From student to teacher

Announcement: After a lot of work, the CICS website is once again up to date. It includes profiles of all the staff and students that you can read to find out more about each one, and also a photo gallery. We hope to be updating it fairly frequently with news, information about new students, new photos, and other things of interest. Check it out here.

Now that I think about it, I've already been away from home two months! It sure doesn't seem that long... And half that time has gone by without me writing anything. Time to get to it!

I finished school in Guatemala, said goodbye to my teacher and the family I boarded with, and hopped on a shuttle that would eventually take me to the bus station. During the trip, I thought about meeting the deaf again, and I about couldn't wait! The deaf here at CICS hold a very big piece of my heart, and I'm not sure I realized how much I actually missed them.

Mary, my teacher in Guatemala Spanish school, and I. 

Upon arriving at CICS towards the evening, I gave Elmer a huge bear hug and said hi to Melody, Paty, and Zulma. After unpacking, I helped consume a delicious meal of chicken, rice, and salad. Quite a welcome and I didn't even have to help make it! (I did wash the dishes though)

It was a lot of fun to use ASL again! Unfortunately, my focus on Spanish in Guatemala didn't help with retaining sign language. I quickly discovered that I had forgotten quite a few signs, which was very embarrassing. I had even forgotten some of the name signs of the children! However everything quickly came back with a little practice.

I spent the next few days getting my classroom ready for my students. Cleaning every nook and cranny (not my favorite part, I'll readily admit), getting my desks and chairs set up, putting charts and posters on the wall that my family helped make. It was all very exciting! My classroom wasn't quite ready by Wednesday, when school started, but it didn't matter. What mattered was I would get to see all students again!

Class decoration before and after.

And now we're about a month into school already! Admittedly, the level of enthusiasm has worn off a  little bit, cause that's just how things go once things get into the grind. School is never easy and takes a physical, mental, and spiritual toll on a person. Also, my class isn't as easy as it was last year. I have the same students as last year, plus one extra student, Miguel. Now you may wonder what is so hard about one more boy...

Miguel, in spite of his cuteness and friendliness, can be a bit of trouble in the classroom. He has a very hard time paying attention in class. As in "one plus one is... oh, look teacher, it's a bird! In the tree! Out there! LOOOK!!!"

"And duuuuude, there's a nest, too?!! Amazing!!

"Ok, Miguel, remember you need to pay attention."

"Oh, yes, sorry teacher. I remember, I know. I need to let those things go and pay atten-- Whoooooaaaa! That bird just totally flew over to the other tree!! Jairo, check it out!" And then, Miguel and Jairo aren't paying attention. Of course, Miguel doesn't sign those words exactly and I'm over-dramatizing, but you get the point. :) Miguel also has problems with respecting authority and obeying promptly, as do my other little boys.

To say the least, this year has been harder and more work than last year. There are times (and not just in the classroom) when I wonder why I'm doing what I'm doing. I wonder if it's really worth it. Does what I'm doing really matter? Do the deaf even know why they're in school? Do they realize how fortunate they are to have that opportunity?

Then I realize for the hundredth time that I need to let it go. I need to give it all to the Father who is in control of everything. He is the one that can see the intents of every heart and will reward those who do His will.

But isn't easy letting go, you know. Especially for me. I like to fix things, make them better. However once I do--once I pray for help and acknowledge that I can't do it on my own, that's when things get better. And honestly, I don't know when I'll learn... I can be feeling good and thinking that the day will go well, when something happens and all goes awry. But when I am having a crappy day, all it takes is prayer and a plea for help, and God never lets me down. I have been amazed at how often a bad day turns into a good one, just because of prayer. Amazing!!

So do I like school? In spite of everything? YES. Miguel has been struggling with counting, but now is finally starting to get it, and that's just so exciting! To see the look on his face when he finally remembers that six comes after five is just amazing. Jairo has been doing much better in that area as well. Just today, after many different ways of explaining to Joel that adding and subtracting are different, I made a number line with sidewalk chalk and had him jump forwards or backwards depending on the addition or subtraction problem. Just to see him finally "get" it and tell me "Aaaah, now I know!" was very invigorating. Eduardo's satisfaction in shaving off a bit of time in his addition speed drills gave me a new desire to keep teaching the best I know how and not give up. And so on...

Please pray for all of us staff: Matthias, Mary, Melody, Verónica, Elmer, Paty and Lidia, and myself. Pray that we could have patience, humbleness, and wisdom in abundance. Also pray for the director and the committee in charge of CICS.

