It’s hard to believe we have been in Guatemala for almost three months. What a crazy three months it has been. My team and I have been busy teaching Bible and art at Morning Glory and just hanging out with the kids there and getting to know them. It has been so cool to be able to be a part of Morning Glory; the Guatemalan school year runs a little differently from the American school year, they take their “summer break” during the winter months. So this past week was the last week of school for all of the students.
At the end of the last Bible class for the Kindergarteners all of the students went and prayed with their teachers. By the end of it all of the littles were crying because they were sad to leave their teachers and the teachers were crying because they were sad to leave their littles. How awesome is it that Morning Glory is a school that provides a safe space for all the students, so much so that they are sad to leave if only for a short three months.
Each child at the school has a different background, some students are sponsored so they can attend, and others can afford the tuition easily. Some students show up to school in a clean uniform and perfect braids in their hair, and others wear a tattered uniform. Some students have loving families and some have very difficult home lives. Morning Glory is a school that is doing amazing things for the community, all of the students love the school and most importantly they feel loved at the school. It is a school that exudes Christ’s love, and works diligently to make a difference in students’ lives. Here are a few of the sweetest moments from the past three months.
Once, the teachers had a meeting so my team stood in as substitute teachers. Each of us was stuck in a classroom with 30 third graders and told to just try and keep them from killing each other and to try and keep them in the classroom. I was so overwhelmed, kids were running in and out of the class and shouting at each other, I had no idea what to do. But there was one little girl that invited me into a game with her friends, we all sat down and soon more and more kids joined the circle until most of the students were playing the game. Several other girls came over and asked to braid my hair, even though some of the kids were still running around like crazy it was such a sweet moment as we all sat there playing silly hand games.
Anytime you walk into the pre-school/kindergarten area of the school you can expect to be assaulted by dozens of tiny humans wanting to give you hugs and asking you to push them on the swings.
Our team rides the bus to school and back with all of the kids, so many days the bus ride has been my favorite part of the day. The ride to school is about 15 minutes and is an absolutely gorgeous drive. I just remember one afternoon on the way home, the sun was shining, it was beautiful outside and all of the kids on the bus were singing along to a song on the radio. It was just one of those moments you could sit in forever.
My teammate Mirm and I are fairly decent Spanish speakers so we got asked to help translate for an American visitor which required going to a town 30 minutes away and hanging out at a school there all afternoon (our ride was one of the teachers). So here we are two Americans just sitting in the courtyard at this school in a town we know nothing about, and slowly some of the kids come over to talk to us. Quickly the number of kids grew as they realized we could speak some Spanish. We spent 4 hours talking to these kids about anything and everything. At one point they asked us what kind of music we liked to listen to and Mirm turned on some Hillsong or other worship song and one of the kids had that exact same song in Spanish on his phone! It was just another one of those sweet moments where you knew God had you in that exact place for that exact moment.
Those are just some of my favorite moments from the past three months. Only two more weeks in the Guat before we move to South Africa! I need to be fully-funded by the end of November to stay on the race and I’m only $700 away! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far!
