Guatemala!

This is a picture of the orphanage/school I worked at. Every morning around 7:30 I walked about a mile beside the highway to "God's Child" - this project for underprivileged children. I got to help cook and clean up breakfast and sometimes lunch. These are the friends I worked with (from L-R), MaryAnn - a retired lawyer from N Dakota with liberal political views and a fabulous humanitarian mission; on the far right is Miriam - a girl in her early twenties from Sweden who has traveled pretty extensively in S. America working with orphanages, etc. We had so much fun working together. It took about an hour to cook and serve, about 2 hours to do dishes (three buckets, one for rinsing, one for washing with soap, and one with bleach water) for about 75-100 kids each day. We talked and joked. The main kitchen workers (full time) were Donya Mary and Donya Anna... they were lovely ladies! They laughed at me a lot and often Donya Mary would surprise me in the morning with a cup of coffee at my elbow. Hooray! One day I walked in late, unbelievably dishevelled from having practically run my morning route, with my shirt inside-out, wearing tennis shoes and a dress, and I think it may have been the funniest experience of their lives. They literally laughed for ten minutes. Moments like that were so precious... when, despite our language barriers and differences of religious thought, we could unite around the commonality of life... clothes and time and food... things that are innately human and that dignify all of us alike.

This is a view of Pedro Hermano, the hospital that I volunteered at with the Abuelitas (grandmas). Every afternoon I would take the cobblestone road after my cup of coffee, pin on my name badge, and walk through the narrow doors to the common area. It was an open roof with planted roses nearby and a fountain-like sink for washing. I would greet each of the abuelitas with a kiss and a "buenos tardes!" and then sit with them for a while... drawing, trying to speak Spanish, praying in my heart. At 4pm we fed them dinner. One of the things that struck me especially was the tenderness and joy of each of the nurses. At night, there is only one nurse for 26 ladies! During the day I think there are 4-6 nurses on duty. Those duties include everything from feeding, changing, washing, and medical attention. Truly overwhelming, right? But these women, of any I've ever seen working in that setting, had so much joy! They laughed and joked with the ladies; they had an amazing amount of patience and peace. That is beautiful.

This is a picture of Ginny, a YWAM missionary who was, that night, celebrating her one year anniversary in Guatemala. Twice she invited us over to her gorgeous roof-top apartment for dinner and fellowship... and when I say fellowship I really mean it. Ginny has an amazing heart for mentoring. I connected with her a lot, because I saw her as a godly older woman. She has certainly suffered but has run to her faith in God. She really studies the Word and seeks God every single day. Those things may sound cliche, but they are truly powerful for someone like Ginny whose heart is completely dedicated to the causes of the Kingdom. I can't honor her enough with my words. She is a woman of God.

I think that my cultural view of Guatemala wasn't nearly as extensive as my view of Mexico. We stayed mostly in the city of Antigua, which looks a lot like Europe. It feels a lot like Europe too. It's pretty multicultural with a lot of luxuries and "normal" elements (like a Burger King). We did do a few days out in livingston, a Caribbean town, where we saw some more cultural living. Anyways, my list is short but here are the Guatemala norms...

1. Bright, saturated colors as can be seen on the chicken bus above ("how many Guatemalans can you fit on a chicken bus?" Answer: ONE MORE!)

2. The most open-armed hospitality i've experienced yet... they loved to feed us.

3. Speaking of food: eggs, sausage, rice, chicken. And... that's about it. Sometimes we got potatoes but not often to my recollection. A typical meal was a chicken drumstick and rice.

4. Organization and polish. There was a whole different degree of personal grooming (people wearing hair-gel, makeup, nice clothes, heels, cologue/perfume) in Guatemala. There was also a professionalism about people's interactions that seemed unique from MX.

5. Dogs. I mean there were dogs in MX... but there are dogs here EVERYWHERE. Street dogs, city dogs, country dogs, mangy mangy gross dogs that seem to belong to no one and everyone.

6. People are a similar size here to MX but have vastly different facial features: larger ears and eyes, broader faces and smiles, wider faces and hands.

7. The currency here is quensalas, about 7 to the dollar. Centimos (sp?) is the change.

8. Language. From several accounts, Guatemala has the purest Spanish in C. America. Antigua is the Spanish-studying epicenter of the area.

9. Rocks and trees. Less dust and desert. More hills and greenery.

10. Intentional planting - people like decorating and landscaping.

11. Big guns. Guarding banks, walking down the street, doing processions... there was a proliferation of old-school, enormous guns.

12. The climate in February/March was cool, mid 70's probably, in the city and much warmer, mid 80's to 90's, in Livingston by the water.

Well, I by no means did justice to this fabulous country.

So far, this has been my fondest time on the World Race, probably due to the ministries I got to be involved with. I'm grateful for Guatemala. God bless it.