what the sun can do to a person.

After almost two weeks of continuous rain, we finally awoke on Thursday morning to a beautiful blue sky and a brilliant sunshine! All I can say is...PRAISE THE LORD!! The girls and I were already in a good mood when we woke up! Sitting at the breakfast table, we were all happy and giggly with smiles on our faces, ready for the new day! Kylie and I walked out to go to class to be greeted by birds chirping and the warmth of the sun on our backs. What a beautiful morning it was!

Friday was also a fun day because there was lots to do! After my Spanish test (which I got a 94% on), my teacher and two other students with their teachers went to a botanical garden/greenhouse thing. It was really neat and we got to get away from the classroom setting and see some of the cool things that grow here in Guatemala.

 Kayla and I with our maestras.

 There were lots of  cool signs all over the garden!

The weirdest flower I have ever seen. 

Friday afternoon, the school took a group of students to a macadamia nut plantation outside of Antigua. The great thing was that Paul (our leader) wanted us to go and so he paid the way for those of us who wanted to go! We went with the two drivers from the school (I always ride with Reuben because he has great music and he's just so cool!) and it took about 20 minutes to get there. At the beginning, a guy from the school gave us some information about the macadamia nut/tree: 

-It only takes 2 years to grow/mature here in Guatemala when it normally takes more like 7 years

-The roots are 7x the size of the tree, making it very durable during earthquakes

-There are two shells over the nut, providing great protection

-The macadamia nut is VERY good for the skin

-Much more! 

We got to see how they sort the nuts and the processes they use (which are completely natural and 100% organic at that farm!). We got to taste some nuts, chocolate, and use some oil/lotion made from the nuts. It was a really neat experience and I am really glad I had the chance to go! 

 A person could go nutty there...hahahaha :P

A VERY ecological bathroom...and surprisingly clean!

Welcome!

It was a really fun day yesterday and I was really grateful to God that He let the sun come out for us! Now, I am hoping that the rainy season stays away. 

This morning I was able to sleep in a little bit (does sleeping til 7am count as sleeping in?) and we had yummy breakfast sandwiches before Kylie and I headed out for the market to get some shopping done! I am almost done with all of my shopping for other people (Christmas gifts/birthday gifts, etc.) which will be nice to have all that done! But it's really fun to shop here because there are so many fun things that I want to buy for people! One of the purchases today was a handmade headband that I bought for myself...isn't it cool?!

I hope you are all doing well at home! I miss it a lot...I will definitely be ready to come home in December. But for now, I am trying to enjoy my time here because we only have eight more weeks here, isn't that crazy?! From here on out, the weeks are going to start going by faster and faster because we have more plans! Next on the list: Panahachel and Lake Atítlan next weekend! Can't wait! 

Much love and hugs to you all :) 

-J

just a tid bit of an update on life.

¡Buenas tardes a ustedes! (Good afternoon to you all!)

I hope this post finds you well and missing me of course! :) I apologize that I have not been very up to date on my posts, but we haven't had internet in our home for over a week now...which makes it difficult to get on the internet often. But I certainly learning to enjoy time without Facebook and I am definitely not wasting time sitting online doing nothing with a purpose. Here's what I've been up to in the past few days!

Last weekend: We had the weekend free so my friends and I went to the market and shopped a bit on Saturday. I got a lot of the things I needed for gifts, but I have a few more people to buy for, good thing I still have 8 1/2 weeks here! Thankfully it wasn't raining when we went to the market...since it has been raining for about a week and a half straight! (Needless to say, I am tired of being wet and finding mold growing on my possessions!) We spent more time this weekend at the home of our coordinator because we had a lot of free time! On Sunday we went to a Mexican restaurant called Frida's and I ate some very delicious Enchiladas Verdes!

