In less than 48 hours, we will be in Guatemala. The countdown is ticking. Why am I not feeling as excited as I expected?
I remember the first time I went on a mission's trip, I was beyond excited. I would stay up, late into the night, just giggling to myself in excitement. I couldn't wait. (I would do that, even six months before we left.) I was in grade 5, then.
Now, I've completed grade 9. I think that since I'm older now, I can understand more. Therefore, I am a lot more aware of the risks and dangers, and I have fear. I feel like I haven't much of a clue what we'll be doing down there, and it's making me feel stressed. I have more worries and anxieties, and hesitations.
The funny thing is, I am more prepared and understanding of what the deal will be down there than I was on my first overseas mission's trip in grade 5, but I don't remember having any fear back then. I wish I could be like that again.
Faith like a child... hmmm.
Now, don't get me wrong- I am beside myself with excitement as well, but it's not over-the-top-energy kind of excitement. I think I am more excited for hearing from God, and coming back closer to Him.
I do have certain expectations. For example, I can't wait to start tearing my eyes off myself and focusing on God and others. There is a verse that says we must consider others as being better than ourselves. I can't wait to form selfless, servant-like attitudes and habits that will carry over into my everyday Three Hillian life!
I can't wait to be awakened by the praise-filled and worshipful culture they have. It will be so neat to experience real, bold, stark praise, and where expressing your emotions is normal! It will be so refreshing, I can imagine, and I have a feeling it will be a shock and a disappointment to come back to Canada and see the dull, lifeless church worship sessions. =(
Is it wrong to expect things like this? No, I tend to think not. I think that if we are eagerly expecting Christ to do something amazing to, in, and through us, then we will be faithfully searching for his fulfilment of those desires.
Lord, use me. Send me. Teach me, I plead. I can't stand this repetitive and pointless cycle that I'm trapped in. Please change my thinking for good, and be with us, I pray. I love you Lord, but I'm scared. But if I have faith that you will show my so much more of yourself, then I can rest in faith that the details that seem so "out of control" are actually in your control completely. Therefore, I need not be frightened. I SO can't wait to fall more and more in love with you, that your character will be evident in my life, that I would shine for you 24/7.
Thanks for letting me be your mouthpiece... or in this case,
your dance shoes.
Day 2 - Friday, June 28th
So, we've set off. I'm very tired, but I'm sure the unsuppressed excitement will settle in tonight, when we head to bed at the hotel, because then I'll know that the next time I wake up, we will be about to board the plane.
Right before we left, I had to drop off a package at a friend's house. As we were pulling out of their driveway to leave, his dad was pulling in. He walked to our window and we told him we were just about to leave on our Guatemala trip. With no hesitation he asked, "Can I pray with you?" So right there, in the middle of the small neighborhood street, he prayed for us. So cool that there are people in this world who have so much faith- prayer isn't just the napkin or the toothpick to them- it's the bread, meat, and butter.
I want to be like that. I can just feel that God is excited to teach me something this trip- we hadn't even left Three Hills and the lessons were already beginning to reveal themselves.
Later...
We are at our hotel. I am feeling quiet and neutral. I've been battling a negative attitude, mainly seems like everything is bothering me. My willpower to be cheerful and happy is strong, but the flesh is prompting me to continue in this negative attitude. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.
I don't understand my lack of excitement. I mean, in just 7.5 hours, we'll be on our way to the airport. Well, maybe I'll have a nice long session with God before I head to bed. I think I am just really exhausted, which is leading to my apparent lack of interest. All day I've just been feeling quite non-talkative.
Saturday, June 29th 3:40am
The day is here. We all just woke up. But now, here we are, and almost on our way to the plane! We have to be there by 4:45. There's no trace of sleepiness in THIS hotel suite... excitement has set in! God, PLEASE keep us safe, and let us come home in one piece!
Later... probably around 7:20-7:40am
We've taken off! We are still climbing- the seatbelt light is still on. Has it really taken this long to grasp reality? We're flying to Texas! And we all know what comes after that.
I prayed all the way to the airport for a safe flight. I've never before had fear about crashing, but now I've been thinking quite a lot about it.
We went through customs smoothly- some of my teammates said that I should someday--
Right before we left, I had to drop off a package at a friend's house. As we were pulling out of their driveway to leave, his dad was pulling in. He walked to our window and we told him we were just about to leave on our Guatemala trip. With no hesitation he asked, "Can I pray with you?" So right there, in the middle of the small neighborhood street, he prayed for us. So cool that there are people in this world who have so much faith- prayer isn't just the napkin or the toothpick to them- it's the bread, meat, and butter.
I want to be like that. I can just feel that God is excited to teach me something this trip- we hadn't even left Three Hills and the lessons were already beginning to reveal themselves.
Later...
We are at our hotel. I am feeling quiet and neutral. I've been battling a negative attitude, mainly seems like everything is bothering me. My willpower to be cheerful and happy is strong, but the flesh is prompting me to continue in this negative attitude. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.
I don't understand my lack of excitement. I mean, in just 7.5 hours, we'll be on our way to the airport. Well, maybe I'll have a nice long session with God before I head to bed. I think I am just really exhausted, which is leading to my apparent lack of interest. All day I've just been feeling quite non-talkative.
Saturday, June 29th 3:40am
The day is here. We all just woke up. But now, here we are, and almost on our way to the plane! We have to be there by 4:45. There's no trace of sleepiness in THIS hotel suite... excitement has set in! God, PLEASE keep us safe, and let us come home in one piece!
Later... probably around 7:20-7:40am
We've taken off! We are still climbing- the seatbelt light is still on. Has it really taken this long to grasp reality? We're flying to Texas! And we all know what comes after that.
I prayed all the way to the airport for a safe flight. I've never before had fear about crashing, but now I've been thinking quite a lot about it.
We went through customs smoothly- some of my teammates said that I should someday--
WE ARE PASSING OVER THE BORDER! WE ARE IN THE US! Apparently there's a place called "Crazy Woman" in Wyoming.... I feel like I should salute. Or perhaps attempt the Star Spangled Banner, but no0 I would butcher it so bad that it would lose all its honour, so nevermind.
As I was saying... they said I could definitely be one of those inspectors who examine you and see if you're the same person as on your passport. Haha, I agree. I would have so much fun with that job, just giving peopel "the eye" and totally freaking them out.
So, I am not very good at this security business. Well, first off, (it doesn't have to do with me) we were weighing out suitcases, but one of my mom's was 5 pounds too heavy. It would have cost us another hundred bucks! So, we quickly took out some stuff and crammed it in one of the lighter suitcases. So, it all worked out.
Then later, at the place with all the detectors, we had to put our bags and shoes into those bins. So I took off my shoes and put them in the bin. Then, the lady told Autumn, "If you're under 12, then you don't have to take off your shoes." For some reason, that really confused me. I had this puzzled look and just kept trying to clarify what she meant: "Under 12?" "Leave shoes on?" "If you're under 12 years old?" She looked a little annoyed. So, I took the shoes back out of the bin, about to put them back on my feet. She gave me a weird look before asking incredulously, "YOU'RE under 12?" I felt a little offended and replied matter-of-factly, "No! I'm over 12!" She just snorted and said, "Then put your shoes back in the bin!" I was just embarrassed and tried to explain that I was just confused, but she wasn't really listening so I just walked on through.
So there you have it, our brief time at the airport. Now we're flying down South to Dallas- coolio!
Later... 11:something
We're descending to Texas. My ears are popping- the right one hurts a LOT. I'm sitting in between Mrs. Seeley and Lily.
We can see the city of Dallas really clearly, it's a bright and sunny day. We're getting close to landing time.
Dallas has a big lake, lots of trees, but nothing too exciting. The most exciting part is simply the fact that we are in Texas!
I have butterflies in my stomach from the small drops- fun! Can't wait to get out. We are pretty much at the airport... so close to the ground.... almost there.......... ----------- There's the landing! We're careening down the runway. Slowing down.... AND WE'RE HERE!
Even later... 3:20pm
We've been in Texas for a long time now. Mrs. Seeley, Lily, and I ate at T.G.I. Friday's. Apparently it's a pretty common eatery in America. It was so yummy- pretzels (the big, crispy, seasoned, bread kind), and a New York cheddar bacon burger. So good. The pretzel-bread-stick-things came with beer-cheese sauce! Weird, eh? I 'ate' alcohol- didn't taste weird. Actually, I could'nt really taste it at all. (Not that I even know what beer tastes like...)
WAY Later... 5:something
P.S. why didn't I think to bring a watch?
So, this is the 2nd time we're doing this today. We've loaded the plane that will carry us to Central America.
Did you know that America's two official languages are English and Spanish? It makes sense, but it's still cool.
-Just a side note, our male flight attendant looks a lot like Bilbo Baggins from the Hobbit.
-the girl beside me is dancing to the music on her headphones, haha.
I think this plane is full, which surprises me. You wouldn't think a lot of people would want to go to Guatemala...
I am a loner. For some reason, all our seats are really spread out. Teresa, Megam and Mrs. Brown are all sitting together in seats 9. Carson has 28. Autumn and the rest of my family are in 26, Seeleys are maybe in 27. The Williams' are in 14, and here I am, all alone in 16C. I have an aisle seat, which is nice, I guess. There is a solid tray in the seat beside me, and a nice-looking middle-aged woman occupies the window seat. I wonder if I'll talk to her over the course of this trip.
When we first landed in Texas, it was so cool! You know how the flight attendant will say something like, "Enjoy your stay in Dallas, thanks for choosing American Airlines, we hope to see you again soon."? Well, I don't know who, but someone must've talked to her and mentioned our mission's trip to Guatemala because she announced, to the whole plane, "And a special thing: good wishes to the Mission's Team headed to Guatemala later today!" ...how cool is that?!
We've taken off. We've officially left Texan soil, and are Guatemalan bound! I stiill feel like this is a dream, probably because I am so very exhausted. we've been going non-stop since 3:40am! Thank you, Lord, for keeping us safe thus far. <3
At the airport we played Dutch Blitz. Originally, we were scheduled to leave at 4:10. But, here we are, and it must be around 5. I am totally dozing. I keep on drifting off and then jolting myself awake but boy, am I ever tired! Wowzers. I want so badly to be able to sleep, but I need to write my testimony over the course of this flight. I can barely keep my eyes open! Yawn!!
