From Tiangis to Bible Study

Today was a good day, overall. I slept in a little, got up, had a nice hot shower (a little longer than normal, it might have actually taken me 20 minutes... maybe), ate some yummy breakfast. Mi madre mexicana served sanillas! watermelon! My favoritest fruit of all times, although I'm beginning to crave fruit of any sort. It's probably going to be a part of a lot more of my breakfasts after I get home. I'm learning to love the stuff, and its so good for you!

So, after my fruit rant... I studied some. Or tried to. I got a little done, but not as much as I'd hoped. I did talk to Jesus, which is always important and good. I didn't really sleep in that late, but time just seemed wacky and I didn't have as much of it as I thought I would. Or maybe I just wasn't as productive with what I had as I'd wanted to be.

Anyway! We met up at the park for lunch. Kristina, Ian, Drew, Phelps and I went and had breakfast for lunch. That was weird and not one of my favorites. But it was decent. We had some fun conversations too. Phelps had this awesome banana drink which was pretty much like a banana smoothie. Sounded delicious.

Then we hopped on the metro and went to the tiangis! The market. It was pretty epic. I loved wandering through all the little shops looking for random things. I found postcards! So I should be addressing those tomorrow maybe then trying to find a post office some time next week. I have no idea where I'd find one, but I'm sure google maps will help me :). Then it'll be a race. Who gets to the US first? The post cards or me?

I found some other cool gifts. But I'm not going to tell you what they are because some of the people they are for read this blog. That would be spoiling. But, I still have a few more gifts to find. I have four weeks and a lot more cool places, so I'm not worried. I can always go back to the tiangis another weekend :).

After that, I came home and had dinner with my family. We had fish! I like fish :). And, true to form, tortillas. Have you ever eaten your fish inside a tortilla? Well, I have :). I recommend trying it sometime, depending on how your fish is cooked. We also had soup with noodles in it. They always squeeze lime into their soups, and I love the practice. It adds an extra kick to the soup.

Later in the evening, I went out with Emily, Drew, Ben, and Benjamin for some God time. This was by far my favorite time of the day. We didn't delve deep into the Word yet, but we did get to know each other better. We shared testimonies and what God has been showing us over the years and recently in particular. I'm always amazing to hear how my God is at work in the hearts and lives of my brothers and sisters!

Which reminds me:  "Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." Psalm 106:1

We did that today. We prayed together and spent some time thanking God for who He is and what He's done. We asked for His guidance over this trip. I know He'll answer our prayers, because He promised us that we would have whatever He asked in accordance with His plan. He's working, always. And I'm seeing that come alive. I love my Jesucristo with all the fervor my passionate soul can muster. He is greater still.

Now, I have some more studying to do. It may be a late night because I want to get so much done. But my God sustains, and I'm remembering a verse my Momma used to quote all the time. God brought it to mind today.
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24.

That's all for me today. I'm off for more work!

A Castle & A Princess

 So, today we visited El Castillo de Chapultepec.It was beautiful. And HUGE! The Emperor Maximilian from Austria via France lived here when Bonaparte invaded Mexico and set up an empire in the name of France.
After the Revolution in Mexico, one of the presidents lived here: Porfinio Diaz. The place is huge. It has several floors and literally hundreds of rooms. It's got a garden on the roof and splendid balconies off every side. Stain glass windows. Elevators with seats in them. Grand staircases. Murals that covered entire rooms.
I have no idea what they used all that room for, but it sure was pretty. There was even a tower in the gardens on top of the roof. This is a picture of it. We couldn't go inside :(. But it was still great to look at and wish we could explore.
We toured the entire place and it took several hours. Like 3, that's how big it was. We got some fun photos. As always, more pictures are on Facebook. The link is here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150185503615044.300933.665665043.

After our three or more hour tour of the palace, we went to lunch. I got to sit with Ben, Travis, and Phelps. Great time getting to know those guys better. I'm loving how we always mix it up and so we get to know more people better every day. It's been less than two weeks and we're already much closer. Wonder what it's going to be like at the end of the six weeks? Then a lot of them are going to Madrid too!

