Haruko de Japón
The past two Sundays I got to deliver a few lines in a little skit for the kid´s church. They have a different story for each month, and this month the story was about a little girl from Japan called ``Haruko``. They had a girl from church dress up like a Japanese girl with the chopsticks in her hair and even make-up on her eyes to make her look Asian. It was so cute! haha. They needed someone to be the missionary, so, of course I was perfect, being the gringa that I am. The first Sunday, I had to memorize my little paragraph in half an hour. This Sunday, I had read over my lines beforehand, so even though I memorized them that morning, at least I was a little more prepared, and Chochy said that I did a good job. Yay! My last line this Sunday was ``Si ustedes son sabios, leeran la Biblia para conocer a Jesús como su amigo y Salvador.`` (``If you all are wise, you will read the Bible to know Jesus as your friend and Savior``)
Bible
Speeaaaking of the Bible, how have you all been about reading? Have you been challenged? I am trying to get in the habit of waking up and immediately reading my Bible- I have a stool next to my bed that I just leave my Bible open on. That makes it easier. Also, I like to read a little before bed, so that I have the Word fresh in my mind at night, as well as in the morning. It´s hard because I´m like ``Noo- I´m so tired!`` But then I think to myself,``You know, if I have a feeling I should read my Bible, I should never say no.``
Halfway!
So it´s already been over 11 weeks- out of about 21. Crazy! I feel like it´s been going slow, but then when I realize that it´s halfway over, I´m like ``Whoa! How did that happen!`` I had two dreams recently that my family came here to pick me up- early. I was relieved when I woke up to realize it was a dream. I mean, I am looking forward to being home, but I´m not ready to leave Guatemala yet.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Challenge
Ok so I´ve been super blessed in my quiet times lately, even if they are just simple, me reading my Bible and praying. Nothing crazy, life changing. But it all adds up. Day by day, continuing in the Word. So I want to challenge you, are YOU reading your Bible?
Skipping reading your Bible is like not eating food...you are going to starve spiritually. Without even knowing it, you are going to be living on your own strength, which is living in the flesh. Not pretty.
For a while, I was kinda making my way through the New Testament, but I didn´t really have a plan. Then, I started the read through the Bible-in-a-year plan in the back of my John MacArthur study Bible, and it´s been really cool. Currently, I´m reading through Psalms and 1 Corinthians. There really isn´t much to read every day, it´s like 1 chapter in 1 Cor and 3 Psalms. And it´s set up that you read the NT in the morning, the OT in the evening, so that breaks it up even more. I like it that there is only a chapter to read in the NT, because then I can really meditate and focus on what is being said.
So, I challenge you. Read your Bible. You can be excited because everytime you open your Bible, you are opening your mind to the Word of God, which is the Truth. As Christians, we are called to hunger for God´s Word.
1 Peter 2:1-3 NASB ``Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.``
When you spend time in the Bible, you are giving God an opportunity to shape you. Starting your day with the Bible is awesome, if you are able to. It gets your focus right, and reminds you that you can be cheerful and full of joy because of Christ living in you!
Psalm 119 is so good! You should go right now and read it. Here´s a little tidbit.
Vss. 65-67 ``You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to You Word. Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your Word.`` Maybe that´s you, maybe you have gone astray. Maybe you think you don´t have enough time to read the Bible. Well, let me tell you that is a lie from Satan to discourage you! Pray that God will provide the time. Even a few minutes, start with that. Is there something else that you daily do that might be taking time away from your devotions? I am convicted when I go check my email before reading my Bible- that just isn´t right. I tell myself ``Oh, I´ll get to reading my Bible...later.`` Well, later never comes. And then the day passes, and no Bible.
Here are some more verses from Psalm 119 regarding Bible reading:
``I cried with all my heart; answer me, O LORD! I will observe Your statutes. I cried to You; save me And I shall keep You testimonies. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word. Hear my voice according to Your loving kindness; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your ordinances. Those who follow after wickedness draw near; They are far from You law. You are near, O LORD, And all Your commandments are truth. Of old I have known from Your testimonies, That You have founded them forever.`` Psalms 119: 145-152
I love those verses because the author is talking about ``rising before dawn`` to ``wait for`` God´s words. Then, he writes of meditating on God´s word at night. Obviously, reading the Bible is important! The Bible is Truth! Fill your mind with it, and you will be changed. Don´t be discouraged, but keep on going.
