A quick blog about Guatemala and what we are doing here. This month’s ministry has just been fantastic. We work part time in a wheelchair factory and part time with a village called Xinajco.
The factory is amazing. It’s run by a man in America named Mark, who was here for our first week helping us settle in. He was super cool for me to talk to as he was an embodiment of multiple people and parts of recent church history that I’ve always wanted to know more about. He was at Woodstock. He was saved during the Jesus movement. He was friends with Keith Green as a kid. He served later with Joni Erikson Tada. Now he works with this ministry that gives wheelchairs to whoever needs them in Guatemala. I was so blessed and encouraged to talk to Mark. I love meeting believers who have walked longer than me with Jesus and can offer perspective on things I haven’t seen.
So, the wheelchair factory… during the week the workers here, many of whom are also in wheelchairs, make the parts of the wheelchair and create the basic assemble. Companies and people from all over donate pieces of scrap material or old chairs or whatever- and this organization is able to super efficiently put all donations to use. The design is their own and is customable to each child. Twice a week the Guatemalan government arranges for children to be brought in from all over. They come from different parts of life. The children come with their parents. We get to help customize each chair for the kids. Some of the kids have never had a chair before. Some of them have never been out of their beds or seen where they live. It is an emotional time for everyone. I can only imagine how hard it is for parents with children with severe needs like these in the states, but what about in a third world country. Many of these parents have no support or have never met another parent with a similar life. It is wonderful to watch and have a small part to play in helping these lives be improved.
Plus, after all the kids leave, we get some awesome wheelchair basketball time in with some of the workers. It’s super fun, but I have to confess, it might be one of the more dangerous activities I’ve taken part in this year. These friends are out for blood. They block, they grab, they knocked my glasses off once, and have almost run over my feet on multiple occasions. But it’s all in good fun and we have a blast!
Our time in the village has been part working with a church doing manual labor tasks and part working with some business women that also put on a local school. One day we taught about basic hygiene for an hour to find out afterwards that the children would be staying for 4 more hours and we were in charge! (Oy.) If the world race hasn’t prepared us for this though, I’m not sure what else would. Tyler ran to the store to get candy prizes and the rest of us busted out every skit, song, and game we could think of. This is me being the Lost Sheep from the parable about the 99 sheep in Luke ___.
But mostly the kids just want to be played with, and I’m not sure who could do that better than me and some of my teammates. (Random side note, but many of these kids were wearing TOMS shoes, so a drop must’ve been done here. I was again encouraged to SEE some of the action I am always talking and hearing about.)
Our time in Guatemala has been a blessing and I am super excited to have had this last month with such amazing people.
We get to have a business trip in a few days traveling with our friends Hector and Juan (the ones who are in charge of us now that Mark is gone) to do a wheelchair drop in another city. A business trip? Sweet… I never even got to do one of these when I was working, so I am excited.
After that we will start our FINAL DEBRIEF, say goodbye to the World Race, and begin the rest of our lives.
Please prepare yourselves for the emotional wreck that I will be. J
