Venezuela Part III

The food here consists of a lot of queso and jamon - ham and cheese! They make arrepas which is a fried sandwich and it is filled with just about anything you can think of. They make a dough out of masa flour which has the consistency of Southern grits. They make it into a patty and then fry it, cut it in half like a pita pocket and fill it.

The Maracuchos eat a lot of beef, lomito, as well. It is grilled and served with avocado salad, arrepas, plantains, and of course cheese. The drink of choice, when it isn't whiskey and water, is fruit nectar which is like a thick juice from what ever fruit you want and it is very good. Oh and coffee! They have great cafecito which means little coffee - it is like a cross between cappuccino and espresso.

Venezuela is more Caribbean than Spanish. The climate is different across the country because it is so wide, but it is always hot in Maracaibo. There are palm trees every where but not much vegetation.

The traditional music is from a saxophone, bas drum, snare drum and trumpet. It sounds like music from the Andes mountains combined with New Orleans Jazz! The popular music now is called reggatone which is like hip hop and reggae music combined and it is big in the discos.

As different as Maracaibo is on the surface the people there still face many of the same issues as Peru. There is political unrest. There is poverty. There is violence and theft. This is a city trying to carve itself out of its past and into its future and no one knows what that will look like - not even the Maracuchos.

Venezuela Part II

The Maracuchos party like no body's business! My step-sister's wedding started at 6pm and they didn't stop dancing until 4am! At the Christmas eve party dinner wasn't even served until midnight and we left the party at 2am. I haven't stayed up this late this much in years!

The Maracuchos take pride in everything from the way they dress to the cars they drive to the food they cook! There is a lot of money here but if you look through all of the glitz and glamor you see the same undercurrent of poverty that runs through most of South America.

Maracaibo, Venezuela is more modern than Lima, Peru. There is air conditioning everywhere, most of the buildings are very modern and the city has started to grow up - sky scrapers are coming up out of the ground to forever change the Maracucho skyline.

To Be Continued...

Venezuela Part I

Venezuela is a very diverse country but I have spent all of my time here in Maracaibo where the people call themselves Maracuchos and will loudly proclaim that their city is different than any other city in the country. They will say they speak Maracucho Spanish, they eat Maracucho food and dance to Maracucho music.

They are a a people who are full of passion about everything. They speak at lightening speed because they have so much to say. They take hours to eat a meal because they enjoy every bite and every conversation. They dance all the time and they party all night long!

To be continued...

Merry Christmas from Venuzeula!

Merry Christmas! It has been a great trip to see my step sister get married and spend Christmas with her family! The weather has been great (went swimming yesterday and took a nap under some palm trees) but I can´t wait to get back to the states!! I miss my Elevate family :( and I still have another week to go.

I knew I would miss HPC and the Elevate crew but I guess I didn't realize how much apart of me they had become. I am incredibly blessed to have a loving family and friends like those at HPC! It is really funny that I miss the long hours the cramming for tests and the crazy outreaches, but I do!

So I will fly back into the states tomorrow night and then it will be on to Chicago for another week! I am looking forward to spending New Year's with my Dad, but I am also looking forward to getting back to Elevate and ALL that it entails, lol.

Elevating

I am sorry for not blogging in a whole month!!! I can't believe it's been that long already. Today was the start of our last week of this semester of Elevate. As I look back I am so amazed at all the things God has done in me and through me this semester and I can't wait to see what he has next.

I have been blessed with a trip to Venezuela over the Christmas break and I am so excited! I have never been there before so this will be an awesome adventure that I get to share with my family. Thank after a week in the Southern Hemisphere I am boarding a plane to the Windy City of Chicago to spend a week with my Dad. Going from hot to cold in 2 weeks...please pray for good health and safe travel!

I the great honor of receiving the Elevate of the Month Award this month. It is really cool that others see the work God is doing in my life. He is really changing my heart in a lot of ways. I really couldn't believe that I received the award. It's just a piece of paper, but it really means so much to me becasue it represents all the work God is doing and all the people that He is touching through me.

So as the semester comes to an end I can't help but think ahead to the next one. I know, I know I am a long range planner. I just want to be sure that my long range plans match up with God's version. I want to make sure that my heart is beating in sync with His. This isn't easy, at all. Especially when there are so many good things around to choose from. How do you choose between things that are good and things that are God? How can I hope to tell the difference?

All I know is that I will continue to serve where I am until He makes it clear that He has other plans for me. I will wait for Him to create the doors and open them.