Friday, August 2, 2013

Guatemala, Part 5


Here is the continuing story of our mission trip to Guatemala. . .

Thursday (7/25/13)

I had intended to get up at 6 a.m. today, so I would have time to catch up on journaling. I must have had my arm underneath my body or the pillow, because I didn’t hear my alarm go off. So I got up at 6:20 a.m. and took a cool shower.

Afterward, I did devotions. For breakfast this morning we had cereal, scrambled eggs, little churro/biscotti cookies, beans, watermelon, and our orange drink. M (the cook)’s son was sick and so she ran a bit late. She has been a great cook!

Breakfast
We left a bit late for the school. When we arrived, we set up all our equipment and then they brought in all the morning school kids. There were a LOT of them!

Someone said we had about 400 kids during the morning school session. They look ready for some entertainment in this photo! J
Prepping for the talent show.
G was our emcee. She led the kids in some songs with the help of the translators (who were wearing crazy hats.) She did a skit with C and then we did our dance (a funny dance to “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble.”)

Dancing. J
G talked after that while we got ready for the skit. We got so hot performing it!

The 3 midgets. J
After that, the Guatemalans closed us in a fun song called “Tuku Tuku A Ka Ta Ka.”

More dancing!
Saying goodbye to the kids was hard. We received so many beautiful cards and notes from them. T and her little friends showered me with confetti. I’m going to miss all of them!

Pastor A said the teachers had a presentation for us. We went up to one of the classrooms where they served what I thought was lunch. We had a crispy tortilla with red sauce and parmesan cheese, and a little fried object [called a rellenito.] It was plantains with sweet black beans as a filling. It was really good! We also had some orange soda.

The snack prepared for us by the teachers.
While we ate, one of the teachers spoke. She expressed her gratitude for our team. Then they said we were going over to Pastor A’s church to eat lunch. I was already full! When we stepped out of the classroom, we were mobbed by the kids who were leaving the school. Once we got outside, I pulled out a few family pictures to give away. That was crazy! J

We loaded our things on the bus and drove a few blocks to the church, which is housed in a former auto shop. We gathered chairs around and Pastor A shared his heart with us. He was getting emotional. He reminds me so much of my Abuelo.

Pastor A (right) sharing the testimony of his church with the help of M, one of our translators (left.)
He talked about all the miraculous ways God has provided for their young church. Pastor D shared how much he’s enjoyed getting to know Pastor A. He and his wife, C, knelt down and we all gathered around and prayed over them. I’m so grateful for them and I’m inspired by their example!

We sat around and talked while we waited for lunch. Some of us played Dirty/Power Uno. For lunch we ate burgers, chips, and rice drink.

Our yummy lunch.
After we ate, we visited some more. I talked with A (G’s husband) about his testimony. He grew up in a relative’s home and went to the church often. When he moved out, he drifted away from church and into the party life. He got in several motor vehicle accidents. He was almost killed in a motorcycle accident. That was when God really got his attention. He started going back to church. That’s also when he met G. She was his physical therapist. Not long after that, they got married! Their daughter A is the most beautiful 3-year-old I’ve ever seen!

We piled into the bus to head back over to the school. We had a completely new group of kids this time. They were a lot more outgoing than the morning group. We broke them up into groups and had soccer games.

Getting ready for the soccer games.
There was a group of about 10 girls that came over, called me by name, gave me kisses and hugs, and started asking all kinds of questions even when I didn’t understand.

These sweet girls took over my camera! They kept putting new people in the pictures, snapping a photo, and rotating more friends in. J
Our dance and skit went much better this time. Our whole group joined in the “Tuku Tuku A Ka Ta Ka” dance. I love it!

On the bus ride back to the mission house, I sat across from “Uncle T” (a member of our team.) I asked about his personal testimony. He has been through so much more than I ever would have imagined. I love hearing testimonies because they show how the grace of God can transform a life.

When we got home, all the Guatemalan teens crashed in the living room. M and S got into a little wrestling match. It ended up being really funny! J

T announced that she wanted to get a snow cup. That sounded good to all of us, so we walked to the store around the corner. They had to hand-grind the ice, so it took a long time to make all of them. I got one called “Frutas” which had a little bit of everything. It had pieces of pineapple, coconut, tamarind seeds, sweetened condensed milk, and sprinkles on top. It was delicious!


When we got back to the house, I sat with the Guatemalans and listened for awhile. I’ve been trying to immerse myself as much as possible so that I learn more Spanish. I can usually understand what is being talked about, but not specifics.

We played a game of Power Uno before dinner. Tonight, F (another translator)’s wife and two kids came to eat. Their 4-year-old daughter, K, is really cute. Their 2-month-old son, P, is precious and looks just like his Daddy. His wife speaks good English and doesn’t look like she could have possibly given birth two months ago! I enjoyed talking with her.

Our delicious dinner of grilled barbeque chicken, tortillas, pico de gallo, green beans, mashed potatoes, and refried beans. Delicioso!
After dinner, we tried to play a game of Dirty/Power Uno. We had about 13 people playing! Everything started falling apart 15-20 minutes into it. Whole hands of cards were disappearing. Poor J was so frustrated and we were sure that Bruno (one of the Guatemalans; that’s not his real name, but he looks like Bruno Mars so that was our nickname for him) and D (the missionary’s son) were plotting together. We all gave up and about 2 minutes later, C (a member of our team) shouts that it was H (another girl on our team)!!! She was in hysterics; it was her first time playing and she had fooled us all.

After that, we had our debrief time. Only tonight, the Fellowship Guatemala folks stayed. Our time together was very encouraging and sweet. We ended in song. We sang at least 3 songs, including “10,000 Reasons” and “How Great is Our God.” Worshipping the Lord with such special songs in different languages was truly a glimpse of heaven. No one really wanted it to end. Finally, Mrs. B got up and said “Hasta la Vista, Baby.” J

Tonight was bittersweet because we knew our time together was coming to an end. I had gone to another room, and came back into the living room just as everyone burst into laughter. Apparently Bruno is really good at popping/cracking people’s bones. Ben told him that none of his bones would crack. So Bruno cracked his back. Accordingly, there was this rippling in his spine and then a big pop in his chest. What made them all laugh was the look of shock on Ben’s face afterward. People were literally rolling on the floor laughing!

Before I went upstairs, Pastor D put some pictures on a flash drive since I had run out of room on my camera. Then I headed up.

During the testimony time, I had shared about searching for the reason why God had me on this trip. When I went up, I talked with the two Mrs B’s a little more about my testimony. I also read my letter from Mom. It was so appropriate. She encouraged me for the rest of the trip to think on the very questions that had been going through my mind. I stayed up until 1 a.m., journaling and praying. I also had an upset stomach. It finally subsided enough for me to sleep.


To be continued . . .













No comments: