Have I ever been so tired?

I am so tired this morning.  I cannot stop yawning.  What is my teacher thinking when I am her only student, and I am yawning all throughout the class?  How awful am I? 

Yesterday was definitely a really neat day.  Another teacher at the children's school, Traci, had money and school supplies donated to the children.  Her church back home in Kansas City gave the money necessary to purchase matching school t-shirts for each child.  Then we also handed out to the children a pencil case, some pencils and pens, notebooks, and a few other school supplies. 

Uniforms in Guatemala are a huge deal.  As an American who prides herself on individuality and being unique it is very difficult for me to comprehend why uniforms matter so much.  But they do!  A school without uniforms here in Guatemala is overlooked.  They are not considered to be of any great significance.  So when the children received their t-shirts, their eyes lit up with such pride and joy.  In the older classes one child in each room was the spokesperson expressing gratitude and thanks.  One little boy stated his gratitude in this way, "Thank you for the shirts and the gifts.  It is so nice to have them because we do not have enough money to buy things like that here."  Wow, if that does not break your heart, then you simply do not have one!  These chidren at Escuela de San Jose were so proud of the shirts and supplies.  It was so good to be a part of giving the children the small gifts.  I loved seeing their hearts and eyes sparkle with joy and delight.  The good feeling from giving is that feeling that you never get tired of experiencing.  It is just like God.  The more you are around Him, then the more you want Him.  The same can be true of anything in life, even sin.  But our redeemer is good.  He wants us to thrive on giving His love and experiencing abundant life in Him alone.  So yesterday, I experienced life with God by simply being with the precious street children that have magnificent value in the sight of God.

A million miles away...

So sometimes you can be in a crowded room and feel as though you are all alone and sometimes no one there can be no one around at all and you can feel so full of pure contentment; that is God for you.  The Lord restores and renews in His own perfect timing.  I do not know why I am here in Guatemala, but I do know that the Lord does have a plan for me.  I know that I am to study Spanish, but there must be more... 

Over the weekend the three of us traveled to Guatemala City, and stayed with some members of the church of Christ.  This is the same church that Steve and Magda Sherman started in the city.  Fredy and Rosa were simply amazing.  They opened up there pequena home to us and filled our hearts with love and massive measures of hospitality.  On Friday night we stayed up late eating Domino's pizza, talking in Spanish and English, and playing Phase 10.  Phase 10 has become a staple in our free time here in Guatemala.  Who would have thought that the crazy rummy game could be so much fun?  Then on Saturday morning we went to an amazing water park.  I thought that we were going to a pool, but it ended up that we were going to water park with an incredible scenery.  The water in the pool was so hot.  It was hotter than any shower that I have had here in Guatemala.  Boy, it felt so good.  So Fredy, Rosa, Rosa's mom, sister, and Melany, Rosa's niece all came with us to the water park.  We had a blast going down the slides forwards and backwards and chilling in the jacuzzi.  It was crazy to be in a water park in the middle of Guatemala.  The water park even had a wave pool.  But the best part about the park was when you climbed the to the top of the stairs you looked up and saw the most spectacular view of trees and green growth of Guatemala.  The view was breathtaking. 

In the afternoon, we were back at Fredy and Rosa's house eating Pollo Campero for the first time.  The chicken was acutally muy rico, just as mi maestra says.  I was impressed, but poor Julie.  She hates chicken, and so Jackie and I shared our fries with her.  There was plenty to eat.  I had homemade guacamole for the first time, and it was amazing.  All I needed was some corn tortillas, and then I would have been set.  I ended up getting my share of them later.

Melany is Rosa's seven year old niece, and is a complete mess.  We played with her all day.  My favorite part about being with her was after lunch on Saturday we pushed the couches and chairs out of the way and made room in the living room to dance.  All of us girls danced; we had a ball.  Melany was so funny!  She moved her body all around.  Julie was funny.  She said that Melany is only 7 and she can move her body in ways that she (Julie) will never be able to.  We danced salsa, mergenue, bachata, y raeggeton.  Fredy stayed in the computer room, just as he did most of the weekend.  He was in a house dominated by young women.  Fredy was a great host and sport. 

Fredy preached on Sunday morning.  He stayed up late studying, mediating, and working on his lesson.  Growing up as a preacher's kid, I know how intense the study is and how dedicated the speaker must be.  Getting to church Sunday morning was such an adventure.  Fredy drives a white 90? honda civic, and we had 7 people in the car when it comfortable holds 4.  Now remember that this is typical for Guatemalans.  They pile in the cars, but they are also smaller than the typical American.  A married couple shared the front seat and the wife is at least 5 months pregnant.  She was adorable with her curly highlighted hair.  Then Rosa, Julie, Jackie, and I were crammed in the back seat.  I rode on Julie and Jackie's laps and put their legs to sleep.  I rode most of the way trying to hold on to the passenger seat to maintain balance and some sense of stability.  That was no short 20 minute car ride, let me tell you.  But it was another memory.

