Mission Trip 2008

For additional photographs taken during the mission trip, click here.

 

Destination: Zacapa

Preparing to Go!

Ten members of Holy Shepherd traveled with Hearts in Motion (HIM) to Zacapa, Guatemala in July, 2008. Although some members of Holy Shepherd had been to Guatemala with HIM in previous years, this was the first time the congregation had formally partnered with them on a Mission Trip. The Local and World Missions Commission was active securing funding to help offset the costs of the trip and to raise awareness about the trip within the congregation. Thank you all who contributed to the effort with your prayers, encouragement, and financial resources!

 

 

On October 6, 2007, a "Taste of Guatemala" dinner was hosted by the Local & World Missions Commission. Many of those attending the dinner participated in the Saturday evening worship service, which included Spanish praise songs and hymns. The menu included typical Guatemalan fare. Guest speaker Karen Scheeringa-Parra, executive director of HIM, discussed the work the organization does in Guatemala.

 

 

 

 

With less than one week to go before departing, Pastor Mark Vance commissioned the group during the 10 a.m. Worship Service. The commissioning included this prayer:

"Let us pray.  Blessed are you, O Lord our God, for you sent your Son into our world to proclaim your kingdom and, by his death and resurrection, to reconcile all people according to your gracious plan.  Blessed are you, O Lord Jesus Christ, for you preached good news to the poor, proclaimed liberty to the captives, healed the sick, and set free the oppressed.  Blessed are you, O Lord, Holy Spirit, for you sent forth your apostles to proclaim the good news of salvation and filled them with your power.  Bless these your servants, O Lord, in the work you have called them to do, so that, by the power of your Holy Spirit, they may show your love to all people and glorify your name.  Grant them safe travel and joyful homecomings, we pray.  Amen. "

 

 

Destination: Zacapa

 

2:45 a.m., Friday, July 18: the group prepares to board the bus in the Holy Shepherd parking lot. Destination: O'Hare International Airport. Why is the photograph dark? Because it's the middle of the night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

2:45 p.m., Friday, July 18: the group prepares to board the bus at the airport in Guatemala City. Destination: Zacapa. The bus ride to the hotel in Zacapa took a mere three and a half hours, including a 20 minute or so break. Yes, it was at least 20 degrees cooler in Guatemala City than in St. John, Indiana!

 

 

 

 

 

Day 1 in Zacapa: God's majesty and tragedy rolled into one

 

 

Today, we witnessed the majesty of God's kingdom on earth. Zacapa is filled with the vivid colors of lush green trees and bright pink flowers. Through the work of the trip's organizers and the generous contributions of others, including members of our congregation who donated clothing, we were able to spend time ministering to the forgotten of society. Which brings us to the tragedy: pictured at left are people who literally live in a dump. As our vehicles drove through the outskirts, the people began running behind them. They were lining up to receive a baggie of rice water and a roll with beans spread on it, along with one piece of clothing, before we even were finished getting out of the buses. For additional photographs of the dump, including Rob playing soccer with the children, click here. After we had lunch (and yes, we dined on more than rice water and a roll), we visited a nutrition center that cares for seriously malnourished children. After returning to the hotel grounds, we spent over an hour preparing small packets of vitamins and other medicines for distribution. As we await dinner and listen to the pounding rain on the roof, we can't help but wonder what the people we fed earlier today are eating for dinner and where are they finding shelter? "Vajo con Dios."

 

 

Day 2 in Zacapa: Hurry Up and Wait

 

During Saturday's orientation meeting, we were told that things would not go as planned, that the operative word was "flexible" and that there would be a lot of "hurry up and wait." Those of us who are first-timers simply smiled; the returning folks smiled knowingly.

 

Day 1's heavy rains caused heavy mudslides in the outlying areas, resulting in 12 deaths. The fireman training that was supposed to occur instead turned into on-the-job training as search and rescue operations commenced. The road to the clinic where some of us might have gone for the day was impassable. Our group ended up with Aaron and Colleen helping with Vacation Bible School while parents waited to be seen in a clinic; Betsy worked in the Nutrition Center; Jim, Nancy, Kimm, Rob and Kate recovered foam mattresses for a children's daycare center and painted the outside, then met up with Don and Paul at a nutrition center under construction, where they were sanding beds, painting cribs, and other tasks.

