An Update: Housing & Health

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us lately. After my last post I received a lot of encouragement from family and friends and for that I am grateful. Although I still have my moments of doubt and worry like anyone, it is comforting to know that the people we love are holding us up in prayer. Thank you!

Lake Atitlan- majestic as always!

After looking at a handful of places we are happy to announce we found a new place! It's a casita (little house) on the other side of town- about 15 minutes from the center of Pana. In true Guatemalan fashion we only found out about it because of a friend of a friend. (Here a lot of people don't advertise their places for rent. You just have to know someone that knows about it. Interesting, right?) The casita has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a common area, and a small kitchen. It is just a tad bigger than our former place. The best part is that it has its own little yard and back porch! Perfect for Lucia. :) We will be able to leave her outside while we go to work. We are going to sign an agreement this week and hopefully move in next Saturday. Photos to come once we are settled! Hopefully this will be our home for the rest of our time here. *fingers crossed*

I also wanted to give an update on my health as I know it has been a while since I posted anything about that. Those close to me know about what's been going on, but perhaps there are some people out of the loop... After having a lot of stomach problems (see Don't Eat the Potato Salad) our first five months here I decided to see a natural homeopathic type doctor here in Pana. He diagnosed me with having an overgrowth of yeast in my stomach. I was really nervous about our trip to the States in June because I thought I'd be sick the whole time. Thankfully, I felt great most of our time home. Per the doctor's orders I bought a boatload of natural supplements and medicine while in the U.S. When I came back to Guat I did a 15 day cleanse. It was awful! I have never done any type of cleanse (diet or otherwise) so it was really hard for me. I could not eat any fruit (with the exception of Granny Smith apples) or bread (anything with gluten really) or dairy. I broke some rules like having coffee (hey, yeast or no yeast I need my cafe!). The goal was to regain balance in my stomach. Even though it was tough, it really helped! After that I began taking some natural supplements to help support the flora and fauna in my stomach. I try to limit my sugar intake as yeast apparently feeds off of sugar. Praise Jesus that since doing the cleanse and beginning this medicine I have felt 100 times better! I still have moments when my stomach doesn't feel right, but mostly, I feel really good. I am SO thankful as I was starting to get really worried back in May! Thank you for your prayers about this too!

Enjoying some frozen yogurt during
Semana Santa/Holy Week

Heading H-O-M-E

Well friends, I can hardly believe it, but Daniel and I will be U.S.-bound very very SOON. The past few weeks have been a blur. All of a sudden I went from counting down the days to "ohmygosh! I better pack!!!". Those who know me well know how much I despise packing...

So while I procrastinate beginning that task I thought I'd write a list of 10 things Daniel & I are looking forward to during our trip:

1. Drinking water from the facet! No purification or filtration required. Also, being able to eat fruits and vegetables without sanitizing them or worrying about crazy parasites. 
2. Seeing all of our wonderful family members and friends of course. Especially celebrating two weddings and a retirement! :-) 
3. Food, food, and more food. We have a mental list of foods we miss including: Greek yogurt, nuts, certain fruits & veggies (brussel sprouts!!!), salads, and almost all forms of ethnic food. Luckily I am sure we will be blessed with many delicious meals. 
4. Being able to flush toliet paper! (rather than put it in a trash can) and HOT SHOWERS! Yes, we have hot showers here, but they are just not the same. 
5. Shopping at some of our favorite stores like TARGET and The Body Shop (ok this is probably more me than Dan).
6. Comfy-ness- couches, carpet, a REAL pillow... all in all cushy-ness that we don't often get here. (ps- my worst packing mistake was to not bring a pillow here. I plan to rectify that this trip.)
7. Good beverages- guess who added this one? ;-)
8. Going to a park or two or three. We don't really have those here. Just plazas and "beaches" and they are full of stray dogs, drunk men, and beggars. Can't wait to visit some of our favorite places in Philly like Kelly Dr.
9. Less bugs!- With the rainy season starting this month there have been all sorts of strange insects floating around. 
10. Modern technology like dishwashers and washing machines. 

