Thanksgiving in Guatemala

So, as you know, Thanksgiving is an American holiday. Most Guatemalans don't know what it is, let alone how to celebrate it. My friend was telling me a story about the people at her church asking her about Thanksgiving. They told her they thought Thanksgiving was our time to celebrate Christmas!

This year, I celebrated Thanksgiving with Jenny & her family. Jenny works in our office as our secretary. She was also one of Spanish teachers and has become a good friend. I've also had the priveledge to get to know her family. So, in discussion, we decided to have Thanksgiving together.
Last week, Jenny & I were discussing the menu. She said, "Well my mom will make the turkey and I will make mashed potatoes and a salad. That should be enough food, so you can bring an apple pie - that should definately be enough food." I explained to her all that must-haves to make an adequate Thanksgiving dinner. Because she wasn't sure about some of those items, I made 'em!

We had a great turkey (made by Jenny's mom), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, apple & pumpkin pie and egg nog. Also, with a little Guatemalan-flare, ponche... Ponche is a typical Guatemalan drink where they boil some fruits. It tastes a lot like cider with a yummy-fruity twist. It was great.

Once again, God made a great holiday. I had a wonderful time with Jenny's family, visiting, eating until we couldn't eat anymore and laughing! For the most part, they enjoyed the "Gringo Food" I brought. I hope all of you enjoyed a great Thanksgiving, as we take a day to remember all the blessings we have in our life. My list could go on for all the things I have to be thankful for; starting with an loving and supporting family, pastors and a home church behind me, new and old relationships and God's provision and favor on my life.

Happy Turkey Day & God Bless,

~Sarah~

My Trip Home

Well, I just returned to Guatemala after a month back home in the U.S. I had a great time and did many things, keep reading to find out!

First, shortly after arriving, Life Church launched into our semi-annual Impact Life Conference. It was four days of awesome Word, incredible music and an indescribable atmosphere of the Holy Spirit! It was so nice to have a service in English! It's been over a year. It's kind of ironic because the last service in Spanish before coming home was the first service I felt like I was spiritual fed by my pastor's preaching. Not because he can't preach, but because my Spanish has been so limited. Praise God! (We'll see how this Sunday goes, the first since being back).

I shared at Life Church the first Sunday during Impact Life Conference. It was great to see my home church behind me, more then ever, with the vision of our house and the vision inside of me. Thank you Life Church for being behind me.

Later that week, I went to Wisconsin and spent two days with my sister and her family. I have two beautiful nieces. Hannah is almost 4 and Nadia is going to be 2 in March. We stayed at a hotel with several large indoor water parks. It was an awesome time of R&R.

From there, I went even farther north to Rhinelander (4-hour drive) where I spent 12 years growing up. I was able to visit a few people who are very dear to me, stay at a friends house & share about what God is doing in me and through me here in Guatemala, at the church I grew up in. I truly enjoyed my time there.

After my church visit, I drove another two and a half hours to see my grandparents. I have not seen them in over a year. I spent two days with them. My favorite part about visiting my grandparents is always my grandma's amazing cooking. I wanna know how she cooks so good? And the question of the day: Is it really the ingredient of LOVE that makes it so much yummier then any other place?

So, to make a long story short, I drove back to Milwaukee (5 hours alone is a grueling drive), had dinner with some great friends that drove up from Chicago to see me & flew home the following day in the morning. It was a pleasant trip to Wisconsin.

The following two weeks was a blur of meetings, visiting people and beaches. I went to Epcot Center at Disney World with my mom & we had a great time. I've never been. So we dined in Morocco, France & Mexico. Also my friend Kala got married the Saturday before I left. It was a nice thing to be able to be a part of this page-turning event in her life. Not only did she look fabulous, but the wedding was gorgeous & so was the food & entertainment. Congrats Kala!

And as for the trip back to Guatemala, all went well. Carrie brought me to the airport. I hardly waited to check in. Both of my bags made it with everything intact & still there!

I had a blessed trip back to the States. It was great to see some of you & next year, I look forward to seeing you all again! Thank you so much for your prayers & support. Thank you for being so welcoming, making my trip a memorable one. God bless you.