 

When the group arrived at the old daycare to start work, the person with the key to unlock the chain fence, and then the boarded doors and windows had not yet arrived. Rob took the opportunity to make new friends (pictured above) by juggling. The young boy then brought out his toy ("clackers") and demonstrated for Rob. Eventually, we were able to get onto the grounds and begin work, but the "hurry up and wait" opportunity that God presented us with was not lost.

 

Day 3 in Zacapa: Fellowship, Satisfaction, and Trust

 

 

The group from Holy Shepherd scattered in different directions during the day and regrouped at the end of the day for a time of sharing. Jim and Rob had spent the day starting to build a wall to protect a senior citizen's home from being habitually robbed of its supplies. The group of 12 working on "the wall" took care of each other, ensuring that none were overcome by the heat combined with the back-breaking work of digging the trench and then moving the cement blocks. Nancy worked with a 14 year old boy who weighs only 45 pounds and had him sitting up, with help, of course, and smiling. She built a wheel chair "out of nothing." Don, Paul, Kimm, and Kate were in Gualan at the nutrition center: sanding beds and painting cribs and hanging curtains. (We don't think Kate will ever get all the paint out of her fingernails!). Aaron bonded with the young children at Vacation Bible School. One young child had tears in his eyes as he said good bye.

 

We are thankful for the many other groups who have come before our small group and begun working on the projects we are working on this week. The nutrition center was begun approximately 3 years ago. The 14 year old boy arrived at the beginning of the year weighing only 26 pounds. We won't get everything finished before we leave. The cribs will need another coat of paint. The wall will need the broken glass bottles cemented into the top to discourage people from climbing it. Yet we trust that others will follow and continue the work. We trust that, in some small way, we are serving as God wants us to. We trust that the Spirit will help us to "let go and let God."

 

Day 4 in Zacapa: It is what it is and we do what we do

 

In our idea of a perfect world, there is a cement mixer at "the wall" job site instead of a flat spot on the ground that we use to mix the gavel, sand, and cement with shovels. There is adequate nutrition for expectant mothers to reduce the rate of birth defects and specialized wheelchairs that are the right size for those children who need them instead of scarcity. Today, a mother brought her son to the rehab clinic. Nancy saw this 12-year old on her first trip to Zacapa six or so years ago and fitted him with a wheelchair. Today Nancy complimented the mother on what a wonderful job she is doing keeping his muscles supple. The wheelchair is too small now and the mother carries her son. As she is leaving the rehab center, it begins to rain. The mother carries her son 5 kilometers to get home.

 

In a perfect world there is hope. As the "old men" in the group rotated on and off the grueling work of shoveling and stacking at "the wall," several teenagers continuously mixed the cement. Parents walking their children home from school shouted "gracias, Americanos" and "you're doing good things in our neighborhood" as they passed the progress on "the wall." As another group prepared to go to the rehab clinic, a translator was needed and so a teenage girl was pulled off her intended bus and thrust into the role of translating and did a spectacular job, enabling Nancy and her friend, Mandy, to treat people effectively. Mothers smiled and hugged everyone as they departed; fathers shook hands. Severely involved children smiled.

 

Day 5 in Zacapa: Porque

 

An elderly couple at the retirement/nursing home tried to strike up a conversation with Don and Rob today. They tried valiantly to communicate with each other, but the language barrier was a greater wall than the concrete block one they were taking a break from constructing.

 

We've all experienced the language barrier during the week. Nancy called Colleen "swiss cheese." Kate could only say a few phrases to the young children climbing onto the windowsills while she painted. Aaron played soccer with the children during Vacation Bible School and when the errant ball bumped into a bystander, he smiled and said "porque" meaning "sorry." Except porque means "why" or "because," depending on the context. Yet the word didn't matter. Through the genial manner in which Aaron said "porque," his message was conveyed and the soccer game continued.

 

This week we've spent a lot of time asking "Porque?" and haven't gotten a lot of answers. Why is there so much poverty? Why are the people here so friendly and smiling in such dismal living conditions? Why are so many children malnourished in this country when we're fighting an obesity epidemic in our own? Once again, we simply put our trust in God.

