Guatemala 2009

What a joy to hear Dr. Ray calmly tell me this morning, “It appears that we have an internet connection now.” I gulped down the rest of my drink, wrapped up my conversation, and hurried out the door with my laptop so I could let you all know about our day yesterday.
The story starts just before breakfast. Folks were gathering in the main eating apartment (Apt. 6), and one by one we were getting reports of sick team members. Lizzy Mathes had a particularly rough night. She was the first to get sick. The next couple of casualties were Molly, Ethan, Pastor Dave and Laura Lyons and Daniel Ray. As each room gave a report, those of us who didn’t think we were sick were feeling more and more queasy.
Dr. Ray gladly accepted the medicines that had been sent along by Dr. Phil Mitchell, as well as some that Julie Thomas had sent with Spencer. He then had his own pharmacy from with to dispense medication. He went from room to room, checking symptoms, and prescribing treatment. What a comfort it was to have a gentle, kind doctor on duty.
After breakfast, some of the team hurried to a soccer camp they’re having with the local kids, while others reported to the work site. For those of you who remember from last time, Chaima is still here and was the head guy on the work site again. And again he is making us all laugh with his funny comments. For instance, he questioned Ariana about the cook that the team brought from the United States. He wanted to know what kind of food the team was eating. She shrugged and gave a few examples, and then added, “And we’re eating tortillas, too.” Chaima liked THAT answer! He told her that tortillas were wonderful and that they give good energy for working. So now at every meal Ariana encourages us to eat tortillas, quoting Chaima’s words to us.
Midway through the day, a few more team members declared sickness, while other team members declared they had been healed. Among the “healed” were Molly and Laura. Among the newly sick was Isaac (with Nathan, Spencer and Don Ray showing a few symptoms much later in the day and last night, and Eric Cowell had a bad spell through this last night).
The sick folks were offered yogurt and Gatorade, bananas and toast. The team members who had an appetite for lunch were treated to a buffet of fresh, hot corn tortillas with lots of toppings, including chicken, beans, fresh salsa and fresh guacamole (made by Sarah Ray). It was absolutely delicious! My love for the local corn tortillas is only growing stronger.
The team members who were working for Chaima yesterday had a lot of hard physical work. They were hauling wood, and then dirt and gravel, up and down a very steep hill. Finally Ariana designed a bucket brigade which helped make it all more efficient, although it was still grueling work.
At 4 pm when the team was dismissed for the day, they trudged back to their rooms for hot showers. One by one they wandered into Apartment 6, waiting for supper. That afternoon Susan Mathes had mixed up some homemade hot cocoa mix, and it was a huge hit with the folks looking for a little refreshment before supper was ready.
I had made a big pot of Chicken Rice soup for supper, but it had a Guatemalan twist. No celery or carrots in this one. Instead it had cilantro and limes as the flavors. The team members were very complimentary, which was kind of them. They cleaned out the whole pot of soup, as well as a quadruple batch of cornbread, and some more tortillas on the side. It was obvious that they had worked very hard and were ready to re-fuel. Also, the soup was nice for those who were starting to feel well enough to eat, but weren’t quite ready for a heavy meal yet. Among those were Pastor Dave and Ethan. Unfortunately Lizzy was still sick, and not even well enough to come out of her room.
After supper we gathered for our worship time. Milly and Molly lead us in singing, and then Pastor Dave gave everyone a chance to share the highlights of their day. I took notes on the computer so I could share them with you. I will close this posting with those comments (I know they’re choppy. I was typing fast.). Thank you for your prayers for our team. (Oh, to answer a previous question: I would love to post photos, however, the internet connection here wouldn’t even allow me to send one photo to Michael to put on the blog. So I guess we’ll have to wait on those, unless something changes with the internet here.)
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Highlights:

Millie: soccer camp thing, since soccer is my passion, being able to share it with children.
Molly: playing with the kids by the soccer camp.
Nathan: worship time, with the guitar, and I had a lot of fun working, even though I’m tired. …and when Ethan brought refilled water bottles out to us even though he was sick.
Isaac: getting a 4-hour nap
Sarah: 1. mothering everyone today. being the mom to all the ones who don’t have moms here. 2. when I could make guacamole in Christie’s domain.
Elizabeth: goofing off with Annalise and Caroline in our room, and singing
Caroline: shower
Annalise: when it was 4 and we got to stop working, and then taking a shower
Laura: how much better I felt after I woke up from my nap, and singing. Going down to the orphanage and giving the little girls candy.
Dave: being able to stand upright. Having that food, chicken & rice soup was good. and Jesus!
Ethan: people around me helping me out when I was sick. It was a great blessing.
Ariana: the soccer camp. Spencer and I snuck off after lunch to the orphanage. It was neat to be in there with them. Their reality is that they have no parents. I’m not sure what to do with that. God is a father to the fatherless. He is faithful. To be reminded of that when I think about the other pointless things that fill my head every day.
Carey: 1. going to orphanage this afternoon. 2. got to see one of the workers who was here 3 years ago, Carlos.
Spencer: the food. When we came back exhausted, the food was great. A home-cooked meal. Sneaking away after lunch, and feeding Analito, who couldn’t feed himself, and it was over my comfort zone, took 40 minutes to get a little bowl of food fed to him.
Lars: 1. soccer camp 2. sat around after camp to get to know each other and try to break through the language barrier. Later, with Carey and Molly & Millie in the orphanage.
Lorna: fun of seeing my teenage grandkids doing real physical work that’s going to have Kingdom significance and value. Also, watching the group minister to one another, and to the children. It’s beautiful.
Bill: Seeing everyone out working hard. Neat to see. Not that I haven’t seen my kids work hard before…. impressed by everyone’s hard work. 2. How nice the weather was. The best weather, not hot & humid like other missions trips I’ve been on. Low point: seeing Spencer wearing Green Bay Packer pants.
Eric: I got really sick tonight. God convicted me of how sick I used to be, and how complacent I’ve been. God showed me how much I take for granted, and what He saved me from. Also, the sermon Pastor Bob preached where a young man was sitting on a bench and thinking about how broken he was hearing the thuds of godless people walking. The local pastor mentioned yesterday how when you’re a witness, your first priority is your family, and I’ve done a horrible job of that. I wonder why I hold back so much. I was saved from sickness, and I was glad I got sick tonight, because of how much it did convict me. I have a whole family at home who’s dying that I haven’t been doing anything about.
Joyce: Walking into Solola with Lorna & Susan. As I was walking, I realized that I was walking within touching distance of people that I normally would only see from the window of a bus or car. I was immersed in the culture. Getting to go into the store and speak Spanish. Forcing me to use my language skills. I love it! Bringing gatorade to the workers. The look on their faces!

Hannah: Seeing what we were doing, building taking place, near the huge pile of wood to bring down, the pile eventually grew smaller and smaller. And see the dirt pile full.
Daniel: Getting to take lots of naps.
Jonathan: the food, in between working, and it’s nice after doing all the manual labor. It’s nice to relax.
Susan: walking to town, to the store, and being a part of the culture, even just for a little bit. Impressive to see everyone working, for the Lord, all hot and sweaty, giving your arms and strength to the Lord.
Christie: enjoying Sarah & Susan’s cooking, and seeing everyone working so hard in and around the kitchen, cleaning, washing dishes, etc.