Okay, so yesterday wasn't the last blog.
We got up early & headed for Guatemala City. The day went smoothly, nobody got left behind and we made all of our connections.
In Dallas/Ft. Worth, many of the team made a beeline for Fuddruckers & had the most glorious food experience; a hamburger!
The only hiccup in the entire journey home was waiting 30 minutes for our luggage to be unloaded in Calgary. But, all the luggage made it! We were greeted by family & friends who had been waiting almost an hour and a half for our arrival. Hugs & goodbyes were the way to end the day.
I will be adding pictures to the blogs over the next few days. So, check back regularly to see the progress.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Day Ten - Wednesday, April 4
The day starts with eggs, pancakes & bacon for breakfast at the same restaurant that we had dinner at last night. A little taste of home!
Les has hired a guide to tour us around Antigua, to see the ruins & sights. We start at central square with the main cathedral. Then we move on to a church that was ruined in a past earthquake. Here, many of our team tries their hand, or should I say shoulder, at lifting one of the very heavy floats that are paraded around during Holy Week. We didn't think it could be done, but the team did it!
We toured a Jade factory & saw some of the unique shades of jade that are found in Guatemala; green, black & lavender.
We ended our morning tour in a cloistered nunnery, where the first born daughter of wealthy Spaniard families would be sent to to live out there lives with no contact to the outside world. At the top of the nunnery was a circle of cells where the nuns would spend time in prayer & meditation. At the centre of the circle was a point where when you spoke your voice echoed back to you multiplied by the walls around. At the bottom of the nunnery was a white donught-shaped room with almost perfect acoustics. We spread out around the walls of the donught and sang worship songs with amazing harmonies. We sounded like a choir on tour!
After lunch, it was off to the market to haggle for gifts & treasures. Stalls of clothing items, blankets, trinkets, instruments, paintings & you name it. Traveling in groups of threes, our team bartered for the best price possible on items for purchase. After 3 hours, we headed back to our hotel room with bags of prized items as memories of our trip to Antigua.
After dinner, we had a great time of sharing where we had seen God revealed over the past 10 days & what each of us wanted to change about our lives back in Calgary. All of us desire more of God in our lives & will need the support, accountability and love of one another to accomplish it.
It's hard to go to bed, we don't want the day to end. We don't want the experience to end, but we must be up at 3:30 in the morning if we are to make it in time to the airport in Guatemala City for our early morning flight back to the U.S.
This is the last post for this trip. I hope you have enjoyed following along on our journeys & experiences over the last ten days. It has been fun sharing them with you, but, I can guarantee you this, it's better in person! To live for a time in another culture & watch the ways in which God works is a "must have" experience. Now, it's time to start planning & praying for next years Mission Trip. What an opportunity to be God's hand & feet.
Blessings on all of you. Thank-you for your prayers & support.
Les has hired a guide to tour us around Antigua, to see the ruins & sights. We start at central square with the main cathedral. Then we move on to a church that was ruined in a past earthquake. Here, many of our team tries their hand, or should I say shoulder, at lifting one of the very heavy floats that are paraded around during Holy Week. We didn't think it could be done, but the team did it!
We toured a Jade factory & saw some of the unique shades of jade that are found in Guatemala; green, black & lavender.
We ended our morning tour in a cloistered nunnery, where the first born daughter of wealthy Spaniard families would be sent to to live out there lives with no contact to the outside world. At the top of the nunnery was a circle of cells where the nuns would spend time in prayer & meditation. At the centre of the circle was a point where when you spoke your voice echoed back to you multiplied by the walls around. At the bottom of the nunnery was a white donught-shaped room with almost perfect acoustics. We spread out around the walls of the donught and sang worship songs with amazing harmonies. We sounded like a choir on tour!
After lunch, it was off to the market to haggle for gifts & treasures. Stalls of clothing items, blankets, trinkets, instruments, paintings & you name it. Traveling in groups of threes, our team bartered for the best price possible on items for purchase. After 3 hours, we headed back to our hotel room with bags of prized items as memories of our trip to Antigua.
After dinner, we had a great time of sharing where we had seen God revealed over the past 10 days & what each of us wanted to change about our lives back in Calgary. All of us desire more of God in our lives & will need the support, accountability and love of one another to accomplish it.
It's hard to go to bed, we don't want the day to end. We don't want the experience to end, but we must be up at 3:30 in the morning if we are to make it in time to the airport in Guatemala City for our early morning flight back to the U.S.
This is the last post for this trip. I hope you have enjoyed following along on our journeys & experiences over the last ten days. It has been fun sharing them with you, but, I can guarantee you this, it's better in person! To live for a time in another culture & watch the ways in which God works is a "must have" experience. Now, it's time to start planning & praying for next years Mission Trip. What an opportunity to be God's hand & feet.
Blessings on all of you. Thank-you for your prayers & support.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Day Nine - Tuesday, April 3
Today we leave Tactic!! Many of the team would like to stay, but maybe by leaving them wanting more, they will be back in the future.
It's a long 6 hour journey to Antigua. We stop briefly for ice cream after 2 hours & then journey on to Guatemala City. We see some major traffic wrecks as we travel; an overturned logging truck, the burnt shell of a tanker truck hanging over the edge of a cliff & a van squished into a bridge guard rail by a large truck. Praise God for our safety as we travel. Once in Guatemala City, the team is given the choice of having a late lunch at KFC, McDonala's or Pollo Campero's. The overwhelming majority votes for Pollo Campero's; perhaps it's one of the last few opportunities we will have to truly experience Guatemala. Following the meal, we push on to Antigua Guatemala.
Antigua is an 11 by 11 square block of cobblestone streets, churches/seminaries/nunneries & estate homes that have been turned into hotels. We arrive at our hotel and quickly divide the team up into room-mates for our two day stay. Within the hour, we are ready for a quick walk around Antigua before arriving at our restaurant for dinner. While we walk, it begins to rain, and we find ourselves dodging from overhang to overhang in front of businesses and banks.
After dinner, we return to our hotel for devotions. The team shares highlights of the trip & Les gives us two questions to reflect on as homework for tomorrow nights devotion:
1. How have you seen God revealed during the past 10 days.
2. What will you change about your life upon returning to Calgary.
During devotions, the team has a very intense experience of re-dedicating their lives to following God & accepting the guidance of their parents away from "worldly' desires. Lot's of prayer, tears & hugs end the evening. And, to top it all off, Dr. Garth gets pictures of a nearby volcano with lava plumes coming off it's top. So cool!
It's a long 6 hour journey to Antigua. We stop briefly for ice cream after 2 hours & then journey on to Guatemala City. We see some major traffic wrecks as we travel; an overturned logging truck, the burnt shell of a tanker truck hanging over the edge of a cliff & a van squished into a bridge guard rail by a large truck. Praise God for our safety as we travel. Once in Guatemala City, the team is given the choice of having a late lunch at KFC, McDonala's or Pollo Campero's. The overwhelming majority votes for Pollo Campero's; perhaps it's one of the last few opportunities we will have to truly experience Guatemala. Following the meal, we push on to Antigua Guatemala.
Antigua is an 11 by 11 square block of cobblestone streets, churches/seminaries/nunneries & estate homes that have been turned into hotels. We arrive at our hotel and quickly divide the team up into room-mates for our two day stay. Within the hour, we are ready for a quick walk around Antigua before arriving at our restaurant for dinner. While we walk, it begins to rain, and we find ourselves dodging from overhang to overhang in front of businesses and banks.
After dinner, we return to our hotel for devotions. The team shares highlights of the trip & Les gives us two questions to reflect on as homework for tomorrow nights devotion:
1. How have you seen God revealed during the past 10 days.
2. What will you change about your life upon returning to Calgary.
During devotions, the team has a very intense experience of re-dedicating their lives to following God & accepting the guidance of their parents away from "worldly' desires. Lot's of prayer, tears & hugs end the evening. And, to top it all off, Dr. Garth gets pictures of a nearby volcano with lava plumes coming off it's top. So cool!
Day Eight - Monday, April 2
We have another leisurely start to the day, but by 9:30 we are loaded into vans & on our way north of Tactic to Coban. Coban is the capital city of this area of the country & it is the third largest city in Guatemala. When we reach the outskirts of Coban, we take a detour east to travel up to the "Grutas del Rey Marcos", the caves at Rey Marcos.
