Week 28: Looking back on this past week (+ Guatemala trip and what I’m reading, watching, and listening to)

It’s time for part 2 of my Guatemala recap + a look at this past week)! I still can’t get over what a great trip this was and I hope you enjoy reading about the second part of my trip. (If you missed the first recap, you can find it here.)

Day 4 in Guatemala started like any other – down by the pool before everyone woke up. I would run a kilometer on a small path back and forth and soak in the surroundings and read my Bible and pray.

What I was not prepared for was how beautiful this part of the country was. And how quiet it would be (well, except for the karaoke every night when we were trying to sleep!).

We drove 30 minutes to a remote rural school where young people were leading VBS for children while the 4 women in our group met the mother.

About 30 mothers came. We were told that mothers would probably be shy and reserved and many would not know Jesus. That was indeed the case. We played a warm-up game for them – which they love.

I got to share my story of how Jesus has impacted my life and they listened very attentively. But when we asked them any questions, it was crickets.

We finally turned to the coloring page and then went around and talked to them one by one. I found that asking the question, “Tell me what your day looks like” was a great base for finding out more about their lives and asking more questions and sharing encouragement with them.

They loved the coloring page and spent about an hour coloring in detail. We discussed that, since each of their coloring pages was different, so God had made each one unique and special. Women often don’t have much of a voice and work hard in this culture, so I wanted each one to feel recognized and respected during their time with us.

We ended our time by playing a few fun games.

Since there were 3 languages ​​represented, we had to create games. This is where each person adds one move and has to remember all the moves from the people who have gone. Their laughter made me so happy!

In the afternoon, we returned to Santiago to teach the women we met on days 1 & 2 how to make chocolate chip cookies – something they had never had before as they didn’t have ovens and some of the ingredients could be very hard to find in their area.

They were happy with it and loved how it tasted! (And we were excited for them to teach us how to make some of their favorite foods the next day!)

Day 5 in Guatemala started with a crash – first, I woke up with allergies. My eyes were all swollen as if I had a head cold. I was upset and not sure how I was going to get through the day – and I had to share the message again with the women at school that morning.

Then there was a mistake in our driveway and something happened to the tire. Apparently a screw had fallen… thankfully we were all safe and only a few blocks away from the school so we made our way there.

Then we got to school and not a single mother came.

It was crazy. The day before there were mothers everywhere and that day there were no mothers. While we were waiting, the other three women of our team went to pray in different rooms of the school and I ended up sitting in the classroom crying to Jehovah, please help me not to be sad so that I can focus on something other than blowing my nose.

I also googled what other drugs I could use and ended up taking a combination of Mucinex, Zyrtec, and Zicam. I rarely take medication, but I was desperate!

Guess what… The med elixir not only revived me, but we ended up meeting the school teachers and spending the morning just hearing about their lives, encouraging them, doing fun things with them (they said, “we’ll never do things like this!”), and sharing Jesus with them. It ended up being very special!

Later that day, the lovely ladies we spent a lot of time with on this trip wanted to teach us how to make Tamelitos de chipilin. We had the best time learning from them!

I was chosen to put all the tamalitos in the pot — I was the only one who could touch them and it was my job to stay with the pot the whole time until they were completely smoked.

They said that this is their culture and if anyone touches them except one, it will make the Tamilitos angry.

The ladies came to check on me every now and then as they said I would never know when they were done—which is absolutely true!

The finished tamalitos were delicious!! I plan to share how we made these soon, with all the step-by-step details, because I have tons of pictures to share!

This was one of the highlights of the trip – especially because we got to know the ladies so well after spending so many hours with them on the trip. We were bantering back and forth and laughing a lot – despite the language barrier!

Among the many good things about this trip, I also loved the fried plantains. And dragonfruit was in season so we ate a lot of it!

After I got home, Jesse bought me these delicious plantains! I made them in an air fryer and they were SO easy and they were really cute. I think they tasted sweet in Guatemala but they are still good. And most of my family had never tried it before so I loved introducing them!

