Mi Cumpleanos!! Tengo 24 anos!! :)

I had an absolutely marvelous 24th birthday here in Guatemala. Yeah, I am 24..... I woke up to hugs and kisses, fresh papaya, watermelon, strawberries, pancakes and bananas for breakfast! My tia (aunt) knows that breakfast is my favorite meal and made it deliciously with love :) My cousin Hilda made fresh banana shakes, too! They must know that to win my heart is through bananas! I love anything with bananas, for the most part... We all gathered with our bed head and devoured the yummy food.

After breakfast and getting ready for the day, my cousins surprised me with a balloon bouquet of flowers!! My cousin Flor is training to be clown :) This has been something she has wanted to do as a hobby ever since she was inspired by the movie Patch Adams with Robin Williams. I have never seen the movie, but he was a medical student who used humor to help heal patients. She has been visiting cancer children in the hospital and has learned to make them really cute things out of balloons. I was the first balloon bouquet and she did awesome! So thoughtful.

The plan for the day was to go to La Montana (The Mountain). It's a big clubhouse with beautiful, green gardens, basketball, volleyball, soccer, indoor gym, pools, bad-mitten, ping pong, restaurants, and lots of little fun things to do. My family gathered there for the day to celebrate my special day. I had such a great time visiting and being active!! I got my volleyball fix in, too! :) Although I was not with my immediate family, I knew they were thinking of me :)

My mommy "sent" me a cake all the way from California, so they said. Well, not really for all you gullible people like me ;o) But she did choose what kind!! We both love Fresas con Crema (Strawberries and Creme)!!

Much laughter, food and family. We were all pretty tired when we came home and were ready to relax. I ended my peaceful day with tons of birthday wishes from family and friends on my computer. But I think the best part of my day was receiving the most beautiful, funniest Happy Birthday song from the most amazing friends in the entire world. You made me cry like a baby and made my day complete.

Here's to another year :)

One of the best birthday gifts ever:

Look how cute this is!

Flor,

My clown

My wonderful family

My tio Fito (my mom's brother)

He is a clown himself!

I loved these trees.

Intense game of foosball!!

Hilda & her boyfriend

Cousins Ines & Gustavo

Nice form!

Who knew you could actually break a sweat in ping pong?

:)

My beautiful tia Cidia

This one is for my mommy.

View of the city from our table

Thank you, Mommy!

I think it's hilarious that it says "23".

Apparently the store didn't have a "24" so there is one

extra candle behind to make up for it :)

Tradition is to cut the first piece.

Eucalyptus!!

Swing life away.

Fun Memories.

Sing it!! Just some cute pictures of my cousins Claudia, Flor, Jonathon, a friend, and I at a little jazz concert at a delicious restaurant. Amazing musicians filled with soul and rhythm.

I was told I needed to put more pictures of myself :)

just a self portrait while waiting to go out.

My cousin Flor...I love bieng a goof with her.

My cousin Claudia practicing her English.

She is so sweet.

Claudia & Jonathon

We got a normal shot!

:)

My banana and ice cream dessert!

this is her trademark pose....don't ask me why

;-)

Boop Boopy do!

Painting the town and dancing!!!

My cousins Darwin & Ludwin!

My protectors :)

Primos!!!!

Sharing Life.

It's such a cool thing to find out people's stories, their lives. I love getting to know what makes their eyes light up. Giving of our time seems to be such a rarity in our own chaos now days, so I never want to take moments of sharing life for granted. I want to go into each opportunity expecting the best. Praying to be open and aware of His voice and presence. Live in the moment. I have this attitude a lot of the time, which I know is simply a gift, but I do have a problem with the actions that go along with this state of mind. I smile write now as I write this because I have a feeling of hope and grace that is reigning over me. I am discovering who I was created to be and through my hesitancy He never gives up on me when I do. I can only do it one day at a time. I can get to know you. I can love you. I want to. Give me time.

Let's share life together.

I have been able to have some one-on-one time with a few of my cousins. They have invited me to see a glimpse of their lives. At the beginning of the month, my cousin Hilda took me on a day trip with her Ecology class from the university. They had a project of doing inventory on trees in a preserved area about 15 minutes above the city, which also involved some hiking!! :) I could not believe that this area stood so closely to the honking of horns, bus loads of people and sidewalks filled with businesses. We arrived early morning at the time when life was starting to happen. Being outdoors is one of my most favorite things to do and my cousins as well. She loves nature and animals and is working very hard to have a career in this field. This is a piece of her life that makes her shine. I just wanted to share some more beautiful pictures of Guatemala.