On Monday, I started my two weeks with a different Spanish teacher. Sabina left for her vacation in the United States and for now I am working with her niece, Sara. At first, I was a tad nervous for a new teacher, but it has turned out to be really interesting and a good change! Sara is really sweet and we have a lot in common so it makes it easier to talk about things. Sara has a daughter who is only about seven months old, so we talk about her and my niece and nephew a lot. I am learning that change can be a good thing! Another change that took place on Monday was that we moved into the main house! There were three girls who had made a reservation to stay in the apartment in which we were living and the school had us move into the main house (although, we just found out the girls aren't staying!). It's actually been a really wonderful thing! We have less space, but I can already see that the relationship with our homestay family is getting better! It's so fun to have little Sofia (the granddaughter of our housemom) hanging out with us more!

 The view from our little balcony! :)

 

Sofia and I in our new room...it's going to be a blast because we are best friends now! 

Yesterday (Tuesday) we took a little field trip (and the day off from Spanish classes) to go into Guatemala City again. Our first stop was the U.S. Embassy to learn about how things work there and a little bit more about international relations, etc. It was really neat and they were really good at informing us and answering any questions we had. We also learned that one of the ladies that has worked in the embassy for years is good friends with Dr. Betty Overton-Atkins who is a dean at SAU...such a random connection, but she talked very highly of Dr. Betty! The downfall to this was that it took much longer than expected. 

We were supposed to be at a school in a suburb of the city called Mixco because one of our students is going to do her student teaching there. We ended up getting lost and took almost two hours to find the school...needless to say we were all hungry and tired of being on a bus! 

After we spent a little bit of time in the school, we headed to Casa Bernabé, aka my other home!! I was so glad to be getting there, but we had to stop for food since it was after three and we had not eaten lunch yet! We ended up getting to CB two hours later than expected and weren't able to stay for long. I was really disappointed that we didn't get to stay longer and visit especially because there weren't many kids outside and it was raining. We had taken some candy for the kids, so I ended up leaving it with Jill so she could hand it out for us. It was so good to be back there and see how things are going, I wish we could have stayed longer, but I am just praying that the Lord provides another way for me to get there for longer before we leave in December! I was reminded how much I love that place and all the questions of what to do with my future came rushing back to me. There are so many options, but I just want to know what God wants for my life. I am praying that he clearly reveals himself to me in His timing. 

The traffic leaving Guatemala City was horrific and we ended up not getting home until 8pm...it was a long day, but the Lord taught me patience, flexibility, and blessed me with assurance that He has everything under control! 

Today we have 8 1/2 weeks left! I can't believe how the time has flown by! I am enjoying my time here, but I certainly miss my family. I am learning a lot, growing a lot, and learning to stay warm! It's been rainy for over a week and I am certainly ready for some sunshine...but for now, I am enjoying my new scarf that I bought during class today because I was so cold! 

This beauty cost me just over five bucks :) 

Today I am encouraged by some song lyrics and I hope you are too...

"So with all my heart and all my soul
With all I am, Lord, I will follow You
You took the cross, You took my shame
Restored my life, now I live to worship You

Without you, I am nothing..."

-Hillsong United

My apologies for the long-windedness...

-J

giving thanks and living selflessly.

With a lot of free time on my hands, I am able to sit and ponder a lot about life here in the beautiful city of Antigua, Guatemala. There have been a lot of things on my mind lately about life in general and I just want to share some thoughts.

Living in a foreign country for an extended period of time teaches us to appreciate what we have. If you've done any missions works, you understand this. I've come to appreciate many things while I've been living here in Antigua and I am realizing how much the good Lord has blessed me with. I look around me and everywhere I look there is brokenness and sadness. People outside of the United States dream about living there and for a better life. I have the life they want. No, I'm certainly not rich...but I am blessed beyond measure. I am learning faster and faster what it means to be thankful for what I have at my lovely home back in the States. Don't get me wrong, I love my house-mom here. I appreciate every meal she cooks for us and every time she puts clean sheets on our beds. And, every time she greets us with, "¡hola nenas!," I find myself smiling. But it's not home. God has given me so much at home and I realize it every day that I spend here. My goal for when I get home is to start to live more simply and selflessly and tell those I love how much I appreciate them.

