Los Portillos: January 2012

Happy Tuesday Everyone!
      As promised, this post will be much, much shorter than the last, mostly because I am not sure there is much to report. I mostly wanted to write about the mission organization that Daniel and I are currently serving. Flames of Fire is located in Chiquimula, Guatemala where Daniel and I live. Marla and Larry Johnson are the heart of the organization. It is a blessing for us to be able to work alongside them. I, Julie, personally, am thankful to take a break from the classroom and to be back in the ministry. Flames of Fire supports 7 feeding centers in various mountain villages for children 12 and under. The organization also host medical teams, does church planting, evangelism, and trains Guatemalan pastors. If you would like to learn more, check out their website: http://www.guatemalamission.org/
      This week, we are hosting a week long training for 15 pastors who are eager to learn. Each week, Daniel and I will be delivering food to the feeding centers and completing various other tasks. We have a medical team coming next week. Medical teams are amongst my favorite!
   In other news, Daniel is attempting to teach me how to drive stick...I had my first taste of driving in Guatemala (which is an experience in itself). I sweated the entire time I was so nervous! Let's just say it will be awhile before I even think about driving by myself much less up the side of a mountain! Oh and I signed my name Julie Portillo for the first time today...WEIRD! Okay, that about sums up life.

Stay tuned for more...

P.S. You can check out wedding photos on my facebook page.

Marla and Marlita (little Marla) with her Christmas present

Some of the kids at Tizemarte with their Christmas presents

My new friend Jason..he is 4 and as cute as can be!

Taking a ride on the back of the truck!

This kid LOVES getting his picture taken.

The women and children outside the feeding center in Nueva Esperanza.

We are in great hopes of helping this family get a new house.

Delivering food to Guararuche (not sure how to spell it).

It's been awhile since I, Julie, have posted a blog. Let us hope that I am not too rusty as not to bore whomever may be reading this. There is much to share but I will try to keep it limited as not to lose your attention, however, if the truth be told, this blog is more for personal sake than anything.

My family and I arrived to Guatemala on Dec. 20, 2011. We spent some time at the beach before heading to Chiquimula to crack down on wedding preparations. Daniel and I were legally married on Dec. 23, 2011. Only a lawyer can marry a couple in Guatemala and due to the Holidays, we were legally married a week earlier than our ceremony. We spent the next week moving into our new living quarters and preparing for the wedding. The rest of the wedding guests arrived on the 27th.

If I am being honest (which I think a blog is the place to do so), the wedding was beautiful but a tad bit too stressful for my likings. I am glad that I only have to do it once in life. The wedding venue was absolutely breathtaking. I wish that all my friends and family could have been there to see it! And of course, I took great delight in wearing my dress for the day too, ha. Daniel looked handsome in his suit. Just as people had warned me, while I was present during the ceremony (obviously), my mind was in a whole other world which makes for poor distinct memories of the ceremony. Dinner was DELICIOUS!! One bridesmaid claimed it to be one of the best wedding meals she has ever had! Way to go Don Luis.

Our wedding night was anything but typical. We decided to head to Antigua the night of the wedding. Daniel and I had borrowed a car from a friend for our honeymoon. The wedding guests took off in a coaster bus ahead of us. Just 2 1/2 hours into the trip, our back tire FLEW OFF the car. It was one of the most scary moments in my life. I literally saw my life flash before my eyes. The tire could NOT have picked a worse spot to depart from the car. It was 10:30 p.m. and we were stranded just around the corner of a sharp curve in the middle of a highway in Guatemala. To make a long story short, we spent the night in the car untl a tow truck finally came to save us...or at least drop us in front of a mechanic's shop. SEVENTEEN hours later, we had a tire back on the car and were on our way.

We made it to the city just in time to say goodbye to my sisters. Our honeymoon officially began on Jan 1, 2012. We spent two days on the beach, then three days in Coban, Guatemala. We visited Semuc Champey (I recommend), and attempted to do a canopy tour which got cancelled due to rain. We made a last minute decision to head to Rio Dulce where we ended our honeymoon with a trip to the hot springs, a cannon, and a lovely horse back ride that left us sore for two days but it was worth it! We aboslutely LOVED Rio Dulce and cannot wait to return. My only regret is that our alarm didn't go off at 5:00 a.m. our last morning so that we could do a kayak trip across the river to see the monkeys wake up. BUMMER.

All in all, time is ticking fast. Daniel started work back up on Tuesday, Jan 10 and I joined him. We are both working for a mission organization called Flames of Fire. I will write more about the ministry in my next post but I quickly want to share a story...we witnessed a man carrying a refrigerator up the side of the mountain on his back and then 45 minutes later, we witnessed another man carry an even bigger fridge on his back down the side of the mountain!!! I am still in shock.

Sorry for such a long blog, I will work on making them shorter in the future. In the meanwhile, may you be blessed!

Love,

Los Portillos