The flight in its entirety is to last approximately 2.5-3 hours, or so we've been told. Plenty of time to write a whole testimony... and still get some sleepin in, I hope.
At the Dallas airport, Mrs. Yourk got us to go through a couple of our dances, right there in the middle of the walkway! It was fun =) As we were dancing, we had to pause because a large group of people were passing through, all wearing bright orange t-shirts. Of course, we were curious. Turns out, they were from Kentucky, and they were setting off on a mission's trip to Costa Rica! How neat!
Lord, please remind me at all times to pray for:
a.) the new graduates
b.) the Costa Rican team
c.) the Bolivia team, soon to set off
So, the sooner I write this testimony, the sooner I'll get to snooze.
It doesn't feel like only 5:something, since I've been up since 3:40. It feels like it should be way later. Our flight is expected to land at 8:15 in Guatemala City.
We are heading through quite a bit of turbulence. The Captain predicts 20 minutes or so of this bumpy ride. Oh, Lord, protect this flight.
Still on the plane...
We must be getting somewhat close by now... I am wondering if in summer it gets dark earlier than in Canada, since we're going south. It's already getting dark outside, but it must be only just past 7 o'clock. The clouds are dark black, but to our right, (to the West, I guess?) there is a beautiful sunset. The hot pink light was shining in through the window before, and the clouds surrounding us looked like cotton candy.
I finished writing my testimony, and the woman beside me is very lovely. She likes to talk, so we've been talking about dance, and she's been asking all sorts of questions about our mission's trip. I think she is a Christian because she commented on my bible and how well-studied it looked, and she showed me an app on her tablet for the bible. Neat! It's encouraging.
All of a sudden it looks pitch-black outside. I can't see a thing, except for the continuous red flashing light of the airplane wing.
I forgot to write about this earlier, but in Texas, the runway was so weird! It felt so funny and wrong, because part of it was actually on a bridge! And underneath that concrete bridge, was the highway! It must be strange being one of those drivers, especially if you weren't accustomed to driving in Dallas. Just imagine driving down the driveway and all of a sudden, right in front of you, a massive jet touches down. I think it would throw me off- I'd probably crash from watching it- it just looked so... wrong! Hahah!
I feel like we will be landing soon, because everyone seems to be getting restless, and the "house lights" have turned off. I'm starting to feel slightly clausterphobic and can't wait to land. I can't wait to SLEEP.
Almost ready to land ??? o'clock
I think we are ready to land... or we're beginning to make our descent. My ears are starting to feel a little bit plugged, and the seatbelt light is on. It's pitch black outside. I hope we're not crashing... =( I think everything is fine, even though things do seem a little off.
Yep! We're landing! The captain just announced it. Do you know what that means? Guatemala! A new Country! Central America! Another place checked off the bucket list! We're almost there!!!
To be completely honest, though... I'm mostly excited to SLEEP!!! It's so dark in here... I wonder how humid it will be there. The funny thing is, it's not even very late. On a regular day at home, I wouldn't even be thinking about bed yet. In fact, it's probably still pretty bright out back in Three Hills.
Ears are beginning to pop... I can't see a single thing outside, so it's hard to judge how close we are to land.. I wonder what the- AHHHHH!!!!!! I see the ground! The lights of the city! We've almost made it!
Later... 11:something
We're descending to Texas. My ears are popping- the right one hurts a LOT. I'm sitting in between Mrs. Seeley and Lily.
We can see the city of Dallas really clearly, it's a bright and sunny day. We're getting close to landing time.
Dallas has a big lake, lots of trees, but nothing too exciting. The most exciting part is simply the fact that we are in Texas!
I have butterflies in my stomach from the small drops- fun! Can't wait to get out. We are pretty much at the airport... so close to the ground.... almost there.......... ----------- There's the landing! We're careening down the runway. Slowing down.... AND WE'RE HERE!
Even later... 3:20pm
We've been in Texas for a long time now. Mrs. Seeley, Lily, and I ate at T.G.I. Friday's. Apparently it's a pretty common eatery in America. It was so yummy- pretzels (the big, crispy, seasoned, bread kind), and a New York cheddar bacon burger. So good. The pretzel-bread-stick-things came with beer-cheese sauce! Weird, eh? I 'ate' alcohol- didn't taste weird. Actually, I could'nt really taste it at all. (Not that I even know what beer tastes like...)WAY Later... 5:something
P.S. why didn't I think to bring a watch?
So, this is the 2nd time we're doing this today. We've loaded the plane that will carry us to Central America.
Did you know that America's two official languages are English and Spanish? It makes sense, but it's still cool.
-Just a side note, our male flight attendant looks a lot like Bilbo Baggins from the Hobbit.
-the girl beside me is dancing to the music on her headphones, haha.
I think this plane is full, which surprises me. You wouldn't think a lot of people would want to go to Guatemala...
I am a loner. For some reason, all our seats are really spread out. Teresa, Megam and Mrs. Brown are all sitting together in seats 9. Carson has 28. Autumn and the rest of my family are in 26, Seeleys are maybe in 27. The Williams' are in 14, and here I am, all alone in 16C. I have an aisle seat, which is nice, I guess. There is a solid tray in the seat beside me, and a nice-looking middle-aged woman occupies the window seat. I wonder if I'll talk to her over the course of this trip.
When we first landed in Texas, it was so cool! You know how the flight attendant will say something like, "Enjoy your stay in Dallas, thanks for choosing American Airlines, we hope to see you again soon."? Well, I don't know who, but someone must've talked to her and mentioned our mission's trip to Guatemala because she announced, to the whole plane, "And a special thing: good wishes to the Mission's Team headed to Guatemala later today!" ...how cool is that?!
We've taken off. We've officially left Texan soil, and are Guatemalan bound! I stiill feel like this is a dream, probably because I am so very exhausted. we've been going non-stop since 3:40am! Thank you, Lord, for keeping us safe thus far. <3
At the airport we played Dutch Blitz. Originally, we were scheduled to leave at 4:10. But, here we are, and it must be around 5. I am totally dozing. I keep on drifting off and then jolting myself awake but boy, am I ever tired! Wowzers. I want so badly to be able to sleep, but I need to write my testimony over the course of this flight. I can barely keep my eyes open! Yawn!!
The flight in its entirety is to last approximately 2.5-3 hours, or so we've been told. Plenty of time to write a whole testimony... and still get some sleepin in, I hope.
At the Dallas airport, Mrs. Yourk got us to go through a couple of our dances, right there in the middle of the walkway! It was fun =) As we were dancing, we had to pause because a large group of people were passing through, all wearing bright orange t-shirts. Of course, we were curious. Turns out, they were from Kentucky, and they were setting off on a mission's trip to Costa Rica! How neat!
Lord, please remind me at all times to pray for:
a.) the new graduates
b.) the Costa Rican team
c.) the Bolivia team, soon to set off
So, the sooner I write this testimony, the sooner I'll get to snooze.
It doesn't feel like only 5:something, since I've been up since 3:40. It feels like it should be way later. Our flight is expected to land at 8:15 in Guatemala City.
We are heading through quite a bit of turbulence. The Captain predicts 20 minutes or so of this bumpy ride. Oh, Lord, protect this flight.
Still on the plane...
We must be getting somewhat close by now... I am wondering if in summer it gets dark earlier than in Canada, since we're going south. It's already getting dark outside, but it must be only just past 7 o'clock. The clouds are dark black, but to our right, (to the West, I guess?) there is a beautiful sunset. The hot pink light was shining in through the window before, and the clouds surrounding us looked like cotton candy.
I finished writing my testimony, and the woman beside me is very lovely. She likes to talk, so we've been talking about dance, and she's been asking all sorts of questions about our mission's trip. I think she is a Christian because she commented on my bible and how well-studied it looked, and she showed me an app on her tablet for the bible. Neat! It's encouraging.
All of a sudden it looks pitch-black outside. I can't see a thing, except for the continuous red flashing light of the airplane wing.
I forgot to write about this earlier, but in Texas, the runway was so weird! It felt so funny and wrong, because part of it was actually on a bridge! And underneath that concrete bridge, was the highway! It must be strange being one of those drivers, especially if you weren't accustomed to driving in Dallas. Just imagine driving down the driveway and all of a sudden, right in front of you, a massive jet touches down. I think it would throw me off- I'd probably crash from watching it- it just looked so... wrong! Hahah!
I feel like we will be landing soon, because everyone seems to be getting restless, and the "house lights" have turned off. I'm starting to feel slightly clausterphobic and can't wait to land. I can't wait to SLEEP.
Almost ready to land ??? o'clock
I think we are ready to land... or we're beginning to make our descent. My ears are starting to feel a little bit plugged, and the seatbelt light is on. It's pitch black outside. I hope we're not crashing... =( I think everything is fine, even though things do seem a little off.
Yep! We're landing! The captain just announced it. Do you know what that means? Guatemala! A new Country! Central America! Another place checked off the bucket list! We're almost there!!!
To be completely honest, though... I'm mostly excited to SLEEP!!! It's so dark in here... I wonder how humid it will be there. The funny thing is, it's not even very late. On a regular day at home, I wouldn't even be thinking about bed yet. In fact, it's probably still pretty bright out back in Three Hills.
Ears are beginning to pop... I can't see a single thing outside, so it's hard to judge how close we are to land.. I wonder what the- AHHHHH!!!!!! I see the ground! The lights of the city! We've almost made it!
GUATEMALA
We're in another part of the world! Woohooooo! There are so many lights. The captain said it was 23 degrees out when we left... it's probably cooler now- and I wonder about the humidity. This is so exciting! I'll have to neglect recording the exact moment we land on Guatemalan soil, because I want to just take it all in. So long!
Midnight!
SO COOL! After all the hassle of the airport and tension because of exhaustion, we have arrived! I love it.
We got into 2 Impact Ministries trucks/vans/idon'tknowwhats, and of course, there's no seatbelts. The driving was sweet- just like mama used to do it. CRAZY! It was fun.
We got to our... place. I'm too tired to write properly. They had pizza waiting for us- yum.
Our family's room is super nice- it feels so... Guatemalan! LOL. It's huge, has a wall divider, steps going down into it from the door, and six beds. 2 of them or doubles. It's so pretty. I chose the bed right by the window. I don't think the windows will block out any noise whatsoever, which I like. We can hear Guatemala City that way!
The window has a cool nook-type thing, with curtains and everything. I'm sitting there right now. We have to fold our toilet paper, not flush it. It'll take some getting used to; I love this!