Rey Marcos is a series of kilometre-long caves. National Geographic has been through these caves, mapping & photographing the wonders hidden inside. We don hard hats with a light & over-sized rubber boots and hike up to the entrance of the caves. Everything in Guatemala seems to be uphill! The entrance is about 4 feet high & maybe 2 feet wide, so many of the boys must double over & squeeze inside. Almost immediately the sunlight disappears & we are surrounded by bare rocks looking brownish-yellow under the glow of our headlamps. The rocks are coated with iron deposits from the rainwater that drips constantly from the ceiling overhead. As we slowly climb (again with the uphill thing) we pass formations that look like icing squeezed out by a baker. The passageways we clamber through are narrow with hanging rocks that we constantly bang our heads on. At times we squeeze through openings that lead into larger channels & as we climb we begin to hear the roar of an underground river. Soon we come to a large cavern through which the river rushes, it's movement echoing off the rocks that surround us. We hold onto a series of connected ropes & with carefully placed steps we ford the river and journey on. Soon the sound of the river dies away. We squeeze through one final opening & step into a huge cathedral-like room. As we look around, we can stalagmites & stalagtites. Standing in the centre of the cathedral, our guide tells us to turn off our lights. For the first time in many of our lives, we are enveloped in complete & total darkness. There is no difference between open or closed eyes. We cannot see one another, nor can we see our hands that we desperately wave in front of our faces. Nothing. Is this what eternity separated from God could be like? Some of the group sing as we click our lights on & begin the descent out of the cave. We have only gone a small distance into the caves. Our guide tells us that the caves continue on for another 4 hours into the darkness under the earth. Wow, another example of God's creation here deep inside of a mountain.
We leave Rey Marcos for the short ride to Coban, where we lunch on chicken & fries at Pollo Campero's. It is quite hot today. The restaurant is two story without air conditioning, and we are sitting on the second level. A good lesson is learned about how hot air rises. For some reason, the meal is very slow in being served & we sit baking for almost two hours. Les is concerned over the slow service, because visiting hours at the nearby hospital will be over soon & we are scheduled to go and give toys to the children on the pediatric ward.
Eventually we head out to the hospital. Les talks with us about how many of the local people view the hospital as a place to go to die, so when they are sick, they often times won't go the hospital. As we walk through the hospital, we are struck by the differences from our hospital experiences to this third-world hospital. It's not very clean & there appears to be no medical machinery anywhere. We went into the intensive care unit on the pediatric ward & saw children with unknown diseases. A 9 year old girl who was so malnourished that she looked like a 2 year old. An abandoned 3 month old baby with heart problems caused a great deal of sorrow on our team. We prayed with each family we could, and one of the moms of the sick children accepted the Lord. We went onto the maternity ward & gave away packages of blankets, clothing and toys to the new moms. Nurse Henders & Mrs. Goosen went into the labour & delivery room to pray with two women in labour. Everybody we asked to pray with was very happy to allow us to do so. When we debriefed in the evening, many of the team shared about the hopelessness they felt in seeing the things we saw. Yet Les gave us the understanding that we gave hope to each of those situations & we may not know the good we did until we are before God's throne in heaven. Even if we were powerless to "fix" the problems, we did something, we did what we could do.
That evening, we participated in perhaps the most unique cultural activity of the week. We walked to the home of a local Guatemalan family where we helped make our own dinner. We walked with a bucket of corn to the local corn mill, where it was ground into corn meal. Just in case you're ever in Tactic, here's the instructions to find the corn mill. Follow the concrete path past the barking dog, turn left at the little boy who says "gringo". Then it's over the puddle with the flat rocks, past the tienda, through the gate, and then past the field with the cow. Walk towards the bright light, past the pig barns & then turn left at the house with the 3 guys talking. Cross the bridge, through the goats & there's the mill! It was so easy to follow these instructions that Dr. Garth & Mr. Werth made the trip 5 times without getting lost, so you can too. Upon returning to the home, we washed our hands & learned how to make Tolluyu's. It's like a pizza pop without the meat or a cheese perogie. We made about a 100 & then waited an hour while they are deep fried in oil. The Tolluyu's were served with a spicy tomato sauce & a hot, blended, rice drink (for those of you reading this from last years team, think squash soup). Most of the team enjoyed the meal. Because it was our host's birthday, we sang Happy Birthday in English & Spanish, and had a traditional North American birthday cake.
Back at the guest house, Les debriefs the day & many of the team purchase weaving made by our host family. Interesting day!!
Rey Marcos is a series of kilometre-long caves. National Geographic has been through these caves, mapping & photographing the wonders hidden inside. We don hard hats with a light & over-sized rubber boots and hike up to the entrance of the caves. Everything in Guatemala seems to be uphill! The entrance is about 4 feet high & maybe 2 feet wide, so many of the boys must double over & squeeze inside. Almost immediately the sunlight disappears & we are surrounded by bare rocks looking brownish-yellow under the glow of our headlamps. The rocks are coated with iron deposits from the rainwater that drips constantly from the ceiling overhead. As we slowly climb (again with the uphill thing) we pass formations that look like icing squeezed out by a baker. The passageways we clamber through are narrow with hanging rocks that we constantly bang our heads on. At times we squeeze through openings that lead into larger channels & as we climb we begin to hear the roar of an underground river. Soon we come to a large cavern through which the river rushes, it's movement echoing off the rocks that surround us. We hold onto a series of connected ropes & with carefully placed steps we ford the river and journey on. Soon the sound of the river dies away. We squeeze through one final opening & step into a huge cathedral-like room. As we look around, we can stalagmites & stalagtites. Standing in the centre of the cathedral, our guide tells us to turn off our lights. For the first time in many of our lives, we are enveloped in complete & total darkness. There is no difference between open or closed eyes. We cannot see one another, nor can we see our hands that we desperately wave in front of our faces. Nothing. Is this what eternity separated from God could be like? Some of the group sing as we click our lights on & begin the descent out of the cave. We have only gone a small distance into the caves. Our guide tells us that the caves continue on for another 4 hours into the darkness under the earth. Wow, another example of God's creation here deep inside of a mountain.
We leave Rey Marcos for the short ride to Coban, where we lunch on chicken & fries at Pollo Campero's. It is quite hot today. The restaurant is two story without air conditioning, and we are sitting on the second level. A good lesson is learned about how hot air rises. For some reason, the meal is very slow in being served & we sit baking for almost two hours. Les is concerned over the slow service, because visiting hours at the nearby hospital will be over soon & we are scheduled to go and give toys to the children on the pediatric ward.
Eventually we head out to the hospital. Les talks with us about how many of the local people view the hospital as a place to go to die, so when they are sick, they often times won't go the hospital. As we walk through the hospital, we are struck by the differences from our hospital experiences to this third-world hospital. It's not very clean & there appears to be no medical machinery anywhere. We went into the intensive care unit on the pediatric ward & saw children with unknown diseases. A 9 year old girl who was so malnourished that she looked like a 2 year old. An abandoned 3 month old baby with heart problems caused a great deal of sorrow on our team. We prayed with each family we could, and one of the moms of the sick children accepted the Lord. We went onto the maternity ward & gave away packages of blankets, clothing and toys to the new moms. Nurse Henders & Mrs. Goosen went into the labour & delivery room to pray with two women in labour. Everybody we asked to pray with was very happy to allow us to do so. When we debriefed in the evening, many of the team shared about the hopelessness they felt in seeing the things we saw. Yet Les gave us the understanding that we gave hope to each of those situations & we may not know the good we did until we are before God's throne in heaven. Even if we were powerless to "fix" the problems, we did something, we did what we could do.
That evening, we participated in perhaps the most unique cultural activity of the week. We walked to the home of a local Guatemalan family where we helped make our own dinner. We walked with a bucket of corn to the local corn mill, where it was ground into corn meal. Just in case you're ever in Tactic, here's the instructions to find the corn mill. Follow the concrete path past the barking dog, turn left at the little boy who says "gringo". Then it's over the puddle with the flat rocks, past the tienda, through the gate, and then past the field with the cow. Walk towards the bright light, past the pig barns & then turn left at the house with the 3 guys talking. Cross the bridge, through the goats & there's the mill! It was so easy to follow these instructions that Dr. Garth & Mr. Werth made the trip 5 times without getting lost, so you can too. Upon returning to the home, we washed our hands & learned how to make Tolluyu's. It's like a pizza pop without the meat or a cheese perogie. We made about a 100 & then waited an hour while they are deep fried in oil. The Tolluyu's were served with a spicy tomato sauce & a hot, blended, rice drink (for those of you reading this from last years team, think squash soup). Most of the team enjoyed the meal. Because it was our host's birthday, we sang Happy Birthday in English & Spanish, and had a traditional North American birthday cake.
