Story Time

So today I'm going to tell the story of one amazing woman: Carla. I work with Carla in the kitchen and our daily duties are cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, killing cucarachas, washing dishes, giving water to our thirsty kids, washing dishes, shooing away flies, oh and if I haven't mentioned it before; washing dishes. Carla is an amazing woman who has a smile that can blind cucarachas. I have absolutely enjoyed my time in the kitchen with her.

Carla has a heart and passion for kids. The kids all adore her and she just lights up when she sees them. However, she is stuck in the kitchen all day. She use to work with the kids but they needed a new cook and she rose to the challenge. But even though I catch her looking over to the playground from time to time, she has never had a bad mood in the kitchen. She is such a great example of one of those phrases that we love to use. "Grow where you are planted." She does such a wonderful job in the kitchen and that kitchen has definitely become a little ministry site. Everyday she allows me to have a little glimpse into her life and everyday her inner strength surprises me. Carla is the one that all the other teachers go to for advice and she gives it with such humility.

Carla has one child and she has to leave her at home all day. She is also on her feet all day and is with child!!!!! I look up to her so much.

When I was assigned to the kitchen, I was sad because I came to be with the kids at Casita Benjamin, but after being with Carla she has reminded me that I have come to serve. When I look at Carla, the only thing I see is Philippians 4:11-13 being lived out.

1 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

I am so grateful for Carla and how she has already influenced my life for the better.

TKM
-Jazz

If Neverland Existed

After having a little girl mad at me for a few days for taking her off the swing, I won back her love by slaying Estive the evil monster through my mighty tickling powers. Now we are best friends and Estive the monster comes out to be slain by my tickling powers a lot more often.

Oh if things stayed that simple forever. :)

La Vida Guatamanteca

One thing that I can't wrap my tiny brain around is the fact that I am LIVING in Guatemala!!! I'm actually experiencing daily life here! I'm no longer pouring into my textbooks, but into people's lives. And it doesn't stop there! These amazing people are also pouring into my life as well. I can honestly say that my life has been changed for the better since meeting everyone! I am just in love with this whole experience. :)

Things that have blessed me since being here:
-The Glicks with their huge hearts and Mike with his even bigger stories
-the students here at the seminary and their visions for the future
- being surrounded by Spanish ALL THE TIME! It can sometimes be exhausting, but it is good for the soul. :-)
- those crazy kids at Casita ans surprisingly doing dishes in the kitchen. Who would have thought?
- my AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING roommates! They seriously are so beautiful inside and out and I love eating with them, joking with them, having meaningful conversations, and just BEING with them.
- Finally, all the spiritual and personal growth that I have experienced. Oh growing up is fantastic!









Well that is all for now

Oye Guate!!

On the back of my old dorm room, I had this verse from Isaiah. The verse is Isaiah 6:8.

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us? Then I said, Here am I! Send me.

Well, I basically said "send me Lord" and now I am in Guatemala and I will be here for 4 weeks.
There are a couple things that I can't believe 1. That it is not butter. ;) and 2. I am here in Guatemala. To say the least, the people that I have met are amazing. I love the people and kids that I have met so far and it is only day 1. Crazy. Pero, a mí, no me gusta la capital. There is not very much to the city except for the evidence of how a 36yr civil war can really mess up a country. It's hard to see the poverty and decay around here and know that most people will die in it. It is also aggrivating to see honest and good people having to scavage through a dump for leftovers trash while drug lords live like kings. The injusticia makes me want to cry.

I can honestly understand how Ché after seeing poverty and injusticia throughout South America became feuled with the desire to start a revolution. Am I a communist? By all means no, but I have a deeper understanding now of the roots behind the mission. (If that makes sense) Ahora, I am writing on my Kindle Fire in a comfy chair using WIFI. I am so blessed it makes me sick. Sometimes I can hardly think about this without crying. I think about my family in Mexico y en la Republica Dominicana y ahora en Guatemala and I wish that there was a way that I could give them my life, my opportunities, etc.

But I know what they truly need in life is something that I can't give but, cn only show with the same veracity that they've shown me. And that is Christ. The same God that is working and moving in my life, is doing the same in their lives. I have to trust and know that He has me and my extended family in His loving care. But this was one big ramble and I was sorting out my feelings as I was typing this out so I apologize for that. Tomorrow, I will write on what we have been up to in ole Guatemala, Pero por ahora all I have are my little jumbled thoughts. Dtb, Jazz

Beautifully Free

I have been recently going through a new devotional this past week and it has been so amazing. There was one particular page that just blew me away. After reading this my eyes were opened and ever since I have seen myself in a new way. Here is a little from the devotional:

What does it mean to display the splendor of God? It means that we were created to have true beauty, inner beauty. It's sometimes easy to strive for outward beauty, because that's what the world wants, but God wants us to have true beauty.

