A Guatemalan Thanksgiving

Friday, November 29, 2013



Obviously our day was a little bit different from a Thanksgiving in the states. We missed being with our family, sitting around watching football all day, wearing warm clothes (even though I hate cold weather), and putting up Christmas decorations. 
But... 
We enjoyed having people over to share our holiday with, catching a NFL game on our laptop, waking up to perfect weather in the 60's, and hanging a small string of Christmas lights up in our living room. 

Mitch and I hosted our first Thanksgiving meal. Guatemala doesn't celebrate this wonderful day, but we weren't going to let that stop us! We found a turkey in Guatemala City and several other ingredients we needed to make all the Thanksgiving goodies. And pumpkin pie- you can't celebrate the day without it! We had our neighbors and the Pastor's family over for a meal. We enjoyed our feasting and good company. 


Some things we are thankful for this year are:
1. Being in Guatemala- the good days and the hard days  
2. Our family and friends who we miss like crazy. We've both lived away from family since before our twenties, but somehow when you cross borders, it's a little harder to be away. 
3. A car! We are beyond thankful to have a car to get around in and a way to reach the villages! 
4. New friends we are making here in Guatemala. I was a little worried before we moved here that we wouldn't find friends our age, but God has been so good to us and we've already made friends with some great people. 
5. The Father's love, grace, and provision for Mitch and I  
6. And you-our readers, supporters, and prayer partners! 

We hope all of our state-side friends had a fabulous Thanksgiving day! Let's continue to thank the one who is worthy of praise. 

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 118:1 

Home sweet home.

Friday, November 22, 2013

 The saying "home sweet home" is more heartfelt now than it ever was before. Mitch and I are finally getting settled into our home after traveling straight for 7 months. It feels so nice to have a place to kick your feet up and call your own. As fun as the traveling was, I missed having a place to come home to. It was a hotel here, a guest bedroom there and quite frankly it got kind of old. We are so thankful for the pretty places and faces we saw, but sure are glad to have our own space again.

Once we arrived in Guatemala, we had no place to live. While it was nice having someone clean your room everyday at a hotel, we were going a little crazy (or maybe that was just me). It took us about a full month from when we arrived in Guatemala to when we moved into our house. And once we moved in there was still a lot of work to do. The home has been sitting empty for 2 years so needless to say, there was a lot of cleaning and repairing to do.

I was hesitant to show photos since our home is not complete, but it's probably going to be a slow process of adding things here and there (our living room and guests bedrooms are pretty empty). We're just thankful for our own bed and our own kitchen (again, I think it's just me on the kitchen).









                      


















One thing I love about this house is the natural light that comes in. As you may have read in this post, Guatemala is the "Land of the Eternal Spring" which means lots of sunlight! We also lucked  out on scoring both a washer AND a dryer.


I am so thankful for our stove and fridge. We got both of them together for $168. Even for Guatemala that's cheap! We have a total of 3 small bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. That means plenty of room for guests (hint, hint)! We will actually be welcoming our first guest in January and are so excited!       

Our home has its own set of quirks. Like the electric wire running from the light bulb into our shower (but praise God we have hot water!), or the big wet spots on our concrete walls from some water damage, and of course the bugs. Everyday there are bugs. But then there's the blessing of being able to go on a walk or jog in our neighborhood without feeling scared. What a treat for this excersize-loving girl!


It's a simple home, with simple decor. It's not much, but it's enough. We are just so grateful for the Lord's provision and we hope you'll come and visit.

Organic Church

Monday, November 18, 2013






Mitch and I just finished a book called Organic Church. First off let me say-phenomenal book! I say this about a lot of books I read, but this one is by far one of the best. Organic Church basically talks about taking the church to the people instead of vise versa. “The key is not in the building but in bringing the Kingdom of God to the people He is calling out.” The author talks about some of his firsts churches he started which came from coffee shops. As I was reading, this made so much more sense! Why do we try and lure people into a building? Why not go to where the people are?! Through this model, we form relationships with people and we do life together. “Jesus’ plan is for us to identify a pocket of people who do not have a vital Kingdom witness. Then we enter into relationship with those people. We inject the Kingdom virus right into the darkness, and a church is born there from the changed lives. “ 

Not only do I think this model is how we as believers should be living, but it makes it to where anyone can do it. Just like Jesus intended when he said Go, make disciples, baptize, and teach them to obey (paraphrase). That’s a command for all of us, not just your pastor and not just missionaries.

In order for us to see a harvest of people coming to know Christ, we need to be actively planting seeds. And you know what happens when you plant? You get dirty. Sometimes it’s messy and sometimes it’s not, but it’s a task that requires work and persistence. The Bible talks about 4 different soils and only one of them will reap a harvest. All we are required to do is plant and if we find good soil, we’ll see a harvest of transformed lives.

Organic Church was such a refreshing read. It’s one of those books that you just keep going back to. I really wanted to write on it because I think it’s something the ordinary, everyday Christian needs to hear. You can be a part of changing lives with the power of the gospel. It’s not an option, but a command by Christ himself.
So where do you start? Start within your own network of people-your neighborhood, work, school, friends, and family. Don’t try and create a new community. “Church should happen wherever life happens.” Just bring Jesus to lost people and watch how He will change others lives and yours too.

Land of the Eternal Spring

Monday, November 4, 2013

(via)

Right now in the States scarves are being worn, pumpkin everything is everywhere and a nice, crisp breeze is in the air. Growing up, I never got too excited about this time of the year. Probably because fall doesn't really exist in Florida. When Mitch and I moved to Nashville I experienced my first real fall. It was beautiful. But winter was never too far behind so fall was like this nice prelude to something miserable (I despise winter). So needless to say, I've always been more of a spring gal. It's when everything is brought to life again and I love it. 

All that to say, I am so happy to be living in "La tierra de la eterna primavera," or the land of the eternal Spring. Guatemala is such a beautiful country and with that comes beautiful weather. The capitol, Guatemala City is such a pleasant place. Cuilapa, where we live, is a little bit warmer which makes me feel right at home. 

I praise God for seasons, for everything has a time and place. And I praise him for bringing dead things to life. 

Happy fall to everyone in the U.S. We're going to enjoy our spring/summer weather here! 

*Coming soon: A tour of our home! 
A beautiful adventure. All rights reserved. © Adorable Design.