Ministry Weekends

As I write this on a scrap of paper, I am eating a piece of juicy delicious ‘sandia’ (watermelon) at the house of one of the teachers at the school Alpha y Omega in Patzun. It is the final day of our second weekend of ministries. But before I write another word, I must back track…

Each weekend my Discover team, Los Ochos, has been working in a small town up in the mountains called Patzun. The forty-five minute chicken bus ride is pretty crazy, almost completely uphill, driving incredibly fast up switch-backs. This weekend there was only standing room by the time we got on (at least 180 people, we counted haha), so all of us squished in the aisle. By the time we reached Patzun everyone was pretty nauseated.

Our first weekend ended up being mostly prep work and getting supplies, etc all set up for the next two weekends. Although at first we were all a bit discouraged with the amount of activity we were doing, in the end God blessed the time we ere able to spend there. You see, there is something you must understand about latin culture. Time means nothing. If they tell you to be ready to paint at the school for 9 am, but don’t show up until 5pm, this is not out of the ordinary. And so that is exactly how we spent our Saturaday. While we were upset from waiting around in the sun for hours, most of us were able to make the most of this situation I ended up playing soccer and basketball for hours that day with some of the kids that were hanging around the school. That was so much fun! Two of the boys, Alex and Edgar are always around the school becaue they are the schools janitor’s children and live on the school property.

On Friday afternoons I teach English in two of the older classes, to students aged 14-18. I absolutely love it. I don’t even know how to describe it, I think I’m still getting used to the idea that after so much time of talking about teaching English, I actually am. The students are a lot of fun, and I am grateful for the little Spanish I do know because it definitely helps.

This Friday, while I was not teaching, we actually started painting! That was really exciting, to finally be able to see some progress happening. They chose to paint the school an almost peach colour with white trim. It looks very umm… well Guatemalan. At least they love it.
The final project we are helping out with is papermaking. The youth group is being taught how to make different paper products out of recycled paper (journals, cards, etc) to sell in the tourist markets to generate some income for the Church. We are simply helping them get this started while we are there. It’s a lot of work, but its really interesting to me how incredibly resourceful people can be. I’m excited for this project to grow and to be something that continues to benefit them long past when we leave.

Kelsey and I are living with a family from Alpha y Omega while we are in Patzun. They are both doctors, which proved to be a God- send last weekend when my sickness suddenly worsened. Axel was able to give me a higher dose of medications (I got sick in Antigua with Giardia and an intestinal infection. The medications I was given there were not strong enough for how severe my case of it was). I have just finished these new medications and feel a lot better. Thanks for all your prayers, my mom told me she sent out emails to some of you, updating you about this and asking for your prayers. Thanks again! Please continue to keep us in your prayers, people are being hit in every which direction, and it is becoming really difficult to be down here. Please pray for protection also.

We return to Patzun on Thursday for our final weekend, which will last this time until the following Tuesday. I am really looking forward to a few days of rest and classes inbetween…

Oh Chicken Buses... What Would Guate Be Without You

Right now I feel like I have kind of hit a bit of a lull, which would account for my lack of posts recently. It’s not that there hasn’t been much excitement on my end, simply lack of ability to put it all to paper. So, to break this I have forced myself to take the time to simply sit down and focus on nothing else. Here goes nothing…

Since all of my traveling around Guatemala lately has been by chicken bus, I feel like I should explain first of all what this is, and some crazy instances that have occurred in transit. Basically, a chicken bus is an old school bus that is unfit to be driven in the United States or Canada, and has been driven down here to be used as their main method of public transportation. As is typical for this culture, the buses are completely decked out with lots of bright colours, tassels in the windows, and if your lucky… fur on the dashboard. That’s right, it’s the most pimped out looking bus you will ever set eyes on. If that doesn’t startle you or catch your attention the ‘Jesus Cristo es mi pastor’ printed in huge letters right next to a silhouette of a woman, or the extremely loud reggae tone beats, is sure to cause a double take.

These buses are packed to the absolute max. One morning while taking this bus into town for Spanish class, I literally had to climb over the shoulders of two women who were sitting in the two front seats (at least 3 people in each seat). They were simply heavier set women, which is just the norm in this culture, and together they blocked the entire isle. So, typical green-go me sees no other option here then to climb right on over. There was standing room only that morning, so I stood near the back next to the speaker blaring Guate beats at 7 in the morning clinging to the ‘oh crap bar’ overhead for dear life. The drivers of these things are insane, its that simple.

