Life to the Full

Time for a change

2010-01-19T23:10:00.001-06:00

Time for a change in venue...will be more faithful!

http://www.annetteinguatemala.webs.com/

The Last Day of Work

2009-06-12T23:56:00.006-05:00

A small portion of the city dump. The entrance to the dump was a block away from the neighborhoods in which we worked.

Jordan, Chris, and Nick with some new friends.

One group put up multiple walls throughout the week.

Everyone got in their fair share of cement mixing this week!

Today we did a "mezcla" (mixture) of things. Some groups finished up their work sites while others played with new friends, made bracelets for women in the community, and enjoyed a low key morning in the neighborhoods. Sometime around early morning, Brady began taking groups of us to the local dump. To sum it up, Mr. LaRocque said, "At the beginning of the trip I had said that if you see one dump, then you see them all. I take it back. I take it back." The sight of the dump is truly overwhelming, and it's even more overwhelming to know that thousands of people make their living off that dump.

I (Annette) had a student who was raised in the dump, and she said that since she worked in the trash and ate from the trash, people told her she was trash. What reason do you have to rise up, or to hope, when your life is literally trash? Thankfully we serve a God who creates beauty from ashes and turns mourning into dancing.

After those trips, we headed to a "despedida" (farewell party) put on by the women in the communities. They thanked us and gave us gifts, we said our words to them, and we ate some tostadas. A few thoughts that stood out: Jimmy Kallas thanked the people in the neighborhoods for "helping us help them." It's so true. The homeowners were getting down in the cement with us, hauling buckets, giving us nourishment, and, at times, cleaning up our messes. It was a beautiful picture of community!

Another highlight was hearing from a woman in the community whose home received new walls. She stood before us crying, and thanking God for the blessings we were able to bring into her life.
A great last day, and we're looking forward to a volcano climb and time in Antigua tomorrow!

a day to remember

2009-06-11T21:16:00.002-05:00

Today we got to hear from our young life guatemala leader Fito. Fito shared his story with us about how he had been involved with one of the gangs in the city before he found Christ. Everyone was sitting on the edge of their sits while listening to him share his story. Fito is from the neighborhood that we are working in and still lives there. When he grew up his family was the poorest of the poor and used to get made fun of at school about their poverty. He worked in the dumps for awhile before he rose in power within the gang. However, after a series of events (involving many gun shots and close run ins with death) Fito kneeled for the first time in his life and asked Jesus to come into his life. After that moment he stopped doing drugs and his wife left him with his two children. He is currently leading young life in this neighborhood and spending time with the gang members and drug lords this time for a very different reason- to talk to them about Jesus. Bottom line Fito is a great guy to have with us. It was amazing to get to hear his story and is something none of us will surely ever forget.

We also got the chance to go to the Guatemalean young life club tonight. It was a lot of fun to get to watch the kids from the neighborhood as they sang songs and played games. There was a slight language barrier but the smiles said it all. Matt, Jimmy, Jack, and Nick put on a skit for them in Spanish! It was hilarious and very impressive how well they spoke the language! :)

Tomorrow we work for half a day. It will be our last day in the neighborhood.

It has been such a blessing to spend time in the neighborhood surrounded by amazing people like Fito.

By, Mary Ruge

Post by Hannah "Montana" McCarthy

2009-06-09T23:29:00.002-05:00

Today all of the groups had another day full of hard work, but everybody was successful and made much progress in their projects. During out lunch break we had the opportunity to listen to a new friend of ours her name is Estella and she is in charge of the "mamacitas" or young teenage mothers. We were given the opportunity to hear her story and learn a little bit more on how the people in these communities live. Her story was full of sadness but it was over powered by the happiness and joy that she gets from all the people that love her and are thankful for all of her help. What stood out to me the most was how willing she was to help these young moms, most of them are ages 14-18 and have nobody to help them to get the supplies that is needed to take care of their children. Without her help these moms would really struggle to get by each day. It was a blessing to hear her story and we were all happy that she opened up to us.

Once we left the work site we headed back to the house to have some dinner but this night was a little different. Instead of just our normal group of younglifers we had the Guatemalan younglife staff join us for some pizza. These people were from the neighborhoods that we have been working in the past couple of days. We all joined in conversation with them even though we all struggled with our spanish it was alot of fun. We had the opportunity to not only ask them questions about how they live their lives but we made some great new friends as well. We finished off the night by singing the spanish and english version of "Open the Eyes of My Heart" and then said our good-byes to our new friends. We all had a great time and hope to see them during our next few days at work. Well that is all I got. It was a great day with no rain so that is always a plus!! We hope that you are praying for our group but also for all the people that we are serving this week. See you soon

First Day of Work

2009-06-08T22:59:00.003-05:00

We had a successful first day on the worksites! Team "Omar" is completely tearing down and rebuilding a new house, team "Kira" is working on laying some cement floors in a house, team "Bubbles" mixed loads of cement to create a sidewalk leading back into a neighborhood, team "String" is working on some floors as well, and team "Bunk" are rebuilding walls in homes and helping out on the big sidewalk project.

Each individual task may seem small, but they are huge blessings to the people we're working with. For example, every floor we lay means that that family will not have to live in mud during the three month rainy season. Three parts stone, 2 parts sand, and 1.5 parts cement can go a long way!

During our time of reflection tonight, we got to share some of our responses to the first couple days. Lacey, and many others, is loving the time that we get to spend with the children in the neighborhood; Jack had some laughs with some guys as he got to flex his muscles and haul sand from one work site to the next; Conor was impressed by how welcoming everyone is; Noelle and Kolby expressed some confusion over how immense poverty and immense wealth can reside so close together.

Our day is closing with some Uno, sandwhich making, conversation, laughter, guitar, and anticipation of what's to come!

FYI: Out of respect for the people we're working with, we won't be able to have cameras on the sites for the first couple days. As we get to know the people, cameras can come out. However, Brady is taking pictures. If you want to check those out, and read some of his thoughts, head to www.vjguatemala.blogspot.com

Estamos Aqui!

2009-06-07T14:43:00.002-05:00

The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind for us! Send off dinner at Papa Passero's, girls soccer winning the state championship, airport at midnight, flight at 3, land at 6:00 am.

However, we are safely in Guatemala and dove right into things. We jumped on the bus and went down into the neighborhoods where we'll be working. The different neighborhoods had welcome receptions for us--complete with the traditional Guatemalan fireworks and tasty tostadas (baked tortillas with guacamole and cheese). It was great to meet and interact with the people whom we'll be working alongside.

Thankfully, we have the afternoon to rest and recoup before we attack the job sites tomorrow. More to come!

Vamos a Guatemala!

2009-06-04T19:50:00.005-05:00

The summer "camping" season is officially here! Young Life/WyldLife summer opportunities provide a great extension from a year of ministry, and a great intro into the next year. As of right now, 25o kids from Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills will be coming on trips with us. What does that number mean? It means a lot of kids will be coming face to face with their Creator in new, different, and signficant ways. Praise God for those opportunities--I am expecting great things.

Our first trip of the summer is our annual mission trip to partner with Vida Joven (YL) in Guatemala City. We have a group of 27 students, 7 dads, and 5 leaders heading down Saturday night on a redeye out of O'Hare. I would really appreciate prayers, and here are some ways to focus those prayers:

1) Safety: from the flight to our work in some rough neighborhoods, pray for protection.
2) Unity: that the group comes together, and that new and deeper bonds are formed.
3) Humility: that our group approaches the trip with an attitude of service and desire to understand the beauty that is Guatemalan culture and custom.
4) Transformation: that authentic transformation occurs within each person on the trip--that God would draw us all closer to him in unexpected ways.

We're hoping to update my blog throughout the week with pictures and stories from the job sites. Thanks in advance for your prayers!

Ice Cream Olympics

2009-05-19T17:50:00.003-05:00

The traditional end of the year bash for Hinsdale Central Young Life is called "Ice Cream Olympics." This year, Ice Cream Olympics round 1 was rained out. Round 2, however, was a big success. We had 3 teams competing--the Sophomores, the Juniors, and the Almost Outta Heres (combo of Seniors and 8th Graders). Our games progressed from milkshake relays, to the chocolate sauce accuracy test, to ice cream scoop put, to a full out ice cream and shaving cream war.

Why do this?

It's so beautiful to watch a group of kids who otherwise wouldn't be together kick back and have good, clean (well, technically dirty) fun. When we first released the kids to the war at the end, I heard one girl ask, "what do we do?" Society tells kids, and adults too, that we have to be clean and put together. It tells us that we only mix with specific groups. It tells us that we have to keep our emotions reigned in. This night broke a lot of those imposed rules. Kids of all grades and friend groups mix together, laugh, get messy, and have fun. To a kid, it's just another fun night at YL. To me, it was a picture of the kingdom. All bets are off in the Kingdom of God! My prayer is that the kids present will look back on this night as something different and great, and one day be able to identify and claim exactly where that difference came from!

Team "Almost Outta Here"

Grant's chocolate sauce accuracy wasn't so much accurate :)

Group shot after the crud war--cleanest team wins???

Burrito Anyone?

2009-04-30T17:56:00.002-05:00

As everyone knows from their own lives, Spring is a really busy time of the year. That manifests itself in different ways, but in the Young Life world it often means lower club numbers; as a result, I often find myself changing plans on the fly.

Take Monday night: we were planning on having a Guatemala Club to celebrate the WyldLife leaders who are heading out on the mission trip in a month. We were going to start outside with an egg toss and burrito relay, move inside for some songs and a spicy rendition of "Dance or Dare," and end with leaders sharing about their experiences in Guate last year. The rain changed the first plan, and numbers changed the rest.

Instead of doing this club, we opted for an intense game of catch phrase (girls won) and then a few rounds of the game psychiatrist. In the middle of psychiatrist I realized that I had all the ingredients for burritos from the relay that never happened, so naturally, I offered to make kids and leaders burritos. Pretty much every guy took me up on the offer.

My walk aways from the night? I love that I have a job where relationships matter. In the corporate world my numbers would be disastrous, but the kids who came felt loved and cared for by leaders, and we all had a great shared experience. It was a huge success.

I also love that I work a job where I can procure all the ingredients for a great burrito from a brown bag and no one asks any questions.

Welcome to spring in Young Life!

My Only Victory

2009-04-13T12:27:00.003-05:00

Easter was really overwhelming for me this year. The reality of a resurrected Savior is indescribable so I've just been reveling in it. Often the reveling ends in tears. Good ones, but tears none the less.

In the context of Easter, I've also been reflecting on my first 8 months on WyldLife staff. I have lots of great stories of how God is working in the lives of high school and middle school kids in Hinsdale. There are 77 kids signed up for WyldLife camp this summer. I've learned countless lessons about life and ministry. Each story could be seen as a victory; but, thankfully victory isn't defined in terms of numbers and success stories. If worth in Christ depended on day-to-day results we'd all be in a lot of trouble. Enter this song/video. Justin McRoberts (who has YL history) sings this really great song called "My Only Victory." The chorus goes like this:

My only victory is Jesus/His life and death and resurrection/I place my hope alone in Jesus/and the coming of his Kingdom

I've been living in this song--literally on repeat in my car as its truth resonates in me. My only victory is Jesus and that's what drives everything. His life and death and resurrection fuel daily ministry and kingdom growth. Even writing this post I know that I'm not conveying the emotion inside of me, the joy from celebrating ministry in light of our resurrected Lord, so I decided to make a video. I paired some of the images of the past 8 months with the truth that my only victory is Jesus. Take some time to watch and rejoice over what God's doing around here!

(aside: the clip in the middle is from Bob Mitchell...hosted the first YL club back in 1941, was a club kid, went on staff, later was president of YL...)

Semana Santa

2009-04-10T16:32:00.003-05:00

I was trying to explain to a good friend what it's like to spend "Semana Santa" in Guatemala. This friend doesn't speak Spanish at all and gets frustrated with me when I do. So, in order to do her a favor, I translated "Semana Santa" to it's English counterpart: Holy Week. In the process I managed to convey the assumption that she'd never heard of this Christian phenomenon called Holy Week. We laughed, I apologized, and proceeded to reminisce.

Good Friday in Guatemala was one of the most powerful experiences I've had. People spend hours and hours creating carpets of colored sand, flower petals, fruit, and other materials to line the road in order for the statues of Christ to pass over...they create beauty for ruin because they know it's an honor to do that for Christ.

Today is the day we remember Christ's sacrifice--I don't even know what to say about it right now--the thought is overwhelming. I'm humbled and wondering what I can offer Christ out of response to his sacrifice. Often I'm tentative to fully release areas of my life, my future to the Lord because I don't know what the result will be. If only I could cling to the truth I found on the streets of Guatemala--ruin in the eyes of the world is beauty and privelage in the Kingdom of God. As Paul sums it up in Philippians, "whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ."

May we all lose today because loss is gain in our risen Lord's economy and because the mercy Christ is offering from his place on the cross is so much greater than anything we create or comprehend on our own terms.

