Guatemala Day 4!

 

Guatemala (Day 4)

Today, after building three more houses, we rented a “fuboilito” court and played soccer with adults and children from the San Lucas Tolimán community. Many of the folks that played with us were men from the construction crews that helped us at our work sites. One word can describe our experience, JOY. It was actually the second time we did this, but our students were so insistent on doing it again that we decided to skip showers and ice cream to rent the court a second time.

You see, when you play soccer with a group of Guatemalans there is the resounding sound of laughter. Of joy. It is what every student spoke about after the first time we played. And the truth is, our kids did not play the same way. Our students were intense, competitive, and out there to win. So really, what our students wanted was not merely more time to play, but more time to learn from our Guatemalan friends. To learn that life is not always about winning or losing, scoring or assisting, outplaying or overpowering. That time on the fubolito court can really just be fun. That soccer can really just be about having a good time. That it can be about joy.

Each night as we debrief our days and ask Jesus to open our eyes to what he wants us to see, we share about the things we saw that were new, challenging, and beautiful. And each night at least one student will say “These people have nothing, but they have so much _____.” After playing soccer, the statement made by our students was, “These people have nothing, but they have so much JOY.” I love it when students begin to realize that joy is not linked to their circumstances, or their possessions, or the score at the end of the game. It certainly isn’t for our Guatemalan friends, and it doesn’t have to be for us either.

In fact as the week has gone by, our students have noticed that our new Guatemalan friends are not just filled with joy, but they are generous, kind, accepting, patient, welcoming, hospitable, and incredibly hard working. And all of this, as our students have observed, while having “nothing.” It really makes you wonder if we have the right definitions of the words “nothing” and “everything,” doesn’t it? Because what I really think is that are Guatemalan friends may be the ones with “everything” after all.

Tonight we opened our Bibles and read Luke 10:25-37 together. In this account a lawyer asks Jesus to define for for the crowd the definition of “neighbor.” Jesus answers with a story. You should read it. It just might be the case that we have another definition backwards too.

I’ll let the pictures tell the story of the rest of our day.

Privileged to Serve (and really proud of our students),

Rich and the Team

Guatemala Day 3!

 

Guatemala (Day 3)

They closed one of the local public schools today so that we could paint it. So that we could paint the school. So that we could paint the WHOLE school. It was not a huge school, but we were tasked with painting five classrooms, a spacious open-air foyer and a two-story front exterior wall (with gates and steps). Needless to say, I began our day overwhelmed with the task before us.

You see, I love painting. I love neat, orderly, perfect painting. Straight lines. No drips. My clothes stay clean when I paint, and the floors do too. And if you are wondering if I am bragging, I am. I don’t even use painter's tape! But as I walked through the classrooms and observed that many of our students had gotten more paint on the floors and on themselves than they had gotten on the walls I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. This was going to be tough day. And it was.

But as I found myself stuck in what seemed to be the impossibility of the task, the team did what the team always seems to do. They rose to the occasion. Soon the school was filled with laughter, and singing, and encouragement and voices saying, “what can I do now?” And then the teachers who were enjoying their day off came to the school with cold sodas, fresh fruit, warm pastries, and words of gratitude. And then little by little the walls turned a new color, and the floors got cleaned up, and edges were made straight (sort of), and a bunch of sweaty, weary, and paint-soaked students declared, “We are done.” They did it. We did it. We were done.

Now let me be clear, the school looks like a bunch of students with basically no experience painted it. It is far from perfect. But you know what? It looks that way because that is exactly what happened. And it is beautiful.

Tonight, at porch time we read Matthew 22:36-40. In it, Jesus says that to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul is the greatest of all commandments. But he doesn’t stop there. He continues, and says, that the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself and that is is “like the first.” Jesus says that loving God and loving your neighbor are “like” each other. Think about that.

As we thought about that tonight as a team, we realized that loving our neighbor, like painting a school, can be hard. And that when we love our neighbor, like painting a school, it can be messy, and tiring, and often imperfect. But separating our love for God and our love for others can’t be done. James makes that clear (James 1:19-27), John makes that clear (1 John 3:16-19) and Jesus makes that clear.

Don’t stay stuck, let’s get painting! Or as Jesus puts us, let’s get loving!

Privileged to Serve (and ready for a shower),

Rich and the Team

Guatemala Day 2!