Here are some other things you can pray for:

• Beatriz - her family situation is anything but good. Her father is getting worse it seems. He is continually drinking, and doing unspeakable things to his family. Please pray that God would protect Beatriz, and her mom and siblings from harm. Pray also that her father would come to know Christ, and that his life would be changed with the power of Jesus's blood! Pray that Beatriz could remain faithful and look to God for strength and help.
• Silvia - with a new dorm mom (Verónica), Silvia needs to test and see what the new boundaries are. Pray that Silvia would learn to respect authority and be able to let down the walls that have been built up over the years to defend her heart from further wounds from those she trusted. Pray that she could come to know Jesus as her Savior.
• Carlos - he wants to do what is right. Every Wednesday at prayer time he asks for prayer that he could grow closer to God. He just finds it so hard to change. Pray that God would work in his heart, and that he could truly change.
• Also pray for the deaf that don't come to school anymore. Along with Ana and Kevin, who can't come this year because of their age, there are others as well that sometimes come to visit. Pray that they would come to know Christ and give their lives fully over to him.

Because Antony (a new student) likes selfies, and he is
just so cute!

Román (another new student) enjoying a game of catch.

Miguel, Eduardo, and Jairo playing Rats during a small break in class.

A nice drawing Kenneth (son of Nata y Becky) put on my whiteboard.

And the race is on! Teresa and Beatriz see who is the fastest on the bicycle.

Silvia wants a selfie, too!

Antony and Jairo get to know each other through a game of grab-the-ball.

Miguel concentrates for the perfect shot while Carlos watches.

Teaching new students is always challenging, but also
very funny sometimes!

Miguel proudly showing off his sticker that he earned
by studying well in an extra evening practice session.

Eduardo chews pensively on his straw as he carefully
colors a page of his animal book.

Pupusa night! Melody and Verónica show off their handiwork.

Everyone gathers around to see the new little girl, Gabriella. She hasn't
come to school yet, but plans to attend on Monday.

Gabriella enjoys a game of spinning jacks with Mary.

Another shot of Gabriella. We are very excited about
having a little girl again! The last six new students
have been boys. Not that those are bad--just, you know
something different is good once in a while.

A sight to behold!

In the past, I've talked a lot about all the hours of Spanish school, studying, and other Spanish related activities that have mostly occupied my time here. After a full week of learning, my head is usually almost swimming with the uses of subjunctive, imperfect vs. preterite tense, estar vs. ser, idiomatic expressions, and a boatload of new vocabulary. My teacher, Mary, sometimes says "Aww, pobrecita la cabeza, Sam!", referring to my head that's about to emit fumes if it has to remember another iota of information. :)

But luckily for me and for all other sufferers of the head-about-to-explode syndrome, there's a solution: the weekend! In my weekends here, two major activities I did (besides taking naps) were hiking the volcano Acatenango and traveling to Tikal to see the ancient Mayan ruins. They are, I might add, two experiences that are at the top of my list of "things I'll never forget".

The trip to Acatenango was a group trip organized by a friend, Deano, that I met here at the Spanish school in Antigua. He graciously invited me to join their group of nine, which I did, without fully realizing the pain my poor body was to endure later on!

On the way to the drop site. Not a clue about
the beating we were about to take. :)

Our initial ascent. Looks easy, right?

Some of the what the path looked like. On the way up it
was very foggy which made everything wet and slippery.

The hike begins at 1,400m (4,600 ft) up a generous slope of about 30-40 degrees with 25 pound backpacks. That may not seem like much, and indeed, it seemed easy at first, but after a while you start to want to throw in the towel. Finally, after close to six hours of hiking up to an altitude of 3,676m (12,060 ft) through slippery mud, sand, and volcanic residue, we reached our base camp. We were still not at the top, however; that was 300m further and the hardest climb of all!

Our basecamp. Hardly any of us slept because of the rocks,
icy cold, and noisy neighbors, but better than nothing!

The final ascent. What made this part hard was the
volcanic sand underfoot. On top of having to climb at
a 40 degree angle, you also had to take about two
steps for about every foot you traveled!

However, in spite of all the hard work, it sure was worth it. About all I could say was "wow, wow, wow......wow!" Nothing prepared me for what I was about to see. I was literally "on cloud nine"!

Some of the crew that made it to the top for sunset. Left to right: Lilli,
Daniel, Monica, Michael, Danny, and myself.

When we got to our camp that afternoon, only some of us climbed all the way to the top to see the sunset. The rest stayed behind to wait until the next morning.

