Day 8

Good news, Omara had a baby boy. The baby has not been named as of yet. It's customary in Guatemala for mothers to leave the hospital without a name for their child.

Thursday was a pretty busy day. Pastor Leonel had devotion with the kids and mothers at 8:30 a.m.. Immediately following devotion was the birthday celebration. Myra recognized all of the kids who had a birthday in October, November, and December. We gave out the birthday gifts that Amy and I bagged the day before. Gilma served the homemade birthday cake she made for the occasion. The cake served about 80 people. My job was to take photos.

After the birthday celebration, Myra started part two of the food distribution of beans and corn. A few of the mothers thanked me for my contribution to the mission which purchased the food that was being distributed. Typically, fruits and vegetables are given away on the second day of the food distribution and not beans and corn (beans and corn are more expensive to purchase).

The rest of the day was calm and relaxing. Time to pack and get ready for my trip home.

Day 7

Bienvenida a Miércoles!

First, I need to make a correction regarding my post from Day 6 regarding Omara. Omara actually lost three children; she lost two of them early in the preganancy (spontaneous abortions), and the third one died at age 10 from a Rotovirus.

Okay, let's move on to today's events. Every Wednesday morning Pastor Leonel has devotion with the staff at the mission (Myra, Gilma, Andrea, Graciela, Amy, and Pastor Leonel's wife, Johanna participates as well. Devotion started around 8:30 a.m. Pastor Leonel examined a scripture with us, and prayed for us as a group and individually. Johanna led the group in songs and prayed as well. This midweek devotion strengthens the team and recharges them for the work ahead, and at the same time allows them to discuss and seek prayer for any issues on their minds. This team is cohesive and so, so powerful! I wish you could see them in action.

After devotion, Amy and I bagged more beans and corn to prepare for the Feeding Program on Thursday. Myra informed me that because I decided to come visit when I did, the money I paid for my stay here helped purchase the food to be given away on Thursday. Otherwise, the food given away on Tuesday would've been all that was given out this week. The Feeding Program takes place every Tuesday and Thursday.

In addition to the Feeding Program, the mission celebrates the birthdays of the kids in the program every quarter. Amy and I went through a few bags of toys and hats sorting them to give out to the kids who had birthdays this quarter. Everything was donated by Kelly's church, and there was plenty to go around. The boys received a hat or a truck if they were very young. The girls received Beanie Babies or other stuffed animals and things for their hair.

Later in the afternoon, Myra and I went to her office to see what else she needed me to assist her with. We worked together to update her contacts to her new email system and then I gave her a crash course on how it operates. I thin I talked her into automating more of her processes. I'll have to get an update from Amy to see how that goes.

Tomorrow, I assist with the birthday celebration and take photos, review a spreadsheet application with Amy, and teach Gilma how to flat iron Myra's hair. I forgot to mention that I flat ironed Myra's hair last week. She got a new hairdo when she went to the States and wants to try it out for a while.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but Kelly's church also gave soccer balls and cleats or tennis to all of the boys in the program.

More photos to come.

Thanks for reading. I hope you're enjoying my journal and are inspired in some way. Come back Thursday and again on Saturday as I wrap up my experience here in Guatemala.

Day 6

Hola!

It's Tuesday and this is the day the mission holds a morning devotion service with the women and children from the community. After devotions, the Feeding Program begins. The Feeding Program is 3 days per week (I believe).

The devotion service was so full, I had to stand because all of the seats were taken (so I thought). During the service a little boy stands up and lifts a stool over the heads of the other kids to pass to me. My face lit up at his random act of kindness. I smiled, and he smiled back...I think I made a new friend.

While I was listening to the message, I noticed one of the little girls (I guess she's about 3. It's hard to tell because the kids aren't as well nourished as kids in the states so, they tend to be smaller.) staring at me. So, I smiled and gave her a little wave. The next thing I knew, she came over to me and hugged my legs and sat with me the rest of the service. She talked to me in Spanish and I could only say, "Si," (yes) and nod my head and smile. It worked for her so I guess that's all that matters. I believe her name is Jenifer (that's the way it's spelled here), but to me she's "Bright Eyes." Her eyes are wide like quarters almost, and hazelish (my blog, my word) in color. Her hair is golden brown and is usually in ponytails. She has a very European look, which is odd here.

Anyway, after the message I took a few photos of the food drive. Then I heard a baby crying, it was Bright Eyes. Something didn't go her way, and her older sister was trying to keep her calm. I couldn't handle watching the tears fall from those big eyes so, I stretched out my arms and she reached for me; leaving her sister gladly. Gilma's eyes met mine from across the room, and we both looked amazed. Well, my friend list is growing...as it usually does with the little ones.