Oh, this picture is of all of us in front of the monument to Los Ninos Heroes. I'm not quite sure of their story yet, we haven't learned it. I'll let you know when I figure it out. For now, its just a great picture to acquaint you with all the amazing people I'm getting to know this trip. There are 13 students and 3 TAs plus Dra. Galloway. I know them all and can't wait to keep learning more. Man, I can't even express how awesome it is to be growing closer. If it weren't for the new friends I'd made, I'd never survive this trip.

Anyway. One last picture. This one is of me on one of the many balconies that overlook the forest surrounding the palace. I like it a lot.

One last thing. I'm exhausted. Physically and emotionally, but I had a thought I wanted to share.
The Castle, or Palace as it were, made me think a lot. So, I shall share.

I'm stuck on this Daughter of the King idea. You know, the whole Palace thing. Plus the Mulan songs that Ben and Travis were singing and the ensuing conversation. I hate the whole flighty, brainless, helpless, "oh save me!" Disney Princess ideal. That's why I loved Mulan so much. Yes, she still needed her Knight in Shining Armor to help her win the big battle, but she was a major part of that. He wouldn't have been able to defeat the bad guy without her.

We're called, as Daughters of the One True King, to be active in the battle for the world. Ephesians 1:3-14 ensures us that we are children of God. We have been adopted into the family and given a part of the inheritance of God the Father along with Jesus Christ! What an amazing thought all on its own! To be called, truly, children of God. To honestly have a part of the inheritance with Jesus Christ! To be that special to our Father, how amazing!

Yet, we're not called to be brainless, flighty, or to stand away from the battle. Ephesians goes on to tell us about the armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-20. God tells us exactly how the battle should be fought. Exactly what to use as our shield. Exactly where our sword can be found. Exactly how to FIGHT.

Just a thought :)

Philosophy in Salsa

So, it's been a pretty crazy week! Two tests... One was three hours, but the second only took me 1.5. Still, quite a bit of studying. It's been pretty tense around here lately... I'm so tired of studying! Thankfully, we have a small homework assignment for today. But then we don't have anything due until next week. So I'll have the weekend to work on some stuff.

But, more interestingly. SALSA!!
As you probably have figured out by now, I LOVE DANCING!
We had a salsa lesson last night. An hour and a half lesson on the basic stuff. It was pretty awesome and I was exhausted afterwards. Salsa is very up beat and you're always moving. We didn't get into a lot of the partner stuff, but I learned a whole lot. If I dance in the US, I'm gonna have to relearn the names for everything. This is Mexico, and they call moves in Spanish!
Some of the others picked it up really well too. It was fun to get to learn together. Ben learned really fast. It was really cool. We had a long conversation with Kristina about dancing. Which, by the way, I love (in case you missed it before). I so can't wait to go back and learn some more. I want to make the moves more natural and use less brain power on the footwork. It's a lot harder to learn cool stuff if you have to think about your footwork. When the footwork is natural, you become a much better dancer. I've learned that one through swing.
*sigh*
Now I wish I were on the dance floor again. Nothing can be wrong when you're twirling and sashaying across a hardwood floor. For that moment, everything outside the room is just background noise and doesn't really exist. I think this is one of the reasons I love dancing. It's so freeing because there is only the moment, only your partner (if you have one), only the moves. Life becomes about moving to the music and letting go of everything else.
For me, dancing is free expression and logical without thought. Dancing involves your body, brain, and soul. It's about matching you to the music and your partner. It's about two people moving together as one unit and showcasing the skill of the other. It's about passion and freedom. "Dancing is Life," is how Mr. D says it in Take The Lead, which is a movie I love.

Okay, enough philosophy of dance. After salsa, we came home. We had an impromptu review session during our walk. Thank you, Drew. He walked us home and we had some fun conversations around the review stuff. Then, I stayed up way too late. But it was all good.
This morning, I went into school early and we had another "review session" but it wasn't super formal. Then the test. Then I came home and took an hour long siesta. I feel SO much better now! Amazing what a little sleep can do for the body. Now, I have some work to do tonight. But not too much. 

