It is wednesday morning and I have been here in spokane since about 10pm on friday night. Since then, I have been in a whirlwind of seeing people, debriefing, and now making the presentation (SATURDAY 2:30 IN THE WHITWORTH AUDITORIUM). I want to say thank you to all of you who have welcomed me back and to all of you who have expressed reading these messages, so lucky for you, here is the last one.
After leaving San Salvador, the team split up into 2 groups. Half of us went to a town called La Mora and the other (my group) went to another called Las Vueltas (which is close to the honduran border). So we took a nice little chicken bus up to the town of Caltenango where we met the leaders of the youth ogranization that was putting together our homestay. We then piled into the back of a truck and headed 20 minutes up the hill to Las Vueltas. When we arrived, we walked into the parque central where there there were many pro-FMLN (the leftist party) paintings and murals, two sculptures representing those who had died fighting in the civil war in the area, and then an un-exploded bomb. So, in the first minute of being there we felt that we had a general understanding that this town was very involved in the conflicts during the 80s. We split off into homestays. I went with Travis to the home of one of the leaders of the youth organization's house. Her name was Areli. This began the rediculusness of this homestay. Travis and Areli were always making fun of each other and it made being there very fun. That night we played soccer (like normal) and then headed to bed. The following morning we woke up early do go do some community building work (like Community Building Day, but in spanish). So the ladies went to pick up garbage in the park and in the river and the men headed up the mountain with machetes and such to go do some "heavy labor." After hiking up the hill, we came upon a clearing with a bunch of rocks with hyroglyphics on it. our guides looked around and said "oh, well.... all of the clearing looks like it has been done......lets go pick some mangos." so that is what we did. We also found a rusty clip from an M16. This really brought the war to reality and put it in my hands. One of our guides said that there was a town near there where the government had come in at 3 in the morning and massacred 600 people by noon. I am still reeling from those numbers and the reality of those stories. finally, the girls got up there and were quite angry of how easy our day was. then we headed back and watched the ladies of the town (and cheri and Fletchface) play softball.
The next morning, we began a hike up the mountains. We were told that this was a 20 km hike, but personally, i don't believe it. It did take us within one hill of being back in honduras. at the top, there were caves that had been carved out of the hillside where the guerrellas had hiden, had a hospital, and held their radio as to hide from the government forces. I really was struck in the hospital cave because there were so many people who did not make it out of those caves and had put down their lives fighting for the lives of others. this was not an idealisit war for them. it was a war for survival. I really advocate for peace, but my host mom was forced to take up arms to ensure the safety of her children.
On Sunday morning, we watched people squeeze sugar cane, then went to mass. it was a good mass, but the interesting part was at the end when the priest lambasted the congregation for not turning out for the local protests against foreign owned mines. He also talked about how there was going to be a procession on May 14 to remember the massacre. In the evening, the town made us dinner. It was cool to see the way that they were excited about us coming and the future that they had.
Then monday, we hit the road. it was sad to see the town left behind because this was one of our favorite homestays because the people were sooooooo excited to have us there and we really benefitted from their lives. We then, after picking up the other group and going to Pollo Campero, went to a retreat center in the town of Tacuba which was close to the border with Guatemala. There we did debriefing for a few days. One of the days, we went canyoning in the national park "el impossible." This is when you hike through a river and whenever you get to a point when you can't hike, you cliff jump. it was AWESOME. that night we went to hot springs too. one of the most fun days of the trip.
our last night there, we had a coffee house where people did little things to commemorate the trip and to remember the amazing experiences we had done. I just gave flowers to everyone, but some sang songs, or preformed poems, or said what we are going to be doing in 25 years (apparently I will be winning the portland marathon without leg cramps). Then at 2am, we hit the road, the plane, and were back in the states.
so this is basically it. Thank you so much for reading these messages, replying, sending mail, and praying for me. You all are amazing and I would love to hang out. Please, let me know if you want to spend time. I have literally NOTHING to do next week. so send me a message. but more importantly COME TO THE PRESENTATION. well, actually, it is more an introduction to what we did. we will try to scratch the surface of what we did and how it affected us, but if you love me or any of the other 24 students, you should be there (I do understand if you can't though). but a reminder, it is SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2:30PM, COWELS AUDITORIUM.
thank you all.
muchas gracias con mucho amor.
Jose
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
last message from down here?
hey everyone,
i am writing what may be my last email from central america. wow, that is a strange thing to say. all those years of waiting, all these weeks of doing it and now it is coming to a close. so, i don´t remember when i last sent a mass email. it may have been in nicaragua. so we have been here for a week and a half. salvador has been one of the most packed, but yet awesome times we have had. we are staying at a hotel that we have basically taken over and so it is like a home. our first days we went to work with a program that helps kids stay out of the gangs. gangs are a huge problem down here and they have absurd amounts of power. so it was cool seeing people embrace the alternatives. the next day we had probably the most intense day of the trip. we began the day with an economic status of the country at the UNDP building. that was pretty cool. then we went to the UCA (University of Central America) campus and had a lecture of 500 years of salvadorian history in 1 hour. crazy. everything from colonization to the civil war (which is such a crazy and hard topic). our professor (Karla Morgan) wen to this university, so she gave us a tour of the school. we then went to the site of where 6 professors and a cook and her daughter were brutally murdered by the salvadorian military in 87. it was so moving. (that sentence does not give it credit, but i really don´t know how to explain waht looking at that rose garden that holds so much history in it means, sorry. lets have coffee sometime and maybe i can help you to see it). then finished the day with a lecture on modern salvadorian politics (which is sooooooooooooooo polarized). the next day we went to the national assembly, visited with ARENA (the conservative party) and the FMLN (the liberal party). it was amazing seeing the differences between the two parties stances and just the way they viewed the world. we then had a day of visiting museums and just hanging out here in san salvador. i love riding buses. the next day we went to the site where Archbishop Romero was shot while he was giving the mass. that was a very emotional visit because his life and death has really affected the life of the country and to go stand on the place where he was killed is mind boggling. there was a museum there too where they had his blood stained robes and pictures of his body as they rushed it out of the building. honestly i have had nights that i cant go right to sleep because i am being tormented by these pictures.
