Weekend at Atitlan

Here are a few pictures from me and Brian's day in Atitlan. It is basically a HUGE lake with different towns surrounding it. We stayed in the main town because we were only there for a few hours. It was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride which really wasn't too bad. Our main objective was to find the "zip line" that carries you through/over the trees and the mountain. We were able to track it down pretty quickly and had a blast there. We were very fortunate that the weather was perfect while we were on the zip lines, most of the afternoon was spent at different cafe's or shops staying out of the rain.

Me and Brian with Jorge our guide

who took the amazing video

All geared up

Panajachel-the main city on the Lake

Volcano on the other side of the lake

Sunday is a day where we are on our own for food and we made it a very "American" menu for the day. I spent the whole day with the 2 other Kids Alive missionaries here (Brian and Emily).

Before church we had breakfast at McDonalds (which had an amazing patio overlooking a volcano, fountains, free internet, and plenty of room?), then we went to church at a service that had everything in 2 languages which was pretty cool, but at times hard to follow. After church we met up with another missionary through Kids Alive in Guatemala and a few other people from church and went to Pollo Campero which was definitely on my to-do-list. It is basically a Guatemalan Chick-fil-a and is the most popular restaurant in the country.

We went to the market during the afternoon and I found an internet cafe to "watch" the Bears game, but it was a very choppy connection. That night we spent 3 hours at Subway just talking and hanging out. It was a nice relaxing Sunday.

Week 1 random pictures

I successfully finished week 1 of language training at CSA! It was draining but I definitely saw improvement every day and actually enjoyed class so I am looking forward to the next few weeks. Life is much more disciplined for me than back home, I am finally used to early mornings and early nights. Here are a few pictures from the week. It has literally rained every afternoon this week so the rain gear was definitely necessary.

I would also like to send a shout-out to faithful reader, commenter, and world-champion chess master Jeremy Schletz.

This is a "tuk tuk" which is essentially a taxi in

Antigua. I can't help but feeling that Kirk lived

in Antigua and drove these for a living in a past

life, it is just too perfect of a situation for him.

This is the huge mountain I see every day walking

to class.

Very fitting that I came across these hot kicks

while exploring the HUGE mercado on

Jeremy's birthday. If they weren't a size 6

you better believe I would have bought them.

Our definition of "rain gear" is very different. This is Paolla

(Elsa's grand-daughter) and her mom. As you can see I am a

large Guatemalan.

Last, but definitely not least, this is mi

"madre de Antigua" Elsa. She loves feeding

me and I love being fed so it is a great relationship.

She is great and I have loved getting to know

her and her family this week.

Estoy en Guatemala!

Just wanted to write a quick note saying that I am officially in Guatemala and everything is going great! I got in late Sunday night after a week-long farewell tour in Wheaton, and ate dinner and had coffee (a first...) with my host that night. My host is great, she loves cooking for me and she is used to having a lot more students so we talk a lot. Her spanish is very very fast but she is usually good about helping me if I am struggling to understand. I wake up around 630 every day and have breakfast at 7 and then out the door around 740 for school. School is great it is basically a 1 on 1 tutoring session from 8-1. It seems long and I was a little nervous about that but it actually goes by really fast. I can see a huge improvement already after a couple days. I come home from lunch, take a nap because by this point I am exhausted, and then head back to school to study/use the free internet for an hour or 2 before dinner at 6. Dinner is generally pretty long and after it I usually go to my room for the night and study/do homework, do my quiet times, and go to sleep EARLY. It is actually really nice to not have distractions and just be able to slow down at night.

Very long and narrow streets that all look the same...

There are 2 other kids alive missionaries at the school with me and they have been here for a week and were already way past my spanish level so it is good to have them here. We walked a little bit through the city and I bought a real cheap cell phone that is easy to use to talk to people in the states if they use a calling card. I am transitioning just fine and as long as I don't get sick or anything I think this is going to be a great 5 weeks in Guatemala. I am really wishing I was fluent, but realize that it is a process. Hopefully by the end of 5 weeks I will be good enough to communicate in the DR. Still working on getting videos on the blog, I am surprised enough that I was able to get pictures on here. It is really my first time having a camera, and today on my walk to school I decided to use it a little bit.

My school

Pray for:

- my transition to continue smoothly

- my allergies to stop acting up at the house and for mosquitoes to stop biting me in bed

- my spanish to keep progressing

- safety and health (my teacher told me that since it is a fairly small town the police have it under control and it is very safe, which was good to hear)

Email me at Kyle.Bradley@my.wheaton.edu I would love to hear from you.

September 20th!

It is finally official, I will be leaving on September 2oth to start the journey down to the DR. I will fly down to Antigua, Guatemala for 5 weeks and spend 5 hours a day learning spanish. It will be a great experience, I will be living with a Guatemalan family who hosts language students and be fully immersed in the culture there. After I finish in Guatemala I will then fly to the DR on October 24th and start with my Kids Alive responsibilities. I couldn't be more excited to go and I am so thankful to have raised enough support to be able to book the plane ticket.

