1. It is not uncommon to pack a 12 passenger van with 24 people, 7 backpacks, and a cake.
2. Roasting your own coffee on a Monday afternoon is normal.
3. They try to celebrate Black Friday in Central America like they do in North America except it’s not quite the same. #51%off
4. No matter how little amount of Spanish you speak, it is still possible to communicate with hand gestures.
5. Being “on time” is a relative term. You learn that nothing starts when it’s supposed to and time constraints don’t really exist. To Central Americans, relationships are far more important than being on time.
6. Make sure when saying “Estoy caliente” that it literally means I’m hot and not something far worse.
7. A Brownie with ice cream will become your favorite and most treasured desert even if you don’t eat it at home.
8. No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to make a tortilla as good as the locals.
9. Spending your Thanksgiving day at a Texaco gas station because that’s the closest place to find wifi within an hour of your home is normal.
10. Laughter is a universal language.
11. It is possible to see Jesus in the smile of a child, the hello from a neighbor, the meal from your host, a testimony of a local, or the wagging tail of a stray dog. He is everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and allow Him to show you how amazing His kingdom is.
These past 3 months have flown by yet have been some of the most treasured moments of my life. It’s been an absolute blessing to serve you Central America! With that said, I am now on to month 4. This month we are in Puerto Galera which is a tourist town about 2 hours from Manila. We are working with Threads of Hope ministry! Some of you may remember that I sold Threads of Hope bracelets to help fundraise. Well now I get the opportunity to work with the ministry, the bracelet makers, and the village that’s supported by the bracelet funds here in the Philippines. I am so blessed to be able to help here and I know it’s going to be an amazing month! We are in the town of Puerto Galera which means we have a view of mountains behind us and the beach less than a mile in front us. Our hosts are Pastor Al, his wife, and his daughter JoJo as well as Julie and Jim who are local missionaries (from Wisconsin) with Threads of Hope. We are 13 hours ahead of my Indiana folk so communication is a bit more difficult but I will try to keep you all updated through more blogs and such throughout the next weeks!
I don’t have wifi this month so I will be posting a lot of pictures when we get some decent wifi! It is absolutely beautiful here so I can’t wait to share with you all the cool things that we have seen and are doing with this ministry!
