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
