Derived from Matthew 1.
Ever try reading the bible before? Do you fall asleep? Get bored?! Well we've got the solution! Your good friends, Haley and Steph, have gladly paraphrased a more interesting version for you! Picture this: Jesus, growin up like you and me! Living on the streets, in the ghetto, living the hard life!
Jesus: 2011.
Jesus had some roots. Ya know, they went like way back. Abraham was his like great-great-great-great-super great-grandpah, and then there was David, then way later, along came Jesus.
Back it up, yo. Jesus's Ma, Mary was totally trippin' for her main man, Joe. They were trippin so hard, they were planning the trip down the isle! Mary was a good girl, holding her v-card securely. But before they made it facebook official, Mary's eggo became prego. That's one doodle that can't be undid homeskillet. Joeseph was not a happy camper, and decided to kick her to the curb before anyone found about about her little situation. Before he got that far, God's own Fed-Ex Messenger promptly arrived with a message. He spat out this lovely beat, "Jo-Dawg! Chillax! You gotta marry Mary! That bun in that oven is from the Holy Spirit! She's poppin out a baby and namin him Jesus, meanin' Savior of the Sins! Say it with me! Jesus! Are you stupid?! Don't ya 'member that prophet said, 'A hottie with the v-card gonna pop out a son who she's gonna call IMMANUEL!' After Mr. Fed-Ex left, he punched up Mary's digits and told her that there's gonna be a weddin'! They got married, but never 'bumped and grinded', 'did the nasty', 'put the hot dog in the bun', 'churned butter', 'did the hanky-panky', 'stuffed the taco', (if ya catch what I'm throwin down) until that bun was done! They named him "Jesus".
Now we're done with chapter one!
--> And that's the truth, yo! Yeeeeaaahhh!
Don't worry ya'll! There's more to come!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
August 15, 2011 "So...What Happened?"
"So... what happened?" Well, my dad was in a motorcycle accident on Sunday, July 31, 2011.
"So... what happened?" Well, I'll start from the beginning. I had been feeling sick. Sick, in the summer? I know, it was a total bummer. (That almost rhymed..) I couldn't sleep Saturday night, so of course, when my alarm went off on Sunday morning for church, I wasn't to quick to hop out of bed. I decided that for my health, I had better stay home. No, it was not just to skip church.I LOVE church. I was quite disappointed that I couldn't attend.
I rolled out of bed around 11 or noon, and was put to work. Mom needed help on some research for the new website for the business. I offered my services in exchange for a cup of soup and some green tea for my throat. A few hours into the research, Mom got a phone call. For the first whole minute it seemed like, nothing but gut wrenching gasps broke away from her ghostly presence. At the first millisecond of the first gasp, my fingers went numb. I knew that something was very wrong. "Mom... what happened?" It was less of a question of more of a command. I needed to know whatever was happening. Her voice quivered over the phone.. "So... what happened? Is he okay? Where are you? Did you call someone? Should I come? .....sure." I had only clues of what was happening on the other side of this phone call. She was doing a good job of holding in the tears, but after the word, "...sure" fell from her lips, the tears simultaneously fell. She whispered into the phone.. "You're in a lot of pain, aren't you?" After exchanging a few more words, she hung up. To her surprise, I was no longer in the room. I ran back into the living room with a poorly packed over night bag and said two words. "Let's go."
I still didn't know what happened, but I knew I had to go. Mom stood still. "Dad hit a deer with the motorcycle." Nothing about me changed. I was not crying. I did not move. I spoke the same two words. "Lets. Go." Mom was almost offended. I didn't want to cry until I knew something was wrong. I was in shock, and I wanted to go. I slowed down a second and looked into her eyes. I stepped forward and gave Mom a big hug, and we cried on each others shoulders.
Having my bag already packed, I was more than ready to go. Mom sent me to find my brother, who went out to eat with friends, and tell him the news. I found him outside the golf course lodge, and told him what I knew. Mom and I finally decided to take off and my brother was to stay home to take care of the dogs. We didn't know how long of an endeavor this would be.
Okay, okay. That's what happened. Well that's only my side of the story. You're wondering about the accident. "So...what happened?"
Dad was on his way to the black hills on his motorcycle to work at Sturgis Bike Rally. Mom and my brother were to head a few days later, and I about a week later. Instead of taking interstate, Dad took highway. Highway 14 to be specific. Usually a pretty desolate highway, not too much traffic. Note: Dad was driving about 70 mph, it was around 1:00 in the afternoon, and he had no helmet on. Anyways; out of the long weeds beside the road came a deer. No warning, no time for reaction: he wasn't there, and then he was. We believe that rather than Dad hitting the deer, the deer hit him. That little sucker came out of no where and forced his whole body into Dad's right leg. Dad claims he remembers seeing the deer and then next he remembers rolling/ &rolling/ &rolling/ &rolling. He rolled down the pavement and took off lots of skin on his arms, legs, and side. There was a car not far behind him that watched the whole thing. She was an EMT and stopped and knew what to do. The next car that came along was a nurse. Pause: Two blessings already. There were two cars that came along (hours could have easily gone by with no traffic) AND here was a NURSE and an EMT! Though he doesn't remember the actual contact of the crash, he was conscious the whole time. He could talk and communicate, and shows no sign of brain damage. Without a helmet?! Impossible! Look up Matthew 19:26. I don't know if Dad even knows how blessed he was that day.
He was between Pierre and Phillip and they didn't know which hospital to go to. They decided to take him to the Pierre hospital, but would have to wait over an hour for the ambulance. With the temperature of the day being between 90 and 100 and laying on the hot black asphalt, let alone the pain of the accident, he was very uncomfortable. Blessing: Sometime during the wait someone stopped with a tinker bell (ahahahaha!) baby blanket and held it over Dad to shield him from the sun. Blessing: Sometime during the wait some fishermen came by and took their buckets of ice and poured them around Dad's body to keep his temperature from rising too much. Finally the ambulance came and took him to Pierre. From Pierre they were going to fly him to Sioux Falls. How did we know all this you ask? No doctor ever called us. No nurse ever called us (besides the off duty one that found him on the road). Somehow, Dad managed to work his thumbs enough to text us. That's how we knew what was going on. So note to doctors or nurses: be in contact with your patient's family! Due to complications (some say there were no helicopters available, some say the doctors at Pierre wanted to spend hours cleaning all his wounds before they sent him to Sufu) they kept him at Pierre for about three hours after he arrived (estimated time: 7:00 pm). Then, they decided to drive him to Sioux Falls (about a four hour drive). All the while, he was experiencing a lot of pain.
Is that okay if I jump back to Mother and me? Okay thanks! Well we headed out to Pierre, then we heard they were flying him to Sufu, so we turned around in Huron and headed to Sioux Falls, where we heard that they were going to drive him. We had a LOT of time to kill. All the while, we were pretty much freaking out. Well, Mom was. Bouts of crying and distress, and who's to blame her?! I was making the calls. Calling the friends and family and business associates and warning them of the current situation. "So... what happened? When we got to Sioux Falls, we attempted to enjoy a patty melt and some hashbrowns (yes, we both ordered the same thing). Then we went to Lewis. Then we went to Starbucks (for meeee) and it rocked. I also got a free zucchini muffin! Yum! Then we waited at the hospital for a very long time. Around 10:30, I believe, is when the ambulance came and we got to see him. He had not a scratch on his face or anywhere on his head. His knuckles and elbows had little to no skin on them, along with parts of his arms, legs, and side. After waiting for the x-rays to be sent and after waiting for all the paper work to be filled out, and after we got Dad into a hospital room, Mother and I left the hospital at about 1:30 am. We stayed at my mom's brother's house nearby, and to our surprise, my little cousin (age 11?) was still awake and full of clever questions. His main concern, though, was if the deer had antlers.
"So... what happened?"
Through ups and downs and two weeks of the hospital, much progress has been made. Dad's digestive system was having trouble waking up from the trauma of the accident and the amount of pain killers. Through prayer, that problem is all cleared up. He had two surgeries, one to put an external fixator on his broken right leg. Then, for convenience only, since the skin on his knee healed in time (blessing!), the decided to take off the external fixator and put a rod in his bone. During surgery, they found that his knee was broken in two places, which they wouldn't have found out otherwise. Before, he could barely lift up a cup to drink out of it, but as I saw last, he is walking (well...hopping) almost 200 feet. He got moved from Avera in Sioux Falls to a swing bed in Madison, SD. His recovery will be long, but he WILL recover, and that's what matters. Thank you every who has supported us or visited us or sent us gifts, but especially, thank you to everyone who is praying for us. There is a long road ahead. So, now if anyone asks you, "So.... what happened?" You'll know exactly what to say! God Bless!
"So... what happened?" Well, I'll start from the beginning. I had been feeling sick. Sick, in the summer? I know, it was a total bummer. (That almost rhymed..) I couldn't sleep Saturday night, so of course, when my alarm went off on Sunday morning for church, I wasn't to quick to hop out of bed. I decided that for my health, I had better stay home. No, it was not just to skip church.I LOVE church. I was quite disappointed that I couldn't attend.
I rolled out of bed around 11 or noon, and was put to work. Mom needed help on some research for the new website for the business. I offered my services in exchange for a cup of soup and some green tea for my throat. A few hours into the research, Mom got a phone call. For the first whole minute it seemed like, nothing but gut wrenching gasps broke away from her ghostly presence. At the first millisecond of the first gasp, my fingers went numb. I knew that something was very wrong. "Mom... what happened?" It was less of a question of more of a command. I needed to know whatever was happening. Her voice quivered over the phone.. "So... what happened? Is he okay? Where are you? Did you call someone? Should I come? .....sure." I had only clues of what was happening on the other side of this phone call. She was doing a good job of holding in the tears, but after the word, "...sure" fell from her lips, the tears simultaneously fell. She whispered into the phone.. "You're in a lot of pain, aren't you?" After exchanging a few more words, she hung up. To her surprise, I was no longer in the room. I ran back into the living room with a poorly packed over night bag and said two words. "Let's go."
I still didn't know what happened, but I knew I had to go. Mom stood still. "Dad hit a deer with the motorcycle." Nothing about me changed. I was not crying. I did not move. I spoke the same two words. "Lets. Go." Mom was almost offended. I didn't want to cry until I knew something was wrong. I was in shock, and I wanted to go. I slowed down a second and looked into her eyes. I stepped forward and gave Mom a big hug, and we cried on each others shoulders.
Having my bag already packed, I was more than ready to go. Mom sent me to find my brother, who went out to eat with friends, and tell him the news. I found him outside the golf course lodge, and told him what I knew. Mom and I finally decided to take off and my brother was to stay home to take care of the dogs. We didn't know how long of an endeavor this would be.
Okay, okay. That's what happened. Well that's only my side of the story. You're wondering about the accident. "So...what happened?"
Dad was on his way to the black hills on his motorcycle to work at Sturgis Bike Rally. Mom and my brother were to head a few days later, and I about a week later. Instead of taking interstate, Dad took highway. Highway 14 to be specific. Usually a pretty desolate highway, not too much traffic. Note: Dad was driving about 70 mph, it was around 1:00 in the afternoon, and he had no helmet on. Anyways; out of the long weeds beside the road came a deer. No warning, no time for reaction: he wasn't there, and then he was. We believe that rather than Dad hitting the deer, the deer hit him. That little sucker came out of no where and forced his whole body into Dad's right leg. Dad claims he remembers seeing the deer and then next he remembers rolling/ &rolling/ &rolling/ &rolling. He rolled down the pavement and took off lots of skin on his arms, legs, and side. There was a car not far behind him that watched the whole thing. She was an EMT and stopped and knew what to do. The next car that came along was a nurse. Pause: Two blessings already. There were two cars that came along (hours could have easily gone by with no traffic) AND here was a NURSE and an EMT! Though he doesn't remember the actual contact of the crash, he was conscious the whole time. He could talk and communicate, and shows no sign of brain damage. Without a helmet?! Impossible! Look up Matthew 19:26. I don't know if Dad even knows how blessed he was that day.
He was between Pierre and Phillip and they didn't know which hospital to go to. They decided to take him to the Pierre hospital, but would have to wait over an hour for the ambulance. With the temperature of the day being between 90 and 100 and laying on the hot black asphalt, let alone the pain of the accident, he was very uncomfortable. Blessing: Sometime during the wait someone stopped with a tinker bell (ahahahaha!) baby blanket and held it over Dad to shield him from the sun. Blessing: Sometime during the wait some fishermen came by and took their buckets of ice and poured them around Dad's body to keep his temperature from rising too much. Finally the ambulance came and took him to Pierre. From Pierre they were going to fly him to Sioux Falls. How did we know all this you ask? No doctor ever called us. No nurse ever called us (besides the off duty one that found him on the road). Somehow, Dad managed to work his thumbs enough to text us. That's how we knew what was going on. So note to doctors or nurses: be in contact with your patient's family! Due to complications (some say there were no helicopters available, some say the doctors at Pierre wanted to spend hours cleaning all his wounds before they sent him to Sufu) they kept him at Pierre for about three hours after he arrived (estimated time: 7:00 pm). Then, they decided to drive him to Sioux Falls (about a four hour drive). All the while, he was experiencing a lot of pain.
