lunes: The Garbage Dump and Our First Home Visits

Today began with a trip to the Guatemala City Garbage Dump.  I haven’t looked at the pictures yet, but I hope to attach one or two.  For those of you that have been on this mission trip in the past, you wouldn’t believe the changes; it is literally filling up.  Guatemala City is cut out of several mountain tops, and one of its very large ravines is the dump.  Each year we walk through a cemetery to get a look down into the ravine to see hundreds of Guatemalans picking through the trash for cardboard and plastic to sell to recyclers for enough money to get them or their families through the next day or two.  It is an unspeakable sight, as is the smell and the thousands of vultures.  Keep in mind, bathroom paper is not flushed in Guatemala, it is put into the trash; the city’s infrastructure is crumbling, so nothing optional can be flushed.  Now think about 7 million people’s garbage in the heat and rain, and you are beginning to get the picture.  What makes this such a powerful experience for us is that the Guatemalan missionaries we are working with grew up in and around the dump and still live just outside of it today.  Virtually every Guatemalan with which we have contact in Guatemala City is tied to the dump financially and historically in some way.  It is very sobering to realize those Guatemalans leading the ministry are there to serve their own people in a very real sense.  It is extremely humbling, to say the least.

After the best black beans and rice in Central America, we headed out to do home visits for the afternoon.  We split into two groups, each accompanied by ministry leaders, primarily Guatemalans.  Our security is a high priority down here.  The Groundwork Guatemalans know what to look out for and make it all look seamless.  When they feel it is safe, we are allowed to go into the shanties to talk with families who receive us with open arms.  It is hard to imagine the same reception at home by Bible toting, unannounced visitors.  They make us feel we are doing them a favor by coming into their extremely humble dwellings to talk with them.  They share their concerns, which are strikingly similar to ours, and then we share Bible verses and pray with them.  The kids all got into the act today…Emma, Lonnie, Kara, Emily, and Jeannie even read her verses in Spanish. Kelsey’s voice was quivering when she read but did a great job and knew she had done what she could to comfort Elise, a mother of many in a home and situation that virtually does not even exist in the U.S.  We did a total of three visits, and when it was over, the kids were starting to put it all together: what is means to be an American, what it means to have brothers and sisters in Christ, what extreme poverty looks (and smells) like, and what their role in all of this might be.

Each of the kids is beginning to find their place here.  We arrived downstairs this morning to Lonnie serving up eggs and toast, when the rest of us had previously planned on granola bars and a smile.  He even took orders for tomorrow; I am still trying to figure out how he knew how to turn that stove on, when I have tried unsucessfully for three years.  He said it was in his blood.  Jordan and Nick, as well as the girls, are extremely able and cooperative dishwashers, no easy task here with contaminated water and timed soaking solutions.  Jordan is also trying to expand his Pico de Diablo pallet.  Shelby, now known as Shelly, is taking it all in, along with the rest of us.  Jennifer is enjoying the Spanish conversations as much as the Guatemalans are… and I had the great joy of accidentally visiting the home of Luis, a high school junior I sponsored several years ago (standing in front of me in the photo) and had given up hope of ever seeing again. We immediately recognized each other…it was truly awesome. 

It was a great day, full of old and new experiences, and multiple opportunities to live the faith.  I think my highlight might have been the realization that Jeannie and Kelsey had responded to a woman in need, even though it was a new and somewhat uncomfortable situation, and had comforted her with God’s words of their choice.  More good stuff.

Tomorrow we head to Amatitlan and the first of our children’s and adult lesson, as well as more home visits, but not before we spend serious time preparing tonight…I’m the only serious one about preparing; a few young men are convinced we are ready to roll; we aren’t.

We are well, happy, and filled with all sorts of anticipation about tomorrow.  Pray for us; all of us want to make this opportunity count.

Blessings,

Jeannie, Nick, Jordan, Jennifer, Emma, Emily, Kara, Kelsey, Lonnie, Shelby and Sally