Day 2

This morning we toured Tierra Santa and learned about the stove project.  We saw various current stoves and one like we will be building.  

During the afternoon those of our group who have been here before stayed and started building stoves.  Those who have not went on a tour of various ministry projects, including the Women's Center, Coffee project, the hospital, and the school.  

The building for the medical clinic has not yet arrived at the work site.  Our best guess is that we will see it tomorrow and start construction on Wednesday.  

Travel Day

We had a very long travel day.  One of our crew had some stomach issues, but we have arrived in San Lucas Toliman and are hitting the bed early tonight.  Work starts tomorrow. 

Kingswood UMC - It's a Wrap!

        At this moment as I sit in the passenger seat of a Honda Civic traveling south

towards New Orleans, I find myself drawing parallels and comparing different

aspects between this country of the United States and the one I was in only a few

days ago, Guatemala.  The most obvious difference between the two being the mode

of transportation used.  In Guatemala we were shuttled from the airport in a stick

shift bus, us inside with the windows open for a breeze, with our luggage tied to the

top.  I now sit in a full cushioned chair, air conditioning and my luggage in the trunk.

While this difference in transportation is seemingly small, and relatively is,

it’s also fairly indicative of the different lifestyles and how weird it can be to go so

quickly from one to the other.  Step back a week ago and I was bartering with a man

on the street of a town off the water of Lake Atitlan, for a handmade blanket that my

brother Carter, and I ended up purchasing for our parents.  Take another step to

yesterday as I looked into my wallet about to purchase a shirt from J Crew and saw

Quetzales, (the Guatemalan currency) and suddenly had the strange feeling that I

should “Cut the price in half, and not pay more for it than I feel is appropriate” as

close to Candace’s advice as I can remember.

        Of course there is another side to this weirdness, and that is and was for us

on the trip, adjusting to Guatemala.  Just as it was weird to readjust to our society

here in the States, it was weird and interesting to do our best to assimilate into the

culture and lives of the people we interacted with on our journey to Guatemala.  We

had eight full days and ten total to get as much out of the trip as possible and to

adjust to the culture.  At the end of those ten days, myself and I have the feeling that

everyone else on the trip, were pretty comfortable with our new surroundings.

Great!  But now what?  Our trip’s over.  Our learning experience has come to

an end and the world to us would rapidly change in a matter of hours as we traveled

from Antigua to Guatemala city, and then back to Huston in the United States of

America and finally to Chicago Illinois.  Our “trip” ended at that point.

What I really hope you realize as the reader of this blog is that this was not

just another trip, or vacation.  This was truly a perspective-changing trip, which I

don’t know if I’ll ever have the words or the means of explaining.   I don’t think that

it is even possible to give you a fully comprehensive explanation now that I think

about it.

      What I can say though is, when you meet or talk to someone who was on this

trip, give them the time to explain how they feel about it and what they saw and

learned.  I’m betting that you will: one, hear something new from every person you

talk to, two, hear similar themes from each person, and three, learn at least one new

thing throughout the process.  This is important to REALLY give them time because

as the new ambassadors of this experience and more importantly the people with

whom we built relationships with in Guatemala we feel obligated to spread the

word of our experience.  So just as we have given our time to these people to help

build stoves and improve their style of living, it is just as important for you to give

us the time to tell you what we have received ourselves.

     I thank you for your time in reading this article and the time you will give

others in our group so that you may learn as we did.


-Taylor Baretz

Kingswood UMC Day 8 - 7/31/15

This morning, we began our day like we always do--with a time of devotion and prayer. As you have seen in previous blogs, we hear a scripture three times and reflect more deeply each time to connect with the scripture and our life. Today, we read a portion from Mark 12 which told the amazing story of Jesus watching people donate their money into the temple treasury.  Many persons with wealth gave money to the offering but Jesus was especially moved by a very poor widow and her offering. She gave two coins which only amounted to a penny, but Jesus called his disciples together and shared that out of all the givers, this woman gave all she had. She gave generously even though she lived in poverty. Her gift was so powerful.

The story of the widow and her gift connected with us all week as the residents of Porvenir gave so much of themselves to us with a deep sense of welcome and hospitality.  Yet today seemed to bring the reality of their generosity and gifts to me most profoundly.  As we completed our second stove and began our third, I experienced the great gift of my team (Ryan and Taylor) as well as the amazing patience and wisdom of our mason, Santiago.  I realized he could easily have done the project more quickly and efficiently by himself, but he gave the gift of himself to us each day and especially this day so that we might learn new things, build a relationship with him and our families, and leave Guatemala as more faithful people.

I experienced the deep gift of generosity each day as our host families (those receiving the stoves) purchased drinks and snacks for us a twice a day--even though they live with so little and struggle to support their families every day.  Yet today, that generosity became even more apparent to me as our families gave each of us a very beautiful gift. As I opened the gift this evening, I was moved to tears as I realized that this simple gift was far more generous and beautiful than any gift I had ever received in my life. The story from Mark 12 became alive for me in the final party with our dear friends in Porvenir.

As we drove away in the back of two trucks and left our friends behind, I realized that I have indeed left a part of myself behind.  I have been transformed by the living Christ who is so present here in my friends in Guatemala.  I think I can say that is true for all of our team.  I pray that we will live our lives with more generosity and embrace our faith with a heart that befriends and empowers the poor in all places--even in our own community.  Again, the widow offered the most generous gift....and the world was never the same. May it be so.

