Month: October 2017

I’ve got a roommate! One of the interns I was lucky enough to intern alongside in 2015 (on the right in the picture above) has now moved down here to Casa Shalom full time, like me! She will be running the tutoring program, taking over the library, and assisting in the therapy of our littlest babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers.

I’m not going to lie, having a roommate has its ups and downs. Most of my life, I’ve had a bedroom to myself, aside from 3 years in college (where we’d usually have different schedules, making the room at times feel like our own) and a short period in my childhood years sharing a room with my sister, that I had forgotten about until writing this post! I have to get familiar with my limited personal space getting almost cut in half, sharing the space with another young lady that has about the same amount of clothes, toiletries, and snacks as I do.

Having a roommate also makes me more cautious of my mess and holds me accountable for things (although she may not realize it). I have been lacking in my daily devotionals and journaling, maybe 4 days a week. Since she’s been here, I haven’t missed a day. I find myself opening up a little more, and noticing how I spend my time. Although, I still know I need to make time to give myself a break every once in a while, I am more likely to bring my cards out for a game, help make a kite, or interact more with some of those I would normally ask “How are you?” as we walk past each other.

She’s a talker, and I’m a listener, so we compliment each other well. Some of the things she’s been mentioning that she wants to help in while at Casa Shalom, I have been kind of thinking on some of those same things. Like the library. She has the keys to access the books and is going to be making a schedule of when kids can come in and check out books or stay to read at the library. I might be helping her out with that, providing that we can get a room and set up a comfortable atmosphere that the kids look forward to going to the library.

We are both at the same level of Spanish fluency, so we are always bouncing vocab words off of one another and asking for help when we lose track of what’s being said. While she was interning here, she  lived with the little girls (ages 7-11) and I lived with the pre-schoolers (4-6, boys and girls). We’ve both grown close to different groups of kids, that I feel most of the basis is covered, with her spending her time with the girls she’s grown close with, and me with the younger ones I’ve grown closer to.

I think that the two of us together will be a great team working towards enhancing parts of the orphanage that lack guidance, organization, and/or time.

Most of the time I pray aloud with the kids, it’s usually before a meal. One will be leading the prayer, and the others will be echoing back the sentence, so that we are all saying the same prayer together. Often times, it’ll sound something like this: “God, thank you for another day of life you’ve given to us. Thank you for the food on the table and for the roof over our heads. Bless the cooks. Bless the caretakers. Bless those who are out on the streets, who don’t have food, or who are in the hospital. Thank you for Casa Shalom. Keep us. Guide us. Protect us. In your name, Amen” Sounds a little different than how we’d pray over our meals, right?! I got to thinking why I felt strange (and almost uncomfortable) repeating those words with them. I’m not going to lie- I am selfish in my prayers. I ask God to bless the food to my body, to watch over me, or even just help me make it through the day without losing my mind. But it hit me.

They were once in that same place. They know what it feels like to be homeless. They haven’t had a roof over their heads or food on the table at times. Some have been in the hospital due to parental care (or lack thereof), yet others weren’t provided the hospital care when they needed it. I couldn’t give you a number, but a large percentage of Guatemalans are homeless, eat one meal a day, have no access to education, nor are able to fully provide for themselves and/or their family. Even now living with them here in Guatemala, I find myself looking forward to my next meal, the next time I can wash my hands with running water, or to escape inside from the sun’s heat. My focus is on myself and the normalcy of life I often take advantage of, instead of thinking upon the children and families living on the streets just outside the orphanage walls.

Instead of focusing their time with God on their own wants/needs, they use it for the benefit of others. They give thanks to those who are cooking their meals and caring for them. They are rejoicing for another day of being alive at Casa Shalom, knowing they are being protected by whatever it was at their previous “home” that brought them to the orphanage. They are thankful for the blessing of food, a table, and a roof. They know what life is like outside of these walls, and remember to cover the less fortunate in their thoughts and prayers. They aren’t directing their attention towards themselves, but the people and the gifts that God has placed within their lives.

Even in their prayers, these kids teach me. They are setting examples for me in my walk with Christ, as I had hoped to do for them when I moved down here. Each one of them is a gift to this Casa Shalom family, and I give thanks for the time I get to share with each one of them (see, there I go being selfish, again, with MY time with them!)

While I was visiting the US last month, I noticed a lot of growth. This doesn’t just include myself, but my (now) 9 month old puppy, my relationships with friends, family, and sponsors, and, after I arrived back at the orphanage, the plants surrounding my front porch. Some of them are quite pretty, standing 4 feet tall, with dandelions atop, small flowers budding, and leaves the size of my hand. Others are small weeds and grass-like plants, weaving their roots into the dirt just below my rock bed. It’s hard to look at the beauty in the flowers, when there is so much weeding that needs to be done.

This past week I’ve been taking a half hour or an hour every few days to remove some of the weeds, pulling and cutting to see the rocks underneath. Let me tell you, the bigger the weed, the deeper the roots, the harder it is to fully remove. Without removing the roots, it’ll just grow right back. I’ve seen it happen with a few I’ve pulled just days after returning.  I’ve gotten a couple of bug bites, I’ve gotten a few blisters on my hands, and it’s taken a lot of time, but I am seeing more improvement day after day, as long as I continue working on it. It’s not easy and it’s nowhere near perfect, but it’s definitely better (and easier to look upon) than it was the day I got back. Funny thing is, if I don’t give it some effort, it won’t disappear on its own, but may end up growing stronger and/or larger.

