I'm here, safe, and loving it.

I suppose the title says it all. I just wanted to let you all know that I am in Kisumu now, staying with three friends from Lwanda: Fred, Mary, and Esther. Traveling here was a long journey, but last night I was finally able to sleep a full night in a bed. I can't write much now because I am in a cybercafe (where you pay to use internet), but I will definitely write more when I arrive at Daystar. Take care.

Leap And The Net Will Appear

A few weeks ago I was teaching English in Mexico, but now here I am preparing to spend one year studying at Daystar University in Kenya.  I can hardly believe that I am actually stepping on to a plane on Thursday evening without even having a scheduled return date.  (No worries though, I'm aiming for next July. haha)  Surprisingly, as I sit in my dining room at 2:00 am, I don't feel anxious or scared; rather quite relaxed and content.   I've really learned how to live in the present during the past few months and I try not to worry about the future because usually it doesn't work out as expected.  Yes, I am going to Kenya in a day and a half, but I'm still going about my daily life in Grand Rapids until BAM... I will soon realize I am an ocean away from home.  What a weird feeling.

Of course, I am very very very excited to have this opportunity to live and study in Kenya for an entire year.   I can't wait to be immersed in culture very different from my own and take away as much as I can from this experience.  I'll be able to study topics that I would have never been able to in the U.S., such as Swahili.  I hope to make good friends, play lots of guitar and soccer, and volunteer in the community.  I don't know what to expect, other than joys and challenges... and those are enough expectations for me.   

Thanks for following my blog as I embark on this journey.  I don't know when I will be able to blog next because I will be in the village of Lwanda for the next two weeks, where there is little internet access.  However, on August 10th I will arrive at Daystar in Nairobi.

Take care.  Blessings to you all.

Day 48!

I think today is day 48 of my journey here in Mexico... I can hardly believe it, and I am not wanting to leave Ocosingo in just a few days. As expected it is going to be really hard to say good bye to all my friends here. I hope that by the end of the week my trip will feel like it has come to a complete ending. Today, I got a chance to really sit down and talk with Jan. She and her husband, Pablo have been missionaries here for a long time, working with the Lowland Tzeltal Presbyterian church. It was really nice to be able to ask her about her story and what it has been like to be a missionary. She gave me some ideas and encouragement, and I am thankful for the opportunity to talk with her today. My calling is still blurry, and I have no idea what I will be doing in a year, but thats okay... Jan told me that God may speak through other people who will help guide me in the right direction.

As far as a general update goes... I had a great weekend relaxing in San Cristobal and I even got to hear a Marimba band. We've been digging and moving dirt on the worksite, and we had VBS yesterday, and today. It is so cool to see lots of the same kids come back the past few weeks. I think it is really cool when the kids who live next to the clinic come.

I praise God for this opportunity.

The roof is done!

I am so excited to be able to tell you all that the roof is done! We started working at 3 am last night (well really this morning) and finished about 10:30 am.

It was actually kind of fun, there is a regular group of Mexican guys that work on the clinic and they are really fun to work around. The entire we worked there would be lots of whistles and yelling, and it was a really cool way to keep the moral up and the pace going. I found myself shoveling buckets of cement almost the entire seven and a half hours. (except when I took a break ofcourse) Afterwards, we all had a meal together on the worksite. Almost everyone was just plastered in cement... and let me tell you that it burns when it sits on your skin.

Showering, napping, and washing my clothes were a great way to relax afterwards... and now email. It was a great way to end a week of hard work. But, tonight I am excited to go into town and get tacos... and they are not at all like the American version of tacos. Tomorrow I am headed to San Cristobal again for the weekend, for the group swapping of course. I can't wait for the 145 topes!

I can't believe I am on day 43 of my journey. I am going to be very sad when I leave... in just 11 days (i think?) I am trying not to count down... peace, and take care... by the way... check out John and Ginny's blog...

500 bags of cement!

(The Clinic, where the people are standing above, we poured concrete)

(A view of the mixing... see the sand pile?)

(The finished roof... at 4 am)

(A view from Agua Azul, where I went on Saturday)


Well, 500 bags of cement later and a bit of pain, the roof of the clinic is 70% of the way poured.

Friday was a crazy day. This is how my day went.
6:10 I woke up
6:30 Breakfast
7:00 until 12:00 noon Tied rebar on the roof at the worksite
12:00 Lunch
12:30 until 4:00 Nap and general rest
4:00 I tied more rebar on the worksite
6:30 Dinner
7:00 Start pouring concrete. I shoveled concrete into the buckets.
9:00 Short break for dinner, continue working
11:00 pm Almost all the Americans and some Mexicans left
1:00 am Break for meal, continue working. I shoveled sand and carried water.
4:00 am The mixers were turned off and the section of the roof we were pouring was finally done!
5:00 am I laid down in my bed... finally
6:30 am Woke up and got ready to leave for the day and night

So basically, I worked for maybe fifteen hours and slept for two. It was GREAT! I loved it. There were only four Americans that stayed the whole time, and it was a really cool experience. It was cool to be part of something so big and important for Ocosingo. And... after all the work I've done the past 5 or 6 weeks on the clinic, I could not pass up this big event.

