Give God what is God's.

This past week was parent’s week and it was such a blessing to have some of the parents, Johnny, and Hannah here.  Allison’s parents, Thomas’ mom, and Mitch’s mom all came to experience a part of our lives here!  We went to Puerto de Diablo which was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!  It was so cool to sit on the edge of the mountain and just look at a tiny piece of God’s creation, which looks enormous to us!!! Ah, it was so breath taking… literally the view and the walk up there was very breath taking! But well worth it!  Having the parents here made me almost feel like my parents were here too… well almost! It made me pretty excited to see my family in December!  Although, while I’m excited to see them I have to keep my focus here! As our break in December is getting closer I am getting excited but also kind of nervous.  I know the person that I left as in August is long gone I just don't want that person to creep back.  I want to stay the person that God has broken and built back up and hidden Himself in.. and I want to continue to grow in Him.


Michayla and I at Puerto de Diablo

Sunday after church Abigail invited two of the girls to go to lunch with us at Multi Plaza.  These two girls, Raquel and Felizicata (I don’t know how to spell her name) are 12 and 14, who walked to church from their home.  So after we ate, Abigail, Holly, Anna and I walked with them to their house so we would know they would get home safely.  We walked in almost in a complete circle from Multi Plaza and around the church to the entrance of their neighborhood.  These are the sweetest girls, my heart was just so joyful after we hugged and said goodbye to them.  They said that they would come next Sunday to church, hopefully we will see them!  :) Then we decided that we would just walk the rest of the way home instead of taking a microbus and plus, it wasn’t that far.
 
Yesterday, Andrew, Thomas, Parker, Allison and I went to the gym and then after Thomas had the idea that we should go find someone and ask them what they need. So we walked to the "barrio" type neighborhood and we talked to the first lady we saw. Before we knew it there were four other people standing with us. So, they walked with us to Walmart and on the way all of us Gringos were walking kind of fast ahead of the women because they were carrying there kids and walking with them. So each of us helped carry them. I carried a baby down the highway named Ella Alejandro...I think was her name. She was the sweetest little baby I carried her almost the whole time we were in Walmart until her mom took her back...ah she was just adorable

At church on Sunday a man named George was a guest speaker.  He did a phenomenal job by the way.  I pretty much sat there with my mouth wide open while I took notes.  He talked about how God created us to be a dwelling place for God and a whole lot more.  One of the scriptures he gave us was Matthew 22:21.

“…Then he said to them, 'Give to Caeser what is Caeser’s, and to God what is God’s.'” –Matthew 22:21

George explained that we mostly just take this verse and think oh, we just need to pay our taxes. But there is SO much more to it than that.  What we need to understand from this is that we were created BY God in HIS image therefore we are God’s.  So, we must surrender ourselves completely and give ourselves to God.  And I have felt convicted because of this verse.  Especially for next year and the rest of my life.  I want to do what God has planned for me to do... whatever that means.  Because I am God's, I want to give myself to Him.  Right now, I'm trying to seek God as much as I can so I can hear God.  I've also been looking for and praying that God would give me confirmation on what he wants me to do.  I just need to be still... and have peace that God will guide and direct me.... because he won't leave me.

1 John 4:11-12

Last Thursday was our two month mark for living here.  I am still having trouble believing that we have been living here for over 2 months.  Before we know it, it’ll be December 15 I will be going back to the states for Christmas.  Exodo this past week was AMAZING! (It is every time) I really feel like we are creating relationships with the kids and teenagers there.  Abigail, Leah and I spent Thursday with the little girls!  We played duck, duck goose with them and we taught them a dance that our Spanish teacher, Tuty, taught to us.  It was so much fun, they truly bring so much joy to my heart.  I pretty much want to bring every single one of those girls home with me. 