Tomorrow we're going sightseeing. I'm excited. Good Night!
Day 3 - Sunday, June 30th 8ish am
I just had a wonderful sleep! I was so tired, I just snuggled right in. The planes were taking off and landing right over all heads- it was super duper loud! We could hear people shouting, cars driving, rain pouring, it was pretty cool!
I was thinking. Guatemala City so far is a lot like the Asian country I went to on a short-term missions trip back in grade 5. It smells the same, feels the same, the buildings sort of remind me of it. The humidity isn't nearly as bad, but it's still noticeable. It's not too hot here- I was actually cold this morning!
It's been raining all morning- smells nice. This whole hotel is like an old fashioned building- it has a lot of beautiful stone courtyards with tropical plants and fountains and stone statues. So beautiful!
Hundreds of kilometers of twisty roads, and many tiring hours later.... 5:40pm
Tactic is officially our home for the next week. It's beautiful here. I love the humidity and the heat. We are at the house, and supper is being prepared.
I am sitting on the roof. It has an intricate stone fence around it. There's a tin roof, and a hammock.
I think we will have a storm tonight. We've heard the majestic thunder, and the warm winds are really picking up. The skies have darkened at the air is damper than normal (I think).
I am relieved to be here, and so very excited. The driving was insane and the roads were crazy, to say the least. But the whole way up from Guatemala City, I could not keep my eyes closed! The others were sleeping or talking but me, I had to see everything! I didn't want to miss anything. I couldn't stop my enthusiastic remarks either; "Oh! Look at that!" "Wow, did you see those...?" I hope I wasn't being annoying but everything was so exciting, I couldn't contain myself!!!!
We saw military officers a lot... they carried rifles. I can't say that it made me feel totally safe.
Rewind to this morning:
We packed up and went to the market. It was the very center of all of Guatemala. It was the government building. In front of the huge gates was a bronze plaque on the ground. It signifies the heart of Guatemala. All distances in Guatemala are in relation to that plaque (How far away from the plaque they are).
Megan and Mrs. Brown had a cockroach in their bedroom last night... haha poor girls.
*More thunder*
When we arrived in Tactic, we met Rita Peters. She's a wonderfully cheerful woman. After we settled into our rooms, we had a safety talk. I knew Guatemala was dangerous- but it was scary hearing it from a woman who's lived here for almost 13 years. She warned us to always stay with the group, and never have a group of just women, no matter how big. She said it was super common for girls to be grabbed off the street, pulled into a vehicle, drugged, raped, and then left on the street where they were found. It's scary! Even this morning when we were walking around Guatemala, a car willed with men slowed down and whistled at us. I just kind of freaked out. We were safe with our group though, so it was okay.
Rita said "Tactic is probably not as safe as you think it is." Up where we are, they don't really even have a police force! If someone is murdered, it's never investigated. It's just left alone and forgotten.
We went on a walk up the mountainside, it was AMAZING. I took so many pictures. I said 'hola' to a lot of locals... it's so fantastic- heartwarming- to see these "poor" people so content and happy. Why do we convince ourselves that we need so many luxuries? Because we don't!
Day 4 - Monday, July 1st (Canada Day) 12:15pm
Buenas tardes! What a day! We were woken up at 5:45am, and set off for an elementary school. We were presenting in their chapel. What an experience!
The rain is gorgeous, so constant and smooth, like a blanket- you can't even hear it falling!
So, at the school we wore headsets so that we could understand what they were saying. Les Peters had a microphone and translated everything said, and it came through over our headsets. Incredible.
They started singing, and the tears came. I was SO overwhelmed, you wouldn't believe! The moment they began singing, their Spanish little voices filled the whole room, and it was 10x louder than our churches. SO COOL!
We were told that the vast majority of them come from broken homes, abusive families, and sicknesses. On average, each child has approximately 5 abscesses on their teeth! They are so poor, they have so little and yet, they sing ten times louder than our healthy and wealthy churches. It was the perfect example of worship.
They were aged 4-9ish, I believe. And almost all of them had their eyes closed, hands up, and voices raised. We think we're the ones teaching them? Oh, no. They taught me so so so so much.
I cried so hard. Every morning they have a chapel like that, and they bring all their SERIOUS troubles and turts and burdens before the Lord, praising Him wholeheartedly.
The funny thing was, while our whole team was weeping from being so touched, the little children would turn and watch us, so very confused. They looked at us as if to say, "Why are you crying?" It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.
By the world's standards, we, in Canada, have some of the richest people. We are... "blessed" with clothes, food, money, technology, ease. Down here in Guatemala, these people are considered "poor..." by the world's standards. So according to the world's logic, we North Americans should be the happiest and the Guatemalans should be the saddest. But look who's praising and singing the loudest! Why? Because by GOD'S standards, these Guatemalans are the richest, and we Canadians are the poorest! And I'm talking in terms of our Spiritual wealth. Shouldn't we, who have so much be singing the loudest? Aren't we more "blessed?" On the contrary. I think we have plenty of unimportant things, for sure. We have unimportance in abundance!here they have plenty of the IMPORTANT things- the things that will matter in eternity. Maybe they are more blessed after all, for they are always recognizing their need for Jesus, thus their worship and prayer life is enhanced. In Canada, we have everything. We don't have to rely on God for necessities (or so we think).
Straight afterward, we went to visit the medical clinic. So simplistic, but does the people so much good. Attached to the medical clinic was another school. This was where we were to present the Lost Coin Dance, sing "Feliz," and do a craft with the kids: a paper plate tambourine.
It went smoothly overall. Lily and I were the leaders of a group of 7 kids or so. I got to know a few girls in particular: Ingrid, Mildred, and one other whose name cannot be pronounced (be English folk like me). It was cool! Wherever I went, they would cling to me. Always hugging. At the end, one of them gave me a kiss! Definitely a highlight. I love these kids.
Later, we came back to that 2nd school to help with some construction going on there. It was basically levelling a dirt and rocky floor with shovels, rakes, and pick-axes. We would hack away at the old cement and junk, load up our 3 wheelbarrows, and dump it into the back of a small truck. Well, it took about 10 minutes or less to load up the truck each time,but it took at least half an hour for the truck to return empty. So, as you can imagine, the waits between loading times were long and boring. So one of the times, a bunch of school boys were kicking around a soccer ball. My mum and Mrs. Brown joined in and easily persuaded me to come along. It was so much fun, even though they totally pwned us. Their feet were lightning quick. They made everything look so easy by literally running circles around us!
Later... 9ish pm
We went to the Peters' house for dessert- cake and the best tea I've ever had! It was homemade lemongrass and cinnamon. Mm-mmm!
Since it was Canada Day, they had us set off firecrackers- they were unbelievably loud- like gunshots!
We debriefed and shared our highlights together. Most talked about hugging the kids. (At the school, after we finished dancing in their chapel, we stood in a line and the children walked through and hugged every one of us.)
I talked about the irony of their passionate, joyful, loud singing despite their poverty, as compared to our half-hearted, reluctant muttering despite our wealth.
It's been a busy busy day- full to the brim! I can't wait to have a good rest tonight, and an exciting day tomorrow! Buenas Noches!
Day 4 - Thursday, July 2nd 12:15ish
What a busy day! You know, since Guatemala is relatively close to the equator, day and night are pretty much the same all year. Dawn and nightfall are at the same time all through the year, they aren't shortened or lengthened in accordance with the changing of the seasons. (Woah, that sounded smart.)
Because of this, Guatemalans rise and head to sleep at around the same time each day, and it's different than us.
A regular wake-up time is 5-5:30am. A regular bedtime for everyone is 8 or 9pm. That's earlier than North America on both accounts. Last night I was SO tired by 6:30pm.When Jasmine told me we would go to Les and Rita Peters' house for dessert, I apprehensively asked how late we would stay. She gave me a worrisome look and said, "Oh, we're usually there til really late." I groaned and asked when exactly.
"Oh, some times we stay till 9 or 10!" I couldn't help but chuckle. 10pm is considered early among my peers.
This morning we went to another school- it was junior high and elementary, so it was neat seeing how the locals my age worship God. It was so cool- at one point, they all got on their knees and bowed! Even the boys who looked to be at least 12-14 years old were down on their hands and knees. Some had their arms raised above their heads and they were all singing so loudly.
The dances went well over all. The tile floor was super duper slippery- very dangerous. But the kids were so attentive, it was so fun.
Right away we went back to the DVBS school, and we taught 8 high school girls a dance. I felt so loved because right at the beginning, Mrs. Yourk told them to find a partner, and like 3 of them started talking and bolted to me and gravved onto me, wanting me to be their partner. I eventually ended up being partners with a beautiful Guatemalan girl named Ana. Later, another girl came named Deborah, so she was my partner, too. They showed us some of their Guatemalan dances using tambourines and ribbons. It was awesome!
Later... 4:20ish?
Dari, Jasemine, Claudia, Kimberly, Norwellia, Hilton, Hoyhay, Louven????, Wendi, Ezael. These are the names of the Guatemalan children from San Antonio that were put in my group. I love them beyond words, but it will be surprising if I ever get to see them again. I hugged all 80 of the children today. Hilton had so many scars on his face, I hope they weren't from a person....
I just don't know how many of them have experienced love- humanly love. Of course they have in their school and church, but how many from home? Oh, I just adored each and every one of them.
We played games together, they loved seeing us dance for them. We got to take them on a teensy-weensy treasure hunt to find a single candy- one small candy per child. It did my heart good to see their faces when they found their own candy. Little 4-year-old Horhay, who already had only a couple teeth left, didn't know where to find one, and when I showed him where one was, he gave it to me! I gave it right back so he would know that it was for him, and he gave me the hugest grin I had ever seen. He grabbed my arm, and all the way back to the chapel building he just wouldn't stop giggling! He held his candy, and wouldn't stop looking at it, laughing the whole while. Occasionally, he would glance up at me, his huge dark chocolate eyes just beaming with thankfulness.
It makes me so angry to think of the 7-9 year olds back home. When we have a pinata, for example, the first few candies fall, and the kids dive for them like greedy monkeys who have never eaten before. It's maddening! Then, if they see someone with more candy with them, the tantrums. Whining, fussing, pointing, grabbing. It's all so stupid!
