Posted in Romania by Jo Linda Sala on 5/1/2012
It’s hard to believe that our time in Romania is coming to a close. It’s been a great month, and for the first time on the Race, I don’t feel like moving on. In Central America I was ready to go to the next country each month, but here I feel like time has whizzed by too fast. Our ministry this month was helping with construction on a home for Caminul Felix (“Happy Home”), who partners with Habitat For Humanity to build homes for foster families. We are living on a farm outside of Oradea, Romania, and the home we’ve been helping to build is here on the property.
 
On week days we walk down and around a road here on the farm to the row of houses that have been and are still being built. We’re instructed in what to do by Benjamin, who is an extremely likeable man with his cheerful smile, wit, and fun personality. His English cracks us all up with how he says things… like he refers to most everything as “materials.“ We gather our materials, clean our materials, and load the materials into the truck at the end of the day. He is very thankful for our help and says “Praise God” a lot, and tells us when we do a good job that we are “like specialist.”
 
The first construction job I had was cutting trim for windows. After that I mudded windows, then walls, then corners in several rooms. My next job, and my favorite one, was insulation. With a couple different teams on different days we really got a rhythm going, and made a ton of progress in the attic. It just goes to show that you never know what you might like doing, because at first when I heard we were going to be working with insulation I was pretty apprehensive. The thought of getting fiberglass slivers wasn‘t very enticing, and since I have claustrophobia the thought of working in an attic was a little daunting. However, our fancy marshmallow space suits protected us from getting scratched or itchy from handling the ‘material‘, and working in the attic didn’t feel as smothering as I thought it would! Now I’ve got a few skills under my belt for when my Dad decides to build his next house, too. :-)
 
One of the things this month that was different was that we cooked for ourselves verses having meals provided by our contact. With three teams here, plus squad leaders, that’s 25 people to shop, cook, and clean up after as a whole. We got a system down from the beginning that has worked out really well, even though it is no small task to implement it. Each week, two people from each team plan out what meals they will cook and go shopping for that coming week’s groceries. We know our budget and what days our team is responsible for cooking. The sight at the grocery store with our three carts full to the brim is something to behold! It takes a while to check out, and then getting all the food into the back of the van is a process, especially because we don’t have the convenience of grocery bags because they charge extra for them. Once we get back to the house we make many trips to unload everything and carry it to the kitchen, then label everything by team, and the final step is trying to fit it all into our designated cabinet, and refrigerator/freezer.
 
On our team’s days to cook I’ve made a few of the meals along with help from my teammate, Jill. It’s been fun and successful, though one time it got a little hazardous because I had oil heating in a pan and when I poured the chicken into it the hot oil splashed up and I got about 8 burns up my left arm. The worst one looks like it’ll leave a little scar, but the rest are looking pretty good.
My family and some friends will recognize some of my oldie-but-goodie recipes that I’ve made before (but never for this many people!), including tuna pasta salad, Mexican casserole, goulash, and no-bake cookies. It’s challenging to cook/bake some recipes, though, because some of the ingredients here are different, or non-existent. An example of some things they don’t sell here is ground beef (they only have ground pork or chicken), enchilada sauce, chocolate chips, and baking powder. For my Mexican casserole an ingredient is refried beans and they don’t sell them here, so Jill and I googled how to make them from canned beans and they turned out great! (Jill is a master in the kitchen!) Our first trip to the store was the most challenging because we had to figure out the Romanian labels. For instance, we had to figure out which little white tub was sour cream in the refrigerator section because we can’t read what it says, and they make a lot of things that are sold in little white tubs! One funny thing about how they do things here is that you have to have your produce weighed and labeled in that department so they don’t have to do it at check-out. Jill and I forgot to do that our first time and didn’t realize it until we had a cart full at the register. We dug through everything in our cart to get to any produce and ran it back by armful to the produce department, lol.
When we fist arrived and saw that we’d be living on a farm with cows, I made it a goal to milk a cow by the end of our time here. I’m happy to say that last week I successfully accomplished that go! I watched a video on Youtube as research, which was really helpful in knowing the technique. The only thing I’m sad about is that I didn’t get to sit on a stool and do it the old-fashioned way. The cows we milked had been hooked up to machines, so it was a little different set-up than the classic picture of sitting in a barn with a milk pail and stool. I’m pretty excited to have had the chance to do it, and I must say that was one thing I didn’t expect to do on The World Race!