 

  This past Wednesday was first time that the girls were allowed to go out on our own!  4 or more girls are now allowed to go out to multiplaza or walk to a restaurant close to our house, it’s pretty exciting!  So on Wednesday all of us girls went to Starbucks to have our Bible study!  After we finished we got up to leave and sitting at a table near us was a man that spoke English, so we started talking to him. It was really cool because talked with him for about 10 minutes and then we prayed with him.  When we left Multi Plaza we walked to get on a micro to head home.  And God is definitely watching out for us because as we turned the corner there was a 42 micro sitting at the stop and so we walked and got on it to head home.  This also happened Saturday when 5 of us girls went out to Multi Plaza.  Also on Saturday we had youth group which was really good!  After, we went to Mc Donalds and ate and then I went with Andrew, Parker, Thomas, Daniel, and Freddy to go watch them play soccer.  The place we went to only allowed men to play so I watched, which was fun too! :)

^" Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."  -1 John 4:11-12

God is working in crazy ways! :)

So I haven't blogged in a while. But since then I have still been enjoying life here in El Salvador! :) The new orphanage, "La casa de mi Padre" is really cool!  We have been there twice, hopefully we will start creating more relationships with the kids there. It is absolutely crazy that on the 18th we will have been here for a 2 months! I can't believe it! This past week I was having some health issues and so was Abigail (we are both okay though!) So on Monday Mario took Abigail and me to the doctor, and Leah came with me for moral support. :) So we went to Abigail's doctor that she was seeing first and Mario went in with her to translate. After, we went to the hospital to see the doctor I was seeing, Mario had to leave to go pick up his kids and Silivia to take them home. So it was just us girls seeing the doctor with no translator... So Abigail knows more Spanish than Leah and I do so she helped translate for me alot! Later she said that it was God who helped her translate and that she thinks that God may be telling her to be a translator. And then we got to thinking... What if the reason both of us were having health issues was for God to show Abigail that she is supposed to be a medical translator or a translator of some sort? Cool, huh?

       A few weeks ago we all tried to send letters, so we sent letters with some of the people for them to send when they went to the post office.  Turns out, the post office was on strike.  But it is back and running now!
      One of my MANY favorite things to do here is to go up on our roof and either just spend some quiet time with God or to marvel at the lightening when there are storms. Which here in El Salvador storms happen a lot! Today after church I rode with Guillermo on the back of his motorcycle to Multi Plaza and then to Roberto’s house to watch the Barca/Real game! I'm beginning to feel a little bit like a legit Salvadoran. (except I still stick out like a sore thumb)Some other people from our group were supposed to come but they got lost so they decided not come.  So I was the only person from our group that was there, which was completely fine and I also got to practice my Spanish a little bit more. :)
      The weeks seem to be flying by, which is kinda scary!!! Before we know it, it will be December and we will be half way through our year!!! I guess its good that it’s going by fast, that means I am enjoying it! Hopefully I will be able to blog again soon!

It's been a month already!!

I can’t believe that we have been living here for a month already, it’s crazy!! The past weeks have been so great! :) This morning instead of having Spanish class we went to visit the orphanage that we are going to start going to as well! It's called La Casa de mi Padre, and there is a bridge house where older teenagers live. On Monday's we will be at the bridge and on Friday's we will be at La Casa de mi Padre. This morning we looked around and then attended their Friday morning devotional. The missionary who started La Casa de mi Padre is from Staunton, Virginia. Which is crazy because that is like 15 minutes from where my grandparents and cousin live and where my mom grew up. I was really excited that he knew where Waynesboro was. :) The devotional he gave was AWESOME. He shared Psalms 78:1-10 with us, which is:


1 O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old-- 3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, 6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. 7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. 8 They would not be like their forefathers-- a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him. -Psalms 78:1-8


He explained that Psalms 78 is why they run the orphanage like they do. On Tuesday we went to Metamorphosis again and I made shoes! ...Well the men pretty much made them but I glued some of the stuff. :) Our girls Bible study went great again! I really can feel us growing closer and closer each day! Next week we have decided that as a group we are going to fast Internet! I'm surprisingly okay with this and excited! I think it will really help take away some distraction and help us to really focus on what God is asking of each of us! And it will also help us grew together more as family. :) The boys decided that we are going to have Bible study on Monday nights and then Family discussions on Friday nights, I am pretty excited about that! :) I doubt that I will blog again before our Internet fast but I will definitely sometime after! :)

Be still and know He is God.

