He llegado, gente!

Hey, Everybody!

Quick quote:

"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." Miriam Beard.

I am so glad to be back and blogging :)

For those of you who didn't know, I am back in Guatemala. I am sitting in my living room in Panajachel, making some rice (stereotypical, I know), and getting you guys updated on what is going on.

My flights here were super smooth. I was in Orlando 3 days prior to my flight visiting with my second family before taking off. Christine and I tried to go to bed early on the night before my trip, but we only did a decent job (worth it). I ended up with about 5 hours of sleep and had to BE at the airport before 5 am. Christine made me toast :) I hoped on my plane and met a most superb person on the way there.

The original plan was to perhaps catch up on some rest during my one and a half hour flight to Atlanta, but this was not the case. A man came walking down the isle right before the plane was taking off. I assumed he was my seat buddy because the seat next to me was the only vacant one in the back half of the plane. As I had predicted, he plopped down next to me and we exchanged casualties. I felt unreasonably comfortable with him, and I could not put my finger on why. Although this guy was older than me (in his thirties) and we didn't have too, too much in common, we literally talked/laughed/conversed from the time the plane took off to the time the plane landed. We were talking about "The South," and he made a sarcastic remark. The Cody response : I punched him in the shoulder. It suddenly dawned on me. This man reminded me exactly of my former boss in New York City. It was honestly uncanny. Same brotherly disposition. Same extroverted personality. Same mannerisms. Same sarcastic humor. Too weird. We disembarked the plane together, and he looked up the gate I was supposed to be at.  We road the tram together to our terminals. I will most likely never see this gentleman again. It was such a random incident. I simply thanked God for the company and conversation.

After getting over a weird sense of loss after parting with my new friend, I went to get some fruit to eat while I was waiting for my flight to Guatemala. The lady behind the counter said to me, "Mawnin' sweetie, what can I get for ya today?" I immediately asked her if she was a Christian. The joy of the Lord makes a devout Christian as obvious as any Muslim woman dawning a hijab. She said "Yes, I am! I know Jesus, and He is going before you! He'll fight your battles before you even get to 'em!"Amen, I thought. I purchased my food, began to walk away, and she said as I was leaving "You'll be blessed, honey!" That interaction literally made me smile so much my face hurt a little. I then walked by a cellphone store. They were playing loud pop music. I danced...by myself....pretty ridiculously over what had just happened.

I landed in Guatemala, met with another team member from the clinic, and after a few interruptions (land slides) and pit stops, we finally made it to my home here in Panajachel. I ate a quick dinner and slept for the next 12 hours. 

I woke up here this morning, tremendously rested and ready to start the day. This is my only day off for a while, so that is why I am blogging while I can. I took a lot of pictures today in hopes to let you guys in on my home and city.

This is my bed. It's mostly an unfitted sheet, a sleeping bag, and a blanket from home. So basically, it's awesome.

My first Guatemalan breakfast. I will absolutely have a gas stove in my house when I am older. There is no comparison.

This is the side of the house :)

View from the kitchen...That's a volcano!

These are the stairs leading to the second story apartment. If I duck under that little hallway to the left, that is where I can hang my laundry to dry.

This is a pretty flower I found in the garden outside.

This is somewheres between my house and the grocery store. I thought it looked cool. No idea where it leads to. Of course, if it weren't behind a locked gate, I would have went exploring.

This is a tuk-tuk. It is one of the main modes of transportation. Bicycles are also popular. It is 5Q (about $.90) to take this "taxi" anywhere in the city. Flat rate. I use these at night for safety and during the day if I am carrying groceries.

This is the yellow bridge that leads to town. It is about a 20-25 minute walk from my house to the base of the bridge. From there, the coffee shops, the Dispensa (grocery store), and the pharmacy range from 10-15 minutes. I'm getting my exercise, for sure!

Ok, folks. That's about it for now. I work for the next 5 days at the clinic, so I won't be on here much. I'll try to take pictures and jot down stories as the days progress so I can make sure to keep you guys up to date.

Can I please say that this is honestly one of the biggest privileges I've ever experienced. If you are in the position of being able to volunteer your time, money, or talents, that means you are blessed beyond recognition. You are blessed with finances, you are blessed with an open schedule, you are blessed with talents. This is all from God.

Let me make one other side note, then I'm calling it a night. Foreign work is in no way, shape, or form, more lofty, noble, burdensome, or sacrificial than any type of work done for the Lord within the United States. There is a glorification of work done outside of one's home country that makes me uncomfortable. If you live in the United States and are working and advancing the kingdom in any way (a 9 to 5, a home group, cooking and sharing meals, hosting a Bible study,  having conversations in coffee shops, sending encouraging e-mails, praying, interceding, chatting at gas stations or restaurants) I applaud you. It is, at most times, much more difficult speaking the name of Jesus in the United States or within your own families than it is for me to do what I am doing here. My personal heros are the hometown types. Those who live "normal" lives and are open and willing to spread Jesus' love to those whom God sends their way. 

We're all in this together. 

Cody
PS: Tonight we have a fire! My mom was worried that I might be too hot because we don't have air conditioning... Let me just say that I am in jeans, a hoodie, my North Face OVER my hoodie, socks, and am still sitting quite close to the fire :) Good times in Guatemala!