Sunday, November 22, 2009
Dr. Amy
So again it has been awhile since I posted anything. Sorry to all of those who check everyday to find nothing. We just got done with an amazing medical team from Journey Church in Jacksonville. We got to see a lot of patients and give out a lot of medicine. There are so many sick people here that cant afford to go to the doctor and if they can afford it, then they cant afford to buy the medicine. The doctor taught me how to do a bunch of different things so that after he left I could help people out too. They also left us a ton of medicine. I learned how to take blood pressure, listen for infection in the lungs, feel if a baby is dehydrated, check for ear infection. He also taught me to give different medicines. I am sure some of you are quite worried by this, but we figure that nothing I give them will kill them and most have no other option. So I just pray and ask God to help me. Also I can consult with other people. I enjoy all of the medical stuff, it is fascinating and i know that it truly helps people.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Being a woman in Guatemala.
I dont have anything that exciting to write about, but I want to try to be more faithful at updating my blog. One thing that has really struck me lately is how the women work here and how my life would be different if I was a women born to a poor guatemalan family. My life would be completely different. I would probably be married with children. I would do tons of physical labor everyday. Why the women here suffer in a way that I will never know. Why was I born in the US?
I see women walking down the road with 50lbs of wood on their heads. They walked up the moutain 2 hours to bring it down so they can cook food for their family over an open fire. The only time I have cooked over and open fire is camping and that was "fun."
Even the clothes they wear are uncomfortable. I have worn the typical clothes that these women wear everyday. You cannot move. It is hard to sit and I couldnt reach things. The skirt itself weighs like 5lbs, it is so heavy and tied so tight to your waist.
The women here are strong and they work hard. They get up at the crack of dawn to serve their families. They have so much courage and fight so hard. Why I had a different life given to me, I will never understand. I know that it makes me think twice about complaining about anything that I have to do. I have been given so much and didnt do anything to deserve it.
I see women walking down the road with 50lbs of wood on their heads. They walked up the moutain 2 hours to bring it down so they can cook food for their family over an open fire. The only time I have cooked over and open fire is camping and that was "fun."
Even the clothes they wear are uncomfortable. I have worn the typical clothes that these women wear everyday. You cannot move. It is hard to sit and I couldnt reach things. The skirt itself weighs like 5lbs, it is so heavy and tied so tight to your waist.
The women here are strong and they work hard. They get up at the crack of dawn to serve their families. They have so much courage and fight so hard. Why I had a different life given to me, I will never understand. I know that it makes me think twice about complaining about anything that I have to do. I have been given so much and didnt do anything to deserve it.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Taco Bell
This is Guatemala's version of fast food. Super Tacos Bell. Its fast, but it will probably go through you just as fast.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Oil Change
I really needed to get my oil changed and I thought that at this one gas station that they had that service, so I went in and asked. The guy at the counter told me no. I was on my way back to my car when one guy came up to me and pointed across the street at the shadiest repair shop that I have ever seen in my life and told me that I could get it changed there. So I drove down the street looking for another place, thinking that there was no way that I would ever let those people work on my car. Well I turned around because I couldn't find any other place and decided to go ask the shady place about oil changes. They said that I could sit in my car while they did it (mind you parked on the side of the "highway") and that they only charge for the oil. The service is free. So I sat in my car and this really nice guy changed my oil. He was done in 15 minutes and it cost me about $25 with good oil. I couldn't believe it, I think I will always go back there. In Guatemala there are some things that are very strange, but they turn out to be really great. Like the fact you can sit in your car just pulled off to the side of the road and they will change your oil on the spot.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Well I hope that people are really reading my blog, I have made a new goal to write once a week. It is really hard when there are teams here but I am going to do my best. I am now back in Guatemala. I had a great welcoming committee when I got back. All the missionarys' kids came running out screaming "AMY AMY, we're so glad your back!" It felt pretty special.