We woke up the next morning at 4:00, hardly any of us having slept a wink, and prepared to climb to see the sunset. The millions of stars shone like diamonds in the crystal clear sky above us as we trudged slowly in the dark up the final slope. In all my life, I have never seen stars like that. With no lights for miles, you could literally see millions and billions of them! Again, all I could say was "wow, wow, wow..." I couldn't help but think then of the One who placed all of them there with merely His spoken word. What an amazing God we serve!

Once we finally reached the top we walked over to watch for eruptions from the active volcano, Volcán de Fuego. We saw a few small ones, but nothing to write home about. I thought we might not see any, and one of the other guys had literally just finished saying "Wow, wouldn't that be awesome if there'd be a huge explosion right now?", when BOOOOM and the top of the volcano opened with a spray of bright red lava and a huge puff of smoke. We all stared incredulously as the lava trickled down the sides and slowly turned to the color of the volcano. 

After the eruption, we turned our eyes towards the east where we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. (This post is full of superlatives, isn't it? That's how it was, though!) Again and again I had to think of God and to marvel at his creation. And maybe it was a bit silly, but I felt closer to God as I stood 14,000 feet up in the sky and saw the cities, rivers, and forests beneath me. Or as the psalmist so eloquently says: When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? Psalms 3:3-4

As a little side note, my aforementioned friend, Deano, made a very entertaining video of the trip, which has some more details about our trip. He is a master of talking "Espanglish" and is not afraid to try to say things, even though it might be embarrassing (a quality I very much admire!) You can find the video here.

The weekend after hiking up Acatenango, I traveled to Tikal. The trip maybe wasn't quite as spectacular as the volcano, but it still was quite interesting for a history lover like me. Tikal, for those of you that don't know, is an ancient Mayan village, and one of the most famous Mayan regions in the world. The park is renowned for its well-preserved Mayan temples and its many other buildings and ruins. It's located in the northern part of Guatemala, about a 10-11 hour trip if everything goes well.

Unfortunately, everything didn't go well. On the way there, we had two flat tires on the bus which lost us about 2-3 hours. When we finally got to Flores, our stop, it was already too late to go on the tour I had paid for. However, due to a very kind guide, and some answered prayers, everything worked out surprisingly well. I was put on another tour without having to pay extra and I got to spend the same amount of the time in the park.

Scientists estimate that around 120,000 Mayans lived in Tikal during its peak. While I was looking at the ruins, I thought about how the villages must have looked many hundreds of years ago. Mayan men and women bustling around, working their farms, babbling a strange language. Slaves working in the hot sun to erect temples for the Mayan gods of the sun, earth, fire, and water. Mayans in costumes singing and dancing around a fire worshiping their deities. What must it all have looked like? 

One of the main Mayan villages or plazas. 

The view from the top of Temple IV. In the distance you can see other
temples peeking up above the jungle.

Besides all the ruins, we also got to see a lot of wildlife. Since Tikal is a jungle, it sustains a multitude of creatures inside its vast borders. We saw a grey fox, numerous spider and howler monkeys, many species of birds, and two toucans--all in the wild! And that's not even scratching the surface of all the wildlife that finds refuge under the jungle canopy of Tikal.

Visiting these ruins was a great experience. However, in a way, it made me feel a bit sad as well. All this effort and work of the Mayans to please who? or what? Do I put a proportional amount of effort into worshiping God, who I know is real? Quite a challenge, isn't it? But at the same time, I can rejoice that I can have a personal relationship with my Maker. I don't need to tremble and constantly offer sacrifices to "please" Him, even though He requires me to do my part.

I hope you enjoyed this little sketch of my visits. If you are ever in Guatemala, take some time to visit these places. You won't be disappointed!

And as always, thanks so much for your support and prayers! In a few days I have plans to travel to El Salvador to begin another year of teaching school for the deaf. I'll really be sad to have to leave this pretty town of Antigua, but at the same time, I can't wait to get back to my home away from home. Pray that this school year would go well, and that we would be could instruments in the hands of God as we interact with the deaf of El Salvador!

Aprendemos Español!

So I'm now well into my month of learning Spanish here in Antigua, Guatemala and it's been quite the ride! It's been a while since I've written, so I thought I'd invite you to have a peek into my daily activities.

I already told you a bit about my family for home-stay, but I'll elaborate a bit more. There's a total of five in the family that are regularly in this house, although there are also others (boyfriends, girlfriends, visitors, etc.) that come and go. There's the lady of the house, Odilia, who makes food for and cares for us and the students next door. On top of all that, Odilia is also a teacher at the school, so she is a very busy lady!