Back at the guest house, Les debriefs the day & many of the team purchase weaving made by our host family. Interesting day!!
Monday, April 2, 2007
Day Seven - Sunday, April 1
April Fools Day!!
Mr. Werth played a little fools joke on some of the boys. It got them up & moving quickly, which was the point. Payback left Mr. Werth locked outside in his pajmas for a few minutes. Boys will be boys.
This morning, we participate in a market activity. The group is divided into 6 teams. Each team is given 50 quetzal (Guatemalan dollars, roughly equivalent to $8.50 Canadian) and a list of 14 items for purchase. The challenge was that the list was all in Spanish, the teams had to travel in groups through the market seeking to purchase all the vegetables, fruits & spices on the list. Extra points were awarded for getting the best price, and for the having the biggest of certain items. The teams had only 1 hour to accomplish the task & must return to the guest house carrying their produce on their heads. Sunday is market day, so it was crowded with people making their weekly grocery purchase. We are the only caucasians threading our way through the market, between people & around stands brimming with produce, clothing, blankets and such. Some of the teams got ripped off with their purchases, some of the teams couldn't find all they needed, and one team in particular moved so quickly they forgot to keep track of their purchases. But in the end, we had done the shopping for Carmella our cook for a variety of upcoming meals.
After lunch, some of the team raced off to finish visiting sponsor children. Those who weren't able to meet their families in San Antonio had good luck today. Another group went off to Chicoy & Mochon to meet sponsor children from last year & this year.
Then, it was back to Tactic for the church service at Beerseba Chamche. There has been another missions team here from Living Water Christian Academy in Spruce Grove, and we finally got to meet them at church. The service was one of testimonies, dedication of leaders, a message & 10 baptisms. A 3 hour service! Following the service we were treated to hot chicken tamales & coffee/tea. Tamales are made with corn meal, a few spices, tomatoes & chicken, all wrapped in a banana leaf and boiled for 4-5 hours. Interesting consistency. Some of the team had a couple, a few waived the privilege.
Our boys were invited to a soccer game against some of the local Guatemala boys. The girls are dissapointed that they can't play, but they come along to cheer & sing their support. In the end, our boys play hard, but realize the reality of being defeated by boys who have played daily since they were about 3 years old.
When we finally get back to our guest house, we are greeted with a snack of fajitas made from barbecued beef & loads of delicious sauces. Today was truly a Guatemalan experience, not one quickly forgotten.
Mr. Werth played a little fools joke on some of the boys. It got them up & moving quickly, which was the point. Payback left Mr. Werth locked outside in his pajmas for a few minutes. Boys will be boys.
This morning, we participate in a market activity. The group is divided into 6 teams. Each team is given 50 quetzal (Guatemalan dollars, roughly equivalent to $8.50 Canadian) and a list of 14 items for purchase. The challenge was that the list was all in Spanish, the teams had to travel in groups through the market seeking to purchase all the vegetables, fruits & spices on the list. Extra points were awarded for getting the best price, and for the having the biggest of certain items. The teams had only 1 hour to accomplish the task & must return to the guest house carrying their produce on their heads. Sunday is market day, so it was crowded with people making their weekly grocery purchase. We are the only caucasians threading our way through the market, between people & around stands brimming with produce, clothing, blankets and such. Some of the teams got ripped off with their purchases, some of the teams couldn't find all they needed, and one team in particular moved so quickly they forgot to keep track of their purchases. But in the end, we had done the shopping for Carmella our cook for a variety of upcoming meals.
After lunch, some of the team raced off to finish visiting sponsor children. Those who weren't able to meet their families in San Antonio had good luck today. Another group went off to Chicoy & Mochon to meet sponsor children from last year & this year.
Then, it was back to Tactic for the church service at Beerseba Chamche. There has been another missions team here from Living Water Christian Academy in Spruce Grove, and we finally got to meet them at church. The service was one of testimonies, dedication of leaders, a message & 10 baptisms. A 3 hour service! Following the service we were treated to hot chicken tamales & coffee/tea. Tamales are made with corn meal, a few spices, tomatoes & chicken, all wrapped in a banana leaf and boiled for 4-5 hours. Interesting consistency. Some of the team had a couple, a few waived the privilege.
Our boys were invited to a soccer game against some of the local Guatemala boys. The girls are dissapointed that they can't play, but they come along to cheer & sing their support. In the end, our boys play hard, but realize the reality of being defeated by boys who have played daily since they were about 3 years old.
When we finally get back to our guest house, we are greeted with a snack of fajitas made from barbecued beef & loads of delicious sauces. Today was truly a Guatemalan experience, not one quickly forgotten.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Day Six - Saturday, March 31
Today was a bit more relaxing than the past few days. We have a bit of a sleep in & a leisurely breakfast.
We get to travel by school bus today. Most of the team can fit into it, with a few left to travel in one of the vans.
Les takes us up the mountain side to a place called Chixim (pronounced shesheem). It's a Catholic church that overlooks the town of Tactic. The church is built on the site where the Mayan corn god Chixim has been worshipped for hundreds of years. In fact, just outside the church, there are two crosses. One to represent Jesus' cross & the other as an altar to Chixim. The altar is blackened from so many burnt offerings that have been offered up over the years. This is another example of the synchrotism in the Latin American Catholic church. Israel, who is one of our drivers, shares with the team how he was very involved in the Catholic church for 18 years. But now, he sees the bondage that the church holds over it's members. He encourages us to pray for people caught in the Catholic church, and challenges us to never shrink back from proclaiming the truth of Christ's message. When we go into the church, there are many people inside for a service. The front of the church has a display of the black Christ on the cross, but he is called Lord of Chixim and even Lord Chixim. There are murals on the wall, but not all are totally correct in their theology. One of the murals depicts a Mayan priest having a vision of Mary. Another depicts the day of Pentecost, however Mary is in the middle with a dove descending over her & the disciples bowing before her. And a final mural depicts the first baptism in Tactic in 1545, which was six years after Guatemala was invaded by the Spaniards. What a mix of biblical & local beliefs! As we drove away, there was a man waiting with a chicken for sacrifice on the alter to Chixim.
We leave to begin our home visits. The plan is to go into the homes of 18 sponsor children. We will be giving huge sacks of clothing & blankets that we brought with us from Calgary. As well, we will be giving gifts for the sponsor children, their siblings & their parents. The first group of visits are north & west of Tactic in the village of San Antonio. The houses are strung up & down the steep hills. Because there are no maps or street signs, we ask lots of questions & wander lots of paths.
As the day draws to a close, some of our team have found their sponsor child's home, but their sponsor children were not at home. Disappointing. But we promise to attempt to find them tomorrow.
We attend church in San Antonio & present two of our dramas.
After dinner, Rita shares some stories of members of the Tactic community & asks us to pray for their growth in the Christian faith.
We get to travel by school bus today. Most of the team can fit into it, with a few left to travel in one of the vans.
Les takes us up the mountain side to a place called Chixim (pronounced shesheem). It's a Catholic church that overlooks the town of Tactic. The church is built on the site where the Mayan corn god Chixim has been worshipped for hundreds of years. In fact, just outside the church, there are two crosses. One to represent Jesus' cross & the other as an altar to Chixim. The altar is blackened from so many burnt offerings that have been offered up over the years. This is another example of the synchrotism in the Latin American Catholic church. Israel, who is one of our drivers, shares with the team how he was very involved in the Catholic church for 18 years. But now, he sees the bondage that the church holds over it's members. He encourages us to pray for people caught in the Catholic church, and challenges us to never shrink back from proclaiming the truth of Christ's message. When we go into the church, there are many people inside for a service. The front of the church has a display of the black Christ on the cross, but he is called Lord of Chixim and even Lord Chixim. There are murals on the wall, but not all are totally correct in their theology. One of the murals depicts a Mayan priest having a vision of Mary. Another depicts the day of Pentecost, however Mary is in the middle with a dove descending over her & the disciples bowing before her. And a final mural depicts the first baptism in Tactic in 1545, which was six years after Guatemala was invaded by the Spaniards. What a mix of biblical & local beliefs! As we drove away, there was a man waiting with a chicken for sacrifice on the alter to Chixim.
We leave to begin our home visits. The plan is to go into the homes of 18 sponsor children. We will be giving huge sacks of clothing & blankets that we brought with us from Calgary. As well, we will be giving gifts for the sponsor children, their siblings & their parents. The first group of visits are north & west of Tactic in the village of San Antonio. The houses are strung up & down the steep hills. Because there are no maps or street signs, we ask lots of questions & wander lots of paths.
As the day draws to a close, some of our team have found their sponsor child's home, but their sponsor children were not at home. Disappointing. But we promise to attempt to find them tomorrow.
We attend church in San Antonio & present two of our dramas.
After dinner, Rita shares some stories of members of the Tactic community & asks us to pray for their growth in the Christian faith.
Day Five - Friday, March 30
Today starts with a bang. It's Tim's birthday! Most of the boys race up onto the guest house roof where 6 two-foot long rolls of fire crackers are set off in celebration. The anticipation, the terror, the noise & the smoke... an event made for adolescent males (and a few middle-aged yet child-like adults).
Breakfast is early this morning. We are off to Chicoy to visit a sink-hole & then to Beerseba Chicoy for morning devotions.
The sink-hole is huge. It's an area of land that has literally sunk down into the surrounding bedrock due to moisture & land movement (we are in an earthquake prone area of the world). For hundreds of years, this sink-hole has been used by Mayan priests to practice witchcraft as they invoke cures & curses for a price. Walking up to the entrace, there is no evidence of a hole of any kind, it's as if we are simply hiking up a steep moutainside. As we approach the entrance, what at first appears to be a dark abyss reveals itself as a smoke filled cavern. Smoldering fires at the bottom of the sink-hole fog the air with smoke. The rocks are black with the soot of hundreds of years of fires. As we descend into the sink-hole along a narrow path, an altar along one wall of the cavern can be seen surrounded by stalagmites that few people would be able to wrap their arms around. Stalactites hang from the ceiling with pointed tips facing down. The air may be laden with smoke, but there is a palpable heaviness as well. As our team reaches the bottom of the cavern, we turn and look back upwards at the entrance that is almost unbearably bright compared to our dark & smoky surroundings; an immediate analogy comes to mind of mankind straining to see into heaven. Our group gathers into a circle away from the altar and with eyes shut, begins to sing. "Light of the world you stepped down into darkness..." followed by "Did you rise the sun for me, and paint a million stars that I might know your majesty..." and "Praise God from whom all blessings flow..." and finally "God of wonders beyond our majesty, you are holy...". We may have started with some timidity, but soon the team is singing full voice & praising God. We can hear our choruses echoing back at us off the rocks, and later in the evening many group members share about hearing other voices beyond our echoes singing. For 20 minutes we sing, pray & quote scripture. Many of the team are struck with emotions. One of our team felt & heard a rush of wind brush past them. Others are sure that they heard the movements of angels. All of us know that we are in the presence of God! Perhaps it's just that our eyes have been closed for the past while, but when we open them, the cavern is a lot brighter & the heaviness is gone. In our heads we know that the spirit world is nearby, but now in our hearts we have experienced it.
As we slowly make our way up & out of the sink-hole, it is a much different group of individuals than went in. May God continue to reveal himself to each of us in new & meaningful ways.
We have devotions with the children at Chicoy & then race back to Tactic for another morning of children's ministry. As the morning progresses, it begins to rain. Light & misty at first, and then finally sheeting down for 2 solid hours. Instead of walking to the Peter's for lunch, the vans are rounded up to provide us with rides. As we eat, the rain continues, but becomes a light mist that continues to soak the air. Instead of going to the work site in an attempt to now move mud around, Les makes arrangements for us to visit a nearby coffee finca (plantation). After a lunch of Guatemalan taco chips covered in homemade salsa, meat sauce, gaucamole & squeezable cheese in a bag, we load the vans for the trip out to the coffee finca.
The roads are slick & wet, which isn't a problem until we leave pavement and begin the climb into the mountains on dirt roads. The higher we go, the steeper the hills & narrower the road. The road twists & turns through a series of switchbacks as we wind our way upwards. At points, the only thing between us & a drop of doom is a barbed wire fence. Somebody points out that the barbed wire won't prevent our descent, just slow us momentarily. Eventually, the mud & the steep incline win out and we must disembark from the vans and complete the walk to the finca.
At the coffee finca we watch how the red coffee berries that have been hand picked & sorted are processed. The processing is a science teachers dream system; gravity fed, density separated, sun drying & humidty checked! The red berries are poured into a large hopper through which water runs & carries the berries downwards into a rolling screen which separates berries by size. As the berries are separted, they drop into various water fed channels that carry them to a tumbler that scrubs the outer red coating off them. The white beans then drift along their assigned channel to a "switching" station. Beans that are floating, because they are less dense & therefore of low quality, spill over into a new channel and are carried along to a collection site. Beans that sink to the bottom of their channel, because they are denser & of higher quality, are carried along by the current to another collection point. The beans are collected and spread out on huge drying decks to dry in the sun. Because it is still raining, none of the beans are out drying, but we are told that every few hours a worker will walk through the layer of drying beans with a rake to turn the beans. At the end of each day, the beans are swept up & stored in bags until they can be laid out for drying the next morning. After a couple of days being dried, the beans are poured into another hopper which carries them into a slowing turning bin that is heated with hot air from a nearby furnace. The furnace is fed from branches that have been trimmed from trees throughout the coffee finca, as the coffee plants need partial shade in which to grow. The beans are dried until they have lost about 80% of their moisture content & then bagged for sale (these ones are bound for Starbucks). The beans are roasted in another facility, which releases the coffee flavouring & turns the beans to a rich, dark brown. As we leave the coffee finca, we pass a drainage ditch with running water that is carrying the red husk of the coffee berry to an area where they sit & ferment for many months and then are used as fertilizer throughout the coffee finca.
By the time we have returned to the guest house, the sun has begun to shine & it's almost time for the trip to the Peter's for dinner. At dinner, the dining room is draped in streamers & hung with balloons in celebration of Tim's birthday.
After dinner, Les has one of the teachers, Hecter, in the Beerseba program share his testimony. We hear how he grew up in a family of 2 girls & 3 boys with a father who barely acknowledged his children. Hecter re-tells various events in his life that began to harden his heart towards others & how he always wanted to sing. But then, he tells of the grace & forgiveness that was taught at Beerseba Chamche and he has dedicated his life to teaching sharing the gospel of Christ with the children of Tactic & the surrounding area. Hecter is one of the worship leaders that leads the Beerseba students in devotion every morning. We are blessed by his testimony.
As we applaud Hecter's testimony, a string of fire crackers is set off behind the dining room, which signals the entrance of a birthday cake with 18 candles. Happy birthday Tim! The one & only gift is a stack of 31 firecracker strings. After cake, everybody pours outside to light firecrackers. The day ends as it began, with bangs, lots of smoke & shrieks galore. What a way to end our week!
As we walk back to the guest house, the evening's events have invigorated the team with perhaps a bit too much adrenaline. It takes several hours until all is quiet & the house sleeps peacefully.
Breakfast is early this morning. We are off to Chicoy to visit a sink-hole & then to Beerseba Chicoy for morning devotions.
