PORTLAND, MAINE!!!

So I am pretty sure everyone already knows this, but I like to think of this blog as something we will go back and read later in life, like an old journal, so I wanted to announce that we are moving to PORTLAND, MAINE!!!!

Everything happened really quickly… Dan and I have been applying and interviewing for jobs for a couple months now (really ever since we came back from our December trip). It has been an emotional process and at times, very challenging. I found it extremely difficult to work full-time then come home and job search. As they say, “job searching is a full-time job”. Even though Dan and I tried to stay positive I think we were both feeling weary from trying to maintain that balancing act.

So a few weeks ago I interviewed for a job with Safe Passage/Camino Seguro. It went really well and they stressed that they wanted to fill the position asap. But then I didn't hear anything... until a couple weeks later all of a sudden, they were asking for my references, requesting a second interview and offering me a job! In a crazy turn of events I was offered TWO jobs in ONE day! :-O But that is a story for another time….

After weighing our options, Dan and I decided that moving to Maine was the right decision. Since then everything has been a whirlwind as we've tried to wrap up our jobs here and figure out logistics for our big move. Our last day at Mayan Families is tomorrow- Wednesday, March 13^th. Dan and Lucia fly out this coming Friday, March 15^th and I fly out the following Friday (the 22^nd). So much change! And so fast! But we are really excited and happy!

I will share more later about my new position and other details, but for now I just wanted to let everyone know and ask for your prayers. One of the most stressful parts of our move has been figuring out everything with Lucia. It turns out moving a dog from Guatemala to the US is quite complicated! Luckily, we have someone helping us who is truly an angel (and an expert on puppy transport). Please pray that we can have peace as we finish our jobs, say goodbyes, finish packing and move out of our casita. Also, that everything goes smoothly with Dan and Lucia’s travel- from traveling to the city to everything with the airline and that they both arrive Stateside safe and sound.

That’s it for now! Cheers to a new adventure! :)

If only she was still this small!
Then transport would be easy! We love her so much!!!

And the verdict is....

What is that saying? "Tell God your plans and He laughs" or something like that. I think that is actually what happened up there in the Heavens a few months ago when I declared, "There is no way that I am staying here [in Guatemala] through December! No way!". My good friend and former co-worker, Jenny, may remember me saying this. It was during an especially frustrating time at work.

As many of you know (or may have suspected due to what one friend called my "cryptic" Facebook statuses), Daniel and I have been applying and interviewing for jobs for months now. At times I have felt like an interviewing machine. I was joking one day that I could interview in my sleep! Spanish and English. Individual interviews and joint interviews together. We have been busy and for me, it has been an emotional process. I don't know about other people, but when I interview for a position my mind starts whirling. I start thinking about what it would be like to live in such and such a place, to work with such and such NGO, etc. I envision what our lives would be like- the day to day, the adventures, and the challenges. I think of the good, the bad, and the logistics of how we would get there, how much time we would commit, what our finances would be like. For me, job searching is a complicated process that involves more than just an hour for an interview. It involves my heart, my mind, and considering how it will affect my little family. I say all this to explain where I have been the past few months. While Dan is way more relaxed when it comes to things like this, I tend to be much more high-strung. I am a planner and I like to know what we are doing and when. I often ask Dan on the weekends, "Ok. So what's the plan?". By that I mean what are we doing today?, what do we need to accomplish and how are we going to accomplish it?

Rewind to a couple weeks ago, Dan and I interviewed for a job with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Honduras. MCC is the organization I worked with here in Guatemala in 2008 and it has always been a dream for Daniel and me to work with them as a married couple. It felt a bit surreal to interview with our "dream NGO" and we were relieved that the interview went well. (Interviewing as a couple is a really interesting experience. Imagine doing an interview with your significant other, answering questions side by side! It can be tricky, but I feel like we are getting it down.). After the interview the waiting game began. As someone that is naturally a worrier, I tried my best to keep praying in order to keep the anxiety at bay. I won't go into detail because it'd just be too confusing, but while this process was going on with MCC we were also interviewing with a couple other NGOs here in Guatemala and in other Latin American countries. We were juggling a lot of possibilities and I found it challenging to keep it all in perspective. It was definitely a test of my patience, faith and trust. I kept praying asking God to give us direction, but Dan and I were both struggling to understand where God was guiding. For me, it was difficult to have all of this going on while also balancing work and our everyday lives here. We didn't tell many people here about all of this because the result would greatly affect how much time we have left here and we didn't want to alarm anyone.

