Trinity Goes to Guatemala: Reflections and More: Sunday, July 20, 2014

Today we awoke to the sounds of dogs, roosters, firecrackers, church bells, and voices, pretty much like we have every other day in Guatemala, but today we are in Antigua, Guatemala, the colonial capital, about an hour from the city. We are regrouping today and will be heading home tomorrow.

Friday was a blur of activity and did not come to an end until about 10:00 P.M. (midnight in Detroit), so the picture I posted on Friday was actually from Thursday. On Friday morning, we split up after a Guatemalan-led devotion on God as our GPS (in a country where very few have it; pretty sure it was for our benefit) and had the opportunity to stay at the mission house and prepare for the afternoon faith lessons, walk to the Mayan ruins about a block from the house, or visit Godoys, a small coffee roasting facility near the airport and pick up the coffee we will be bringing home to you...still warm from the roaster. The Guatemalans split up to accompany us, and it was thrilling to spend an hour or two seeing another face of this country.

This will not surprise anyone, but Bruce stayed back to organize for faith lessons in the mission house, Keely, Val, Kelsey, and I went to the ruins, and everyone else went to Godoys. It was a lot of fun switching it up for a while and the crowd that went to the ruins came back with tiny pieces of clay and obsidian placed there by the Mayans a thousand years ago. Our government guide encouraged us to look for these pieces as they had been discarded next to an archaeological dig. However, as we departed, he suggested we stick them in our pockets. Gulp! Goday Coffee is a small, fair trade, organic coffee company run by an American woman who met and married a Guatemalan veterinarian when she was in Guatemala with the Peace Corp. His family had owned a defunct coffee finca or farm but she brought it back to viability. It is a fascinating story and to see the beans being artfully hand roasted by the female artisan each year makes the high price of a cup of good coffee understandable, almost like fine wine. (How is that for justifying my love of Starbucks?)

The afternoon was again filled with faith lessons for adults, teens, and children Groundwork works with in Guatemala City. Most of these families have members who work in the garbage dump; their personal stories are heartrending and tragic, but still they persevere. The extreme poor seem to look at life differently than we do; they just don't expect what we expect out of life and appreciate small acts of kindness in greater proportion than we do. It is such a privilege to reach out to these people in faith and friendship.

[Well, this is a tough one. I just spent a couple hours finishing the blog (Tuesday afternoon) and posting pictures; however, it disappeared into cyber heaven and because I was editing an existing blog, it did not auto save. I will take a deep breath and attempt to reconstruct at least some of it.]

Friday afternoon was also special because it was a chance to see and talk with Armando, the student Trinity school sponsors, and talk with his mother. His mother works in the dump to help support her family because her husband was killed outside their shanty near the dump about two years ago. On behalf of the school, we gave Armando a gift of two t-shirts, Legos, and soap for the family. We also presented Oscar and Julian, the two Guatemalan missionaries Trinity sponsors, small gifts from the church. Both wanted me to pass along their gratitude for prayers and the generous financial support Trinity gives them so they can reach out to their fellow Guatemalans in love and faith each day in partnership with Groundwork. It was a long day filled with blessings, goodbyes, and many reflections.

It is with gratitude and humility that the blog comes to close. There is so much more we could have included. The first draft of this closing was substantially longer and definitely/hopefully more eloquent, but the sentiment was the same. We want to humbly thank you for a life-changing experience where each of us had an opportunity to use our God-given gifts, collectively and individually, to serve and learn from sisters and brothers we would not otherwise have been blessed to know. We have walked in places most Americans will never walk, to see and know others, that on the surface may have appeared different from us, only to find out they were the exactly the same. An experience like this enables each of us to realize that God's world is far smaller and in greater need than even the evening news would suggest. For all of that and so much more, we thank you and thank God.

Blessings and goodnight,
Sarah (the one blessed with Spanish and the desire and courage to reach out with it), Ben (the one called to use his heart and musical gifts in ministry), Gloria, his mother, (the one with the gift of nursing and empathy for a hurting people), Sam, (the one who daily walks the walk rather than just talking the talk), Jim, her father, (the one who uses his faith and humor to lift everyone with whom he comes in contact), Erin (the one with patience and Biblical background to share), Kelsey (the one with a gift for children and awareness for their needs), Keely (the one with the gift of flexibility and willingness to do whatever is needed whenever it is needed), Emma (the one with the beautiful voice and a love of young children), Bruce (the one with the gift of organization and the drive to share his faith with brothers and sisters everywhere), Valerie (the one with the gift of reflection and the voice of an angel), and Sally (the one blessed to have shared this experience with each of these uniquely gifted individuals.)