chevron

2.27.2010

Hot Date

Ryan and I went to the Eagle's Nest for dinner on Friday. The restaurant rotates while you eat!

the city.

dessert!

No, I am not pregnant, yikes.


2.20.2010

other loves of my life

On Friday Tiek and I met Kara up in Lafayette for dinner. And afterwards we had a little treat, and went to see Rebekah Osborn, our former room mate, play at Greyhouse Coffee Shop. It was so good to see her and hear a little about her life. Also good to spend time with the girls. I'm thankful they live so close :)


Bummer my eyes are closed, this is a cute picture.
Still cute and eyes open :)



2.17.2010

A weekend with the Cheneys!

This past weekend Ryan and I had the pleasure of hosting our great friends Jennifer and Garrett. They came in from Colorado on Friday and stayed with us through the weekend. Some highlights from their time in Indy!

The boys at Nicky Blaine's

The girls visited my favorite place, The Flying Cupcake for a treat


Mmmmm...


A little 344 photo time


Afterwards more sweets, cookie baking :)


A Valentine's Day double date, duckpin bowling in Fountain Square



Thank you so much for visiting us, we had such a great time!

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, my parents sent us this awesome block of cheese shaped like cupid:


from Jungle Jim's
Nothing says love like cheese and crackers :)

2.16.2010

Antigua!

During our time in Guatemala, we had a day that we traveled to the nearby city of Antigua. Antigua is one of the oldest cities in Latin America, and actually used to be the capital of Guatemala. The city has been destroyed several times by floods, volcano eruptions, and earthquakes, and the capital of Guatemala has since been moved to Guatemala City.

We went to visit a coffee plantation and learned all about the coffee-making process. The plantation we visited supplies to Starbucks so they are basically fair-trade which was cool. They told us all about how they treat their employees well, and the conditions.

young coffee plants


After removing the seeds from their shell and washing them, they sun dry all of the beans. Yes, those are volcanoes in the background.


There is a beautiful cross statue that overlooks the city.
We visited an old cathedral that was destroyed in an earthquake. It was beautiful...the old stone and flowers growing throughout the ruins.

Ryan playing on the ruins...

Architecture and volcano...
The outside of the cathedral at night.

Antigua was really neat, it had a distinct Spanish feel to it. While we were there we actually picked up some chicks at the market for the chicken coops we were building. I wish I had more pictures of the streets, they were all cobblestone with very colorful buildings. I might have to post about that later if I can borrow some pictures :)

2.11.2010

Guatemala

We made it back! Ryan and I had such a fantastic time in Guatemala and were really blessed by all of your prayers. It was such a great experience having Ryan on the trip as well and being able to process some of the experiences together. Since we've been back, I've had a hard time explaining some of what I "learned", how God changed my heart, and the joy of loving on His people. I want to tell you a little about what we did to give you a picture of the trip. (If you would like to see actual pictures, Ryan has loaded them to facebook)

Our first outreach was to paint the outside of the team house (where teams stay when they come down) for 6:8 ministries. We painted a mural with the help of Carlos, the art teacher in Magdelena. The mural showed a cross made out of calla-lilies with the phrase "God's art for all" or something to that effect in Spanish :)

While some were focused on painting, others of us were able to play with children in the neighborhood. We colored in coloring books, played some soccer, practiced Spanish and English, and other games.


When we arrived the first day, we spent some time going to visit a few families of students at the local art school. One family mentioned that they were trying to open a store, but weren't having much luck. They didn't have a sign or anything to show there was a store, so we decided to continue our wall painting...and painted the outside of their store (essentially the outside of their house as well). We painted it a bright shade of pink!


Again, while some were painting, we also had a game of soccer going. All of the kids loved soccer and wanted to see if the Americans could play...


We spent a lot of time with the kids in the family below. We were able to hear their story, deliver some food, paint the sign for their store and deliver chickens and a coop. Such simple ways to love and encourage a family. The kids' names were Beverly, Jimmy, and Jorge (oldest to youngest). Beverly is a beautiful young girl and a fantastic artist. She is learning so much at the art school, and it was so fun being able to encourage her in her painting and her faith. She was so proud to show me that she had painted a few bible verses on the wall by her bed and carried her bible with her everywhere. Jimmy was very quiet, but looooved to play games. Lastly, Jorge, the youngest was hysterical. He loved to make his brother and sister laugh, and liked to play pranks.


One of my highlights was getting to see Beverly painting at the school. She was so proud of her work, and we could tell she was so encouraged by all of us telling her how impressed we were. Beverly doesn't go to school because her parents can't afford to send her and it's not required, so the art school is the only education she is getting.
Carlos and his wife Telma run the art school, and put everything they have into the kids...to the point that they can struggle to feed themselves. Here is the group with Carlos and Telma.

On another morning we visited a local orphanage. The couple running the orphanage moved from the States a few years ago with their family, built a house, and now house as many orphans as the government will give them. Typically the kids they get have already experienced some sort of trauma within the first few weeks of their lives and require a lot of psycological and physical health attention. Many of the kids had experienced physical abuse, were abandoned, or their mothers were alcoholics. Our team brought over 5 or 6 duffel bags full of supplies with us (diapers, formula, medicine, etc...) to give to the orphanage.
One of the biggest projects we worked on was building a bathroom at the art school because they didn't have one. They guys worked all week to put up walls, a door, and plumbing. Luckily OSHA was not there to see the guys working...
On the last day, we built two chicken coups for families. The coops are meant to help families raise meat chickens to sell at the market, and start a micro-business for additional income. Here are the two boys from before, Jimmy and Jorge, watching their new chickens.
And the team delivering the coop! Aren't the coops beautiful?
And! A video summary:
I want to sum it all up a little bit by saying the people of Guatemala were just as much Jesus to us and we were trying to be to them. If anything, their hearts and lives reflect that of Christ more than my own sometimes, and it reminds me of what God can do when our "stuff" isn't in the way. The busyness and comfort that we so often let get in the way of serving others and knowing Christ. We must seek first the kingdom of righteousness (Matt 6:33), not stuff, busyness and comfort. Anyway, before I go on and on,
Key learnings:
Guatemala is beautiful
Generosity of the Guatemalan people
God works for the good of those who love Him
Blessed are the meek
There is beauty in humility
I know this is somewhat brief, and if you would like to know anything more, I would love to sit down with you and chat!

2.07.2010

Travels

Lately I've been realizing how much I love to dream about travelling. When I was younger we used to take family vacations every year to usually see one of the national parks. My parents love to hike and enjoy nature (without camping...reservations at the lodge please!) Through these adventures, I have been to 45 states, and have set the goal to reach all 50 before I turn 30. I am almost 25, and people at work joke that 30 is just around the corner...which is a little scary in and of itself. But that is another blog for another time. So, I have been to 45 states, and that leaves 5 left:

Louisiana
Alaska
Oklahoma
North Dakota
Delaware

So, friends, family, loyal blog readers, I need your help in brainstorming ways to get to these states 1. on a small budget 2. not alone and 3. to find something interesting. To get your creative juices flowing, please enjoy some pictures from road trips past and trips from my childhood...

The corn palace in South Dakota...yes, a palace made out of corn.

Drew and I kayaking at Glacier NP

Drew, Dad and Mom hiking

World's Largest Purple Spoon in Montana

Drew climbing out of the Grand Canyon (not really...)



Me, Molly, and Drew at Hoover Dam