The sink-hole is huge. It's an area of land that has literally sunk down into the surrounding bedrock due to moisture & land movement (we are in an earthquake prone area of the world). For hundreds of years, this sink-hole has been used by Mayan priests to practice witchcraft as they invoke cures & curses for a price. Walking up to the entrace, there is no evidence of a hole of any kind, it's as if we are simply hiking up a steep moutainside. As we approach the entrance, what at first appears to be a dark abyss reveals itself as a smoke filled cavern. Smoldering fires at the bottom of the sink-hole fog the air with smoke. The rocks are black with the soot of hundreds of years of fires. As we descend into the sink-hole along a narrow path, an altar along one wall of the cavern can be seen surrounded by stalagmites that few people would be able to wrap their arms around. Stalactites hang from the ceiling with pointed tips facing down. The air may be laden with smoke, but there is a palpable heaviness as well. As our team reaches the bottom of the cavern, we turn and look back upwards at the entrance that is almost unbearably bright compared to our dark & smoky surroundings; an immediate analogy comes to mind of mankind straining to see into heaven. Our group gathers into a circle away from the altar and with eyes shut, begins to sing. "Light of the world you stepped down into darkness..." followed by "Did you rise the sun for me, and paint a million stars that I might know your majesty..." and "Praise God from whom all blessings flow..." and finally "God of wonders beyond our majesty, you are holy...". We may have started with some timidity, but soon the team is singing full voice & praising God. We can hear our choruses echoing back at us off the rocks, and later in the evening many group members share about hearing other voices beyond our echoes singing. For 20 minutes we sing, pray & quote scripture. Many of the team are struck with emotions. One of our team felt & heard a rush of wind brush past them. Others are sure that they heard the movements of angels. All of us know that we are in the presence of God! Perhaps it's just that our eyes have been closed for the past while, but when we open them, the cavern is a lot brighter & the heaviness is gone. In our heads we know that the spirit world is nearby, but now in our hearts we have experienced it.
As we slowly make our way up & out of the sink-hole, it is a much different group of individuals than went in. May God continue to reveal himself to each of us in new & meaningful ways.
We have devotions with the children at Chicoy & then race back to Tactic for another morning of children's ministry. As the morning progresses, it begins to rain. Light & misty at first, and then finally sheeting down for 2 solid hours. Instead of walking to the Peter's for lunch, the vans are rounded up to provide us with rides. As we eat, the rain continues, but becomes a light mist that continues to soak the air. Instead of going to the work site in an attempt to now move mud around, Les makes arrangements for us to visit a nearby coffee finca (plantation). After a lunch of Guatemalan taco chips covered in homemade salsa, meat sauce, gaucamole & squeezable cheese in a bag, we load the vans for the trip out to the coffee finca.
The roads are slick & wet, which isn't a problem until we leave pavement and begin the climb into the mountains on dirt roads. The higher we go, the steeper the hills & narrower the road. The road twists & turns through a series of switchbacks as we wind our way upwards. At points, the only thing between us & a drop of doom is a barbed wire fence. Somebody points out that the barbed wire won't prevent our descent, just slow us momentarily. Eventually, the mud & the steep incline win out and we must disembark from the vans and complete the walk to the finca.
At the coffee finca we watch how the red coffee berries that have been hand picked & sorted are processed. The processing is a science teachers dream system; gravity fed, density separated, sun drying & humidty checked! The red berries are poured into a large hopper through which water runs & carries the berries downwards into a rolling screen which separates berries by size. As the berries are separted, they drop into various water fed channels that carry them to a tumbler that scrubs the outer red coating off them. The white beans then drift along their assigned channel to a "switching" station. Beans that are floating, because they are less dense & therefore of low quality, spill over into a new channel and are carried along to a collection site. Beans that sink to the bottom of their channel, because they are denser & of higher quality, are carried along by the current to another collection point. The beans are collected and spread out on huge drying decks to dry in the sun. Because it is still raining, none of the beans are out drying, but we are told that every few hours a worker will walk through the layer of drying beans with a rake to turn the beans. At the end of each day, the beans are swept up & stored in bags until they can be laid out for drying the next morning. After a couple of days being dried, the beans are poured into another hopper which carries them into a slowing turning bin that is heated with hot air from a nearby furnace. The furnace is fed from branches that have been trimmed from trees throughout the coffee finca, as the coffee plants need partial shade in which to grow. The beans are dried until they have lost about 80% of their moisture content & then bagged for sale (these ones are bound for Starbucks). The beans are roasted in another facility, which releases the coffee flavouring & turns the beans to a rich, dark brown. As we leave the coffee finca, we pass a drainage ditch with running water that is carrying the red husk of the coffee berry to an area where they sit & ferment for many months and then are used as fertilizer throughout the coffee finca.
By the time we have returned to the guest house, the sun has begun to shine & it's almost time for the trip to the Peter's for dinner. At dinner, the dining room is draped in streamers & hung with balloons in celebration of Tim's birthday.
After dinner, Les has one of the teachers, Hecter, in the Beerseba program share his testimony. We hear how he grew up in a family of 2 girls & 3 boys with a father who barely acknowledged his children. Hecter re-tells various events in his life that began to harden his heart towards others & how he always wanted to sing. But then, he tells of the grace & forgiveness that was taught at Beerseba Chamche and he has dedicated his life to teaching sharing the gospel of Christ with the children of Tactic & the surrounding area. Hecter is one of the worship leaders that leads the Beerseba students in devotion every morning. We are blessed by his testimony.
As we applaud Hecter's testimony, a string of fire crackers is set off behind the dining room, which signals the entrance of a birthday cake with 18 candles. Happy birthday Tim! The one & only gift is a stack of 31 firecracker strings. After cake, everybody pours outside to light firecrackers. The day ends as it began, with bangs, lots of smoke & shrieks galore. What a way to end our week!
As we walk back to the guest house, the evening's events have invigorated the team with perhaps a bit too much adrenaline. It takes several hours until all is quiet & the house sleeps peacefully.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Day Four - Thursday, March 29
We're not sure if it was the roosters crowing, or the pig sounding like it was going to it's end, or the black birds that give out a loud whistle/shriek, or perhaps a combination of all three, but our team was awakened just after sunrise at. We needed to have showers, get dressed & have breakfast quickly as we were leaving to having devotions with the students at Beerseba Purulha, the third of the four schools run by Impact Ministries. Everbody feels the ache of new found muscles from yesterday's dig and so we are not moving as spryly as we might otherwise.
We loaded up our vans, along with the teachers from Beerseba Chicoy, the second of the four schools, for the 25 minute drive to Purulha. The teachers of Chicoy & Mocohan (fourth school & the school that last years Bearspaw team dug foundations for) are driven out every morning for classes and returned to Tactic at the end of each day. With all the travel of transporting teachers & missions teams, staff & emergent needs, Impact Ministries has a network of vehicles and drivers that are constantly on the go! It's a fine oiled machine, but machines, as do vehicles, can break down & then everyone is left standing around waiting.
Purulha is a small school of about 40 students. The community gave Impact Ministries permission to use an already built school that was sitting empty, which was very exciting. But, the school has had a difficult start due to opposition from a few in the community who are distrustful of Impact Ministries & the Christian message they bring. Distrustful to the point that a rumour was started in the community that the real reason Impact Ministries was there, was to kidnap the children & take them to Canada to make them into soap! As a result only 12 students showed up on opening day. But the teachers who had been hired for Purulha believed so much in what they were doing, all of them being graduates from Beerseba Chamche, that they went door to door talking with families & building up the enrollment. That's committment!
Devotions with the students in Purulha ends with another hugging line.
Then, it's back to Beerseba Chamche for childrens ministry with the grades 2,3 & 4 students. We have power, so all the dramas have music, the children are older and less prone to running about aimlessly, and many of them seriously attempt to help the team with their Spanish. Today's activities are marred only by the fact that the temperature is soaring to 28 degrees Celsius & the balloon animals can be heard popping all around the school campus.
A lunch of ... you guessed it, chicken & rice, and then we are off to the work site. When we arrive, a large crowd of children has already gathered for the show. However, today, many of the children pitch in and help with the digging. This leaves many of our team members free to play soccer, visit & play games with the rest of the watchers. Periodic rain showers help to cool us off, so the work is very refreshing for all.
After showers, we head off to the Peter's residence for meatloaf dinner. Not chicken! The evening ends with another sharing time & hearing from Zaak about the sponsorship program with Impact Ministries. For $36 a month, each sponsor child gets their school tuition paid for, get a school uniform & a hot meal each school day. As well, they will receive a gift on their birthday & at christmas, plus their family will have free medical care through the Impact Ministries medical clinic, such as what we are offering. On Saturday, we will visit a total of 18 sponsor children that this team & the families of Bearspaw are sponsoring. What an opportunity! God is good!
