Thursday, July 21, 2011
God's timing is always perfect.
Thanking God! I just got news from the doctor that the 3 year old girl that came to the clinic near death - that we prayed for in San Jose, and paid for her transport to the city hospital, is home and doing well. I was just typing up a summary of our mission for the church website when the doctor got online and responded to my inquiry. Thank God we were there the day she came to the clinic, Thank God we had the funds with us to use, Thank God she made it to and from San Jose safely, Thank God there is a competent Doctor at the clinic, Thank God for all those people that supported us so that we could be there to help, Thank God we live in the USA where we don't have to cook over wood burning stoves with no ventilation and have to endure ashma in order to eat, Thank God for a room air conditioner so that we don't have to endure the deadly heat wave we're getting, Thank God for clean tap water to stay hydrated. So many reasons to be thankful today and every day.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Back in the comfort zone
From Mike:
It's been almost a week since I got home. Nothing's changed. The bills need paid; the grass needs cut; all the things need doing that make life normal. But I'm changed. It is true that we do take a lot of needed things to the people of San Jose. And we do a lot of things to try to help them and to improve there lives. But it's equally true that they give us many things that we need and they help us to improve our spiritual life. I return with such pleasant memories of the interaction that we had with them. Particularly with the children. And I have great admiration for their simple piety and religious convictions. It make me realize how lacking I am in these same areas. But going there always renews me.
I wonder, and hope, that the hygiene and clean water demonstations we did have an impact on the cleanliness and the health of the village. I know they appreciate and use the Bibles we gave them. That they have made clear to us. I remember what work and fun it was building the labyrinth and how much the children helped us then ran through it time and time again. And I will always remember the concert we did.
Most of all though, I think of the children. They are so different from our children. They have so little, but take so much enjoyment out of what they have. As one boy said, "We don't have food and we don't have water, but we have paper airplanes."
Anyway, I'm back in my comfort zone, but not all the way back. The San Jose memories take a long time to fade.
It's been almost a week since I got home. Nothing's changed. The bills need paid; the grass needs cut; all the things need doing that make life normal. But I'm changed. It is true that we do take a lot of needed things to the people of San Jose. And we do a lot of things to try to help them and to improve there lives. But it's equally true that they give us many things that we need and they help us to improve our spiritual life. I return with such pleasant memories of the interaction that we had with them. Particularly with the children. And I have great admiration for their simple piety and religious convictions. It make me realize how lacking I am in these same areas. But going there always renews me.
I wonder, and hope, that the hygiene and clean water demonstations we did have an impact on the cleanliness and the health of the village. I know they appreciate and use the Bibles we gave them. That they have made clear to us. I remember what work and fun it was building the labyrinth and how much the children helped us then ran through it time and time again. And I will always remember the concert we did.
Most of all though, I think of the children. They are so different from our children. They have so little, but take so much enjoyment out of what they have. As one boy said, "We don't have food and we don't have water, but we have paper airplanes."
Anyway, I'm back in my comfort zone, but not all the way back. The San Jose memories take a long time to fade.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Day 2 - Home
I can't believe how easily I jumped back into my routine. Waking up with the girls, and starting breakfast, and dress-up routines, it felt like I never left... I took the girls swimming, and we were back at it, the 3 Musketeers. Then I realized, on my way to VBS at the church, that I should be WALKING... not driving to church, and sweating ridiculously, not lapping it up in the luxury of air conditioning!
I started thinking about Ilsa, the little girl with asthma, and how I have a breathing treatment machine in my closet for Willa, her mom had to walk from miles away to get her treatment, and it wasn't even helping. I started thinking about Ludwin, and if he was still drawing his beautiful dragons, and reading the English books we gave him. I also told Jason about how much I wanted to adopt him. Bring him to the states, where he could study art and photography.
And, as my kids start whining about what they want for breakfast or that they won't brush their teeth, I'm smacked back to reality. We have so much, the San Jose kids have so little, and they complain about nothing. I even fell into it. I have so much, am blessed with so much, and find things to whine about. My house is too small, but I have a refrigerator, air conditioning and more than I could need!
