Retracing My Steps

It’s been nearly six months now, since my latest adventure that is. The past six months have been a whirlwind of experiences, challenges, and personal growth. To describe in detail the changes that have come about in my character and thought processes is nearly impossible; for who really notes the changes when living day to day? The truth is that the past six months have been so impacting that I’m left trying to piece together the abundance of memories and experiences and articulate them in one logical account. Though yet another difficult challenge, I’ll try my best.

It all began with a prayer. I was nearing the end of my one-year mission term in Tactic, Guatemala. Faced with the inevitable question of “what shall I do next?” I channeled my worries into prayer. My answer came when a girl I had met the past year came to visit her friends here in Tactic. While here she told me about YWAM and how they have a really great discipleship training school for missionaries here in Guatemala. I realized that this was the answer I was waiting for. I had received yet another lesson from God…that I need not worry because the answer will come in His time. Sometimes I think we waste entirely too much time worrying about what we will do in the future, where we will go, what will become of us…worry itself doesn’t bring about solutions, it just buries us in a pile of distress. Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The Discipleship Training School began in February and my time in Tactic ended in October, so there was just the right amount of time to go home (Canada) and reconnect with my family and friends. Also, to have a white Christmas again since I had missed out on it the past year.

More stories to come...

Last Class

September 27

Thursday was my very last class with my students at Beerseba. We had a fiesta to celebrate all their hard work throughout the school year; we shared chips, giant bottles of pop and I gave a little gift to each student. It’s definitely sad to leave my students as we’ve been together since January. It also doesn’t make it any easier when they say: “por favor seño, no te vayas” (please teacher, don’t go). It’s been a good experience, there’re really good kids and I’ll miss them a lot.

It’s been a personal learning experience as well. I never wanted to be a teacher; I believe the main reason was that I felt incapable or inadequate somehow. This experience has shown me that I can go in front of a class full of kids and educate them. I won’t say there weren’t challenges along the way. Creating the curriculum was the biggest challenge, as the school doesn’t have any materials for teaching English. Also, not knowing the language made it very difficult; I thought to myself “how am I going to teach these kids a different language when I can’t even speak theirs?” Then there were days when I’m sure that someone gave my students coffee for breakfast!

Though there were challenges we made it through and had lots of fun along the way.

Fue Loco

If there’s one place where electricians are needed it’s Guatemala. The wiring in every house is a fire waiting to happen; thankfully most of the houses are cement! I must tell you of a frightful event that took place in my shower today (no it’s not another cockroach). The showers here are called Widowmakers and are plastic containers with a heating coil inside which are powered by wires precariously strung overhead; if you touch the shower head while the water is running you’ll receive quite a shock!

When I had finished showering I turned the tap off but to my surprise the water kept coming. Streams of scolding hot water began to flow and quickly turned into steam. A number of thoughts entered my mind: Why won’t the water stop? Should I reach for the tap again with the risk of getting shocked? How nice it is to have a steam room, am I going to die in my shower? I tried turning the tap again….nothing happened, and now along with the steam sparks were flying out of the shower. I tried turning off the lights but this didn’t seem to have any effect other then to illuminate the bright red flashes within my shower head. After a few minutes the shower decided to say goodbye to its last moments of life, hung its head, and then it was no more.

Eventful

Well as you may have guessed the lack of entries are due to a lack of internet and not a result of me falling off the face of the planet. I definitely had the disconnected-from-the-world feeling without internet. I am thankful for my cell phone and that I was still able to call home once in awhile.

There are a number of events that occurred in the month of August. We had flooding (a number of the streets were completely covered in water); many homes were flooded as well. It is also important to note that many of the houses have dirt floors, so if their mixed with water they become dirt rivers. Unfortunately there was a lot of damage done by the rainwater. Please keep the families who were affected in your prayers.

There was a carnival here in Tactic, which brought a lot of people and a lot of noise. They set up giant speakers and blast the music really loud to attract customers to their rides. I’m not sure if it was the loud music or the precarious looking rides but there were never too many people on them. Because there were more people then usual (of all sorts) I made sure to be indoors before it was dark (which means before 6:30). The kids didn’t have school for the week of the carnival, not because they were permitted to go, but because it’s often dangerous; this year was no exception. There were 5 murders in the week of the carnival. It’s not exactly the kind of news I like to share, but it is reality.

A couple from the church I am attending had their house broken into. We were in the middle of a church service when some of the men went running out. Apparently they caught the two thieves as they were coming out of the house with their hands full. They held the men there until the police arrived. Now their biggest challenge is to retrieve their things from the corrupt police. The police are holding all of their things until they can bring receipts proving that the items are actually theirs (even though they saw the thieves leave their house).

Well that was August, it was eventful…not necessarily “good eventful”, but nonetheless eventful.

