Week 3 + Excursión Familiar

On Sunday the 16th I visited the church that Renae (my apartment-mate) goes to here in town called Iglesia Galilea. I'm probably going to go there for the rest of my weekends here. Then after church two sisters, Rebekah and Elisabeth, arrived at the Oasis. Rebekah was an intern here in 2009 and Elisabeth interned elsewhere in Guatemala that summer. Rebekah has been back to visit most summers since then, but this was the first time Elisabeth came with her. They stayed here the whole week.
Later in the afternoon a short-term team from Tennessee came to the Oasis just for the afternoon. They spent a week in Guatemala but just that one day at the Oasis. They did crafts with the girls (friendship bracelets and coloring) and then played outside with them. The day started out sunny and warmer than usual, but as we were playing outside some clouds rolled in, making it really foggy and suddenly chilly. We kept playing outside until an enormous torrential downpour drove us all indoors!

The team playing soccer with the girls in spite of the fog and chilliness

On Monday, Mike & Sandi Glick (Camino Global missionaries) visited the Oasis, along with Karin Benningfield (Camino's short-term coordinator) and her husband, Cecil. Karin and Cecil live in Texas, where Camino's headquarters are, but they were visiting Guatemala for the week. I was in contact with Karin a lot during the months leading up to my arrival in Guatemala, but this was my first time meeting her in person! Mike, Sandi and Karin all know Rebekah and Elisabeth, so they were able to see all three of us in one visit. :-)

Left to Right: Karin, Elisabeth, Mike, Sandi, me, Rebekah

On Tuesday a new girl arrived during lunchtime. She is 6 years old and adorable! She spent much of the week up in our office doing puzzles and playing games with us because we didn't have too much work this week and she doesn't have a school to go to at the moment.

Elisabeth doing a puzzle with the new girl

Wednesday was the most exhausting and stressful day for me since I got here. It was mostly just a combination of little factors, but also it had a lot to do with the fact that I didn't get enough rest the night before. After a long day, I spent the evening reading El caballo y el muchacho, which is the Spanish translation of The Horse and His Boy from the Chronicles of Narnia. I checked it out of the library here.

On Thursday I taught física (gym class) again. This week we (they) played soccer.

This past weekend Mike and Sandi picked me up so I could join them for their annual Excursión Familiar, or family excursion. Every year they take families from Guatemala City who live around the city dump on a day trip to a place outside the city. These families live in a very poor, dangerous part of the city, and for many of the families this is the only time they're able to get out of the city for a day. There is a requirement that if there is a male involved in the family, he must attend or else the whole family can't go. Because of this there have been more men in attendance every year! Once at the place, there is a bit of free time, then everyone gets split up into groups -- men, women, youth, children -- for a gospel presentation/discussion time. Then everyone is served lunch and then we have a couple hours of free time. This year we went to Finca El Edén, about an hour away from Guate (nationals' nickname for Guatemala City). It's a lovely place, with a river running through it, a pool, basketball court, soccer field, pavilions, palm trees, etc. About 160 people came -- we all crammed into two school buses. Many of us spent our free time in the pool because it was hot and humid outside, but then it rained pretty hard after lunch so that cooled us all off, too. Here are some pictures from the day:

School bus packed full. Most of us had to sit three to a seat.

Finca El Edén. This place is beautiful!

Lauren (a fellow Camino intern) and I made a huge tub of guacamole to serve with the lunch.

Cooling off and having fun in the pool.

Many of the youth and some youth leaders from the Glicks' church, plus Rob (another Camino intern) and me.

It poured after lunch, but that didn't keep people from enjoying the pool :)

The piñatas in this country are enormous -- at least twice the size of any of the kids!

Sometime this week will mark the halfway point of my time in Guatemala. It's hard to believe that one month from today I'll be back home in Lancaster. I already love this place and the people here, and spending four more weeks here is only going to make it harder to leave!

Here's how you can be praying:

• Pray for my health. My stomach did a good job adjusting to the new food right off the bat, but then last weekend and tonight I got pretty sick. I know it's fairly typical for travelers to become ill while adjusting to a new culture, but knowing that doesn't make it any more comfortable or enjoyable. Being sick is a humbling experience, too. No one looks good when they're sick! So in that sense it's good for me, but I think I would prefer a different way of learning humility! haha
• Keep praying for healing for the girls. The more time I spend here, the more my eyes are opened to what the girls have gone through and are still going through. Their past abuse sometimes leads to physical self-destructive behavior, along with plenty of emotional scars/side effects and spiritual issues. After exchanging friendship bracelets we made for each other, a sweet 10-year-old girl suddenly told me, almost nonchalantly, that her dad had touched her, and she basically said she doesn't care about him and she doesn't know if she can forgive him, even though that's what she has been told she should do. Honestly, I don't know how anyone could possibly forgive their father in a situation like that without first understanding the depth and magnitude of God's love and forgiveness toward us, and the hope that we have because of Jesus, in spite of all the horrible sin and pain in this world. So pray for these girls, that they would believe and be transformed by the gospel and be able to forgive their abusers.
• Pray for enough rest, energy, patience and wisdom for loving and serving the girls each day.
• Pray for the families who attended the Excursión Familiar and heard the gospel message. Pray that the truth about Jesus would impact not only individuals but also entire families. Pray that they would recognize and choose to live in the freedom and hope that Jesus offers.

** Click HERE to see more pictures from this week! **