Skipping reading your Bible is like not eating food...you are going to starve spiritually. Without even knowing it, you are going to be living on your own strength, which is living in the flesh. Not pretty.
For a while, I was kinda making my way through the New Testament, but I didn´t really have a plan. Then, I started the read through the Bible-in-a-year plan in the back of my John MacArthur study Bible, and it´s been really cool. Currently, I´m reading through Psalms and 1 Corinthians. There really isn´t much to read every day, it´s like 1 chapter in 1 Cor and 3 Psalms. And it´s set up that you read the NT in the morning, the OT in the evening, so that breaks it up even more. I like it that there is only a chapter to read in the NT, because then I can really meditate and focus on what is being said.
So, I challenge you. Read your Bible. You can be excited because everytime you open your Bible, you are opening your mind to the Word of God, which is the Truth. As Christians, we are called to hunger for God´s Word.
1 Peter 2:1-3 NASB ``Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.``
When you spend time in the Bible, you are giving God an opportunity to shape you. Starting your day with the Bible is awesome, if you are able to. It gets your focus right, and reminds you that you can be cheerful and full of joy because of Christ living in you!
Psalm 119 is so good! You should go right now and read it. Here´s a little tidbit.
Vss. 65-67 ``You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to You Word. Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your Word.`` Maybe that´s you, maybe you have gone astray. Maybe you think you don´t have enough time to read the Bible. Well, let me tell you that is a lie from Satan to discourage you! Pray that God will provide the time. Even a few minutes, start with that. Is there something else that you daily do that might be taking time away from your devotions? I am convicted when I go check my email before reading my Bible- that just isn´t right. I tell myself ``Oh, I´ll get to reading my Bible...later.`` Well, later never comes. And then the day passes, and no Bible.
Here are some more verses from Psalm 119 regarding Bible reading:
``I cried with all my heart; answer me, O LORD! I will observe Your statutes. I cried to You; save me And I shall keep You testimonies. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word. Hear my voice according to Your loving kindness; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your ordinances. Those who follow after wickedness draw near; They are far from You law. You are near, O LORD, And all Your commandments are truth. Of old I have known from Your testimonies, That You have founded them forever.`` Psalms 119: 145-152
I love those verses because the author is talking about ``rising before dawn`` to ``wait for`` God´s words. Then, he writes of meditating on God´s word at night. Obviously, reading the Bible is important! The Bible is Truth! Fill your mind with it, and you will be changed. Don´t be discouraged, but keep on going.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Internet al fin!
So the couple nights stay at the cousin´s house turned into almost a week...yeah I guess things change last minute like that around here. Haha I was not expecting to be away that long! Thankfully I had enough clothes. The place that I was at was called Pantaleon, there is a sugar factory there and a river by the same name. The neighborhood I was in was really nice and they had a ``club`` that had a pool with palm trees and all. It was like I was on vacation all week! It was unexpected for me. I missed the rest of the Ruanos a lot, since only Rossanita went with me. And when we came back this afternoon, I realized how much I missed the city and all the people! Pantaleon is about an hour away from Guatemala City, it is sort of in the country.
The cousins have a maid who does all the cooking and cleaning, so we didn´t have to wash our dishes or anything. Or do chores. It was weird, because Rossanita and I are both used to helping out. They always had a newspaper, so I would read that everyday and try to pick up new words. During the day the cousins were at school, so Rossanita and I would go to the pool in the morning. Oh, by the way, I named this post is ``internet`` because they didn´t have any internet at the cousin´s. Not sure why. So when I got home this afternoon and got to facetime with my family it was awesome! We talked for an hour and a half...lots to catch up on over a week!
