Lisa goes to Central America

So since I wrote. It has been pretty good until today. But Wednesday was the fourth I felt your prayers. I went to a cafe to study and then prayed in the cathedral which by the way was not nearly as pretty as Leon´s but quiet and worshipful. The time with God was a blessing because it was worshipful there it was nice to be able to sit in God´s presence. I have learned that if I don´t have time with God my days here are worse than they normal. Anyway I appreciate your prayers.

On Thursday after class i went to Fuentes Georginas a hot springs. It was really nice there. it was a break from here. I only went with two other people which was nice to not be in this wierd group of people. Lets just admit it. It is a wierd group of people.  People are in groups and travelling solo. They are from all different views. They are fun to a point but their defintion of fun may not be mine.  I enjoy there company but have not met someone that I have that bond with. Which honestly is fine The girl I went with to Fuentes Geoginas is a seminary student. She is really cool.  I enjoy her she is a seventh day advetnist and loves her faith. She is going to have Dianna Warden´s job in a church in California. She is probably the only one so far that I feel any connection with. I am glad I went with her. The pictures are good especially on the road up and down from the pools. We got to stand up in the back of a pickup and feel the cool breeze. Oh it was beautiful. We went with her cousin who was visiting. He is about to start his phd in bio physics. He is only nineteen. A fascinating guy.

However staying out all day posed a problem. i didn´t do my homework in a timely manner. So i tried to do it at night. Well my one and only pen died so I decided to wake up early to do it with a marker from the hygiene trunk (which most people think I really brought that much clothes) To bad my suitcase has hygiene stuff too so really I brought much less than they think.  It is very interesting to see people´s reaction to the trunk because who actually travels with a huge trunk. Anyway since I was exhausted and spanish is hard for me i made too many errors. I think sometimes my dyslexia gets in the way and I get soooo frustrated with it especially since it doesn´t show up as much with teaching math.  So the way my teacher grades is frustrating. 

Today

i woke up early did my homework very half heartedly.  Probably should have said ahh well I was out all day the day before and left it undone but determined to be good I did it. I went to take a shower (noone is ever in the shower at this point) and some one was there and taking thier time. So I ate breakfast it wasn´t something that I particularly enjoy (microwaved plantains).  So started out tired frustrated ready to leave Xela. I think I just want to leave.  It is not home like Nicaragua. It is not comfortable. My house is not comfortable. (they talk really loud to everyone not just those who struggle with the language- everyone).

i went to school. My teacher whips out worksheets. At this point I think if I wanted worksheets I could have grabbed four levels of them from school and toured during my breaks. The exhaustion of the day the frustration with my teacher the frustration with my house I started to tear up. I left. I don´t do that. But I did.  I feel pretty stupid and a bit frustrtated. I don´t feel like I am getting a better education than what Lydia and my 501 verbs book were giving me and she isn´t trained and I got to play with David when she helped me.  I also genuinely enjoy her company (richardsons if you read this i really have been blessed by you this year). So that is the rough part. Really not the end of the world. I have a weekend to rest and prepare for a new teacher.   

Good part of the day. I got a phone it was like 45 dollars with 100 minutes or so to the US and I can add more as I go. That wasn´t even the cheapest phone possible. They were out of those. I just wanted a phone so I spent 7 bucks extra. After that I called Jenny a friend mine from the US sister and she invited me to spend the night on Saturday and go to church with her.  I am looking forward to it :) It will be nice to get away from my family.

I made reservations for a hotel in Antigua for Thursday July 12 and things are coming together for that . I am ready to see living water again. I am nervous about meeting a whole new team and the work involved with them. I am excited about meeting a new community.

 IF you can remember. Pray for unity within the team. Pray for bonding between communities. Pray that everyone will be safe. Pray for safety in travel. Praise God that he is so big and generous and loving. Praise him for taking care of me and of things so far. PRay the gospel will be known especially in the community that we go to. Pray that they will except the hygiene and the well and the hygiene will help them to become healthier. Pray that we will be able to bond with the women of the community.

Also pray for abangasca sur. see Jorge blog for detailed pray requests. He said it better than me. Pray for Jorge adn his family as they get ready for a new team in a week or two. That his sons will adjust to having saying goodbye to people more often than they like. Pray for my heart because I desparately want to return to nicaragua. If I could for several years. pray for guidance and trust and joy in my frustrations.

I don´t know if I have more now.

