Still Processing
Well I am not really sure how to begin, so much has happened since I came here and there is so much that I wish to remember and to share with all of you. I am not good with words and I don’t have eloquent thoughts, I just know what I have seen needs to be shared and it is something that will remain with me forever, no matter what path God has placed before me. TO BE CONTINUED!!!
James Winegart
On The Fourth Day
‘On the fourth day, Chad hit a wall.’ No amount of trip preparation could have prepared me for this experience. Rather than spend this blog time talking about the overwhelming amount of poverty, malnutrition, governmental corruption, and social injustices, I’ll focus on the things that make sense to me today. It will take an unknown timeline to reflect and make sense of the overflow of pictures and conversations raging in my head.
Being a non-catholic and extremely limited in my Spanish language knowledge (not too mention my zero knowledge of the Ki’che language), I have found most days to be a daily search to find commonality between myself and my Guatemalan brothers and sisters that is outside of spoken words. To my great surprise, this happened in the masses we attended over the past three days. Whether in one of the impoverished village churches in the Solola Mountains or right outside our doors in the Santa Tomas parish, I have made a universal bond through music and the simplistic power of a smile. With each mass celebration, I have found my spirit filled and faith rejuvenated through the voices and rhythms of the Ki’che people. Their smiles radiate the warmth of a beautiful culture, which they have shared without hesitation. I am truly blessed for this experience.
‘On the fourth day, Chad hit a wall.’ I pray that in time I will be given the opportunity to process how their beautiful eyes hide an overwhelming amount of pain and suffering. I fear that I will never be able to understand or make sense of it all.
‘On the fourth day, Chad hit a wall.’
Chad Gray
Goodbye to Alex
Wow, what a long day today. We visited the school in the mountains. The students all had an amazing time playing basketball, swimming, and talking with kids. The kids at the school were very welcoming and they put on a program for us in the afternoon which was complete with dances from the Mayan culture. We were presented with weavings at the end and danced with the students. It was all very fun.
The day ended with mass with the boarding school students (about 130 of 500 total students live at the school) and then dinner. Perhaps the most touching part of the day were the goodbyes to Alex. It is clear he has made an impact on this place and in his service the students and teachers have come to love him. There were several presentations of gifts and goodbyes to him and I feel very blessed to be here for it after making our first journey here together in 2007 with other Carroll students.
Tomorrow we will hike in the morning and visit a coffee co op in the afternoon, which I am very excited for. Tomorrow also begins market day in Santo Tomas so I am sure we will be checking that out. Many more students plan to take time to write tomorrow, so be sure to check back!
Peace,
Colleen
The Realities
It is good to see the students learning more about the world and themselves. The problems and poverty here are extreme. The culture causes nothing to change or get better. We have been talking to people who have been serving the poor here for years. They talk about how they first started working here and their thoughts of making a difference. After a few years they realize they can only help in small ways by providing some basic help to the people. The culture is one where the poor do not have the opportunity to better their lives . They have known this for so long that even if they were given the opportunity they may not believe in it. I do believe if they were given hope and opportunity that this would be different. The change in the President of Guatemala has brought an awareness of social rights which is very good, the problem is everyone wants the rights but are not willing to be responsible to uphold them for others.
Alex Woelkers who has been teaching at the school “Asuncion” for the last year and he talked about his hope of instilling into his students the idea that they can become something more. The students do not take on this hope because for so many years they have seen the same thing, poverty, no jobs, and a culture that teaches to look out for yourself. It is easy to understand that they believe nothing else is possible for them when you realize that most people wake up with the priority of finding food and fire wood to cook it.
It is beautiful how this mission provides basic health care, an education, and a way for some people to make money for their families. God is at work here and the seeds of faith have been planted. It is obvious to me that (as a whole) faith is much more important to those who have nothing. There is a lesson in this knowledge for all of us. It is also important to understand that the work and love taking place at this time take care of the poor only here and now. Guatemala’s problems were here before we arrived and will be here long after we have left. Poverty is very complicated when it is interwoven with culture. There are no easy fixes here and for me it makes the work being done here so much more beautiful. Some would see the work here as futile but really all we are called to do is love our fellow brothers and sisters here and now.