I´ve been learning how patience goes a long way...God always provides! I am used to getting a lot of fruits at the Ruanos, because they go to the market close to their house almost everyday, but at Pantaleon, the market isn´t within walking distance and they get their produce delivered to them because it is so far away. So I was like ``How am I going to live without fruit?`` but I shouldn´t have worried, silly me! On Thursday, Rossanita went to visit the school, but I stayed home with the aunt. We went in to town, a little town called Santa Lucia and we picked up a few things at the store. She asked if I wanted anything, and of course, I wanted fruit! Guess what I found? Guavas! She was surprised, she said that it wasn´t common to find them. Lately for some reason the markets don´t have them, and when they do, they do for only one day. So I felt like God was just blessing me with them. They were perfectly ripe, too. We also bought bananas, only 4 though because she said nobody in her family eats them. So funny for me, I can´t imagine not eating bananas! They are like a staple for me. It was probably the smallest quantity of bananas I have ever bought in my life.
I almost forgot! I learned how to make tortillas! The little, thicker corn tortillas. I have great respect for the ladies that make them now...it tain´t no easy task, let me tell ya. But I managed to make a few actually circular ones that didn´t have holes in them, and I even managed to flip some of them with my fingers on the hot griddle! Sucely, the maid at the cousin´s, taught me how to do it. She kept telling me to not be scared, in flipping them. I burned my fingers- that griddle was HOT! It was fun. I hope to find some Maseca (that´s what the flour is called to make the tortillas) in the US and make some fresh tortillas for my family. There´s nothing like fresh tortillas, kept steaming hot wrapped in a towel on the table. Mmmm.
So God totally dropped in my lap a witnessing opportunity. It was a 16 year old neighbor named Carlos who had a Catholic background. We started at first, talking in Spanish, but then I found out that he had been to the states a few times, once for 4 months, going to school there to learn English. So he knew English pretty well, and he asked me to speak in English (because my Spanish was so bad, haha). He asked me why I was here, and if I was a priest. Yeah, a priest. Are there even girl priests? I don´t know, maybe he didn´t know the word he was looking for in English. Anyway, since we were talking about church, sort of, I asked him if he knew where he was going when he died, and walked him through a few of the 10 commandments. I think he understood that he was a sinner but then he was giving me excuses, like ``Everytime I try to read my Bible, I just get distracted and watch TV or something.`` Pray that God will work in his heart, convict him and that he will be saved. It´s out of my hands, God does the work, I am simply the instrument. I am so thankful for the Way of the Master course that I had last summer, it is so helpful in sharing my faith! I hope one day to be able to do it in Spanish. :)
The cousins have a maid who does all the cooking and cleaning, so we didn´t have to wash our dishes or anything. Or do chores. It was weird, because Rossanita and I are both used to helping out. They always had a newspaper, so I would read that everyday and try to pick up new words. During the day the cousins were at school, so Rossanita and I would go to the pool in the morning. Oh, by the way, I named this post is ``internet`` because they didn´t have any internet at the cousin´s. Not sure why. So when I got home this afternoon and got to facetime with my family it was awesome! We talked for an hour and a half...lots to catch up on over a week!
I´ve been learning how patience goes a long way...God always provides! I am used to getting a lot of fruits at the Ruanos, because they go to the market close to their house almost everyday, but at Pantaleon, the market isn´t within walking distance and they get their produce delivered to them because it is so far away. So I was like ``How am I going to live without fruit?`` but I shouldn´t have worried, silly me! On Thursday, Rossanita went to visit the school, but I stayed home with the aunt. We went in to town, a little town called Santa Lucia and we picked up a few things at the store. She asked if I wanted anything, and of course, I wanted fruit! Guess what I found? Guavas! She was surprised, she said that it wasn´t common to find them. Lately for some reason the markets don´t have them, and when they do, they do for only one day. So I felt like God was just blessing me with them. They were perfectly ripe, too. We also bought bananas, only 4 though because she said nobody in her family eats them. So funny for me, I can´t imagine not eating bananas! They are like a staple for me. It was probably the smallest quantity of bananas I have ever bought in my life.