I'm Not Dutch

2009-03-28T22:39:00.003-05:00

You heard it here first. Tall, blonde hair, blue eyes--all things genetic scream "I'm Dutch." But Facebook has disproved that theory. Sorry, Dad, your trip on the boat and time on Ellis Island meant nothing. Facebook says that I'm not Dutch. Not only am I not Dutch, but I'm classified as "anti-Dutch." Read this description: You have a natural tendency to dislike anything Dutch. You aren't as bad as those guys on the picture, (those guys in the picture are burning a flag from the Netherlands) but you certainly wouldn't stop anyone from torching a Dutch flag.

Sadly, I knew the answers to every question that would make me Dutch, but I just couldn't choose them. I'm sorry that my favorite winter sport is not ice skating on frozen canals, that my favorite food isn't smoke herring, and that I never have and never will use soft drugs.

Too bad they didn't as about Wilhelmina's, stroopwafels, windmills, tulips, oliebollen, and Ere Zij God!

Only in Hinsdale

2009-03-25T22:39:00.002-05:00

Tonight we had our annual "Kick Back and Give Back" concert for Young Life. High School kids (talented ones at that) play music, we raise money for Guatemala Young Life. I had the job of collecting money at the door. $5 per person. One sophomore boy walks in and says, "I'm paying for four," and proceeds to hand me a $100 bill. I look at him and say, "do you need change?" He takes it back and says, "my bad, wrong bill." He rifles through his wallet and hands me a $20.

Only in Hinsdale.

(The concert raised $433.00 for our friends in Guatemala...that equals 3,377 Quetzales...a lot of rice and beans or whatever else they want to use it for. Praise God for the generosity and community of tonight!)

Story

2009-03-22T21:32:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about the concept of "story." Really, I've been thinking about this for the past couple years--I wrote my senior thesis for English on the narrative patterns in Scripture that resurface in all of literature. From stories like "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" that directly reflect the narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation to literature like "Beloved" that rejects the pattern, and in that rejection makes a statement about the reality of the fall.

Needless to say, God reveals himself in story. Jesus preaches with stories. Stories reflect the heart of the Lord and in response, we should be well practiced in the art of storytelling. Stories dig deep and penetrate and we all have stories that are worth telling. In efforts to move forward with this idea, I'm going to practice my storytelling. My goal is to write a story a day and train myself to look for story and for the ways that God is showing up--it may be deep, it may not; I may offer some reflection, I may let the story speak for itself...I don't know. But, it's worth a start:

Yesterday my roommates and I went to this Irish joint down the road from our house to hear a band we'd heard about. The band sang some classic Irish pub songs--some familiar, some not, some border line irreverant, others completely irreverent. They had their groupies, and I was definitely not one of them. I enjoyed the music, laughed, danced, but clearly I was not a huge fan of the Irish Pub Scene. And someone called me out.

I was standing there halfheartedly clapping when a random guy came up to me and the following conversation ensued:

Guy: "I'm on to you; I can see right through you."
Me: "Excuse me?"
Guy: "You're not a fan of Irish music..."
Me: "Really, it's that obvious" (sarcasm was thick)
Guy: "Why are you here?"
Me: "Just enjoying a night out with friends...which I'm doing."

We talked for a few more minutes and then parted. But his words stuck with me. I'm on to you; I can see right through you. Although the situation wasn't all that signficant, it got me thinking about what drives me, what I'm passionate about. Am I someone who is sold out for what I'm representing, or am I putting on a facade that people can read right through?

Needless to say, random guy convicted me to daily present myself to the Lord and ask him to fill me with a true and heartfelt passion so that I'm not faking it and representing something I half heartedly believe.

Tension

2009-03-01T21:40:00.013-06:00

We had an interesting discussion in intern training this past week (all first and second year YL staffers in Chicagoland get together every other week for time with Bob Davidson, our regional trainer) about music. We were all asked to bring in a song that conveyed a theological truth. I brought in "The Call" by Regina Spektor. It speaks for itself if you give it a listen. The conversation led to the topic of tension. Sometimes, to a person (high school/middle school kids in our case) who hasn't come to experience the overwhelming power of God's grace and saving love, certain music can dismiss the tension in life.

For example: They lyrics to a song that say "how can I stand here and not be moved by You." I know how I can be moved daily by the Lord, but I know a lot of people who only see the reality of what's in front of them, and that reality does not include abundant blessing . . .

Take Kevin.

Kevin, the boy on the left, was one of the people who we worked with this past summer on the YL work trip. This past week Kevin and his uncle, Clemente, were gunned down in the street. If you read this post (scroll down for a section on Kevin, read it all if you want to spend some time in the shoes of those whom live and work in the worst neighborhoods of Guatemala City) by Brady Greene, the YL staffer down there, it might seem prophetic. But is stating reality really prophetic?

Tension.

John 16: 22--Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

Can Maritza, Kevin's mourning mother, in this moment, stand and be moved by the Lord? Or is acknowledging her pain and suffering and the reality of the neighborhood a better route to take? I think Jesus would choose the tension. Lepors. Outcasts. Promiscuous women. He meets each one in grief and leaves them with joy.

So, for now, I'm living in the tension, thinking about how Kevin and Hinsdale can coincide, living

with Maritza and the Vida Joven staff in their grief, and anticipating a taste of the joy that is promised.

(For more on Kevin and Clemente, please read the words Brady wrote for the funeral.)

YL Update: A Chronicle of Weekends

2009-02-15T17:12:00.002-06:00

I have not been in Chicago for the past 8 weekends. That means that I have a lot of updating to do! The first couple weekends were Guatemala, the next couple New Staff Training, and the last four I spent doing some pretty great things with Young Life.

Weekend One: The day after I returned from NST I took a group of high school juniors and seniors on a WyldLife Leader overnight. The goal of the night: spend time in community and grow in the Lord. I focused the weekend on a message entitled "Story" by Donald Miller. Miller outlines that followers in Christ all have a climactice scene before them: to stand before the Lord and hear the words "well done my good and faithful servant." The question is, how will we get there? What story will we write? We studied the life stories of some of the greats from the Bible--their highs and their lows; we shared our life stories; we rejoiced in a God who works in and through our weaknesses.

Weekend Two: The great humor of Young Life in Chicago is our college leadership weekend. It's called the Leader/Staff Development weekend, aka, LSD. Yes, we go on a yearly LSD trip and can imagine all the jokes that follow. During this weekend the speaker spent his sessions focused on the common denominator between all Christian faiths: the Apostle's Creed. We spent time talking on the beautiful paradox of a triune God and looking at how that nature impacts ministry. Another great weekend.

Weekend Three: 7 to7 on the 7th. That was the catchy name of the 2009 YL All Nighter. The Dark Knight on IMAX at Navy Pier, Young Life club and a dance party at a barn, 2 hours of all access gaming at Game Works in Schaumburg, cosmic bowling, and breakfast. A months worth of fun in one night and I'm still recovering. Actually, any opportunity we have to show kids what fun without alcohol looks like is a really positive experience. And it was that.

Weekend Four: That's this weekend. This weekend I had the privelage of attending my niece Kiersten's first birthday party. She's sweet and it was fun to celebrate her. Noah had his hand in everything, but the day was really Kiersten's. It's amazing to see how much (or little depending on how you look at it) she's grown in the past year, to see her personality show, and to watch how those sibling relationships develop so young!

It's nice to look ahead and NOT have to be gone next weekend. Hopefully will provide some time to rest up after the non stop grind that has characterized 2009.

Guate (only a month late)

2009-02-01T21:46:00.002-06:00

I've always bragged that I lived in a global south country and never had "anything" happen to me; this trip set a few things straight. Enjoy the chronicles of (mis)adventure. As you may recall, the time surrounding Christmas was especially blustery. In fine midwestern fashion, it took us 7 hours to travel from GR to Chicago--leaving NO time for me to pack a suitcase. My roommate met us at the highway with a few things and rushed us to the airport. We arrived after Tasha's flight was scheduled to leave, but due to the massive sheet of ice spread over the midwest, we were able to make it out of O'hare.

Our first day in Guate, we headed out to Coban (about 4 hours from the city) in hopes to spend a day enjoying the water at Semuc Champey. The drive went well (minus the scare of being pulled into a police checkpoint--never know what you're going to get there) and we made it to Coban. As we went to book our trip to Semuc, we learned that we needed to pay in cash. No problem, ATM down the road. Unfortunately, that ATM decided to consume my card...yes, my only ties to cash were embedded in the bowels of an ATM in Coban, AltaVerapaz, Guatemala. Sweet, right? To add on, no cash=no Semuc. So, the next day we turned around and went back to the city.

Beautiful drive, Great conversation, not a complete loss.

We went out for dinner and decided on Antigua for the next day. That is, until Tasha woke up with her eyes swollen shut! A severe allergic reaction led me to believe we might have to take a trip to the hospital (which are even scarier than the police checkpoints). No need, swelling and bulging went down and we were able to enjoy Antigua with 75% of our vision in tact.

Things started turning around here. The next day we went to the ruins at Mixco Viejo with some friends from school. Mixco Viejo marks the edge of the Spaniards' path of conquering. The ruins were very different from any I'd seen, and I love the histroy. The only downfall of this day was a touch of carsickness from the windy/bumpy roads there. Not bad.

From there on, we were home free. Spent a day in the city market shopping and a day at the spa with pools heated by natural hot springs and cheap massages. Couldn't ask for more! After Tasha left, I spent time catching up with friends from my time in Guate. I got to climb the volcano with the Greene's (YL staff in Guate), navigate through random "ecological parks" with Sherry and Javier, catch up with Trisha (my old roommate), spend a day at school seeing students, help out at soccer practice with the new freshman goalie, and spend time with my dear friend Karina and her super sweet daughter Ily.

All around, it was a great time to be back in the country I love with people who played an extremely important role in my life.

Classes

2009-01-19T18:46:00.002-06:00

One class down, 3/4 of one to go. Our first class was called "Foundations of Youth Ministry" taught by Chap Clark. Chap wrote the book, "HURT" which offers an amazing and real look into the world of adolescents in culture today. We learned a lot about how to best work with middle school and high school kids. Too much to write about, but I'd love to chat about it if anyone is interested.

The class we are currently taking is called "Life of Christ" taught by Dale Bruner. Bruner is a scholar (to say the least) on the book of John and offers a compelling look into Christ, his words, his actions, what we can learn from his approach to ministry. It's refreshing to hear him talk about the gospel that so often becomes too familiar.

Amidst these two sessions we've had breakouts on different aspects of ministry and YL specific stuff. I'm going to have to spend some serious time processing and applying everything I've learned here.

Sacrifice of Praise

2009-01-14T17:18:00.000-06:00

I grew up singing the song, "we bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord..." and didn't, until yesterday, understand exactly what the sacrifice of praise meant. Yesterday a New Staffer from Washington led us in worship. The night before, he found out that his wife lost the baby that she was carrying. While waiting for his flight home, Phil was around for one last chapel out here, and he wanted to lead worship. Completely broken and humble before the Lord, Phil still stood in praise. A sacrifice of praise.

It was a beautiful and painful moment for everyone.

New Staff Training 1

2009-01-11T17:00:00.002-06:00

My recent adventures have led me home to MI, down to Guatemala, and now to Frontier Ranch outside of Buena Vista, Colorado. I, along with 240 other Young Life staff (mostly new staff) are here for two weeks of training. What does that mean? A lot of relational time discussing ministry in groups, two seminary classes taught by amazing profs (Chap Clark and Dale Bruner), and breakout sessions specific to different areas of ministry.

I am (again) rededicating myself to my blog as it is a good way to share what's going on, so my goal is to share some highlights from New Staff training. I'll update on the trip to Guate when I have a camera cord and can include pictures.

The hands down highlight of NST so far is the sessions on the "Roots and Fruits" of Young Life. If you don't know much about the history of YL, check this out. These sessions were led by Bob Mitchell. Bob's YL repetoire: came to Christ at Jim Rayburn's first tent meeting, hosted the first ever YL club, was Rayburn's club kid, went on staff, started YL in San Francisco, served as president of YL for ten years...........you get the picture. Remember that passage in Hebrews about being "surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses?" That's what these seminars felt like. Bob was intricately involved in the formation of this ministry and has walked with it through ALL its highs and lows. He told personal stories about Jim and demonstrated songs and skits from the first clubs. That alone is amazing.

In addition, he shared a set of historic values to which YL (and any ministry) needs to adhere to in order to sustain in ministry:

1. Focus on the incarnation of Christ.
2. Teach the Trinity.
3. Maintain scripture as the basis for message and ministry.
4. Reaching out to the non churched kids and building relationships of love with them.
5. Always communicate a spirit of adventure.
6. Keep a sense of humor--take our message seriously, but not ourselves.
7. Organizational and financial integrity.
8. Humility.
9. Commitment to quality training at all levels.
10. Spiritually nurture kids who commit to Christ (discipleship)
11. Equal opportunity for women in leadership.
12. Racial equality in ministry.

These are values left with us from a legacy of YL staff, but what will we do with them?

