Carroll College Campus Ministry

May

Settling in Guatemala

Hola! Como se llama?

What a crazy last few days this has been! I feel like being here is finally starting to feel real. Monday morning our adventure began. For me it began bright and early in the morning with getting up to finish moving out of my dorm room and move to my summer house. Then there were a few errands to run, mass, and then we headed to the airport. When we all gathered in the Trinity parking lot to get into cars for the trip to the airport things started feeling a little more real. After a short little plane ride to Salt Lake City and then another little one to L.A. we were on our way to Guatemala. When we landed in Guatemala around 6 am my body was so confused as to what time of day it was since we’d been traveling for nearly 12 hours.

Amy Dever

At the Guatemala airport we went through customs, got our bags, and we went out to get on our bus. Our first stop in Guatemala was for breakfast at a little place about an hour from the airport. Then we headed to the mission. When we got here we were given our room assignments and then given some free time to explore the city. Everywhere we walked, people gladly responded “hola” or “buenas tardes” to our greetings. As we were heading back to the mission from the city I saw a dad carrying his little girl to the pharmacy. The little girl was limp in his arms. This sight broke my heart and reminded me of where I am and what I am doing here. I realized how easy it would be to get caught up in being a tourist here rather than immersing myself in this culture.

Today we visited the clinic at the mission and the botanical gardens. I most enjoyed the clinic. We were given a tour and then had time to interact with people there. My favorite was a group of three little children, two girls and a boy. Sheila helped us translate what they were saying and we learned that they had come from a village about twenty minutes away from the mission. The two older girls were the only ones out of the three to talk to us. I asked one of the girls “ como te llamas?” She told me her name and then I responded “me llamo Amy.” Although my Spanish is very weak, I loved the fact that I could communicate with them enough to ask their name and tell them mine. A name is unique to each individual. It is an identity that people all around the world have. To be able to share my name with someone was to share a piece of myself and I also was able to learn something very unique about someone else. After that experience, I realize how incredible a name is and also how incredible it is to share your name. Next time you ask “what is your name” or “como te llamas” remember that you’re asking someone to share an identity unique to them and you have the opportunity to share something unique about yourself. Adios! Vaya con Dios!

May

“Friendship” Bracelets

Hola everyone…I hope that everything is going well for you all back in the States. I am missing everyone…hugs and kisses….

So, my experience here in Guatemala has been super sweet so far. I’ve feel like I’ve had a plethora of types of experiences…from the ones that made me want to cry, to the ones that made me so thankful to be here , to the ones that have just made me LOVE people even more. I took French is high school…which is NOT what they speak here, whoops…so the whole communication thing has been a little non existent…thank goodness for hand motions and “GRACIAS”….cuz that’s about all I’ve got…

Today something totally sweet happened that I would love to share with you…

I began making friendship bracelets a couple days before I left the States. I envisioned tying them to little children’s wrists and making new “friends”…as the name entails. I prepared many bracelets and many more pre-tied strings to be made into bracelets on the long plane ride here. In the airport many of the other girls asked if they could make one…to myself I said, “HECK YA YOU CAN…make seven!!!!! There is way more than just a few adorable children in Guatemala…”. Before we even made it to LA, all my pre-tied bracelets had been made and the girls were asking if I brought more string (which I totally did…). Today that “hard” work on our part totally paid off….

Several bracelets were tied on wrists yesterday…which was awesome…but this morning was something even more special. A couple of the girls and I were in the courtyard after breakfast and I had just tied a bracelet on the one little girl with the women washing clothes. After a minute or two the women washing clothes came over to us and said the Spanish words for “us too?”. Thank goodness one of the other girls new what the heck they wanted cuz it would have taken a lot of pointing before I would have been able figure out what they were saying. We tied bracelets on all the laundresses, cooks, and women cleaning at the mission. Everyone got a bracelet tied around their wrists and for the first time since we arrived, I felt like we were all on the same level, united by a few strings of embroidery thread….awesome….

Who’d a thunk a camp counselor skill would have come in handy in a place thousands of miles from home. It may seem a little corny but I really believe that I was able to use those silly bracelets to connect to those women…smiles come easier now, as do attempted conversations…I’m so thankful. Today, I saw Christ as a few strings tied around a woman’s wrist…thank you God…that was sweet…

Brit McMahon

May

Wednesday!

Today has been a good day. We stayed at the mission today to see the health clinic and tour the medicinal gardens. We are all adjusting to the humidity but as of yet we have had no rain. The weather is suppose to change by Friday, however. Later this afternoon there is a game of five on five soccer at the smaller town field that has astro turf. Tomorrow morning we have two futbol games in the city stadium, one against the clinic workers and their sons and the other against the teachers at the school. We’ll see how that goes.. I don’t predict we will come away as champions but Jake, James, George, Mat and Sam all prefer to think more positively. In the afternoon I think we have a basketball tournament at the school, so tomorrow night we will sleep well.