 
Another unexpected bonus was that last weekend we were able to travel to Budapest, Hungary! It was such a beautiful city, and one that I’d love to visit again someday. Hosanna, Jill and I hung out together and went to a really cool little coffee shop to start our day off right!
 
 
Then, just this past Friday night and Saturday I was able to visit Hungary again with Hosanna. We took a train just across the border to visit a friend she had met a couple years ago on a mission trip she took to Israel. Ahmed is from Palestine and is living in Hungary to finish med school at Debrecen University. We met one of his friends, Sonja, who came over to cook an Indian dish and have dinner with us. They are both Muslim and asked us a lot of questions about our faith. I learned some things about Islam during our conversation as well. It was nice to be able to have such a good discussion and time together like we did, especially when I think of how taboo it can be in America to talk about ‘politics & religion’.
You may have noticed by now that my team changed, and therefore we changed our team name, also. At the end of month three in Honduras is when we found out our new teams. So “God Before Us” is no longer, and I‘ve said goodbye to teammates Emily, Sammie Jo, and Missy. However, Hugh is still the leader of my new team, “Meizon,” and I’m excited to still be together with Wes and Hosanna. I have three new teammates~ Naomi, Robin, and Jill. I’ve mentioned Jill in a previous blog from El Salvador (we were roommates there)… she is a dear friend of mine so I feel extremely blessed that we will be entering into this new time of our trip together on the same team! I’m very glad that Hugh is still my leader, and that Wes and Hosanna are still my teammates, especially because Hosanna is like a sister to me in many ways, and getting to know Wes and Hugh has been really awesome. Naomi and Robin are amazing girls, and already in our first month on the same team I’ve realized how much I’m looking forward to continuing getting to know them better. I’ll be posting a blog soon about what our name, “Meizon” means, and if you want to know more about any of the people I’m doing life with you can click on their picture on the left which will direct you to their blog.
When our Squad Leaders felt led to change our teams around, they also asked me if I’d be willing to step into a different role on the squad on the Logistics team. I was honored to be asked to serve the squad in that way, and it’s been awesome to join as a co-leader beside my friend, Suzy. She has been in the position since we left in January, so it’s been great to learn from her! We’re basically the liaison between the AIM office in Georgia and our squad here ’on the field’. We help arrange international travel and accommodations, including for our De-briefs every couple months, and some other things that help our squad and Squad Leaders behind-the-scenes. We’ll be heading to Bucharest tonight to help prepare for our 4-day De-brief that starts on Monday!
Off to pack!
Blessings,
Jo Linda
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Posted in Romania by Jo Linda Sala on 4/19/2012
It was one of those conversations I will never forget. I sat across from two young Romanians as our night train rolled on it’s tracks from Bucharest to Oradea. We had already been traveling for a few hours, and still had about eight or so to go. That’s when the conversation began with Edward, 24, and Joseph, 19. They had been speaking Romanian with each other during some of the ride, but I had already picked up that they spoke and understood English very well. When I started the conversation with them we touched on a variety of topics, but it got really interesting when we started talking about life in Romania, and what state the country is in now after coming out of communist rule only 22 years ago.
COMMUNISM. A dark, frightening ideology that promises equality and justice, but what it takes in bloody and destructive clawing to get there is far greater than anything it gives. Edward’s father is a doctor, his mother is a surgeon, and 6 generations before them were doctors as well. His grandfather had a home on 700 acres of land that was taken one morning, as quick as the men banging on the door could say, “this doesn’t belong to you anymore, you must leave now.” So when communism began in Romania, it took over people’s lives, possessions, and freedoms overnight. Years later the government told Edward’s grandfather that he could have his land and home back, but it would be at the devastating, moral expense of him being a snitch. He declined, but it’s estimated that one of every four people was a Securitate (secret police of Romania) informer.
WHAT IS YOUR FREEDOM WORTH? Something I found interesting was how Edward and Joseph spoke of the “pros” of communism… they said, “everyone had more money and mostly you could have what you wanted.” So I asked them, “so do you feel that is worth giving up your freedom?” The instant reply was a decisive no. “No, no, it is never worth it to give up your freedom” they said as they both shook their heads side to side in unison. This was just one moment of many that I felt so privileged to be having this conversation. Both of these young men are engineering/design students, very intelligent, and had interesting insight into every topic we touched on. You would think that now that communism is 'over' and their families can recover and live in freedom that there would be a huge sense of relief and excitement for what’s ahead. Especially with these two, and with the field they’re studying~ they must have endless possibilities ahead of them! Not so, they said.