The mission will have a new participant soon. I found out from Alicia (one of the women in the program who I will talk more about later) that Omara (pronounced Omyra) is at the hospital almost ready for labor. Omara is another one of the program participants (She's married to one of Alicia's sons). She has 2 kids I believe. She had 3, but one of her sons died sleeping right next to her (I don't recall his age, but he was young). It's believed that his system was infected perhaps from drinking dirty water or something of the sort. Later in the evening we found out that Omara still had not had the baby yet.

So, Alicia is a woman who lives in the 1st house on the hill. I'll try to upload the pictures of Alicia tomorrow. Kelly and Lisa (the 2 missionaries that were here for the weekend) have been ministering to Alicia for a while now. Alicia hurt her leg and was unable to walk or stand much for that matter. She gets joy out of making tortillas and was unable to do that for quite some time due to her injury. This changed her disposition drastically, because that's one of things that she really enjoys. Actually, her husband was the cause of her injury. He pushed her over a barrell and she fell and broke her leg. He fights her when he's drunk, and she's had several serious injuries over the years. Anyway, we made a special visit to her home so that Lisa and Kelly could deliver a leg brace to her, some clothes for her and her younger kids, and give her some words of encouragment. She seems like a nice lady in a bad spousal situation. I heard her husband outside my window tonight sounding like he had way, way too much to drink again. I got a little worried that he would go into one of his rages. I said a prayer for the safety of her and her kids which was all I could do. I could hear her son trying to coax him into calming down. I didn't hear any fighting so, I believe Alicia is safe. I will continue to pray for her and her family. Please pray for her safety whenever she comes to your mind as well.

On a lighter note, I was sitting in the kitchen earlier today eating some homemade cookies Erika made (Erika is one of Myra's former mentees). I offered a cookie to Graciela (in the picture at the top of the blog). Graciela speaks Spanish only so, we communicate a little here and there but not much. She took the cookie and said very clearly, "Thank you." I screamed in surprise, and we both laughed. She's been listening to me talk just as hard as I've been listening to her both trying to pick up a few new words of a foreign language.

Although I'm typing Tuesday's message, it's Wednesday, and I'm not feeling up to par. Something I ate is not being very kind to me at the moment. So, I think I'll call it a night.

Day 5

I started not to journal today. I guess today was not as eventful as most. Lisa and Kelly, the other visitors who were volunteering over the weekend, left very early this morning to get back to Virginia. Already I miss them...I miss our morning devotion that we had each day before we started any mission assignments. We got along so well, like old friends who reunited. My thought is that we'll meet up in DC or Virginia and again here at this mission some time in the future.

Today, most of my time was spent helping Myra with office work. One of her goals for me is to automate some of the processes and documents that she uses on a regular basis. In addition to that, I will teach her "daughter" and office assistant, Amy, how to manipulate spreadsheets and other software programs that will be beneficial to managing the projects the ministry does on an ongoing basis like the food distribution program.

Speaking of the food distribution program, Amy and I spent the morning putting black beans and maiz (corn) in individual bags to be given out tomorrow to the women in the program. Also, some of the shoes that were donated by my coworkers will be distributed tomorrow after the food distribution and after Pastor Leonel delivers his message.

Well, I'm going to turn in early tonight. If I get to bed early enough, I may be able to get enough sleep before the roosters wake me up around 3 a.m. I am longing for 8 hours of sleep. I think Myra has turned in already as well. She's not been feeling the greatest since she arrived back from the states. I came with a suit case of natural remedies so we made her a cup of ginger tea from some fresh ginger root I brought with me. She seems to be feeling a little better.

I haven't had time to play with the camera today to upload the pictures. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Day 4

Thanks for coming back to read my journal. I'm sure there are a million other things you could be doing, but you stopped by to sit for a spell and look in on today's experiences so, thanks for stopping by. And I do realize that by this point you want to see some pictures. I'm working on the photos and hope to have them up on the site tomorrow.

Well, today was a very good day. There was Sunday morning service which included singing and dancing by the children. That was such an amazing experience. I think what made it so special is the zeal the children expressed about participating in the service and how sincerely they demonstrated their love for God through song and dance. There was no shyness or bribing the kids and no pulling their arms...they genuinely loved what they were doing. It was simply lovely to behold.

After service, the women who work (I like the word serve better, actually) in the ministry served homemade tamales. What an experience! They started making tamales the morning before and practically worked the entire day on just the tamales. I had no idea it took that much work to make tamales...cleaning the corn husks, all of the boiling and rolling...I was feeling tired just watching them work. But it was a labor of love for them and they never even broke a sweat. To see about 200 hundred people being fed and enjoying every bite was reward enough for them. Gilma (pronounced Hilma), the team lead, is really someone special. She truly, truly loves to serve the people in the community through this ministry and puts her all in everything she does, and she's the sweetest person you could ever meet. She's simply remarkable.