I want to go dancing again... :)

I'll Fly Away!

So, today has been rough. I spent most of yesterday studying, but I still don't feel prepared. This test is going to be crazy hard, I'm expecting. So more and more studying. Mas estudiando!!

Anyway. Today started per usual. Up, get ready, eat breakfast, go to school. My host mom fed me a huge breakfast. Apparently, I don't eat enough by Mexican standards. My appetite has gone down a little, but not that much. I've lost 7 pounds already, but that's not a big deal. I think it's more the walking. Maybe I'm gaining muscle too! Wouldn't that be epic.

Oops, rabbit trail there. I headed off to school and we discussed the film "Santo Luzbel" which we'd watched Saturday night. I actually kind of liked the movie, or really liked it. But most of the students didn't. No, it wasn't an action movie with modern special effects. But it was heart-wrenching and culturally enlightening. Yeah, we also had to read the subtitles. I don't speak word-one of Nahuatl, the indigenous Mexican language.

Doctora let us out about 11 to go over to La Universidad de Comunicacion and talk to the other Mexican students there. Julia and I had a nice conversation with two college girls about lots of stuff. I followed most of it and even threw in comments every now and again. My Spanish is improving, I just have to remind myself of that often. They told us some old Mexican legends. One was about Senora Llorria or something like that. Basically, the woman drowned her children and cried for them a lot. You can still hear her crying sometimes, I think is how the story goes. Parents tell it to children, like the boogeyman stories in the US.

The conversation was great, but both the girls were smoking. Asthmatic me didn't like that too much, so it was headache time. Ugh. But I managed. This is going to be a short paragraph so I don't complain too much.

We went back to our school about noon for another two hour review session. Funny how I can spend 4 hours in teacher/TA led reviews, several hours studying on a Sunday afternoon, and still not feel ready. I don't know if I ever will, but I'm closer now. I'm using her review sheet to make a study guide. It's over six pages... But I do know more than I thought I did. Now it's just making sure its organized in my head so that I can use it during the test tomorrow.

I came back around 2:30 and laid down for an hour. I was exhausted and had a migraine. The sleep + Excedrin + Zyrtec D helped some. Talking to Momma and Daddy via IM and Jim via Skype helped my emotional stress even more. I never cease to be awed at my own need for people. But God has provided me with amazing people to help me in my time of need. We also reworked Jim's support letter for Japan. He has such a way with words, but his grammar needs help. Amazingly, I can already see improvement from this letter as opposed to the last one I helped him with.

Diversion here: Keep praying for his trip, please! You can learn more about what he's doing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=296c_FAFiHU. Plus, you can hear him speak Japanese, which is very impressive. Or at least I think so. I'm getting more and more excited for him as his departure date gets closer. In five weeks, he'll be on his way to the place he's dreamed of going for years. I know what that's like:  awesome. Still, the more prayers the better because this is all in God's hands.

Undeversion:
I also listened to Kati & Lexi sing "I'll Fly Away" via YouTube. If you haven't heard it, do that immediately.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdn02F5JHXY&feature=player_embedded). It's simply amazing. Made me cry and everything. I must have listened to it half a dozen times because I needed the reminder that, ultimately, God is in control. And this life isn't our goal, our home, or our reward. This is our battle ground, our mission field, our task. But not our goal, never that. Just a few more weary days and then I'll fly away to a place where joy will never end. I can't wait to fly away!
PS: It reminded me of this picture, which I took the day we went to El Museo Anthrolopogia. I have no idea why the Mexicans randomly put a pair of wings for pictures in the middle of the median of a major highway, but it was fascinating. So, there you go. Random trivia.

Anyway. I should go back to studying now. I'm learning Mexica history. It's very interesting and nothing at all like the way we learn it in high school. So much more fascinating, but there's so many details! Going to class for six hours straight for a week leads for lots of information. Basically, we've compressed three weeks of a normal semester into one here. It's crazy and intense. Thankfully, Doctora Galloway does a lot of review as we go, so it isn't all new information all the time.