I almost forgot! I learned how to make tortillas! The little, thicker corn tortillas. I have great respect for the ladies that make them now...it tain´t no easy task, let me tell ya. But I managed to make a few actually circular ones that didn´t have holes in them, and I even managed to flip some of them with my fingers on the hot griddle! Sucely, the maid at the cousin´s, taught me how to do it. She kept telling me to not be scared, in flipping them. I burned my fingers- that griddle was HOT! It was fun. I hope to find some Maseca (that´s what the flour is called to make the tortillas) in the US and make some fresh tortillas for my family. There´s nothing like fresh tortillas, kept steaming hot wrapped in a towel on the table. Mmmm.
So God totally dropped in my lap a witnessing opportunity. It was a 16 year old neighbor named Carlos who had a Catholic background. We started at first, talking in Spanish, but then I found out that he had been to the states a few times, once for 4 months, going to school there to learn English. So he knew English pretty well, and he asked me to speak in English (because my Spanish was so bad, haha). He asked me why I was here, and if I was a priest. Yeah, a priest. Are there even girl priests? I don´t know, maybe he didn´t know the word he was looking for in English. Anyway, since we were talking about church, sort of, I asked him if he knew where he was going when he died, and walked him through a few of the 10 commandments. I think he understood that he was a sinner but then he was giving me excuses, like ``Everytime I try to read my Bible, I just get distracted and watch TV or something.`` Pray that God will work in his heart, convict him and that he will be saved. It´s out of my hands, God does the work, I am simply the instrument. I am so thankful for the Way of the Master course that I had last summer, it is so helpful in sharing my faith! I hope one day to be able to do it in Spanish. :)
Sunday, August 19, 2012
No big deal but...
A lot of things to blog about, so little time to blog! I am leaving for a few days to go to the Ruano´s cousin´s house, about an hour away from here. Probably won´t be on the computer until then, so let me do a brief highlight on what´s happened this week.
Concert
I was in my second Chochy concert this Saturday! The church we had it at was a lot smaller and wasn´t new looking like the church we had last time. It was super hot inside because it wasn´t opened up like most buildings are here. There was only enough room for the kids to sit or stand- the concert took up half the room! I was the heart again- ``El Amor``. I was so excited because this time, I took my time speaking my lines and I didn´t mess up! Also, I was expecting to hear my voice over the speakers, so it didn´t scare me like last time.
In good and in the bad
I had a couple bad days- just being really homesick and being tired of being here, but I hear that is normal...
I am doing sooo much better now. Thanks to first, Bible and prayer time that God blessed me with and second, tons of encouraging emails that came all at the right time. It is so exciting to open my email and have so many to read! Lots of wise words were spoken to me the past few days- even Bryan told me ``Don´t be sad, enjoy your time here, because when you are in the States, you are going to be sad and wish you could be here.`` At the time, I didn´t want to hear that, but I knew it was true. ``I love English so much! The US is awesome!`` A little mini-bout of cultural withdrawal. :)
Amusement park
So I went to a Guatemalan amusement park! Usually I am not scared on amusement park rides, but I wasn´t really sure about how safe they were, at first, so the first ride I was actually scared. Scared for my life! But nobody else seemed concerned, and they always checked seat belts before the ride, so I just trusted that God would protect me and stopped worrying. There was a ride really similar to the log ride at King´s Dominion, and then there was a drop tower and a roller coaster. It was a pretty small park, and there weren´t too many people, so we went on some rides like five times! It was awesome. There was this big group of gringos and so the group I was in was teasing me about asking them where they were from. But then I heard them speaking, and it wasn´t English. Somewhere in Europe, I knew.
``Hey, maybe they are the Vienna Boys Choir!`` I joked, since I knew that they had come to Guatemala recently for a concert. ``Yeah, maybe it is!`` the kids in my group said. They were all getting excited about it and telling their moms that Rachel said maybe it was the choir, and I felt bad, like I had lied to them because really I had no idea. But then, we had finished playing bumper cars and I asked one of the European kids where he was from, hoping he understood English. ``Vienna, in Europe.``
``Like, from the choir?``
``Yes,`` he answered.
Whoa! I was like ``Guys! It IS the choir!``
Later, there was another group from the choir and the girls in my group had me ask them in English for a photo- the funny thing was that the kid I talked to knew more Spanish then English, so I ended up speaking Spanish to him instead.
