its been a journey. an amazing journey.
and now its over.
morgan left yesterday afternoon. lauren har left eeeaaarrrlllyy this morning. mateo just left. and so did emily. we all miss them already. its not the same at all. and life never will be again without them. tomorrow early morning the other lauren and beth leave. then alison. and sara. and andrea and i fly out together.
we've grown to love eachother so much.
so, so long blog. so long team. thank you for praying and taking this journey with us.
love you all!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
It came and went and I wasnt ready.
Fifty four days. 54 days I have now been gone from the only place I ever called home. And now? Now I call room #1 in the Casa Bernabe main house "home." How strange. This place truly has become dear to my heart. The language, the people, the atmosphere, the view - everything - will forever remain in my heart. Its so cliche to say but its true, I'm going to miss this place a lot. And the kids. And watching High School Musical every week. And saying "te quiero, te quiero, te quiero" to Luis and listening to him laugh his little heart out. I cant believe tomorrow is our last day here. Tomorrow? I didnt just say that, did I? No, I did. Tomorrow we start saying all of our goodbyes. It really seems like just yesterday Edgar told us about the house in the city and yet, so much has happened in these past 8 weeks. So much that I never, ever want to leave.
Tonight coming back from the baby house (where we cleaned toys and organized books!), I stayed outside in the cancha (common area). Why? It was pouring. I was getting soaked through my coat, but getting a little wet is nothing compared to standing in my favorite weather thanking God for all the days i wasn't thankful for. Because i needed to do that - to thank Him. And then I started singing a song that always seems to get my heart in the right position. Just me, and the rain, and my husky sick voice. It goes something like this:
ch: Not to us, but to Your name alone
Be all the glory, the glory, forever
For Your faithfulness and steadfast love
Receive the glory, the glory belongs to You
v1: All that we’ve accomplished You have done for us
And any fruit we harvest is a gift from Your hand
We are only jars of clay that hold a priceless treasure
And we exist to bring You pleasure, O God
v2: Only by Your mercy can we come to You
Though we deserved Your judgment You have called us by name
So we glory in the cross of Christ that made us Yours forever
That joined our lives together to sing
The first two lines of verse one are my two favorite lines in any song. They ring such truth, go with some of the greatest memories I am blessed to have, and are applicable to practically everything. And so there I was, all by myself, holding my flip flops, letting the rain fall down upon me. People would run by and give me strange looks, but i paid no attention and kept on kicking my feet through the puddles until i looked up and saw Matt walking towards me. All I said was, "I'm thanking God for this. This probably will be the last time I'm ever outside in a rain storm in Guatemala. The last time I'll stand here talking to you in the rain. The last time I'll be here with you and the others. So I'm thanking God." Because I never want to forget any of it. I don't want to look back on this trip and wish that I had thanked God more for the small things. So when the small things come, I want to thank God for them. and when Matt left and I stood there alone again, i began to sing again too. If You Want Me To began to roll off my tongue, but I could barely get past the first line before i started crying, cause this is what it says:
The pathway is broken, and the signs are unclear // and I don't know the reason why you brought me here // but just because you love me, the way that you do // I'm gonna walk through the valley // if you want me too
So many days "I don't know the reason why you brought me here" seemed to be the only coherent thought floating around in my head. Its not that everyday was like walking through a rough, deep, dark, hard valley, but some days I felt like I had no purpose. I felt useless. I felt like no one cared if I went to the baby house or not. I felt bored. I felt like my labors were in vain. (I know, "I, I, I, I, I, I"). But inside I knew that could not be, and I didnt want it to be. I wanted to find some purpose to be here. The last thing in the WORLD that I wanted was to leave Casa Bernabe and not know why the heck I just spent my summer there. And today, today was confirmation as to why I was here. Today the baby house mom took us four girls who worked there out to the mall and as we were driving she was thanking us for all we had done this summer. I was grateful for her kind words, but I had heard words like that so many times. But then she said something different. She said this: "You know, so many teams come in and they see the babies and they see the really cute ones and they think 'oh they've had such a bad past. they need to be loved' and so they go for the cute ones that like to laugh and cuddle all the time - the ones with the really adorable smiles. They push aside the others and so the "non-cute ones" [my comment: NOT TRUE. every single baby is a-dor-a-ble] start fighting with the "cute ones" and people see that they throw tantrums and stay ever further away. But when you guys came in you didn't go directly to a certain baby. You didn't favor one over the other. You played with all of them equally, and most importantly loved all of them equally. I've seen such a difference in the kids, and i really think that its been you guys. You four girls have really impacted every single one of those kids. I really do think it is because of you all."
I wanted to cry. For eight weeks I was searching, praying, asking God to show me WHY I was here. I knew it was to serve, but there had to be something else. And after eight weeks of trusting God, He finally showed me why I was here: it was to show love equally to all of these kids. It was to train them that they don't need to throw temper tantrums to get attention. It was to help IE (initials) open up to more people. It was to help A (initials) not scream as much. It was to teach J how to walk. It was to love W after Lauren left. It was to comfort H when he had to leave his soon to be parents. It was to help E talk to more people. It was to love L. It was to welcome and comfort AL. It was to Love. Love. Love.