Norwellia and Ezael wouldn't let go of me. They are just thet sweetest things, but I really wanted to be certain that the children didn't get the impression that I was 'favouring' some of them. So I stroked all of them, hugged them, squeezed their shoulders, I just wanted so badly to show them the love that Christ has given me. In Canada, I would have looked like the Dorkiest weirdo ever. But you know what? Who cares what they say? If Jesus loved unconditionally and looked crazy, I will be crazy, too!
The most amazing part was when we prayed. They all lowered down so low. What I love is that these children are taught- they are brought up to know that ecstatic worship is wonderful. No half-hearted prayers, oh no. They are taught how to worship and pray, and that it IS cool!
When we pray in Canada, we just bow are heads and listen to one person pray. There, when one person prays, everyone prays. Every person starts whispering and murmuring their own prayers with their hands raised. Some kneel down, others stand. They ALL pray together! So when they prayed for me, they put their hands on me and all started whispering prayers in Spanish at the same time. I was so touched. To keep it together, I just started praying for them. I went around the circle and touched each one of them and prayed: "Gracias, Senor, por _________" and put in their names. That means, "Thank you, Lord, for.... Claudia, Wendi, Horhay..."
We went to someone's house for supper- we made the corn dough, rolled it into tortillas, put in some cheese, pressed it into a perogie, and then deep fried them. We put sour crout, salsa, and super spicy sauce on.
The Mrs. gave us her testimony, and we met her miracle child- Jennifer. Alicia (Al-ee-see-ya, the wife) was apparently barren for 8 years. It was like the women in the bible. Sarah, Rachel, Elizabeth... but then, after feeling sick for 3 months, she went to the doctors' but she didn't want to go in to have her hopes shattered again. But when she worked up the courage to go in, she found out that she was 3 months pregnant!
I forgot to mention her dream before those three months. There was a shining white man at the top of a hill. She ran up to him and begged him for a baby. He handed her a sheep and told her, "Take care of this lamb." She left, still carrying the lamb. Her friend firmly believed that Alicia would bear a child. That was Jennifer. I touched her.
I touched a miracle today.
Day 5 - Wednesday, July 3rd 12:45ish I'm guessing....
It took quite a while for me to fall asleep last night, because I was thinking how cool it would be to speak in chapel someday about worship- comparing worship here and there.
This morning we went to Chicoy school, It was nice and small like San Antonio. The children were very receptive.
After that, we went to Chijacorral once more for the work project. It was just more shoveling and leveling. Fun, but very tiring. Our working equipment was crude- a water bottle for a level, a wood plank for a guide, a shovel and wheelbarrow for a bulldozer.
It was thinking about it, and I heard a lot of people going to the work project with the wrong attitude. Not necessarily a negative one, but one of mostly self-interest. I heard people saying excitedly, "Oh! We wanted to get excercise, anyway!" "Oh! We get a chance to get healthy!" "Oh, this will be so fun!"
Those aren't bad things, but it's not our purpose! The purpose of a mission's trip is not self-gain, but I am realizing how often we are thinking about how to do things to benefit ourselves. But our intent should be to serve God by serving others. Our focus should be on looking for ways to show God's love to others with humility through self-sacrifice. We need to take our eyes off ourselves!
Today, the original plan was to visit the Sinkho. (It's actually called the Sinkhole, but for the longest time I thought it was 'Sinkho.' I think that sounds cooler, so I'll just go with it.) The 'Sinkho' is one of the natural wonders of the world. It sounded like it would be fun- a hike to beautiful scenery, one of the world's natural wonders- win! Right? But we learned that it is full of witches and warlocks, witchcraft and demons. They cast spells and try to communicate with the gods of the underworld through burning incense and sacrifice. They believe in 3 layers of the world: the heavens, where people dwell, and under earth (where the gods are).
Ozker told us this morning in Chicoy about a many who went to the Sinkho, (I should tell you that people spend sometimes 15,000 Q- loans from the bank- and pay the witches to give them something they want: money, prosperity, a spouse, healing, etc.) so he had been feeling like there was something crawling in his left arm for a long time, and he wanted it to stop. He paied the witchc, who sliced the man's arm open from the shoulders down to the wrist, pried open the flesh, and pulled out several FROGS!
The candles they burn are different colours for different meanings.
Black = death
blue = health
white = prosperity
red = sacrifice
I decided I didn't want to go. At first, I thought it would be cool and weird and good to know what these people believe, but as you can see, I learned quite a bit without going. I got to thinking about it and, although it's good to be aware of such things, is it necessary or good to expose ourselves to this evil? In the bible it says to have nothing to do with those who do wrong, but to run from evil. FLEE! I think it's a little strange to be wanting to visit places with sorcery. Jasmine, our translator, told us that it's freaky, creepy, and eerie down there, and that when they brought a group of full-grown men, they were in tears. She said you sometimes feel strange things from the incantations, spells, and spirits.
But now, we are on the road, headed to a coffee plantation. We hope to buy some Guatemalan coffee! Mmmmm!!!
Later... 7:52pm
Aren't you proud of me? I actually knew the time for once!
So, after visiting the coffee plantation, (it was cool seeing how they make the coffee... and interesting seeing what our delicious Instant Coffee is really made of....) we went to the guesthouse. It was gorgeous! It's so amazing to hear the whole story of how it came to be, and the hopes and dreams that they had for their property.
The guesthouse was built from scratch for just the equivalent of $100,000! It had a gorgeous courtyard. Oh, I wish we could stay THERE.
This group of Holland men came to Impact Ministries to build the ultimate greenhouse. Automatic sensors, the latest technology, and it was as big as a gym! (And it's all free!) They aren't even Christians.
Les was telling us how some of their grade 12 graduates, instead of going to University to pursue a career, they come back to Impact and lead. One man, Edgar, (who used to be the sponsor child of someone connected with the team) is now the pastor of over 600 people! Crazy!
The thing is, his dream was to be an Agricultural Engineer, but he was broke. He did go to university and got a degree in Agricultural Engineering, but that ate up all his money. He was getting married, needed to move somewhere to build a house, and find a job that would probably use his skills. He had been giving his life completely to the people of Tactic, but he just couldn't live there, and was very sad. People were praying that God would provide a way for Him to use his training in his home, so he could still be with the people he loved, and stay connected with Impact Ministries. God was just beginning to work His miracles!
God says that He will bless those who are faithful. If we lose our lives for His sake, we will find it. So, out of the blue, this group from Holland, non-Christian, just chose Impact Ministries! Out of all the other places, they chose Impact Ministries, in the Middle of Guatemala! What amazes me is just the absurdity of it all! First off, it's a non-Christian organization. Second, they are from Holland, the randomest place anyone would imagine God's blessing coming from. Thirdly, they chose Impact Ministries, snuggled in a very remote village a way up in the mountains of a third-world country, rather than choosing a place where their organization would actually be advertised. Fourthly, it was all free! Fifthly, that means the company was losing money to give away this huge, expensive greenhouse! Sixthly, the workers they sent are on summer vacation, and chose to leave their families to travel the difficult road up to these rural mountains of Guatemala and work! Seventhly, it's some of the most advanced technology in the world!!!
And in this way, Edgar can stay at Impact and work in the Greenhouse, because it's perfect for the training he's received! GOD PROVIDES! It was totally God's hand of blessing working through a seemingly impossible source, to produce an economic blessing, providing for not just Edgar, but for all of Impact Ministries, and Tactic!! God has a way of surprising us by giving us way more than what was expected, and blow our minds!!! <3
Day 6 - Thursday, 4th of July 9:26pm
"Losiento," but I am far too tired to write. I'm absolutely exhausted, but I learned SO much today- especially during debrief when Les was talking. I really hope that I will remember everything cuz it was all very impacting and important.
The hospital was the main thing. Buenas noches!
Day 7 - Friday, July 5th
Oy. Today has been... odd. I got to sleep in until 11:30, but only because I had been vomiting all night long! I was so very sick- it was terrible! But I am feeling better now. I had to miss out on the presentation at Chijacorral, which was sad. Jasmine said it's a typical Guatemalan sickness, but most people get it for 7-10 days. She said when she gets it, she vomits day and night nonstop for at least a week. She said it was surprising that I got over it so quickly. I hope I'm completely better....
So anyways, our afternoon has just begun, and it's been lovely.
Checked off the bucket list:
-eating lime/chilli ice cream (EWWWWWWW)
-getting a Guatemalan sickness (I guess that wasn't really the 'lovely' part...)
*-getting my own SPONSOR CHILD!*
Her name is Ana, and she's in grade 4. She is so beautiful and sweet. I can't wait to sponsor her.
We went to her house to meet her- she kissed me so many times. I gave her a gift: a ribbon, a bracelet, crayons, hair elastics, and shampoo. We also gave her family a food package: rice, beans, coffee, soap, and more! We are visiting everyone's sponsor child.
Later... 5:40pm
I was very disappointed that I couldn't go visit the rest of the sponsor children's houses, but Van wanted me to stay home and rest so that I could be well enough to dance my very best tomorrow. I fell asleep and just woke up at 5. We walked to the tienda down the street. (Tienda means shop.)
Day 8 - Saturday, July 6th 10:16pm
Tomorrow we leave Tactic. It's bittersweet. I've learned so much, and I know I've been neglecting regular logging. But tonight, at our final debrief, everything just flooded into my mind. It's just way too much. I am saving a lengthy writing session for our plane rides. I hope everything is still fresh enough in my mind for an adequate recording.
I can't wait to start sponsoring Ana. I am praying that God brings her to do amazing things. I love her so much.
I still need to write about: -the hospital -sickness -market game -teacher thing -Night of Worship -debrief -Shishim, the Catholic Church
Day 10 - Monday, July 8th 9:49am
After waking up at 4:45 this morning, battling cockroaches and ants, we charged through customs with rumbling bellies and nervous jitters, hopped aboard flight 2138 and conquered the world. Good-bye, Guatemala. I suppose I promised to do a lot of writing on the plane, so now's as good a time as ever to start. I'll make a list of events that must be explained, and check-off as I go.
-the hospital
- sickness
-Tactic market game
-teacher party
-Night of Worship
-Shishim, the Catholic Church
We went to the "hospital" on Independence Day. I was, and still am rattled by the memory of the experience.
--We will be landing in Texas in about 15 minutes, so I guess I'll be leaving the bulk of the writing either at the Dallas airport, or at our next flight. It will get done, eventually. Ciao!--
Later... on the way to Calgary 8:05pm
The layover was generally painless. It went by shockingly fast! Details aren't important, so the last thing I'll say about it: Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino.... yum.