Yeah, so no big deal, but I spoke Spanish and played bumper cars with part of the Vienna Boys Choir.
Concert
I was in my second Chochy concert this Saturday! The church we had it at was a lot smaller and wasn´t new looking like the church we had last time. It was super hot inside because it wasn´t opened up like most buildings are here. There was only enough room for the kids to sit or stand- the concert took up half the room! I was the heart again- ``El Amor``. I was so excited because this time, I took my time speaking my lines and I didn´t mess up! Also, I was expecting to hear my voice over the speakers, so it didn´t scare me like last time.
In good and in the bad
I had a couple bad days- just being really homesick and being tired of being here, but I hear that is normal...
I am doing sooo much better now. Thanks to first, Bible and prayer time that God blessed me with and second, tons of encouraging emails that came all at the right time. It is so exciting to open my email and have so many to read! Lots of wise words were spoken to me the past few days- even Bryan told me ``Don´t be sad, enjoy your time here, because when you are in the States, you are going to be sad and wish you could be here.`` At the time, I didn´t want to hear that, but I knew it was true. ``I love English so much! The US is awesome!`` A little mini-bout of cultural withdrawal. :)
Amusement park
So I went to a Guatemalan amusement park! Usually I am not scared on amusement park rides, but I wasn´t really sure about how safe they were, at first, so the first ride I was actually scared. Scared for my life! But nobody else seemed concerned, and they always checked seat belts before the ride, so I just trusted that God would protect me and stopped worrying. There was a ride really similar to the log ride at King´s Dominion, and then there was a drop tower and a roller coaster. It was a pretty small park, and there weren´t too many people, so we went on some rides like five times! It was awesome. There was this big group of gringos and so the group I was in was teasing me about asking them where they were from. But then I heard them speaking, and it wasn´t English. Somewhere in Europe, I knew.
``Hey, maybe they are the Vienna Boys Choir!`` I joked, since I knew that they had come to Guatemala recently for a concert. ``Yeah, maybe it is!`` the kids in my group said. They were all getting excited about it and telling their moms that Rachel said maybe it was the choir, and I felt bad, like I had lied to them because really I had no idea. But then, we had finished playing bumper cars and I asked one of the European kids where he was from, hoping he understood English. ``Vienna, in Europe.``
``Like, from the choir?``
``Yes,`` he answered.
Whoa! I was like ``Guys! It IS the choir!``
Later, there was another group from the choir and the girls in my group had me ask them in English for a photo- the funny thing was that the kid I talked to knew more Spanish then English, so I ended up speaking Spanish to him instead.
Yeah, so no big deal, but I spoke Spanish and played bumper cars with part of the Vienna Boys Choir.
Monday, August 13, 2012
And life goes on
Market
Today I bought some fruit at the little market by myself! Well, I didn´t go alone, but I talked to the guy and asked how much things were and paid him! Just a small accomplishment, but two months ago I would have been terrified. :)
Home
This week has been good and bad. Missing my family a lot (I would be going back this Thursday, originally). But then again, small moments of accomplishment, like understanding people´s conversations in Spanish and buying fruit in the market help me stay excited about being here. I can tell that I´m getting more of an ear for Spanish. Not exactly the greatest at talking, but that will come. Every time I see my friend Monica at church, I practice talking with her, and every time, she teaches me something new. I´m always getting out my little notebook and asking her to write whatever it is down.
Bible
Continuing to listen to John MacArthur sermons on Ephesians 5- soo good because it´s about living in the Holy Spirit and putting others first. Each day is a new day to surrender to God. I´m trying to memorize Ephesians 2:1-10...only have got about three verses so far.
