Gonzales Park is a well-worn slab of cement between two cement block buildings in a well-worn section of Amatitlan about 45 minutes from Guatemala City. Our morning began with home visits; we set out in three directions from Gonzales Park. I know the home visits sound kind of weird, but I have been trying to figure out how to help you understand what they are like. The Guatemalans we visit are generally people known by the ministry. They are folks, like most folks here, dealing with BIG issues and for the most part, are homes headed by women struggling to keep it all together. They seem to desperately need to talk about their struggles with people who they consider sisters and brothers. They ask for and we offer God's words and our own words to help give them the strength to carry on. You should see us scrambling through our Bibles to find just the "right" words. (The Guatemalans are masters at this; we are works in progress.) This morning Lonnie thought of a verse that he had discussed in a religion class at school but could not remember its location in the Bible; Jordan recognized what he was describing and found it. Katarina was asking for strength and comfort since the blinding of her father in a shooting; he had been the primary bread winner in a very large 4-generation family. It was a sober but loving experience for all of us. An increasingly common theme at visits has been the apparent rise in violent attacks and their impact on families. Happily, another group had a wonderful experience visitng a family that makes and sells corn flour tortillas over an open fire in their home. The rest of us listened to blow by blow details on the success of americano attempts to pat out uniformly thick and round tortillas. These women can hand make 200 tortillas in two hours and sell them hot to make a living.
We never go anywhere without the Guatemalans guiding and looking out for us. They "manage" the visits, but Sarah really found her Spanish voice today, and it enabled her to have conversations during visits with more depth than those of us limited by high school Spanish. She became the voice for all of us as we worked to understand each family's circumstances. We are touched by the strength required by these families to survive, blown way by living conditions, and moved when they welcome us as if God himself had brought us directly to their door. (Yes, I know.) The Guatemalans in the ministry understand; we are just willing participants in a ritual that is beyond a privlege in which to participate.
We took our PB and J lunch to nearby Lake Amatitlan today. It is a beautiful setting but may be among the most polluted bodies of water in the world, and that may not be an exaggeration. It is electric green and leaves scum on the shore that looks like thick green paint.
The afternoon was a rush of music, at least a couple hundred kids and adults, beads, costumes, stories, frisbees, hugs, and prayers. Kelsey and I had our turn with the children we sponsor and their thoughtful mothers; it was so touching to see how a relatively small amount of money can change a child's education and a family's life...and ours.
Gail continues to enjoy the medical clinic and works with Guatemalans Anna, Ruth, and Julian. I think they have developed a mutual respect and appreciation for each other.
We are all on a bit of a high today...and it was also cooler which was good for the gringos. God has been very good to us, and we are grateful.
Blessings and good night,
the 2012 Guatemala Mission Team
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