Hope this list made you smile! One thing we will be sad to leave behind is our babygirl, Lucia. Luckily, she will be at a friend's house playing with other doggies and getting a lot of love. 

"Yeah I'm a dog model in my spare time."

All joking aside please say a prayer for safe travels. We leave Pana tomorrow and fly out Thursday very early (around 6 am. eek!). We are very excited, but also expect to experience some reverse culture shock. Hoping for good health (for me) and fun times for all. For those that don't know, I went to see a natural doctor recently. I will be happy to fill you in in person if you want to hear more about it (kind of a long story). One of my biggest prayer requests at the moment is that my stomach would be ok throughout this trip and that it wouldn't interfere with our time with loved ones.

Thanks for reading & see you sooooooooooooon! (If you want to get in touch with us please feel free to call. I will have my old phone and number.)

Don't Eat the Potato Salad & Photos

I learned a valuable lesson this week: don't eat the potato salad (in Guatemala). In fact, don't eat any type of salad made with mayonnaise. Why? you ask. It's simple. Refrigerators are not common here so oftentimes when food is made it sits for hours before being eaten. This is generally, not a huge problem, but does become problematic when things like mayo are involved.

This past week I was asked by my boss to go to a lunch at a local school. Even though I didn't really want to go I felt obligated. She couldn't go so she asked me to go in her place. I had the passing thought that maybe I should find a way out of it since my stomach is so dang sensitive, but I couldn't really think of a good reason (other than "hey, my stomach is really sensitive...") so I went. Oh how I wish she would've given me the above advice before I attended the lunch. Yes friends, I am sick once again. Did I mention that I just finished another round of Cipro (a very strong antibiotic) last weekend!?! To give you a little glimpse into my world I'd like to explain exactly what Dan and I do to stay healthy and avoid getting sick when it comes to food and beverages....

First off, we only drink filtered water. We have a water filter that we have to clean manually once a week. We received it from Mayan Families and it is awesome because it saves us a lot of money since the alternative is buying purified water. That can get very pricey. BUT when I am not at home I almost always drink purified water which luckily, we have at my office. There are times when I make an exception and drink filtered water, but only if I am at someone's home where I feel 100% confident that they clean their filter regularly and properly. There is a very specific way to clean it and just seeing that someone has a filter does not ensure that the water is safe to drink. At least not for me. 

Next, Dan and I sanitize all of our fruits, fresh herbs, and vegetables. What does this involve? It means that every time we go to the market we bring home everything and take turns putting it in a special sanitizing solution- filtered water plus disinfectant (a liquid solution we buy at the grocery store). It takes a while to clean every single thing we buy, but we do it. The only exceptions are things with peels like avocados and bananas. Even if we get something from the local grocery store that says it has been washed I sanitize it to be 100% sure.

On my 26th Bday w/ my FUNFETTI cake
{made by my wonderful husband}

Last, but not least, we are EXTREMELY careful about what and where we eat. This means absolutely NO eating on the street. There are tons of little food stands that sell tacos, french fries, ceviche, etc. Some people swear by them because they are so cheap, but honestly, most foreigners get sick anytime they eat from them. Even if the workers try to be clean there really is nowhere for them to wash their hands, dishes, or utensils so even if what you consume is delicious, it is almost certainly not sanitary.  

Each time I get sick I get more and more strict about what I will and will not eat. In the beginning I was a little more relaxed about it. I would buy snacks from the local woman who sells in front of our office. Oftentimes, people say "if it's cooked it's ok" with the idea that the germs/bacteria/etc. are cooked off. Well, I have news for you. That is not always true. I am at the point now where I really avoid eating things while I am out unless I am at one of the few restaurants where I am sure I will not get sick from their food. I don't buy homemade ice cream or chocofrut (fresh fruit covered in chocolate) for fear that the utensils used or the hands serving it are not clean. Even at bars I will not order a mixed drink like a mojito unless I am sure that they sanitize the mint that they use.