A fun story:

Before YL camps, Jim just took kids and sleeping bags out into the Texas wilderness. In Bob's words, all the kids pulled out their crappy bedrolls on the Texas rock, and Rayburn pulled out his air mattress. No one had ever seen air mattresses. So, naturally, the kids deflated it in the middle of the night. Rayburn's response "blow it up boys, and I'm not moving."

That's our history!

Thanksgiving: the downfall of an empire

2008-11-30T20:15:00.008-06:00

As usual, the Witte Gingerbread tradition continued to grow bigger and better this year. In effort to up my game, I actually made real gingerbread this year! Only pictures can truly describe the tradition and the night, but if you want a feel for the full history, check out my cousin Jessica's blog from the past week.

At 12:00 on the night before Thanksgiving, I finished baking all the pieces of my creation. I decided to model my "house" after the famous Arch in Antigua, Guatemala. You judge for yourself how I did.

My finished product: Thursday morning version. All the pieces were put together, and I was pretty pleased with my first endeavor into the world legit gingerbread.

I didn't want to completely cover the gingerbread with yellow frosting, so I added yellow accents. At this point, I'm still happy...you can see the chaos developing around me with candy and cameras and glue guns.

Then, the earthquake struck. I have two theories on the fall of my Guatemalan Gingerbread Empire. Theory 1: Similarly to the city which inspired my creation, my arch fell prey to natural disaster/earthquake. Traditionally, Uncle Teunis supplies the get together with fireworks picked up in Indiana. This year the fireworks took a turn toward both some relatives and our house, resulting in a lot of screams, nervous laughter, and a broken window on our porch. About that time my Arch fell apart. Theory 2: I didn't make my house early enough and the gingerbread was too soft. Adding frosting and candy led to DISASTER. Either way, it fell apart.
In order to reinforce the front portion, I hot glued cans of beans to the front and cardboard across the top. Let's just say I dabbled in synthetic material; not kosher, but necessary.

Can you see the comparison? My Arch is complete with the traditional Good Friday carpet and little Mayan Indian Snowmen in traditional dress....or something. Not bad, not good, I have something to work toward for next year.

Jessica's creation

Uncle Dan's creation

Fall Weekend

2008-11-23T22:39:00.002-06:00

I spent the past 60 hours at a Young Life weekend...the slogan for Fall Camp is "like Summer Camp but Shorter and Colder." Good sell, right? Our area served as work crew for 250 students and leaders from another Chicagoland area. We served and bussed meals, prepared for and ran events, and filled in wherever help was needed. A few highlights:

1) Because we weren't at a Young Life property, the camp dining hall wasn't necessarily set up for work crew. But, our kids did an amazing job of turning a small job into an art. Work Crew welcomed every camper into each meal with loud cheers, led a pre-meal rendition of the hokey pokey, and had the whole dining hall singing "Build Me Up Buttercup." These kids created energy and allowed the campers to have a true Young Life meal experience minus the Young Life Camp. It was so great to be a part of!

2) We were blessed to serve Capernaum (Young Life's ministry to students with special needs) kids this weekend. From carrying their luggage to their rooms to serving drinks and singing songs, our Work Crew kids helped make the weekend for these amazing kids. A club highlight came when Brian, a boy with Downs, was called to the front to sing Karaoke in a competition. He lit up the stage and won over the crowd; the over accurate applause-o-meter declared Brian the winner. The uninhibited joy that he displayed, and the celebration from his friends was contagious.

Overall, it was a powerful weekend of growth and service for the 18 kids from our areas, and a weekend of clear gospel presentation and crazy fun for hundreds of high school kids!

Blog Identity Crisis

2008-11-14T22:00:00.002-06:00

I am a journaler. I love to write. I process in writing. I develop ideas in writing. But, I have a weird psychological block (a family trait inherited from my dad--it manifested itself a lot in my basketball career). I can't write if I don't like WHAT I'm writing on. If my journal is ugly, it remains empty. If I have the same journal for too long, I stop writing in it.

Well, I'm having a blog identiy crisis. I can't get excited about any "look" on my blog; as a result, I don't write. I go to the blog, look at it, and go away.

Thanks for your patience (really, just Phyllis') as I work through this. You'll know when I find something I'm excited about.

This is home

2008-10-25T08:37:00.002-05:00

Thought One: I never knew how unsettling it was to be without home until I experienced it. Don't get me wrong, I spent the better part of three months with an amazing family who opened THEIR home up to me, loved me, and took care of me...but it wasn't my home. It left me feeling restless, like I didn't really belong. When I finally was able to make the move into my house, it all changed. I have a place and space that truly is my home. It took an unnamed, often unidentified burden out of my life and has allowed me to feel like the Hinsdale area is not only the place I work, but also the place I can call "home." (I am a MI loyalist, so I say home with the understanding that I still will answer anyone's questions with "I'm from Grandville, MI but I live in Downers Grove IL.)

Thought Two: I was in a meeting yesterday in which people were talking about what it looks like to identify the true need. Example: feeling lonely? The true need isn't activity, food, or whatever we choose to fill the lonliness. The true need is relationship. As the leader was going through all these examples, my rooommate and I kept saying "wrong" "wrong" "wrong." Feeling lonely? True need IS relationship--with Christ. Feeling sad? True need IS happiness--from Christ. Feeling neglected? True need IS assurement--from Christ. It was sad to sit and realize how many people are looking for something and won't find it because they're looking in the wrong places.

Which brings me back to my "homelessness." Did I really need a home to feel at home in IL? No, what I needed was to rest in the assurrance that I was living and working in the place that God had for me and that he would meet my every need. Will I ever be at home and feel fully complete...not until the day I'm back home with my heavenly father.

So, for now, THIS is home...

Grace and Growth

2008-10-01T21:27:00.002-05:00

One major aspect of my ministry with WyldLife is walking with the juniors and seniors in high school who serve as WL leaders. We meet every Monday night--club one week, leadership the next, etc. Last night I was intrigued by the conversation following this question: "If God knows everything, then why did he ask Adam 'where are you?' after Adam and Eve sinned?"

In my mind, I jump right to relationship. God, the creator of Adam and Eve, the God who breathed life into Adam's lungs, who walked with him in the garden, comes to Adam with this question because he STILL desire relationship even if its perfection is forever shattered.

Common response from the high school students: To make Adam feel guilty. God, the judge, wants Adam to wallow in shame over his mistake...not far from how I viewed God when I was in high school--if I do this or go to that or say this then I'm good. As long as I'm not doing _______.

Thank God for grace and growth and I pray that throughout this year I will see shifting images of God in the minds of my high school leaders--the true balance of both grace and truth that God reveals throughout scripture.

I dropped the ball...literally.

2008-09-15T20:31:00.002-05:00

Last night I was at the Tigers/White Sox game in Chicago. Some wonderful YoungLife people gave me their tickets for that game...row 12 right behind the Tigers dugout. The game pretty exciting with 2 grand slams in one inning (too bad the Tigers came out on the bottom of that!), but more importantly, I experienced the greatest disappointment of my athletic career: I dropped the ball.

Curtis Granderson caught a fly to end one of the innings, and as he was running in I stood up in my full Tigers' apparel and yelled, "Granderson, throw me the ball!" He looked. He saw the Detroit D. He threw. All my hopes and dreams of having a baseball straight from the mit of Curtis Granderson came hurtling toward me, got lost in the light a little bit, bounced off my hands, and landed three rows down. I dropped the ball and some White Sox fan--who probably never even played little league or knows a thing about baseball--kept it as a souvenir.

The rest of the game went by with many taunts from my friends and the random people around us about how I missed probably my only opportunity for a Major league baseball from a player.

Feeding Ducks

2008-09-07T14:11:00.003-05:00

I was at home for a wedding on Friday and got to spend Saturday with my family--which involved a trip to the park for Noah and me. He spent some time feeding (and petting ahhh!!!) the ducks. Every time I spend time with this kid I'm reminded of the joy with which we should all approach life. Just thought I'd share some "feeding ducks" video from earlier this summer.

I'm Back...I think.

2008-09-03T22:04:00.002-05:00

My father so kindly reminded me that I've been slacking off on this blog thing. Well, I guess the nine million transitions in my life overtook my blogging. But I'm back. Not in Guatemala, but back.

The transition back to Los Estados Unidos was a bit hard, to say the least. I've been analyzing it lately and really think that I transposed a lot of my culture shock onto Hinsdale. A little hard to minister in a place you don't really like (see JONAH). Well, God convicted me of my pretty crappy attitude and my heart is coming around and I'm excited to be here and working with middle school and high school students. Still not easy, but my heart and attitude are here.

It's interesting to think that one year ago I was student teaching in Guatemala. I've come so far, seen so much, and grown immensely in the past year. I'm thankful for all of it, but ready to live in the same place for more than a couple months.

I think the realization that is sticking out to me right now is what it looks like to pursue justice and mercy for all of God's children. God's children who are literally starving in Guate and God's children who are spiritually starving in the States are all crying out for someone to care and to love. So, unlike Jonah, I'm swallowing my pride and praying that God showers mercy down on this place and am anxious to see how he, in his infinite grace, uses me in that process.

Working?

2008-07-25T20:22:00.002-05:00

I officially am employed by Young Life in Eastern DuPage...meaning what? you might ask. Great question. I am one of three new interns in the area and we daily ask ourselves the same question--are we doing what we're supposed to be doing? What are we supposed to be doing? A big priority for the past few days has been getting and meeting with leaders for my upcoming camp trip. Next Friday I am heading up a camp trip to Timber Wolf Lake in MI...88 middle school kids, 15 high school leaders, and 4 other adult type leaders. Talk about jumping in head first, right?

I was really challenged by the sermon Pastor Bill gave last week at 1st CRC in GR. He preached on the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18, and I've been using that passage and a few points from his sermon as the basis for leader training. A few things that stand out to me...whose fault is it that the sheep is lost? The sheep wanders off. How many sheep stay on the path? 99...yet the shepherd pursues the one relentlessly and brings him home. No questions. No judgment. And, he takes great joy in bringing that sheep home.

As I head into YL staff my prayer is that God will give me the strength and persistence to pursue kids in the way he pursues each one of us...and that he will use me to enable other leaders to do the same.

Update 1

2008-07-11T19:36:00.005-05:00

It has been too long...I've neglected my blog in the craziness of leaving Guatemala, assimilating back into the US, YL trips, Chicago tours, and finally relaxing with my family. I have many updates to give, but I'll start by finishing the update on my YL service trip. The trip was a HUGE success. Kids really saw a different side of the world, saw how we're all connected, and saw that they can make a difference. I'm proud of how hard our YL kids worked and how well they served people. I was blessed to share that experience with that group of students and leaders.

During our time there YL had its first club in one of the neighborhoods. Our students did a skit which was pretty funny; Brady and Fito led singing. A lot of the work was shoveling rocks and sand and mixing concrete. We really developed our mixing muscles during the week :)

This group, along with two others, put new roofs on houses. This involved taking down frames and rebuilding supports before even attacking the roof itself. Kevin, the boy on the left, is a Young Life kid that Brady and the other leaders have been working with.

There were always plenty of children to play with if the work was slow or if we were waiting for supplies. The children had joyful eyes when they were playing with us, but when I looked into eyes that weren't directed at me I saw pain and hurt and hunger that reflected the lives they lead on a daily basis. We may bring joy into their lives for a day or two, but it's not permanent. The only joy that can truly change these eyes is the joy of the Lord. Thank God for people like the YL staff who are in this neighborhood every day!This is the picture of the Guatemalan City dump that backs up to the neighborhoods that YL works in. The trash stretches on and piles up more than I could describe or imagine. Many people make their living and lose their lives working in this dump.

This picture gives a pretty good view of the houses in which we worked. The big bags are bags of trash that were filtered from the dump and now will be sold for a VERY meager living.

The story of these two young girls broke my heart. Both are teenage moms with a second on the way. When we talked to them, neither had eaten in over two days. Malnourished and pregnant, not the ideal combo. We took them to a grocery store and one of the girls almost passed out in the store. We got her some yogurt and crackers to eat there which stabilized her. I was able to buy them groceries, and with rice and beans as a staple in the diet I bought about a months worth of groceries for less than many people here spend for a week. But what happens after the month is up?

As you can see, we got a lot accomplished during the week and learned a lot. But the more we learned and the more projects we finished, the more I realized that our work is futile against the overwhelming poverty of these dump communities. I guess I have to have confidence that small scale redemption will make a large impact in someone's life--even if it's just the four year old girl who was fed for the first time in two days. This area truly represents the yearning and groaning of a creation awaiting the redemption of Jesus Christ.

Work!

2008-06-11T07:35:00.002-05:00

My YL team safely arrived around 9:00 on Saturday night and the trip officially started with a hike up a volcano on Sunday. It was fun sharing the Pacaya experience with my friends from home. The pyromaniac in a few boys came out and that was a little scary, but we all survived.

Monday morning our work started. We are divided up into five teams that are in two neighboring communities in zone 3. Zone three is built around the city dump and many people make their living sorting through the stuff in the dump. Groups are mixing and laying concrete floors for families living on dirt, rebuilding houses, putting roofs on, and more. It's hard work, which is good for our group!!!!

