One's love for a country has a loud and distinct cry, and after 10 months of being away, I just had to go back. So that's what I did the last two weeks of June and first week of July!
College Place Presbyterian was kind enough to allow me to go on a mission trip with them and the blending of two of my most formative adult life experiences (my time at CPPC and my time in Guatemala) was incredibly healthy and revitalizing.
I went into the trip with the prayer that it would provide a place for discernment, peace, and service. It became my DPS... Distance Per Stroke in swimming which is the mysterious balance that makes swimmers become faster, more efficient, and fall in love with the sport. I decided that I needed more DPS in my life Stateside. ... and I think I succeeded.
I haven't been blogging much since moving back to the States (or at all) and that has been for a lot of reasons. Busyness, work, friends, and trying to emphasize relationships here versus there and live more in the present are all some of these factors. Then there are the other factors, like re-entering into the States has just been tough, Guatemalan intestinal creatures still continue to love me, reality has sent in that my parents are older than I think they are (but doing much better now!), and I just have been homesick for my new "home" - the country of Guatemala, all of which have encouraged me to avoid processing all the changes that have been going on in my life over the past year. I joked (not so jokingly) about wanting to go back for two primary reasons: to start re-entry again and to get a lot of parasites that would be diagnosable, treatable, and able to eat all the creatures that currently reside within me. My goal was to come back physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy. I think I'm mostly there, but most importantly, I've come back at peace, with direction, and with a feeling of self-worth and the assurance that who I was in Guatemala is not gone.
The logistics of the trip itself were phenomenally smooth! I started in Seattle and flew down to Guatemala with a rather painless stop in Dallas/Fort Worth. Edgar, the phenomenal taxi driver of the year, picked me up at the Guatemala City airport (right on time!) and took me to Marcia's house in Antigua. Being together again with her, Josh, and Eva was so much fun. Marcia and I had some great conversations, shared memories, and just picked up where we left off. The next day (Sunday), I met up with Laura, her boyfriend and her cousin who just happened to also be visiting Antigua. It was like old times except this visit we decided to be touristy and did a chocolate tour. It was 2 hours all about chocolate: the history, the tree, the process, and then we made it ourselves! I highly recommend it. After that, we met up with Marcia, ate street food, and then I headed for the city to meet up with the CPPC youth group.
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| Ross and Laura making delicious chocolate! |
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The corn field before we cleared and planted it.
Yes, it is on a slope.
Yes, that is a very steep slope. |
CPPC spent 4 days in Guatemala City at ministry sites and near the home of the Agrellus family. Kim and Mark Agrellus, and their kids Amanda, Megan, and Zachary, are a family from Walla Walla who moved to Guatemala to primarily serve as missionaries at the Christian Academy of Guatemala, a school for the missionary kids. I met up with them a few times while living in Xela and really appreciated their hospitality, knowledge of the country, and passion for what God had called them to. Being with them this time, my respect for them and gratefulness to them swelled. These five people are incredible - incredibly passionate, incredibly dedicated, and incredibly approachable. I loved working with them and would love to just spend even more time with them in the future.
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| Nick was "El Caballo" - the horsie. |
Our time in Guatemala City was spent at El Refugio, a women's shelter that Kim and other missionaries helped found. It is a long-term shelter for women and their children who have been victims of abuse. When I visited them while living in Xela, they were living in a tiny house with no green space and very limited room. In the last few months, the door has been opened for them to buy property. And what great property it is!!!
It was incredibly humbling to spend a few days with these women. They opened up their home to us as well as their hearts as they shared their stories. They trusted us with their kids, taught our team to make tortillas, and invited us, complete foreigners who many couldn't speak their language, to be a part of their lives. We were given the opportunity to serve them through planting a corn field, working on a roof, cementing the swingset, and a few brave ones (not me) played in the realm of plumbing. It's hardly a fair trade for their confidence, but it was delightful to do life together.
