Easton Baptist Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 2

Easter Sunday morning, and we started the day by studying God’s word.  We looked over the book of Philippians, and discussed the ideas and teachings of the book.  We spent a little time on verses 1 and 2 of chapter one as well.  I love the thoughts that the team shared today.  I know this will be an excellent week in God’s word.
 

After breakfast, we headed off to the Fraternidad.  We weren’t sure whether it would be crowded or empty because of Easter Sunday service, but we were pleasantly surprised by the end of the service, as probably 6,500 – 7,000 people were there.  The praise and singing were wonderful, and the pastor was enthusiastic.  The whole service was in Spanish, but many on the team used headphones with an interpreter helping them understand.

We headed back to Thelma’s after the service and prepared for a day of contrasts.  After lunch, we went to the city dump and watched from the back side of the cemetery as people funneled through the garbage for “treasures”.  As the buzzards flew over our heads, we were told some details about the people that lived and worked in the dump.  It is always a humbling experience going to the dump and seeing such sadness and thinking about the hopelessness that goes along with this situation.  Without Christ, these people have no hope of a better life either here on earth, or in eternity.

From here we drove to Cayalá, a “city” of its own inside of Guatemala City.  As of now, 3 sections of a 20 section plan are completed.  It is an area with its own government, its own security, its own board of directors, right in Guatemala City.  There are homes, churches, shops and stores, restaurants, etc. The city police are not allowed to patrol this area – it is completely secured from the “outside world”.  The rich and elite visit this place in complete safety, as there are “secret service” type people all over the area patrolling 24 hours a day.  There are video cameras catching the details of everything going on.  It is an amazing place. 

While we were there, I saw a child run their bike into a container that held a tree – they had them for decoration all around the area.  Anyway, this kid hits this thing because they are not paying attention, and they bumped their hand on the container.  They proceeded to get off the bike, and look at their hands.  Within 3 minutes, the first “secret service” guy came over and asked to look at the child’s hand.  Shortly after, a second guard came to assess the situation.  Within 10 minutes, there were 2 security guys and 2 paramedics (they arrived on the scene on motorcycles) to attend to the child.  It was unbelievable. 

The interesting thing is that just a stones throw from this “haven of safety”, are children and families that are poor and needy.  If a child there were to fall and break their arm, they would be lucky if someone would express an interest in helping, nevertheless call for paramedics.  The duplicity in Guatemala is overwhelming.

We ate dinner at a pizza place and headed for Thelmas, where we had our evening wrap up.  I love to hear the team process the events of the day, from the “healing” portion of the service this morning, to the visions of the dump, to the variations of lifestyles in Guatemala.  I am excited about what the team will learn as we continue to serve together here in Guatemala.

Thought for the day:  I mentioned the fact that without Christ the people in the dump are hopeless.  We were able to hear stories of people who came to know Christ as Savior, and now serve the people of Guatemala because their lives have been changes.  We were told of children who now attend school and are hearing about Christ because of the ministry of AMG, and that is exciting.

The truth is, though, every one of us is without hope without Christ.  There is no difference if you are a poor dump worker, or the executive of a fortune 500 company, if your life is not “in Christ”, as Paul reminds us constantly, we are very hopeless.  What is the difference then?   Why are we conscious of the need of the poor but often times miss the need of the wealthy? 

The thought for today is the fact that I have human eyes that see human condition, and I often equate the physical world with the eternal.  I need to see the world as Christ saw the world.  The spiritual needs are more important than the physical because they are eternal.  Poor people will die – Rich people will die.  No matter how hard or easy their lives are here on earth, the eternal condition is the only thing that lasts.

Lord help me see the condition of people through Your eyes that I might minister to the eternal and real needs, not just the conditions that I can see with my physical eyes.  Help me reach out to others in such a way that their eternal outcome will be affected by the truths of Your Word.