Alisa and I got to visit two homes on our last day in the village, and both families welcomed us in with open arms. They offered us chairs, and coffee. Luis was telling us how he built his home from the bottom up, and he was proud, as he should be. We thanked them for inviting us in, and he thanked us for visiting him in his home. Even as we sat there with chickens walking in after us, and seeing the pig walk through their kitchen, you can feel the love and the warmth (no pun intended) in their home, with their children's (6 or 7 kids) diploma's hanging on the wall.
We also got to visit Ludwin's home, he lives with his parents and his 6 siblings, and his niece and nephew. Yes, 11 people in a 1 room home made of mud, on the side of a mountain. Literally, there is a cliff out their back door. And again, no complaints! Ludwin's mother was telling us how he was named after Ludwig von Beethoven, which explains Ludwin's love of music and knowledge. Smart kids!
Such small things as a headlamp and t-shirts, used soccer shoes and books made a huge difference in the lives of the people of San Jose. They treasure these things as we never do. So, thank you to all of you reading this who donated anything... every little bit helps.
This experience will stay with me forever. And if you see me and I'm complaining about something silly, just give me a little reminder of my time in San Jose. It's so easy to fall back into that kind of a routine, and I hope it makes me more appreciative of what I have.
I said "I" in this post a lot, and I'm sorry for that... I need to remember the "Me third" portion of our team pact, especially now that I'm home. Team Members, I love you and will treasure our time in the little village of San Jose, del Negrito, Honduras.
And, if we ever get that chihuahua, I'm still naming it Don Fidel!!!
Love,
Kelly
I started thinking about Ilsa, the little girl with asthma, and how I have a breathing treatment machine in my closet for Willa, her mom had to walk from miles away to get her treatment, and it wasn't even helping. I started thinking about Ludwin, and if he was still drawing his beautiful dragons, and reading the English books we gave him. I also told Jason about how much I wanted to adopt him. Bring him to the states, where he could study art and photography.
And, as my kids start whining about what they want for breakfast or that they won't brush their teeth, I'm smacked back to reality. We have so much, the San Jose kids have so little, and they complain about nothing. I even fell into it. I have so much, am blessed with so much, and find things to whine about. My house is too small, but I have a refrigerator, air conditioning and more than I could need!
Alisa and I got to visit two homes on our last day in the village, and both families welcomed us in with open arms. They offered us chairs, and coffee. Luis was telling us how he built his home from the bottom up, and he was proud, as he should be. We thanked them for inviting us in, and he thanked us for visiting him in his home. Even as we sat there with chickens walking in after us, and seeing the pig walk through their kitchen, you can feel the love and the warmth (no pun intended) in their home, with their children's (6 or 7 kids) diploma's hanging on the wall.
We also got to visit Ludwin's home, he lives with his parents and his 6 siblings, and his niece and nephew. Yes, 11 people in a 1 room home made of mud, on the side of a mountain. Literally, there is a cliff out their back door. And again, no complaints! Ludwin's mother was telling us how he was named after Ludwig von Beethoven, which explains Ludwin's love of music and knowledge. Smart kids!
Such small things as a headlamp and t-shirts, used soccer shoes and books made a huge difference in the lives of the people of San Jose. They treasure these things as we never do. So, thank you to all of you reading this who donated anything... every little bit helps.
This experience will stay with me forever. And if you see me and I'm complaining about something silly, just give me a little reminder of my time in San Jose. It's so easy to fall back into that kind of a routine, and I hope it makes me more appreciative of what I have.
I said "I" in this post a lot, and I'm sorry for that... I need to remember the "Me third" portion of our team pact, especially now that I'm home. Team Members, I love you and will treasure our time in the little village of San Jose, del Negrito, Honduras.
And, if we ever get that chihuahua, I'm still naming it Don Fidel!!!
Love,
Kelly
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Home again...
Ahhh the comforts of home. The biggest thing that hit me this time was getting into the car (instead of the back of a pick up truck) and realizing how cushy the seats felt - not to mention them not being covered with a fine layer of dust from the road. Then after a brief welcome home chat with the girls - they tell me to turn up the volume on the movie they were watching in the car...back to reality. Now to the task of getting everyone's pictures together so I can put a presentation together for the church...my job isn't done yet. We have some incredible pictures to share and awesome memories. Our work in San Jose was really great and went pretty much as planned with no major disasters - God must have approved of our plan this time.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Concert
Hello all,
This is Chris, I have not blogged yet so I figured it was my turn to give everyone the scoop on whats going on.