Okay so church was great, and it was my favorite service so far.  I wish that we could go to that church every week.  What really made this church different was that we knew some of the members.  Knowing the people with whom you are worshipping really makes a difference.  They were welcoming and loving just as the others were, but we had spent time with these people.  It was fantastic.

After being at church for three hours, Fredy and Rosa had to go to a funeral and so they could not drive us back to Antigua.  But instead they prepared us for another adventure.  Fredy dropped us off at the bus station in Guatemala, and as we were kissing and saying our goodbyes Rosa's mom gave us each a pack of coco cookies, and then from out of no where the bus driver starts yelling at us that it is time to go.  He was in a hurry and said that there was no time for kisses.  What Latino does not have time for besos, I mean really?  So we three gringas rushed and jumped on the bus.  Boy was it crowed, and we had a load of stuff.  We were desperately stumbling to get through the six inch aisle with our belongings, without hitting anyone while the bus was moving.  Because as soon as we boarded the bus, the driver took off.  We three bumbled our way to seats; none of us sat together.  That was fun.  The roads here are really bumpy and the bus is a little rough, but as I looked around the bus several Guatemaltecos were fast a sleep like Jesus in the middle of the storm.  But the best part about the bus ride was that when the bus went through the rough curves Jackie and I were nearly thrown from our seats every single time.  We held on to the seats in front of us for dear life.  But the natives sat still in there seats like nothing was happening.  We laughed about this lots.  Life is so fun.  It was so fun to take the bus that the locals take.  The ride took about twice as long as car, but it only cost us 21 Qs for all three of us.  That is about one dollar a piece.  How cheap is that?  We were proud of ourselves for having ridden the bus, but even more proud of being able to pass the large woman in the aisle despite all of our stuff.  Trying to get to the door I am confident that I hit so many people with my bag.  I am embarrassed to say that my bag is half as big as I am, just like the kids in the airport who had stuffed animals half as big as them.  It was a great weekend!        

Break time...

It is break time here at CSA, and it has come no too soon.  Listening to Spanish has become the difficult trial for me.  It is much easier for me to form a sentence in writing or speaking it myself than to hear another person speak or read a passage.  But with the Lord and much practice I hope that things get better.

So this past weekend we went to Guatemala City and stayed with some friends from the church, Rosy and Fredy.  But I will write more later when there is time.  There are some funny stories to share, but you will simply have to wait...

Lengua and the Beloved Nieves...

My new found ice cream love is nieve.  Nieve is similar to sorbet, but just as good as ice cream.  Since being in Guatemala, I have really enjoyed this cold treat, especially on particularly hot days as today.  This afternoon, Julie and I walked down to Pops, my favorite place to get nieves, and I ordered the grande cono.  I treated myself to two flavors, mango and limon, today since I did not eat much lunch.

Margarita served beef in a red tomatoe sauce with rice, tortillas, and a fruit that is very similar to grapes.  I liked the fruit very much but the beef had a funny tecture.  I knew it was supposed to be vaca, or cow, but the meat did not taste like any beef that I had ever had before.  It looked weird and tasted rubbery.  Yuck.  I ate a few bites so as not to be rude, but my house mom realized that I did not eat much of it, and so she asked me if I liked the beef.  I could not lie, so I simply said that I did not care for it much.  So, Mike my housemate for a few more days, came home and to eat about 30 minutes later and he looked down at the plate and asked if what we were eating was lingua.  "Lengua?" I carefully repeated.  Lengua is Espanol for tongue.  I ate about five bites of cow tongue.  How revolting?!?!  Yuck!  Now you know why I desparately needed my beloved nieves.  No body needs to taste tongue more than once, let alone three hours later.  However, experience new things is what living in a new country is all about.  

Day two of teaching English...

Whenever you think that you will never do something, you had better watch out.  I had said that I was not going to teach English, and what am I doing.  Today I just finished my second day of teaching English to the children in the school set up especially for street children.  I had thought that teaching English would not help me learn Spanish, but now I think that it really might help.  Today I really concentrated to conjugate the words that I was saying correctly.  It is so amazing to me that God has such a distinct sense of humor and a distinctive way of teaching His children.  I pray that I am able to continue teaching these precious and funny children. 

God brought me to this school because teaching is certainly something that I did not envision myself doing, especially in Guatemala.  And I especially did not envision myself teaching English to children who require me to speak as much Spanish as English.  But God the only way this is going to work is if you continue to provide.  Thank you for pushing me to do something that I had set out not to do.  Teaching has been fun.  It has also pushed me to want to learn more Spanish and to use what I know in a safe place.  The children will teach and correct me without making me feel dumb.  They are as much of the teacher as I am.

One little boy named Jonathon is really funny.  His primary teacher is a man and they call him Senor.  So Jonathon gives me the same respect and calls me Senor Elizabeth.  I tried to tell him that I am a Senorita, but he continues to call me senor.  What can you do?