I want to live selflessly...and I want you to join me. It's hard. Really hard. But it's completely worth it. Think of the way Jesus lived, the way he gave his life for our rottenness. It's hard living in close quarters with other people and it's hard working with those we don't agree with...but we have been called to love those people even if we would rather leave them alone in their bitter lives. I need to be reminded that I am always a servant of the Lord, and that means that I am always called to be a selfless missionary. It's going to be hard and I know that, but I need to remind myself that I HAVE to do it. And when I can't seem to do it, that's when I MUST rely on Jesus Christ because without Him, I can do nothing.

For now, I ask that you pray for patience. Patience to let God take care of my frustrations and patience to hear from the Almighty God about what is to come.

Waiting and striving,

-J

oh, what is to come?

This evening, after a Skype-date with some friends, I realized that my time at Spring Arbor is coming to a close. This is scary. As I look back on my first year at Spring Arbor, I realize that I have come so far. I have experienced a lot and grown a lot. I have cried, I have been frustrated, I have made friends that will last a lifetime.

As my friends and I were talking on Skype, I realized that many of them will be back together on campus next semester while I will be taking on student teaching and living at home with mom and dad. This saddens me and places a feeling of deep loneliness on my heart as I think about how much I will miss that place and miss out on more of my senior year on campus. I know that SAU has changed me for the better and that God had me in that special place for three short years, but he had me there for a reason.

So, as I sit here while all my roommates are asleep, I think...oh Lord, what is to come? The future seems like the biggest black hole I have ever faced. Yes, once I get through student teaching (which seems like a rather daunting task right now), I will graduate from college. I will be a college graduate and like many college graduates, I will be asking: WHAT NOW? I don’t want to be doubting myself and I don’t want to be wondering “what if?” God doesn’t want us to live like that, because his plan is perfect. While I may not know what exactly is to come, I know that God knows. Many of my friends have serious significant others and big dreams of doing great things, but I can honestly say, “I don’t know about anything.” While this seems frustrating to me, I was reminded last week by an older friend that it’s okay to not know. God doesn’t always make things outstandingly clear...he wants us to fumble around a bit and learn to completely rely on him when things seem uncertain.

I do know one thing, I want to live my life furthering the kingdom of Christ. While I may not know exactly what the future holds, I am reminded that every moment is a moment for me to worship the King, a moment for me to share His hope and his love, a moment for me to serve Him and his children!

I invite you to join me in embracing every moment of life, even when things seem unclear and frustrating. Join me in encouraging those around us who are struggling. Join me in learning to completely trust in the Almighty God. I don’t know what is to come, but God certainly knows and He will reveal it in HIS time.

changing our perspective.

Hola Amigos! 
This past weekend our group took another weekend trip to Guatemala City. I was really looking forward to getting away for the weekend, especially since I wasn't sick this time! Here is a breakdown of what we did this weekend. I hope you are able to see and understand the importance of changing our perspectives.

Friday we started our weekend with a trip to FAFG (The Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala). This is an organization that has been doing a lot of work with discovering the bodies/skeletons that were put into mass graves during the 36 long years of civil war here in Guatemala. It's amazing to think that just fifteen years ago the civil war ended and that there are still families that are mourning the deaths and losses of their parents, children, friends, etc. FAFG has discovered and identified over 4,000 bodies and right now they have 1,492 boxes in their laboratory that they are working with. It was amazing to walk through the rooms in which they store all these boxes and know that inside those boxes are the remains of human beings that unjustly lost their lives. We were able to learn a bit about the processes of identifying people, etc. It's really a fascinating process and I think it takes a special person to be able to work with these skeletons. Check out their website to learn more information: http://www.fafg.org/.
That same night, at our hotel, as a group, we watched the movie "El Norte." I highly recommend this movie if you are interested in the struggle of people living in Latin America. Although the cinematography of the movie wasn't the greatest, I realized how coveted the United States of America are. The movie was about a brother and sister who lost everything during the internal conflict in Guatemala and they had nothing left to do but try to get to "El Norte" or the U.S. because they thought that life would be better there. Yes, people who do not live in the U.S. have a skewed vision of life in the United States, but I am realizing that anything is better than life in poverty after losing all that one has. So often in the United States we talk about all the illegal "aliens" and how it has become such an issue, but we must realize that these people are willing to risk their lives for something better...even if it's the hardest thing in the world. My perspective has changed a little bit. I now realize that I live in the best country in the world. Yes, we have our own problems and there are lots of issues...but people around the world will give anything (including crawling miles and miles in a deserted sewer full of rats) just to have something a little better.