Tonight we had our concert for San Jose. It was an absolute hit. There had to have been 300 people there from all over to come see the gringos play their instruments. I was told that people were even coming from different villages and even up from the city (which is by no means right down the road). It was stunning to see the turn out of this event and how much an event like this meant to the community. I have not read the other blogs so I'm not sure if this has already been covered or not, but we were able to get the equipment for this concert yesterday. To our suprise two of our interpators happen to be very musicaly inclined, so we had one play keys and another play guitar. It might go without saying, but equipment we got was not exactly top of the line. However, in the end none of that mattered. The people of San Jose were absolutly blown away by the fact that they havce a full band with a sound system in their town. I can say with almost certainty that this was the biggest event to ever hit San Jose, and that was evident just by seeing the facination of happiness in these peoples eyes. There were other acts as well, there was a grounp of three women dressed in costume who danced to a song. A trio of little girls who sang, and another man and woman who sang as well. Things got interesting when an older woman came up on stage and asked my Dad to play guitar to her song. So he went up there with not prior knowledge of this song played to it. It went very well and the woman was greatful. The last one was another dancing performance with these people in costme. One person was dressed up with a scary holloween mask black robes (representing the devil) and others dressed in white (representing angels and Jesus). They preformed to a song that was completley in spanish so I cant tell you what it is about, but it was something along the lines of getting rid of the devil becasue by the end of their performance the devil was on the ground being kicked by the other people. They were also throwing glitter in the air and other things of that nature. Seeing that was amazing, alot of people in this village dont have shoes to wear or a change of clothes let alone costumes, masks and glitter to throw. It really hit home to how big of a deal this was to everyone. By the time we were on our last two songs, everyone was on their feet with their hands in the air. Words cannot describe the power and dynamic generated in the yard of a clinc in the rainforest of Honduras.
I did my best to describe the concert, it is impossible to put tonights events into words, and the whole trip for that matter. Tomorrow is our last day of teaching at the school and then, sadly, we leave on Friday.
Unti next time folks
This is Chris, I have not blogged yet so I figured it was my turn to give everyone the scoop on whats going on.
Tonight we had our concert for San Jose. It was an absolute hit. There had to have been 300 people there from all over to come see the gringos play their instruments. I was told that people were even coming from different villages and even up from the city (which is by no means right down the road). It was stunning to see the turn out of this event and how much an event like this meant to the community. I have not read the other blogs so I'm not sure if this has already been covered or not, but we were able to get the equipment for this concert yesterday. To our suprise two of our interpators happen to be very musicaly inclined, so we had one play keys and another play guitar. It might go without saying, but equipment we got was not exactly top of the line. However, in the end none of that mattered. The people of San Jose were absolutly blown away by the fact that they havce a full band with a sound system in their town. I can say with almost certainty that this was the biggest event to ever hit San Jose, and that was evident just by seeing the facination of happiness in these peoples eyes. There were other acts as well, there was a grounp of three women dressed in costume who danced to a song. A trio of little girls who sang, and another man and woman who sang as well. Things got interesting when an older woman came up on stage and asked my Dad to play guitar to her song. So he went up there with not prior knowledge of this song played to it. It went very well and the woman was greatful. The last one was another dancing performance with these people in costme. One person was dressed up with a scary holloween mask black robes (representing the devil) and others dressed in white (representing angels and Jesus). They preformed to a song that was completley in spanish so I cant tell you what it is about, but it was something along the lines of getting rid of the devil becasue by the end of their performance the devil was on the ground being kicked by the other people. They were also throwing glitter in the air and other things of that nature. Seeing that was amazing, alot of people in this village dont have shoes to wear or a change of clothes let alone costumes, masks and glitter to throw. It really hit home to how big of a deal this was to everyone. By the time we were on our last two songs, everyone was on their feet with their hands in the air. Words cannot describe the power and dynamic generated in the yard of a clinc in the rainforest of Honduras.
I did my best to describe the concert, it is impossible to put tonights events into words, and the whole trip for that matter. Tomorrow is our last day of teaching at the school and then, sadly, we leave on Friday.
Unti next time folks
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Roosters
Hi. This is Tonya.
I have an idea. Let's round up all the roosters from around the world and move them 3 time zones to the west. Then they will cock-a-doodle-doo at 6am instead of 3am.