I wish I had spent more time getting ready to say goodbye, because now i feel like i am running out of time. I have cards I want to write, pictures I want to take, people I want to spend time with and I cant do it all.
It came. It went. and now I'm not ready to leave.
Oh Lord, give me strength to get through tomorrow. I cant do this on my own.
Tonight coming back from the baby house (where we cleaned toys and organized books!), I stayed outside in the cancha (common area). Why? It was pouring. I was getting soaked through my coat, but getting a little wet is nothing compared to standing in my favorite weather thanking God for all the days i wasn't thankful for. Because i needed to do that - to thank Him. And then I started singing a song that always seems to get my heart in the right position. Just me, and the rain, and my husky sick voice. It goes something like this:
ch: Not to us, but to Your name alone
Be all the glory, the glory, forever
For Your faithfulness and steadfast love
Receive the glory, the glory belongs to You
v1: All that we’ve accomplished You have done for us
And any fruit we harvest is a gift from Your hand
We are only jars of clay that hold a priceless treasure
And we exist to bring You pleasure, O God
v2: Only by Your mercy can we come to You
Though we deserved Your judgment You have called us by name
So we glory in the cross of Christ that made us Yours forever
That joined our lives together to sing
The first two lines of verse one are my two favorite lines in any song. They ring such truth, go with some of the greatest memories I am blessed to have, and are applicable to practically everything. And so there I was, all by myself, holding my flip flops, letting the rain fall down upon me. People would run by and give me strange looks, but i paid no attention and kept on kicking my feet through the puddles until i looked up and saw Matt walking towards me. All I said was, "I'm thanking God for this. This probably will be the last time I'm ever outside in a rain storm in Guatemala. The last time I'll stand here talking to you in the rain. The last time I'll be here with you and the others. So I'm thanking God." Because I never want to forget any of it. I don't want to look back on this trip and wish that I had thanked God more for the small things. So when the small things come, I want to thank God for them. and when Matt left and I stood there alone again, i began to sing again too. If You Want Me To began to roll off my tongue, but I could barely get past the first line before i started crying, cause this is what it says:
The pathway is broken, and the signs are unclear // and I don't know the reason why you brought me here // but just because you love me, the way that you do // I'm gonna walk through the valley // if you want me too
So many days "I don't know the reason why you brought me here" seemed to be the only coherent thought floating around in my head. Its not that everyday was like walking through a rough, deep, dark, hard valley, but some days I felt like I had no purpose. I felt useless. I felt like no one cared if I went to the baby house or not. I felt bored. I felt like my labors were in vain. (I know, "I, I, I, I, I, I"). But inside I knew that could not be, and I didnt want it to be. I wanted to find some purpose to be here. The last thing in the WORLD that I wanted was to leave Casa Bernabe and not know why the heck I just spent my summer there. And today, today was confirmation as to why I was here. Today the baby house mom took us four girls who worked there out to the mall and as we were driving she was thanking us for all we had done this summer. I was grateful for her kind words, but I had heard words like that so many times. But then she said something different. She said this: "You know, so many teams come in and they see the babies and they see the really cute ones and they think 'oh they've had such a bad past. they need to be loved' and so they go for the cute ones that like to laugh and cuddle all the time - the ones with the really adorable smiles. They push aside the others and so the "non-cute ones" [my comment: NOT TRUE. every single baby is a-dor-a-ble] start fighting with the "cute ones" and people see that they throw tantrums and stay ever further away. But when you guys came in you didn't go directly to a certain baby. You didn't favor one over the other. You played with all of them equally, and most importantly loved all of them equally. I've seen such a difference in the kids, and i really think that its been you guys. You four girls have really impacted every single one of those kids. I really do think it is because of you all."
I wanted to cry. For eight weeks I was searching, praying, asking God to show me WHY I was here. I knew it was to serve, but there had to be something else. And after eight weeks of trusting God, He finally showed me why I was here: it was to show love equally to all of these kids. It was to train them that they don't need to throw temper tantrums to get attention. It was to help IE (initials) open up to more people. It was to help A (initials) not scream as much. It was to teach J how to walk. It was to love W after Lauren left. It was to comfort H when he had to leave his soon to be parents. It was to help E talk to more people. It was to love L. It was to welcome and comfort AL. It was to Love. Love. Love.
I wish I had spent more time getting ready to say goodbye, because now i feel like i am running out of time. I have cards I want to write, pictures I want to take, people I want to spend time with and I cant do it all.
It came. It went. and now I'm not ready to leave.
Oh Lord, give me strength to get through tomorrow. I cant do this on my own.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Really?
Yes really. We leave here in 2 weeks. Some days it feels like the day just goes on and on and 2 weeks is the longest time in the world. But other days you know how quickly 14 days is going to go. Especially since we now have to start telling the kids we are leaving soon. We're starting to try and detach ourselves from them. Its hard. Just thinking about it is hard. In so many ways I feel like i am just now getting to know these kids. When I walk in the door the little 3 year olds call out my name. Just yesterday I met two of Matts kids. I met one of Emily's kids this morning too. We've all come to love these kids, even the ones we dont interact with on a daily basis. We've lived right along side all of them for 5 weeks now and leaving these kids for who knows how long is so much more than just a hug, an adios, and a kiss blown. Part of our heart stays here with them, part of our lives stay here with them.
