And the tale continues!
Apologies for the late blog! Unbeknownst to me, the hotel's Wi-Fi lobby closes at 9:00 pm. How's that for a surprise?
Day 2 began with Lorelei and Rachel outlining our devotions for the rest of the trip. We are studying Ephesians 6! How come every time I type Ephesians my phone suggests I replace it with Jesus? Lol. Anyways, the devo went well and we prepared to leave for Precious Moments.
Note: We want to keep our little chef here from the Hostel. She is the most adorable little Guatemalan grandmother!
Driving in the city is terrifying, to say the least. Things we take for granted in the US are completely ignored. Stop signs are actually a signal to double your speed, and lane markings are merely suggestions. Actually, the dotted lines are motorcycle lanes! So we have 12-lane highways here. And as long as you don't hit another car, anything is legal. Wonderful examples abound for this newly licensed driver!
The Hostel we stayed at was in a middle-class neighborhood, so as we drove to Precious Moments, the scenery evolved. Precious Moments is located about a block from a wall where all the streets end, and over said wall is an ENORMOUS dump. We didn't actually view the dump, but looking at the distance to the next hill over the top of the wall, we got the feeling that it was pretty big.
We arrived to tour the school, and immediately out of the car, Amanda steps in a large, old, and stinky dog turd. Wonderful.
The top of the entrance says "Yo soy Jehovah tu Dios" or "I am the Lord your God." As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted by a line of kids wanting hugs! They were so sweet, and we were overwhelmed by their love. Kelly wants to keep all 155 of them!
It was snack time, so it was complete chaos - kids running around everywhere. We took a short tour; short because it really isn't big. There is an average of five inches between desks in classrooms. How blessed are we in America? The oldest kids use a hallway because there aren't enough rainproof rooms to hold class in. The school itself is half the size of the Hostel we stayed in. Every inch is used. I could easily fit three Precious Moments schools into my 1300 square foot house. And 150 kids go to school here!
As part of the tour we met Martita, the founder of the school and force of nature all rolled into one. More on her later!
At the end of the tour we danced with the five year old class to "I'm in the Lord's Army," in Spanish obviously. Totally made my day! And their actions are all adorable.
We then marched around the corner of the street to the larger room where VBS would be. After ten minutes of prep time, three classes with an average age of six strolled in, greeting us with exuberance and hugs. They melted our hearts! They were extremely squirrely, so it took LOTS of energy to herd them.
Amanda and Rachel taught them Great Big God with actions, and they took to it reasonably well for five-year-olds! Lorelei then took the floor and did a knockout retelling of the story of Moses parting the Red Sea. Their attention span didn't last very long, but they heard God's truth, which does not go out void!
Craft time went well. I sat in a circle with fourteen five-year-olds, and they didn't fight over markers, which was a huge relief, because my Spanish wouldn't have been up to the task! Yeah, they tried to tell me the toilet was plugged, but I didn't realize it until later when I investigated. Brush up your Spanish, folks! It will come in handy. Also, the kids were fascinated by Dana and I's blonde hair!
The next two groups did really well. Both paid close attention and were reasonably quiet! And they listened when we said that trash goes in the trash cand Always good. There were always stubborn kids, but hey, they're preteens. We were all like that back then! Betty was our translator for the last group, and she is an excellent storyteller! We all loved just watching her do her thing.
After many hugs goodbye, we drove back to the hostel with the teachers. There, we feasted on hamburgers and some pretty amazing French fries. Hannah sat by Martita, who is just a character! Martita taught her a lot of Spanish vocab, and also made some tongue-in-cheek jokes, such as telling Hannah that her face was the definition of pretty! All in good fun, of course.
Lorelei shared some insights about brokenness and healing through Christ with the teachers. Amy took the floor next and did a short talk on recognizing sexual abuse and how to deal with it in Guatemalan culture. Included on the paper was the phone number for a sexual abuse ministry, which was extremely important to Martita.
She shared with us why this was so important. There was a boy at Precious Moments who was being abused at home, and he drew pictures of it at school. In the US, that would be enough evidence to cause a major stir, right?
The police in Guatemala, however, are in league with the city gangs, so almost every time, if someone calls the police, they will find themselves shot and killed. With the little boy, his abuser was his father, who had far more legal rights than the school. It finally got to the point where something had to be done, so Martita called the abuser and said, "If you don't stop, I am going to call the police."
The father pulled the little boy from school and nobody has heard from them since.
The number of the sexual abuse ministry is essential, because the ministry has more legal tools to alert the authorities in the correct way. Also, the person who originally called the ministry cannot be traced, which is huge.
Martita shared, "We are covered by blood, we are now family because we are bound by the blood of Jesus Christ." After she finished, we laid hands on the teachers and prayed for them. We gave the teachers some sidewalk chalk and markers for the school, and some individual gifts as well.
Martita closed by telling us just how important the prayers of other believers are. She said that we don't realize just how powerful and encouraging it is when we, in the United States, pray for the school. Some of the teachers followed with emphatic, heartfelt thank-yous! After many hugs and a goodbye even longer than in Minnesota, we saw them off!
Note: The coffee here is amazing. We are offered it after every meal, along with natural sugar and powdered creamer. Yeah, Baby!
After a quick pack-up, we drove to Sumpango. The countryside is spectacular! The mountains are like what we read about in fairytales! One is an active volcano that we will see smoking in the morning! After taking in the view, we meet Pastor Manuel and his wife Dorita, and his daughter Naomi and her husband Marvin. Both are warm and welcoming, and their heart for the Lord really shines!
We are greeted by Miguel, Betty's son, at her house. The view of the mountains is perfect from here! Carla, our cook in Sumpango, made a traditional Guatemalan chicken dish called Pepían, which is culturally reserved for special occasions. It was excellent! And of course, coffee after every meal. I could get used to this!
The pastors both shared how they came to Sumpango. It is amazing to all of us how faithful they are in following the Lord's will! Betty then shared about what living in Sumpango is like.
We then commuted the ten minutes to the hotel, debriefed, and set up shop for the night. The hotel is beautiful! More later. It's now quiet, Jess is tired, and it's time for breakfast.
Memorable Quotes:
Betty: "Duct tape is the answer for everything, after coffee!"
(As we were driving in the city) Amanda (who always sits in the passenger seat) to Jorge: "Como se dice 'fast' en español?"
Jorge: "Rapido!"
(Jorge speeds through a stop sign)
Amanda (surprised and shaken, but laughing): "Oh! No Alto?"
(Later, driving to the hotel) Amanda: "I feel like I'm the copilot here!"
Later, during debriefing.
Amy: "Last time I was at the orphanage, there was a two week old baby!"
Dana: "So wait, where do babies come from?"
Hilarity ensues.
Prayer Requests:
1. Sleep and rest for all members of the team. We are tired. Coffee helps!
2. Effectiveness during home visits today!
3. Precious Moments! I can't emphasize enough how important our prayers are to them.
4. All of the teachings yet to be written for VBS - that God will show us what to emphasize.
5. Dana doing chiropractic work today - it will go well and the people will be blessed.
6. Strength for Betty and the Pastors. We are the latest in a long line of teams this summer, and we (teams one and two)are the last ones.
7.The Precious Moments teachers - strength and discernment is using the materials we gave them.
That's all for now, folks! More soon I hope!
Jessica
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