My team and I are currently sitting at Café Oh La La in Chimaltenango, Guatemala, utilizing the WiFi and American music on the radio. After having a fresh cup of Guatemalan coffee and a crepe with Nutella y Fresas (despite the warning our host gave us against strawberries here whoopsies) and listening to the Elevation Worship album en Español (Spanglish has quickly become my new language), I struggle to write this blog; there’s simply too much to share.
As a brief recap of my time leading up to Guatemala, I’ll say that God is not hesitating in teaching me about flexibility. Inevitably so, my procrastination over the past month caught up to me, resulting in unnecessary stress and a mile-long to do list as I scrambled to beat the most strict deadline I’ve ever faced. Despite a broken computer, lost wallet, totaled car and a few tears, I left Boston on Thursday ready to go
The weekend was spent at the Holiday Inn at the Atlanta Airport for some final training and time to spend with our parents. My role on the team, with my teammate Monica, is as logistic coordinators (complete with a personal baby phone from 2007). Essentially, we are responsible for getting our Squad from one country to the next. Given my track record with organization and procrastination and Monica’s self-proclaimed difficulties with directions, the confidence between the two of us was about a 2/10.
Much to our surprise, this role was immediately put to the test at 4:00AM Tuesday morning at the airport when we were trying to get 22 women their boarding passes and were told by Spirit Airlines we weren’t able to get on our flight because we didn’t have a return flight back to the States (which, if you can imagine, is a bit difficult to book when you’re traveling the country for a year). After a quick drop of the heart and allowing a few sweat beads to roll down our foreheads, a layover we have in January saved us from this issue. Despite the panic, this snafu showed us that this is a job that we can handle. And good news… we successfully got the Squad to Guatemala! Travel was almost too easy once this issue was resolved. Our first flight took off at 7:40AM and after an hour layover in Ft. Lauderdale, we landed in Guatemala City at 11:30AM. And after an hour and a half van ride through Guatemalan traffic, we arrived at our ministry site: Los Gozosos.
Los Gozosos is an orphanage for children with disabilities (currently 22 kiddos). Each child has a unique disability and the ages range from 1 year to 21 years. Our job is to essentially assist the staff that work hard to provide 24 hour care and love these children. I knew as missionaries, we would be going into the trenches but this metaphor is amplified at Los Gozosos.
My roommates are two of my teammates and two young boys, who love to coo and jump around throughout the night. We wake up at 5AM every day with the kids to help bathe, change and brush the hair (which we’re realizing is NOT our strong suit yet) of all the kids. After this routine and cleaning any unexpected messes made throughout the night, we head over to breakfast at 6:30AM to feed them and brush their teeth before they go to school (which is attached to the orphanage).
School time is a great time to do dishes, shower, clean the building, and figure out a “Battle Plan” for the cockroach problem. It’s also a time for devotions and prayer that we’re quickly realizing we have to fight for, as personal time here is an allusion.
After a daily prayer hour facilitated by the staff, the kids end their school day and we essentially play with them until dinner time. After dinner, we orchestrate a dance party (my favorite part of the day) and participate in devotional time before we go to bed with the kids at 8PM (yes, it’s as glorious as it sounds).
Each day brings it’s own challenges. Because each kid has specific disabilities, one on one care is so crucial. With 22 kids and only 7 of us, our arms are (literally) pulled in different directions. I’m learning a rhythm of how to love each and every one of these kids equally which is difficult, especially with the additional language barrier. But despite the exhaustion and several cups of Instant Coffee consumed daily, gosh these kids radiate the love of Jesus!
Quick snapshot: Within the first few hours of arrival, Marlaney, a 5 year old girl and the buddy I eat meals with, spent nearly an hour taking each of our hands, putting them together in a circle and praying for us. Although she is essentially nonverbal, she found a syllable or two, closed her eyes and confidently connected each of us through prayer – and it was SO cool!
I’m sure this next month will push each of us and our hearts will break in ways we haven’t experienced before. But after only two days at this orphanage, I know that God has placed us here to love each of these kids the way He loves them; and in return, we receive that love from them.
