Saturday, August 4, 2012

Changes for Now

Wow, August already and I've hardly had any posts on here. So sorry everyone. Life has just been.... life. It's been crazy and fun and at times hard but God has remained the same through it all. Some changes that have happened: My nephew Elijah did actually make it into the world safe and sound. We have enjoyed him so much. His parents and him are moved back home from the south. Guess they just couldn't outrun their roots :) I am switching blogs again. It's been a few years and I just feel it's time to. This has been an amazing chapter in my life but it has indeed come to an end. I'm not saying I'll never end up in Mexico again but for right now, I don't know where God is going to take me. So until He leads me to the next step, I will continue serving Him as best I can from where I am. Thank you all for being such great supporters. I appreciate it alot. My new blog is: missionarygirlinthemaking.blogspot.com. May God richly bless you all! Here's a picture to leave you all with. Me and my sweet Lijah Boy. What a joy he is!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

He's Almost Here!

My sweet nephew's due date is a week and a day from today!!!! I am beyond excited to meet this little precious man. Please pray Katy has a safe delivery. My sister Jen and I are traveling down south with Jason's two younger siblings for 3 weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to get in on the delivery since midwifery fascinates me.

Which brings me to another point: For this year, I am waiting on the Lord and workign to save money for school for next year. Which school, you ask? I really would love to go to Newlife International School of Midwifery in Davao City, Philippines but there are only a choice few who are accepted. I'm planning to apply for that in November or December. If that doesn't work out, I'm going to apply to bible school. Walking by faith and not by sight is SO hard. Please pray that I will not waver in my calling. The Lord is faithful to me!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Almost April???

I promise, I did not forget about you all. Life is crazy as usual. Times change so quickly. My brother and I traveled down south to visit our sisters and brother-in-law for a week. While there, our beautiful dog Josie Pie was killed in the road. it was obviously totally not expected and our family grieved. But the Lord is so faithful. He provided another puppy (Josie's niece) who needed a home because she is blind in one eye. She's a 7 week old ball of fluff and so cute. We named her Lindy Rose. I'll call her Lindy Lou Who (a play off of Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch).

Josie Pie, a wonderful dog who is greatly missed



In other news, I am going to be an aunt very soon! My sister Katy is due any day now. AHHHHH this is SO exciting!!!! I can't wait for the little guy to make his apperance into this world! Updates will follow on the birth, ect. Blessings!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Mi Hermanito!!

It's official: My (not so) little brother has been accepted to a christian university. He did really well on his ACT and landed a nice scholarship. What a blessing!

This is bittersweet for me though. It means my brother will be moving 8 hours away. I'm SO happy for him as he starts out on this new venture but it's like a chapter of our lives is closing. I'll be the only sibling left at home now. I guess that's not a bad thing 'cause it means more living space for me :P But I'll really miss my brother alot.

I am so proud of Danny. He is going to do great at college. I can't wait 'til he brings home a girl with a ring on her finger :)


We are strange birds. But you know what they say "Birds of a feather flock together :)


Parasailing in Key West



We went to Applebees to celebrate with a ginormous cookie sunday. Yum!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Things to Look Forward To...

There are many aspects I'm looking forward to with this trip to Chiapas. Seeing my friends and meeting their families are obviously on the top of my list. Then there are some not so meaningful ones that might make me seem a little off my rocker :)

First, I'm looking forward to getting a tan. Here in NY the sun doesn't shine too much. I'm sick of looking all white and can't wait to be sun kissed. (Let's hope it that process doesn't involve sun poisoning!)

Another thing I'm looking forward to is rambutan! What is that, you ask? It's a jungle fruit that is spikey on the outside and sweet and juicy on the inside. YUM!!!! Our Wegmans carried it for a little while and when I heard I rushed in to the store SO excited. I looked and looked and couldn't find any but then I found a few shriveled up black fruit that was $10 a pound!!! What!?! So yeah, I can't wait to eat them to my heart's content! Here's a picture of them so you get the idea what they look like.



I can't wait to be back in the jungle, smelling the tropical smells (well, the good ones anyway), hearing the noises, and seeing all the beautiful colors. The scenery is breathtaking! I thought NY was beautiful but it doesn't compare to the untouched beauty of the Chiapas mountains and jungles.







Of course where the gringas are, kids will follow. It's like we're a side show at a circus. Kids will always be pressed up close to us, wanting to look at us. They smell our hair and skin. I can't wait for this next big adventure to Chiapas!!!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Back so Soon?