So ther first couple days in Xela have honestly been very tough.  i miss the fellowship i had in Nicaragua and that I have at home. I have been blessed with a great number of strong believers around me in those places but here I feel alone. In part because i have been overwhelmingly exhausted. I need rest but am not doing a great job of it.  I actually think I am getting sick. Which is hard because I feel alone here.

I have met my host family. There are five other people living here. The first is another student at Celas Maya.  he is a college student.  He is a nice guy very much a college student. Then there are four mayan students living with us. They seem very nice but i haven´t gotten to know them much. The parents have two children.  Miguel who is 7 i think and Abigail is 2. The father has green eyes. They are interesting. I am not quite comfortable there. However my room has a beautiful view of a volcanoe and some mountains.  

I went to a town with a painted church. It was interesting but not the way people talked about it. It was my first experience on a chicken bus. Esta bien. The town also had a statue of San Simon. he is the bad saint yet brings good luck. He is a mixture of catholic and mayan saint. it is interesting to begin to see the syncretisic worship here. There was definitely an alter where they laid sacrifices in front of the cross.  It was a little uncomfortable because i wanted to talk more openly than I could with out being rude about the theological implications of such worship. Worship of things that are not God and letting other things be the power of God.

My teacher. Her name is Astrid. At first it was rough because we were doing worksheets. If you know me. I don´t learn from those well.  Today was pretty cool. I told her about the tippy tap and she gave me a jug to make the next one. She also seemed very into it which was pretty cool. We talked a lot about her life. She has had an interesting life. We are very different.  I think we are finally getting along.

The guatemalan accent is much easier to understand than the nica accent.  I think I am learning but obviously not as fast as I would like. my level of spanish is wierd because i am missing some basics but i have some more intermediate stuff. Sometimes I get frustrated with myself and sometimes I get frustrated with program.  i hope I adjust better however I am only here 9 days until I go for another project

The climate here is cool and rainy. I didn´t bring enough warm clothes but as I mentioned i am only here nine more days. It is kinda funny most look at my big hygiene trunk and think I brought a ton of clothes. Ha! that is completely full of hygiene stuff and my suitcase has hygiene materials as well. so it is a bit funny. It will be nice because when I leave guatemala I will have less stuff.

I have a lot of homework to do now.

Will write again as life unfolds

So I went to my brother´s blog today. He posted my blog about pedro and then a guy who drilled in Abangasca Norte on the second well commented about meeting Pedro.  It is amazing how God can bring people together. It is amazing that a man with down symdrome in Nicaragua can have such a big impact on people here in the united states. God often uses the people who we least expect to impact others.

other thoughts news.

I will miss the Alvarado family. They let me play with their kids. Those kids are wonderful and adorable. I am looking forward to seeing them again. That is a cool thing about hygiene anchor, it is a definite possibility.  

It is interesting being here in Guatemala. Where i am is a different world than Leon. It is in the mountains so it is cooler adn fairly crisp. It is nice. The cars are nicer as are the roads. The streets are fairly narrow and i haven´t seen any bikes with 5 people on them yet or ox carts come to think of it. It is beautiful here but the past few days have been exhausting. I am looking forward to meeting my host family and resting. (I know rest, What is that?). School starts tomorrow – it will be wierd to be back in school. I don´t know if I am mentally ready.  I am glad I am here two weeks because I am sick of travelling, it will be nice to stay for a while.

I guess some prayers of mine are

Pray for the community and the well we just put in. PRay that it will allow the church to become more involed with the community and pray that they will use teh hygiene we taught them.

Pray for those who just returned from the trip and there adjustment back to the states.

Pray for the Alvardos especially the kids as they become used to people and then people leave.

Pray for school that i will be awake and rested and ready to learn and that I will learn a lot.

Pray for the upcoming community.  PRay they will be prepared for us. That they will be ready for hygiene and that we will find water.

 Pray for team unity

Pray that I will be able to connect with the community here and I wont be stand offish.

Genesis 26:12-22

12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.

 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”

 17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

 19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, ^[a] because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. ^[b] 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, ^[c] saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

So Jorge did a devotion on this and challenged us quite a bit and i want to write what he wrote and some of the discussion.

