Week 4: Stomach bug, sponsor letters, interpreting and Mayan ruins

This past week was an interesting week, to say the least. I started the week off with a stomach bug on Monday night, which had me getting out of bed several times during the night and kept me out of commission all day Tuesday. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy being sick, but I got to experience in a new way the generous hospitality of Guatemalan culture. On Tuesday I was home alone in the afternoon and had just woken up from a nap, when I heard a knock on the apartment door. I was pretty out of it and wasn't really in the mood for company, so I ignored it. But the visitor knocked a second time, so I peeked out the window and saw that it was one of the tías. I opened the door, and she handed me some hot chamomile tea she had just made for me because she had heard I was sick. Since I was still a little groggy, all I managed to say was "gracias" a few times in a row as she explained what kind of tea it was, but I appreciated the gesture and the tea so much -- and the next day I was able to thank her with complete sentences and all. :-) Then that evening another tía brought me some saltine crackers and strawberry marmalade that she had just bought for me. Also, Renae isn't Guatemalan but she gets the apartmentmate-of-the-year award for her hospitality in offering me her gatorade mix, bananas, crackers, and making rice for me, among other things!

Another part of life here that began this week is the process of writing sponsor letters. Once a year the girls have to write a personal letter to each of their sponsors (most of whom are from the US, Canada, the UK and Guatemala). Each girl has up to 13 sponsors, so many of them have quite a bit of writing to do! The letters have to get written, translated into English by those of us who work in the office, and then mailed in bulk to the Kids Alive headquarters in their respective countries, where they are then sent individually to their recipients. We have the girls come to the office in groups of 5-6ish (sometimes more) to work on their letters for about 30 minutes to an hour at a time. The younger ones usually need help writing or thinking of things to write. For those who have a lot of letters, they will come back a few different times to work on a handful of letters at a time. In their letters, the girls write stuff about themselves, like their favorite color/food/subject in school/etc., what they like to do in their free time, about life at the Oasis, and so on. Sometimes they also ask questions of their sponsors. This whole process of helping the girls write the letters, translating them, and preparing them for shipping is a big project and will probably occupy much of the rest of my work time here at the Oasis.

Busy writing letters to sponsors

On Friday a new girl arrived at the Oasis. She is our 50th girl and she fills the last available bed. She is the third new girl to arrive since I got here. She is eight years old; the girl who arrived last week is six years old; and the girl who arrived during my first week is about 10, I think. It's sad knowing that these young girls are here because they have experienced some kind of abuse, but I thank God for bringing them here because it is a good, safe place for them to heal and be loved. Pretty much every day our social worker gets calls asking if we can take more girls, but most of the time we have to turn them away because we don't have room, can't offer the right type of care (i.e. for pregnant girls), or whatever other reason, so I think these girls are fortunate to be here.

[FYI these aren't the new girls]

The week ended on a fun note. On Saturday, the church team that's doing construction and other work here for 2 weeks held an afternoon retreat for the girls, which included outdoor games, a craft, a lesson + painting activity, and singing afterward. I got to interpret the whole afternoon between my group of girls and the team members, both informally during the fun activities as well as more formal interpreting during the lesson. For those of you who don't know, I'm hoping to be a Spanish-English interpreter someday, so I was thrilled for the opportunity to get some interpreting experience!

Then on Sunday, Renae and I went with the team to visit the Mayan ruins of Iximché. A tour guide who volunteers at the park offered to give our group a tour for a "propina" (tip). He gave us an excellent tour, mostly in English. His English was very good, especially considering the fact that it is his third language (after Kaqchikel [a Mayan language] and Spanish), but after finding out some of us in the group could speak Spanish well, he switched over to Spanish since I'm sure it was tiring to think and talk for so long in his third language. I got to be the interpreter for the group! Hooray :-) We learned so much about the history of Iximché from the tour guide -- it was fascinating!

Here's how you can be praying:

• Keep praying that I'll have patience with the girls. There are a few girls in particular that are good at testing my patience. Pray that my love for them would flow "from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Tim. 1:5).
• Pray for our girls to experience true healing and restoration through our ministry.
• Pray for the girls who we have to turn away each day, that they would be able to find proper care for their needs as well as safety from their abusers.
• Pray for the children in Guatemala who are trapped in abusive situations and still have not been rescued.

Click HERE to see more pictures from this week!

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! **

Week 2 at Oasis

Week 2 at the Oasis was pretty similar to the first week in terms of routine, but of course every day looks a little bit different in terms of the work I do or the people I hang out with, so life at the Oasis is never dull. ;-)

On Sunday I went to church with the girls for the first time. And in typical Guatemalan style, the pastor had me introduce myself to the congregation because I was a visitor. I don't enjoy speaking in front of large groups, even if just to introduce myself briefly, but in this culture it is their way of honoring their guests. After church the girls and I played outside for a while as we waited for our ride home. Since we only use one van on Sundays, the girl who drives it has to make multiple trips to take the 50ish girls + 10ish tías to and from church, which makes for a lot of waiting around and thus a lot of time to play!

