YAAAAAYYYYY!

I know this is a few days late, but,
THE SEAHAWKS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!

I have officially decided that they are my favorite NFL team, sorry 49ers, but the loss in Azteca was pretty rediculous, and Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl!!

Weekends!

Hi again from Guanajuato!
Things are well, school is challenging but good. Being here in Guanajuato with four hours of classes daily, and not much else planned has given me time to explore the city, as well as travel to other nearby cities.

Last weekend I went to Leon, a larger city about an hour away by bus. My Honduran friend Emil, who works in Mexico City, met me there. The busses are very inexpensive, it only cost $2.50 to get to Leon! Leon is a rather commercial city, not as much historical and cultural things there as in Guanajuato or Querétaro. But we did go to two really great museums (that were free!!) and to the ZOO!! I LOVE zoos!


Sunday in Guanajuato was the day of Our Lady of Saint Juan del Lago. I believe she is the patron saint of Guanajuato. Anyhow, there was a parade through the town on Sunday, it went through the town for about 3 hours! There were the typical parade events – marching bands, dancers (dressed like Aztecs) and colorful costumes.


This parade, at the beginning also had several scary-looking characters. I was later told that these characters represent the seven deadly sins. There were also a lot of little girls dressed in wedding dresses. They were on their way to their first communion at church. Wow, there is so much I don’t know about Catholicism, and it is such a huge part of Mexican culture.


So, this weekend I’m off to Mexico City and Puebla. I LOVE cheap bus transportation! I think at some point I’ll also go on a guided tour of the colonial cities around Guanajuato. SOOO nice to be able to travel during my time here at language school!

Greetings From Guanajuato!

I have just finished my first week of language classes in Guanajuato Mexico. It’s actually been quite difficult! Which is good, because I was worried that I wouldn’t be challenged enough being in a class instead of with a personal tutor. My class this week was me, a lady from New Mexico, a man from Tennessee, a lady from Finland, and a girl my age from Brasil. They are really nice, but REALLY liberal. We’ve had some interesting conversations in class, mainly regarding United States politicians, and the fact that in the United States and Northern Europe we don’t “have to be subjected to traditional religion.” Like in Mexico most people are nominally catholic. I also met some people from Guanajuato (GTO) the other weekend at a ministry conference in Querétaro. There are three young people and a missionary lady here in GTO who are beginning a university ministry in the next couple of weeks. I have been meeting with them to get and share ideas. Tomorrow I will go to Leon, a city about an hour from here, with some ladies from school. My Honduran friend Emil (who now works in Mexico City) is going to meet us there and hang out. So, I haven’t been incredibly busy – classes are only from 9am to 1pm – but I really enjoy walking around the city, it’s really pretty! I’ll take some more pictures this weekend, as I have taken exactly TWO since I arrived last Monday…

Greetings From Queretaro

So, I’ve been in Querétaro for a week now! It is a beautiful city, with wonderful people… at least the people who I’ve met are wonderful! I’ve gone to the Centro (downtown colonial area) a few times, been to a couple of malls, the WalMart, and several restaurants. I went to my new church, Horizante, last Sunday, and I think I will like it a lot! The first few days, I stayed with Julian and Whitney, and their little daughter Micaiah. But Whitney and Micaiah went to the States this week, as Whitney is having a baby in about a month. So I am now staying with Martin and Mayte, and their daughters Yetzi and Isamar. Wonderful!

I met my new Mexican family today – the family who I will live with when I return from language school. The family is a woman named Gabi who is about 40 years old, and her two kids, Roberto who is 15, and Gabi who is 12. They are all really nice, I think we will get along well. I want to try my best not to put expectations on them that they should be like the Delgados – NO ONE can be as amazingly awesome as my Honduran family! But, I do certainly hope that this family will be amazingly awesome in their own way!

Monday, I move to Guanajuato for language school. The amount of time I spend there is pretty much up in the air… Before I came, I was scheduled to stay 3 months. Then I came, and they thought 2 months should be good. Today, my team is thinking that maybe I will just stay for 1 month, then come back to Querétaro and study a couple hours a day with Sandy, a girl on our team who studied to be a Spanish teacher. Either way works fine for me!
Me and Yetzi by one of the many fountains in Queretaro
Jeff and Jenny (with little Micaiah) who came from North Point Community Church in Atlanta to meet with the pastors at Horizante, my church here. North Point and Horizante are like partner churches.
Whitney and her daughter Micaiah
Me and the arches of the aquaduct in Queretaro

And Now.... On To Mexico!!