 

Guatemala (Day 2)

Even though it was only our second full day in San Lucas Tolimán, it feels as though we are developing some patterns to our day. We woke up at sunrise to a stiff cool breeze that came across the water of Lake Atitlan. We stretched our bodies that were sore from yesterday's work and started our twenty-minute stroll across town to the school for breakfast. The town was already awake and abuzz with three wheeled taxis and uniformed students headed off to school. A few of us grabbed some coffee to warm our hands and wake up our bodies, but mostly we chatted and pointed out all the new things we were noticing as we dodged the street dogs and motorbikes.

After breakfast we headed for the town’s central square. The square is home to street vendors, stray dogs, a burnt down government building, shaded benches and the very important town basketball court. It was time for some basketball ministry! Nothing brings a crowd like eighteen “gringos” ready to play ball! Our goal was to help teach the local school teams some new skills, but before long we were running a basketball clinic for kids from all over town. We worked on boxing-out, foot work, and most importantly some bi-lingual smack talk. In the months to come, we will be watching to see if our clinic makes an impact in the local school’s record this year. Our hunch is that it will not, but what we really hope is that it will make an impact on eternity.

Tuesday is also market day in San Lucas. So, after a few cold bags of water (yes, we drink water out of bags here) and some Gatorade in glass bottles, we entered the market to explore our new friends’ everyday lives. The market is a maze of streets and alleyways filled with everything a local resident could need or want. There were buckets filled with colorful flowers, tabletops covered in meat and fish (some dead and some still moving), cooked food and raw food, clothing and crafts, spices and sweets, chickens and rabbits, housewares and hardware's. We saw it all and smelled it all, and it was beautiful!

After a break for lunch we headed out for more relational ministry in a poorer neighborhood that we accessed by walking over a suspension bridge that made Busch Garden’s roller coasters seem like a cakewalk. But once again the local kids came running when our students pulled out a soccer ball and some craft supplies. After a few hours of beautiful chaos we worked as a team to teach the crowd of eager children about Jesus calming the stormy sea. It was hard not to imagine that even as the disciples grew frustrated with Jesus and shook him awake saying “why are you sleeping Jesus? we are dying here!” that many of the children listening to us may have been asking the same thing. It was tough for our team to experience the desperate lives we encountered. These young children we were visiting live hard lives. It was a quiet van ride back to our hotel.

After showers and dinner and another stroll through town, we spent some time journaling and talking about our day.


To direct our hearts and minds we opened the Bible to Luke 12:13-21. Jesus says in these verses, “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” That’s good news for the people we met today, but challenging words for us. Do we keep building bigger barns? Do we rest in the abundance of our possession? Or, do we, like the wise and humble people we met today, find our assurance in the God who gave everything up for us so that we could find life in him? These are tough questions for us all.

Privileged to serve (and eager for tomorrow),

Rich and the Team

Quatemala Day 1!

 

Guatemala (Day 1)

After a few full days of travel, including a stamp in our passports from a country we were not planning on visiting, we experienced our first full day in San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala. The day began with a beautiful sunrise over the lake including a chorus of birds that called us all to open our eyes and worship along with them. We walked through the town to the school that is operated by the organization that is hosting us and ate a tremendous breakfast that included hot dogs and passion fruit. Sounds a bit strange, but I think everyone went back for seconds! After washing our dishes and thanking our incredibly gracious hosts, we sang together, opened God’s Word together, and prayed together for our day.

Our work for the day was construction. Splitting into three teams, we headed out with our work gloves on to build houses. The drive to our work sites, like every drive here, was quite spectacular. There are the smoking domes of active volcanoes all around us and a rugged countryside that is planted with corn, sugar cane, coffee beans, and even rubber trees. Three wheeled taxis whizz by us along with motorbikes filled with families, pets and stacks of firewood. The students are mesmerized by it all.

Believe it or not, each team built a house today. Seriously, a whole house! The floor had previously been poured and a few rows of blocks had been laid, but each team constructed walls and a roof by mid-afternoon. Each site was a flurry of activity as students swung hammers (some better than others) and cut wooden boards. It was a community affair for each home building site. Little kids stopped to giggle and wave, old men shared building advice and grateful friends offered us cold drinks and fresh fruit. The students were proud, and I was too. They worked hard. Really hard. And today three families that could not afford a home received one.

