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.