Pray for us as we start the countdown of leaving Casa Bernabe, but more importantly pray for the dear kids here. Its not easy when people leave, and though many of them are too young to get to attached, so many of them are old enough to get very attached. We love them so much and leaving them confused as to why we are leaving is the last thing we want to do.
see you in just a couple weeks :)
Pray for us as we start the countdown of leaving Casa Bernabe, but more importantly pray for the dear kids here. Its not easy when people leave, and though many of them are too young to get to attached, so many of them are old enough to get very attached. We love them so much and leaving them confused as to why we are leaving is the last thing we want to do.
see you in just a couple weeks :)
Saturday, July 3, 2010
sickies and rainforests.
well hello there.
sorry i havent uploaded in quite sometime. its been a liiiitle busy down here in Guatemala. the days have been long (and the nights seem to be longer sometimes too! not always a good thing), and so even when i do have some down time im usually just breathing. or eating. (and then breathing again, of course).
however, sometime last saturday i caught a bad cold. sunday i slept in and took the day off and monday was kitchen duty (yes, i worked in the kitchen while i was sick. dont worry they cook everything we cut! not like any of you are going to get sick from me working in the kitchen in Guatemala...whatever). i went down to the baby house late on tuesday morning and for the rest of the week i was doing steadily better, although my nose was running like the Jordan River. with the cold came a cough, but really it was okay. i was able to get through my days, and yes granted i was exhausted by the end of it, but who isnt around here!
Then tuesday night i came down with the stomach bug, which proved to hit me much harder than anyone else. But as i was sitting in the bathroom trying to throw up for three hours i was praying. Praying that the Lord would keep me from temptation and questioning His goodness, timing, love, and kindness. and He has! Even though i got the 24 stomach bug, i (with only the Lords help!) did not complain! And even when i woke up in the middle of the night Wednesday with the worst ear infection ever He still kept me from temptation!
I am so grateful to God for that. I do have reason to complain. Im in an orphange, thousands of miles from everything that is comfortable, from my doctor, from good food (craving grilled chicken! and teriyaki steak! and sweet potatoe fries!), from a lot of things, but the Lord has given, is giving, and will continue to give me strength. I boast only in him!
Lately the song that has been stuck in my head is As Long As You Are Glorified. read these lyrics and see if they dont encourage you!
Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt
Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified
Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled
Are You King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night
Yet not welcome any pain
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt
Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified
Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled
Are You King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night
So quiet my restless heart,
Quiet my restless heart,
Quiet my restless heart in You
Those lyrics just lift my soul up every single day! My favorite line is // shall i thank you for days of sunshine / yet grumble in days of rain //. Here i have found that line is so applicable! Its definitely the rainy season here and some times it rains for days and aaaalllll day long. (really you would think we lived in the Amazon.) It starts to become virtually impossible to keep 15 babies inside for 3 days straight. try 17 toddlers. or 19 eight-year-olds! EVERYone gets stir crazy. And during these times its all too easy to not thank God for those days. Sure! Lets pray for sunshine, but lets not grumble during the days of rain.
Thank you all for praying for those of us who are sick! We are getting better. Sara and I stayed back from Antigua today, which was a little sad cause we wish we could have gone with OUR group, but we are planning on catching a ride with another group here going sometime soon.
aaannnnd hope you all have a WONDERFUL Fourth of July weekend! We're going to get pizza and other American food (actually pizza isnt really american, its italian. Whatever. We eat it in america!). We're kinda a little VERY excited.
hope you all are doing well!
see you in FOUR WEEKS!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Abba Father
I wanted to say that though the days might be hard and the children challenging at times, God is faithful to me! So very faithful.
One of the instances is that throughout constant pain over these past 2 days, i have had much peace in my heart. it may be physically a trying day but spiritually i am not phased. this is where God has me, and i want to be where God has me, because that is where God is too! i am very grateful for this! Another instance is a small fight i had with Lizzy. She decided she wanted to run away from me and so i called out "Venga aqui, ahora." "Come here, now." I sat on the cement about 10 feet from her for about 3 minutes while she decided whether she was going to obey or not. I said that phrase over and over and over again. She would look at me, look away, and then look at me again. Then all of a sudden she turned and ran toward me and jumped into my arms. I exclaimed "muy bueno!" and she smiled and kept on playing. It was amazing. It made me think of what we are like toward God. We turn away from him and are stubborn but he patiently (thank God i could be patient with her!) tells us to come back. Over and over and over again. And when we run back toward God he smiles at us and blesses us and says "well done!" Our adult temper tantrums our worth it to God when we run back toward Him. But the amazing thing is that even if we didnt run back toward him, he would still love us.
Oh how He loves.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
oh baby baby.
