Five Days in Guatemala

Our time in Guatemala went by very fast, but a lot happened in a short time. Here is a summary of our five days in Guatemala:

Day One (Thursday): Tita, Leah and our new friend Monica (aka "Mo-ko-na") picked us up at the airport and took us to Tita's house to drop off our luggage. It was so great to see Leah after a couple months... and so great to see her back in a place where God began to knit our hearts together a few years ago!!

Then we went directly to the hospital (one of two "community hospitals" in Guatemala City; the others are considered "private") to visit a gang member from La Limonada (also known as "the ghetto" of the city) who has been trying to change his ways. He had been shot in the leg and was waiting for surgery because of an infection from the gunshot wound. We prayed for him and for his hospital roommate, an elderly man who had been there for six months waiting for surgery. We also visited a young boy from Tita's school (Plantio de Jehova) who had been undergoing tests and what seemed to be unnecessary exploratory surgery, only to find out that he may have tuberculosis. All this at a hospital that most people in the US would not bring their dogs to.

After the hospital, we went to La Limonada to see the changes that have happened at the school since we were there last. In three years a third floor has been added, attendance at the school has gone from 82 to just over 200, and the school building had been painted a beautiful red that casues it to stand out as a ray of hope in a very poor and violent community. We greeted the teachers who were just wrapping up their day and saw some familiar faces of children who had grown up so much since the last time we saw them. These kids - whether they remembered us or not - came running up to us and gave us some of the biggest hugs ever. They long for love and affection... and love to give it too!

After leaving La Limonada, we got a late-night bite to eat and went back to Tita's house for the night. It felt like a second home...

Day Two: Tita has all the teachers over her home every Friday morning for a meeting and to pray together. For the meeting that morning, she asked me if I would share a word of encouragement with the teachers. I told them that I felt like I could learn so much more from them than I could teach them. We talked about how Jesus came to bring God's kingdom to earth... and how we focus so often on preaching a gospel message of "heaven when we die" rather than God's kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven". I told the teachers that the work they are doing is bringing God's kingdom to La Limonada. Anyone who would see the smiles on the faces of the children there and the love the teachers have for them would have to agree.

After the teachers left, our plans for lunch with another gang member and his girlfriend were canceled because he was captured by the police and taken to jail. Leah had been telling us about the noticeable change that she had been seeing in his life over the past few weeks (since he decided to turn his life around)... but our time with him would have to wait for another day.

So we headed off to La Limonada... first for the house of the elderly grandmother of the gang member I just mentioned - who is raising her three-year-old great-grandson on her own. We were able to give her some money to buy some much-needed milk for him.

We then visited Nora (a lady we got to know last time we were there) who has 5 boys and is pregnant with her 6th child. The family lives in a house that is about 12' x 12'... but Tita and her team were recently able to provide them with two beds and a crib.

We then visited Rudy (who I talked about in my last blog) and Luis (who gave me his wooden -cross necklace as a gift after I told him I liked it). Luis was shivering cold after falling into the ravine (sewage) searching for items he could sell. We had no extra clothes for him (he is tall and very thin), but we prayed for him that he would be kept warm for the night.

We then went back to Tita's house to talk about potential future plans for raising more awareness in the US for her school and for the work that is being done (and needs to be done) in La Limonada. We crashed after a long day, some great talks and a lot of laughter with friends.

Day Three: We spent the entire day with Joselin and Suzy - two girls Cherie and I have been sponsoring since our last time in Guatemala. Leah has a great blog about our time with them - here. It was an incredible day... the best part for me was watching those two girls with their arms around Cherie everywhere they went! The love we were sharing for each other was a beautiful picture of God's kingdom on earth.

Day Four: In the morning we took a long drive to have "church" with the gang member (at his girlfriend's house) who was supposed to join us for lunch on "Day Two". While Tita and Leah spent time encouraging the adults, Cherie and I had "Children's Church" with two adorable (and very energetic) little girls in the other room (the only other room in the house). We did our best to keep the girls somewhat quiet while "big church" was going on... but I don't think we were too successful.

Then we met some old friends for lunch... the family who hosted our whole group our last time in Guatemala. It was great to see them and to catch up with them. Then we went to meet Tita's "daddy" and had coffee at his house (something she does every Sunday afternoon). We felt like part of the extended family...

On the way back home we went to a photo shop to get pictures developed of Cherie and I with Joselin and Suzy - to give them as gifts the next morning before we left... and I had my first driving experience in Guatemala (which only included one missed stop sign)

We spent the evening at Tita's house talking and praying through what God is putting on our hearts for the work in La Limonada. It was so refreshing to be with friends who share a common passion to do the work that God has placed on all of our hearts.

Day Five: We got up early to go to the school to say good-bye to all the kids and to give our gifts to Joselin and Suzy. We visited Luis and brought him some clothes we bought at the market the night before (he was so humbled and so grateful!). We visited about three other families and looked at some land that Tita has a desire to buy to expand the work of God's kingdom there.

After a lot of big hugs we were off the airport to head back to the US... with a heart of passion and anticipation for what can be done here in the states to raise awareness and funds for the work God is doing (and wants to do) there. More to come about that another time soon...