We loaded up our vans, along with the teachers from Beerseba Chicoy, the second of the four schools, for the 25 minute drive to Purulha. The teachers of Chicoy & Mocohan (fourth school & the school that last years Bearspaw team dug foundations for) are driven out every morning for classes and returned to Tactic at the end of each day. With all the travel of transporting teachers & missions teams, staff & emergent needs, Impact Ministries has a network of vehicles and drivers that are constantly on the go! It's a fine oiled machine, but machines, as do vehicles, can break down & then everyone is left standing around waiting.
Purulha is a small school of about 40 students. The community gave Impact Ministries permission to use an already built school that was sitting empty, which was very exciting. But, the school has had a difficult start due to opposition from a few in the community who are distrustful of Impact Ministries & the Christian message they bring. Distrustful to the point that a rumour was started in the community that the real reason Impact Ministries was there, was to kidnap the children & take them to Canada to make them into soap! As a result only 12 students showed up on opening day. But the teachers who had been hired for Purulha believed so much in what they were doing, all of them being graduates from Beerseba Chamche, that they went door to door talking with families & building up the enrollment. That's committment!
Devotions with the students in Purulha ends with another hugging line.
Then, it's back to Beerseba Chamche for childrens ministry with the grades 2,3 & 4 students. We have power, so all the dramas have music, the children are older and less prone to running about aimlessly, and many of them seriously attempt to help the team with their Spanish. Today's activities are marred only by the fact that the temperature is soaring to 28 degrees Celsius & the balloon animals can be heard popping all around the school campus.
A lunch of ... you guessed it, chicken & rice, and then we are off to the work site. When we arrive, a large crowd of children has already gathered for the show. However, today, many of the children pitch in and help with the digging. This leaves many of our team members free to play soccer, visit & play games with the rest of the watchers. Periodic rain showers help to cool us off, so the work is very refreshing for all.
After showers, we head off to the Peter's residence for meatloaf dinner. Not chicken! The evening ends with another sharing time & hearing from Zaak about the sponsorship program with Impact Ministries. For $36 a month, each sponsor child gets their school tuition paid for, get a school uniform & a hot meal each school day. As well, they will receive a gift on their birthday & at christmas, plus their family will have free medical care through the Impact Ministries medical clinic, such as what we are offering. On Saturday, we will visit a total of 18 sponsor children that this team & the families of Bearspaw are sponsoring. What an opportunity! God is good!
Day Three - Wednesday, March 28
It's to be our first full day in Tactic. Our first day of ministry that we have been preparing for months for. The team is excited, so most of us are up early.
Showering is a novel experience for most of the team. The shower head contains an “in-line” heater so that when water passes through, it turns on and heats the water. So, one is faced with a choice: a trickle of water that is quite hot or jets of very lukewarm water. Jets might be overly generous since only 7 of the possible 20 or so holes are clear of scale so that water runs through them. And, the ones that are open don't all point in the same direction. The shower head could use a good dousing in CLR!
Everyone heads out to Beerseba Chamche for 7:30 AM devotion with the students. Beerseba Chamche is the first of 4 schools run by Impact Ministries and all four schools start their day with a half hour devotion & worship time. In an effort to teach the children the value of being on time, the gate to the school is locked at 7:30. If a student is late, they won’t be able to attend to school that day. As the bell rings to call students to devotion, one boy runs through the gate with sweat beaded on his forehead. He has been running for quite a while to be on time. (Hmm, I wonder if this technique would work at Bearspaw?)
200 children pour into the main hall to join us for worship. Worship at Beerseba is loud! The children sing with full out devotion at the top of their lungs with hands held high and their eyes closed tight.
Listening to them worship is a moving experience for many of the team. Our eyes brimming with tears, we reflect on how different our worship in Canada is. Many of these little children have home & family situations that are heartbreaking, and most are hearing for the first time in their lives, about the love & hope that Christ offers. This is heart of Impact Ministries and the reason we have travelled so far.
Devotions close with a "hugging" line as the children attemt to hug every team member before returning to their classrooms.
While Dr. Garth (we can't call him Dr. Mortis because it sounds like Dr. Death in Spanish, not a good name to build patient trust with), Mrs. Henders (our nurse), Stefanie & Tom (soon to be pharmacists) go to set up the Medical Clinic, the rest of the team has a quick walk back to our guest-house for breakfast. Fresh pineapple, mangos and "ChocoKrispies" are consumed with great enthusiasm. No toast, unfortunately, as the power has gone out to most of Tactic. Then it's back to Beerseba Chamche for children's ministry.
The team meets with 90 Kindergarten & Grade One students, who have been praying for our arrival for a number of weeks. We do our best to teach them new songs in Spanish (ironic for a group of english-speaking North Americans) & invite them to participate in actions to our English worship songs.
The two "box" dramas go over very well, despite not having their music soundtracks. The power is still out.
The children are split into boys & girls for various activities. The boys go outside to play soccer & get balloon animals, while the girls stay in the main hall to colour & get their faces painted. About half-way through, the groups switch so that all the children get to do all activities. At the end of 2 hours of play, the children seem to have built up a lot of energy, while our team seems to have exhausted their supply. It's a quiet walk to the Peter's residence for lunch; delicious chicken sandwiches.
In the afternoon, our team is driven through Tactic to a patch of land that was given to Impact Ministries to build a school on. The story goes that Impact Ministries had bought some land outside of Tactic to build a medical clinic & school on, but it would take some time to be able to begin to develop the land. The mayor met with Les Peters and asked why the school was being built outside of Tactic. Les's response was that that was where Impact Ministries could get land. It was too expensive to buy land inside of Tactic. As the story goes, the mayor looked at one of the members of council & asked them to tour Les through several parcels of land that were available inside of Tactic. When the tour was finished, Les was asked to choose the best parcel of land, and the mayor gave it to him for free, to build a medical clinic & school on! Wow.
When we arrived at the land, we saw that it sat between two very high ridges on both sides. Our task, was to take one of those steep ridges, bring it down about 4 feet, and level it into a 20 x 60 foot area for the top floor of the clinic/school complex. With little hesitation, and even less of a plan, the team took to the task with hoes, pick-axes & shovels. Imagine the flurry of activity & dirt! Before too long, most of the team was covered in soil, and I mean covered. This was partly due to a lack of ability with the tools we were using, but mostly due to the crowded conditions & poor aim of people throwing dirt/sod over the edge of the ridge.
After two and a half hours, the team returned to the guest-house for showers leaving the ridge a bit lower and the locals who gathered to watch, fairly bemused. Quite the crowd of Guatemalans, young & old, developed over the course of the afternoon to watch the "loco gringos" do battle with the earth. Perhaps they went home to tell their neighbours, for the next day would prove to bring an even bigger crowd of sight-seers.
After a dinner of Guatemalan chicken chow mein, Les led the team in a time of reflecting on the sights & sounds that the day held. Many of the team members reflected on how intensely the children at Beerseba Chamche worshiped, contrasting this with the often lack of enthusiasm they see at home. Others spoke of how happy the Guatemalan people seemed, despite the poverty & lack of material belongings. Still others spoke of how open & accepting the people are to strangers, the fact that they would freely hug us, or, sit and talk with us despite knowing very little of each others language. Some pretty big lessons in God's true plan for mankind.
After lights out at 11:00 pm, it very quickly becomes quiet in the guest house. Very tired bodies don't stay alert for long after becoming horizontal. What a day to remember!
Showering is a novel experience for most of the team. The shower head contains an “in-line” heater so that when water passes through, it turns on and heats the water. So, one is faced with a choice: a trickle of water that is quite hot or jets of very lukewarm water. Jets might be overly generous since only 7 of the possible 20 or so holes are clear of scale so that water runs through them. And, the ones that are open don't all point in the same direction. The shower head could use a good dousing in CLR!
Everyone heads out to Beerseba Chamche for 7:30 AM devotion with the students. Beerseba Chamche is the first of 4 schools run by Impact Ministries and all four schools start their day with a half hour devotion & worship time. In an effort to teach the children the value of being on time, the gate to the school is locked at 7:30. If a student is late, they won’t be able to attend to school that day. As the bell rings to call students to devotion, one boy runs through the gate with sweat beaded on his forehead. He has been running for quite a while to be on time. (Hmm, I wonder if this technique would work at Bearspaw?)