Well, on Friday we finally got some clear direction. We were not accepted for the position with MCC in Honduras. The other jobs we applied for did not work out for one reason or another and although we were offered a position with an awesome NGO in Costa Rica, we decided that it is not the right fit for us right now. After receiving the news from MCC, Dan and I both felt a sense of clarity- God is not calling us anywhere new right now or in other words, God is telling us to STAY PUT! Well, surprise surprise! I can just imagine God up there in heaven having a good laugh at my expense. :)

Celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary in August

This was obviously neither the plan nor the answer that we were expecting, but I guess God likes to throw curve balls sometimes. Although our lives are not perfect here in Panajachel, as I posted recently we are finally feeling settled and content. Despite the challenges we face with our current positions, we feel like God is working in and through our lives here and like staying a little while longer is the right option for us right now. Just how much longer, you ask? Well, we don't have an exact answer to that. It all depends on what happens and on which doors open. Right now we are thinking we will stay until spring or summer 2013. We are hopeful that there will be new positions opening up with MCC in Latin America that we may be a good fit for, but at this point we really don't know. Our hearts' desire is to work with MCC, but I am trying to trust in God's timing with that. As I was telling someone recently our "next step" could be something we don't even know about at this point. Time will tell.

So for now, we are digging in our heels and committing ourselves to being here. We are being present and taking a break from looking for what's next because honestly, it has been a pretty exhausting process! We are focusing on work and play, on friendship, community, and our lil' two person, one puppy family. AND we are really looking forward to traveling to the US for Christmas! (Thank you to our very generous family for that amazing present!!!) Thanks to all of you for your prayers during this difficult time! I know it hasn't been easy on our loved ones, especially our immediate family, when we tell them we don't know what we are doing or where we're going. We appreciate the prayers and encouragement we have received from many! And remember if you have been thinking about coming to visit us in Guatemala, you still have time!! ;)

I will leave you with this verse that was shared during our worship service today. It was reminder to me that God is working and continues to work in our lives here even if at times, we struggle to see it.

Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.
¹⁹ Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18,19 

A Heavy Heart

First of all, we have been in contact with most of our loved ones, but I just want to let everyone know that we arrived back in Guatemala safely. Everything went smoothly, but it was very difficult to say goodbye to our friends and especially our family. Maybe at a later date we will share more about our trip home and how it was wonderful, but also difficult. For now, I just want to say thank you so very much for your prayers! We are safe and sound back in our home here in Pana AND reunited with our adorable puppy! :-)

The past couple weeks Dan and I have been trying to adjust back to life in Guatemala. I have to say that for me it has been kind of tough. While I am grateful to have a job and to live in a beautiful place I am seeing more and more the challenges of life here. There are many frustrations within the organization I work for and coming back into them has been hard. The co-worker I am closest with and also the only other Christian in my office is leaving at the end of July. I know it will be hard without her. One of the biggest challenges of returning and going back to my job has been the heaviness of each day. On any given day I interact with many different people- not only my co-workers (foreigners and indigenous Guatemalans), but also indigenous Guatemalan women, children, and families. Everyday my co-workers and I hear stories of families without food and shelter, stories of death, abuse, and oppression. It can be a lot to handle and coming back into this environment after spending two weeks relaxing, having fun, and eating delicious food has been a culture shock of sorts.