Adolfo is the man of the house. He also helps clean and cook, besides doing his job of selling avocados door to door now that they're in season. He's usually the one that sits with us to eat while Odilia is out. He always likes to spur on Spanish conversation by asking us questions like ¿Qué hiciste hoy en la escuela? or ¿Cómo fue tu día?

Then there are the "children": Hector, Paty, and Saira. All of them have a "special someone" that comes and goes. Hector is the one probably the closest to my age--him and I have lots of fun conversations. I taught him how to solve my Rubik's cube one night. You should have seen his face when he finally could do it on his own!

We have a lot of fun together even though we're usually not all in the house at once, except maybe on weekends. They make it a point to include students as if they were a member of the family.

One weekend, I went with some of the family to a local fiesta to see some
dances. Left to right: Paty, Paty's boyfriend, me, Hector

As far as my school goes (it's not always the same for everybody), it's five days a week, six hours a day, with four of those hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. Some of the classes, especially in the morning, consist of talking, reviewing, and group activities. The student can guide the class about as much as he wants. If I have a topic I'd like to talk about, we talk about it and discuss it. If there is some vocab I'd like to learn, we learn it. All of this makes school very individualistic, which is perfect. And almost all classes are done one-on-one which makes for a very immersive experience.

Group discussion/practice time. This time, we each had a piece of paper
with a theme. The "moderator" asked each of us several questions about
the theme that we had to answer with our opinion. These types of activities
are my favorite!

Michael, from Switzerland, along with his teacher.

Snack time! After the first two hours of school, we take a pausa to stretch
our legs a bit, talk, and enjoy some snack courtesy of a little tienda and a
small amount of quetzales (Guatemalan currency).

There are also the activities that the teachers do with the students, such as field trips. There are organized activities at least once a week which students can participate in, if they so choose. So far I've seen the ruins of San Francisco, a church/monastery that was partially destroyed in an earthquake, a cathedral, a coffee farm, a museum about the Mayans, a jade museum, and a nice view of Antigua from a place called Cerro de la Cruz. The teachers usually go along and explain to their students the history and culture of each place (in Spanish of course), so it's more of a hands-on Spanish class.

Coffee spread out to dry in the hot, Guatemalan sun.

You can't just walk by the coffee, you have to touch it!

Some Mayan musical instruments displayed on the
wall of the museum.

A view of Antigua from Cerro de la Cruz. The volcano directly ahead is
called Volcán de Agua. Its top is almost always obscured by clouds.

An active Catholic cathedral called Iglesia la Merced. 

Also Iglesia la Merced. Shown here is an argument.
Silvia, my teacher on the left that is pointing, explained
that the illustrations were ears of corn, but the rest of us
were sure that they were grapes.

The inside of Iglesia la Merced. 

The ruins of San Francisco. Before the earthquake it
had been a huge cathedral, and a place where the monks
and nuns ate and slept. Very interesting to think about
the people that might have lived here.

More ruins, with the town of Antigua in the background.

A papaya tree growing by the ruins, with some not yet
ripe papayas clinging to the trunk.

So you might have guessed by now, with all these things happening, I might be a bit busy. You could say so... There's never a lack of things to do, that's for sure! Every day after school, I go to my room to study and relax a bit. It seems no matter how much I practice, there's always more to learn! But that's how I like it.

Finding an isolated spot to study can be difficult, but
here I managed to find one.

About the only time I can really relax is on weekends. Saturday and Sunday I don't have classes, so I take it a bit easier, although I still study some. I usually save my sightseeing excursions for the weekend, because it's a bit easier to manage. Just last weekend, I went with a group to hike up a 4,000 meter high volcano, called Acatenango. That was an experience I'll never forget! I'll share that experience in another blog post, though, because it's kind of a long story.

I also have plans to visit Tikal, an ancient Mayan village now in ruins. At Tikal, there are many Mayan temples and pyramids that you can climb up and from which you can see for miles. My time here in Guatemala is fast running out, but I'm sure glad I came. It will be an experience I'll never forget!

Well, that's about it for this installment! I hope you enjoyed and thanks as always for your prayers and support! Please continue praying for me. In spite of all the fun I'm having, it's not all enjoyment. Probably the biggest struggle for me has been consistently having to be outside my comfort zone. At home, everyone around me believed the same things I did. I never had to explain why I don't drink, why I don't smoke, why I pray, or why I cling to such strange beliefs. Here in Guatemala, in the midst of all sorts of people, it's very different.

That said, I also know it's really good for me to be out of my comfort zone, even though it's not easy. I have to think about exactly what I believe and why. My prayer is that what I say (or don't), and more importantly, how I live, will be a witness and testimony to others.