The next day we went out to a community called Huisisilapa where the the whole community was forced to flee to honduras for safety. when they came back, the organized themselves into a community that is working for the good of all and is doing really good work. there was a youth gorup there that was doing good work (including building a full sized soccer field). they had a town radio that i got to talk on too. monday we went to the US embassay and had a conversation that we felt actually didn´t feel terrible about. then we went to hang out and work with a GBLT rights group that were pretty cool. yesterday we had a free day, so instead of doing homework like everyone else, i and a couple other people went to a world class surfing beach and ripped the nar-nar. and then today we went to a different beach and played in the surf.
tomorrow we are going to go out to communities that are beginning ecotourism homesay stuff and we are going to be their guinea pigs. and then the last few days will be debriefing at another lodge.
so that is the trip. wow... thank you all for the paryers, hopes, emails, letters, and random thoughts. i really know that i couldn´t have done it without you. this is important MY PRESENTATION IS MAY 10. please come if you are near to spokane. ti wont be a compelte description o fwhat went on but it will be an introduction. also, i would love to spend time with you all. i don´t know if i will be able to tell you my deepest secrets or how i am going to change my life, but i can give you want i can. so yea, i guess i will see you all soon.
i am writing what may be my last email from central america. wow, that is a strange thing to say. all those years of waiting, all these weeks of doing it and now it is coming to a close. so, i don´t remember when i last sent a mass email. it may have been in nicaragua. so we have been here for a week and a half. salvador has been one of the most packed, but yet awesome times we have had. we are staying at a hotel that we have basically taken over and so it is like a home. our first days we went to work with a program that helps kids stay out of the gangs. gangs are a huge problem down here and they have absurd amounts of power. so it was cool seeing people embrace the alternatives. the next day we had probably the most intense day of the trip. we began the day with an economic status of the country at the UNDP building. that was pretty cool. then we went to the UCA (University of Central America) campus and had a lecture of 500 years of salvadorian history in 1 hour. crazy. everything from colonization to the civil war (which is such a crazy and hard topic). our professor (Karla Morgan) wen to this university, so she gave us a tour of the school. we then went to the site of where 6 professors and a cook and her daughter were brutally murdered by the salvadorian military in 87. it was so moving. (that sentence does not give it credit, but i really don´t know how to explain waht looking at that rose garden that holds so much history in it means, sorry. lets have coffee sometime and maybe i can help you to see it). then finished the day with a lecture on modern salvadorian politics (which is sooooooooooooooo polarized). the next day we went to the national assembly, visited with ARENA (the conservative party) and the FMLN (the liberal party). it was amazing seeing the differences between the two parties stances and just the way they viewed the world. we then had a day of visiting museums and just hanging out here in san salvador. i love riding buses. the next day we went to the site where Archbishop Romero was shot while he was giving the mass. that was a very emotional visit because his life and death has really affected the life of the country and to go stand on the place where he was killed is mind boggling. there was a museum there too where they had his blood stained robes and pictures of his body as they rushed it out of the building. honestly i have had nights that i cant go right to sleep because i am being tormented by these pictures.
The next day we went out to a community called Huisisilapa where the the whole community was forced to flee to honduras for safety. when they came back, the organized themselves into a community that is working for the good of all and is doing really good work. there was a youth gorup there that was doing good work (including building a full sized soccer field). they had a town radio that i got to talk on too. monday we went to the US embassay and had a conversation that we felt actually didn´t feel terrible about. then we went to hang out and work with a GBLT rights group that were pretty cool. yesterday we had a free day, so instead of doing homework like everyone else, i and a couple other people went to a world class surfing beach and ripped the nar-nar. and then today we went to a different beach and played in the surf.
tomorrow we are going to go out to communities that are beginning ecotourism homesay stuff and we are going to be their guinea pigs. and then the last few days will be debriefing at another lodge.
so that is the trip. wow... thank you all for the paryers, hopes, emails, letters, and random thoughts. i really know that i couldn´t have done it without you. this is important MY PRESENTATION IS MAY 10. please come if you are near to spokane. ti wont be a compelte description o fwhat went on but it will be an introduction. also, i would love to spend time with you all. i don´t know if i will be able to tell you my deepest secrets or how i am going to change my life, but i can give you want i can. so yea, i guess i will see you all soon.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Since Easter
first of all, it is HOT. i would say about 95 degrees F and really freakn humid. also, this keyboard has somehow switched the y and z character. which is annoying.my life since easter. well, the day after easter, we all hit the road to managua, which was a long day (most of which was spent at the boarder). we then spend a few days doing lectures and embassay visits. we heard some great stuff on how CAFTA screws the common man (from both anti cafta people and the pro-cafta US embassay). really didnt make me proud of my countrys foreign policy. we then headed up into the norther parts of the country to a town called Sontule which had a strong co-op presence and was greatly affected by the contra war. my host dad spent 6 years hiding in the mountains to escape both sides because he was afraid of serving. we also climbed 75 feet into the air inside a strangler fig tree. then we headed to a town called cuidad dario (the birthplace of ruben dario if that is your type of info). there we worked with a group called seeds of learning wich helps school projects in nicaragua and el salvador. i was really impressed with this program because one of their goals was to humanize everyone. all the times that got together began with everyone, both gringo and not, saying their name. this simple expresssion of what is important in a human was rally impactful for me. the project was good. we painted a run down school (thanks power painting for the expertise) and played with a lot of kids. yesterday we came back to managua and we are enjoying a day off (kinda) which we have spent writing papers to send back to spokane with Jim Hunt, who leaves tomorrow. Karla Morgan arrived with the group this afternoon and her spunk is already apparent. so, that is about all for now. hopefully i will be able to put up some more pics or something soon, but at least know that i love you all. i will stop now because i have recieved messages about how i write too much. so yea. with lovejose(GO Ms)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
happy Christ´s Passover night