Okay. So I think I'll just pick up from exactly where I left off, so maybe read the last couple of sentences before reading on.
....We were told to do our very best NOT to cry. Les said that we were there to bring God's light and hope to the sick and dying, not sadness and despair. It was so hard- I sort of failed. But my heart was broken! We went around the rooms, to each bed. (There didn't really seem to be a very organized system- beds, crooked and broken, just lay scattered all across the room randomly.) We went and prayed for each child and their parent. One by one, the person praying would be the one to either touch or hold the child. The first boy I prayed for... it was so hard to keep my composure for the duration of the prayer. Hot tears were streaming down. He was probably three months old, and he was dying of starvation. He wasn't hooked up to any IV's or anything- it was just him, lying in a dirty hospital bed. His skin was crinkled and wrinkled- there wasn't enough body fat to fill it. He was terrifyingly thin. He may have died by now. I prayed so hard, and I hope the Guatemalan families left behind will not be angry at God if the boy passes away.
Even the parents who weren't Christians, they eagerly allowed us to pray over their child. I also prayed for a little boy named Ian who had a brain tumor. His father thanked my profusely, and Ian was so happy with the small stuffie that I gave him.
What hit most of us real hard was simply the knowledge that most of the kids were dying from an illness that we could fix in a jiffy back in Canada. A lot of them had pneumonia, and a lot were starving. One 5-year-old boy had a terribly painful growth on his neck. When we first walked in, the poor boy was screaming in pain, and his family was holding him still. His eyes were completely bloodshot from crying. But even he, when he was given a toy, managed the very slightest hint of a smile.
We prayed for a 6-month-old baby and her 15-year-old mother. That was certainly eye-opening. I had heard about mission's teams visiting young mother's homes, but being up close with a peer who had her own child, wow. She was so cheerful! I was just numb with the thought that she could be in my class, and she's a mother. Her baby girl, Jessica (Yessica), had pneumonia, as well.
We went into the maternity ward and gave packages we had made to the new mothers. We went into the room where they put the newborn babies, and off in the corner was six baby bins. In those bins, in peaceful oblivion, lay six abandoned babies. Those were the ones that we were allowed to hold. All I could think about as I looked at the sweet faces of those infant orphans, was the road they would have to take. Will they ever be adopted?
I pitied them, I felt sorrowful, but I came to realize something. In Canada and North America, we have another way of abandoning babies, and it's much worse. It's called abortion.
I don't want to talk too much about my sickness but to paraphrase: I woke up in the middle of the night, bolted to the bathroom and watched as my supper hurled itself into la toilette. It was so bad. Barfing nonstop with a nasty case of the runs- it was just lovely. I won't go into detail. But the jist of it: it was a long, confusing night, I threw up almost every 5 minutes, and was completely out of it.
At one point, I woke up to see Van and Mr. Yourk standing beside me, praying., They were probably there for 5-10 minutes, but with my confusion, and since I dozed out every few seconds, I thought they had been standing there for hours.
I had been thinking how Mr. Williams looks a lot like Johnny Depp. And in my delusional state, I thought it was him. I was so excited that Johnny Depp was praying for me! Haha! But it was not so. But... I think Van was probably a better person to have praying for me. LOL.
I had to sleep in the next morning, and slept most of the day. I barely ate a thing. All I did that day was go and visit Ana, my sponsor child.
Jasmine said it was amazing how I caught and recovered in just one night from a sickness that most people get for over a week. Thank you, God!
Like I said, I was very disappointed that day, but I believe it was exactly what I've been praying for! I had been praying for months that God would really humble me. For one, I've always been the one to think, "Oh, I would be the very last person to get sick. I'm healthy! I would never get sick!" But instead, I was shown that I am not invincible, I am weak. I am not the star of the show, and they were able to cope without me being there. I've prayed, "God, I know it's not fun while it's happening, but I pray that you would somehow humble me...."
On our last full day in Tactic, we played a group game. I was on Team Rashleigh (my family). The three teams were each given a sheet. There was a list of things we had to buy... but everything was in Spanish. The list would say something like: "Cuantos Papinos." We had to record who made the transaction (who bought the item), and how much we paid for it.
We didn't have a translator, but we still had to go through the uber crowded street market and find about 10 different items, barter for a fair price, all in Spanish. It was tricky! Our goal was to complete as much of the list as possible by spending the leasst amount of money- and we only had an hour and a half to do it! So we were crawling and clawing our way through the market like headless chickens, shouting mispronounced Spanish words in hopes that we could find it. It was chaotic, but fun.
The staff at Chijacorral threw us a party! I was amazed at how much work they put into making it something special for us. We played games, made picture frames, took pictures, sang songs, it was awesome.
I was so touched and appreciative of all the effort they took to say 'thank you' to us. (Or 'gracias,' in this case.)
For Impact Ministries' annual Night of Worship, we performed the dance with the highschool girls, "Thank you, Senor." It went well. We did some of our other dances, too. There were quite a few other dramas and dances done by the Chijacorral teachers. It was very cool. One drama, I've seen Open Air Ministries in Alberta do one very similar- same idea, but different music and details. One very different part was when they encorporated a witch doctor. (They portrayed it as being a bad thing, of course.)
After all the presentations, it was just worship led by local bands. Some songs I knew the English to, which was cool. We left halfway through, which was too bad.
One very interesting thing Iwanted to talk about was when we visited the Catholic Church up on the mountain. We weren't there for a service, but instead just to listen to Les tell us what it was all about.
The church was named 'Shishim,' was was the statue of Jesus inside. We found out that Shishim is the name of the Guatemalan corn god. =( They mix up Catholic rituals with witchcraft ones. Just outside the church was a stone cross. At first, I thought nothing of it. But I then came to realize it was witchcraft. There were feathers stuck all over it, and a candly burning infront of it. There were also several broken beer bottles lying around.
There was another statue beside the cross- I don't know what it was. But it also had the feathers, the candle, and it had leafy branches, which had to do with some sort of witchcraft ritual.
It was sad, seeing the cheerful faces of so many lost Guatemalans. They are on death row if they don't leave those ways. Apparently there's also a lot of witchcraft inside the church.
I had always thought that if I ever came up close with witchcraft, I would be scared. I would maybe feel something weird inside me. But, i was sitting out in the sun, just a hundred feet from a very prominent witchcraft structure, and I felt nothing. Of course, I was ignorant to it- I didn't know what it was. But even after we were told... I felt fine. I realized that He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world, and we don't have to be afraid. We are more than conquerers because of Jesus Christ. Even in a demon-saturated, dark place- when we, who have the Holy Spirit, step foot near there, the demonic spirits are the ones that have to move aside, not us. Our God is mighty, and if He is for us, then NOTHING can stand against us!
I will leave off on that note. My hand is cramping pretty badly, and we are soon to land in Calgary. We are almost home. I have a lot of memories and lessons recorded in this journal, and someay soon I will pour over it all. But for now, I come to our journey's end. Our mission's trip is now over.
Oh wait, no.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TilbFJYkeXc
RANDOM FUN FACTS FROM GUATEMALADay 3 - Sunday, June 30th 8ish am
I just had a wonderful sleep! I was so tired, I just snuggled right in. The planes were taking off and landing right over all heads- it was super duper loud! We could hear people shouting, cars driving, rain pouring, it was pretty cool!
I was thinking. Guatemala City so far is a lot like the Asian country I went to on a short-term missions trip back in grade 5. It smells the same, feels the same, the buildings sort of remind me of it. The humidity isn't nearly as bad, but it's still noticeable. It's not too hot here- I was actually cold this morning!
It's been raining all morning- smells nice. This whole hotel is like an old fashioned building- it has a lot of beautiful stone courtyards with tropical plants and fountains and stone statues. So beautiful!
Hundreds of kilometers of twisty roads, and many tiring hours later.... 5:40pm
Tactic is officially our home for the next week. It's beautiful here. I love the humidity and the heat. We are at the house, and supper is being prepared.
I am sitting on the roof. It has an intricate stone fence around it. There's a tin roof, and a hammock.I think we will have a storm tonight. We've heard the majestic thunder, and the warm winds are really picking up. The skies have darkened at the air is damper than normal (I think).
I am relieved to be here, and so very excited. The driving was insane and the roads were crazy, to say the least. But the whole way up from Guatemala City, I could not keep my eyes closed! The others were sleeping or talking but me, I had to see everything! I didn't want to miss anything. I couldn't stop my enthusiastic remarks either; "Oh! Look at that!" "Wow, did you see those...?" I hope I wasn't being annoying but everything was so exciting, I couldn't contain myself!!!!
We saw military officers a lot... they carried rifles. I can't say that it made me feel totally safe.
Rewind to this morning:
We packed up and went to the market. It was the very center of all of Guatemala. It was the government building. In front of the huge gates was a bronze plaque on the ground. It signifies the heart of Guatemala. All distances in Guatemala are in relation to that plaque (How far away from the plaque they are).
Megan and Mrs. Brown had a cockroach in their bedroom last night... haha poor girls.
*More thunder*
When we arrived in Tactic, we met Rita Peters. She's a wonderfully cheerful woman. After we settled into our rooms, we had a safety talk. I knew Guatemala was dangerous- but it was scary hearing it from a woman who's lived here for almost 13 years. She warned us to always stay with the group, and never have a group of just women, no matter how big. She said it was super common for girls to be grabbed off the street, pulled into a vehicle, drugged, raped, and then left on the street where they were found. It's scary! Even this morning when we were walking around Guatemala, a car willed with men slowed down and whistled at us. I just kind of freaked out. We were safe with our group though, so it was okay.
Rita said "Tactic is probably not as safe as you think it is." Up where we are, they don't really even have a police force! If someone is murdered, it's never investigated. It's just left alone and forgotten.
We went on a walk up the mountainside, it was AMAZING. I took so many pictures. I said 'hola' to a lot of locals... it's so fantastic- heartwarming- to see these "poor" people so content and happy. Why do we convince ourselves that we need so many luxuries? Because we don't!
Day 4 - Monday, July 1st (Canada Day) 12:15pm
Buenas tardes! What a day! We were woken up at 5:45am, and set off for an elementary school. We were presenting in their chapel. What an experience!
The rain is gorgeous, so constant and smooth, like a blanket- you can't even hear it falling!