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| Cementing the foundation of the playground |
In addition to our time at the shelter, we spent our time in Guatemala City in Villa Nueva and Linda Vista, two poor squatters' villages, teaching in the public schools. Initially, this was a terrifying day for me and my 1-year rusty, 2-years old Spanish skills, but God is good and it ended up being amazing. We went to a lot (more than 10, less than 19) classrooms in 3 different elementary schools and one middle school and presented short Sunday School/VBS lessons. The lessons went remarkably smoothly: the kids were attentive and engaged, the teachers were relieved and I spent time getting to know some of them, the Guatemalans who regularly minister there were encouraged, and Love was shown. This was due mostly to how amazing the CPPC students were in the whole process. They successfully spent all 8ish hours at the school pouring into every class, every student. They sang "Yo tengo gozo" sixteen times, each with more energy than the time before. They presented a silent skit of the Good Samaritan and/or Joseph gazillions of times without losing character. They tied countless bracelets and strung countless beads just so kids could remember that day every time they look at their bracelets. They put the Guatemala children first and made them feel like we traveled all the way from the US to their school just for them. The students did a phenomenal job, it was soooo encouraging!
The evening after our time at the school, we sat on the balcony of the house where we stayed and sung,
"God of this City" while overlooking Guatemala City. The passion that the adults and students on our trip had developed for Guatemala City was palpable. They were broken by the brokenness, encouraged by the hope, and didn't know how they could change the situations we had heard from so many people: gangs, drugs, violence, abuse. They were broken, but we were also reassured. We saw a lot of hopeless situations, but the people in them were hopeful. They were hopeful of change, of redemption, and knowledgeable that God was not giving up on them. Just as at times I find my mindset bringing me hopelessness in a hopeful situation, their mindsets brought hopefulness, a desire, drive, and will to live, in a hopeless situation. We can learn a lot from that.
After our time in Guatemala City, we headed for Antigua for a day. It was great to give the kids a chance to relax, see the country in a different light, and just be a tourist for the day. I ended up hanging out with the boys and a few of the girls, targeted on bootleg DVDs and tops from the locals market. We had a blast, but I gave my camera to some of the girls who took pictures that have brought a whole different perspective to a town that I have begun to call one of my homes.
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| Hannah got a little confused at the public pila... |
Finally, on day 6, we headed to Lago Atitlan. The lake was one of my favorite places while living in Xela. It was a happy, gorgeous place with a culture of people who stay true to their culture, are hospitable, loving, and forgiving. I love my friends there and loved all the time that I could spend. However, I had only been on the Santiago/Pana/San Pedro half of the lake, where the public boats went to. San Lucas Toliman, on the east half, was my uncharted lake territory and exactly where our group was going. And it was just as gorgeous with people and a culture just as phenomenal as the side that I already knew and loved.
Our time at the Lake was led by this phenomenal woman named Terry. Terry has dedicated the past 20 years of her life to the K'itche and Ketchakel people of Toto and San Lucas Toliman. The way she does ministry, however, is admirable, to say the least. She feels very called to serve the widows and asks village leaders to serve alongside of her. They work together to identify the villagers in need of her services, and then bring those villagers all together to decide in what order the services get involved. It appears to be a very effective way of guarding against the "Santa Claus" effect of North Americans barging in, making changes they see appropriate, and then leaving the projects there to rot.
The other neat thing that Terry does to protect her projects and create ownership is to require the recipients to be a part of the building, feeding the volunteers and assisting on site, to own the land, and to install their own windows and doors. This ownership really works to make the house their own.
We primarily spent our lake time at Tzan Coral, a very remote village up in the highlands above San Lucas. It was remote enough to not have any bus service and the residents had seen few, if any, gringos before. They were so hospitable to us, albeit at times confused. During our time in the village, we went on a wet hike, ran two VBS sessions, built 3 houses, and hosted a two-day soccer tournament for nearby towns, complete with trophies (we brought home 4th place!!! (out of 4)). Below are various pictures of our worksites, kids, VBS, and our hike.
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| Some of the kids "helping us" at house 1. They were great playmates when we waited for levels to be begun by the workers and Sergio was an awesome brick carrier. |
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| Alexa and her little friend |
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| VBS! |
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| Parker and his boys - loving the crayons |
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| The moms came with the kids and they loved the activities too. Natalie and Jojo were champs - they went back and worked with these women, many of whom didn't even speak Spanish. Actions speak louder than words! |
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| Girls and crafts |
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| Walking out the impassable road! |
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| Keep walking... |
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| Building House 3 |
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| House 1 almost done! |
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| Rose and the workers on top of house 3, roofing |
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| Our Team at VBS Day 2 |
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I climbed on top of us our bus...
This is a street sign...