This past week was awesome! It was our second week of our normal schedule.  Soon, we are going to start going to another orphanage on Mondays and Fridays, which  I am excited about. :) On Monday we had our 2nd Bible class with Pastor Gabriel and he talked about hardening of our hearts.  On Tuesday we went to Metamorphosis again which I LOVED. :)  I worked with Roberto (Not the same Roberto who is at La Iglesia).  I didn't do too much but I wrote numbers on the material that he was cutting.  He can speak English so we talked alot and got to know each other!  Next week I am going to bring Radical for him to read and playing cards.  Wednesday, we had Spanish class with Tuty, she is very patient with us. I am so thankful for her!  Later we had our first girl's Bible study, I already can't wait for next Wednesday!  We all shared some Bible verses and talked about them. Each of us wrote down something that we want prayer for and what we are struggling with so that others could pray for us this week. We put it in a hat and then each drew one so we would have one for this week.  I really like that we are growing closer as we grow closer to Christ. :)  Some time that day Abigail cut my 2 inches off my hair.  Okay, I know it's not much but it seems so short now! But it will grow back! Thursday, we had Spanish and we went to Exodo!  I am so in love with a girl named Gabby, who is 12, that is at Exodo!  She is so sweet and I love spending time with her when we visit there!  Today we had our first Spanish test, which everyone did pretty good on! :) And at the beginning of class Tuty had Donuts for us, which was super sweet of her! :) Then most of us just had a lazy day, I read some, did some laundry, and took a nap! :) Tomorrow some of us are planning on taking the bus to the beach! I'm pretty excited about that! :) I have been learning so much reading through Exodus I am so happy to be in God's Word every single day! :)  I am learning that sometimes I just need to be completely still and just feel and know that God is who He is.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”Exodus 14:14

I am in LOVE with Exodo! :)

Thursday was our first day at Exodo! It was absolutely amazing! :)  I already cannot wait until next Thursday! I have already fallen in love with the little girls there!  I spent the time in the younger girls building.  For a while I held one of the workers babies, her name is Sophie and she's five months old. She is so precious! I helped another girl with her homework, good thing it was math so I could somewhat communicate with her.  And then we played with the little girls for the rest of time. :)  Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we had Spanish class with our teacher Tuty. :) It's for the most part easy, but she speaks in Spanish most of time so I can't really understand what we are doing. Ha. But hopefully soon I'll be able to understand her! :)  Yesterday, after Spanish class and lunch some of us went to walmart and office depot.  We took the long way home, on accident.  But I thought it was kinda fun just riding on the bus. :)  We got home after taking two buses. :)  Today we slept in and then went to Wendy's to eat lunch.  Oh and I finished Genesis today! :) I loved reading through it so much! :) We got back and got ready to go to the baptism for La Iglesia. :) And alot of us rode in the back of Roberto's truck to the baptism, which was fun! :)The baptisms were awesome and after Mitch led worship! It was really amazing to hear all of us singing in English and the people around us singing in Spanish.  Then after we left we went to eat papusas :)  Oh, and I forgot to mention in my last blog that I ate my first papusa with Allison and Andrew on Tuesday at a place down the road from our house near the gas station. And it was sooo good! :) But then we came home and now we are just chillin while Allison is playing the guitar and singing! Her voice is so beautiful! :)  Tomorrow we are going to church and then next week will be our second week of Bible class, Spanish classes, Metamorphosis, and the orphanage! :)

One word. Amazing.

     Last week was really fun but I am so excited to finally get started!  Last week we did many things!  We learned how to get around on the buses I actually enjoy riding the buses.  I feel like I have already lived here for a long time and have known my “family” for forever! I still absolutely love it here! Sunday, Roberto preached at La Iglesia! Roberto is one of the members of the church and we also went to his house last week to watch a soccer game! It’s crazy the past two Sundays both sermons I feel like have been directed to our group! That was definitely from God.  When we got home the guys, Holly, Leah, and I went to go play soccer!  After we were there for a while it started down pouring!! We kept on playing which made it even more fun!   Yesterday was our first day of bible class with Pastor Gabriel, I really enjoyed it and I have already learned so much from him.      