That's it for me for now. More later from Mexico. I'm sure enjoying this city. Although, I talked to Fallon via Skype yesterday. I miss wake boarding and learning to drive the motorcycles. I'm going to miss a lot of the lake this summer. And I miss my sister. But, I'm sure this is where I'm supposed to be. God will bless what He's called us to do.

Love to you all.
Loren

La Semana Primera

Hey everyone. So it's been a few days since I blogged. Things are so busy here and I'm always exhausted (in the best way) when I get home. Plus, my internet has been going in and out with the strange power problem.

Anyway, let's start with Wednesday. We went to El Templo Mayor. Basically, it was an old Mexica (Aztec) temple that's been almost razed. Archeologist have only recently discovered it and its many secrets. You can see a picture of part of the temple over there ->.

We got to tour La Casa de los Aguilas. Basically, this is where they offered sacrifice to their deities. Both human sacrifice and self-mutilation. These guys were very serious about sacrifice because they believed that it was necessary to keep the deities happy and the world in balance. Intense.

I got to play fun photograph artist.  I love taking pictures and this place was fascinating.  I'm sprinkling some pictures throughout this blog, but if you want a more detailed look at all the amazing stuff we saw, it's all on my face book. That's here for El Templo Mayor: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150175326580044.298910.665665043.

With me in this picture is Ben, Travis, and Lexi. We're standing in the ruins as you can see. The architecture of this place is amazing. These people didn't even have the wheel when they made all of this hundreds of years ago. I'm simply amazed at the brilliance of their structures, considering. I just wish I could have seen it as it was back then. I'm sure it was a sight to behold before it was distroyed.



After seeing the temple from the outside, we got to go into the museum and see more cool stuff. Their artwork was as cool as their buildings. This picture has me, Ben, and Travis all mimicking their deity of death: Mictlantecuhtil. They didn't believe in a hell where there was suffering, but they did have an underworld (el inframundo). We just thought the statue was awesome.

When we got tired of touring the museum (which took a lot longer for some of us than others), we headed back to our part of Mexico City. Riding the metro is quite an experience, but I'm going to tell you more about that later because I have an interesting story to go with it.

Being out and about all day made me exhausted. So I studied some and went to bed. We've gotten so much information thrown at us so fast! It's crazy how much we're learning, and I have to spend time studying to keep up with it all.

On Thursday, we went to El Museo Anthropologia. This was similar to El Templo Mayor in the kinds of things we saw. Except one huge difference.Well, we'll get there. The rest of my pictures can be found on Facebook here: (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150176454275044.299089.665665043).

The first thing we saw was this awesome architecture. This is a fountain from the ceiling. The whole ceiling rested on this one post. Yes, this is a modern marvel and not an ancient one. But I'm still a building geek and I loved this one. It was so unique and offered many photographic opportunities.


We went into the museum and met our guide. She lectured for an hour of which I understood maybe a grand total of a dozen words. I need to keep working on my Spanish and understanding the natives.


The coolest thing we saw in El Museo Anthropologia was La Piedra Del Sol.  Basically, this is a giant, 6 ton alter made of stone. Yes, I said alter. As in sacrifices. But look at it! Most people think its a version of the Mexica calendar, but its not. It does, however, have some interesting history and believes worked into its carvings. The four pictures in the center represent four world which have been destroyed. We're now living in the fifth one, which is supposed to be destroyed in a giant earthquake. We'll see about that eventually, I guess.


This was a great museum, but it was a lot of similar stuff to what we'd seen at El Templo Mayor. So, I won't describe a lot of it. Check out the pictures for more awesomeness.


After that, I studied more. Of course. I haven't managed to go to bed early yet, but I've tried several days. Oh well, there's just way too much stuff to do and see here. I'm enjoying all that La Ciudad de Mexico has to offer.