The bible story about events that took place almost 4000 years ago, clearly demonstrates the importance of good wells adn teh water they produce. The wells were so valuable they were given meaningful names like they were children in the family. When there was a shortage of water and the herdsmen quarreled over it, Isaac named the wells. Esek meaning dispute adn Sitnah meaning opposition.  Isaac kept on digging wells until there was enough water for everyone. Then he named the well Rehoboth which means room. Enough good water gives people room to florish.

Some prayer requests for the wells.

• If you’ve been given water and room to flourish, be thankful adn don’t take it for granted
• Pray that this well project will produce room for the people in abangasca sur to flourish-flourish body, soul, and spirit
• Pray that this well will be protected from selfish interest and quarreling-that this well will be a blessing for all
• Pray that God will raise up ministries to provide good water for millions of people all over the water.

That is pretty much what Jorge Wrote. I guess to add my thoughts. Water gives life being able to bring the gift of water is a blessing.

Trust God-to be in the palm of his hand is to be in the best place for you.

Although we may be done with this project. This project is the beginning for the community. We can’t stop praying for them.

other thoughts not on the devotion.

nicaragua has my heart. So does hygiene. Most on my team are jealous that I am staying in Central America. I am blessed to stay here. I don’t think I could leave after a week this time. However, it is hard to say good bye to Nicaragua. Leon in some ways feels like home.

i feel better equiped to lead a team now. Ronald made me make decisions when i wanted him to which gave me confidence in my abilities. So although I got frustrated sometimes. I know that he did what was best for me and future teams that i lead eventhough this one may have been not picture perfect. I saw ways that I can do better.

I get to sleep in tomorrow. i cant wait

Please pray for safe travel the next two days as I try to make it to my language school.

Pray that I will have time to process life and be still and know that he is God.

The team

So i never introduced you to the team from Michigan.

First there is shawn. He is a third year college student. He is a baby Christian and is dating Ashley. HE talks a lot and is very observant. He takes in everything that is happening around him. He is eager to learn which is exciting to see.

Then there is Don. HE is a military guy. He shows that through and through but he has a lot of compassion on others. He is a great leader.

Then There is Ron. HE wants to be a national. His heart is the biggest I have seen. HE has eyes as large as saucers, and the joy of the lord sprouts about him. HE is very encouraging and loving.

Then there is Stan is quiet but very funny. He doesn´t say much but what he says is always worth something. HE is a corrections officer is very tough yet gentle. We eat breakfast often in silence together.

The well.

So we got a well yesterday. Then we had a big water fight. I can´t wait to show you pictures. God is mighty and powerful and it is amazing to see him work. I don´t have a ton of words right now to be honest.  Other than we have been blessed beyond comparison to serve God almighty.  I had so much fun. I think it was a defining moment with the kids. We finally began to connect with the community.  Which it took a while

I know we didnt connect with the community in the same way that we did on the first trip so that was frustrating.

It has been interesting to lead. I thought it would be scary but it is comfortable. IT is where God has me. I don´t know if i can say it any better. We are leaving tomorrow morning and I will dearly miss this place. The alvardos are a blessing. I have spent a lot of time with them. and have fallen in love with there family.

Today we had to say goodbye to the community. I had to say goodbye to fani. It hard knowing that you wont see them again. I still miss Fredi my little buddy from my first trip. It is amazing how quickly you can be connected to a group of people and how hard it is to say goodbye. It hurts my heart, I also know that out purpose needs to be for them to be self sufficient. Which makes it a little bit easier.

i want to tell you about devotions today but I left my notes at home. I will tomorrow. They were beautiful and i can´t wait to share.

I have a hard time writing sometimes. I am not that good at it nor is it my favorite. It is hard to talk about myself.

Thanks for reading this.

maybe I can write a better sum up when i am not tired.

Today, the first lesson were a bit rough but got better and better as we did more.  The adults were really getting into it which was pretty cool. I am excited about tomorrow. But it seems lot a lot of work for someone as tired as me. Keep praying about the aquifer. We might not have water. It will be hard on the guys and hard for us all, especially the community.

Another cool thing that happened was that, the guy doing the devotions showed us the wordless bracelet because I showed it to him earlier. He had never seen it before and was really excited about it. This trip he said reignited his passion for the Lord. It is cool to see Americans grow toward God.

We also bonded with the kids. I would like to meet the women of the community more and know their life and spend more time with them. I think as a whole we bonded with the community better.  it was a cool day for the hygiene but rough for the drillers. You learn to bond with people quickly because the trip is so short. I have already connected with a couple and know that they will find special places in my heart like Fredi and Eliel.