Playing outside after church

Piling into the van to go home

Monday through Friday mostly consisted of the usual office work (a lot of translation and other sponsorship-related tasks) and playing with the girls at the Oasis, except for Tuesday, when I went to Fuente de Esperanza school in the village of Zapote again. They are working on adding a second story to their school building, so we and the students spent much of the morning transferring a large pile of cinder blocks from the front of the school into the schoolyard -- block by block. Even with dozens of helping hands, the job took a while. After we finished, Renae and I performed a short skit during Corbey's devotional for the 5th, 6th and 7th graders. (Renae is the missionary I'm sharing an apartment with, and Corbey is the director of the Oasis.) I'm probably the worst actor I know, but we had fun with it and I think it was helpful to the kids for illustrating Corbey's message.

The cinder blocks' starting point, in front of the school.

Some of the older boys managed to carry up to five at a time! And they are a lot heavier than they look.

Everyone helped, even the little ones.

Corbey helping to arrange the blocks at their final destination (for now).

On Thursday I taught gym class again. This week I taught the girls how to play Knock Out! They enjoyed it and caught on very quickly. We called it "Eliminado" (eliminated) since they didn't know of the game already and I didn't know how else to translate "Knock Out" haha

Girls playing Knock Out

Weekends are really laid-back at the Oasis. The girls aren't at school so many of them play outside, and I don't have work so I'm able to relax in my apartment, update my blog, play with the girls outside, etc. Here are some pictures from yesterday (Friday) afternoon and earlier today.

 

Pretend tea party :)

Expert tree climbers

Click HERE to see more pictures from this week!

My prayer requests are pretty similar to those from last week.

Please pray:

• That God will give me energy, patience and love when interacting with the girls -- some require more patience than others. ;-)
• That through Jesus and by means of this ministry the girls would experience holistic healing (physical, emotional, spiritual).
• For greater wisdom in understanding what the girls have been through, how that influences the way the behave, how I can effectively serve & love them, etc.

Thank the Lord that:

• My cold is pretty much better at this point.
• Living with Renae has kept me from feeling lonely -- something I was worried about before I got here and found out I would be sharing the apartment with her.

Week 1 at the Oasis

I've just about completed my first full week here at the Oasis! I arrived here on Monday morning after a couple days of orientation and sight-seeing (see previous post). Unfortunately I started developing a cold the morning I got here, but that hasn't prevented me from falling in love with this place and the wonderful people here!

The view that greeted me when I first arrived. This place is beautiful!

I've learned a lot about the Oasis as a ministry since I've arrived. I'm still learning a lot and might not have all my facts straight, but here's what I understand at the moment. The Oasis is a ministry of Kids Alive International, or as we call it in Spanish, Vida Para Niños. The Oasis is a site that houses girls (current age range is 4-17ish) who have experienced various kinds of abuse. There are currently 48 girls here and about 10 tías who live with them, as well as a handful of missionaries and staff who work here. (I've already mastered around 30 of the girls' names! Hopefully I'll know all of them by the end of next week.) The ministry provides for the girls' basic needs, such as safety/protection, a home (there are 5 houses on the compound), food, a warm shower, an education, etc., as well as counseling and psychological services, spiritual care, and most importantly, love. Another component of the ministry is its partnership with a church in the village of Zapote to run a school called Fuente de Esperanza ("source of hope"). Through the school and the work of the local church, the students there are able to receive a good, free education as well as benefit from occasional medical clinics. Another part of the ministry is Casa Ester, which is a transition home where the girls at the Oasis can live after they turn 18. They continue in their schooling but also must find a job to get some work experience. The most recent component of the ministry is a program called Keeping Families Together, which allows the administration at the Oasis to keep track of the girls who leave so they know how they're doing, make sure they're not re-entering abusive situations, etc. You can read more about the various ministries via this website.

Recess time at Fuente de Esperanza school in Zapote

Three girls at the Oasis

Before I arrived at the Oasis I wasn't quite sure what my duties as an intern would be. So far I have mostly been helping with administrative tasks, although there is still plenty of time to spend with the girls throughout the day and after the work day is over. In the office I have been helping with some sponsorship-related tasks, like translating letters from English-speaking sponsors into Spanish, as well as some other random tasks. Oh, and they're also having me teach gym class to some of the girls on Thursdays, which is kind of funny because I'm not really athletic at all, but I had fun doing it this past Thursday! I didn't expect to be doing full-time administrative work, but I'm actually enjoying the work a lot. And like I said, I still get plenty of time to interact with the girls and get to know them. It also helps that I'm living in an apartment on site at the Oasis with one of the missionaries, so I live really close to the girls and I don't have to worry about transportation or anything.

Inside my apartment

The view from my apartment window!

The weather here is beautiful. Even though Guatemala is closer to the equator, the Oasis is located 7,000 feet above sea level so the weather isn't unbearably hot. It's typically very pleasant during the day and actually gets pretty chilly overnight. It's also the rainy season right now, which means it will rain (often downpour) almost every afternoon or evening. But the daytimes are absolutely gorgeous, with plenty of sunshine and big puffy clouds.

Click HERE to see more photos from this week!


Please pray:

• For quick/complete recovery from my cold
• For energy to show the girls Christ's love as I spend a lot of time with them
• That the girls would be freed from fear, shame, hatred, resentment, emotional scars, etc. and that through Jesus those things would be replaced with genuine love, forgiveness, trust, holistic healing.
• That God would give me wisdom in effectively loving and serving the girls according to their physical, spiritual, emotional needs
• That I would continue getting a firmer grasp on the language so I can communicate better with everyone here. Thankfully it's been going pretty well so far, but I still have a lot of room for improvement.