Reflections at 2 Months...

Things I Miss:
-Route 44 Cherry-Limeades from Sonic (FYI Happy Hour drinks are ½ price 2-4 p.m. daily!)
-Drivers who stop at stop signs
-Hugs and holidays with my family in Texas
-The Jersey shore
-Flushing toilet paper
-Town Lake in Austin
-Ice
-Having dinner at some great local restaurant with close friends
-Preaching on Sunday mornings (mostly)
-Creamy Jalapeno sauce at Chuy’s ~ I could bathe in that stuff (and would if I had the chance)
-Snowy days in New Jersey
-My partners in ministry
-Our dog Molly
-Playing with my cute nieces
-The feeling of college football Saturdays
-You

Things I Don’t Miss:
-The insane consumerism around Christmas
-Being inundated with advertising and media
-Being part of the majority (it’s good to experience being the "different" one for a change)
-Having a car
-Feeling driven to be productive 24/7
-The concrete jungle
-The sense of entitlement I felt in the States
-Bathing everyday (overrated)

Things I’m Learning:
-It’s a lot more fun to drive when everyone else on the road is crazy too!
-It may be easier to see God when you’re in unfamiliar environments.
-It really feels good to say “hola” and smile at people I walk by everyday.
-Where your treasure is your heart will be also (I think some famous Jew said that once).
-The United Methodist Church may be “dying” by some standards in the States, but it sure is full of life down here!
-A small Toyota pick-up actually can hold upwards of 20 people in the rear bed.
-Unfamiliar situations or people are rarely as scary as we make them out to be.
-No matter where I live from here on out I will own a hammock.
-Even though motorcycles clearly are the best and most economical means of transportation, if your spouse doesn’t want you to drive one it just ain’t gonna happen!
-If you smile and nod a lot when listening to someone speak Spanish they'll think you understand them.
-A machete really does make the perfect gift for a 6-year-old boy.
-Mayans must be among the hardest working, yet most family-oriented people I have ever met.
-I should take more time to slow down and enjoy life (even while working)
-If you can't pronounce the name of a particular type of food it's no more likely to make you sick.
-If you look directly into the big, brown eyes of a Mayan child you will feel more hopeful about life. (Remember that verse, “in the twinkling of an eye you will be changed?" Well, it seems to make more sense now.)
-It’s really easy and cost-effective to reuse zip-lock bags, plastic bottles, paper towels, and many other things I used to throw away after only one use (note: reusing toilet paper = bad idea).
-It’s a big world out there, and it is clearly not all about me!

Happy Festivus!
Paz,
Jay