: Update Nine :

Thanks to tonight being Sunday night, I’ve finally gotten this post together. Every Sunday night I have night shift. And I get about as much sleep as anyone does with 10 kids, 2 being babies that need bottles throughout the night. So, they all are asleep (for now!) and I get to sit down to eat and write while there’s no distraction!!!  I have so much more respect for moms across the globe! You all are so so amazing, and truly superwomen!!

Change. one word that sums up a lot of my life these past two months. Good change. Being stripped of self and control. There’s a lot I can’t control. How am I going to handle it?

Growing. the second word that sums up these past two months! Growing in my pursuit of God, in speaking and understanding Spanish. Patience. Loving when you don’t want to. Doing when you don’t want to.

So I got to meet a friend of my mamma’s and her family. It was such a nice refreshing day being able to hang out with them and get to know each of them. They are such a cool and sweet family, and I loved watching them work and interact with each other in such a loving way. And might I add, this wasn’t only the first zoo in Guatemala I’ve been to, but also the first zoo in my life!! lol. It was a fun experience.

Besides the food ( 😉 ) getting to feed the giraffe was probably one of the highlights of the day. You pay 10 Q (like a little over a dollar) and you go up on this platform with a handful of food and feed it. Totally worth that 10 Q!! I joked I found a friend that was as tall as me…ok. Maybe a little taller.

Church here is amazing. Yeah, I don’t understand all the words. One time I told my friend “I tried to understand the sermon. and do you know the one word I caught and remembered?….eyes.” ; ) haha! But I can understand the music better. And worship is worshipFULL. And it’s so filling. So thankful for it.

On my weekend or day’s off, some friends have let me come and hang out/crash at their house. So last Saturday, he was going to the fresh market on the (what American’s call chicken bus) and it’s been 3 years since I’ve been on one of them. So I got to go along. You get on the bus and hang on to the bar running down the middle of the ceiling because as soon as your on, he’s going to hit the gas. And then quickly hit the break so he can stop to pick more people up. And when your getting off, you have to be so quick. Because you start to get off and he starts going. So like 4 guys whistle up to him which means “stop. wait” and you scramble off before he drives off!

I love the market. Seeing all the people, how they work and the culture. Seeing all the produce or meats. Anything and everything. But something that has happened several times is “you need to meet my son! He’s tall and handsome. Do you like Guatemala? Do you have a boyfriend?” And I stand there and laugh because that’s what the last 5 guys have said!!

Or walking down the street and people are just watching you. I’m thinking, “what are they looking at? oh wait. I’m tall…and white.”

While I was waiting for my friend to buy something, and I’m looking around at the sea of people that are mostly shorter than me, and way down the aisle, I see someone else that’s tall. And we both look at each other like….”hey. your tall!”

 

Staying with my friends, they gave me chop sticks to eat with over the weekend, and I got so used to them that when I went back to using a fork, I kind of poked my food with it and thought “how on earth does this thing work?” Honestly, chopsticks are easier.

These three…they know a bit of English, and I know a tiny bit of Spanish. So it’s learning for all of us! I think we do more laughing at eachother tho haha!

 

At 11, we have a snack. and it can take anywhere from 10-30 minutes. So then you have 1 1/2 hours until lunch time. One time I had 4 of the kids in my care, so I took them all and we sat in one of those little play houses. It was squishy, but fun. And we stayed like that for a good hour ^_^

This past Saturday, I had some help from 7:30-8. But then they needed to leave. So it was me, and 10 kiddos. The lady that cleans the house was so kind to help me a little bit. But I had them outside playing, and I was inside taking care of the two babies. And I came out to this. They had taken the stuffing out of a cushion and scattered it everywhere.

I stood there and laughed. How can they be so quick?!

Hammock time is the bomb.com. These last few days have been pretty cold though. Around 71 but super windy.

One thing I really miss is being able to walk into my kitchen at any given moment and bake/create something that involves food. My friend (and awesome Spanish teacher!) was helping make banana bread for the orphanage, and I got to help. She weaved my Spanish lesson into the experience!

Ok, another one of my favorite things…being in the mountains, and it gets super foggy and the clouds/fog run through this place. Or going out and just looking up at the stars.