So, at the school we wore headsets so that we could understand what they were saying. Les Peters had a microphone and translated everything said, and it came through over our headsets. Incredible.
They started singing, and the tears came. I was SO overwhelmed, you wouldn't believe! The moment they began singing, their Spanish little voices filled the whole room, and it was 10x louder than our churches. SO COOL!
We were told that the vast majority of them come from broken homes, abusive families, and sicknesses. On average, each child has approximately 5 abscesses on their teeth! They are so poor, they have so little and yet, they sing ten times louder than our healthy and wealthy churches. It was the perfect example of worship.
They were aged 4-9ish, I believe. And almost all of them had their eyes closed, hands up, and voices raised. We think we're the ones teaching them? Oh, no. They taught me so so so so much.
I cried so hard. Every morning they have a chapel like that, and they bring all their SERIOUS troubles and turts and burdens before the Lord, praising Him wholeheartedly.
The funny thing was, while our whole team was weeping from being so touched, the little children would turn and watch us, so very confused. They looked at us as if to say, "Why are you crying?" It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.
By the world's standards, we, in Canada, have some of the richest people. We are... "blessed" with clothes, food, money, technology, ease. Down here in Guatemala, these people are considered "poor..." by the world's standards. So according to the world's logic, we North Americans should be the happiest and the Guatemalans should be the saddest. But look who's praising and singing the loudest! Why? Because by GOD'S standards, these Guatemalans are the richest, and we Canadians are the poorest! And I'm talking in terms of our Spiritual wealth. Shouldn't we, who have so much be singing the loudest? Aren't we more "blessed?" On the contrary. I think we have plenty of unimportant things, for sure. We have unimportance in abundance!here they have plenty of the IMPORTANT things- the things that will matter in eternity. Maybe they are more blessed after all, for they are always recognizing their need for Jesus, thus their worship and prayer life is enhanced. In Canada, we have everything. We don't have to rely on God for necessities (or so we think).
Straight afterward, we went to visit the medical clinic. So simplistic, but does the people so much good. Attached to the medical clinic was another school. This was where we were to present the Lost Coin Dance, sing "Feliz," and do a craft with the kids: a paper plate tambourine.
Later, we came back to that 2nd school to help with some construction going on there. It was basically levelling a dirt and rocky floor with shovels, rakes, and pick-axes. We would hack away at the old cement and junk, load up our 3 wheelbarrows, and dump it into the back of a small truck. Well, it took about 10 minutes or less to load up the truck each time,but it took at least half an hour for the truck to return empty. So, as you can imagine, the waits between loading times were long and boring. So one of the times, a bunch of school boys were kicking around a soccer ball. My mum and Mrs. Brown joined in and easily persuaded me to come along. It was so much fun, even though they totally pwned us. Their feet were lightning quick. They made everything look so easy by literally running circles around us!
Later... 9ish pm
We went to the Peters' house for dessert- cake and the best tea I've ever had! It was homemade lemongrass and cinnamon. Mm-mmm!
Since it was Canada Day, they had us set off firecrackers- they were unbelievably loud- like gunshots!
We debriefed and shared our highlights together. Most talked about hugging the kids. (At the school, after we finished dancing in their chapel, we stood in a line and the children walked through and hugged every one of us.)
I talked about the irony of their passionate, joyful, loud singing despite their poverty, as compared to our half-hearted, reluctant muttering despite our wealth.
It's been a busy busy day- full to the brim! I can't wait to have a good rest tonight, and an exciting day tomorrow! Buenas Noches!
Day 4 - Thursday, July 2nd 12:15ish
What a busy day! You know, since Guatemala is relatively close to the equator, day and night are pretty much the same all year. Dawn and nightfall are at the same time all through the year, they aren't shortened or lengthened in accordance with the changing of the seasons. (Woah, that sounded smart.)
Because of this, Guatemalans rise and head to sleep at around the same time each day, and it's different than us.
A regular wake-up time is 5-5:30am. A regular bedtime for everyone is 8 or 9pm. That's earlier than North America on both accounts. Last night I was SO tired by 6:30pm.When Jasmine told me we would go to Les and Rita Peters' house for dessert, I apprehensively asked how late we would stay. She gave me a worrisome look and said, "Oh, we're usually there til really late." I groaned and asked when exactly.
"Oh, some times we stay till 9 or 10!" I couldn't help but chuckle. 10pm is considered early among my peers.
This morning we went to another school- it was junior high and elementary, so it was neat seeing how the locals my age worship God. It was so cool- at one point, they all got on their knees and bowed! Even the boys who looked to be at least 12-14 years old were down on their hands and knees. Some had their arms raised above their heads and they were all singing so loudly.
The dances went well over all. The tile floor was super duper slippery- very dangerous. But the kids were so attentive, it was so fun.
Right away we went back to the DVBS school, and we taught 8 high school girls a dance. I felt so loved because right at the beginning, Mrs. Yourk told them to find a partner, and like 3 of them started talking and bolted to me and gravved onto me, wanting me to be their partner. I eventually ended up being partners with a beautiful Guatemalan girl named Ana. Later, another girl came named Deborah, so she was my partner, too. They showed us some of their Guatemalan dances using tambourines and ribbons. It was awesome!
Later... 4:20ish?
Dari, Jasemine, Claudia, Kimberly, Norwellia, Hilton, Hoyhay, Louven????, Wendi, Ezael. These are the names of the Guatemalan children from San Antonio that were put in my group. I love them beyond words, but it will be surprising if I ever get to see them again. I hugged all 80 of the children today. Hilton had so many scars on his face, I hope they weren't from a person....
I just don't know how many of them have experienced love- humanly love. Of course they have in their school and church, but how many from home? Oh, I just adored each and every one of them.
It makes me so angry to think of the 7-9 year olds back home. When we have a pinata, for example, the first few candies fall, and the kids dive for them like greedy monkeys who have never eaten before. It's maddening! Then, if they see someone with more candy with them, the tantrums. Whining, fussing, pointing, grabbing. It's all so stupid!
Norwellia and Ezael wouldn't let go of me. They are just thet sweetest things, but I really wanted to be certain that the children didn't get the impression that I was 'favouring' some of them. So I stroked all of them, hugged them, squeezed their shoulders, I just wanted so badly to show them the love that Christ has given me. In Canada, I would have looked like the Dorkiest weirdo ever. But you know what? Who cares what they say? If Jesus loved unconditionally and looked crazy, I will be crazy, too!
The most amazing part was when we prayed. They all lowered down so low. What I love is that these children are taught- they are brought up to know that ecstatic worship is wonderful. No half-hearted prayers, oh no. They are taught how to worship and pray, and that it IS cool!
When we pray in Canada, we just bow are heads and listen to one person pray. There, when one person prays, everyone prays. Every person starts whispering and murmuring their own prayers with their hands raised. Some kneel down, others stand. They ALL pray together! So when they prayed for me, they put their hands on me and all started whispering prayers in Spanish at the same time. I was so touched. To keep it together, I just started praying for them. I went around the circle and touched each one of them and prayed: "Gracias, Senor, por _________" and put in their names. That means, "Thank you, Lord, for.... Claudia, Wendi, Horhay..."
We went to someone's house for supper- we made the corn dough, rolled it into tortillas, put in some cheese, pressed it into a perogie, and then deep fried them. We put sour crout, salsa, and super spicy sauce on.
The Mrs. gave us her testimony, and we met her miracle child- Jennifer. Alicia (Al-ee-see-ya, the wife) was apparently barren for 8 years. It was like the women in the bible. Sarah, Rachel, Elizabeth... but then, after feeling sick for 3 months, she went to the doctors' but she didn't want to go in to have her hopes shattered again. But when she worked up the courage to go in, she found out that she was 3 months pregnant!
I forgot to mention her dream before those three months. There was a shining white man at the top of a hill. She ran up to him and begged him for a baby. He handed her a sheep and told her, "Take care of this lamb." She left, still carrying the lamb. Her friend firmly believed that Alicia would bear a child. That was Jennifer. I touched her.
I touched a miracle today.
Day 5 - Wednesday, July 3rd 12:45ish I'm guessing....
It took quite a while for me to fall asleep last night, because I was thinking how cool it would be to speak in chapel someday about worship- comparing worship here and there.
This morning we went to Chicoy school, It was nice and small like San Antonio. The children were very receptive.
After that, we went to Chijacorral once more for the work project. It was just more shoveling and leveling. Fun, but very tiring. Our working equipment was crude- a water bottle for a level, a wood plank for a guide, a shovel and wheelbarrow for a bulldozer.
It was thinking about it, and I heard a lot of people going to the work project with the wrong attitude. Not necessarily a negative one, but one of mostly self-interest. I heard people saying excitedly, "Oh! We wanted to get excercise, anyway!" "Oh! We get a chance to get healthy!" "Oh, this will be so fun!"
Today, the original plan was to visit the Sinkho. (It's actually called the Sinkhole, but for the longest time I thought it was 'Sinkho.' I think that sounds cooler, so I'll just go with it.) The 'Sinkho' is one of the natural wonders of the world. It sounded like it would be fun- a hike to beautiful scenery, one of the world's natural wonders- win! Right? But we learned that it is full of witches and warlocks, witchcraft and demons. They cast spells and try to communicate with the gods of the underworld through burning incense and sacrifice. They believe in 3 layers of the world: the heavens, where people dwell, and under earth (where the gods are).
Ozker told us this morning in Chicoy about a many who went to the Sinkho, (I should tell you that people spend sometimes 15,000 Q- loans from the bank- and pay the witches to give them something they want: money, prosperity, a spouse, healing, etc.) so he had been feeling like there was something crawling in his left arm for a long time, and he wanted it to stop. He paied the witchc, who sliced the man's arm open from the shoulders down to the wrist, pried open the flesh, and pulled out several FROGS!
The candles they burn are different colours for different meanings.
Black = death
blue = health
white = prosperity
red = sacrifice
I decided I didn't want to go. At first, I thought it would be cool and weird and good to know what these people believe, but as you can see, I learned quite a bit without going. I got to thinking about it and, although it's good to be aware of such things, is it necessary or good to expose ourselves to this evil? In the bible it says to have nothing to do with those who do wrong, but to run from evil. FLEE! I think it's a little strange to be wanting to visit places with sorcery. Jasmine, our translator, told us that it's freaky, creepy, and eerie down there, and that when they brought a group of full-grown men, they were in tears. She said you sometimes feel strange things from the incantations, spells, and spirits.