Celeste

Hello Everyone,
Celeste is a beautiful young girl we work with at the Children's Hospital. I'm not sure of the disease that she has. However, an effect to this causes water retention and inflamation. As you can see from the pictures below, she's retaining a lot.

On Tuesday, Celeste is returning home. Most of the time, this would be a good thing, that the child can return home to be with their family. For Celeste, it's not so good. I'm not sure of the details, but the hospital is sending her away - sick. I specifically asked if the parents were coming and taking her "by force". That's not the case - they want her to stay to be treated.

Celeste is returning to her mom and 4-year old brother. Her mom works in a hotel cleaning rooms. Celeste will be going back to babysit her brother during the work day... not getting the proper medical treatment she needs, nor going to school... but babysitting.

As you pray, please keep Celeste in your prayers. Her situation is a burden on our hearts & we're not supportive of the decision of the hospital. Celeste is a beautiful & bright young lady who lightens up the room she's in, simply with her smile. I don't know what to want! I want her to be with her family where she belongs. I want her to get proper medical treatment & for this disease to go away. I want her to go to school & continue her education. More then anything, I want to see God's hand work her life.

Thank you for your prayers.

Sarah

Oh yeah - I hope to see everyone when I'm at home in the States from October 9th-30th! God bless.

Matt's Wedding ;)

For those of you who don't know, I had the honor to go to my cousin Matt's wedding. I flew home Thursday, had a Guatemalan style dinner with most of my pastors. Then, very early on Friday morning, we traveled 10 hours to Alabama. Friday night as the rehearsal dinner. That was fun - lots of food, lots of family & friends to catch up with. And after a year, catching up is exactly what I wanted to do. Then, Saturday was Matt's wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. The bride looked great and the groom even more handsome (biasly speaking). We had a good time. Sunday we drove back to Fort Myers. Monday my friend Carrie took me to Ft. Lauderdale to catch my flight back to Guatemala. I'm sad to be back, after a fun-filled weekend like that. But, I sure am happy to have gone. I'm looking forward to my next trip in 3 1/2 weeks to the States again - but for 3 weeks this time! God Bless ~S~

My One-Year Anniversary

Hello. September 2nd marked my

one-year anniversary of being in Guatemala! I cannot believe how the time has flown!

In the past year, I have seen God do so many things, beyond my wildest imagination!

First, He provided an appartment before I ever got to Guatemala. It's a cute building, with three bedrooms and sufficient space for me and the guard dog, Sydney. I have a gate I can open and close with a remote, which provides for better security. Also, it's located very close to the Darby's house and our office.

January and March, I had company. What a blessing it was to first have my spiritual parents, Dr. D & Pastor Marilyn Deaton stay with me for a few days. We had a great time shopping, scowerying the countryside of Guatemala (not the plan, but getting lost was good). In March my parents came for 5-day weekend. We had a great time visiting the most beautiful lake in the world, Atitlan. Atitlan has three volcanoes surrounding it... all viewable in the above photo. We had a great opportunity to minister to some kids from an orphanage by taking them to McDonald's - a rare treat.

I've also learned that Guatemala does Holidays like no one else! Christmas Eve at midnight, the WHOLE city, around 7 million people, light off fireworks of every size and color. It's spectacular!

Another thing that God has blessed me with is the ability to learn Spanish. Now, I am not perfect - not even close. Nontheless, I am able to communicate, hopefully what I want! The picture to the left is of my class.

And, to the right, is a picture of me with one of the cutest little girls I have EVER seen! I was working at a Children's Hospital. This girl has a disease where certain limbs could possibly fall off. She is missing part of her finger. I'm not sure what it is called, but it's contagious. Therefore, no one is supposed to touch her. She's cute a cuddely and loves to touch everyone! So, maybe foolishly, we loved on her, hugged on her, played with her! Of course, we sanitize, but hopefully we are successful in displaying the Love of Jesus to her.

So, as I end this, I want you to know something! First, God is so good. A year ago, I was scared to death of what the first year in Guatemala would be like. In my obedience, I have done so many things I never thought I would. I've stepped far out of my box. With the grace God has given me, I do not regret trusting Him.

