The last two weeks...

My apologies for taking so long to post to this blog again...

To give an update of the past couple of weeks--

1--I decided to sign on for two more years at the school.  It took a lot of prayer and consideration to get to that point, but now that it's done, I'm excited to see what the next couple of years will bring.  A little nervous, yes, but that's okay.

2--Some of you may have heard about the earthquake yesterday that was centered near the Guatemalan border in southern Mexico.  We did feel it here.  We often get little tremors that just shake the furniture a little bit (the kind you hardly even notice unless you are sitting or lying down).  But yesterday's was stronger and lasted longer--sufficient to frighten people enough to run outside. 

I was out with a couple of friends at a mountainside restaurant when it happened.  We had just sat down at a plastic table outside, taking in the view overlooking the city.  It was funny because I was just thinking as I sat down, "This wouldn't be a very good place to be sitting in an earthquake..."  Then, just as I brushed the thought out of my mind, reminding myself all would be okay, and got comfortable, the ground started to shake.  One friend was sitting right near the edge on a chair set up to take in the view.  We jumped up and moved toward safety as the three employees in the restaurant ran outside, exclaiming over how long the shaking was lasting and looking a little frightened and then laughing at their fear.  Then, when all was still, people pulled out cell phones to check with family members to make sure all was well.

Just like in America, conversation centered around that topic for quite some time afterwards.  What they had heard about the earthquake in other parts of town, sharing theories about why Guatemala tends to have more tremors this time of year and whether the shaking is felt more the higher up one gets in the mountains...

But all in all, all was well.  Some pictures fell off walls.  Some sectors of town lost phone service for a short while afterwards.  But I didn't hear of any serious damage.  Just of people being startled and running outside in case the houses started to fall. 

Hopefully we won't have any more like it for a while. 

3--I had middle school chapel the past two weeks.  Since this month's theme is kindness, I showed clips from the movie To Save a Life and discussed how we can move forward from past mistakes in how we have treated others and how we can change the way we interact with others now. 

4--I've also been settling into my new job responsibilities.  I am now the literacy coordinator in addition to Spanish teacher, so my day goes between teaching my students, working with struggling readers, conferencing with teachers, and going to meetings and preparing for the school-wide writing samples.  I have had to start carrying my agenda with me everywhere I go to make sure I am at the right place at the right time, but I am enjoying the variety.

5--I found a Catholic church here that I really enjoy visiting.  During the week, it's a quiet place to go to pray, and on weekends I enjoy the mass.  One thing I have noticed about the Catholic churches here is that they always seem to be so very crowded on Sundays.  Weekend masses typically have every pew filled with as many people as each one can hold, plus plastic chairs and stools set up along the aisles and the back of the church as well as a crowd of people standing in the back.  While in the U.S. we might at this point consider stepping into a major building project, here it seems to just be accepted as the status quo.  From the number of masses at some churches, my guess is they simply add more masses to the schedule if things get overcrowded.   

Today the Scripture readings had to do with Jonah avoiding his calling to go to Nineveh and Jesus calling James and John when they were fishing in their father's boat.  The priest spoke about the need to ask God what He would have us do with our lives.  And he asked us to identify those fears that might be holding us back from doing those things.  This life is hard, with a great deal of violence and uncertainty, but he said that God has the power to make things new and better.  But we need to look at the situation in which we find ourselves, that specific life that God has given us, and ask God what He would have us do with it.

It was surprised by his boldness in mentioning events in Guatemala's recent history, calling people to account and warning them to learn from history so those things do not happen again.  Guatemala's new president was inaugurated last weekend, and the priest made reference to the new president's plan to make Guatemala safer but said everyone plays a role in making Guatemala better. 

He also made reference to priests and bishops in Guatemala who have been killed in their efforts to bring reform to the country.  One in particular that I remember learning about when I was here before was assassinated after he gathered information about the human rights violations that took place during the civil war and made those results known.  It kind of reminds me of the story of Oscar Romero in El Salvador, who was also murdered for his attempts to speak up against much of what was happening in the country.

It takes courage to speak out about those things.

At the end of the service, we sang a song along this theme...of following where God would have us go.  I have included the songs in English and in Spanish.