But now, we are on the road, headed to a coffee plantation. We hope to buy some Guatemalan coffee! Mmmmm!!!Later... 7:52pm
Aren't you proud of me? I actually knew the time for once!
So, after visiting the coffee plantation, (it was cool seeing how they make the coffee... and interesting seeing what our delicious Instant Coffee is really made of....) we went to the guesthouse. It was gorgeous! It's so amazing to hear the whole story of how it came to be, and the hopes and dreams that they had for their property.
The guesthouse was built from scratch for just the equivalent of $100,000! It had a gorgeous courtyard. Oh, I wish we could stay THERE.
This group of Holland men came to Impact Ministries to build the ultimate greenhouse. Automatic sensors, the latest technology, and it was as big as a gym! (And it's all free!) They aren't even Christians.
Les was telling us how some of their grade 12 graduates, instead of going to University to pursue a career, they come back to Impact and lead. One man, Edgar, (who used to be the sponsor child of someone connected with the team) is now the pastor of over 600 people! Crazy!
The thing is, his dream was to be an Agricultural Engineer, but he was broke. He did go to university and got a degree in Agricultural Engineering, but that ate up all his money. He was getting married, needed to move somewhere to build a house, and find a job that would probably use his skills. He had been giving his life completely to the people of Tactic, but he just couldn't live there, and was very sad. People were praying that God would provide a way for Him to use his training in his home, so he could still be with the people he loved, and stay connected with Impact Ministries. God was just beginning to work His miracles!
God says that He will bless those who are faithful. If we lose our lives for His sake, we will find it. So, out of the blue, this group from Holland, non-Christian, just chose Impact Ministries! Out of all the other places, they chose Impact Ministries, in the Middle of Guatemala! What amazes me is just the absurdity of it all! First off, it's a non-Christian organization. Second, they are from Holland, the randomest place anyone would imagine God's blessing coming from. Thirdly, they chose Impact Ministries, snuggled in a very remote village a way up in the mountains of a third-world country, rather than choosing a place where their organization would actually be advertised. Fourthly, it was all free! Fifthly, that means the company was losing money to give away this huge, expensive greenhouse! Sixthly, the workers they sent are on summer vacation, and chose to leave their families to travel the difficult road up to these rural mountains of Guatemala and work! Seventhly, it's some of the most advanced technology in the world!!!
And in this way, Edgar can stay at Impact and work in the Greenhouse, because it's perfect for the training he's received! GOD PROVIDES! It was totally God's hand of blessing working through a seemingly impossible source, to produce an economic blessing, providing for not just Edgar, but for all of Impact Ministries, and Tactic!! God has a way of surprising us by giving us way more than what was expected, and blow our minds!!! <3
Day 6 - Thursday, 4th of July 9:26pm
"Losiento," but I am far too tired to write. I'm absolutely exhausted, but I learned SO much today- especially during debrief when Les was talking. I really hope that I will remember everything cuz it was all very impacting and important.
The hospital was the main thing. Buenas noches!
Day 7 - Friday, July 5th
Oy. Today has been... odd. I got to sleep in until 11:30, but only because I had been vomiting all night long! I was so very sick- it was terrible! But I am feeling better now. I had to miss out on the presentation at Chijacorral, which was sad. Jasmine said it's a typical Guatemalan sickness, but most people get it for 7-10 days. She said when she gets it, she vomits day and night nonstop for at least a week. She said it was surprising that I got over it so quickly. I hope I'm completely better....
So anyways, our afternoon has just begun, and it's been lovely.
Checked off the bucket list:
-eating lime/chilli ice cream (EWWWWWWW)
-getting a Guatemalan sickness (I guess that wasn't really the 'lovely' part...)
*-getting my own SPONSOR CHILD!*Her name is Ana, and she's in grade 4. She is so beautiful and sweet. I can't wait to sponsor her.
We went to her house to meet her- she kissed me so many times. I gave her a gift: a ribbon, a bracelet, crayons, hair elastics, and shampoo. We also gave her family a food package: rice, beans, coffee, soap, and more! We are visiting everyone's sponsor child.
Later... 5:40pm
I was very disappointed that I couldn't go visit the rest of the sponsor children's houses, but Van wanted me to stay home and rest so that I could be well enough to dance my very best tomorrow. I fell asleep and just woke up at 5. We walked to the tienda down the street. (Tienda means shop.)
Day 8 - Saturday, July 6th 10:16pm
Tomorrow we leave Tactic. It's bittersweet. I've learned so much, and I know I've been neglecting regular logging. But tonight, at our final debrief, everything just flooded into my mind. It's just way too much. I am saving a lengthy writing session for our plane rides. I hope everything is still fresh enough in my mind for an adequate recording.
I can't wait to start sponsoring Ana. I am praying that God brings her to do amazing things. I love her so much.
I still need to write about: -the hospital -sickness -market game -teacher thing -Night of Worship -debrief -Shishim, the Catholic Church
Day 10 - Monday, July 8th 9:49am
After waking up at 4:45 this morning, battling cockroaches and ants, we charged through customs with rumbling bellies and nervous jitters, hopped aboard flight 2138 and conquered the world. Good-bye, Guatemala. I suppose I promised to do a lot of writing on the plane, so now's as good a time as ever to start. I'll make a list of events that must be explained, and check-off as I go.
-the hospital
- sickness
-Tactic market game
-teacher party
-Night of Worship
-Shishim, the Catholic Church
We went to the "hospital" on Independence Day. I was, and still am rattled by the memory of the experience.
--We will be landing in Texas in about 15 minutes, so I guess I'll be leaving the bulk of the writing either at the Dallas airport, or at our next flight. It will get done, eventually. Ciao!--
Later... on the way to Calgary 8:05pm
The layover was generally painless. It went by shockingly fast! Details aren't important, so the last thing I'll say about it: Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino.... yum.
Okay. So I think I'll just pick up from exactly where I left off, so maybe read the last couple of sentences before reading on.
....We were told to do our very best NOT to cry. Les said that we were there to bring God's light and hope to the sick and dying, not sadness and despair. It was so hard- I sort of failed. But my heart was broken! We went around the rooms, to each bed. (There didn't really seem to be a very organized system- beds, crooked and broken, just lay scattered all across the room randomly.) We went and prayed for each child and their parent. One by one, the person praying would be the one to either touch or hold the child. The first boy I prayed for... it was so hard to keep my composure for the duration of the prayer. Hot tears were streaming down. He was probably three months old, and he was dying of starvation. He wasn't hooked up to any IV's or anything- it was just him, lying in a dirty hospital bed. His skin was crinkled and wrinkled- there wasn't enough body fat to fill it. He was terrifyingly thin. He may have died by now. I prayed so hard, and I hope the Guatemalan families left behind will not be angry at God if the boy passes away.
Even the parents who weren't Christians, they eagerly allowed us to pray over their child. I also prayed for a little boy named Ian who had a brain tumor. His father thanked my profusely, and Ian was so happy with the small stuffie that I gave him.
What hit most of us real hard was simply the knowledge that most of the kids were dying from an illness that we could fix in a jiffy back in Canada. A lot of them had pneumonia, and a lot were starving. One 5-year-old boy had a terribly painful growth on his neck. When we first walked in, the poor boy was screaming in pain, and his family was holding him still. His eyes were completely bloodshot from crying. But even he, when he was given a toy, managed the very slightest hint of a smile.
We prayed for a 6-month-old baby and her 15-year-old mother. That was certainly eye-opening. I had heard about mission's teams visiting young mother's homes, but being up close with a peer who had her own child, wow. She was so cheerful! I was just numb with the thought that she could be in my class, and she's a mother. Her baby girl, Jessica (Yessica), had pneumonia, as well.
We went into the maternity ward and gave packages we had made to the new mothers. We went into the room where they put the newborn babies, and off in the corner was six baby bins. In those bins, in peaceful oblivion, lay six abandoned babies. Those were the ones that we were allowed to hold. All I could think about as I looked at the sweet faces of those infant orphans, was the road they would have to take. Will they ever be adopted?
I pitied them, I felt sorrowful, but I came to realize something. In Canada and North America, we have another way of abandoning babies, and it's much worse. It's called abortion.
I don't want to talk too much about my sickness but to paraphrase: I woke up in the middle of the night, bolted to the bathroom and watched as my supper hurled itself into la toilette. It was so bad. Barfing nonstop with a nasty case of the runs- it was just lovely. I won't go into detail. But the jist of it: it was a long, confusing night, I threw up almost every 5 minutes, and was completely out of it.
At one point, I woke up to see Van and Mr. Yourk standing beside me, praying., They were probably there for 5-10 minutes, but with my confusion, and since I dozed out every few seconds, I thought they had been standing there for hours.
I had been thinking how Mr. Williams looks a lot like Johnny Depp. And in my delusional state, I thought it was him. I was so excited that Johnny Depp was praying for me! Haha! But it was not so. But... I think Van was probably a better person to have praying for me. LOL.
I had to sleep in the next morning, and slept most of the day. I barely ate a thing. All I did that day was go and visit Ana, my sponsor child.
Jasmine said it was amazing how I caught and recovered in just one night from a sickness that most people get for over a week. Thank you, God!
Like I said, I was very disappointed that day, but I believe it was exactly what I've been praying for! I had been praying for months that God would really humble me. For one, I've always been the one to think, "Oh, I would be the very last person to get sick. I'm healthy! I would never get sick!" But instead, I was shown that I am not invincible, I am weak. I am not the star of the show, and they were able to cope without me being there. I've prayed, "God, I know it's not fun while it's happening, but I pray that you would somehow humble me...."
On our last full day in Tactic, we played a group game. I was on Team Rashleigh (my family). The three teams were each given a sheet. There was a list of things we had to buy... but everything was in Spanish. The list would say something like: "Cuantos Papinos." We had to record who made the transaction (who bought the item), and how much we paid for it.
We didn't have a translator, but we still had to go through the uber crowded street market and find about 10 different items, barter for a fair price, all in Spanish. It was tricky! Our goal was to complete as much of the list as possible by spending the leasst amount of money- and we only had an hour and a half to do it! So we were crawling and clawing our way through the market like headless chickens, shouting mispronounced Spanish words in hopes that we could find it. It was chaotic, but fun.
The staff at Chijacorral threw us a party! I was amazed at how much work they put into making it something special for us. We played games, made picture frames, took pictures, sang songs, it was awesome.