God’s Peace,

James Preston

Kingswood UMC Day 7 - 7/30/15

Buenas noches, amigos.  This morning we began our day at 6:45, MOST of us bright eyed and bushy tailed, SOME bleary eyed and yawning.  Either way we were excited to get the opportunity to tour Escuela de Educacion Basico.  This middle school is right across the square from our hotels.  We got to see classrooms of all ages and the newly renovated gymnasium, which has a roof over it now to cover the students during the rainy season.  It was interesting to see a school in action as the students prepared for exams.  It was especially nice to hear some 7th grade students sing “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” for us.  After that we ate another delicious breakfast of huevos, frijoles negras, tortillas and platanos and loaded up the trucks to head to Porvenir.  

Right away we got to work for three and a half hours on our second stoves.  We continued to work hard and build community with our masons, stove recipients and any other children who wandered into our worksite.  

We paused for lunch then gathered as a group for a very special activity.  We surprised the kids with a dental hygiene presentation.  We explained the purpose of our activity, talked through the toothbrushing steps and Regan gave an great visual example for the kids.  Then we got to work...

1. We passed out disclosing tablets to each kid.  They were these little chewables that each kid chewed in order to show where plaque stuck to your teeth.  The kids were all giggling when their mouth turned pink.
2. Then each kid received a toothbrush and some toothpaste.  Once they had rinsed their mouths from the chewables, our group walked around encouraging them to use proper brushing etiquette for two whole minutes.  The older kids were great at starting at the back and working their way to the front of their mouth.  Many older siblings helped their little brothers and sisters brush in the tough to reach spots.
3. After they finished so many came running up, beaming with pride.  We took pictures of their huge grins to show them and they were just so happy!  
4. Once they finished, they were able to keep their toothbrushes and paste to use in the future.

After lunch all of us felt a little bit lethargic, but we pushed through the rest of our work day and made a lot of progress.  When we returned to the posadas, we split into two teams to have our turn in the kitchen.  One group made chile rellenos for dinner that consisted of a poblano pepper, cheese, squash and carrots.  Our group made rellenitos for dessert.  We peeled and mashed plantains that had been boiled in water with cinnamon.  Then we added sugar to blended black beans and put them inside a cocoon of plantains.  Once they were rolled into a sphere shape, we fried them which always makes everything better.  Dinner came late, but was well worth the wait!

Although it was a day that required a lot of stamina and motivation, we all cannot believe that tomorrow is our final work day.  We are enjoying conversations and laughs with one another that we will remember for years to come.

- Lauren Schauer

Kingswood UMC Day 6 - 7/29/15

Every morning here at the Posada los Volcanes, our hotel, we do our devotions in the form of Lectio Divina.

Lectio Divina is Latin for Divine Reading. This form of devotion is a traditional Benedictine practice of scriptural reading, meditation, and prayer.

How we practice this form is to read the scripture aloud three times in a row. One person reads it for the first time, while the group closes their eyes and focuses on hearing the words. We then are encouraged to share words and phrases that jump out at us.

The second person reads aloud while the group listens again, this time focusing on seeing Christ in the text. Then we share which part of the text touches our hearts and why.

Lastly, a third person reads and the group reads along. All of us are to focus on what Jesus is calling us to do, and how we can relate to the text during the duration of the week.

This unique way to connect with Jesus and relate to the Bible has been different for many of us, but everyone has shared their thoughts in relation to Christ.

Today’s reading was Corinthians 12. We compared how each body part is a necessity to the human body, just as each individual person is a necessity to the world. We shared how we believe each of us are important in this mission. Although we are currently foreigners, we connect with the people in the presence of Jesus.

After our reading, the team went out to villages around the local lake. We saw beautiful scenery, handmade gifts, and popular churches.

Tomorrow, we are back to work on our work site in Porvenir!

Adios!

-The Guatemala Team

Kingswood UMC Day 5 - 7/28/15

Hola!

Hooray for all groups completing their first stove! We started our second stove and met our new families. We won't get to start up again until Thursday, however, because tomorrow is another "day of rest."

Our day will be tiring, as Candace said. We will be taking speed boats on Lake Atitlan, the center location of many villages. We will do a lot of walking from village to village, but more importantly shopping! So look out for some unique, homemade souvenirs friends and family!

Though today was a regular work day, we had an extra special evening. We were invited by one of Candace's friends to worship with a local church about 20 minutes out of town. Once we arrived, we were instantly greeted with kids and adults from the community waving on each side of the trucks. We walked into the large wooden shed sanctuary and saw lines of balloons tied to the roof and along the walls.

The service was in Spanish, but Candace translated some of it for us. The pastor even allowed us to say a few words and sing, so Lauren, Pastor James, and the puppeteers on our trip took turns singing and praising.

The locals were so welcoming throughout the entire evening, thanking us for being there over and over. One example of their hospitality is when they shared with each and every one of us a Coke and some crackers. Some of us reflected and thought about how humbling it is to see people with such little possessions and money welcoming a large group like ours with a treat.

The service was filled with live music and singing, while the crowd clapped along the entire time. Towards the middle of the service, we shared a powerful prayer experience. Women came to the front and started praying aloud. It increasingly got intense as time went on, and the women started to sob. This went on for about five minutes while we sat and watched, and some of us prayed in our heads.

Each and every day is a new experience where we continue to grow and learn about the Guatemalan culture as well as each other. We still have five days until we head home, and much to learn.

-The Guatemalan Team