Happy Anniversary to me! - 2 years old!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have reached the 2 year mark of living in Mexico! Yes, November 10th, 2004 – quite the day! I flew in to the Mexico City airport and embarked on what has been an incredible time of my life. I don’t know if this is normal, but I know when another year comes around I have a tendency to get all “deep” about it, evaluating what I’ve done, where I’ve been, and asking myself just how far along its taken me in my walk of life and the goals I feel the Lord’s laid out for me. It's actually fun to reminisce about the past in this case, and what I usually look forward to is looking back and hopefully being able to even smile and laugh at the trials that seemed so paramount at the time. – Thanking the Lord that “they came to pass” and that I’ve been able to move on and grow from them.

Arriving in Mexico City was a challenge in itself. Those who were sent to pick me up had never met me and were told, for some reason, that I was a tall, curly, RED haired girl! HA! I guess my hair has many different shades and tints (95% natural), but I didn’t think red was one of them! So yes, it wasn’t until a kind Mexican man offered to lend me his mobile phone that I was able to call and find out who I was looking for. – And lo and behold I found them. - Whew!

The drive back to the CTC was challenge #2 in that we were in thick traffic, I was dead tired, and to add to it those topes (speed bumps) would send the furniture they had just picked up (before picking me up) flying forward (well, you know, the slamming on the brakes part did that – ahem) and something (I was too tired to make out what it was) kept hitting the back of my head. – Each and every time! And for those who have been at the CTC, there were 27 topes at the time (there are more now), and I’m sure we slammed the brakes for each and every one of them. – Needless to say, that made up for a pretty sore head by the time we got there. One of the Junior teens told me their first impression of me though was not of one who was jet-lagging, tired, or having just had a head-banging session, but it seems I was interested in knowing what was going on, if there was a party or something. – I honestly don’t remember that, I must have been hallucinating. (Or perhaps it was the death walk. HA!)

There are too many memories to write about in a simple post, and definitely not enough time for me to go over each and every obstacle that came in the way. – Not to mention the fun adventures that derived from those obstacles. Perhaps the wait for the computer was the longest and hardest for me, two months of “waiting” to be able to start working. – Though trust me, I was kept plenty busy. – I don’t think anyone is able to not be busy if they are at the CTC.

The first year was the hardest though, I’ll give you that! I was warned that everyone that came to the CTC had a huge set of trials to go through, and I nodded in acceptance. – Thinking though that I had already had my trials, my “Jordan”, so it hopefully didn’t apply to me. - Boy, was I wrong! The inspiring part though is that I can now look back at all that and say that I made it. I might have not succeeded with flying colors, I might have not been the winner, but those times came to pass as well, and that part of the race has ended. And like Akhwari (the Tanzanian runner who crossed the finish line in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics an hour after the winner did, bloody and bandaged from a fall, limping with each step), I can say I didn’t give up. – At least that!

For those who know me personally, you’ll know too that I didn’t really “want” to come to Mexico. My heart belongs to Croatia, I just love that land and its people - however ever since accepting to take on the job I do I haven’t really had a choice of where it leads me. I accepted the challenge the Lord laid out for me though when He told me that He needed me to make that move from Europe to Mexico in order to grow and learn the lessons that He said I could only learn here. – And sure enough, He was right, it’s been an incredible time of learning. I don’t want it to sound as if I’m not happy here in Mexico, or as if I’m here against my will. – I honestly am not, and I’m loving this land and its people more and more each day, not to mention I have many friends and loved ones who I wouldn’t have met or gotten to know had I not moved here, so I am happy. I guess I’ve found that surrendering to the Lord’s will, being used by Him however and wherever He sees fit, gives me the fulfillment and satisfaction that I’m doing His will, and I’m assured that He in turn will make it worth it all. – And He has, I am blessed! I can’t say I haven’t doubted or questioned why it sometimes takes so long to see the reasons behind why the Lord has asked some things of me, I know I even now wonder when I’ll grasp the reasons or understand why certain things happened, but at least I know that in God’s good timing I’ll know. – If I need to!

But yes, 2 years! – I feel as if I’ve crossed a boundary, but maybe I haven’t. I’m probably just like a 2 year old who finally learnt to walk and say a few cute words, and doesn’t realize there’s a whole life ahead of them. HA! – Oh well, wish me luck! I’m probably in the “Terrible Twos”. ;)

Alright, enough ranting, now I need to find a way to party and celebrate!!!! – Who’s interested? :D