I was so touched and appreciative of all the effort they took to say 'thank you' to us. (Or 'gracias,' in this case.)
For Impact Ministries' annual Night of Worship, we performed the dance with the highschool girls, "Thank you, Senor." It went well. We did some of our other dances, too. There were quite a few other dramas and dances done by the Chijacorral teachers. It was very cool. One drama, I've seen Open Air Ministries in Alberta do one very similar- same idea, but different music and details. One very different part was when they encorporated a witch doctor. (They portrayed it as being a bad thing, of course.)
After all the presentations, it was just worship led by local bands. Some songs I knew the English to, which was cool. We left halfway through, which was too bad.
One very interesting thing Iwanted to talk about was when we visited the Catholic Church up on the mountain. We weren't there for a service, but instead just to listen to Les tell us what it was all about.
There was another statue beside the cross- I don't know what it was. But it also had the feathers, the candle, and it had leafy branches, which had to do with some sort of witchcraft ritual.
It was sad, seeing the cheerful faces of so many lost Guatemalans. They are on death row if they don't leave those ways. Apparently there's also a lot of witchcraft inside the church.
I will leave off on that note. My hand is cramping pretty badly, and we are soon to land in Calgary. We are almost home. I have a lot of memories and lessons recorded in this journal, and someay soon I will pour over it all. But for now, I come to our journey's end. Our mission's trip is now over.
Oh wait, no.
It's just about to begin!
~ Karis
Thus, the finished product of many hair-ripping and face-palming hours, the moment you've all been waiting for.... (or not expecting whatsoever...) the slideshow! EVERY great mission's trip must have a slideshow, you know. Of course! It wouldn't be complete without it. It's simply customary missionary-etiquette!
It's the proof for those who prayed and supported you, that you really did deliver. God made this possible and did so much down in Guatemala- not only for the people we ministered to. Not just for those sick babies lying in the hospital beds. Not just for the sponsor children. Not just for the workers we helped. But for us, too! I felt unbalanced- I felt like I was taking more than I was giving. How wonderful! That we could work so hard and feel like we're giving all we've got, only to realize that we were being impacted the most.
Writing snippets and excerpts for your friends back home to read is great, yes. But it just doesn't compute. Telling people your adventures- it can bring a tear to the eye. It can move them, for sure!
But after you've told them and tried your best to explain and make them understand, the final touch is to show them. Give them a glimpse of the people. The culture. The scenery. The work. Images speak directly to the mind, and it helps everyone feel like they were a part of it- whether through prayer, blessing, support, preparation, anything. So, without further ado, enjoy the sildeshow!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TilbFJYkeXc
For starters, the driving is like in a movie. It’s every man for himself out on those roads. With no seatbelts in the cars, we were so thankful to have Guatemalan men as our drivers- they knew the ropes. If any of our leaders had attempted to drive, we probably would not be speaking here today. Even though there are no traffic rules, it is really pretty safe. The only rule, which is more of an instinct, is simply to make way for each other by any means necessary. No one wants to die, people just want to get where they’re going, and get there fast. The roads definitely don’t fit two cars side by side, and with trucks and vans parked by the sidewalks… there’s barely room for one. I don’t remember seeing any lane indicators on the roads, probably because they wouldn’t have mattered anyway. People are always dodging back and forth. Basically, whatever works, they go with that. You always have to be on the lookout because unfortunately, more often than not, pedestrians are completely overlooked, therefore, they are overrun. By that, I mean, squashed. For at least five hours one way, we were driving up the mountains, (perilously close to the edge, it seemed like), getting sick and sore from the jostling about. The roads were the windiest roads I’ve seen in a long time… which didn’t help much. We were also travelling with three random Dutch fellas who we had never met before, and who loved to talk nonstop as fast as they could. Basically, the only pleasant part about that ride was the scenery.
Once we were up in the mountains, we had to give up one of our vans that had carried us up to Tactic. Our group was about 20 in all, including our translator and driver. So, instead of ten people in each van, we had to fit everybody into one. Every day. Hot and sweaty, we made it work by people sitting in each other’s laps, and squishing five people per seat at least. Our prayers were answered in this way! Our prayers that, “We would grow closer as a team.”
Secondly, our days. Since Guatemala is close to the earth’s equator, day and night are of almost equal lengths all throughout the year. People get up with the sun. For us, that meant starting each day at 5:30am. The days were so long and went by so slowly, which was great, only I can’t remember ever being so exhausted. For Guatemalan people, even on weekends, 7:00am would be considered ‘sleeping in.’ And for most people, a decent bedtime is 7-8pm… or whenever the sun sets. One day when our translator told me that we’d begoing to debrief at the Peters’ house that evening. I groaned as I was pretty much dead on my feet, and asked how long we’d be. Her rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, usually we stay really late.” I did not wanna hear that. But, cringing, I pressed her to specify. She goes, “One time, we were there until 9:30.” I had to laugh out loud. When I told her that a regular bedtime for most people my age in Canada was anytime between 10:30 and midnight, she nearly fainted. We didn’t usually end up going to bed before 10:00, just because our days were jam-packed with activities and jobs. So, 5:30-10:30 was about the average length of day, with nonstop dancing and digging and running around and learning.
Third. The food. We were fed like kings there. Kings that eat chicken every day of their lives. It was always cooked a different way with different sauces, but chicken it remained. They treated us like royalty, seeing as most Guatemalan families can’t afford to have meat more than once a week. Along with that we got to try some brand new vegetables that I’ve never heard nor seen before. One night we went to our driver’s house, and his wife taught us how to make their main staple food. It’s like a tortilla. We made the dough with flour and water basically, and then we had to take a handful, roll it into a ball, and then slowly spin it while flattening into a circular shell. We failed epically. After about 10 minutes, I managed one because it was so hard to keep the dough from breaking and ripping while you were flattening it. After we made the shell, we put cheese inside, and then folded it over somewhat like a perogie. They were then deep-fried and served just like that. They were good, somewhat bland, but good. I can’t imagine having it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, though.
Guatemalan culture is…. Exciting. Compared to Canada, they are much warmer. Yes, in climate, but especially in communication. In Canada, when you pass someone on the sidewalk, you’re lucky to get a smile, much less a full on greeting conversation. In Guatemala, if you ignore someone, it is considered extremely rude. You just don’t do it. They prioritize relationships much higher than productiveness. If you refuse to meet with someone because you want to run an errand, it is just wrong. There were certain greetings for the different genders. Man to man, they just shook hands. Man to woman, you have to tap the other person’s elbow while speaking. Woman to woman, you hug them and put your cheek next to them and make a kissing sound. It was altogether really friendly, and a lot more fun than Canada. They beat us on the social level.
On a similar topic, one part about Guatemalan culture that I found really inspiring was their humbleness. Like I said before, they value relationships higher than other things. When we went to our sponsor children’s houses, we brought gifts for them. When I handed my gift to my sponsor child, I was so excited to see her open it. I just wanted to see the huge grin on her face and the thankfulness. But, I was kind of disappointed when, after I handed it to her, she hardly looked at it. She said ‘Gracias,’ and then moved it off to the side. Her mother had obviously taught her well. The thinking behind that is, if she turned her attention to the gift, she would be placing greater importance on the gift than me. So I never got to see her open the gift. The whole time, she didn’t even look at it. She was just focused on me, and the other visitors. At birthday parties and weddings, they don’t put their names on their gifts. If you think about it, it’s a much more selfless way of giving. When I give gifts, I often like to think how they will love me more because of the great gift I’m giving them. But, if I think like that, then I’m not giving out of love for that person. I’m thinking of myself and not them. If you don’t put your name on your gift, they will still get the gift, but you will not specifically be acknowledged for it. It’s totally backwards than what we’re used to in Canada, but I think they have it right.
Something we all had to be cautious about was our hand gestures. Simple signs that are the norm in Canada could be incredibly rude and suggestive in Guatemala. We were not allowed to stick our tongues out at anybody, even playfully- it's considered extremely crude down there. Another was we were not allowed to make the "shame-shame" movement with our hands, because it meant something terribly different than what we would have thought. We couldn't point our finger a certain way at each other, (I made that mistake once, luckily no one was around to be overly offended). The worst one, perhaps, was waving. To wave, we had to always have a flat hand and just sort of... wave. But if we closed our fingers at all, like some people wave, it did not mean "Hello," it meant "I am going to murder your children." o.O We were always extra cautious about that one, obviously, because we were told that years ago in Guatemala a missionary had made that mistake. She waved 'good-bye' to the children at a school, but when she waved she opened and closed her fingers. The entire mission team was murdered because of her 'threat' towards the children. Let's just say, after hearing that, we always gave our hand movements and gestures a second thought.
On our last full day in Guatemala City, we played an ‘Amazing Race’ kind of game. We were split into three different teams. Each team was given a paper. On that paper was a list of about ten different food items. They were all in Spanish. Beside the food item was the quantity…. Also in spanish. Below the list of food, there were extra challenges. The challenge was to get a picture of the team participating in the listed tests. They ranged from “Go get a haircut,” to “Take a picture of one of you in a palm tree holding a Spanish soda can” We were on our own. With no translator, and with limited money, and only an hour and a half, we had to:
a.) find our way to the market on foot
b.) run around the market yelling out our interpretations of these Spanish food items, since we did not know what we were looking for
c.) buy the proper amount of the proper food
d.) barter with the food tenders at the market for a fair price (Since we were foreigners, they were bound to cheat us into spending more)
e.) figure out, in relation to Canadian money, how much was considered ‘too expensive,’ and how much was considered ‘reasonable.’
d.) spend the LEAST amount of money.
e.) buy the biggest/heaviest food items
f.) Find different locations around the village (The names were also in Spanish) and take pictures of ourselves trying out these different experiences.
g.) Add up all our points correctly, and be back ON TIME
The rules seemed staggering, to say the least. The game itself was insanity. We all ran around the market like headless chickens yelling, “Sandia! Sandia! Sandia?” And when a young girl would hold up a watermelon, nod, and clarify, “Si, Sandia!” We would have to choose the BIGGEST one. After that, she would give us a price. Needless to say, we were pretty pathetic barterers, barely pushing for a lower price, and letting them have the money they wanted. In the hot, hot sun, it was craziness trying to find the barber shop, the post office, the police station, and different animals to photograph. In the end, it was a huge learning experience, and a lot of fun competition to tie off our stay in Guatemala!
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