Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Ahuachapan
Let me begin by saying that im sorry it has taken so long for a new post. Internet access
(and time) is limited here so I have been lucky to get enough time to check my emails. I am doing well and am enjoying my time here in El Salvador. Although I am not really all that homesick I am still counting the days til I get back to my friends and family. It is hard to believe I only have 27 days left!!
During my time in Ahuachapan I have been given the opportunity to do many things. In Xela we concentrated on school and here we are concentrating on relationships. Our first week here we translated for a UMVIM team from North Carolina. Since I used to work at UMVIM, this was a real treat for me. I enjoyed working alongside the team and my new Salvadorian friends. After four weeks of exercising my brain it was nice to finally put my hands to work. Our second week in El Salvador proved to be wonderful as well. We started language school and began working with the Methodist Churches here in Ahuachapan. It has been wonderful to see the fire that is in the people here and I am encouraged to see so many women in leadership positions within the church. I have found new strength and inspiration from the two female pastors here. On Tuesday we were given the opportunity to go on pastoral visits with Pastora Martha. I have been on visits with pastors in the past but this was my first time accompanying a woman. It felt so different than what I had experienced before. I watched as she spoke to those we visited with confidence and compassion. Her very voice was like soothing music to my ears. I watched as the women we visited found hope in the promises of God. When our visits were close to concluding Pastora Martha would lay her hands on the person she was praying for and offer a prayer for healing to God. I think that the spirit of a woman is one of the most amazing things in the world...and to see this spirit as a pastora is beautiful.
Blessings to you all!!
Amanda
(and time) is limited here so I have been lucky to get enough time to check my emails. I am doing well and am enjoying my time here in El Salvador. Although I am not really all that homesick I am still counting the days til I get back to my friends and family. It is hard to believe I only have 27 days left!!
During my time in Ahuachapan I have been given the opportunity to do many things. In Xela we concentrated on school and here we are concentrating on relationships. Our first week here we translated for a UMVIM team from North Carolina. Since I used to work at UMVIM, this was a real treat for me. I enjoyed working alongside the team and my new Salvadorian friends. After four weeks of exercising my brain it was nice to finally put my hands to work. Our second week in El Salvador proved to be wonderful as well. We started language school and began working with the Methodist Churches here in Ahuachapan. It has been wonderful to see the fire that is in the people here and I am encouraged to see so many women in leadership positions within the church. I have found new strength and inspiration from the two female pastors here. On Tuesday we were given the opportunity to go on pastoral visits with Pastora Martha. I have been on visits with pastors in the past but this was my first time accompanying a woman. It felt so different than what I had experienced before. I watched as she spoke to those we visited with confidence and compassion. Her very voice was like soothing music to my ears. I watched as the women we visited found hope in the promises of God. When our visits were close to concluding Pastora Martha would lay her hands on the person she was praying for and offer a prayer for healing to God. I think that the spirit of a woman is one of the most amazing things in the world...and to see this spirit as a pastora is beautiful.
Blessings to you all!!
Amanda
Sunday, June 21, 2009
My trip home
Today has been one of the best days yet. This morning we went to the Nazarene church in town. This was the first weekend that we have been in town on a Sunday and we were excited to go to church. The service was wonderful. We sang many songs and the preacher was great. The congregation welcomed us with open arms. Being able to share the love of Christ with each other and to know that we were worshipping the same awesome God was amazing. After the service we met a wonderful couple named Ingrid and Yaced. Ingrid teaches English as a second language. Both of them are very active in the church. They were so kind to us and treated us like family. They invited us to go to a nearby town to watch some people in their church being baptized. We showed up to find that they were being baptized in a pool at a tiny waterpark that was closed. Ït was cold and rainy and one of the most beautiful experiences i´ve ever had. Before the baptisms the preacher spoke about the commitment we make when we are baptized. He prayed for the young people and asked that God would help them to live a Christ centered life. I could feel the Holy Spirit moving as we sang ¨All to Jesus I Surrender.¨ As i stood there and watched these 8 young people being baptized i realized in a new way how the love of Christ unites us all as one family. Although I didn´t know anything about these people, they had opened their hearts to me and had allowed me to share in this intimate moment. When Ingrid and Yaced dropped us off they told us to come by or call anytime we needed anything. ANYTHING!! They stressed that they were there for us whenever we needed them. I felt as if I was talking to a member of my family from home. As we walked away i realized that iI felt different than I have in a long time. I had a peace about me that i hadn´t had in Xela before. And then I figured it out...I had just been home. I had just spent the day with my family. I had just shared in a precious moment with my brothers and sisters in Christ. As I write this I can´t help but tear up at the power of God to meet us in the many different places in our lives. Thanks be to God for my trip home...