It is bolted in lieu of an emergency exit |
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| Swimming in the Lake |
After our time in the villages, it was time to move on to Panajachel. We first stopped by Terry's house, a completely off-the-grid, self-sufficient house right on the lake. It was awesome! Unfortunately, the lake has risen 6 meters just since I left and is creeping up on her house more and more, so she is building up the hill, trying to not lose everything. Swimming in the lake, observing the gorgeous things at her house and the beautiful world that surrounds it, and talking to Terry and the boat drivers about water levels, began preparing me for the shock that would set in when I went to the side that I am more familiar with - San Juan and San Pedro.
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| Terry's House |
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| Pana from the water... also affected by rising waters |
I am not a big Panajachel fan... it is touristy and the strange market dynamics of poor people asking for money for lots of things cheaply that are not fair trade yet still is how they make their living sends my head for a loop and I can't decide how I feel or how I should react and then I just get introverted and grumpy figuring it all out.
BUT there are some amazing things about Pana: the zipline, the nature reserve, and my new favorite place on top of the hill, The Eagles Nest in Solala. We did all these things as we unwound, preparing to return home.
Zipline: I don't have any pictures of it, but it was amazing to do it (for my 4th time) with people I know from so many other contexts. Every person in our group went down the lines and, as far as I know, enjoyed it. Yes, there was fear, but they did it. One woman, Karen, was very anxious about it but so determined. Her determination to go down the lines was something that I want to get through lots of things in my life. Ropes courses are so symbolic about our lives, if we let them be.
Nature Reserve: We stayed in eco-lodges -it was awesome!!!
Eagles Nest:This is actually the orphanage where the Agrellus' son, Zach came from. After adoption closed, they lost the majority of their income but was still determined to stay open. The family who runs it is from the States and has begun using their grounds as almost a retreat center, separate from serving at the Orphanage. We visited the kids, who are extraordinarily cared for, enjoyed the amazing views, and debriefed our time in the country thus far. We also set off 5 meters of fireworks for Jojo's birthday. That was awesome! If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend staying there. It supports their ministry, gets you out of Pana, and is just amazing. You can play soccer too!
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| With Alandra |
After our night at Eagles Nest, it was time for me to say goodbye and for them to go back to the States. They dropped me off at the highway to catch a camioneta down to Pana and find Tina. It was weird to say goodbye to the group - some had been friends for years, others for just 2 weeks, but now we all have a great experience in common. I went to church last week for the first time since I returned and it was amazing the community that was formed out of our common experiences. I felt welcomed, loved, and ready to join the church again, because I had people I could relate to on a deep level and because I was a part of their lives. If that, a deeper community to sustain me during my time here in the states, was all I achieved out of this trip (which is definitely not true), it would still have been totally worth it.
My adventure was not done! But my patience for computers is... (my internet is deleting blog posts!). I will write about phase two in a bit!
College Place Presbyterian was kind enough to allow me to go on a mission trip with them and the blending of two of my most formative adult life experiences (my time at CPPC and my time in Guatemala) was incredibly healthy and revitalizing. 
After our time in Guatemala City, we headed for Antigua for a day. It was great to give the kids a chance to relax, see the country in a different light, and just be a tourist for the day. I ended up hanging out with the boys and a few of the girls, targeted on bootleg DVDs and tops from the locals market. We had a blast, but I gave my camera to some of the girls who took pictures that have brought a whole different perspective to a town that I have begun to call one of my homes.
Finally, on day 6, we headed to Lago Atitlan. The lake was one of my favorite places while living in Xela. It was a happy, gorgeous place with a culture of people who stay true to their culture, are hospitable, loving, and forgiving. I love my friends there and loved all the time that I could spend. However, I had only been on the Santiago/Pana/San Pedro half of the lake, where the public boats went to. San Lucas Toliman, on the east half, was my uncharted lake territory and exactly where our group was going. And it was just as gorgeous with people and a culture just as phenomenal as the side that I already knew and loved.
The other neat thing that Terry does to protect her projects and create ownership is to require the recipients to be a part of the building, feeding the volunteers and assisting on site, to own the land, and to install their own windows and doors. This ownership really works to make the house their own.
Eagles Nest:This is actually the orphanage where the Agrellus' son, Zach came from. After adoption closed, they lost the majority of their income but was still determined to stay open. The family who runs it is from the States and has begun using their grounds as almost a retreat center, separate from serving at the Orphanage. We visited the kids, who are extraordinarily cared for, enjoyed the amazing views, and debriefed our time in the country thus far. We also set off 5 meters of fireworks for Jojo's birthday. That was awesome! If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend staying there. It supports their ministry, gets you out of Pana, and is just amazing. You can play soccer too!