So, Friday.  Friday was an interesting day. I started out my morning going to school, per usual. But by 11, I had a headache. By noon, it was a migraine. You try learning history in Spanish while battling a migraine. On second thought, don't. That's not something I'd wish on anybody.


But I dealt. And after school, we went to lunch. I had quesadillas from a street vendor. Delicious. But still headachy. I debated whether or not to go on the outing, but everyone told me that La Basilica was NOT something I anted to miss. Especially with my fascination for buildings. So I went. 

This is where the interesting metro story comes in. So, for some reason, we thought it would be a good idea to use the metro during rush hour on a Friday afternoon. No. Just no. I don't think you could have jammed sardines in any tighter than we were.


So, after about 2 stops, I'm hyperventilating. Honest to goodness panic attack in the middle of the metro. So when the train stops, I squirm over to where Ian, Drew, Kristina, and Rebecca were crammed in and place myself at the center. I know I haven't known these people long, but they were awesome. Drew wormed a little extra space for us. Kristian and Rebecca kept me busy talking. Ian didn't mind when his fingers went numb from my tight grip. Thanks guys. Really.


Needless to say, it was an interesting metro ride. But we made it. And you can see La Basilica in that picture up there ^^. More pictures on Facebook at (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150179665825044.299322.665665043). True to form, this was my FAVORITE. And the random picture of the ground really is random. I just liked it and its gotten a lot of compliments, so I thought I'd share.


La Basilica really was worth it. As you can see in this picture <-, the building is leaning. That's because Mexico City is built on top of a drained lake bed and is sinking. There's a picture on Facebook of the huge cracks forming. In the future some time, Mexico City is supposed to sink completely and need a complete renovation. That'll be interesting... in a bad way, I think. A very bad way.


La Basilica was a church. It has like five or six different parts. But it was gorgeous, both inside and out. We got to go into several of the building and I'm amazed. Simply amazed. Some of it is more modern marvels, but so much of it is old. The age and majesty of the place just seeps into your bones. You feel like you're in a sacred place just by the atmosphere.






After that, Ian discovered a secret complex. Here, you can see parts of it. It was really fun, and now Ian goes into almost every open door he sees :). There was a fountain, a school room complete with desks and a blackboard, many passages and doors. We had a lot of fun exploring it.


I got some good pictures of it too. Those are on Facebook. But this is a great one with most of us all in it. Group picture, for the win! This group has really come to mean a great deal to me. Each of them is so unique and individual. We've only known each other for a week, but it seems like years with some of them. Funny how spending so much time together will bring you closer so quickly. 


Well, our metro ride home was not as bad. Rush hour was mostly over, thank goodness. But I did stick close to people I knew, just in case. I'm so glad I have people watching out for me :).


One more day... Saturday! 


We had a review session at the school at 11. It lasted for two hours ... Our test is going to be super difficult, but we only have a total of 6 of them for 9 credit hours. The test is probably going to be 3 hours of writing Spanish essays about what we've learned. I'm going to be doing a lot of practicing over the next two days...


But after lunch, we went to Frida Kahlo's House. It's basically an art museum. Not my favorite of our trips, but still fun. I'm just not a huge art person and I didn't really like her work very much. You can see us (or me...) being weird in this picture. It's Drew, Phelps, Ben, Ian, Travis, Kristina, then me in front. Yeah... I'm weird. It's why you love me. 


After that, we had churros! I'm so learning to make those back in the states. Here's Lexi and Ian enjoying theirs. Basically, a churro is a fried donut-like thing with chocolate, caramel, strawberry, nutella, etc filling inside. They're not expensive either, like donuts at home. Delicious.


Well, now it's Sunday. I'm going to spend the day talking to Jesus and studying for my test. I'll try to do better at blogging more often so its not information overload :).


God Bless you this Sunday, wherever you may be.
Loren

La Cucaracha y La Universidad

Hola!!

So, I updated yesterday's blog. I realized that I hadn't at all done it justice, so tried again. Its not much extra, but some. So, if you're inclined, you can read the new parts.