While I was home a couple friends asked about Dominga- a 50 year old woman who was dying of cancer and came to our office asking for help. In May I sent an email out to my whole network of family and friends asking for donations and support through prayer. I am happy to report that Dominga had the much-needed surgery we were fundraising for. You can read about it here. (If you didn't get my email and want to read the original story please go here.)

Dominga after her life-saving surgery 

I rejoice that Dominga got the surgery and is recovering, but there are so many other people in need that it's hard not to be overwhelmed. Just this week I visited an extremely poor family during a sponsor visit. I was struggling to hold back tears as I informed the sponsor that the dark, cold, 10 X 7 foot room was the family's home. For this single mother with three young children this small space was her kitchen, her bedroom, and her storage. It was hard for me to not sob as I translated to the sponsor that the woman and her children sleep every night on the cold mud floor and that when it rains water enters the house. (We are now in the rainy season so it rains daily.)

This week I also learned that my Guatemalan co-worker's uncle is dying. I won't go into great detail, but you can read my friend, Jenny's, blog post about it here. It is tragic when anyone dies, but it is especially difficult when someone dies from something preventable and treatable. Please pray for Rodrigo, his family and for my co-worker, Elisa. We sit right next to each other and she is one of the few Guatemalans I have been able to form some sort of friendship with here. If you are able to support her family during this extremely difficult time I know they would be grateful. As the blog post says Rodrigo is extremely concerned about his family and specifically asked Jenny for food for them- it was his last request.

All this to say that my heart is heavy. It is hard feeling useless in the face of such extreme poverty. I want to have care and concern for these families. I want to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. But I also struggle to find balance. I realize that when I come home I need to relax and disengage, but I can't help but think of the family with nothing to eat sleeping on the ground while I lounge on my cushy bed eating popcorn and surfing the Internet. The differences between their lives and mine are oh so great. I think those of you who have done work among the poor whether in the US or abroad will relate with what I am saying- the differences, the heaviness, etc. Hopefully it makes some sense. I welcome your thoughts and would also appreciate your prayers as Dan and I process our time here and begin to think, dream and pray about what's next.

Thank you for reading!

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.)

Comparisions

 I wrote this on Sunday- Mother's Day. Hence, why it says "this weekend".

As I was browsing through Facebook this weekend I had a realization... this weekend is full of celebrations. Not only is it Mother's Day it's officially spring and the world is full of graduations, weddings, and other joyous events. As I scrolled through my newsfeed I saw former classmates graduating as doctors and lawyers,  others (young-ins) finishing their undergrad degrees, friends becoming parents,  and others becoming homeowners. It's exciting and a little bit terrifying. Now don't get me wrong, I am very happy with life these days. I really am. But, I suffer from a problem that I am gonna guess many others suffer from too- I compare. I compare myself to others. And to be 100% honest when I see friends having babies and buying houses I think "Oh God. Is that what we should be doing too?". Even though I know it's not. At least not now.

I am learning many things here in Guatemala and one of them is to be present. I feel like this saying has kind of become a cliche lately, but hey I am using it anyway. And I mean it. Dan and I are going home in less than 3 weeks. We haven't been home since we left for Bolivia in October... it has been nearly 7 months and yes, while in the grand scheme of things that isn't that long, it sure is long when you are newly married and in a completely new stage of life having your first long-term international experience together. So needless to say, I am looking forward to going home SO much! I even have a Word document listing things that I want to bring back from the U.S. {but don't worry I am MOST excited about seeing my family and friends. Although food is a close second ;-) } Anyways, I am counting down the days until we leave. It's something that's always in the back of my mind especially since May is a really full, busy month for us. I am realizing though that while it's fine to be excited I also need to focus on the now. I need to do my job and love the people around me and take it one day at a time.

This lesson about being in the here and now and not living in the future doesn't just apply to going home it is useful for the long-term too. People have already begun asking us what's next when our year here is up and although I like to dream about the answer sometimes, the honest truth is that we have no clue. And although I would love for the heavens to open up and give us a sign I would bet on not knowing until January 2013 gets a heck of a lot closer.