Is that okay if I jump back to Mother and me? Okay thanks! Well we headed out to Pierre, then we heard they were flying him to Sufu, so we turned around in Huron and headed to Sioux Falls, where we heard that they were going to drive him. We had a LOT of time to kill. All the while, we were pretty much freaking out. Well, Mom was. Bouts of crying and distress, and who's to blame her?! I was making the calls. Calling the friends and family and business associates and warning them of the current situation. "So... what happened? When we got to Sioux Falls, we attempted to enjoy a patty melt and some hashbrowns (yes, we both ordered the same thing). Then we went to Lewis. Then we went to Starbucks (for meeee) and it rocked. I also got a free zucchini muffin! Yum! Then we waited at the hospital for a very long time. Around 10:30, I believe, is when the ambulance came and we got to see him. He had not a scratch on his face or anywhere on his head. His knuckles and elbows had little to no skin on them, along with parts of his arms, legs, and side. After waiting for the x-rays to be sent and after waiting for all the paper work to be filled out, and after we got Dad into a hospital room, Mother and I left the hospital at about 1:30 am. We stayed at my mom's brother's house nearby, and to our surprise, my little cousin (age 11?) was still awake and full of clever questions. His main concern, though, was if the deer had antlers.
"So... what happened?"
Through ups and downs and two weeks of the hospital, much progress has been made. Dad's digestive system was having trouble waking up from the trauma of the accident and the amount of pain killers. Through prayer, that problem is all cleared up. He had two surgeries, one to put an external fixator on his broken right leg. Then, for convenience only, since the skin on his knee healed in time (blessing!), the decided to take off the external fixator and put a rod in his bone. During surgery, they found that his knee was broken in two places, which they wouldn't have found out otherwise. Before, he could barely lift up a cup to drink out of it, but as I saw last, he is walking (well...hopping) almost 200 feet. He got moved from Avera in Sioux Falls to a swing bed in Madison, SD. His recovery will be long, but he WILL recover, and that's what matters. Thank you every who has supported us or visited us or sent us gifts, but especially, thank you to everyone who is praying for us. There is a long road ahead. So, now if anyone asks you, "So.... what happened?" You'll know exactly what to say! God Bless!
July 29, 2011 (Laugh a Little cont.)
THEY CUT ME OFF! Sorry - read the first one.. first. duh.
Second Best Joke in the World:
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip. After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night, and go to sleep.
Second Best Joke in the World:
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip. After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night, and go to sleep.
Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend. “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”
“I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes” replies Watson.
“And what do you deduce from that?”
Watson ponders for a minute. “Well,
 | Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. |
| Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. |
| Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. |
| Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. |
| Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful, and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe. |
But what does it tell you, Holmes?”
Holmes is silent for a moment.
“Watson, you idiot!” he says. “Someone has stolen our tent!”
Top joke in the USA:
A man and a friend are playing golf one day at their local golf course. One of the guys is about to chip onto the green when he sees a long funeral procession on the road next to the course. He stops in mid-swing, takes off his golf cap, closes his eyes, and bows down in prayer.
His friend says: “Wow, that is the most thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen. You truly are a kind man.”
The man then replies: “Yeah, well we were married 35 years.”
Top Joke in Canada:
When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300°C.
The Russians used a pencil.
Top Joke in Ireland:
Two guys are sitting on a bar stool. One starts to insult the other one. He screams, “I slept with your mother!” The bar gets quiet as everyone listens to see what the other weasel will do. The first again yells, “I SLEPT WITH YOUR MOTHER!”
The other says, “Go home dad you’re drunk.”
Laugh? I hope so! Comment ;)
July 29, 2011 (Laugh a Little)
Need a little laugh? Because I sure do. After a day full of miscommunication, uneding phone calls, being put on hold, receiving wrong orders, downloads not downloading, etc., laughter is just what I need. While waiting for my purchase of Photoshop CS5 (YAY) for the SECOND time (BOO), I have decided to look up some jokes. So sit on down and laugh it up!
Dumb Criminal Jokes (true stories):
A guy in Great Falls, Montana had three outstanding warrants for his arrest. When he was stopped by the police for a traffic violation, he gave them a false name. The police ran a check and discovered that there was also a warrant out for the man with the false name. So they arrested the driver.
In doing a search, they discovered a half gram of methamphetamine in his pocket and charged him with criminal possession of a dangerous drug. During his arrest, he gave his real name, so they also charged him with issuing a false report to law enforcement.
The police were just doing their job. When someone called 911, then hung up, the police went to that location to see if there was a problem. It turns out that it was a motel where two drug dealers were staying in different rooms. One tried to call the other one in room 119, but dialed 911 by mistake.
A Wyoming man, who was suspected of stealing a bottle of Schnapps from the store, could have planned his escape a little better. He simply ran out of the store and into the nearest building which was the police station.
Apparently realizing where he was, he then ran out of the station. But a dispatcher saw him on the surveillance camera and alerted officers. He was caught nearby, quite drunk, and taken into custody. (They didn't have far to go.)
Responding to an alarm going off in a hockey rink, the police found an intoxicated man trying to operate the Zamboni. He had crashed it into a wall. He had also operated two fork lifts, damaging the walls, sprinkler system and hockey net.
He was charged with burglary, criminal mischief, violation of his bail conditions and drunk driving.
Blonde Jokes (hehe, being Brunette, I find these PARTICULARILY amusing):
There was this bar and in the bar there was a magic mirror.
If you told a lie it would suck you in.
One day a brunette walked into this bar. She walked up to the mirror and said 'I think I'm the most beautiful woman in the world' and it sucked her in.
The next day a redhead walked into the bar. She walked up to the mirror and said 'I think I'm the most beautiful woman in the world' and it sucked her in.
Then the next day a blond walked into the bar. She walked up to the mirror and said 'I think...' and it sucked her in.
Q: What do you call an eternity?
A: Four Blondes in four cars at a four way stop.
Q: Why do Blondes have TGIF written on their shoes?
A: Toes Go In First.
Q: What do SMART Blondes and UFOs have in common?
A: You always hear about them but never see them.
Q: Why do Blondes always smile during lightning storms?
A: They think their picture is being taken.
A blonde cop stops blonde motorist and asks for her driving license.
The Motorist scuffles around in her purse and can't find it. She says to the cop, "I must have left it at home officer."
The cop says, "Well, do you have any kind of identification?" The motorist scuffles around in her purse again, and finds a pocket mirror.
She looks at it and says to the cop, "All I have is this picture of myself." The cop says, "Let me see it, then." So the blonde motorist gives the mirror to the blonde cop, who looks at it, and replies, "Well, if I had known you were a police officer, I wouldn't have even pulled you over. You can go now."
According to Hertfordshire University (is that real?):
Best Joke in the World:
(read the next post)
Dumb Criminal Jokes (true stories):
A guy in Great Falls, Montana had three outstanding warrants for his arrest. When he was stopped by the police for a traffic violation, he gave them a false name. The police ran a check and discovered that there was also a warrant out for the man with the false name. So they arrested the driver.
In doing a search, they discovered a half gram of methamphetamine in his pocket and charged him with criminal possession of a dangerous drug. During his arrest, he gave his real name, so they also charged him with issuing a false report to law enforcement.
The police were just doing their job. When someone called 911, then hung up, the police went to that location to see if there was a problem. It turns out that it was a motel where two drug dealers were staying in different rooms. One tried to call the other one in room 119, but dialed 911 by mistake.
A Wyoming man, who was suspected of stealing a bottle of Schnapps from the store, could have planned his escape a little better. He simply ran out of the store and into the nearest building which was the police station.
Apparently realizing where he was, he then ran out of the station. But a dispatcher saw him on the surveillance camera and alerted officers. He was caught nearby, quite drunk, and taken into custody. (They didn't have far to go.)
Responding to an alarm going off in a hockey rink, the police found an intoxicated man trying to operate the Zamboni. He had crashed it into a wall. He had also operated two fork lifts, damaging the walls, sprinkler system and hockey net.
He was charged with burglary, criminal mischief, violation of his bail conditions and drunk driving.
Blonde Jokes (hehe, being Brunette, I find these PARTICULARILY amusing):
There was this bar and in the bar there was a magic mirror.
If you told a lie it would suck you in.
One day a brunette walked into this bar. She walked up to the mirror and said 'I think I'm the most beautiful woman in the world' and it sucked her in.
The next day a redhead walked into the bar. She walked up to the mirror and said 'I think I'm the most beautiful woman in the world' and it sucked her in.
Then the next day a blond walked into the bar. She walked up to the mirror and said 'I think...' and it sucked her in.
Q: What do you call an eternity?
A: Four Blondes in four cars at a four way stop.
Q: Why do Blondes have TGIF written on their shoes?
A: Toes Go In First.
Q: What do SMART Blondes and UFOs have in common?
A: You always hear about them but never see them.
Q: Why do Blondes always smile during lightning storms?
A: They think their picture is being taken.
A blonde cop stops blonde motorist and asks for her driving license.
The Motorist scuffles around in her purse and can't find it. She says to the cop, "I must have left it at home officer."
The cop says, "Well, do you have any kind of identification?" The motorist scuffles around in her purse again, and finds a pocket mirror.
She looks at it and says to the cop, "All I have is this picture of myself." The cop says, "Let me see it, then." So the blonde motorist gives the mirror to the blonde cop, who looks at it, and replies, "Well, if I had known you were a police officer, I wouldn't have even pulled you over. You can go now."
According to Hertfordshire University (is that real?):
Best Joke in the World:
A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?”
The operator, in a calm soothing voice says: “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard.
The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: “OK, now what?“
(read the next post)
July 23, 2011 "lesson(s) learned."
So, life has been... well I don't think that there is a word in the English language to describe it. Just, um, lots of changes and very difficult adjustments (some of which I'm fighting with all my might). And tonight, life taught me a little lesson that I'd like to share with you.. yes.. "you". Don't look around your shoulder, I'm talking to YOU.
Anyways, my family was on family vacation for about four days last week. The veterinarian in town told us that her son .. er ... nephew .. or someone was really good with dogs. So we had them watch the dogs for us. We have two dogs, a yellow lab (Louie: huge dog, not the brightest bulb, happy-go-lucky, baby) and a black lab/chow mix (Molly: way way way too smart for her own good, conniving, strong willed, protector). They are perfect together. They are well trained, well behaved dogs who would never hurt anyone. Well we got a call during vacation from the boys watching them, saying that they escaped from the kennel and the black one was growling. The thing about them is, they HATE when we leave. They cry and cry and pout when they see the suitcases.. Well we just figured that they had just shaken the door open (which they had done before).. but when we arrived home we noticed that they had broken the chain link fence.. in three places. How? I have no clue. Well my brother and I patched it up, but when I got home from work tonight, exhausted and smelly, they were waiting for me outside. I was mad. I was going to yell. They know.. they KNOW that they aren't supposed to break the kennel. I was going to yell at them and send them to bed. But when I got out of my car, they slowly walked up to me and had their tails between their legs. I didn't say a word, just walked to the house. I opened the front door and walked in. I turned around, expecting them to shove past me like they always do, but they just stood there, knowing they probably didn't deserve to come in the house. "come on." I quietly motioned them to come inside, and their eyes LIT up. Louie wouldn't leave my side. Thirty minutes later, he still couldn't sleep because his tail was wagging so hard. How could I be mad at them? It was hot, and the fence was already broken. Can I blame them for crawling out of the kennel to find shade? They didn't hurt anyone, they didn't run away, they just left the kennel. How many times to we freak out about small stuff? Small stuff that goes wrong, or what other people do to us, or what we do to ourselves? Let it go. Not only did I not have to carry the burden of anger, but I got to enjoy watching someone I love very much be so happy.
Another lesson along the same lines was learned today. One of my good friends had a facebook status mentioning how people have the same reaction between a death and a birth. I was utterly confused, but I know that there must be a meaning behind this status. I asked her to explain, and she told me that she's been watching the reactions of people to the death of Amy Winehouse. Then she compared that with the reaction of when someone has a baby. The said reaction - in her words: "Oh, (insert name) died/had a baby?! Oh....weird." "Didn't see that coming" "No way! When did that happen?"