hello everyonei hope that this email finds you well. i shoudl note that this keyboard is pretty worthless and so i am likely to have some ill spelled words. but it has been a long time sicne i have sent a mass email (actually, i think it has been at least a country since the problems that i thought i had in Tegus). but we are here in costa rica as we have been for some time now. i do not know the exact day when we arrived but it was about three weeks ago. the first thing that we did was to go to punta mona. punta mona is a hippie commune (basically) on the carribien coast of costa rica. there we learned a lot about sustainable living and tried to debrief the honduras home stay that i talked about in my last big email. that is something that we are still trying to deal with, but that isn´t the point. punta mona was a great time for our group to just enjoy being together and learning about sustainable living. i have never spend that much time that close to the ocean, but living in board shorts (only board shorts) for a week, is a great experience. we also kyaked, made chocolate, ate some great vegetarian food, and just loved the group. after a week of using the compost toilets and living in the wall-less yoga hut, we came back here to san jose for a week (this is something like the 10th or so) and had lots of lectures on everything from tourism to CAFTA to indigenous history. we also were fortunate to spend a morning with an amazing man named Don Juan Stamm who is a gringo who spend his life supporting and doing theology to help the people of central america and had some great stories. then in the afternoon we went to the american embassay and were fed a lot of disheartening and incorrect information from a worldview that i don´t know if i agree with anymore. (apparently the state department doesn´t have numbers on whether or not there is an increase in the number of illegal immigrants to the states, but yet they are building a wall...). We then packed up and went up to the University of Georgia´s San Luis Research Center which is also an ecolodge for groups. from there we did some more study on the importance of ecological sustainability, free trade, and ecotourism. we also spend a day riding on zip lines and eating really good ice cream (yea, we were tourists). then we spend two nights in home stays up in San Luis (the town). it was really interesting to see the difference between the families there and the ones that we lived with in Honduras. these were generally better off financially and had more material goods and really the kids were really happy. today, we came back to san jose and i tried to go to a soccer game between saprisa (the team from san jose) and a mexican team, but because the game was sold out, we didn´t have enoguth money to pay for all of us to go, so i hope that at this moment, the ones that we gave the money to are having a great time and we will see. so in the words of kelsey orr "Joe, that is so long, who is going to want to read that?" so i am going to stop. but happy holy week to everyone. all of you at whitworth, enjoy your spring break and to everyone please go out and remember the sacrifice that our lord made on the cross, but also remember how awesome easter sunday is. (Catholics focus too much on friday and protestants only care about sunday, find a mix). but Dios Bendiga. I love you all. check out the new pictures on the facebook profile and enjoy the face that he is risen and that we are saved. in himjoe
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018575&l=1c45c&id=59400432
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018575&l=1c45c&id=59400432
Saturday, March 1, 2008
I am alive and well
so this post is actually two in one. for those of you who keep up on it here, you are in luck. after some internet craziness, i have found my other post and am now writing from here in San Jose, Costa Rica. we are just relaxing a bit before we head to punta mona in the morning. I will be off the grid again until next saturday at least, but i will keep you guys more informed when i can. so yea, here is my other, longer message from the other day.
hey everybodycontrary to the bet that we all had, i did not recieve any machete wounds during my time in the campo. first, i have to say thank you to all of you who send me messages in response to my messages or just to wish me a happy birthday. reading those has been a really happy experience to know that i still have people who i am close to back home. (oops, i just spilled someones 7up). so what happened to me. where do i start. on friday feb 8, we left copan ruinas (sorry, all city names will be in spanish) and went to La Entrada. there seven of us split off to go to our homestays which were close to la Entrada (that is me, Richie, Kristina, Cheri, Glen, Travis, and Gillian). we later became known (mostly to ouselvse) as the San Carlos Seven (more on the name in a few minutes). after going to a meeting of some local mayors, we were taken off in groups of 1 or 2 to our areas. i went with Kristina to an area known as trinidad de copan and after a little car switching, our mayor took me to my town called Quebraditas. The house that i lived in had a mom (who was about 45), a 20, 17, 12, and 10 year old sons, a 16 year old daughter and her 18 year old live-in boyfriend-fiance guy. honestly, the first few days were hell. i know spanish pretty well and i was having basically no problems understanding people before this, but the accent of the family and this region was REDICULOUS. the washington accent is based out of the front of the mouth pronoucing all s sounds very solidly, but they talk out of the back of their mouth. needless to say, we had some serous communication problems. it was a real struggle. the first morning, i woke up and wend to cut (i mean pick, but the word is cortar which literally means cut in spanish and so that is what we use) coffee. coffee looks just like a red grape when it is really ripe. the bushes are usually 6-10 feet tall and you just pick them off the tree and drop them into a bucket that you keep tied around your waist. when the bucked is full, you go and put it all into your bag and continue. we worked until about 11 when one of my host brothers would bring coffee and lunch to eat. then at about 2 we would pack up and walk back to the main station thing. there we would measure our cutting by five gallon buckets (known as galones). at first i was unaware that when they asked how many galones you picked, they meant how many buckets, not how many gallons. so when my 1 and a half buckets was multiplied out to be 8 gallones in my head, they were really impressed. then i learned. i usually picked somewhere between 1 and a half and 2 and a half buckets with a high of 3. we were not working on the land that my family owned so i was actually paid (about L. 250 or 12 bucks for 5 or 6 days). it really made the how little they make real to me. this was pretty standard for my life. but i would not cut every day. some days i did not do anything. others i worked around the house or went to find firewood. one day the San Carlos 7 got together at the loca fair just to hang out. this day was amazing and really important for my psyche because i had only been speaking apanish for over a week at this time and it was amazing just to relax with some of my favorite people (just like you all). this day was kinda funny because we went to watch a soccer game between the local mayors, and at half time, they just started handing everyone (players and spectators) tecate. it was a good day. my family was really cool. my mom was the local, governmentally designated know it all. this meant that anytime any agencies would come to the area, they went straight to talk to her. then i got to talk to them. so that led to some good info on loca economics and stuff. the downside of my homestay was that we had electricity and a tv. thus while other members of our group spent a lot of their evenings talking, my family would just watch telenovelas (spanish soap operas) or bootleg DVDs of either music videos or crappy movies. i really enjoyed my time there. i nad a lot of time to think about myself, the world and how everything came together. eventually some of the language problems went away (but i still have no idea what my mom said most of the time). i have some great stories though about the time my knocked a guy out, playing soccer for the towns team, going to a waterfall to drink beer with the mayor, and a crazy leaving confusion. needless to say, my life is a little fuller and brighter now. i really do not know how i have been changed, but we will see. thank you all for you prayers and such. we are flying out to costa rica tomorrow and i will leave email contact for a week again on sunday. so please, say hi, and all that stuff. i will email again soon, but i love you all and so does jesus.in the one that kept me safe and is shaping my life
joe