20 minutes till our concert. I don't know if anybody blogged this yet. But our translators are very talented. Carlos is an awesome keyboardist. Johanna has a great voice and Memo plays the guitar really good too.
The water is so cold in the shower. Plus we usually don't shower till after 9pm. So it is dark. You take your flashlight in the shower, and that is your light. Today most of us showered before dinner. So it was light. Finally I could shave my legs! :)
Speaking of showers I have a very funny story. Last night Johanna, one of the translators and Solange were taking showers at the same time. (2 different showers) So they were discussing which shower was better. I overheard this, and pointed out the geco that was in Johanna's shower. (Alisa and I had taken showers in the same 2 showers.) Johanna totally freaked out. She kept saying that the geco was looking at her! Haha
I have an idea. Let's round up all the roosters from around the world and move them 3 time zones to the west. Then they will cock-a-doodle-doo at 6am instead of 3am.
20 minutes till our concert. I don't know if anybody blogged this yet. But our translators are very talented. Carlos is an awesome keyboardist. Johanna has a great voice and Memo plays the guitar really good too.
The water is so cold in the shower. Plus we usually don't shower till after 9pm. So it is dark. You take your flashlight in the shower, and that is your light. Today most of us showered before dinner. So it was light. Finally I could shave my legs! :)
Speaking of showers I have a very funny story. Last night Johanna, one of the translators and Solange were taking showers at the same time. (2 different showers) So they were discussing which shower was better. I overheard this, and pointed out the geco that was in Johanna's shower. (Alisa and I had taken showers in the same 2 showers.) Johanna totally freaked out. She kept saying that the geco was looking at her! Haha
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Post 70 by Carole Ford
Hi Everyone!!
We are doing great work here. Today we had our education projects at the school
It was very sucessful. From our teachings in the past we have seen changes for the better. While here my very good friend Carol Cooper passed away and today is the third anniversary of my husband's death. So at times my heart is heavy, but we are so busy and the people are so wonderful that I can't be sad for long. Y The kids are my favorite---they are so cute and love us being here. Our mission grp is known as Grandma's Recipe ----many talents mixed together. We also have learned why the chickens cross the road----to get to Mike Swaney. It is most definitely rainy season... I have never seen it rain as hard as it rains here. If it rained this hard in Sewickley the trees branches would be falling left and right I hope all is well at home. It is so hot here. Love to all, Carole & grp
We are doing great work here. Today we had our education projects at the school
It was very sucessful. From our teachings in the past we have seen changes for the better. While here my very good friend Carol Cooper passed away and today is the third anniversary of my husband's death. So at times my heart is heavy, but we are so busy and the people are so wonderful that I can't be sad for long. Y The kids are my favorite---they are so cute and love us being here. Our mission grp is known as Grandma's Recipe ----many talents mixed together. We also have learned why the chickens cross the road----to get to Mike Swaney. It is most definitely rainy season... I have never seen it rain as hard as it rains here. If it rained this hard in Sewickley the trees branches would be falling left and right I hope all is well at home. It is so hot here. Love to all, Carole & grp
Hello. This is Tonya.
Yesterday a little 3 year old girl came to the clinic with a bad ashma attack. Her mother had carried her several miles while her 2 year old brother walked. The doctor was giving her the breathing treatment for quite some time, and it just wasn't working. The doctor said she needed to go to the hospital. The mother said she didn't have money to get down the hill. She was going to walk. It takes more than an hour by truck! The little boy was obviously malnutritioned. It was heartbreaking to watch this situation. We paid for her and her children to go to the hospital, stay the night, and get some food. What if we hadn't been here? I am sure that happens from time to time. What about all the people who are sick, and can't make it to the clinic? I never knew people lived like this! When we walked to the school I saw several houses with children who were not in school. To go to school you need to have shoes and a uniform. Some people can't even afford that. Many of the people only eat 1 meal a day. They can barely afford that. If they don't get an education, there is little chance of them getting a job that pays well enough to get out of that cycle. As a parent I can't imagine... One woman gave birth to a Down Syndrome baby. She was not feeding him, because he wouldn't be a productive worker. She had 8 other children. They convinced her that he could be a productive worker. So she started feeding him. Some don't have enough food to feed the whole family. How do you choose which of you children to feed? He can't go to school if he doesn't have shoes. Also they get the parasites from bare feet. Do you use the money for food or shoes? I can't imagine having to make such decisions! These people work so hard for what little they have.
