OH Boy! It's been a week back from guatemala and I really miss it!
I've already said some stuff about this trip and I don't want to be a bore but I think more can be said...
One thing to be said is that since I have been back, Panimaquin and the people there have been on my heart every day. Everyone there had a impact in some way on me, From the humility and kindness of pastor Lazaro, the warm heart of Mario, down to the cute and adorable smile of little Glendy (I think I want to adopt a little guatemalan girl). Even with the limited spanish most of us were able to speak to the people in, relationships were built and we were shown such acceptance, and the awesome thing is that this was coming out of a cultural back ground where the village we stayed with and the village right next door hated eachother not to long ago because of the fact that the other village wasn't indigenious to the region. But because of the grace of God working in these peoples lives a lot of these rivalries and issues are being healed. So we, gringos, were welcomed into the fellowship of these believers and shown honor because there was a sense that our connection was deeper than nationality and that our bond ran deeper than our own blood... we are a family, one body, brought together by the love of one God. I can't wait to learn more spanish and return to panimaquin more times to build relationships with the people even better and hopefully impart some spirit of change in these beautiful people just as they have done to me.
our bond runs deeper than bloodlines and cannot be stopped by borderlines. let's tear down the fences put up around our minds and join the family of humanity that is brought together within the broken body of Christ.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
More Guatemala
Well, it has been a few days since my last post and that is sad because that means I´m closer to going home. I´ll start this off by saying that in the last few days I have been pretty severely sick to my stomach for about a day and I´m just getting over a throat sickness, which drew has been dealing with a worse case of... and I can still say that I will miss this place.
Since my last post a lot has happened, and I will tell it in sporadic order.
We all went to Antigua which is a pretty nice city (nice for Guatemala) and had a good time walking through the market and trying some fruit that I´ve never had before, it was delicious. We all got our own little nick-nack but the real fun was in seeing the environment throughout the city which is nothing like the US. The reality is that as we walked through I couldn´t help but be grieved for the people who were begging in the street, disfigured or handicaped most of the time. Other times the people were just begging us to buy their blankets or flutes or bracelets that they made with their own hands. The need that these people have is great and grievious because of the fact that we didn´t have enough to be able to give to these people, there were so many, it hurt to walk by feeling unable to make any difference to them. I will say that a couple kids on the street tugged on my heart strings. I bought some bracelets from a small boy who was being bullied and pushed out of the way by other kids selling on the street. I wanted him to feel noticed. Another boy, who sat with us and spoke decent english, was a shoe shiner and since I was wearing sandals I had no need of a shine. But I wanted to show him a form of love that he probably never sees to often and so we paid him to let me shine his shoes (he had to show me the ropes... but I got it).
Also, we have had a great time on this mountain. Just being with the people is such a blessing and I hope to come back to see them in the future. There is such great need here... and to think that this kind of brokeness spreads across the world is a sobering thought. A life that effects someone else´s life by showing them love and acceptance and caring for their physical needs.. just being a servant of all is the most worthy life there can be. Although it is tiring.
We´ve been out in the small forest chopping roots and pulling up tree stumps just about every day and doing what we can to help out.
But my favorite things have been being with the people and playing with the children. Every hug or smile that I recieve is refreshing here in a wondrous way. I fall more in love with all the people here with each passing day. God is speaking on this mountain and we are listening... but the great revelation is how near He is to us always, even in the busy life of being a US citizen. May we be open to the heart of God each day and find new ways to show the world His love for us all. May we listen through the noise and hear Him as though we were on this mountain. I want to know Your ways so that I may know You. Amen.
Since my last post a lot has happened, and I will tell it in sporadic order.