hey everybodycontrary to the bet that we all had, i did not recieve any machete wounds during my time in the campo. first, i have to say thank you to all of you who send me messages in response to my messages or just to wish me a happy birthday. reading those has been a really happy experience to know that i still have people who i am close to back home. (oops, i just spilled someones 7up). so what happened to me. where do i start. on friday feb 8, we left copan ruinas (sorry, all city names will be in spanish) and went to La Entrada. there seven of us split off to go to our homestays which were close to la Entrada (that is me, Richie, Kristina, Cheri, Glen, Travis, and Gillian). we later became known (mostly to ouselvse) as the San Carlos Seven (more on the name in a few minutes). after going to a meeting of some local mayors, we were taken off in groups of 1 or 2 to our areas. i went with Kristina to an area known as trinidad de copan and after a little car switching, our mayor took me to my town called Quebraditas. The house that i lived in had a mom (who was about 45), a 20, 17, 12, and 10 year old sons, a 16 year old daughter and her 18 year old live-in boyfriend-fiance guy. honestly, the first few days were hell. i know spanish pretty well and i was having basically no problems understanding people before this, but the accent of the family and this region was REDICULOUS. the washington accent is based out of the front of the mouth pronoucing all s sounds very solidly, but they talk out of the back of their mouth. needless to say, we had some serous communication problems. it was a real struggle. the first morning, i woke up and wend to cut (i mean pick, but the word is cortar which literally means cut in spanish and so that is what we use) coffee. coffee looks just like a red grape when it is really ripe. the bushes are usually 6-10 feet tall and you just pick them off the tree and drop them into a bucket that you keep tied around your waist. when the bucked is full, you go and put it all into your bag and continue. we worked until about 11 when one of my host brothers would bring coffee and lunch to eat. then at about 2 we would pack up and walk back to the main station thing. there we would measure our cutting by five gallon buckets (known as galones). at first i was unaware that when they asked how many galones you picked, they meant how many buckets, not how many gallons. so when my 1 and a half buckets was multiplied out to be 8 gallones in my head, they were really impressed. then i learned. i usually picked somewhere between 1 and a half and 2 and a half buckets with a high of 3. we were not working on the land that my family owned so i was actually paid (about L. 250 or 12 bucks for 5 or 6 days). it really made the how little they make real to me. this was pretty standard for my life. but i would not cut every day. some days i did not do anything. others i worked around the house or went to find firewood. one day the San Carlos 7 got together at the loca fair just to hang out. this day was amazing and really important for my psyche because i had only been speaking apanish for over a week at this time and it was amazing just to relax with some of my favorite people (just like you all). this day was kinda funny because we went to watch a soccer game between the local mayors, and at half time, they just started handing everyone (players and spectators) tecate. it was a good day. my family was really cool. my mom was the local, governmentally designated know it all. this meant that anytime any agencies would come to the area, they went straight to talk to her. then i got to talk to them. so that led to some good info on loca economics and stuff. the downside of my homestay was that we had electricity and a tv. thus while other members of our group spent a lot of their evenings talking, my family would just watch telenovelas (spanish soap operas) or bootleg DVDs of either music videos or crappy movies. i really enjoyed my time there. i nad a lot of time to think about myself, the world and how everything came together. eventually some of the language problems went away (but i still have no idea what my mom said most of the time). i have some great stories though about the time my knocked a guy out, playing soccer for the towns team, going to a waterfall to drink beer with the mayor, and a crazy leaving confusion. needless to say, my life is a little fuller and brighter now. i really do not know how i have been changed, but we will see. thank you all for you prayers and such. we are flying out to costa rica tomorrow and i will leave email contact for a week again on sunday. so please, say hi, and all that stuff. i will email again soon, but i love you all and so does jesus.in the one that kept me safe and is shaping my life
joe
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
friday
so, life is absoluetly crazy but completely AWESOME.
don't remember when i last sent a message, but i know that it was while we were still in xela. right now, i am typing from a cafe in copan honduras (yes, that is a new country). it has been a crazy weekend. we finished language school last friday. the night before we had a big going away party which included a dance competition (won by allyn and christopher, though shiloh stole the show. also, somehow kristina and i took 4th, only god knows how). then on friday mornging we split off in groups of 3 or 4 to go to different cities in the plunge (pronounced pluunge). i went with allyn k, kelsey o, and laura h to a town called totonicipan. it wasn't that small and was close to xela. basically we were checked into our hostel by 10:30 after leaving xela at like 9. so with travel out of the way, we explored the city a little (which is known for its indigenous clothes). it was pretty tight. then we took a walk into the mountains and ran into a procession of the virgin of candalaria. it was pretty crazy.
the next day, we got up and went mass (i haven't converted,..... yet) and the priest said some amazing liberation theology things about how there is poverty in both material and personal ways and that only christ can pull them together. it was pretty tight (and i was stoked because i understood basically everything, even being in another language). afterward, we were looking around for something to do and then 34 disney characters appeared comming down the street. they were wearing the HUGE disneyland style costumes and they came and danced for about 20 mintues in the street to a marimba band that was on the back of a flat bed truck. this truck was connected to another speaker truck that was powered by a dude who connected some jumper cables to the power lines. it was pretty crazy. i promise that i will put up some pictures at some point (though not tonight because i don't have time or my adapter with me, so it won't happen for quite a while). after that, we headed to the main part of town and were buying a frozen banana and started talking to the woman who was selling it. she was really nice and gave us some free flan. then as we continued to talk, she revealed that her family was mormon and that they wanted the four of us to come over for dinner. so we did. it was a good dinner. they gave us a full fashon show of indigenous clothing and their family pictures. it was great. then we tried to watch the book of mormon in spanish on dvd, but right as christ was decending onto the steps of this temple, the disk broke. i was curious about what was going to happen next (but again, not going to convert). so then the mom gave us a very heartfelt discussion about how much people didn't like mormons and how they were just trying to present a good life for others. it was quite touching. so we gave them the gifts that we had brought (which was some play doh, pan dulce (sweet bread), and crayons). they were so moved that they gave us each gifts. the girls got whicker baskets and i got A POT. it am very grateful, but my first thought was "how in the hell am i going to truck this through central america for 3 more months?" but it will work out somehow. it was quite a dinner. we then headed back to the hostel to watch the 4th quarter of the superbowl (by the way, the spanish announcers scream TOUCHDOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN, oddly similar to their GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL screams when people score).
on monday morning we headed to antigua to meet up with the group. after a little detour to see a really pretty church and some bad directions on which busses to take, we got there (and were not surprisingly the last group to arrive). it was really great to reunite with the other groups and to hear about all the things that they did during their pluunges (just pronounce it like it looks and you can be in on the jokes).