While I was on my knees taking scissors to the most stubborn weeds, I was also thinking upon weeds in my own life. Those things I can’t seem to get rid of that I know are causing me to not be the best I can be. I know, like the weeds on my front porch, if I put the time and effort into removing those weeds from my own life, I will start to improve. I know it’s not going to just all disappear in an hour or two of work. It’s looking for those little instances I can seek another option or decide not to let the “weed” dig its roots deeper into me. It is a process that will take time, effort, and may sometimes be difficult or painful, but it’s worth it.

I want to see the rock (Christ) within me that may be hiding underneath my weeds, those silly little things I let get in the way.  I won’t be perfect, but I will definitely improve more if I continue removing those weeds from the root just in the small decisions I make everyday. I want myself and others to see my flowers, rather than my weeds. What is/are the weed(s) in your life? Maybe it’s a characteristic, like greed. Doubt. Pride. Selfishness. Guilt. Negative thinking. Impatience. Fear of the future. Or maybe it’s more physical, like a relationship that needs mending (or ending). An idol. An addiction. A bad habit. Consumption (not only including food and drink, but music, television, gossip, etc.) What can be done now to start removing the weed at the roots?

 

“They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their
detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from
all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them.
And they will be My people, and I will be their God.”
Ezekiel 37:23

The second weekend of September, just before my visit to the US, I helped out at a youth group outing. We visited two theme parks, Xocomil (water park) and Xetulul (theme park). Don’t ask me how to pronounce them, I wouldn’t be able to help you out!

There were 22 of us piled into 2 16-passenger vans, 13 teens, 6 chaperones (myself included), and another van driver with his wife and daughter. 5 am Saturday morning we were on our way to the parks. We drove for about 3 hours with a break for breakfast (McDonalds) and a bathroom break/gas fill-up. We found the restrooms to get our suits on for the water park and dove right in. From about 10 until 1, we were free to roam the park, taking on any water slides we were brave enough to board.

I was given two girls, 16 and 18, to “watch over” for the day. We had a blast, enjoying every slide we could find that we hadn’t tried before. It was the water park with a variety of slides, both for groups and individuals, a wave pool, smaller water jungle gyms for the little kids, and a lazy river. We were running from slide to slide that we barely had time to even see the river or the wave pool. I know we were all worn out and tired at 1:00 that we were excited to head on over to the amusement park and ride some coasters!

The parks were side by side, only taking a 3 minute van drive to move the car in front of the park’s entrance. My two girls and I went with a larger group to grab lunch together at one of the park’s restaurant. It was a pirate theme, with the employees wearing costumes, nets hanging from the ceiling and everything wooden, like a pirate ship.

Somehow, about halfway through our time at the amusement park, I ended up looking over 4 girls and 2 guys. I didn’t mind… We were running across an almost empty amusement park catching as many rides as we could in the 3 and a half hours we were given to ride! (This park, you pay to enter, and then pay for either a pass for a dozen rides or a wristband for unlimited rides, so most people would rather pay once and enjoy unlimited water slides.)

It was starting to look rainy out, so we purchased a few of the passes with a dozen rides. Surprise, we had to go back and purchase another two before the day was over! There were a few large rollercoasters, one my girls and I rode I think four times. There was a ride like Splash mountain, those chairs swinging in a circle (found at most state fairs) and several of those up-and-down, pendulum, and smaller kids rides.

Our final ride of the night was a pendulum sort, where we were all seated in a circle at the bottom, while the pendulum went back and forth and the ring of seats slowly spun around. It slowed down, and we were all expecting to get off. Nope. It was sprinkling, there was no line, and we rode it for 4 rounds worth, screaming “Again!” every time the ride would come to an “end.” Glad that was the final ride of the night. As fun as it was, I was kinda starting to feel sick, after swinging for almost 20 minutes.

We spent the night at this campground, with rooms/bathrooms separate for girls and boys. Our room had I think 17 bunk beds with mattresses about as thin as the length of my pointer finger. Since there weren’t enough girls to fill each bed, I slept on two mattresses, giving me a little extra comfort on the wooden bunk beds. All the kids went to the campsite’s pool for an hour or so after we got back, but I showered and was in my pajamas at 8:30, after a long, tiring, fun day.

The campsite provided us breakfast just before heading off to church. Lunch was pizza hut before the 3 hour ride back to the orphanage. We made a quick pit stop for any of those who wanted to grab an ice cream cone or a coffee for the drive.

Church was a great blessing, after not getting to attend many services since I’ve been in Guatemala. One of my two girls took the mic and shared some of her testimony and of Casa Shalom’s impact on her life. And one of the volunteers who came to help out for the weekend.

The service was about thinking upon the impact you are making in others’ lives. How will people remember you? Will you be part of a list of people, as seen in the Bible so many times (Father of…, son of…, son of… etc) or would you make an impact and be the last on that list, “…did what was right (or wrong) in the eyes of the Lord.” Will you have an impact that makes you remembered for more than a placement in the family line? Will you be remembered for good or for bad?

Remembering up this weekend, it was a blast. Sure there were some downsides of large blisters, tired legs, and a lack of sleep, but most of what I remember makes this weekend a good one. It was full of getting the giggles on the rollercoasters, a party in the van on the way home, and many memories that will stick with everyone who came along. From my point of view, and I think the other 21 who went, it was a great weekend that stands out from a list.

Like this weekend, I want to stand out from a list. Yes, I still sin and make mistakes, but I want to be remembered for the good things I do rather than the bad. I don’t want to stand out from the list as someone who moved out of the country. I want to be remembered by the impact I’ve made in each of the lives of the kids here at Casa Shalom and for those lives I meet elsewhere. I don’t want to be associated with my sins and mistakes, but rather how I’ve overcome them and helped others overcome them as well. I want to be remembered just as I remember this weekend.