Monday, June 15, 2009
update from xela
hi everyone! just wanted to give an update from xela. i start my second week of school today. it is hard to believe that a week has already passed. i´ve already learned so much but i feel like i have so much more to learn before leaving here for el salvador. last week was wonderful but very hard at the same time. being in a strange place while trying so hard to learn the language was tough for me. there were a couple days that i just sat and looked at pics of my family and friends in order to feel happy. it was also aliezah´s first birthday...i hate that i missed it but i got to talk to my daddy that day which was good.
school has been great. i have a great teacher named leyla. she speaks very little english so it has forced me to use the spanish that i have and to learn a lot more. every day we sit for 5 hours and speak spanish to each other. i have also enjoyed time with my friends from duke. we have gone out to eat a couple of times and have spent time reflecting with each other. it has been really good for me to talk about everything that is going on here with others who are going through the same thing.
last week we had several activities. i learned how to salsa dance...which is much harder than it looks! i also went on a trip to fuentes georgianas, hot springs near xela. the hot springs are large pools with hot water in them that flows from the volcano. it was so relaxing and beautiful. i also went to an italian concert in the city theater on friday. it was beautiful. it was a concert with a violin soloist and he was amazing. this weekend we traveled to a finca, a coffee farm. it was a crazy ride as we drove up cobblestone and dirt roads to a town of about 400 people. it is a co op that produces coffee, macademia nuts, spring water, and they make their own compost for their gardens and their own biodiesel for their machines. it really was a interesting project. just to see the way that the community works together so that everyone benefits from the projects was inspiring. we had quite a bit of down time at the finca. we spent many hours just sitting on the porch reading or studying, looking at the mountains and volcanos surrounding us. it was very beautiful. it rained more and harder than i have ever seen while we were there. it was great to hear the rain on the tin roof...a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the city.
well, i should get to studying for class. i am still doing well and i appreciate your continued prayers. i hope to update more later.
school has been great. i have a great teacher named leyla. she speaks very little english so it has forced me to use the spanish that i have and to learn a lot more. every day we sit for 5 hours and speak spanish to each other. i have also enjoyed time with my friends from duke. we have gone out to eat a couple of times and have spent time reflecting with each other. it has been really good for me to talk about everything that is going on here with others who are going through the same thing.
last week we had several activities. i learned how to salsa dance...which is much harder than it looks! i also went on a trip to fuentes georgianas, hot springs near xela. the hot springs are large pools with hot water in them that flows from the volcano. it was so relaxing and beautiful. i also went to an italian concert in the city theater on friday. it was beautiful. it was a concert with a violin soloist and he was amazing. this weekend we traveled to a finca, a coffee farm. it was a crazy ride as we drove up cobblestone and dirt roads to a town of about 400 people. it is a co op that produces coffee, macademia nuts, spring water, and they make their own compost for their gardens and their own biodiesel for their machines. it really was a interesting project. just to see the way that the community works together so that everyone benefits from the projects was inspiring. we had quite a bit of down time at the finca. we spent many hours just sitting on the porch reading or studying, looking at the mountains and volcanos surrounding us. it was very beautiful. it rained more and harder than i have ever seen while we were there. it was great to hear the rain on the tin roof...a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the city.
well, i should get to studying for class. i am still doing well and i appreciate your continued prayers. i hope to update more later.