 

Day 6 in Zacapa: 5 Minutes at a Time

 

Today Kate made a friend. A poorly ventilated, gnat-filled two room cement school building was where the medical clinic was today. Two vans of Hearts in Motion volunteers rolled onto the site (which is a stone's throw from the dump we visited on Day 1). Boxes of vitamins, anti-biotic's, acetaminophen (Tylenol), etc., which we had sorted into small bags on Day 1, were unloaded and lined up along the walls. Don helped the doctor by getting medicines Nancy was busy keeping organized. The picture shows children hanging from the windows over one of the containers. Numbers were handed out to waiting families to see the few doctors that were there. The rest of our group assisted the process by finding medicines and handling traffic flow. Oscar was a young, maybe 10 years old or so, boy at the exit: a doorway with a desk in front of it. Kate's job was to shoo the children away and move the desk to allow the patients to exit. No abla espanol.

 

Oscar demonstrated the culture's pecking order: male dominated and survival of the fittest, but he was a sweet kid. He quickly caught on to not letting children into the clinic (they were to enter through the other door) and realigning the desk as patients exited. An expectant smile looked up at Kate as he straightened the desk. Teaching each other games ensued: a clapping game and snapping fingers. What is the "R" for on Oscar's bracelet? Raul. Oscar ran off and brought back a baggie-type container of juice drink and offered it to Kate. Panic! The small print said the water was purified and Kate drank. Oscar smiled and asked what Kate's ring was. Esposa. Yes, married. Pablo. Oscar's mother came out....adios.

 

Rob, Kimm, and Paul finished their work on "the wall." It was back-breaking work in extreme heat building the forms for the concrete: manually bending the rebar, carrying and mixing bags of cement, and building forms. They returned with smiles and a sense of satisfaction. Three rows were built and the structure in place so that those who follow will be able to finish the job quickly.

 

Colleen played with two-year old Maria, who Nancy had fitted with braces yesterday, and helped her walk. Betsy and Laura worked at Gualan, the nutrition center that is under construction.

 

A few nights ago, Don shared a story about a well known Christian who was asked about his faith. He responded that yes, he is a Christian who tries to live as Christ calls us to live, who believes that God sent his only Son to die on the cross so that we might have everlasting life, that we are reconciled to God through the cross. But as for actually living as Christ calls us to live, he does that just five minutes at a time. This week, we have struggled to walk along side the people of Guatemala and be the face of Christ to each other and to the Guatemalans. In the quiet moments, we acknowledge that we are simply Christians 5 minutes at a time. Peace be with you.

 

Footnotes and Random Thoughts from Guatemala

Footnotes:
The rains continue in the surrounding mountains. Rumor has it that a tropical storm passed through. The mudslides are worse and a nearby village is being evacuated. Our group is safe. A collection will be taken tonight to help the people of the village who are losing everything even as this is being typed.

 

This is the last update until we return to the States. The computer is being donated to Hearts in Motion. Vajo con Dios, mi amigos.

 

 

Random thoughts:

The question is frequently asked, "how has this changed your life?" Many of us agreed that the experience isn't so much life changing as life shaping. After talking with people who live in a dump and count themselves lucky to have a cardboard box for shelter, we certainly won't complain about our houses. After seeing people grateful for a bag of rice-water, we certainly won't ever say we are starving again. The experience has shaped our lives in ways that will never let us go back to the people we were a few short weeks ago.


On a lighter note: driving in Guatemala is one giant game of chicken! Everyone drives as fast as possible on winding two-lane roads, passing people at the most inopportune times. Motorcycles yield to small cars which yield to large cars which yield to vans and busses and everyone gets out of the way for the semi-trucks. A couple of times, we just held our breath and prayed.

 

 

Why are the dogs that live in the dump so skinny? You'd think they would be fat from feeding off the scraps that are discarded. The people get to the scraps first. Think about it.

 

 

Water is your friend. Water is your enemy. Working hard in the heat, it is so easy to become dehydrated, but the country's rivers that serve as the water supply also serve as the sewers. Don't drink the water ....don't even sing in the shower. Even the local people must drink purified water. Soda is easier to come by than clean water. Rain is needed for the crops to grow, but the deluge that we experienced also caused deadly mudslides. Water is our friend; it is also our enemy.

 

Will we go back? Two of our group will be back in October. Most said yes, a few said maybe, all said "mission work" will be something we continue to do, wherever it leads us.