My Guatemala Family (:

So tonight we had my going away party with the staff. It was a blast. Mrs. Hannah cooked chinese and made chocolate covered strawberries. It was the sweetest and I felt SO loved. We played Mafia and Signs and just laughed and enjoyed the company. It's strange to think I'm leavin tomorrow, gosh I'm gonna miss these guys.

This post is exactly the title, meet my Guatemala family (: This post is just for them, a thanks and I love you.

The Scotts- Oh Sir Andrew and Mrs. Hannah, what to say what to say. Ya'll really are like second parents to me. You have been for the past 4 years and I couldn't love and adore ya'll any more than I do. From nightly Mafia games to waking ya'll up for candles to serious life talks, ya'll really are the best. You both have made me feel so at home and that I could come to ya'll for anything, which I have. Ya'll give the best advice and have always treated me like an adult and wth respect. Through the years that has meant so much. I always knew I could come crying and be met with hugs, some AMAZING food, and lots of good bonding time, all of which I have taken advantage of several times. Thank ya'll for everything, you really do mean the world to me and I'm counting the days till we can be together again. Love you both! Hugs hugs (:

The Gardners- Ya'll have just recently come into my life and I'm so grateful. Who woulda known we'd have to come all the way to ChiChi to find people that live legit 5 miles away. Ya'll are the kindest and sweetest people and I adore your children. I love your faithfulness and perserverance. You truly are special people. You also have made me feel like I could come talk to ya'll and ask for anything if I needed it. I can't wait to see ya'll over Christmas and I love the fact that we'll be so close. Mrs. Kristen, you became my "out in the corn mom" haha always making sure I had medicine if need be and was all sunscreened up. Thanks for "adopting" me (: Love all 4 of you!

All 3of my "Moms"! Including Sonia, my Guatemalan Mama (:

I told ya'll you'd get your own, so here it is my chicas (:

Leah(left)- Hey sweet girl! So I'm gonna miss you like crazy but you know this. We have grown so close over the past 5 weeks and I'm gonna miss our coffee dates and late night gossips about the teams. Haha. You are so mature and gentle-hearted. Always ready to jump in and work your hardest. I love that about you. I'll also miss our Spanish speaking adventures! When you come to the states, we'll go to Starbucks and talk so nobody'll understand (: Love you!

Jenna(right)- Hey baby girl! Wow will I miss you and our "sleepovers". You have been the comedic relief throughout my trip and you have been a constant source of light. Thanks for all the card games and for being my little tag along. I loved being on jobsites with you, you always kept it interesting. I promise to let you ride in the back of my truck when we're in the states. I love you girlie! Keep it real (: Haha

My Big Brothers(no picture)- How do I even begin? Ya'll are awesome and are exactly your titles, my big brothers. From motorcyle rides to and from work (always remembering safety) to teaching me dirty Spanish. Haha. What would I do without ya'll. You're always keeping extra eyes on me and keeping me laughing, constantly. I love ya'll so much. See ya in November and yes I promise to come bearing beef jerky (:

So here we are...

So here we are, my last full day. I didn't post last night because we had a huge power outage, like all of Chichi was without power. Scariest thing ever. But it stinks cause I really wanted to post yesterday. It was my last day out in the field and it seemed like I should pay tribute to that somehow. So I'm gonna do it now. I'll post again tonight cause it's another special one but right now, I just wanna reconize Guatemala as a whole...

Hola Guate (:

 Oh what to say about these 5 weeks with you. It's been rejuevenating, challenging, fulfilling, and so much more. I came to you so burned out, exhausted and ready to give up. Your mountains and people embraced me and nursed me back to my full potential but not without time and many personal challenges. This trip for me was so much more than just about serving and working. It was about falling in love with you all over again. I'll miss drinking coffee on my porch, my prayer chapel, my daily walks to town, your dust, your smells and your people. Thank you for allowing me to watch your sunrises and ride through your countryside. I've worked through your rain and fallen asleep to the same. You've always known just how to center me right where I need to be. I had so many issues lately that I've needed to work through and I'm forever grateful God sent me here to do it. He knew this would be the best place for me, around people I love and in the place I belong. You are sending me home sad to leave but ready at the same time. You've prepared me for what's to come and I know that I always have you to come back to. You'll always be home. And I'll always love you for the place you hold in my heart. I'll miss you.

