Joy at its purest

To say that today was amazing is an understatement.....each moment I soend in this country makes me grow .... These people live life in the purest, fullest, most amazing way.
We began our day at a womens co-op.... This non-profit teaches women craft skills and then offers them micro loans to give them theopportunity to go outin business on their own....their talents were amaing and its wonderful to see an organization offering them such empowerment.
Next stop....the special needs school...i'm not even sure how to begin to explin my emotions on this one. This school is the only one of its kind in this part of guatemala and offers education to over 30 students with only 4 teachers. It is funded via sponsorships as government funding is very limited. As we walked into the courtyard I was embraced by a young girl downs syndrome...talk about melting my heart. No language barrier at all - her smile said it all....It took all I had not to bring her home with me....Another little one Brandon also took to me....I easily coyld have spent the rest of my day experiencing these kids and soaking in their pure love and energy!
The afternoon had us back in El Molino as we did a skit for the students showing the importance of handwashing....as a majority of these kids do not have running water this isn't a well known habit in their lifes. How excited they were we at the end of the skit when we gave each of them a bar of soap....when was the last time you were grateful for a bar of soap? When we asked them to meet us by the sinks to oractice washing their hands, there was a mad rush....once qgain amazing. Few American kids woul get even the slightest bit excited abput washing their hands let alone getting a bar of soap
Well, my eyes are getting heavy and i know that tomorrow will be a long work day, so i must signoff and get some sleep.
Count your many blessings and livr joyfully!
Xoxo.cd

Day 2

Yesterday was more of a tourist day...as we checked out some of the mayan ruins....truthfully, I would have rather spent the day with the kids, but thats what today is for....
Was wiped out by the time we got back so crashed early....today we head off to a womens co-op as well as a Special Needs school so I am over the moon with excitement....I know that this is going to be an emotional day, but wouldnt change that for anything. I wish I could spend all day in the special needs school.....our afternoon will be back at "our school"....working with the kids and running a workshop on washing hands...I'm sure I'll have plenty of smiles and stories to share after today!
Must run now as the day is beginning.....count your blessings!
Much love....xoxo.cd

The journey begins

Where can I even start? What a priveledge it is to be part of something so much larger than myself. Today we traveled from the cityof Antigua to the town of San Martine. We then headed off to the village of ElnMolina which is the location of our school....people lined the street as we arrived to the school, firecrackers were set off, and all of the kids quickly came to the bus to welcome us with hugs and the most genuine smiles i have ever seen. It was unlike anything i have ever experienced. The people of this community are so gracious and gave us a grand welcome. After a wonderful presentation from the children, parents and community members we went to work on stuffing bottles.....i challenge everyone who reads this to take a plastic bottle and stuff it with trash. You will be amazed how much can fit into a bottle for it to become rock hard...we figure it took each of us about 30 minutes to complete one bottle...the catch of this is....it takes 10000 bottles to complete a school. This is swhere the community comes together on a daily basis as parents kids and locals work together to stuff these bottles....Amazing!
Our afternoon was a community hike through what we in the islands would call the "bush". Walking down steep windy paths we would come across a home....these casas are nothing as to anything I have ever seen. I really dont know how to begin to describe it and can't fathom living in such a situation....the familys have a lot of pride and I was in awe of the women whongraciously welcomed us into their homes....
I knew that I was coming here to help change a community...what I didn't know was how much this community woyld change me....crazy thing is, it's just Day 1....
Please take a moment to count your blessings....
Xoxo.cd

Guatemala packing

Only a few more days until I make this big trip...and I'm still frantically trying to raise money to make this trip happen successfully....donations of ANY amount are more than welcome...please!
What I have found is how unprepared I am to travel to a third world country... for those of you who really know me...I'm not really the biggest camper in the world.  I will say that I was VERY relieved to find out that we'd be staying in an inn that does have electric (when it works) and with any luck warm showers....This to me is camping (yes, I realize how horrible that sounds)....
Now to find work clothes...I'm going on a Salvation Army shopping spree on Monday to pick up clothes...Once again, I count my blessings.
I know that this trip is going to be a major eye opener for me.  Although living in the islands I saw poverty at times, I don't think I can even gauge the extent of it in a third world country....I know that God has led me here for a reason and I look forward to the experience to come and pray that I can give back half of what this trip will be giving to me!
xoxo.cd

STJ Bound

So, it's time to pack my bags again...this time back "home" to STJ....although it will be 5 days full of work, I'm looking forward to catching up with two of my besties and eating as much pate and roti that is physically possible.  For those of you who don't know much about St. John, it's pretty much heaven on earth.  This 27 sq mile island is 2/3 national park and boasts some of the most beautiful beaches and people in the world.  I left STJ 2 years ago (how it's been that long is beyond me) for the mainland....although at times I miss the island I'm happy that I made the move to Orlando and the blessings that the move has brought me....but wanted to share a few of the things about the rock I miss:
*Sunday Funday at Jost Van Dyke
*my Coral Bay crew
*walking down the street and knowing 95% of the people you saw
*Roonie telling me he "loves me like a pig loves mud"
*Roland - no more needs to be said about that
*Gertrudes Roti
*Lobster Roll @ the Tourist Trap
*winning "the roll" at the bar...oh wait, I never won!
* the absurdity of how slow things really move in the islands - yes, I do kind of miss that
*my daily commute of Cruz Bay-Coral Bay
*traffic means being stopped by a heard of goats
*my people....truly my family...
So, I'm sure I'll have plenty to add as the next few days progress...Looking forward to seeing my St. Johnians!
xoxo.cd

PSU

Ahhhhh...how I wish I could be in Happy Valley today.  I will say - I love living in a warm climate, however the downfall is that I miss Penn State football season like crazy - especially on days like this.  What I wouldn't do to be tailgating outside of Beaver Stadium...and for those of you who have ever made it to a Dove tailgate, you know what I'm talkin' about!
There's just something about a college football Saturday afternoon:)
For the Glory!
xoxo.cd

Guatemala!!!!

So, my latest quest is sending me to Guatemala...the amazing team that I work with here in Orlando have been chosen to go on a "voluntourism" trip to Guatemala to work in conjunction with "Hug It Forward" to build a bottle school in the Guatemala village of Saint Marteen (not the island!).  I've been fortunate enough to be placed as one of the directors of this trip and I can't tell you how excited I am about it.  Check out the above video in which my good friends Dave and Cheryl took while at our school site last month.  Truly touching!  What?  You say you want to get involved too?  Well, the great news is YOU CAN!  I'm currently raising money for this project and if you are interested in donating, just let me know, you can also donate via paypal on my site www.livegivetravel.com  - for anyone who donates over $25 I plan on purchasing a book for the children in your name and donating it to the school!  Of course I plan on blogging all of my trip and Guatemalan adventures to keep everyone up to date:)
Thanks to all for your consideration, thoughts and prayers!
xoxo.cd

Here we go again

So....here we go again in my quest to start a blog!  This time I'm really going to make a full out effort to keep it updated....pinky promise:)
If you've accessed this, chances are you've also accessed my new site...www.livegivetravel.com - this site will be an overview of my travels and this blog will be more of a journal of my travels...
So hold on tight and get ready to explore this silly world with me:)
xoxo.cd