This is the picture I get of my true beauty: I see my beauty radiating from the inside out. That when I love God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind (Matthew 22:37), it will naturally spill over to all my relationships and every area of my life. It's as if God's light and beauty is in my heart. And it is being pumped into every cell of my body, my brain, my muscles, and my organs through my bloodstream. And as long as God's Spirit is living inside of me, I will have that beauty radiating from the inside out. People will see the light in my eyes. They'll be drawn to the joy in my smile. And they'll want to find comfort in my friendship.

After reading this, I felt free. I ran and looked in the mirror and usually I automatically find somethings wrong with how I look, but this time I just saw a beautifully created girl, redeemed by the amazing grace of God, with a huge smile on her face. The next morning, getting ready for school was fun. I no longer had to deal with the hassle of trying to find clothes that looked good on me, but more so just picking out what looked cute and fun to wear. Lately, I have been striving to work on my inner beauty, which originates in my relationship with the beautiful Creator. It is a lot more satisfying let me tell you! I am so thankful for a wonderful God who makes me beautiful. It is crazy to know that with God, I can never be ugly. Now without pride or vanity, I am able to stand up to say......

I AM SO BEAUTIFUL 

Here are somethings that I found extremely beautiful this morning. 

Feeling Like Beyonce ;)

Everyone knows that I love Beyonce so in honor of her here is my Countdown!

Countdown

Only 10 more days til I'll be at College Group!

9 more days til I'll be stuffing my face at Thanksgiving

8 more hours until Generation Church tonight

7 cents left on my SPU points

6 more classes left til finals

Averaging 5 hours of sleep each night

4 new desserts added to the Gwinn Menu

3 more weeks til  Deck the Hall Ball and Brandon coming to visit

2 holes in my boots that I'm wearing.... wet feet...

1 happy girl with her life

Katt and I when we went to a pumpkin patch

If I haven't said this enough.....

If I haven't said this enough, I really do love SPU. My life is filled here with some wonderful people. I truly appreciate the spontaneous bursts of joy that I experience here almost every day. I love my little Gwinn family, 2nd East, and all my new friends! Life is soo good! Another thing, I feel God's presence here and it the most amazing thing ever. Walking around campus, I feel like God has included me in His little secret and I am able to see the inner workings of how He is moving in SPU. I see creation, whether from the squirrels scampering about to the falling leaves dancing in the wind, and it sings God's praises. I witness my friends becoming closer to God and it spurs me to pursue Him more too! (Marshall I am so proud of you and I look up to you! Thank you for being such a great friend and keeping me accountable.) I hear God speaking through my PA when she encourages us and gives us advice. There is so much more, but I experience God's grace every day as I continue to constantly fail. -.- I just feel so blessed with this amazing life. I remember those depressing days just a couple of months ago when life was at its craziest. I would sometimes just lay there and cry wishing I was at SPU. Even though I lost so much this summer, God is faithful. He has brought me from those nights when I felt like I had nothing and was nothing to these days in Seattle where my feet are being warmed by the sun as I sit here typing about how glorious life is right now. I definitely would not say that I am completely over what happened this summer, but I am slowly getting there.
Enough with all the talking! Let me show you some glimpses of my day to day life here at the wonderful Seattle Pacific University.

After a night of dancing with friends :) We are thinking of going to a salsa club next!

I get to wake up to this tree every morning. It is so colorful and beautiful!

Sorry if this scared you, but this is my friend Marcella and me! I was Frida Kahlo. We are crazy together!

I love this class so much, but the book is SOO BORING! I cry a little every time I have to read it.

Landry looking adorable waiting for my friend to get back from work.....in her bed. 

One of the many food adventures with the amazing Landry! This time we went and had some amazing cupcakes from Cupcake Royal. Delicious let me tell you!

So this girl is freakin amazing and I love her so much. (even when she is sassy) This is us sending up our love cookies to the boys floor. They were enjoyed and devoured by my now good friend Chris. Crazy how things like these turn out. :)

And that's all folks! More blog posts to come soon. Don't worry ;)