Well if you think yesterday was hard, today was like just funny. not really. but around 1:45 it just became ridiculously funny. i really dont know how i did it, but i got through.
so.
this morning i woke up to THE SAME bus that decides to rev its engine and honk its horn on the road outside my bed. anyways. i dragged myself out of bed but by the time i actually got down out of my bed i knew that today was going to be a very long and hard day. my hamstrings were tighter than they have ever been. and you know that i have tight hamstrings, but i mean, this was ri-dic-u-lous. and my back. oh man. my back is absolutely horrible right now. actually the upper left side of my entire body is in crazy amounts of pain. it feels like someone punched me. it feels so bruised. anyways. i pushed through taking a shower and putting on my clothes. then i proceeded to go down to the baby house. by stair 3 i was about to kill myself. and the rest of the morning went like that. lots of pain in my legs and back. ibuprofen didnt work and going up 108 stairs didnt either. go figure. anyways. around 145 i about this close to losing it. too much pain to bear. the kids had been so bad all morning. (Anna and Lizzy had been especially horrible. Lizzy decided she wanted to hit everyone today. lovely idea Lizzy. ) but J had just like exploded in her diaper. and i was this close to getting to go on break but i went and changed her anyways. how bad could it be really? ive changed these diapers many a time before, this is just another. hahaaaa. so. i go in the changing room, i take off her diaper. it stinks up the place like always (she already has a diaper rash or had an ant bite her bottom cause. yeahhh) anyways. i have the diaper off and so i go to reach for the wipe, but it turns out that there was none in the container. and then the diaper which is heavy with poop slides right off the table and onto the floor. me with my quick relexes jumpes back and missing getting poop all over my pants, which mind you were clean. yes. so now there is poop and a poopy diaper on the floor and there is still poop on J's bottom cause i havent been able to find the wipes!! so then i quickly find old not even wet wipes and while Karin (helper in the baby house) holds J's legs up i clean up the poop on the floor. which took much longer than i expected. back to locating wipes and holding J's legs up. aha! wipes located. thanks karin :) so then i finished wiping off J (and the floor. ew.) and go to throw the wipes away. of course all but the dirtiest ones make it into the trash can. the other one falls on the floor. its back to cleaning up poop from the floor! so while i have one hand on juliet and one had holding the trash can open, i clean up more poop! (dont ask how i did that. i must have an extra limb somewhere). so this has all happened in the space of about 3 minutes. thankfully J decided she didnt want to scream. THANK YOU BABY. so then i lather up her bottom with Desiten (i know you wanted to know that!) and grab a clean diaper and scoot her under it and pull the tab up to velcro it and of course! the tab snaps off! great. i now have a broken diaper. at this point i just turned to Rosita (a house mom) and we both laughed. how could i not? it was just a comedy of errors.
so i set the baby down in the play room, tiredly said goodbye to Leanette, and climbed up the 108 stairs again. hoping i make it to the top. i barely did. went on a desperate search for aleve. found some. took it. got a warm compress for my back and was out like a light. WHILE THE BAND WAS PRACTICING AGAIN. im getting good at this.
and that was my day. oh wait. before i fell asleep i realized that i didnt quite have the spider women reflexes as i thought i did. (apparently the buzzard thought i did though. dont ask.) anyways, i realized that i had poop on my pants. yes. on my pants. greeeeat.
and THAT was my day.
pray for much grace and strength tomorrow. ill be needing it.
so.
this morning i woke up to THE SAME bus that decides to rev its engine and honk its horn on the road outside my bed. anyways. i dragged myself out of bed but by the time i actually got down out of my bed i knew that today was going to be a very long and hard day. my hamstrings were tighter than they have ever been. and you know that i have tight hamstrings, but i mean, this was ri-dic-u-lous. and my back. oh man. my back is absolutely horrible right now. actually the upper left side of my entire body is in crazy amounts of pain. it feels like someone punched me. it feels so bruised. anyways. i pushed through taking a shower and putting on my clothes. then i proceeded to go down to the baby house. by stair 3 i was about to kill myself. and the rest of the morning went like that. lots of pain in my legs and back. ibuprofen didnt work and going up 108 stairs didnt either. go figure. anyways. around 145 i about this close to losing it. too much pain to bear. the kids had been so bad all morning. (Anna and Lizzy had been especially horrible. Lizzy decided she wanted to hit everyone today. lovely idea Lizzy. ) but J had just like exploded in her diaper. and i was this close to getting to go on break but i went and changed her anyways. how bad could it be really? ive changed these diapers many a time before, this is just another. hahaaaa. so. i go in the changing room, i take off her diaper. it stinks up the place like always (she already has a diaper rash or had an ant bite her bottom cause. yeahhh) anyways. i have the diaper off and so i go to reach for the wipe, but it turns out that there was none in the container. and then the diaper which is heavy with poop slides right off the table and onto the floor. me with my quick relexes jumpes back and missing getting poop all over my pants, which mind you were clean. yes. so now there is poop and a poopy diaper on the floor and there is still poop on J's bottom cause i havent been able to find the wipes!! so then i quickly find old not even wet wipes and while Karin (helper in the baby house) holds J's legs up i clean up the poop on the floor. which took much longer than i expected. back to locating wipes and holding J's legs up. aha! wipes located. thanks karin :) so then i finished wiping off J (and the floor. ew.) and go to throw the wipes away. of course all but the dirtiest ones make it into the trash can. the other one falls on the floor. its back to cleaning up poop from the floor! so while i have one hand on juliet and one had holding the trash can open, i clean up more poop! (dont ask how i did that. i must have an extra limb somewhere). so this has all happened in the space of about 3 minutes. thankfully J decided she didnt want to scream. THANK YOU BABY. so then i lather up her bottom with Desiten (i know you wanted to know that!) and grab a clean diaper and scoot her under it and pull the tab up to velcro it and of course! the tab snaps off! great. i now have a broken diaper. at this point i just turned to Rosita (a house mom) and we both laughed. how could i not? it was just a comedy of errors.
