Month 1-Quiche, Guatemala
“Please buckle your seatbelts and prepare for landing! We will be arriving in Guatemala City in just a few minutes!” the pilot’s voice boomed across the intercom. This was it…,my trip to 11 countries in the course of the next 11 months had officially begun! Out the window, steep mountains painted a vibrant green met my eyes. Small towns and villages dotted their slopes and peaks occasionally. Soon, we swooped down over Guatemala City and landed on the airstrip. My team and I made our way through the airport and customs and piled onto buses that would take us to our ministry sight for the month. This month we will be serving in Quiche, Guatemala! Quiche is a town located in the mountains about 90 miles North of Guatemala City.
The bus ride to our destination was supposed to take 3-4 hours. International travel is always an adventure and of course our trip from Guatemala City to Quiche was no exception. The road to Quiche winds around and around as it makes it’s way up through the densely forested mountains. The town is located at around 7,000 feet. Around dusk we rolled through a tiny town and then came to a complete stop in a huge traffic jam on the edge of the town. A steady stream of people from the opposite direction flowed by us on foot. We were told that up ahead “the road had fallen” and that there had been an accident in which several people were involved. We were told that firefighters and other workers were attempting to rescue these people. As we waited, some of our team ventured into a nearby church service and others took time to pray for the workers and those involved in the accident. We were saddened to hear that there had been some fatalities. In a couple of hours, traffic started moving and we were once again on our way.
Darkness met us as we arrived in Quiche in the pouring rain, expecting to set up our tents. Our gracious hosts, Sally and Erv greeted us as we stepped off our buses and told us that because of the heavy rains, the field where we were supposed to set up our tents was very soggy and full of water. Due to this, they graciously have put us up in the dorm type rooms that they have for visiting medical teams. There are 17 girls in the room I am staying in. Some of us are double bunked while some are on the floor and a couple in hammocks slung between the bunkbeds. We are so very thankful and blessed to have such a wonderful place to stay out of the rain this month. Mucho Gracias to our amazing hosts! An outdoor kitchen has been set up for us and we have been having fun taking turns cooking for the teams with ingredients we find in the market here in in Quiche.
Quiche is a colorful town found high in the mountains here in Guatemala. It is the rainy season here…. meaning that it rains quite hard everyday for several hours. The temperatures are a bit cool in the mornings and evenings due the high elevation. The population here is roughly 90 percent Mayan. Spanish is spoken in the area as well as many different dialects of Mayan. I really wish that I had studied Spanish in college or high school!!! My goal is to learn two new words that I can use often everyday while I am here. My phrases that I am working on today are, “Como te llamas (What is your name)?” and “Me llamo…(My name is…).” Very rudimentary I know but I figure if I can learn at least 2 words or phrases a day it will help me out when we get to Nicaragua also!
We will be serving through the Agape House here. Our teams are all in one location this month. We will split up and be serving in different ministries through the Agape House. Some of the ministries here include medical assistance and clinics, orphanage work, and prison ministry. The last two days have been spent settling in a bit and getting to know our surroundings. We have gone into town a couple of times to buy groceries and such so far. The people here are very interested in us. Foreign visitors are not extremely common here so I think we are a bit of a novelty yet.
Today some of our squad joined our host, Sally, at a house where medical supplies were being stored. There have been several heavy rains lately and the house had leaked leaving many of the supplies wet. We moved all of the supplies that were dry by truck and then sorted through all of the moldy boxes that had been damaged by water and salvaged all the supplies that we could. Some things were to permeated with water and mold to save which was very sad. All of these supplies will go to hospitals and clinics in the surrounding areas.
We are staying right beside the hospital here in Quiche. The hospital serves a million people yet only has 150 beds. Sally was telling us today that they do not even have a defibrillator at the hospital. This is just a reminder of how much we take for granted at home.
In the afternoon a group of us went across the street to the hospital with Sally to deliver some cribs. Sally took us into the pediatric ward. We started in a room filled with beds where mothers nestled their tiny little premature babies. Sally explained to us that premature births are very common here due to lack of nutrition and hydration of the Mothers.
We next visited two rooms full of beds holding mothers who had just had their babies today or yesterday. All of the Mothers had their little babies with them except one who was crying quietly in her bed. Sally talked to her and found out that she had lost her baby. It was quite heartbreaking. Sally explained that many babies are lost at birth here also. Sally has a passion for mid-wifery and has began to train mid-wifes in the area in hopes of expanding their knowledge base. Her love and passion for this is contagious.
I am really looking forward to getting involved in our ministries and getting to know the beautiful people of Quiche during this month. We should find out which ministry our team is assigned to work with today or tomorrow. I am so blessed to be here already.
