This week...

has been one of the best weeks of my life!!!

First I have to give a little background. In September, when my mom was here, we were talking about me possibly being able to come home for Christmas. I was obviously excited to be able to see friends and family but as the time got closer, the ticket prices went up. I had resolved to being okay with the fact that I would spend Christmas here in Guatemala. I had even begun to make plans with Mario and get kind of excited to have new traditions. Then on Tuesday my mom and I were talking and she asked if I could call later that night because everyone would be together at family dinner. I was tired, feeling emotional, and frankly the idea of being passed around from person to person while straining to hear what they were saying through the bad internet connection just wasn't my idea of a fun night. I told my mom that I would have to see if I was still awake at that time (2 hour time difference so 7 CA time is 9 Guate time) and if indeed I was I MIGHT call. Well Mario and a few other friends and I decided to watch a movie here at the base. We had about 10 min. left when my skype went off and sure enough it was my mom. Ugggh I thought to myself, I guess I better go call her so that she will stop bugging me. I went up to my room and made the call. She asked me if I wanted to come home for Christmas (like she had done many conversations before) and I replied with my frustrated, "yes, mom, you know I do but not this year" and then she told me that my family, my wonderful amazing family, had all chipped in and bought me a plane ticket!!! I was so overwhelmed with excitement that I just began to cry and cry and cry. At that point I was so happy that we were talking on the phone and not through skype because the cry became uglier and uglier the more I processed this new surprise. After talking for a little bit longer and getting the details- I would be flying out in two sleeps on the 16th and returning to Guatemala on the 30th- I said goodbye and went to celebrate with Mario.

Now all along Mario knew. In fact I had caught him a few times on Facebook messaging with my mom but he would mysteriously close the screen before I came too close so in my nosy nature I knew something was up. When I went to tell him that I knew that I was going home I started to joke around with him saying, "and all this time I thought you were going to propose!" I was so overwhelmed by the idea of packing and getting things here together that I didn't give anything else any more thought because I thought that was all there was to the secret conversations and surprises.

Then last night we went to the movies with 2 other girls from YWAM. It was Sara's, one of our friends here, last night so we were excited to be able to all hang out. They all wanted to see the newest Chronicles of Narnia so I begrudgingly agreed, even though I hadn't seen the second one and my mind really wasn't on what was happening but on the packing and planning that I needed to finish instead. So we buy our tickets (2 for 1 price making our entrance to the movies a little over $1) and headed into the theater. I had a bad attitude and was struggling to enjoy the movie when all of a sudden the lights turned on and the movie stopped. I turned to my friends there with me and said "we should ask for our money back, this is ridiculous". As soon as I finished saying that, a guy that worked in the back booth of the theater came on the microphone and said "we are going to have a short intermission because someone has an announcement for Susan" then the next thing I know, Mario is standing up next to me! I turn to face him and he says to everyone "Hi, I am Mario and it is my fault that the movie stopped. I want you all to meet Susan, my girlfriend. (I stand and awkwardly wave hola to the crowd) I have a question for you, Susan. (as he pulls the ring out of his pocket and gets down on one knee) Will you marry me?" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... I couldn't believe it! Of course I said yes, but apparently not loud enough for everyone in the theater to hear because someone yelled, "So, what did you say?!?" So I turned and shouted "SIIIIIIII!!!!" so that everyone knew that this amazing man would be my husband!!! It was perfect. The only bad part was that the movie started back up and they expected me to sit there through it while I had all these new thoughts and emotions racing through my mind. I somehow made it through, with only a few questions here and there, and then we all four went to eat dinner at a place called Tacontento to celebrate. It was a great night and the perfect way to spend my last night before going home!!!

SST

Well the SST is finished which means that things are pretty much back to normal around here. For those of you who do not know, the SST is very similar to the school that I did with YWAM, but it is for Guatemalan teens. They take 3 weeks out of their vacation time from school and come to learn about God and to make Him known. It was a very special time and I think that everyone involved grew as a result.