I don't have time for a full update, so I want to share one highlight: one of my students who I worked with all semester was adopted out of a terrible life in the neighborhoods that we are working in. She has never shared her story with more than 2 or 3 people, and only close friends. When I told her about our group, she said, "Miss Witte, I want to share my story with them. I think I can help or impact at least one person." So on Monday, Felicita shared her story...and she impacted us all. I'm so proud of how God's working in her life...for a 17 year old girl to say that she's angry at God about the crap she went through, BUT knows he was in control is a powerful experience.

More to come, but Brady, the YL staff person here has more consistent internet and started a blog specifically for our group: www.vjguatemala.blogspot.com

and so it begins...

2008-06-07T12:24:00.002-05:00

When you work with Young Life, the phrase "why not?" becomes a large part of your vocabulary. It reflects the flexibility that is inherent to the ministry...and so it begins. All but three of the group of 30 coming down actually missed their flight to Guatemala and are hanging out in Houston for the day. Why not? Hopefully they're having some good bonding stateside while I wait patiently for them to come here!!!!

A Dutch Bingo update for all who appreciate the game: Last weekend I went ziplining in Panajachel. In our group was a group of about 9 Canadians who were all studying Spanish in Pana. One girl did not have a crazy accent, so I got suspicious and curious. Here's the conversation we had:

Me: Wow, those earings are great. Did you get them here?
Girl: No, I got them at a free trade store in Canada.
Me: Oh, you're from Canada! Where?
Girl: Toronto. Where are you from?
Me: Michigan
Girl: I was born there!
Me: Really? Where?
Girl: Grand Rapids
Me: No way, that's where I'm from.
Girl: I thought you looked Dutch and CRC...I can spot em from miles away! My parents met at Calvin!
Me: Wow, small world.
Girl: What are you doing here?
Me: Teaching at a missionary school in the city (actually gave a longer explanation)
Girl: My sister knows some people doing that...the Wirrels?
Me: Huh, they teach at my school!

You get the gist...I'm sure I made my family proud on that connection!

An Update and a Disclaimer

2008-06-05T12:28:00.003-05:00

Update: I've been busier than I thought with school wrap up over the past few weeks, but I've also had some time to relax and reflect on my time in Guatemala. My friend Emily Baker came down for a whirlwind visit to Guatemala last week. We did as much as we could--and she got the true Guatemalan experience as she suffered from the common traveler's illness: fever, chills, and other unpleasantries. Mom, Emily wants to commiserate with you. She feels your pain!!! We still had a great time...which she remembers now that she's healthy again! I have some curriculum work to do before 30 Hinsdale Young Life people come down here for a work trip. I am so excited to share my life here with people from home! Which leads to the disclaimer :)

Disclaimer: I offered my blog as a place where people on the trip can reflect on the experiences, post pictures, etc. I don't know how many opportunities there will be to post, but there will be 30 people who have reign to reflect and process their time in Guatemala, so you'll be getting more perspective (and different perspective) than just me. Take that into account with posts from the next week!

Blessings and enjoy the beginning of summer weather...we haven't seen the sun in about a week as the tropical storms in other areas are pulling LOADS of rain here!

School's Out for Summer...School's Out Forever?????

2008-05-28T12:44:00.002-05:00

Our last day of school was last Friday. My finals are checked, my grades are in, I'm working on all the end of the year details. And by details, I of course mean re-writing the 9th English and 6th Social Studies curriculums with ACSI Biblical Integrations. No small task, I assure you. Throughout it all, I have had a little time to process the end of the year.

I taught my last class in a classroom for two years. I know that God has an amazing place prepared for my on Wyld Life Staff, but I am really going to miss the classroom. Take this, for example. On my last day of creative writing I had my students share what they learned about writing, what they learned about themselves, and one of their favorite pieces of writing. Three 7th grade girls shared that they joined the class because they wanted to have me again (I student taught them), but in the process fell in love with writing, the importance of words, and gained confidence in their written voices. Another broke into tears as she read a good-bye poem thanking me for all i've taught her about Social Studies, Creative Writing, and basketball. Talk about affirmation from God that I was in the right place this semester.

Or take this English essay: One freshmen girl, when asked what the literature taught her about human nature and herself, responded that a lot of the stories we read (Night, Lord of the Flies, Poison, etc.) dealt with the negative aspects of human nature (aka sin). She said that it was easy to look at the stories and criticize the characters, but she then began to realize that she's just like them. That literature is powerful because it accurately reflects human nature and her nature. She continued to share that our discussions of literature caused her to examine her life and renew her passion for her faith. Again...God is good and was doing greater things with me than I was ever aware of.

My future is in God's hands and if his plans are for me to stay with Young Life or another ministry, then I will pursue that wholeheartedly...and I know that I will still be teaching in very significant ways, but my heart's prayer is that school is NOT out forever!

25 Quetzales

2008-05-20T11:37:00.004-05:00

My last unit in Social Studies this semester covered Africa South of the Sahara desert. I started the unit with a powerpoint on a lot of the current struggles the African continent faces: poverty, hunger, disease, war, etc. I decided to do this because these are struggles that I wish I had learned about earlier in my life. My sixth graders, some more than others, were really impacted by the problems and wanted to help.

Enter our final project.

I gave each student 25 quetzales, which totals to $60 for the class. The students were instructed to take the money and find creative ways to turn it into more, and the final collection would go to by animals for families in African villages (Heifer International). Some students washed cars, others cleaned houses, my Koreans sold origami, and more. Two boys, Delrick and Jason, opened a bakery--they made DELICIOUS cinnamon rolls and sold them at school. Needless to say, my sixth graders turned $60 dollars into $250 in the matter of 10 days!

I'm so proud of them and their desire to help others, and their realization that we not only need to help the people around us, but also people all over the world. After all, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ!

El Salvador!

2008-05-16T13:17:00.002-05:00

Suzy and I hopped in the car at 5:40am to drive the four hours to El Salvador. We were going to leave the night before, but due to road safety issues we were advised to leave in the morning. No need for a machete to the tires, right?

We saw a lot of beautiful scenery driving through Guatemala and into E.S.

This was one of our first views of the ocean--gorgeous, right?

We stayed at a little beach (town is an overstatement) called El Zonte. It was basically huts, a few restaurants, a few hostel type hotels, and BEACH. It's interesting to see who you stumble on when traveling--surfers who settled and are bumming their way through life, etc.

I could hardly contain the excitement of actually understanding the worth of the money I was using!!! El Salvador uses the US dollar. Overall, it was a quick trip, but I am thankful for the rest and relaxation it gave me before the last week of classes, and for the opportunity to see more of God's beautiful creation!

Creative Writing

2008-05-04T17:34:00.002-05:00

Over the past semester I have had the amazing opportunity of teaching Middle School Creative Writing. Much of teaching writing has turned out to be instilling confidence in children who are at an age of uncertainty. It's hard for an 11 year old girl to believe that she has a voice and that it matters. I spent a lot of time yesterday compiling the poems that the students have written during our poetry unit. What I've been doing is teaching a poem and then using that poem as a platform into their own writing (see Rose, Where Did You Get That Red by Kenneth Koch). I wanted to post some of the work that my students have been doing...I'll start with a link to the starter poem if anyone is interested in reading, and then put some student examples.

Biblical Point of View Poem: No example here, but I asked the students to put themselves in the shoes of a Bible character and write a poem.

The Innkeeper—Melany Sanchez (from The Good Samaritan story)

You did what?
Are you out of your mind?
“Look after him,” you say.
When you first came
I would have refused.
But seeing the gentleness and love
In your eyes,
In your acts,
In everything you’ve done,
Has made the word “no” difficult to find
Everyday as I saw you take care of him,
As I heard his groans of pain,
You impressed me
How could you help your enemy?
How can you love a complete stranger?
Now…as you leave,
Asking me to care for him,
All I have to say is,
“Don’t you worry, he’s in good hands.”

If Only—Eleanor Cabrera

If only I could touch the border of your mantle
If only I could see your face
If only I could touch your hands
I would be free, I know it.

If only I could touch the border of your mantle
If only I could hear your voice
If only I could get near you
I would be free, I know it.

All I want is to be free from this sickness
All I want is to be accepted
All I want is to be loved

Please Lord, heal me.

Concrete/Abstract: See Emily Dickinson's Hope is a Thing with Feathers http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=171619

Frustration, the Evil Cat—Hannah Slingerland

Frustration prowls and growls waiting for
A chance to leap and catch you, the mouse.
Frustration hides in the shadows
Cautiously waiting for your smile to fade
Frustration’s long agile legs attack
And snatch you with a wisp of a tail
Frustration is crafty and meows
For the day to come to get you, the mouse.
Frustration is mysterious, it comes
And goes and disappears
Frustration will hold on after
Hard times have left and are gone
Frustration won’t let you go if you
Let it snatch you with a wisp of a tail
Beware, Frustration is on its way
And if you don’t watch out, it will
Catch you, the mouse, forever and ever.

Perseverance—Kum Ji Yoon

Perseverance is the one that shines
So good and bright
That it eliminates the dark
To brighten up your lives.

Perseverance is the one that comforts
Touches your face
With such a warm, gentle light
To reach the goal of your dreams.

Everywhere I go
I see it right there
Shining upon me
Always there for me.

Descriptive Poems: See Wallace Stevens 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird and Someone Puts a Pineapple Together http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=174503

Ways of Looking at a Baseball—John Leckrone

I
As shrunken head
Bearing a long, curved scar

II
A swift white dove
Trying to escape the bird catchers’ nets

III
An autograph book
Filled with many heroes

IV
A Barbie
Dressed with a large assortment of clothes

V
A rocket taking off
Landing on a good smelling planet

VI
A boxer who’s lost his match
Only to be replaced by a fresh fighter

VII
A museum’s keepsake
Reminding us of history

VIII
A pitcher’s paycheck
Hogged selfishly

IX
A Native American’s instrument
Under much superstition

X
Jesus being driven to a roaring crowd
His friends are downcast.

An Overhead Projector—Amanda Agrellas

1. A snake, coiled and about to spring
2. A little robot, scuffling around with one big eye
3. A dancing platform with a light-up floor
4. A crane, lifting piles of dust from the ground
5. A dragon, breathing fire from its mouth
6. A spotlight, shining upon a theatre stage
7. A puppy, jumping across the road

***I'm leaving it there for now because I've lost this same post about 4 times. More to come on school updates and a recent trip to El Salvador!

International Fair and National Cemetery

2008-05-02T10:24:00.004-05:00

This past Tuesday the sixth and seventh grade students hosted the international fair. It was a culmination of about 1.5 months of independent work. Each student in my sixth grade class was responsible for choosing an Eastern Hemisphere country and putting together a ton of information--from government to people to geography. Each student then put together a presentation. All the elementary students received "passports" and were able to visit the countries, learn about them, eat a little bit of food from the country, and get their passports stamped! It was a successful day and I am extremely proud of the work my students did!

Yesterday we had the day off (Labor Day) and my roommates and I went to visit the national cemetery in Guatemala City. The cemetery is a mass

ive plot of land, almost a small city itself, literally surrounded by trash. You can see the big dump on the right that countless people filter through for their livlihood and daily eating. Needless to say, the air is rank and there are vultures everywhere...a great setting for Poe's "The Raven"

In the cemetery there are numerous different grave plots. The rich people have plots the size of a small house--the Egyptian Pyramid/Cross picture is the family plot of the founders of Guatemala's beer, Gallo. Poor people are crammed in small boxes and their families are forced to pay rent. If a family member misses rent, the remains are pulled and thrown in the dump, to be replaced by someone else.

The cemetery had a very different feel than one in the states--because of different traditions down here, a cemetery is not nearly as somber. There were families having picnics and lighting off firecrackers on graves, tons of flowers, and vendors everywhere. Very interesting to observe.

It sounds strange that I took a trip to the cemetery on my afternoon off, but it really was a unique opportunity to experience culture here in a different way.

Oh, and in unrelated news....some of you may know that I worked on a research project with graphic novels/comic books all last year. The article I wrote was printed in Christian Educator's Journal, and recently reprinted in an online magazine. My professor's name is on it too...but I did most the work on this one :) Check this link out if you're interested in reading! http://www.catapultmagazine.com/draw-me-a-story

Amazing Race!!!

2008-04-28T13:45:00.005-05:00

My roommate Suzy is a Youth Group leader at Union Church--the English speaking church in Guatemala City. This past weekend they had their Uth Retreat in Antigua, and I had the privelage of participating in "The Amazing Race" and running around with these five kids for five hours. One of our first tasks was to get permission and a picture on a chicken bus...no problem!

We then had to run up to the cross that overlooks the city. It was about a fifteen minute run there, and then 333 steps up the mountain and back. We were a little winded by the end of this task!

Breakin' in the gates of a church :) A few of the clues took us to different churches around the city, including the "tomb" of Peter. If anyone knows how he ended up in Guate, I would appreciate that info.

We had to spend exactly 18 Quetzales (about 2.50 US) at Pollo Campero--the most popular fast food with Guatemalan people. So, naturally, we went for the ice cream. Lilia is one of my freshmen at CAG.