How true is that? How OPPOSITE are life and death? Why do we just shrug a shoulder? How emotionless can we be?
I guess I just had a few lessons on emotions. I learned to shrug off the little stuff and enjoy life, and I learned to treasure life, because it's short, fragile, and beautiful. So look at your life, if you will. Yes, YOU, if you're still reading this. Are you wasting all your emotions on the dumb little stuff, and having nothing left to enjoy life? Well, if you are, I challenge you to make a few small changes, even if it starts with not yelling at your dog. (:
Anyways, my family was on family vacation for about four days last week. The veterinarian in town told us that her son .. er ... nephew .. or someone was really good with dogs. So we had them watch the dogs for us. We have two dogs, a yellow lab (Louie: huge dog, not the brightest bulb, happy-go-lucky, baby) and a black lab/chow mix (Molly: way way way too smart for her own good, conniving, strong willed, protector). They are perfect together. They are well trained, well behaved dogs who would never hurt anyone. Well we got a call during vacation from the boys watching them, saying that they escaped from the kennel and the black one was growling. The thing about them is, they HATE when we leave. They cry and cry and pout when they see the suitcases.. Well we just figured that they had just shaken the door open (which they had done before).. but when we arrived home we noticed that they had broken the chain link fence.. in three places. How? I have no clue. Well my brother and I patched it up, but when I got home from work tonight, exhausted and smelly, they were waiting for me outside. I was mad. I was going to yell. They know.. they KNOW that they aren't supposed to break the kennel. I was going to yell at them and send them to bed. But when I got out of my car, they slowly walked up to me and had their tails between their legs. I didn't say a word, just walked to the house. I opened the front door and walked in. I turned around, expecting them to shove past me like they always do, but they just stood there, knowing they probably didn't deserve to come in the house. "come on." I quietly motioned them to come inside, and their eyes LIT up. Louie wouldn't leave my side. Thirty minutes later, he still couldn't sleep because his tail was wagging so hard. How could I be mad at them? It was hot, and the fence was already broken. Can I blame them for crawling out of the kennel to find shade? They didn't hurt anyone, they didn't run away, they just left the kennel. How many times to we freak out about small stuff? Small stuff that goes wrong, or what other people do to us, or what we do to ourselves? Let it go. Not only did I not have to carry the burden of anger, but I got to enjoy watching someone I love very much be so happy.
Another lesson along the same lines was learned today. One of my good friends had a facebook status mentioning how people have the same reaction between a death and a birth. I was utterly confused, but I know that there must be a meaning behind this status. I asked her to explain, and she told me that she's been watching the reactions of people to the death of Amy Winehouse. Then she compared that with the reaction of when someone has a baby. The said reaction - in her words: "Oh, (insert name) died/had a baby?! Oh....weird." "Didn't see that coming" "No way! When did that happen?"
How true is that? How OPPOSITE are life and death? Why do we just shrug a shoulder? How emotionless can we be?
I guess I just had a few lessons on emotions. I learned to shrug off the little stuff and enjoy life, and I learned to treasure life, because it's short, fragile, and beautiful. So look at your life, if you will. Yes, YOU, if you're still reading this. Are you wasting all your emotions on the dumb little stuff, and having nothing left to enjoy life? Well, if you are, I challenge you to make a few small changes, even if it starts with not yelling at your dog. (:
May 13, 2011 "Will You Teach Me?"
So, I’m never much into band or chorus. Tonight was our spring concert, which marked the last time I would ever sing in chorus or play in band. Exciting? Nah, not really.
Well, our girls’ chorus sang two songs. One of which I loved, one of which I hated. Well, obviously, I’m not the only one that hated it. Our sound was pretty flat and unemotional. Our teacher stopped us and asked us to think about the words we were singing. We kind of walked through the lyrics and I realized just how beautiful the song was.
The name of the song is “Will You Teach Me?” The song talks about things you need to learn in life to succeed, especially as women. Though a few of the lines are cut out, this is the song. I hope it touches you.
Well, our girls’ chorus sang two songs. One of which I loved, one of which I hated. Well, obviously, I’m not the only one that hated it. Our sound was pretty flat and unemotional. Our teacher stopped us and asked us to think about the words we were singing. We kind of walked through the lyrics and I realized just how beautiful the song was.
The name of the song is “Will You Teach Me?” The song talks about things you need to learn in life to succeed, especially as women. Though a few of the lines are cut out, this is the song. I hope it touches you.
Will you teach me how to sail through space upon a comet’s tail ?
Will you teach me how to fly; to sail the skies on wings untried?
Will you teach me hoe to soar; to see things never seen before?
But most importantly of all,
Will you teach me how to fall ?
Will you teach me how to cry, to release those feelings deep inside.
Will you teach me how to laugh, and travel off the beaten path ?
Will you teach me how to love, love with love that comes from God above?
Will you teach me how to sing; how to sing through all the sorrows life may bring?
Will you teach me how to dream; to face the future sight unseen?
Will you teach me how to be the only thing I can be? Me.
Will you teach me how to fly; to sail the skies on wings untried?
Will you teach me hoe to soar; to see things never seen before?
But most importantly of all,
Will you teach me how to fall ?
Will you teach me how to cry, to release those feelings deep inside.
Will you teach me how to laugh, and travel off the beaten path ?
Will you teach me how to love, love with love that comes from God above?
Will you teach me how to sing; how to sing through all the sorrows life may bring?
Will you teach me how to dream; to face the future sight unseen?
Will you teach me how to be the only thing I can be? Me.
May 10, 2011 "Graduation."
Graduation. Bittersweet. Ending. Beginning. Lost. Gained.So many emotions can fill in one day. I will be graduating high school this Saturday. I am not sure how to feel. For four years, I have been longing … ITCHING for the day I grab my diploma and leave this town under my squealing tires. But as the day approaches, I begin to see all the things I will miss. I will miss my family, no matter how much I complain about them. I will miss the teachers that cut me slack and care about me as a person. I will miss the stupid boys in my class and their carefree attitude and how many time they make me laugh every day. I will miss the girls in my class, how they understand who I am and can appreciate my humor and personality. I will miss my church and TEC family and the support and love they have given me through the years. I will miss my dogs, how they brighten every day and can understand my feelings better than I can some days. I will miss my bed, my own room, my posters, my closet, my driveway, my garage, my decorations, my computer, my tv, my bathroom; If you know me at all, you know that I complain about this house a lot, but I want to take it all back. I love this house. It’s the longest I’ve lived in one place in a while, and it has become home. It breaks my heart to have to pack up and leave again. When I come to visit on weekends and vacations, it will not be to a home, it will be to a house. I will miss my community, who has supported my acting and has been great to this school for years.
This Saturday, May 14, I will no longer be a high school student. I will be well on my way to adulthood. Describe Graduation in one word.
Graduation. Bittersweet. Ending. Beginning. Lost. Gained.
This Saturday, May 14, I will no longer be a high school student. I will be well on my way to adulthood. Describe Graduation in one word.
Graduation. Bittersweet. Ending. Beginning. Lost. Gained.
Feb 26, 2011 "Turdsday y un poco Fridayness."
Just kidding. Today was less turdy than most days (almost everyone has been suffering from diarrhea, but almost everyone’s better! Praise God!)
Today, I was blessed enough to ride in the van to the orphanage, and our whole van went to see Alejandro’s mother’s house. His mother lives in Old City, a village on our way to the orphanage. I had heard about it from Chad and Steve at devotions, but this was nothing that words can describe. Which is ironic, because that’s what I’m going to do right now. So bear with me.
We drove down a long, steep road, right up until the dead end. On each side of the road was a large gate. One looked like it lead to an old junk yard for chicken busses, and the other one lead to Alejandro’s mother’s house. When he opened the gate, there was no house in sight. Just giant piles of dirt, old broken down buses, and dying dogs. We followed Alejandro as he weaved through the bus remains and piles of dirt, and what was revealed to us will never leave my mind. I saw tin. Four tin walls and a tin roof. Dirt floors. No door. My heart broke. His mother is sixty six, but looks about eighty. She was frail and walked with a cane. Her leg was bandaged up because she fell yesterday. Her face was full of wrinkles and a sadness dwelled in her eyes. In her house lived HER mother, Alejandro’s grandmother, age eighty two, who looked in worse condition than her daughter, Alejandro’s sister, age sixteen, and her THREE kids, ages seven, three, and two months. In that tiny, two bedroom tin…not even a shed. They did their laundry outside and their bathroom was down the hill, in another tin lean-to.
They were very grateful to have us there, and very hospitable. I’ll upload pictures on facebook one of these days. Anyways, we then went to the orphanage and went straight to work. I was assigned to paint, which seemed to be a big job this year. Now that the INSIDE of the school was finished, We were assigned to paint the outside of the school. It’s not huge, but it’s a two-story building, with rough brick on half of the outside, making it impossible to roll. So 50% or so of the school was painted with a paintbrush, which took a lot of time. Our first batch of paint was MUCH too watered down, making it a pain to paint with…but we figured it out. We painted ALLLL morning until lunch.
After lunch, they announced that the children were going to do their presentation for us today. So we put the tables away and set up the chairs. I started sitting next to Rayann and Katie, then I sat between Alejandro and Brent. Then when everyone came in, those two moved and I sat next to Julisa and Jennifer. The little girls sang a song and did a little dance, then one of the older girls sang a worship song she wrote herself, which was beautiful, then the little boys, dressed as cowboys, did this little cowboy routine, which was so cute. While they did their show, it started raining outside. After receiving like three notes from the various children, which made my day, I learned the word for rain. Lluvia…I think. I was proud of myself. After the show, and after the rain, we didn’t have much time, so we were getting ready to get some work in before we had to leave.
Cesar, a friend who lives in Antigua and owns many clothing stores donated one pair of pants and two shirts to EVERY child at the orphanage, then invited us out to his van with a plethora of shirts sorted by sizes and gender, and we were all allowed to take a shirt. The brands are popular from the states, like Hollister, American Eagle, Aerie, Fox Racing, etc. I took a white aerie shirt with a flowery peace sign on it, which I love!
I put the shirt in the van so I wouldn’t get it dirty, and then headed back to work. We got quite a bit done, and I was finally able to use the rollers. When we were almost done, Katie decided to paint her shoes. Then she painted my shoes. Then she painted my arm and a paint fight broke out. I got yelled at to stop by Chad, and as I surrendered, I got a roller to the face, which was not only sticky and smelly and bad tasting, my skin was allergic. So then we cleaned up and I hopped in the van and hoped for a quick ride back to the hotel so I could shower.
Buuuuuut then we decided to go to Chimaltenango and buy clothes for Alejandro’s nieces and nephews. I decided to stay in the van, and painty and what not. The looks from the locals were nothing less than disturbing. I hopped in the passenger seat and stayed there. When everyone was finally done, they hopped back in and we headed to the hotel. After Jennie was done of course, I hopped in the shower and scrubbed every last bit of that dang red paint off my body. Then I went to supper, then devotions, you know. The usual. After devotions, I got an amazing back massage from Lorie (THANK YOU) and then I went on a walk with Alejandro around the community. Then I came back into the hotel and had a nice little chat with Katie, then we both headed to bed. What a day. Sorry I’m behind on the blog, It’s hard to stay ahead.
To recap Friday, I painted all morning, then did odd jobs in the afternoon. I sifted sand, took pictures, mixed mortar, hauled bags of concrete, etc. I spent a little bit of time with the kids, mostly at “Amy’s House” I believe it’s called? We played tag and messed around on the playground. I got a rose from Julisa, and had to say goodbye to everyone. To say I bauled my eyes out would be an understatement. Right as we were leaving, it started to downpour, and Ginger mentioned that “God is crying too”, which didn’t help the situation. The ride back was long, especially because I had a horrible headache. I headed STRAIGHT for the shower once I got here, and what do you know?! No cold water. I guess one of the water heaters broke, so I managed to get in Grandma and Grandpa’s shower. Thank goodness! Supper was amazing, filet mignon and mashed potatoes and some squash thing that I liked, so I ate three of them! (Other people gave me theirs.) Devotions went really well, though I was heartbroken that it was our last one. Alejandro bought me two boxes of my new favorite tea, Manzanilla I believe? I don’t know, but I loved it. I thought that was very sweet, so I’ll have to share some at home. We went on another walk, but a short one. Then I’ve been writing this. And it’s past one, so I need mucho sleepo! Haha, that’s how we always talk down here, because none of us know español. Oh well! We board the plane at…well, I don’t know. But we leave at nine thirty tomorrow morning, so pray for safe travels home! And if I somehow miss the plane, I’ll be alright, I promise
Love you all!
