Carroll College Campus Ministry

Learning about Time

We Americans are so used to a fast pace life we often think we are too busy to do the things that matter. I was reminded of a story I read about Mother Theresa today. A young American man asked her how often he should pray. She told him that an hour a day would a good amount of daily prayer; however, the man was astonished and said there is no way to pray an hour a day because his schedule each day was so full. She replied, “You are right you are a very busy man, you should be praying two hours a day not one.” One of the most important things I have learned this week is how important our time is. In America we plan our time out down to the minute to ensure we get the most out of our day, but here time is centered on what matters in the moment. It has been hard for some of us to accept not every scheduled event will start on time, but it has been in these moments of “waiting around” that great conversations have arose and I have learned a lot. The other important aspect of time I am learning is how we need use it for others. When we first got here we met Diego. He was very small looked like he was maybe 12 years old. I later learned his friends brought him to the clinic eight years ago because he was very sick. His family is extremely poor and unable to get him medical help so they left him at a church. He was diagnosed with diabetes, and malnourishment. He since has undergone two eye surgeries and many other treatments. Though he is much better he is unable to work a job like the men of Guatemala are expected to. He got a scholarship because of this, and graduated with a graphic design degree. Diego now makes baskets to sell as his business. I am so impressed with what he as accomplished, but what is even more surprising is Diego is not 12, but my age, 20. Yesterday he gave us all pens made from yarn with our names wove into them. Sheila told us can usually make 12 in a day, so it took him a day and a half of time he could be making baskets to sell to make our pens. It was one of the simplest, yet special gifts I have ever received. It is through Diego I see God. He as suffered through many things, and when many of us would think our suffering is enough, he is out giving more. It’s time all of us do a self-check and see if the way we are using our time is how God would want us to. Are we living in the moment using what God has given us, or are we sticking to the schedule and looking out for ourselves? I know I can do much better in this area of my life.
Shout out to my family and friends. I love you all!
-Matt Christiaens

Day 3

Hello Readers,
Today in Guatemala is warm and humid but there is a slight breeze, which is nice. I am sorry we have been slow to post. Our schedule has been busy and there has not been much time to reflect on our experience other than just the basics of what we have been doing each day. This morning we are touring Clinica Maxena (the medical clinic) and the medicinal garden. Students are taking in a lot of information about health care and the concerns of money to treat very poor people and diseases that are common among the Kiche’ people. Later today we will visit la Asuncion, the school that the Diocese has in the mountains to educate the Kiche’ children.

Overall everyone is doing really well. Other than bug bites, a few sunburns and some soreness from yesterdays soccer match we are all feeling good. It sounds like this afternoon the kids are expecting us to play basketball and soccer with them. Kirsten said yesterday, “I didn’t realize this trip would be so athletic.” Sports seem like a really natural way to build relationships and to find common ground between us since we do not speak the same language. As well as a great way to laugh together and enjoy being outside.

We will post more reflections probably tomorrow, since the rest of today will be really busy.

Peace,
Colleen

Bean Paste and Tortillas

Buenos tardes! Kirsten and Ryan here to tell you about our day so far. Last night we turned in early. The girls are staying in the “brick house” and the boys are in what looks like a dorm with bunk beds and the bathrooms and showers outside. Before we left for bed, we noticed that the big spiders and cockroaches were out (“gross,” says Kirsten, “awesome,” says Ryan).

This morning we started with a yummy breakfast of tortillas, black beans, milk cheese, (which are actually paste/soup), yogurt, and cereal. We quickly got ready to go to the Clinica Maxena’s garden. It is a piece of land that is worked by local villagers who are seeking to promote sustainable agriculture for the many malnourished people in the area. A couple months ago, a group of students from Great Falls enlarged the area of the garden. We worked at clearing weeds and unwanted plants and digging an irrigation ditch. Ryan and I both cleared weeds. It was entertaining and a little difficult for us rookie gardeners to decipher which plants to pull and which to leave. For a while, we spent a lot of time pointing to plants and saying, “Bien o malo?” The women who are working at the clinic for the week packed us a big bowl of fruta, jugo, y pan (fruit, juice, and bread) which we snacked on. At lunch, we left to return to Santo Tomas la Union for lunch with the clinic staff, sisters, and even clinic musicians!

On a side note, traveling around here is a lot of fun! We ride in the back of trucks and wave to people who we pass by.