Another task was to make an arch in front of the arch. Good work team! The cobblestone streets of Antigua weren't too nice for the knees of the people on the bottom!

A pilgrimmage to the cross...

After about five hours of running around, we all finished the race. The time difference between the first place group and the last place group was SIX MINUTES!!! What a race! And if you're wondering, my group did take last. It was hard on my competitive spirit, but it's not all about winning, right? ;)

Even though I'm not regularly involved at Union Uth, it was a blessing to be able to run around, meet some new kids, and see kids from different schools forming friendships and making connections that otherwise would not have happened.

Grace and Peace Part II

2008-04-22T09:29:00.002-05:00

I wrote a post earlier about a sermon I listened to based on Philippians 1 entitled "Grace and Peace." I wanted to update with a beautiful story about Grace and Peace that I've been blessed to be a part of down here. I teach a one on one English class with a student, and over the past weeks her story has been coming out with more details. She lived on the streets in Guatemala until she was 12 years old. Her only childhood memories are of starvation and abuse. She did not know God, but looking back can recognize his provision and protection over her. For the most part, she was with her sister; until, her sister was adopted. The family who adopted her sister found out about Felicita a couple years later and searched for her so they could adopt her as well.

For the past three years she has had love, family, and opportunities that never would have occurred if that family would not have pursued grace and peace. In three years she has gone from illiterate to about a high school level in both Spanish and English. This girl never quits and she is not afraid of failure which allows her to learn and grow every day.

One aspect of our class is working on her reading fluency. We were talking about how she hasn't really read the Bible because the language was pretty difficult for her to understand. So, we've been working through The Message which helps her with pronunciation, English idioms...and learning the word of God. Since this has been a big part of our class, I wanted to be able to give her a copy of The Message at the end of the year.

Enter Verne Kenney and Zondervan's. Verne is coming down for work and a through a question out if he had a copy he could bring and I could buy from him. Better than just a copy, he's bringing a Spanish/English parallel that I will be able to give to Felicita!

Grace and Peace.

Would you rather?

2008-04-15T13:20:00.002-05:00

Would you rather experience an earthquake or a tornado?

After last night, my answer is TORNADO!

I am sending ALL my respect to friends/family who live in California. We had an earthquake last night with a magnitude of 6.1. No severe damage or injury was caused, but I was SCARED! Our entire house was shaking for over a minute, and it was just eery! I was clinging to the door frame and screaming (which made my roommates laugh).

All my childhood was spent in tornado drills...cover the head, go to a low area, ride the storm. It's a whole different ball game when the earth is trembling and and your house might fall on your head.

This morning in teacher devotions we sang "only you" One of the lines says, "only you can shake the mountains." After experiencing an earthquake, I understand God's magnitude and power in a whole new way. To create an earth that works how it does is truly awe inspiring.

2008-04-09T10:39:00.002-05:00

I meant to post this right after Easter, but life got a little busy for a while. I wrote this as a devotional for my church, and wanted to share it. As I walked away from Easter this year, it struck me how quickly we forget. Our entire faith depends on a magnificent event that we only specifically celebrate one day a year. Why leave Easter on Easter Sunday? So, I wrote these reflections on the men walking away from Jerusalem after Christ's death. Hopefully they can provide a little challenge or encouragement or something!

An Emmaus Walk: Luke 24:13-35
I’m sitting in the bus terminal in Santa Elena, Guatemala, writing by candlelight due to the consistent on again, off again power in this country. Traveling home after a weekend in Belize, I can’t help but reflect on the travelers I’ve encountered: Len and Carrie B, retirees from GR; Drew, a recently dumped Canadian nomad; Mike, a dreadlocked backpacker from Seattle.
Why do these people, our conversations, their stories, float through my brain when I should be grading English tests? I think it is because their story is my story, is our story.
There once were two men walking the road to Emmaus, mourning the loss of his supposed Savior. They were blind--they could not see that their companion was the Savior for whom they yearned. They were so entrenched in the walk and talk that they missed the story unfolding around them.
There once was a man named Moses who was so hung up on his speech impediment that he almost missed his chance to lead the Israelite’s from Egypt.
There once was a man named Saul who was so convinced of his righteousness that he murdered those bearing the truth.
There once was a woman named Annette who was so scared that she almost missed her call to give up some time teaching to minister with Young Life in Hinsdale, Illinois.
The storyline permeates history, it permeates our history. Which leaves some questions: Where are you walking? Who are you walking with? What’s keeping you from seeing the story that is daily unfolding around you and the Savior that is walking with you?
Pray that God will rip away the calluses from your heart, the blind spots from your eyes, so that your hearts may burn with the presence of Christ’s words in your life.

Diving back in...

2008-04-07T12:15:00.006-05:00

LOOK: Mom, Dad, Len, and Carrie at breakfast at the Quetzal reserve. This picture is especially for my favorite big brother Mark and all the crap he's been giving me!!!! ;)

School has proven to be somewhat of a "break" after the busyness of Semana Santa, but if you know me at all you know that I never have an abundance of the elusive free time. Here's an update on what's been happening both in and out of the classroom.

1) Freshmen English: I assigned "The Prince and the Pauper" over Semana Santa, and as an assessment I'm having the students write a comparison/contrast paper between the novel and the movie "Freaky Friday" which we watched in class. Mostly, I want the students to examine why the concept of switching roles/places is so rampant in media. One morning in class I started them thinking in this direction by telling my "life story." I told them I was born with a terrible blood disease that would lead straight to my death (insert lots of dramatic details here), but someone offered to give his blood in place of mine, to take my place and give me life. At this point, the students were upset that I lied to them...I never lied though, I was born with sin and without Christ's blood in place of mine, I'd be dead.

2) Middle School Basketball: This is my current greatest disappointment of my time here. I was/am so excited about coaching middle school girls' basketball, and the girls just aren't interested. We have a great group of 6th grade girls who are enthusiastic and hardworking, but we only have six people--four of whom are new to basketball. We're going ahead with it and teaching the girls as much as we can, but it's hard without the possiblity of scrimmaging. I'm learning to rework my expectations to match the reality of what's happened, but I have a really difficult time understanding people who don't LOVE basketball :)

3) Freshmen girls Bible Study: After many roadblocks and issues to work around, I finally have a Bible Study/discipleship group going for this quarter. Six of the ten girls are coming out, which is more than I was expecting! We're using the time to explore a little bit about how Jesus' teachings really play out in the day-to-day life of a freshmen girl. Let me tell you, after leading YL Bible Studies for the past four years, it's a whole different world jumping back into the Christian School Bible study scene. My prayer is that the girls will drop their inhibitions and be real with each other in their struggles, questions, and thoughts.

More to come soon--pictures of Middle School and High School banquet...but I didn't want to overwhelm anyone with too big of a post!

Proession Video

2008-03-31T11:06:00.003-05:00

Len and Carrie asked me to post a proessio video...check it out--it's worth the time it takes to upload!

Also...BACK OFF about picture choice. I said that I have many more pictures--I picked the ones that best show what we ALL saw!

Semana Santa (spring break): a photo tour

2008-03-26T12:58:00.008-05:00

Semana Santa is over, and I spent a MOST WONDERFUL week with Dad, Mom, Len, and Carrie. (sorry Mark) The first leg of our journey included a trip to the famous Mayan ruins in Tikal, Peten, Guatemala. This was my first trip to the northern part of the country, and the living history was impressive. This is the temple of the Jaguar, the most famous of the Tikal ruins.

As the Mayan empire began to decline (due to climate change), the kings took matters into their own hands and started offering more and more animal and human sacrifices. Since it didn't work, the people lost faith in the kings, and began to move. This is an altar on which humans were sacrificed. It was pretty oppressive to be standing in the very place that someone stood before being offered to an unanswering, unavailable, oh--and not real--god.

We left Tikal and traveled through the Peten to Coban. Our journey included a water taxi over this river. Check the description, according to Moon Traveler's Guide: "Sayache is a rough and tumble kind of town and reports of shoot outs in the street are not uncommon, though security forces were reported to gave gotten at least partial control on the situation in late 2006. Still you may want to limit your time here to that required to cross the Rio La Passion on your way south. The river and surrounding town nowadays serve as a transshipment point for the local cocaine cartels said to operate in this region for some time now. Although they don't tend to get involved with tourist, it certainly adds to the remote lawless frontier atmosphere that seems to permeate this town." Herm and Len actually took a person fairy across without knowing this info...OOPS!

We ended the second leg of our journey in Coban and spent the day at Semuc Champey. Trisha, her friends ANna and Deborah, and I jumped about 30' off the rock on the right and into the river below!

Just one of the beautiful churches we saw along the way. This one is in Coban overlooking the entire city.

Good Friday in Antigua offers an opportunity to gain insight into traditions and faith of Guatemalan Catholics. Processions (which actually started months ago) begin for the day at 5:00 am and continue throughout the whole day. The men wear purple until 3, the time of Jesus' death, then they change to black. One float can weigh up to 3 tons! This is obviously Jesus carrying his cross to his death, with the volcano Agua in the background.

The people spend HOURS preparing carpets--symbolizing the laying of palm branches under Jesus' feet. Some are made of colored saw dust, others (this one) flower petals, and others fruit. It's amazing to see the time and effor they put into preparing for Jesus. Something we Protestants could learn a little from...

At night I went down into the city for more processions...this MASSIVE float portrayed the Grim Reeper pulling a dead Jesus in...it was followed by an empty throne awaiting Jesus' resurrection. Seeing the "face of death" makes me so thankful that for Christians, DEATH IS NOT THE END!!!! He is risen indeed.

I have TONS more pictures and stories, but this offers a glimpse into our experiences and reflections over the past week!

Updates

2008-03-10T15:52:00.007-05:00

First, and to some most importantly, here is an update on the race for sweet Guatemalan food in the end of June:

Phyllis: 12 posts

Hannah: 8 posts

Aunt Marlene: 7 posts

Mom, Mark, Aunt Jo, Len and Carrie, Herman: 5 posts

Late starters: Kendra, 2; Bela, 1

Winning by default due to his cute smile and apparent genious is Noah: 1 post :)

Dia de Gozo: This past weekend we had the opportunity to throw a party for children that are currently being helped through the legal process by the International Justice Mission (ijm.org). IJM in Guate focuses on children who suffer sexual abuse and, for various reasons, cannot be heard in court (not enough money or status, no families, etc.). The day went really well--it was fun to see the children playing games, and just as fun to see their parents/guardians playing with them. I was in charge of indoor games, so I made TONS of cupcakes for a cupcake walk, and also set up bobbing for apples, pin the tail on the pig, and Bozo's Buckets. I would love to show pictures, but in order to protect the delicate situations these children are in, IJM asked that we not post pictures. So, if you want to see them you'll have to ask me later. Overall, it truly was a day of joy for these children.

While the day was definitely filled with joy, it was also difficult knowing that each CHILD present knows so much more pain, lonliness, abuse, and despair than many of us will ever know. A reminder that we have a great responsibility to "the least of these."

Avon Run: Here's a good laugh...I ran in the Avon Run against Breast Cancer this past Sunday. Out of 4000 contestants, I took 53rd place in the 5K. I laughed pretty hard at that. The athletic culture for women down here is a little different than in the states, that's for sure!

Sherry, one of my coworkers, and me after the Avon Run. We "went to our church" because it was the closest reliable parking to where the race started.

We're part of another running group that happened to meet on the same Sunday afternoon. This is the view of the city from the apartment we met at.

This is the closest I'll get to a snow peaked mountain this spring break!

Hombres Verdes y el Raton!!!!

2008-03-06T21:33:00.002-06:00

The weeks are flying by, and I am constantly amazed at God's faithfulness in day to day life. From energy and wisdom in teaching to little blessings like good coffee and sunshine (well, I guess that's big blessing for Michiganders!), we serve a GOOD God!

A few funny stories from life in Guate: first, the green guys. The cops down here wear BRIGHT NEON green vests--think sixth grade safeties...but green. They set up random road blocks at which they randomly select cars to check. If the car is missing any, again, random item: orange cones, reflectors, insurance, lights, fuzzy dice, whatever, you get a ticket. Let's just say I get nervous whenever the green guys enter my line of vision. I've avoided encounters so far, and hopefully will not ever get randomly selected!

My other current dilemma is the health conscious mouse that is currently living in my house. Ever heard the story, "if you give a mouse a cookie?" Well, our mouse began with avocado, moved to oatmeal, nibbled on some beans, destroyed a few tomatoes, and then moved to our COOKIES--all while avoiding the three bags of poison and trap with the oh so traditional cheese in it. We've only had two sitings...one which consisted of a lot of screaming, running around with brooms, and culminated in our neighbors stopping by with machetes--and the mouse lives on!

FYI: "raton" is used for rat and mouse, and apparently chipmunks, making "Alvin and the Chipmunks" "Alvin y los ratones." Green guys, health conscious mice, Alvin and the Rats, just a normal day in Guate!

Belize

2008-02-25T11:29:00.006-06:00

Last weekend, my friend Karina and I went to visit Len and Carrie Blauwkamp in Caye Caulker, Belize. Here's a look at our adventure!

