T minus 5

5 days.
Five days to sort thru our things, deciding what stays and what goes with us. 
Five days to pack up my things and move them to the apartment that will be waiting for me when I come back.
Five days to squeeze in several more memory-making moments.
Five days to wrap up 4 months of traveling. 
Five days to say good bye - again. 
Five days until we leave for home!

It's been over 4 months since we left Michigan. We've logged close to 5,000 miles, traveled thru 9 different states, and visited 4 countries. We've seen many new places; met many, many new friends; and said, oh, so many good-byes! Wonderful, faith-building, memory-filled - just a few words to describe this trip. We're sad to have to say more good-byes to the amazing people we've had the priviledge to work and pray alongside of during these last two month, yet we're happy to be going home to the our wonderful friends and support group that has never abandoned us during all our 'world traipsing' (at least not yet!) :)

When we were praying about and planning for this trip, one of the hoped for answers was further direction in our family's missions' ministry. God has opened doors for me personally, but my parents still don't have much direction or leading for next year, or beyond. They're not sure what it is that God wants them, and the rest of our family, to be doing - where He wants them to be going/working. Yesterday, a passage in Psalms spoke to me like never before: "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (27:13-14). To wait takes strength. Waiting on the Lord breeds strength; this strength breeds confidence. 
Even tho we go back without much further specific direction than before, we go back in confidence. Confidence that we will yet see the goodness of the Lord. 
When God is the focus, nothing is ever in vain!

You'll, very likely, be hearing from me again before we leave (or at least right after we leave!), but I leave you with this request:
Keep praying! 
But not just for us. 
Take notice of the needs around you and pray for those. Look for ways to listen to the needs of the people you come into contact with every day and pray for them. Search out God's Word, find His will, and pray for it to be done.
Keep praying. Be strong. Wait. Gain confidence that you, also, will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

We don't know what the future holds but getting there is half the joy! 

Reality of Love

The other day, I heard love explained as "a fragile thing that we struggle through, hoping that it survives."

My immediate reaction was to wonder where they got an explanation like that! Whatever happened to "love never fails"? What about "if you don't have love you're nothing"? And "love has no end"?Growing up in a Chrisitan home gave me the privilege of defining love the way the Bible defines it. In 1 Corinthinas 13 love is defined like this:

"If I speak in the languages of men and angels but don't have love, I'm only a clanging cymbal...If I give all I have to the poor and even allow my body to be burned, but don't have love, I'm nothing...Love is-patient, kind, doesn't envy or boast, isn't proud, rude, self-seeking, or easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs - always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres - never fails."(It also goes on to say a lot more and give more details of love.)

If the above list is true then love is pretty strong! 'Always perseveres'? That is major strength - whithout even touching all the other things love is. So, which is true? The first statement or the second one? Is it fragile or strong?   

Then...I remembered 1 John 4:8, "God is love" and realized...in a society that is trying to forget God, to lose God, is it any wonder that they forget love, lose sight of or can't grasp the reality of love? In modern day America, with all the gadgets and buttons that give us e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g., something is very obviously missing! We are taught to be self-seeking, self-serving, self-focused beings. That second list on love sounds so different from everything else we hear that it often gets pushed aside in the search for fulfillment.   

We've been created for love because we've been created for God! I've found that it's impossible to have one without the other. He created us because of His desire for relationship and placed in us that same innate desire. When we turn to Him we find complete, unedited love. But...true love is so utterly fulfilling that it, He, doesn't let us stay there. Remember? Love 'sounds so different from everything else we hear.'     

It's patient. 

It's kind.

It doesn't envy.

It doesn't boast.

It's not proud.

It keeps no record of wrongs.

Always protects.

Always trusts.

Always hopes. 

Always perseveres. 

Love never fails. 

It goes beyond ourselves! When we were given the charge to be the hands and feet of Jesus (Matt. 28) we were given the charge to be the hands and feet of love. Am I always patient? No. Or kind? um..not really. Going on down the list and asking more of these questions makes me cringe because I so often am NOT very loving or lovable, according to those high standards. But, is God? Oh, yes! He's all these things - He's the definition of it. John 15:13 says, "No greater love has anyone than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Jesus did that. And the cool, the very spectacular cool part? He. is. in. us! (John 14:20) Which means, love is in us! Tho we mess up, "love NEVER fails"! No, it's not an excuse, it's HOPE :D 

And that, my friends, is the bare reality of love.  

Overview of Randomness

The first month of 2014 has come and gone...which means we only have one more month in Guatemala. I know, I know, it's very 'cliche' BUT it is true - time flies when you're having fun! 

For this post, I've uploaded a bunch of pictures (I love having internet access!) that will fill you in on some of the random stuff that has filled our days here in Chichi. The ceiling in the house that Dad and Lewis were working on is finished and I've finally finished sewing all the curtains in our house, plus several other 'orders' that came in (my sewing machine has been kept busy!).

