Hey friends! Ok, so I know you’re all wondering what my circumstances are like here in Quiche, Guatemala. This blog is not a thinking one, just one full of facts about my life this month in Quiche. Enjoy reading about my life this month!
Quiche:
I love exploring, and our city, Quiche, is no exception. Walking around this week we have explored the market, grocery store, some side shops, a central plaza, and an internet cafe. People always stare at our crazy big group of Americans, but I just smile and greet them or ask them how they’re doing. One thing I value a lot about my squad is everyone’s willingness to just stop and talk to perfect strangers on the street, in the hospital, or in stores. We are realizing how much the power and love of God pours out through us just by our presence being around others who do not know Him.
Ministry:
My entire squad (8 teams of 7 people each) is staying here together in Quiche for the entire month. We are camping in our tents in the yard of a hospital compound, but we are actually partnered with a ministry called Agape in Action. Agape serves in a variety of ways throughout the community including prison, hospital, construction, daycare, and school ministries. Each team has a different role. I found out today I will be serving in the hospital ministry and on site at Agape’s headquarters for the entire month. At the hospital we will help with maintenance fixes a lot because we don’t have medical degrees, and the hospital is in fairly poor shape and needs a lot of fixing up. It is a national hospital that serves over a million people in Guatemala, but is severely understaffed and underfunded. So far we haven’t gotten to do tons because the hospital is still doing a few preparations before we can jump in. Today we worked on some sanding of metal areas around the windows of the hospital as well as changing light bulbs in some incubators for babies, and tomorrow we will be painting. Our guys are also tearing off part of the roof of a storage shed, painting, and building a new roof.
Another part of the hospital ministry includes just stopping in to love on the babies in the newborn unit. Many babies are abandoned, and have no one to hold them or show them love. Most are severely malnourished. Yesterday we met a 3 year old boy named Macario who was abandoned. He was less than half the size of Ryan (my 2 year old nephew). Our ministry leader wants us to pray for him a lot this month because she says he needs a miracle to survive.
Besides the babies, we may be able to stop in and pray with new mothers and other patients in the hospital. I was able to use my Spanish to pray with a mother yesterday who had a sick two-year old girl named Dominga. Please be in prayer for our ministry in the hospital this month: that we will be able to show immense love to the people there in our words, prayers, actions, and service to the hospital.
Living Conditions:
My squad is camping in our tents all month. I don’t mind it at all except that my “bedroom” is now always unorganized. REALLY REALLY unorganized…all the time. Tidying up consists of placing my shoes in one corner, my toiletries in another, and my pack with my clothes and everything else in the third. The last corner I snuggle up in with my sleeping bag and pad. It is comfortable, just so messy!
As a group of about 65 right now including our squad leaders and other staff who help us get on our feet the first month, we share two toilets always available, and two showers sometimes available, depending on if other groups are staying at Agape too. There will be another small American group staying here the next week or two I believe.
We have a budget that we go shopping with, and divide up cooking duties between teams. The team then has to prepare meals for the entire squad. I am blessed to have 3 wonderful ladies on my team who know more about cooking for mass numbers than I do, so my team’s first meal was a delicious success! We will not eat tons of Guatemalan food because we are cooking for ourselves every breakfast and dinner. Lunches are normally sandwiches we pack to take to our ministry sites. I’ll try to pick up street food when I can to get my cultural food fix. The water is treated by the hospital, so we don’t have to worry much about that on our facility. We do have to remember that foods washed by water or drinks with ice cubes outside of the compound do not have treated water, and so we have to avoid them.
Rough “Schedule”:
We have to be VERY flexible on the World Race. Life is different than the normal, fast-paced, time-crunched American routine I am used to living. It takes some adjusting because that means letting go of my desires to know everything that’s going on and to have some sort of control over the situation. I have to just trust in God’s timing not worry about checking things off of a list so much.
This week, our schedule has looked something like breakfast at 8, alone time with God from 9-10, meetings from 10-11, and ministry from 11-5 at the different locations. Then dinner at 6 back at the compound and worship/prayer/service from about 7-11ish with just our squad and leadership. Next week, after the leaders leave us to really dive in on our own, the schedule will look a little different. We sneak in walks to the downtown area before or after meals or if ministry sites don’t take as long as planned. The walk to downtown is about 20 minutes.
I hit the highlights of life in Guatemala, minus one big one: the people! Guatemalans are mostly of Mayan decent, but of course there is also Spanish heritage. As a result, much of the religion in the country is a mixture of Mayan traditions and superstitions with Catholicism. Every tuk-tuk (their version of a taxi: think of a scooter with two seats in the back) I have been in has had pictures of Mary, mother of Jesus or some sort of religious decal on it, but often views of the people are so mixed up and confused here. We really just want to share a clear message of who Jesus is and how He is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The Guatemalans here have been welcoming and kind. We receive lots of hellos and good afternoons while walking the streets or around the compound. Best of all so far has been an evening play session with three precious kids whose mom/aunt sells fruit at the door of the hospital every day. They longed to be held for hours and hours, and we laughed and took pictures and played games with them and just soaked them in love. God really uses little ones like these to show a picture of what His love looks like and how it should look in us, His children.
More to come soon. Until then, many thanks from my end for all of your prayers and support. I miss you and am praying for you all back at home.
Blessings,
Teresa
