Friday and Saturday in Guatemala

Yesterday evening I was watching a Beth Moore DVD and she talked about how some of the best writers will never write their greatest works because they do not have the discipline to finish what they start. Now, I'm not claiming to be a great writer, but it did hit home. I will finish this series (tonight!) ... and I will keep writing.

In my defense, a little something called Staff Training week interrupted life by bringing in my summer staff and 9 straight, long days at work...Anyway, back to Guatemala...

On Friday we finished up our stove installations and pouring concrete floors. That evening we went to "The Feeding" where the ladies of El Camino prepare food for the people who live in the landfill. Rice, beans and coffee are doled out from the church building in the landfill based on how many people from each family are there. If a family member is unable to come, a church member goes to visit them and to guarantee that everyone gets their fair share. The line stretches way down the alleyway as people wait for the good, hot food. It was a blessing to watch the church reach out and meet an immediate need for so many people.

Afterwards, we went to the construction site for the new school and prayed for the ministry that will happen there. By providing Christian education so close to the landfill, we hope to be able to break the cycle of poverty in the lives of many children. In the words of Pastor Saul's daughter Olivia, we hope to show them that there is life outside the landfill. Two years ago, the team sat and patted the dirt as they prayed, not knowing even if the permit to build would be granted by the city. And then, this year, we laid hands on the first story walls, and the almost leveled soccer field and marveled God's provision. He is so good.

On Saturday, we loaded up and headed back to the airport for the flight back to Atlanta. It was hard to say goodbye to the many people I had bonded with so quickly. It was an amazing experience to be a part of the global body of Christ at work in Guatemala and to experience the love and connection that come from a shared love of Christ. And, because the team and I were only a small part of that body, we know that the work goes on, even though we had to leave. I also know that I will see those people again, at least in heaven. However, if God chooses to answer Ingrid's and my prayers in the way we hope, it will be sooner than that.

Thursday in Guatemala

I fell off the blogging wagon a week ago Thursday. So, now I'm dusting myself off and am going to get back on to finish posting about the Guatemala trip... We'll pick back up on Thursday...

On Thursday morning, I went with the team that was doing VBS in the landfill. We teamed up with some of the ladies from the local church and gathered about 40 kids into the small metal building the church had constructed in the landfill. As the kids were filtering in, I wandered around the building saying hello and talking to the kids as much as I could. During this time, I saw three kids whom I will never forget.

The first was Christian. He was eight, vivacious and quite talented at shooting marbles. He attempted to teach me to shoot two different ways and enthusiastically chased down each one of my misfires that ricocheted around the building. We had many laughs as he patiently corrected my technique and had me try again. After about ten minutes of this, he sidled up to me, placed his four precious marbled in my palm, closed my hand around them and whispered in my ear, "It's a gift!" And my heart broke over his generous spirit. As much as I wanted to honor his gift, there was no way I could walk off with what was possibly the only four marbles this kid owned. I stumbled through a reply of how I wanted him to keep them in broken Spanish as I placed the marbles back into his hand, praying that he would understand how much I appreciated the gift even though I could not take it with me. Sometimes generosity at its finest is in the smallest gifts.

Then there was Juan. He was ten, had a great smile and the eyes of one much older. David, one of our teens, sat next to him and they taught each other different words in English and Spanish. As I watched their exchange, I couldn't help but notice Juan frequently scanning the room with a watchful eye. It made sense when at one point, he sat down on one of the benches with three smaller children beside him. When I asked who they were, he told me that they were his two younger siblings and his nephew. As I watched them throughout the morning, it was obvious that Juan was responsible for all three and he took great care of them. At the end of VBS, he gathered them up with all of their crafts and headed home. The next time I saw him, he was once again taking care of the younger kids. Still watching and still smiling.

Lastly, there was a little girl - I didn't get her name, but wish I had. She was no older than ten and was of a slight build. Strapped to her back in true Guatemalan fashion was her younger brother. He must have weighed fully half as much as she did, but she carried him with a smile on her face. And as she sat on the floor making her macaroni necklace, she tended him with a smile. When he fussed, she bounced him on her knee and when it was time to go, still smiling, she hefted him up and worked, with the assistance of some of the church ladies, to bind him to her back once more for the trek home. Great love, it seems, can also come in small packages.

These three will forever have a place in my heart and I pray that they will come to fully know the great gift and the great love that Jesus has to give them.

Wednesday in Guatemala

On Wednesday we traveled to the beautiful city of Antigua. We spent the afternoon there exploring and shopping among the vendors who all have a "special price, just for you" (and everyone else)! But, first, we spent the morning at the special needs hospital.

This hospital is home to over two hundred people with special needs, from children to senior citizens. Since I've worked with people with special needs in several capacities, I was curious to see how the facility functions. It is funded completely by donations and while the environment is sparse and reminiscent of the mental wards portrayed in old movies, it was obvious that the caring staff and volunteers did all they could with what they had.

We were there during Holy Week, so the people who were at the hospital were those whose family could not afford to come get them or who had no family at all. For a while, I hung out with Jessica, a young teenage girl with a beautiful smile. I pushed her wheelchair around the courtyard for a while and then we played catch with a ball. Jessica smiled and laughed from time to time, occasionally focusing her eyes on my face.

When she had to go with one of the nurses, I wandered over to visit with Andrea and her new friend Roberto. When Roberto tried to scratch his head but had trouble reaching, I scratched it for him, and in the process discovered that he loved to have his head rubbed. Everytime I stopped, he would grin and lean his head towards me until I started again.

Andrea also introduced me to Lionel, a 14 year old boy who weighed only 40 lbs. He looked only ten or so and had severe physical disabilities. He was brought to the hospital from a rural area by one if the volunteers. His family could not feed him and was under pressure to let him die because the other people in the area did not understand what was wrong with him. Like many of the others, he would not have a home, the care he needs or possibly even his life if it were not for the hospital and the dedicated people who keep it running.

Matthew 25:40 ESV
"And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "

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...