This evening, after getting cleaned up, we walked again through town to the school for dinner. We stopped along the way for ice cream and coffee and enjoyed saying “Buenas” (short for Good Evening) to everyone we passed. Dinner was slow and full of laughter and stories as we talked about our day with one another. Back at the hotel we gathered to journal, share, and study God’s Word again. Tonight, we looked at Matthew 25:31-46 together. You should read it too! It is not coincidental I think that the house I helped build today was for a single mother whose youngest daughter is named Estrella (Star in English). When Jesus showed up in a manger two-thousand years ago, a star hung above him in the night sky announcing his presence with us. Today, I was reminded that as we prayed over Star and her family, Jesus was present with us in the kitchen of the home we built. And the good news, is that the students didn’t turn away, but they served and encountered their Savior by housing the poor, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. It was a good day. We can’t wait to serve our Savior again tomorrow.

Privileged to Serve (and ready for bed),

Rich and the Team

Guatemala - 2 Days Away - The information you Need!

 Hello Parents and Students,

We are just two days away, and wanted to make sure you all have all the necessary information you will need. 

• Meeting Saturday in the Student Ministry's worship room at 11:30am for departure!
  

•  You are packing a carry on bag ( no larger than 22'' x 14'' x 9'') in addition each person is allowed one personal item (no larger than a backpack) and we are flying American Airlines 

• MAKE SURE YOU BRING YOUR PASSPORT!
  

•   See packing list below - the weather will be anywhere ranging from 62 to 75 degrees.

• For any questions regarding this trip, please don't hesitate to reach out to either Rich Sylvester at 757-784-2644 or Brett Harlow at 757-784-8742 
  

 Packing List:

Out of respect for the culture that we will be entering: 

• no sleeveless shirts or tank tops  

• no leggings 

• no shorts on work sites 

7 Days, 6 Nights  

• PASSPORT  

• Underwear  

  Rain Jacket
  

• Socks 

• Church outfit (skirt or dresses for girls. Pants and collard shirt for guys)  

• Jeans or long pants for work site (3 days)  

• Closed Toed shoes for work site (sneakers are fine)  

• T-shirts  

• Pajamas/something to sleep in 

• Hat  

• Shorts for non work site days 

• Sunglasses  

• Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, contact stuff, deodorant, face wash, hand sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, feminine products, etc... 

• If  bring your toiletries in a gallon Ziploc with you name on it, we can just check them all together in a separate bag under the plane.  

• Towel 

• Water bottle (a large-mouth Nalgene-type bottle is recommended) 

• Bible  

• Notebook  

• Pen  

• Money for food in the airports/any souvenirs you might want to get. 
  

Guatemala 2023 Packing List and Pre-Trip Info

 Hey everyone! 

Some of the key info, before we leave, is as follows:

1. Passports 
1. Please either send in a copy or bring your passport in to get copied before we leave if you can! 
2. Money 
1. Please bring in any money you still need to turn in and reach out to Nick if you need to know where you are at. 
3. Flights 
1. Our flight leaves at 4pm from Richmond so we are planning on meeting at the Chapel to leave together at 11:30am on Saturday, July 8th. 
2. Our Flight home is scheduled to land in Richmond at 3pm on Saturday, July 15th.
   
4. Packing List - see below

Guatemala Packing List:  

Out of respect for the culture that we will be entering: 

• no sleeveless shirts or tank tops  

• no leggings 

• no shorts on work sites 

 

7 Days, 6 Nights  

• PASSPORT  

• Underwear  

• Socks 

• Church oufit (skirt or dresses for girls. Pants and collard shirt for guys)  

• Jeans or long pants for work site (3 days)  

• Closed Toed shoes for work site (sneakers are fine)  

• T-shirts  

• Pajamas/something to sleep in 

• Hat  

• Shorts for non work site days 

• Sunglasses  

• Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, contact stuff, deodorant, face wash, hand sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, feminine products, etc... 

• If  bring your toiletries in a gallon Ziploc with you name on it, we can just check them all together in a separate bag under the plane.  

• Towel 

• Water bottle (a large-mouth Nalgene-type bottle is recommended) 

• Bible  

• Notebook  

• Pen  

• Money for food in the airports/any souvenirs you might want to get.  

 

*We will have the option to leave any clothes that you want to donate at the end of the trip. You don’t have to, but they will accept any that are given.