One thing that particularly bothered me today, and I am told this is not an uncommon event. There was a 10 year old girl who came to the clinic who had been having seizures for the past 14 hours. She was diagnosed with typhoid and dingy. She also had something else wrong with her that the clinic could not diagnose. The clinic wanted to send her to the hospital but the mother and grandparents did not allow her to go. As I understand it, the hospital does not allow the poor to stay with the child. If the child were to die at the hospital the body must be buried within 24 hours. The poor are unable to retrieve the body in that amount of time and there is no way to bring the body back to the village because it cost too much for the transportation. In this case of the 10 year old girl the family decided to take the girl back to the village to pray about it. Most likely the girl has passed away by this time.
We are still working out health care for the poor in the United States, but still even now we have so much more then what is available to the poor here. It bothers me that I could have made a phone call or two and provided the money to save this girl. It doesn’t sit right with me. It happens everyday but this one just seems a bit more personal. Sheila has been working hard with this family and helping us to understand the situation and issues. Even though she has seen this over and over again you can still tell it pulls at her heart strings.
It has been a long and complicated day in a complicated place, and culture.
Patrick Harris
Finding Similarities
I don’t really know where to start with this note back home. This experience has truly been unreal. I have been trying to fully grasp this experience, but it is a slow process. This region is absolutely beautiful, but the pollution and the living situations is sometimes enough to turn your stomach. Up until yesterday, I have felt like I have only been brushing the surface of something that is much deeper. As others have written, last night we went to the village of Palacal. The first glimpse of the people and the church was absolutely breathtaking. Words really cannot describe how I felt, but I think that it was the first of many things that will help me to go deeper in this experience and this culture.
The people were welcoming and warm and we had done nothing for them. The older men of the village were the first to greet us. The came and hugged us and shook our hands. The children were too shy at first, but quickly warmed up enough to take pictures with us. I am still processing this experience. The image of two smiling little girls with infections in their eyes and mouth will stay with me for a long time.
During mass, both in Santo Thomas and in Palacal, I have been touched by the similarities with home. I cannot understand either Spanish or Quiche, so I find myself watching the people. In Santo Thomas a young boy and his mother sat in front of me. He was starring at us from under his mothers arm and she was struggling to get him to pay attention. This bears a striking resemblance to kids at home. In Palacal mothers were trying to pay attention while dealing with several small children. These simple similarities help me to realize that they are no different than we are. Even though we may have more we are equal and we all or children of God.
So hello to everyone at home, thank you for your support in this experience and thank you for your prayers!
Hasta Luego,
Erica
Sunburned and Tired
As I sit and write this at 9:00 PM I am relatively sure many of the group are lying in bed. After a full day of soccer and basketball in the hot sun and a trip up into the mountains, they tell me they are exhausted. Fr. Hazelton invited us up once again today while at mass in the village to sing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” It is evident this will be a regular event, so we have committed ourselves to learning more than one verse. He takes a great amount of pride in the song so by tomorrow we will know more than the chorus.
Tomorrow we will spend the day at La Asuncion’, the school Father Hazelton has supported and built from the ground up about three miles up into the mountains. This school educates kids from the town and from the mountain villages in hopes that they can make their lives better. Three languages are taught at the school: Spanish, Kiche’, and English. Our Carroll grad, Alex Woelkers, who is a volunteer here this year has been working up at the school for the past months teaching and living with the boys in the dormitory. Alex’s last day is tomorrow and then he will be returning back to Helena with us next week.
We have more basketball planned with the kids and possibly some swimming. Also a tour of the school and a stop in the morning at a public school so we can compare.
Each day we have had over 550 hits on our blog which makes me feel that we are being supported by so many thoughts and prayers from people. As great as this experience is, it is certainly not easy. Poverty is complex and even more complex when we come from a place where so many opportunities are available to us. It can be so easy to see smiles and happiness and believe people here have what they need to survive. It leaves many questions to mind as to what they have a right to: clean water, good education, going places for better opportunities for their families, and health care are just a few to mention.
I am humbled by the commitment that Sheila, Fr. Hazelton, Sister Mary and Sister Ana have to the people here. Change here comes very slow and it can be so easy to want to measure this country by the standards of our own country and try to see things as black and white or right and wrong. The experience here, however, is so much more complex.
There is so much more to come in our journey and I look forward to where it will take us!
Thank you for your prayers!
