There's No Place Like Home

We just got home from a week in Guatemala.  It was a fantastic experience, but I must admit.... There's no place like home!  But I also discovered.... We are always at home when we are with God.

A view of Magdalena from the roof of the house we lived in

for our one week stay with our host "parents" Telma and Carlos.

I was lead to Ephesians 3:14-21 during my quiet time this morning. 
It encapsulates much of what I came back from Guatemala with.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:16+17  "I pray that from God's glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.  Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong."

It is through Gods blessings, strength and love that I was able to
make the trip to Guatemala and see, learn, and do all that I did.

Britney, Joe and I on the airport tram going to our gate of departure.

Rather than give you a day by day account of what we did, I am posting pictures so that you will get an idea of what Guatemala was like for us.

I am not a huge fan of traveling or flying but must admit it was a beautiful sunrise takeoff.

We landed in Guatemala City and were driven by van (in the dark of the night) to Magdalena, seen here, with Antigua in the valley to the left
of this photo.

Magdalena is a small town on the mountain side, where most roads go up or down the hill, while the horizontal roads that connect them are usually dirt paths.  People typically walk, some bike, and a few take a horse. Others are fortunate enough to have a car.

Most families hung their laundry on the roof top because they have very little yard space.  There are no machines for washing clothes (or drying them). Those with chickens often kept them on the roof top as well, as seen here.

Several homes were above the shops.       A few indicated prosperity. 











Some had little farms in Magdalena, others "in the country".... higher up
the mountainside.  There were also larger farms towards the mountain top. 

 

Here we are taking a dirt path across the slope to the Student's International meeting room where we gathered at various times for a Spanish or history lesson, briefing or de-briefing, and morning worship.



This is the meeting room which is at Mario's house.  Each morning when we met we would go over the days game plan, have a Bible study after singing, then quiet time, and sometimes listen to someone's testimony.

While in Guatemalan, it seemed so relaxed and tranquil. The culture is one revolving around family and friends and time is not a worry.  The people always seemed to be so loving.  I never heard quarreling or fighting.  


The women kept busy maintaining the home, including shopping, collecting wood, and washing laundry at the pila. They always had their children with them.  It was amazing to see the woman carrying many things on the top of their heads. I guess this frees up their hands to hold on to their children.

The farmers headed up the road to work in the fields higher up in the mountain, while a few headed down to the town hall to catch a bus to the city.  Some workers would make several trips a day up (and then down) the mountain.  I especially liked watching them work with their horses.

Coming down might have been easier, since it is down hill....but it takes muscles to put the "breaks" on as you descend....and all were carrying a heavy load to take home.  The corn leaves and other greens were used to feed live stock or for cooking, while the wood was for fires to cook over.  Everyone had a dog or two with them but only a few had a vehicle.

 








This next series (of 2 men and a teen) I especially like.  We stepped aside to allow them to pass. Their three horses were really loaded down.  The two younger boys were just running by.

             Click on any picture to enlarge it.













When the horses weren't working, they were tethered somewhere to rest and maybe eat.  Most of them looked fairly thin, but they all seemed content and willing to work.  Many were leery of me when I went to pet them, but I could win them over with my apple core left over from lunch.

I was also interested in the saddles since I had experienced a struggle finding one that fit Amiga and was comfortable for me.  Their saddles were made of cow hide (some still had the hair) and I think were made to sit in and haul stuff.  Notice the girth goes over the top of the saddle.

 

Okay....this is getting long....but at least it is mostly pictures. I still need to tell about the actual work we did while in Guatemala.  Britney, Joe and I worked with the Ag. site led by Maro who is also a minister. Jamie (a Greenville graduate) who just got into vet school, was an intern who was our group leader and also big help.  And we had two students (Joe and Lilly) from a church in Minnesota. Two of the days we walked to different houses or farms, some quite a hike away near El Gorrion.  We inoculated cows and pigs with vitamins, steroids,  antibiotics, or wormers. We treated a pig with a hernia, a horse with colic, and a cow with mastitis.  We also castrated 5 little pigs.  Our picnic lunch was eaten at someone's farm each day.

It took 4 people to hold the little pig down, even after an injection of a little anesthesia.

We spent 2 days building a chicken coop at Lacracia's house.  The top cage can be lifted off to clean the lower portion.  The tin roof acts as an incubator to keep the chicks warm.  It is covered with plastic for additional warmth or to keep the chicks dry.

Another day we went into Antigua to buy 50 chicks, their feed and supplies, and then hauled it all to the bus at the market, and then up the hill from the bus stop in Magdalena.  We gave each chick an eye drop of an antibiotic as we put them into their new home. In 7 weeks they will be ready for market.

We took two hikes, one to the top of the mountain which was about 8,000 feet above sea level.  We saw many farms and farm animals on the way up, and a horse that was tethered while its master was gathering vegetation.  We found a millipede and saw the section of jungle that had been destroyed by an avalanche/mud slide during the rains and storm a few weeks earlier.  There were dense sections of bamboo and other jungle plants.  At the top was a fantastic view and many wood lawn "chairs", tables, play ground equipment, rope swing, etc. 

Each evening it was always good to get back home with our host family. (Carlos, Telma, Kati, and Pavel)  Often we just crashed into bed because we were so tired.  We had a great dinner that Telma cooked one night, and played a board game another time.  Every morning Telma had breakfast waiting for us.  I really loved the tea and sweat breads, but enjoyed pancakes, eggs, beans, and rice almost as well.

Telma and Kati with Joe and Britney.  The painting in the background is one Carlos did.  Carlos and Telma are both artists, and have the art site in a studio next to their house.

Rachel (another summer intern student from Greenville) was also living with us.  She was with Britney during her first visit to Guatemala. They worked at the art site.

It was pouring down rain Sunday morning when we loaded the bus to head back to the airport.  It was so hard saying good bye to Telma and Carlos.  Right before we left, they presented us with a beautiful painting Carlos had painted.  Their love and generosity completely overwhelmed me and I was in tears much of the time as we drove to the airport.  I took a look back at these horses waiting to head up the mountain as we headed down towards Guatemala City.

I wrote this the night before heading home from Guatemala:
    It is difficult to put into words the impact my week in Guatemala has had on me. My telling you of the great love these people have for each other and us, their guests, does not adequately explain it.  I have also come to realize that God's love is much greater than I ever imagined.  His language of love is universal and His Holy Spirit can be felt everywhere.  It unites us even though we are of different cultures, language, and economic backgrounds.
     During quiet time my first day in Guatemala, I sat and listened to the sounds of Guatemala, which were actually quite familiar... laughter, a baby crying, roosters crowing and the neighing of a horse.  Dogs barking, birds singing, honking autos, and someone whistling.... all sounds I knew.  And I realized, a smile or tear, a hug or kiss on the cheek, facial expressions and hand gestures are all a universal form of communication.  Regardless of our language barrier, God has given us a universal language.... and a way to share His love.

[Paul continues to pray in Ephesians 3:18+19] "That you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all God's people, to understand how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

I know Britney is in good hands in Guatemala.  She is in God's hands.  Telma and Carlos (and all the Students International Staff) are the hands and heart of God.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."  Ephesians 3:20+21