An Amazing Week

I'm happy to say that his week has been AMAZING. We are beginning to do a lot of different ministries which makes everyone on my team very happy. This week we went to numerous church services, a local park to watch break dancers and do sports ministry, the market, a children's hospital, a school for children with special needs, and bars to do prostitute ministry. If you know anything about me, you can probably pick out the two ministries above that made this week awesome for me: the school for children with special needs and the children's hospital.

When we got to the school, I felt so comfortable. Being there reminded me of my mom's classroom and Emily, a little girl I babysit for the past seven years who has Down Syndrome. There were so many kids and so much energy. After walking around and meeting numerous kids, I sat down and played with a boy named Joseph. Joseph is ten and has Down Syndrome. I spent the next hour or so talking, walking, and playing with him. We went outside and played on the swings and monkey bars. Then we went into the office and he put on music and we pretended to play the guitar. He got out a photo album and we went through the photos, pointing to all the people he knew in them, something that Emily loves to do too. As we were sitting on the couch looking at the photos, he motioned for me to scootch over closer to him, another thing that Emily does all the time. There were so many similarities between him and Emily that I felt like I was home. I felt like I was playing with my little best friend again. I loved that school so much that I would be content with going there every day and not doing any other ministry.

We went back to the school yesterday, and again, I had a great time playing with the kids. We did a little program which included skits and songs. The kids absolutely loved it. I got to play with numerous other kids and made some new friends.

When I found out we were going to the children's hospital, I was beaming with joy. It was something I wanted to do, but I didn't think that we would have the opportunity to do. Like at the school, when I got to the hospital, I felt at home there. It was like I was suppose to be there. It reaffirmed my desire to go into medicine. If you were to compare the hospital to Janet Weis Children's Hospital, it would look horrible. But if you compare it to the houses and living conditions these people are in, it was a very nice hospital. There were about 10-15 patients in each room, varying in age and severity of case. Many of the kids had intestinal problems, some had fevers, a couple had severe burns, and numerous were premature babies. Our group separated into smaller groups and went into different rooms and talked to the parents and kids. Since my Spanish is lacking, I said pretty much the same thing to everyone: what's your name, how old are you, what's the problem, how long have you been here, how much longer do you think you'll be here, and can I pray for you. It broke my heart to see the kids in so much pain, but I absolutely loved being there.

One of my teammates was in another room with a premature baby boy who had a cleft lip and no parents in sight. She took it upon herself to hold and feed the baby and just give him some much needed love. Before we left, she asked if anyone knew how to swaddle. I happily said yes and swaddled that precious little boy. I don't know what his future looks like, but I do know that the little act of swaddling him gave me motivation to study hard so that I can do more than just swaddle him. I want to be able to make his life and the lives of kids like him better. I am so happy that I am here and I am very excited to see what my future after Guatemala will hold. I'm giving my future to God, knowing that I am safe and complete in His hands.

Yesterday we went back to the hospital to do a program for the kids. The kids and their parents loved it! It was so nice to see them smile and laugh. My little friend Manuel who was suffering from an intestinal problem and was very down was laughing and smiling so much! Sarah and I went back to visit Lourdes, the baby with the cleft lip. He was moved to the corner of the room, away from everyone. Sarah held him and fed him again, which gave me the opportunity to talk to the nurse about him. His parents left him when they saw his lip. I asked how old he was and she flipped out his chart and showed me everything (no HIPAA laws here). He was 11 days old. Eleven days old with no parents in the corner of the room. It's a hard reality to accept, but I know God has a reason for everything.

Miss you Emily!

Ups and Downs

After a great free day last Thursday, filled with talking to family and friends and even an impromptu adventure to the beach, I was ready and excited to start another week of ministry. That excitement quickly went away and turned into feelings of wanting to go home, feeling like I don't have a purpose here, and a feeling of simply not wanting to be here. Friday and Saturday were difficult days. One guy on our team got sent home and our team no longer felt like a family. In addition to the lack of unity we were feeling, our team physically wasn't doing well. One girl had an allergic reaction to her malaria medicine, numerous people had little friends in their stomachs (parasites), and a head cold was also going around. Thankfully I didn't get sick, but our team as a whole was struggling.

