Week 28: A Peek Into This Past Week (+ Guatemala trip & what I’m reading, watching, and listening to)

It’s time for part 2 of my Guatemala recap + a peek into this past week)! I still can’t get over what an incredible trip this was and I hope you’ll enjoy reading about the second half of my trip. (If you missed the first recap, you can find it here.) 

Day 4 in Guatemala started like all the others — down by the lake before most everyone was up. I would run a mile on a tiny path back and forth and back and forth and then soak up the scenery and read my Bible and pray.

One thing I was not prepared for was how absolutely beautiful this part of the country was. And how quiet it would be (well, except for the karaoke every night when we were trying to sleep!).

We drove 30 minutes to a more remote village school where the young people led a VBS for the kids while the 4 women on our team met with the moms.

There were around 30 moms who came. We had been told that the moms would likely be shy and reserved and many would not know Jesus. That was definitely the case. We played a game to warm them up — which they loved.

I got to share my story of how Jesus has impacted my life and they actually listened very intently. But when we asked them any questions, it was crickets.

We ended up pivoting to a coloring page and then we went around and individually talked with them. I found that asking the question, “Tell me what your day looks like” was a great springboard to finding out more about their life and asking more questions and getting to share encouragement with them.

They loved the coloring page and spent almost an hour coloring in detail. We talked about how, just like each of their coloring pages was unique, so God had made each of them unique and special. Women often don’t have much of a voice and work so hard in this culture, so I wanted them to each feel seen and valued by their time with us.

We ended our time by playing a few fun games.

Since there were 3 languages represented, we had to get creative with games. This one was where each person would add one movement and then have to remember all the movements from the people who had already gone. Their laughter made me so happy!

In the afternoon, we drove back to Santiago to teach the women we’d met with on Days 1 & 2 how to make chocolate chip cookies – something they never had before since they don’t have ovens and some of the ingredients would be pretty hard to come by in their area.

They were so excited about it and loved how they tasted! (And we were excited to have them teach us to make one of their favorite foods the next day!)

Day 5 in Guatemala started out eventfully — first off, I woke up with an allergic reaction. My eyes were all swollen and it felt like I had a bad head cold. I was miserable and wasn’t sure how I was going to get through the day — and I was supposed to be sharing the message again with the women at the school that morning.

Then there was a mishap on our drive and something happened to the tire. Apparently a screw fell out… gratefully we were all safe and only a few blocks from the school so we walked the rest of the way there.

Then, we got to the school and not one single mom showed up.

It was crazy. The day before there were moms everywhere and that day there were no moms. While we waited the other three women on our team went and prayed over the different rooms of the school and I ended up sitting in a classroom and crying out to the Lord to please help me not feel so miserable so I could focus on something other than blowing my nose.

I also googled what other meds I could take and ended up taking a combo of Mucinex, Zyrtec, and Zicam. I rarely ever take meds, but I was pretty desperate!

Guess what… Not only did the med elixir revive me, but we ended up getting to meet with the teachers of the school and spend a morning just hearing about their lives, encouraging them, doing some fun activities with them (they said, “we never get to do stuff like this!”), and sharing Jesus with them. It ended up being so special!

Later that day, the sweet ladies we had spent so much time with on this trip wanted to teach us how to make Tamelitos de chipilin. We had the BEST time learning from them!

I was chosen as the designated person to put all the tamalitos in the pot — I was the only one who could touch them and then it was my job to stay with the pot the whole time until they were fully steamed.

They said this is their local tradition and if anyone but one person touches them it will make the tamalitos angry.

The ladies did come and check on me regularly since they said I wouldn’t know when they were done — which is absolutely true!

The finished tamalitos were delicious!! I am planning to share how we made these soon, with all the step-by-step details, because I have a bunch more pics to share!

This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip — especially because we knew the ladies pretty well after spending hours with them on this trip. We were teasing back and forth and laughing so much — despite the language barrier!

Among many wonderful things about this trip, I also fell in love with fried plantains. And dragonfruit was in season so we ate a lot of it!

