Big sad brown eyes met mine and a tear rolled down the chubby cheek of the baby sitting on the floor looking up at me. As I stooped down to scoop him some up and offer some hugs, I realized how incredibly blessed I am in my ministry placement this month.
My team and I are working at a childcare center in Quiche, Guatemala for the remainder of the month. The children range from babies to age six and we are split up working with the different age groups. Kristina and I are in the babyroom (the babies are all in the crawling or walking stage). The day we arrived, the babies took one look at these crazy different looking people and toddled/crawled off into the corner where they huddled together crying. They quickly warmed up to us, however. After spending a few days with them, it was fun to be met with smiles and slobbery hugs (I say slobbery hugs because any hug requires hands that have just been taken out of slobbery mouths). My Spanish vocabulary has grown to contain such words such as “La pacha (something about a bottle),” “Ven aqui (come here!),” and “pelota (ball).” The babies are very expressive in their wants and remind me of the movie "Look Who's Talking." I can see the little wheels in their brains turning all the time.
Every morning after breakfast, we walk about half a mile to our ministry site. My day consists of playing with the babies for a couple of hours, changing lots of diapers, and feeding the babies at mealtime. Mealtime is a lot of fun as we take the babies to the cafeteria in a little toddling parade. Once in the cafeteria, the babies are tied into a row of high chairs and we each feed 3-4 babies at the same time. It has been a blessing to me working with the teachers at the site and getting to love on the babies.
One of the precious babies, Kayleen, just gained the confidence to walk on her own in the last couple of days. She slowly climbs to her feet, eyes a destination, and then bravely takes off toddling across the room until she is safely clinging to her goal. She then proudly looks up as if to say, “look what I can do!” Her example reminds me of the process of growth that I am on in my relationship with God this year. I have an action to take to grow…either I can sit on the floor and never go anywhere or I can take steps in my life toward growing closer with the Lord. Kayleen is a good example of eyeing a goal and persevering through difficulties taking literal babysteps to get there.
Working with the babies this month has also reminded me of the beauty of simplicity. The perspective of these little ones is so fresh. They are full of wonder at everything. Something as small as a leaf can lead to so much glee and entertainment. The babies remind me how important it is to take pleasure in even the smallest bits of God’s creation. Their sense of awe is such a beautiful thing and a wonderful reminder for me to slow down and soak in and appreciate God’s creation.
Speaking of creation, I am loving Guatemala. Beauty surrounds us here in Quiche. We are high in the mountains and lush emerald peaks can be seen on the outskirts of town. The weather is very pleasant. It is rainy season here so it usually downpours for a while in the late afternoon. Vibrant pink flowers are blooming in the courtyard of the compound where we are staying and little birds fill the air with music.
Quiche is a bustling little town. The honk of car and tuk tuk horns, the buzz of traffic, the beating of drums, and the echo of voices and dogs barking on the street is a constant. We are staying in the same compound as the hospital so ambulance sirens are ongoing throughout the day and night. Quiche makes me think of an artist’s canvas on which rich brilliant colors have been splashed. Upon walking down the street, ones eyes are assailed with vibrant blues, oranges, yellows, pinks, and yellows, splashed across building fronts. The women wear fabrics of rich colors woven into each other. Vivid red tuk tuks (little cart type things used for transportation) zip here and there adding to the color seen everywhere in the town.
Despite the beauty, there is much poverty and darkness here in Quiche and in the surrounding areas. It has been wonderful to see how Agape House is reaching out and ministering to the people here.
We will be leaving Guatemala next week already and heading for Nicaragua. I praise God for the blessing of getting to spend time with the people of this amazing country. Adios for now Guatemala.
