God at Work Stateside

So I have been back in the States for almost two weeks! I can't express how torn my heart has been about being back home. Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed being back in the States with my family, but my heart is most definitely still in the Petén! Even though this time of waiting is difficult at times, I have been absolutely amazed to see all God is doing!

Let me share a few really cool stories with you!

Many of you know my drama with cars, but for those of you who don't know, let's just say they don't like me very much! Well, I hadn't been home for three days, when God dropped the perfect car in my lap! Going without a car for over a year has been rough, but the wait was totally worth it! I was actually in the process of buying another car, when my dad spotted this beauty! I made an offer, and much to my surprise they took it! After coming home and doing some more research, I discovered that I got a really good deal on the car! God knew the whole time, and I am still overwhelmed that I am now the owner of this car! I am so thankful!!!

I teach a Sunday School class at Trinity full of 4 and 5 year old bus kids! Last August I was asked to fill-in for the master teacher until November, but a year later I am now the master teacher. It can be challenging at times, but I absolutely love this class! There are weeks I will spend hours preparing, but still go in feeling totally inadequate. Well, last Sunday that is exactly how I felt, especially since I had been gone for a month. But God blessed and we had 34 children! I was able to share with them my experience in Guatemala, and we learned about the disciples and their call to be "fishers of men." It is exciting to see these children, who for the most part have parents who have nothing to do with religion, experience God and His Word for the first time!

Since I have been back, I have been busily trying to get everything in order for the my first semester at UNF. I am excited about taking classes that will actually teach me about deaf education! Tuesday morning I was talking with one of the professors in the Deaf Education program about some of my classes and scheduling details. She asked me what made me interested in Deaf Education, and I was able to share with her about my desire to start a deaf school in Guatemala. After talking for a few more minutes, she informed me that she has many connections with deaf and hard of hearing programs all over the United States and would love to put me in contact with them. She also said that their department would be interested in helping me do an independent study in Guatemala while still working towards my degree. I don't know all the logistics yet, but it is so exciting to still see all that God is doing to prepare the way for this future ministry in the Petén!

One last story for now! Wednesday night after an amazing ignite service, one of my dear friends came over to my house to see my car! She jumped in, and we started talking! We opened the super cool sun roof, star gazed, and just got caught up on all that God was doing in our lives! She had just gotten back from Togo and me obviously from Guatemala, so as you can imagine there was a lot of sharing taking place. Several times we would be bragging on God and look up at the amazing starry sky and see a shooting star! I know what you are thinking! "Wow, that is an incredible picture!" Yeah, I didn't take a picture, but if I could have, that is what it looked like! Talk about a memorable night neither one of us will ever forget! I am so thankful for the godly friends in my life and their encouragement!

Thank you for always rejoicing with me in the good times and weeping with me in the hard times! I'll continue to keep you updated!

A Pleasant Surprise!

Monday morning I was up with the roosters!! It was time for my long journey back to the states. We had to leave our hotel at 6:30 a.m. in order to fly out on time. Our itinerary took us to Guatemala City, then to San Salvador, and we would arrived at our final destination, Miami, at 1:30 a.m Tuesday. Needless to say, I was not excited about this long trip at all, in fact I was dreading it! So we arrived at the airport right on time! Jimmy helped us unload, we said our goodbyes, and then it was off to the ticketing counter! With a big smile I handed the guy my passport and waited, and waited, and waited. He looked back up at me with a big frown and proceeded to tell me that my name wasn't in the computer. "Ha, ha, ha," I laughed. That couldn't be true, so I asked him to look again. He did and found that I was apparently supposed to leave July 12th. Well, that was impossible, but there was nothing he could do. The plane was full and the earliest I could fly out was the next morning. So I said good bye to Racheal and then desperately tried to get a hold of Jimmy. Unfortunately he was already half way home, but thankfully he came back and got me!

Once we arrived back at their home, Jonah and Silas were so happy to see their Becca, well, at least their Becca was excited to see them! We had a lot of fun playing while Mommy got caught up on her sleep! We then prepared for the Kid's Biblestudy that night! Jimmy decided to stay home with the boys, so it was just Shelley and I!



The kids in Santa Rita were a little confused when we pulled up in Jimmy's truck and not the micro. They were even more puzzled when it was just us two without the babies and Jimmy. We only had a few kids at first, but it wasn't long till we had a crowd! Shelley taught on the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Here are a few pictures of the activities we did!



We played a game!! The goal was to blow your "Fire" across the table first! We can't see the Holy Spirit, but we can see the effects of Him!



Shelley first explained the role that the Holy Spirit has in the Christian's life.



Then she told the story of Pentecost from Acts 2



We played a game with our memory verse! Every hat had a phrase from the verse, and then the teams raced to see who could get the whole verse in order the fastest!



Every Biblestudy she reviews the Salvation plan through visuals she created. These week we did the Wordless Book Crayons.



Angel received his Bible!



We also colored!!



I was so glad to have an extra day with these kids! It was definitely not in my plan, but God had a little surprise for me!