So, wihout further ado, I will release you to look at the pics to your hearts' content :D  

~a shot of Monte Flor taken from the road on the 'opposite mountain'~ The 'hill' behind the red, orange, and yellow buildings is the mountain I climb almost every day (it really is steeper than it looks!). The little white house next to the bright blue one on the far right is ours for the two months we're here.

~the rocks you see piled up mark the place where our bus used to be parked~ Down by the red-roofed building you can see our bus pulling out of the Monte Flor drive-way on it's way back to Canilla', where the Ficker family will be using it from now on. 

~Billy and Lewis rode along with Dad to drop off the bus~ 

~Duane Ficker gave them a ride back to Chichi in this cool-looking plane~ 

~they brought Eladia and her two boys, Larry and Andy, with them for a few days' visit~ She used to work at the compound in Chjoj years ago and also stayed with us in the states for several months in 2004. 

~around the middle of Jan. the first group of the year came down bringing with them Dr. Fred H. (his last name is too long to remember!), who ran a dental clinic for 4 days~

~Armando, Manuela, and Eddy, three of the Manos de Jesus workers~ Trish couldn't resist getting these goof-balls to pose for a picture and I couldn't resist stealing it to put on here :P 

~Trish Bindus, one of the Manos de Jesus ministry coordinators, is also a nurse~ Somehow, she knew what all those little poky things were for!  

~a shot of the crew at the clinic~ Armando - dental assistant and machine-fixer when there were problems, Me - language translator (mostly writing down patient info), Josefa - language translator (from Qiche to Spanish or English and vice-versa), Trish - dental assistant and pro-nurse, Dr. H. - the awesome dentist. 

~Linda Hime and Mom packaged a bunch of peanuts to give out to the kids who came to the shoe factory for school shoes one Tue.~ 

~during the school year, kids from different villages come on Tuesdays to get free shoes from the shoe factory at Monte Flor~ This is just one of the many different aspects of the Manos de Jesus ministry.  

~a classroom at one of the feeding programs~ 

~the Manos de Jesus ministry runs 3 feeding programs in 3 different villages~ The kids who come to these programs get a Bible lesson before eating the meal provided for them twice a week. 

~hanging out with the Bindus and Patterson kids~ Maddie and Abbey are 15 and 12 and Ella and Trey are 7 and 4. Since they've gotten over their shyness, my siblings and they have all been having a blast playing games together (especially when it's dark outside) and hanging out in each other's living rooms! 

~Ella and Trey - Lance and Lauren Patterson's two lil' cutie pies full of energy~ 

~Billy got all his curls cut off~ It's kinda hard to see the resemblance now, right??

~Julie and Linda picking berries at the top of the mountain~ 

~a hike and a picnic...

...friends and food~ How much better can it get? :D 

~sewing lessons~ I've had the opportunity to do a short devotional and give hand-sewing lessons every Mon. to three girls from Casa de Sarita - one of the homes on Monte Flor and another aspect of the Manos de Jesus ministry. (check out the ministry website for more info)   

~making cinnamon-sugar pretzels with Maddie and Abbey~ 

~my flowers from Trish and Lauren~ I had to go in for surgery yesterday to get a cyst removed. It was market day and Jeff and Linda Hime and Trish and Lauren were in town, so they stopped in at the hospital to visit while I was waiting for the anesthesia to wear off before I could walk again. They're so sweet and I'm so excited to be working with such wonderful ppl! 