I am glad to have Mario back, especially after 1 and 1/2 weeks of being completely apart. It was good for us to have time apart, though, and I really do think that absence makes the heart grow fonder I am just glad we are back together to be able to appreciate the new fondness. Here are a few pictures of the SST, as promised...

Paola, a student, doing the faith fall at the obstacle course

Junior, Mario's brother, doing another obstacle- The Spider Web

Junior, in the black beanie, praying for a teen in Livingston... God is GOOD!

Mario's cousins' babies... they are the cutest little twins!!!

Thanksgiving Memories

Today is Thanksgiving and through the years I have had many Thanksgiving memories. I remember the time that my family drove to Colorado to celebrate in the snow with my cousins, aunt, uncle, and great aunt and uncle. I remember the time our family wasn't invited to the beach by my great aunt and uncle, even though the rest of the family always was(which was the case every year for Thanksgiving) but went anyway to celebrate, and ended up sitting in the living room by ourselves because there was not "enough room" in the dinning room with the rest of the family. I remember the year that we rented a cabin in Big Bear and had a great time with family. I remember in Kindergarten when we got to have our feast and make Indian and Pilgrim costumes.

I love being able to bring traditions from my younger years into my adulthood. I LOVED being able to influence the memories of my students the two years I taught. Here is a picture of my first class, in 2007, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Notice the copycat Pilgrims on the wall? The pattern I used to guide the students is the same pattern I used when I was in school!

I also think about my Thanksgiving last year. I was on outreach for my DTS in a town called Tecpan. We all celebrated, with our newly found family. We ate carne asada, black beans, and tortillas but I managed to keep the turkey tradition through some good old homemade decorations and a few decorations that my mama sent from home.

Thanksgiving 2009 with my DTS family

The reason I am so nostalgic is because this year is VERY different. It is my first year to really be away from home- sure last year I was away, but it was more of an adventure than a real life situation. It is also different because the SST school, and most of our staff are not here at the base, which means I am pretty much alone. No turkey. No apple pie. No Thanksgiving Day Parade. No family.

I am trying to keep positive, though, and remember all the times God has been faithful in the past. I know that this nostalgia is just a feeling, and that it too will pass when I start to create my own new traditions and memories here in Guatemala. So basically what I want to say to you is... Enjoy your Thanksgiving and remember all those great memories and the times that God has been faithful... Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Life lately...

So I haven't updated in a while and I know that if I don't put something up soon people will start to wonder what is going on with me (that is for the few of you that read this) and that my mom will start to hassle me until I update, so here is a little bit of what has been going on in Guatemala the past few days...

It is graduation season here, which is weird for me. They start their school year in January and finish in October so those who graduate have their ceremonies at the end of October and the beginning of November. I have been to two graduations in the past two weeks. They were different from each other, but they were both, well, graduations. It is always exciting to see the person you came to watch walk across the stage and have their moment of fame, but the rest of the time is pretty much just for the graduates themselves and the people in the audience are to wait patiently until the end so they can take pictures and celebrate. Rosa, my friend that had her baby about 4 months ago, was one of the graduates. This was a special thing for her because even though she is a teen mom, she finished the year. The other graduate was a good friend from the base, Sammy Chavez. He did awesome in school and was amongst the top of his class. Here is a picture of Rosa, unfortunately I didn't bring my camera to Sammy's graduation so I don't have photos from that night.

Also, last Monday was the first official day of the SST here at the base. It is a school for Guatemalan youth, kind of like a DTS which is what I did last September, but shorter. It is one and a half weeks in the classroom and then one and a half weeks on outreach. There are 15 students here who are all crazy and God is moving in their lives. Even though I am not a part of the actual staff, I am in charge of the kitchen so I get to interact with them which is good. It is hard being the only staff member who lives here at the base who is not involved directly with the school. It is also hard that Mario is a part of the staff of the school which means that we only get to see each other at meals, but God is working a lot in my life and I know in Mario's life a lot during this time. It will be even harder when they leave for almost two weeks so I am enjoying the time I do get with Mario right now.