Monday, June 8, 2009
my first day of school
This morning i got up and got ready for my very first day of school. i was reminded of my first day of kindergarten when my momma put me on the bus. i didn´t know anyone and i was scared to death. it´s funny how little things have changed just 24 years later! yesterday i arrived in xela around 1 pm. i was picked up at the bus stop by sylvia and taken to the school to register. after registering i ventured out on my own and went to a market in the central square. i also ate lunch at a place called utz hua. i was pretty proud of myself for ordering something that i actually liked, in spanish. afterwards i met the family i will be staying with over the next three weeks. the father´s name is carlos, his wife is magnolia, and they have two children, carla (9 yrs old) and jesus alfonzo (3 yrs old). carlos´mother also lives with them, her name is maria. if you know me well, you can understand the excitement i felt when i found out they had small children. i can´t wait to know enough spanish so that i can confidently communicate with my family. the family has been so welcoming to me and carlos told me that his house is my house and his family, my family. it almost brought me to tears!!
my accomodations are nice. i have a room to myself with a twin bed, a dresser, and a desk. i share the bathroom with the rest of the family. i was so excited to find out that there is hot water for showers...or should i say luke warm water! either way, at least it´s not ice cold. the weather here has been moderatly hot during the morning, rain in the afternoon, and cool at night. i got pretty cold last night and slept under three blankets. i´m not sure how cold it was this morning walking to school, all i know is that it was cold enough to see my breath in the air. i have to walk about 10 blocks to school which takes me between 15 and 20 minutes.
last night i met up with my friends from Duke and we had dinner together. it was so good to see them and i could already tell that they were more confident about speaking spanish. they have been a huge help to me already!
this morning all the students met at sakribal (the school) to do introductions and go over activities for the week. my classes are in the afternoon from 2 to 7 pm and will be able to do activities in the morning. today we went to a mayan cemetary that was built in the early 1700s. it was really interesting. tomorrow night we will have salsa dancing lessons and wednesday we will go to the hot springs nearby. there is so much to do around here!
well, i just wanted to give an update about my trip. i am feeling much, much better than this time last week and i appreciate your prayers so much.
love in christ,
Amanda
my accomodations are nice. i have a room to myself with a twin bed, a dresser, and a desk. i share the bathroom with the rest of the family. i was so excited to find out that there is hot water for showers...or should i say luke warm water! either way, at least it´s not ice cold. the weather here has been moderatly hot during the morning, rain in the afternoon, and cool at night. i got pretty cold last night and slept under three blankets. i´m not sure how cold it was this morning walking to school, all i know is that it was cold enough to see my breath in the air. i have to walk about 10 blocks to school which takes me between 15 and 20 minutes.
last night i met up with my friends from Duke and we had dinner together. it was so good to see them and i could already tell that they were more confident about speaking spanish. they have been a huge help to me already!
this morning all the students met at sakribal (the school) to do introductions and go over activities for the week. my classes are in the afternoon from 2 to 7 pm and will be able to do activities in the morning. today we went to a mayan cemetary that was built in the early 1700s. it was really interesting. tomorrow night we will have salsa dancing lessons and wednesday we will go to the hot springs nearby. there is so much to do around here!
well, i just wanted to give an update about my trip. i am feeling much, much better than this time last week and i appreciate your prayers so much.
love in christ,
Amanda
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Thanks be to God for prayers (and strong antibiotics)!!
Let me start by saying how thankful I am for your prayers!! There is no way I could have made it through this crazy week without each of you praying for me, calling me, and sending me sweet messages.
I am happy, excited, extatic, overwhelmed with emotion, and overjoyed to let you know that I booked my plane ticket last night!!!! I felt so good just five hours after my shots of antibiotics that I decided to go ahead and fly out on Saturday. So, I was able to reschedule for the low, low price of $720...only $220 more than my original ticket. :( Oh well, at least I'm going to get to go...and they did waive the cancellation fee because of my doctor's note.