Anyway! I have to start off this post with an explanation of why its title talks about a cockroach. I had a total God-moment last night involving a cockroach.

The Cockroach Story
Last night I was getting ready to go to bed when I noticed a cockroach on the wall of my room. Now, I can handle bugs of all kinds, even spiders. But NOT cockroaches. I have no idea what it is. I don't freak, per se. But I just can't stand the things. It's a phobia. An unreasonable fear without logic.
So, I tried to get rid of the cockroach by catching it in a Kleenex and stomping on it. I didn't want to squish its guts everywhere, but I didn't want to touch it either. It wasn't working. I smacked it once, but mostly missed. It scurried under the dresser. It came back out a few minutes later and I whacked it good. But it scurried under the other bed and I lost it for the evening.
Well, total God moment here. Jim has told me, often, when I panicked about Mexico, again often, to just give it up to God. And I'd tried. I'd told Him how much I felt inadequate and almost worthless. I'd told Him how I was struggling to make the words come, how I was struggling with the people, and how He was just going to have to make things work because I sure couldn't. But what I didn't confess? My fear. I didn't realize how much of my problems in Spanish were from fear.
I had a phobia of the language, of not being able to speak it, of what others would think. So much of my anxiety was wrapped up in my fear. My phobia. Unreasonable fear not based in logic.
So, last night at way too late, I gave up my phobia to Jesus. I let Him have all the fear I contained because I know He is stronger. He is greater. And, with Him, there is nothing for me to fear.
Guess what? I woke up this morning to a dead cockroach. I guess I whacked it pretty good :). Or maybe God just needed something tangible to teach me about the intangible.

La Universidad
This morning, classes started! School started at 8:30, but Drew got lost. So we got there about 8:40. No biggie though, a lot of us were late. First day in a strange city will do that to you. We learned a lot. I was worried that 6 hours of class would be hard. I have trouble with 1.5 hour classes at Tech! But it wasn't. I looked down at my watch, expecting to be like half an hour in, and it was already 2 hours later. Doctora Galloway is a great teacher and I can understand most of her Spanish. My speaking still needs help, but I felt like I understood a lot more than I did yesterday.
We went for lunch after class. Kristina and I went out together and ate. I didn't really like lunch, but I loved the apple juice which is nothing like it is in the States. Much apple-ier. We had a nice conversation. It was great to get to know more about her.
Then we went to go get cell phones. Long walk, but more fun time to talk to people. I'm so enjoying all my new friends here. I'm fitting in better today than yesterday, and actually enjoying myself. I'm so introverted that this is hard for me, even if I don't show it. But I'm doing okay. God is so good!
While we were waiting for phones (which is a long process when you're trying to get like 19 of them), I had a long conversation with Travis and Kristina about church and Jesus. That was awesome. It's great to find people with a common background and be able to talk about it. So refreshing to be able to do Jesus-talk in Mexico.

En Otras Palabras
Oh, and my presentation was moved to tomorrow. Thank you everyone that's been praying for me! I appreciate it, and please don't stop! God is working great things today, and I know He'll continue. I've got to go work on that presentation some more. We're going out tonight. No idea what we're going to do, but I hear alcohol may be involved. If that's the case, I may see if I can find an ice cream shop or something. Getting drunk in Mexico sounds like a horrible idea. But I'll find something interesting to do. And no, I won't walk around by myself.

Hasta luego, mis amigos!
Lorena

Teotihuacan

Hola! Como estas? Estoy mucho bueno, y en México! Hoy, fuimos a Teotihuacan! Me gusta explorar los templos y escalarlos. Conocé a la gentes nuevas, y les gusta.

Okay, so for my non-Spanish speaking friends:
Hey! How are you? I'm very good, and in Mexico! Today, we went to Teotihuacan (pronounced te-oh-tea-walk-an, then run it all together). I liked to explore the temples and climb them. I got to know new people and liked them.