After lunch, we decided to get in a futbol scrimmage with the Clinica Maxena team. At first, we thought we’d just be playing “poppyfoot,” which is played in a court, with our group. Quickly, ten grown men joined us, and we moved to a turf field, playing nine-on-nine. While we proved to be younger and more athletic, they showed us up with their footwork, passing, and strategy skills. After a couple hours of playing, we ended with a score of nine to seven….US! So as exciting as it was to do so well, we’re starting to mentally prepare ourselves for our tournament on Thursday…and hoping that they don’t recruit too many younger athletes.

Right now, we’re sitting around, enjoying a bottles of Coke, and shootin’ the breeze. We’re looking forward to our next meal, which is sure to consist of more tortillas and beans! We’re having a lot of fun and really getting to know one another, sweating (a lot), and learning about the culture.

We’re thrilled that you’re reading our blog and hope that you continue with us each day!

Ryan Anderton and Kirsten Rotz

Un Cerveza con Hayley and Matt

Hola! Marcar! Siesta! …Hello! Score! Nap! As you can see, the locals here are already teaching us plenty of new words. As we were out and about in Santo Tomas for the first time, it didn’t take us long to engage in a game of futbol (soccer) with some of the local kids. It was great to run around after the long trip and interact with Guatemalan kids and also work up a great amount of sweat in the Central American humidity. Not long after the game ended, with our shirts soaked in sweat, that the kids hunted us down and asked if we would play another game with them tomorrow. One of the kids who approached us was named Miguel Eduardo and was eleven years old. We walked several blocks to the town center where the church is located. Inside, there was a group of about nine Guatemalan women praying a rosary and a few of us knelt down and joined them in prayer. It was a welcoming sight and a home in our global faith with Jesus Christ. We left a nice puddle of sweat in our place as we left and continued exploring the town a little more, heading back to the Mission where we ate a delicious late lunch of peparo chicken and rice. Then, with our bellies full, we dispersed around the Mission and some of us found ourselves in “Siesta” mode (a.k.a. nap time). After waking up from our naps somewhat rested, it is time to kick back with a Gallo cerveza (a Guatemalan beer) and enjoy the scenery, secretly hoping for a potential downpour for us to play in. We can already see and feel the blessings that our Lord has poured out on us in this immersion and look forward to what he has in store for us. Please continue the prayers as we can definitely feel them. Until next time, adios Amigos y Familias!
Hayley and Matt H

Safely Here

We have arrived in Santo Tomas! We left Helena yesterday at 5:40 PM and flew to Salt Lake. Once in Salt Lake we discovered that the plane we boarded in SLC would be the plane to take us all the way to Guatemala City, of course with stopping in LA getting off with all of our stuff, making a stop at McDonald’s and getting back on in different seats. Yet still, what are the chances of that happening? When we arrived this morning everyone was tired, it seems that no one slept particularly well on the plane. It was great to see Sheila and Cerilo who greeted us and made sure we ate breakfast which significantly helped add more energy and pep to the group.

The students are out exploring the town now and are eager to see what is in store for the week. The questions they have asked and observations already made are very insightful and will lead to great reflections as our time here unfolds. I will encourage them to reflect as they settle in!

Thank you for your prayers and for following our journey.

Peace,
Colleen

Pizza at the Port (as in airport)

So, being the baby of my family has led me to be a little bit of an attention seeker, so obviously I wanted to be the author of the first blog. I’m typing on Colleen’s iPad in the busy, crowded, and spacious Helena airport. We ordered pizza after going through security (yeah, we’re rebels), but we might not get to eat it because we might leave sooner than scheduled. I guess I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I’m trying to savor every last bit of American food I eat. Hopefully this trip will teach me to eat a little more simply and appreciate the food I have available to me (except peanuts, I’m allergic to those). Our day started with a beautiful mass celebrated with family, friends, and various members of the Carroll community. St. Charles chapel was full! It was so great to have the support of so many people, especially since I thought it was just going to be our group of 16 and a few family members. Since I thought it was going to be small, I showed up just a few minutes early and ended up having to sit in the back corner. Nevertheless, it was an amazing time and I’m so glad I got to share it with the people who came. I really liked it because I didn’t have any family there, so it was really neat to feel the support and love from others. (I don’t mean to throw my parents under the bus, they were traveling back from visiting family in California, otherwise I’m sure they would have come to see their baby boy). I’m sure this trip will help me to appreciate the presence of my family and friends more than I do now. Well, I think that’s gonna be it for now. I’m gonna go bond with the other people in the group. I’m so excited to get to know everyone and share this life changing experience with them. Matt Harrison, Cody, Ella, David, and Tyler are playing hacky-sack, I can’t really do that so I’m gonna sit and talk with Matt Christiaens, Ryan, the journalers Hannah and Jennesa, Colleen, and Kay.