The border of Belize and Guatemala: we were instructed to get out of the bus and walk all our stuff across the border!

Once we crossed the border into Belize, we followed a bicycle race the entire way into Belize City...ask me how I felt about that slow trip!

I got my hair braided by Anita, the hairbraider who has been on the island for 7 years now.

A beautiful Belizian sunset

Len, Carrie, and me at a smoothie joint on the ocean.

A beautiful Belizian sunrise

Randomly, on the island, I found a sign pointing the kilometers to Kalamazoo MI!!!!

Of course, we get back into Guate and...NO POWER at the bus station

And...not on the island...Kiersten Ann Witte!!!!

Servant Days

2008-02-21T13:11:00.007-06:00

The past week has been full of adventures, stories, and amazing opportunites...too many for one post, so I'll start with servant days. The freshmen class (21 students), along with five adults (ha, yes, I am an adult) headed out last Thursday morning for Pixabaj. Pixabaj is in the region of Solala, one of the poorest areas of Guatemala. In addition, it has the highest rate of illiteracy in the country. You may wonder, "how did you end up there?" Well, it's a phenomenal story.

Carlos Nevarez, a dad of a whole slew of students at our school, used to live/work at a children's home with his family. Through a string of events, he got connected with the pastor in Pixabaj. On his first visit to the village, the pastor presented Carlos with a petition from 12 families, pleading Carlos to help educate their children. It was signed with thumbprints because the parents could not write their own names. Carlos took the plea to heart, and raised money for the children to go to school. After two years of this, God laid it on his heart that he was not necessarily being a good steward of money. For the same amount of money it costs to send 12 students to school, Carlos could pay an entire staff at a separate school. So, he started raising money, asking for supporters, prayer, and after two years The Christian Academy of Pixabaj opened, completely funded by donation. On opening day, last January, the first generation of children in the area who will ever be able to read and write Spanish entered school. Since it is a Christian school, this is the first generation of children who will ever be able to READ the Bible for themselves. THAT is a story of grace and peace!

The goal is for the school to host 400 students in its 11 rooms. There are two sessions a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Our task was to prepare three of the new upstairs classrooms. In addition to many little tasks, we completely sanded the rooms by hand, primed them all, and painted the ceilings. A team is coming this week to finish the painting. We also whitewashed some of the outside of the school. I felt a bit like Huck Finn when I had five little indigenous girls whitewashing for me ;)

In typical YL fashion, I had the student blowing up latex gloves on their heads in some downtime...

The unanticipated hitch in our trip: vehicles broke down TWICE, which made us hit a road block and a 3 hour trip turned into a six hour trip!

Update

2008-02-11T17:22:00.000-06:00

A few minor things to update:

1) I have A NEW NIECE! Kirsten Ann was born at 8:11 today, and weighs 6lb 11oz. Poor Noah is going to have to learn to adjust to a little sister. Scott and Mark can address how big an adjustment that is ;)

2) Current leaders in the posting battle: Phyllis 6, Hannah 4, Mom 3...many others tied at 2.

3) Check out how insanely cool Trinity is...all you who ever questioned the Troll will surely enjoy this. http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/news/story?id=3224604

Recent happenings...

2008-02-07T12:40:00.000-06:00

(we had the school play last week--The Princess Bride--Erin, among other parts, was the priest. "mawwage is what bwings us togedder today.")

The weeks are flying by! I can't believe I've been here for a month and half already. The past couple weeks have been really fulfilling. My classes are going well, and I've seen some students really kick it in gear and work harder than they have all year. Some highlights inlcude the super amazing Middle Ages project my social studies class completed--the process ended in a knighting ceremony; check out the pictures :)

A funny moment from that class: One of my Korean students was writing about the importance of the printing press, and he wrote, "if Johann Gutenburg hadn't created the printing press, then communists would never be able to read books." Yeah, he meant commoners, but hey, I'm sure the communists are grateful too!

Monday night ESL classes at a local church are FUN but challenging--try explaining to a person who knows very little English how to say the word "would." Then add on the fact that Spanish is much more of a phonetic language than English, and you get "wooooulllllld" with some funny head movements. We're making progress though!

A few prayer requests for the next weeks:

1) Next Thursday-Saturday we have servant days. High school classes go out of the city to serve at different missions for a few days, middle schoolers do day trips around the city, and the elementary students work at school. I am a freshmen class sponser, and we're going to Pixabaj to work on a school that was recently built up there. Pray for safety in all the travels and that the students can put themselves aside and experience true servanthood.

2) I a couple weeks I have the opportunity to volunteer with International Justice Mission--an organization that works against injustice worldwide. In Guatemala it is specifically focused on freeing children from sex slavery in and around the city area. A girl at my church is a lawyer for IJM, and I'm going with her and others from my church just to hang out with the children and give them a "joy day." Basically a party so, even for a few hours, they can be kids and not immersed in the pain of their daily lives. Pray for that day, the kids, and the victims of atrocities like this, and the amazing organizations that are working HARD to bring joy and freedom to these people.

1. Elisa the Enforcer with her coat of arms and sword.

2. Rebeca with the MOST AMAZING CASTLE EVER!

3. Armando being dubbed a Knight.

Grace and Peace

2008-01-29T08:27:00.000-06:00

Since I've come down I've been downloading sermons from Mars Hill, and Rob Bell just started a series on the book of Philippians. So far, it's excellent, encouraging, and challenging. One thought in particular has really stood out in my mind. Philippians, and most of Paul's letters--despite the content--open with a blessing of grace and peace. "Grace and peace to you from God our father..." The greek grace=charis=free expression of God's love; peace=shalom=mankind experiencing peace in the here and now.

Imagine what our lives, this world would be like if everytime we greeted one another, if in every interaction, we blessed one another with grace and peace. Grace and peace to you...

I spent this past weekend experiencing grace and peace at our teacher retreat. We went up to Panajachel which is on Lake Atitlan. It was absolutely beautiful, refreshing, and so good to be around the teachers I usually don't see (aka the elementary teachers). We went ziplining, kayaking, played a lot of games (Hannah...I had a

near repeat of our rook experience. I need to work on that...), ate some good food, and enjoyed God's creation and his people.

Pic 1: Lake Atitlan
Pic 2: My roomates Trisha (curly hair) and Suzy
Pic 3: Super cute Guatemalan children in Pana

A few notes

2008-01-20T15:22:00.000-06:00

1) Phyllis is currently in a commanding lead for "number one blog responder who wins a home made Guatemalan dinner by Annette when she gets back in June." It's an intense competition...any challengers?

2) The lock in went well. A little dodgeball, four on a couch with sixty people, a power outage from 12:30 to 2 (it's Guate, what can you expect), a lot of Rook, some fight 21, movies, and a pancake breakfast. The kids had a fun time, and I got to interact in more of a YL leader role, which i LOVE.

3) Here are some pictures from Semuc Champey--Semuc is an oasis tucked away in the middle of Guatemala. It's not touristy, and it's absolutely beautiful. Water filters through rock to create the pristine, clear pools; a river rushes under the pools, and there are waterfalls all over the place. BONITA!!!!

Hablo Espanol...un poquito

2008-01-18T18:51:00.001-06:00

Being an English speaker in a Spanish speaking world brings its fair share of funny stories. For instance: This past Thursday, I had five people apologize to me for missing my birthday. My response was along the lines of, "don't be sorry, it was in September." The whole situation escalated when my name was on the birthday board and celebrated with the rest of the January birthdays. I started doing some investigation, and as it turns out, the other day I was filling out my insurance papers and recognized the word "fecha" as the word for date. So I wrote the date. January 15. Apparently, the rest of the words behind "fecha" meant date of birth. Woops. Needless to say, the dilemma was resolved, everyone knows I don't know Spanish, and I had the best non-birthday celebration I could imagine.

A prayer request: I have the high school lock in starting in about fifteen minutes. 12 hours of no sleep and lots of high school kids will be interesting :) More updates to come.

Week One

2008-01-10T17:48:00.000-06:00

(this is an okay picture of the lava...a better one is to come when I get pictures from other people!

I am almost finished with week one of school. I love teaching, but I can't wait for this weekend so I can do some planning. I feel like I'm running about five minutes ahead of my students. I teach Freshmen English--we're about to start the book "A Separate Peace," which I've never taught, so I'm pretty excited about it. I introduced a project to my 6th grade social studies class in which they have the opportunity to earn their knighthood (we're studying the middle ages). If any GCS people are reading it, I definitely ripped that project off Mr. Bobeldyk. I'm also doing a one on one English class with a student, and teaching an ESL class.

Creative writing will be a highlight for me--I have eleven middle schoolers who are all excited about writing and ready to work hard and have fun. I love it already.

I'm helping coach soccer too--apparently my keeper knowledge from way back when in high school is enough to earn me the position of goalie coach. It's a good thing that I was trained by the best!!!

I'm looking forward to teaching English at a friend's church, and also seeing if I can hook up with Young Life down here (the staff person is at all staff in Florida, so I won't be able to connect for a little while).

Pretty much, I'm keeping busy, loving life, and loving teaching.

More to come!

Bienvenidos A Guatemala!

2008-01-04T12:25:00.000-06:00

I've been in Guatemala for hardly two days, and already the adventures are piling up. I had a rocky landing in what I found out is the worst wind the country has experienced in thirty years--including any hurricanes. Needless to say, I was welcomed to a powerless, waterless home. Really, is there any other way to be welcomed back? Probably not.

I settled in as much I could with the remaining daylight hours (it gets dark by 6 every day, all year), then set off on a simple task: drive my roomate Trisha's car to the gas station, put some air in the tire, then head up the boulevard to the Fry's house. What should have been a fifteen minute ordeal escalated into over an hour and a half of anxious driving. I did not know that the ENTIRE city had lost power, which explained why all but one gas station was closed at 7 pm. The one gas station was seriously overcrowded, so I decided to head to the Fry's and get an air pump from school. As I left the gas station, I missed the turn around and ended up on the upper portion of the road (comprable to an express lane) and had to drive FOREVER before I could turn around. Then, the road split so my return path was not the same as the one I was on. Needless to say, I was without communication, maps, and driving on a semi-flat tire in a completely dark Guatemala City. What a way to start! I kept praying that God would keep air in the tire like he kept oil in the jars, and he did. I eventually made it to my destination with quite a story to tell. Ethan and his girlfriend, Kelly, were actually out searching for me at the time.

The adventures continued on Thursday as our house still didn't have power (meaning no showers yet...gross, I know). E and I picked Trisha up from the airport, we caught up, got some goods for my room (essentials like lamps...I love lamps) and the power came back on in the afternoon.

Last night a group of us night hiked the volcano (again, a night hike in the dark is from about 6-10). My pictures didn't turn out too great, so I'll post some better ones later. Regardless, the intense glow of the lava created a red sky visible from miles away. It was a phenomenal experience.

Now I'm off to school to check out the notes the other teachers left for me and to get some planning done for my first week of school as a REAL, certified teacher :)

Out of Towner

2007-12-26T11:10:00.001-06:00

A strange feeling enveloped me this Christmas season: I am now an out of towner in my home town. I am the relative that people see at Christmas parties, special occasions, and few other times in between. I am the person that has to stand up when people at church welcome those that "aren't always with us." I will spent the next six months in Guatemala, and I won't return to MI after that time! Bring on the transitions from college to the 'real world' I guess.

These emotions give me small, small bit of insight into what Christ felt during his time on earth. Not at home or welcome (ok, I can't identify with that one) in the world that he created. But he persisted anyway. That dynamic, that healing of relationships broken, that reconciling creation to God, is what Christmas is about.

Grandville will always be my home as much as anyplace can be. I guess none of us are really at home in the nostalgic sense. There will always be a part of us feeling a little uncomfortable, a little off, because we live in a world that does not align with what it was created to be.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Years--start reclaiming some of our home and looking for ways we, as God's chosen people, can continue the story and move things toward the way they were meant to be in preparation for an eventual homecoming.

Three Weeks

2007-12-11T22:33:00.001-06:00

Three weeks until "annetteinguatemala" will once again be written from Guatemala!

If you can't see it...

2007-12-05T22:11:00.001-06:00

Bear with my ramblings on this one please, but I've been thinking a lot the past few days about something I talked about with my cooperating teacher. She has been teaching in Chicago Public Schools for a while now, and we've had a lot of really interesting conversations about the reality of inner city education. How do students break out of the molds? What's holding them back? How do we effectively educate the students we have in the situation we're in?

She shared a story with me about a student whose comment in response to some of those questions was, "if you can't see it, you can't be it." Think about that. For these students, if they don't have the examples in their lives, they have nothing to work for. That's heartbreaking in itself, but those words challenged me on a different level as well.

If you can't see it, you can't be it.

We are called to follow Christ, to be like him, "your attitude should be the very same as that of Christ Jesus." But, there are so many things in our lives that hinder us from seeing him clearly; and, if we can't see him, we can't be like him.

As Christmas approaches, I am caught up in the joy of this season, but more importantly, I have been thinking about what changes I need to make in my life in order to see Christ more clearly.

