6 days

until I am here

with her (and we will take a picture in this exact same spot for the fourth time now)

and them

 Excited is a serious, serious understatement.  Spring break come quickly por favor...¡quiero ver a mis amigos!

my favorite superheroes

"Katie, take a picture of me in my superman room!..."

[Steven + rabbit + toothbrush.  Sometimes it's best not to ask.] 

[Jefersson, after performing a highly impressive Superman stunt move on his bed]

Flashback to August 2011 - just a little mid-week pick-me-up to put a smile on your face.  LOVE these kids, and hoping for a chance to go see them again soon!

the lord is my shep-herd

When you come back from another country, everyone expects you to instantly write on blogs and journal and post pictures on Facebook and share about your experience. Ironically, these times are almost always the times when words and photos are not even close to enough. I'm hoping that for now, the following words and faces can speak for themselves...

Jehová es mi pastor; nada me faltará.

En lugares de delicados pastos me hará descansar;

junto a aguas de reposo me pastoreará.

Confortará mi alma; me guiará por sendas de justicia por amor de su nombre.

Aunque ande en valle de sombra de muerte no temeré alguno, por tú estarás conmígo;

tu vara y tu cayado me infundirán aliento.

Aderezas mesa delante de mí en presencia de mis enemigos;

unges mi cabeza con aceite;

mi copa está rebosando.

Ciertamente el bien y la misericordia me seguiran todos los días de mi vida,

y en casa de Jehová moraré por largos días.

[Salmo 23 - La Senda 2011]

pictures are not enough.

guat-e-mal-a

Obviously, I never posted while in Guatemala. This can be attributed to a number of things:

1. Lack of time
2. Lack of internet connection
3. Being absolutely exhausted at the end of every night with no energy left to type a blog post

#3 is, in case you were wondering, one of the greatest feelings ever.

What words can I use to describe a week at La Senda? Love, joy, peace, faith, hope - all in their purest forms. Details about what we did at La Senda and our travel mishaps i.e. natural disaster experiences can be found on the team blog (www.wesleychapelguatemalateam.blogspot.com). Besides that, pictures will express our experience best. Pictures will be posted in the next day or two.

Until then, when you think about a week at La Senda, think about those words. Love, joy, peace, faith, hope. Think about piggy-back rides, soccer games, birthday cakes, painting, digging, sweeping, mopping, bleaching, singing, dancing, teaching. Think about pure happiness that comes only from the Father, and there you'll be.

24 hour rush

The 24 hours before a trip are so. darn. crazy.

I've spent today packing, going (back) to the bank, going (back) to the Seminary, etc. Everything I do to prepare in advance ultimately un-does itself, resulting in me running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Luckily the 24 hour rush does not stress me out; it just makes me more excited about the trip.

Random diversion... Laura and I did take a much needed break from trip preparations to visit with our wonderful friends Scott and Meg who are headed to Uganda next year! I am blessed to know awesome people like them. We had fun visiting and learned two valuable things. 1. Chick-fil-a is getting a Spicy Chicken Sandwich. 2. "Regular"-sized Icedream cones are massive. Be prepared to really want an Icedream cone, or order a kid's size.

Back to reality. We're getting to the airport at 4:30 AM, briiight and early. I cannot wait to pull in to La Senda and break out my soccer skills, or lack thereof. Pray for us, and check out our team blog for updates! www.wesleychapelguatemalateam.blogspot.com

Paz y amor.

cinnamon raisin bagel please

What is it about breakfast that makes it so darn good? Conversation with friends seems to be so much richer, so much more focused on the important things of life. Maybe it's because by lunch and dinner our days are already in full swing; we are already halfway through our to-do lists and we just want to hurry up and finish them off. But there is no rush with breakfast.

In Oxford, it's Bottletree that makes my week. In Jackson, it's Beagle Bagel. I love coming to Beagle Bagel just a few minutes early, to get started on a cup of tea and get in some reading before my friends arrive, which is exactly what I'm doing right now. 8 more minutes before the rest of today's breakfast group gets here. I'm already excited to see what the conversation holds.

Quote for the day: "Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God."

Excitement for the day: Guatemala in FOUR days. :)

(114) days of summer

There are not, unfortunately, 500 days of summer. There are, however, 114. I intend to fill these 114 days with things that make me happy. This is a long list - most things in life make me happy in one way or another! But here are some of the fun summer things that I am especially looking forward to...

Reading books of my choosing.
Playing the piano.
Being with friends from home who I only get to see in the summertime.
Making lots and lots of friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss.
Eating strawberry shortcake.
Fondrening. (yes, we invented a verb for that!)
Going to Anthropologie, sadly not to buy things, but to get ideas of cheaper things to buy elsewhere.

The list goes on and on. I tend to think of ridiculous craft projects; crafts make me happy and there is definitely no time for crafts at college. Today I have occupied a large amount of time making birthday cards to bring to Guatemala in a couple of weeks.
I so love the beginning of summer when there are seemingly endless days just waiting to be filled. The goal is to be productive while still relaxed, to have a plan but to always be spontaneous. The ultimate goal of my summer is always to do something good with the time I've been given. To leave the world better than it was before, and to come back to school a better person than I was before. Make that your summer goal too. We have 110 days left to do something amazing, and counting...