“We’re a republic on paper”, they said, “but we don’t know what that is really supposed to look like.” Students are not encouraged to be anything they want to be… or, at least, they’re not encouraged to be anything they want to be and remain in Romania. There is still a presence of oppression, and so to really succeed in their endeavors many people end up leaving to live in other European countries or around the world. My two new travel friends said they will not do that~ if for anything other than to “stick it to the man” so to speak. They won’t give in to any pressure to leave the country. The majority of young people, in their perspective, have lost motivation to even set high goals for themselves. Many adults go through the motions, also, not feeling a real sense of freedom, and still fearing to some degree that they don’t truly have the right to say anything they feel. The government still has a lot of corruption, and while it is a huge step they’ve taken in leaving communism, there are still many huge steps that need to be taken to achieve true liberty.
One of the freedoms I’ve discovered about my life and my faith on this trip is that I’m never going to know or find all the ‘answers’. I used to think that if I studied more or knew more about God and the Bible then I could be a true witness to people and they would believe based on all the facts I’d have ‘figured out‘. It makes me think about a commercial a few years ago that made me laugh every time I saw it. There was a man sitting on his computer surfing the internet, and after he had been going from website to website, he clicked one more time onto a new page and the computer announced (or maybe it was Al Gore), “You have reached the end of the internet!” Makes me laugh even now, just thinking back to it. The notion that we can reach the end of the internet in all it’s vastness isn’t even as preposterous as ever getting to the “end” of everything God would have us to learn about Him! In the past it almost made me feel discouraged to think that I wouldn’t be able to get black and white answers for things… but now it makes me feel encouraged because I’ve just started to grasp how big and glorious the God of the universe is. He is complex and infinite, and while there are things He delights in us knowing, we know He isn’t revealing everything to us.
"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29
 
There are a lot of things we can’t choose. We can’t choose geographically where we’ll be born, or into what family. Of course, from youth to adulthood many more things in life become choices. Edward and Joseph did not choose Romania initially as children, but they choose it now as adults. When I asked them about faith, they said that most of the people they know only go to church to feel better, but God or faith is not a real part of their lives. I'm happy to say, though, that I have met some Romanians who do choose to have a real relationship with God, and they have a beautiful light and hope inside them that is visible on the outside. One of my favorite things about going anywhere in the world is that God is the same God, and offers the same love and hope to every single human being, regardless of geography.
God encourages us to "rest" in Him, and I’ve read that in Hebrew one translation of that means to be silent. Dan Rather asked Mother Theresa once how she talked to God when she prayed, and she said "I don't talk, I just listen. And if you don't understand that, I can't explain it to you." I’ve been listening a lot more to God since I began the World Race, and as I've continued to learn and grow in my faith while living around the world God has been an incredible sustainer. He looks after my heart and my well being, and welcomes me to sit with Him just for sake of relationship. The other day our team was doing a Bible study and one of our study points was “picture how God sees you instead of how you see you.“ Have you ever stopped to really ponder this? Not only does the King of Glory see me, but He is my Father, and I am His child whom He loves so completely, and so unconditionally. He delights in me! He also delights in you, and every person here in Romania, and in every other country of the world. There's no greater privilege than being able to enjoy the freedom we have in faith, and letting the awe and wonder of who God is sweep our hearts and minds!
Psalm 62:5, “Find rest O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.”
Blessings,
Jo Linda
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Posted in Honduras by Jo Linda Sala on 3/22/2012
We’ve been in Honduras for over a week now and our squad took a break this past 7 days from the internet. Our first several days here were spent at an outdoor hotel where we had ‘debrief’ with our entire squad, and our leaders and coaches. Now we’re all at our new ministry site near the capital city of Tegucigalpa. We’re at a place where a man named Tony, and his wife, Nidia, not only spend their days reaching out to street kids, but they have 11 of the boys living with them. The name of this ministry is Zion’s Gate and their passion is “Don’t Miss The Opportunity.” It’s not a government program or a program of any kind… the kids are free to leave at any time. It’s not a ‘come and go’ place, though… if they choose to live here then they are choosing to stay away from gangs, from getting high off paint thinner or drugs, and from the violence and crime that is a part of street life.