Time Flies

2007-11-16T15:10:00.000-06:00

I cannot even believe how quickly my second placement is flying by...I have eight more days of full time teaching, then I start transitioning out. I feel like I am just settling into my routine at Kelly and I will be leaving. This year, and this fall especially, has been full of unbelievably challenging and exciting transitions.

And another one is coming. I am going back to Guatemala next semester to fill in for one of my cooperating teachers who is having a baby. A lot went into the decision, but it ultimately came down to two factors: first, if I don't go I really feel like it's an opportunity that I would look back on for the rest of my life and regret not taking. Second, the relationships are drawing me back. I love the students and teachers down there, and cannot imagine a better first job. So, next semester I will be back blogging from Guatemala.

As for my current student teaching placement, I daily see the reasons why God has me at Kelly. It's hard to see students show up to class with broken bones from a near-death gang fight, to hear teachers who write off students and have no passion for their job, to not be able to pray with a student whose pregnant aunt was shot in gang crossfire, to attempt to motivate students who have no desire or vision for education. Nothing about teaching in the inner city is easy.

BUT, I learned a lot about my limitations (aka I have them, which was a hard lesson for me to learn), and the kind of environment in which I will most effectively teach. Student teaching is a learning experience, and I definitely learned!

An Addiction

2007-11-04T18:58:00.000-06:00

I'm addicted to blogging. It's cathartic for me, so I'm going to keep going...whether or not anyone reads it (it's not all about competition anyway, right?).

We sang a powerful song in church today. Trinity PCA (my church here) has a partnership with a prison ministry, and some reps from that ministry were at our church today. The worship leader writes songs specifically for the audience, and this one really hit me:

__________________________________________________
Here I am

If you were looking for accomplishment, then you know I wouldn't stand a chance. But you said you wanted failures, so here I am.

CHORUS: Thank you God for love I don't deserve; Thank you God for love I did not earn

If you were looking for intelligence, then you know I wouldn't stand a chance. But you said you wanted fools, so here I am.

If you were looking for good citizens, then you know I wouldn't stand a chance. But you said you wanted prisoners, so here I am.

If you were looking for faithful men, then you know I wouldn't stand a chance. But you said you wanted doubters, so here I am.

If you were looking for righteous men, then you know I wouldn't stand a chance. But you said you wanted sinners, so here I am.

If you were looking for worthy men, then you know I wouldn't stand a chance. But you said you wanted me, so here I am.
__________________________________________________

If my life in Christ was about me and what I have to bring, what I have to offer, then I would be nothing. It's so beautiful how Christ enters our weaknesses and makes them strengths, how he uses our vulnerability to bring change and hope into the world. I forget that sometimes in the face of all the pain and brokenness I see everyday. Christ doesn't ask us to change the world, he asks us to come as we are and offer ourselves as living sacrifices. That's something we can do.

2007-10-31T16:03:00.000-05:00

Remember when (I feel OLD starting a post with those words...) halloween was about stretching creative muscles, finding a unique costume, and having fun. Specifically, I think of the year I went as a bubble bath. Yes, I found a cute ducky shirt, a shower cap, cut out the bottom of a laundry basket, filled it with balloons, and went as a bubble bath. Creative and fun.

Today I got a first hand look at halloween minus a dress code. This year's theme: slutty _____. You name it and I saw the slutty version of it. It was so sad because it reflects the girls' images of themselves. If, at first opportunity, the girls lose as many clothes as possible and come to school looking like a whore, that says a lot about how much they value their bodies. Heartbreaking, and teachers can't stop it.

Overall, I am adjusting to life in CPS. I'm learning how to pace my lessons, what to emphasize, and that there are situations out of my control. I can only do so much without students putting forth effort. Every day I am seeing the reasons why God has me in this placement: the one Christian in my fifth period class who is asking me about Trinity; the two boys in my sixth period class who are failing miserably but for some reason are doing work pretty well for me; the opportunities to witness through what I am NOT saying in the teachers' lounge.

We all have opportunities--small and large--in our daily lives to live for Christ. The question is, how are we using the opportunities?

From GUATE to GANGS

2007-10-18T16:59:00.000-05:00

As a person who usually does extremely well with transitiong, the past two weeks have been hard. Really hard. I had about two days between returning from Guatemala and starting my new student teaching placement at Kelly High School--the largest and most overcrowded Chicago Public School. Picture this: 3600 students with capacity for about 2600; 40 students/class with adds about every week. Not the most beneficial learning environment.

Beyond the size of the school, the culture of it was a bit of a shock as well. To sum it up, the majority of the students just don't care. Attendance is spotty and investment in learning is fairly non existant (with the exception of my one honors class). Nearly 50% of my academic students (aka not honors) are failing because they just don't come to class or do work. The apathy stems from many sources: a lot of kids have no desire or ambition for college, so why does high school matter? some work nearly 40 hours to support their immigrant families; some kids are so deeply imbedded in gang life that school takes a far second to survival.

I was giving a kid a hard time about not using class time for homework. Another kid said, "but Miss Witte, it's better for me to have homework. It will keep me off the streets." Wow. That should not be the life of a 15 year-old. And, this comes after a Tuesday gang fight in the halls and a Wednesday retaliation fight. My response: "I can load the homework on if it will keep you off the streets; let me know what you need!" It turns out that his original work was a little sketchy so he still had some work...but that is his daily reality: find an excuse to stay off the streets.

It's overwhelmingly hard to teach in that environment, but I do know that the need is SO GREAT. It's hard to keep giving when there is no response though. We had a reading at church on Sunday that really gave me a gut/perspective check. One part of it said:

Because confusion can reign inside us, despite our faith; because anger, tension, bitterness and envy distort our vision; because our minds sometimes worry small things out of all proportion; because we do not always get it right, we want to believe:
Goodness is stronger than evil
Love is stronger than hate
Light is stronger than darkness
Truth is stronger than lies.

No matter how hard it is to go into this school every day, I have to believe that the goodness, grace, and truth of Jesus Christ in me will make a difference--even if only in the life of one or two students.

Odds and Ends

2007-10-08T08:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I am back in the US and am thinking and reflecting on Guatemala constantly. I deeply miss the people there, the community, and all the relationships that are still in such a formation process. (BUT I have thoroughly enjoyed my time catching up with people here too).

I thought I would post a few more pictures and stories--as my entries do not even begin to touch on the magnitude of my experience, and I kind of slacked off in the last week.

First, this is a picture of me with the best kind of man possible... :) No, but, this gives an idea of indigenous Mayan dress. Each region of Guate has a slight variation on the typical dress. It's a part of their culture now, but was originally imposed on the people by Spanish settlers as a way of distinguishing between low class mayans who had guidelines on where they could go and when, and the Spanish.

Saying good-bye was hard (and most of my pictures are still on my camera). But, this was the farewell from the bball team. The best farewell gift was that we won our Copa (conference, essentially) by beating a team we had lost to by 40 two weeks before. The girls made a "defense" cake because I led them in numerous shuffling drills, etc. and gave me some awesome team pictures--and a toenail (another story, another time...it's gross though).

Antigua: The last "big" trip I made was to Antigua. Antigua used to be the capital of Guate, but it was destroyed by natural disaster numerous times; therefore, they moved the capital to Guatemala city. Antigua remains in the old colonial style, so there are regulations on what colors and style any new buildings can be in. It's a beautiful city full of amazing architecture and history. One interesting thing I heard about was how Guate celebrates 'Dia de la muertes" (day of the dead). While we were wandering Antigua we saw lots of skeletons and death masks and statues of Satan. It was a little spiritually oppressive--but their tradition is to where these masks and sweep all the trash out in the streets, light it on fire, etc. It's the ritual that "cleanses sin" before semana santa, or holy week, aka Easter. The reason it felt spiritually oppressive is because a lot of the people who practice this do it for ritual sake and don't believe or mean it--the spiritual warfare involved without people realizing it is very frightening to me.

To continue that story...the Catholic churches in Guate are extremely beautiful and have a rich history...but they are not like Catholic churches in the states. In order to entice the Mayans, the Spanish intermingled pagan Mayan religions with Catholocism...as a result, there is no pure Catholic church. If you look at this picture, you see the pagan moon on the bottom and stars on the top...surrounding Mary. While the Catholics saw Mary, the Mayans saw their gods. The mixing of faiths created a huge tendency toward idolatry over iconography. Again, a little overwhelming to be in those churches and realize that most of the people are not believing in Christ, just through a different means...they're actually lost.

And last but not least, a look at a pretty typical meal: rice, guacamole, and kebobs with chicken and tropical fruit--the meal that I will make the lucky winner to be named after I count up all the posts!!!!

A list

2007-09-29T21:23:00.000-05:00

One week from now and I'll be in the States. My time went so fast!!! Here are some things I am looking forward to and some things I will miss:

I'm excited to:
1)See my friends/fam (esp Noah who can't talk to me on the phone...)
2)Run whenever and wherever I want (due to saftey issues I cannot run alone and it gets dark at 6)
3)Flush toilet paper in the toilet
4)Drive

I will miss:
1)All the new friends I made
2)Teaching 4 different grade levels and 4 different classes
3)The CAG girls bball team
4)The volcanoes surrounding the city
5)Having/sharing an office with Trisha
6)Chocobananas
7)Guacamole (for dirt cheap!!!!!)
8)All the amazingly beautiful places to spend quiet time/journal time

Okay, so this list is a little superficial...but, it's the little things about a place that make it so special. Those little things really stand out as I am about to leave them behind!

And the fish cry foul...

2007-09-26T22:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, my dad officially wins for the comment that made me laugh the hardest. I hadn't thought about our goldfish in a while. If you haven't met Dora, Dutch, Nemo, Lazarus, Rocky, and Snowball then you should make your way to Grandville. How big are the little guys these days?

Here are some brief tidbits of update: no theme, no topic, just some insights into life here.

I spent last weekend at the beach: Monterrico is a little piece of paradise! One of my cooperating teachers offered her beach house for the weekend so I went with the Fry's and my office buddy Trisha. So beautiful, and I saw a lot of Pelicans :)

I'm finished teaching 7th grade and tomorrow is my last day with 9th grade. I feel like I have nothing to do, but I think my sleepyness is catching up a little bit. I've been hitting a wall by about 9 every night.

Funny teaching moment: I'm teaching the Constitution (and my scavenger hunt was a HUGE hit!!!!!) and was focusing on the executive branch. As all you astute US Citizens may or may not know, in order to serve as President you have to be 35 and a natural born citizen. After explaining that, one of my students raised his hand and asked, "so, you can't be president of the US if you were born by C-section????" Totally serious. And I thought Nike made cars...

Anyway, I answered his question and had a great laugh about it later!

Oooooh, this is a big deal right now: finals for Latin American Idol are tomorrow night. One of the finalists is from Guate, so the kids are all super excited about it. It's funny because the judges are all Latin American equivalents of Simon, Paula, and Randy.

Here are some beach pictures...don't be too jealous!!!!

The waves were GIANT...like 6-7 feet!

The life of and English teacher: we even have to grade at the Beach!

Kelli's beach house...the pool provided a break from the crashing waves: rough life, huh? (oh, and the super cute little Guatemalan girl is Xela Fry, one of the coolest little girls I've ever met!)

The Beach: black sand on the Pacific Ocean

Happy Birthday to ME :)

2007-09-20T21:37:00.000-05:00

I feel blessed to be surrounded by such a loving Christian community--it really shone through today. First, the teacher whose office my desk is in brought me a mocha and delicious breakfast food. Then, my 7th graders planned a birthday party for me in homeroom, complete with cupcakes and cards. Some of my seniors who lead worship had the ENTIRE school sing happy birthday to me in chapel, then proceeded to produce a birthday cake in class. The birthday surprises were topped off with a dozen roses from my boyfriend down here. (ha, just kidding...I bet my mom freaked out for a second though. They were actually from my host mom).

Anyway...I did promise a few more reflections from my volcano time. I'm inserting an article I wrote for my church back home. So, First people...this will appear in First Facts so don't feel like you have to read it twice :)

Guatemala, Volcanoes, and the Refiner’s Fire
My time in Guatemala is proving to be a time of great adventure, learning, and reflection—often intermingled. One of these experiences came just a few days ago. Guatemala is a country whose geography is shaped and reshaped by volcanoes and volcanic activity; the capital city itself is surrounded by active volcanoes. I have never seen active volcanoes outside of my Geology text books, so it is quite a sight. While a chunk of my heart beats for the rugged, piercing rocky mountain skyline, something about the cylindrical, symmetrical force of a smoking volcano draws me in. In fact, it drew me and a group of friends up the side of Pakaya. Our guide, in his traditional Mayan dress and dialect, took us around the back of this volcano to a place where thick, viscous lava oozed down the mountain and across the ground.
I do not know what I expected of lava, but it was hot. Intolerably, skin singeing hot from five feet away (and the pyromaniac in me still had to burn the end of my walking stick in the lava floes!).

