Day 6: Amatitlan

Adult lesson in Gonzalez Park

Dear friends and family,

This was an extraordinary day, but honestly, I have no idea how to muster the energy to write about it.  I am going to start with photos and hope that a guest blogger will jump in. We are all in great spirits and excellent health, just a little tired. We met with sponsored students, went on home visits, and again, held faith lessons for hundreds with our ever able partners, the Guatemalan missionaries.  It was an exhilarating day with meaningful, new experiences we will never forget.

Blessings,

Sally

And now... for tonights guest blogger, Ali Corace.

Hola a todos. My name is Ali and I am beyond blessed to be a part of Trinity's 2017 mission team here at Groundwork Guatemala. Guatemala is an extremely special place to me. I had my first experience in Guatemala 7 years ago, on one of the first teams to work with Groundwork. After trying to find time to get back here for the last 7 years, I was fortunate enough to be accepted to a gap year program for medical and nursing students and lived in Guatemala last year for 6 months. So for me, it has been an incredible opportunity to return to a place that has had such an impact on me.

Today our group visited a community called Gonzalez Park, which is in a city called Amatitlan. Amatitlan is a smaller city about an 45 minutes from the capital where the mission house is. After a devotion led by one of the missionaries, Carlos, we all piled into two vans to start our journey. Apart from our official activities of home visits and leading lessons, van rides are my favorite part of the day. You may think that squeezing 18 people, craft supplies, medical clinic supplies, and lunch supplies into two van would be a nightmare, but you would be wrong. For us, it is a time spent overcoming language barriers, getting to know each others quirks and getting to see more of this beautiful country. 

After arriving at the site, we unpacked and immediately began home visits. Home visits are an incredible part of the day because people invite us into their homes to offer prayers, words of encouragement and bible verses. Each situation is different but it is a very powerful thing to watch the missionaries minister so well to each person and have the opportunity to gain insight into the struggles that many people face here in Guatemala. 

After returning from home visits we sat down to a very traditional lunch of PB&J before getting ready to present our lessons. Different members of the group have put together lessons for different age groups and I have been lucky to work with Sally on presenting a faith lesson to the adults. I wish I could say that I am always excited to present the lesson, but my experience (and Sally's for that matter) is with kids and teens. So while each of us are happy to serve in whatever area we are asked, it has stretched our gifts to say the least! But after we have presented, and Carlos, the missionary who works with the adults, has cleaned up any issues created by our Spanish language barrier, it is such an  honor to spend time just talking with them. 

My favorite part of the day definitely has to be when we have the opportunity to talk to the children that Trinity sponsors. My ability to communicate in Spanish has been a blessing because I can speak directly to the kids and really let them know how proud we are of them and how grateful we are that they are taking this opportunity to work hard and better themselves and their communities. I even found out that one of the boys we sponsor has straight As! As we all know, a good education can open so many doors. Here in Guatemala it is even more important because it can literally change the trajectory of a life from that of poverty to one of opportunity. Even more impactful was meeting with the mothers of some of these children. Like many of the moms on our team have said, no matter what country they are from, all moms want the same for their kids. These moms were no different. They thanked our church for providing their children with an education and also praised God for blessing their children with the chance of an education. 

So, as you may be able to tell, I am not at a loss for words about my experience here so far. God has blessed our team, this ministry, Ginny, Kevin, and the Guatemalan missionaries with an incredible week so far and we are so excited to see what tomorrow will bring. Thank you to our Trinity family for all that you do to support this ministry and thank you to God for all he is doing through it. 

Buenas Noches. 

 

Jen, newly sponsored Kimberly, and Alaina

Deb and newly sponsored Melody and her family

Joel (Sally's sponsored child), Sally, Ali, and Joel's mother, his niece, and sister.
Joel had grown about 6 inches since last year and his voice was at least an octave lower.  He still wants to be a doctor!

Seven of Trinity's sponsored students in Amatitlan. Guatemalan students must wear uniforms to go to school, so they looked much more pulled together than we did.  Seniors in high school must wear suits. Three of their mothers found Ali and me later in the afternoon to thank all of you for your support for their children.  Without you, these kids would likely not still be in school. It was an honor to be on the receiving end of those thank yous. We are blessed to be able to do this as a church family.

Children's lesson under tents on a new slab of cement at John the Baptist Park.

Teen lesson with Julie and Leyna