yesterday, we went to one of the coolest museums that i have ever been to. it started out with a gallery of drawings of mayan artwork and other loca history stuff. as we followed the arrows, the museum just kept on getting bigger. there was a huge room with photography. then there was a cool exhibit that compared mayan and modern sculptures of the same topic (like fat guys or something). then we went out the back door and there were the ruins of an old convent/monastry. it was fascinating. there was a really cool part on spanish art, two crypts that you could see the bones of people that had been buriried there (including one that you stood on glass and looked down at the bones, CREEPY). also there was a candle making place. then cheri and i accidentally got lost in the hotel part of the museum, which turned out to be pretty cool because there was lots more cool art. then, after a lunch "entrevista" with our kim, our spanish prof, cheri and i went on a self guided tour of catholic churches in antigua. the first was the main one which was huge and beautiful. my favorite part of this one was that there was a cross that didn't have jesus on it. it was in a display case (sorry to any cathoics, but i don't know the real word for what the sculptures are kept in) that was supposed to show the trinity. i have always thought that catholics worry too much about good friday and that protestants only think about easter sunday and thsi was a cross over between the two. it was great. the second church was the main one in the central park. it was really cool and had a great painting of the last supper, but also had a plasma tv on the wall, kinda strange. the third church was definetly one for the common people and had a beautiful mureal (spelling?) of monks doing good work for the poor. YEA FOR LIBERATION THEOLOGY. and finally we hit up the church called san francisco. their is a saint named hermano pedro who is buried there. it was pretty awesome. also it was a jesuit monestary. so yea, i got a lot of education out of that day. i should note that antigua is a beautiful city and it felt that behind every wall was going to be another beautiful courtyard. i really like courtyards. also, at night we did kareoke. i think that our rentition of sexual healing brought down the house (no, it sucked).
this morning we hit the road at about 5 and got here to honduras by 1. we are a little angered because we didn't get new stamps in our passports.
tomorrow we are going to go to the copan ruins and get our homestay stuff. that is the big thing about this message. THIS IS MY LAST MESSAGE FOR 3 WEEKS. i absolutely love you all and will let you know about what happened when i get to the other side, but this is the last time you will be hearing from me. i think that there is a mail drop before then, just a reminder.
prayer requests
safety - we are going to be alone for a long time. i don't want to get sick or anything crappy. it will be tough.
awkwardness - the first few days are going to be hard because the family will really not get whey some gringos are hanging out in their town. yea.
language - i think i'll be fine, but scholastic spanish is very different from what they speak in the campo (fields)
god - he is going to some awesome things, i have no doubt about this, but just a little prodding for reminding him to work in my wouldn't hurt
me - yea, i just would love you to pray that i do what i am supposed to do, whatever that is. yea. i have now idea, and i am completely ok with that, but i would love prayer.
so this is the end. i love you all and will hear form you when i get back? (please don't let me have an inbox that only has aswu messages). yea, that was a helpless plea. so thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and love. I will let you all know how life is on feb 27 or 28 (depending on how much "oh my gosh, we need to hang out as a group" time we need. so, thank you for being special.
so remember that "the worst sin in the indifference of society." please tell me about what you think about this all. so yea, sorry, i'll get off my soap box and just send this message
With all the love that our good lord has placed in my heart and in the heart of those that love him,
joe
don't remember when i last sent a message, but i know that it was while we were still in xela. right now, i am typing from a cafe in copan honduras (yes, that is a new country). it has been a crazy weekend. we finished language school last friday. the night before we had a big going away party which included a dance competition (won by allyn and christopher, though shiloh stole the show. also, somehow kristina and i took 4th, only god knows how). then on friday mornging we split off in groups of 3 or 4 to go to different cities in the plunge (pronounced pluunge). i went with allyn k, kelsey o, and laura h to a town called totonicipan. it wasn't that small and was close to xela. basically we were checked into our hostel by 10:30 after leaving xela at like 9. so with travel out of the way, we explored the city a little (which is known for its indigenous clothes). it was pretty tight. then we took a walk into the mountains and ran into a procession of the virgin of candalaria. it was pretty crazy.
the next day, we got up and went mass (i haven't converted,..... yet) and the priest said some amazing liberation theology things about how there is poverty in both material and personal ways and that only christ can pull them together. it was pretty tight (and i was stoked because i understood basically everything, even being in another language). afterward, we were looking around for something to do and then 34 disney characters appeared comming down the street. they were wearing the HUGE disneyland style costumes and they came and danced for about 20 mintues in the street to a marimba band that was on the back of a flat bed truck. this truck was connected to another speaker truck that was powered by a dude who connected some jumper cables to the power lines. it was pretty crazy. i promise that i will put up some pictures at some point (though not tonight because i don't have time or my adapter with me, so it won't happen for quite a while). after that, we headed to the main part of town and were buying a frozen banana and started talking to the woman who was selling it. she was really nice and gave us some free flan. then as we continued to talk, she revealed that her family was mormon and that they wanted the four of us to come over for dinner. so we did. it was a good dinner. they gave us a full fashon show of indigenous clothing and their family pictures. it was great. then we tried to watch the book of mormon in spanish on dvd, but right as christ was decending onto the steps of this temple, the disk broke. i was curious about what was going to happen next (but again, not going to convert). so then the mom gave us a very heartfelt discussion about how much people didn't like mormons and how they were just trying to present a good life for others. it was quite touching. so we gave them the gifts that we had brought (which was some play doh, pan dulce (sweet bread), and crayons). they were so moved that they gave us each gifts. the girls got whicker baskets and i got A POT. it am very grateful, but my first thought was "how in the hell am i going to truck this through central america for 3 more months?" but it will work out somehow. it was quite a dinner. we then headed back to the hostel to watch the 4th quarter of the superbowl (by the way, the spanish announcers scream TOUCHDOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN, oddly similar to their GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL screams when people score).
on monday morning we headed to antigua to meet up with the group. after a little detour to see a really pretty church and some bad directions on which busses to take, we got there (and were not surprisingly the last group to arrive). it was really great to reunite with the other groups and to hear about all the things that they did during their pluunges (just pronounce it like it looks and you can be in on the jokes).