Yes, my friends. Today was Ruins Day :). We started out our day at 8:00. Mi mama mexicana fed me breakfast. I had a mango. I didn't even know I liked mangoes! Of course, then I was supposed to meet up with Drew to walk to school. I went outside to meet him and was told by his padre mexicano that he'd left to pick up another girl. So, I had an internal freak out moment because I know I'd get in a lot of trouble from home if I walked around La Ciudad de Mexico by myself. Thankfully, he offered to drive me. Since he's a part of the program, I took him up on it. We found Drew and got him too. Then went to school and got on a bus to go to Teotihuacan.

Once we arrived, we toured the ruins. That was a lot of fun. I've posted pictures on Facebook which can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150171603350044.298152.665665043. We had a tour guide that explained a lot of their history. I understood maybe a fourth of it, but I tried! That was about the time I got majorly overwhelmed.

After that, we climbed the temples. That was fun. Per usual Aztec design standards, the stairs were as tall as my knees. And there were a lot of them. We actually climbed three temples, so it was a lot of stairs! My legs were literally shaking coming down the tallest one. It was absolutely gorgeous from the top! The wind up there and being able to see over the whole city. Simply awesome.

We had fun with Emilio :). He's Jenny's nephew and not quite 3 years old yet. (Jenny is our local contact, and much fun!) Travis, Roxy, and Jonathan all took turns being Emilio's attachment of the moment. He was so cute!! And it was fun to watch the college kids interact with him. Travis, especially, took to him really quick. I thought it was precious to hear Travis say "I can't wait to be a Dad."
Emilio helped my confidence too. Because kids only want basic Spanish, and I have that. :)

I thought this, the ruins climbing, was the best part of the day. It was the time where we could talk and interact and get to  know each other better. We're all doing the "ahh! strange country!!" thing. Most everyone knew someone before arriving, but not all of us. So we really got to meet new people and learn to interact.

When we were finished with the temples, we went to a restaurant nearby. It was a cooperative living place, like a commune. The guy showed us how they make tequila and weave their own stuff. It was pretty epic. He showed us obsidian in many varying shades. Maroon, rainbow, black, mulitcolor. He showed us jade too.
After that, we tasted fermented honey water. Which is supposedly non-alcoholic.
Then we had lunch. CHOCOLATE ENCHILADAS! Yes, its true! I love them! They were partially spicy but also sweet at the same time. Very cool. I'm totally gonna have to make them. They're my mama mexicana's favorite food. Maybe she'll teach me to make them.

Now, I'm doing homework. I'm working on a presentation for tomorrow. I'll let you guys know how it goes, but right now, I don't have high hopes. Well, back to work. Except for the fact that I'm currently skyping with Andrew, Kelsey, Nathan, and Jim... all at once. Its very crazy. Ahh! Nahuatl awaits me!

Buenas noches de Mexico!
Lorena

Mexico, Day 1

Hola de México! 

So, I'm HERE!!!

Traveling was very non-stressful. I met Michael in ATL and we did most of the flying together, just to have someone to talk to. Flying isn't hard, even internationally. We made it through fine. Our customs and immigration forms were in Spanish, which was interesting.

We met with Ben and Julia, then traveled to the other terminal to meet everyone else. We hoped on a big bus and drove through Mexico. That was interesting. The city here is nothing like any other city I've ever been in. It's more colorful, more busy, more alive.

The bus dropped us off at school.


Our host families met us there and took us home. My home is less than 10 minutes from school! My host family is awesome. Luis y Delores. They have two kids: Anna y Enrique. Y dos perros! (Two dogs) Jack and Niki.

Okay, I know this is really a brief and non descriptive, but I'm exhausted. So, a few pictures then I'm headed to bed.

This is my room from the door. You can tell I was still unpacking...

Less than 11 Hours

In less than 11 hours, I'll be on a plane towards Dallas on my way to Mexico City. In less than 14 hours, I'll have landed in Mexico City.

Wow.

Isn't God so good? Less than 36 hours ago, I didn't even know if I would be able to go. Isn't it crazy? I am so glad that my God is greater than all my problems! And He is still in control.

