Guatemala trip - Day 5

Today was another normal day with a fairly normal schedule.  We began the morning working at the child care center – some were painting while others were playing with kids.  We also spent some time handing out “wordless book” bracelets.  The team would enter the class, ask the teacher to read the insert, then they would give the bracelets to the children, or put them on their arms.  We were able to give all 700+ students and teachers one because one of our AMG supporters made over 850 for us to bring with us.

Jasmine began her mural on the building – since it is a counseling building, she decided on the theme of trust.  Her plan – to paint Noah’s ark on the wall.  She began the process in the morning, and by mid afternoon had much of it done.  I am looking forward to seeing the completed picture.  It really looks good.

After lunch though, the team had some other work to do.  One crew went back to painting the building that we have been working on all week (and are getting very close to finishing).  The remainder of the team began putting together food bags that we are going to distribute on Thursday.  We were putting beans, powdered milk and another powdered product (smelled like peanut butter cookies) into smaller bags from the 100 lb bags they came in.  We were scooping 1 lb bags for the milk and other powder, and 3 lb bags for the beans.  We added these bags to another bag and added sugar, oil, an some other items, and then we placed the 200 bags into a van.  Tomorrow we will distribute them at another child care center in rural Guatemala.

The late afternoon was met with a tradition of playing soccer against the maintenance crew.  Marco, Pancho (Fransisco), Pooch (Juan), Cocoa (Abel), Ronnie and Abuelo, along with Chad Smith, played against our team of 11 gringos.  We struck first scoring 2 times early in the game.  Then a long pause as the ball went back and forth with no one scoring.  Eventually Pancho punched one in, and shortly after Cocoa scored as well.  The game was cut short (although we had played for about 1 ½ hours) by a lightning storm.  We took some photos, prayed together, and said our farewell.  Tomorrow and Friday are holidays for the men, so we will not see them again this week.

We headed back to the hotel, had dinner, took time for a wrap up session, and then another game of Rage.  The team really had a great time working together, playing together, and just being together.  They are having a great time.

Tomorrow we go to Camp Canaan – and then hand out food.  It’s gonna be another great day, Lord willing. 

Guatemala trip - Day 4

Holy Cow – what a day, packed with various events that where emotionally and physically draining.

The day began with the continuation of working at Verbana on the building for the “psychologist”.  We tore the roof off (a tin roof) and then began painting.  Around 9:30, group 1 went on a home visit, followed by groups 2 and 3 at 10:30 and 11:30 respectively.  

I was in group 2 with 3 ladies and a young man.  We went to a little girl and little boy’s house – her name was Keslie (like Leslie with a “K”)  I carried her most of the way to her house.  It was just a mile or so, but she was just a little girl.  Anyway, we arrived at her house, and after a few minutes, someone arrived at the door. As we waited, I looked around her “neighborhood”.  Her house was perched on the edge of the ravine, a few steps out her front door was a drop off about 1500 feet or so.  Not the safest place for 3 little kids to grow up.  The houses around were mostly made up of block or concrete, so from the outside it didn’t look all that bad.  However, when the door opened, we were instructed to step over the mud, climb onto the pile of stuff, step onto the chair, over the pipe and enter the one room house.  It was rather difficult to maneuver through all of the stuff, but eventually 3 of us arrived at the room – which was good since there was only enough room for the 3 of us and the mother (Norma – interestingly enough for me).  Keslie and her cousin (a 2 year old little girl) were on 2 separate beds that took up most of the floor space in the room.  I spoke with Norma, and she told me that 4 adults and 3 children live in this room – a room about 12 x 12 total – filled with clothing, toys, stuffed animals, etc. gathered from the dump just a few miles away.  The entrance to the room and the room itself wreaked  - the smell was almost too much to take, but Norma seemed to be unaffected by it.  We visited for a while and then made our way back to the child care center to work on our project.  On the way home, I carried Keslie on my shoulders – my thoughts moved to prayer for her and her family – that God would do something amazing on their behalf.  Truly it was a difficult experience.

Ruth took me outside the gate this morning to talk about a wall she wants to build to keep the kids safe.  Some of the block are already available, but they need about $6000 and some men to build the wall.  I need to pray that God would provide the masons needed for this project.

Lunch time brought a trip to Pollo Campero – kind of like a Kentucky Fried Chicken of Guatemala.  We ate and talked – we were joined by the Smith family, Alex, Ruth, and Mariposa (an English teacher/interpreter who helped us this morning).  I had a 9 piece nugget tray with fries and cole slaw.  Best part – I was able to get some Pepsi.  I needed that.