Today, I was blessed enough to ride in the van to the orphanage, and our whole van went to see Alejandro’s mother’s house. His mother lives in Old City, a village on our way to the orphanage. I had heard about it from Chad and Steve at devotions, but this was nothing that words can describe. Which is ironic, because that’s what I’m going to do right now. So bear with me.
We drove down a long, steep road, right up until the dead end. On each side of the road was a large gate. One looked like it lead to an old junk yard for chicken busses, and the other one lead to Alejandro’s mother’s house. When he opened the gate, there was no house in sight. Just giant piles of dirt, old broken down buses, and dying dogs. We followed Alejandro as he weaved through the bus remains and piles of dirt, and what was revealed to us will never leave my mind. I saw tin. Four tin walls and a tin roof. Dirt floors. No door. My heart broke. His mother is sixty six, but looks about eighty. She was frail and walked with a cane. Her leg was bandaged up because she fell yesterday. Her face was full of wrinkles and a sadness dwelled in her eyes. In her house lived HER mother, Alejandro’s grandmother, age eighty two, who looked in worse condition than her daughter, Alejandro’s sister, age sixteen, and her THREE kids, ages seven, three, and two months. In that tiny, two bedroom tin…not even a shed. They did their laundry outside and their bathroom was down the hill, in another tin lean-to.
They were very grateful to have us there, and very hospitable. I’ll upload pictures on facebook one of these days. Anyways, we then went to the orphanage and went straight to work. I was assigned to paint, which seemed to be a big job this year. Now that the INSIDE of the school was finished, We were assigned to paint the outside of the school. It’s not huge, but it’s a two-story building, with rough brick on half of the outside, making it impossible to roll. So 50% or so of the school was painted with a paintbrush, which took a lot of time. Our first batch of paint was MUCH too watered down, making it a pain to paint with…but we figured it out. We painted ALLLL morning until lunch.
After lunch, they announced that the children were going to do their presentation for us today. So we put the tables away and set up the chairs. I started sitting next to Rayann and Katie, then I sat between Alejandro and Brent. Then when everyone came in, those two moved and I sat next to Julisa and Jennifer. The little girls sang a song and did a little dance, then one of the older girls sang a worship song she wrote herself, which was beautiful, then the little boys, dressed as cowboys, did this little cowboy routine, which was so cute. While they did their show, it started raining outside. After receiving like three notes from the various children, which made my day, I learned the word for rain. Lluvia…I think. I was proud of myself. After the show, and after the rain, we didn’t have much time, so we were getting ready to get some work in before we had to leave.
Cesar, a friend who lives in Antigua and owns many clothing stores donated one pair of pants and two shirts to EVERY child at the orphanage, then invited us out to his van with a plethora of shirts sorted by sizes and gender, and we were all allowed to take a shirt. The brands are popular from the states, like Hollister, American Eagle, Aerie, Fox Racing, etc. I took a white aerie shirt with a flowery peace sign on it, which I love!
I put the shirt in the van so I wouldn’t get it dirty, and then headed back to work. We got quite a bit done, and I was finally able to use the rollers. When we were almost done, Katie decided to paint her shoes. Then she painted my shoes. Then she painted my arm and a paint fight broke out. I got yelled at to stop by Chad, and as I surrendered, I got a roller to the face, which was not only sticky and smelly and bad tasting, my skin was allergic. So then we cleaned up and I hopped in the van and hoped for a quick ride back to the hotel so I could shower.
Buuuuuut then we decided to go to Chimaltenango and buy clothes for Alejandro’s nieces and nephews. I decided to stay in the van, and painty and what not. The looks from the locals were nothing less than disturbing. I hopped in the passenger seat and stayed there. When everyone was finally done, they hopped back in and we headed to the hotel. After Jennie was done of course, I hopped in the shower and scrubbed every last bit of that dang red paint off my body. Then I went to supper, then devotions, you know. The usual. After devotions, I got an amazing back massage from Lorie (THANK YOU) and then I went on a walk with Alejandro around the community. Then I came back into the hotel and had a nice little chat with Katie, then we both headed to bed. What a day. Sorry I’m behind on the blog, It’s hard to stay ahead.
To recap Friday, I painted all morning, then did odd jobs in the afternoon. I sifted sand, took pictures, mixed mortar, hauled bags of concrete, etc. I spent a little bit of time with the kids, mostly at “Amy’s House” I believe it’s called? We played tag and messed around on the playground. I got a rose from Julisa, and had to say goodbye to everyone. To say I bauled my eyes out would be an understatement. Right as we were leaving, it started to downpour, and Ginger mentioned that “God is crying too”, which didn’t help the situation. The ride back was long, especially because I had a horrible headache. I headed STRAIGHT for the shower once I got here, and what do you know?! No cold water. I guess one of the water heaters broke, so I managed to get in Grandma and Grandpa’s shower. Thank goodness! Supper was amazing, filet mignon and mashed potatoes and some squash thing that I liked, so I ate three of them! (Other people gave me theirs.) Devotions went really well, though I was heartbroken that it was our last one. Alejandro bought me two boxes of my new favorite tea, Manzanilla I believe? I don’t know, but I loved it. I thought that was very sweet, so I’ll have to share some at home. We went on another walk, but a short one. Then I’ve been writing this. And it’s past one, so I need mucho sleepo! Haha, that’s how we always talk down here, because none of us know español. Oh well! We board the plane at…well, I don’t know. But we leave at nine thirty tomorrow morning, so pray for safe travels home! And if I somehow miss the plane, I’ll be alright, I promise
Love you all!
Feb 24, 2011 "Meircoles..."
Today seemed long.. I took a van to Antigua before hitting up the orphanage. Alejandro drove and we met up with Cesar, one of the coolest dudes in Antigua. He owns a BUNCH of super awesome clothing stores and wants to donate a new OUTFIT for EVERY orphan. How cool is that? So we dropped off a list of names, sizes, genders, etc. The morning devotion with Ivan was nothing short of amazing. After devotions, Ivan’s daughter (WHOSE NAME I FORGOT AGAIN) showed a picture of a family of 5 of the orphans and shared their story. Their father was a drunk and was very abusive. At the time that they took the kids, their mother was in the hospital because of abuse. Their father would tie ropes around their necks and physically choke them for punishment. On top of all that, their older siblings would sexually abuse all of them. This is just one story of a few kids at this orphanage. 100% of these children have suffered some type of abuse, whether it by physical, mental, sexual, abandonment, etc. The story really touched me.
I painted all morning in the school, because we didn’t finish it yesterday. I did pretty much all trim work, which is my least favorite, but that’s okay. While we were working, some of the older girls came in to help, including Julissa (my favorite little girl). After hours and hours, I turned my zune on with my little mini speakers (yes, they are little AND mini) and turned on some jams. The girls (including Rayann…loser) didn’t know ANY of the songs…until Gone by TobyMac came on. They knew EVERY word! In English! It was so cool!
For lunch, we had chicken and potatoes, which were delicious. I sat next to Alejandro and Katie for lunch, and we exchanged lots of laughs. Katie and I were narrowing down the Guatemalan men we are destined to marry. I believe Katie had a few narrowed down. We came to the conclusion that after I graduate college I am going to move down here, and while I’m gone, Alejandro is going to find me a man, just like him (only closer to my age) and I’ll come down here and marry him. We exchanged some laughs and went off to work.
I spent my afternoon mixing concrete in a giant skid loader and other bigger hoe thing. Not sure, I just know it was a pain and I don’t know how I can hold my arms up enough to type on this computer. After our concrete work was done, I saw Julissa (pronounced you-liss-a) and her sister Jennifer (henn-ih-fer) playing in the next yard. I waddled over (yes, I was very sore) and was greeted by two hugs that about KNOCKED me down. We sat down and played with bubble wrap that one little boy brought over. He was sooooo cute, and after just minutes he was calling me “hermana” which means sister. It just melted my heart. I reached into my bag and pulled out two bracelets (that were meant to go to my friends..sorry guys!) and tied them to the girls’ wrists. I told them it’s because they were my beautiful sisters. They each grabbed a silly band from their wrist (the same one) and handed it to me. It just broke me that they had nothing, but felt the need to give something of theirs in return for a silly little bracelet. I taught them to play war (a simple card game) and it was a lot of fun. Pretty soon, everyone was in! What was so special to me was that when someone ran out of cards, almost everyone was immediate in response. They took half of their hand and gave it to the one without. So no one would ever lose! Now, they might not have known the point of the game is to get all the cards, but their generosity and love of the game was amazing. They didn’t care about who won or lost, just about being with each other and laughing. What a testament to me!
We loaded up the bus and came back to the orphanage. Jennie hopped in the shower first, then I did. Then I ran out to supper. Supper was chicken fried steak, which isn’t my favorite in America, and plus, here, their steak is…well…tough to put in nicely. I didn’t eat much, but Grandpa (who was being extremely rude and eating an ALMOND SNICKERS right in front of me and telling me how amazing it was) let me eat the last half of his snickers! Then ran back to get on my computer before everyone else did! Rayann was in the shower and Katie came and sat at the table with me. All of a sudden, BAMMMBAMBAMM! We hear something or someONE fall in the bathroom…Before seeing if everything was okay, we just laughed. Not just a “haha” but a violent, painful belly laugh. We yelled through to door “are you okay?!?” after a few seconds..through what we we’re sure was laughter or tears, we heard “yep!” Then we laughed harder. Then we went through the scenarios of what could have happened, then we laughed harder. Once we stopped laughing, we hard choking coming from the bathroom, so we laughed harder. When Rayann finally came out of the bathroom, she explained that she dropped her shampoo, then when she bent over to pick it up, she saw a spider and fell backwards, hurting her toe against the wall. I honestly fell on the floor because I couldn’t breathe (note: the oxygen level is muuuch less here due to altitude, making it hard to breathe). Then, plenty of water when into her lungs and she was choking it up all shower. Gosh I thought I was going to die. And yes, Rayann and I are related.
Devotions were extremely deep tonight. We talked about it only takes a little to accomplish a lot if God is involved. Then Chad shared some stories about Alejandro which made me cry, and then we prayed for a long time, in which many of us, including me got on our knees. We always talk about praying on our knees but how often do we really do it?! Exactly! Afterwards, I was feeling very overwhelmed and walked on to the balcony to be alone. After a long while, Brendt accompanied me up there, and we had a very very nice like three hour talk. It’s now past one and I NEED SLEEP. People are getting better! So keep praying! We have a lot of work left and a lot of sore bodies! Thanks for everything! Love you all! Commmmmentt kthanks!
I painted all morning in the school, because we didn’t finish it yesterday. I did pretty much all trim work, which is my least favorite, but that’s okay. While we were working, some of the older girls came in to help, including Julissa (my favorite little girl). After hours and hours, I turned my zune on with my little mini speakers (yes, they are little AND mini) and turned on some jams. The girls (including Rayann…loser) didn’t know ANY of the songs…until Gone by TobyMac came on. They knew EVERY word! In English! It was so cool!
For lunch, we had chicken and potatoes, which were delicious. I sat next to Alejandro and Katie for lunch, and we exchanged lots of laughs. Katie and I were narrowing down the Guatemalan men we are destined to marry. I believe Katie had a few narrowed down. We came to the conclusion that after I graduate college I am going to move down here, and while I’m gone, Alejandro is going to find me a man, just like him (only closer to my age) and I’ll come down here and marry him. We exchanged some laughs and went off to work.
I spent my afternoon mixing concrete in a giant skid loader and other bigger hoe thing. Not sure, I just know it was a pain and I don’t know how I can hold my arms up enough to type on this computer. After our concrete work was done, I saw Julissa (pronounced you-liss-a) and her sister Jennifer (henn-ih-fer) playing in the next yard. I waddled over (yes, I was very sore) and was greeted by two hugs that about KNOCKED me down. We sat down and played with bubble wrap that one little boy brought over. He was sooooo cute, and after just minutes he was calling me “hermana” which means sister. It just melted my heart. I reached into my bag and pulled out two bracelets (that were meant to go to my friends..sorry guys!) and tied them to the girls’ wrists. I told them it’s because they were my beautiful sisters. They each grabbed a silly band from their wrist (the same one) and handed it to me. It just broke me that they had nothing, but felt the need to give something of theirs in return for a silly little bracelet. I taught them to play war (a simple card game) and it was a lot of fun. Pretty soon, everyone was in! What was so special to me was that when someone ran out of cards, almost everyone was immediate in response. They took half of their hand and gave it to the one without. So no one would ever lose! Now, they might not have known the point of the game is to get all the cards, but their generosity and love of the game was amazing. They didn’t care about who won or lost, just about being with each other and laughing. What a testament to me!