After I got home, Jesse bought me these sweet plantains! I made them in the air fryer and it was SO easy and they were really good. I think they tasted sweeter in Guatemala but they were still good. And most of my family hadn’t tried them before so I loved getting to introduce them!

On our last full day in Guatemala, we took a boat across the lake – it was gorgeous!

I mentioned this earlier, but the views in Guatemala were just so stunning!!

We then spent some time in Antigua — which was absolutely beautiful! I want to come back here to spend a lot more time!

We stayed in Antigua overnight and then got up super early (had to be on the bus at 2:45 a.m.) to drive to Guatemala City to fly back to Nashville!

My last picture in Guatemala! What a special trip it was and I cannot wait to get to go back again! It was deeply meaningful for a lot of reasons, but especially because David’s family is from Guatemala!

I got home Thursday evening and spent the next two days recovering from my trip and getting caught up on business work and hanging out with my family!

We left on Sunday afternoon for Georgia and spent the whole week there for a baseball tournament!

As I mentioned last week, Silas broke his hand at a baseball game while I was in Guatemala. So he wasn’t able to play at all in the tournament, but he got to coach first base for multiple games and cheer on his team. I was so proud of him and the character I saw in him this past week.

These three did SO well at all the games — and all the driving this past week! The games were at a lot of different locations all over Georgia so we spent 5-6 hours in the car most days!

We also loved getting to check out multiple local coffee and a doughnut shop!

We usually watch David 24/7, but I left the boys for 2 minutes while I was working on something and thought they were being so quiet — and then came out to see this!!

I only got to run a mile a day while I was in Guatemala, so when I came back home, it took me a good week to get back into running. I had to build back up to the pace and distance I had been doing, but I slowly got back to it!

Jesse and I had the best strength training date night this week! But this guy pushed me hard and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to move my arms the next day (thankfully, I could!)… but it was so fun and I think we’re going to start doing this regularly!

Also, I did the InBody scan for the first time in 10 years! I was so excited because my numbers are SO much healthier than they were then.

And yes, I’ve gained 10 pounds since then but I also gained 4.5 pounds of muscle! I was pretty stoked about that! Hoping to add at least a few more pounds of muscle this next year!

What I’m Reading…

I’m currently reading Rooted in Wonder, Soul Care (this has been so good!), and My Friends (this one I’m still not sure on – but I’m continuing to read it because it has had some beautiful parts in it so far… but I just don’t know what I’m going to think when it’s done! Have you read it?)

What I’m Watching….

Kierstyn and I have been watching the latest season of America’s Sweethearts. I find it really fascinating how much goes into making it to the DCC team. I also love how much they have acknowledged the Lord in the seasons and it’s been a great springboard for a lot of good discussions with Kierstyn.

She and I have also been watching All Creatures Great and Small (so far, I’m not getting into it as much as I as into When Calls the Heart but I’m only on season 2 so maybe it will grow on me!)

And Jesse and I are watching season 4 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.

What I’m Listening To…

In the hours and hours that we spent in the car this week in Georgia, we listened to the Annie soundtrack on Spotify over and over again! 🙂

Walmart has some amazing deals on skirts and dresses right now — with prices starting as low as $10!!

Wow! For a limited time, Stitch Fix is offering $40 off your first Fix to all teachers!

Just go here and sign up (or log into your account), then verify your teacher status with ID.me to get your $40 off coupon!

This is a great time to grab some new clothes for a great deal.

In Case You Missed It — Links from Recent Weeks: 

25 Ways to Save Money on Groceries — With 6 kids and the ever-increasing price of groceries, I’ve learned a lot over the years about how to save money on groceries. In this post, you’ll find 25 of my best, most practical ideas —  the ones I actually use every single week, even as a busy mom and business owner.

7 of My Favorite Fiction Books — One of the changes I’m most excited about this year is that I’ve fallen back in love with reading fiction. This post has some of the best fiction books on my bookshelf that I highly recommend!

My Favorite Non-Fiction Books — These are 14 of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. I hope you love them as much I do!

10 Genius Side Hustles for Teens — Most teens only hear about mowing lawns and babysitting…but there are so many other creative (and higher-paying!) ways for them to make money! This freebie suggests jobs that will help teens develop important skills and earn significant money this summer.