Aaaand.....MACAS it is!

     Last week I was tossing Guayaquil and Macas back and forth. This week, I'm no longer in question, praise God! On the same day (ain't God cool?) I found out Guayaquil wasn't going to work, I got my official invitation to Macas!

     I had been leaning to Macas for a while, which is really humorous to everyone in my house. Macas was the place I was totally against from the start. "I'm NOT going to Macas, I don't teach, That's the last place I wanna go" so on and so forth. God has a sense of humor, doesn't he?
     I've been spending lots of time on Skype with Robin and Wendy, the missionaries in Macas, answering questions of theirs and asking mine. The more we talked, the more I kinda wanted to go to Macas, then the more I absolutely HAD to go to Macas! Haha So here's the plan:
     Officially, I'll be leaving mid-August so I can get there and get settled before their September school year starts. I'll be working at Emmanuel Christian School/Unidad Educativa Cristiana Emanuel teaching preschool English, along with some Art and Music/Band and tutoring.

      I will be living in a house next to the school with a couple other female volunteers, which is partially furnished and has a common living area, kitchen, and bath. Even though their school year finished in June, I'll be coming home mid-May, since Molly is a senior this year and I gotta be home by graduation.

      Some really cool things that have come about as a result of me picking Macas:
 - I'll have a 'Mississippi girl friend' with me. Totally separate from me, a girl named Laura from Tupelo has decided to go to Macas next year too. She just graduated with an elementary ed degree, and is going to teach 1st-6th grade English. She's going down in late June. I'm hoping she'll sort of scout it out for me so I know what I can buy down there and not worry about packing!
 - It's actually tons cheaper. I know with God, money isn't an object, but it's nice not to have to worry about it! At Guayaquil I would have had to pay for an apartment and furnishings, but at Macas my housing is furnished and it's free if I stay the entire year. I'm basically paying for airfare, food, and all the extra stuff like Internet and health insurance.
- The position I'll be filling is what Wendy, the missionary, has been doing for the last few years, so if I have questions or a problem, she's probably going to have a solution.
- The weather! Macas is right between the mountains and the jungle, so it's a Mississippi girl's idea of paradise. 80's and 90's all year, not too many mosquitos, and at the worst it's rainy.
- The town of Macas is not as big as Guayaquil, so it's much safer, especially for a young girl my age. Yet it's modern enough to have American food, grocery stores, taxis, and excellent medical care.

     I definitely want all my family and friends to be able to stay in touch with me while I'm in Macas. I'll have free time most afternoons after school/tutoring and most weekends, and they have internet access at the school and houses. I'll be keeping up with Facebook and my blog, and I have Skype if you want to actually talk to me.
     Skype, if you're new to the concept, is about the coolest thing ever invented. The app/program is free. I have it on my iPhone just for like phone calls, or you can hook it up to a computer and webcam for video chatting. You put like $10 of minutes on your account, and talk FOREVER. I mean it. I've talked for like two hours to Ecuador, and my balance is just $9.93. Seriously, what international phone plan can beat that?
     Anyway, I'm so excited! Can you tell? Haha If I happen to catch you in person, I'm liable to talk your ear off if I catch you unaware.
     Pretty please pray for me in the next couple of weeks. My orientation with Global is the first week of June, and now that I have my 'place' I have to start sending out support letters. So, check your mailboxes everybody!

Or maybe Macas...

Just when I think I have it easy, God shakes it up. Haha who ever said life was easy was obviously lying! Haha
So I was all set to Skype the Gutierrezes today, the family who run the English school in Macas, Ecuador, telling them sorry but I didn't think they were the place for me. Well, they and the whole situation are TOTALLY not how I pictured it. So I spent an hour on Skype with them instead, asking questions and getting more and more interested.
Macas isn't as large as Guayaquil, only about 25,000 people, but still has good medical facilities and grocery stores, Internet, all the stuff I'd like to have. It being smaller, it's safer and has more of a community feel. Their school is a Christian based school, around 400 kids from preschool to graduating. If I went to work, I wouldn't necessarily have to be teaching. I could, for example, help with the littler kids who don't get as much 'teach' time. I'd be living in a house with a few other female volunteers, one of which is actually from
Mississippi and I know through mutual acquaintances. Pro to this location, I wouldnt have to swap out at Christmas for another location/job.
So now, I have a decision to make. Faaaabulous! Haha well, at least they're both good choices!