200 children pour into the main hall to join us for worship. Worship at Beerseba is loud! The children sing with full out devotion at the top of their lungs with hands held high and their eyes closed tight.
Listening to them worship is a moving experience for many of the team. Our eyes brimming with tears, we reflect on how different our worship in Canada is. Many of these little children have home & family situations that are heartbreaking, and most are hearing for the first time in their lives, about the love & hope that Christ offers. This is heart of Impact Ministries and the reason we have travelled so far. 
Devotions close with a "hugging" line as the children attemt to hug every team member before returning to their classrooms.
While Dr. Garth (we can't call him Dr. Mortis because it sounds like Dr. Death in Spanish, not a good name to build patient trust with), Mrs. Henders (our nurse), Stefanie & Tom (soon to be pharmacists) go to set up the Medical Clinic, the rest of the team has a quick walk back to our guest-house for breakfast. Fresh pineapple, mangos and "ChocoKrispies" are consumed with great enthusiasm. No toast, unfortunately, as the power has gone out to most of Tactic. Then it's back to Beerseba Chamche for children's ministry.
The team meets with 90 Kindergarten & Grade One students, who have been praying for our arrival for a number of weeks. We do our best to teach them new songs in Spanish (ironic for a group of english-speaking North Americans) & invite them to participate in actions to our English worship songs.
The two "box" dramas go over very well, despite not having their music soundtracks. The power is still out.
The children are split into boys & girls for various activities. The boys go outside to play soccer & get balloon animals, while the girls stay in the main hall to colour & get their faces painted. About half-way through, the groups switch so that all the children get to do all activities. At the end of 2 hours of play, the children seem to have built up a lot of energy, while our team seems to have exhausted their supply. It's a quiet walk to the Peter's residence for lunch; delicious chicken sandwiches.
In the afternoon, our team is driven through Tactic to a patch of land that was given to Impact Ministries to build a school on. The story goes that Impact Ministries had bought some land outside of Tactic to build a medical clinic & school on, but it would take some time to be able to begin to develop the land. The mayor met with Les Peters and asked why the school was being built outside of Tactic. Les's response was that that was where Impact Ministries could get land. It was too expensive to buy land inside of Tactic. As the story goes, the mayor looked at one of the members of council & asked them to tour Les through several parcels of land that were available inside of Tactic. When the tour was finished, Les was asked to choose the best parcel of land, and the mayor gave it to him for free, to build a medical clinic & school on! Wow.
When we arrived at the land, we saw that it sat between two very high ridges on both sides. Our task, was to take one of those steep ridges, bring it down about 4 feet, and level it into a 20 x 60 foot area for the top floor of the clinic/school complex. With little hesitation, and even less of a plan, the team took to the task with hoes, pick-axes & shovels. Imagine the flurry of activity & dirt! Before too long, most of the team was covered in soil, and I mean covered. This was partly due to a lack of ability with the tools we were using, but mostly due to the crowded conditions & poor aim of people throwing dirt/sod over the edge of the ridge.
After two and a half hours, the team returned to the guest-house for showers leaving the ridge a bit lower and the locals who gathered to watch, fairly bemused. Quite the crowd of Guatemalans, young & old, developed over the course of the afternoon to watch the "loco gringos" do battle with the earth. Perhaps they went home to tell their neighbours, for the next day would prove to bring an even bigger crowd of sight-seers.
After a dinner of Guatemalan chicken chow mein, Les led the team in a time of reflecting on the sights & sounds that the day held. Many of the team members reflected on how intensely the children at Beerseba Chamche worshiped, contrasting this with the often lack of enthusiasm they see at home. Others spoke of how happy the Guatemalan people seemed, despite the poverty & lack of material belongings. Still others spoke of how open & accepting the people are to strangers, the fact that they would freely hug us, or, sit and talk with us despite knowing very little of each others language. Some pretty big lessons in God's true plan for mankind.
After lights out at 11:00 pm, it very quickly becomes quiet in the guest house. Very tired bodies don't stay alert for long after becoming horizontal. What a day to remember!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Technical Difficulties
So sorry to all of you. I have been experiencing lots of difficulties in getting a computer to properly access the blogsite. Perhaps the challenges with using 1st world technology in a 3rd world country. Perhaps just challenges with using a Mac. (ooh, that hurt to say) Sorry Mr. Mel.
Now that computer access is solved, I will update you quickly over the next day or so.
I will add a date (since the blog site date you see is the day the blog is posted) so you can follow our activities chronologically. I will add pictures as I can.
Thanks for hanging in there. And thanks to those of you who are posting comments on the blogs. It's good to know you are following us.
Blessings.
Now that computer access is solved, I will update you quickly over the next day or so.
I will add a date (since the blog site date you see is the day the blog is posted) so you can follow our activities chronologically. I will add pictures as I can.
Thanks for hanging in there. And thanks to those of you who are posting comments on the blogs. It's good to know you are following us.
Blessings.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Day Two (Dos) - Tuesday, March 27
Woke about between 5:30 & 6:00 this morning.
In Guatemala, birthdays are celebrated by firing off fire-crackers... early in the morning of your birthday. 3 people who must live right outside the seminary walls were having birthdays this morning! Hello to the new day.
Everything is so green here. The morning is warm.
The team heads out to Pollo Campero's for breakfast. They have this great spicy green sauce that goes good with just about anything (except pancakes). We had our first taste of Gautemalan coffee with breakfast. It is so smooth! Even those who don't normally drink coffee are enjoying it.
Today, we visit the main square in Guatemala City. This area used to be the center of all of Central America at one time. It has a huge square with a Catholic cathedral to the south, the Royal Palace on the east side & various business buildings on the west side. First we visit the cathedral.
Because it is the week before Holy Week, the church has huge purple banners on it's pillars & various displays of Jesus at points leading up to his crucifixion. Lots of candles are lit & a few faithful are praying. One man is sitting in the pew next to his praying wife, reading the newspaper.
In the main hall of the cathedral, we can see Christ on the cross. But, directly behind him is the Mayan sun god. Also, in one of the alcoves, a black Christ hangs on the cross.
We are told that throughout Latin America, when Catholicism moved in with the Spanish invasion, the indigenous people embraced the Catholic church. However, they did not give up their Mayan religion. As a result, the Catholic church in Central America has "syncrotized" Christianity with Mayan beliefs. In Mayan religion, there is a "black" god & this is syncrotized into the church with the black Christ on the cross. We watched as a lady lit candles at the base of the black Christ and then proceeded to wipe some substance in her hand up & down the black Christ's legs. In the cathedral is a plaque indicating it was built in 1534. Wow!! Another plaque speaks of John Paul II's visit to the cathedral in 2003. Past & present history on facing walls.
We leave to the cathedral to visit the Royal Palace. This is the seat of goverment in Guatemala & lots of tourists are visiting; much like we would visit the Alberta Legislature. We see traditional & modern Mayan works of art, as well as huge tapestries with images of the Mayan-Spanish clash and ultimately the joining of the two cultures into what is today Latin America.
As we walk through the main square, a man brings his 7/8 goats to wander around the fountains. He controls his small herd with a huge whip (Indiana Jones style) that cracks like gunshots. There is no grass for the goats & they can't get at the water in the fountain, so we weren't sure why they were there. Tourists, women in local dress selling Guatemalan blankets, goats & huge flocks of pigeons. All the while cars, buses, mopeds & trucks honk their way through narrow streets around the main square. The new world & the old world are side by side all around us!
After this taste of the old & the new, we begin our journey to Tactic. Where we will be staying for the majority of our time in Guatemala is only 184 km's from the main square in Guatemala City. But, due to the mountaineous terrain & volume of traffic on the two-lane highway, it takes us over 4 hours to make the trip. 31 of us are packed into three 12-passenger vans for the journey. We pass through desert, mountains, lush forests & plains on our way to Tactic. But, what amazes the team most is how Guatemalans drive. Most of the highway is two lane, with a solid line down the middle, and curves every few hundred metres. Everybody passes everybody at any moment! Sometimes there are three lanes of traffic on the two lane highway. We dodge oncoming traffic to go around slow moving trucks & buses, who are usually moved into the middle of the highway to avoid hitting people of all ages walking along the side of the highway. It's an amazing dance, all to the tune of honking horns & flashing lights to say "we're passing you", "thanks for letting us pass", "hi", "move over" & "here we come"! Every day activities for Guatemalans, momentarily terrifying for us Canadians (many moments). The rule of the road, is that there are no rules of the road; just don't hit each other.
