What I Really Want For Christmas

Is my two front teeth.




Just kidding. I really really really really really want a camera. A nice camera. A DSLR camera. But you know, there's just too darn expensive.

The truth is, I had a really hard time saying what I wanted for Christmas this year. I'm not sure why, but it all just seems weird. The camera was too expensive to ask for, and anything else I feel like would just be a waste of money. So I asked for a claddagh ring, a few books, and money...
I don't really need anything, so I feel like I shouldn't want anything. And I know it's okay to want something every once in a while, but Christmas just seems so weird.

I hate the idea of buying presents to give to people just for the sake of giving them presents. I hate the idea of presents not meaning anything. It just doesn't sit well with me.

This goes further than just being a college student who doesn't want to waste her money, too. Sure, it's nice to get presents, and it's great to give presents, but it's just awkward and uncomfortable to give/get presents that don't mean anything. It's a waste. A waste of time, money, emotion, etc.

To wrap everything up, I don't hate Christmas, and I don't think it's wrong to want something/ask for something for Christmas, but let's not be wasteful. Let's remember that the reason for buying presents is to make each other happy, and to mean something. Not to just frivolously spend money because it's what we "have" to do.

How Ten Days Can Change Your Life Pt 4

What now?
Well.. Now that I have fallen in love with a culture, a place, a way of life, a country, a people, and a whole bunch of kids, I've realized a lot... I've realized that I don't think that what God has for my future is in this country. I guess I've always been real interested in international missions, but I've never really seriously considered this as a legitimate option for my life. But, being in Guatemala has definitely changed that. And I'm not sure how, but now I can't see myself doing anything different.

It's been a cool realization to come to, especially this semester. I'm taking a Social Work Settings class. In this class, we've traveled to 8 different social work settings, interviewed social workers, and toured the different facilities. So this has been interesting, and I've learned a lot about what I want to do, and what I don't want to do. But to be honest, none of these field trips has made the social worker in my more excited than traveling to Guatemala. Something inside me just knows that I don't belong working in the States. At least right after I graduate.


I guess this means a few things. I need to sit tight and be patient (which is so incredibly hard for me) and wait for God to open doors (or close them). I need to be praying about my future (for God to open/close doors).

Pretty much, I am so excited to start the rest of my life. I just need to remember that I am where I am for a reason. 

How Ten Days Can Change Your Life Pt. 3

I bet you thought I was done talking about Guatemala, But I don't think I'll ever be done. I can't stop thinking about it, and it's really given a new meaning to my life. Before my trip, I was really focused on myself, my future, my past, who I was, who I was friends with, who I was gonna marry, everything. It was all about me. Welp, the truth is, is that it's not all about me. There are a whole bunch of people in this world, who sometimes just need something as simple as a hug, or a smile, or a hand squeeze.

The biggest thing that made me realize this is this kid:

This is Oscar. He is two years old. He just came to Hogar De Vida this fall. His mom brought him there because she was pretty much living on the streets, and she couldn't take care of him. He is totally sweet. He loves to laugh. He loves to eat. And he has my heart. 

To be honest, I have never been good with toddlers. I felt completely awkward around them. I never knew what to do with them. Until one decided to attach himself to me. After that, it just came naturally. I know it sounds crazy, but I honestly felt like his mom. He called me "ma." I can't describe it. 

Oscar picked me, and I have no idea why, but he did. And that has changed me. There's not a day that I don't think about him, and I am so glad to know that God has His hand on Oscar. He's blessed him so far by putting him in Hogar De Vida, and I believe that He will continue to protect Oscar. 

It was so hard to leave because I know he's been through that already; he's already been left by his real mom. I can still see him, through the bus window, beans on his face and all, crying. I didn't really think he'd understand that we were leaving for good (he just turned two for goodness sakes), but I think he did. That's been really hard for me, because I hate thinking of hurting him. But I know now that we went there for two weeks to love those kids, and to be parents for them for the week and a half we were there. 

In life, all you can do is love people when you have the chance. Sometimes, it doesn't matter how little, or insignificant it seems; you never know how much it means. 

I'm going back. And I know that, and I can only hope that Oscar knows that too.  And I know it sounds crazy. It sounds crazy to me, too. but someday, I really want to adopt him....

How Ten Days Can Change Your Life Pt. 2

This has taken me way too long to write. Much longer than expected. I'm sorry!

Sooo.. While we were in Guatemala, we went to a village called San Andres. We stayed at Hogar De Vida (Home of Life). Which houses about 30 kids from ages 1-18. A few of these kids are actual orphans, while most of them their families just couldn't take care of them, pretty much. 

While we were there, we did three days of VBS with the kids in the home. In addition, each kid got to invite a friend from school (who didn't live in the home). So we had a lot of kids for VBS, which was awesome! 

These kids are really fortunate to be in this home. They have awesome staff who are parents to them, and that was something that I really realized while I was there. They have a safe environment to learn about Jesus and have proper role models.

The School we painted (after the painting)

We also went into two different Aldeas (villages). The first one we went to, we painted a school. Let me begin by saying, painting is not my favorite thing to do. But, this was an awesome experience because we painted alongside parents and children of the village. That was so cool. Even though we didn't know their language, we still got to serve alongside them. It was an awesome experience. A lot of the girls would just really love to sit and watch us paint. They are really quiet, and it was cool to be able to interact with them, despite not being able to speak. One of the neatest experiences of my trip was painting with a man at this Aldea. We were painting the back of the school, and he was up on a ladder, and I would hold his paint bucket and dip his brush or roller in paint and hand it back up to him. Serving together with these people was an awesome feeling because it was two cultures coming together to help a great cause (this school). It was awesome.

Girls at the first aldea

The next day, we went into another Aldea where the original plan was to wash hair. I was so excited about that opportunity because it's something that I do everyday, and it's intense to think of a place where that doesn't happen (pretty much) everyday. But, this aldea didn't have running water. Which is even more intense. So, we had to change our plans. We decided that the women would do hair, and the guys would play soccer and other games with the boys. So that's what we did. After that, two of our team members gave their testimonies to the kids and to anyone else who were listening... We also brought a parachute (which we used at Hogar De Vida, too). It was so fun to watch these kids play with it. I learned here that play is international. You can play and laugh and have fun with someone who doesn't know your language. It's awesome.

Girls in the second Aldea

Boys from the second Aldea