Tonight we will go to the Wednesday night town mass, our first trip as a group into the town of Santo Tomas (although some did walk around yesterday and this morning). In distance from where we are staying the church is probably equivalent to a four to five block walk up the hill and into town. Tomorrow we will also go a little ways up the mountain to the school to visit.

The people at the mission have been amazing in terms of hospitality. We have all been blessed to be fed so well and welcomed so nicely. Everyone is doing well and really enjoying this experience!

Also, thank you for visiting our blog. Yesterday alone we had 474 hits on it. This is getting the students more excited to write so look later tonight for reflections from Brit, Steph, and maybe Jake. They are also excited to see the comments people are leaving. Your prayers mean a great deal to us and we will continue to keep you all in prayer as well.

Peace,

Colleen

May

The group.

Hey everyone,

Here is a photo of our group. Thank you all for the kind words and prayers.

-Carroll Ministry

May

Thoughts from a Farmer

Growing up as a farm girl from rural Montana, I am used to big John Deere Tractors, combines, and large herds of cattle. As we drove from the airport in Guatemala City today, I was amazed when I saw a couple of cows on the side of the road just outside the city – no fences or electrical wire to keep them in. These were not cows like we have at home in Montana (fat and happy from the bales of hay). Their skeletons protruded through their skin as they scrounged for some left-over grass to feed from.

Although there were many things that I will keep in my heart from walking around the Mission and the city of Santo Tomas, I will never forget how very different the simple fact of “farming” can be. These people farm for survival. They farm to feed their families who are already often undernourished.

It is truly a gift to be here. Hopefully as the days go by my Spanish will come back to me a little better! Dios te Bendiga (God Bless)

– Peace, Heidi Linhart

May

The Sights

If you think American’s litter is destroying the earth’s atmosphere, you need to come to Guatemala. One of the greatest shocks so far for me is seeing a river surrounded by garbage and people bathing in it.

The people here in Santo Tomas are very friendly and very beautiful. The colors are astonishing. The native dress is very bright and colorful. Some of us wandered to the town’s cemetery today, which was also a very colorful atmosphere. The children are very curious, however, very shy. One child cried today when one of us tried to approach him.

I’m very excited to continue on our journey and grow in understanding of a culture very different from our own.

-Kelsey Rohm

May

Two Armed Guards Outside A Foreign Burger King: Welcome to Guatemala City

I’m sitting in the lush green courtyard at the mission in Santo Tomas. We still haven’t really recovered from traveling, because we left Helena yesterday at 5 pm, traveling nonstop through the night until we reached Santo Tomas today around lunch time.

It was really shocking to fly out of Los Angeles (a very American city with a lot of American poverty) and land in Guatemala City (a very developing world city with a lot of developing world poverty). From the air, they seemed very similar, but as we got closer and closer, Guatemala showed me the real difference. We got no closer to the city than our bus window, and it was very interesting to see how many tin roofs and piles of garbage off the side of the road there could be in one area.

The drive to the mission was bumpy and interesting. Our bus driver, Hector, was full of fun tidbits and very excited to share with us. Santo Tomas is a lot bigger than I expected, with a population of about thirteen thousand. Our large glob of gringos explored the town, and we drew a lot of stares and gawks.

I’ll let other people give their two cents, more from me later, Buenos Tardes!

-Ned Scheidecker

May

Prayers for the Rome Group

Christ never allowed us to walk alone. He always sent us out two by two, but he also gave us people to pray for us. On This trip we have the distinct privilege to share our experiences in prayer with our family going to Rome. We decided to split up our groups and pray for each other. The group that is going on a pilgrimage to Rome and our group have already been able to share mass together and come in fellowship just to spend time together. The idea behind the prayer partners is that it allows us to walk with our brothers and sisters through the entire trip. We will have the opportunity to lift someone up in prayer and in return be lifted up. I think the most powerful part of this is the fact that it was we, the students, who wanted to have prayer partners. We really are part of a family and I am so excited for that family to grow with our new friends that we will meet in Guatemala and in Rome. Even though we are thousands of miles apart we can be connected through Christ and the Eucharist.

George Lund

May

On the Way

Hello everyone! Greeting from Salt Lake City, Utah! I’m excited to be the first student to blog for our site! We have about an hour left in Salt Lake City until our next flight to Los Angeles…then we’ll be on our way to GUATEMALA! So far, we have definitely stood out in the airport with our matching green Guatemala shirts…everyone in the airport keeps asking where we are going and what we will be doing. Overall, the group is very eager to get to Guatemala and begin this amazing journey! Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers! Keep checking back for updates from everyone else in the group!