We loaded up the bus and came back to the orphanage. Jennie hopped in the shower first, then I did. Then I ran out to supper. Supper was chicken fried steak, which isn’t my favorite in America, and plus, here, their steak is…well…tough to put in nicely. I didn’t eat much, but Grandpa (who was being extremely rude and eating an ALMOND SNICKERS right in front of me and telling me how amazing it was) let me eat the last half of his snickers! Then ran back to get on my computer before everyone else did! Rayann was in the shower and Katie came and sat at the table with me. All of a sudden, BAMMMBAMBAMM! We hear something or someONE fall in the bathroom…Before seeing if everything was okay, we just laughed. Not just a “haha” but a violent, painful belly laugh. We yelled through to door “are you okay?!?” after a few seconds..through what we we’re sure was laughter or tears, we heard “yep!” Then we laughed harder. Then we went through the scenarios of what could have happened, then we laughed harder. Once we stopped laughing, we hard choking coming from the bathroom, so we laughed harder. When Rayann finally came out of the bathroom, she explained that she dropped her shampoo, then when she bent over to pick it up, she saw a spider and fell backwards, hurting her toe against the wall. I honestly fell on the floor because I couldn’t breathe (note: the oxygen level is muuuch less here due to altitude, making it hard to breathe). Then, plenty of water when into her lungs and she was choking it up all shower. Gosh I thought I was going to die. And yes, Rayann and I are related.
Devotions were extremely deep tonight. We talked about it only takes a little to accomplish a lot if God is involved. Then Chad shared some stories about Alejandro which made me cry, and then we prayed for a long time, in which many of us, including me got on our knees. We always talk about praying on our knees but how often do we really do it?! Exactly! Afterwards, I was feeling very overwhelmed and walked on to the balcony to be alone. After a long while, Brendt accompanied me up there, and we had a very very nice like three hour talk. It’s now past one and I NEED SLEEP. People are getting better! So keep praying! We have a lot of work left and a lot of sore bodies! Thanks for everything! Love you all! Commmmmentt kthanks!
Feb 23, 2011 "t-u-e-s-d-a-y."
t-u-e-s-d-a-y.
This blog will be short, because I’m tired. Everything went super duper awesome at the orphanage today. We beat all the teams there, so we had plenty of time to drink some coffee and chat. I noticed some of the kids outside. I hate to say orphans, because after they come to Casa Angelina, they are anything but orphans. They are a part of a beautiful family. Anyways, the kids were all hanging out outside, and I went to see them. I found a few that I had been playing with yesterday, so we hugged and exchanged some greetings, and all of a sudden, from the other side of the crowd, one girl started RUNNING towards me! I immediately recognized her and opened my arms. She ran in full speed and latched on so tight! I just couldn’t let go! I looked her in her beautiful, big, brown eyes and asked, “Julissa?!” She nodded. I just couldn’t let go! I asked her how old she was, and of course I can’t remember now. Something like thirteen or fourteen. Once the other teams arrived, we all moved inside and bonded. They are all so precious, and a LOT happier than any children I’ve ever seen. It just made my day.
Ivan was here today, the founder of the orphanage, so that was really special. He did the morning devotion after the children were sent back to their houses. I am not sure if I explained this before, but instead of a normal orphanage setting, the children are separated into home-like settings, with brothers and sisters and house parents. They go to school in a school building every day, where they learn all the normal things we do in the states, plus they all learn English. After devotions, we were given a tour of the orphanage by Ivan and his daughter (whose name I can’t remember. Surprised? You shouldn’t be.). It was very interesting to see the inside of the homes, and how the children react with one another. Ivan told a few stories about a couple of the children and their backgrounds, which was cool to hear. They just got a new child, a young girl, just walking, with gorgeous caramel curls and round cocoa eyes. Her name is Blondie. She was being abused by her parents and had to be taken away for her own safety. It just breaks my heart that anyone would even think about laying a hurtful hand on these children.
Ivan explained that a lot of these children have a tough recovery. Some are so malnourished that they are unable to walk or grow hair. Some don’t know how to interact with people because they’ve grown up in the dump. Some won’t allow people to touch them because they’ve been physically and sexually abused. But by looking in these children’s eyes, you would never ever ever guess such a thing. They are the most beautiful, happy, carefree children on the face of this earth.
After the tour, I didn’t hesitate to be put to work. A few of us went up to the Faith Family House and were assigned the job of making mortar. Now if you read yesterday’s blog you will realize that I am pretty much a failure at making mortar, because I wasn’t even allowed to mix, I was just the water girl. And that’s the most experience I’ve had with it. One of the Guatemalans taught me the equation. Four buckets of sand, two bags of lime, and half a bag of concrete. I was confident in my ability to do it, until I actually started doing it. My team consisted of me, Kaley (sp?), Barb, Toni, and Kent. If you didn’t know, we are all females, except Kent, and were unaware of the complete “mortar making process”. But we got it down! It was quite enjoyable. Steve commented that it was like baking. Then it clicked! We needed to mix the dry ingredients BEFORE we added the wet! And we did that ALL morning. My arms are quite sore now. Oh, and please note that there is no such thing as a cement mixer or anything like that. It’s a pile on the ground and shovels and buckets of water. Let’s just say, doing ALL of this kind of work by hand with limited tools and technology and taught me to appreciate a lot of what we have and what we do.
Then lunch rolled around, and I broke out the cards. After Kent attempted to teach me a super awesome card trick, Rayann and I got serious with an intense game of Egyptian Run (our rules). I think that hurt my hand more than anything this week! I kind of get super into that game. I think Kent is afraid of me. After Rayann BEAT ME, yes. Beat me. First time EVER (she admitted), we dealt a bunch of people in, and I lost. Again. Lunch was good, but I’m not sure what it was.
During lunch, they announced that they needed many more painters to finish painting the school. The kids took school off today JUST so that we could get it painted. I headed right up there and took my place painting trim. On my way there, some girls were outside playing, one of them being Julissa. She saw me and RAN over, with a folded up piece of paper in her hands. She gave me a big hug and handed it to me. I put it my pocket for a later reading. Before I got started painting, I couldn’t wait any longer and had to open it. It was a super cool picture that she had sketched of Noah it looked like, hearding sheep. On the bottom was a little note that I have yet to translate. For hours. And note, this is OIL based paint, in a hot, stuffy school building, second floor. But I did it, and didn’t complain, because I’m working in God’s glory, not my own. We painted ALL afternoon, right up until it was time to leave.
I caught my breath and we loaded up the bus. I sat behind Grandma and Grandpa on the bus ride home, and Grandma and I watched Grandpa get in some serious debates about pick up trucks. Right when we got through these doors, and right after Jennie got out of the shower, I got in there. I cannot get this yellow cement color off of my skin, nor can I get this tan colored paint off of my skin either! Oh well! I ran back to supper and found a spot next to Grandma. Supper was good, we had chicken and rice, a common meal down here. After supper, before dessert, Grandpa went to bed. I think these long days are really catching up to him!
After supper, Alejandro sat next to me and asked me to assist him on getting his phone to facebook, again. But first, I always have to change it to English. It’s quite comical. Then after I ate, Kaley asked me if we could talk, and you know me, I’m ALWAYS up for talking! After our girlly heart to heart, I went up to devotions. Mike Delp (sp?) from the…Virginia? Team and his wife joined us for devotions, and they were a blast. Even though like HALF of our team is sick (WE NEED PRAYERS) it was still very enjoyable. Mike shared a lot, which made me cry, but he also shared a story about serving in Honduras, which made me laugh so hard I couldn’t breathe. Mike is probably THE hardest working man I know on the face of this earth. He is always giving 200%. But that man has the biggest heart, I really look up to him.
When devotions were done, I went into my room, took a sleeping pill, and here I am now. Keep the prayers coming! We need a lot of them this week! I love you all so! Sweet dreams!
This blog will be short, because I’m tired. Everything went super duper awesome at the orphanage today. We beat all the teams there, so we had plenty of time to drink some coffee and chat. I noticed some of the kids outside. I hate to say orphans, because after they come to Casa Angelina, they are anything but orphans. They are a part of a beautiful family. Anyways, the kids were all hanging out outside, and I went to see them. I found a few that I had been playing with yesterday, so we hugged and exchanged some greetings, and all of a sudden, from the other side of the crowd, one girl started RUNNING towards me! I immediately recognized her and opened my arms. She ran in full speed and latched on so tight! I just couldn’t let go! I looked her in her beautiful, big, brown eyes and asked, “Julissa?!” She nodded. I just couldn’t let go! I asked her how old she was, and of course I can’t remember now. Something like thirteen or fourteen. Once the other teams arrived, we all moved inside and bonded. They are all so precious, and a LOT happier than any children I’ve ever seen. It just made my day.
Ivan was here today, the founder of the orphanage, so that was really special. He did the morning devotion after the children were sent back to their houses. I am not sure if I explained this before, but instead of a normal orphanage setting, the children are separated into home-like settings, with brothers and sisters and house parents. They go to school in a school building every day, where they learn all the normal things we do in the states, plus they all learn English. After devotions, we were given a tour of the orphanage by Ivan and his daughter (whose name I can’t remember. Surprised? You shouldn’t be.). It was very interesting to see the inside of the homes, and how the children react with one another. Ivan told a few stories about a couple of the children and their backgrounds, which was cool to hear. They just got a new child, a young girl, just walking, with gorgeous caramel curls and round cocoa eyes. Her name is Blondie. She was being abused by her parents and had to be taken away for her own safety. It just breaks my heart that anyone would even think about laying a hurtful hand on these children.
Ivan explained that a lot of these children have a tough recovery. Some are so malnourished that they are unable to walk or grow hair. Some don’t know how to interact with people because they’ve grown up in the dump. Some won’t allow people to touch them because they’ve been physically and sexually abused. But by looking in these children’s eyes, you would never ever ever guess such a thing. They are the most beautiful, happy, carefree children on the face of this earth.
After the tour, I didn’t hesitate to be put to work. A few of us went up to the Faith Family House and were assigned the job of making mortar. Now if you read yesterday’s blog you will realize that I am pretty much a failure at making mortar, because I wasn’t even allowed to mix, I was just the water girl. And that’s the most experience I’ve had with it. One of the Guatemalans taught me the equation. Four buckets of sand, two bags of lime, and half a bag of concrete. I was confident in my ability to do it, until I actually started doing it. My team consisted of me, Kaley (sp?), Barb, Toni, and Kent. If you didn’t know, we are all females, except Kent, and were unaware of the complete “mortar making process”. But we got it down! It was quite enjoyable. Steve commented that it was like baking. Then it clicked! We needed to mix the dry ingredients BEFORE we added the wet! And we did that ALL morning. My arms are quite sore now. Oh, and please note that there is no such thing as a cement mixer or anything like that. It’s a pile on the ground and shovels and buckets of water. Let’s just say, doing ALL of this kind of work by hand with limited tools and technology and taught me to appreciate a lot of what we have and what we do.
Then lunch rolled around, and I broke out the cards. After Kent attempted to teach me a super awesome card trick, Rayann and I got serious with an intense game of Egyptian Run (our rules). I think that hurt my hand more than anything this week! I kind of get super into that game. I think Kent is afraid of me. After Rayann BEAT ME, yes. Beat me. First time EVER (she admitted), we dealt a bunch of people in, and I lost. Again. Lunch was good, but I’m not sure what it was.
During lunch, they announced that they needed many more painters to finish painting the school. The kids took school off today JUST so that we could get it painted. I headed right up there and took my place painting trim. On my way there, some girls were outside playing, one of them being Julissa. She saw me and RAN over, with a folded up piece of paper in her hands. She gave me a big hug and handed it to me. I put it my pocket for a later reading. Before I got started painting, I couldn’t wait any longer and had to open it. It was a super cool picture that she had sketched of Noah it looked like, hearding sheep. On the bottom was a little note that I have yet to translate. For hours. And note, this is OIL based paint, in a hot, stuffy school building, second floor. But I did it, and didn’t complain, because I’m working in God’s glory, not my own. We painted ALL afternoon, right up until it was time to leave.
I caught my breath and we loaded up the bus. I sat behind Grandma and Grandpa on the bus ride home, and Grandma and I watched Grandpa get in some serious debates about pick up trucks. Right when we got through these doors, and right after Jennie got out of the shower, I got in there. I cannot get this yellow cement color off of my skin, nor can I get this tan colored paint off of my skin either! Oh well! I ran back to supper and found a spot next to Grandma. Supper was good, we had chicken and rice, a common meal down here. After supper, before dessert, Grandpa went to bed. I think these long days are really catching up to him!