Another cool thing about the SST is that Mario's younger brother, Junior (or Edward) is doing the school. Mario is the only Christian in his family, but when he was living at home his brother told him that he wanted to do a school like the one Mario had done. When Mario found out about the SST it was the perfect opportunity for Junior. Junior is a clown and has been making us all laugh since the day he got here. He has been letting God in little by little, but today at church during the alter call he decided it was time to give his life up to God and accept Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior!!! What a blessing this is for the whole family, especially Mario. Unfortunately I haven't gotten any good pictures of Junior yet, but I will post some later when I can.

So that is a basic update of Youth with a Mission Guatemala, Susan style. I thank you, my faithful followers! God bless you.

Baby Time!

Gladis, my 15 year old friend who was pregnant, just had her baby! Her beautiful little girl was born at the end of October and has the cutest, most petite little face. Here is a bit of the story...

On Thursday, about 3 weeks ago, we decided that we would take Gladis to go shopping for some baby clothes at a wonderful second hand store we have here called Mega Paca. I was happy to be able to bless her with not only new clothes for the baby, but a few good after pregnancy clothes and even a few pairs of shoes, all for under $70. It was a great day, where I got to talk to Gladis a little bit more and most importantly for our relationship, I got to build trust. After shopping we invited her and her little sister to come to the base for lunch. We ate some lunch and hung out a little bit more and then we took the girls home. Here are a few pictures I took that day...

I look like a giant next to her even though she is around 8 months pregnant!

side view of the baby belly

So Friday, the next day, we got a phone call and were told that Gladis had given birth!!! We were all very excited for her and after we found out both mama and baby were healthy we were even more excited. We waited about a week to go visit. We couldn't wait to see the precious little girl, but Gladis didn't want us to take too many pictures, so I just snapped a few.
Gladis told us that she went into labor late Thursday night and gave birth at home with a midwife around 3 am Friday morning. What a champ!!! She seems to be very happy, even though she never really shows much emotion. She also seems to be a good mom and to have good family support, which is all a blessing. Here are some things that we still need to be praying for:

-A name for the baby. Gladis has not chosen a name yet so we have been trying to help her. I told her that Susan is a beautiful name, but I don't think she is buying it.

-Inner healing for Gladis. She has been through so much at such a young age, but she is making progress. Please keep praying for God to work in her life.

-A bed for Gladis and the baby

Thanks to everyone who reads these posts and prays along with me. I appreciate all of you and your encouragements!

Dental Clinic

Last week we spent everyday, except Wednesday, helping out at a dental clinic in a town about 45 minutes away from Guatemala City. It was a great time, but really long days. We had to leave the base by 6:45 each morning and didn't get back until around 8 each night. The dental team was made up of dental students and doctors from the University of Florida. It was fun working with them and making new friends. It was also good to be able to help out the Guatemalan patients with the dental work they needed (of course I did not actually DO any dental work, I just translated for the dentists). They also gave us free check ups and ended up with a few extra patients.

Mario getting a filling- his FIRST one EVER!!!

We had an evangelistic team presenting dramas and praying with the patients as they waited for their turn. They were able to pray with 7 people who received Christ as their Savior for the first time! What a great week it was!! Here are some photos... Enjoy!

The whole group

The YWAM team

Dog Trainer...

This is Mario's nephew, Yandel with his puppy. If you knew me or have heard stories about me when I was a kid, you would know that I was a cat trainer extraordinaire and would "train" the cats in numerous ways from dressing them up in doll clothes and pushing them around in a stroller to putting them in the mailbox and hiding in the tree to see what happened when the mail person came. It was a great childhood and I think that Yandel is a boy after my heart. He was "training" his puppies the whole time we were there and I couldn't help but think of me as a kid.

WARNING: If you love puppies and don't like to see them being flung around, don't watch this video!!! The rest of you, enjoy!!!

