Sorry it has been a couple of weeks. I promise you we have been very busy. Since I last posted, Jill and I have had many adventures with lots of language learning thrown into the mix. Our first trip that we went on was to Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango (or Chichi for short). We really enjoyed this trip because most of it allowed us to experience their culture in a very unique way. We were able to ride in a lancha (or speed boat) across the lake which took a good 40 minutes. It was neat to be completely surrounded by volcanoes in a little dinky boat. As sketchy as the boat was, it definitely added to the excitement. Then once we arrived in the new little pueblo, or town, we went to visit one of their Mayan gods. Honestly, it was pretty creepy. Basically they took us back down this alleyway into this dumpy room with a very loud band playing instruments above us. This god was basically a wooden carving about 3 feet tall, wearing about 50 different ties, with a cigar stuck in its mouth. And we had to pay 5 Quetzales just to see it. You won’t find any pictures of the god because that cost more money. So we walk in and all these men are sitting in the smoky room surrounding the god and a lady gets on the floor and starts praying for him. I did an ‘in and out’ kind of viewing because it was pretty odd. But nonetheless, I was able to see one of the Mayan gods. Then, I think my favorite part of the trip was dinner on Saturday night. We went to this family owned restaurant where the 3 daughters played the marimba. The marimba is basically a huge wooden xylophone, and very popular here in Guatemala. It was so fun watching them play because we could tell the girls really enjoyed it! The rest of the weekend was pretty enjoyable. We went to a market and bought some different things, nothing too incredibly riveting. Then this weekend we went to the beautiful Semuc Champey. The car ride was a little too much being 10 hours each way, but I’d say the experience was quite worth it.
Here is a list of the crazy fun things from our adventurous weekend (most all of these pictures can be found via Facebook):
1. We slept in a tiki hut!
2. We hiked up to a view point to see the beautiful turquoise pools.
3. We swam in the pools and slid down from one to another on little slippery mud-like slides.
4. We tubed down the river.
5. We swam through a dark cave while holding candles, our only light! There are no pictures of this because I was afraid my camera wouldn’t make it, but it was incredible! The cave was pitch dark and some parts we couldn’t even touch the bottom, we were just treading water and trying to hold the candle up. We were in that thing about 2 hours. How nice it was to see daylight after the fact.
6. We met a very eclectic group of people who kept us constantly entertained.
It was a great weekend.
Then two weekends ago, Jill and I decided to stay here in Antigua. It was very relaxing and we found a really neat church to go to. It was most definitely planted here by people in the states, but it is called Iglesia del Camino, or Church of the Way (or path). Really, finding this church was an answered prayer. Since I have been in Guatemala, I have found it very difficult for some reason to sustain a healthy relationship with God. It is almost as though I had not been acknowledging him in my day to day. Before we visited this church, I did not even realize the distance I had created between me and Christ. When we arrived at the church and began singing, the words hit me like a ton of bricks. It was so refreshing to feel His presence again and rightfully acknowledge him. It completely caught me off guard how disconnected I had been when we started singing. I am so grateful for that day and have been trying so hard to sustain us since. I have realized very quickly that on days where I feel down or discouraged no one can revitalize me like Christ can. I’m not sure why I continually turn to other people or other things besides my relationship with Him, but I’m so thankful that He never gives up on me.
Well that is what has been going on so far. We have about a week and a half left and I am desperately trying to retain and take in as much Spanish as possible. Please be praying that I can absorb all that I’m being taught. Please also be praying that the Lord will rightfully prepare me to arrive in the Dominican. I have really high expectations for my time out there and truly want to be the very best I can be for those people and children. I also want to know how I can pray for you. Leave a comment with a pray request if you wish. If you have read all of this you must love me very much! I promise to continue keeping you updated and know that I miss you all.
Hasta pronto,
Audge
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Nestled in volcano valley
Antigua, Guatemala!
