Guatemala 2024 Day Six

Written by: Troy

Good morning, we all are getting more tired as the week goes on. This seems to be having a good effect on our mood however, as we are being more silly and laughing WAY more than normal! Team bonding is at an all time high!

Today was Mother’s Day in Sumpango, and our day started off a little differently since we spent the morning prepping for our own event at Casa Barb/Gerry for the PILAS kids’ mothers. This involved us decorating a tent that was put on their patio as well as making ‘cupcake floral arrangements’. We were making icing flowers and it was satisfying and peaceful. While we all were busy getting the place ready, Jacob was practicing his musical number with the chicos. He ended up performing with them with his guitar while the children sung worship songs in Spanish. Even Jacob was joining in! His Spanish is far better than any of ours. As the parents showed up, their kids greeted them with homemade flowers that had lollypops in them and a family photo! Once everyone was seated we watched a video the PILAS kids made of them all thanking their mothers. It was quite moving especially knowing some of the backgrounds of the kids. In fact, during the start of the video one student’s Mother hadn’t showed up yet, and so she started to cry. Olivia was there to comfort her and thankfully the mother ended up showing up. We were so happy for her.  After the video, we all got a chance to say a line or phrase that we ALWAYS hear from our mother’s. A lot of these were so funny, but some were quite thoughtful and sweet. This was followed by the worship songs led by Jacob and the kids, and then one of the teachers led the crowd in a little Mothers’ Day sermon. This was very significant for this community because a lot of the sermon required everyone to look up verses in the Bible as they went along. The culture here is very reliant on the church as the ‘authority’ as opposed to God as the authority, meaning they don’t spend too much time doing bible readings on their own time. Once that was wrapped up, we had a wonderful catered lunch! As we ate, we laughed and made small talk with the students and their mothers. It was really nice to see the mother’s come out of their shells and helped us with our growing Spanish and the kids with their English. The event ended as we said our goodbyes to both the students and the mother’s who were very appreciative. This stretched me a little bit as we all got quite a lot of hugs as we said these goodbyes.

The farewells didn’t stop here however! After the Mother’s Day event, we sadly said our goodbyes to the teachers of the afternoon tutoring program: Lisbeth, Sandra, and Karla. In true Guatemalan fashion, this meant that each person got a chance to say how meaningful this week has been and how each of us were impacted by the others. We then split off into our regular afternoon activities. This meant that myself, Olivia, and Jacob stayed behind to do crafts, the play, and homework help. I also got the opportunity to be silly and dance with some students, who appreciated my groovy moves. Meanwhile, Kathryn, Adeleecia, and Cody all went to one of the villages to do more crafts, Spanish lessons, math help, and even some English practice as well through the previously mentioned market game! This time, Kathryn and Adeleecia had the pleasure of dressing up in the Armour of God outfits created by the kids! It truly was a full day!

Once we were all back together, we also said goodbye to two more of the staff: Sandy and Julie, both former PILAS kids turned staff themselves. We once again traded gifts and gave appreciation and affirmations to each other. 

Dinner with Barb and Gerry went well as there we engaged in a great conversation about what we are learning so far about ourselves, God, and relationships on this trip. Our good discussions didn’t end here however as it transferred to our devotionals. Tonights devotions covered how to share our “spiritual glasses of water” with people who need Jesus. Olivia shared some moments where she had been the water of life to someone who was thirsty for Jesus. It is good to be apart of the kingdom of God. One of the questions asked us to compare how often we drink a glass of water with how often we seek Jesus to quench our thirst. This got us all thinking and we are going to try to challenge ourselves to spend quick moments in prayer or just in God’s presence every time we DO take a sip of water. We’re hoping this will develop into a discipline of “thirsting” after God. 

Amen,

Troy