My Last Days in the Petén

My time in Guatemala was coming to an end, and I was absolutely not excited about that! We did have an amazing last few days though, and it was cool to see God's hand in it all!

Friday after the Special Olympics in San Francisco, we went to Mauricio's in San Andres. He has a hotel right on the lake where you can kayak and swim! It is so beautiful there! We had a wonderful time relaxing!

Saturday Jimmy, Jay, and Racheal took the adults and teens from the Biblestudy in Santa Rita to Tikal! Many of them had never been before! This was Jimmy's 17th trip, and has the guide thing down complete with history and ancient stories! He was getting a lot of stares, and finally realized it wasn't normal to see a Gringo leading 35 Chapins through Tikal. These adults earned this trip by attending Biblestudy, bringing their Bible, and completing the activity sheets.

Six of them had enough points to earn the canopy tours, a zip line that goes through the jungle canopy! Such an amazing experience!



Shelley and I hung out with the babies all day! It was a good time for us to get caught up on life! Later that afternoon Luis picked us up and we met everyone else at Tikal! We were then on our way to Cristina's restaurant on the lake! Hotdogs with Guacamole was on the menu! Don't know if I can ever eat a plain hot dog ever again!



After dinner we spent some time singing and giving testimonies. It was sad knowing it was our last night with all of our friends from Santa Rita.



Jay flew out early Sunday morning. We were all sad to see him go! But it won't be too long before we are all together again serving in the Petén! I finished packing and had a huge meltdown after dwelling on the fact I was leaving the next day. I was reading in my Bible, Psalms 62, and verses 5-8 stood out to me! Even in this time of waiting, I know I can trust in God and all my hope is in Him! That afternoon we went to Maya International for Dinner and a time of sharing! It was so exciting to reflect on all that God had done over the last month!



Even though I was sad to see my trip come to an end, I was encouraged to know that God had so much in store for me during the "Time in Between," even before I got back to the States! I can't wait to share with you the unexpected adventure I had the next day! Stay tuned!!

A Glimpse of the Silent Petén

Last Friday, I was able to get a glimpse of the Silent Petén! Jimmy had contacted the Principal of the Special Needs School in Poptún to find out if I could come and spend a day with their deaf children. We found out that they were not having school for the rest of the week, because they were competing in the Petén's Special Olympics! She invited us to come and cheer on all the students! Needless to say I was a tad bit excited!!

Jay and Racheal both volunteered to join me on this exciting adventure! We weren't quite sure where all the action was going to take place in San Francisco, so we drove around and did some inquiring. I had hardly stepped out of the truck and I was meeting deaf children left and right!

It turned out that they were lining up for a parade into the town square! The parade was so exciting! There was a dance team and a drum line leading the way through the town!

Each school had two children holding a banner that represented the town they were from.

The whole town came out for this special event! It really warmed my heart! We were able to build relationship with teachers, principals, students, and parents from all over the Petén. I was very thankful to have Jay with me to help with all the translating. Although there were times I would ask him how to say a word, and he would try to sign it back to me! After the 4th or 5th time, I finally busted out laughing, and explained that I wanted to know how to say it in Spanish. It was hilarious!

I don't know if I have explained this, but Guatemala has a different sign-language than the United States. I am fluent in ASl, so that does help a little bit but not much. Last year Juan Carlos, a teacher in Poptún, gave me a book of LSG signs. During the past year I would pull out the book and try to practice so I knew something when I came back. While we were at the olympics, we met a deaf guy, Alex, who volunteered at the school in Poptún! He taught me so many Guatemalan signs! I learned how to sign "cómo se llama", "mucho gusto", "buenas días", "cuántos años tienes", and so much more!

The girls worked with me on my alphabet and taught me my colors in LSG, as well as many other words! The book I have really started to come to life!

We watched the students in their running events! They had a lot of determination and pride! All three of these girls are from the special needs school in Poptún and are deaf.

Claudia won first place! It was so exciting to watch!

This is Pearlita. Last year when I was here in Guatemala I met her and one other deaf student. I was able to spend several hours with her the last time, so I considered her one of my friends! She remembered me and hung out with me most of the day! Her Grandfather came to watch her compete, and Jay was able to have several conversations with him. He later offered Jay a tamale for lunch! He is very much interested in sign-language and communicating with Pearlita and her deaf friends! I was able to give him a LSG book and encouraged Pearlita to teach her Abuelo some signs!

I had brought several manipulatives and other resources for the teachers at the special needs school. So when there was a little break, I was able to gather all the students around me. We worked on addition and subtraction using number cards and gummy bears! It was such a hit, and the kids did such a good job! I was very impressed with what they already knew.

Te quiero or I love you, how ever you might say it, is obviously a universal sign. Every time I look at this picture I think of a love that is perfect, and greater than any love I could give. My heart is not only to teach these children language, reading, writing, and arithmetic, but more importantly about Jesus! It was so hard to leave knowing that they don't know anything about God, and that I couldn't communicate His love for them. I know that sharing the gospel with the deaf in the Petén is exactly what God has called me to do! With your prayers and support it won't be long until I can do exactly that!