jetsetter

My bags are packed again! Be back next week!

xoxo

pizza + sunset = a good summer night

Supper time is usually a dreadful part of my day. It requires that never ending dialogue of "What do you want to eat?" -- "I don't know. What do you want to eat." -- "I don't know. How about (insert name of food/restaurant here)?" -- "Eh, I'm not really in the mood for that tonight." And so the conversation continues until we end up having cereal for supper.

Thursday night began with this usual conversation, but rather than argue it out, we decided to grab our cameras and head to the ocean. There are numerous little beach towns in our area but we selected Dunedin for our impromptu photo shoot because it also happens to have a cute little downtown area with shops and restaurants (and one of our favorite ice cream shops, but I'm sure that had absolutely no impact whatsoever on our choice of location).

We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Pan y Vino, which consisted of crisp fresh salads and a fire oven pizza (topped with fig, goat cheese, prosciutto, basil, and mozzarella). It was seriously amazing and I cannot wait to eat there again. We decided to burn off all those calories by walking around town, along the shoreline, and finally out on the pier. We topped off the night with ice cream sodas (so maybe that ice cream shop influenced our choice more than I thought).

hands & feet

While in Guatemala, an amazing woman on our team gave a devotional that has been in my mind ever since. She spoke on Romans 12 and the importance of us not growing so accustomed to our world in the States that we forget about what we saw and accomplished in Guatemala. I cannot even begin to describe the poverty and suffering that we encountered there. She presented us with the question that haunts people everywhere, "How can God allow such suffering?" But then she reminded us that God doesn't allow suffering...it is OUR mission as the body of Christ to help. WE are the hands and feet of Jesus.

On my lunch break Monday, I got in my car to go to Jamba Juice ("Peanut butter moo-d" makes my Mondays tolerable). As I was driving, an old Audio Adrenaline song came on the radio that I seriously have not heard since I was in high school. I've heard the song countless times, but for some reason I listened to it with a fresh understanding. The name of the song is "Hands and Feet", and these lyrics could not be more perfect.

"I want to be your hands,

I want to be your feet.

I'll go where you send me,

go where you send me.

And I'll try, yes I'll try,

to touch the world,

like you've touched my life."

{Slums along the hillside in Guatemala City}

{A home in Guatemala before we began to rebuild it-- the little shed with the sheet was the family's bathroom}

{A common scene in Guatemala...my friend Karla spotted this little baby while evangelizing in a park in Zacapa. The entire family was homeless but eager to hear the Gospel.}

{After a hard day of construction, standing in front of the doorway leading down the steep steps to the home we were rebuilding. We hauled buckets of mud up out of the slum and hauled buckets of sand and gravel down. This work really taught me the meaning of being the hands and feet of Jesus. And it was far better than any workout I've ever done at the gym!}

hunting

Once I recovered from my time in Guatemala and had adjusted back to life in the States, I decided it was time to go hunting. For me, that means hunting for unique finds and vintage treasures. Hubby and I decided to check out a local flea market that boasts as being one of the largest in the Southeast. Although I found nothing on my list, hubby and I still had a great time exploring the rows and rows of booths. And we stocked up on fresh local produce, which always makes us happy and excited to get home and start cooking.

What do you like to hunt?

Viva Guatemala!!

Words cannot even begin to describe my time spent in Guatemala. I cannot remember a time in my life where I have been filled with such insurmountable joy. There were many times when I was totally out of my comfort zone...I was so worried about not being able to speak Spanish and the fact that we would be totally cut off from the outside world. Things that are commonplace in America became luxurious memories...we craved warm showers, cool drinking water, American plumbing, bug-free beds, and air conditioning. Yet we were all so very HAPPY because we were serving God and spreading the love of JESUS!! My life has literally been changed forever, and I am counting the days until I get to go back out into the mission field.

{Guatemalan ladies walking home from church}

{Sunscreen + bug spray = missionary essentials}

{I fell in love with this beautiful old church and volcano}

{I love Guatemala!!}

{Ladies making tortillas in the marketplace}