We all went to Antigua which is a pretty nice city (nice for Guatemala) and had a good time walking through the market and trying some fruit that I´ve never had before, it was delicious. We all got our own little nick-nack but the real fun was in seeing the environment throughout the city which is nothing like the US. The reality is that as we walked through I couldn´t help but be grieved for the people who were begging in the street, disfigured or handicaped most of the time. Other times the people were just begging us to buy their blankets or flutes or bracelets that they made with their own hands. The need that these people have is great and grievious because of the fact that we didn´t have enough to be able to give to these people, there were so many, it hurt to walk by feeling unable to make any difference to them. I will say that a couple kids on the street tugged on my heart strings. I bought some bracelets from a small boy who was being bullied and pushed out of the way by other kids selling on the street. I wanted him to feel noticed. Another boy, who sat with us and spoke decent english, was a shoe shiner and since I was wearing sandals I had no need of a shine. But I wanted to show him a form of love that he probably never sees to often and so we paid him to let me shine his shoes (he had to show me the ropes... but I got it).
Also, we have had a great time on this mountain. Just being with the people is such a blessing and I hope to come back to see them in the future. There is such great need here... and to think that this kind of brokeness spreads across the world is a sobering thought. A life that effects someone else´s life by showing them love and acceptance and caring for their physical needs.. just being a servant of all is the most worthy life there can be. Although it is tiring.
We´ve been out in the small forest chopping roots and pulling up tree stumps just about every day and doing what we can to help out.
But my favorite things have been being with the people and playing with the children. Every hug or smile that I recieve is refreshing here in a wondrous way. I fall more in love with all the people here with each passing day. God is speaking on this mountain and we are listening... but the great revelation is how near He is to us always, even in the busy life of being a US citizen. May we be open to the heart of God each day and find new ways to show the world His love for us all. May we listen through the noise and hear Him as though we were on this mountain. I want to know Your ways so that I may know You. Amen.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Here in Guatemala
well, we have now been in guatemala for a night and a half of today. It has been great! This place is truly wonderful from the breath taking scenery on this mountain down to our new friends we have made here.
Honestly though, apart from being surrounded by beauty, I feel dumb when spoken to in espanol. At the airport, here in Guatemala,we went through customs. Alicia and myself were approached by one of the customs agents and asked (in spanish) something or the other.... and my mouth hung open with no words to come out. And this ensued for the rest of last night. Today I have succeeded in more mouth hanging but also have been able to get out some spanish that I learned in high school and at work (with mexicans), I expect that by the end of the two weeks I will be doing much better, especially with the natives teaching me as they are.
So, this morning we had a devotion (also one last night that I really enjoyed) and ate breakfast. Afterwards we walked around and checked the place out better and were able to take a walk up the mountain that panimaquin rests upon. We were accompanied by a real cool guy named Mario whom I was able to speak with on a limited basis. Being a born and bred Florida boy, I became winded fairly quickly because of the high altitude and incline on which we were walking but it was well worth it because the veiws are amazing. Once on top of the mountain we had a prayer time and I felt that God was so real and so much bigger than I have imagined and yet still so close to our hearts, which makes me feel that much more loved. Our great God who is beyond all we could want or imagine still comes to us and makes His home within us... it's a good feeling to be pursued and wanted even in our unworthiness.
I will update again soon enough... te amo me famalia.
Honestly though, apart from being surrounded by beauty, I feel dumb when spoken to in espanol. At the airport, here in Guatemala,we went through customs. Alicia and myself were approached by one of the customs agents and asked (in spanish) something or the other.... and my mouth hung open with no words to come out. And this ensued for the rest of last night. Today I have succeeded in more mouth hanging but also have been able to get out some spanish that I learned in high school and at work (with mexicans), I expect that by the end of the two weeks I will be doing much better, especially with the natives teaching me as they are.
So, this morning we had a devotion (also one last night that I really enjoyed) and ate breakfast. Afterwards we walked around and checked the place out better and were able to take a walk up the mountain that panimaquin rests upon. We were accompanied by a real cool guy named Mario whom I was able to speak with on a limited basis. Being a born and bred Florida boy, I became winded fairly quickly because of the high altitude and incline on which we were walking but it was well worth it because the veiws are amazing. Once on top of the mountain we had a prayer time and I felt that God was so real and so much bigger than I have imagined and yet still so close to our hearts, which makes me feel that much more loved. Our great God who is beyond all we could want or imagine still comes to us and makes His home within us... it's a good feeling to be pursued and wanted even in our unworthiness.
I will update again soon enough... te amo me famalia.
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