In Costa Rica it is safe to drink the tap water whereas in Guatemala you will get very sick if you do. It is a very horrible problem for many of the poor people here cause they cannot afford purified water and so they have to drink the contaminated water and are constantly sick. So it was nice to be able to go anywhere in Costa Rica and fill up a water bottle or not worry about if the ice is safe to have. I got so used to being able to drink it that when I got here I went to go fill up my glass from the tap. As I am walking to do it, I remember that you cannot drink the water. I had gotten used to and forgotten about not having readily available drinking water. It is amazing how much easier and helpful it is for the people. I hope that someday Guatemala could get safe drinking water for its people.
It feels quite cold here and I have been having to wear sweat pants and a sweat shirt to sleep at night. I have no heat and it gets pretty darn cold. I know all you fellow northerners think I'm whining but imagine spring or fall without heat. I know, I know, there is no comparison to 5 months of snow. But let me tell you that it really sucks to take a barely lukewarm shower in the morning when it is so cold.
I am pretty much back into the swing of things and looking forward to going and visiting some of the families that I missed in the community. I am soon going to go visit sandra, the one that I took to the hospital to have her baby. I am excited to see them and how the baby has grown.
I look forward to visiting Costa Rica again. I feel blessed that God has allowed me to go see another country and that I can go there and help with teams and be a part of the ministry that goes on there. Part of my heart is with those people now and the struggles that they have. It is a different sort of poverty. There are so much drugs and alcohol abuse, single mom families, prostitution, and heartache. People there suffer in a different way. Many of them dont have food or money like here, but even worse their families are torn apart by different sins. Of course there are lots of families that stick together and help each other out, but there is lots of pain. Here in magdalena there is a lot of alcohol abuse as well, but it isnt to the degree as in costa rica. Most people here struggle just to eat 2 tortillas and walk a miles to get contaminated water. Families arent as torn apart here, but it seems that there is more domestic abuse--men beating their wives. It is hard to explain the differences, there are lots of similarities... the biggest one being they all need Jesus. But that is what we all need, even when we think we have it all.
In Costa Rica it is safe to drink the tap water whereas in Guatemala you will get very sick if you do. It is a very horrible problem for many of the poor people here cause they cannot afford purified water and so they have to drink the contaminated water and are constantly sick. So it was nice to be able to go anywhere in Costa Rica and fill up a water bottle or not worry about if the ice is safe to have. I got so used to being able to drink it that when I got here I went to go fill up my glass from the tap. As I am walking to do it, I remember that you cannot drink the water. I had gotten used to and forgotten about not having readily available drinking water. It is amazing how much easier and helpful it is for the people. I hope that someday Guatemala could get safe drinking water for its people.
It feels quite cold here and I have been having to wear sweat pants and a sweat shirt to sleep at night. I have no heat and it gets pretty darn cold. I know all you fellow northerners think I'm whining but imagine spring or fall without heat. I know, I know, there is no comparison to 5 months of snow. But let me tell you that it really sucks to take a barely lukewarm shower in the morning when it is so cold.
I am pretty much back into the swing of things and looking forward to going and visiting some of the families that I missed in the community. I am soon going to go visit sandra, the one that I took to the hospital to have her baby. I am excited to see them and how the baby has grown.
I look forward to visiting Costa Rica again. I feel blessed that God has allowed me to go see another country and that I can go there and help with teams and be a part of the ministry that goes on there. Part of my heart is with those people now and the struggles that they have. It is a different sort of poverty. There are so much drugs and alcohol abuse, single mom families, prostitution, and heartache. People there suffer in a different way. Many of them dont have food or money like here, but even worse their families are torn apart by different sins. Of course there are lots of families that stick together and help each other out, but there is lots of pain. Here in magdalena there is a lot of alcohol abuse as well, but it isnt to the degree as in costa rica. Most people here struggle just to eat 2 tortillas and walk a miles to get contaminated water. Families arent as torn apart here, but it seems that there is more domestic abuse--men beating their wives. It is hard to explain the differences, there are lots of similarities... the biggest one being they all need Jesus. But that is what we all need, even when we think we have it all.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Jacksonville
I spent the last week in Jacksonville, Florida. It was mainly to become an official member of 6:8 Ministries. I had an interview with the board; it was mainly just to meet them and for them to have a chance to see that I wasnt crazy. They did accept me so now I am official staff. I had been working with them for 6 months, but it is nice to actually have met the board. It was also a great excuse to got to the states and see friends.
