With a Heavy Stomach, but a Light Heart

Day five of the Mission to Guatemala was likely the toughest day I had in this journey.  I awoke feeling a wretched weight sitting in my stomach at around 4:00am and despite my bodies best attempts to rid itself of the weight I continued to feel like I had a brick sitting in my stomach throughout most of the day.  My journal for this day is short and unbelievably I forget to mention one of the biggest moments on the trip for some of those who were still at home.  With our resident computer technician, Chris Balzer, we were able to make a skype call, live, to the Atlantic Community Church in Apohaqui.  While it was choppy and not real clear, I could easily make out my family sitting near the front and hoped that they could not tell I was feeling ill, but so glad to see them.  This was my first time away from my 9month old daughter and in the end it would be the longest I had ever spent away from home.  Ok...to be honest....I fought back tears while I was asked to speak on the trip so far.  Remember though I wasn't feeling good and I'm sure that had something to do with the wet eyes :)

This was also the first day we were to work on the sports court which added to my frustration.  Through writing in my journal I think I was able to clear my head (or I was able to feel God's calming hand) and rationalize my situation.  Of course I didn't see this at the time, but after reading it back later, I realize what an asset my journal was at that point.

Sunday, May 23, 2010 

It's hard to write today.  I'm a bit disappointed because I've been sick.  I tried to do some of the work on the sports court but my stomach is just to tight to even move (this was a polite statement, as other things were...should I say...loose.)  I'm hoping that if I take it easy today that I can work better tomorrow and the rest of the week.

I didn't eat breakfast, but managed to eat a little lunch.  It is weird, the way I feel, my stomach is as tight as a drum and I feel real weak, but I will get by as I know God is with me and he has a plan.  My disappointment in not being able to help the team will disperse as the journey continues, and to be fair to myself, I did go and try to work but I was only able to work for about 45minutes.

Of course it is Sunday today, so work on the court only lasted through the morning.  After lunch we sat and prepped our small part for the Church service to be held at 4:00.  The service was loud, a bit too loud, but it was a strangely emotional one.  As the local people knelt to pray they all chanted their own prayer.  You could hear pain and feel their continual struggle.  An elderly gentleman with a daughter who was sitting behind me was sobbing and tears welled up in my eyes as I listened and despite not understanding his prayer, I knew how he felt and with absolute certainty God knew and I added my prayer to his in hope that he could find a peace, if only for a brief moment.  For our part in the service Wendy, Ray, and Bill provided some scripture adn the team sang one of our church songs "Our God Saves" and the congregation politely applauded our efforts and we all bonded over Christ's love for each of us.

As evening fell a huge crowd of kids gathered at our house and we played some games before bidding them buneos noches and then went to bed.  Rain fell hard as the guys sat in our bunks and it was soothing as it hit the tin roof......

Above: (l-r) Sara T, Lauren M, Denise M, Wendy O, Bernadette P, Amy S, and Bill A, singing at the church service.  Photo courtesy of Jordan DeWinter.

Other Photo Credits: The picture of me writing in my journalcourtesy of Ray Butler

Reaching and Incredible Destination

On day three of our Mission Trip to Villa Hortencia II I was brought back to more of my element.  We left the large cities behind and entered a mountainous, rural area, with lots of landscape to see.  I marked the weather down as cloudy, then sunny, and then cloudy again.  I would notice as the trip progressed that this would be a common pattern.  My emotions for the day are relief, awe, and adrenaline.  I was relieved to finally have reached our destination, and in awe for where and what our destination offered.  My adrenaline came from the scenery and activities we would take part in that afternoon.  My journal states that words can not do it justice but I'll let you decide.

May 22, 2010

This morning I woke with the roosters in Nebaj, Guatemala, and took some time to read out on the breezeway of the hotel.  We had a quick breakfast and then strolled the city core and market.  A Catholic church in the city square was over 200years and possessed an incredible presence and evoked a feeling of time travel when you entered.  I sat quietly at the back and said a prayer thanking God for bringing the team that far and to watch over us for the remainder of the trip.  I then slowly made my way to the front of the church looking at the Saints, posed in glass cases on the walls, and admiring the heavy timber construction of the structure.  We then went to the market which was very eye opening .  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency would be kept very busy here.  The smell was sometimes very sickening, especially near the meat and pepper stalls.  Not really something I enjoyed and I hope the market in Antigua is more appealing when we go there.

