Alaba a Dios: Sunday, July 13, 2014

We began today praising God with Guatemalans at Ministerios Sendero de la Cruz (Way of the Cross) in Guatemala City around the corner from the mission house.  After a warm welcome from local Guatemalans we were invited to stand and sing.  Many of the words in these songs were cognates, words that are similar in English which helped us somewhat keep up with the locals. The music was led by a keyboard musician not unlike Paul Finazzo.  However, the convention here is to stand and sing at least 45-60 minutes before the rest of the service ensues.  This includes "rocking out" while young liturgical dancers perform in unison.  It is a cultural explosion of  prayer, dance, light chatter, song, Mayan/Spanish/Guatemalan culture, and heat.  Good stuff.

The biblical lessons from the sermon today spoke to us directly.  From 2 Corinthians 7:4, "I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you; I am greatly encouraged in all our troubles; my joy knows no bounds," and Juan 14:15, "If you love me, you will obey what I command."  More about our lessons later, but the sermon was a meaningful experience memorable because despite our limited understanding of the language, it spoke directly to us as we continued to prepare for a week of ministry, service, and lessons on obedience.  We never forget that what goes out from us comes back many-fold. Also good stuff.

Developing nation/third world countries seem to worship in natural, unabashed, and perhaps even  primal ways.  One of the many tragedies of the exodus of young Guatemalans  running from the violence and lack of economic opportunity here may the destruction of a culture that seems to value extended family and is rich in faith.  The entire situation is a tragedy for both countries. Although far beyond my pay grade, it is on our are minds as we serve the population most likely to desire immigration to the United States.  Tough Stuff.

This has been a day of honest conversation, joyful planning, and playful exchanges.  We are each so grateful to God, each of you, and Ginny and Kevin Holmes, long-term mama and papa de Groundwork, for the opportunity to grow in faith and expand our understanding of God's world.

Blessings and good night.

Alaba a Dios 

The photos are of each group fine-tuning lessons today.  The first is Val, Erin, Sam, Jim, Kelsey, Emma, and Keely preparing the children's lesson in the main ministry room where we eat; the second is Gloria and Bruce perfecting the adult lesson on the roof ; and the third is Sarah, Ben, and Sally, upgrading the teen lesson in the "upper room".  FYI, the money for the black chairs and couches you see was donated by Trinity about five years ago. It is where every weekday Gutemalan and American missionaries gather for devotions.  It is a place of peace.  The last photo is a volcano from the ministry house roof.  Pretty cool, right?  And as you can see, we are safe and sound.

P.S. Happy 90th Birthday, Dad!

Almost a Rainbow: Saturday, July 12, 2014

Nothings says new beginnings like a rainbow.  After an early start, unanticipated turbulence, and too much caffeine, we happily arrived safely in Guatemala today. We had a spectacularly nutritious dinner of Guatemalan rice, vegetables and pineapple and are presently unpacking, organizing by "genre," counting, and storing the substantial number of medical, school, office, and hygiene supplies Trinity donated over this past year.  Again, on behalf of our mission team and Groundwork, thank your for your generosity.

 

Detroit in the early A.M.

When I started writing this tonight, it was going to be a metaphorical attempt about the symbolic nature of rainbows and new beginnings in Christ here in Guatemala.  Then I realized that even though it was pouring rain and the sun was out, there was no rainbow...but it was a beautiful evening on the roof of the mission house, nevertheless.  Then lack of sleep overtook me, and I lost the whole message.  In lieu of that, I am posting pictures of us unpacking.  I have pledged to write less and post more photos this year.  That will definitely be the case tonight.  We are feelin' saucy and lookin' forward to a faith adventure together.  As you can tell from the pictures, we have bonded.

Blessings and thank you for your prayers,

Sally, Sarah, Ben, Sam, Val, Erin, Kelsey, Jim, Bruce, Gloria, Keely, Emma

Hope

Guatemalans live closer to the edge than most Americans.  To keep their families safe, healthy, and fed, it takes strength and a level of faith most have never had to muster.  Here, tears surface in an instant, sometimes without warning.  The sense of being in this together as a Christian community is compelling.

In devotions this morning, Guatemalan, Sandra said that if she could be an animal, she would like to be a butterfly, because a butterfly goes through stages in the process of acquiring its freedom.  She likened the process to the stages of faith acquisition on the way to freedom in the Lord.  Christians go through many stages; we ask the Lord to change us so that we can be free.  She asked us, how are you changing?  Jeremiah 29:11 was the basis of her answer and our faith lessons this week.  "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, "plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Hopefully, these few photos will illustrate the hope we found during our day in Guatemala City working in the ministry house with the kids and adults who live next to the Guatemala City garbage dump and a glimpse into their future.  I am having a little difficulty with the blog tonight so it will be short with fewer photos.  I need to post it quickly before I lose it again.

Tomorrow we will head to Antigua, Guatemala before leaving on Sunday.

                                 Groundwork and Trinity, minus the photographer, Kevin

                                                      Man talk, ministry style

Connections

Today was all about connections.  Groundwork Guatemala is a relational ministry.  They don't build houses, they build relationships and connections, and today that occurred in spades.