 Anyway I told you I´d introduce you to the Alvardos.

Jorge is about 28. He is a good mix between Nicaraguan and American so he makes it easy for us to adjust. He gives us a really good picture into Nicaragua. He loves to drill and he loves opening his home up to other people. He likes to tease especially about joe´s dancing ability (or lack there of). He a good leader for the trips.

Clara is his wife. She is learning English. I have short conversations with her but my spanish is not that great. She is a great cook and loves cooking for us. Her juices are amazing. She is into the hygiene and evens wants me to use her diarrea doll because it is easy to use. I am glad i have been to hispanos because I think that has allowed me to be able to talk to her. She always sits down next to me and we have some short conversations.

Jorgito or Jorge Isaac is the first born son. He is seven years old and doesn´t talk much.  we get to play some. He is a good kid. Really cute. he is a typically boy playing with swords and play fighting too. I often eat dinner with him.

Brian is 2. He kind of reminds me of my brother Mike. He looks a little like him. However that kid can scream. He is not whining or crying though. he is just loud. He is a good sport and likes to play.He is a good sport and likes to play. He is adorable and likes to play peekaboo. I got to play dinosaurs this morning with him.

We have all been blessed by knowing them. They have done a great job in opening their house.

I am too tired to write more and I still have trunk duty.

buenas noches!

So we went to church today it was a wierd service. They weren´t going to have church because they were having a special seminar so they had a small sermon for us, it was a little wierd. Nonetheless good.

We did the typical Sunday sightseeing. I don´t think I want to go back to the fort again. Jorge told me some more history on it. It was a place that Samosa kept political prisoners. Samosa was an awful dictator of Nicaragua and did aweful things in these places. The more I learn about Nicaragua the more sadden I become of there history, they have been through a lot and seen a lot.

It has been interesting working with an in country rep from the country who loves his country. He seems more knowledgeable I am learning much. Also my spanish is better and I am not as wide eyed so I can learn more.

Tomorrow you will meet the alvarado family.

Today you will meet Ed. Ed is from New Jersey and reminds me a lot of my dad. I think he is the most wide eyed of them all. He is interesting to talk and careing and gentle and a bit conservative. He finally feeling comfortable but he is the only one who didn´t come with someone else so I am sure it is tough to break into the group for him.

I hope things are going well.

Email me if you want.

Also pray for an aquifer.

<pray for my brother he has boards on Wednesday.

miss people from home.

Day 1 (this is the same post from Venture´s page

First of all I am so glad that Ronald is the translator. He has been so helpful. Everyone is looking to me to ask questions because I have become the more knowlegdeable one. The team is pretty cool. There are a lot military guys on the team. So I will introduce you to a few people on the team and then tell you about our day and what I know of the drilling. First Ashley is the other hygiene member. She is not really religious so it is interesting that she signed up for the trip. Jenn has done a good job of getting to know her. She is pretty quiet unless you start asking her questions. She has been through a lot recently with family tragedy. I would ask you to keep her in your prayers this week as we get to know her better and share Christ love with her. The next guy I will introduce you to is Ron. Ron wants to be a Nicaraguan. He has spent a ton time here working with another organization and an organization that him and his wife have started. HE is a paramedic and is studying to be a physicians assistant. HE has a huge heart for missions and is fun to be around relaxed and encouraging. HE is easy going but has a lot of depth – the type you would want to look up to. The third guy is don. I always want to call him stan (there is another stan), Don is very military but he love his job and seems good at it. He seems like a very focused and genuine guy. Will joke around quite about. I have a fun time hanging out with him. tomorrow you will meet more people. However lets update you on today. Today we got there about 10 after stopping by ayudante. We as a hygiene team prayed and met the community. The community is fairly leary of us and is not sure what to think about the hygiene. Pray that people will show on monday. I am actually very comfortable doing what i am doing. It fits like a glove. There is times i question myself and then ronald encourages me. It is wierd to be back because there isn´t as much culture shock because I knew what to picture coming in. The community is very large. it has 140 in the school and 800 total. It seems spread out. It is not as poor as Abangasca norte because most people work with the sugar cane company. The school is smaller than the school in Hato Grande #2 but it has more students. There are a lot of trees they are pretty. WE got a lot of kid time today and I got to meet one kid Natalia who held my hand the whole morning. She is 11 and in fourth grade and has the biggest eyes. The kids are shy. I think it may be a tough job to get the community to warm up. The drilling is going well. They have drilled about 100 feet. They haven´t hit a great aquifer yet (only about four feet, they want something a little larger) so they are hoping for something better. Please pray for that over the next couple of days. The drill team is using the tippy tap and excited about the hygiene which is cool. WE go to church tomorrow and then see some sites and rest. Please pray: our conversations will be directed and focused on God The community is highly catholic as name only – they don´t know Jesus The well Hygiene Jenn´s luggage There is probably stuff I am forgetting but I need to go because I can´t think well anymore. buenas noches