yesterday, we went to one of the coolest museums that i have ever been to. it started out with a gallery of drawings of mayan artwork and other loca history stuff. as we followed the arrows, the museum just kept on getting bigger. there was a huge room with photography. then there was a cool exhibit that compared mayan and modern sculptures of the same topic (like fat guys or something). then we went out the back door and there were the ruins of an old convent/monastry. it was fascinating. there was a really cool part on spanish art, two crypts that you could see the bones of people that had been buriried there (including one that you stood on glass and looked down at the bones, CREEPY). also there was a candle making place. then cheri and i accidentally got lost in the hotel part of the museum, which turned out to be pretty cool because there was lots more cool art. then, after a lunch "entrevista" with our kim, our spanish prof, cheri and i went on a self guided tour of catholic churches in antigua. the first was the main one which was huge and beautiful. my favorite part of this one was that there was a cross that didn't have jesus on it. it was in a display case (sorry to any cathoics, but i don't know the real word for what the sculptures are kept in) that was supposed to show the trinity. i have always thought that catholics worry too much about good friday and that protestants only think about easter sunday and thsi was a cross over between the two. it was great. the second church was the main one in the central park. it was really cool and had a great painting of the last supper, but also had a plasma tv on the wall, kinda strange. the third church was definetly one for the common people and had a beautiful mureal (spelling?) of monks doing good work for the poor. YEA FOR LIBERATION THEOLOGY. and finally we hit up the church called san francisco. their is a saint named hermano pedro who is buried there. it was pretty awesome. also it was a jesuit monestary. so yea, i got a lot of education out of that day. i should note that antigua is a beautiful city and it felt that behind every wall was going to be another beautiful courtyard. i really like courtyards. also, at night we did kareoke. i think that our rentition of sexual healing brought down the house (no, it sucked).
this morning we hit the road at about 5 and got here to honduras by 1. we are a little angered because we didn't get new stamps in our passports.
tomorrow we are going to go to the copan ruins and get our homestay stuff. that is the big thing about this message. THIS IS MY LAST MESSAGE FOR 3 WEEKS. i absolutely love you all and will let you know about what happened when i get to the other side, but this is the last time you will be hearing from me. i think that there is a mail drop before then, just a reminder.
prayer requests
safety - we are going to be alone for a long time. i don't want to get sick or anything crappy. it will be tough.
awkwardness - the first few days are going to be hard because the family will really not get whey some gringos are hanging out in their town. yea.
language - i think i'll be fine, but scholastic spanish is very different from what they speak in the campo (fields)
god - he is going to some awesome things, i have no doubt about this, but just a little prodding for reminding him to work in my wouldn't hurt
me - yea, i just would love you to pray that i do what i am supposed to do, whatever that is. yea. i have now idea, and i am completely ok with that, but i would love prayer.
so this is the end. i love you all and will hear form you when i get back? (please don't let me have an inbox that only has aswu messages). yea, that was a helpless plea. so thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and love. I will let you all know how life is on feb 27 or 28 (depending on how much "oh my gosh, we need to hang out as a group" time we need. so, thank you for being special.
so remember that "the worst sin in the indifference of society." please tell me about what you think about this all. so yea, sorry, i'll get off my soap box and just send this message
With all the love that our good lord has placed in my heart and in the heart of those that love him,
joe
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
life is good
hey
yea, i´m doing well. first off, i am going to pass on the message that we all miss everyone who is still in spokane and we (that is all 26 of us) would LOVE to hear from people. basically, we aren´t going to ever come back if you we don´t hear from people that we care about.
that being said, i am doing well. we only have 2 more days of language school. today was salsa lessons in the afternoon and we have lectures about liberation theology, free trade and the like quite often. last week we watched a mayan priest preform a ceremony (yea, they didn´t sacrifice though). we enjoyed a three day weekend. on friday we hiked up to a sacred mayan lake in the mountains here. it was really beautiful. when we got down the mountain, our bus was really late in coming to pick us up and so we played soccer with local kids for an hour and a half. in the evening we all went out (students, TA´s, and professors) to a discoteca. it was hilarious to see 30 americans take over the dance floor with our uncoordinated (or at least my) dancing. on saturday morning we headed up to some hot springs and basically enjoyed our first time to really relax on the trip. in the evening we all went to a futbol game. it was amazing. it was the rivalry game between the home team (xela) and one of the teams from the capital (municipal). the fans were incredible. the entire time the had songs going. most of them included lots of cuss words which just made it that much better. before the game started, the fans lit off hundreds of fireworks (guatemala LOVES their fireworks, we hear them every day) and lit a paper mache repleca of municipal´s mascot on fire. it was rediculous. the game itself ended in a tie but it was a brutal game. the opposing goalie got a red card for kicking one of the xela players in the juevos. so yea, one of my life goals is now checked off. on sunday we went to one of the biggest markets in guatemala in a city called chichicastenango. it was cool, but we are gettting to be very put off by the whole tourism thing because we are studying all the affects and can see the negatives that it brings to the whole situation. we all agree that everyone fells a little less human when we are in one of these markets. but they did have some good ice cream. so, that is basically all i have. I would love prayer for the upcoming weekend in which we are going to be heading off in small groups all across guatemala to practice our spanish and our ability to survive in the society. i could also use some prayer that we will make it across the boarder to honduras next week and that we have a great home stay. probably by next saturday, i will be no longer be able to be in consistant contact with you all. so, if you have any questions, comments, etc. make sure they are in before then. i´ll try to send another update before we peace out. so, that being said, i love you all and i´ll leave with the statement that the liberation theology speaker said on monday
indifference is the worst sin of the society.
don´t let that be you, everyone is counting on it.
in the one who made a perfect world that we´re all trying to help to fix
joe
yea, i´m doing well. first off, i am going to pass on the message that we all miss everyone who is still in spokane and we (that is all 26 of us) would LOVE to hear from people. basically, we aren´t going to ever come back if you we don´t hear from people that we care about.