But even though they have so little their faith in God is soooooo deep! In America we have so much food and stuff, but not so much faith.
Yesterday a little 3 year old girl came to the clinic with a bad ashma attack. Her mother had carried her several miles while her 2 year old brother walked. The doctor was giving her the breathing treatment for quite some time, and it just wasn't working. The doctor said she needed to go to the hospital. The mother said she didn't have money to get down the hill. She was going to walk. It takes more than an hour by truck! The little boy was obviously malnutritioned. It was heartbreaking to watch this situation. We paid for her and her children to go to the hospital, stay the night, and get some food. What if we hadn't been here? I am sure that happens from time to time. What about all the people who are sick, and can't make it to the clinic? I never knew people lived like this! When we walked to the school I saw several houses with children who were not in school. To go to school you need to have shoes and a uniform. Some people can't even afford that. Many of the people only eat 1 meal a day. They can barely afford that. If they don't get an education, there is little chance of them getting a job that pays well enough to get out of that cycle. As a parent I can't imagine... One woman gave birth to a Down Syndrome baby. She was not feeding him, because he wouldn't be a productive worker. She had 8 other children. They convinced her that he could be a productive worker. So she started feeding him. Some don't have enough food to feed the whole family. How do you choose which of you children to feed? He can't go to school if he doesn't have shoes. Also they get the parasites from bare feet. Do you use the money for food or shoes? I can't imagine having to make such decisions! These people work so hard for what little they have.
But even though they have so little their faith in God is soooooo deep! In America we have so much food and stuff, but not so much faith.
Another quick post
It's my turn and I only have 2 minutes to blog before lunch - we just returned from the school. Our education day went really well. The 7th grade experiments only took half the time we thought they would - the class time was almost half what we expected. This has gone by fast - can't believe the concert is tomorrow - our equipment is supposed to arrive this afternon. The Labyrinth has been well received, we are going to paint the bricks with the youth at 4. Music practice afer lunch and a church service after dinner at 7. We had a wonderful sharing last night during our debrief. It has been a very emotional time so far with one of our interpretors finding out that his best friend was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday morning, then Carole's best friend of 47 years passing away from cancer on Sunday, then the little girl about to die from ashma right in front of our eyes. Praise God we all together to support each other. Love to all, miss you.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Samstag
Buenas Dias, from Sam! It's raining in bucketsfull! But that's life in San Jose in the rainy season. Fortunately, it waited until we had finished our outdoor work, and we could be under the roof cover. We've worked most of the day at recon and planning for the education effort the next three days and walked the school rooms and yard to plan the classes. We've practiced the lessons and divvied up the work. Now it's just up to the Lord to help us to do what we have planned as El Senor would want. The late afternoon brought us an emotional all too familiar prayer opportunity. A little girl was brought into the clinic with extreme respiratory distress. Asthma is common in the land of wood-fired in-house ovens. But moist breathing treatments were not helping and the outlook is dim. We gathered around and prayed for her and her mom and obviously undernourished boy. We contracted with a local with a truck to get her and the family to the city where we hope the hospital will help. As we are unable to follow her case well, we leave them in the hands of the Lord to do what He will with them. We will continue to pray for them and hope for their safety.
Tomorrow we hit the ground running, and get an early breakfast. Then it's off to school to teach about environmental stewardship and hygeine. We see lots of positive changes since our 2009 mission, and this gratifies our hearts! Thanks for following our mission and thinking and praying for us! We love you all for your assistance and prayers for our mission. In His precious name, Sam Prepelka
Tomorrow we hit the ground running, and get an early breakfast. Then it's off to school to teach about environmental stewardship and hygeine. We see lots of positive changes since our 2009 mission, and this gratifies our hearts! Thanks for following our mission and thinking and praying for us! We love you all for your assistance and prayers for our mission. In His precious name, Sam Prepelka
Hola from Honduras
Mike says:
Things could not be going better, We went through with the village adults yesterday what we plan to do with hygene enducation at the school and esplained the labyrinth to them. This morning we went over to the school and spent about half an hour with the principal and the teachers and they worked with our education committee on how we can set up tomorrow. We're all set.