Our first night here we had an amazing opportunity to receive a visit from the aide to the President of Congress of Honduras. His name is Rafael but we were invited to call him “Rafa”. He is a very down-to-earth Christian man who shared with us about the realities here, his vision and passion for change, and his struggles as well as his excitement~ for government, faith, Honduras, and for soccer! Politics and the corruption here is like a huge dark room full of rats, spiders, and bats. Rafa humbly spoke of holding a flashlight and shining it into the corner of that room and how when the light is shining there things scatter and flee, and the darkness gives way to the light. I came away from that talk feeling inspired that even in this country that has the most murders in the world that there are people willing to hold a flashlight even when there is a lot of darkness. Rafa is incredibly thankful to have us here because what the youth here need are examples of what it means to live life and have motivation. They need inspiration and hope!
Our second day here, Tony emphasized to us that his desire is that we each find what our passion in ministry is here and focus on that. Instead of him formulating a schedule and saying “this is what you’re doing today”, he’s given us the freedom to do what is in our hearts. Another two of my squad mates, Kelly King and Katie Winistorfer, and myself felt very passionate about helping Rafa in whatever capacity we can. It’s Monday and we just found out that we are meeting with him this afternoon!
UPDATE on Thursday 3/22:
I wrote that earlier this week, and had the opportunity on Tuesday to go with Katie and Kelly to the Congress Building in Tegucigalpa to meet with Rafa again. Herman, one of the boys (16 years old) that lives at Zion’s Gate with Tony (and us!), went with. While we were there we were introduced to the aide of the Vice President of Honduras who was very personable and welcoming to us. Actually, he is the aide to one of the V.P.’s… Honduras has three. We sat in on a meeting they had about a youth campaign rally they’re doing on Saturday that we’ll be able to help with. We’re going back for a meeting tonight, and then we should find out more of what these next couple weeks will look like. We're only here in Honduras until April 6th, so we'll try to do as much as we can with only two weeks left. One of our goals is to be able to help encourage and facilitate a voice for the poor. Herman might be able to be a part of that, which would be really exciting for him to be able to continue with the relationship after we leave. There are a lot of possibilities and directions this can go, and we’re excited to have this opportunity and can’t wait to see what becomes of it!
Jo Linda
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Posted in El Salvador by Jo Linda Sala on 2/24/2012
After over a week in El Salvador, all I can say is that I love it here! I love the people and the land! It is SO beautiful, as you can see in this picture!
We are very blessed to be staying in a very nice house, and it's in a cute and safe neighborhood. Sixteen of us share one bathroom, and though it's completely empty (no furniture), we decorate it with our tents and backpacks! :) About half of us have set up our tents as a shield from the mosquitoes, spiders, ants, and roaches. Our first night here I didn't realize how bad the mosquitoes were, and I woke up to see 45 bites on my right leg and foot alone! Thankfully since I've been in my tent those have healed and I've only gotten random ones since.
Since we got here we have gotten very used to piling into buses, vans, or the back of vehicles! One time on the bus my foot was right next to a huge hole right above the tire~ I'm glad it didn't slip! This is how we get around every day!
  
We have church services Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Sometimes we do dramas that we've been practicing, we'll each be sharing our testimonies, and several of the girls from our teams have led worship. This is the church, which is an Assemblies of God.
Our days are all different, but many times we go out and pray in different communities and play with the kids. Yesterday we spent time playing with kids at a school and then took food into a very poor village by going door to door. One of the dirt-floored homes we went into was the home of a mother who had just lost her son... he died a little over an hour before we got there. It was a shock to walk in and see a dead body laying stiff on the other side of the room. We prayed for him, and for his grieving mother, and knew it wasn't a coincidence that we were there. We were able to bring comfort to the mother, and it was a situation that allowed our teams to have some great discussion later that night as we searched our hearts about some questions we had. I'm finding out on this trip that as some questions are answered~ through reading scripture, other books, prayer, and talking with one another~ others arise. One of my favorite things about being on The World Race is how God took me~ a person who enjoyed my independence and my time alone~ and placed me in a community where I'm living, eating, worshiping, and constantly fellowshipping with my sisters and brothers in Christ all day and night. I sleep in a room with 3 other girls, our daily meals are 16 of us sitting on the floor in the living room, we all share one bathroom, and our transportation is all of us piling into the back of a truck. Last night I was visiting with my friend, Jill, from team 'Cherished' (that we're spending this month with), and we were talking about how we're on a path of accelerated growth. In daily life in the States we spend a lot of time thinking about whatever we have going on, whether it's our job, school, tv shows, surfing the internet, going out on dates or with friends, shopping or running errands... whereas here we have an amazing opportunity of being free of those distractions in order to spend our days learning, growing, and seeking after God's heart~ which includes focusing on the needs of others, which we do in different ways each day. In a way I feel selfish even saying that a lot of this trip is about my own growth, and yet it's true! We’re only in month two and I'm so excited about the way that God is changing my heart and my mind!
