Day 6: It Changed Everything

Maria and Lauren

Our day began with devotions led by Guatemalan missionary, Carlos. He reminded us that our experiences change everything. Because we are God's children, it changes everything: our outlook, our "back-look," what we do, and what we say. And today was one of those days that changed everything.

It wasn't that our day in Amatitlan was unexpected, but it was just an exceptionally high quality day that changed us. Kelsey, Lauren and I had the opportunity to visit the homes and families of the students we sponsor (Karen, Maria, and Joel, respectively). The team divided into three groups; each group went to one of their homes. Each visit was extra powerful because we all felt an emotional connection to the families; the sponsorship program really does make a difference in their lives which bonds us in some pretty powerful ways. Believe me, it is a definite win, win. Each family story is substantially different from the other as are the homes.  Every time we step into a home we discover another way of looking at and thinking about the world, and that happened in spades today.

Joel's family and friends  

Karen and family and Kelsey and friends

Gonzales Park is about as far from a park as it gets. It is a big slab of concrete, period.  Groundwork quickly transforms the "park" with tents, plastic molded stools, and approximately 600 people of all ages who appear out of nowhere on foot.  It has the potential for complete chaos, but instead, everyone knows the drill.  The kids go to one corner, the adults two corners, and the teens to the other corner. Then the music and faith lessons begin.

"The Skit"

The Voices

Amanda and friends

Sally and Joel

Amanda and Nate and their new best friend 

Olivia and friends

Kara and one of her many new friends

Riley and Alaina helping with the teen lesson 

Team and Guatemalan missionaries by the lake

I hope you can tell from the photos that we had a blast.  Those with the gift of instructing young children did, those of us who groove on teenagers were hopefully in the groove, and those of us who are blessed with the desire to adult educate, shared the faith with the adults.  We were all back on that adrenaline again, and it felt good.  I hope the photos capture that we were changed today... for the better.

Before we left Amatitlan, but after we convinced Jim U. he could not take any children home with him, we stopped by Lake Amatitlan to take a few photos, but the highlight turned into dancing on the sidewalk... without the music.  You had to be there.

God's blessings and thank you,

Nathan Rico Suave, Alaina, Kelsey, Sue, Debbie, Bruce Willis, Jimmy Sue, Maui Jim, Emily, Lauren, Amanda, Kara, Emma, Jenna, Riley, Olivia, and Sally

Day 5: We are not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

Home in Buena Vista
This home is made of split bamboo.  Termites will not eat bamboo.

Home Visit

I have a problem.  I wrote the blog then tried to upload the photos and they are coming in at the top of the blog and everywhere else instead of where they should... so, please read the blog first, and then come back to the top to look at the photos.  Mercy, this should be easier!

First Grade in Buena Vista

Welcome to Buena Vista

Dear friends and family,
It is 5:30 A.M. and almost everyone has been up for at least an hour.  We are clenching our Bibles, our coffee, and laughing around "the table." It will be a long but glorious day in Buena Vista.

I am pre-writing again this morning because we tend to be spent each day
when we return from Buena Vista. It takes about 2 hours to get there and it is truly a study in Central American geography. Guatemala City is over a mile high, but as we move toward the Pacific Ocean, the elevation drops dramatically and the temperature and humidity rise.  The vegetation changes from coffee, avocados and lemons, to sugar cane, mangos, papaya and rubber trees.  The trip is accentuated by a massive, majestic range of volcanic mountains, up close and personal.  As you might expect, Buena Vista is beautiful, as are its people, but life is hard there and the stories most often devastating.  When we return, I will try to share some of those stories and images from the day.  We are going to the "real" rainforest to see a way of life that most will never have the opportunity to witness and to hang out our with brothers and sisters, an experience that will stay us for a lifetime.  We are blessed.

One of the things that has occurred this year, that has only happened to a lesser degree in previous years, is the ongoing Spanish class.  Our kids are aggressively teaching each other Spanish and our van rides each day are frequently an opportunity to practice Spanish with the Guatemalans and for the  Guatemalans to practice their English with us.  It is just one more opportunity for everyone to get to know each other and have a lot of fun doing it.

Everyone is well and rested-ish this morning; were are definitely in good spirits and ready to take on another day of home visits, singing, faith lessons, and life lessons.  Talk to you again later tonight.
Later...

