What a roller coaster of emotions on our first full day in Guatemala! The day started off quite eventfully with a shower knob spraying water everywhere at a fairly rapid rate of speed. The plumbing in Guatemala is quite different with no shut off valves in the bathrooms, or the house for that matter. Nick made multiple attempts to shut off the water finally resulting with Bob and me prying off some cement barriers with a hammer to manually shut off the water to the entire house. Since its Sunday, the repairman wasn't able to come so all bathroom breaks, showers, and any other items involving water had to be done in the office a little way down the block. Definitely not a problem but worth telling the story!
After breakfast we had our devotions about Romans 12:1-2 and reflected on what the passage means to us as we headed into our day of service.
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Living sacrifice includes not merely going on a week-long mission trip but diving fully into God's work, no matter where you currently reside. There is so much work that can be done and sacrifices we can make to love on others in our own communities.
 |
| Yaeali & Bryan enjoying their new toys!! |
Following devotions we set out to meet our forever friends; each of the members on our trip picked three children to purchase gifts for; we were able to officially meet and introduce ourselves to the kids and present them with their gifts. Due to one of my children being in "timeout", something I was all too familiar with growing up, I was only able to give gifts and play with 2 of the 3. Bryan was my 9 year-old to whom I gave a puzzle, a ball to play catch, matchbox cars, a leopard, and an animal coloring book. He really enjoyed the ball, cars, and puzzle so three for five isn't bad! We were able to play catch and get all the tags off the gifts; I felt it was important to keep them on to show they were new and not donated. Yaeli, my 3-year-old, was an absolute sweetheart. Her favorite gift was a pink necklace that had interchangeable Disney princesses. At first I had to unlock the charm and then she would replace the princess, but by the end of the play time she was doing it all by herself! After I told her "bueno!" she would smile and give me a high five; it was so fun! She also received a yellow ball, a pink pig puppet, a pink seal and a coloring book. She looked at each one and was satisfied with all. Eventually kids started playing and moving from different members of the group so it was fun to interact with multiple children.
 |
| Yaeali & Me |
After the forever friends time, we had Sunday school with a story and 4 songs in Spanish followed by the same songs in English. It was fun to dance and sing with the kids who were all draped over each of the 8 of us. Following Sunday school we walked the kids a few blocks to the park for playing on the equipment and then lunch in the park. It was fun to push kids on the swing and crawl up and down the ladders and go down slides with all the kids. Lunch was great as well to eat and help the children. Yaeli stayed close to me during this time including lunch, and it was fun to continue to bond with her.
After a positive and amazing time with the children, we piled into the van (minus the entire luggage this time) to head about 15 minutes away to the Ghetto. Guatemala's ghetto is the largest in Central American and is home to 75-100,000 people. This area includes multiple stories of shacks and housing areas with a river cutting through the center which is filled with trash and undrinkable water, but words can’t really describe it.
 |
| First look into the ghetto |
 |
| A view down into the river |
 |
| View down the street in the Ghetto |
With the money provided by our supporters, we were able to hand out 3 beds and 5 food baskets to families living in the various zones. The families were so gracious to have us in our homes where we were instructed to sit down where each of the people receiving gifts told us their life stories. Some were able to receive God into their lives against the greatest of odds, including enduring being shot, sexually abused, abandoned, and being former gang members. Each story added depth to the experience and was so moving and touching to hear. They were all willing to open and share with us, even though some were a little shy. We also were able to ask questions with Ashley, our group leader who also lives in the Ghetto by choice. She always has a group of guys hanging out near her and outside her place to protect her. There is an incredible amount of loyalty the people show to her and consequently us. We were able to say hola to anyone we saw while walking in all the different areas of the Ghetto and able to flash a smile to greet them.
 |
| Family receiving a new bed for their home! |
 |
| Ashley sharing God's goodness to PeeWee (former gang member) & his wife |
Everyone was so friendly and happy to see us, even as the term "gringo" got tossed around now and then :). We handed out balloons to a bunch of students and one girl in particular who I'd never seen before ran and jumped into my arms and didn't want to let go. I was very moved by this considering I had just been into my first house and had seen what little the people have here. These people have flimsy structures, sometimes with concrete but a lot of times with sheet metal or whatever they can find. Many sleep on floors or in very tight quarters—it’s just so hard to imagine unless you've been fortunate enough to visit a third world country. However, many of the people we met were so thankful to God and it left a huge impression of me as it led me to think about how we have absolutely no excuse to doubt God or not fully put my all into His work. Their faith was absolutely amazing. At the conclusion of our time in peoples' homes we prayed for them "Korean" style where we all stood in a circle around the families, laid hands on them, and all prayed aloud, separately, for each of them and their specific requests. It was very embarrassing for me at first, but it was so easy by the first time or two and it was so real. There are better words to describe it but they aren't coming to me now.