The reaction to the labyrinth was interesting. It really looks great as the pictures we took will show. We could not believe how the children helped. Digging, clearing. carrying and laying out bricks. The adults seemed bemused by the idea of labyrith as a worship tool. But Gladis walked it and seemed deeply affected. She spoke to the other people in very emotional terms about how she felt walking throogh it. We hope this will convince eveerone to keep it ad use it.
All is well.
Mike
Things could not be going better, We went through with the village adults yesterday what we plan to do with hygene enducation at the school and esplained the labyrinth to them. This morning we went over to the school and spent about half an hour with the principal and the teachers and they worked with our education committee on how we can set up tomorrow. We're all set.
The reaction to the labyrinth was interesting. It really looks great as the pictures we took will show. We could not believe how the children helped. Digging, clearing. carrying and laying out bricks. The adults seemed bemused by the idea of labyrith as a worship tool. But Gladis walked it and seemed deeply affected. She spoke to the other people in very emotional terms about how she felt walking throogh it. We hope this will convince eveerone to keep it ad use it.
All is well.
Mike
Quick Post
It is not my turn, but I just logged on to get it ready for the next person. We now have a laptop b, borrowed from the clinic since it is open for business today. They have seen their first patient - Chris Bartley - since he got an earplug stuck in his ert last night - Dr. Hurst took care of getting out, Dr. Castillo check it and it's just irritated. Love to all, thank you for your prayers, they are being heard and answered.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday June 26
Hello. This is Tonya. San Jose is so beautiful the mountains all around and the trees with such colorful flowers. There is so much vegetation here. We are near the top of one of the mountains. It sort of feels like we are right next to heaven!
Alisa lost her luggage on the way here. We were all loaning her clothes and and stuff. But Medardo took her to the airport yesterday, and there it was! Our prayers are answered!
Yesterday we made a lot of progress on the labyrinth. We got the land mostly level and cleared off the rocks. The bricks are all buried on the outside perimeter. And we started on the inside bricks. Then there was a big heavy rain while we were eating lunch. It showed us where our low spots were. Also the water routed itself straight towards the bathroom at the clinic. Chris figured out the problem, and we dug a trench to make it go down the hill. Thanks God it rained so much! If not they might have had a big problem when we left.
Today we will go to church at 9am. Then work on. The labyrinth in the afternoon and show the interpreters what we plan to teach at for education this week. At 4:00 the adults will come to learn about the labyrinth, hand-washing, and watershed models. Then at 7:00 is church again (a different church).
Last night some of us went to a concert at one of the churches. And guess what we saw on the way back? A tarantula! It was right in the middle of the road. How awesome!
I miss Joe and the kids so much! Tell Delaney they have beautiful umbrellas here. Some people carry them when it is sunny to keep the sun off them.
Alisa lost her luggage on the way here. We were all loaning her clothes and and stuff. But Medardo took her to the airport yesterday, and there it was! Our prayers are answered!
Yesterday we made a lot of progress on the labyrinth. We got the land mostly level and cleared off the rocks. The bricks are all buried on the outside perimeter. And we started on the inside bricks. Then there was a big heavy rain while we were eating lunch. It showed us where our low spots were. Also the water routed itself straight towards the bathroom at the clinic. Chris figured out the problem, and we dug a trench to make it go down the hill. Thanks God it rained so much! If not they might have had a big problem when we left.
Today we will go to church at 9am. Then work on. The labyrinth in the afternoon and show the interpreters what we plan to teach at for education this week. At 4:00 the adults will come to learn about the labyrinth, hand-washing, and watershed models. Then at 7:00 is church again (a different church).
Last night some of us went to a concert at one of the churches. And guess what we saw on the way back? A tarantula! It was right in the middle of the road. How awesome!
I miss Joe and the kids so much! Tell Delaney they have beautiful umbrellas here. Some people carry them when it is sunny to keep the sun off them.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Safe arrival!
Hello everyone this is solange.
I don't have too much to say because I am typing this from Hurst's cellular. Haha. Anyways, we are SAFE! We arrived in san Jose after a couple plane flights and a long ride up the mountain the back of medardo's truck. The view was incredible. On the way there we had to stop because cows kept getting in the middle of the road. It made me laugh because it made me think about how at home we have to worry about deer, not cows! Once we got to san Jose we realized that Alisa lost her bag. We are still trying to figure out where it is. Even if it was left at Pittsburgh. It is very weird.