Sunday we got up at 6 a.m. to go to an outdoor baptism service, which none of us were really thrilled about attending. It was, however, a great day where our team had the opportunity to bond and become a family again. We spent the majority of the day at a river where there was an amazing waterfall that we got to swim in. The force of the waterfall was so strong that to get under it, we had to dive in and swim hard until we were close enough to hold onto a person under the waterfall... Team bonding at its finest.

Monday morning we worked and cleaned around the house and then went to the elderly home in the afternoon. There was only nine girls who went because the guys had to stay back to do more yard work and the other girls were sick. We were feeling down, yet again, but once we got there, the whole mood changed. The people were so happy to see us, and they brought so much joy into our hearts. I had the opportunity to have a decent conversation with two elderly men. I didn't understand much, but it didn't matter. They just needed a listening ear and I had that. We sang songs with them, read the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den to them, and even played a fantastic game of charades. We acted out animals and the residents guessed what we were. My favorite memory of the day was when George, one of the residents, acted out an animal. Watching a man in his mid-seventies lift up his leg, pretending to be a dog peeing, was priceless.

Tuesday might have been my favorite day here. We spent the morning going door to door asking people if we could pray for them. Almost all of them not only said that we could, but they also welcomed us into their houses and shared their story. Then in the afternoon, we did the same thing except in a different neighborhood. Going in, I was very unsure of the whole idea. My group of five people didn't have a fluent Spanish speaker and we didn't know what exactly to say. Before going, I asked God to help me communicate with the people I would come in contact with and allow me to understand what they were saying.

Putting all our fears and anxieties aside, we knocked on the first door. A lady answered and we introduced ourselves and asked if we could pray for her. She invited us into her house and we talked for almost two hours. Being able to talk for two hours with minimal knowledge of Spanish was amazing and a gift from God. She showed us pictures of her family, made us the most delicious coffee, and gave us some sweet bread to snack on. We also got to meet her daughter, son, daughter-in-law, and grandson and pray for all of them. They were all so gracious and loving. They gave us their contact information and wanted us to come back again.

Wednesday we went to the garbage dump. Last time we were there it had been so muddy that they weren't letting garbage trucks come in. This time, however, there were numerous trucks coming in with new trash and the people, young and old, were quickly going through it, searching for anything of value. The first time I went, I felt that I hardened my heart because I didn't want to face the reality of what I was seeing. So this time before going, I asked God to break my heart for what breaks His and he answered that prayer. We met a lady named Naomi who is the mother of three kids ages 13,7, and 1. She has called the garbage dump home for the past 15 years, which means her children don't know any other home than a garbage dump. When we asked her if she needed anything, she responded with shoes for her children. I can only imagine what her daily struggles are, and yet she had a smile on her face.

God is teaching me so many things on this trip, and so many of those things I can take with me when I come home. There are still times when I want to go home, but when I feel that way, I pray that God would release those feelings from me and He does, as long as I give Him complete control. I have learned that I can't take a nap, because that is the time when I am most vulnerable to those feelings overtaking me. So instead of napping, I dive deeper into God's Word. Please continue to pray for me as I go through this journey of being completely reliant on God.

Beautiful and Broken Guatemala

There are so many different things I could write about. I could write about the emotional roller coaster I have been on the past two weeks. My team's little saying is that we feel like we have already felt the highest of highs the lowest of lows. One moment I am so excited to be here and share God's love with the people of Puerto Barrios, and literally the next moment I have no desire to be here and I just want to go home. Thankfully, the longer I am here, the feeling of not wanting to be here lessons. I could write so much more about this roller coaster ride, but now I want to share a little bit about what Guatemala is like and what ministry here looks like.

The best way I can describe Guatemala is beautiful and broken. Guatemala is filled with natural beauty, some very kind people and a ton of precious children. But Guatemala also has a police force that is corrupted, prostitutes that think that sex is the only way they can provide for their family and children who call a garbage dump home.

We started the week off in prayer. We went to the areas in Puerto Barrios where we would be ministering to and prayed over them. Then on Saturday we went to the market and asked each vendor (and there was a lot of them) if we could pray for them. All but one vendor said we could and were happy that we were there. Some even prayed for us. The fact that most of them allowed us to pray for them is amazing because many of them do not have a relationship with God and are heavily involved in witchcraft.

On Monday, we went to an elderly home where the people weren't given enough food and there were about six or so beds per room. Many of them do not have family and as a result, never have any visitors. They were so happy that we were there and wanted to know when we'd be back.

