I Know Why People Die

Thursdays and Saturdays are market days here in Antigua. In the mornings, the whole town comes out to buy their food for the coming days. There is a giant tent/building in which everyone sets up "shop" to sell their goods. One area for fruits and vegetables, one for clothing, one for shoes, one for cds, and one for meats. As you walk through the cramped "hallways," the smell is absolutely overpowering. Rotting fruit covered in garbage bags combined with raw meat that has been sitting out for hours, and lots and lots of people in a small space. My heart breaks, knowing that for many people here, this food will be their dinner.
My friend commented today that there are lots of medical centers in Antigua. I know why.

At the same time, if you can get past the initial smell, the market is a wonderful place. There are so many different crafts and things to look at. I, a non-craftsy person myself, have always marveled at the creativity and craftsmanship of artists. The clothing and fabric shops especially, are so much fun to see. It's like walking through a rainbow; so many brillant colors!!!

Everyday, I meet someone new. Yesterday, while walking home I meet a shoeshiner, named Luis (see photo on right), who works on the street I walk everyday. He is learning to read Spanish as well as to speak a little English. So now, whenever I see him, we practice his few English words and he recites Genesis to me in Spanish. Speaking of Luis, he's reading children's books here in the same coffee shop I'm in.

This weekend, Amy, Megan (the 2 girls here with CAM also), Mackenzie (my housemate), and I are taking a trip to Monterico, the Pacific beach an 1 1/2 hour away from Antigua. It is know for it's beaches reserved for the many sea turtles that come to lay their eggs. Many of the companies there rescue the turtle eggs from poachers and then release them into the sea when they are old enough. Even so, only 1 out of every 100 baby turtles survives. Que triste!!

This afternoon we had a change of pace from the usual 5 hours of class. After studying por vs. para and comparison sentences in the morning, a group of 10 students and teachers left to play soccer in a nearby field. When we arrived, there was a girls' school group dancing in on the basketball court, where we had planned to play. We watched for almost an hour as they danced to Avrile Lavine, Shakira, and other English songs. I wonder if they know what they mean... Many people (especially the middle school boys of the community) turned out to watch the girls dance. It was obviously a dance that they had learned together. At they ended in a big, cheerleader-like pyramid. Go team!!!

Our soccer on the other hand... We played against some local kids. They play soccer in their sleep. But we held our own, and scored a few goals while we were at it!!!

Tonight we plan on searching for a TV to watch the presidential debates. Wish us luck!!

Help!

The computer won´t let me make paragraphs unless I bullet point everything. Anyone know what to do?


Thanks

Aqui en Guatemala

Hola mis queridos!!!

I am here in Guatemala! Today is the first day that I´ve had access to a computer for more than a few minutes. Please excuse the many typing errors that are sure to occur, because the symbols on the keyboards here are in different places than in the States.

The flight here went beautifully. I ended up sitting next to one of the vocalists from the RNB group ¨The Spinners¨ and talking the whole way. They were on their way to a gig in Texas. He was very upset that I didn´t know who Donny Osman is. Yes, I know, sad.

I spent my first two days here in a house at a seminary in downtown Guat. City with Amy and Megan, two girls from Washington also with CAM. They will be working in Casita Benjamin, a center for young children in G.C. After two days there, we traveled to Antigua, where I am now taking lessons at a language school.

Antigua is wonderful. Here I am free to walk around as I please during the day, not afraid of being hurt or robbed. A typical day looks as such

• 6 30 am, wake up
• 7 30 breakfast with my host family
• 8 am language school
• 10 am break
• 10 30 am language school
• 1 pm lunch
• travel around the city as I please
• 7 30 pm dinner
• 8 homework
• 10 30 bed

School is wonderful. We each have a personal tutor for the whole day. On the first day we took a test to determine what level in Spanish we are at. Then, our teacher works with us from there. My teacher, Brenda, speaks slow enough that I can understand absolutely everything that she says. What a confidence booster!

Each day we review several gramatical subjects in Spanish and practice reading, writing, speaking, and understanding. By the end, my brain feels ready to explode. Yet, each day I feel myself speaking faster, with better grammar, and understanding more. It´s rather exciting.
My family is quite eclectic. As of now, I have a mom and a little brother who´s 10, along with an English gentleman, and Mackenzie, from Canada. It´s so funny to hear Spanish with an English accent!!!

Due to Antigua being a rather touristy town, there are dance classes EVERYWHERE!! I plan on starting salsa and merengue classes soon!

I apologize for this post being so dry, but I just wanted to get the facts down.

Sorry Dad!! Short enough for you?

More coming soon!

T minus 5 days

The summer has gone so quickly. Today I looked at the calender and realized that I'm leaving for Guatemala in less than 5 days! EEP! Maybe I should start packing...

Saturday night's party was wonderful. Having the chance to see everyone one last time before I left was such a blessing. Seeing everyone come out, even in the rain, to support me and say goodbye was more encouraging than I could have ever imagined. Yet, it meant that I had to say goodbye to everyone as well. That was hard. I will miss them so much--each of them brought back special memories and reminded me of what I'll be missing this coming year.

Most days I feel bi-polar. One minute I'm on cloud 9, ready and excited to leave, to begin this journey. The next minute I'm fighting tears because it hurts so much to say goodbye--to family, to friends, to memories I'll never have because I wasn't here. Even my boys, T and J. In the few weeks since I've seen them, the already look like they've grown. What will they, and everyone else, be like in a year from now? For that matter, what will I be like? Even so, I know that God is going to use this year to mold me into the woman that He wants me to be. Yes, I will come home a different person, and though the unknown is scary, I am excited to see who she will be.

Through all things, God is good. The whole process of preparing to leave and raising my support has reminded me of my favorite verse, Phil. 4:19: "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." What I thought would be a long, arduous task has turned out to be a joy. Support donations have literally poured in. Through God's gracious provision and the generous hearts of many, many people, I have been able to raise 100% of my support money, with some to spare. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! I am completely overwhelmed by the faith and generosity of so many people. Without your support, this year would not be possible. It is obvious to me this is God saying "Yes, this is where you're supposed to be right now."

Leave it to God to prove His glory to me--again.