so i set the baby down in the play room, tiredly said goodbye to Leanette, and climbed up the 108 stairs again. hoping i make it to the top. i barely did. went on a desperate search for aleve. found some. took it. got a warm compress for my back and was out like a light. WHILE THE BAND WAS PRACTICING AGAIN. im getting good at this.
and that was my day. oh wait. before i fell asleep i realized that i didnt quite have the spider women reflexes as i thought i did. (apparently the buzzard thought i did though. dont ask.) anyways, i realized that i had poop on my pants. yes. on my pants. greeeeat.
and THAT was my day.
pray for much grace and strength tomorrow. ill be needing it.
Manday Monday.
that is what we have decided to call mondays. we all do more manly things than normal, to make matt feel better; not as out numbered by women.
and i think that Alison and I won. we did manly things. read:
today was our day off from the baby house and we spent our day working our FACES off. seriously. first we worked in the garden in the hot heat of the 8 oclock morning. and i got attacked by rotten cauliflower. seriously. i had green gunk on my shoes and in between my toes and on my shirt and on my hands. it. was. gross. then i went in and washed off and then went into the kitchen were they gave us job after job after job. and it wasnt the easiest work. first we swept and mopped the whole eating area, then we washed and peeled and seeded and chopped about 25 HUGE cucumbers. then we washed the dirtiest lettuce youve ever seen. then chopped it. then chopped more lettuce. then put together this strange concoction of what they call Whiskile. with goat cheese. yeah, strange. the we grated about 50 carrots. MY ARM WAS KILLING ME. then we went back to work in the garden. i was bending over the whole time weeding and every time i stood up i almost blacked out. uhuh. hard work. and it was stiiilll hot. then we ate lunch and i was feeling so sick from almost blacking out so many times so all i ate was rice and pb&j. and by then i was STILL feeling so sick and my back was in so much pain that i went and conked out on the sofa outside our room for about an hour. WHILE THE BAND HAD PRACTICE. and im not saying like drums and piano and guitar. this is like flutes and trumpets and trombones and maracas. and theyre all beginners so it sounds like. SOMEONE KILL MEEEE. thats what it sounds like. but i was so sick and so tired and in too much pain, so like i fell asleep amid all of that. matt who was trying to sleep on the sofa next to mine. well he didnt sleep at all. poor him. anyways, thennnn. we went back to work in the kitchen and of course we were just expecting, you know, more vegetables or something. oh no. on our day off? they made us scrub the BOTTOM of 12 crates that go OUTSIDE. for 2 and a half hours. it became comical 1 hour and 45 minutes in and by hour 2 we even had a song that we had made up with the rhythm of our brushes.
and that was our Manday Monday.
and i think that Alison and I won. we did manly things. read:
today was our day off from the baby house and we spent our day working our FACES off. seriously. first we worked in the garden in the hot heat of the 8 oclock morning. and i got attacked by rotten cauliflower. seriously. i had green gunk on my shoes and in between my toes and on my shirt and on my hands. it. was. gross. then i went in and washed off and then went into the kitchen were they gave us job after job after job. and it wasnt the easiest work. first we swept and mopped the whole eating area, then we washed and peeled and seeded and chopped about 25 HUGE cucumbers. then we washed the dirtiest lettuce youve ever seen. then chopped it. then chopped more lettuce. then put together this strange concoction of what they call Whiskile. with goat cheese. yeah, strange. the we grated about 50 carrots. MY ARM WAS KILLING ME. then we went back to work in the garden. i was bending over the whole time weeding and every time i stood up i almost blacked out. uhuh. hard work. and it was stiiilll hot. then we ate lunch and i was feeling so sick from almost blacking out so many times so all i ate was rice and pb&j. and by then i was STILL feeling so sick and my back was in so much pain that i went and conked out on the sofa outside our room for about an hour. WHILE THE BAND HAD PRACTICE. and im not saying like drums and piano and guitar. this is like flutes and trumpets and trombones and maracas. and theyre all beginners so it sounds like. SOMEONE KILL MEEEE. thats what it sounds like. but i was so sick and so tired and in too much pain, so like i fell asleep amid all of that. matt who was trying to sleep on the sofa next to mine. well he didnt sleep at all. poor him. anyways, thennnn. we went back to work in the kitchen and of course we were just expecting, you know, more vegetables or something. oh no. on our day off? they made us scrub the BOTTOM of 12 crates that go OUTSIDE. for 2 and a half hours. it became comical 1 hour and 45 minutes in and by hour 2 we even had a song that we had made up with the rhythm of our brushes.
and that was our Manday Monday.
so since i posted all about the team...