I don't have too much to say because I am typing this from Hurst's cellular. Haha. Anyways, we are SAFE! We arrived in san Jose after a couple plane flights and a long ride up the mountain the back of medardo's truck. The view was incredible. On the way there we had to stop because cows kept getting in the middle of the road. It made me laugh because it made me think about how at home we have to worry about deer, not cows! Once we got to san Jose we realized that Alisa lost her bag. We are still trying to figure out where it is. Even if it was left at Pittsburgh. It is very weird.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
One week before take off
We're leaving....on a jet plane! But, we know when we'll be back again. 11 days. Tomorrow night we pack up our supplies and weigh/mark the luggage. We've done all of our planning, raised all the funds, prayed and prayed and prayed. Now, it's in God's hands. Well, it always was. Here's a quote I found on a friend's facebook page today who has lived with ALS for 18 yrs; "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can." - John Wesley (Founder of the Methodist Church). This describes how our week will go - it'll be intense and exhausting - but it will be exactly this quote - early mornings, long days, late nights in intense heat - but it is one of the best experiences you can ever have. I'm looking forward to working with the team and getting to know them and our interpretors and meeting some new friends in San Jose. Here we go!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Another surprise blessing
I have said this before, I am constantly amazed at how God works through me. Here I am on vacation in another country on the treadmill checking emails (when I can get a connection) while everyone else is sleeping in. And Jibbigo (a company that produced a phenominal translating tool) offers a poetry contest to win their Spanish/English app. I am completely in love with this technology because I don't speak Spanish and I am always frustrated when I want to ask questions in bible studies, for example, during mission trips. These kinds of questions are not in common traveler's phrase books or dictionaries. I don't need to know how to order a beer in a hotel restaurant - there isn't one for miles - a two hour drive away! I want to know their theological beliefs! Even our intrepretors that have grown up in bi-lingual schools sometimes can't translate things for us because they are not versed in bible terminology. I don't even own a mac or an i-anything, but I have seen doctors use it with their patients and it's incredible. So the contest is announced on facebook and I'm already 15 hours behind the posting and it's to go to the first person who writes a short poem including the word Jibbigo. I don't consider myself a great poet, but I couldn't let this opportunity go. So I quickly submit one anyway to take a chance at it, just in case all 365 of their followers missed the posting. Here it is:
Jibbigo will help me so
I studied German instead of Espanol
To be able to speak to friends I've made on mission trips
Would be the greatest joy and oh so hip
To bring hope and health to the people I meet
Is the mission I'm on, it can't be beat
Thank you Jibbigo for such an invention
It's the answer to prayer for a Word intervention
A week later, I get a message from them that they had already given away the prize, but that they liked my poem so much, they decided to have two winners. Praise God! He always fills my needs - it's truly amazing. And on facebook I mentioned to Jibbigo how desperately the doctors need a Creole to English translation for the work they are doing in Haiti. Since that language is so specific to that location, they needed someone who spoke the language and I just happen to know someone who is working on that already with teaching CDs - and we might be able to get Jibbigo together with them to work on it! What a blessing...Thank you God and thank you Jibbigo. So now I am praying someone on the team has an i-anything that they can bring on the trip!!
Jibbigo will help me so
I studied German instead of Espanol
To be able to speak to friends I've made on mission trips
Would be the greatest joy and oh so hip
To bring hope and health to the people I meet
Is the mission I'm on, it can't be beat
Thank you Jibbigo for such an invention
It's the answer to prayer for a Word intervention
A week later, I get a message from them that they had already given away the prize, but that they liked my poem so much, they decided to have two winners. Praise God! He always fills my needs - it's truly amazing. And on facebook I mentioned to Jibbigo how desperately the doctors need a Creole to English translation for the work they are doing in Haiti. Since that language is so specific to that location, they needed someone who spoke the language and I just happen to know someone who is working on that already with teaching CDs - and we might be able to get Jibbigo together with them to work on it! What a blessing...Thank you God and thank you Jibbigo. So now I am praying someone on the team has an i-anything that they can bring on the trip!!
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