On the hour bus ride from Antigua to Chimaltenango, Evelyne and I actually got to share a seat. Having barely pulled out of the ‘bus depot’ (field at the back of the market packed with chicken buses going in every direction), the lady sitting in front of us wiped her screaming child’s diaper off and flung the dirty thing right out the widow. I couldn’t help but imagine an innocent bystander, walking down the street to the market only to get this pleasant surprise package right in the face. How traumatizing that would be. Ev and I silently gave each other a look, knowing what must be going on in each other’s head at that exact moment. A few stops later, we had a guest come to share our seat, sitting right beside me on the outside. He was a large Guatemalan man, complete with a large gun to match. Recently, since the election in Guatemala, there has been a lot of rebels holding bus drivers at gun point, and in this area alone in the past few weeks there has been around 18 drivers who have been killed. Needless to say, because of this information I was a little freaked out inside, but managed to keep that to myself, and remind myself to keep breathing, for the duration of the ride.

Stepping up onto a chicken bus is always an adventure, and there are few things that excite me more then to be apart of some crazy adventure… I am so glad for the ones I have already been a part of, and look forward to the ones to come.

** pictures are completely random... taken on the times when we had the school's bus to take us to various places. Chicken buses aren't the safest places to whip out your camera...

No More Beans Please!

Let me start out by saying I am a bean lover. However, this love apparently has consequences...

At one time or another in you life, you have experienced sickness. Whether it be a cold or flu, or something more serious, it is never enjoyable. In a developing country, there are many things that you have to watch out for, especially food wise. Most of our ‘foreign stomachs’ are not used to handling mass quantities of… well beans for example. Also, water unless treated and bottled, is never safe to use, and many parasitical issues can develop. Certain meats are never a good idea. The most common place people go to buy meat are the markets, which after walking through and seeing for my own eyes makes me never want to consume meat here again. Uncooked cut meats are simply thrown out on a wooden table, sitting out in the sun for days until they are purchased with flies and other insects free to climb all over as they please. This is then purchased by our home stay families, cooked and presented to us unsuspecting travelers por la cena (dinner).

Currently I am on day number 4 of being sick, i.e spending the better portion of my days on the can. As fun as I know this must sound to all of you, I assure you it makes for an insanely complicated situation down here. First of all, I believe something needs to be explained. Several things taken for granted back home, are not commonly available or supplied. In this particular case, the item would be toilet paper. Yes, its true, if you want toilet paper, you better buy and carry around your own. Restaurants, homes, & stores all do not supply it for you. Most people right now in home stays have found that their families have actually hid the t.p from them! It is a rare and beautiful occasion when you go out to eat, and find a spot that actually provides this seemingly simple necessity. This happened to my friend Julie and I a few nights ago. Both of us were in need of the bathroom on a pretty frequent basis, and decided to try out a local café called The Bagel Barn for dinner. To our pleasant surprise upon entering the bathroom, there it was in all it’s radiance, toilet paper. We stayed there for the better portion of our night.

There is however a little fault with toilet paper here. The drainage systems here are ancient, and were not made to handle paper being flushed through. So instead, it is disposed in the garbage bin (which they do provide). You might be asking, so what’s wrong with that? I didn’t think this would be a problem either. First, it is hard to train yourself to place it in the garbage after years flushing. If this happens, you MUST pick it out. But don’t worry, it only took me about 3 times before I realized I didn’t like that too much (“Hurt didn’t it? Don’t do that again!” ha ha). Secondly, “dirty toilet paper sitting in a trashcan” is not the kind of fragrance I would choose for a car air freshener. It is disgusting. Enough said.

Before coming here we had a whole class dedicated to sickness, what not to eat, and “what do I do if I get diarrhea?” All I can remember from this lesson is BRAT. Bananas Rice Applesauce and Toast. These are ‘natural pepto-bismo’, or ‘pluggers’ as a few of us have begun to fondly call them. Only thing to be care of is that you don’t plug too much otherwise you’ll end up with the opposite problem which is probably even more dangerous.

Well my bowel clock is telling me it’s time to go, but I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it : ) adios por ahora!

Oh and I finally got a picture of the widow- maker in my house...

Glorious Creator

The stars have always fascinated me. Something about them just leaves me speechless, and after all this time, only one reason seems to fit- they wonderfully display the glorious awe of The Creator. No matter where I am, they are there, shinning for all to see- how indescribable such a display. Our God is one of true amazement is He not? Last night I stood out on the patio for quite some time by myself; looking for the constellations I know, and letting the realities of God impact me. I am so small. Never do I feel so humble as when I get to stare upon His creation in the sky. And a question always resounds in my head: How could someone as small as me, be of any importance to a God so complex? Yet somehow that is simply something that seems to make Him even more complex- that He could love so deeply one simple girl, offering all of her heart to Him, praying it is enough. The sins I bare He lovingly takes from my hand, baring the cost for me, the tears of repentance I cry, He catches each one, and each laugh of delight he hears from my lips He rejoices in. I want to spend my entire life starring up at the sky, marveling over His greatness. Each day I live I want to continue feeling so small, yet so precious in His glorious eyes. Glory be to Him, Creator of the heavens and earth.

