New podcast!

Over at Revs Podcast, we’re talking about the assumptions people make about us.  And you know what happens when you assume….

Come on over and join Scott and I for some light entertainment as you drive/clean/hang out/bathe a child/cat/dog!

 

Guate-Blog, the final chapter.

On to amazing Antigua, Guatemala for a short tourist trip for a day or so….the picture above is of one of the beautiful 18th century buildings (with one of the three volcanoes above it!).

Flowers growing out of the ruins of the old cathedral, which was broken by an earthquake in 1776.  Still gorgeous, though.

My view after I hiked up to “La Cruz,” a cross that overlooks Antigua and has a view of all three volcanoes.

A flower outside my hotel room, in the courtyard.

Back to Guatemala City and a view of the “people’s market,” where we jostled with grandmas selling all manner of produce, meat, fish, and tostadas.

And on to the Palace in Guatemala City, built in the 1940s.  These are the “hands of peace,” to remind us that peace is in the hands of the people.  Interesting…

For our last “meal” with our partner church, Holy Trinity in Guatemala, we introduced them to a fantastic American campfire treat….except with chocolate and fruit flavored Guatemalan marshmallows!  SUPER YUM.

Saying goodbye.

And ready to get home to Atlanta with our shirts that sort of described the trip…..things happen, but “Guatever,” we’re still going to have a good time and do what we came to do!

Guate-Blog, Part Two (and a note about Boston)

So I find it super ironic that many people told me to “be careful” in Guatemala, whatever that means, and when I come home, I find out that there’s been a shooting near my suburban house and of course the terrible bombing at the Boston Marathon yesterday.

We are never safe, and we are always safe, cosmically speaking.  I am Lutheran because these two realities exist side by side, and to favor one over another is to tell a lie.

The pastor in Guatemala said it like this: “No one is safe; we just can’t be in denial in Guatemala as much as in America.”

Anyway, my response to tragedy when they keep hitting is the same.  Pray.  Then put on your shoes, and go do some good in the world.

The night after we went to the school, we visited a family in their home who we had visited the last time we were in Guatemala.  They live in an average home for this area, on a street that’s between the territory of two rival gangs.  Their home is a kitchen area with a couch and two bedrooms, shared by two teenage girls, their brother in his early 20s, and their mom.  They served us tostadas and a warm drink made from plantains, which sounds bizarre but was very enjoyable.  We talked about our lives, and the pastors (and I) shared scripture and prayed.  Pretty much one of those holy moments.

Dona Odilia, welcoming us to her home.

We had a whole day of school children, even though it totalled only four or five hours.  It was intense and wonderful.  The children are lovely and so, so affectionate.  One of the teachers told us that they don’t get much attention or affection at home, and so it takes them a little while to figure out what it means.  Once they figure it out that we’re there basically to love them and play, they are SO in.

MaryBeth’s guitar was so fascinating!

 

 

More Guate-Blog tomorrow!

Guate-Blog, Part One

I have so many pictures and thoughts from my trip the past nine days that I thought I would just narrate some of my photos while it’s still fresh. Like my last trip, it was challenging and thought-provoking and exhausting and beautiful. Hopefully the pictures will tell a better story than my tired brain can manange.

We began our trip on Sunday going down into the “church in the ravine,” AKA La Resurection in La Tuerto community. You go down uneven stone steps…

And shocker….Jesus is there too!

After worship fellowship. Someone asked me if the Lutherans in America believed in things like….um…Jesus? Yes. Yes, we do.

We then climbed OUT of the ravine, and after a visit with a sick member of the church, we went to church again.

But after church came a shared lunch.

The next day we went to the school for the first time this trip, and spent time with the “mas pequenos,” the little bitty kids who had not seen any Americans, ever, and weren’t sure, according to the teacher, how we were going to treat them.

It worked out fine.

Especially when our El Guapo decided to teach them harmonica…

Afterwards, some happy work on the Lutheran Center.

The next day we tackled a bit of landscaping:

And then headed back to the school for the older group, which was around 65 children.

That also worked out pretty well for a first day, though we only had two days with each class!

More tomorrow, I promise.

Come over HERE….

It occurred to me that some of you may not have followed me over to where I’m doing most of my blogging now. I’m at a different Chickpastor that makes it easier to post quickly and with lots of photos. I’m loving the Lent project from Rethink Church, and it’s not too late to join in.

So please come on over to my tumblr site to comment and discuss!

Peace,
Beth (CP)

Heart Disease Sucks.

This week is the 10th anniversary of the Go Red for Women campaign.

Ten years ago, the start of the campaign was the impetus for me to change my life. I was reading Glamour magazine (what? I was 27!) and they had an article about heart disease in families. I knew that I was maybe at risk because of my dad’s death at age 51 from a heart attack, but was still kind of in denial about my health. But my dad had been gone for five years at that point, and it was burned into my brain how much heart disease SUCKS when it takes away a person you love WAY, WAY too soon. Any death from heart disease SUCKS, and my dad’s was shocking because he had just passed a stress test, a cholesterol test, and his BP was under control

I was allowed to be in denial for a while, I guess, but in 2003, I had a baby daughter. And then I read the line in the magazine, “If you have a relative who died before age 55 of heart disease, your risk increases by 50%.”

FIFTY PERCENT.

That’s kind of a lot. That was super sobering. And while in the process, I lost a lot of weight, what my “anchor” (WW speak for the thing that keeps you going) was, was the prospect of early heart disease. That’s still what keeps me going, ten years later, even with ups and downs of another pregnancy and thyroid disease.

So I am super grateful to Glamour and to the Wear Red campaign. I want to be here doing good work and being there for my family as long as I can, and that’s what it comes down to. That’s why I’ll wear red again on Friday, my 10th year in a row, and why I’ll continue to give money to the American Heart Association, and I’ll continue to enjoy my life while I’m here, eating foods that actually FEED me as much as possible, and taking care of this fragile, wonder-ful body like the gift that it is.

Chickpastor’s Advent Calendar, Day 21: ELF

Guest blog, this time by 9-year-old M!

What did you like about this movie?
“I liked how Buddy thought that he was a real elf, and that he remembered nothing of his childhood, because it was funny. I also liked that the elves only eat sweet stuff, and how Buddy said, “Eat Food,” instead of go on a date, because he didn’t know what a date was. I also thought that it was funny when Buddy gave his dad a bra!”

What did you not like about it?
“I don’t think I liked that the dad didn’t believe in Christmas, and didn’t care about it or like it. The dad’s boss was a little harsh on him, because if it was something really important he could have had someone else read the pitch.”

What do you think it had to do with Jesus or God?
“It’s because Buddy really wanted to find his dad, and that’s where I saw a lot of love, and where I saw God in the movie.”

Any other thoughts?
“I think that it was a really great kids movie, except for the mild bad language.”