Jewelry and more jewelry

I have been quite occupied making jewelry when I have some down time. I make a piece and ask, "Will it sell?" I have been a little stressed with having enough inventory and how in the world will I make this move to Guatemala possible that I have been having nightmares! Goodness! I worry about my family, though I know that God will take care of them. This is BIG for me because I am a home body...well, sort of. I spend a lot of time out of my home, but always near family. I will not allow fear to be in the middle of the dream that God has for my life. Indefinitely don't want to live my life always thinking "what if..."

Ok so these are some of the pieces I have currently made. Some are up on the website, while others were special orders. It's always exciting to show the pieces :) 

Busy Busy Busy!!!!

Almost 6pm, I am still at work, off the clock and I have finally been able to blog. I have been super busy making jewelry for my inventory as well as for the fundraiser we were doing for a friend who just recently died. It has definitely been a non-stop 2 weeks for me. For almost 2 weeks now my right eye has been twitching on and off. It was super annoying especially when I was trying to make jewelry.

There are so many things happening in the next few months and I'm super excited about it. This month we have a costume party/fundraiser with a lot of 80's music. In November I will be one of the vendors at the Zocalo Fiesta   This is a fundraiser that is done every year and I am so excited to be part of it. The entertainers that evening will be La Santa Cecilia. From what I have heard, they are an amazing band that plays a variety of music. I can't wait for that event! A friend of mine from high school, Adrian Molina, who works for the organization informed me of the fiesta and gave me the contact I needed to be able to participate at the Fiesta. I am hoping to be part of more projects like these to be able to spread the word of my journey.

I have busy every chance I get to make jewelry. Sometimes I get home at 10pm and I try to make 2-3 pieces before I go to sleep. I have a few pieces on my Etsy Account. I should add more pieces,  but it has been the last thing on my mind. Soon I will be selling tee shirts. They were made by a super wonderful woman at church and has decided to donate them in order so that I can continue fundraising for my journey. Her name is Ana Lucia and she is super talented. The shirts are based on the scripture in Proverbs 3:3 "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."
I am looking forward to see what God is going to do with this.

In loving memory of Nancy Mendoza

On Saturday I received the news that a friend whom I have known since junior high, died after battling cancer for the past couple of years. These past couple of months were the worst for she was on morpheme to alleviate the pain. It breaks my heart because she leaves behind 4 beautiful young children and a grieving husband.  Death comes like a thief and we should be ready for it.

I was feeling really sad and the first thing that came to my mind was, "how can I help?" After talking to a friend of mine who also knew Nancy, we decided to make a necklace in her memory and sell it to help the family with funeral costs. In less than 24 hours we almost sold out of the necklaces!!! There are many more people wanting to order. the cool thing is that I had a few friends come help to make more. It was quite exciting to see the response of friends from high school. I have placed the necklace on my Etsy account

I ran out of the silver ribbon and we invaded many Micheal's stores and were able to get some more...they are not the same, but it will do. I guess this is a good problem to have. I hope that we are able to get enough donations as well to cover what the family needs. 

FUNdraising

I have been back now for two and a half weeks and I think I'm back to my normal self, BUT different. I have this desire to break through my insecurity and move forward in fundraising. 

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to sell my jewelry at church and I was able to add more money to my savings. I was talking to a friend and she gave me a great idea to be able to put money into my savings. Jewelry sales will go directly into my savings and other form of fundraising will go towards what I need to pay off. I'm not sure how everything is going to play out in terms of how I will get paid or what kind of job I need to look for once I'm there but I want to be able to have some money in my savings just in case it takes me a while to find a job. I get really excited knowing that the time is near but I don't know the exact date of my move. I keep having dreams that I'm already there and a wake up feeling super excited. I was feeling a little discouraged on Sunday after a little conversation that I had regarding fundraising and people not wanting to really help. I got in contact with someone whom has known about the desire of my heart to move to Guatemala from the start. I asked of he could pray for me. He finally emailed me back and he was so encouraging and he congratulated me on paying everything off and on my move and yet it hasn't happened. He was being so faithful as if it had already happened. It have me so much faith and I will never forget, he said "I want to be the first one to congratulate you on your move." I felt so excited as if I was leaving tomorrow. He filled me up with what I needed; Faith. 