May I offer a challenge to you? One of the things that has impacted me a lot is reading the book Radical by David Platt. If you can pick up a copy, or look it up on your Kindle or Nook, please read it! I can’t tell you how much it’s impacted me, and changed the way I will live the rest of my life. When we were in Guatemala, Maureen Casey told us about how she left everything behind in the States except for a couple duffle bags to go where God called her to go and start the orphanage. With that said, the book is not about everyone giving everything up or going to a foreign country to live (unless you feel God calling you to do that), but it is about reading the Word for what it really says and not filtering out the parts that we think don’t apply to us. I’m SUPER excited about continued revelations God is giving me about how I’m to live my life, and how I’m to impact others… both in the U.S., and continually around the globe after The World Race! If you have already read Radical I’d love to hear how it impacted you, or thoughts you have, and if you pick it up to read for the first time I’d love to hear what you think as you read it! What would be incredible is if one day that book could be re-titled Normalcy.
With that, I want to say another huge THANK YOU to those of you who are supporting me on this journey! Your blog comments and e-mails and encouragement are awesome! For those of you who have given financial support, I am truly grateful that you have enabled me to be here through your one-time gifts, or monthly support. Being within a couple thousand dollars of being fully-funded is amazing, and I am grateful to have you be apart of this with me!
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Posted in El Salvador by Jo Linda Sala on 2/15/2012
I had to shut my computer off, so my last post was cut off mid-sentence! Lol I was just going to let you know that we have all recovered from our time in the hospital in Guatemala. :-) It is now after church and just wanted to let you all also know that I can't access my e-mail account from El Salvador (we don't think they have hotmail, which is what I have through MSN). If anything changes and I'm able to log-in I'll let you know, but even if you click "send me a message" through this website it will go to my MSN e-mail, so I won't be able to read it. :-( With limited internet access it's okay, because I'll probably need to spend what time I do have blogging and transferring/posting pictures.
It's actually been a while since I've been able to access my e-mail account, so if you sent me a message I'm sorry if I haven't replied! I appreciate the messages some of you have already sent. :-) Know that I think of you all often and miss you!
Jo Linda
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Posted in El Salvador by Jo Linda Sala on 2/15/2012
We are in El Salvador at our new ministry location safe and sound! We arrived a couple days ago, but we do not have internet like we did last month... so this is my first time on (we're at the church). I had problems getting my computer to connect, so I just have a minute before church starts, but just wanted to let you all know I'll write more next time we're here and I can get on-line! :) All is well, and we have all recovered
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Posted in Guatemala by Jo Linda Sala on 2/9/2012
No, it wasn't some strange delicacy... I had these little creatures inside me and I paid to get rid of them! Everyone from our two teams (13 of us + the 3 squad leaders) ended up getting medicine for parasites in the last few days, and some of us spent last night in the hospital. Six of us shared one room!
I know it looks like we were having a party, and we were! :-) You can't see us all in this pic, but as you can tell Alys was on a mattress on the floor since they didn't have any more beds, and Sammie Jo shared a bed with Missy instead of being on the floor. None of us had symptoms that were too bad, except for two of our girls who were hospitalized before we were.
The food was either really good, or we were really hungry! Here's my plate near the end of a meal when I only had one plantain left...
Some of us had a worm and an amoeba, and some people had one or the other. We got it either from water, or food that had fecal matter on it. Gross. We're all fine now, though, so that's the good news!
Our team is leaving for El Salvador at 3:15am so I need to sign off for now.............
Jo Linda
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Posted in Guatemala by Jo Linda Sala on 2/6/2012
We are in our last week of ministry here at Los Gozosos in Chimaltenango, Guatemala! It has been a great start to our 11 month missions trip around the world, and we feel blessed to have been here! Our days have been quite varied even though there are some routines we've gotten used to (like 3 meals a day, and the daily chores we help out with). We've spent some days clearing the field next to the orphanage with machetes (here I am looking fierce)...