 |
| Handing out balloons in the Ghetto |
It's been hard to wrap my mind around and I'm not sure it can be done in a day. I took as many pictures as I could to hopefully give a slight idea of what it was like. A few of the members of our group were here 2 years ago, and they said it's gotten so much better as they had to be ushered around with people wielding guns for protection and the potential threat of danger was at a high level. Today, as with every other Sunday, the government has put money into setting up soccer goals and providing uniforms for people to play soccer. Referees were also used. There were many more people sitting out and about in the walkway which apparently was also different from 2 years ago.
 |
| Community members playing soccer |
At the last house we dropped off a food basket, there was a woman named Katja who had a dream of some gringos showing up at her house, and her daughter had a similar dream which included Ashley . . . God shined in this moment as she had no previous knowledge of us making a visit. It was an incredible story which was the perfect ending to the day.
 |
| Katja telling us her story and about her dream of us visiting |
 |
| Black (centered), another former gang member, received a bed today! |
We had two helpers, Carlos, and Adulato, who hung out with us and carried grocery bags all over. Our time with them ended when we got back to the van and we had some long hugs goodbye. Black is another person worth mentioning. He received a bed today. He used to be in a gang, but he hasn't had a gun on him for 2 years and is now an ex-gang member. He's been shot in the knee before but is turning his life around and building a home for his wife and child . . . he's just turned 18. Pee Wee was another ex member who has not yet accepted the Lord into his life but has had an up and down experience. He is another member who protects Ashley and hung out with us for most of the day. All in all we were in the Ghetto for about 4 hours and we'll return Wednesday night for church there!
 |
| Bob, Adulto, & Me |
 |
| Thumbs up with Carlos, Erin, & Darbi |
 |
| About to leave the ghetto |
When we got home we all were emotionally and physically drained. We relaxed in the guest house for a bit and then ordered pizza from a place I'm not sure any of you are familiar with: Pizza Hut. All the places, including McDonalds and Wendy's, deliver, which I found to be interesting. I just laughed at eating a meal from the same place I can get in my hometown of Grundy Center! The pizza was delicious and afterwards we played some Connect 4 and cards until Desi, our Dorie's Promise leader, came to have a reflection. She brought in one of Bob's forever friends, Neyali, who has the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen (with the exception of my girlfriend Lisa!). She remembered me from the park earlier in the day and gave me a big smile and reached our arms to be held during our discussion. We reflected on the highest and lowest points of the day along with what God's pushing us spiritually. My high was having the two guys, who were really a boy and a guy most likely our age, help out and just the overwhelming faith and love they have for God despite living conditions presented. Their generosity and sincerely willing, helpful spirits were incredible. Sister Sarah, another lady who shared her story with us, told of us multiple horror stories, yet each time God's love shined through and it was hard for me to imagine experiencing even one of her events, let alone that many! My low was just experiencing poverty in its truest form. The areas where the amount of people slept and lived and the conditions they lived have just blown my mind away. Also the horror stories and events that have occurred were very low for me. Finally, I've felt God pushing me to dive fully into His will and to put Him first in my life. I see these people who have such incredible dispositions and it drives me to give my all to God and to be happy no matter what situations life presents. I have already been truly blessed with my upbringing and I have no right or excuse to deny God His will. During this reflection, Neyali fell asleep on my chest; her little hands kept slightly squeezing my arms and she dozed off. She even twitched a time or two which was absolutely precious. I got to walk her next door to her crib and gently put her to bed . . . it was an incredible experience. It's only been a day and a half but I can tell you change is already stirring in me. I am fully aware I'll need to continue this high once I get back to my comfort zone at home in Muncie but I am excited for the future. I am also completely open to adoption, something that I have thought about before but usually without much merit. These children are incredible and need to be loved more than ever. I want to take them all back with me already . . . leaving on Saturday will truly be a difficult task.
 |
| Neyali & Me after she fell asleep during our nightly debrief |
No comments:
Post a Comment