Holiday Spirit

Dinner at Casa Magdalena

There were holiday activities buzzing at the Project.   Guatemalans celebrate Christmas much like we do New Years.  We had dinner at 11:00pm and then waited to count down to Christmas day.  They then light off fireworks and gave each other hugs.  I had the privelege of celebrating with Casa Magdalena also after the late night events.  We ate dinner at 1:30am on Christmas day, lite more fireworks and opened presents.  I didn't get home to my cozy bed until 3:30am.   It was very different from how we experience Christmas in the states but it was fun to be a part of the festivities here.


Handing out Presents

Celebration

Hugs for Everyone

They also celebrate New Years much the same way as Christmas but they also have devotions and sharing to bring in the New Year.  Also, the fireworks are going off all throughout the town and are much more spectacular.  They also hug everyone to bring in the New Year.  I got home around 2:00am.  I was a little tired after all the late night events, but I enjoyed spending time with the girls during this special time.



Graduations

Kids have graduated and now we are on a break. What a wonderful time seeing all these kids succeed in their studies. I am excited for three of our young ladies that will be going onto the University to study.

Highlights of the Last Year

Here's a video of some of the fun things the girls (and myself) enjoyed doing this last year.  I have attached a link that is connected to a youtube video I downloaded.  This link will start the video.  Enjoy!!!!

  http://www.youtube.com/embed/YwzclGUe-V0

Going on Three Years

Well I am back posting on my blog.  Sorry for those that have checked and not found any updates.  It is going on three years that I have been in Guatemala now.  I continue to work at Shadow of His Wings Orphanage.  I currently am working as the Special Education Teacher and Behavioral Specialist.  I also continue to teach English to third graders on up to High Schooler.  It has been an amazing but difficult journey.  The new school year will be starting in January and I am looking forward to all the things God has planned.  I just finished 64 hours of Spanish classes to improve my Spanish.  Little by Little or Poco y Poco as we say here.  Stay tuned for more updates.

Community Servants

Vanessa and I went on an adventure with a group of girls, some house parents, and other staff members visiting local communities. We shared the message of Jesus Christ and brought food and clothes. The food and clothing were hauled up the mountain with mules. It took about an hour to hike there. We broke up into two teams and visited three locations. In the morning the two teams split up and went to different locations. I went with Hugo (one of the house fathers who is playing the guitar) and Vanessa. I had heard when they had visited this community before that all the children raised their hands to accept Jesus. When we got there one of the girls knelt down and pulled her water bottle from her bag and took out the toilet paper (you have to carry it where ever you go) and proceeded to wash a little boy's bare feet. I was so moved. I instantly thought about the scripture that talks about being a servant and thought about Jesus washing the disciples feet. A couple of girls gave their testimonies. The girl that washed the boy's feet gave her testimony as well and said that she remembers living in a community like this one. You could tell she had a heart for the people there. The girls played with the other children and helped make tortillas. They also helped serve food to the children, while we were able to pray with individual families. We were able to visit for a while after distributing the food and clothing and had a wonderful time getting to know them. In the afternoon we hiked up to another community that was more indigenous. We did not get to visit there as long and the people were not quite as comfortable with us there, but they did appreciated the food and clothes. Vanessa and I also prayed for a woman with cateracts and for this boy who as far as we could understand had a blood disease. We continue to pray for his healing. After the food and clothes were distributed, we passed out stuffed animals for the children and they were all gathered around to get one. It was a great opportunity for the girls to help others. We laughed and slept on the way back home. It was a long exausting day, but well worth the trip.