I'm not even sure what to say. How do I express the joy and fear that are both in my heart? I'm so excited, yet nervous. Happy, yet tired. But packed, or mostly so. We had some issue with that. Everything is pretty much in order, yet I feel like there's not enough time.

I guess that's all. I started this blog hoping that writing would help me think. But it's not working. I don't have the words. I don't have the energy. I don't have a way to tell you what's in my heart.

So, I'm off to Mexico City tomorrow. :)

Who's The Boss, Chica?

So, if Jesus had a Hispanic accent, this is what He'd be saying to me right now. And I'd be nodding sheepishly with bright red cheeks as He reminded me, gently of course, of something He's taught me so many times in the past.

Yes, Jesucristo, You're the boss.

So, as most of you will have heard by now. Mexico is a go. Nothing much changed through my panic: "What if I can't go? What will I do then? What's He gonna do through this? Why, Jesus, why?!"
But I know, now even more than yesterday, that He is in control. So many of my friends reminded me yesterday of that simple fact. There is nothing I can do to change His plan. It's not in my control. He works out all things for the good of those that love Him. No man by worrying can add a cubit to his height.
So all my tears, my stress, my jittery heart, my worry, my panic. None of it did any good. It only made things worse from my end. But I did have to continually talk to Jesus, to give over my fear and worry. To rest wholeheartedly in His promise of comfort and sustenance. Jesus, my rock and my salvation, my strong tower, in what shall I fear?

Get the point now?
Yeah, for now...

And I know that I will struggle with this again. I know it. And I'm scared. But I will manage. I'm off to Mexico this weekend.

Speaking of Mexico...
Things are going crazy. I'm stressed about that too. But Jesus is bigger (see previous lesson ;) ). I've already got homework to do. Oh joy. I'm gonna be working through the plane rides, I think. I doubt either tonight or tomorrow night will be heavy on the sleeping. Working is more important.
Somehow, I'll pull through. Jesus sustains. Worrying doesn't do an ounce of good while doing pounds of harm. If my God wants me there, He'll make my paths straight. I must rely on Him and do my best to manage what He gives me. He is the source of joy and comfort and peace.
I believe that.

So...
¡Te echaré de menos! (I will miss you!) y ¡Te quiero! (I love you!)

~Loren

My Heart Cries Out

I'm at a total loss here. Dear Jesus, only You sustain.
My Mexico LBAT program is under consideration for cancellation. There's political and gang unrest in Mexico right now and things have gotten worse in the last month, I think. I'm trying to figure out exactly what is happening, but it's not good. GT's Office of International Education is looking into the situation and deciding whether or not to cancel the program.
If they do, my whole summer and school changes. I don't really know what will happen. I guess I go home and get a job and wait for Madrid to roll around. Then I add a semester in Spring 2013 and graduated in May of 2013... *sigh*

But my Jesucristo is still in control. I know He has a better plan. I don't understand. I don't know what it is. I don't know what He's trying to teach me. But I know that He is greater still.
And believing that is harder than I feel like it should be. I've watched my God work in amazing and awesome ways over the past year. I've seen Him change lives, including mine. I know that relying on His strength is all that will sustain me. My head believes it.

And yet my heart cries out for solace. My heart weeps for the joy I knew before. I believe its possible. I want it. I've had the joy, the peace, the contentment. But my dearest Lord Jesus, I can't find it now. Don't let me give up on You. Not now. Now, I need You. I need Your strength and solace. I need the belief that You are greater and better and powerful and faithful and loving and good.
My heart cries out for hope. A hope that His plan is good. Hard, yes, I think I'm ready for that. But good, Oh, my Dear Father, please. I don't even know what to ask of you in this moment. I know only that my heart cries out for You. My heart hurts and only You can heal it.
So Lord, here is my heart. Take and seal it. Seal it for Your kingdom and Your good works. Thank you so much! I truly believe that You are greater. I believe that You are better. I believe that You are almighty and faithful and loving.
I believe. In my heart, I believe.