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.

Mayan Ruins!!!!!!!

I was brought back to the eighth grade today, when I remembered learning about the Aztec's, Inca and Mayan's who once inhabited Central and South America. After helping in the kitchen this morning and then spending a few hours tying re-bar at the clinic I had the opportunity to go less than 20 minutes down the road (by car) to the ancient Mayan ruins of Tonina. It was incredible. The pictures don't even come close to showing the beauty... as always. My parents will appreciate all the panoramic pictures I took on film. There are 7 platforms, 13 temples and 4 palaces. I really enjoyed just being able to walk around... there was even a tunnel underground that I went down in, but it just got really, really narrow... not to mention dark. It was amazing... and sad to see all the parts that are yet to be excavated that maybe I'll be able to see 30 years from now. Enjoy the picture the ruins. I don't have one good picture of the whole thing... luckily I can go back next week! Peace

Up the mountains to Tzajala!

It has been such an amazing week... I praise God for that!

Tzajala sits somewhat in a valley way up in the mountains... the drive there was incredible. The road is gravel and bumpy. We would drive for a long time without seeing any people, or barely any. Then we'd come across a village, and it wasn't Tzajala... but we arrived at the 3000 person village on Tuesday the 3rd. The girls ended up not sleeping in hammocks, but the accomodations were nice... I had never used a toilet that you had to pour a bucket of water in it to flush. I also have never had such a beautiful view from the shower... which was a hose, by the way.

On July 4th, I thought about my American friends who were probably watching the fireworks from the bridge in downtown GR. But, I had an awesome day that day. We mixed cement and poured a walkway for the addition that the church is adding. I enjoyed talking to the kids from around the community too. It is really cool because their language is Tzeltal, and our language is English, but Spanish is the gap between the two. Once students enter middle school they learn spanish. So a lot of the kids and the adult males knew spanish. I also especially enjoyed making tortillas with the women in the kitchen. Rebecca, one of my friends from the group that was here, and I had such a great time, learning to roll the "dough" and flatten it in the press and put it on the fire. It's harder than it seems cause you have to do it right, or the tortillas don't puff up... the ladies in the kitchen enjoyed laughing at us as we tried to make tortillas... they didn't speak spanish, so they just had to show us. We ended the day with a church service, which I really enjoyed. The Tzeltal language is beautiful... full of tic's and ch's.

On the 5th, we worked again in the morning and at 3 pm we headed down the road to host a Vacation Bible School for about 150 kids. After VBS, six teenage girls asked me if some of the Americans wanted to go play soccer. I would like to add that it was so cool to be able to communicate with them in spanish... so anyways me and five other girls from the US loaded up into a cattle truck and headed down into a valley to a soccer feild. Playing soccer was so much fun. I got to know a girl named Zorayda, and enjoyed talking with here. It was such a great coss-cultural experience. It showed that the American foreigners had something in common with the Tzeltal teens... a great lesson for both sides.

I have been thinking a lot about different things about mission trips, and about the American interaction here... and have been struggling with a lot of issues... but forming my own opinion about them. I have enjoyed talking to Ginny, Andrea, and others about different cross-cultural issues, and I am really enjoying learning about missions.

Friday, we worked and had VBS, followed by a service. It was cool to be able to see the floor of the kitchen with concrete at the end of the day. Saturday morning we departed the group, and headed home.

So last night, Andrea (who is here for just one more week), Maggie, and I treated five of our guy friends from around the school to a night in Ocosingo. We went to a taqueria and then to the circus... YES... a Mexican circus... quite the experience. We couldn't pass it up. It was pretty good actually... We saw the most amazing juggler I have ever seen... there weren't any animals though, just an anaconda that they brought out at the end.

We have another group coming in tonight... and a full week ahead! Peace

The first picture is a view near Tzajala and the second is off two of friends in the village named Margarita and Griselda... who laughed the entire time they braided my hair... which they are doing in that picture

Canyon de Sumidera!

Greetings from Ocosingo! I am relaxing before another physically, spiritually, and mentally demanding week. Last night we spent the night in San Cristobal, and yesterday we went to the Canyon de Sumidera near Tuxtla Gutierrez. It was so beautiful, and cannot be fully described in any number of words, as most experiences. We spent maybe two hours cruising down the canyon enjoying the scenery. We even saw a few crocodiles and a spider monkey. The group left this morning, and it was hard to especially say good bye to a few people that I became close to. Next week, the new group and I are headed to a village for the week called Tzajalha. I think we will be helping pour concrete for a church. I am really excited and I look forward to updating you all in a week. Much love!

