Our ministry contact this month is a man named Arnold who is the pastor of a church called Torre Fuerte. (Which means Strong Tower in English…I just love that name!) He also runs the elementary school next door to the church. We have been working at the school for most of the month, painting walls, painting a world map mural on one of the walls and even teaching English classes in the afternoons.
The church and school we have been working at this month!
The world map mural we painted on one of the school walls.
Arnold is such an amazing guy. He doesn’t speak much English, but he is always trying to make us laugh. I've never seen anyone work as hard as he does, but he never complains and does everything with such a joyful spirit.
Team Pursuit (with a few extras!) with Arnold, his wife Claudia and his youngest son Jonathan.
Last week our team’s job was building stoves for some of the church families. The wood burning stoves are made of concrete blocks with a metal stovetop for cooking, and a chimney for ventilation. Most Guatemalan families cook over an open fire, which leaves their homes blackened with smoke. We've also heard countless heartbreaking stories of children suffering from severe burns from falling into fires in their homes.
We visited a family in the mountains that had never seen a white person before. The children spent most of the day curiously peeking out at us from the cracks in the door.
Our very first stove, with our very first satisfied customer.
The second home we visited had a few families living together. There were countless little kids running around everywhere, chickens scratching in the dirt, and piglets squealing in the bushes. Anton and Clark were quickly put to work levelling a dirt floor for the stove. Amanda and I helped sift the concrete, but felt a bit out of place when we didn’t have any more work to do. We were quickly reminded that interacting with the family would have a much bigger impact than giving them a stove. The kids were a little shy at first, so we started to blow up balloons. They quickly lost any inhibition and were grabbing for the balloons, jumping on our laps, laughing and running around.
Proof that Amanda and I can work just as hard as the boys!
Me with some of the kids! (They were just SO sweet!)
Maybe it’s the dental hygienist in me, but the first thing I noticed about the kids were the cavities between their teeth. Some of them had rampant decay that had rotted their teeth right down to the gumline. I’ve noticed that most adults here have terrible oral health, but to see it in children so small really made me feel helpless. Prevention is SO critical, so it felt like there was nothing I could do. You could tell how much the women of this family loved their children, but for an afternoon snack they would divide up a 3 litre bottle of Coke. I would love to tell them that they should be giving their kids water instead, but how could I? They can barely afford to feed their kids, and Coke is cheaper than water in Guatemala. It feels like my heart keeps breaking for things that I can’t change, and I am constantly being reminded of how blessed I am.
Later in the day, we sat by an open fire with the mothers and grandmothers and made tortillas. There is a very specific technique that results in a perfectly round and incredibly thin tortilla. One of the women could make two perfect ones for every pitifully lopsided one we could make. Eventually they trusted us enough to let us do the job ourselves. It was a nice to be able to help do a daily chore for them, and I’m sure we gave them some entertainment as they laughed at our pathetic attempts.
Amanda and I getting our first lesson in tortilla making!
They offered us lunch of eggs, tomatoes and some of our freshly made tortillas. They served us before their own children and I’ll admit that I felt guilty to take their food. They watched us take every bite, and we made sure to be very vocal about how much we were enjoying it. From the smiles on their faces, it was obvious that they took so much pride in being able to give us a simple meal. I definitely learned a lesson in humility. Sitting around that fire, I realized that taking food from them was the best gift I could give them. It’s strange that letting someone serve can be more humbling than being the servant.
At the end of each day we have been teaching English to students at Arnold’s school. Standing in front of a classroom of Guatemalan kids without being able to speak a word of Spanish is more than slightly intimidating. We considered teaching them common phrases, but quickly decided that with our limited vocabulary teaching the names of animals would be a better idea. I would draw a picture on the board and then write the English word underneath. Then we would get the class to repeat the word out loud. We started with the basics like “cat” and “chicken”, and then moved onto African animals like “elephant” and “giraffe”. Eventually we were out of ideas and taught them animals like "walrus" and "octopus". It was pretty hilarious to see the kids congregate after school was finished. The other class was practicing phrases like “How are you?” while our kids were practicing how to say “walrus”. I’m not entirely sure they will find a way to practically use the word "walrus" in the mountains of Guatemala, but they did have fun learning it! It was actually pretty amazing how attentive the kids were and how eager they were to learn. They would carefully copy down each word in their notebooks and would jump out of their seats at the opportunity to write on the board with a marker.
Teaching English class!
Our stoves have been completed. Even though I didn’t actually do much of the dirty work, it was a nice feeling to know we had left a home better than when we found it. I might not be the best English teacher in the world, but was able to make my students smile every afternoon.
When I think about how many people I will come in contact with in the next 10 months, I have to wonder if the people of Guatemala will stand out in my mind. I hope they do.
Keep Guatemala in your prayers. On Monday we will be packing up our tents (so far I’ve been lucky, rainy season and no leaks!) and heading to El Salvador!
View from the school! This is what I look at when I eat lunch everyday.
