Guatemala

Without getting to deep and detailed, I want to get a few things jotted down about the Guatemala trip. I'd love to express all that I experienced during those 10 days, but I am pressed for time between trips and training this week. So here is a snapshot, and I hold hopes to revisit this trip later in blog to sort out my feelings. So to be brief...

We stayed at an orphanage in San Jose Pinula, Guatemala City, called "Fundaninos". Most of our time was spent here and I loved it. I hope that I can keep communication with fundaninos via support and letters, if not direct visitation.

This is Matteo. He jumped in my arms on the first night there and I pretty much didn't let him go after that. He and Chino were definitely my favorites. One night he fell asleep holding my finger while Rebekah sang the Pre-K's to sleep, which only completely confirmed my absolute desire to adopt someday. Now, this is only possible with an Esposo, so...should I ever be gifted with one of those, adoption would have to be sure to follow.

Meet Chino. That's not even his real name, they just call him that because he looks Asian and Chino is Spanish for "Chinese". ALL the kids have nicknames. Including one kid who somehow got stuck with "Chupete"...meaning "Pacifier".

We held an official 3 day teacher training for teachers in the city and about 70 Guatemalan teachers came. We also had two unofficial trainings with the teachers at Fundaninos. This was huge for me. I LOVE teaching teachers and I hope there is a future in that for me. This experience totally recharged my love for teaching. I love my job so much.

Nathan and Rebekah are the American couple living and working at Fundaninos right now. I love them so much and Rebekah is my new best friend. More on their awesome love for the Lord and each other later.

There were six of us single girls on the trip that shared a room for the week and got really close. I am so thankful for them, I was so challenged by each of them and hope their friendships will continue.

Maribell. It's tough to get closer to the older kids when you don't speak the language. That's a commitment I would like to make before I return to another Spanish speaking country. Especially this one. We got by with translators and charades, but I really longed to have conversations with those kiddos. Maribell didn't seem to care though. She took me in right away, painted my nails, fixed my hair, etc...

I'm fully convinced this trip was God's idea and not mine. I've been slightly reluctant through the entire process and felt almost robotic about it. I got super sick in Mexico and almost didn't even go. But God had a bigger plan. He knew what I needed to see and do and be around. He needed to divert my attention from my growing attachment to my comfort, my things, boys, narcissism, and lack of faith. I'm grateful to Him for knowing what I need and sending it to me. It's time to reevaluate my life choices and simplify, conforming to God's ideas pleasures rather than my own.

3 Weddings in 2 Weeks

'Tis the season for weddings. Especially 3 of my friends, and I am anticipating another batch next summer. Each of these adventure weddings were fun in their own way...and they were each definitely fitting to their respective brides.

VICTORIA & LEWIS

We begin with Victoria. I love her! We traveled Asia together a couple of summers ago and she's one of my favorite friends at school. She is probably the most decisive person I have ever met. She picks out what she wants on a menu in 3 seconds, she picked out the house she bought in one day...and so it was no surprise that she would have a Vegas wedding!

My partner in crime on this particular trip was Teal. She's so fun, and we both wanted to keep the cost as low as normal, so what did we do? We found a flight for $280 that would allow us 15 hours in Las Vegas without needing to pay for an overnight in a hotel! I spent $40 on lunch, gambling, and cabs, won $20 at O'Sheas...and so the trip totalled to a whopping $300 for a super fun memorial day weekend.

Victoria had the cutest dress, she looked like a princess! She got married at the Bellagio, and I think the Bellagio is my favorite place in Vegas. I love the fountains and I'm sure that has everything to do with how much I love Ocean's 11. We had a lovely reception at a little Italian place, with a fun rowdy crowd table, and an open bar that allowed us to try every martini on the menu :)

MICAH & JUSTIN
Next up we have Mikey. I've been friends with Micah since probably around 8th grade when I really started getting to know friends from Midtown and Saginaw at Iron Springs. She is one of my best girlfriends in the whole world and I was really honored to be in her wedding. Shasta was my travel buddy on this one...even though it was only in Saginaw...it was still a bit of a daily drive that gave the two of us time to catch up since we are normally passing ships in the night.

I LOVED Micah's outdoor wedding. It looked like something from a magazine with all of her details. We spent a few days getting all of the crafts finished and I think it all really came together well. Isn't her dress cute? She has POCKETS! What a genius idea! I love pockets...on anything.

KATIE & KRIS

Finally we have my teacher friend Katie who introduced me to my first beach wedding...in MEXICO! Niki was mostly my travel friend on this one, but we spent a lot of time with Melissa and Victoria too and had so much fun! I had never been to an all inclusive resort before...those of you that have read any of my past travels know that's not how I roll....so while Cancun was BEAUTIFUL, with super friendly people, and anything I want at my fingertips...I would be totally okay with having that trip be one time only. There is something weird about me that actually enjoys the memories of sleeping in hostels and cars and couch surfing.

As you can see Katie was gorgeous. Her wedding was beautiful and we had a blast. Niki and I also got to zip line! That was my first time! I was shaking a lot I had so much adrenaline flowing. We even got to watch the MAVERICKS WIN at the swing bar in Cancun. Swing as in, there are swings you can sit in all over the place. There were a lot of people from Dallas there, which shouldn't surprise me since its only a 2 hour flight away, and we all got to celebrate together!

CARISSE & ...

It's hard to describe the feelings running through my head over the last two weeks. I am SO happy for my friends. The men they found are the kind of men I prayed for them. I know they will be treated well and I look forward to watching them grow. While I am truly happy for them, there is this thick cloud of envy lingering as well...without any sort of negative lining to it.....but envy nonetheless. It's like this...I think of it like a race, and each girl in the world is given a huge pile of hay, and somewhere in that hay there is supposedly a needle with my name on it that will be just right for me. So I kind of feel like most of my friends have found their needles and left the barn to eat lunch...while I'm still sifting through tons of hay, sweaty, tired, and ready to give up. Does that analogy make sense?

Anyways...here is a little man that does make me very happy right now. He's probably the cutest fellow in town. He's getting bigger, and his eyes are "cracked", but he's the most lovable thing ever and I love him so much. We were pretty lucky he was sent this way :)