Shoveling all week long!

Hi everyone!!
I have really been wanting to blog all week long. We have a REALLY cool group here right now, but we are leaving tomorrow for San Cristobal and then on Sunday they are headed to the airport. All week we have been working on the health clinic. We have been moving sand/dirt down around the base of the walls and compacting it. It took all week to get close to the top of the wall. Filling wheel barrow after wheel barrow has been long and tedious, but the difference can clearly be seen. Today we even poured thirty or forty bags of cement for a different part of the foundation. It has been quite physically demanding. The mornings start cold and foggy, but soon the sun comes out... I am enjoying my terrible farmers tan.

Monday was my birthday. I was sort of waiting for the day to be over at first, but then it was really fun. It was the groups first day here, and I got to experience getting my face smashed into a piece of cake that had tons of frosting... blue frosting. It was really good cake though. I even got to talk to my mom and brother on the phone that day!

Yesterday and today after working until 1 pm, we had an "escuelita biblia" (VBS) for about 50 kids. It was really fun. I lead the music section with a really cool guy named Will, who plays guitar, and a very nice lady, Sue. I had to do all the explaining and everything... so lots of practice with spanish. I even learned songs in spanish and translated a couple. It was a really good time.

Tomorrow when I am in San Cristobal we are going through a canyon on a boat. I am really excited. I am told that there are crocodiles and spider monkeys... we'll see...

much love...

oh and the first picture is of some kids in the village Matzlan (from previous blog). The second is of three boys from VBS with our puppy. The third is the group that is here right now.

120 Topes to San Cristobal

Hi everyone!
I am back from the village of Matzlan. I had a great time. The drive there was ofcourse... beautiful. Although... it was one 90 degree turn after another... and between Ocosingo and San Cristobal (which is less than an hour from Matzlan) I am told there are 120 topes. Topes are basically speed bumps... but a car goes from driving 90 kph to 1 kph because they are higher than speed bumps in the U.S. They are very annoying, and painful to say the least... but the scenery makes up for them. We arrived at a Presbyterian school and church way up in the highlands where the road is gravel. We accepted their meal of chicken and potatoes in a sort of broth. We had just eaten a big lunch in San Cristobal... I we were not hungry. Coke was also served... and I took that "to go" meaning handed it to someone else. I tried to eat everything on the plate, as it is polite... but the chicken was about 200 chews per piece. Then we had a little service with the youth at the church, and headed off to another church not too far. We had to eat there again. I say "had" to because trust me it was not voluntary. This time it was beef... and other stuff... including Pepsi... which I handed off when they weren't looking. We had a really long service at that church.

The women were in traditional dress... which are similar to eachother because of their specific village. The women and children were on one side of the church and the men on the other. We introduced ourselves and sang a song... which went horribly. Most people there didn't speak spanish... only Tzetzal, so communicating was hard. Although, I learned that smiles are universal.

Afterwords, we went back to the first church and stayed the night there... but not with out eating MORE! I was about ready to die. This morning we had another service, and came back here to Ocosingo. Another group is about to arrive in a few hours, and tomorrow is my birthday... which means cake in the face.

I will post pictures from the village soon. Peace

Cleaning the paint out of my hair!

Hi everyone!!!

I am so happy to finally be able to blog... so much has happened in the past few days and the internet has been down or really slow. Today I had to say goodbye to my dear friend, Ana. We became really close over the past few days, and stayed up until usually one or two in the morning talking outside... while enjoying the stars... the same stars all of you are looking at. Ana was a student here, but is now graduating... so today she packed and left.

We have been working on the shower and bathroom stalls. Today I painted more than one shower stall by myself. It took a lot of time, and I had paint splattered all over my arms, and you don't even want to know what my shirt looked like. My favorite is the drop of white paint on my eyelash... which I can't get out. The bathrooms are coming along well though.

I have been using lots of spanish, and playing soccer. There are three particular little boys that come everyday to play soccer with me. They make me laugh a lot... and they are really good.

Yesterday I went to a nearby river to swim. It was amazing. It sort of reminded me of Michigan. Except for the crocodiles swimming nearby... just kidding of course. Tomorrow I am going to a village for the night. I'm sure what we are doing there... just visiting maybe. It is really traditional and men and women don't associate much with eachother... which should be a new experience. For now, enjoy the pictures... much love from Chiapas.