in the other post, i thought it only appropraite to post a PICTURE of the team in this post! so here we are, looking all nice and clean for church :)
from left to right: lauren h, half of matts head, lauren (lo), sara, emily (behind sara), andrea, me, alison, and cressia.
we're missing morgan and beth, but i just read and update about them. they are doing absolutely fantabulous in the city! and we get to see them on friday! :D
from left to right: lauren h, half of matts head, lauren (lo), sara, emily (behind sara), andrea, me, alison, and cressia.
we're missing morgan and beth, but i just read and update about them. they are doing absolutely fantabulous in the city! and we get to see them on friday! :D
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Leonardo De Caprio
is who we have spent the last 45 minutes talking about, among many other actors and movies. Lauren is convinced Leonardo is not good looking or an actor worth watching. I disagree. I think he is quite grand. But we all agree Catherine Zeta-Jones is adorable and White Christmas is amazing. Glad we do, or else.
Anyways, this post actually has nothing to do with Leonardo or any actor for that matter. I thought that maybe you all would want to know a little about my team members. They are the bomb dot com. Every single one of them. (i included myself in that. hehe) So i thought i would write a little blurb about each of them.
First of there is Cressia, our team leader. From Brazil. To be cliche, she is amazing. But she really is. She is others focused, loving, funny, and we are finding out new hilarious things about her everyday. For instance. She loves dance parties?? You know that's right. And she is constantly praying for us and asking us how we are doing. Best team leader ever.
Andrea is next, just because she's the bed over from Cressia not because she's cooler than anyone else. Haha. She is awesome though and very funny, in the sense that you never know what she is going to do or what random face she is going to make at you in any given point in the day. We all love Andrea. How could you not?
Sara is the bunk under Andrea. She is very quiet, but we all like that (the rest of us are pretty darn loud.) She is so sweet and willing to do whatever whenever. Whether is cutting vegetables or playing with children, shes a trooper.
Emily is next to Sara and is the go to for Spanish. She is practically fluent in it. We all love that. A LOT. She graduated college this past May, but is the sweetest little thing and doesnt even look like she's graduated! Never let her drive you anywhere, though. You might end up in Indiana. True story.
Lauren (Lo) is the bunk above Emily. Lo has by far the funniest stories to tell about her time thus far here. She also is convinced that Hiper Pais is stalking her (local "costco" here). And she also had a girl sneeze in the girls own face. Dont ask how thats possible. Its not. Que wow.
Next to Lo is Lauren H. Yes there are two Laurens on this trip. It is confusing sometimes, but most of the time we know which one someone is talking about. Lauren H is so sweet. And also crazy at times. She is always looking out for others and asking them how they are. Shes also a very good multi-tasker. She can play Fruit (our made up version of Spoons) while carrying on a conversation with a girl from Switzerland.
Next to Lauren is Alison. She might be the sweetest thing alive, but before we got to know her well...she was horrible. JOKE. She was shy and didnt really say anything. But now she talks all the time with me and the others and has the cutest laugh. Ive started mimiking it. On accident. Its just so cute. We have been together everyday day for the past week and it has been lovely.
Last but not least, is the sole male inhabitant on this excursion to the forests and dangerous roads of Guatemala, Matt. We figured out last night when we were on our way back from the store that speeding cars + lots of traffic + nighttime + braking when you are 6 inches from the car in front of you = one talkative matt. He has been a trooper though and pushed through the back pain and sunburn (he looks like bubblegum haha) and worked in the garden every day this week. We are grateful for his hysterical stories and male presence and is currently sitting next to me on a computer (literally sitting on the computer. okay joke.) feeling very proud of himself for having an entire chat with someone in Spanish.
And also last but not least are Beth and Morgan who are currently at the house in the city. We miss them and its not the same without them, but it is beautiful where they are. The house parents are amazing (and so are the kids!) and the house is not just some normal city house but big and includes a courtyard. Um, i want a courtyard in my house, thank you very much! They will balance eachother out well, seeing as how Morgan is Miss Spaz and Beth is quite but laughs at almost anything. Yes, we miss them.
Wello (yes i just wrote wello. i dont even know what that means), thats who i am living with for the next 6 weeks. I love them to pieces already and miss the ones that are not here. Im going to write in my journal and stuff, instead of sitting out on the computer like a techy (techi? techie? teche? que wow). Tomorrow is Sunday and we all literally cannot wait to worship tomorrow. I think we all will be singing in Spanish just because we want too!
and with that i say...buenos noches!
Anyways, this post actually has nothing to do with Leonardo or any actor for that matter. I thought that maybe you all would want to know a little about my team members. They are the bomb dot com. Every single one of them. (i included myself in that. hehe) So i thought i would write a little blurb about each of them.
First of there is Cressia, our team leader. From Brazil. To be cliche, she is amazing. But she really is. She is others focused, loving, funny, and we are finding out new hilarious things about her everyday. For instance. She loves dance parties?? You know that's right. And she is constantly praying for us and asking us how we are doing. Best team leader ever.
Andrea is next, just because she's the bed over from Cressia not because she's cooler than anyone else. Haha. She is awesome though and very funny, in the sense that you never know what she is going to do or what random face she is going to make at you in any given point in the day. We all love Andrea. How could you not?
