Recap

Hey All,

Everyone seems to be doing a 2010 recap so I figured why not do one as well :) This year has had its ups and downs. It started off kinda rough with my childhood friend's mom getting killed in a car accident in the first week of January. In the spring, we got a puppy named Tagg. He is adorable. We also met quite a few new people and a youth bible study was born. The Mexican bible study that my dad had been leading for 2 years ended abruptly which was incredibly hard for me. We gave our horses to some cowboys who are taking amazing care of them.

2 highlights of the year was my sister Katy started a relationship with an amazing young man, Jason. In fact, on Christmas day, Jason asked her to marry him and she said YES!!!!! So a wedding is being planned for the next year.

The other highlight was of course my trip to Chiapas. What an experience! I'm so thankful for the Lord giving me that opportunity. He is amazing!

Looking into a new year is always exciting but nerve wracking wondering what the year will bring. But the Lord is never changing. He is always in control and will not give us more than we can handle. What a promise to cling to!

I hope all of you, my blogger friends, will have a blessed and safe new year. Dios les bendiga!

Palenque

Hey All,

In keeping with the "theme" of posting random topics of Chiapas, this post's topic is Palenque. Palenque is a historic site in Chiapas. It was a Maya city state and dates back to 100 BC 'til its fall in 800 AD. (Information from Wikipedia).

I had never been to a place that was so old. Talk about history! That place is chock full of stories! I wish the rocks could tell all the things they saw over the years. Before we visited Palenque, the oldest place I'd been to probably was from the 1700s. That's cool but this was just amazing.

Our group in front of one of the pyramids. They are SO big!!!


Isn't there an unwritten rule that when you're at some ancient pyramids, you have to make a pyramid yourselves? Well, ours was an epic fail. A split second after this picture was taken, we all came tumbling down...


With Katie, Stephanie and Gabby on one of the pyramids.


Hannah taking her anger out on Pete. Watch out! :)


It is incredibly hot at Palenque and humid, too. The Mayans must have been in great shape for all the climbing up and down those stairs they did! Gabby and I raced each other up the stairs of the highest one and at the top I knew if I didn't sit down, I would pass out right there. I found a place in the shade and hugged my knees to my chest as waves of nausea and faintness passed over me. I was sure I was going to get sick but praise the Lord I didn't throw up or pass out. Word to the wise: ALWAYS bring water or gatorade with you to Palenque. Going a whole afternoon without liquid is a very dumb thing to do in the heat :)

All in all, our experience at Palenque was an enjoyable one. If only the rocks could talk! What stories we could hear from them! We enjoyed exploring the pyramids and just marveling at the whole site. Talk about history!!!!!

I am very much looking forward to heading back to Chiapas and maybe even returning to Palenque for a day. Please continue praying for me and the team that is headed down there in 3 short months. There is so much to do and so little time but the Lord is faithful. He is providing for me and will continue to. Of this, I am sure. Blessings to you all. I will keep you updated on any news concerning the trip!

Los Niños...

Hey All,

I've been thinking what topic to do next and I decided to do one on the kids in Mexico. Kids don't really change that much from country to country. They have different responsibilities and expectations but really, kids will be kids no matter if they live in the frozen tundras of Siberia or the steamy rainforests of Brazil.

I've heard it said eyes are the windows to the soul. You can tell so much about someone by looking in their eyes. I love latino kids because their eyes are so huge and dark. Enjoy the following pictures. They are just random kids of whom I don't know most of their names. But the neat thing is that the Lord knows and loves every one.













The Lord has given me a love for latino kids. Well, all kids actually, but especially little Mexicans. I have written in earlier posts about a Mexican migrant family that lives near our house. They have 4 little boys and I pick them up for Sunday School. What fun car rides! I also visit a lady, Rosa and her two little girls every other week. The 4 year old and I have such fun playing together.

I don't know how God will use this love in my future. Maybe a childrens' home or orphanage somewhere. These kids are the future. We need to bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. So many are abandoned with no hope or future unless we do something. Be praying that the Lord will open your eyes and heart to the need and to possibilites of being used by Him for His glory and the furtherance of the Kingdom. Thanks for reading. Dios les bendiga!