 

       Today was AMAZING!  I love Metamorphosis so much already and the men there!  For those of you who don’t know Metamorphosis is men’s prison ministry where they make shoes.  It’s a way to get them on their feet for the real world, and some men who aren’t in prison come back too!  We met Rene today, he is the man in charge there! He walked us around and explained what they were doing.  Then, we all went into a room for their birthday celebrations for some of the men who had birthdays in the month of August.  We sang in English and they sang in Spanish it was really cool.  Then we had cake, which was sooo good by the way!  After we all finished eating we stood up and the men sang Revelation Song in Spanish.  Now you want to talk about some worship?  They worshiped God fully and sang from their hearts.  We sang in English after the song ended and then Spanish again.  We sang another song too!  It was just absolutely AMAZING!  We also introduced ourselves and the men did too.  We ate lunch and then started working with the men!  Abigail, Parker, Holly, Cameron, and I helped make bows for shoes with a man.  I don’t remember his name because I couldn’t understand him when he told us.  But, we should see him next week so hopefully I’ll be able to remember him and understand how to say it!  He was an extremely nice man, funny, and definitely patient with us learning.  Making the bows we stuck our fingers into glue that was in a gerber baby food jar.  We messed up two on accident but Abigail and I got to keep one! :)  Tomorrow is our first day of Spanish class!!! I am so excited for it! I can’t wait to actually start understanding what everyone is saying! 

I already LOVE this place!!!

We arrived here in El Salvador yesterday! Everything went smoothly through the airport.  I absolutely love our house!!  My roommates are Michayla and Lane!  I finally finished setting up my corner of the room and put my pictures up of friends and family around my bed. :)  Orientation was great as well, it was a great way to get to know our team.  Wednesday afternoon we went camping in the woods.  It was definitely a good time to get to know our team!  I love all of them so much!  While we were camping we went over Radical and our devotional.  I’m so happy that we were given the book Radical to read. It was completely eye opening to me and made me realize what my life must look like!  Thursday, we signed the Radical commitment, that is a one year experiment, and it has 5 challenges.  The first one is read through the entire Word, pray for the entire world, sacrifice my money for a specific purpose, spend time in a different context, and commit my life to a multiplying community.  So, I am planning on completing this commitment this year!

This morning we went to La Iglesia for church!  The music was awesome as well as Mario's sermon.  There was a person translating for Mario this morning in English, however I've heard this could be the only Sunday he is translating.  But hey, that will definitely help us with our Spanish!  Last night a few people came from the church so it was great seeing them and talking with them again!  After church we went to Pizza Hut and few people from the church came too!  They are such sweet people, everyone here is so sweet. La Iglesia is the church we will be working with this year. It's a fairly new church that was planted not that long ago.  And I think that we will be helping alot with the youth and reaching the community!  I am so excited to get started! :)  And later after Pizza Hut the guys, Holly and I went to play soccer a few blocks down from our house.  It was really fun!  The Salvadorans definitely schooled us at soccer!  On the way home from the field we stopped and Andrew bought us bags of water. It was good, and yes mom it was fine to drink. ;)  And then we walked to a mango stand and Andrew bought some bags of mangos.  They put alot of spices and other stuff in it, wasn't my favorite.  Also, just the regular mangos had salt on them, also not my favorite.  Glad I tried it though.  So we are going to try and find a fresh fruit stand. :)  This week is pretty much orientation week in El Salvador!

-Grace :)

Getting ready!

 I’m starting a blog that I am going to attempt to keep while I am in El Salvador!  I’m really not sure how much I’ll update it but hopefully I will often!  First, I want to thank everyone who has prayed for me and supported me!  It means so much!!  For those who don’t know, I am going with a team to El Salvador through Global Year for 9 months!  We are about 4 days away from orientation in Atlanta and about 8 days until we fly to El Salvador!  I’m completely stoked about being with our team and heading to El Salvador!  Yet, I am extremely nervous about the goodbyes… I mean the “see ya laters”.  But, I know that God will get us through it! :)  It is finally starting to hit me that I am leaving my family and friends in 4 days! I need to finish packing! Last night was my last night at youth at my church.  And it was also my first Wednesday night with David (new youth pastor) being our youth pastor, it was awesome!  I am SO excited to see what God is going to do through David and his wife Stephanie in our youth group!  I have a feeling it’s going to be amazing!!  :)

-Grace :)

“Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told”  Habakkuk 1:5

 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”   Hebrews 11:1