I went to Journey Church. It is a church that has come down to Guatemala lots of times and feels a calling to help the people there. I spoke at the church. I walked in the door and it was fun to see so many people that I knew. It is a fairly small church and I had met a bunch of them on the trips. I then spent the week hanging out with them and just getting to know them better. It was a great time of fellowship and being built up by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They were so good to me and made my trip so enjoyable. I was able to go to Sea World. I experienced a restaurant called Chick-fil-a for the first time. Let me tell you they need to get those in the north of the US. I also got to go to Walmart. I bought things that I need but couldnt find the same exact thing in guatemala. Stupid things like hair gel, shampoo, clothes, and other general things that I used to use in the states. I obviously dont need (maybe hair gel) any of those things, I can make do with what they have in guatemala, but it was a nice treat to have the United States stuff that I am used to.
I hope to be able to return to Jacksonville soon. I feel like I have friends there even though I only have known them for a short time. Thanks everyone at Journey! You guys are Awesome!
I went to Journey Church. It is a church that has come down to Guatemala lots of times and feels a calling to help the people there. I spoke at the church. I walked in the door and it was fun to see so many people that I knew. It is a fairly small church and I had met a bunch of them on the trips. I then spent the week hanging out with them and just getting to know them better. It was a great time of fellowship and being built up by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They were so good to me and made my trip so enjoyable. I was able to go to Sea World. I experienced a restaurant called Chick-fil-a for the first time. Let me tell you they need to get those in the north of the US. I also got to go to Walmart. I bought things that I need but couldnt find the same exact thing in guatemala. Stupid things like hair gel, shampoo, clothes, and other general things that I used to use in the states. I obviously dont need (maybe hair gel) any of those things, I can make do with what they have in guatemala, but it was a nice treat to have the United States stuff that I am used to.
I hope to be able to return to Jacksonville soon. I feel like I have friends there even though I only have known them for a short time. Thanks everyone at Journey! You guys are Awesome!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
God's Provision
I am currently in Florida right now... with more information to come about why I am here. I wanted to share some experiences in Costa Rica before I forgot them.
The other day I went to the capital of San Jose to hand out sandwiches to the homeless. It was a really neat expierence. I overhead one guy talking to another saying that the sandwiches were such a blessing from God because his stomach was hurting because he hadnt eaten in 2 days. I really thought that it was amazing that almost every person say thanks and God bless you. It was as if they knew that we were doing it in the name of Jesus. That they know that God provides for them when they have nothing. It was just a time that I began to reflect on the fact that God really will provide all I need. These people literally wait on God everyday to provide means for them to live.
On a lighter note.... A funny thing that I saw in Costa.... If any of you start to complain about mowing the lawn with your self-propelled or riding lawn mower think again. I saw a lady sitting on the ground cutting her grass with a pair of scissors! Imagine how long that must take. I couldnt believe it.
The other day I went to the capital of San Jose to hand out sandwiches to the homeless. It was a really neat expierence. I overhead one guy talking to another saying that the sandwiches were such a blessing from God because his stomach was hurting because he hadnt eaten in 2 days. I really thought that it was amazing that almost every person say thanks and God bless you. It was as if they knew that we were doing it in the name of Jesus. That they know that God provides for them when they have nothing. It was just a time that I began to reflect on the fact that God really will provide all I need. These people literally wait on God everyday to provide means for them to live.
On a lighter note.... A funny thing that I saw in Costa.... If any of you start to complain about mowing the lawn with your self-propelled or riding lawn mower think again. I saw a lady sitting on the ground cutting her grass with a pair of scissors! Imagine how long that must take. I couldnt believe it.
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