Message Home #2
Hola mi familia y amigos!
Tuesday morning Edgar and Adrian took us on a tour of the Servants Heart primary and middle schools. We visited each classroom and were introduced to all 148 children currently served by the ministry. The children, most of which are from the squatters' area, were adorable and incredibly sweet and welcoming to us. They loved to ask us questions. The questions we kept hearing were, "How old are you?" "What is your name?" "What is your job?" "Are you single, married or have children?" "What's your favorite sport?" and "What's your favorite food?" The children were especially excited to hear that Chris worked with police, Heather was 16 and single, and that I (Amy) worked in television. They kept calling me a movie star.
In the afternoon we had the opportunity to serve lunch to people in the squatters' area through the ministry's La Provision soup kitchen. The ladies who work in the ministry's kitchen made a HUGE pot of soup and juice and the guys loaded up the truck with the soup, Styrofoam bowls, plastic spoons, soap, towels, water & juice.
Once we walked into the squatters' area of Guatemala City, we set up shop out of the back of the ministry's big red truck. Some of us used the soap, water and towels to wash the hands of those coming for nourishment. A couple of us were handing out juice while the rest were scooping up soup and pouring it into bowls and handing the soup out to the squatters.
We were so thankful to experience such powerful moments with these people. The appreciative looks on their faces were absolutely priceless. Some of the people were just so thankful for SOUP!!! Have you ever been so hungry that you gobbled down hot soup in the middle of summer…and kept going back for more? That is what it's like for these people. A couple men in particular kept coming back for seconds, thirds, fourths, etc… It was fairly obvious that this was their only meals in quite some time. I suppose when you don't know when or where your next meal is coming from, you might as well bulk-up. It is so difficult to comprehend that feeling…especially since we come from such a blessed and prosperous country. We feel guilty here if we can't finish all the food the ladies make for us for every meal. It is such an overwhelming feeling of wastefulness. Almost too difficult to describe.
Afterwards, we went back to the ministry where our team, led by Joanne, gave a hygiene class for the 5th, 6th and 7 th graders. We talked about germs, bathing, washing hands, brushing teeth and using deodorant. The kids had a lot of fun with it.
Wednesday, the boys (Coca, Adrian, Hugo and Edgar) took us to the Central Market in Guatemala City where we did some shopping! It was very neat to see all the different vendors…selling everything from bags and blankets to toilet paper holders and shot glasses. At one point, the electricity went out in the market and all the lights went off. Luckily, we were all near the lighted areas by the stairs so we didn't have to worry about being in danger.
In the afternoon, we went to the cemetery overlooking the dump. In this case, pictures would definitely speak louder than words, but, unfortunately, you will have to wait until we return to see them. However, I am afraid the photos may not do the experience justice. It is heartbreaking to watch these people scavenge in other people's waste to sustain life for themselves and their families.
To see the conditions these people work in was almost too much for some of us to handle. The stench of the city's trash and filth is indescribable, the sights unbearable, the sounds of vultures overhead frightening. For those of us who'd been to the dump a couple years ago, it was a very difficult experience. The dump is now about 30 feet from the top of the valley by the cemetery. It was also difficult to see all the coffins thrown over the edge into the dump because families couldn't afford to keep paying rent on the crypts in the cemetery.
Then we took a tour of the different areas of the ministry – the woodshop, screen-printing area and sewing room. What a neat experience it was to meet all the workers and get to know them a little more!!
Once school was done, a bunch of the kids from the school and the squatters' area came to one of the ministry buildings where we did our VBS for all of them. The 125+ children were jammed in a room about 20x30 feet in size. Our puppets came out and the kids absolutely loved everything! They were so happy to sing with us and to hear our lesson. When we were done, they split us into two groups who each took about half the children to make our little puppet crafts! The kids absolutely loved making their own little "Whiskers" (cat puppets) and had a lot of fun using glue dots and crayons to make beautiful puppets. We got them to all make cat noises, too!
Thursday should be another special day…as we will make more house visits in Amatitlan and spend time working with teachers and students at the school on their English.
Please continue to keep our team in your thoughts and prayers. Ask God to keep us safe and healthy until we return home to all of you.
