Dear friends and family,
Open up a National Geographic, and step in. That was our day in Buena Vista. I never get over the wonder of 10 yahoos from Michigan walking down "Main Street" in Buena Vista. I guess you could call Buena Vista a village, or a hamlet, or a gathering of shanties in the middle of a sugar cane and rubber tree finca/farm. Plants, animals/critters of all kinds, children... the place teems with life. Pineapples, mangoes, cocoanuts, turkey's, ducks, cows, "free range"chickens and chickens on tethers, and my personal favorite the bevy of pigs who attended the adult lesson and who paced the entire time, kind of like me; we bonded.
Again, today, we were privileged to teach faith lessons and go on home visits on this small piece of the Pacific coastal plains, in the rainforest, in one of the most beautiful places imaginable; however, it is remote and it is extremely poor. The homes are bamboo, rusted corrugated metal, with wood fires for stoves. There is no running water; well, it is running ... it runs in a nearby stream where Buena Vista baths, washes dishes and clothes, and drinks. As Americans, it is hard to imagine the hardships that exist day to day there. But, life happens anyway and we got a glimpse of it. Even as we departed Buena Vista in the day time, who can imagine life in Buena Vista in the dark. It is unimaginable.
It was again a privilege to talk and laugh with the adults, primarily women, the teens, and the children. Again, our similarities rather than our differences even in this exotic yet tragic location seemed to shine. And nothing captures that better than Dylan, Adam and Ryan playing soccer with the kids and having to pull out their best stuff to compete. These are tough people, as you can imagine, and they hang on to their faith for dear life.The children who are sponsored by Trinity and others are attending school, even high school, although they must travel long distances to attend. There are even high school graduates. The sponsorship program is changing lives but that does not happen without the tenacity of some pretty tough kids and their moms.
In addition to Groundwork's faith lessons and home visits every week day, they also travel with a nurse and her gifted assistant, Julian, a true jack-of-all trades. At every ministry location there is a medical clinic each week, and today I was allowed to accompany Anna and Julian on a medical visit to Xaya.
Last year, I had the opportunity to visit Domingo in the village of Xiya located about 20 minutes from Buena Vista. To get there, it takes a second trek on a rutted and rocky road through the sugar cane past Mayan mounds and wide open fields with trees that looked like those often associated with the African bush. Last year, Domingo had experienced a stroke in his mid-twenties. Neighbors had shared the news of this young man who was need of care. I met him about a month after his stroke. Anna had initially evaluated him and determined, at the very least, he was severely diabetic and dehydrated. Then, she and Julian began the weekly process of Domingo's care in the most difficult circumstances imaginable. Anna demands that Domingo works to recover. She researched the kind of physical therapy equipment that might afford him improvement, and Julian designed and built it right under the trees next to his grandmother's humble home in Xiya. Each week Anna and Julian make the extra trip to provide his diabetic medication and check on his progress. They encourage him but also demand he exercise regularly so that he does not end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Seriously, in the middle of nowhere, there is somewhere where people of God do the impossible for one of their brothers because they can. Domingo has miles to go, but has come miles from where he was a year ago. God placed Anna and Julian in Domingo's extremely challenging life and they stepped so far up it is dizzying. These are the kind of folks we have been allowed to serve with this week.
I can't close without touching on the topic of volcanoes. The drive to Buena Vista took us by Pacaya, Agua, Acatenango, and yes, even Fuego. Fuego is massive and it and Pacya were pumping out smoke today. No, we were not right next to them, but they are huge and can be seen picture perfect from quite a distance. It was a graphic reminder of the fine line between nature's beauty and its fury.
Again, thank you for coming along with us this week. Everyone is healthy and, I believe, extremely happy but after today, tired. It was HOT today and still, everyone did their best. We were fortunate to have so many God sightings (Emily Wright's term, not mine) today.
Blessings,
Ryan, Dylan, Adam, Mona, Lauren, Lexi, Megan, Alaina, Marisa, and Sally
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