Sara is the bunk under Andrea. She is very quiet, but we all like that (the rest of us are pretty darn loud.) She is so sweet and willing to do whatever whenever. Whether is cutting vegetables or playing with children, shes a trooper.
Emily is next to Sara and is the go to for Spanish. She is practically fluent in it. We all love that. A LOT. She graduated college this past May, but is the sweetest little thing and doesnt even look like she's graduated! Never let her drive you anywhere, though. You might end up in Indiana. True story.
Lauren (Lo) is the bunk above Emily. Lo has by far the funniest stories to tell about her time thus far here. She also is convinced that Hiper Pais is stalking her (local "costco" here). And she also had a girl sneeze in the girls own face. Dont ask how thats possible. Its not. Que wow.
Next to Lo is Lauren H. Yes there are two Laurens on this trip. It is confusing sometimes, but most of the time we know which one someone is talking about. Lauren H is so sweet. And also crazy at times. She is always looking out for others and asking them how they are. Shes also a very good multi-tasker. She can play Fruit (our made up version of Spoons) while carrying on a conversation with a girl from Switzerland.
Next to Lauren is Alison. She might be the sweetest thing alive, but before we got to know her well...she was horrible. JOKE. She was shy and didnt really say anything. But now she talks all the time with me and the others and has the cutest laugh. Ive started mimiking it. On accident. Its just so cute. We have been together everyday day for the past week and it has been lovely.
Last but not least, is the sole male inhabitant on this excursion to the forests and dangerous roads of Guatemala, Matt. We figured out last night when we were on our way back from the store that speeding cars + lots of traffic + nighttime + braking when you are 6 inches from the car in front of you = one talkative matt. He has been a trooper though and pushed through the back pain and sunburn (he looks like bubblegum haha) and worked in the garden every day this week. We are grateful for his hysterical stories and male presence and is currently sitting next to me on a computer (literally sitting on the computer. okay joke.) feeling very proud of himself for having an entire chat with someone in Spanish.
And also last but not least are Beth and Morgan who are currently at the house in the city. We miss them and its not the same without them, but it is beautiful where they are. The house parents are amazing (and so are the kids!) and the house is not just some normal city house but big and includes a courtyard. Um, i want a courtyard in my house, thank you very much! They will balance eachother out well, seeing as how Morgan is Miss Spaz and Beth is quite but laughs at almost anything. Yes, we miss them.
Wello (yes i just wrote wello. i dont even know what that means), thats who i am living with for the next 6 weeks. I love them to pieces already and miss the ones that are not here. Im going to write in my journal and stuff, instead of sitting out on the computer like a techy (techi? techie? teche? que wow). Tomorrow is Sunday and we all literally cannot wait to worship tomorrow. I think we all will be singing in Spanish just because we want too!
and with that i say...buenos noches!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
que paso?
seems to be the theme of my life right now. But i dont really mind. I love the baby house :) But with 12 toddlers and 3 baby babies "que paso?" is a common phrase. It means "what happened?" Haha.
Okay, so everyone "awww" cause i know you're thinking it. Yes ma'am. These children are adorable. Hard to think that most of them are not wanted by their families. :( However, it is truly a delight to be able to watch these little kiddos for most of the day. Even though all we do is change diapers, and feed them food, and change more diapers, their adorable smiles and belly laughs make it more bearable.
The four girls we work with (Claudia, Rosa, and Jessica) are all 18. And they are so sweet, but dont like to speak English cause they are not very good at it. But Alison and I made a breakthrough in saying more then "where is the trash can?" today to them. We have now had a whole conversation telling them that we are not married. and that neither of us have a boyfriend. Hahaha. Hopefully we will all become good friends over these next 7 weeks.
well im off to take a nap. practically fell asleep during lunch. oops.
Okay, so everyone "awww" cause i know you're thinking it. Yes ma'am. These children are adorable. Hard to think that most of them are not wanted by their families. :( However, it is truly a delight to be able to watch these little kiddos for most of the day. Even though all we do is change diapers, and feed them food, and change more diapers, their adorable smiles and belly laughs make it more bearable.
The four girls we work with (Claudia, Rosa, and Jessica) are all 18. And they are so sweet, but dont like to speak English cause they are not very good at it. But Alison and I made a breakthrough in saying more then "where is the trash can?" today to them. We have now had a whole conversation telling them that we are not married. and that neither of us have a boyfriend. Hahaha. Hopefully we will all become good friends over these next 7 weeks.
well im off to take a nap. practically fell asleep during lunch. oops.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
we are here! we are here! we are here!
yes. read the title. it kind of says all!!
I woke up this morning at 2:50 and around 4 we all packed into three cars and were off to Charlotte International. After an eventful phone searching airport experience in Atlanta, we arrived safely in Guatemala city around 1130am. We hopped onto the ranch bus with another team that is here for two weeks and after a packed bus ride through the city and mountains arrived at Casa Bernabe around 2pm. Soon after a quick lunch and tour of the ranch, we were informed that 2 of us girls would be leaving this orphanage and going to one in the city. Least to say, all of our hearts hit the ground. We havent officially decided if they are going yet, but if they do it will be Lauren H (we call her Lo) and Morgan. About three hours of prayer and discussion have gone into this. Its not easy. Its hard to let two team members go. There have been a few tears already. We feel like one big family, but if its Gods will we will say goodbye to them on friday for seven weeks. Of course they will come back to visit occasionally, but we are very sad to see them go.