Wow, I am totally in awe of how our God works. When I left Chiapas this summer I didn't know if I'd ever be back. Well, I'm going back this March with my friend Bethany to visit some amigos who live there.

This trip kinda fell into my lap. Someone offered to pay for over half my plane ticket. Then my dad gave his blessing for me to go. And when I asked time off of work, it was no problem getting people to work for me. Again, wow.... So here begins a new adventure for me and Bethany. Are we up for the challenge? I think so :)

Just another amazing scene. Breathtaking for sure!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The Big Question: WHY???

We've all asked it before at different times.When we were six it might have been "Mommy, why is the sky blue?" Or in our teen years, "But Dad, why can't I take the car out tonight?" For me the question Why has been more along the lines of "God, why is this happening right now?"

Things in life often don't make sense to me. Over the past year or so I've been struggling with the concept of prayer. Why should I pray when God obviously is going to do what He wants whether I ask Him or not. It's more that He COMMANDS us to pray. Jesus didn't say, "If you feel like praying, pray in this manner." He said "WHEN you pray...." That leads me to believe that it needs to be a daily thing. Whether I get what I want or not.

So then, is it wrong to ask God why? I honestly don't think it is. Jesus Himself asked Him when He was hanging on the cross "My God, my God WHY have You forsaken Me?" It's our attitude that determines whether it's wrong or not. I'll have to admit that often I don't have the right attitude when I ask why of the Lord. Too often it's an indignant "How could this dare happen to me or someone I love?" Oh God, that I would be able to accept whatever You have for me without question!

Oh that I could have the faith of a child. That's what the Lord delights in, our childlike faith.

Just a thought from a very confused girl who's striving to please her Savior. Blessings!!!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Family

Our family has seen alot of changes in the past year. We gained a brother when Katy married Jason. They moved down to Florida and are currently helping a church there. Katy is into her third trimester with our first nephew, Elijah.

My other sister Jenny also moved to Florida recently to help with the ministry down there. It has been a big change for me going from having two sisters close by to none. But the Lord is ever faithful to me. Praise be to Him!

Our Christmas 2011 picture

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

One Memorable Night

No matter where you go in the world, kids are pretty much the same whether they live in the snowy mountains of Nepal or the steamy jungles of South America. Kids are curious, open, and usually friendly. They accept you for who you are and are generally willing to show you around town. At least that's how it was for me in a little village in the Chiapas jungle.

The kids in this village were so willing and eager to show me and a couple teammates the town. They reveled in showing us their bridge and their way of fishing. The bridge connected to a cow pasture that spread up onto a mountain so they were excited about showing us that too.

Here are a few of my favorite memories from that special afternoon in Caranza: In order to help you picture this you must understand how stinkin' hot it always seems to be in the jungles of Ch'ol. It seems like there is a constant oppressive heat wave whether you are in the shade or not. There are also many insects that seem to thrive on sucking the blood of unsuspecting gringas :)

Our team arrived at Caranza in the afternoon and after unloading all our gear, I was sitting inside the house we were staying at playing with a little girl and a couple little boys. The boys were showing me how to write their names then asked if I'd like to see their bridge and the creek outside. Of course I jumped at this oppertunity. We went down to the bridge with a couple girls from my team and just sat and had the best time of my whole trip!

At nighttime the boys asked if we wanted to go to la cancha (a central basketball/soccer court in the town) to play the sport of choice, soccer. We had so much fun cheering for the teams. Of course I wanted my american friends to win but they didn't.

After we were there for awhile, some of the kids came and told us the rest of our team were up a couple mountains away sitting in a field reading a devotional and did we want to go to them? Sure, why not. To get to that mountain, unbeknownst to me, we had to cross the bridge, go over about three cow pastures and climb two mountains to get to the team. Oh, and did I mention it was the time for the snakes to come out? And we were walking through tall grass with flip flops on? Yeah, the Lord sure was holding the snakes back for us thankfully. Anyway, we crossed the bridge with all the little boys helping us helpless gringas. To get off the bridge, you have to sit down and kind of jump to the ground. It was dark when I attempted to do this but it seemed straightforward enough. I sat and jumped but instead of my feet hitting the ground like I expected, I found myself hanging by my pants several inches off the ground. I had gotten hung up on a piece of rebar and could not for the life of me get unstuck. Thankfully a guy from our team was there to help get unstuck. I found I had a good 12 inch rip on my backside. Never was I so thankful for darkness as I was that night!