Blessings and love in Christ Jesus,
Amy
Tuesday morning Edgar and Adrian took us on a tour of the Servants Heart primary and middle schools. We visited each classroom and were introduced to all 148 children currently served by the ministry. The children, most of which are from the squatters' area, were adorable and incredibly sweet and welcoming to us. They loved to ask us questions. The questions we kept hearing were, "How old are you?" "What is your name?" "What is your job?" "Are you single, married or have children?" "What's your favorite sport?" and "What's your favorite food?" The children were especially excited to hear that Chris worked with police, Heather was 16 and single, and that I (Amy) worked in television. They kept calling me a movie star.
In the afternoon we had the opportunity to serve lunch to people in the squatters' area through the ministry's La Provision soup kitchen. The ladies who work in the ministry's kitchen made a HUGE pot of soup and juice and the guys loaded up the truck with the soup, Styrofoam bowls, plastic spoons, soap, towels, water & juice.
Once we walked into the squatters' area of Guatemala City, we set up shop out of the back of the ministry's big red truck. Some of us used the soap, water and towels to wash the hands of those coming for nourishment. A couple of us were handing out juice while the rest were scooping up soup and pouring it into bowls and handing the soup out to the squatters.
We were so thankful to experience such powerful moments with these people. The appreciative looks on their faces were absolutely priceless. Some of the people were just so thankful for SOUP!!! Have you ever been so hungry that you gobbled down hot soup in the middle of summer…and kept going back for more? That is what it's like for these people. A couple men in particular kept coming back for seconds, thirds, fourths, etc… It was fairly obvious that this was their only meals in quite some time. I suppose when you don't know when or where your next meal is coming from, you might as well bulk-up. It is so difficult to comprehend that feeling…especially since we come from such a blessed and prosperous country. We feel guilty here if we can't finish all the food the ladies make for us for every meal. It is such an overwhelming feeling of wastefulness. Almost too difficult to describe.
Afterwards, we went back to the ministry where our team, led by Joanne, gave a hygiene class for the 5th, 6th and 7 th graders. We talked about germs, bathing, washing hands, brushing teeth and using deodorant. The kids had a lot of fun with it.
Wednesday, the boys (Coca, Adrian, Hugo and Edgar) took us to the Central Market in Guatemala City where we did some shopping! It was very neat to see all the different vendors…selling everything from bags and blankets to toilet paper holders and shot glasses. At one point, the electricity went out in the market and all the lights went off. Luckily, we were all near the lighted areas by the stairs so we didn't have to worry about being in danger.
In the afternoon, we went to the cemetery overlooking the dump. In this case, pictures would definitely speak louder than words, but, unfortunately, you will have to wait until we return to see them. However, I am afraid the photos may not do the experience justice. It is heartbreaking to watch these people scavenge in other people's waste to sustain life for themselves and their families.
To see the conditions these people work in was almost too much for some of us to handle. The stench of the city's trash and filth is indescribable, the sights unbearable, the sounds of vultures overhead frightening. For those of us who'd been to the dump a couple years ago, it was a very difficult experience. The dump is now about 30 feet from the top of the valley by the cemetery. It was also difficult to see all the coffins thrown over the edge into the dump because families couldn't afford to keep paying rent on the crypts in the cemetery.
Then we took a tour of the different areas of the ministry – the woodshop, screen-printing area and sewing room. What a neat experience it was to meet all the workers and get to know them a little more!!
Once school was done, a bunch of the kids from the school and the squatters' area came to one of the ministry buildings where we did our VBS for all of them. The 125+ children were jammed in a room about 20x30 feet in size. Our puppets came out and the kids absolutely loved everything! They were so happy to sing with us and to hear our lesson. When we were done, they split us into two groups who each took about half the children to make our little puppet crafts! The kids absolutely loved making their own little "Whiskers" (cat puppets) and had a lot of fun using glue dots and crayons to make beautiful puppets. We got them to all make cat noises, too!
Thursday should be another special day…as we will make more house visits in Amatitlan and spend time working with teachers and students at the school on their English.
Please continue to keep our team in your thoughts and prayers. Ask God to keep us safe and healthy until we return home to all of you.
Blessings and love in Christ Jesus,
Amy
Labels: guatemala, mission, servant's heart
posted by Amy at
4:05 PM
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