Guatemala was a whirlwind of adventure, ministry, and relationships that went by way too fast. My team was placed in Chimaltenango, about an hour away from Antigua, with Logan Sierra as our host at Grace English School. Grace is not a large school, and Logan already had a gap year team with him (Gap year is the race for if you are 18-22), so most of our team didn’t spend everyday working directly at Grace. Logan is a fantastic networker and works with many different schools around the city that he sent us to. I loved being able to meet so many people in Chimaltenango through working with Logan and the connections we made through him. Here are some of the places I was able to help out this month.-
This is a picture inside Grace English School. Coffee was always available and I would enjoy it as I helped students practice their English
Public School:
I’ve always had a heart for kids in public schools, so when Logan said half our team would go to a public school and half of our team would go to a private school I knew right away where I wanted to go. Going to the public school every morning was a joy that did not come without difficulty.
Upon arriving in Central America I only knew a few words and phrases in Spanish from growing up in Tucson and enjoying Mexican food, however, that does not by any means make it possible to communicate. I’ve slowly been trying to learn some Spanish and have made some progress, but I’m still very much a beginner.
Our first day going to the public school, a staff member from Grace, Manuel, came with us. Upon arrival we were taken into the office where we listened to Manuel and a teacher talk very quickly in Spanish. After several minutes Manuel stands up and says, “goodbye have fun!” The teacher then takes us each to a different classroom where we quickly learn that there are zero English speakers anywhere in the vicinity. It was time to make use of my minimal Spanish knowledge.
I was brought to a second grade classroom, which made me very happy because it was at least an age I was familiar with. When going to the public school I wanted to serve the school and my students as well as I could, but since there was a language barrier I didn’t always know how. Usually I ended up teaching English for about an hour, which almost always involved playing a game. Miraculously, I was able to fumble through enough Spanish with enough gestures to help the students understand the rules to the game.
When I was done teaching English I would help pass out the students daily snacks and generally just assist with keeping students on task. My favorite part of the day was math. I always have loved math, and the symbols for numbers are something that stay the same no matter what language you are speaking.
Making Mother’s Day Crafts
My students 🙂
Public school only lasted until 12:45 so in the afternoons we alternated between going to a Girls Home and helping at a school called SALEA.
SALEA
Our first day in Chimaltenango our host asked us if we wanted to help paint a church since there was no school due to a national holiday. I love painting so I agreed and did not regret it. This was probably the best decision I made all month. While helping out with painting and cleaning we were able to get to know the people who attend the church and found out that the building also was home to an English school called “Salt and Light English Academy.” The next week we went back to help with more painting and ended up staying to help out at the school. We loved helping there so much that we asked our host if we could spend more time there and ended up working with the students there three times a week. The couple who runs SALEA have huge hearts for God and for their students. Their love is so evident in the way they run their school and the way their students respond.
Our first day helping out, Alex asked us “Are you Christians? Real Christians? You profess Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior?” When we told him yes, he responded, “oh, that changes things. We not only want to teach our students English, but we also want to build relationships with them and teach them about God.” So we were able to assist in not only helping the students of SALEA practice their English, but also discuss their faith with them.
We were shown so much love, generosity, and thankfulness from Alex and Ashley from SALEA as well as the pastor and the whole congregation of their church. If you are ever in Guatemala, go visit them and you will not be disappointed.
The courtyard of SALEA
At the graduation of one of the classes at SALEA
Girls Home:
Our host Logan also sent us to a girls home that he often works with. Many of the girls living in this home are there because they have been sent there by the court system because their parents can no longer afford to take care of them. Our time there was spent helping with homework, participating in bible study, and teaching English classes. Helping with homework was a challenge because those who needed help were working on learning Spanish phonics. So I learned more Spanish phonics along with them as I helped them learn.
Four of the girls in my group for English class. Here they were translating a Spanish paragraph into English.
ADVENTURE:
Our last weekend in Guatemala our amazing host took us to hike and camp out on the Volcano Acatenango. We hiked up the steep volcano quickly despite the frequent rain and were able to set up our tents in a break between the rain showers. After resting for a little while, we hiked to the peak and it was incredible. The volcano we were on was dormant, but from it we could see one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Throughout the whole time we heard and saw frequent explosions. Most of the explosions were just ash, but in the middle of the night I woke up to someone yelling “LAVA!” I was able to roll out of my tent just in time to see lava rolling down the side of the volcano. I couldn’t think of a better way to have ended the month than hiking up a volcano with our hosts and spending time with them while cooking eggs and bacon for dinner and breakfast.
Standing on Acatenango looking at Fuego
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
-Colossians 3:17