Hasta luego,

Katarine

Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad,

So you don't know I'm doing this but I decided to write you a note from Guate specifically for you two. I don't give ya'll enough credit, I know this, but I really wouldn't be here without you both. Throughout my life you have supported me, cheered me on from the sidelines, and quietly been the wind beneath my wings. I love you so much for that. And I'm sorry I don't tell ya'll enough. Every day that I'm here I wish ya'll were too. Even though ya'll know I believe God sends me here alone evey year for a reason, there are still moments when I just need my Mom and Dad. It's in the simple moments, like walking through the market, talking to Kique, or even when I just have a really bad headache. It's those times when I just say to myself "Gosh, I just wish they were here". Ya'll have allowed me to spread my wings and leave the nest probably earlier than you've wanted to at times and I respect you so much for it, I know it hasn't always been easy. I also thank you for the times you've helped me, allowed me to make my own mistakes and for the times you've let me fail. It's in those times I've grown the most. And when I look back on them, I still see you there, never truely leavig my side. In 3 days I'll be home with you and I know ya'll are ready and I am too. Thank you for supporting my passion here and for understanding why it's so bittersweet to leave. You've never once challenged it. Thank you for putting up with my tired skype calls, the aggrivated ones and even the nights I didn't call at all. I know every kid says this and I'm sure they are right in their own respect but I really do have some of the greatest parents out there. Ya'll are the best and I love you more than ya'll will ever know. Thank you for everything!

And remember, no matter where I go in this world or what I do, I'll always be your baby girl (:

Love Always,
Rinnie (Momma)
Little One (Dad)

6 days left.

To be honest, I struggle with how to start this. I have had so much going through my head and heart today that when I sit here and try to get it out, I have no idea where to begin...The past couple of days have been rough, in more ways than one. I can't says it's been one particular thing or mutiple. The reality of leaving is hitting me and the reality of what I'm going home to is also sinking in.

Change is occuring all around me, all the time. And that won't get any easier in the coming month.  I'd like to think I handle it well, when in essence I know I don't, at all. The truth is change scares me, I'm a control freak and I know when I get home things will start happening that are well beyond my control. And the fact that I can't do anything about it makes me want to run so far in the opposite direction. People I love are gonna leave, I will stay, and life will go on. I know this, in my head, but my heart still wants so badly to hold on to everything I have just the way it is.

Not to mention this year will probably one of the hardest years of my life. Life changing decisions will be made, I will have to say goodbye to people I love, and I will be expected to do it all with a smile on my face. If I can confide in ya'll about something, my faith that everything will be ok...well it's dwindling. I just don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I know it's there, I just wish God would send me a sneak peak.

So my prayer request from ya'll is this: I need guidance, I need rassurance, I need comfort. So please think of me when ya'll are bowin your heads at night.

I have 6 days left. No more church days and 1 more market day. Am I ready to come home? Yes and no. I miss my family, friends, and my boyfriend more than anything but I know the second I leave here that hole in my heart will once again be empty.

I'm sorry the past few days have been bland. I am constantly reminded of it. So again, I am sorry. I'll try to do better in my last remaining days.

“The key to change... is to let go of fear.”

Hershey's Kisses!

Main Events of the Day:

• Got to be the group cordinator for the day
• Babysat
• Saw Night at the Museum 2
• Found Hershey's Kisses at the Dispensa!!!!!!
• Bought a lot of Picomas
• Rode in at least 5 different Tuk Tuk's
• Met the team I'm going home with
• Staying at Monte Flor alone tonight

Yeah pretty full day...

Becoming a Local

It's amazing how being in a place for an extended period of time changes your status from a tourist to a local. I've been here for a month and I'm truly starting to experience how that feels and it feels great.

Tourist: foreign visitors who come to see popular sites and attractions... but are often side-tracked by even simpler things... (a telephone pole, a school bus, a bird, a sandwich) signs of their attraction towards native features: accessive photographing, pointing of fingers

A Local: a person who lives in a place frequently visted by tourists, knows all the local spots (cafes, clubs, restaurants, a person who gets asked by tourists for directions and is annoyed considerably by them

*Thank you urbandictionary.com for the definitions.*

Today I began to see and feel how I fell into the latter. Taking the team through the market today, I was showered with gifts and people were calling my name and I was getting great deals. The owner of the cafe I frequent knows me now and market vendors don't hound me in the least. My friends in the market help me and we can talk about life and family and there's no feelings of resentment or that I don't really care. I hate that it's taken me a month to completely get to this point considering I leave in a week. But I do feel like it'll be different when I come back in November. Like they'll remember and maybe still not treat me so different. I finally feel like I'm sinking into their culture and their lives and I'm loving it.

Daily Shout Outs

• Matt- 1 week! Almost there!
• Mom and Dad- Missing ya'll!
• All my family and friends- I'll be coming home to ya'll soon! Get pumped!

Lo Siento

I'm sorry my posts have been bland but honestly nothing to exciting has happened. It's been raining and cold but 'tis the season. We've been buliding building building. Tomorrow is market day and then my half day off. It's crazy to think this week's almost over and only 9 days till I'm home. But anyways if anything different or exciting happens, I'll make sure to report.

Love and miss ya'll!