that being said, i am doing well. we only have 2 more days of language school. today was salsa lessons in the afternoon and we have lectures about liberation theology, free trade and the like quite often. last week we watched a mayan priest preform a ceremony (yea, they didn´t sacrifice though). we enjoyed a three day weekend. on friday we hiked up to a sacred mayan lake in the mountains here. it was really beautiful. when we got down the mountain, our bus was really late in coming to pick us up and so we played soccer with local kids for an hour and a half. in the evening we all went out (students, TA´s, and professors) to a discoteca. it was hilarious to see 30 americans take over the dance floor with our uncoordinated (or at least my) dancing. on saturday morning we headed up to some hot springs and basically enjoyed our first time to really relax on the trip. in the evening we all went to a futbol game. it was amazing. it was the rivalry game between the home team (xela) and one of the teams from the capital (municipal). the fans were incredible. the entire time the had songs going. most of them included lots of cuss words which just made it that much better. before the game started, the fans lit off hundreds of fireworks (guatemala LOVES their fireworks, we hear them every day) and lit a paper mache repleca of municipal´s mascot on fire. it was rediculous. the game itself ended in a tie but it was a brutal game. the opposing goalie got a red card for kicking one of the xela players in the juevos. so yea, one of my life goals is now checked off. on sunday we went to one of the biggest markets in guatemala in a city called chichicastenango. it was cool, but we are gettting to be very put off by the whole tourism thing because we are studying all the affects and can see the negatives that it brings to the whole situation. we all agree that everyone fells a little less human when we are in one of these markets. but they did have some good ice cream. so, that is basically all i have. I would love prayer for the upcoming weekend in which we are going to be heading off in small groups all across guatemala to practice our spanish and our ability to survive in the society. i could also use some prayer that we will make it across the boarder to honduras next week and that we have a great home stay. probably by next saturday, i will be no longer be able to be in consistant contact with you all. so, if you have any questions, comments, etc. make sure they are in before then. i´ll try to send another update before we peace out. so, that being said, i love you all and i´ll leave with the statement that the liberation theology speaker said on monday
indifference is the worst sin of the society.
don´t let that be you, everyone is counting on it.
in the one who made a perfect world that we´re all trying to help to fix
joe
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
i am annoying
hey everybody
sorry about all the spanish. we were enghaging in boca dura (which was basically a spin off of mano dura and we could only speak in spanish). basically i said you should send messages to people on the trip (not just me) by friday at 5. as for my life, it is going well. language school is pretty cool. I know that my spanish skills are getting a lot better. over the weekend, we went to panahachel. it was really strange because it is a very touristy city. we spent the day hanging out and a nature reserve. on sunday, we took a boat ride to the other side of the lake to go to a church where a priest was killed for his civil rights work during the civil war. it was really humbling. yea, i really dont know what else to say and i am late for dancing class. so, look at the pictures on facebook. i really like you all. oh yea, malaria pills are awesome. last night i had a dream that bethany pile was trying to kill me with a sledge hammer, but it was easily evading her. yup. peace. send me any questions you have and i will either answer you personally or ut it in my next bi email.
pictures at at this link
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018575&l=1c45c&id=59400432
sorry about all the spanish. we were enghaging in boca dura (which was basically a spin off of mano dura and we could only speak in spanish). basically i said you should send messages to people on the trip (not just me) by friday at 5. as for my life, it is going well. language school is pretty cool. I know that my spanish skills are getting a lot better. over the weekend, we went to panahachel. it was really strange because it is a very touristy city. we spent the day hanging out and a nature reserve. on sunday, we took a boat ride to the other side of the lake to go to a church where a priest was killed for his civil rights work during the civil war. it was really humbling. yea, i really dont know what else to say and i am late for dancing class. so, look at the pictures on facebook. i really like you all. oh yea, malaria pills are awesome. last night i had a dream that bethany pile was trying to kill me with a sledge hammer, but it was easily evading her. yup. peace. send me any questions you have and i will either answer you personally or ut it in my next bi email.
pictures at at this link
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018575&l=1c45c&id=59400432
Monday, January 21, 2008
quiero una carta
hola, no puedo esribir en ingles porque estamos tratando una broma y entonce no podemos usar esta idioma. pero, estoy diciendo que este viernes es el ultimo dia para escribir cartas a los miembros de nuestro viaje. este mensaje no es solo para mi, pero para los otros que quieren oir que tienen amigos que le aman. entonces, si quieres, escribir una cosa para nosotros y enviarlo en whitworth antes de este viernes a las 5 en la tarde. enviarlo a este vestido
Joe Tobiason (o otro nombre)
Central America Study Program
c/o Charles Tappa
Off-Campus Programs
Whitworth University
300 W. Hawthorne Rd
Spokane, WA 99202
grasias para todos,
Joe
Joe Tobiason (o otro nombre)
Central America Study Program
c/o Charles Tappa
Off-Campus Programs
Whitworth University
300 W. Hawthorne Rd
Spokane, WA 99202
grasias para todos,
Joe
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I´m not dead
hey
I just want to say that I am still alive. We left whitworth at 430 on friday afternoon and arrived here in Xela (the coloquial name for quetzaltenango) at 8pm central time on saturday. so yes, that does mean that we were traveling for something like 25.5 hours. it was really great. I am staying in a home stay with a family here in xela. the mom (se llama Flor Maria) is really cool and reminds me of betty power. it is fun. she is a really good cook and she is going to teach us how to make the guatemalan tamales that we have had a few times. I am living with Jeremy Mohlinaro and Ryan Sabata. some of you know them. during the mornings, we have language school. we start at 8am and end at 1pm and do one on one teaching for the whole time. it isn´t as bad as it sounds, but it can be a little long. We do get go to on field trips whenever we want. in the afternoons, we have activities. today we went to the ome of a woman who makes chocolate for hot chocolate. it should be noted that the hot chocolate is SOOOOO good here. we have had a few free afternoons. yesterday Jer, Ryan and I went to this cafe that is on a balcony on the second floor of this building that overlooks the central park. se just sat there, drank hot chocolate, and people watched. It is really interesting to see how everyone interacts with each other. There are guards everywhere and they usually have shot guns or machine guns. so yea, we feel real safe!!! It is funny because we feel so much more educated because we speak decent spanish and are trying not to be obvious gringos, but it is hilarious to watch the other gringos. I am not joking when I say that yesterday i saw a dude who was a pale as printer paper, wearing black flip flops, blue board shorts, some crappy shirt, sunglasses, a black fanny pack and is taking pictures of EVERYTHING!!!!! we laughed pretty hard. Naturally we all have stories to tell. the other day, I almost got knifed by a drunk lady (mom, don´t worry, she was too drunk to find my legs), one of the guys on the trip got hit by the mirror of a bus, and we got hit on by some guatemala girls. needless to say, we are having a great time. Just to let you know, it is probably about 25 C (75 ish) in the day, and we have all aclimated enough to wear sweatshirts basically all day. at night it does get pretty cold (down to about 0) so we have to bundle up under the covers a little. Personally, I am doing ok. I am a little sick. I have been dealing with a really bad cough which has kept me up the last few nights. I think it is moving on because I am moving into the phlegm stage. also, I have a little diharreha. all is to be expected. well, that is about all i have to say now. We are heading out to go to the party at the central park to commorate the new municipal leaders who are taking their offices today (this is after the concert following the change of the president yesterday). But all is well. As for prayers, I would love some about getting completely healthy soon and that language school will become even better of an experience. thank you all for the prayers I have gotten so far and I´ll talk to you later.
