Well here we are, back in Canada and freezing!!!! Our Guatemala experience was truly awesome! I met so many wonderful people - I think my highlight was the relational aspect of the trip. Meeting the many warm, friendly Guatemalans and getting to know the staff at Fe Viva.
We arrived in Guatemala City during the beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week) and the city was teeming with traffic and activity. Our flights went well although it was really long and I didn't sleep a wink - Sam got some sleep on the planes. When we got off the plane at Guatemala City, we were literally whisked out the doors by "attendants" who were very aggressive in their help and hoping for tips which we did end up giving - anyhow that was fine, just a little
overwhelming as we came out with our loads of luggage and all the crowds were waiting inside and on the street for other people as well as the intense heat after the coolness of the airplane. It was a crazy but fun scene.The scenery was really beautiful - it was lush and hilly with palm trees and fields of sugar cane. We met many big trucks loaded with sugar cane on our way to Fe Viva, and saw a lot of rancheros but they looked quite different than my Dad's! The cows are really bony and the corrals are even more slapped together than anything I've ever seen! We drove an hour to the Fe Viva compound which is situated forty minutes from the Pacific Ocean and between two towns, Guazacapan and Chiquimulilla. We had to adapt to the heat 35 Degrees plus and the high humidity but after a day or so I loved it!!!!
The first day we visited sponsor families that live right near the compound and Sam was able to give his school toys to the kids there. I had one of my first Spanish conversations with one lady at a little corner store and then when she understood I was a singer, her little daughter sang me a song in Spanish. The mom thought Sam was very handsome and tall!! The afternoons were spent working with the Casa kids preparing songs for a little concert we presented during their Saturday evening church service. We sang several Spanish worship songs with them and taught them a few English ones as well - they love the song, My God is So BIIIIGGGGG!!!
We found that plans change easily there so even though we were given a tentative schedule of events and projects etc we didn't really end up following it too closely. And that was okay - new needs came up or a vehicle wasn't running or some of the staff members were sick - and so we just went with the flow of things there and served as we were needed! We did several painting projects while we were there and then on the Friday, we headed out on a Safari day that was really enjoyable especially for the kids! That evening we went to Casa Refugio (in Chiqumulilla) a rehab home for men with addictions. A group from El Salvador joined us and we went to the bars and invited men to come back to the centre for food, shelter and an evening of music and sharing. The Canadians led the worship and we heard some amazing stories - it was quite the night! Later that evening we were able to stop by a Restaurante Internet to send some messages home and then have some delicious, flame-broiled ethnic food!
The staff at Fe Viva were very hospitable and opened their hearts to us. Sam and I stayed in a compound on one side of the alley with rows of guest houses, a kitchen and offices as well as a big
open dining hall with a thatched roof (and also it is a basketball court when you move the chairs and tables). Sam used the basketball court a lot! The grounds were beautiful with palm trees, bougainvillea bushes, and mango trees, orange and lime trees and the shorter coconut trees. You have to eat the mangos fresh off the trees but every time I found one, the Casa Kids would ask me for it, so... Yes, I did get to eat mango but it was a bit later in the week!! The food was fabulous and we ate lots of local fruit such as fresh bananas, pineapple, watermelon, and mango as well and corn on the cob! Sam like the idea that we had a night guard patrolling the property - but there has been problems with vandalism in the past so it was a necessary precaution.Sam and I had a great room - a suite actually that usually holds groups of women or men. As there weren't too many other visitors there during our stay, we shared a two-bedroom suite with kitchen and living room. The buildings have a definite Spanish influence with rounded doorways and windows and a lot of beautiful tile work that is done by locals. Often we heard loudspeakers at night and were told that vehicles with loudspeakers drive around announcing an event as most people don't own radios. The people were generally very poor and it was such a good eye-opener for Sam and I - a good reminder of how much we have in North America and how little we really need! I had to crush a few cockroaches and sadly squashed a little lizard before it made it to our bedroom... It was instinctive, the protective mother thing, I think....????!!! Anyhow, I felt very sorry for the lizard as they are very cute little things and I'm not normally so aggressive!!!
We spent a lot of time singing. We were able to share often in music, with the Casa Kids singing both in Spanish and English, with the men at Casa Refugio, and at two of the church services we attended. We also offered several evenings of casual sing-a-longs for the staff at Fe Viva and enjoyed a lot of great worship music together. I was also able to share several of my songs at the church services, accompanied by Chris Hiebert on the guitar that we were able to leave there for the musicians at Fe Viva.
It was one fantastic trip and I want to thank everyone who supported this trip through donations and through items donated for the people in Guatemala. You are appreciated!!
D
ios te Bendiga! Tracy and Sam