The drive from Nebaj to VH II was similar to the drive to Falls Brook except longer and more extreme.  The topography here is always steep but yet there is less water than you would expect.  The road was paved for the first portion but gravel and dirt road the last portion.  Hair pin turns are the norm with many, many, switch backs.  As we neared the village we entered a pinch between two mountains and then suddenly a valley opened up in front of us and far below.  In the foreground but still some distance was VH II.  We stopped for a group photo and from there I felt relief to have reached our destination.  From that point forward I never stopped smiling.  As I write this my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

Unpacking the gear and setting up the house took no time.  Then we had a great lunch of bacon spaghetti and chicken.  After lunch we went and met the Village Mayors and Elders.  Introductions and prayers were said and the team was made to feel very welcome.  After that the team was given the rest of the day to explore the Village and its surroundings.

Jordan and I (there you go Jordan I mentioned you) went back to the house to change into shorts as we were going to explore the river near the Village.  It was a modest river as far as the flow goes, but one of the tributaries contained an incredible waterfall.  Words can not do it justice.  Of course I had to take a swim and jump off some rocks.  Many of the team joined me in the water and the guys all jumped off the rock face where the falls tumbled into the big, clear, pool.  It was an amazing team building experience.  From there we went to a cave and had another swim where only Jordan, Ray, and I braved the dark waters.  Though the cave was fairly open, the chamber was larger than most homes or buildings in the Village, the water was surprisingly cold, even for a guy who regularly swims in the Bay of Fundy.  With the air temperature being so warm though it was an invigorating experience.  The swim at the falls could be considered my Central American baptism.

As we returned to the Village, Denise and Lauren started playing games with the kids.  When they brought out the frisbee I had to go join in and Sara T quickly followed.  The kids caugt on quickly and the young boys soon got rowdy and very comfortable with us.  Even with a language barrier, playing is universal.

In the evening some kids came to our home in the Village and talked and joked while actually trying to teach us some Spanish.  After they left some families came and we shared stories and we showed them a map of the world and told them about Canada, New Brunswick, our farms, and courting and marriage.  Domingo served as the interpreter.  I asked about fish in the rivers "rio" and he stated that there are none.  I will need to check on the reasons for this because the rivers are cold, and have some great fish habitat.  Was it over fishing, passage barriers, or water quality that keep the fish away. (Just as a note, one website has 166 freshwater fish species listed for Guatemala, but some of these are more bay and estuary based life cycle fish.  I am trying to compile a list of fish that might exist in the rivers around VH II)

Another incredible day that will long be remembered. 

A Long Day of Driving

It has been a little less than two weeks since we returned from Guatemala and I have been slowly going through my journal and reliving some of the great moments I had while on the Mission Trip.  I have found it extremely hard, when people ask me about the trip, not to blurt out answers and memories at 200words per second.  I am hoping that as people read this that they gain an appreciation for the situation in Guatemala and for the way in which God can work through us if we let him.  This blog segement contains my journal entry from day two of our Mission adventure.  The night before we arrived in Guatemala City and now faced a long drive to Nebaj, the last major outpost before we head to Villa Hortencia II the next day.  We would spend roughly 8hours on the road with mainly sunny weather.  When I wrote this entry I was sitting in my hotel room in Nebaj and wrote that I had felt stressed, uncomfortable, but humorous through most of the day.  The stress was from the driving but read the journal entry below for more.

This would be the first day in which I would get to know our in country support leader, Domingo Perez, and he would prove to be a valuable person in our travels and work efforts.  It was great getting to know Domingo throughout the trip and I want to thank him personally for all he did for us throughout our Mission trip.

The first thing I noticed this morning was the different birds.  I wasn't in New Brunswick anymore.  Clouds hung around the mountains, the remnants of the storm the night before.  We worked quickly and quietly packing the Food For the Hungry Guatemala van and headed out for Nebaj.

I was completely unprepared for the driving in Guatemala.  There were cars and people everywhere.  No rules, passing at anytime or anywhere even on hairpin turns.  I had a white knuckle grip and a tight stomach for atleast the first hour and by the end of the third hour had to pee so bad it didn't matter.  Regardless of the driving, the scenery around us was amazing.  I was blown away by the incredible topography and how the local people made the most of all of it.  They seem to crop any ground here no matter what the slope is or if it has topsoil.