We are planning to pour the rest of the roof this week, but I think we poured about 25 tons of concrete which is about 500 (100 lbs) bags of cement mix so far. There were probably about 80 people working on the clinic at the busiest point in the evening, but yet there always seemed to be work. I was amazed at the guys who carried buckets of concrete on their shoulders up and down the ramp to the roof.

Saturday, we headed to Agua Azul and Palenque on our way to Villahermosa, where the group flew out of today. The new group is here and tomorrow morning its back to working. Grace and Peace... and Praise God for the roof.

Pouring the roof of the clinic??

It has been quite a week so far and it is not over yet. The hardest day is yet to come... tomorrow. On Tuesday, we pored concrete all morning, it was cool to be able to pour concrete where I had helped tie rebar the week before. Then in the afternoon we had a VBS here at the school. I really enjoyed it. A lot. The majority of the kids knew very little about God or Jesus, and are not raised in Christian homes. So it was cool to teach them about the creator of the earth. On Wednesday, we worked again on the worksite, and had VBS again in the afternoon. There were even more kids that day than the previous. It was awesome... we had probably 60 kids, and again they got to learn about Jesus for the first time in their life, and play lots of games and do crafts, and sing. It was so much fun, and I really hope that they learned something that will stick with them for ever.

Today, working on the worksite was great. When I say worksite, I mean the health clinic that is being built, by the way. The rebar and wood floor supports for the roof is being prepared so that tomorrow we can pour the roof. There are SO many people here. They Mexican guys are out there working as I write thsi at 11 pm, trying to finish getting ready for the big pour tomorrow. They pour is going to probably start in the afternoon and most likely continue until midnight or later tomorrow. I am really excited, and it is cool to be a part of such an awesome project.

I will try to post pictures in my next post. Much love, always, and take care.

145 topes to San Cristobal! I counted...

Hello again everyone!

I am back from a few days of traveling. On Thursday, July 12th, we left in the morning for San Xavier. As expected there were lots of curvy roads. But, the one thing I noticed is that even though I have traveled around a lot... I am still amazed at the view of the green, lush mountains.

We arrived in San Xavier, which is a village of Lacandon people. They speak Maya, which is said to be the closest dialect to the original spoken Mayan language. They language sounds very angry all the time. If someone was speaking Maya, I had to look at his or her face to make sure they weren't scolding someone or something. Traditionally in their tribe, the men wear plain white dresses (more like cloaks). I also thought it was interesting that lots of men had long hair. This is because if a boy wants to be chief some day he can't cut his hair. I am not sure about the details on that though.

The church that we arrived at was quite small. It has about 7 families and individuals. In this village, Christians have only been aloud to come in and evangelize since the year 2000, when the chief converted. Interestingly, there is a Tzeltal family "running" the church that are missionaries to the Lacandon people of the area. I personally, really look up to and respect this family a lot, and it was a pleasure to be able to meet them. I got to see the families pet spider-monkeys, and I also got to see a really pretty bird that was similar to a parrot. At the church, we hosted a VBS for about 30 kids.

We left San Xavier and headed down the road to the village, Lacanja. When we first arrived, we were showed to our rooms where we'd spend the night. I laid down in my hammock and enjoyed listening to the rain hit the metal room. It was very relaxing, and hammocks are very comfortable to sleep in! We had a church service, and I had the job of translating the sermon. What a task that was. One of the group members, Jeff, preached, and beforehand I went through his sermon and basically wrote out the translation. So that was definitely a new experience, and it was very cool to be the most bilingual person available... although, sadly, I am not fluent.

We came back to Ocosingo on Friday, and had a birthday party for Maggie, and spent the night here. Saturday, we headed off the San Cristobal and Tenejapa. This time on the way to San Cristobal, I counted the topes, because I was told 120, but I am wanted to know how many for sure. So... the total came out to 145... give or take a few... 145 "speed bumps" with in a ride that take less than 2 hours! That is... more than one per minute on average? We went to Tenejapa, for a great big Presbytery meeting, with lots of people. The church was really nice. We basically sat around outside talking for three hours, waiting for the meeting in the church to end, and had a service and dinner. I guess it was important for us to go to represent the school and the health clinic being built... to show our dedication to the project, because elders from the Presbyterian church from around are asked to come help on the clinic. It was cool to see some men dressed in the traditional clothing from the area.

We spent the night in San Cristobal, which is probably one of my favorite places here in Chiapas, and today we dropped the group off at the Tuxtla airport and came home... back to Ocosingo. A group of 27 is coming in tomorrow, which is the biggest group ever, I think. And as far as the clinic, I think we are getting ready to pour to roof soon!

I apologize for the long blog, but its been a few days... much love, and peace from my heart.