Sarah's thoughts for the day....

We woke up earlier this Monday morning than we have in the few days we’ve been here in Guatemala. We were on the road by 8am and headed towards another mission house. This organization, started by an American who, like us, felt the call to go to Guatemala, is called Only a Child. It is a house and a workshop where young men, usually at least 18 years old, come to escape life on the streets. There are very strict rules in the house, in part because the situations that the young men come from have left them with some bad habits and irresponsible tendencies. They are often from homes in which their entire existence has been one of neglect, abuse, and violence. For many, Only a child is the only home or family they have ever had.

At the carpenter shop they learn to make wooden boxes of all shapes and designs. The founder of the mission, George, said that after they started the mission it became clear that the boys would need something to keep them busy as well as something that they could take pride in. After living at the bottom of society for so long and after having nothing to take pride in, these boys and men gain self-confidence and learn about dedication and what it means to work honorably. The goal of the mission, as George puts it, is to give them the chance to grow up to be able to support themselves as well as wives and children, and to reflect the characteristics of good, Christian men.

We got the opportunity to share a little bit about ourselves and our families, as well as to hear a little about the young men that live there. All are continuing their education, even if they are 22 and still at a 6^th grade level, and they are working hard to meet their goals. They have dreams of being everything from cooks to lawyers to publicists to pharmaceutical representatives.

After we got back on the bus we headed towards the cemetery. On the way we saw all kinds of shops. There were wood-working shops, mechanics, clothing stores, trophy stores and stands with any kind of fruit or vegetable you could imagine. When we got to the cemetery we were that we would have to pay a toll. Apparently grave robbing is a significant problem in Guatemala. As we walked through the tombs, all above ground because no one is buried underground, a quote from the Lord of the Rings jumped into my mind. “The kings built houses more splendid for the dead than for the living.” The tombs of the cemetery were very beautiful, if not a little run down, and after driving past houses made of tin sheets I could not understand how they could afford such splendor. But this is Guatemala, and sometimes things just don’t make sense.

On the edge of the grave yard there was a cliff face. It looked down over a valley that might have been very beautiful, like the ones we see in pictures of the Amazon. But one peek over the edge and all of that evaporates in the smell and the sight that greets you. Below, at the bottom of the valley huge trucks pull in and dump trash in great piles. Among these piles are men and women, picking through the garbage just like the vultures that flap next to them. These people come to the dump to make a living, a lot of them in the only way they know how. They sort out glass, plastic, wood, cardboard and food and bring it back to town to either use or sell. Many Guatemalans, even the ones that we work with at the mission, have family or friends that work at the dump. It’s not hard to imagine what effect this work has on their health and well-being.

Kevin joked with us earlier this week about how he avoids the locals giving us food. (Guatemalan food is unsanitary in a lot of cases and would make us very sick.) In order to not be rude he tells us that Americans are a very weak people, not strong like the Guatemalans, and they are not strong enough to eat the food. After seeing what these people live through, and really we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far, it seems there is a little truth to that.

Our last outing of the day was to the house of someone who had actually graduated high school as a result of Groundwork Guatemala. His name was Edgar and we got to meet his little brother as well as his new wife. We learned a little bit about his family and his situations and he shared a favorite verse. When we asked if he and Nancy, his wife, attended church he said no. This started a whole conversation that included ourselves and our Guatemalan guides about how easy it is sometimes to not go to church. Manuel, our driver and a leader of the adult bible study, was very firm with Edgar in telling him that he must remember his responsibility as a husband and as a Christian man to attend church and participate in a community of Christians. It was very inspiring and was really a lesson that all of us can relate to.

Monday, January 23rd

Okay, I suppose you are wondering what happened to Sunday.  The internet was down most of yesterday and through the evening.  So,  here's Sunday's post....

Worship today. Manuel’s church. Not quite what we have to offer in Coopersville. Lively, contemporary, good quality liturgical dance with young girls. Two hours. Would be good for all to experience - if only to make the one hour service seem short - and the pastor’s sermon seem the same. (In case you’re wondering, yes, it’s Pastor J blogging tonight for Connie - whose back is suffering…along with other backs in the group…in fact prayer for backs might be appreciated on behalf of quite a few…)

The group was well received in worship by very expressive worshippers. Joni would probably have been a little jealous of one lady who snuck in a little kiss on my cheek…the fact that she was probably Mom’s age not withstanding.

