They Are Precious in His Sight

We have been doing a lot of ministries with kids since the team has been here.  I LOVE kids and I LOVE being able to play, sing and teach them about their Heavenly Father who loves them so much!  Two of my very favorite places that we have gone have been a ministry called Piedras Vivas (Living Rocks) and an orphanage we went to called Luz de Maria.  Piedras Vivas has only been open for a few months but they have around 100 kids come 3 times a week to hear about God and to learn what it means to live a life as a Christian.  Here are some pictures from Piedras Vivas...

 

Michelle and me

The orphanage was also an amazing place.  We got to hug and love on kids that were from 2 months- 5 years old.  The workers told us all the kids' stories of how they ended up there and it was heart breaking to hear the 28 ways that these 28 kids had been abandoned by their parents.   There was a boy whose mom sold him for less than $50 and there was another boy who was taken in because he was severely malnourished and when they investigated they found that his only source of nutrition had been dog food right alongside the dogs outside.  It was very hard to leave, too, because I wanted to bring them all back with me!  I fell in love with one girl who clung to me the whole time.  Her name is Michelle and she got taken away from her parents because of abuse and malnourishment.  She is 3 and she is just as precious as she can be.  Here are some pictures.

Beginning of the Year

We have had a very full beginning of the year here at YWAM Guatemala.  We have a team that is here from Tyler, Texas doing their DTS outreach.  I am in charge of making their schedule and then making sure everything goes as planned (or as God has planned) throughout their time here.  It has been super busy but really really good.  Last night Mario and I had the chance to get away to celebrate his 25th birthday- which is actually on January 22- and we got some time just to talk.  I was thinking of this team and trying to express how I felt about them being here and all and I came up with this- they are like a shot in our spiritual arm for the new year.  They have brought us a direct purpose as a staff and they have also brought new energy and life.  It is so great to serve God alongside other people who have the same passions you do.  They are actually going to be here for a whole month, and for their last week here they will be going to a place called Puerto Barrios and Livingston.  I think Mario and I might get to go with them, which would be amazing since Livingston is where we would LOVE to be in the future.  I am excited to see what God has for the next few weeks with this team.  I will try to keep my blog updated as often as I can while they are here, but time is usually limited and sleep is usually the winner over computer time. This picture is of Mario and me with a little girl from an orphanage we worked at last week. 
PS- I LOVE being engaged to such a wonderful man!!!

Christmas Season 2010

Well a lot of things have happened in the past few weeks.  Like I wrote in my last entry, I got to go home for Christmas- thanks to my wonderful and AMAZING family.  I also got engaged!!!  Ahhhh, that week was an amazing week followed by two more amazing weeks with my family.  When I got to Bakersfield it was like a whirlwind of wedding planning, Christmas traditions, and seeing people I love. 

My mom and a good friend from her work, Jennifer, picked me up at LAX late Thursday night and it was nonstop from there.  I got to go to the Country Christian School 1st grade class Christmas party (I have an "in" with the teacher).  I also got to spend some good time with the two most amazing kids in the world, Nathan and Elisabeth.  I got to see almost all of my family and we laughed and ate a lot.  We took family pictures as well, which is something that hasn't happened since Nathan was a baby almost 3 years ago.  Here are a few pictures from Christmas.

 The girls at family lunch at Los Hermanos Sunday after Church

 Family Pictures (minus Becky and Zach) on Christmas Eve

 I also got to spend time with two of my very best friends in the whole wide world.  Denise came down from Fresno to be with her family for Christmas and so Layne, Denise and I took advantage of the time and looked for bridesmaid dresses.  It was super fun to hang out with my girls (we were definitely missing Erin) and we were even successful in finding dresses and shoes for the bridesmaids. 

Talking about wedding planning, we also did a lot of that!  It was amazing to me how many things we got done between my mom, sisters, friends, and me in just two short weeks.  I have definitely been able to feel God's faithfulness through the planning and I feel like there has been blessing after blessing already and we just got engaged!  I will keep you all updated on the details, but until they are set in stone I am going to keep you waiting...

I had a great time at home, but I was so glad to be able to come back to my man!  He was glad too, I think, because even though my plane didn't get in until 10:30, he was at the airport at 9.  He also had some beautiful flowers waiting for me as I got off the plane.  When I got to my room there were more surprises from him.  He had cleaned my room- which was definitely NOT clean when I left since I didn't know I was leaving until two days before and packing left a tornado of clothes behind in my room.  I thought that was the extent of it until I went to bed that night.  I got into my prime sleeping position and stretched my arm out under my pillow and felt something.  It was a Snickers bar that he had hid for me.  He knows me well!!!  We have had a good time being engaged since I have been back and I am finding that he is almost as excited as I am (which is a feat in itself) for all the planning and details of the wedding!  What a wonderful, blessed past month I have had indeed!!!