And on the third day....

I'm ready to get some sleep, so let's just cover highlights from today. Kay? Good. =)

We got to split the day between checking water filters in the town above San Andres, working in the clinic, and teaching English to sixth graders in the school at Patanatic. The little boys who were taking us to the houses that had filters told me my skin was white, laughed at my spanish and tstujil (spelling???) pronunciation, wondered why my hair is so short, and asked why everyone in los estados unidos estan altos (why people in the US are so tall). I can only imagine that they were basing this on the people they have met from the US, including me. Now, seeing as I am a whopping 5 feet, 4 inches tall, that's quite a compliment. The really interesting part was that before I could figure out how to answer in spanish, they asked if it was because we have lots of fruits and vegetables to eat. Wow. Our Moms weren't kidding when they said we need to eat all of our fruits and vegetables if we want to grow big and strong. How amazing that these boys know that. I wish I could've given them a giant field of vegetables so they could eat as much as they like to grow as tall as they want (although, if they're anything like certain 12-year-olds that I know, they might not eat more than a couple bites before deciding the extra height isn't worth the pain of stomaching the vegetables).

In the clinic, I was in charge of vitals signs, dispensing meds, and organizing and putting away the new meds. It was a busy afternoon but was good practice for tomorrow. They said we'll have almost twice the patients we saw yesterday (which is also waaay more than what we saw today).

Funny side note--I have already found myself thinking through things in Spanish even when I am alone. Which is great! But something that was even funnier to me...as I read Lander's e-mail, I read it like it was from someone who speaks English as a second language. I kept reminding myself to NOT read it with a Spanish accent but to read it just as he wrote it. I guess my brain got tired of going back and forth today!

If you are praying for me, thank you! Please pray that God's love will just pour out of my pores and that I will be able to serve in whatever way necessary, not just by using my nursing skills. Thanks a ton!

<3 

Day 2-I think I'll celebrate by moving to the second floor!

Because of a couple things in our rooms on the first floor, one of the doctors and I moved to the second floor this evening. I'm all settled into the room that will be "mine" for the next 3 weeks (or at least I think it will...hope so!). Complete with Hannah Montana in Spanish playing on tv. Michelle, you need to be here to watch it with me!!!! (and to explain what in the world is going on haha)

Today was great fun. I was put in charge of "the pharmacy," which means that I was responsible for dispensing the sample medicine for the scripts the doctors had written. I also got to practice my organizational skills and a few basic nursing skills here and there.

I got to tour the clinic today! Right now "the clinic" is being held in the community center, which is the floor beneath the clinic. Exam rooms have been partitioned off and a place is set up to organize all the medicine. Not quite like a Pyxis! (medicine dispenser in hospitals) The inside of the soon-to-be clinic is amazing. More incredible than I had imagined. There are exam rooms, a room for a midwife, a dental room, an x-ray room, a laboratory, bathrooms, even a reception desk! I can't wait to see it all finished and being used!

It's 10 and I'm sleepy, so goodnight! <3  Oh...and one last thing...the children here are SO ADORABLE. They're just precious. And so so happy. Okay. Now the end and goodnight. ~.*.~

Guatemala Adventure Round 2, Day 1

Soooo, I'm in another country. It still hasn't really sunken in yet. You would think that the hours of winding roads through the mountains & clouds, people speaking another language, and complete lack of anything that looks like Kansas (or anywhere in the US for that matter) would clue me in. Maybe it should have become more "real" when I walked down the street with another volunteer and had people try to get me to buy things from them "for a really good price" even though I told them multiple times I had no money with me. Possibly even now as I look around the hotel room at little quirks that are very non-North-American (including the need for bottled water, differences in the bathroom, special little friends sharing my room with me...). I suppose it HAS hit home a little bit. Just not fully yet. I am hoping that part comes tomorrow when we start seeing patients in the clinic. Aaaaahh--I'm so excited to see the clinic actually built! AND to work for the first time as a Registered Nurse. Fun way to start.

God, please use this amazing opportunity to mold me into Your image. I want to shine your light to everyone around me! Let people see YOU working through me. I most definitely could not do this without you. Also, thank you very much for helping my stomach to stop hurting and for taking away the nauseousness. I was sad that my stomach decided to be dumb before I even got into the country! Especially since it kept acting up once I got here. I would be okay if that stuff didn't come back tomorrow. If it needs to for some reason, though, help me to handle it well. Thanks!

PS...to anyone who decides to read this....I made it into Guatemala safely. Just in case you were still wondering.

Happy March!!

Can it be March already? Can it be the END of March already?? Wow. Only 44 days until my nursing pinning ceremony and 45 days until I graduate from MNU!! It's so hard to believe that for the first time in 19 years I will not be going to school in the fall. I'm excited to see where God will have me this fall. I've been applying for jobs and am praying I'll hear back from the right one. Our nursing class officially has three people with guaranteed jobs after graduation...it really is possible!

Most of my time lately has been taken up by school and my nursing internship. We are required to get about 200 hours of work in with our nurse preceptor...4 more 12-hour shifts and I'm done. =) I was placed at St. Joseph Medical Center on a critical care stepdown unit and am LOVING it. I have a wonderful preceptor and all of the nurses on the floor are great about helping me learn as much as I can.

