R and R

The reason I did not write for two months once again was that I was in Minnesota and Atlanta for a month and a half. It was supposed to be some church work and a good bit of rest. Horacio and my parents still are getting to know each other and since I came to Guatemala I have not seen family much and friends even less.

What I did not realize was how much I need an extended time home in the States every so often. Guatemala is home now too but in Minnesota we get to relax… simply by getting off the plane and going through immigration we relax.

Our life here is stressful… I have learned to notice when a car is following us, I can usually pick out gang members, I can distinguish gun shots from firecrackers without a thought, I have learned to not trust police (the very people we are taught from a very young age in the US to trust), I can sleep on a board and walk into a community with my rubber boots and backpack.

Don’t get me wrong, I also love our ministry here in Guatemala. I love it when small children come up to me in front of the gang members for a hug, visiting the sick in their dirt floor homes, teaching Sunday school, preaching, climbing down the steep steps of El Tuerto… these things give me life.

However, every so often our batteries need to be recharged. Friends and family are an excellent way to recharge… to just be Amanda. They knew me before I came here and they will know me when I return.

I did not get to see everyone I wanted to see… we ended up working more than we thought… and also allowed the reality that you cannot see everyone and do everything.

Thank you all for the time that you spend with Horacio and me while we were up in your neck of the globe.