On our last full day in Guatemala, we took a boat across the lake – it was beautiful!

I’ve said this before, but the views in Guatemala were so amazing!!

Then we spent some time in Antigua – which was absolutely beautiful! I want to come back here to spend more time!

We stayed in Antigua overnight and then got up early (we were supposed to be on the bus at 2:45 am) to drive to Guatemala City to fly back to Nashville!

My last photo in Guatemala! What a special trip it was and I can’t wait to go back again! It was deeply meaningful for many reasons, but especially because David’s family is from Guatemala!

I got home Thursday evening and spent the next two days recovering from my trip and catching up on business and hanging out with my family!

We left Sunday afternoon for Georgia and spent the week there to catch a baseball tournament!

As I mentioned last week, Silas broke his hand in a baseball game while I was in Guatemala. So he couldn’t play in the tournament at all, but he got to train the base of many games and cheer for his team. I was so proud of him and the character I saw in him this past week.

These three did very well in every game – and every drive this past week! The games were in many different locations throughout Georgia so we spent 5-6 hours in the car most days!

We also loved checking out the local coffee shop and donut shop!

We usually watch David 24/7, but I left the boys for 2 minutes while I worked on something and I thought they were very quiet – then I went out to see this!!

I was only able to run one kilometer a day while I was in Guatemala, so when I returned home, it took me a good week to get back into running. I had to improve my pace and distance, but I slowly got back to it!

Jesse and I had a great strength training day this week! But this guy pushed me hard and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to move my arms the next day (thankfully, I could!)… but it was so much fun and I think we’ll start doing this more often!

Also, I had my first InBody scan in 10 years! I was very happy because my numbers are much healthier than they were then.

And yes, I have gained 10 pounds since then but I also gained 4.5 pounds of muscle! That made me sad! Hoping to add at least a few pounds of muscle this coming year!

What I’m learning…

I’m currently reading Rooted in Wonder, Soul Care (this was great!), and My Friends (I’m still not sure about this one – but I’m still reading it because it has good parts to it so far… but I just don’t know what I’ll think when it’s done! Have you read it?)

What I am watching….

Kierstyn and I were watching the latest season of America’s Sweethearts. I find it really interesting how much goes into bringing the DCC team. I also love how much they have acknowledged the Lord through the seasons and it has been a great foundation for many wonderful conversations with Kierstyn.

He and I have been watching All Creatures Great and Small (so far, I’m not into it as much as I am into When Calls the Heart but I’m only on season 2 so maybe it’ll grow on me!)

And Jesse and I watched season 4 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Experiment.

What I’m listening to…

In the hours and hours we spent in the car this week in Georgia, we listened to Annie’s song on Spotify over and over again! 🙂

Walmart has amazing deals on skirts and dresses right now – with prices starting as low as $10!!

Hey! For a limited time, Stitch Fix is ​​offering $40 is your first discount for all teachers!

Just go here and sign up (or log into your account), then verify your teacher status with ID.me to get a $40 discount!

This is a great time to grab new clothes at a great price.

In Case You Missed It – Links From Recent Weeks:

• 25 Ways to Save Money on Shopping — With 6 kids and the ever-increasing price of groceries, I’ve learned a lot years ago about how to save money by shopping. In this post, you’ll find 25 of my best, most useful ideas – the ones I actually use every week, even as a busy mom and business owner.
• 7 of My Favorite Fiction Books — One of the changes I’ve enjoyed the most this year is that I’ve gotten back into reading fiction. This post has some of the best fiction books on my bookshelf that I highly recommend!
• My Favorite Non-Fiction Books — These are 14 of the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read. I hope you love them as much as I do!
• 10 Genius Side Hustles for Teens – Most teenagers only hear about lawn mowing and babysitting…but there are many other inventions (and a high paying one!) their ways of making money! This freebie suggests activities that will help youth develop important skills and earn valuable income this summer.