Saturday morning after a rather delicious breakfast at the hotel buffet (which will be ironic after reading a little more), we loaded the bus and headed to the National Cemetery in Guatemala City. It's rather interesting here because here in Guatemala, they bury their dead above ground. In addition, they regularly visit the cemetery, bring flowers, and celebrate birthdays and celebrations with the dead. It was really interesting to see the various different "grave houses" (if that's what you want to call them) and how some of the rich people had HUGE ones and the poorer people only had a small resting place in a crypt.

 The tomb of the founder of Gallo beer.

 Typical crypts. Rent is paid and if it's not continuously paid, they just remove the bodies...

As we walked through a part of the cemetery, we came to a very steep cliff. As we looked out over this huge gorge, our eyes feasted upon the Guatemala City Dump. With hundreds (and I mean it when I say hundreds) of vultures swarming over our heads and a strong stench meeting our noses, we were able to see a dump the size of 24 football fields. Each day, there is an equivalent weight to 35 Boeing 757s of garbage dumped into this dump. Over 60,000 count on this dump for survival. There used to be people (especially street kids) living in this dump, but a fire killed several people some years ago and the government began to enforce that people can not live there. We stood looking over the dump for about a half an hour and it really opened my eyes to the poverty and desperation in the world. Yes, I have done plenty of missions work and traveling, but somehow, this was different. Ironically, we went to a very up-scale mall afterward and it was absolutely ridiculous to see the difference. Guatemala has one of the largest socioeconomic gaps in the world and it was very evident that day.

 The dump...men working to find something of value...often working 7-14 hours per day

“In the States, people recycle because it makes them feel good about themselves and it is good for the environment. Here people recycle as a means of survival”.

After our experience of great irony and contrast, we had the option of watching the movie “Reparando.” Since I like to learn and had plenty of free time, I seized this opportunity and I am SO glad that I did. This movie was produced by a Christian American who has a burning passion for the people of Guatemala. I HIGHLY recommend this movie if you want to be inspired, if you want to learn more about Guatemala, or if you want to feel the tug of the Holy Spirit to do more.
https://www.reparandomovie.com/
www.scottomoore.com

On Sunday, we had the opportunity to go to a mega church in Guatemala City, Casa de Dios. The pastor, Cash Luna is apparently rather well-known here in Guatemala...but is sadly known for the “health and wealth” gospel. I went into the service thinking that everything that I would hear would be bad or “blasphemous,” but I did not encounter that. I was rather excited to hear some of my favorite Spanish worship songs and was rather encouraged throughout the service, especially to see that hundreds of Guatemalans were worshiping the same God that I was. However, I was reminded that we must always be cautious about what we are hearing and trusting. Some doctrine is theologically wrong, but this is when we should pray for those who are preaching it. Cash Luna is a sinner just like me, but the Creator of the universe has saved me and has the ability to save him. 

My new perspective: we can learn something from every little experience we have, the thing that matters is what we do with it in the end.

My challenge for you: Do you need to change your perspective on something in your life? Try looking at it from another angle and remember that you have been blessed beyond measure.

sorry for the wait.

