We made it safely from Dobromirka, Bulgaria to Antigua, Guatemala after about 5 days of traveling. We were driven from Dobromirka to Turnovo in Bulgaria and then took a 3 hour bus ride to Sofia, Bulgaria. We spent the night in Sofia and left early the next morning on a bus to Belgrade, Serbia (with a small bus transfer and layover in Nis, Serbia). We had 8 hours to spend in Belgrade before we caught the overnight bus from Belgrade to Budapest, Hungary.
Chris had meetings with the Squad leaders and finance personnel in Budapest for 2 days, so we stayed there for a small time preparing for our 8 month debrief in Guatemala. Then we finally left Budapest early one morning and flew to Warsaw, Poland, then to NEW YORK CITY! We slept on the floor of the airport in NYC and then flew to Miami and finally Guatemala City. We took a short shuttle from Guatemala City to where we are now… Antigua, Guatemala.
Whew, that was a lot of traveling.
The organization that I am working with this month is called Nuevo Generation and they have hooked me (and 9 other girls) up with working at a Hospice Center for the month. The home is called Casa Maria and it houses about 30 people who are in the final stages of life and cannot take care of themselves any longer. It is a Christian home, but I’m not sure if all the people who are there are Christians. (I speak very little Spanish. We have 1 fluent Spanish speaker in our group, but her time is split between translating for many people)
Yesterday was our first day there and we spent the morning helping to groom everyone. We applied lotion to their skin, clipped fingernails, combed and braided hair. Then, we played Loteria (Bingo) and helped with a craft that some people had brought to do with them. After lunch, we attempted an aerobics session, but only one or two people could participate (I think they liked watching us do it anyways) and we spent time reading books to them (in Spanish).
After one day, I already know that this month will be very challenging, but also very rewarding. We have the opportunity to show God’s love to people who are dying and help make the rest of their lives purposeful. It breaks my heart to walk in and see all 30 people in wheel-chairs sitting in a circle with nothing to do but look at each other all day. The people at Casa Maria may be elderly, but they are still people who are deeply loved by God. God still sees them and loves. God still knows how many hairs are on each person’s head and knows when they sit and rise.
My prayer for the month is that we can be truly effective in showing God’s unending love to the people at Casa Maria.
Psalm 139:1-5
You have searched me, Lord
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Psalm 139:17-18
“How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand —
when I awake, I am still with you.