Guayaquil Bound...I think!

     Sorry I've been absent from the blog world lately! Blame the phone company We have AT&T wi-fi at my house, and it haaaaates me. I think it spends its down time thinking of new ways to mess up for me. We have 5 gigs of internet usage per month on the wi-fi, and then we each have small data packets on our phones for when we're not in a wi-fi area. We aren't people that do tons of downloads or watch YouTube all night, so it works out pretty well. Most of the time.
      This last month, I had to buy a new phone. To swap from one iPhone to the new one I had to upgrade the thing's software. Three. Freaking. Times. The AT&T directions for switching weren't very helpful, and I ended up using a ton of internet. Enough to push over the 5 gig limit. No more wi-fi for two weeks, until the new billing month.
     For now, it's back on. The computer anyway. It still refuses to recognize my new phone. Which means 'Hershel' at the AT&T store in Pontotoc gets a nice visit from me Monday!
     
     It's been a very busy two weeks in my world. I graduated from college, Molly is now a high school senior. I switched to a new migraine medicine, had a bad migraine the meds didn't fix, ended up at Pontotoc ER (fabulous with migraine patients btw) getting a shot, and now I'm on a different, much better new medicine. I finally, FINALLY have enough money in my bank account to order my new laptop, and I didn't have to wait until Dino here died. Tomorrow is our church's graduation service, mainly for high school grads but us collegiates get a moment too. We basically say what we're graduating with and what our next plans are. Which brings me to my biggest announcement..........
      I think I've found a place! I got an email back last week from a couple in Ecuador, the Flys. They wanted to chat me up on Skype and swap q and a's. I fell in love with these sweet people! The Flys are originally from Missisippi, and they have two little kids. They live in Guayaquil, Ecuador, which is the largest city. It's on the southern end, on the coast. They run a library and lots of programs through it (when they said that, I was hooked!), they work with a small youth group, and they visit and make friends with the families in that area. We chatted for about fifteen minutes, and I was ready to buy a plane ticket and go!
     As far as myself, they're writing up a 'job description' of what I'll be doing, but mainly I'll be assisting them in their work. I'll live in an apartment near them. And I'll be with them through December or January, as they're coming home on furlough then. After that I'll be transitioning over to another family in Ecuador until I have to return home in May (there are several different Global missionary families spread out through Ecuador).
     I'm just super excited to be moving forward finally! I hope that everything else goes as smoothly as meeting the Flys did. I received my official invitation to MOT, that's orientation, this week as well. It's the first full week of June. My goal, and hope, is that I have all my 'place' details down before then. Crossed fingers, and praying hard!

Some pics of Guayaquil! Looks like somewhere in California :) No baths in creeks or sleeping in huts here!

Belated - Today's Not My Day Thursday

    Disclaimer: This isn't my happiest, most upbeat post. I had an off day, and I hope reading this will inspire some of my readers to pray a little extra for me.
     This week, I sent out around ten emails to different missionary families in the countries I'm considering. Very basic, just letting them know I was up for volunteer work for X many months, what my skills were, and if they thought they could use me to please email back more info. I hope the responses I get help me narrow down a lot.
     So far, I've gotten back three, and all were an easy 'no'. Some people might be mad they didn't instantly get their neon sign, saying their perfect place was open and waiting, but I'm realistic. I know this won't be a short process of eliminating and praying and thinking.
     One response was from Honduras, except that family was still in Mexico finishing language school, so they don't really know what kind of help they'll need yet. However, they were amazingly nice, and forwarded my email to several of their friends already in the field.
     One was from Ecuador. The family had to cut their mission work down due to some problems and are coming back to the US on furlough for the fall, so they're just trying to keep themselves busy until then. An added person wouldn't be an asset. They did say if I was open to moving around a little during my stay they might have a spot, so I just sent back a 'Sure!' and I'm waiting on details.
     The last was also from Ecuador, and though they were wholly enthusiastic about me coming to volunteer, it was not the place for me. It was a position teaching English at their school, from little kids to adults. They're highly strict about a few living conditions, and I disliked how they laid that out on the table. They also want someone through June, and I have to be back mid-May.
     Teaching is definitely not a skill I have. I can assist all day long, but actually having to teach not only scares but frustrates me. I think so differently from other people, I've learned, and usually it's not easy to explain how I think. The thought of having to get up every day, make lesson plans, keep kids occupied for hours with the English language...it makes me a little nauseous. Like more college, in a major I don't like.
     My dad feels I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss this one, since it is an open door. I, however, feel that if you don't have a peace about something, then it isn't what you should be doing. God gives us instincts and feelings so we could sense things like that. I'm a very intuitive person when it comes to these things. I want things to not only work out, but feel right too. Like I haven't got a negative feeling yet about volunteering. Just the opposite, I'm more excited and ready to go. And I think wherever I pick I should feel more of that eager, willing to go spirit.
     I volunteered so I could go and WORK, be actively involved in ministry, and go to bed at night feeling tired and maybe hot and dirty, but happy I physically accomplished something positive for the day. I'm not picky about what, and I'm not limited either. I speak enough Spanish to converse slowly, and I pick up languages fast being around them. I can pretty much do anything from office work and bookkeeping to medical work, to working with kids and youth, music, cooking, light construction. And if I don't know how to do something, I'm a self-driven enough person to figure it out quick. Being such a diverse person, I figured it'd be easy to find my 'place'. Well, easier said than done.
     If I could pick, I'd love a spot where I wasn't doing the same thing every day for the entirety of my stay. I like doing different things, exercising my mind and body in different ways, meeting new people and seeing new places. I know God has the place He wants me to be, and I pray He shows me soon, but I also pray it's some place like that.