After lunch, Chad had a surprise for us.  We drove to a cemetery on the other side of town.  After entering the cemetery, we drove to the farthest back part, climbed out of our vehicle and walked all the way to the back.  From here you can look over what seems like an ocean of trash.  Seems pretty normal for a city of millions, but what was distinctively different was the thousands of people surrounding the trucks as they brought the trash in so they could rummage through the trash to find a treasure.  They were looking for paper, plastic, toys, dolls, etc.  anything that they could use to earn money.  People everywhere – vultures everywhere.  It was baffling.  Birds taking to flight, hunting through the garbage, looking for food – hundreds, maybe even thousands of them.  There were as many people as there were birds.  It was hard to watch.  We stood on a ledge high above the dump, but could not help but be moved by the condition of these people.  I need to be faithful to pray for them – I know God has something more for them, something better.  Thank God for the ones that are here reaching out to these people every day with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We ended the day with a game of rage and then a wrap up session where just about everyone talked about the impact that these 2 events had on them.  I think the team has moved from the “tourist” stage to engaging the culture.  It is painful, but helps them understand more what living in Guatemala really looks like.

Tomorrow we get back to work on the building – and then a soccer game against the maintenance crew.  I have talked up a big game, so I hope we can deliver.  Enough for now – it’s time for bed.

Guatemala trip - Day 3

Bizarre beginnings…  I woke up probably 2:00 in the morning because the 13 year old boy sleeping in the bunk on top of me jumped out of bed.  Still asleep, he walked around the room and eventually stood staring at the door.  After numerous questions with no response, James asked, “Devin, what are you doing?”  To which Devin replied, “I am waiting for the door to open.”  Shortly after that he sits down on my bed, and of course I fear he is getting ready to pee on my bed – but – thankfully that is not what happened.

Eventually I awoke around 5, and got up around 5:30 and took a shower.  I went into the other room of guys and found them all sleeping.  They had said they were going to be up early, but at 6:15 they were all still asleep.  Later I got the story.  One of the guys had set his alarm for 6:40 in the morning – only he forgot to change the time, so at 4:40 local time the alarm went off – he hit snooze – went and took a shower.  After 2 more times of the alarm going off, one of the guys finally got it shut off.  Talk about an annoying way to start your day.

After breakfast and devotions we headed to Verbana to work at the center.  Our task for the week – take a broken down, nasty, dirty building and clean, paint and prepare it to be used by the “psychologist/counselor” for the childcare center.  This person(s) will be caring for the emotional and relational well being of the children.  Many of them deal with rather difficult situations at home, so this position is vital for many of the children.

The building was pretty bad, but after about 6 hours of labor, I believe it is ready for a new roof, some electrical work, and then a fresh coat of paint.  Hopefully we will be able to accomplish all of this by Friday.
One of the guys found a 12" snake - red body - black head right outside the building - it was pretty cool, but the women and the teachers didn't think so.  Harrison would have loved it - Dee... not so much.

I was able to see a bunch of the guys from the maintenance group – they were excited to see us and to talk about past visits.  We challenged them to soccer on Wednesday evening, so I am looking forward to a great game.  I told them, “You won a game last year, we won a game this year, this is the tie breaker!”  They just laughed.  I love watching them work – they are hard workers and take great pride in what they do.

I was also able to see Diego (Harrison’s buddy) again, along with many of the other children I get to see.   Diego and one other boy asked about my son and when he was coming back – I told them December. This is my 4^th time to Guatemala in less than 24 months, so the kids are getting familiar with me, and I am getting acquainted with them.  The teachers are also excited to see the teams come and interact with the children.

I was able to watch 2 funerals happen today from the top of the basketball goal (you have to ask), we heard drums playing and a trumpet playing and I figured it must be a funeral.  It was difficult to watch people mourn the loss of a family member knowing that they might not know Christ as Savior.

After dinner we went to Chad and Marliana’s home for coffee and dessert.  The team had a great time, so it was well worth the visit.  I think the Smith’s enjoyed our visit just as well.

It’s about 9:30 and I am ready to wrap it up.  It has been a long day, but a good one. The team is doing well.  I know people are praying for us because God is teaching many of the team great things, and they are sharing them with each other.  I thank God for the supporters that make this all possible.

Tomorrow is a little more of the same – looking forward to hanging out with kids, the maintenance guys and getting things done.  Off to bed.

Guatemala trip - Day 2

The day began with packing up and cleaning up at the Osborn and Wilson homes.  Then we took our luggage to Las Semillas – our hotel for the week.  Then, off to church.  The service was good, we did not understand much of the service, but they read from Psalms 34, challenged us about body life from Ephesians 4, and the main passage was from 1 Peter 1.  I spent the time reading 1 Peter, so it was a productive service.

After church we had coffee and bread with the church members, and then headed off for Antigua.  It rained all day, so we shopped in the rain, walked in the rain, some visited sites in the rain, etc.  Mainly, we got wet and chilly.  It was a lot of fun though – watching the team shop for various items.  Teams often get really excited about their purchases – one of these days I am going to start a list of purchases with how much people paid for them.  Knives and machetes where the primary item of purchase, I think all of the guys got either a knife or a machete.

One team member (Linda) is extremely funny – especially since she is just like my sister (with the same name).  She loved the shopping, and enjoyed getting deals and bargaining with people.  She borrowed $50 more than what she started with.  She couldn’t get enough of the shopping thing.  Later in the evening I pulled out the laser that I purchased in Greece, and she ended up buying seven of them on Amazon when we got home.  Yes, she is very much like my sister.

