If you have been reading my blog, you know that last week I was sick. This was merely a bump in the road and gratefully, did not hinder my ministry and I am feeling much better this week. But being so sick and so far away from home, I was beginning to get homesick at the conclusion of my second week here. The first blessing happened last Sunday when we were meeting the group from Arkansas at church. The mission coordinator that came from Buckner in Dallas is a friend from Baylor and a familiar face. I was so thrilled to see her. The familiar face was such a blessing and unexpected surprise. She ended up staying later than she though and is still here ministering with us. This is a double treat! This was only the beginning of God´s surprises for me this week.

The group from Arkansas was staying at a really nice hotel. So each morning, we pack a change of clothes and go straight from the orphanages to the hotel to change and have dinner with them. This particular day, I was tired and missing home. I was minding my own business and gathering my things. I was so glad to be getting out of the van after such a long drive and long day. As I obliviously jumped out of our mini-van, I heard my name. This was odd considering I was in a foreign country. I looked up to see none other than another dear friend from Baylor named Claire standing in the doorway of the hotel! I found out that she has been in Guatemala the entire month of June as well with another organization and she had a group coming to the same hotel! This was such a delight for me! This might seem such a small thing, but when you run into someone from home in another country unexpectedly, you have to know that it is God alone that brought us together. I got to see her a few times at the hotel throughout the week and have heart to heart conversation. My team is a blessing, but since we haven´t known each other for long, sometimes it can be hard to open up. All this to say...God is good! God has a way of blessing his children if we are faithful to do what he has called us to do, even if it is something as small as seeing a familiar face so far away from home!

This has been my week thus far. Thanks again for all your prayers. Please pray for my team as we wake up at 4 am in the morning and drive five hours to Zacapa to deliver food to the villages. This will be a long day because we are making the trip in one day. Please also pray that I will continue seeking what God has planned for me and that I will take what I have seen, observed, and learned to heart. This time next week I will be back in the states, so please also pray as I prepare to leave and go home! Until next time be blessed......

Praise God for Miracles!

Miracles do still happen! I know that you are probably thinking that I am about to write about how some child accepted Christ today here or that someone was healed. This however is not the case. While God is doing amazing things here in Guatemala, I am merely writing to say that miracles still happen because I had a hot shower two days in a row! This seems small and insignificant but after weeks of 30 second showers due to the freezing temperature of the water, you can imagine my joy! It is sometimes in the small things that make us happy and make us excited! Today and yesterday were my day for the luxury of hot agua! So all this to say, I am praising God for the small things that I sometimes take for granted on a day to day basis...and today I am praising Him for hot showers!

Hospital de Guatemala.....

This week has been a long week to say the least. It all started when we had a team arrive from the states. It was the first week that we have worked with another team, and for some reason, it was not what we expected. I think that the fact that we hit the halfway mark of our trip this week, was something that made this week a little bit of a lag for each of us. My team and I were tired, had a lack of energy and enthusiasm, missed the kids in Hue Hue, and some of us were sick. This is where the interesting part of my week starts.

All day on Thursday, I was not feeling well, but I just thought that it was because I was tired. Afterall, I had been playing with children all day everyday. These children are not the best behaved children so you become their jungle gym. It can be very painful to say the least. On top of that, this week, we were painting the inside of the baby home. So, there was lots of manual labor and this is the reason that I thought that I was not feeling well. Needless to say, I was wrong. I came home on Thursday night and I had a high fever and was in the worst pain I have been in in a while. I prayerfully took some tylenol and went to bed, hoping to wake up renewed and refreshed. My team and I were going to Antigua the next morning, and I have heard about the amazing shopping in this town. If you know me at all, you know that I rarely pass up a shopping trip!

The next morning I awoke only to have a higher fever. To my dismay, I exchanged my shoppping trip for a trip to the hospital. This was an interesting experience to say the least. A lady named Alice drove me to the hospital. She is a very nice woman and she speaks English well so this was immensely helpful in communicating with the doctors. When I arrived at the ¨hospital¨ I was slightly nervous. This looked more like a doctor´s office than a hospital and I was concerned about the sanity. To be honest though, at this point, I did not care what they did to me or how sanitary it was...I just wanted to feel better (at the end of this trip, I realized that even though it was very different from American hospitals, it was very clean and the doctors were incredibly knowledgeable). I was immediatly taken back to the room (the perks of having the director of Buckner´s husband own the hospital) and began the questioning. I will not go into details for fear of boring my gracious readers. I will just say that the doctor thought that I had an appendicitis. Luckily after a long doctor´s visit, a blood test, 2 x-rays, and multiple other tests later, they found out that I had a severe infection. As a result, I had three shots and was prescribed three medications. As you can imagine, I would have much rather been shopping.