Global Update - Summer Wish List

    
     My new favorite occupation is telling people my plans after graduation. Do you know what people's faces do when you say 'I'm moving to South America?' Its hilarious! People just don't expect that, especially coming from me, I guess haha.
     I have narrowed the 'place' down to four countries, actually four specific locations within four countries. Ecuador, Honduras, Haiti, and Costa Rica. Yesterday I sent out email to each of the missionary families there, sort of introducing myself and my talents and asking about their ministries, and whether or not they have a place or a need for me. Hopefully I'll get responses back soon! I have orientation the first full week of June, and I hope hope hope to have a spot before then.
     But before galavanting off to God-knows-where (actually...He's the only one at the moment!) I have LOTS of packing to do! I plan to be gone for around 9-10 months, August to the beginning of May. I have to be back by May, because Molly is GRADUATING! Seriously y'all, my little sister is graduating? Doesn't seem right.
     So, thinking about fitting my whole life for that much time in two suitcases is now becoming one of my mental occupations. I'm totally one of those list packers, so I plan waaaay ahead. I know pretty much wherever I go I'll have stuff like toilet paper and sheets and towels, so that's not a worry. I'll be washing clothes regularly, so I don't have to pack eighty-seven pairs of underwear. And I most likely won't have to be worrying about dressing up and primping :) so I doubt hairspray and cute shoes are going to make the suitcase cut. What I pack depends a lot on whether I can wear pants/shorts at my location or just dresses/skirts, but I'm preparing for both. Its kind of funny, going shopping not for style or what I like, but for comfort and 'Can this survive mud and muck?'. Really throws the sales ladies off.

     I am however, going to be packing as much home food as possible. Alyssa is adaptable, but she can only eat so much rice and beans (or whatever) before she has to sneak in a granola bar or something to balance it out.
     Shoes are what's most challenging, I think. Definitely have to factor in the 'yuck' that most third-world countries have. Dad told me 'If you're going to do this, you better get some shoes you can hose out.' So, I'm thinking Crocs, Toms, the water-tennis shoe things I like in the summer, that sort of stuff. No more cute flip flops! Sad day.

     I'm also buying a new laptop in a few weeks, one that's faster and more travel friendly than my old dinosaur and that has a built in web cam, so I can email and Skype everyone whenever I get the chance. Gotta have my iTunes and audiobooks too!

   

     Here's what I'm aiming to aquire before the summer's over, and I'm out:

Gurkee's Sandals, in denim

A few new books to have for my downtime, what little I expect to have

All these series I read have books due out before I leave, so I'm really excited I don't have to wait until I get back! I'll have some credit on Amazon in about a week from trading in my textbooks, so this stuff is already in my shopping cart, ready to go.

Disclaimer: These are NOT the only books I'm taking. Not by a long shot. I'll be packing my suitcase the night before I leave going 'Hmm....I can fit two more books in if I don't take any socks!' Seriously.

Itunes cards!

I have a ton of music, audio books, and tvshows I want to get before I leave, and iTunes is going to be my BFF, I have a feeling!