My gorgeous cousin Hilda

Beyond this tree is the morning horizon of the city.

A fun friend.

fill me.

Guatemala City:

after a storm

shine your light

A few weeks ago, after I returned from the coast, my family blessed me with a trip to El Salvador for 3 days. They took me to what I believe is one of the nicest resorts in the area. The DeCameron is an all inclusive resort with more than enough food for anyone, beautiful pools and much entertainment.

My wonderful aunts, uncles, and grandparents :)

My emotions were all over the place on this trip. Homesickness was still lingering pretty heavily and let's just say I was the only one under 4o in our group. (nothing against older people at all...I have many "old" friends ;) I just had one strong thought that I could not seem to work out. A realization of where I was and ultimately what I came here to do. An experience of commercialism and consumerism surrounding me when my heart was in a completely different place.

I still can't seem to put these feelings into words.

it's ok to enjoy and have nice things, right?

I was sharing time with my family.

I guess what I was experiencing was not feeling fulfilled...

I have to be honest, who would not want to be relaxing poolside enjoying an umbrella drink?

I would.

I have a place in my heart that is so raw right now that I want it to be filled with truth and authenticity. I want to be a part of things that are making a difference. I want to be conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.

yeah...

I don't know. ask me. tell me. lead me.

I'm still here :)

I want to deeply apologize to all of  you who have been waiting patiently (well, some you have had a breadkdown :) for my next blog post.   I have been away a lot with no internet so that has been delaying the process.  So much to tell you about!!  Let's just say I am a Spanish speaking Latin girl in every way!  ha! 

I'll pick up where I left off at:

A little over a week ago I went to la costa (the coast) to visit my grandparents, uncle and 2 of the cutest little cousins.  I really do enjoy going to their home, but I do have to admit it takes some extra grace and patience.  The climate is very humid and and mosquitos want to be your best friend, but the humidity keeps everything very green.  My family has beautiful property, horses, turkeys, cows, and get this...an iguana farm!!  My unlce Guilmar made the iguana farm many years ago and works very hard to keep up with everything on the land.  

The front door.  My grandpa built this house 10 yrs. ago. It's actually quite big and is open all the way around with about 4 bedrooms enclosed and a few others open.  It never really gets cold enough to have insulated walls.

I think it's a beautiful home.

The kitchen, dining area and other living room. 

The outdoor bathroom and shower.

Some of the many iguanas on the farm.

The iguana farm

You might think these are just dirt mounds out in the pasture, but you're

wrong. They are iguanas grazing out in the morning.

My heart hurts for this part of the family.  I know there is a lot of brokenness in their lives right now.  My little cousins do not get to see their mother as often as most so my grandma is practically raising them.  Disagreements cause fighting and grudges, depression and sadness, but in the midst of this I see the beauty in my cousins, my grandpa and grandma, and uncle.  I feel like I had the privilege to care for this little boy and girl while I was there.  Being in such an amazing community at home, I have been influenced and mentored by strong women in so many ways that relate to me now and so much for the future.  What I have taken away from these women is their joy in helping their children and other's children experience and find out who they are and what they enjoy.  I got to see that in each of these precious children. 

Gabriela 

7 yrs. old

Beautiful curls and big smile.

Gabi is full of creativeness.  She loves writing songs and stories. She is such a romantic :)  Also, loves dance (I wonder where she gets that from...?) She showed me some dances and songs she learned from school and when she was a cheerleader.  She is doing great in school and is so smart. I enjoyed having her teach me words in Spanish while I taught her in English.  Very strong willed and likes to pick on her little brother out of love :)

(Carolyn, Gabi says hi and she loves you!)

Guilmar

4 yrs. old

So sweet and spunky.

Guilmar is such a boy.  He is in kindergarten and looks adorable in his school uniform.  He loves to paint and color!  I would draw him pictures in pencil and he would snatch them and run off to go fill them with color for me :) This boy is a monkey, too! Literally hanging and jumping from the trees acting like Tarzan.  He has the yell down to perfection.  He longs to be touched and held and it doesn't take him long to fall asleep in your arms.

My uncle Guilmar and his son

mi abuelita. so beautiful and loving.

having lunch. mmm...the food :)

 making homemade tortillas. literally fresh for every meal.

making homemade cheese from the cow's milk :)

:)

All of these pictures and thoughts make me think about my mom. All the things she did and experienced when she was young. I see so much of myself in her and feel so blessed to be experiencing it.

These people are a piece of my life from another country. 

I love them.