I have never experienced heat with this intensity, but, along with the appearance of sunburn, it gave me a refreshed insight in the work of the Lord in my life. In Jeremiah 23:29 God compares his word to fire; in Hebrews 12:29 we are commanded to worship the Lord “acceptably in reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Sidenote: Malachi 3 also refers to this image in regards to injustice—which is challenging and convicting and too much to handle in these few paragraphs. Read it!)

Our God is a consuming fire. He’s not a “let’s warm up and roast a hot dog” kind of fire. He’s a melt me, break me down to the elements, reveal my impurities, refine me into something new and better, consume me kind of fire. As I reflect on this fire that is my God, I have to ask myself a few questions:

1. How do I approach this consuming fire? Is it with the reverence and awe demanded of me? Or is it with hesitancy at what might result from an encounter?
2. What impurities does God so desperately seek to remove that he speaks to me with words of fire? Am I blind to these areas of my life?
3. Do I embrace the pain of refining fire as part of the process that draws me closer and closer to my Savior and my God?

We are all in this together (yes, High School Musical fanatics, you may sing that line). We are--individually and as the body of Christ—constantly being conformed and refined into the likeness of Christ. Like the oozing lava and the landscape of this country, we are in the process of formation and re-formation.

So here I am in Guatemala, standing (well, actually sitting in a hammock) at the edge of all my tomorrows, reflecting on the God ordained changes that have occurred even in my five weeks here. I have learned that I love teaching middle school students (SHOCK), I have learned that I love Guatemala, and maybe someday I will return and love teaching in Guatemala. I also am learning what it looks like to daily serve a God who loves me so deeply that he will not allow me to remain how I am. He is refining me with consuming fire while embracing me with a grace that is more complex and beautiful than I will ever comprehend.

In honor of the birders...

2007-09-19T19:17:00.000-05:00

I have some dear honorary family members that love birding. Here are the bird stories I have:

1. School is always open so we've had birds in the classroom
2. My friend Karina has a parrot that says "gringa loca" whenever I walk past it.
3. Birds fly into restaurants and eat leftovers

My apologies, it's nothing exotic, but it's the best I can do right now!
(be thankful that I'm a little better at teaching than at birding!)

A bird eating leftovers...

MONKEYS (I forgot to post a picture the other day!)

Quince Weekend

2007-09-17T20:21:00.000-05:00

I had a lot of adventures this weekend--Independence Day weekend in Guatemala. On Saturday I hiked a live volcano (more on that later...I'm writing something about it for church...).

Saturday I went with some friends to Pana Jachel, a town on Lake Atitlan. Atitlan is on Time Magazine's list of places to visit before you die. IT IS BEAUTIFUL. Pictures don't do justice, but I'll include them anyway. We took a boat across the lake (we actually rode on TOP of the boat the whole way...sitting on the roof) to a city called Santiago. There is a big, beautiful Catholic church in Santiago which, as recently as the mid 1990's served as a refuge for those being pursued by guerilla warriors during the civil war. There was a monument for all the people of Santiago who died in the war.

This morning, after watching the sunrise, we went kayaking on the lake and stopped by a nature preserve where we saw MONOS (monkeys) in the wild! It was so sweet, I love los monos :)

It was a refreshing weekend full of beauty, excitement, and awe at God's creation.

Happy Constitution Day!

Trisha Williams (a fellow teacher) and me
on top of the boat on the way to Santiago.

The church in Santiago

Kayaking on lake Atitlan with
the volcanoes in the background.

Yes, that is hot lava. The real stuff--
not the red carpet in Oma's basement :)

Pakaya and its lava!

9-11

2007-09-11T18:38:00.000-05:00

I cannot really put words on my feelings about being out of the country on 9-11, but I will try to describe it. The majority of the people I am around were not in the States on 9-11. While they obviuosly care about the event, it did not cause the impact that it would have had they been living in the States; therefore, 9-11 wasn't even mentioned today until I brought it up! That was a strange feeling.

In government class I planned a discussion about 9-11--I wanted students' thoughts and responses to the event, but I also wanted to challenge assumptions. We read articles about the tragedy of the event from the perspective of those who lost loved ones, looked at some stuff on terrorism, but also looked at different crises around the world. I challenged the students to examine global happenings in context of the purposes and intents of governments. Are governments holding up to the test?

We then looked at a few scripture passages: Isaiah 1's call to look out for orphans and widows (amongst a lot of other huge challenges!); Micah's call to "seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our Lord."

It was an interesting class that raised a lot of questions, but I'm glad the students were thinking and interacting.

A sidenote: basketball games 1 and 2 were cancelled. Game one fell victim to Felix's threat. Today we drove to the school to find out that they had an outdoor court which was flooded due to the daily rain storm. So, we turned around and drove back to school...hopefully tomorrow's game will actually happen!

All is Well in Guate

2007-09-06T20:43:00.000-05:00

As you all know by reading and observing the new, Felix changed directions...we've had cloudy skies and more rain than usual, but no severe weather.

My life was increasingly busy this past week as I picked up teaching full time. It went well (I think) and I have my midterm evalutation with all my cooperating teachers and my college supervisor tomorrow. I'm not nervous yet, but hopefully it goes well.

A few stories: I went to a Guatemalan church last Sunday (as opposed to Union Church whose ministry is with English speaking people in Guate). We had communion and sang a lot--I had enough frame of reference during those times that I was able to understand what was going on. We sang some great songs--including good 'ol "Victory in Jesus" and "Amazing Grace" in Spanish of course. I had to laugh because as much as we Dutch CRC people get laughed at for our inability to clap on beat, this church was just as bad! I felt so at home...

Last Saturday I spent the day in the city with new teachers and Sharon Rosa, whose unoffical title is "make all the new people feel loved, supported, and at home." We went to the relief map which is a scaled down version of the whole country of Guatemala. It was built in the early 1900's and gave me a great picture of the geography of the country. Apparently another Central American country wanted a relief map and the architect was assassinated because Guatemalan people wanted to be the only ones with such a structure.

We then went to the Central Market, the national cathedral, and out for lunch at a pretty nice restaurant. It was a good day and I learned a lot about the city and history of the area.

Off to a long night of lesson planning...

prayer request

2007-09-03T18:41:00.000-05:00

Here is something to add to the prayer list: Felix is coming and threatening to hit Central America pretty hard. We already cancelled our Open House for tomorrow because it's supposed to hit in the afternoon. Guatemala should only get heavy winds and rains--most of the damage is supposed to be in Honduras and Belize. Pray for safety and that the hurricane dissipates before causing too much destruction, especially to the Indian people along the coast who have no means of protection or travel.

I had a wow moment a few minutes ago when I was reading an update about Felix: after describing the path and damage that may result, the article went on to say, "breathe easy, it won't hit Texas." How about global thinking and caring for the brothers and sisters in the world around us.

Anyway, I don't want to scare anyone (aka mom) but I do appreciate the prayers!

On teaching

2007-08-31T18:03:00.000-05:00

I am getting a real taste of life as a teacher--I spent almost all night after basketball practice until at least 10:30 lesson planning and grading and doing homework for my class. A few people have asked what I'm teaching, so here is a brief summary. First of all, CAG is on block schedule--so rather than teach units on different topics, they're all rolled up into one long class.

7th: Grammar (parts of speech), short stories (focus on elements of plot), a novel--The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and vocabulary. It's pretty busy, but Monday if vocab day, Wed. short story day, and Fri novel day. We do a little bit of writing and grammar every day.

9th: Because the curriculum didn't come in on time, we started with research papers. I teach various aspects of the research process then the students have a chance to work on their papers.

Government: Origins of U.S. government, moving toward the Constitution. Okay, you all know that I am a nerd, so this won't surprise you. September 17 is the anniversary of the US Constitution so I'm planning a Birthday party with a "National Treasure" esque scavenger hunt :) I'm pretty stoked about it...

English as a Foreign Language: This class will be a lot of trial and error, but I am starting a writing portfolio. It will incorporate reading, writing, and speaking which are obviously important aspects of learning English.

Anyway, that's my life teaching--full time for three weeks starting on Monday.

I should have some good stories and adventures after this weekend, so more to come!

It's a small world after all...

2007-08-27T20:20:00.000-05:00

This is the secondary building at CAG

Yo Quiero Taco Bell...all the Spanish one needs

Pretty flowers, I had to make Herm proud

La Chapina (Karina) y la Gringa (me) a la mercado

The world shrunk considerably this past weekend. I was walking with the ladies in the neighborhood (wow, I really am a teacher...) and mentioned to one that I am from Michigan. She said, "oh, I have a girl staying with me from MI, Grandville actually." Yes, a former Little League teammate of mine--go Superior Sports--went to language school in Antigua and is staying right down the road from me. We reminisced about the bubble and ended up going to a Barlow Girl concert with a bunch of the other teachers. Afterwards we were hungry, and where else is there to have a 10:00 dinner? Taco Bell. I promise, I am actually living in another country!

I picked up my 9th grade English class. Day one went pretty well...they're chatty so I had to lay down the law as best I could. I start government later this week (pray for that one!). Basketball practice is interesting--one gym, one court; ideally boys and girls rotate practicing outside, BUT, it's rainy season. So today we learned our offense and defense in the chapel. It gave true meaning to "I will enter his courts with praise." Ha, don't laugh too hard at my jokes.

If you're wondering about the pictures--"gringo" is not a derrogatory term in Guate like it is in Mexico. Karina calls me gringa, and I call her chapina which is the name for Guatemalan people.

Oh, a note to those who are taking seriously the posting challenge...I want you to post, but keep it clean. Lunch with me is worth it, but no fighting (ahem, Herm, Tasha, and a preemptive warning to Uncle Lenny). And Dad, if you win you'll probably have to pay anyway :)

A Challenge

2007-08-22T19:29:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about what my goals are for student teaching, and for life in general...and here's one I want to share. I'm re-reading Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz, and in the preface he writes the following:

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself.

It is as if they are showing you the way.

How can I live life and love Christ in such a way that my passion and love is contagious? Jesus came "that we may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10)--am I living life to the full, or am I just living life? What am I doing to show the way?

It's something to think about...

On the first day of school...and my new home

2007-08-20T21:48:00.000-05:00

On the first day of school a seventh grader gave to me...a tasty box of chocolates! We had a half day today--all classes for twenty minutes. It's amazing to see the differences between middle schoolers and seniors on day one of school.

I start teaching 7th grade English on Wednesday--I'm not too worried about it yet, but I am a little nervous about the government class I'll be teaching. We're starting with philosophy of government: think Montesque (I can't even spell his name...I have a lot of work to do!), Locke, etc. It'll be a great experience and I'll learn a lot in the process.

After a week with the my friend Ethan's family (they took me in like family and made me feel SO comfortable here, a HUGE blessing) I am not settled into my home with the Soderling's. I've enjoyed getting to know the family--they're involved in a lot of ministries down here. Mr. Soderling is a doctor and helps organize Christian physicians and health care. In addition they are starting a Christian school up in the mountains somewhere--hopefully I'll get to see it while I'm here!

I am making some good friends already, which is another blessing--most of you know how much I love to talk with people :) I've been running with another teacher, Karina, and am getting to know her outside of school too.

Basketball practice starts on Thursday! I'll be a coach for the first time...

That's all for now, and I PROMISE that pictures will come--I haven't taken that many yet, I'm a slacker.

On Rod, Mario, and a real update

2007-08-18T15:57:00.001-05:00

The Tigers/Yankees series has been playing here in Guatemala...watching Tigers' baseball with Spanish commentators makes me miss Mario and Rod! Too bad I didn't get to see any victories!

Okay, now for the real stuff. Over the past week I have been attending New Teacher Orientation and all the beginning of the year teachers' meetings. I have already learned a lot about the C.A.G. culture. C.A.G.'s mission is primarily for missionary kids. These kids are growing up in the overlay between multiple cultures: at this school it's primarily North American, Korean, and Guatemalan. They belong to all while not fully belonging to any. C.A.G. is a place where these students can find a home.

C.A.G. provides a solid, rigorous, academic setting for students so their parents can devote themselves to the mission field here in Guatemala without having to worry about their children's educations. The community here is more interdependent than that of a school in the states: the students need any and all adults in their lives and don't have the outside resources like students in the states.

I think the mission of C.A.G. is a beautiful mission. Every kid, whether a missionary kid or a kid growing up in the inner city, needs a place that he can call his own.

I start teaching tomorrow! Finally the students will fill the classrooms. Over the next few weeks I will be picking up 7th and 9th grade English, an English as a Second Language class, and 12th grade U.S. Government. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out as I will be reporting to four different cooperating teachers :)

Adventures in Guatemala Blogging

2007-08-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

Alright, the much anticipated and promised blog is now up and running! I finally sat down in an internet cafe tonight to put this together...apparently since I connected to a Guatemalan network Google is in Spanish. As you can imagine, it took me a while to figure out exactly what to do to change my language to English. I should have paid better attention back in High School Spanish!

A very brief initial update: I love it here, I love the people, I love the school (Christian Academy of Guatemala), I am grateful to be able to see the beginning of the school year, I am excited to meet the students, and finally be a real (student) teacher.

More details to come, but at least I started!