I have friends that are professionals, friends that are mothers and fathers, friends that are homeowners, friends that are travelers. There are those that have it all together (or at least seem to) and those that are still exploring and figuring things out. I have to remember, we have to remember, that for now God called us to Panajachel, Guatemala. He opened this door nice and wide and He has been providing for us in so many ways. We have to trust that He will continue to do so. I pray that God would continue to use us as we try to figure things out, but more importantly, as we rest in the peace of knowing we are where we are supposed to be. Even though at times we struggle to understand why we are in this unique, sometimes awesome and sometimes awful town we have to trust that this is the right place for us. At least for now...

Family Portrait {Lucia is wayyy bigger now!}

This one time in the mountains of Guatemala...

Hi Friends! I wrote this right after our trip two weeks ago, but was a little slow in posting it. Enjoy!

Friday, April 20th 4:45 am
The alarm clock went off. The sun had yet to rise. With only a couple hours of sleep Daniel and I dragged ourselves out of bed. We quickly got ready brushing our teeth and grabbing our bags. Hey at 5 am you're not worrying so much about how you look! Our plan was to catch a 6:00 am bus, but at such an early hour there are no tuk-tuks (taxis). So there we were at 5:15 am trudging through our pueblo with our backpacks. Thankfully, the bus was there and left on time. (Here bus schedules are pretty sporadic.) After a 3 hour ride full of bumps and curves (thank God for Dramamine!) we arrived in Xela (aka Quetzaltenango). We jumped in a taxi and got breakfast with a new friend. It was lovely minus my intense cold. Unfortunately, I was super congested all weekend and had to make a roll of toilet paper my #1 accessory.

Another hour and a half bus ride and we arrived in San Marcos where we met up with my friend and our guide for the weekend, Nate. We also met a friend of Nate's, Ann, who would be joining us for the weekend. After grabbing a quick bite to eat we were off again. We took another bus ride (a little over an hour I think) to Malacatan. Then, we took a taxi to the border of Guatemala and Mexico. After passing through immigration on both sides we took a short micro (minivan) ride to Cacahoatan. Next was another micro ride to Union Juarez. At this point, I was officially exhausted and the micro ride was anything but smooth. (For those of you that don't know, bus rides here are notoriously awful. There is no way around it with such curvy roads full of potholes.) Little did I know what was coming up- a 45 minute hike in the dark to the town where we'd be staying! I do not jest. How I made it up the mountain I really do not know. Did I mention that we had been traveling for 12+ hours at this point, that I was drugged up on Dramamine, that I was not really wearing hiking clothes or shoes, and oh yeah, that we were carrying our bags!?! And you all know that I am not much of a light packer. Haha. Despite how horrible the journey sounds it was not that bad. Just exhausting. Needless to say I went to bed at 9 pm on Friday night.

With our fearless leader & good friend- Nate :)

Saturday was our HIKING day. Woohoo!!! I definitely had my hesitations considering my last Guatemalan hiking experience (commonly referred to in my storytelling as "The Hike from Hell") and I even considered bailing because I was pretty sick, but after my hubby and Nate encouraged me to go I decided I would. The advantage to this day was that we didn't have our packs with us. Nate warned me that the first part of the hike was "pretty steep". Uh yeah, UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR! I wish I had photos to show you the incline, but I was focusing on not keeling over. Let's suffice it to say that we were pretty much rock climbing up the mountain. Lol!

The steep part on the way down. Nate & Ann taking a rest.

Thankfully, that truly was the hardest part. Once we made it up that part we were hiking on a ridge that had some ups and downs, but nothing as crazy. We hiked for 4 hours or so until we got to a village. We randomly ran into a woman Nate knew while we were hiking (funny since we were in the middle of isolated mountains) and ended up going to her home for lunch. Nate has been working in the region for over four years with Mennonite Central Committee so it was fun meeting people through him. He is well loved by the community! By the time night was falling we made it back to Juan Pablo's- our host for the weekend. We received a serious treat- going into a temascal (traditional Mayan sauna). It was A-mazing for my tired muscles and congestion, BUT the intense heat almost made me pass out. Thankfully, our awesome host, Juan Pablo, was there when I was exiting and kept me from falling over. Lol! We truly enjoyed getting to know him and his sweet family especially his grandson, Freddy- one of the cutest children I have ever met. He was so lovable! They also had a newborn puppy that was precious. :) As I have been so many times before, I was amazed by the wonderful hospitality in this country!