I know, I know...it's been a week! While this seems rather uncharacteristic of me, it is also a good thing because this means I am feeling better and have more fun and exciting things to do than just blog (no offense to y'all). And yes, I am feeling better! Thank you to the good Lord up above for allowing someone to create Cipro because it certainly did the trick. Thank you, also, for your prayers...God does heal. Now, I just hope I don't contract a crazy sickness later on during my time here.

There is so much to talk about since it's been a week, but I will try to stick to the most exciting things!
I would say that the highlight of my week last week was going to the orchid exhibition here in Antigua. The national flower of Guatemala is the Monja Blanca which is a type of orchid and there was a great orchid exhibition in town last week! There were hundreds of different orchids in the exhibit and my teacher and I went with a bunch of others from the school. It was really fantastic! Here are just a couple photos (check out my Facebook for more):

Awesome, huh?! 

Friday was also exciting because I didn't have to take my Spanish test. My teacher's printer wasn't working at home and the school's computers weren't reading her flashdrive...so I was "salvada por el impresora" as she said...or, saved by the printer! We were able to spend a lot of the morning in conversation about a lot of random things, but mainly about her troubles in getting a Visa to go to the States. Her daughter is 1/2 estadounidense (United States-en) and the father of her daughter is from the States. They have been wanting to go visit the States, but Sabina is having a hard time obtaining a Visa and she has concerns about her daughter traveling alone with her dad. It was quite an interesting conversation! During the break on Friday, we celebrated all of the August and September birthdays with pastel y pan de banano (cake and banana bread)! It was so delicious and a lot of fun!
Friday afternoon, our entire group has a little field trip to a nearby town called San Antonio Aguas Calientes. While there, we were able to meet in a little Mayan store run by five different families and learn about some of the traditional customs of their culture...like weddings! They showed us how they make some of their textiles and also showed us the traditional dress and customs of a Mayan wedding. Did you know that in the Mayan culture, the male's family pays for everything?!?! I am totally getting married here! We also were taught how to make tortillas (which is harder than it sounds) and how to grind coffee by hand. We ate a traditional Mayan dish called Pepían and drank some of the strongest coffee I have ever tasted....slightly bitter for my liking, but it still tasted good!

 Two guys from our groups with two girls from another group in traditional Mayan wedding attire :)

The tortilla that I attempted to make into a circle...seriously, it's so much harder than it looks...

This past weekend we stayed here in Antigua and did a little exploring. On Saturday I spent some time at the gym in the morning...which has really helped to eliminate any emotional or physical or mental stress that I might be feeling. After lunch, some friends and I went to the mercado de artesanías (artisan market) to do a little shopping. All I can say is that it's really funny to watch my friends barter. I made a few purchases for my family and continued to "scope out" some other things that I will be interested in getting at a later date. I just have to keep in mind how much space I will have in my suitcase when I return home...it's hard because I just want to buy everything (confession of a shopaholic, hehe). 

Sunday we went to church at Paul and Bev's church and then had lunch with the rest of the group at a really cute little restaurant called "Epicure." I had chicken cordon bleu which was delicious. Some friends and I sat with Crystal (the SAU program assistant) and her husband Brandon (whose mom is also a labor and delivery nurse) who have lived here for a while. It was really neat to pick their brains about life and hear their stories. It's fun too because Crystal and I have a cool relationship...she reminds me of my own sister a bit! Sunday afternoon was spent playing Scrabble at Paul and Bev's house...I have learned a lot about that game since I got here and I am determined to beat Paul once before I leave! It WILL happen! 

Sunday evening, I went out to dinner at a restaurant (and satisfied my pizza craving) with some girl friends. It was a fun evening, but also slightly nerve wracking because it's dark and a little creepy at night here! But, I am getting a little more adventurous. But don't worry, I never go out at night alone! 

I have now started my fourth week of Spanish lessons! I can't believe how fast this is going...but I am also missing the fall season at home! I love this country and I love this language, but I know that I will certainly be ready to see (and touch) my family! That's all for now...sorry it was long winded! I hope you are all being mightily blessed by the Almighty God! 

Finding peace and assurance in Christ, 

-J