The team had a good time of evening wrap up – I believe this is going to be a good team.  They all seem to be excited about tomorrow’s work and beginning the projects that we have before us.  They are excited about seeing the kids and interacting with them.  I was surprised at how “nervous” some of them seem – especially about the kid part – but I think some of that is because they just haven’t experienced anything like this yet.  By tomorrow afternoon, they will be settled in and enjoying their experience – I am certain of it.

Well, it’s been a long day – time for bed.

Guatemala Trip - Day 1

What a beginning – I think it I have a Guatemala curse or something.  Last trip to Guatemala I left my passport at home.  This time I carried on 2 bags on my first flight (the one from Atlanta to Detroit), and while going through security I put my wallet in my bigger carry on.  Anyway, I arrive at the check in gate in Detroit, and the lady tells me I can check 2 bags.  I debate doing so, but I figure, why not?  So I do – within minutes I realize that my wallet was in the bag, so I quickly go back to the counter and ask the lady (who is presently working with the person right after me) that I had left my wallet in my checked bag.   Less than 30 minutes later my bag was returned – devoid of $555.  That’s right, whoever returned my bag released me of the burden of carrying $555.  For some reason, I really didn’t appreciate it.

Anyway, the curse of the beginning of the Guatemala trips has continued.  All I know is the last trip was a wonderful trip, so I am confident that God is not going to allow this trip to be ruined by a thief.  As a matter of fact, on the plane, God challenged me to pray for the person who stole my money.  Not really sure how to pray, I stumbled around in my thoughts.  “God make them experience 10x the calamity they have brought upon me.”  “Father, make them feel so bad about taking it that they find out who’s it was and return it.”  “Lord, bless them.”  What??  Bless them??  Are you out of your mind?  Well, that is what God challenged me to do, so (and I must confess – with much disdain and a little complaining) I prayed that God would allow them to use the money for things that they needed, and that ultimately they might come to know Him as a result – who knows?  Maybe someday I will be greeted by a brother who came to know our Savior because of a $555 withdraw from my luggage.  Only God knows.

Well, it is 1:16 our time, 11:16  local time, and I probably ought to get to bed.  The team is getting settled in at the Wilsons and the Osbornes (thank you both for sharing your homes while we are away).  God has been good – we arrived safely with all of our luggage and our health so far.  This team is going to be an energetic bunch, so I hope I can keep up.  I feel like I am a little tired – some because of recent travel, some because of mental anguish with me stupidly putting my wallet in a bag, and some because a part of me still wants to be home with my family.

Enough for today.  Time for rest.  Tomorrow we have church and then we are going to Antigua. 

Greece Day 9

Today we began the work with the children.  Things are set up and we have no idea what we are up to.  I have yet to meet the guy we are working with, but hopefully this morning we can get our plan together – I love it when I don’t have a plan, yeah right. 

Well, sure enough, we met this guy from Detroit son of a Greek woman with a Slavic father who spoke very good English and Greek.  He is with Child Evangelism Fellowship.  He has all the plans for the morning set, so we just need to follow his lead.  That’s exactly what we did.  He sang songs with the kids, he taught the story, and we sat next to the children and helped keep their attention facing in the right direction.   Then we played a game with the kids – he had 4 corners – one was food names, soccer team names, clothing, and something else at the final corner.  Anyway, he would say a word that associated with one of the corners and the kids had to run to that corner, last one there was out – the kids seemed to enjoy it.

At noon we headed off to see King Phillip’s grave (king of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great).  Costas told us it was the second greatest find of the 20^th century, just uncovered in the past 40 years.  It held 2 tombs encasing 3 people – Phillip and his 8^th wife (the other 7 chose not to be killed/buried with him) and Alexander the Great’s son (who was killed - with his mother and grandmother - at the age of 16 by his successor).  Both tombs held gold items, ivory carvings, etc.  It was very cool. 

From there we traveled to a Monastery near Berea, and it was closed.  Very cool views from the mountain it was on, and the trail right behind it lead to some really neat waterfalls.  It was a very cool trip.  We were able also to see the city of Berea from a distance, but ran short on time.  We ended up heading back for the evening service.

The evening service was a little longer, and we were given a little more responsibility.  Paul did a brief magic trick with his magic coloring book.  The kids enjoyed it.  Then we played elbow tag – if you’ve never played just ask and I will tell you all about it.  We had a great time with the kids.

After dinner we decided to head back to the hotel, but before we went some of the team grabbed ice cream at the snack shack right next to the soccer field.  Lawson and I decided to play some soccer and Tony became our goalie.  About an hour and a half later, our team of 4 decisively defeated the team of about 10-12 others.  Of course our youngest member was 14 and their oldest was 12, but whose counting.  Winning is winning. Seriously, I think it was the best thing we could for tomorrow – either the kids we were working with were playing or watching – tomorrow should be more interactive with the kids because we played with them tonight.

On the way back to the hotel Lawson, Tony and I jumped into the Sea – yes, in our regular clothes, but they were already wet from the sweat.  It was very refreshing.  Then we walked back home.  God is good – it was another great day of ministry in Greece.  Only 2 left and we head home on Tuesday.  I am ready to see the family again – I missed them on skype today.  Tomorrow is more ministry with the kids.