Alison (fellow team member) and I worked in the baby house tonight and loved it! There are very long days ahead but we are excited. Of course, we already decided that we will need to switch off with others for a couple days here and there because working 630am - 8pm days is quite a lot.
Well. That's really it. We all love it here and are having a blast so far.
talk to you all soon!
I woke up this morning at 2:50 and around 4 we all packed into three cars and were off to Charlotte International. After an eventful phone searching airport experience in Atlanta, we arrived safely in Guatemala city around 1130am. We hopped onto the ranch bus with another team that is here for two weeks and after a packed bus ride through the city and mountains arrived at Casa Bernabe around 2pm. Soon after a quick lunch and tour of the ranch, we were informed that 2 of us girls would be leaving this orphanage and going to one in the city. Least to say, all of our hearts hit the ground. We havent officially decided if they are going yet, but if they do it will be Lauren H (we call her Lo) and Morgan. About three hours of prayer and discussion have gone into this. Its not easy. Its hard to let two team members go. There have been a few tears already. We feel like one big family, but if its Gods will we will say goodbye to them on friday for seven weeks. Of course they will come back to visit occasionally, but we are very sad to see them go.
Alison (fellow team member) and I worked in the baby house tonight and loved it! There are very long days ahead but we are excited. Of course, we already decided that we will need to switch off with others for a couple days here and there because working 630am - 8pm days is quite a lot.
Well. That's really it. We all love it here and are having a blast so far.
talk to you all soon!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Indian Alarm Clock.
well hello!
i decided to start a blog. we actually have a team blog (rohguatemala2010.blogspot.com) that you can feel free to follow, but i decided i also wanted to do a more personal blog. so please! follow both. :)
anyways! after a crazy morning of graduating high school :D i arrived safely in Charlotte, North Carolina where i was met at the airport by the nicest man, Tom Harvey, who has been my main contact point in this whole trip. After a lovely 20 minute drive we arrived at ROH Headquarters and began orientation that night. But before we began orientation i had a little glimpse into just how wonderful my teammates are. I walked into the kitchen and they all jumped up from behind the counters exclaiming "Congratulations!!" The kitchen was decorated with graduation decorations and they all presented me with cards and gifts. Yes. They. Are. Amazing. So since i didnt get to have a graduation party, they surprised me with one. They even had a cake with Covenant Life's School colors on it and best of all: a cup of ice :) Julia (one of the staff here at headquarters. sweetest thing ever!!) called my mom and asked what i liked. And yes. I love ice chips.
Anyways, us teammates have all hit off very well. We sat around the table till 11 that night and talked and laughed and laughed and talked. Alison, one of the girls, has an alarm clock that goes off saying different things. One of them is "Good morning sunshine! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" in an Indian accent. Funniest thing ever. Hence the post title.
And tomorrow we head off to Guatemala! We are leaving the house at 4am which means we will all be up by 3:30. yeahhhh. BUT WE CANT WAIT!
I myself am so anxious to go. So anxious to finally realize that its not all a dream! cause it still feels like one.
Miss everyone back home of course, but not too badly. It hasnt set in that im going to be gone for two months, cause its only been three (ish) days! :)
Ill post again when im safe and sound in Case Bernabe. In Guatemala!
i decided to start a blog. we actually have a team blog (rohguatemala2010.blogspot.com) that you can feel free to follow, but i decided i also wanted to do a more personal blog. so please! follow both. :)
anyways! after a crazy morning of graduating high school :D i arrived safely in Charlotte, North Carolina where i was met at the airport by the nicest man, Tom Harvey, who has been my main contact point in this whole trip. After a lovely 20 minute drive we arrived at ROH Headquarters and began orientation that night. But before we began orientation i had a little glimpse into just how wonderful my teammates are. I walked into the kitchen and they all jumped up from behind the counters exclaiming "Congratulations!!" The kitchen was decorated with graduation decorations and they all presented me with cards and gifts. Yes. They. Are. Amazing. So since i didnt get to have a graduation party, they surprised me with one. They even had a cake with Covenant Life's School colors on it and best of all: a cup of ice :) Julia (one of the staff here at headquarters. sweetest thing ever!!) called my mom and asked what i liked. And yes. I love ice chips.
Anyways, us teammates have all hit off very well. We sat around the table till 11 that night and talked and laughed and laughed and talked. Alison, one of the girls, has an alarm clock that goes off saying different things. One of them is "Good morning sunshine! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" in an Indian accent. Funniest thing ever. Hence the post title.
And tomorrow we head off to Guatemala! We are leaving the house at 4am which means we will all be up by 3:30. yeahhhh. BUT WE CANT WAIT!
I myself am so anxious to go. So anxious to finally realize that its not all a dream! cause it still feels like one.
Miss everyone back home of course, but not too badly. It hasnt set in that im going to be gone for two months, cause its only been three (ish) days! :)
Ill post again when im safe and sound in Case Bernabe. In Guatemala!
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