Fuego is just one of the many active volcanoes we passed on the way to Buena Vista.  Notice the plume.

It took longer than usual to get out of Guatemala City this morning... mucho trafico.  As a result some of us were sleeping, some were chatting, and others were a bit "dazed and confused." The ride is sometimes winding, up and down, lots of chicken buses, compact cars, and plenty of diesel exhaust.  As we pass one of the many post card-worthy volcanoes, I again realize, "We are not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

HOT, HOT, HOT! Did I mention it was hot?  Bruce forced the kids to drink lots of water with the words, "drink or die" and not surprisingly, it worked.  Today was a packed full of home visits, faith lessons, exploration, conversations, and hugs for kids that live with unimaginably little in homes that are unspeakably humble.  It was exhausting but meaningful. Buena Vista is an extraordinary place where people living in EXTREME poverty thank God for their blessings. These people subsist from day to day and possibly moment to moment and still they thank God for their blessings. The message for us is clear. Again, we take away far more from this experience than we give.

My intention was to tell many tales, but it is late, the blog is not cooperating and we have to ready to go again early tomorrow morning.  I will try to add more photos, but I want team families to know that everyone is well.  Every single member has made a significant contribution to this effort and I appreciate their enthusiasm and team spirit.  

It was another good day in Guatemala.  God has been extremely good to us again today.

Goodnight. 

If you look carefully, you see the word Jesus spelled out.

Emily was enjoying the hike in the heat?

Day 4: Adrenaline is a Good Thing

As we prepare this morning for devotions and our trip to El Rincon, I am reminded that adrenaline is an extremely good thing.  We have a big day ahead of us. Today we will begin teaching our faith lessons, going on more house visits, and desiring to be the best we can be. Adrenaline will be our best friend.  We are tired, but we are not; we are anxious, but we are not; and we are ready, but we are not, but we are... it's just that  everyday here, I guess like most places, you just never know.  We pray that we rock our responsibilities today.

El Rincon is outside the town of Amatitlan about 45-60 minutes outside of Guatemala City. El Rincoln is a place of rural poverty, very different than what we experienced yesterday.  The community runs right up against the base of volcanic mountains and is covered with sugar cane and corn.  Some of its natural  rainforest has been cleared for farming.  The roads are dirt, the river is green, and the people, again, are just like you and me... living lives in a setting very different from ours.  I suppose I am getting ahead of myself.  We are off to roof-top devotions then on to El Rincon. Hasta luego.

El Rincon

Later...

Riley and Fredy

As you can see, El Rincon is extraordinarily beautiful.  Water comes out of the ground HOT because El Rincon is surrounded by active and inactive volcanoes. It feels a little surreal to be there but it does not take long to get past the beauty and get to the humanity.  Upon our arrival we divided into four groups and went on home visits.  Riley got to visit Fredy sponsored by the Simmonds for the past two years.  Debbie selected Mirza, Fredy's cousin, to sponsor before we arrived and had an opportunity to meet with her and her family on a home visit.  Sponsorship is $30 a month and sends a Groundwork faith student to school and provides them with tuition, school supplies, and uniforms. 

Debbie and Mirza (in light blue) and family

I am having a technical difficulties so I will quickly add photos of our afternoon and head to bed.  We are up early tomorrow so we can head two hours toward the Pacific Ocean and Buena Vista.

Lauren and one of the children at our faith lessons.

The guard, the cupbearer, Oscar and Pharoah 

Olivia and friend

Rico Suave (Nate) and Kara

Amanda helping with the crafts

Alaina helping with the teen lesson.

Can you tell who all is hovering around me while I am trying to write this blog?  I need to chase some teenagers to bed. (My adrenaline is running low.)

Blessings and good night,

Olivia, Lauren, Amanda, Alaina, Nate, Kara, Riley, and the ones who are not hovering!

Day 3: Reality Check

The blogger is struggling a bit with exhaustion at night, so I am trying to blog earlier today. I will send this as soon as I am able to attach photos.

Missionary Carlos showed up this morning wearing a 2004 Trinity Spartans Basketball Camp shirt. Brian Anders gave some to us last year to be used as Christmas gifts.  Love it!