P.S. I realize that it is sideways, but I don't know how to fix it, sorry, so just tilt your head for the 9 seconds it will take to watch it and it will be all good!

Weekend in...

Puerto San Jose!!!

That is right, we got to go back to Puerto San Jose, the town where Mario's family lives, for a weekend. This time we went with other YWAMers to do some ministry with some of the local churches there. We had a great time.

On Friday we left the city around 2 and got to Puerto a little bit after that. We waited around for our host families to be ready and then we to eat dinner at a local home. I went with a girl I had met on my last trip down so it was good to be able to reconnect with her and it was even better to eat good, home cooked food for dinner. After dinner, we all met up again and went to a youth service at the church where we shared with the youth a little bit about YWAM. I had yet to meet the girl I would be staying with so after the service we were introduced. I stayed with a girl named Wendy, who is 22 years old and lives alone. Now to us in the states this is nothing weird, but here you don't usually move out of your parents house unless you get married (and even then sometimes you and your spouse live with your parents!). Wendy works in Puerto San Jose and goes to church there so to live with her family, who lives about an hour away, would be too much traveling so she decided to live alone which worked out perfectly for a fun girls weekend! We talked and talked on Friday night until my eyelids would not stay open anymore. Before I went to sleep, though, I really wanted to take a shower so I went into the bathroom and was greeted by a shower with no running water. I knew right then and there that it would be an interesting weekend since it was SO hot all day and night and being stinky and sweaty would be inevitable. So I got the bucket that was in the water basin and began taking a bucket shower. It was not bad at all and even though the water was not heated, it felt really good since it was so hot outside still. Then when I got out of the shower Wendy and I talked some more and then we finally said goodnight and hit the hay. She let me sleep in her big double bed while she slept on a mattress on the floor- just one of the very hospitable things that I got from the weekend.

On Saturday we went to breakfast at another house where the family who fed us had coconut trees. They got someone to chop some ripe ones down for us so that we could drink the milk out of them. Mario had to cut them open for us with a machete so that we could enjoy the delicious drink!

After breakfast we went to pass out some clothes that were donated for people who had lost everything in the flood about a month ago. We first went to the city dump. It was an adventure from the start because we had to use our 4 wheel drive just to get there! It was worth it, though, and there were many people who where thankful for the clothes and prayers that we supplied. After our time at the dump we went to a shelter for others who had lost their homes. They were living a tent city type setting and I can't imagine having to sleep inside a tent when it is 100 degrees outside. It would be disgustingly hot, but that is just how these people were living. They told us that when the flood came, the water was coming out of the windows of their house and they tried to save what they could, but they were thankful to even come out with their lives. We spent some time there passing out clothes and playing with the kids. I, of course, chose to help lead the kids in some songs and games. I learned a new way of playing "London Bridges" and had a blast hanging out with the kids and seeing their smiles.


After we finished, we ate some lunch and then had some free time. We decided to visit Mario's mom, who was braiding hair with his sister. When we got there they were just finishing up so we had some time to hang out and talk with them. Mario's nephew, who is 4 years old, adores Mario and was so glad to see him! Seeing the two of them interact DEFINITELY made me miss my own niece and nephew- Elisabeth and Nathan- even more than I did before!!!


While we were there, Mario asked us if we wanted his mom and sister to braid our hair. At first I said no, but then I thought that it would be good, seeing as my shower situation for the weekend was not the best and that it would be a good way for me to experience something new from their culture. As soon as I said yes, Christina, Mario's sister, got to work! It did not take her long at all and in no time I was a new woman!
We had a really fun time with Mario's family, but we had to go because we wanted to see the beautiful sunset at the beach before we went to dinner and then to small groups with the church. The sunset was gorgeous, as usual in Puerto, and dinner was great as well. After dinner we each split up and went to give a devotion at a small group. To me it was a challenge because even though I am a "missionary" it is intimidating for me to have to give a message in Spanish in front of a group but it went really really well and I am glad that they gave me the chance to share. After small groups we heading to the park to hang out for a little while before heading home for the night. When I got to the house I was staying, Wendy was already there watching some TV so I asked if I could take a shower again since the day had been so long and full of sweat. This time it did not take me as long because it was not my first time and because I only had to wash half of my hair thanks to my new do!