The people here are attractive with big, brown, expressive eyes, dark hair, and dark complexion.  Big broad smiles that often seemed supressed but once expressed you feel welcome despite not knowing their language.

As the drive continues I notice a disturbing reality, the air quality seems poor.  This is oxymoronic to me with the vast greenery that surrounds us but as I look at the homes, many have smoke rolling out of them, add to this the numerous vehicles that are driving in disrepair, garbage burning on the side of the road next to dead animals, and the irony is lost.  The air was poor enough that it slightly tortured my stomach and added to my stress level.

At lunch we stop in a small community and eat at a cozy restaurant with walls made of firewood, complete with windows.  It was a very nice place that paid attention to small details, especially in their outdoor surroundings.  Their meal presentation, landscaping, and rock and wood work were all elegantly done and I have a feeling this may be a recurring theme on this trip as most places I've seen have made what little they have look great.  To me that indicates a prideful people and I highly respect that.  At the restaurant it provided a warm and cozy atmosphere that alleviated my earlier stress, well that, and I got to go to the washroom.

The view as we approach Nebaj, it provides a slight indication

 of the type of terrain we drove over throughout the day.

With all the attention to detail another thing I noted today, especially after checking into our rooms in Nebaj and going out for supper, is the way the effortlessly bring the outdoors in, or maybe more appropriately, the indoors out.  Most buildings or properties have a center court that is open to the natural air and all the rooms lead into it.  When you wake in the morning you have to go outside to get to breakfast.  As someone who loves the outdoors this style of architecture really appealed to me.

A fountain at the restaurant where we had supper in Nebaj.

God's Wisdom

May 20, 2010

Our travels today took us from the Atlantic Community Church in Apohaqui, NB to Bangor International Airport to LaGuardia Airport in New York City to George W. Bush International Airport in Houston to Guatemala Airport and lastly to a Hostel in Somila, just outside Guatemala City.  Overall we had been travelling for 23hours and watched the sunrise in one country and set in another.

The weather changed as rapid as our location, but because of my extreme excitement it had little impact on my mood.  The odd event of the day would have to be the fact that in the middle of LaGuardia Airport, I managed to pick out Russel, who was the star of two of the most recent "Survivor" series.

Below is what I wrote in my journal for the day.

"Just went through my first airport screening.  A bit hard on the nervous system.  The day so far has been full of laughs and my stomach and cheeks already hurts, and it is only day one.  The drive was smooth and many thanks should go to Dave McIntyre for his great help in that department.

It was cool that a number of people showed up at the church this morning to see us off, despite the fact that we left at 4:00am.  It is great to know that we have people at home supporting and praying for us.

We got through the US border with no issues and had plenty of time at the airport to send some emails and have a modest truck stop breakfast.

Starting to get nervous about take-off, in ten minutes....

My first flight was incredible.  The US is full of ballfields, most of which were large and empty.  One thing that I saw was a farm yard with silage wraps arranged to state 'Gods Wisdom' and I kinda felt that it was rather appropriate and hopefully blesses the rest of our trip.  I go with God's wisdom.

Flying into New York City was awesome.  The skyline was very impressive with the Empire States Building really standing out with the Statue of Liberty barely in view in the distance.  Once at LaGuardia, and at the right gate, we waited for our flight.  While we sat there Russel from Survivor strolled by.  I noticed him and pointed him out to the rest of the team.  Ray approached him and he was agreeable to having his picture taken and even hung up his cell to talk to us.  Of course we all took advantage of the photo op.

Our flight from NY to Houston was long but rather uneventful.  The Houston airport was huge and a cool building with a subway coming right into the airport and a highway underpass travelling right under the airport taxi runway.

From Houston to Guatemala provided some excitement as weather at the Guatemala airport caused us to have to circle the airport for over 1/2 an hour.  We watched from above the clouds as lightning flashed around us.  It was an awesome light show to watch from above the clouds.  I typically like watching lightning but this was a cool new angle for sure.

Overall it was a great first time flying experience and an awesome first day for our Mission.