The reason we cleared the field is because robbers were hiding out in it and the orphanage had 8 robbery attempts before they built up their wall and added razor wire above it. They always had a guard, but now he is armed with a gun. Thieves would break in to steal tools or whatever they could take. Maureen has told us that everyone here knows everything about everyone else, and their saying here is "opportunity is permission". If you leave something laying out or if someone has access to it then they justify stealing since you weren't more careful. We know we can't prevent against every type of crime, because even since we've been here (the week before last) we had a scary incident. The principal of the school, Lissete, and one of the teachers were leaving to go home in the afternoon, and just outside our gate on the dirt road 2 men mugged them with knives. Their jewelry was stolen, including Lissete's wedding ring. It was very sad, but we are thankful they weren't harmed. Every night we hear a lot of load noises all around us, many of the sounds are fireworks and some are guns. Maureen told us that if you have a gun you want to shoot it off sometimes just so people know you have it. I feel pretty safe inside our walls, but the other morning at around 4:45 we awoke to very loud bangs which seemed to be just feet away. At first I thought it was someone banging on the tin walls near our tents, but then as it continued I thought someone was throwing fire crackers over the walls. One round went off then silence... then another round... silence... then some of started whispering "what is going on?" as Hugh grabbed a pipe to walk out to see. It was a surprise to find out is was actually the nannies setting off fire crackers (extremely loud ones!) for one of their birthdays! Lol It's a tradition here, but one we didn't know about... until now! :-)
This is Hugh by one of the piles he burned. Shortly after this picture was taken he started to burn several piles in the field... so then he, Emily and I tried our best to keep in contained. We did well~ we did not catch the village on fire! :)
At the orphanage/school where we live we've had plenty of things to do to keep us busy. One of the things we help with is hanging up clothes/laundry. I find it to be very relaxing and kind of fun.
 
One of my favorite things to help with was going to the market with Marcelina. She bargains for fruits and vegetables, and then we help carry them. This is at the beginning of our walk... by the end our arms are full with either heavy bags or melons!
 
Of course, hanging with the kiddos is something we all enjoy! Here I am with Candy! I've learned a lot being here with these little ones. I've had people with disabilities on my flights (at work) before, but I've never spent a lot of time with kids with special needs. It has truly been a blessing to be apart of their lives and to get to know each one of them. Every single person we meet has an exterior that we can instantly draw conclusions about, but that's why life is so much richer when we get to know people and have relationships on a deeper level. It may sound cliche, but these kids really have taught us a lot about love and joy!
Two Sundays ago after church we took the kids to the mall in Guatemala City to ride the carousel. I helped with Nancy~ it was fun to get to be there with the kids to experience it with them!
A couple of our days here we ventured outside of 'the compound' to paint. One day is was at a pharmacy, and another was at the home where Maureen (the founder and director of Los Gozosos) lives. This first picture is of Wes and I when we painted at the pharmacy, and the second is when Sammie Jo and I made a bueno baño (bathroom) painting team at Maureen's casa!
One day our team sat together to watch some videos on slavery around the world~ it's estimated that right now 27 million people are trapped in slavery, many caught within the human trafficking (sex) trade. If you ever have a chance to google Christine Cain and watch some of her videos, it'll be worth your time. That afternoon we went on a prayer walk through the city. We went into the red light district where there's brothel after brothel.
We prayed through a barred window with a lady named Marie who was deaf and mute. From what we gathered she is trapped inside as a worker, and she lives above the brothel in a second story that has no windows. She seemed so happy for us to be with her and to have us hold hands and pray with her, and yet it was a helpless feeling to not be able to get her out of there. I know we can't rescue every person we'd like to, but I'm so glad that part of this trip is learning to know how we can help bring freedom to as many people as possible. I struggle with not being able to do more, but I also know that even with a language barrier we are spreading hope which can literally turn someone's life around. Hope can start off as a little flicker and turn into a huge flame. In the slavery videos we watched (they were from the Passion conference) we saw stories of people that were ready to give up and kill themselves rather than staying in slavery and abuse any longer~ but something happened in each of their lives that helped them continue on. We heard them tell about how they came to learn about Christ and the hope and freedom we have in Him, and because of it they chose not to take their lives and instead they either saw opportunities for escape and took them, and some others were rescued. On this day in Chimaltenango many of us prayed with Marie and I can only continue to pray that God does something amazing in her heart and life!