After supper, Alejandro sat next to me and asked me to assist him on getting his phone to facebook, again. But first, I always have to change it to English. It’s quite comical. Then after I ate, Kaley asked me if we could talk, and you know me, I’m ALWAYS up for talking! After our girlly heart to heart, I went up to devotions. Mike Delp (sp?) from the…Virginia? Team and his wife joined us for devotions, and they were a blast. Even though like HALF of our team is sick (WE NEED PRAYERS) it was still very enjoyable. Mike shared a lot, which made me cry, but he also shared a story about serving in Honduras, which made me laugh so hard I couldn’t breathe. Mike is probably THE hardest working man I know on the face of this earth. He is always giving 200%. But that man has the biggest heart, I really look up to him.
When devotions were done, I went into my room, took a sleeping pill, and here I am now. Keep the prayers coming! We need a lot of them this week! I love you all so! Sweet dreams!
Feb 22, 2011 "Monday...Monday? Yes. Monday."
Well. Today was the first day at the orphanage. I set my alarm for 5:30. I woke up at 6:30 to Jennie yelling and banging at the door. Breakfast was from 6:30 to 7:30, and at 7:30 we loaded the bus. I threw on a cut off, some old basketball shorts, and an old, stained up sweatshirt. I scarfed down some breakfast and three cups of coffee (YUM) and we loaded up the bus. The bus ride was….exciting. Ask me about it later. But yeah, Joseph (pronounced Joe or hoe-seff) (who Rayann refers to an a teenage girl) taught me a SUPER cool patty-cake hand slappy thinggy. Let’s just say, after a few rounds, I was dominating over him at his own game. We got to the orphanage, used the baños, and headed to work.
First, I hiked up to see Leah’s House, and it was beautiful! It’s so close to being done, and at first I didn’t believe that that is the same house that I was laying on my stomach laying bricks for only a year ago. God is so good!
I trekked down the hill to sift sand with a bunch of other people. Rayann and I picked up a sifter and let Dr. C throw sand into our sifter. Being family, we were bickering. “Move back!” “I have sand in my shoes!” “Yeah well you’re totally missin the wheelbarrow, smart one” “Dude! Pick your arms up!” “Put YOURS DOWN! My shoulders hurt!” After an hour or so, you would have been very impressed by our progress. Most everyone else had fell back into other jobs, but Rayann, Katie, Amanda and I had an amazing system going on and were filling bags with sand by the minute. After a few hours of that, Wayne, our trusty skidster (sp?!) driver, nicely asked us to stop because the boys at the other house (idk what it’s called… the one that needed mortar and WASN’T Leah’s House) were way backed up with sand. After a water and shade break, and reapplying sunscreen for like the HUNDRETH time, we went to assist the boys.
I learned some mortar skills and was coined the “water girl”. After a good while at that, we were asked to stop making mortar because they team (I think Texas) using it had too much. I came to the conclusion that no one here can keep up with us South Dakotans. It felt really good to do lots of hard work and be appreciated for it though! The boys making the mortar asked us to run around and take pictures because they never have pictures of people working, because we’re all working! And no one believes that they actually DO WORK down here! So I was happy to have been given that responsibility! I took a few pictures, then did some more shifting, then being almost lunch time (1 pm), I went back down to the feeding center and washed my hands. The medical team was sorting out medicine and putting a month’s supply in a baggie. I was happy to jump in and help. After Rayann and I made an assembly line, again, everyone was seated. We found some places to sit and enjoyed an AMAZING meal! We had fish again, but it was WAY different than last night! It was so amazing! I sat next to Kent and Toni, which was quite enjoyable. I really enjoyed my conversation with Kent.
After lunch, I had a hard time finding work to do, so I sifted for quite a while, then I sorted drugs again. Thirty in a bag. I was the motrin girl. Motrin. Thirty in a bag. It was tedious, but it was a lot of fun. I did that alllll afternoon till we were done! It felt great! We had a little bit of time left before we had to load up the busses, and there were four little girls sitting on the steps of their house. I went over to them and said hello, and somehow we got into doing those little patty-cake hand thinggies, and the one that Joe taught me JUST this morning, they wanted to do! IT WAS SO AWESOME! I totally dominated! They tried to teach me some new ones, but I was slow to learn. The language barrier didn’t matter anymore, but it was so awesome. Rayann and I rode home on the bus with the Texas and Virginia (?) team, and their accents entertained me the whole way home. Supper was decent, and so were devotions, and Alejandro seems to have devised a plan that includes playing pool?! But I can’t understand him and he left super early. But I need to go to bed and Brent wants the computer, so GOOD NIGHT! I shall drift to sleep hearing “shish-swoosh, swish-swoosh” (the sound of sifting sand) and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, (the sound of counting pills).
GOOD NIGHT.
First, I hiked up to see Leah’s House, and it was beautiful! It’s so close to being done, and at first I didn’t believe that that is the same house that I was laying on my stomach laying bricks for only a year ago. God is so good!
I trekked down the hill to sift sand with a bunch of other people. Rayann and I picked up a sifter and let Dr. C throw sand into our sifter. Being family, we were bickering. “Move back!” “I have sand in my shoes!” “Yeah well you’re totally missin the wheelbarrow, smart one” “Dude! Pick your arms up!” “Put YOURS DOWN! My shoulders hurt!” After an hour or so, you would have been very impressed by our progress. Most everyone else had fell back into other jobs, but Rayann, Katie, Amanda and I had an amazing system going on and were filling bags with sand by the minute. After a few hours of that, Wayne, our trusty skidster (sp?!) driver, nicely asked us to stop because the boys at the other house (idk what it’s called… the one that needed mortar and WASN’T Leah’s House) were way backed up with sand. After a water and shade break, and reapplying sunscreen for like the HUNDRETH time, we went to assist the boys.
I learned some mortar skills and was coined the “water girl”. After a good while at that, we were asked to stop making mortar because they team (I think Texas) using it had too much. I came to the conclusion that no one here can keep up with us South Dakotans. It felt really good to do lots of hard work and be appreciated for it though! The boys making the mortar asked us to run around and take pictures because they never have pictures of people working, because we’re all working! And no one believes that they actually DO WORK down here! So I was happy to have been given that responsibility! I took a few pictures, then did some more shifting, then being almost lunch time (1 pm), I went back down to the feeding center and washed my hands. The medical team was sorting out medicine and putting a month’s supply in a baggie. I was happy to jump in and help. After Rayann and I made an assembly line, again, everyone was seated. We found some places to sit and enjoyed an AMAZING meal! We had fish again, but it was WAY different than last night! It was so amazing! I sat next to Kent and Toni, which was quite enjoyable. I really enjoyed my conversation with Kent.
After lunch, I had a hard time finding work to do, so I sifted for quite a while, then I sorted drugs again. Thirty in a bag. I was the motrin girl. Motrin. Thirty in a bag. It was tedious, but it was a lot of fun. I did that alllll afternoon till we were done! It felt great! We had a little bit of time left before we had to load up the busses, and there were four little girls sitting on the steps of their house. I went over to them and said hello, and somehow we got into doing those little patty-cake hand thinggies, and the one that Joe taught me JUST this morning, they wanted to do! IT WAS SO AWESOME! I totally dominated! They tried to teach me some new ones, but I was slow to learn. The language barrier didn’t matter anymore, but it was so awesome. Rayann and I rode home on the bus with the Texas and Virginia (?) team, and their accents entertained me the whole way home. Supper was decent, and so were devotions, and Alejandro seems to have devised a plan that includes playing pool?! But I can’t understand him and he left super early. But I need to go to bed and Brent wants the computer, so GOOD NIGHT! I shall drift to sleep hearing “shish-swoosh, swish-swoosh” (the sound of sifting sand) and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, (the sound of counting pills).
GOOD NIGHT.
Feb 21, 2011 "Sundayyyyyyy!"
I had a weird dream last night, about Oral Interp, but that’s a whole nother story. We woke up decently early to get to church. But first, we went to cross on the hill. Cross on the hill is a giant cross… on a hill…that overlooks Antigua. It is a very beautiful spot. We all wore our orange shirts and spent time taking pictures and such. We loaded back up and drove to church. Pastor Ronnie’s church is one of the few churches in Guatemala that is more contemporary and not catholic, thought I’m sure of the exact denomination. The service lasted about two and a half hours long, which is different than church services back home. There was not even a clock in the sanctuary. They just worshipped God and weren’t gonna leave until they were done. The songs were sung in Spanish and in English, flipping back and forth between the languages. It was so cool to worship with people of different backgrounds and languages and cultures, but be able to worship the same Great God together. The service was very powerful, causing a few people (including myself) to shed some tears. It really filled us up and got us prepared for the week.
After church, we went out to eat at a fabulous restaurant, if that’s what you choose to call it. It is the same place we went last year for supper on Sunday, and I know why. It is the back yard/patio of a Guatemalan family. They play marimbas, make tortillas and serve amazing food. I was happy to see that my tortilla making skills have improved ten-fold from last year! The food was great, but it was a small meal. We got to meet Bindy and José’s (I don’t know if that’s how you spell it. It’s pronounced “Hoe-sway”) awesome kids. We spent lots of time laughing, bonding, playing marimbas, and getting under giant ladders and dancing around as very tall Guatemalans!
After we ate, we came back to the hotel and let people change if they wanted. After a quick ten minutes, the people that wanted to keep out and about boarded the vans again. I, of course, was one of them. We first went to a textile factory, I guess you could call it. I expected lots of loud, dirty machines, but found just the opposite. All of the textiles (that awesome colorful fabric found in Southern or Central American countries) are made by hand. The intricate designs all of a sudden became more and more beautiful, knowing they take months or years to create. Bindy showed us the many different styles and patterns of the textiles, and how each area of Guatemala has a different unique style. We had time to look around and possibly buy things if wanted. I, for some reason, really really wanted an authentic skirt, like the beautiful one’s that the women here wear. And, I found one! It was more expensive than I wanted, and I went with a cheap one, but it is super cool, I’m not gonna lie.
After the textile plant, we went to the market…again. I love the market, I just spend wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much money there. Haley es no dinero. Haha, just kidding. I don’t know Spanish. But seriously, I’m darn close to out of money. In the market, I had to buy myself an awesome blue soccer jacket. My favorite thing about the market, is watching people barter. The language barrier isn’t horrible, but it sure is comical. I love when people speak completely English, just throw on a horrible Mexican accent, and have NO CLUE why the Guatemalans STILL don’t know what they’re saying! It makes my day.
When we finally got out of the market, we came back to the hotel and enjoyed an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G supper of fish. Yes, fish. I hate fish. But this fish. This was good fish. Holy cow. I hate a lot. A lot of fish. And rice. And vegetables. And TEA. GOOD TEA. I’m full.
Most of the medical team arrived!! Which is super exciting! Alejandro and George (Hore-hay…sorry, I would hate for you to say GEORGE. Cuz that’s not his name) came to devotions tonight, which was super awesome. The Gideons in our group, Tom, Wayne, and Kerry, gave bibles to Lydia for all of her hotel rooms. She cried and gave us a blessing, and it was super super cool. People are going to be super blessed by those. Barb and Tom did devotions tonight, and their devotions were about taking the choice to move past our comfortable zone and be positive and receive God’s blessings, which, ironically (or God-ly) was the SAME EXACT message including the SAME EXACT scripture that Pastor Ronnie talked about in church this morning. Coincidence? I think not.
Sleep should hopefully come quickly, because tomorrow will be an early morning, and a long day. Matthew (the plumber) is feeling under the weather, so keep him in your prayers. Thanks for everything, everyone! Sweet dreams in the states!
Oh and P.S. à enjoy the weather (: (: (: and get rid of all the snow before I get home if ya could kthanks!
After church, we went out to eat at a fabulous restaurant, if that’s what you choose to call it. It is the same place we went last year for supper on Sunday, and I know why. It is the back yard/patio of a Guatemalan family. They play marimbas, make tortillas and serve amazing food. I was happy to see that my tortilla making skills have improved ten-fold from last year! The food was great, but it was a small meal. We got to meet Bindy and José’s (I don’t know if that’s how you spell it. It’s pronounced “Hoe-sway”) awesome kids. We spent lots of time laughing, bonding, playing marimbas, and getting under giant ladders and dancing around as very tall Guatemalans!
After we ate, we came back to the hotel and let people change if they wanted. After a quick ten minutes, the people that wanted to keep out and about boarded the vans again. I, of course, was one of them. We first went to a textile factory, I guess you could call it. I expected lots of loud, dirty machines, but found just the opposite. All of the textiles (that awesome colorful fabric found in Southern or Central American countries) are made by hand. The intricate designs all of a sudden became more and more beautiful, knowing they take months or years to create. Bindy showed us the many different styles and patterns of the textiles, and how each area of Guatemala has a different unique style. We had time to look around and possibly buy things if wanted. I, for some reason, really really wanted an authentic skirt, like the beautiful one’s that the women here wear. And, I found one! It was more expensive than I wanted, and I went with a cheap one, but it is super cool, I’m not gonna lie.