Juan Pablo's granddaughter & adorable puppy

View from Juan Pablo's house. So GREEN!

Our gracious hosts- Juan Pablo & Nate

We wish we could have stayed longer, but on Sunday we had to complete the same journey as Friday, but in reverse! Poor Ann had the awful luck of sitting next to a little girl on our first micro who was throwing up the whole time :( But other than that things went smoothly. We even scored some NUTELLA at a Mexican grocery store! Woohoo! (Oh the little things in life. ;) ) Thankfully, going through immigration went smoothly.

The only bummer was that we were not able to get a direct bus from Xela to Pana so we had to take three buses instead. That makes 5 buses, 2 micros, 1 taxi, and 45 minutes of hiking just to get home! Haha.

A big THANK YOU to our wonderful host, Nate. It was a great trip and we truly enjoyed getting out of Pana and enjoying some of God's creation! :) Thanks for your prayers. We are glad to be back home safe and sound and to be with our puppy again! :)

Juan Pablo's home

Dan & Freddy acting silly

And we're on our way!!!

It's been a whirlwind week of moving out of Philly, putting our things in storage, and simultaneously packing for Bolivia. I definitely DO NOT recommend moving and packing all at the same time, but for us, it really couldn't be avoided. It was a crazy week for sure. And in true Dan & Rach style we were up very very late last night (past 2 am! yikes!). But, it is all good because WE ARE ON OUR WAY! :)

This morning we flew out of JFK airport where Dan's family sent us off with hugs and prayers. After our final goodbyes we headed to Washington D.C. which is where we are now. Next, we will take a 4:30 pm flight to Miami, Florida. Then, tonight (Sunday) at 10:30 pm we fly out of Miami and to La Paz, Bolivia. We arrive very early tomorrow morning (Monday) around 5:30 am. Then, we will spend many hours in the airport until we take a short flight from La Paz, Bolivia to Cochabamba, Bolivia around 2:00 pm. Lots of traveling! I know for my friends in Africa & Asia this long trip is normal, but for me (who is used to traveling to Central America) it's A LOT!

Right now, I am feeling all sorts of emotions. Excitement. Nervousness. Disbelief. It's kind of unreal to see something that we have spent so much time preparing for actually being realized. It's an experience that is hard to describe.

Since this most likely will be our last post before our arrival I want to share with you how you can be praying for us. First though, I want to tell you how thankful we are for all of the wonderful people in our lives supporting, loving, and encouraging us. Thank you for caring so much about us & our passions!
So how can you be praying?

• Health- I have been fighting a cold the last couple of days & am still feeling under the weather. Please pray that I feel better quickly! For good health for us both and calm stomachs.
• Safe Travel- Everything from bags not being overweight & arriving safely in Bolivia to our flights going smoothly.
• Peace- We are definitely feeling a mix of emotions as this is a new thing for us. Please pray that we can take comfort in each other & the Lord. And that we can just enjoy the experience! :)

Other concerns include:
Altitude- We are flying into La Paz which has an altitude of 12,000 feet. Please pray we are able to adjust easily! This is something I am concerned about. Cochabamba is high too, but not as high. Oftentimes, people get altitude sickness so please pray that we adjust quickly.
Visas- As we have mentioned briefly, we have some concerns about our visas. Right now, we plan to enter on a tourist visa and then apply for a long-term visa. Please pray for us as we start this process. We will keep you posted.

Thank you so much! Hugs to you all! ;)

We will post as soon as we are able to let you know we arrived safely!


-Rachel