Second, I have definately had my ups and downs - in every facet. God has never left my side. He's never let me down. Tho I have doubted Him, He has never given me reason to! He has stretched me, taught me and used me. I look forward to another year of serving in Guatemala. Thank you for a year of prayers and support. I am excited about what God has in store for all of us, as we work together to impact the world!

~Sarah~

Sharing In Spanish

Hello! I want to share with you all the fun things you can do when you can speak to people in a different language! Now, I'm not professing to be ready to be a translator or anything even close.

As part of my language classes, we are required to share devotions & children's lessons in Spanish. So the following picture is of me - doing my best not to read off a piece of paper! I usually write it out in case I get too nervous. This is the second time sharing devotions in Spanish with the prostitutes at El Oasis!
And here I am with a little girl at a Children's Hospital. We go there on Friday's and play with the kids, do hand crafts, lessons in Spanish and usually bring puppets. We bring the same ones in fear of losing our heads - simply because they've fallen in love with the same 3! It's cute.

All the children we work with are the Rehab department; working on some sort of dabilitating disease that disables them from using certain parts of their body. This little girl cannot walk, talk, nor can she coordinate her hands. Her body is very weak, and tho she can keep her head up, every few minutes it gets weak and her head falls. I was helping her color after two other missionaries gave the Bible lesson with puppets.

Though I can't remember her name, she is a precious young girl who knows what she wants! She made me draw circles all over the page. If I had the wrong color or was about to color in the wrong spot, she was sure to let me know!

Praise God! Praise God for His goodness to allow us to learn Spanish and with our limited means be able to impart His love with these kids. Praise God for His grace, that when we fall short, He is there. I know I make mistakes when sharing, but I trust that the Holy Spirit is there, still speaking to those women and to those children. I love being a place where I have no other choice but to trust that God is doing His part, that He is sending His Spirit!

My Fourth of July

The story of my Fourth of July goes a little something like this:

Guatemala doesn't exactly celebrate our Independance Day. However, both of my language school classes were canceled! My friend Amanda and I decided we wanted to (a) get out of town and (b) do something we don't normally get to do.

So, we went to Antigua. Antigua is a beautiful (touristy) town outside of the City about 45 minutes. We went to Hotel Antigua (origional, huh?!?!) and went to the pool. Pools are very not common here, and heated ones are even harder to find.

Needless to say, we spend a few, very relaxing, hours in the pool with a beautiful view of Volcano Agua. Agua is the third largest in all of Guatemala and Antigua rests on it. It's viewable from the roof of my house and many areas around the city. However, when you're at the foot of it, it's a little different!

After swimming, Amanda and I went to the restaurant Mono Loco (Funky Monkey) for dinner. It's a very 'unique' restaurant with a very unique feel. However, they have great food! The brick pole to the right is covered in red, white and blue confetti - the closest we got to fireworks or anything closely related to our nation's colors!

We had a great time and returned home exausted. I, on a very happy note, got a little sun!

Happy Independance Day!

Sarah

Decisions

Hi!

One thing God has been really speaking to me is about decisions. He gave us free will. And what we do with that is OUR DECISION. We can decide to live in the past regrets or decide to move forward. We can decide to hold grudges or decide to let it go.

I am reading a really good book called "When Your Past is Hurting Your Present". There's a quote on the chapter I just read. It is a native Indian at a campfire with his grandson. He was expressing these same things to his grandson. He said, "It's like we have two wolves inside us. One is good and the other is bad, and both are fighting for our obedience." When the boy asked, "Which one wins?" the wise olf chief replied, "Whichever one we feed."

I find this relevent because it's so easy to stay where we are with our mindsets, possibly wallowing in our unforgiveness or past, whatever it may be. So the question of the day: What wins? The past - is it going to hang on to us forever, weighing us down, slowing us from all God has in store for us? Or will the potential future win? Will we allow God to truly work in our lives and set us free from those hinderances to a future full of awesome potential?

Either way, we must decide to move on... it's on us what our future will be. Our past maybe wasn't ours to decide - but the future is your hands & in your decisions.

God Bless,

Sarah

Welcome to Sarah's Blog Site

Hello and thank you for visiting my new blog site.
Here you will find recent updates on what I've been doing, funny cultural stories and my most recent newsletters.
Check back frequently; you never know when something new will be posted!

Enjoy & God Bless

~Sarah~