We finally were able to continue on our little adventure. Since my mishap with the rebar, the little boys figured I was more helpless than the rest so there were at least three boys grouped around me at all times, hovering I guess you could call it, in case I slipped in the mud.

We got to the top of the mountain where my team was and instead of sitting and listening to my leader read, I went off a little ways with a girl my age. We picked a rock to sit on and talked on and on. It was easy to understand her for me because Spanish isn't either of our first language. Girls are kinda funny. We love talking and will make ourselves understood no matter what. The stars were so incredible that night too. Millions of glittering diamonds in the sky. Oh what a glorious night!

How often I wish I could go back to that night high in the mountains with those sweet little boys and girl. It's hard to realize how many of these dear people I'll never meet again in this life. Years ago, a missionary was visiting my family. I asked him why he wouldn't go to Papua New Guinea. (He already traveled extensively in Mexico). He told me he couldn't give his heart to another people. I never understood his reasoning until I traveled to PNG then Mexico. Each little village I visit, I leave part of my heart there with the people. I guess that's part of the cost. A very small price to pay for serving the Lord.

Well this is all that's in my heart for tonight. I hope it ministired to someone in some small way. Bendiciones!

The infamous bridge


A view from the bridge of the creek and cow pasture


A sweet little girl who didn't even speak Spanish yet. You don't need to speak her language to love on her though


An example of one of the deadly snakes that lurk in the jungles. Thankfully this one was in the zoo in Tuxtla!



The group at la cancha playing soccer. Gringos vs. Mexico. Pretty sure Mexico won :)


The gorgeous mountains in Ch'ol


Me and the sweet girl who sat up on the mountain and talked for hours it seemed about our lives. Notice my hair looks incredibly wet. Yeah, that's the humidity...

Monday, January 23, 2012

Mexico Pictures

This past summer I had the privilege of spending 6 weeks in Mexico. The first three weeks were pretty much the same as my last trip. We traveled to the jungle two times and spent the rest of the time at the missionaries' house helping with projects. I stayed three extra weeks for language school which proved to be invaluable! I learned so much that I would never have been able to learn in the States. The Lord also blessed me with being able to visit two dear amigos who first inspired me to go to Chiapas.

The team's first week was spent in the jungle. We were high in a mountain region so it wasn't nearly as hot as you might expect with Mexico. We had an interesting mishap on the way to our destination. We weren't even out of San Cristobal when our accident happened. Nathan, the missionary was driving the Yukon around a mountain curve when a tiny car also came whipping around the curve and smashed into our trailer we were pulling. Everyone on our team and our vehicle was fine but the people in the other car were pretty banged up. This unexpected accident delayed our trip an entire day.

We finally got on the road again and continued to the village we planned to stay at. The village we were gonna camp out at the whole week was the equivalent to Hicksville USA except very primitive, without running water and hardly any electricity. There were even horses running around! And there was a community well! Needless to say, the girls on our team were pretty excited at the idea of hanging around waiting for our spouse just like Isaac and Rebekah's story in the bible. Of course it didn't work out like that but it never hurts to try, right? :)

The kids are just precious!


Our hosts' kitchen. We installed a smokeless stove so they won't have to breath in the smoke all the time.


The smokeless stove.


Our bathroom for the week. Oh.my.word. I have never been as thankful for flushing toilets or even just for a toilet seat as I was after this jungle trip!


And that is all the pictures my amazing internet will let me upload for the night so I'll sign off for now. Just wait, more pictures to come! :)

Long Overdue Update

Ok, ok I know you all are thinking "Why is she bothering posting on here since she's been conveniently absent these past 5 months?" Just give me a chance to redeem myself please!

These past months have quickly fled, days blending together as I juggled working 30-40+ hours a week and going to school full time. Blessedly, the semester ended without me being too scarred. I decided not to return to school and instead am working alot to save up money for whatever the Lord has for me.

Lots of changes have taken place in our family lately. My sister Katy who got married this spring is now safely into her third trimester. Elijah Samuel is due April 12 and I'll hopefully be on hand to watch him come into this world.

My sister Jenny moved down to help with my other sister and brother in law's ministry to a church down south. The Lord provided a job for her quite promptly and she has an apartment to stay in free of charge so that's a double blessing. My parents are seeking the Lord's will regarding their future. Please be praying God will show them what He wants them to do. My not so little brother is applying for college this fall. How is this possible? So come this fall I'll be an only child *sob*

These past few months have held many changes, not all fun but the Lord is ever faithful and unchanging. I need to keep reminding myself that GOD IS IN CONTROL!

My very adorable pregnant sister and me at the mall