Sunday morning we got up, ate another wonderful breakfast at another home and then went to church. After we had been in the service for about 5 minutes, someone came up to us and said that our leader wanted to talk to us. We quietly walked out of the service to find our leader who informed us that there had been a mistake and another family had made us breakfast and was waiting for us to show up! We did not want to offend anyone so of course we went for our second round of delicious breakfast!! After that we had a fun day at the beach planned with the youth from the church. We went for a few hours and then Mario and I decided to go visit his mom again while everyone else was still hanging out at the beach. When we got to her house she whipped us up some wonderful fried things made out of flour called fritas. We ate and then had to say goodbye and leave because our time in Puerto San Jose was coming to an end. We went to pick up the other YWAMers at the beach and made our way back to the city after a long and fun-fulled weekend!

There were two things that surprised me this weekend in Puerto San Jose. The first thing was on the first day when we were there. I met a girl who asked me where I was from. I responded with the normal "California" response and she said that she was from California too. Then we started speaking in English, something I miss doing, and she told me that she was born in a town called Bakersfield. You can imagine my response!!! I was so excited and we began to talk all things Bakersfield. She moved to Iowa when she was 7 so she didn't grow up there, but to meet someone who actually even knew where Bakersfield is was exciting for me!

The second thing that surprised me was that in the youth group there were 2 girls named Susan! I have never before met a Susan in Latin America. Susana is somewhat common, but never Susan, especially two in one youth group! Obviously we took a picture together so I will leave you with a portrait of the three Susans...

Rosa

We have been going to Tierra Nueva every Thursday morning for ministry and as I mentioned in a previous post, we met a girl a while ago named Rosa. She is a 17 year old who was raped and became pregnant. She has been working hard to turn this bad situation into a good one, with God's help, and is raising her baby. For the first two months she did not have a name for her baby. This was really odd to me because I have been thinking of my future kids' names for years and years and could probably give you a list a mile long- but not Rosa. I don't know if it was because of the situation she was in or what, but the two month old precious little girl did not have a name. Then, after visiting her about 3 or 4 times I felt like I should challenge Rosa to take a step forward. I told her that her homework would be to pray and ask God about what name she should give her daughter. The next week when we returned I was excited to hear what name she had decided on. She had thought about naming her Esmeralda, and we even began calling the baby by that name because we thought she would make it her final decision but she decided on a beautiful name. I would like to introduce you to...

Jasmine Julissa

I have grown such a special bond with Rosa and with her family and I am so glad to be able to continue to visit her. God is also putting something more on my heart and I have started to pray, along with another staff member, about how God wants us to move forward in disciplining Rosa and other young girls who are in her situation or at risk of being in her situation. Please help us in prayer as we seek what God wants us to do. It is exciting for me because I have been wanting to do something more and I know that God will be able to use me in this area. Thank you for your support and prayers!!!

Big Mac Style...

Today we had a great opportunity to help out in the community. Today is McDia Feliz in Guatemala and that means that each person that buys a Big Mac will help support the Ronald McDonald houses here in Guatemala. This was a great chance for us to get involved in a deeper way since we already volunteer once a week at the Ronald McDonald house.

So 7 YWAMers piled into our blue van and headed to McDonalds at 9 this morning. We had a shift to work from 9-12 and really did not know what we were in for. We arrived and they gave us our oh so attractive hats and some really cute aprons to wear during our shift. Then we headed for our stations. My friend Aury and I worked at one of the doors, welcoming people with excitement. I was trying to enjoy my job and not to be too jealous of the people who got to be out on the street waving the flags and dancing to the music, but after about an hour it was time to switch places so I excitedly took my place along the street to welcome customers, wave the flag, scream, and my personal favorite-dance. It was really fun and after a while I even came up with some pretty good little flag routines. I don't think that the streets of Guatemala were prepared for me, though, because right in front of me 3 cars got into an accident! Now mind you, it was just a little finder bender, but I think that maybe they might have taken their eyes off the road to watch my polished routine and ooops... crunch! It was a very good time, though, overall and I walked away with some tired feet, some blistered hands, and a full belly (when our shift was over we supported the cause and ate a Big Mac as well!)