Food
Today we had a delicious lunch :) We had salad, then chicken, and chicken broth soup with vegetables. Then we had watermelon (sandía). And I´m so pumped for all the fruit we bought! The guavas and chico zapotes aren´t ripe yet, but hopefully soon! But we have a lot of bananas. I´m just glad to have an easy and healthy snack :) I´m trying to be more purposeful with what I put in my mouth, just because I feel so much better when I do that. Especially since I´m still recovering from my cold. I know that chicken soup and fruits are going to help me, while re-fried beans from the can and tortilla chips probably aren´t the best option. Yesterday (Sunday) we had a Servants 4 Him meeting, so the house was full of gringos. I got to talk to this one women who is visiting here (she lived for a year in Guate) about food. She graduated with a major in nutrition, and when I heard that I got all excited and it was so encouraging to talk to her about healthy foods again. I miss that! As my mom said, No más papas fritas! Haha. I don´t eat much sugar, and everyone down here for the life of them can´t understand why. How do you explain in Spanish that sugar crashes my immune system?
I´m going to go study some Spanish now! Hopefully- there are always people coming over in this house, so I don´t want to be anti-social in my room. So sometimes ``studying Spanish`` means listening to conversations or playing soccer. Hasta luego!
Today I bought some fruit at the little market by myself! Well, I didn´t go alone, but I talked to the guy and asked how much things were and paid him! Just a small accomplishment, but two months ago I would have been terrified. :)
Home
This week has been good and bad. Missing my family a lot (I would be going back this Thursday, originally). But then again, small moments of accomplishment, like understanding people´s conversations in Spanish and buying fruit in the market help me stay excited about being here. I can tell that I´m getting more of an ear for Spanish. Not exactly the greatest at talking, but that will come. Every time I see my friend Monica at church, I practice talking with her, and every time, she teaches me something new. I´m always getting out my little notebook and asking her to write whatever it is down.
Bible
Continuing to listen to John MacArthur sermons on Ephesians 5- soo good because it´s about living in the Holy Spirit and putting others first. Each day is a new day to surrender to God. I´m trying to memorize Ephesians 2:1-10...only have got about three verses so far.
Food
Today we had a delicious lunch :) We had salad, then chicken, and chicken broth soup with vegetables. Then we had watermelon (sandía). And I´m so pumped for all the fruit we bought! The guavas and chico zapotes aren´t ripe yet, but hopefully soon! But we have a lot of bananas. I´m just glad to have an easy and healthy snack :) I´m trying to be more purposeful with what I put in my mouth, just because I feel so much better when I do that. Especially since I´m still recovering from my cold. I know that chicken soup and fruits are going to help me, while re-fried beans from the can and tortilla chips probably aren´t the best option. Yesterday (Sunday) we had a Servants 4 Him meeting, so the house was full of gringos. I got to talk to this one women who is visiting here (she lived for a year in Guate) about food. She graduated with a major in nutrition, and when I heard that I got all excited and it was so encouraging to talk to her about healthy foods again. I miss that! As my mom said, No más papas fritas! Haha. I don´t eat much sugar, and everyone down here for the life of them can´t understand why. How do you explain in Spanish that sugar crashes my immune system?
I´m going to go study some Spanish now! Hopefully- there are always people coming over in this house, so I don´t want to be anti-social in my room. So sometimes ``studying Spanish`` means listening to conversations or playing soccer. Hasta luego!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Expect great things
So I realized yesterday when I posted that I didn´t give the ending to the allergy story! At least what I hope is the ending. I´m pretty sure my mask and latex gloves were to blame for my whole allergy episode. Friday I didn´t use latex at all and though I still was itching, for the first time that week I could tell that it wasn´t getting worse. At the moment I am I would say 95% itch free. It´s amazing! The only bummer is that now I have a full-blown cold, complete with a stuffy head that feels like it´s going to explode. My mom sent me a chicken broth recipe and I was able to make some today. Still not feeling better from the cold but I hope it will work. Drinking lots of liquids!
Now that the VA team is gone, I am feeling a bit homesick. It´s almost so bad that I wish I was going home on August 16th like the originally planned. But I know that I have to do this because God made it happen and there is a reason that He switched the plans for me. Either way, I can´t lie and say it isn´t hard being away from my family, especially my little sister. It makes me so sad that I am missing a full 5 months of her second year of life. I know that going home in November is going to a very happy time.