This all may sound a little extreme and maybe it is, but you have to understand that I have been extremely sick FOUR TIMES in less than 4 months! I have been to the doctor and taken extremely strong antibiotics four times. Sometimes when I tell people here (foreigners) that I don't want to eat something for fear of it making me sick I feel really judged. Whether they say it directly or indirectly it's something like "Oh come on. Lighten up!". I am at the point now where I figure everyone has their own prerogative. Everyone's body is different and some people are just fine drinking questionable water and food off the street. And if you want to do that it's fine with me. I am not going to criticize someone for their choices so I hope others will not criticize me. Trust me when I say I have a very sensitive stomach and that I have to be really, really careful about what I eat.

I didn't mean for this to be a venting session, but I guess that is what it became. I just wanted to explain why I am frustrated that I am sick yet again when I really try to take precautions against getting sick... I'd appreciate your prayers as we are traveling home 11 days from today and the last thing I want is to be ill while we are in the States. As my friend mentioned to me today it takes a while to get over these stomach issues- oftentimes a week or longer which is another reason why I am bummed out about being sick right now. Please keep me in your prayers and I will keep you posted!

On a happier note I was looking for a platform (other than Facebook) to share photos and I stumbled across Shutterfly's personal sites. I would like to start posting photos on there instead of Facebook because it is a bit more personalized and private. Please click this link if you want to check it out. You have to create a Shutterfly account (if you don't have one). Then, you have to send me a request to see the site. Once I approve you you'll be able to log in and see the photos. It all takes less than 5minutes so please check it out and let me know what you think! I have posted one album so far- my 26th Birthday.  :)

A sneak preview of photos from our new site!

Thanks for reading & have a great week! :) We look forward to seeing many of you so very soon!

A Prayer for Healing

I don’t want to be overly dramatic (or freak my mom out) so let me explain… I have been sick for about two weeks (since my birthday on Feb. 20^th). Maybe that doesn’t sound like very long, but when you are constantly running to the bathroom or doubling over in pain, two weeks is a very long time. It all began with a lil’ nausea and diarrhea. I thought at first it was a little bug… no big deal. The confusing thing is that my symptoms have come and gone so near the end of my birthday week I thought I had gotten better. Then, I spent all of last weekend in bed curled into a ball running to the baño. One of the worst parts of the sickness I have (whatever it may be) is intense stomach pain. There have been times where I’ve been walking and I have had to stop and sit down for a moment because my stomach hurt so bad. After a pretty miserable weekend I decided that I definitely had to go to the doctor. So I did. 

It may come as a surprise (or maybe not) that medicine here in Guatemala is not as advanced as the U.S. so even though I went to the doctor with high hopes I can’t say I am extremely confident in the care I received. Basically, he put me on two super strong antibiotics for a bacterial infection in my stomach. Hoping that they would do the trick I started dutifully taking the pills. Those of you who have had similar ailments probably know all too well what I am about to say. I felt WORSE once I started taking the meds. It was as if a battle was going on inside of me like a tiny person was inside repeatedly stabbing my stomach. I started to feel really skeptical about them wondering if he gave me a dose that was too high. Oh I forgot to mention that this is a local doctor and the whole appointment, etc. was in Spanish.

So here I am laying in bed once again today and feeling very discouraged. My sickness comes in waves. Sometimes I feel fine, but other times I get really sick running to the bathroom and just feeling awful. Today is one of those days. I am sick of being sick. Also, I barely feel like myself if that makes sense. I often feel exhausted and just plain whiney… I wish there was an easy solution, but there really isn’t. I have heard about an American doctor that sometimes passes through our town so I am going to try and get in touch with him. I am going to keep taking the medicine and hope that it helps. I am going to try and stay positive even though it’s really hard. And I am going to ask you for your prayers. Prayers of healing.

As much as this post is to keep everyone informed it's also a way for me to express what I've been going through as writing it has been therapeutic. Thank you for your prayers and thanks for reading!

Maybe this is what I need to do?