It has been an extraordinary day.  The day began with devotions on the roof with the entire ministry...  Ginny and Kevin, the eight Guatemalans and 17 of us under a warm Guatemalan sky. Picture it: 27 plastic molded chairs and stools in circle with active volcanoes in the blue background. Jim U. volunteered to be the subject of an object lesson on God's love for us despite our sins and failings.  The young Guatemalan missionaries always lead potent devotions in English, Spanish and Spanglish.  It is a joy to renew friendships with these brothers and sisters, and  we are equally thrilled to expose our newest team members to these Guatemalan role models.  We can serve because of their call to serve and ability to keep us safe each day.  Ginny, Kevin and the eighth Guatemalans are a privilege to work with and role models for all of us.

Trinity with Only A Child Ministry

Our first stop today was a ministry for street boys called Only a Child.  Trinity's eighth graders are acquainted with Only a Child by way of the boxes they receive before eighth grade graduation each year.  The boxes help Bostonian George Leger provide employment and support for street boys and young men who desire a better life... housing, education, a job in the carpentry shop, and a shot at a future in a Christian home.  George's story is riveting. Originally a pastry chef from Boston, he found himself called to Guatemala in his mid-thirties after reading a story in a Boston news paper about a homeless, Guatemalan teen who did not survive the streets of Guatemala City.  Twenty-one years later, George continues to do the difficult work set before him with humble dignity.  We met the boys, had a chance to ask questions, hear their stories, tour the carpentry shop, and just get a sense of the struggles and successes each boy has faced.  Humbling.  It is always humbling here.

Scrambling for Recyclables at the Dump

Our next stop was the Guatemala City garbage dump. The dump is central to the ministry's story.  Many of you know the story.  Working in the dump is literally the only job available to many Guatemalans of Mayan decent.  Mayan communities were decimated during the country's civil war (1960-1996),  and those farmers and artisans who did survive were forced into the city to find work.  Most spoke one of 22 Mayan dialects; most did not speak Spanish.  It was the beginning of a cycle of extreme poverty that plagues Guatemala today.  Many of the Guatemalan missionaries have strong family connections to this dump.  Their commitment to serve their own people and the faith they are determined to share speaks volumes to each of us.  As we stood high above the dump from a municipal cemetery, we witnessed hundreds eking out a living by rummaging through human waste and refuse in order to find items to recycle.  Again, humbling.

After rice, beans and tortillas at the mission house, we again headed out, this time to do home visits.  As I have written in previous years, it is a life changing experience to be welcomed into a shanty to talk and pray with its residents.  Half of us went to La Liberated and the other half to Sandra Colom.  Both are squatters areas outside the garbage dump. It is very difficult to capture this experience in words.  It would take sounds and smells... virtual reality to even come close. We primarily visit women surrounded by lots of children.  Their stories are varied and beyond heartrending.  Each of us shared verses, words of encouragement, and prayers.  My group's last visit was with Maria Jose (below) who said she had lost her desire to live.  On her dirt floor, in a corrugated metal shanty, we prayed, we cried, we read, we hugged, and we left feeling we had been in the right place at the right time.  Please pray for her.

There are five more stories today just as moving as Maria Jose's.  There are no words except we have been blessed beyond understanding to be here together to grow our faiths individually and as a family.  Thank you for allowing us to be the face of Trinity in Guatemala.

Love and blessings,
Lauren, Amanda, Kara, Riley, Alaina, Olivia, Bruce, Jim, Jim, Nate, Debbie, Sue, Jenna, Emily, Emma, Kelsey, and Sally

Day 2: Faith, Friends, and Fun

Dear family and friends,

At church this morning, it occurred to me that what makes this experience so powerful is not our differences but our similarities.  The blog is filled with descriptions of the differences between our lives and those of the Guatemalans, but the only reason that may be meaningful is because basically all of us are profoundly alike.  To be the same in different settings is almost poetic as it was in church this morning, except when those people that are just like us, are living in poverty. 

We were not directly exposed to poverty today.  However, we met and worshiped with warm, lovely people and experienced a cultural, faith explosion set off by a band, vocalists, young dancers, flags, awards, and communion in "mini-mugs." It was fascinating, meaningful, and occasionally, not translatable.  It was a good morning.  

This afternoon we continued to do the bulk of the unpacking and sorting.  We were fast and thorough; of course, Bruce would not have it any other way. Because this is Guatemala's winter, the school supplies will be stored until the beginning of the school year next January.  Thank you so much for making that possible along with so much more. 