Sunday night as I sat drinking some tea with honey to soothe my throat, watching everyone else happily rattle on in Spanish, it was easy to think discouraging thoughts such as ``I´ll never, ever, especially by November, understand Spanish.`` But then I remembered- God likes impossible situations. There´s plenty of them in the Bible. The lion´s den. Esther. Jesus dying. When we only live in the possible, in the safe, we can have confidence in our own ability. When we live in the impossible, we are humbled by the realization that we are nothing and that Christ is everything. We have to trust and rely on Him for every step of the way. I don´t need to be down and depressed by the impossible. I can rejoice because whatever happens, Christ has the victory. I can give my best and trust God with everything else. And I can do it with a smile because Christ lives in me. I can expect great things.
Now that the VA team is gone, I am feeling a bit homesick. It´s almost so bad that I wish I was going home on August 16th like the originally planned. But I know that I have to do this because God made it happen and there is a reason that He switched the plans for me. Either way, I can´t lie and say it isn´t hard being away from my family, especially my little sister. It makes me so sad that I am missing a full 5 months of her second year of life. I know that going home in November is going to a very happy time.
Sunday night as I sat drinking some tea with honey to soothe my throat, watching everyone else happily rattle on in Spanish, it was easy to think discouraging thoughts such as ``I´ll never, ever, especially by November, understand Spanish.`` But then I remembered- God likes impossible situations. There´s plenty of them in the Bible. The lion´s den. Esther. Jesus dying. When we only live in the possible, in the safe, we can have confidence in our own ability. When we live in the impossible, we are humbled by the realization that we are nothing and that Christ is everything. We have to trust and rely on Him for every step of the way. I don´t need to be down and depressed by the impossible. I can rejoice because whatever happens, Christ has the victory. I can give my best and trust God with everything else. And I can do it with a smile because Christ lives in me. I can expect great things.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Week in a large nutshell part 2
Here are some more journal entries from the rest of the week:
August 1st, 2012 Wednesday
August already! We are in the car on the way to Jalapa. It is past 2 o`clock and we haven´t eaten lunch but I´m not hungry-I´m dealing with a pretty bad allergic reaction still. Around my mouth is not getting better. Maybe worse. Everything is itchy- my ears, my face, my neck. It is very irritating and hard to work with. I started tearing up while talking about it earlier today because I am afraid of it getting even worse (as in, my throat closing up) and not being able to counter-act it, because I don´t have an epi-pen with me and my benedryl is not working. Usually when I take benedryl it kicks it out of my system. I am going to stop eating the granola and walnuts that came in the suitcase for me on Saturday, because that is the only new food that I have started eating this week, and I´ve been eating it everyday since I got it. I really hope that that is what it is, and that I feel better soon. Otherwise, I don´t know what to do. Could it be a reaction to the bugs that are biting me? My ear kinda feels like that. It´s so itchy! I really don´t want to die from an allergic reaction, where I can´t breathe. Although, Dan Zellner (a missionary here) made a good point earlier today by asking ``Well, how do you want to die? Everyone is going to die one day, you can´t escape that.`` I´m really having to trust God with this. It´s scary, but I´m glad that I know He is in control.
Later in the car ride I was able to listen to a sermon by John MacArthur. I´m really glad that I was able to load a bunch on my ipod before I came to Guate- I miss sermons that I can understand! The sermon I was listening to was about being thankful no matter what. When we look at life like we are not getting what we deserve, we are being prideful. In reality, we are sinners who don´t deserve anything! Everything that happens to me, especially bad things, are conforming me to the image of Christ. When you look at life that way, it has a profound impact on your attitude. It is encouraging for me to remember all of the hard times that God has already pulled me through and to look forward to how He is going to work through my current trial, however small or big it is. Give thanks for everything.
August 2nd, 2012 Thursday
Today was a good day. Minus the itching. Halfway though the day today I started using latex-free gloves, and stopped using my mask. My face is puffy and is itchy up to the top of both cheeks. I´m a mess!
On the bright side, the clinic in Jalapa in my opinion is much nicer than the one in Miramar. No humidity and less bugs. We are inside with fans blowing on us so it isn´t too warm. At the end I started feeling hot because I was itching so much.
Today I assisted Dr. Leonel Bran. I first I thought it would be hard to learn to assist him, because I was used to assisting Dr. Candie all week, but I learned quickly and he was good to work for. I was excited because I knew the names of the tools in Spanish.
