International Fair and National Cemetery

This past Tuesday the sixth and seventh grade students hosted the international fair. It was a culmination of about 1.5 months of independent work. Each student in my sixth grade class was responsible for choosing an Eastern Hemisphere country and putting together a ton of information--from government to people to geography. Each student then put together a presentation. All the elementary students received "passports" and were able to visit the countries, learn about them, eat a little bit of food from the country, and get their passports stamped! It was a successful day and I am extremely proud of the work my students did!

Yesterday we had the day off (Labor Day) and my roommates and I went to visit the national cemetery in Guatemala City. The cemetery is a mass

ive plot of land, almost a small city itself, literally surrounded by trash. You can see the big dump on the right that countless people filter through for their livlihood and daily eating. Needless to say, the air is rank and there are vultures everywhere...a great setting for Poe's "The Raven"

In the cemetery there are numerous different grave plots. The rich people have plots the size of a small house--the Egyptian Pyramid/Cross picture is the family plot of the founders of Guatemala's beer, Gallo. Poor people are crammed in small boxes and their families are forced to pay rent. If a family member misses rent, the remains are pulled and thrown in the dump, to be replaced by someone else.

The cemetery had a very different feel than one in the states--because of different traditions down here, a cemetery is not nearly as somber. There were families having picnics and lighting off firecrackers on graves, tons of flowers, and vendors everywhere. Very interesting to observe.

It sounds strange that I took a trip to the cemetery on my afternoon off, but it really was a unique opportunity to experience culture here in a different way.

Oh, and in unrelated news....some of you may know that I worked on a research project with graphic novels/comic books all last year. The article I wrote was printed in Christian Educator's Journal, and recently reprinted in an online magazine. My professor's name is on it too...but I did most the work on this one :) Check this link out if you're interested in reading! http://www.catapultmagazine.com/draw-me-a-story

Amazing Race!!!

My roommate Suzy is a Youth Group leader at Union Church--the English speaking church in Guatemala City. This past weekend they had their Uth Retreat in Antigua, and I had the privelage of participating in "The Amazing Race" and running around with these five kids for five hours. One of our first tasks was to get permission and a picture on a chicken bus...no problem!

We then had to run up to the cross that overlooks the city. It was about a fifteen minute run there, and then 333 steps up the mountain and back. We were a little winded by the end of this task!



















Breakin' in the gates of a church :) A few of the clues took us to different churches around the city, including the "tomb" of Peter. If anyone knows how he ended up in Guate, I would appreciate that info.














We had to spend exactly 18 Quetzales (about 2.50 US) at Pollo Campero--the most popular fast food with Guatemalan people. So, naturally, we went for the ice cream. Lilia is one of my freshmen at CAG.






Another task was to make an arch in front of the arch. Good work team! The cobblestone streets of Antigua weren't too nice for the knees of the people on the bottom!

















A pilgrimmage to the cross...

After about five hours of running around, we all finished the race. The time difference between the first place group and the last place group was SIX MINUTES!!! What a race! And if you're wondering, my group did take last. It was hard on my competitive spirit, but it's not all about winning, right? ;)

Even though I'm not regularly involved at Union Uth, it was a blessing to be able to run around, meet some new kids, and see kids from different schools forming friendships and making connections that otherwise would not have happened.

Grace and Peace Part II

I wrote a post earlier about a sermon I listened to based on Philippians 1 entitled "Grace and Peace." I wanted to update with a beautiful story about Grace and Peace that I've been blessed to be a part of down here. I teach a one on one English class with a student, and over the past weeks her story has been coming out with more details. She lived on the streets in Guatemala until she was 12 years old. Her only childhood memories are of starvation and abuse. She did not know God, but looking back can recognize his provision and protection over her. For the most part, she was with her sister; until, her sister was adopted. The family who adopted her sister found out about Felicita a couple years later and searched for her so they could adopt her as well.

For the past three years she has had love, family, and opportunities that never would have occurred if that family would not have pursued grace and peace. In three years she has gone from illiterate to about a high school level in both Spanish and English. This girl never quits and she is not afraid of failure which allows her to learn and grow every day.

One aspect of our class is working on her reading fluency. We were talking about how she hasn't really read the Bible because the language was pretty difficult for her to understand. So, we've been working through The Message which helps her with pronunciation, English idioms...and learning the word of God. Since this has been a big part of our class, I wanted to be able to give her a copy of The Message at the end of the year.

Enter Verne Kenney and Zondervan's. Verne is coming down for work and a through a question out if he had a copy he could bring and I could buy from him. Better than just a copy, he's bringing a Spanish/English parallel that I will be able to give to Felicita!

Grace and Peace.

Would you rather?

Would you rather experience an earthquake or a tornado?

After last night, my answer is TORNADO!

I am sending ALL my respect to friends/family who live in California. We had an earthquake last night with a magnitude of 6.1. No severe damage or injury was caused, but I was SCARED! Our entire house was shaking for over a minute, and it was just eery! I was clinging to the door frame and screaming (which made my roommates laugh).

All my childhood was spent in tornado drills...cover the head, go to a low area, ride the storm. It's a whole different ball game when the earth is trembling and and your house might fall on your head.

This morning in teacher devotions we sang "only you" One of the lines says, "only you can shake the mountains." After experiencing an earthquake, I understand God's magnitude and power in a whole new way. To create an earth that works how it does is truly awe inspiring.

I meant to post this right after Easter, but life got a little busy for a while. I wrote this as a devotional for my church, and wanted to share it. As I walked away from Easter this year, it struck me how quickly we forget. Our entire faith depends on a magnificent event that we only specifically celebrate one day a year. Why leave Easter on Easter Sunday? So, I wrote these reflections on the men walking away from Jerusalem after Christ's death. Hopefully they can provide a little challenge or encouragement or something!

An Emmaus Walk: Luke 24:13-35
I’m sitting in the bus terminal in Santa Elena, Guatemala, writing by candlelight due to the consistent on again, off again power in this country. Traveling home after a weekend in Belize, I can’t help but reflect on the travelers I’ve encountered: Len and Carrie B, retirees from GR; Drew, a recently dumped Canadian nomad; Mike, a dreadlocked backpacker from Seattle.
Why do these people, our conversations, their stories, float through my brain when I should be grading English tests? I think it is because their story is my story, is our story.
There once were two men walking the road to Emmaus, mourning the loss of his supposed Savior. They were blind--they could not see that their companion was the Savior for whom they yearned. They were so entrenched in the walk and talk that they missed the story unfolding around them.
There once was a man named Moses who was so hung up on his speech impediment that he almost missed his chance to lead the Israelite’s from Egypt.
There once was a man named Saul who was so convinced of his righteousness that he murdered those bearing the truth.
There once was a woman named Annette who was so scared that she almost missed her call to give up some time teaching to minister with Young Life in Hinsdale, Illinois.
The storyline permeates history, it permeates our history. Which leaves some questions: Where are you walking? Who are you walking with? What’s keeping you from seeing the story that is daily unfolding around you and the Savior that is walking with you?
Pray that God will rip away the calluses from your heart, the blind spots from your eyes, so that your hearts may burn with the presence of Christ’s words in your life.