I would ask that you please continue to pray for me to be as good as new, to have safe travels, and that I will be able to catch up after missing a full week of school.
So, I guess my next update to you will be that I'm about to leave or just arriving in Guatemala!! Thanks again for everything. I love you all!!
amanda <><
I am happy, excited, extatic, overwhelmed with emotion, and overjoyed to let you know that I booked my plane ticket last night!!!! I felt so good just five hours after my shots of antibiotics that I decided to go ahead and fly out on Saturday. So, I was able to reschedule for the low, low price of $720...only $220 more than my original ticket. :( Oh well, at least I'm going to get to go...and they did waive the cancellation fee because of my doctor's note.
I would ask that you please continue to pray for me to be as good as new, to have safe travels, and that I will be able to catch up after missing a full week of school.
So, I guess my next update to you will be that I'm about to leave or just arriving in Guatemala!! Thanks again for everything. I love you all!!
amanda <><
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
As if you haven't heard enough about me already...
Well, I have another update that will hopefully be the last one for today. After a call to the corporate offices of urgentcare I was asked to come into the office for an exam that would be free of charge. I went back and they did a mono test which came back negative--Thank you LORD! They drew blood and sent out a strep culture, which I made sure they sent this time! The blood test came back with a high white blood cell count which means i have some kind of bacterial infection. They decided to do a more aggressive treatment of antibiotics so I got two shots and am taking a different, stronger antibiotic for the next ten days. I am praying that tomorrow i will wake up and feel a lot better...well enough to book my plane ticket for this weekend-believing that God will heal me prior to leaving. Thank you for your prayers. Hopefully my next update will be that I'm heading out to Guatemala!!!
Hopeful,
amanda <><
Hopeful,
amanda <><
update from Atlanta
I'm sure that most of you reading my blog have recieved messages from me on facebook with the scoop on what's going on in regard to my trip right now. I had to postpone my trip due to my health. One week ago today I began running a high temperature that lasted a little over 2 days. I went to the Doctor, thanks to my Aunt Rita for getting me in, and they did a strep and flu test--both of which came back negative. I was told that it was probably just a flu-like virus and that it would just have to run it's course. So, I rested, drank lots of fluids, and took tylenol in hopes of feeling better by my good friend's Betsy's wedding on Saturday. Unfortunatley, I wasn't able to make it to the rehearsal dinner but I joined in on the activities on the day of the wedding. I enjoyed the day so much and it was such a blessing to be a part of her special day. My throat was still sore but I felt better physically than I had in days, no doubt because it was the first full day without a fever.
Throughout the day on Saturday my throat began to hurt worse than it had days before. By the end of the reception I could barely stand to swallow. I kept telling myself that it would go away and I would feel better for my 8:30 am flight. Landon and I left the reception and arrived in Atlanta at 1 am. It was then that I realized I had been kidding myself all along and there was no way a few hours of sleep was going to cure my throat. So I decided to cancel my flight.
I went to urgent care on Sunday and they did another strep test in the office that came back negative. They said they were going to send off a culture to the lab but in the meantime would put me back on antibiotics. I left the office feeling hopeful that I would find out by mid week that I had something that the antibiotics could fix and I would be on my way to Guatemala by the weekend. So, I waited to book my flight. I didn't want to have to cancel again on the off chance that I was still sick.
Since Sunday my throat has yet to feel better. I was surprised that the antibiotics hadn't helped even slightly after two days so i called the office to check on my test. I was told that the results should be in on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Great!! As crazy as it sounds, I had hoped that strep would confirmed so I would at least know that the antibiotics should work soon. If I at least knew that, I could book my flight with faith that I would feel better by the weekend. I got no word last night so I called again this afternoon. This is where the frustrating part of my story begins!! I talked to a lady at the office who said I did not have a culture sent to the lab and that the office and the lab have no record of my labs being taken. On top of all that, the lady was really rude to me, questioning me about whether I had even had the test to begin with!