Even though this experience made for a long day and for unpleasant poking and proding by random people that I did not know, this was a neat experience for me. This seems odd, I know. First of all, I got to experience the Guatemalan hospital and not many people can say this. Second of all, and most importantly, I got to experience the hospitality of the people in this culture. They truly are so giving and amazing. I spent so many hours here and I did not pay a penny for any of the services or medicines I received. On top of this, Alice spent most of her day with me at the hospital. As I mentioned earlier, the director of Buckner´s husband owns the hospital. So, while we were waiting for the blood results, we walked behind the alley way to the doctor´s home for some toast and hot tea. Here, I got the chance to talk to Alice about the culture here and how it differs from America. I also got to get to know her and hear about her life. It was such a neat experience for me.

When I arrived back at the house, my team members had already left for the fun day of shopping and tourism. I slept from 1 until 7 straight. This is so unlike me because I hardly ever take naps. This was probably due to the medication I was on. When I finnaly aroused from my slumber, I awoke to see the Mission Coordinator and his daughter hovering over me to make sure I was okay. My team was eating dinner at the hotel with the team from the US and this would have left me by myself at home until very late hours in the night. Luckily, Amed was there to tell me that his daughter (who is a fourth year medical student here) was here to stay with me all night and give me medicine as needed. This was such a blessing, as you can imagine. Once again, this was another time when I got to bond with a girl (who was exactly my age for the record) who is from this country. It was such a neat experience.

So, while the past few days have not been fun for me physically, it has been a learning experience and a time that I have grown to truly treasure. If I had not gotten sick, I would not have gotten to bond with these two amazing women of this culture. I would not have gotten to fully experience the amazing hospitality of the people here, and I would not have gotten to see God working in these people´s lives. It truly was so wonderful to have these women take me under their wings, minister to me, treat me with such kindness. Being so sick and so far away from my own home, I was immensely homesick, but these young women made me feel like family and like I was at home. I am continually finding myself being blessed by these people, even though I came to minister to them. It is this kind of selfless love that I aspire to attain . So my trip yesterday did not end up all that bad. And I feel about ten times better today (shots works miracles!) And I found out that our team is going to Antigua again next week. So Lord willing, I will get my shopping trip after all!

After 17 games of chicken, 5 servings of panquaques, and a 6 hour roller coaster ride around some mountains, my team and I arrived back at our home in Guatemala City. Just like it was by the grace of God that we made it to Hue Hue, it was by the grace of God to make it back. Needless to say, our team is relieved to be on sound and somewhat safe grounds.

Today was a great day. Even though it was like a 6 hour roller coaster ride around the mountain, it was so worth it. We took a detour today and we stopped at Lake Atitlan. It was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. The lake is surrounded by volcanoes and it was absolutely breath taking. We took a boat ride onto the lake and it was as if we were in a crater in the middle of volcanoes. It was wonderful. We had a wonderful lunch and were back on the road again. It truly was a long detour, but so worth it. God´s beauty at its best right there folks!

Even though we have concluded our roller coaster ride through the mountains, part of the roller coaster ride of this trip has just begun. We worked at the orphanage in Hue Hue this past week. This orphanage houses 95 children ranging in ages from infants to 17 years old. It was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. We invested in the lives of these children all day every day, and as you can imagine, we got very attached. It was very hard to leave. The last day that we were there, we threw a pizza party for the kids and played with water balloons. There was even a child that was in dire need of a new wheelchair, so we pulled our money together and got him one. The reaction on his face when he saw his new wheelchair is somthing that will forever be ingrained on the back of my mind.

As we were about to leave the orphanage, the children had planned a surpresa (surprise in spanish) for us, which was a program. They danced and sang for us. Some of them danced native dances, while others did a drama to a song about how they made it from the streets to the oprhanage. It was incredibly moving and there was not a dry eye in the room. These children were so giving, loving, and warm. They opened their hearts to us and bestowed gifts upon us as we departed. We came here to minister to these children and they in turn, ministered to us. Needless to say, there were many tears as we departed. The children wanted to know when we would be back and now knowing if I would ever return was a difficult realization for me and the children. There were a few children I wanted to stick in my suitcase and bring home, but I am not sure if that would be acceptable to customs....

So the roller coaster has ended and yet just begun. God is daily showing me of his grace, mercy, and undending love. Please continue to pray for our team. Pray for rest: emotionally and physically. We are starting again bright and early tomorrow morning with a team from the states, so please pray for this team as they are about to experience the roller coaster ride with us! Even though this experience has been a bit of a roller coaster thus far....know that I am having the ride of my life and that I feel immensely blessed to be here! Thanks for your prayers! I can feel the presence of God and your prayers and am excited about all that lies ahead!

Until next time...be blessed!

A Long Hue Hue From Home...

My team and I arrived in Hue Hue on Sunday night. Let me tell you all...we arrived here by the grace of God alone. The trip from Guatemala City to Hue Hue was supposed to take 4-5 hours but it took a little over six. We packed our bags for a week, loaded the bus, and were on our way! Imagine all of the worst driving conditions that you could possibly have and we had them all at once. First of all, the driver drove very fast and Buckner gets only the finest drivers apparantly, so I fear for the lives of the other passengers in this country. We were driving around a mountain with rock slides, on a road that was under construction (which is much different than roads under construction in the US), in the rain and fog (you could not even see 2 feet in front of the van), and to top it off...we were driving on the wrong side of the road. It was a five hour trip of chicken. This is no exaggaration. Needless to say, my team and I were excited beyond belief to arrive at our hotel safely (which is surprisingly a very nice hotel for such a small city).

