Tuesday in Guatemala

As I look at what I wrote down about Tuesday, it just doesn't have the same spark that Monday did. Honestly, that is a good thing. Too many days like Monday in a row and I'd be wrung out. Don't get me wrong - Tuesday was good. That morning we returned to the preschool and did another day of VBS. Then, that afternoon we traveled to the Malnutrition Center near Antigua and loved on some kids there. These kids range from infants to young children and are brought to the center because their families cannot afford to feed them and so they are starving. The Center takes them in and puts them on a special diet to bring them back to health when possible. It is a unique partnership between the Lion's Club and the Florida Baptist Convention that keeps this center running and fulfilling this vital mission.

Many of the kids at the center are too young to speak and certainly don't understand English. However, that did not stop them from soaking up every ounce of love that the team had to give and then returning it with smiles, hugs and giggles. Sometimes love doesn't need words.

Monday in Guatemala

On Monday morning we went to the preschool for the first time. Kids swarmed everywhere - jumping up, hugging, climbing - there was so much joy and love in that one little building it seemed sometimes that it might burst at the seams. After a rousing song time, they dispersed into their classrooms for crafts. I was concerned that my camera might be a barrier between me and the kids, so I took the time to talk to them a bit before asking to take their photo. I was really touched when a little boy named Kevin took one look at me, pointed to a flower sticker on his sticker sheet and said "For you!" I helped him take it off the sheet and he promptly attached it to the back of my hand - where I proudly wore it for the rest of the day.

As the kids continued to warm up to us, they would shyly walk up to me and ask if I would take their picture and then they would want to see it. One of the little boys, Denny, was less shy than the rest and kept coming back for more photos. Inspired by the fun I had with Jessica the day before, I asked Denny if he would like to take a photo. Did he ever! Denny and I took photos of everything in site...Eddie the translator, the door, the plant in the window, Andrea and several shots of nothing in particular. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by kids wanting to take photos...and for the rest of our days at the preschool, one of my most used phrases was, "My turn, my turn! I have to do my job!" (Said in Spanish with an American accent.) Another lesson learned in the field - what we see as barriers, God can use as opportunities to show love.

That night, the guys from our team went to the Coffee and Bread service that El Camino holds for a local population commonly known as "the glue guys." These people find themselves homeless and broken because of their addiction to the glue they sniff to numb their pain. While they went, the girls stayed at the seminary and committed to pray for them the entire time they were gone. We prayed for truth and freedom for the people the guys were serving and Andrea gave each girl the name of one of the guys and challenged us to ask God for a word for him. My mind was so busy that night I wasn't sure that I was hearing God clearly and since I had been assigned Cliff, the youth minister, I was pretty nervous. But one verse kept coming to mind, "Be still and know..." Wait, was that for him or for me? I was trying to be still, but it was not working very well.

However, that was all I had, so that is what I wrote down and as I prayed for the guys and the people they were serving, I added a prayer that God would correct me if I had heard wrong. Before we had begun to wrap up our prayer time, the guys returned, banging on our door like conquering heroes bearing gifts of McDonald's ice cream sundaes. Grateful as we were, we insisted that they remain outside until we finished. Once we finally let them in, ice cream was handed around and they began to share about the service - what they had seen and experienced. It was heart-wrenching and many of them wept as they shared about the helplessness and gratefulness of these people held captive by glue. We knew then the weight of the prayers we had prayed that night.

Then came the time to hand the guys the words we had written for them. I could tell that many of the girls were feeling the same way that I was about handing over these slips of paper. What if we were wrong? However, as the guys read them, they began to share how applicable it was to what they had experience that night, and in some cases how it lined up with what God had been working in them for longer periods of time. To the man, each one was accurate and encouraging. Oh, the worship time we had together that night. God was present and had been heard by everyone there. Listening to God became a theme for the week and it was an incredible experience to watch all of these students walk out what they heard God speak.

"Before they call I will answer;
    while they are still speaking I will hear." Isaiah 65:24 NIV

More stories tomorrow...

Sunday in Guatemala

On Sunday morning we went to the service at Igelsia Bautista El Camino, the local church that was our host church for the trip. I was very excited to see the church family that was the core of the ongoing work at the preschool and the landfill. One of my favorite parts of the trip was working with other believers in a totally different part of the world. In spite of our many differences, we discovered many commonalities, mainly centered in our mutual love for Christ. It was so neat to discover that bond that crossed languages, cultures and oceans. And so, it was great fun to be a part of their Sunday service. My new friend Olivia provided translation throughout the service and I enjoyed seeing how my mental translation lined up with hers. 

Their service was not all that different from many I've experienced in the States and I even recognized a few of the songs. The people were so warm and welcoming that there was no awkwardness in being there. The biggest surprise came during communion (what a cool picture of the global body of Christ!) when I discovered that we were drinking purple Gatorade. I don't know if that is usual for them or if it was something they did for us because it was bottled (the water there tends to make Americans sick), but it worked! Overall, the best part was the realization that this was a small taste of heaven - believers of different nations and languages all praising the Lord together. 