Lidia's Update
Yesterday, I wrote about our night trip to the mountain to see Lidia. Lidia was in service today with her beautiful, bashful smile and a pretty white dress. After service, the doctor came back to town to work on Lidia's legs. He came equipped with topical anesthesia and other medical supplies and treated her legs. Once he cleaned off the dead skin, believe it or not, he used pure honey as an ointment to help heal the wounds. I need to mention that he is actually a beekeeper and harvests the honey himself. Amazing!! Where do these people come from? Well, they are everyday people like you and me who happen to be on assignment and know their tasks, trade, or skill whatever you choose to call it. Here's what I know for sure, all of us have abilities, skills, and/or something we are good at doing...something that comes naturally. The real question is, is it all about us or do we use any of those things to serve others on a regular basis? If not, why not? (rhetorical question) It really is rewarding and it usually helps the person who is giving just as much, if not more than the person on the receiving end.

Oh, I need to go back to I believe Day 1 and answer the question about what type of things I will be helping with while I'm here. So today, I served as the videographer and the photographer taking candid and planned shots. Tomorrow, I'm helping to coordinate the birthday celebration for all of the children who had birthdays in the last 6 months. At some point, I'll download the videos to a cd for Myra and attempt to upload them to Face Book or You Tube or wherever Myra's heart desires. I've stuffed Christmas stockings, helped with little creative ideas, and as I mentioned before, accompanied the field team on house visits and just spreading love. I'm having a blast, and I still have about 4 days to go so who knows what else I'll be helping with. My Spanish has gotten somewhat better, but it still needs work. The dialogue is helping since Spanish is the primary language and not everyone here speaks English. What's really interesting is that the people here are just as willing to learn English as I am to improve my Spanish. My experience in Italy was much, much different.

I'm learning quite a bit about the culture here in Guatemala. It's always interesting to see how other societies function. That's a topic for a different day.

Hasta mañana

Guatemala Mission - Day 3

Today, there was a big Christmas party for the kids. We were up late last night stuffing Christmas stockings for the kids and their mothers. We celebrate the moms tomorrow; today was all about the kids. It had to be about one hundred kids there today. The party started at 10a.m. although, some kids were there by 8:30 a.m.and so filled with excitement.

This ministry is such a blessings to these kids, who literally have almost nothing. Every kid had some type of gift when they left: soccer balls for the boys and stuffed animals for the girls. They thoroughly enjoyed the arts and crafts and even got pumped up singing songs with the pastor.

Late this evening, we went back up into the mountains to take a doctor friend of Myra's to see a little girl who was badly burned when she was playing with some matches she found. We noticed the burns yesterday and went to the pharmacy to get some cream earlier today. Normally, I don't even walk in my neighborhood late at night. So, you can kind of figure how we felt walking through a mountain with one little flashlight to help little Lidia. We each whispered a prayer for protection and proceeded to walk up the hill to Lidia's house. We did go above and beyond, but sometimes it's about sacrificing our comforts to possibly save someone elses life. I would've loved to stay in the house and have a cup of tea before retiring for the evening, but it wasn't about me and there is no way I would've had any peace. It was about loving this little girl enough to see that she got medical attention before her situation got any worse. I'm convinced that you don't have to walk around sounding like a King James clone to show the love of God.

Day 2

We went up into the mountains yesterday to do house visits with Myra and the pastor. The only houses we stopped at were the ones that belonged to the program. Honestly, I didn't even need Myra to tell me which houses belonged to the program . I could tell by the look in people's eyes whether they were involved or not. The families that Mrya services had the look of hope in their eyes and joy and belief in their heart that God has not forgotten them. They welcomed us into their homes and were happy to update Myra with any concerns or needs.

A few of the families we visited had an ill family member. We made a circle around them and the pastor prayed for their healing and the well being of their families. Though we visited several houses; I can't seem to get Olga off of my mind. She was probably in her early to mid thirties with 7 kids. She had a 2 month old baby that looked much healthier than her other children. We took turns holding him and playing with him. When it was my turn to hold him, he sat quietly on my lap as I cuddled him, and the next thing we know he fell asleep peacefully in my arms and then started laughing in his sleep. Meanwhile, Olga was telling us that after she was released from the hospital, she came home to find that her husband was gone. Sadness filled her eyes a little, but vacated when she found out that the ministry would help her with some of her basic needs. As we did with the other families we visited, we gathered around her in a circle and prayed for her and her family. Some of the children came to join in. I made a point to touch and hug and kiss every child even the grandchildren (yes, her teenage daughter has a child). All it takes is a touch to heal and to wipe away any trace of sadness.

We went all through the mountains up one side and down the other. For me, it was like a hiking trip with perks along the way. The perks of course were being able to touch the lives of others with love, a smile and a prayer. Seeing the living conditions of those families wasn't a new experience for me, but I'm always inspired by how much they trust God and have faith that their every need will be met and they don't complain about their circumstances. They simply keep pressing and praying knowing that God will answer.