We arrive safely in Tactic to our guest house which is brimming with luggage that was delivered earlier in the day. The new tenants move in & then it's off to Les & Rita Peters home for dinner, our hosts with Impact Ministries. We get to walk along the highway we just drove on, where it straightens for the first time in 184 km's. It's a great place for all traffic to pick up speed! We are so relieved to reach our destination 15 minutes later with all of our team members.
The evening is spent with introductions, eating our 3rd chicken meal in 24 hours & learning about the ministry opportunities in store for us. Welcome to Guatemala!
When it's time to sleep, we sleep!
In Guatemala, birthdays are celebrated by firing off fire-crackers... early in the morning of your birthday. 3 people who must live right outside the seminary walls were having birthdays this morning! Hello to the new day.
Everything is so green here. The morning is warm.
The team heads out to Pollo Campero's for breakfast. They have this great spicy green sauce that goes good with just about anything (except pancakes). We had our first taste of Gautemalan coffee with breakfast. It is so smooth! Even those who don't normally drink coffee are enjoying it.
Today, we visit the main square in Guatemala City. This area used to be the center of all of Central America at one time. It has a huge square with a Catholic cathedral to the south, the Royal Palace on the east side & various business buildings on the west side. First we visit the cathedral.
Because it is the week before Holy Week, the church has huge purple banners on it's pillars & various displays of Jesus at points leading up to his crucifixion. Lots of candles are lit & a few faithful are praying. One man is sitting in the pew next to his praying wife, reading the newspaper.
In the main hall of the cathedral, we can see Christ on the cross. But, directly behind him is the Mayan sun god. Also, in one of the alcoves, a black Christ hangs on the cross.
We are told that throughout Latin America, when Catholicism moved in with the Spanish invasion, the indigenous people embraced the Catholic church. However, they did not give up their Mayan religion. As a result, the Catholic church in Central America has "syncrotized" Christianity with Mayan beliefs. In Mayan religion, there is a "black" god & this is syncrotized into the church with the black Christ on the cross. We watched as a lady lit candles at the base of the black Christ and then proceeded to wipe some substance in her hand up & down the black Christ's legs. In the cathedral is a plaque indicating it was built in 1534. Wow!! Another plaque speaks of John Paul II's visit to the cathedral in 2003. Past & present history on facing walls.
We leave to the cathedral to visit the Royal Palace. This is the seat of goverment in Guatemala & lots of tourists are visiting; much like we would visit the Alberta Legislature. We see traditional & modern Mayan works of art, as well as huge tapestries with images of the Mayan-Spanish clash and ultimately the joining of the two cultures into what is today Latin America.
As we walk through the main square, a man brings his 7/8 goats to wander around the fountains. He controls his small herd with a huge whip (Indiana Jones style) that cracks like gunshots. There is no grass for the goats & they can't get at the water in the fountain, so we weren't sure why they were there. Tourists, women in local dress selling Guatemalan blankets, goats & huge flocks of pigeons. All the while cars, buses, mopeds & trucks honk their way through narrow streets around the main square. The new world & the old world are side by side all around us!
After this taste of the old & the new, we begin our journey to Tactic. Where we will be staying for the majority of our time in Guatemala is only 184 km's from the main square in Guatemala City. But, due to the mountaineous terrain & volume of traffic on the two-lane highway, it takes us over 4 hours to make the trip. 31 of us are packed into three 12-passenger vans for the journey. We pass through desert, mountains, lush forests & plains on our way to Tactic. But, what amazes the team most is how Guatemalans drive. Most of the highway is two lane, with a solid line down the middle, and curves every few hundred metres. Everybody passes everybody at any moment! Sometimes there are three lanes of traffic on the two lane highway. We dodge oncoming traffic to go around slow moving trucks & buses, who are usually moved into the middle of the highway to avoid hitting people of all ages walking along the side of the highway. It's an amazing dance, all to the tune of honking horns & flashing lights to say "we're passing you", "thanks for letting us pass", "hi", "move over" & "here we come"! Every day activities for Guatemalans, momentarily terrifying for us Canadians (many moments). The rule of the road, is that there are no rules of the road; just don't hit each other.
We arrive safely in Tactic to our guest house which is brimming with luggage that was delivered earlier in the day. The new tenants move in & then it's off to Les & Rita Peters home for dinner, our hosts with Impact Ministries. We get to walk along the highway we just drove on, where it straightens for the first time in 184 km's. It's a great place for all traffic to pick up speed! We are so relieved to reach our destination 15 minutes later with all of our team members.
The evening is spent with introductions, eating our 3rd chicken meal in 24 hours & learning about the ministry opportunities in store for us. Welcome to Guatemala!
When it's time to sleep, we sleep!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Day One (Dias Uno) - Monday, March 26
We are here!! No one is missing.
We arrived in Guatemala 1 hour after posted time due to weather in Dallas. We left Dallas in horizontal rain showers & arrived in 18 degrees Celsius weather on a balmy evening.
Our day started early, most of the team was at the Calgary airport by 5:00 AM. There was a flurry of checking passports, handing out e-tickets & lining up for flight check-in. Everybody had a passport, good thing! Unfortunately, one of us had an expired passport... bad thing! But, with a lot of help from above & a world-record round trip from the airport to the Bearspaw area and back, everyone was through customs & ready to board by 7:10 AM.
After lots of card games, napping, laughter & free pop, we arrived in Dallas ahead of schedule for a 4 hour layover. When we finally boarded for our flight to Guatemala city, we sat on the runway for an hour waiting for 23 planes ahead of us to take off. It was pouring "cats & dogs" (there was a tornado watch southwest of us)!!
But, we arrived safely & with ALL of our luggage! 31 of us poured out of the aeropuerto in Guatemala City ready for an adventure of God-directed proportions. We were greeted by our Impact Ministry hosts; Zaak, Eric & Israel. They whisked us away to the Seteca Seminary where we had our first Guatemalan meal of chicken burgers or chicken salad from Pollo Campero's. What a day... and it's only just begun.
Here's just a few more pictures of the day.
We arrived in Guatemala 1 hour after posted time due to weather in Dallas. We left Dallas in horizontal rain showers & arrived in 18 degrees Celsius weather on a balmy evening.
Our day started early, most of the team was at the Calgary airport by 5:00 AM. There was a flurry of checking passports, handing out e-tickets & lining up for flight check-in. Everybody had a passport, good thing! Unfortunately, one of us had an expired passport... bad thing! But, with a lot of help from above & a world-record round trip from the airport to the Bearspaw area and back, everyone was through customs & ready to board by 7:10 AM.
After lots of card games, napping, laughter & free pop, we arrived in Dallas ahead of schedule for a 4 hour layover. When we finally boarded for our flight to Guatemala city, we sat on the runway for an hour waiting for 23 planes ahead of us to take off. It was pouring "cats & dogs" (there was a tornado watch southwest of us)!!
But, we arrived safely & with ALL of our luggage! 31 of us poured out of the aeropuerto in Guatemala City ready for an adventure of God-directed proportions. We were greeted by our Impact Ministry hosts; Zaak, Eric & Israel. They whisked us away to the Seteca Seminary where we had our first Guatemalan meal of chicken burgers or chicken salad from Pollo Campero's. What a day... and it's only just begun.
Here's just a few more pictures of the day.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Long Tuesday #1 - February 27
So, we had our very first Long Tuesday to spend some extra time getting ready for the Gr. 12's upcoming Missions Trip to Guatemala.
It took the group about 45 minutes to decide on ideas for our team t-shirts, but we know, thanks to Laura, they will look great!
The team broke up into groups; four groups began to develop different dramas, one group practiced face painting techniques & a final group began organizing the craft supplies.
Here are some pics of the evening.
It took the group about 45 minutes to decide on ideas for our team t-shirts, but we know, thanks to Laura, they will look great!
The team broke up into groups; four groups began to develop different dramas, one group practiced face painting techniques & a final group began organizing the craft supplies.
Here are some pics of the evening.
Monday, February 26, 2007
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