Into the Jungle!
Tuesday was an incredible day! Dan, Anya, and I traveled to San Ramon. It was incredible! Yes the roads were bumpy and not straight but the view was incredible! San Ramon is where all the teams this winter will be building as well as staying in the village for the 3 days they build. The dorms are awesome and the bathrooms are totally modern! It was nice and hot because it is coastal. The craziest God moment yesterday.. We were leaving San Ramon and going past a school in the village just below it on the mountain when it hit me that I was there last March for my medical clinic # 1. Dan said I was correct! So cool to be going back to that area again! Especially since it is a coastal warm area!! We made 2 more stops to meet with other people including a stop in a village up another side of the mountain, if it would have been a clear day you can see the pacific! But we weren't blessed with a clear day so I just had to imagine it! Once at the village Dan, Hermano Jesus, and Darvin met with the pastor of the church. Anya and I chose to stay in the van for a short siesta much needed after the early start and bumpy roads. Feeling refreshed and curious how the meeting was going we headed to the church and sat outside on some rocks but out of sight of the door. Within a minute of sitting down we had some curious girls come just to look at us. Especially my super white skin and reddish brown hair. They were fascinated by putting my arm next to theirs and giggling about it! I thought it was pretty cute! Then I decided to take my hair out of its braid and let them touch it! Great idea to attract the rest of the girls from inside the church to come out and try to. I was in awe of their simply curiosity and questioning of what color my hair really was. Easiest friends I made :) I am always blow away how the kids and adults young and old trust you so much within a few moments of meeting you. Of course I decided to start a game of race/chase… bad idea it quickly turned into tickle Rachel! I am super ticklish and was out of breath from laughter while trying to hold my pants up fending off 20 of the cutest giggling kids! I love laughter and consider it a kiss from the LORD! After getting tickled to death we sat down and they braided our hair, as a hairdresser I find it humbling to receive that kind of pampering from kids I want to pamper. They were thrilled to yank and braid while giggling some more! So much fun but a long day on the road. The views were just incredible going up to the villages as going back down the mountain! God is so present and seeing his magnificent creation was breath taking but causes me to giggle out of pure awe for a Father who loves me and see me as more beautiful than I can ever imagine. I love hearing HIS whispers of love for me thru the little things he made when time began.
Wednesday on the road again to pick up the team of 5 women coming to help me in the Orphanage (aka my home). I have a list all made and for sure had them working hard today and I can say I am blessed to have people to serve me here willing to help out in any way possible! WOW! But of course as the season has been going their flight was delayed and they would not be getting in until 9:30 PM which turned into 10 PM. But since Dan, Anya, and myself had lots of errands to run in the capitol and were already on the way we continued. I have been so blessed to get to know Anya as a sister and Dan all the better. We laugh so much together. We completed all of our errands and headed back home. The big debate was who would be returning to the airport at night. Since it was at night it added another twist and with vans giving us a little trouble lately the 2 of us would not be going alone. The other issue was devos at night who would lead if Dan was gone. I found myself saying I can do it… Wait did I say that? Okay LORD here I am use me as I felt a sense of peace wash over me. If you have ever been in devos when Dan is leading it is powerful so I knew I had big shoes to fill. As we began devos I just kept praying for the Lord to speak thru me. I was at complete peace and let the Lord lead. Since this week is only a construction team we were given a book to read any chapter we wanted and share that night at devos what we learned or what hit us when reading. God truly worked thru devos as you could feel HIS calming presence and it was a great night of sharing what we learned, what we did, and praying for others. I am learning ever so slowly that as long as you are willing GOD is sooo much more than able to provide for you in those times HE needs the glory.
Thursday was an incredible day! The team arrived safely by about midnight and were ready to work! We started organizing cleaning and cleaning and organizing! I loved it and was sure exhausted by the end of the day with my brain like mush from deciding where to put things, what to keep, and making an inventory list. But by the end of the day I felt so accomplished and in control and found a few treasures along the way! I am so blessed to have women come along side me this week and do what I can’t do myself or what would take days to complete what they did in 1 day. The nineras (caretakers) were helping organize and telling us what to keep and what to get rid of, whether it be broken or just worn out from the kids. It was awesome!
Friday we headed to the Children’s Museum in Guatemala City with the oldest 3 boys, the team of women, and myself. It was amazing compared to the Museum’s I have been to in the states it was remarkable. At every station there was a person there to explain all the different aspects of the exhibit and also lead you thru an activity. They spoke rapid fire Spanish but my skills are sharpening up and I was able to keep right up with understanding the majority of it. The boys warmed up to it but it was a little overwhelming at first, even for me! But the kid at heart in me was right at home playing with the kids! It is neat to watch them interact and for me say little prayers all day that they would behave, not pull their pants down when they need to go potty, hit each other, or throw food at the restaurant. Which they did none of so I shouldn't have even been worried in the first place! I fell asleep on the ride home but was awakened to Jose and Cristian yelling Raquel to loud just to make sure I was okay and to tell me they loved me! I am blessed more than ever. Once we returned home I rounded up the ladies one last time and we finished our organizing! It was a little bit of a struggle for me since I am the youngest unmarried no children woman but yet I was giving the orders and trying not to offend the nineras by crossing cultural boundaries. With my improving Spanish I was able to explain that we needed to clean and move things because where they were their is a water issue and we didn't want any more mold in cloth items. They understood and were excited by the organization! Thank you LORD! I am going to sleep good now that it is all organized and clean!
I hope to get some pictures of of a few things this week! Thank you for your prayers and supportive emails! They make my day when I can finally get around to a free moment of quick and no kiddo calling my name!
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