Birthday Thoughts

Today is a pretty big day in the land of Dan & Rachel. Not only is it my 26th birthday, it is also our 6 month wedding anniversary!!! Yeah, yeah. I know for those of you who have been married for 20+ years 6 months is nothing, but hey for us, it is a lil' milestone. Afterall, many say that the first year of marriage can be tough. (I am not sure if I really believe this, but don't want to jinx myself. Haha.)

Unfortunately, I woke up this morning feeling a little ill. The original plan was to work half a day and to celebrate this afternoon and evening, but since I am not feeling so hot I decided to stay home and rest. Which is why I have time to write this post. Being home is nice minus the middle school next to us that has been blasting music over the loud speakers and awful singing for the past 3 hours. But wait? Can it be true? It just stopped and now it is blissfully quiet. Hoping it stays. Please Lord for my birthday! haha

Taking a moment to reflect on my 25th year, I realized that it has been pretty monumental. It was full of big events and many transitions. To name a few....

Travels- In March I had the chance to go to Costa Rica with my Eastern grad school classmates. For me it was a really special trip because I got to visit my old host family. I also had the chance to work alongside a local NGO and see a region of Costa Rica I wasn't familiar with. I met some really cool people and yet another fabulous host family that I still keep in touch with. Also, I was able to be a leader on this trip helping to organize it and facilitate fundraising events. While there, I acted as a translator which was a growing, positive experience for me. I also made some small trips to places like D.C. and New York to see friends which was pretty sweet.

Marriage!!!- August 20th was the day Daniel and I got married! :) It was an absolutely beautiful day full of love and joy. After the months of planning and many stressful moments, it was a relief to just be married at the end of the day. I am sure I am not the only bride who felt this way! Haha :) So far, marriage has been absolutely wonderful. We are growing so much as a couple and as individuals. We feel like our relationship is getting stronger and stronger as we learn how to communicate better, how to make decisions, how to balance time together and time alone, and so many other things.  

Two International Moves- First, Bolivia and now Guatemala it has been a year of transitions for sure. Despite the challenges that we've experienced, we have also had so many wonderful moments. Even though sometimes I truly miss home and all things familiar, I also feel peace and joy knowing that we are where God wants us to be. I am not sure what the future holds, but know that for right now Guatemala is the place for us. Also, it is kind of cool only having a couple suitcases of belongings; it makes moving fast and easy (which was the case on Saturday when we moved to a new apartment). 

Graduating- Most know that for me, graduate school was anything but easy. Planning a wedding while studying full time while commuting two hours daily while also working part-time was just as complicated as it sounds. But, in the end, I made it and was truly blessed by the friends and family who pulled me through, my amazing classmates and professors, and the education I obtained. I feel very blessed to have completed a Master's Degree at the age of 25 and to have had the chance to study something I love! Right now I have sworn off any more studies, but who knows maybe I will feel differently in the future.

In some ways I feel like my 25th year was so great. How will year 26 compare? But even though I don't expect this year to be full of huge life changes I think it will still be amazing (or at least has the potential to be). At the end of the day I am truly thankful for the simple things in life- sunshine, living in a beautiful place, coffee, emails, Skype, good food, wine, meeting cool people, quiet moments, my wonderful husband, good health, and supportive friends and family. Here's to my 26th year of life and the second half of our 1st year of marriage! Much love to you all! ;)

P.S. Guess what I found in the grocery store here! Funfetti cake mix!! I don't know why, but I LOVE it! Dan is in the process of making my cake right now. :)

A Very Special Day

Last weekend I got to do something I have wanted to do ever since Dan and I decided to return to Guatemala…

After two weeks of getting settled and going through the mandatory “getting adjusted” sickness it seemed like the right time for our visit to my former host family in Santiago. I wanted to just show up at my family’s house, but after finding out they moved since I last saw them I figured it would be better to call. So, on Friday night I called my host sister, Josefa, and let her know we were coming to visit.

Santiago is about 30 minutes from Panajachel in lancha (small motor boat) as it is situated on the opposite side of the lake. On the ride across beautiful Lake Atitlan I pondered what it would be like to see them again.  I felt a mix of emotions, but mostly felt excitement. I have lived with multiple host families during my travels in Central America, but the one closest to my heart is the Damian-Sosof family. After all, I lived with them for an entire year; I shared countless meals with them, celebrated the holidays with them, and introduced them to my family- my parents, aunt, sister, Dan, and two best  friends (all of whom visited me during my last time here). I feel a bond with my Santiago family that is hard to explain, but very special.

We met Josefa at the docks and she took us on a little tour of Santiago. I discovered that my host brother, Diego, is married and has a 3 year old daughter! Also, he has continued his studies and is now in University (a huge accomplishment!). He was in class, but ran out to say hi for a minute. I got to meet his wife and daughter. Both were nice, but a little confused on who the gringa (white woman) was. Haha. I also got to visit my former boss/the director of ANADESA, Juan Ramirez, and his family. I received some awesome news regarding ANADESA (the community group I worked with that is funded through Mennonite Central Committee). They recently became an official foundation (similar to the US equivalent of being a 501 3c). Also, they just purchased their OWN LAND! This is a huge deal as they have been working out of Juan’s small home for the past five years. That is where they hold all of their activities and meetings and where they sell their beadwork. They hope to one day build a community center and office for ANADESA on their newly acquired land. It will be a long journey requiring lots of hard work and money, but it was really encouraging to see them committed to their purpose and moving forward!

The best part of the visit was seeing my host mom, Andrea. As I walked into the family’s new home I heard her before I even saw her. She yelled “Buenas tardes!”, but in a kind of broken Spanish since she doesn’t really speak it. I walked through the door and ran to hug her and tears started streaming down my face. I just love this woman so much. She is the epitome of a servant and I see Christ reflected in her in so many ways. With Andrea unable to speak Spanish and me unable to speak T’ztujil you would think we were never able to communicate, but the fact is she was the family member I bonded with the most. There is just something special about her and I was thrilled to see her again. It was a really emotional moment that is hard to describe so you will have to just trust me. ;) Andrea prepared lunch for us including her delicious corn tortillas- fresh off the grill. They were delicious! Man, I have missed those tortillas! All in all it was a lovely day and one I won’t forget anytime soon. One of the best parts was telling everyone that we are not here on vacation (what they thought), but that we are actually living in Panajachel for a year. We invited them all to come visit us in Pana sometime and told them we’d love to have them over for lunch. It’d be a great role reversal for us to make lunch for them! I hope they take us up on the offer. 

With my host sister, Josefa, in Santiago Atitlan

Some of the kids from my former host family.
They have grown so much!

Andrea & Dan. I told her that I still have the present she gave me (a woven shawl)
& she whipped out the Pittsburgh coffee cup I gave her! :)

Beautiful Lake Atitlan on the ride over to Santiago