I can't believe its halfway over!

So a lot has happened this past week and a lot is going on this week as well. We are all always going somewhere, getting something, or needing to be doing one of those things!

Last week in cooking class our theme was “drinks”, so Rita and I taught the class how to make chocolate-banana smoothies, fruit smoothies, and horchata. The problem was….I’ve never made horchata or drank horchata and Rita was sick the day we were supposed to make it. I think the school administration ladies who randomly walk past my class or sit in the kitchen overlooking thought I was some crazy Gringo who’s never cooked in my life! My first problem was my class blended the rice in water the day before so it could CHILL overnight, but it definitely FROZE in the refrigerator. So we had to thaw it out and add more water. The next problem was I added too much cinnamon…I didn’t know the difference but someone told me the color of the drink was darker than it should’ve been. Who knew? In the end though with A LOT of help from Marta and Alejandro (youth leaders) it turned out great!! J

Friday night UPH had their 4^th annual Locos Futbol Tournament!! There were a lot of teams mixed with full time staff, summer staff, interns, and youth! It was a lot of fun just to have everyone together in one place at the same time cheering each other on and playing! I was on the Northern Ireland team and we actually made it to the semi-finals…none of the girls on my team had ever played I don’t think so I was expecting us to get out early but we survived and I actually made a goal! 

On Saturday we went to the Mayan Ruins! It was really cool to get to see where and how the Mayans used to live and why Copan Ruinas is such a touristy town. I wasn’t feeling the best so it was hard for me to pay attention to the tour guide but I caught a few things here and there that I thought were interesting. The ruins are spread throughout this area and the river divided the rich from the poor. The rich always wanted to distinguish themselves from the others so they would do things to make themselves stand out. When a baby is born up until they are 20 months they would strap a board to their forehead to make from the tip of their nose to the center of their head flat. So they had flat foreheads and a point in the top of their heads. They also would get teeth pulled or decorated with jade so their teeth were green. None of these sound to me like they are very healthy for anyone but when He was talking about it I thought “you know what, we do that too”. As Americans we go on crazy diets to be thin, we dye our hair, we tan, ect…..what are people going to think of us in a thousand years when they hear that?

This week we have a lot going on…in class Rita and I are teaching how to make appetizers/sides, we are going to watch one of the local public school spelling bees where some UPH staff do an afterschool program and tutoring, we are having a talent show with our youth leaders, Our fun Friday camp theme is “costume party”, and Saturday we are planning a trip to the hot springs.

One thought I want to leave you with is Rachel N. who help found UPH gave a devo. the other night and talked about how God chose you. He chose you to go through everything you’ve been through and everything you will go through, He chose you to be where you are right now, He put people in your life for a reason, and every interaction you have even if it’s a simple “hello” to a stranger was for a reason even if you never know why. God says, “I, the Lord, chose you”…it’s not a mistake because God knows you fully. We don’t even know our whole selves because we are constantly changing and growing. BUT God sees the full picture. He knows who we will be when we are whole and His timing is perfect. One scripture we used was Isaiah 29:16 “You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it ‘He did not make me’? Can the pot say to the potter, ‘He knows nothing’?”  So instead of wondering why something’s happening, why you are where you are, or even changing yourself to try to be what you think you’re supposed to be in a situation instead of who God created you to be remember that GOD CHOSE YOU TO BE THERE AT THAT MOMENT WITH YOUR SPECIFIC HEART MIND AND SOUL  FOR A REASON. No one understands you completely not even you do, but God does.