Village baptism and wedding

Life here has been awesome! Every day has its adventures; every one of them and special in their own way. Last week we had a baptism service in the mountains with a team from Michigan. It was a beautiful service and so awesome to watch the villagers make a stand for their faith.

“Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also, raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him form the dead.” Colossians 2:12  

After the baptism we went to a wedding. In the mountains people don't get married, and if they do it's normally after living with one another for a few years and after having a couple of kids. The couple that got married last week was the first in all the history of Pinalito to be married before having relations with one another. They were an amazing testimony to everyone in the village. The church was packed out to the point that there was no more room in the church for people to sit or stand. They had a sermon on marriage and its importance before God. Then the happy couple was marred.

As a lot of you know I am continuing my internship for one more year in Guatemala. I am still raising money for this. If you would like to donate please email me at amandaculver911@gmail.com for info on how to give. I want to thank you all of you that have donated so far for me to stay for one more year. And more than that, everyone who has be praying for my throughout this year.

Dear Family & Friends,

I hope your year has been full of adventures, new friendships and growth as mine has. Many of you know I have been living in Guatemala for the last eight months. God has done so much in my life. He has taken me from being lost and not knowing why I was put on the earth to falling in love with Jesus, having a joy in my heart like never before and giving Him my life to do with as he pleases. I have discovered so much about myself and my Savior in the past eight months; it has been the best time of getting away from everything and everyone I know and just being content with growing in God and letting Him teach me what lessons He needs me to learn.

I only signed up to intern in Guatemala for one year, but as the end of my internship here drawls to a close I have been praying to see what God wants me to do when it is over. God has given me a real heart and passion for foster kids, especially for the teens in foster care. My ultimate heart and passion is to work with teens in foster care. But as I have been praying I feel that God has been telling me to give Him one more year of my life. So I feel like I am supposed stay here in Guatemala for one more year.

My time here has been an amazing time of building a platform that is going to last me the rest of my life. I have learned the love of God and have felt His love like never before. I have learnt that true happiness has nothing to do with what things you have; no, I have seen quite the opposite. I have seen people that pretty much have nothing and barely make enough to put food on the table yet they are some of the happiest people I have ever met and some of them are the most in love with God that I have ever seen. They choose to look past the circumstances that they are in and choose to trust in God and thank Him for what they have.

I would like to stay here in Guatemala until August then go home to Colorado for a few months while the missionary family I am staying with is in the States for rainy season. Then I’d like to return to Guatemala in November and stay for the year. To make this possible I need to raise $15,000. I need $3,000 before May and $12,000 before November. If you would like to contribute please make your cheeks out to Front Line Kids with Amanda Culver in the memo and send them to Renee Culver at (if you would like to donate email me at amandaculve911@gmail.com for my address . All cheeks are tax deductible.

I have a blog that I keep updated once a mouth so you can see what I am doing. If you would like to hear about what I am doing over the months go to www.guatamanda.blogspot.com.

                                                             Thank you for all your prayer and support while I have been here.

 With Love,

Amanda Culver                           

Holiday Adventures

As I promised, here is a blog all about my Holiday Adventures. For Christmas the festivities start at 10pm on the 24th. The morning of the 24th was full of cooking up a feast for that night, hot chocolate and a Guatemalan desert (a holiday treat here, it’s a piece of sweet bread that is stuffed with a pudding like mixture then dipped in egg whites and fried then put in a melted sugar liquid.) Guatemala gave us a nice chilly day, prefect for Christmas it was in the low 70’s here. I have no idea what I would do with snow right now!! I got to help Melvin (the dorm mom at our high school dormitory) with all the cooking. We made a turkey and a special rice (I can’t remember the name of either dish) An old lady up the road from us made some special Christmas tamales! Yum!! Then that night Aneval’s (the dorm dad at the high school dorm) family came over for the Christmas feast. Aneval, Melvin and their daughter Hemena and Aneval’s parents, brother and sisters have all become like family to me I often refer to them as my Guatemala family. At around 10pm that night we had a big feast and more hot chocolate. At exactly 12am and I mean exactly (it’s probably the first thing that has ever happened to me "on time" since being here) every one shoots off fireworks; you name it, it was shoot off that night in Guatemala. There are no restrictions to fireworks and what you can and can’t have if you have the money and can buy it then you can shoot it off! It was one of the coolest displays I have seen! After that we opened a few presents then went to bed! On the 25th I had a wonderfull Skype chat with my family back home. It was an awesome Christmas adventure full of new traditions


New Year’s was a lot like Christmas. I helped Melvin prepare the fest for that night; yes another fest! We went to church that night they have a special New Year’s Eve Service. Then after church some of Melvin and Aneval’s family came over and we feasted on the delicious food! Then again at exactly 12 am on New Year’s Day the whole city was full of fireworks!