After the textile plant, we went to the market…again. I love the market, I just spend wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much money there. Haley es no dinero. Haha, just kidding. I don’t know Spanish. But seriously, I’m darn close to out of money. In the market, I had to buy myself an awesome blue soccer jacket. My favorite thing about the market, is watching people barter. The language barrier isn’t horrible, but it sure is comical. I love when people speak completely English, just throw on a horrible Mexican accent, and have NO CLUE why the Guatemalans STILL don’t know what they’re saying! It makes my day.
When we finally got out of the market, we came back to the hotel and enjoyed an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G supper of fish. Yes, fish. I hate fish. But this fish. This was good fish. Holy cow. I hate a lot. A lot of fish. And rice. And vegetables. And TEA. GOOD TEA. I’m full.
Most of the medical team arrived!! Which is super exciting! Alejandro and George (Hore-hay…sorry, I would hate for you to say GEORGE. Cuz that’s not his name) came to devotions tonight, which was super awesome. The Gideons in our group, Tom, Wayne, and Kerry, gave bibles to Lydia for all of her hotel rooms. She cried and gave us a blessing, and it was super super cool. People are going to be super blessed by those. Barb and Tom did devotions tonight, and their devotions were about taking the choice to move past our comfortable zone and be positive and receive God’s blessings, which, ironically (or God-ly) was the SAME EXACT message including the SAME EXACT scripture that Pastor Ronnie talked about in church this morning. Coincidence? I think not.
Sleep should hopefully come quickly, because tomorrow will be an early morning, and a long day. Matthew (the plumber) is feeling under the weather, so keep him in your prayers. Thanks for everything, everyone! Sweet dreams in the states!
Oh and P.S. à enjoy the weather (: (: (: and get rid of all the snow before I get home if ya could
kthanks!
Feb 20, 2011 "...Saturday."
Well. Today was long. I was brilliant and had coffee with my dessert last night, so I was a little wound up to say the least last night. While everyone else was in bed well before ten, midnight was closer to the time I hit the hay. After goofing off with Rayann, some SERIOUS toilet troubles, some music, some food, and some devotions, I popped in my earplugs and hit the hay. Rayann got the big bed, so I was stuck rolling around on the twin. But that’s okay!
This morning we got up around seven thirty or eight, (well Rayann and I anyway), threw ourselves together, and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of eggs, tamales, beans, pancakes and jelly, chips and salsa, and wonderful fresh fruit. After I was finished eating, I grabbed my stuff and hung out by the back gate. I turned around and saw Miguel (who worked at the orphanage last year)! I ran to him and was greeted by a great big Guatemalan hug and a kiss on the cheek! It was great to catch up with him, but I was sad to know that he won’t be joining us at the orphanage this year.
Then, before I could catch my breath, I turned around and saw Bindy! I had to get in a LINE to give her a hug! After the hugs and catching up was done, I took a breath and looked around. I realized, this is why I went back to Guatemala back year. Because I left family here. Guatemala last year wasn’t just a “nice experience” for me. This is where I’ve planted some roots, and I felt a calling to come back this year, and watching all of these old relationships re-bond made me appreciate that I was able to come back here.
After some laughs with Chad and a bandana – you’ll see pictures later – we were about to load up on the busses, but became preoccupied with a few motorcycles sitting outside of the hotel. Well, they call them motorcycles here, but they would be compared to … small dirtbikes or mopeds back at home. Jennie claims to have seen six people on them at once, but we maxed on at four.
We loaded the busses and headed to Antigua. We first stopped at a coffee plantation, a different one than last year. I was quite excited, because I have found my love for coffee over this last year, so I paid special attention this year. The process is an interesting one. The plant takes years to grow, especially after what they call “grafting”, where they put two different plants together to form a new kind of coffee, blending the qualities of the coffee’s like body, flavor, bean size, etc.
After that, we went to an old cathedral. The cathedral was made for “Brother Peter”, a saint well known in Guatemala. The Cathedral was an almost mustard orange, with white accents. The Cathedral was built for Brother Peter, and was made for poor people, so there were minimal accents, unlike most cathedrals. The art inside was gorgeous, and there was something I’d never seen before. There were little black, almost cart looking things, with a bunch of different sized, shaped, and colored candles that were lit. People from the town would come into the cathedral and light a candle, symbolizing a prayer. Each color means something different. I learned them all last year, but obviously I forgot. All I remember is that white means thanks to God. Outside the Cathedral were two GIANT palm trees…they were gorgeous. I decided to uproot one of them, throw it in my suitcase, and plant it in my back yard. Dorothy overheard my brilliant plan, and instead of commenting on the huge size of the tree, she says “good luck getting them through customs”. I giggled. On the other side of the Cathedral was a tree that Brother Peter planted, where the flowers are said to have healing powers when made into tea. The tree was planted…oh gosh I don’t even remember how many years ago! We found a little gift shop outside of the cathedral, I bought two postcards (the same one) and I bought a multi colored candle, with all the seven colors of the candle’s lit in the cathedral. I also bought a rosary (I’m not catholic, but yes, I bought a rosary. Callie, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re proud of me (; ) The rosary is made out of the seeds of this magical tree and smells amazing!
After that cathedral, we went to another cathedral, this one for richer people. Please note that almost all of Guatemala is catholic. This cathedral, again no camera’s allowed, had amazing architecture and detail. They were actually having a church service when we came in, but all of the doors to the church were open, so it seemed as if people could come and go as they pleased. They, again, had the little booth type things with the candles in them. Oh how I wish I could have snuck a picture!
After the cathedral, we ate lunch. Unlike last year, we just sat in one of the parks and ate pre-packed sandwiches that Lydia made for us. I am not sure if that is how you spell her name, but anyways, she’s the owner of the hotel we stay in. If you look up HOSPITALITY in the dictionary, her picture is right there. The sandwiches were very good, and after that we went to the Jade Factory.
If you don’t know, Jade is a type of stone, it comes in many different colors and can only be scratched by diamonds. The colors are many types of green, usually medium to dark, lavender, and black. (I think that’s all). The Jade Factory is the same one we went to last year, but they had all new jewelry. Bindy works there, so it is fun to watch her talk about it. When we were there last year, I bought a real Jade bracelet, with just a little black Jade on it. This year, I fell in love with a ring. A pretty honkin ring at that. It was something like 585 Quetzales. I remember the number so well because I stared at that stupid number trying to convert it into American dollars. We don’t exchange our money here, because everyone takes dollars, but prices are still always written in Q’s (as we call them), but I like to pronounce out QUET-ZAL-ES. (:
I caved. I bought the ring. And it’s not my fault! Barb talked me into it! I got the ring sized and I love it. After that we went to the great big outdoor market, but only for a little while. I got a few key items, like a new scarf, a birthday present for Natia, and mug (I collect mugs), a tiny painting that I love, and probably some more things I don’t need.
After the market we stopped at a Coffee Shop, which was AWESOME. I bought CHOCOLATE covered COCOA beans. No, not chocolate covered espresso beans (which are great), chocolate covered cocoa beans. Sounds right up my alley, huh? I haven’t tried them yet. I also bought a mocha, and didn’t put ANYTHING in it. It. Was. Good. Strongest stuff I’ve ever ever hard. Dark as night and super thick. Hence why it is one in the morning, and I am still writing this stupid thing.
After the coffee stop, we went to the grocery store in Antigua. Now, if I were explain this grocery store, I’d say, “Take super wall mart. Put it in Madison’s Dollar General.” I’d say that’s pretty accurate. The isles are barely wide enough for an American to fit through. There is also an upstairs. You can get food there, there is a pharmacy there, you can get beauty products and office supplies and clothes, you name it! We bought water and some candy. Well, that’s all I bought.
At some point in time, I believe during the Jade Factory visit, Alejandro appeared. In all the hustle and bustle, I only had time to give him a quick hug. He was behind me at the check out in the grocery store, and thank goodness, cuz I couldn’t understand my poor cashier worth a toot! After I paid, he said to me, “Haley, why do you not know Spanish?” I said, “Alejandro, do you not remember last year!? I knew nothing!” He says, “But you promise me you come back next year and know Spanish.” Now, I remember nothing of the sort, but I’m not surprised. Alejandro asked me if I wanted to ride back to the hotel with him in his car, and I was enthusiastic to get off that van. I hopped in the back of his little black mazda, after he so kindly opened the door for me. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched Chad slink into the seat next to me. Matt (the plumber, as he’s known best) hopped in the front seat and off we were!
We first stopped at a coffee shop that had a computer, and Matt hopped on to check something important. I looked out the window into a super cool shop and commented on how much I LOVED one of the dresses in there. Alejandro told me that Ceasar owned the shop, and Chad, who knew Ceasar, was thrilled! So then after that we had to go see Ceasar, which was very interesting for me. Alejandro says he is one of the richest people in Antigua, but he seemed very kind and gentle when I met him.
We came back to the hotel, and I rushed to put sweat pants on. Rayann and I sat down and wrote our devotion, and then ate supper. Supper tonight began with a soup. What kind? I was unsure. It was very orange, but tasted like nothing I had had before. The texture was similar to school’s tomato soup, which is…interesting. Surprisingly, I loved it! We figured out it was a mixture of squash, carrot, broccoli, califlour, etc. I was surprised, cuz I hate all those things! The main dish was lasagna, and I’m not a big lasagna person, but it was pretty good. Dessert was a giant flower shaped cookie with some kind of sorbet or something with it.
Devotions were led my Rayann and I. We talked about going out of our comfort zone, because for most people, flying to a foreign country and leaving everything behind is slightly out of our comfort zone. We talked about how important it is for us to follow God, especially when he leads us out of our comfort zone because that’s where miracles happen. Look at the bible. Noah, Moses, Mary, Peter, were they in their comfort zone? God is our comfort all the time, he can comfort us even when we are out of our PERSONAL comfort zone. I asked them to split into groups with people they didn’t know well (no family or spouses) and shared something that has been on our heart that is maybe out of our comfort zone to share. Everyone looked at me like I was pure evil, then slowly shifted into groups. People were slow to share, but I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room after 20 mins or so. It was really awesome to see God break down some walls for us, and let us connect with people we might not normally. We sang a few more songs and headed into our rooms. Katie moved into our room with us tonight. She’s an 18 year old from the twin cities. We all laughed in our room, and soon the adults were off to bed, but Rayann and Katie and I stayed up talking and looking at pictures. We decided she could be our cousin too, except for the fact her skin is near black…. Well, if you haven’t noticed…we’re white. Anyways, they drifted off the sleep a while ago and I suppose I should too. Tomorrow is cross on the hill and church, and I don’t know after that. Sweet dreams everyone, comment it UPPP. Love you. Night (:
This morning we got up around seven thirty or eight, (well Rayann and I anyway), threw ourselves together, and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of eggs, tamales, beans, pancakes and jelly, chips and salsa, and wonderful fresh fruit. After I was finished eating, I grabbed my stuff and hung out by the back gate. I turned around and saw Miguel (who worked at the orphanage last year)! I ran to him and was greeted by a great big Guatemalan hug and a kiss on the cheek! It was great to catch up with him, but I was sad to know that he won’t be joining us at the orphanage this year.
Then, before I could catch my breath, I turned around and saw Bindy! I had to get in a LINE to give her a hug! After the hugs and catching up was done, I took a breath and looked around. I realized, this is why I went back to Guatemala back year. Because I left family here. Guatemala last year wasn’t just a “nice experience” for me. This is where I’ve planted some roots, and I felt a calling to come back this year, and watching all of these old relationships re-bond made me appreciate that I was able to come back here.
After some laughs with Chad and a bandana – you’ll see pictures later – we were about to load up on the busses, but became preoccupied with a few motorcycles sitting outside of the hotel. Well, they call them motorcycles here, but they would be compared to … small dirtbikes or mopeds back at home. Jennie claims to have seen six people on them at once, but we maxed on at four.
We loaded the busses and headed to Antigua. We first stopped at a coffee plantation, a different one than last year. I was quite excited, because I have found my love for coffee over this last year, so I paid special attention this year. The process is an interesting one. The plant takes years to grow, especially after what they call “grafting”, where they put two different plants together to form a new kind of coffee, blending the qualities of the coffee’s like body, flavor, bean size, etc.