We practiced our lessons and made a surprise trip to a large, local municipal park to walk or play soccer. That was a particular privilege as there are not many locations we will visit with the ministry where we can get out and just enjoy the out-of-doors.  It was also an opportunity to get to know each other better.  That alone was a gift.

After practicing our skit and lessons, we all headed in different directions to prepare for bed.  The young ones all managed to gather at the table where I am struggling to write this blog and are entertaining me with their youthful silliness.  They are absolutely great kids. We all look forward to getting to know them and each other better as well as serving together.  I will update you with photos tomorrow. The young ones wanted me to tell their mothers hello, and I am sure Sue would love for her husband to know that she was moved by a letter she discovered from him in her luggage.

We are well and looking forward to another great day tomorrow.  

Thank you for being our partners in this faith walk.

Blessings,

Debbie, Sue, Bruce, Jim, Jim, Nathan, Lauren, Alaina, Amanda, Jenna, Emma, Kara, Emily, Olivia, Kelsey, Riley, and Sally                                                  

Day 1: Bienvenidos a Guatemala

We have arrived!  It was a day that pretty much unfolded the way we hoped it would. It started about 3:00 A.M., and we arrived about 12+ hours later.  It is great to be in Guatemala again; it is great to see our old friends and introduce them to our new team members.  

We started our day with an “elegant ride” to the airport in an Elegant Limousine bus provided by a team parent.  We met at Trinity at 4:00 and were at the airport by 5:00 ready to take on the world with our 67 pieces of luggage.  We had only two hitches getting to the gate. The first was Jim U. had put 11.5 pounds of Swedish Fish in one of the bags so it was way over 50 pounds.  Apparently, Swedish fish are hot items because that candy disappeared into other nooks and crannies in other bags instantaneously and we still managed to get them where he wanted them.  The other was Sue was held up by TSA when they discovered a seemly endless supply of coffee creamer in her carryon luggage.  She manage to charm her way through the incident although her luggage was gone through completely.  We had plenty of time so it was not a problem at all… only funny as we also discovered Kroger had a small sub-station in her backpack.  We also averted a catastrophe when Riley’s passport fell under her seat at the gate in Detroit.  I believe one of the guys happened to see it as we were boarding. Disaster averted!  

There were 4 mission teams on our flight into Guatemala City from Atlanta.  It was oversold and agents were offering $1000 vouchers to each of 12 travelers to take two later flights.  It was tempting but fruitless as all of the mission teams had schedules to keep.  The other teams were from Atlanta, Lauren, North Carolina, and Hales Corners, Wisconsin. It made for interesting conversations throughout the flight.

Our only other memorable moment of the day was Bruce’s advice about turbulence…”Oh, it will be fine at 30,000 feet.”  For the nervous flyers, that did not even compute.

It is 5:00 P.M. in Guatemala City, 7:00 P.M. at home.  We are journaling, regrouping, settling in, and getting ready to eat one of Ginny’s amazing meals for 19, and then on to unpacking our supplies.  I want to post this before it gets too late so family members will know we arrived safely.

Tired, happy, and full of anticipation for our time in Guatemala…blessings,

Sally y mis amigos

T Minus 5 (days) and Counting

(Missing from the photo: Debbie Graham-Large and Bruce Collins)

Before we head out on Saturday, we would once again like to thank you all for your financial support, supplies, and prayers for us and Groundwork Guatemala.  Any mission trip can be a daunting adventure, but once again we have team members with serving hearts and lots of joy to share and the desire to spread the word of God in Guatemala.  That makes everything easier.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will finish packing, practicing our music and lessons, and perfecting our crafts.  Saturday morning we meet at 4:00 A.M. at Trinity to begin our journey to the airport, and on to Atlanta and Guatemala City.

Follow our mission experience on this blog each day and on the Groundwork Guatemala Facebook page.  We would love to share this experience with you.  Feel free to comment on this blog.  It is always great to hear from home.

Blessings, and again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

From left to right in the back: Nathan, Olivia, Alaina, Jim C., Kelsey, Lauren, Jim U., Emma, Sue, and in the front, Sally, Emily, Jenna, Riley, Kara, and Amanda... and Debbie and Bruce in spirit