Continued working around the house in the afternoon. One thing bleeds into another. About the time we would finish one electrical project, someone would mention another, here a toilet seat, there a light switch, here a blind that needed cleaning, there a room that needed painting. (Joyce is a painting fool! Couldn’t stop her.) Was nice to be of service and hopefully set some things in place in such a way that they won’t be continuing problems for the folks coming and going here. Also just good to see everybody chipping in and using their gifts - or discovering new ones to do what needed doing and happy to do it.

Kevin and Ginny have been wonderful hosts in so many ways that I’m sure others can also express. One thing our loved ones might appreciate is that they are always very careful to keep us safe. We don’t wander outside the mission house and when traveling, again there are safety measures in place. The guys have made a couple of trips to Ace Hardware, and just being out and about I see a fast and self-absorbed culture with everybody in it for themselves… not unlike another culture I know… Perhaps more dramatic here, but people are people and “people need the Lord” and “their souls will be restless, searching, until they find their rest in God.”

(Well, there it is for Sunday.  It is now Monday and we are about to eat lunch.  We have already done the "introduction tours" of our mission this morning, and this afternoon we are starting our home visits.  Hopefully I will be able to post this day's adventures sometime tonight.  Adios.)
 

Saturday night, and all is well.

Sorry about not finishing my blogpost last night, to let everyone know we arrived in Guatemala safe and sound. I was super tired after being up for almost 40 hours... so, I hit the hay without blogging.

Passing through customs yesterday was a breeze for everyone... except Randy. He was traveling on a different airline than the rest of us, due to getting his ticket late in the game. He got a FULL body scan... AND, after a dog sniffed his carry-on luggage he had the opportunity to show all the contents to the customs officials.

What do they say about a picture being worth a thousand words? Well, instead of rattling on, I will send you a few thousand words in the form of pictures. Enjoy.

Larry is pointing out that this is the last chance for a meal with meat, as we are waiting at the Miami airport to board our plane to Guatemala.

As soon as we arrived at the mission house yesterday, God let us know why He had to send us down here early. We met three ladies from Indiana who were trying desperately to make good on a promise to provide 300 foam stars for a children's lesson before leaving Guatemala on an early morning flight today.  We offered our help and their mission was accomplished.  We gained some new friends.



We also got a head start in preparing for the children's crafts we are doing.  Crayons were being sorted on one end of the table as stars were being being produced on the other end.  It was a rather colorful event.






Our early arrival also gave us the opportunity to help Kevin and Ginny (our missionary hosts) with their ToDo list....

Ashley painting

Larry fixing an appliance.

Sue cleaning windows.  (BTW, Jim... Sue wanted me to tell you she is feeling fine.)

Pastor fixing the plumbing. 

And a host of other tasks were completed for our hosts throughout the day!

For lunch we had our peanut butter sandwiches out on the rooftop....

While soaking up the sunshine, we wondered what the temperature might be up north today. (Just kidding... I had to throw that in.)

Anyway, we even had time to work on our props for our puppet skit after the chores were done.

I would like to close tonight with thanks to God for sending us down here early.  Now, like everyone else... I'm going to bed now.  Talk to you later.

We are in Miami!

Hi everyone! We have landed in Miami and we're just chilling out in the 77 degree weather. We have about a 2 hour wait until our flight leaves for Guatemala.

I just checked the temperature for Coopersville and see that you are really chilling out in 7 degree weather. :-)

Here's how Pastor chills out....

We are almost ready!

Hey folks....we're counting down! Just three nights from now we will be leaving for Chicago to catch the "red eye" to Miami and then on to Guatemala. Tonight we packed up most everything but our personal items into suitcases.... you should've seen it. Really, you should have. But, I forgot I had a camera with me and didn't take a picture of our packing. However,I did get a picture of all the suitcases lined up in the gymnasium after we were done. Then, I accidently deleted that picture from my camera. Hmmmm. And they put me in charge of communications. For what it is worth, I did salvage one picture of a plastic bin of leftovers that we couldn't get into the alloted number of suitcases we are allowed to check onto the airplane. So, here's that picture... :-)

In case you are wondering... we hope to pack the rest of that stuff in our carry-ons before we leave on Thursday night. If anyone is interested in seeing us off on our journey, we are leaving about 9:00 pm on Thursday night. Thank you all for your support, and please keep us and the Guatemalans in your prayers while we are gone. We will keep in touch through this blog. Stay tuned....

To God Be The Glory!!

8 days and counting and we are on our way!!

Well it looks like I am officially added to the roster for our January trip. Funds are being raised. Airfare is purchased. Crafts are ready. Bible story is being put together. Songs are being picked out and taught (Thanks Sarah!) We just need to practice practice parctice. And we are off to serve the people of Guatemala!!