My Family

Hey All,
I haven't posted a recent picture of me and my family so I decided this post would be dedicated to them. My family consists of my dad Dan, my mom Sydney, Katy, me, Jenny, and Danny We also have 2 dogs.

This was taken at the airport when I got home from Chiapas. Notice my hard core Mexican tshirt :) My amazing brother bought me roses. It was very nice to see them all.


These are my siblings. From left is me, Danny who is 16, Katy is 20, and Jenny is 17. We are all so different it is amazing.

Danny is the funny man. He has me laughing constantly, unless I'm in a bad mood. :) Katy is dating a godly guy, Jason and is preparing to be a wife and mom sometime in the future. She'll do great. Jenny loves music ministry. She plays the guitar really well. She has a heart for kids. And then there's me but you already know who I am :)

Things are changing in our family. It is no longer just us 6, but that's ok. People grow up which can be a hard transition but the Lord is so faithful. We can feed on His faithfulness. Blessings to you all today!

Hamacas

Hey All!

Today's post is on hammocks. I'm sure we all are familiar with them. They are what you see on someone's back porch or strung up in their yard. In America, we use them for relaxing naps on a nice summer afternoon. Or we curl up in one with a good book and a tall glass of lemonade under a nice shade tree.

In Chiapas, hammocks are used for alot of purposes. Couches, chairs, beds, and even cribs. They can run annywhere from 100 pesos to 800, which is the most expensive I saw at the market. Although everything is always more expensive when a "gringo" buys it because everyone knows that Americans=money so they automatically raise the price by alot.

Here are some hammocks at the market. Hammocks can hold one or two people comfortably depending on how big they are. Some could probably actually hold more but I only saw two people laying in a hammock at a time.


Pretty much the first thing the guys did when we got to a new village was hang up us girls' hammocks. They were our champions! Thanks guys :)



Hanging out in the girls' house between programs. It was nice to get down time in the afternoons instead of rushing around all the time. And it was especially nice if we had a hammock to relax in, which wasn't always the case :)


Hammocks are used as cribs for little babies. I was on water filter duty and we walked into a house and this is the sight we saw. It looks comfy for sure! You sure don't see new born babies in hammocks in the States...


Amy and Brennah relaxing in the hammock at the Terrell's house. Isn't that a cute picture? :)


And finally, this is me sleeping in my hammock. I really was sleeping and not posing at all. I know it doesn't look very comfortable but for me, that was "my" position for sleeping. Notice my flip flop tan :)


I hope you all are enjoying these posts on random memories of Chiapas. I sure am enjoying writing them. I wish all of you could experience sleeping in a hammock sometime in your life. If you have one, I challenge you to give it a whirl for a night. Who knows, you may like it so much, you'll never want to use a bed again :D May God richly bless you all.

Agua Azul

Hey All!

I am slowly posting more pictures of the trip and this post's story is about Agua Azul. Agua Azul is some gorgeous waterfalls in Chiapas. The water is stunningly blue. Our team got to visit it on our way back to San Cristobal from Ch'ol. We had just spent a week in the hot, sticky jungle with limited showers and no A/C. Needless to say, a resfrshing dip in the waters of Agua Azul was very looked forward to and appreciated.

Our team at Agua Azul. We took every opportunity to pose for team pictuers that we could :)


A waterfall. The water while we were there wasn't as blue as it usually is due to all the rain that came down for weeks. But it was still beautiful and very cool and refreshing.



Nathan taught us how to swim in the rapids and this is the team standing on "our" rock right in the middle of the river. I only swam it once then laid on the beach and tanned with my friend Gabby but everyone else had a blast swimming for awhile.



Apparently my team leader, Christopher and Nathan thought that Gabby and I should go back into the river so while we were laying out tanning, they came up from behind and threw us back in. I had just gotten all dried off, too! Stinkin' men :)



Here we are in the river. It was cold! We dried off quickly though 'cause it was very hot. Good times were had fo shizzle!



The whole team after our refreshing swim. Fue muy divertido! (It was very fun!)



There were so many aspects of our trip that makes me smile in remembering. I don't think I day goes by when I don't think of Chiapas and my team and my Mexican family in Llano Grande. It was a wonderful time and I'm just in awe that the Lord worked it all out. Lasting friendships were made for sure. Gloria a Dios!