I received a great update from the Kids Alive missionaries already in Constanza a few days ago and I am very excited about some opportunities that may be available there when I arrive. One thing they are hoping to do is to start a more organized basketball league which is something I would love to get involved with and I was praying that there would be some sort of opportunity like this in the town I will live in. I also had a great dinner with Lee and Nancy Lewis who served for several years in Constanza through Kids Alive and now live less than 3 blocks from my house in Wheaton! It was great to hear more specifics and details as to what I should expect when I get there.

Please keep praying for me as I finalize departure preparations and say goodbye to everyone in Wheaton. Also, send me an email at kyle.bradley@my.wheaton.edu if you would like to be added to my email list that I will start up when I get to Guatemala.

Kids Alive Website

The new Kids Alive website is up and running and looks very good! They had a pretty out-dated site so the improvements have helped with how to support missionaries online as well. It is now very easy and convenient to go on and find me and support me without sending a check or anything.

The best way to do If you put your mouse over “Around the World” at the top of the screen, a box will pop up with a list of all the countries with KAI missionaries. Click on the Dominican Republic. At the bottom of that page there is a list of missionaries. If you click on my name a box pops up with my biography and a section where you can donate. You can put your amount in that box there. From there they select “Support Now.” This will take you to an overview screen where you can see the missionary name, and the amount you will be supporting. When you are done, you can select “Checkout” at the lower right side of the box. The screen will then go to one where they can put in their billing address. The next screen will ask where they heard about Kids Alive. From there it will go to a final payment screen where you can input you credit card information and submit final payment.

Let me know if you have any questions/problems with the new site so I can pass them along and get them fixed.

[Af of now there is no way to become a monthly supporter through the website. The best way to do this is to just email me and I can help you/send a support letter to you or to call1-800-543-7330 which is Kids Alive's office and you can do it all real quick through that number. Thanks!]

July

After returning from Mission Training in Colorado I really hit the group running in June going straight to back-to-back basketball camps at multiple weddings. After a road trip from Chicago to Arizona life has finally begun to settle down a bit. I don't have anymore camps until the end of July so a lot of my time right now is being spent finalizing support raising and some details for my departure in September.

The reality of me leaving soon really sunk in last week when I got an update on one of the families that I was in Colorado with had already moved to Ecuador and was getting settled in. But with my move still 2 months away right now I am enjoying spending time with my family and friends.

I am starting to put my email update list together and have decided to not deal with the hassle of updating via mail. My 2 forms of updates will be through this blog and through email, so please send me your email address if you want to be added to the list! I'm anticipating sending an email update every month or so and then updating this blog on a fairly regular basis. I'm also working on my ministry prayer card/magnet, email me your address if you want to receive one so you can remember to keep me in your prayers.

I am encouraged in support raising that I have reached about 85% of support needed for my 2 years in the DR. I still have a decent amount to raise and if you have been meaning to send in support for me, this is a GREAT time to do it. Every little bit helps especially as I'm getting closer and closer to the goal. As always don't hesitate to call or email with any questions regarding my departure, plans, or support raising.

Colorado

For the past 2 weeks I have been in Colorado Springs going through a program called Mission Training International.  It was strongly recommended to me by Kids Alive and also by Dave Holzhauer who served in Constanza for the past few years and has been a big help to me.  I didn't know what to expect, but the experience has been an unbelievable one and I feel so much more prepared for what is to come in the DR.  The first day or 2 was OK, the training sessions were great but I mostly kept to myself because I didn't think I would really relate with anyone here.  

The second night we were here I had an unbelievable transformation in my heart.  It is hard to explain, especially on a blog, but I was preparing for a bible study the next morning for our small group and I was just very convicted about tearing down walls I have built up my whole life and becoming more transparent as a person.  I thought back to a conversation I had with a good friend and former roommate about how when things weren't going well for him spiritually that he started praying that God would turn his desires into God's desires.  I was feeling pretty low and unprepared for the DR spiritually a few weeks ago so even though I didn't mean it and wasn't ready to give up some areas of my life selfishly, but I kept praying.  That Tuesday night God finally answered my prayer and everything seemed to click and make sense finally!  The sermon at Glen Ellyn Bible Church before I left was about the qualities and high standards that are laid out in 1st timothy for elders in the church.  For some reason the sermon stuck with me and I didn't know why.  During that night God changed my heart to truly desire these characteristics and qualities of Godly men in my life.  I thought back to the witness of my dad's life and all I wanted to do was strive to become the man that God has called me to be.  Kinda confusing and hard to explain but an unbelievable experience for me. 

The next morning in our small group I really felt comfortable and really wanted to open up to the guys in my small group.  It was such a freeing time and an opportunity for great growth.  In the 2 short weeks here I have already established great relationships with the men in my small group and others here at MTI.  My expectations and what I wanted to get out of these 3 weeks have been truly shattered by God and I have grown so much.  

I feel very separated from Wheaton and family right now, but it is funny to think that out of everyone living at our house I am actually the closest one to home right now!  Caroline has been in Europe for a 10 week business program and is Germany right now, Chris left early early friday morning for Europe with my grandparents and his good friend steve, and my parents are laying out by the pool in Arizona! Strange.  Although I am ready and excited to leave for the DR, I am looking forward to the next couple months in Wheaton.