It's crazy to think I have been in Guatemala for 7 months already.. It feels like just yesterday I was driving up into the mountains for the first time, yet at the same time it doesn't. This place has become like home to me. As much as I miss my Indiana home, I don't think I am ready to leave my new home here in Guatemala yet.
This semester has consisted of language school, sights, and lots and lots of homework. I also had the awesome experience of Samana Santa (Easter week) while living in Antigua! This is the biggest holiday/touristy week in Guatemala, bigger than Christmas! The weekends leading up, the week of and especially good Friday, people stay up all night to make these beautiful saw-dust carpets. After they make them, processions come through the streets and destroy them. I had the opportunity to make a carpet with my family, and I have to say it is quite depressing when the processions come through and ruin the hours of hard work you just did! But it really was an amazing experience I will remember forever! I also went on a 4AM hike up the mountain by my house to watch the sunrise, spent the night on a volcano, went to a zoo, and am going to Tikal this weekend. :)
These past couple of months have been a very different experience from last semester. For one, I know so much more spanish. It has been so encouraging being able to use my spanish in my sight to be able to talk with the women I work with. I have grown so much in my relationships with them, and they are truly amazing people. They make the hard days here in Guatemala so worth it. Today I had the opportunity to lead a devotional (first devo I have ever led) in spanish.. I was so nervous, and I forget probably half of what I was going to say, but I did it!! And even though it may not have gone well, I am so proud of myself for overcoming this fear of mine and for the opportunity to share the Bible with some of the most influential women in my life.
The opportunities God has brought me throughout this entire past year have been amazing. The biggest one, Guatemala. It is amazing for me to look back to the person I was a year ago and see the change that has happened throughout my life. I really am a different person, and I could not be more thankful.
So my goal for the rest of my last month here is to sit back and enjoy it. To build my relationships even more and soak in the beauty and my life of Magdalena. Thanks to everyone who continues to read this thang!