Will that was my Holiday season! I hope your holidays left you with as many new memories as mine did!

I have been here in Guatemala for 6 months now; it has been the best 6 months of my life! As I have been looking back on my time here, I am amazed with all God has done through me. When I first arrived I was tired and broken. Tired of living with little to no passion… Tired of living life to just to simply exist… It was my last draw; I would follow God for the rest of my life or be done with Him all together. All I knew was that I was done with a passionless life full of empty pursuit there had to be more to life than just being.

Well, I am going to try my best to recap my last 6 months without boring you.

Month 1:

The first mouth was full of teams, work and more work. And it was the beginning of where God started tearing down the walls within me. Walls that I had set up around myself to keep me safe; barriers to keep me away from as much danger as possible. What I had not realized is that the very walls I had set up around me where the vary walls that kept me from God and running after Him with reckless abandonment.

Month 2-3:

I was here by myself for 2 months. I was the only white girl for miles around (as far as I know). These were the hardest yet best months of my life. The hardest because I was in a different country by myself and did not know any Spanish (yet). But I got what I asked for; I wanted to learn how to trust God completely, so He gave me the opportunity to do so. I had no choice but to put my full trust in
Him, He was the only one I had to lean on in that time. It was the absolute best time because I got to experience God like never before. His tender love, His grace and mercy where shown to me like never before. During that time God started really molding and shaping my hart to be like His. I wanted nothing more than all that God had for me. I started to fall in love with Him. These are two months that I will never forget. These two months ended with a visit home. It was nice to see my family and friends. It was such an unexpected surprise as I did not expect to go home at all during this year.

Month 4-5:

At the beginning of my 4^th month the Benee family (the people I am interning with) came back as well as two interns. It was the beginning of all the adventures; the long drives up and down the mountain and back in forth from mission base to mission base. We had two small teams that came during these months too. My favorite place to be was in the mountains, I love it there. It is so peaceful and quiet. The people are so sweet and friendly life is just lived at a slower pace there. Compared to the US, these people have absolutely nothing, yet they are the happiest most generous people I have ever seen. Man, we did so much in those 2 short months. Multiple trips to and from the mountain bases, taking 15 of our high school kids to the city for the first time in their lives and worked on building the rest of the walls to get ready for putting up the roof in January. So many friendships where made and so many memories built. I could go on and on with different stories and awesome things that happened but I don’t think anyone will want to read that long but I will share one.


One of the times that we were in the mountains visiting people’s houses, providing worship and prayer meetings, playing tag in the jungle with the children and dodging little kids that are in the orange trees throwing rotten oranges at you! Well, after all that we were out a little too long and ended up having to walk home in the dark. But we did not know a few of the village kids were flowing us home and at random times they would jump out from behind tree acting like a wild pig or they would grab one of us to try to scare us and scar us… they did!

Month 6:

We spent most of this time in Rio Dulce working on the roof, finishing up cement pours and laying the wood down to get ready to lay the roof tiles with a team in January. A small team of 3 people came down to help us with that. We also had Christmas in 2 of the mountain villages. We gave out coats, food and dishes. At the beginning of December the two interns that where here went home. And the Beenes went back to the US to spend Christmas with their family. I decided to stay in Guatemala for Christmas to experience Christmas in a different country I am so excited to see what it is like and what their traditions are.

Threw all this time I have had to lean on God in everything, He is the only sure and true thing in my life. I have fallen in love with God and every day I see Him display his love for me. If it is through a beautiful sunset, providing for a need or just giving me surprises. I am truly spoiled by the love and provision of my father! I have not gone one day without provision for my every need. And have found my pursuit to be serving the lost, the hungry, the broken, the poor, the widow and the orphans. Sharing the love the father has given me has become my call; loving people my mission. My first 6 months has been a wild ride I can’t wait to see what the next 6 months holds! 

                                            To make up for all the pitchers I have failed post in the last 6 mouths.
   

 

 

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Christmas video:  http://vimeo.com/82350456