After devotions lead by Rudy, a friend of the ministry but new to us, we were off to Amatitlan and a day of activities in the small city about 45-60 minutes from the Cuidad (City).  For the past two days we have been out in the country; today we walked among the poor in the city.

For Kelsey, Jeannie, and I, this was a long awaited day.  It was the day we got to visit the homes of the children we sponsor all year.  It is a very small gift each month to sponsor a child with Groundwork. That gift enables a child to go to school and includes the uniform and the required supplies necessary to attend school here.  Today, for three of us, it was all about Joel (Sally), Karen (Kelsey), and Ana Victoria (Jeannie).  We each spent time in the morning in their modest homes with their families, and in the afternoon they all attended our faith lessons.  It is humbling how grateful these families are, because we know the gift is very small, but that gift is the difference between sending a child to school or not, and that is a deal breaker for any child, anywhere.  It is especially critical for the extreme poor; without an education here is no hope of breaking the cycle of poverty that exists for too many families.  Joel was sent out to buy a bottle of Coke and five crackers for us to share (and his father came home from his work in a nearby street), Karen's mother had prepared a nut candy for Kelsey and everyone in her group a bean tortilla, and Jeannie and her group was offered a "mystery" fruit drink and had the opportunity to make corn tortillas.  It was "living a dream" to be a part of a young life/family so far away from home.

We ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the shores of Lake Amatitlan...looking better than usual from a distance, but still polluted beyond understanding up close.  It is there, just like "the tree" in
Buena Vista, that we took a group photo with the Guatemalans in the ministry.

Then we were back to Gonzoles Park (a not-so-large slab of decaying cement between two cement block buildings) to prepare for the next round of adult, teenage, and children's lessons.  I think by now there have been about 250 adults, 400 children, and 60 teenagers.  It was daunting yet exhilarating to get out in the afternoon sun to give it our best knowing we were the face of Christianity from the North.  Bruce and Gordy, again, did a spectacular job with the adults, Katherine, Emma, Riley, Rachel, Kelsey, Jeannie, and Sam excelled with the children, and I was blessed with the light-hearted/good-hearted comedy of Andrew, the many gifts of Emily which today included slamming limp cords inside tiny holes in the side of wet, slippery beads, and the unassuming, down-to-earth dependability of Michael. It was a great day and it ended as most days do here, in a tropical rain storm.  We came home soaking wet, especially the guys, but happy and looking forward to another adventure tomorrow.

Each day we share our highs and lows.  The lows usually involve frustration with the language (our problem, not theirs), and the highs are always the connections we establish.  I hope the pictures capture our faith walk today.  God was so good to us again.

Blessings,
Emma, Gordy, Riley, Emily, Kelsey, Jeannie, Sam, Bruce, Michael, Rachel, Katherine, Andrew, and Sally, connected!

                                                           Jeannie and Ana Victoria

                                                                  Sam and friend

                                                                    Emily and friend

                                        Riley and Katherine (daughter and mother) passing out bananas to the kids.

                                                                 Karen and Kelsey

                                        Rachel and Emma doing what they do best, kids!

                Sally, Riley, Andrew and Gordy with Joel's family.  Joel has on the striped shirt.

Andrew and Bruce with Guatemalan missionaries and friends, Odi and Sandra (The size difference between us and the Guatemalans is substantial.)

Bienvenidos a Buena Vista! (Welcome to Buena Vista!)

We are on our way to Buena Vista.  The blog will be in two parts today...pre and post Buena Vista.  It is 7:00 A.M. and the trip is about 2+ hours toward the Pacific.  About an hour into the trip we will follow smoking, volcanic mountain ranges to the coastal plains where the temperatures will rise from 65 to 85 or 90 degrees in minutes, and the humidity will sky rocket.  Throw in the tropical sun, sugar cane fields, rubber tree fincas, and a giant leap back into time, and you have the picture.  We will turn right at the big tree and we will be there.  As I have said many times, there are many National Geographic moments in Guatemala, but today is an entire day of them.  Bienvenidos a Buena Vista.

                             
              One of the problems with having been here before is I don't see things quite the same way I did the first time... which makes this hard to write.   I want you to see it the way we did, but you can't, because photos cannot capture the human tragedy there.  They do, however, capture its beauty.  People are people, even if they are poor in the middle of a rainforest.  Our kids, their kids....there is very little difference, but the standard of living in Buena Vista is shocking.  There is no electricity, no running water, no plumbing...nothing except people just barely surviving in shanties, and by in large subsisting on the rainforest...and still they have and are open to faith, lots of it.

Again, I need to rely on photos to share our day; it is late.  However, I think you will see how extraordinary our day was, from faith lessons in a shelter and on a machete cut soccer field, to visits, prayers, and medication for the sick, to a walk through rubber trees to a ravine into a river where people bath and wash clothes (as we discovered to our embarrassment).  We walked where they walked, we played soccer with their children, we talked about the plans God had for each of them, and we hugged and received their blessings as often they received ours.

This is a random collection of photos from today, but at least its a hint of our time in Buena Vista.

                                                       

Good night!