So, here I am in Atlanta...still feeling horrible. I've waited here for three days in hopes that I could find out what was wrong with me so I could get on with this journey. Now I'm back to the beginning of this process and have been told that it would take another two to three days to get results back from tests taken. I've been told by many people that I should have a mono test done. I'm just so confused about what I should do. Should I stay in Atlanta and get the test done with the hopes that this test will in fact be back by Friday? I don't feel like I should book my ticket without at least figuring out what's wrong with me. And if for some reason i can't go this weekend, I may have to cancel my entire trip...which scares me because I have no idea what I will do this summer. Not knowing how to take the next step is just so upsetting to me.
I hope that you will all keep me in your prayers as I deal with being sick and trying to find out what to do about my trip. I love you all and I am so thankful for your words of encouragement.
Throughout the day on Saturday my throat began to hurt worse than it had days before. By the end of the reception I could barely stand to swallow. I kept telling myself that it would go away and I would feel better for my 8:30 am flight. Landon and I left the reception and arrived in Atlanta at 1 am. It was then that I realized I had been kidding myself all along and there was no way a few hours of sleep was going to cure my throat. So I decided to cancel my flight.
I went to urgent care on Sunday and they did another strep test in the office that came back negative. They said they were going to send off a culture to the lab but in the meantime would put me back on antibiotics. I left the office feeling hopeful that I would find out by mid week that I had something that the antibiotics could fix and I would be on my way to Guatemala by the weekend. So, I waited to book my flight. I didn't want to have to cancel again on the off chance that I was still sick.
Since Sunday my throat has yet to feel better. I was surprised that the antibiotics hadn't helped even slightly after two days so i called the office to check on my test. I was told that the results should be in on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Great!! As crazy as it sounds, I had hoped that strep would confirmed so I would at least know that the antibiotics should work soon. If I at least knew that, I could book my flight with faith that I would feel better by the weekend. I got no word last night so I called again this afternoon. This is where the frustrating part of my story begins!! I talked to a lady at the office who said I did not have a culture sent to the lab and that the office and the lab have no record of my labs being taken. On top of all that, the lady was really rude to me, questioning me about whether I had even had the test to begin with!
So, here I am in Atlanta...still feeling horrible. I've waited here for three days in hopes that I could find out what was wrong with me so I could get on with this journey. Now I'm back to the beginning of this process and have been told that it would take another two to three days to get results back from tests taken. I've been told by many people that I should have a mono test done. I'm just so confused about what I should do. Should I stay in Atlanta and get the test done with the hopes that this test will in fact be back by Friday? I don't feel like I should book my ticket without at least figuring out what's wrong with me. And if for some reason i can't go this weekend, I may have to cancel my entire trip...which scares me because I have no idea what I will do this summer. Not knowing how to take the next step is just so upsetting to me.
I hope that you will all keep me in your prayers as I deal with being sick and trying to find out what to do about my trip. I love you all and I am so thankful for your words of encouragement.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
First and foremost, thank you so much for all the prayers and support you have given to me as I prepare for my trip to Guatemala and El Salvador. It's hard to believe that it's about that time...I leave on Sunday morning and will not return until August 10th.
I am very excited about the new friends I will make and the adventures I will have. I covet your prayers as I adjust to a new culture while learning Spanish.
Please also be in prayer for all those I will come in contact with--that God will reveal Himself to us as we seek to serve Him.
I will be posting as regularly as possible on my blog, so I hope you'll occassionally check it out and offer up a prayer for me and my four classmates!!
Thank you for being such an important part of my life!!
Love in Christ!!
Amanda <><
I am very excited about the new friends I will make and the adventures I will have. I covet your prayers as I adjust to a new culture while learning Spanish.
Please also be in prayer for all those I will come in contact with--that God will reveal Himself to us as we seek to serve Him.
I will be posting as regularly as possible on my blog, so I hope you'll occassionally check it out and offer up a prayer for me and my four classmates!!
Thank you for being such an important part of my life!!
Love in Christ!!
Amanda <><
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