I am here!!!!!!!!!!!!! I arrived in Queretaro on Thursday. I will be here for a week and a half, then will move on to Guanajuato for 2 months for language school.
Thursday night, we had a welcome party for me and for Justin and Lluvia, a couple who had been in the States for over a year raising more financial support after getting married. Here is a picture of the guests at the party:
Back row: Paulina, Isamar, Mayte, Me, Whitney, Estefani, Yetzi, Micaiah, Alvaro, Martin, and Julian. On the couch: Luis, Sandy, Justin, and Lluvia. Julian and Whitney (daugther Micaiah) are the team leaders, and are expecting a baby in February. Isamar and Yetzi are the daughters of Martin and Mayte. Luis and Sandy are married and are expecting a baby in 6 months.

The Last Week in Honduras

My last week in Honduras was a great one! I won't bore you with intricate details this time, but will do some pictures instead...

This is the family of Pastor Marvin from Santa Rosa (a small community outside of Tegus). They have been praying for me for a year and a half in my preparations to go to Mexico, and are continuing to pray for me now! They ask that I please pray for them as well, for direction in their ministry - be that pastoring in Santa Rosa, or starting a new church in rural Honduras. This is an amazing family, I was able to visit them twice while I was in Honduras, and ran into Pastor Marvin one day on the bus, and his wife Perla on the bus another day. I think I randomly run into more people that I know here in Tegus than I did in Salem!

This is Alejandra and Alma. Alejandra used to live in Tegus, but her famimly moved to Siguatepeque a year ago. I had wanted to go there to visit them, but didn't get a chance too. Alejandra randomly showed up at my house the day before I left! Yay!

I went to the Centro or Comayaguela (the market area of Tegus) almost every day for the past week. Here is Karlita, Amalita, and Flor in the Central Plaza of Tegus.

My little brother Rondald and I. Ronald is going to be a pastor. He wants to go to a seminary in Siguatepeque, but it's expensive. We are looking for sponsors or financial help for him, so he will be able to follow the Lord's leading to the ministry!


I also got to visit with my missionary friend Michelle the last full day I was in Honduras. She was in the States until the end of December, then went to visit a family in another town for a few days after arriving here. We had a good long talk and it was great to be able to learn from a somewhat veteran missionary and hear more about what is going on in Honduras!

Happy New Year!!

I had a wonderful New Year’s celebration here in Honduras. I spent the afternoon shopping in the market with my friend Luisa and her mom. In the evening, I went to the grocery for Suyapa (my Honduran mom) and while I was waiting for the bus, my friends Emil, David, and Francisco from another neighborhood drove by and gave me a ride home. So we hung out at Luisa’s house until time for church.

Lots of people gave testimonies of what the Lord has done in their lives this year. There were two men who became Christians this year, and they shared about how the came to know the Lord. It was amazing to hear my cousin Alexis’ story. I didn’t know him before this year, but I knew his brother and sisters. Their mom, Amalia, was really sick last March, and in the hospital. They thought she was going to die. But her kids all came and prayed for her, and during the time that they didn’t know if Amalia was going to live, the siblings all prayed for Alexis too, that he would have the peace that they and Amalia know in the Lord. He accepted the Lord, as did his wife.

At midnight, the head of each family lit a candle off one that Delmer (my Honduran dad and the pastor of the church here) had, and all the families gathered together. I got to be on the stage with the Delgados. After that, everyone hugged and kissed everyone else, and wished them a happy new year! I seriously think I was greeted by everyone in the entire church that night, like over 100 people! I LOVE holidays here!

We had dinner at 1am, in our home with most of our extended family, which is A LOT of people! We did fireworks, and I found out why fireworks are supposedly illegal here. Fireworks in the States are incredibly safe! We had lots of little fireworks that made explosions, and the neighborhood boys like to throw them at each other! Yikes! Our neighbor, Pipe (PEE-pay) set off a bomb type thing that seriously is what I would think it would be like to set off a large stick of dynamite! I was standing like 25 feet away, and I got showered with rocks, and it felt like I got pushed by someone because of the force of the bomb! Anyhow, it was fun!!

I still have a lot that I want to do while here, but there will still be people that I had wanted to see that I didn’t get to, and things that I had wanted to do that I didn’t get to. I leave for Mexico on Thursday morning. I will write more then! Until then, happy new year, and God bless!

Family enjoying New Year's at our house

My brother Ivàn and I at church

My brother Franklin and I
My friend Karla and her baby Carlitos. They say that I am Carlitos' aunt now!