Ok, so after I typed that, our pizza came, we devoured it, and boarded our plane shortly after. Our flight attendant was a graduate of Helena High class of ’82. At first I thought he was extremely rude, but after awhile I began to understand his sense if humor. He was cracking jokes about Carroll/made our group the butt of his jokes and was more animated than the average flight attendant. He was funny, but probably slightly inappropriate. Now we are in the Salt Lake airport waiting for our flight to Los Angeles. From there we will be flying to Guatemala City from 1am- 6am. Yes, in the A.M., as in the morning, as in no sleep for me. I still can’t believe we are actually going! We are all so excited!

Thanks for reading and thanks for your prayers!

Nate Kavanagh
Junior
communications and public relations
Cut Bank, MT

Visiting Alex

A look back to our visit to the Mission in May of 2010:

Finally, the year was capped off by a visit from more than 20 students from Carroll College Campus Ministry. I was on the first trip Carroll took to the mission three years ago, and it was great to have them back and to be a part of their experience. They were an incredible group that really reflected hard and dove deep into the culture and the poverty here. The Carroll Students were clearly a special group of visitors- they were very prayerful, reflective, sensitive, perceptive, gracious, and joyful. They did as good of a job at reaching out to the people here, especially my students and building meaningful relationships with them in just a few days as anyone I have seen come to the mission. I can say that my students at school absolutely loved getting to hang out with the Carroll students- play basketball with them (me and my students lost after all my trash talking to the carroll team), dance with them, swim with them, hike with them, talk three languages with them, make high fives and handshakes with them, and pray with them. It was really a gift to me to get to be a part of Carroll’s experience here and see them not only truly jump right into the mission with great flexibility and enthusiasm, but also really come to understand and reflect upon the meaning and future of our mission here. I think for having been here two weeks- Carroll really gets what our mission is all about, which reminds me of why Carroll has always been one of the strongest and most important supporters of the mission in its history (Fr. Hazy and Sheila both went to Carroll along with lots of volunteers and benefactors). It was also a great reminder for me in my last few days there of why I am so hopeful for the future of our mission, a future that Carroll seems excited to play a bigger and bigger role in.
Alex Woelkers

Guatemala Blurb:

Guatemala seems like such a long time ago that I barely remember what my expectations were going in. Frankly I think I was most worried about the weather. I wilt in heat and humidity. And maybe the food, I can be a picky eater. Once I got there, I didn’t spend much time thinking about those things. Even though it was six years ago, I still have moments when I vividly remember something: a mountain pass that looks like it’s from Jurassic Park, the sound of ululating prayer rising to the ceiling in the town church, the chilly morning fog in the mountain villages, the surreal feeling of hearing 30 tiny Guatemalan children sing “Hello, Goodbye” for you. I entered a phase of intense creativity when I returned home. It’s the stuff poems are made of.

But there’s another thing I took away from Guatemala, and all my Headlights experiences, that affects me every day – the deep importance in my life in building communities. Our group became a little family, and we’re still connected by the shared experience. The church in Santo Tomas was a family, Father Hazy’s school was a family, all the small villages we visited supported one another like family members. One of the resounding reflections from everyone on the trip was the sentiment that, though the people of Guatemala have a host of needs in order to live longer, safer lives, they all have the community support that we try to achieve and that makes everything else easier to bear.

So hang out, have fun, and take it back with you.

Drew Riley

Preparing to Leave

Our trip to Guatemala happens in just a little more than a week. Students have worked hard to raise funds and learn about the culture, faith, and politics of Guatemala and the Mayan people. As the time gets closer the students are excited but also nervous about what they will see and experience. Everything from spiders and clean drinking water to safety have been topics of concern.

Before we go I would like to say thank you to all who have been so generous in donating to our trip. In addition to generous financial donations, we will be taking with us medical supplies (donated by the Carroll nursing department) and T shirts and sweatshirts (donated by Total Screen Design in Polson). We also plan to take some soccer balls and basketballs for use at the school and the mission.

In the days leading up to the trip I have asked past participants to write reflections on their experience of visiting the Mission and providing wisdom of what to be attentive to and reassuring of safety. I will update the blog as I receive these reflections.

Thank you again for following us. We welcome your prayers as we prepare for this journey!

Peace, Colleen