Hoy en tu communidad

Hola a todos (Hi everyone)!


This week has been quite the roller costar of emotions and ups and downs of life, but I can tell you that God has been (and continues to be) faithful though it all...Psalm 20:6-8 really spoke to me as I wrestled with everything and I have felt such a sense of peace that this is exactly where God wants me this semester.

I know that He has only just started to reveal all He wants to me learn while I am here but I think one of the biggest things I am learning right now is that HE is ENOUGH! I feel like that phrase is tossed around a lot in Christian circles but here in Mexico, I have been challenged to really put that in to practice. Away from the comfort of my home church, family, and friends who are walking with God, I think I am learning to walk with God and be content with Him and only Him. Even when the storms of life hit hard, He is showing me that He is faithful and is here with when it's tough and lonely.

Last Sunday, I was really challenged by the sermon John Piper preached about not wasting our lives. I want every day that I am here in Mexico not to be wasted but to be lived to the fullest so that I can bring the most glory to God. I would hate to look back on my time here and realized that I wasted it all away wishing I could be back at home or worrying about the next thing instead of enjoying the day God gave me to live.

All that being said, I'll get off my soapbox and let you know what I have been up to this week. My live here has settled into a pretty smooth routine. I usually wake up around 8:00 (earlier on Mondays and Fridays because I have to be at classes by 8), eat breakfast, have my quiet time, and head off to school.

Monday,

It was super hot but I think I’m getting used to the heat. Actually I don't know if you ever "get used" to it but I'm learning how to cope with it. AKA drink lots of water, shower often, and don't wear jeans or anything black. My water drinking skills have increased dramatically and might even match those of Jeffrey Varughese! Classes went well. I only had one class from 8-10 so I came home afterwards and worked on homework and then ate lunch later that afternoon with my family. Close to our house there is a little mall with air conditioning so after a siesta, I packed up some of my homework and headed there to work on some reading I had to do for a while. It was a nice break from the heat and fun to study in a different place than my room. I then came back home, went for a run and saw iguana road kill..Defiantly a first in my life, then ate supper, worked on more homework and headed to bed.

Tuesday, I was able to sleep in a little and headed to classes around 9. Class went well and I returned home to work on some homework for a little bit before lunch. After lunch, I headed to my Spanish class for the afternoon and went out for a run. That night, there was this super sweet lightening storm which was fun to watch as I was running. I then came home and took a shower and ate supper with my family and watch the telenovela "Rubi". My family here is obsessed with the show and we watch it almost every night together after supper. It's a great way to practice my Spanish and I feel really happy when I can follow along with what's going on. Sometimes it's really hard because they talk so fast!

Wednesday was a pretty tough day but God really helped me through it and was faithful.

Thursday, I had a really great talk with my host mom and was even able to share with her and my host dad what I believe and they told me more about what they believe and why. The entire conversation was such an answer to prayer and I left for school that morning almost in tears for the way that God had over abundantly provided an answer to my prayers. Classes were well...Class and were a little tough to concentrate in but I made it through them and headed home. After Spanish class that night, my family took me out to eat traditional yucatacean food at a tiny little restaurant. It was sooo good and I really enjoyed spending more time with them. Everyday, I feel more and more like part of their family and I love the way they want to show me everything here and love to make me try new food and meet all of their friends. My Spanish vocab for telling people it's nice to meet them or to tell someone that the food is good has defiantly increased!

Friday, I had class at 8 and got done at 11. A bunch of us met up in el centro at 12 to head to progresso( a beach nearby) for the rest of the day. We got there around 1:30 and just chilled on the beach for the rest of the day. The water was super warm and it was so nice to be able to work on homework on the beach! We stayed and watched the sunset which was beautiful and then we took the last bus heading back to Merida that night at 8. I came home and took a shower and then ate supper with my host mom and we ended up talking until 12. She told me all about her life growing up and about raising her family and asked me all sorts of questions about my life. I absolutely love her so much and know that I will miss her so much when I leave.

Saturday, I work at the beautiful hour of 5 am to head out to "Hoy en tu Comunidad." It's a local organization that goes out to really poor towns around Merida and offers free health care, dental clinics, nutrition classes, child care, and games. It was one of the best days I have had here so far. One the way there, we (there were 5 of us from the ISFA-Butler program that went)all squished into the car of one of the student directors named Raul. We had a great talk the entire way with him and another gal who help to organize everything. It was so neat to hear their heart and passion behind helping others. I was really surprised to learn that ALL the work is voluntary and that they give up countless hours every week to organize everything. Once we got there and started working though, I began to understand why they would want to do it.

Here in Mexico, the rules regarding health care are a LOT more lax so as students, we were able to literally "dive in" and help out. I learned how to take pulses, prick fingers to test for levels of sugar in and even sat in on several examinations of patents.(You would be really proud of me mom) Raul did a really good job of explaining to us what was going on and teaching us what to look for. There was a woman who had an ear infection, a little baby who had had an allergic reaction to a shampoo, and an older woman suffering from stress who just needed someone to talk to. I also got the chance to spend part of the morning playing with some of the kids while their parents where getting check out or having dental work done.

One little girl came over to me and didn't leave my side for the rest of the time. She was so cute and I had a fun time asking her about her family and her favorite things to do. We spent most of the morning playing and exploring a local hacienda. It was all pretty run down and full of long grass and branch (I was sure we were going to find a snake)but the kids had fun showing us around.

I wasn't quite sure how I would feel about working with the medical part of it but I surprisingly really, really enjoyed it. I think part of it was so much fun because it was super hands on and I could learn one thing and then go and practice it on someone else. I feel like having a basic knowledge of medicine would be helpful in the future if missions is really where God is calling me.

Around 3, we all started to pack up or stuff and walked to a place close by where some of the local ladies from the village fed us lunch. It was delicious and it was a great time to get to know some more people. I loved being able to speak in Spanish the entire day and it was fun to finally meet some other students who want to do things with us. I'm excited to get to know some of them better and see them in "Hoy en tu communiad." I feel like I am defiantly going to learn a ton..not just in medicine but also in my Spanish (and Mayan as most of the villages speak mainly Mayan), and in my knowledge of different towns around Merida. I even got to ride in a "bicitaxi" which are these carts that are connected to bicycles that are the main method of transportation in the rural towns here.

Tomorrow, I am planning on taking a day to rest, do homework, and spend some time with Jesus as it's His day tomorrow. This next week we'll be celebrating Independence here in Mexico so we're planning a trip to go to Playa del Carmen and to go zip lining which I'm looking forward to. It will be nice to have a few days off school and do some exploring. Thank for all of your love and support. Sorry this post got so long but I hope that caught ya'll up on what I've been up to. Hasta pronto! (Till later)