Widow-Maker

I have just had my first experience with a widow-maker. And yes, I’ve heard it is actually as bad as that sounds. Where Shayla, Kelsey and I are staying for the next 2 weeks in Antigua it is a bit like a really nice hostel. There are many rooms in the house which the family rents out (and what a beautiful house it is…) Currently there are six of us boarding here – a guy from LA making a documentary on immigration, an old man from Germany who is traveling through Central and South America, and finally another old man we have no idea who he is. He doesn’t speak great Spanish to begin with, matched up with my extremely poor beginner abilites, and he doesn’t seem to understand any other languages people use with him. And so he simply remains silent.
So, introductions made, back to my widow-maker story. I wanted to take a shower last night, the only bathroom being down a dark hallway, staircase, and finally through the garden (electricity is not readily available, so after 6 or 7 the house gets dark also). This can be a little frightening living in a place which a bunch of random people, and so Kelsey, Shayla and I took turns showering, and standing guard. To get warm water (and I am exaggerating by using the term ‘warm’ to describe the temperature) you must first turn on a switch on the widow-maker which runs electricity through 3 wires which when water runs through above your head, the water is supposed to warm up. Electricity and water are never a good combination to begin with, and if you do it slightly wrong, or accidentally reach up… well, many people have been electrocuted while innocently taking a shower, hence, “widow-maker”.
Antigua is really beautiful, and I do enjoy being here, but I still feel a little uncomfortable being surrounded by so many people. I am a country girl through and through, and I really do need wide open spaces! But this is definitely an adventure I would not want to miss. The noises here from my room at night are hard to explain… babies crying, car horn’s honking, motorbikes with noisy exhausts driving down the street, loud Guatemalan beats playing from cars going by… but the most comforting is the train that goes by every few hours. It’s amazing how much a simple sound scan create so many feelings and emotions, and make you feel so at home in a foreign place. Last night, as I laid awake, unable to sleep, it was the train that finally went by, and the noise that sung me to sleep.
God is working here. It is so humbling to see Him working through the lives of the people here. He doesn’t need us, but we are willing. I find that to be a really comforting thought. I have been praying for so long, ‘Here I am, use me’. I can sense He is going to be doing something amazing, even if I never realize what it is. Sometimes the most powerful ways I think He uses us are the times we don’t get to see the results. Simply knowing He has asked of us, and obeying is enough… He will take care of the rest.
I miss everyone back home, but slowly my homesickness is being comforted. I’ve never felt homesick in my life, but for some reason I do now. Please keep me and our Discover Team in your prayers. xo

Hola de Guatemala

Well, this will be my full second day in Guatemala, and at this moment I am feeling extremely overwhelmed with so many different things, but I am excited for what is to come. Friday was a day full of travel... 3 flights, each approx. 4 hours long, and just enough time in between each to get from one gate to another. We left school sometime after 4am, and arrived on Guatemalan soil around 10pm, with a 2 hour drive through the countryside ahead of us to get to our final destination in Chimaltenango... Guatemala Bible Seminary. We are here throughout our time in Guatemala, but after today wont be back for 3 weeks. The next two weeks will be spent in Antigua where we will be attending language school during the days, and we are paired off, staying in various homes with different families in Antigua. I am extremely excited to get better at the language, it is definitely an odd feeling not being able to communicate with people.
Yesterday we were able to go out and walk around the town a bit, tour the markets. That was a wild experience. Everything is so loud here... music playing from stores and cars, people yelling, cars honking... it's good to be back : )

We are in
Chimaltenango, Antigua, and Panajachel--> see map

Merry Christmas, & Hello 2008!

Well, life has been insane since my last post. The final week of school before Christmas break was incredibly hectic getting assignments completed, finishing up classes, and studying for exams. That stress finally off my back, it was time to head home for Christmas! I spent the last three and a half weeks back home in beautiful Ontario with family, friends, and tonnes of SNOW! The first few days where a bit weird for me getting back into the life at home, but that feeling quickly disappeared. I enjoyed spending a lot of time with my two awesome sisters, and my mom and dad. It was really great to get to go down and see my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins too! Also, getting to see my friends was amazing...we always come up with the craziest things to do, or the funniest conversations to have. I cannot wait for our next reunions.
To everyone i got to see: I'm so glad I got to spend time with you hearing your stories, and sharing mine. I'm so sorry if i did not get to see you over the break... I'm sure your holiday was as busy and crazy as mine... Hopefully we will see each other soon!

Since being back at prairie, I have been insanely busy with classes, but i am continuing to love my time here. In a few days Discover will be off to Guatemala... I am so excited for what's to come this semester. More exciting stories are sure to follow...