This summer I have been given a fantastic opportunity to practice nursing skills and leadership skills in Guatemala. Lately I've been working on planning my trip. I will work in the Patanatic Clinic for a week and a half as a nurse as well as teaching local women basic nursing skills. Then for two weeks I will lead a team from MNU to do work in the clinic and the surrounding area. I am still finding out for sure what Heart to Heart plans to do with our team during the two weeks but I am so stoked to see it all work out. So far I have two stupendous girls on my team. They are so sweet and are also getting excited about the trip. As great as they are, we still need more people. PLEASE pray that God will bring the right people to join the team. Let me know if you or anyone you know is interested! I am trusting God to bring this team together with the exact people He wants to be involved. He is already showing His goodness in my own fund raising...just yesterday I had some dear friends of mine tell me that they were able to give a gift to support my trip. Praise God!

More updates to come, I promise. Hugs and kisses!!

Guate Pictures...Finally!!

This was in a Cathedral we visited on our last day. Since it was right before Easter, they had all kinds of things out celebrating Holy Week. This was made completely from produce and there were real birds in the cages. It smelled kind of funny in there...I think the food had been there a while!

Our first view of Panajachel. It was amazing how much more this view meant as we were driving away at the end of the week.

I miss these mountains!!

Adorable.

Volcano :-)

We couldn't ever decide if that was clouds or smoke. But we're pretty sure it was smoke.

I could smell the onions in this field from where I was standing way above it.

Floating dock...nice break after a long day walking around the town

La Clinica!! This is where the clinic is now built in Patanatic. Look at Heart to Heart's page on facebook for more recent pictures. I'm so excited it's getting closer to being done!

This is a partial view of Patanatic from the clinic site. You can see Panajachel in the valley in the background.

Probably not the smartest idea we've ever had...sticking our fingers in a sharp-beaked-bird's cage. This is Deana, my "older sister" on the trip. One of our translators was convinced we had to be related!

The boys made a game out of the rocks on the beach in Panajachel. I think a couple of them actually hit the buoy in the water!

Malorri and Rebecca...love these girls

Aura was one of our Spanish to Maya translators. She knows all three of the Maya languages in the area and is such a sweetheart. We had fun trying to communicate with my broken Spanish and the English she knew. We helped each other learn a lot though!

We ate in our hotel lobby for most of our meals. The servers were amazing and the food was incredible. Chicken and rice DID get a little hard to eat for two meals a day by the end of the trip though...

The three on the left were all from MNU...Mike, Becca, and Rob. Jerry was a retired dentist who works with Heart to Heart and spent a lot of time with our team. He continually cracked us up and was a big help with seeing the vision for the clinic.

Alstromeria, my new favorite kind of flower. They come in all different colors and have little speckles on them!

Panajachel!

We made it!! I'm sooooo ready for bed, so this is gonna be a super short post. Panajachel is cute! There are a lot of stores right outside our hotel door. Lake Atitlan is BEAUTIFUL!! God is still challenging me with different things but is teaching me a lot already! Thank you for your prayers! I'll try to get some pictures posted sometime. :-) Goodnight <3

amazing God, ordinary life

What better way to start a blog than to post at 2:30 in the morning??? Our first flight leaves in less than 4 hours and we'll actually be IN Guatemala (Lord willing!) in 11ish hours. I'm so excited! God has done a lot to lead me to this trip. It definitely was not something that I planned or even could have done on my own.

For those of you who don't know, I was originally going with a group from my school to Haiti. After the earthquake, the trip had to be canceled/postponed until it was actually possible to fly into the country. I was frustrated, to say the least. I had prayed about what trip God wanted me on and was sure He was pulling me towards Haiti. So why did He let it get canceled? While He never showed me an exact reason for the canceled trip to Haiti, God has done incredible things to make it possible for me to go on the Guatemala March trip. A spot was made available when there supposedly weren't any more left. The team was more welcoming than I could have ever hoped for. I went to a meeting to see if I felt like God was calling me to join the team and I walked out with a to-do list to help with upcoming fundraisers. Apparently the rest of the team knew before I did that I would be joining!

I was also somewhat daunted by the task of fund raising. It seemed like such a big deal to ask people in the middle of an economic crisis to support my trip to another country, albeit for a good cause. God used my friends and family to blow my mind away with what He can do. Thank you so so much to those of you who are joining in this trip financially!! God has used you to bless me immensely and I pray that you will be equally blessed through following God's call to support our team. For those of you who are joining our team through your prayers, thank you TONS and please don't stop!! Your prayers will be needed even more now that we're actually headed to Guatemala. If you aren't praying for us yet, please feel free to join the team! We would love more team members, especially ones who are bringing us before Jesus in prayer!!   =)

For those of you wondering where by blog title comes from, read the following lyrics. I was listening to them a couple nights ago and they very accurately described what God has been doing in my heart lately...

I'm Letting Go
Francesca Battistelli

My heart beats, standing on the edge
But my feet have finally left the ledge

Like an acrobat
There’s no turning back

(Chorus)
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
I’m losing control
Of my destiny
It feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go

This is a giant leap of faith
Trusting and trying to embrace
The fear of the unknown
Beyond my comfort zone

(Chorus)

Giving in to your gravity
Knowing You are holding me
I’m not afraid

(Chorus)

Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
Feels like I’m falling and this is the life for me

Love you all!!!