Blessings

First of all I apologize for not being as faithful over the past few weeks with my blog entries. There have been many things happening around here that have kept me plenty busy and now that I finally have a Saturday free I have time to share them with you!!!

First, our ministry times have been going really well. I have been in charge of the stories we tell with the children and I chose one of my favorite Bible characters to focus on for this month, Elijah. We have talked about God's faithfulness of the drought, the stream, and the widow. We have talked about idols and God's power with the story of the altar and the fire from heaven. We actually even did a little skit and got some photos of the altar and the fire from heaven that I would like to share with you!

The kids have been soaking up God's lessons from the Bible and it is awesome to see them so hungry to learn more and more about who our God is!

We have also been visiting with a girl named Rosa who is 17. She is a beauitful young lady who lives in a very poor area called Tierra Nueva. Rosa was raped and as a result she became pregnant. She is the daughter of pastors and to hide the shame from their family they send her to live with an aunt. Rosa had a beautiful baby girl who turned 1 month old a week ago. This poor girl is trying to raise a baby by herself but has no clue how to go about doing it. We have been offering support to her as much as we can. We bathe the baby when we go because that is something that Rosa is afraid to do on her own. We also have been bringing diapers and other baby supplies. We have also been in contact with Rosa's family, encouraging them to accept her back into their family and teaching them about restoration. I really feel like God is working in this situation, too, because just last week Rosa moved back home with her family where she will be able to receive the support she needs. I have grown a special bond with Rosa and look forward to growing our friendship even more in the future. Here are a few pictures of Rosa and her baby, Esmeralda.


I also celebrated my 26th (it still sounds so OLD) birthday on September 19th. It was a great day not only because the people here helped me celebrate and made it special, but my MOM was here too!!! She got to stay for 9 days and we had such a wonderful time together! She came to mostly to see what we do here and to meet my amazing boyfriend, Mario. She loved it here and I am pretty sure she loved Mario too! They got along really well and I even found myself left out at times around the two of them! It was awesome!!! We celebrated Guatemalan Independence Day, my birthday and my mom's birthday together. Here are just a few highlight pictures of our time together.

Puerto San Jose

Today we had a day off so Mario and I decided to visit his family and his home church pastors. It was also a trip for Mario to get a few more things from his house and bring them back to the base where he is now living full time. We started out at 8:15 this morning by getting on a local public bus, similar to this (ours was not actually this full, thank goodness, but this is a normal everyday occurrence here)

Then we got on the Metro to arrive at another bus station where we took another bus like this.

We rode that bus to another city where we then got on a minibus... let's just say it was an adventure to get there!

When we finally arrived in Puerto San Jose we went to visit with Mario's pastors who have their service on Saturday evenings so they were free to visit this morning. It was a good time and the kids were having Sunday school so I took a picture with some of them as they were leaving.
We had a good time hanging out with some of Mario's church friends and his pastors but it was soon time to go to Mario's house to see his family and collect his things.

Mario's family lives about 20 minutes away from the center of town where we were to begin with, so instead of having to pay for a ride in a taxi-like van, Mario asked one of his friends if we could borrow his motorcycle. It was another adventure to get to his house because it has been really rainy so there were LOTS of puddles along the dirt road. I did my best to take a picture as we were riding along.


As we were on our way we noticed there was a ring around the sun. I also did my best to take a picture of that but since all my attempts were in between puddles and bumps in the road, it never came out just as I would have liked.
We finally returned back home around 5:30 after a great day full of adventure!