Well I couldn’t have imagined I’d be living in a valley surrounded by 3 volcanoes, where the sun rises at 5:30, and the streets are made of hundreds of little stones. The city is like nothing I have ever seen before. Granted, I have not done much world traveling outside of the States and the Dominican, but it is really neat to be living in a place that continually keeps me in awe. The people here are so incredibly nice. I think everyone that I’ve met has had the biggest smile on their face and would have sat down to talk to me for hours if I would let them! Jill and I have been staying very busy since arriving here. Of course we take classes for 5 hours each day (8 am-1 pm), so we spend much of our time at the school. I have been learning so much! It is incredible to me how much I THOUGHT I knew. Really, I’ve been saying worlds of things wrong and mispronouncing a plethora of words. It’s been really exciting to work with Willy, my teacher though. He always has so much energy and starts everyday by saying “Hello! It is a beautiful, wonderful day! How is my favorite student?” (But of course all in Spanish) He is very patient with me as well. Also, he loves to sing! He has been teaching me all these different songs in Spanish to sing with my kids in the DR and to help my pronunciation. I think we have sung a song together everyday thus far.
After school, Jill and I have enjoyed touring and exploring this grand city of Antigua. The first day we were here we took a tour around the city and learned about the different banks, the market, found the McDonalds, and learned plenty other useful tidbits of information. Yesterday we went to the market which was amazing! It’s literally rows and rows of shops with all kinds of colorful handmade bags, purses, wallets, shirts, headbands, you name it, and they have made it! It was quite overwhelming considering how much I took a liking to all the colors and Guatemalan ethnicity of the handmade items! Thankfully I have Jill here to keep me grounded and steer me away from buying to my heart’s content! Then we went to the gym and got a membership for the month and worked out for an hour. We met a very sweet lady who worked there named, Veronica. We instantly connected :)
Today we went to a Jade factory with the school! It was so neat! This boy named Edwardo works there and his family owns the little ‘factory’. He was so passionate and expressive as he was describing how the Jade was made. Jill and I got the biggest kick out of him. Basically his family looks for special kinds of rocks in mines and then makes them into jewelry. Some can take up to several months to handcraft. It was so neat to hear them talk about and show us what they were so passionate about and LOVED to do. Jill and I were also able to make some new friends from the school who went with us. We really enjoyed it.
This weekend we are going to a neat lake that is surrounded by volcanoes. I forget the name, but will update you with pictures very soon. I have lots of pictures posted on Facebook, so you should go check them out.
Keep us in your prayers as we are trying to ingest AS MUCH of this language as possible. It is exciting to think about where we could be in a couple of weeks, as fast as we are learning. God has been so good to me and really, everyday is better than the last.
I love you all and will be back soon.
Love,
Audge
Well I couldn’t have imagined I’d be living in a valley surrounded by 3 volcanoes, where the sun rises at 5:30, and the streets are made of hundreds of little stones. The city is like nothing I have ever seen before. Granted, I have not done much world traveling outside of the States and the Dominican, but it is really neat to be living in a place that continually keeps me in awe. The people here are so incredibly nice. I think everyone that I’ve met has had the biggest smile on their face and would have sat down to talk to me for hours if I would let them! Jill and I have been staying very busy since arriving here. Of course we take classes for 5 hours each day (8 am-1 pm), so we spend much of our time at the school. I have been learning so much! It is incredible to me how much I THOUGHT I knew. Really, I’ve been saying worlds of things wrong and mispronouncing a plethora of words. It’s been really exciting to work with Willy, my teacher though. He always has so much energy and starts everyday by saying “Hello! It is a beautiful, wonderful day! How is my favorite student?” (But of course all in Spanish) He is very patient with me as well. Also, he loves to sing! He has been teaching me all these different songs in Spanish to sing with my kids in the DR and to help my pronunciation. I think we have sung a song together everyday thus far.
After school, Jill and I have enjoyed touring and exploring this grand city of Antigua. The first day we were here we took a tour around the city and learned about the different banks, the market, found the McDonalds, and learned plenty other useful tidbits of information. Yesterday we went to the market which was amazing! It’s literally rows and rows of shops with all kinds of colorful handmade bags, purses, wallets, shirts, headbands, you name it, and they have made it! It was quite overwhelming considering how much I took a liking to all the colors and Guatemalan ethnicity of the handmade items! Thankfully I have Jill here to keep me grounded and steer me away from buying to my heart’s content! Then we went to the gym and got a membership for the month and worked out for an hour. We met a very sweet lady who worked there named, Veronica. We instantly connected :)
Today we went to a Jade factory with the school! It was so neat! This boy named Edwardo works there and his family owns the little ‘factory’. He was so passionate and expressive as he was describing how the Jade was made. Jill and I got the biggest kick out of him. Basically his family looks for special kinds of rocks in mines and then makes them into jewelry. Some can take up to several months to handcraft. It was so neat to hear them talk about and show us what they were so passionate about and LOVED to do. Jill and I were also able to make some new friends from the school who went with us. We really enjoyed it.