After that, we went to an old cathedral. The cathedral was made for “Brother Peter”, a saint well known in Guatemala. The Cathedral was an almost mustard orange, with white accents. The Cathedral was built for Brother Peter, and was made for poor people, so there were minimal accents, unlike most cathedrals. The art inside was gorgeous, and there was something I’d never seen before. There were little black, almost cart looking things, with a bunch of different sized, shaped, and colored candles that were lit. People from the town would come into the cathedral and light a candle, symbolizing a prayer. Each color means something different. I learned them all last year, but obviously I forgot. All I remember is that white means thanks to God. Outside the Cathedral were two GIANT palm trees…they were gorgeous. I decided to uproot one of them, throw it in my suitcase, and plant it in my back yard. Dorothy overheard my brilliant plan, and instead of commenting on the huge size of the tree, she says “good luck getting them through customs”. I giggled. On the other side of the Cathedral was a tree that Brother Peter planted, where the flowers are said to have healing powers when made into tea. The tree was planted…oh gosh I don’t even remember how many years ago! We found a little gift shop outside of the cathedral, I bought two postcards (the same one) and I bought a multi colored candle, with all the seven colors of the candle’s lit in the cathedral. I also bought a rosary (I’m not catholic, but yes, I bought a rosary. Callie, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re proud of me (; ) The rosary is made out of the seeds of this magical tree and smells amazing!
After that cathedral, we went to another cathedral, this one for richer people. Please note that almost all of Guatemala is catholic. This cathedral, again no camera’s allowed, had amazing architecture and detail. They were actually having a church service when we came in, but all of the doors to the church were open, so it seemed as if people could come and go as they pleased. They, again, had the little booth type things with the candles in them. Oh how I wish I could have snuck a picture!
After the cathedral, we ate lunch. Unlike last year, we just sat in one of the parks and ate pre-packed sandwiches that Lydia made for us. I am not sure if that is how you spell her name, but anyways, she’s the owner of the hotel we stay in. If you look up HOSPITALITY in the dictionary, her picture is right there. The sandwiches were very good, and after that we went to the Jade Factory.
If you don’t know, Jade is a type of stone, it comes in many different colors and can only be scratched by diamonds. The colors are many types of green, usually medium to dark, lavender, and black. (I think that’s all). The Jade Factory is the same one we went to last year, but they had all new jewelry. Bindy works there, so it is fun to watch her talk about it. When we were there last year, I bought a real Jade bracelet, with just a little black Jade on it. This year, I fell in love with a ring. A pretty honkin ring at that. It was something like 585 Quetzales. I remember the number so well because I stared at that stupid number trying to convert it into American dollars. We don’t exchange our money here, because everyone takes dollars, but prices are still always written in Q’s (as we call them), but I like to pronounce out QUET-ZAL-ES. (:
I caved. I bought the ring. And it’s not my fault! Barb talked me into it! I got the ring sized and I love it. After that we went to the great big outdoor market, but only for a little while. I got a few key items, like a new scarf, a birthday present for Natia, and mug (I collect mugs), a tiny painting that I love, and probably some more things I don’t need.
After the market we stopped at a Coffee Shop, which was AWESOME. I bought CHOCOLATE covered COCOA beans. No, not chocolate covered espresso beans (which are great), chocolate covered cocoa beans. Sounds right up my alley, huh? I haven’t tried them yet. I also bought a mocha, and didn’t put ANYTHING in it. It. Was. Good. Strongest stuff I’ve ever ever hard. Dark as night and super thick. Hence why it is one in the morning, and I am still writing this stupid thing.
After the coffee stop, we went to the grocery store in Antigua. Now, if I were explain this grocery store, I’d say, “Take super wall mart. Put it in Madison’s Dollar General.” I’d say that’s pretty accurate. The isles are barely wide enough for an American to fit through. There is also an upstairs. You can get food there, there is a pharmacy there, you can get beauty products and office supplies and clothes, you name it! We bought water and some candy. Well, that’s all I bought.
At some point in time, I believe during the Jade Factory visit, Alejandro appeared. In all the hustle and bustle, I only had time to give him a quick hug. He was behind me at the check out in the grocery store, and thank goodness, cuz I couldn’t understand my poor cashier worth a toot! After I paid, he said to me, “Haley, why do you not know Spanish?” I said, “Alejandro, do you not remember last year!? I knew nothing!” He says, “But you promise me you come back next year and know Spanish.” Now, I remember nothing of the sort, but I’m not surprised. Alejandro asked me if I wanted to ride back to the hotel with him in his car, and I was enthusiastic to get off that van. I hopped in the back of his little black mazda, after he so kindly opened the door for me. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched Chad slink into the seat next to me. Matt (the plumber, as he’s known best) hopped in the front seat and off we were!
We first stopped at a coffee shop that had a computer, and Matt hopped on to check something important. I looked out the window into a super cool shop and commented on how much I LOVED one of the dresses in there. Alejandro told me that Ceasar owned the shop, and Chad, who knew Ceasar, was thrilled! So then after that we had to go see Ceasar, which was very interesting for me. Alejandro says he is one of the richest people in Antigua, but he seemed very kind and gentle when I met him.
We came back to the hotel, and I rushed to put sweat pants on. Rayann and I sat down and wrote our devotion, and then ate supper. Supper tonight began with a soup. What kind? I was unsure. It was very orange, but tasted like nothing I had had before. The texture was similar to school’s tomato soup, which is…interesting. Surprisingly, I loved it! We figured out it was a mixture of squash, carrot, broccoli, califlour, etc. I was surprised, cuz I hate all those things! The main dish was lasagna, and I’m not a big lasagna person, but it was pretty good. Dessert was a giant flower shaped cookie with some kind of sorbet or something with it.
Devotions were led my Rayann and I. We talked about going out of our comfort zone, because for most people, flying to a foreign country and leaving everything behind is slightly out of our comfort zone. We talked about how important it is for us to follow God, especially when he leads us out of our comfort zone because that’s where miracles happen. Look at the bible. Noah, Moses, Mary, Peter, were they in their comfort zone? God is our comfort all the time, he can comfort us even when we are out of our PERSONAL comfort zone. I asked them to split into groups with people they didn’t know well (no family or spouses) and shared something that has been on our heart that is maybe out of our comfort zone to share. Everyone looked at me like I was pure evil, then slowly shifted into groups. People were slow to share, but I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room after 20 mins or so. It was really awesome to see God break down some walls for us, and let us connect with people we might not normally. We sang a few more songs and headed into our rooms. Katie moved into our room with us tonight. She’s an 18 year old from the twin cities. We all laughed in our room, and soon the adults were off to bed, but Rayann and Katie and I stayed up talking and looking at pictures. We decided she could be our cousin too, except for the fact her skin is near black…. Well, if you haven’t noticed…we’re white. Anyways, they drifted off the sleep a while ago and I suppose I should too. Tomorrow is cross on the hill and church, and I don’t know after that. Sweet dreams everyone, comment it UPPP. Love you. Night (:
Feb 19, 2011 "Sweet Dreams"
Sweet dreams everyone! It may only be shortly after eight, but we’re all pooped. Supper was amazing! Steak, baked potato, corn on the cob, AMAZING vegetables (and I hate vegetables), and delicious dessert. Devotions were awesome, we all shared and had a great time of prayer. God is so tangible here, and I know from the bottom of my heart that all of our prayers have ALREADY been answered. Keep the prayers going, and PLEASE comment. Thanks for the support! Love you guys!
Feb 18, 2011 "Thursday/Friday Arrival!"
We are here! We are here! We are here! (Horton Hears a Who reference). I just tried out for our school musical, Seussical the Musical, so I find myself quoting things.Anyways, we are here! And it feels like home! We had a wonderful send off on Thursday night, after 2 great days at school, where all my friends were totally awesome and gave me lots of surprises and hugs and wishes of luck.
To offset all the wonderful things that were happening, the wrong bus came to pick us up. I didn’t see it, but apparently it was tiny, and the driver had to drive back to Dell Rapids and pick up a new bus, then come back to pick us up. While bonding with my team was fun, it set us back about two hours. We left closer to 11, rather than the scheduled 9 PM. But with God’s help, we made it to the airport in time to catch our flight to Atlanta, Georgia. The bus ride was a roller coaster of temperatures; we never seemed to get it just right. Rayann and I sat next to each other for a while and did some Spanish flash cards, then I retreated back to my original spot and tried my hardest to sleep. The first plane ride was slightly horrible, the plane was tiny and I was completely uncomfortable. We raced through the Atlanta airport and boarded our plane to Guatemala City. I FINALLY got a window seat! First time EVER! Next to me was my Grandpa Schaap, and then after him was my Grandma Schaap. I think Grandma and I enjoyed having Grandpa in the middle, because it was easier to torture him that way. Grandma had a new puzzle book, well new to me. I don’t remember what it was called. Anagrams or something odd like that. She let me help her on one, and I think I’m going to buy one for myself!
Anyways, we flew into Guatemala city, avoided customs for the most part, probably because we were told NOT to wear our matching t shirts, and loaded up our bus to Doña Isabel. Our plane landed around 1 pm I’m assuming, I sort of lost track of time having not slept the night before. Our same bus driver from last year, Estuardo, picked us up and drove us to the hotel. I sat by my good ol’ bus buddy Brent, but I was extremely cold and tired, so I didn’t talk much. We happily arrived to see Lydia and her wonderful hotel. The weather is a great 72 with a slight cold breeze. I walked in, threw my luggage on the green grass, and told Rayann I was home.
I was pretty nasty after the long trip, so I raced to the shower. It was freezing cold, but it feels good to be clean. I now am sporting no makeup, wet hair, big basketball shorts, my bright orange mission shirt, and FLIP FLOPS! Oh how wonderful it feels!
Supper will be served at five, so I’ll head there. Just so you know, internet is SUPER spotty, so as we say at church, “No news is good news.” So if the blogs stop for a few days, it’s because there is no internet, not because I tragically died.
Leave lots of comments! Love you all! Thanks for the prayers!
To offset all the wonderful things that were happening, the wrong bus came to pick us up. I didn’t see it, but apparently it was tiny, and the driver had to drive back to Dell Rapids and pick up a new bus, then come back to pick us up. While bonding with my team was fun, it set us back about two hours. We left closer to 11, rather than the scheduled 9 PM. But with God’s help, we made it to the airport in time to catch our flight to Atlanta, Georgia. The bus ride was a roller coaster of temperatures; we never seemed to get it just right. Rayann and I sat next to each other for a while and did some Spanish flash cards, then I retreated back to my original spot and tried my hardest to sleep. The first plane ride was slightly horrible, the plane was tiny and I was completely uncomfortable. We raced through the Atlanta airport and boarded our plane to Guatemala City. I FINALLY got a window seat! First time EVER! Next to me was my Grandpa Schaap, and then after him was my Grandma Schaap. I think Grandma and I enjoyed having Grandpa in the middle, because it was easier to torture him that way. Grandma had a new puzzle book, well new to me. I don’t remember what it was called. Anagrams or something odd like that. She let me help her on one, and I think I’m going to buy one for myself!
Anyways, we flew into Guatemala city, avoided customs for the most part, probably because we were told NOT to wear our matching t shirts, and loaded up our bus to Doña Isabel. Our plane landed around 1 pm I’m assuming, I sort of lost track of time having not slept the night before. Our same bus driver from last year, Estuardo, picked us up and drove us to the hotel. I sat by my good ol’ bus buddy Brent, but I was extremely cold and tired, so I didn’t talk much. We happily arrived to see Lydia and her wonderful hotel. The weather is a great 72 with a slight cold breeze. I walked in, threw my luggage on the green grass, and told Rayann I was home.
I was pretty nasty after the long trip, so I raced to the shower. It was freezing cold, but it feels good to be clean. I now am sporting no makeup, wet hair, big basketball shorts, my bright orange mission shirt, and FLIP FLOPS! Oh how wonderful it feels!
Supper will be served at five, so I’ll head there. Just so you know, internet is SUPER spotty, so as we say at church, “No news is good news.” So if the blogs stop for a few days, it’s because there is no internet, not because I tragically died.
Leave lots of comments! Love you all! Thanks for the prayers!
Feb 17, 2011 "Tomorrow?!"
We leave tomorrow, and I’m not ready at all! Rayann and I have been doing a countdown for a while now, and I feel like we should be down to like 30? Maybe 25? No way ONE!! I am pretty much done packing, and my homework has a good start on it, but I just don’t feel ready. I don’t even know if I’m excited or not. Not being a part of the normal blog is kind of discouraging, but I’ll work around it. Mom and Dad have been gone all week, so taking care of the house alone with Luke is a challenge in itself. It’s one in my morning and my mind hasn’t stopped racing. I can’t wait to just get on that plane and leave here for a while. Anyways, prayers and comments are appreciated!
New Blog!
I realized I had two blogs.. how dumb is that?! I am starting a new blog and compiling the two together. So, there are going to be lots of old entries, and then some new ones. Hope you enjoy!
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