We arrived here safely today I had a great nap on the plane and I don´t sleep uber well on planes. It is a nice day in Leon not super hot. WE are back at the house same house different hosts slightly different furniture but they look like they are better sleeping couches

I am very excited about the town we are in, we will go to Abangasca Sur, part of the same set of communities that IBC was in January. I am excited to meet the community tomorrow. We will again be working with translator Ronald. I am excited about spending time with him and glad I am working with someone I already know.

The team is mainly from michigan they seem pretty cool but clueless on the hygiene side.  It seems as though since i have been here before people look for me to be leader which good because that is my job. Jenn dunn is with me and another girl on the hygiene team will come as well. She hasn´t been through training at all so I will have to train her as we go. Pray that we will bond as a team and she won´t be left out. Her name is Ashley.

 It is nice to be here, nice to be away from the stress of getting here. I dont have too much to say but please pray for Jenn her luggage was lost. Pray that we will be able to find it. 

 I hope to update this as much as possible. I will introduce to the people we are with as we explore more.

There are some repeaters from trips past.

First Ronald: always smiling, he and I will work together with hygiene. knows what he is doing and am blessed to have him by my side. 

Second Jim Mohney:  He is the team leader. A quiet spirit does a great job of leading and is very relaxed and respected. I am looking forward to learning from him.

I don´t have much to say now but I am sure I will soon have stories.

please pray for the community and pray my new leadership role and please pray for water.

So in two weeks from now (at this time) I will be rolling out of bed in Nicaragua heading for a devotion before breakfast. Many of you know that when I get out of bed I tend to stare a lot and am not quite able to speak coherent sentences. However, It was something that I looked forward to everyday. Yeah I know, to look forward to something that occurs in the morning for me is pretty impressive. They were incredibly special and a beautiful way to start the day in the quiet presence of the Almighty. 

I guess I am writing today because I wanted to write about my weekend. This weekend was pretty cool. I had a bbq at my house. We had approximately 70 people there. It was amazing. I was very blessed to have them all at my house. Also it was cool because I invited both Hispanos jovenes and Venture (the two groups at church I am involved with) and they slowly began to interact. It will be a slow process but it was a blessing.

Secondly I got to speak for 2 minutes at Venture. I just got to update Venture on what’s going on with my trip and the venture trip. I gave them my schedule and gave them some prayer requests. I would like to update you on those.

First in case you need it, my schedule is:

June 22, 2007: I leave for Nicaragua at 7:00 and get there at about 1:00 our time.

June 30, 2007: Jen Dunn heads home, I head to Guatemala.

July 1. 2007: I leave Guatemala City and take a bus to Xela where I will be studying Spanish in a one on one immersion program

July 13. 2007: I leave Xela and meet my team in Antigua, Guatemala.

July 15: 2007: Team leaves Antigua and heads to a small town in Guatemala (La Machina?)

July 19, 2007: Team leaves La Machina and heads back to Antigua.

July 21. 2007: Team leaves Antigua and flies home, I stay in Antigua, I stay a week in Antigua and study. I hope to maybe travel somewhere fun today.

July 27: 2007, Leave Antigua go to Guatemala City, spend the night at Lydia’s parents house.

July 28, 2007: Leave Guatemala City for El Salvador and meet IBC J

August 4, 2007: HOME

Prayer requests:

Ø      That I will get all I need to get done in the next two weeks

Ø      That the American teams will get along well

Ø      That there will be clean water

Ø      That the village will be prepared for us and ready to accept hygiene teaching and ready to apply the teaching.

Ø      That the American teams and the in country LWI reps will work well together

Ø      That the American teams and the villages we work well together and that the American teams will share God’s word and God’s love with the village.

Ø      Safety in traveling. You can see there is a lot of traveling.

Ø      That God will be Glorified, every good work comes from him