This weekend we are going to a neat lake that is surrounded by volcanoes. I forget the name, but will update you with pictures very soon. I have lots of pictures posted on Facebook, so you should go check them out.
Keep us in your prayers as we are trying to ingest AS MUCH of this language as possible. It is exciting to think about where we could be in a couple of weeks, as fast as we are learning. God has been so good to me and really, everyday is better than the last.
I love you all and will be back soon.
Love,
Audge
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Vamos a Guatemala!
Well I'm here in Miami on my layover before Guatemala! It's amazing to me that this day is already here. I already hear all of these people around me speaking Spanish and it's getting me even more excited to be there. Jill should get here in the next couple of hours then we will land in Guatemala around 8:20. Oh, and I was able to get an upgrade to 1st class! Soon I will be bathing myself in warm towelettes and eating toasted nuts. This rough life I lead.
Looking back on the last couple of months, I am so grateful that I was able to spend some time at home before transitioning into this next phase of my life. It was so important for me to substitute teach and pay off this small school loan and get to spend all the time I did with my family. I am going to miss them terribly. Please keep my Pappaw in your prayers right now. This is my mom's father. He is having some health problems with his back and has an MRI tomorrow to see if it is fractured.
I also have some really great news to share! Sunday my incredible church family at Lake Cities contributed over $6,200 to my mission! This was near the EXACT amount I needed to reach my goal of funding. I was $6,000 short for my first year, and God faithfully provided $200 more than that! I spoke in the adult class and the teen class, then they played a video in front of the church. It was a big day for me and I cannot be more grateful for the family of believers I come from at Lake Cities. If any of you are reading this right now, I hope you know how blessed I am by your generosity. The Lord is using you to answer a prayer I've been praying for years.
It was also a huge encouragement to have my Mammaw, Pappaw, Aunt Net, Jordan, Mom, Dad, and Caullen there with me Sunday. These are some of my very favorite people and I felt so blessed to be surrounded by them on this day.
So this great adventure of mine begins. Keep me in your prayers as I am striving daily to walk hand in hand with what the Lord wills for me. Please do not hesitate to email me (audreymichellep@gmail.com) anytime. I would love to keep in touch with all of you and hear any prayer requests you have.
I'll be back on here again soon.
All my love,
Audge
Looking back on the last couple of months, I am so grateful that I was able to spend some time at home before transitioning into this next phase of my life. It was so important for me to substitute teach and pay off this small school loan and get to spend all the time I did with my family. I am going to miss them terribly. Please keep my Pappaw in your prayers right now. This is my mom's father. He is having some health problems with his back and has an MRI tomorrow to see if it is fractured.
I also have some really great news to share! Sunday my incredible church family at Lake Cities contributed over $6,200 to my mission! This was near the EXACT amount I needed to reach my goal of funding. I was $6,000 short for my first year, and God faithfully provided $200 more than that! I spoke in the adult class and the teen class, then they played a video in front of the church. It was a big day for me and I cannot be more grateful for the family of believers I come from at Lake Cities. If any of you are reading this right now, I hope you know how blessed I am by your generosity. The Lord is using you to answer a prayer I've been praying for years.
It was also a huge encouragement to have my Mammaw, Pappaw, Aunt Net, Jordan, Mom, Dad, and Caullen there with me Sunday. These are some of my very favorite people and I felt so blessed to be surrounded by them on this day.
So this great adventure of mine begins. Keep me in your prayers as I am striving daily to walk hand in hand with what the Lord wills for me. Please do not hesitate to email me (audreymichellep@gmail.com) anytime. I would love to keep in touch with all of you and hear any prayer requests you have.
I'll be back on here again soon.
All my love,
Audge
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