Being a world racer I have become accustomed to living off a budget that meets my basic needs. This includes a place to stay or put my tent up, a way to get to and from ministry, and $4 a day for food. Living off this budget doesn’t leave much wiggle room for luxuries. In Honduras I became familiar with eating eggs, beans, rice, plantains, and tortillas served in a variety of different ways. In El Salvador we ate spaghetti quite often. During both of these months we had someone to prepare our food for us. It was really convenient to come home from ministry and have food waiting for us. When we got to Guatemala we learned that we wouldn’t have anyone preparing food for us so we were on our own. I was excited at first because that meant I could decide what I wanted to eat myself; we quickly realized that there was no super market to be seen in this town. There are plenty of tiendas or small shops that sell eggs, chips, ice cream and other random extras but nowhere to buy things to prepare actual meals. Our team decided to find restaurants in town to eat at instead of trying to be creative with meals with a limited selection of food. It might be surprising that our whole team could eat at a restaurant twice a day for $4 each. It is surprising even to me. We have found several places that offer a menu of food we can afford. I have been eating quite a bit of rice, beans, and chicken but it is pretty good.
Recently my team was blessed with a breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, fresh bread, and coffee provided for us by our contact. For dinner we were invited to another missionary’s house who blessed us with pasta, garlic bread, salad, grapes, and marshmallows to roast after dinner. As my team was sitting together eating dinner we couldn’t stop talking about how good the food was and how blessed we were. Being at that missionary’s house reminded me of my life at home and how I am blessed with good food on a daily basis. The difference now is how much more aware I am of what a blessing it is. I felt like it was Thanksgiving with good food served to us all day long. Food that I am used to eating at home that didn’t include any rice or beans. I felt so blessed to have a little taste of home all the way in Guatemala.
When I was younger and one of my brothers or I would complain about the food my mom made for us my parents would sometimes say how we should be thankful for what we have because some kids only get rice and beans for every meal. I always kind of shrugged off this comment not fully understanding how true that was. After being in Central America for three months I have quickly discovered that rice and beans are most definitely the staple food. We feed the kids at the school rice and beans every morning and that is what is served to us for most meals. I have noticed that the children we serve rice and beans to every day are always smiling and thankful for the food. When I asked a little girl if she liked her food she smiled and nodded yes. This is such a good reminder to be truly thankful for everything that I have.
I can see how much of a difference the feeding program is making in the lives of these children. I had the privilege of being a part of the very first day of a new feeding program at another local school. These 75 kids were chosen to receive breakfast every morning because they have the most need. They now can look forward to having a hot breakfast every morning and they really are thankful for the food. It blesses my heart that a little rice and beans can put a genuine smile on their face. 50% of children in Guatemala suffer from malnutrition and through this feeding program we are stopping hunger one child at a time.
Cant fake that smile!!