The morning flew by. My position assisting Dr. Bran was a lot more comfortable than with Dr. Candie, because I was sitting down and I didn´t have to hold a light because he had one on his head. Today I had not pain in my back or anything, just itchiness. It´s amazing how you can not think of much else when you´re itchy. At times, I would feel better but then it would come back really bad.
Both Thursday and Friday in Jalapa were more organized than Miramar, because we were serving the pastors and their families, so we had a list and knew how many patients we had. Friday was fun though I could tell that everyone was getting tired. The morning was shorter, we got to end around noon because we had less patients. Last minute, we had two more sign-ups. Dan Zellner came to Dr. Ruano and said ``Your friendly neighborhood policemen are here.`` Haha, at first I thought that meant trouble, but no, they just wanted their teeth done too!
August 1st, 2012 Wednesday
August already! We are in the car on the way to Jalapa. It is past 2 o`clock and we haven´t eaten lunch but I´m not hungry-I´m dealing with a pretty bad allergic reaction still. Around my mouth is not getting better. Maybe worse. Everything is itchy- my ears, my face, my neck. It is very irritating and hard to work with. I started tearing up while talking about it earlier today because I am afraid of it getting even worse (as in, my throat closing up) and not being able to counter-act it, because I don´t have an epi-pen with me and my benedryl is not working. Usually when I take benedryl it kicks it out of my system. I am going to stop eating the granola and walnuts that came in the suitcase for me on Saturday, because that is the only new food that I have started eating this week, and I´ve been eating it everyday since I got it. I really hope that that is what it is, and that I feel better soon. Otherwise, I don´t know what to do. Could it be a reaction to the bugs that are biting me? My ear kinda feels like that. It´s so itchy! I really don´t want to die from an allergic reaction, where I can´t breathe. Although, Dan Zellner (a missionary here) made a good point earlier today by asking ``Well, how do you want to die? Everyone is going to die one day, you can´t escape that.`` I´m really having to trust God with this. It´s scary, but I´m glad that I know He is in control.
Later in the car ride I was able to listen to a sermon by John MacArthur. I´m really glad that I was able to load a bunch on my ipod before I came to Guate- I miss sermons that I can understand! The sermon I was listening to was about being thankful no matter what. When we look at life like we are not getting what we deserve, we are being prideful. In reality, we are sinners who don´t deserve anything! Everything that happens to me, especially bad things, are conforming me to the image of Christ. When you look at life that way, it has a profound impact on your attitude. It is encouraging for me to remember all of the hard times that God has already pulled me through and to look forward to how He is going to work through my current trial, however small or big it is. Give thanks for everything.
August 2nd, 2012 Thursday
Today was a good day. Minus the itching. Halfway though the day today I started using latex-free gloves, and stopped using my mask. My face is puffy and is itchy up to the top of both cheeks. I´m a mess!
On the bright side, the clinic in Jalapa in my opinion is much nicer than the one in Miramar. No humidity and less bugs. We are inside with fans blowing on us so it isn´t too warm. At the end I started feeling hot because I was itching so much.
Today I assisted Dr. Leonel Bran. I first I thought it would be hard to learn to assist him, because I was used to assisting Dr. Candie all week, but I learned quickly and he was good to work for. I was excited because I knew the names of the tools in Spanish.
The morning flew by. My position assisting Dr. Bran was a lot more comfortable than with Dr. Candie, because I was sitting down and I didn´t have to hold a light because he had one on his head. Today I had not pain in my back or anything, just itchiness. It´s amazing how you can not think of much else when you´re itchy. At times, I would feel better but then it would come back really bad.
Both Thursday and Friday in Jalapa were more organized than Miramar, because we were serving the pastors and their families, so we had a list and knew how many patients we had. Friday was fun though I could tell that everyone was getting tired. The morning was shorter, we got to end around noon because we had less patients. Last minute, we had two more sign-ups. Dan Zellner came to Dr. Ruano and said ``Your friendly neighborhood policemen are here.`` Haha, at first I thought that meant trouble, but no, they just wanted their teeth done too!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)