We have a attended different churches every week we've been here and it's been so great to experience the joy that so many Guatemalans have for the Lord! One day Sammie Jo, Emily and I went with Maureen to her lawyer's office and his encouragement to us was to see the people here for who they really are. They are truly beautiful people! Even though there is a lot of crime, the majority of people here are giving and kind. They love to serve and give of themselves and have a sweet spirit. I don't feel treated like an outsider here at all, but instead feel very welcome... when passing people on the street they give us warm smiles and it's fun to exchange friendly greatings. The children seem to be especially adorable here, and it's hard to not take pictures of all of them! Look at this little girl's outfit in this pic from a day we spent in Panajachel!
Besides our ministry work, we've also had some amazing days enjoying some of the beauty of Guatemala. One day we visited Antigua where two of the other teams from our squad are doing ministry. I got to hang out with some of my friends, including Suzy and Naomi! While we were sitting in a coffee shop in Antigua I felt my first earthquake! It felt like a rolling ship, and I got a little dizzy! I've always wanted to feel an earthquake (a minor one, of course!)... so *check*... that's off the list! :-)
Another day, three of us ventured out to see the AMAZING and beautiful Lake Atitlan! It's surrounded by three volcanos and I heard it almost made the list of the top wonders of the world. It was a fun day with Rose and Stacy!
My teammates have posted some great blogs, so if you want to get a more complete perspective on everything that's been going on here, click on any/all of their links on the left side of my page. Our team is "God Before Us" and one of my favorite things about this month has been getting to know each of them better. Here I am with Emily, who I became fast friends with at training camp for The World Race back in October, and who I'm so thankful to be on the same team with!
Besides my own team of seven, we've been so fortunate to be here with "Night Vision", a team of six wonderful girls. We will miss them as we split up for El Salvador next month, but I know our friendships will continue on. Here I am with a my sweet friend, Alys, from the day we went to Antigua.
Some of you may be wondering about the food and other things we've experienced. As you've probably guessed, we've eaten a lot of beans and rice, but even the beans are not what you may be picturing. They cook them until they are in liquid form! Yep, runny beans! We've had a lot of other surprises, mostly good, thankfully. Our first meal here was fish sticks! That was one of my favorite foods when I was a kid. :-) Some of our overall favorite meals here were fried tilapia, sloppy joes, tuna, pancakes, and dobladas!!! Dobladas are the Guatemalan version of a fried meat pie. Another favorite food here of mine is 'pan dulce' which is sweat bread. Why we don't have it in the States is a huge question I have! Maybe I'll start a pan dulce shop when I get back! ;-)
Living in a tent has been really awesome, and it actually makes me so excited to go camping more often when I get back! I'm really happy with the equipment, supplies, and clothes that I brought. We do have a washing machine to use here, but for conservation and courtesy sake we've done very little laundry of our own. Same with the shower... it's nice that we have it, but with so many people most of us average taking a shower once every 5-6 days (your hair really gets used to it and stays nicer for longer each time!)
Being here has really made me want to learn more Spanish. The little that I remember from my two years in high school and my many trips for work to Mexico and Costa Rica has gotten me by in some situations, but mostly I've just realized how much I don't know. One night I was doing dishes with one of the nannies and we tried having a conversation that ended with us both laughing as we just shrugged because we couldn't figure out what each other was trying to say!
Lastly, here's a video that my teammates, Wes and Hosanna, put together here at Los Gozosos. We leave early this Friday to go to the coast, and then our team will be going to San Vicente, El Salvador to help a man with a church he started. If you notice, our race route lists Honduras before El Salvador, but they got switched around. From what we've been told we'll probably have a couple other changes, too. We're going to Romania before Ukraine, and the African countries we're going to will probably be in a different order also. Most likely Cambodia will be our last country, so Asia will change, too! I'm so excited about things God has already done in our hearts and lives, and what He's still going to do. Blessings to you all, and thank you for your love and support!
Jo Linda
Bueno Guatemala (Pilot) from Wesley Vickers on Vimeo.
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Posted in Jo Linda's Blogs by Jo Linda Sala on 1/14/2012
The orphanage! 
You may be wondering "Where are the children?" They were taking naps when I took these photos, but I will be posting more soon so you can see their pretty faces.
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