Sorry no pictures!

I tried to upload pictures... but the internet is too slow and it won't work. Today my job was to carry buckets ofwater over to the cement mixer. We were doing the foundation for a bathroom here at the school. I also moved rocks for the foundation.

The mountains stay the same... beautiful, but the sky is ever-changing.

I'll write soon... peace

I made it!

I am in Ocosingo at the Bible Institute now... I had an awesome day. I woke up in Villahermosa, and boy was it hermosa (beautiful). John and Ginny had to go to a few stores in town and get books, so first we did that after breakfast. Then we set off for Ocosingo. The ride was absolutely beautiful. If there were more words to describe it's beauty, I would use a whole page. We were basically driving in the mountains, and it was green, and lush, and the clouds were amazing. I am going to try to upload some pictures later when I have more time, but wow... The little cities are so cute, with narrow streets, bright colored cement buildings, and people. I even bought a traditionally embroidered skirt for $10. John and Ginny, and the daughters, Maggie and Holly are really nice. Their friend, David, also cracks me up. He called Pocahontas today... because of the picture I took in the mountains. I met a lot of really cool people. We actually went to the movies tonight. We saw "The Haunting." It is a one theatre cinema in the village... crazy... more to come later... I am loving it here... and excited for tomorrow. Oh and the flight, was okay until I had to sit in the plane on the runway for two hours before taking off... much love

Here I go!!! There's no turning back now!

Well... what can I saw other than that it is 2 am... and I am flying out in just 7 1/2 hours!! I must say I am very excited, but I never knew this day would come this fast. I am going to miss everyone, especially my mom... please pray for her comfort. I will probably not be able to get online until next friday... so I will update then! Much Love to everyone...

Thanks to everyone!

I am finding out more and more what a blessing this trip is... (although it is not about blessing me.)

I just want to thank everyone... First and Foremost... God. Second, the Mills family. They are so generous, caring, and brave to accept guardianship of me for this summer. They could have easily skipped over the email, but they cared, and that to me is amazing. Go Mills family! I can not express my gratitude... this would not be possible with out them. Third, all my family and friends. The trip hasn't even began, but already people are saying that they are praying for me, and many of my friends are giving me lots of support and ancouragement.

SO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! this would not be possible with out YOU!

What in the world am I doing?

So... here I am preparing to spend 53 days in Mexico for the summer. Or as my mom might prefer to think of it... 7 and a half weeks. The whole idea to take on a summer-long adventure started when I got back from a month-long mission trip to Kenya last July. Later in the year I started looking online for long-term missionaries in spanish speaking countries. It was a long process... very long. I spent hours searching for missionary families and emailing them. Basically, I asked then if they would be interested in having me as a intern for the summer. I explained that I felt a calling to spent the rest of my life as a long term missionary, and wanted to learn more about life as a missionary, rather than participating in a short-term mission trip. I also was trying to cut down on the cost, and more importantly hoping to become fluent by being immersed in a spanish-speaking country.

After months of emailing, probably over 100 families, I only had two families that were interested. I then found the Mills family from North Carolina, who is serving in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco in Southern Mexico. We got to emailing and things began to fall in place. I knew that this was the family. They have two teenage daughters and they have week-long mission groups from their hometown come down through out the summer.

Finally, in March, I knew where I was headed to, and in May I bought my plane ticket. I learned that everything is on God's time. I mean, I thought back in December that I would find a family, or couple, and my plane ticket would be purchased by maybe January. That's okay though... it all worked out... I just had to trust God.

Through out the months my mom has been SO supportive of me doing this. She has given me encouragement, prayers and ideas. I am so grateful for her, and she is SO brave to let me travel so far away, not only last summer, but this summer as well. I know she will miss me... so please take care of her for me while I am gone.

I am really excited for this opportunity. As far as I know I will be doing what the different mission groups that come down do. This could include construction, village ministries, or translating for the different medical teams. I can't describe my excitement, and I am ready to challenge myself.

I just want to learn, and serve and love.

11 days until I leave.

P.S. check out the Mills family blog... http://millsfamilymission.blogspot.com
or their website, which has a map of where I am headed, which is
http://millsfamilymission.org

Grace and Peace!