Iowa in a nutshell

We came. We ate. We slept. We visited. We left.

Ok, so we did a bit more than that. We got to spend time with our grandparents every day that we were here and it was great to see them so often, even though they told us the same stories every day. We got to spend a bunch of time with our Uncle Bruce & Aunt Janice and our cousin Sarah and her daughter Maddison (and a little time with Sarah’s husband Nate, but he was gone most of the week for work). We even managed to go out to lunch with Lyle (the farmer that my dad lived with when he first came to this country) three times, usually we only get to see him once when we visit because he’s so busy all the time. We got to go see the Omaha zoo on Saturday, but since it’s winter only the indoor exhibits were open, which actually was the best thing ever because it was so, so, so cold out! Lyle took us on a tour of his farm and showed us where he and some other guys has to blow up a levee last year to save the town of Missouri Valley from flooding (and by blow up I mean they hired a guy who brought in 800 pounds of dynamite to make it go ka-boom).

Everything this week was wonderful and we have been so blessed during this visit! It’s been really hard to watch my grandparents be old people, watching them not be able to remember whose children Steve & I were when we first arrived, not remembering that they’d told us the same stories multiple times, spending most of their days sleeping in their chairs because they just don’t have energy for anything else, and seeing them both use walkers when they go out of their room. But it’s also been great to be around their sense of humor (my grandparents have the best jokes!) and hear them tell us stories from the past that we hadn’t heard before and hear them sing together and see how much they care about us and how much they love having us visit.

This week has gone by quite fast and I’m sad to realize that it’s already over, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything! We’ve had a great time and as I sit here reminiscing over the last week I also look forward to my next trip. Tomorrow I fly from Omaha to Houston and then from Houston to Guatemala City. Once I arrive in Guate there will be someone from a local guest house to pick me up and I’ll be staying there tomorrow night. Wednesday morning they will take me to the bus station where I will take a 4-hour bus ride to Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela, pronounced shay-la) and that’s where I’ll be for at least the next 3 months, but hopefully for the next 11 months. I’ll be sure to post something as soon as I can once I get there just to let y’all know I’m still alive!

Jenna, Jaxon, Steve & I in a tractor at Lyle's farm