We have been working at the orphanage in the mornings while the chilren are at school doing various projects such a dumping old strawberry milk and refried bean mix down a drain, playing the role of extreme home make over...room edition where we recovered couches, and bagging up pounds of soy wheat to deliver to the towns people. This has been an adventure to say the least!

The most beautiful part of this entire trip though, is the children. Today we got to the orphanage and there was nothing for us to do. We were supposed to paint a wall this week but due to the constant rain, we have not been able to. So, today we got to take the children that are not in school to the Mayan Ruins. The expression on their faces when we told them that we get to go outside of the orphanage walls is something that I will never forget. It was the neatest experience. There we were in the Mayan Ruins (which is so beautiful and breathtaking that no picture could capture its greatness) playing futbol with the children. It was wonderful!

In the afternoons we have been leading a VBS at the orphanage. This is hard because of the language barrier, but overall it has not been as hard as we thought that it would be. The universal language is love, so my team and I are loving these children as much as we can. Love is our form of communication and it has been amazing to see he Lord work and begin to break down the language barriers. It is neat to see how loving and understanding the people have been about this barrier. I have been praying that the Lord will help me to be able to relate to the chidlren and see myself in them. Yesterday, this very thing happened. One child, named Carlos, is not in school but seems very eager to learn and help. I asked why he was not in school and our translator told us that he is from the Mayan culture and does not speak Spanish. He speaks Mayan. God has worked in his life and he is beginning to understand the Spanish language but in that moment I realized that he did not understand not only us, but also the chidlren that he lives with each day. I have a translator to help me understand, Carlos has no one. After this, the language barrier did not seem like such a big deal.

I have many more stories to tell and I will as time goes on, but I am on a friend's computer and I need to head to bed. I am pretty beat after a long day of playing with los ninos! Please continue to pray for our team as we finish our work in Hue Hue. Pray that the children here will see the love of Christ in us and that we will be able to communicate that with them, whether it be through words, pointing and gestures, hugs, or merely through playing soccer for hours on end! Thanks for your prayers!

Until next time...be blessed!

I Have Arrived!

So I arrived in Guatemala last night and thus far it has surpassed any expectation that I had. I have been here a little over 24 hours and already God has begun to work in my heart and in my life! Here is a brief summary of what we did today:

Our first stop was the single mothers´home. This is a home where three single mothers live with their children. They have a wonderful, loving environment and are still able to go to school. This was on of the most touching things I have ever experienced. As a mother sat there and talked about how they have Bible studies and only want to do what is best in their lives according to God, my eyes welled up with tears. These young girls have had a hard life and they are filled with such joy. It was a neat experience. As we all sat in the living room and talked, these young girls seemed so old. Then they strapped their babies in a stroller, which then sat by why their mother´s jumped onto the trampoline and began to have the time of their lives! This was truly an eye opening experience-these women are forced to be put in adult roles but they are still so young and children themselves. It truly was a great experience.

We also went to the boys and girls transitional homes. In these homes 7 boys and 7 girls live and they have a family that lives with them. They are children from the government orphanage that Buckner has taken in. Because they were so good, they have earned their spot in this home. The children told us that they love living here a lot. The girls were so fun and we played futbol with them. The boys were such gentlmen and we played basketball with them. We were so impressed to find out that these children were full of joy, well mannered, and in the top of their class at school. They have dreams and goals for their lives, and some even aspire to be doctors! This was such a humbling experience!

We also visited the baby home. Most of the children that live in this home are newborns to about 3 years old. The children that live here are mostly children that are disabled for some reason and children that no one wants. The government does not take children into orphanages if they are disabled. The children here were so sweet and they greeted us at the door with hugs, kisses, and some even jumped all over us as soon as the door was opened. It was a tiring experience, but overall, it was an experience that I will never forget. This was a greeting of a lifetime by children that did not know us, nor could they understand us, but somehow they knew that we were there to play with them and love them...and that we gladly did!

Overall, Guatemala is a great place so far. It is beautiful with perfect weather. It was cool most of the day, requiring a jacket. I have only been here a day, but I have had many realizations. In Guatemala, everyone greets each other with a kiss. This was very awkward to me at first, having people I did not know greet me with a kiss on my cheeck, but secretly I like it...haha. The people here are so friendly, welcoming, and loving. The people here are very warm hearted and I love that. The faucets here have one knob and the option is COLD. If there are two knobs for a faucet, only one works and it is COLD. It is not that bad though. The drivers and roads are crazy, the food is good. I look forward to finding out more about this culture, the people, and the land.

We leave tomorrow for Hue Hue (which is pronounced way way). It is a 6 hour drive and the roads are apparantly bad and under construction so it could take longer. Please pray for our safety and health. We will be painting a wall, running a VBS at the government orphanage here, and playing with the children. There are 96 children at this home and there are only 10 of us so it will be an interesting, but rewarding experience I am sure. Please continue to pray for me and my team! I am off to bed now! Until next time...be blessed!