One day left in Guatemala!! I can’t believe month 1 is almost over. It feels so weird to speak in terms of “10 months” instead of “11 months”. This first month has been filled with tears and belly laughs, the fun and the mundane, all draped in the beautiful mess of community, adjustments and servanthood. We have been fortunate this month to have the opportunity to serve in a variety of different ministries. We are being hosted by Luis Castillo, a gentleman who founded an organization called Nueva Generacion. The organization’s focus is the youth in Guatemala and the goal is discipleship, missional training and sending. One of Nueva Generacion’s programs is a class on values and character that is taught in secondary schools throughout Guatemala in five grade levels. I had the opportunity to teach in this program. It is so refreshing to see the sincere inquisitive nature of the students and their desire to learn about staying true to their values and putting principles in place to guard said values.
Another organization I have served with is Hogar de Ancianos. This is an elderly home in Antigua, Guatemala that houses seniors. Many seniors in Guatemala are abandoned by their families for a variety of reasons. We work with the occupational therapist helping the seniors with their motor skills, doing worksheets, board games and brain exercises with them to keep their minds sharp, and just spending time talking with them, loving on them and keeping them company. They know that we love them because of God’s love for us. One of them told me that he loved Jesus and he loved me :). This has been my favorite ministry this month. The abuelos in the “Grandpa house”, as we affectionately call it, keep me laughing! They are so filled with life and personality. They are all so different, and so funny! Every time I serve there I end up laughing so much that my sides hurt. This in itself has been an answer to prayer. God is so faithful! Before I launched for the World Race one of my prayer requests was that I would have a blast serving His people and have plenty of opportunities for belly laughs. Here are a few highlights of my favorite abuelos:
Marcelino is both ornery and sweet. His moods shift like the shifting sands. One day he could be serenading us with beautiful songs as he strums his imaginary air guitar and the next he could be scowling, refusing to talk to us. Speaking of the latter mood, the other day the Minister of Health (Ministeria de Salud) for Guatemala paid a visit to Hogar de Ancianos. He entered the occupational therapist room, unannounced, with his entourage of government officials and camera men. We were quickly scooted up and encouraged to take a picture with him. As the camera flashes were going off, Marcelino suddenly raises this can he has been holding all day and starts screaming insults in Spanish. We later learn that the can contained his pee! In every picture we have of my teammates and I beaming with the Minister of Health, there is a hand holding a can (of pee) in the air, front and center of the shot! Hilarious! This is typical of life in Guatemala and the Grandpa house. Beautiful, messy, crazy, intimate (sometimes feeling like TMI), and hilarious! I’m loving every minute of it.
The many faces of Marcelino
Our team with the Ministeria de Salud, and Marcelino’s can
The Guatemalan smile is contagious. It is sudden and full faced. It is not uncommon to walk the streets and meet the eyes of straight faced locals, greet them with a “Buenos dias” and see them suddenly light up with big broad smiles! Nico, a senior at the Grandpa house, perfectly embodies the “Guatemalan smile”. She shuffles into the occupational therapy room with a cart filled to overflowing with stuff. She carefully covers it up, makes sure it’s secure and then looks up and flashes a smile at whoever meets her gaze. She then shuffles to a seat and begins speaking in whispers, actually with no sound at all, and making hand gestures, pointing and giggling. We still don’t understand why she “speaks” without sound. When asked what her name is, she speaks with perfect volume as she rattles off all five of the names in her full name. She loves to cut scrap paper and does that for hours, taking breaks only to smile at us, make gestures, soundless words and giggle.
Smiling Nico
Another ministry I have been involved in this month is Business Administration for Nueva Generacion. I and two other squad members have been on the planning committee for a youth rally to teach high school students about biblically based morals and values. We have also been working on marketing Nueva Generacion to the youth in the community, performing surveys and highlighting everything the program offers, such as a Friday night worship experience, an English and Music academy and counseling services. Our hard work for the rally paid off. God is faithful! We had 270 students attend. We had activities stressing certain values such as obedience, punctuality, patience and teamwork. We performed skits showing the relationship between choices and consequences and my teammate, Michelle, did a talk about how we need the Holy Spirit’s help to honor the values that we hold dear.
As our time in Guatemala comes to a close, I feel filled, hopeful and excited. I am looking forward to continuing to build community with my teammates, learn to love God’s people and His world well, serve others in every opportunity God presents and have the time of my life doing it all! Next stop, Honduras! Hasta Luego!