I'm excited to announce that on 26 October my friends and I are having an 80's costume party. We are charging $10 at the door and it will be potluck. I'm beyond excited because they were able to get a DJ to play at the fundraiser though it's going to cost a little bit of money for him to play at the fundraiser but I'm sure it will be worth. I feel so humbled and honored to have my friends help me reach my goal. There's nothing like having people support your dream and walk with you through this journey. Words can't even explain how thankful I am. 

Back to California.

Leaving Guatemala was so difficult for me. Saying goodbye is not my forte. I really miss being there and being with the people I have grown so close to. I have come back with a mission on my heart and that is to pay everything off and move to Guatemala. Crazy? Yes! I want to give it all up, the luxuries, the comfortability and the things that I am so familiar with. It all started with a prayer, "I want to live in the center of your will." The more I prayed that, the more I knew and felt confident that I was being led to Guatemala. I have a lot that I need to pay off and it will take me over 2 years to do it on my own, but through faith, I know it can be less than a year. Last night we had a night of prayer at my church and I told God that I would love to be able to move in 6 months. Wow! It's so crazy! I need to start fundraising soon. 

Being back feels like a dream. I want to wake up and be back in Guatemala. I will say that it feels good to be with my parents. It was so neat seeing my mom and giving her a big hug as I walked out of the airport. Family is what tugs at my heart. I know that I will miss seeing them and have those funny talks with my mom. I also cannot ignore God's calling. I hear Him so loud and clear and I want to chose to be obedient to His call. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight". (Proverbs 3:5, 6 NIV)

Love for the mission

I will admit that it has been such an emotional roller coaster being here in Guatemala. I have been told story after story of different cases of kids here in the Hogar as well as other children and teens. It's heartbreaking hearing the stories and even in the news of children being killed by their parents/ stepparent. I will share a story that was told by a nurse.

A father and mother brought in a 40 day old baby girl to the hospital because the baby was he hemorrhaging. The mom told the doctors that she left the house and when she came back the baby was bleeding. The social worker at the hospital brought in a police officer and said that if she would not tell the truth then the police would take her to jail. In the meantime the little baby needed reconstructive surgery of the uterus, intestines and other vital organs. 

The mother finally confessed. She mentioned that her husband had asked to be given the baby or else he would go to a home where there are prostitutes. The mother decided to give her child to her husband. The mother did not think that the man would actually rape the baby, but rather possibly  do something different. As soon as it was brought to light what happened someone went directly to the surgery room to inform the doctor what happened and at that moment the baby died and there was nothing else that could have been done. The doctor stormed out if the surgery room went directly to the parents and he started to beat both of them out of anger and frustration. The police had to separate them and the parents were both taken to jail. 

My heart broke. I wanted to cry, but I had to keep my composure, which was so difficult. I look at these beautiful little angels who are here at the Hogar and don't understand why someone would ever hurt these little babies. 

The scripture that comes to mind:

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16 NIV)

If this is how Christ sees children, then how does He feel about it when they are injured? 

New baby!

A few days ago a little angel was dropped off at the orphanage. Her name is Abigail Sophia and she is 2 weeks old. Looking at her made my heart leap. She is beautiful, tiny and so innocent. I don't know her story, but I'm sure it wasn't a good one. She came with a severe diaper rash, but her life right now is sleep, eat an poop. 

I only have a few more days until I go back home. It's such a bitter sweet moment. I know I will be back, but I need to go back home and work hard to pay everything off so I can later make the move to Guatemala permanent. There are so many places to volunteer and be able to serve. The organization Hope Worldwide Guatemala has a school and they do many activities throughout the year. God has a bigger purpose than I can ever imagine and I cannot wait to live in the center of His will for my life.