After church, we traveled to do shortened versions of our VBS program at an orphanage and an AIDS hospital. It was a bit of a whirlwind working with so many different kids in such a short time. At the orphanage, I spent most of the time getting adjusted to my recently acquired gear and maxing out my limited Spanish with the kids. I found myself hopping from kid to kid because if I got too deep into a conversation, I would run out of Spanish words!

Finally, one of the older girls, 15 year-old Jessica, was willing to work with me when I couldn't find a word. She didn't speak English, but she would start listing off Spanish words until we found the one I needed to continue the conversation. When I found her sitting with one of the dogs and discovered that her favorite class in school was an art class (I just found out that it actually translates as visual arts), I knew I had found a kindred spirit. So, I asked her if she would like to take some photos with my camera. She said yes, and the photo you see to the right is one that she took of "Burro" the dog (Burro translates as donkey, by the way). I think she's a natural.

At the end of the day, I walked away with a new found experience of how God's love and kindness can cross barriers caused by differences and could not wait to try it again the next day.

More stories to come tomorrow...

Guatemala Photos and Recap

Guatemala April 2012, a set on Flickr.

I'm finally posting my Guatemala photos today. You can see the whole stream here. I wanted to have this done two weeks ago, but that didn't happen. There's something about zooming back into real life with work, commitments and that pesky need for sleep that somehow overrides the best of intentions. Half of them were edited on the flight back...and the other half were edited last night. And last night, as I edited, the faces, places, sounds and smells came trickling back from the edges of my mind bringing with them a myriad of feelings. The entire trip was phenomenal and it was hard to leave.

God's presence was tangibly thick in the youth group, in preschool, in the church and in the landfill. He worked in amazing ways while we were there. However, because we partnered with a local church (watch that story here), I know that the work did not start when we arrived and did not end when we left. That is very comforting. God is still working in Guatemala City and I'm grateful for the small part I got to play for the week we were there.

I'm not really sure how else to sum up the entire trip...it seems impossible to compress such a huge experience into words. So, I've decided to simply share one story from each day over the next week. After all, these stories are the building blocks of the whole and I hope they will provide a glimpse of what God did in and through our team four weeks ago in Guatemala City.

Four weeks ago today, at this point we were standing in line at customs, waiting for permission to enter the country. After an hour or so, we got through, claimed our baggage (well, everyone except Cliff that is, but he found his later) and walked out of the airport to face a huge crowd of Guatemalans just standing outside the airport. People where everywhere, starring, selling something or begging. Thankfully Allie and a team from the local church were also waiting for us. They gathered us up, sang a welcome song and then herded all 24 of us into vans and cars to take us to the seminary where we were staying.

My thought process at that point was something along the lines of, "Hola! Me llamo Mindy...Como se llama? Repita por favor? Oh. Mucho gusto conocerlo...I mean, conocerla...argh, I already messed up the whole gender specific thing... well, at least she's still smiling...(In pure English: Hi! My name is Mindy. What is your name? Say it again, please? Oh. It's a pleasure meet you. ((In Spanish, certain parts of speech have to match the gender of the person or thing you are referring to, something I find very difficult.))) Names and faces swirled in my head as I tried to figure out who was who and did what (I had only met the team I arrived with 3 hours before in Atlanta). As we drove to the seminary, I sat back and tried to take it all in. Yes, this really was happening... I had finally made it out of the country on a mission trip...and I could not wait to see what God was going to do.

To be continued...

Guatemala Video #1

Here is the first Guatemala video. Enjoy!



I will be posting more stories here soon...This video had to be finished for Lakewood's Missions Sunday (today).  Between meeting that deadline, work and attempting to catch up with the rest of my life, I haven't had the time to write or finish working on my photos...but they are coming...soon!

So far...

So far (since my last entry) we have worked in the preschool doing VBS for the children, assembled stoves in the landfill and visited children at a malnutrition home. I have at least a dozen stories to tell, but want to wait until I can do them more justice.

So far I have captured over 60 GB of photos and video footage, have discovered the peanut butter, luna bars, trail mix and black beans are delicious any time of day and have spoken more Spanish in there days than in all my years in school combined.

And so far the best part of the trip is the way God keeps showing up in so many different ways. From providing the local drivers who insist on carrying my camera pack for me (an huge, unexpected blessing!) to bringing salvation in the landfill, to using my camera becoming a tool for hands on ministry (here and now, not just later) and showing up in a powerful way in the midst of the youth group, He is continually amazing me.

God is at work and I can't wait to see what else He has in store.

No Words

The truth is that I want to blog, but I'm not sure what to say. I've seen so much in the last day and a half...we've prayer walked through the landfill and school construction site, attended the church we're partnering with, visited an orphanage and an aids hospital.

So much to take in and so little time to process. I don't even have the words in my own head...I think they've all been spent maxing out my limited Spanish.

But, this much I know, God is good, connecting with believers in another country is amazing and love doesn't require words.