On Tuesday, we went to the garbage dump. It had rained two full days prior to going so it was extremely muddy. As I thought about the mud getting on my white shoes, I looked down at the little girl beside me with black open-toed shoes covered in mud. This is her life. She is not going to go back to a clean house with food and showers. She is stuck in a garbage dump and she doesn't think that there is anything wrong with that reality because she has never seen anything else. There is, however, something extremely wrong with that. It's easy to ignore the fact that people live like this when you haven't seen it with your own eyes, but I can assure you, those starving kids that you see on commercials and get emails about are real. The fact that kids live in garbage is still hard for my brain to comprehend even though I've seen it.

The easiest thing to say after seeing a garbage dump is "How could the God of the universe let this happen to his beloved children?" But our leader Julian encouraged us to think about it a different way, "How could we, who God has blessed so richly, let this happen?" We, as Americans, are extremely blessed with wealth, and we need to do something for the people of this world that don't have enough money for food.
Throughout the past week and a half, we have been learning Spanish songs and skits to perform at churches and schools. Wednesday we went to a private school and performed a skit and sang some songs.

Thursdays are our free days where we can relax and use the internet. I hope and pray everyone back home is safe and healthy. I miss you all and I want to thank you for your continued support and prayer.

Fun/Interesting Facts from the last week-

-Our house does have power, but it goes out all the time. Since we've been here it has gone out three times, once for two days and the other two for a couple hours. The generator kicked in sometimes which helped a little. During this time of no power, there is also no water... that means the showers don't work and the toilets don't flush. Every time we had to flush the toilet during those two days we had to go outside and get a bucket of water from this underground pool thing and flush the toilet 'manually.' Fun times. :)
-We don't have a translator and hardly anyone in Puerto Barrios knows English. One of my teammates is from Columbia and is fluent in Spanish, but her job is not to always be the translator. The language barrier has been a struggle, but I am trying to speak and learn as much as I can and learn ways to communicate without words.
-By the end of this trip, I don't think I will ever want to eat rice, beans, tortillas, or eggs again, but the food has really been great. Our cook is wonderful and I really enjoy trying to talk to her and her kids in Spanish.
-The showers are cold and quick, but it is so hot here that the cold showers feel wonderful.
-I'm sleeping on a top bunk for the first time in my life. It shakes everytime I move, but I have gotten used to it. I'm very greatful for a bed :)
-My teammates are wonderful. We are all so different, but we work so well together. We like to say that we are all puzzle pieces. We are all different, but together we make something beautiful and complete. I have never been around a group of people that love the Lord so much. They have been a real example to me in what a relationship with God looks like.
-The 16 girls share one bathroom, so that is definitely teaching me patience.
-We clean the house after every meal. The house gets dirty quick with 25 or so people living in it.
-We handwash our cloths in the pilla outside.
I think that's enough for now. :)
With Love,
Kathy

The past four days of training have been a lot harder than I thought they would be. I, by no means, prepared myself mentally for the reality that I won't be coming home until December. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but I never realized how hard it would be. I have been feeling overwhelmed, homesick, and alone. I have a great team of 21 college students and two leaders who all have their own unique qualities and are all wonderful. But at the same time, I don't have that mom that can comfort me with a hug, or that best friend who I can talk about anything to.

Training camp has been long and exhausting; it has broken me. But in order to be who God wants me to be, I needed to be broken. I needed to deal with things that were hurting me. I needed to open up and talk about my struggles. It's a process, and slowly but surely I can see a glimmer of light. I can see why God is putting me through this. I know He wants me on this trip, and I know he has huge plans for my life. I just need to trust him competely, something that I now realized, I haven't been doing.

Now in saying all that, there are parts of training camp that I have loved. It gave me time to bond with my teammates, compete in a dance-off (which Guatemala won!), talk to homeless people in the streets of Altlanta, and worship. Tomorrow morning we leave for Guatemala and I am so excited to finally be there and bond more with the wonderful people on my team.

It is so easy for me to become overwhelmed in this process, and I pray that I am not overcome by that feeling. Please continue to pray for God to give me the comfort, peace, and strength I need. Thanks for all the support you have already given me. I feel so loved, and I think that is part of the reason why it is so hard for me to leave.

PS- While in Guatemala, I will be able to get on the internet once a week and blog and email, so you should hear from me again within a week or so.

This is a painting that my team made during one of our training camp activities.