Peace,
Colleen
Breaking the Language Barrier
I have never realized how much a smile could make such an impact on my life. I noticed this today as we were attending mass in a village town up in the mountains. This village was an hour away from Santo Tomas and we traveled by standing in the back of a pick-up truck on a mountainous roads saying hola to everyone we would pass… so awesome! Being in Santo Tomas has been difficult to communicate due to my horrific Spanish speaking skills; however, it was nearly impossible in these mountain villages because they use their native language called Quiche, nothing like Spanish. As I was sitting in mass, listening, looking, and taking everything in, I realized a smile was unable to leave my face as I caught eyes with these beautiful people. After mass, we took pictures of all the children who were just in awe of us crazy “gringos”, which they call white people in Guatemala. They would let us take the picture and then their faces would ignite with happiness when we would show them the pictures on our digital cameras. It was so amazing that even though there was a language barrier, we were able to still communicate and have a great afternoon with one another and impact each others lives.
Everyone I meet here is so friendly, patient, beautiful and just radiates with God’s love. My life has been touched by these people so immensely already that it’s hard to believe that we’ve only been in Guatemala for three days. I’m so excited to find out what God has in store for us for the days ahead!!
God Bless,
Rebecca Loberg
When the Saints Go Marching In
Hola!
Everyday just keeps getting better, and I’m not sure how that is possible. We are all just finishing up dinner and looking around, we all look like we haven’t gotten sleep in days and are wearing excessive amounts of blush. We are all exhausted and burnt… 4 hours of being directly in the sun playing soccer and basketball with the locals followed by an hour ride down bumpy dirty roads to another village, and no time to relax in between. But it has been all worth it. We got our butts kicked in soccer, but were able to show them a little somethin somethin about basketball, and then sing “the saint’s go marching in” in front of a church full of indigenous Mayan villagers. Definitely something I never would have imagined myself experiencing in my life. On our trip to the village, we rode in the back of a pick up truck and we joyfully greeted everywhere we went. The love we have received here has been an eye opener and they have made me feel a way no one has ever made me feel.
I pray that with each day, the experiences we have here will change us. I’m not sure what that may mean right now, and I’m sure it truly won’t hit me until we get back home.
Peace and love. Buenos noches, adios!
Kelsey Rohm
The News About Futbol
Although some of us have some pretty big bug bites and sunburns, we are really enjoying our time here so far. I am pretty sure that we are eating way better and more nutritiously here than at home!
We started off the day by playing soccer with a Guatemalan team. We lost 9-0! But it was a really good time. Afterwards, the girls did a good job in basketball and defeated the clinic team.
In the afternoon we went up to a mountain village and had mass. It was really special. The people were so extremely welcoming and friendly. After mass, the kindly prepared a table for us with bread and Coke.
On the way to the mountain village, we rode in the back of two pickups standing up and holding on for dear life. The drivers are kind of crazy down here and the roads are bumpy! So it was a really fun time and it was a great bonding experience. It was especially awesome to wave at all the people when going through the towns. The people here are so friendly! Their smiles are so beautiful and get me every time, especially the little boys and girls. There is definitely something special about them! Although they are very shy, they are even more curious and stare at us a lot and giggle at us. We enjoy it quite a bit.
I have also really enjoyed improving my Spanish speaking skills. The people here are really patient with us and try to help us understand things. We are really appreciative of their patience and kindness.
Thank you everyone for following us! We miss you all back home!
Adios,
Laura Gillette
Feeling Welcome
Dime una sonrisa
In Salt Lake, a few of us spent a good portion of our layover exploring the airport and watching people as they passed. We quickly noticed how few people actually acknowledged anyone else with a smile or said hello. Of course, it became our mission to see how many people we could get to acknowledge us with a hello back, or even a simple smile. Many people seemed too busy or in “mission mode”, hurrying to get to their gate, to even make eye contact, let alone show any joy in their facial expressions.
It is, however, unexplainable the happiness and joy we see on the faces of the people in Santo Tomas. The difference is amazing. It’s hard not to wonder however, exactly what the people have to smile about. The conditions of the streets and homes are something I have never seen; yet the happiness in the smiles of the people is contagious. It’s beautiful how despite the language barrier, a smile is one thing we can share with each other across all cultures. I truly feel the presence of God’s love in the simple smiles of the wonderful people of Santo Tomas.
It amazes me how caught up we can get in our own lives and forget about the world around us. I have a challenge for you; let your love for Christ shine through your smile today. You never know how a simple smile can influence someone’s day. So, dime una sonrisa… give me a smile.
Steph Lincoln
Carroll College Campus Ministry 