Joe (guatemalanly pronounced jo-ay)
I just want to say that I am still alive. We left whitworth at 430 on friday afternoon and arrived here in Xela (the coloquial name for quetzaltenango) at 8pm central time on saturday. so yes, that does mean that we were traveling for something like 25.5 hours. it was really great. I am staying in a home stay with a family here in xela. the mom (se llama Flor Maria) is really cool and reminds me of betty power. it is fun. she is a really good cook and she is going to teach us how to make the guatemalan tamales that we have had a few times. I am living with Jeremy Mohlinaro and Ryan Sabata. some of you know them. during the mornings, we have language school. we start at 8am and end at 1pm and do one on one teaching for the whole time. it isn´t as bad as it sounds, but it can be a little long. We do get go to on field trips whenever we want. in the afternoons, we have activities. today we went to the ome of a woman who makes chocolate for hot chocolate. it should be noted that the hot chocolate is SOOOOO good here. we have had a few free afternoons. yesterday Jer, Ryan and I went to this cafe that is on a balcony on the second floor of this building that overlooks the central park. se just sat there, drank hot chocolate, and people watched. It is really interesting to see how everyone interacts with each other. There are guards everywhere and they usually have shot guns or machine guns. so yea, we feel real safe!!! It is funny because we feel so much more educated because we speak decent spanish and are trying not to be obvious gringos, but it is hilarious to watch the other gringos. I am not joking when I say that yesterday i saw a dude who was a pale as printer paper, wearing black flip flops, blue board shorts, some crappy shirt, sunglasses, a black fanny pack and is taking pictures of EVERYTHING!!!!! we laughed pretty hard. Naturally we all have stories to tell. the other day, I almost got knifed by a drunk lady (mom, don´t worry, she was too drunk to find my legs), one of the guys on the trip got hit by the mirror of a bus, and we got hit on by some guatemala girls. needless to say, we are having a great time. Just to let you know, it is probably about 25 C (75 ish) in the day, and we have all aclimated enough to wear sweatshirts basically all day. at night it does get pretty cold (down to about 0) so we have to bundle up under the covers a little. Personally, I am doing ok. I am a little sick. I have been dealing with a really bad cough which has kept me up the last few nights. I think it is moving on because I am moving into the phlegm stage. also, I have a little diharreha. all is to be expected. well, that is about all i have to say now. We are heading out to go to the party at the central park to commorate the new municipal leaders who are taking their offices today (this is after the concert following the change of the president yesterday). But all is well. As for prayers, I would love some about getting completely healthy soon and that language school will become even better of an experience. thank you all for the prayers I have gotten so far and I´ll talk to you later.
Joe (guatemalanly pronounced jo-ay)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Less than 48 hrs
Hey everyone
wow......... I am leaving on friday, that is (according to my facebook at this moment) 1 day, 15 hrs, and 51 minutes away. wow. First of all, I want to say how awesome you all have been. I am overwhelmed by the support that I have been blessed with. Every time that I start to talk about this trip I get more excited. It has been great to see you all join me in that joy. But, I guess I should start my updates. We have been in class at Whitworth for the last 2 days. Literally I am in the HUB from 9 or 10 am until 4 or 5 pm which sounds more brutal than it really is or maybe just sounds like I am whining. So, that is about all I really have to update you all on but it also doesn't scratch the surface about what I have to say. Mainly, I am writing this to write a basic itinerary so that you can stay up on what I am doing if you want.
Jan 11-12: Depart (Meet in the HUB at 4 for a prayer/send off) Spokane --> Seattle --> Houston --> Guatemala City --> Quezaltenango
Jan 12-Feb 5 or 6: Be in Quezaltenango for language school
JAN 25: DEADLINE FOR LETTERS, POSTCARDS, AND CARDS TO CHARLES TAPPA #1 (see below for address)
Feb 5-6: move to Copan
Feb 8: Students disperse to their assigned service sites with partner non-governmental organizations in northern Honduras. They will be in the various communities for approximately 3 1/2 weeks. During this time, the students may not have access to telephones or internet
FEB 26: DEADLINES FOR LETTERS, POSTCARDS, AND CARDS TO CHARLES TAPPA #2
March 1: Fly to San Jose, Costa Rica
March 3-9: Group Retreat to Punta Mona
MAR 14: DEADLINE FOR LETTERS, POSTCARDS, AND CARDS TO CHARLES TAPPA #3
Mar 20-23: Easter in San Jose
Mar 24: Travel to Managua, Nicaragua (we will be there for 3 weeks doing various things)
April 11: Travel to El Salvador (we will be there for 3 weeks doing various things)
May 2: return to Spokane
May 10: closing celebration at Whitworth. CASP PRESENTATION AT 1:30. Basically we will try to sum up what we have learned.
So that is probably more information than you probably want, but maybe you do want it for some reason. So there you go. oh yea, if you are in Spokane. Caleb Knox is throwing a little shin dig at Applebees at 10pm on thursday if you want to come.
Prayer Requests
- Safe travel: we have a lot of people going a long way and crazy things can happen
- That our team continues to bond
- That God shows up big time
- That I don't forget anything important (remember the underwear story)
So yea. Maybe I will see you guys before I peace out, maybe I won't, but thanks for paying attention to my life. I love you guys.
PS if you want to get ahold of me:
1) send me a letter to this address
Joseph Tobiason
Central America Study Program
c/o Charles Tappa
Off - Campus Studies
Whitworth University
300 W Hawthorne Rd
Spokane, WA 99251
dates:
1/25/2008, 2/26/2008, 3/14/2008 (all arrive by 5pm)
2) send me an email/facebook message
3) comment on this blog
Ok, I'm done now. I promise
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