For my birthday coming up in July, I really, really want a camera. On the rare occasion I take pictures here, I use my iPhone, but I have a feeling I'll want more than that. I really don't care if it's refurb or used, I just want a good camera.

Canon PowerShot SX230HS, shoots videos, tags your pics with GPS markers, freaking amazing specs.

Starts at $340 on Amazon.... :D Mama, Daddy...just so you know, I really, really love you!

Hold the Hypocricy, Please!

Normally, I tune out the more retarded posts on Facebook, but this one made my blood boil. This poster says he's a Christian and is a preacher, but obviously wasn't using those parts of his brain today. Here's his post:

"Has anyone noticed.... anyone from Haiti, Japan, or anywhere else rushing over here to help us clean up the tornado damage. any out-of-country relief efforts, any one flying in foreign food or help. Coincidence? I think not. Maybe we should take a hint and focus on fixing our own before we rush out to 'help' everyone else... most of whom, never asked for it! Re-post if you agree."

I hardly know where to start tearing into that. First, the people of Haiti or Japan are on no place to get on a plane and come help us. They're still trying to fix the problems in their own countries. Plus, I don't know many Hatians who can afford a car, much less a plane ticket. Second, while the storm damage in the South is awful and devastating, it is nothing compared to the utter destruction of the Haiti earthquake or the Indonesian tsunami. I mean, in Haiti hundreds of thousands of people died and the whole country was basically destroyed, making millions of people homeless. Lastly, we do not go help those people so we can get help back when we need it. That's not what being a Christian is about, that's not what volunteering is about, that's not what being a decent human is about. Those who are blessed give to those who aren't. And the US is a big enough and blessed enough place, we can generally help out our fellow Americans, if we open our minds to do so. Wanting people from third world countries to come here and help us is, I'll say it, just plain LAZY!

Global Outreach/Fall Mission Update

      My dad is one of the directors at Global Outreach, and this weekend was their annual spring meeting. They meet to discuss business, and to review and approve new missionaries for full service. We heard new missionary reports from China, Uganda, and Cambodia, as well as a presentation from the Headys in Haiti. We (my family) were kind of disappointed that more missionaries from Central or South America weren't able to come, as that's kind of where I'm wanting to serve. Not that China, Uganda and Cambodia aren't great places to go, they're just not where I feel I'm being led to go. I did get contacts from most of the countries I'm considering, Haiti, Costa Rica, Honduras, Ecuador.
      I'm not picky as to where I go. I'm really just looking for somewhere that's a 'fit' for my strange and unusual skill set. I put down that I would be open to serving in a medical capacity, or working with youth or kids, and that I was skilled in organizing/office work/accounting, music, cooking, and light construction. Most girls my age go in a teaching capacity, usually for younger kids, but I'm not so much a teacher as a doer. My style of teaching is more like 'Well, I have no idea how to do it either, but we can figure it out!' haha. I do worry about running off to somewhere like Haiti, where the living conditions are very rough even for long term missionaries. I know it's not about going off to live just like here, but I'd hate to only be there a month and want to give up and come home. I told them when I applied that I'd also like to be somewhere you DIDN"T have to ride a little boat three days up a river, and then when you get there they eat bugs and nobody speaks English. Anywhere up from that though, and we're talking!
      We also got to eat lunch and catch up with Lyle and Rose Rainey, our friends who run the Global boys vo-tech in Belize. Only bad thing about that is, now I want to go back to Belize! I love the Raineys, and the vo-tech boys, and the country of Belize. However, female and 22 are sort of hindrances when you apply to work at a high school boys vo-tech haha! Maybe another trip, later on.
      Ms.Carla, the lady in charge of my paperwork at Global, told me that all my paperwork was completed and approved, and I'm all set for MOT (Missionary Orientation Training) in early June. I was a little worried about this coming about. I had gotten a somewhat late start for the May 9 deadline, but all my references were fabulously quick in returning their forms, and the deadline turned out to not be a problem. Thanks God!
      Please pray for me this week as I (attempt to) finish school, and this summer as I try to find the place God's picked for me to be and as I get ready to leave. If you know me, you know that leaving Mama and Daddy and home, for six months to a year, for a third world country, is NOT in my normal character. That's a looooong way from Walmart, and DVR, and Southern food, for a looooong time. All I can say is, "Lord, help me, for real!"