Before I go, here are some prayer requests:

• Pray for me that I could live out my convictions and not be ashamed to share what I believe and why. Pray that my life could be a witness to others.
• Pray for my language learning. Pray that I learn all I can.
• Continue to pray for CICS and those in charge as they organize everything for a new year.
• Pray for the deaf in El Salvador, that they could continue to learn to communicate as well as learn more about God. Pray that we staff could teach them well.

New faces, new places

Hey everyone! I'm back... into this digital space, at least. I decided to stop writing while I was at home, just because it takes up some extra time which was a very, VERY precious commodity. Each week I would submit my weekly schedule to my family and they would make sure it included my weekly requirement of 10 hours with them, not counting sleep.

Ok, so it wasn't that bad. Not even close, actually, but I did want to spend as much time with them as I could. In summary, "I would've written. no time. couldn't. sorry" So it goes...

On to actual news...

On Wednesday morning we left for the airport at 1:30... AM!!! Long story short after (some) tears, goodbyes, boredom, flying, boredom, driving, et cetera, I landed in Antigua, Guatemala at 2:45PM local time.

One little story about the airport, though, before I move on... It was about time to board and I was playing with my 5x5 rubik's cube, when I noticed a little girl watching me. I kept on going and when I was done, the girl and her friend enthusiastically clapped for me. I told them to try it, so they did for a little. Later, when I was boarding, I walked past them and the girl waves at me with a big smile and says "adiós!". That was a very fun little memory.

As I stepped out of the airport, I began looking for a sign with my name on it, amid a cacophony of "taxi??", "TAXI??", "Taxi, señor??". The director of the school told me there would be a driver waiting for me, which there was. I hopped in and we were on our way after I exchanged some money and paid a (mandatory) tip to another guy who asked me for one. He was very convincing, and I just wanted to go already!

I didn't have a good picture of the place, but I was told Antigua is a very nice place. Indeed it is! It's a small town with old, painted buildings. Such a beautiful place! And since it's higher up in the mountains, it's cool, and this time of the year there's a very nice breeze almost continually blowing.

I was taken by the driver to my host's place, a small house in a small colony that's called Colonia Manchén. I met my host, his wife Odilia, and two of their three children, Hector and Paty. They're very nice people and excellent hosts. I talked with them for a bit, unpacked, asked for the WiFi password (of course!), and ate supper a bit later, after which I had a good night's rest, interrupted intermittently by some ornery felines outside my window. They must have been having marriage problems...

This morning I ate breakfast and walked to school, as if on a cloud, through the breezy 70 degree morning air, with the sweet chirping of birds singing in my ears. (If you can't tell, I'm poking fun at all you guys in the frigid north. And I'm not sorry, either. :)

I did get a bit lost on the way to school, however, 'cause there's like a million Spanish schools in the area, but no problems. Hector found me and directed me to the right place.

For this week only, my teacher is a lady called Lidia, who is very nice and patient. For school, we basically just talked the whole time. When a word came up I didn't know, she would explain, until our time was up and two of my notebook pages were already full! She asked me questions about where I live, what my favorite foods are, who my family is, where I go to church, etc. I really enjoyed talking to her and look forward to tomorrow. Unfortunately, though, as I said before she is teaching another group after this week, so I will be switching to another teacher starting on Monday.

This afternoon, we went on a bit of a tour to a jade museum, and a chocolate museum, both Guatemalan exports. We got to see how they're made and the Mayan culture behind them.

A tour guide explains how the Mayans refined jade.

I also made some friends today, which was probably the best part. I'm so glad I came here by myself, because if forces me to talk to people other than my friends. So far I've met Daniel from New Zealand, Deano from California, Heinig and Anne-Marie from Germany, and Elan from Canada. We'll see if I can make any other new friends!

That's about it for all my escapades so far. I hope you enjoyed this and God bless y'all for supporting me and praying for me!

And as usual, here are some prayer requests:

• Thank God for safety
• Pray that I could take advantage and learn all I can while I'm in Guatemala
• Pray for CICS and also for me as I prepare to teach another year

Beautiful sunset on the way to Miami.

My poor Doritos I prized so highly got smashed in
my suitcase. Still good, though!

My current room setup.

This is at the park where a lot of Spanish students go with their teachers. It's
a really nice enclosed area with lots of trees and greenery.

Another view of the park. My teacher and I sat at the table in the lower
left-hand corner of the picture.

One of the streets in Antigua, with a volcano
in the background.

Landing in Guatemala. As you can see, it's very mountainous. 

A square in front of the church with volcanos in the background.