Waiting Room

Ok I have to make a little side note for this post to clarify some things...
I was sitting at the dinner table tonight when my dad didn't hesitate to ask me why I had some poem about a waiting room on my blog. He did not totally understand it & being a doctor, thought that I was really sitting in a waiting room & was completely confused at it all.

This "Waiting Room" is actually a new song that I came across the other day & it was really describing my life at the time. It's symbolically (if that's the correct word to use) talking about a waiting room--the waiting room that I am waiting for God to answer my requests. It's a song about faith & believing that God knows what He is doing, even if His answer is a 'no'.
I hope that was a better description for this blog post. I should have done this in the first place anyways. Sorry about that..love you all! :))

Also, here is a video of the song so you could hear it as well. :) I tried to get the video on here but I kept having troubles with it, so here is the link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Gxv9CRRVM

JONNY DIAZ~~WAITING ROOM

Here in this waiting room yearning for You to say go
And though I’m convinced that a yes would be best
This time You’re telling me no

It’s not that I don’t have an answer
It’s just not the one that I’d like
But through this time Lord I must keep in mind
You’re always wiser than I

You have a much better purpose
And You have a far greater plan
And You have a bigger perspective
Cause You hold this world in your hands

The things that I seek are from You
Like the strong healing touch of your hand
But when You say no help me trust even though
There’s a reason I can’t understand

When that miracle comes cause Your answer is yes
I will praise you for all of my days
But when Your wisdom declares that a no is best
I will praise You just the same

Psalm 19:1

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship." ~Psalm 19:1

I was walking past the front door this evening and something caught my eye. The color from the sky was creeping through the glass on the door. Of course it made me go take a peek myself. My poor neighbors probably thought I was a weirdo for walking out of my house bundled up in sweats and thick socks when it's 90 degrees outside (but hey, it's like 30 in my house! haha).

Anyways, the awesome colors of the sunset reminded me of one of my favorite Bible references. Psalm 19:1.

I remember coming across this Scripture when I was in Guatemala. I remember sitting in the hammock and shouting silently to myself, "No wonder this is why I love the sky so much!!!"

So so soooo true though! I LOVE the sky and anything that has to do with the sky!.... sunsets, sunrises, lightning storms, clouds, stars, you name it I'm there! :)

AdVeNtuRe

Adventure. Ah my heart pounds just hearing that word.

As if you had no idea, I LOVE adventure.
I always call it the metaphor of my entire life story. I life for adventure. It's exciting. Yes, sometimes it's annoying and even painful but that's what makes the journey thrilling. There is just something about not knowing where you are going but knowing that the Lord has it all in His hands and under His control. There is just something about doing things you never thought you could complete. There is just something about going places you never dreamed you would go. There is just something about living an adventurous life and stepping out of the comforts of home.

Adventure...what more could I ask for? :)

Mosquitos, Mosquitos, Mosquitos

I am getting eaten alive by mosquitos, but other than that I am doing wonderful and enjoying my time here in Guatemala. Staying healthy and happy as well. :)

God has been speaking to me so much just within these past 2 weeks. Nothing really dealing with things that have happened while I have been here but more through God's own little unique ways of speaking personally to me. I will try to share about each of those in posts following this one. Some of them I am still processing through. God is just so good and I am SO thrilled that He has allowed me this summer of adventure and serving and sharing with His people!

*sorry...a spider just ran across my computer haha. Yes mom, I killed it with my own bare finger too ;) *

Anyways, random thought... I bought some banana bread from an older woman that came by the restaurant we were eating at tonight. I just tried a piece of it just now and it is so wonderful. Mmm I just love banana bread :) ..especially made by a sweet little Guatemalan woman.

I am getting really sad as I only have 2 more full days here. I wish I could stay longer and continue to serve and be a part of the Guatemalan culture and the beauty of the country and to just love on and embrace the people...and even get bitten by more mosquitos (kidding on that last one). All in all, this has been an amazing trip of course. This past week there were 2 teams down here. I was able to help build a house with one of the teams. This was the first mission trip for almost eveyone on the team except the team leader. It was really cool to share in that experience with them and to see them grow with one another and learn what serving is all about. I was even able to be a part of "Happy Feet" this past week, which is where you get to fit children and adults for new shoes. It was a chaotic but wonderful experience as the people were so excited to own a new pair of shoes! If you could only see the smiles on their faces. :)

I have even been able to work on my spanish speaking skills. I have even been picking up on a lot more than I originally thought. I have even been able to carry on a few small conversations with people. Still a little frustrating talking to some people and realizing I do not know the word to respond back to them. Language barriers are always frustrating. Atleast there is always next year ;)

A team of nursing students from IWU are here this week which is really neat. I wish I was able to stay the entire week with them and get to know some more of my fellow IWUers. This week will involve a lot more medical clinic type things and of that sort which will be different and pretty fun I think.
Tomorrow we are waking up early and going to a far off village up in the mountains about 2 hours away. They say it is a really poor and sad village. Language is also a problem there as the people do not speak spanish and only speak mayan. I am really excited about this journey tomorrow and seeing how God uses us to reach out and love these people even if it is only by our actions.

Until next time, pray that I will be able to sleep the entire night through without waking up each hour to the feeling of 100 itching mosquito bites. It is very painful and annoying.
With lots of love,
Carmen

I'm here :)

For those of you who haven't talked to my mom yet, I just wanted to let you all know that I am safely in the beautiful country of Guatemala. :)
Safe and pleasant travels down here. Shout out to the WCA soccer team and others who I was able to see on the plane to Miami! yay

We have just been hanging out in Antigua and such for the past few days. We have now met up with the teams who are down here this week. We will be heading to the lake tomorrow!
I'll talk with yall soon!
~Carmen