View from the Mountaintop

Close to the top of the mountain sitting under a tree, I look out over the valley below in which nestles the city of Chichicastenango, Guatemala. From this viewpoint, I watch a woman and her two children use a long bamboo stick to knock down coconuts from a tree in their dirt yard close to their house. The house is made of cement blocks and has a tin roof - an upgrade from the adobe houses with tile roofs that their neighbors have higher up on the opposite side of the mountain. The sounds of dogs barking, children laughing, and people shouting to eachother take a few seconds to travel all the way to where I'm sitting, observing. From my perch I can see the winding dirt road cut into the side of the mountain in front of me and hear the slow moan of trucks' engines as they crawl up the steep ingrade. In the valley between these two mountains, on a twisting 'cobblestone' road that runs out of the crowded city, then past the gate of Monte Flor, people walk to the market in town or flag down a 'tuk-tuk' for transportation. This whole valley is filled with houses, people, families...hardly offering any place to go that blocks out the sight and sound of humanity below. As the realization that this will be my home for the next year sinks in, I wonder how many of these people I will come into contact with. Each one has a need - spiritually even more than physically. Each one has a heart that needs love and hope - two things nobody can get too much of. From my mountaintop view, it's easy to see the bigger picture - to mentally travel to houses and homes to connect with people. But it's not always that easy.
A year ago, I was in my room begging God to show me what my next step in life was. He'd placed a burden in my heart for people in need (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) from a very young age. I knew that soon I'd be stepping out to pursue the calling He'd been equipping me for. But where did He want me to go? For a long time, I've seen the needs in my own country, how family and faith are being attacked and destroyed, and I wondered if God was calling me to my own people. Yet, I love travelling and would love to visit the other continents one day. Was He calling me oversees? On a similar note, I've been coming to Guatemala with my family since I was 9 years old and this has become like a second home to me; the culture is easier for me to understand and connect with than many Americans who come down. Was it possible that He'd want me to return for longer than several months at a time? As I cried out, "God, where, when?", He reminded me of "that one time" in Mexico when I was 14 years old.
Our family had stayed in MX that winter instead of coming on down to Guate. and I was having a tough time with it emotionally, cuz it was like starting over again. I didn't know anyone and didn't have the opportunity to make very many friends my age and was wishing that we'd be in Guate. instead. At the end of my pity party - after asking for help with an attitude change - I told God that He could send me wherever He wanted me to go, even if it meant starting over a hundred times.
Last January, He reminded me of that promise. "Did you mean it?"
"God, You know I did."
 "Do you trust me?"
(hesitation) "You've proved Yourself faithful too many times to not trust You."
"So, trust me to take you where I want you to go, but until then remember..."
"Remember what, God?"
"Remember this: I've already put you where I want you. Take the time you have been given, no matter where you're at, to be my hands and feet."
Several months later, after more conversations kinda like that one, I started seriously praying about returning to Guate. for a longer period of time. It was always hard to see the big picture, but little by little over the next year, doors opened in ways that were 'so God!', directing my path down here. Plans are to go home with my family on the first Wed. of March for Joe and Bethany's wedding then come back down by myself on the last Wed. of March, Lord willing.
From my 'mountaintop' viewpoint right now, looking back over the past year, it's easy to see the hand of God, how He orchestrated all the little details. But it's only rarely that we have that kind of view ahead of us. Many times - most times - this journey of life is one step at a time, resting in the knowledge that 'He's got this'. When the questions are there, the tough spots have to be dealt with, it's hard to see what will ever come out of all of it, and when the things we're doing right now don't even make sense or fit into 'the plan' - then is when we take God at His word as "a lamp to our feet and light to our path" (Psalms 119:105). At those times we see His promises revealed in our lives; we see Him as our Shepard (Psalms 23) guiding us where He wants us to walk - each little step and around every turn. Those are the times we grow.                   

We Have Arrived (At Our Final Destination)

Fire crackling in the fireplace. A bowl of fresh fruit on the table. New curtains in the windows. Bedrooms. A house! We are in Chichi. 

And, we've been here for a whole week! I would have updated before now, but very unfortunately, our computer harddrive gave out on us and we've had to get it replaced. Thankfully, it's up and running again, but we've lost all the pictures from this trip that didn't make it online (which means we lost a LOT!), as well as a bunch of music, documents, etc. Such is life! Speaking of life: We said good-bye to the rest of the Tzul family (the name we came up with for the Noriega and Bontrager clan) last Wednesday morning, Jan. 8th.

(Julie had left, the previous day, with Joe and Bethany to do some touristing in other parts of Guate). As we pulled away from Chijoj, then Canilla', one of the boys made a comment that seemed to sum up how most of us felt: "I'm not ready to leave." Nevertheless, we had our last destination to get to and we had to move on. Three hours later found us in Quiche (kee-chay) where we stopped to visit a mechanic with whom we've become good friends over the years. Martin and his wife were as happy to see us as we were to see them; before we left they told us that we always have a place to stop in at their house. 

When we drove into the driveway at Monte Flor, the compound in Chichi, we had to remind ourselves that this beautiful place would be our home for the next two whole months. Up and to the right of the hill, Ron Morin, the founder and director of Manos de Jesus, was waiting for us outside of one of the houses. When Ron had talked with Dad about us being here for two months, he said he'd have a room or two available for us but we might still need to use the bus, as well.

Imagine our surprise when he took us on a tour of the three bedroom house (complete with living room, kitchen, and laundry room) and told us that it was ours for as long as we're here. A real kitchen! And separate bedrooms! After two months of living mostly in the bus, we were overjoyed at this surprise! 

Since then we've taken our time getting settled in (tonight is the first night that all of us can sleep in the house due to the freshly varnished floors that took longer to dry than expected) and have started on several small projects.

Dad and Lewis have been working with several of the guys, putting in the ceiling of Ron's son's house right next door to ours.

I've sewn some curtains for our living room and have started on a big drape for one of the rooms in the dental clinic (located on the premises). 

Joe, Bethany, and Julie got back from their traipsing on Fri., then spent the weekend here; Joe and Bethany flew home on Monday. It was so much fun having them around! The next time we see them will be only a week and a half before their wedding. Wow!

And...I can not conclude this post without showing you a picture of the pizza party we had on Sunday with the other families who work and live here. Pizza...how good can life get?! :)

There's so much more, so many little things, that I wish I could add without having it sound like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, but, not surprisingly, words just aren't adequate. Maybe, somehow, they'll find their way into some of the other stories that will unfold while we're here. Stay tuned!