quarter century update

A lot has happened since my last blog post, including the fact that I celebrated a quarter century of life! CraZy! Not only was my last post rather intense and so requires a more light-hearted follow up, but I also have lots of visitors who deserve a shout-out :)

So, the 7th of November was the big birthday...but the day seemed to drag by in its typical-ity (english check, please?). My coworker didn't think I needed to work, so I had the day to myself. I slept in, video chatted with my big sis and favorite niece, took some time to bake, and went to the gym. I did receive lots of b-day wishes on Facebook, via email and on my phone. Finally, around 7 pm my birthday visitors showed up in Santa Rosa and took me out for a delicious dinner and a piece of b-day cake :)

Virgil & Kathy (MCCers from Teguc) were on their way home from Guatemala and took a day to get to know my life in Santa Rosa. It was so great to have them here, to have them go along for a community visit, and try out some good local restaurants.

Then, on Friday of last week, my 2 best friends from Teguc also came to visit me. It was so fun to have Elise and Allison here, to show them around town and have them hang out with my friends. We got to shop, eat some good food, and visit the hot springs in Gracias. Oh, and they even got in on my longest church service yet--3 hours!

While of course it is fun to visit with my good friends from Teguc and catch up on life, there was another element of their visits that was really good for my own self-esteem. First of all, it was great to share my struggles with them and hear their advice and perspective on things. This is definitely something I miss dearly now that we are not living in the same neighborhood!

Secondly, having the opportunity to show them around town and introduce them to my community here was a great way for me to see how far I really have come in these 2 short (LLLLOOOOONNNG) months. I can get around town, and I do know some stuff, and I really do have friends who like hanging out with me. It was super fun to hang out with the youth from church, really feeling like part of the group, and to have them interested in getting to know my other friends. It's a good step forward in my social life.

Don't have pics from the girls (yet) but here are a few others:

look~ i teach about hygiene and health!

this is where i get to work :)

loved having them visit!

3 gringas with the boys of the church youth group... watch out.