Livingston & Lake Atitlan

It’s hard to believe that I am only here for 3 more months. I know the time will go really quickly and soon enough I’ll be back on an airplane to Canada. It will definitely be bittersweet to leave here. I’ve made many friends, have bonded with my students, learned how to speak Spanish, and have grown accustomed to Guatemalan food. Alternatively, I am truly looking forward to seeing my family and friends again, as well as being back in Canada.

The distance from home has been made not as long by visits from my family throughout the year. My most recent visitors were my sister Karly and my friend Will. Together we traveled to Livingston which is on the East coast of Guatemala. We spent the entire day on the beach and swimming in the Caribbean Sea. I managed to get quite the sunburn even though it was cloudy the whole time. Apparently my plan to get a tan by only using 4spf failed miserably, and the consequence was a very pink face and shoulders; but hey pink is better than pasty right???

The Caribbean Sea

Which is more red?

While in Livingston there was a huge thunderstorm. At first there was just a lot of lightning, so I decided it would be nice to go out on the dock and watch the show…bad decision. Within 5 minutes the wind and rain increased immensely and sheets of water were being thrown at me. I quickly walked (my slippery flip-flops prohibited running) back to my hotel and was completely drenched. Next time I think I’ll just watch the lightning out my window.

Karly, Will, and I also managed to take a short trip to Lake Atitlan. It was my first time there so I was looking forward to seeing a new part of Guatemala. We joined a tour in Antigua and took a 2.5 hr ride to the lake which is surrounded by volcanoes. It is definitely a beautiful place to see, but why someone would choose to build their house at the foot of a volcano is beyond me. We traveled by boat to the little villages around the lake, and had a little bit of time at each place to look around and do some shopping. It’s always nice to have visitors, but also sad to see them leave.

See you again soon!!

The Events of June

I realize it’s been a long time since I last updated my blog, I was never very good at keeping a journal, thus the same is to be expected in this case. I will do my best to recall nearly a months worth of events.

At the beginning of June the boys I was home schooling finish what was required of them before going to Canada for a month. Since I had free time in the mornings, I began teaching two woman English on the weekdays. The rest of my teaching schedule remains the same: grades 8, 9, and 10 in the school and meeting with two small groups for English classes.

In the month of June I had a very nice visit with my sister Tureena. We enjoyed traveling to Tikal and racing through the jungle in the dark in order to watch the sunrise from the top of a temple; Very beautiful!! While in Tikal we saw monkeys, birds, insects and many lizards. The main element we were struggling against was the heat. The heat is very debilitating, it causes slowness of physicality as well as mentality. In Santa Elena (where our hotel was) it was so hot and humid that we preferred spend most of our time in our air-conditioned hotel room. We tried to drink as much water as we could to stay hydrated (we bought out the hotels supply).

Tureena and I also went to Antigua. There we spent a great deal of time in the market bartering with the locals, looking in little shops, and passing the time in cafes eating cheesecake and drinking coffee. We also toured some of the many church ruins. Antigua’s very beautiful for its cobblestone streets and blend of old and new architecture.

The day that Tureena returned home, my friend Will arrived. He will be here for one month to travel and help Zaak where he can. Karly is also coming to visit. She will be arriving in a few days. I’m really looking forward to her visit as it’s been 8 months since I saw her last. I’ve been very blessed to have my family and friends come visit me, it has made my time away from home seem not so long.

Hulda (the girl I sponsor) and I have continued to spend at least one day a week together. We have fun together eating in restaurants, going for ice cream, playing games, and going to the zoo. I know that time spent together is worth more than anything I could buy her. It will be sad to leave in 4 months, but I know we will always remember the times we shared.

The latest addition to my work is helping the women prepare the meals for the students. The women are very nice but they usually speak Pocumchi so I'm never quite sure what they are talking about (guess I'll have to learn that language too). I enjoy being at the school when the younger children are there (I teach in the evening and therefore only see the jr. high students).
Last weekend the other teachers and I took a group of students to Coban (a city about 20min away) to eat at McDonalds. For many of them it was the first time there. After we played in a little theme park. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a wonderful time.

Well that’s all for now, I will try to be more prompt with my next entry but I can’t promise anything ;)

Darkness

Today Hulda and I went for a walk, we decided to go to the church on the hill because it has a beautiful view of Tactic. While there we watched a “bruja” (witch) perform her magic for a man and woman. They danced around, chanted, and lit candles. Hulda explained to me that many people go to a witch because they need help with health for a family member, job related issues, and sometimes to put a curse on another person. The cost for one session with a bruja is between Q500 and Q1000 ($70 - $140), to us this amount may seem minuscule, but for the people in Tactic this often amounts to one months wages; Often nothing comes to pass and the money is wasted.

Another event I recently witnessed was at a local high school. The students were performing Guatemalan customs (such as eating traditional food and dancing). It was very interesting to watch and I really enjoyed viewing their rich cultural practices. One event however, took me by surprise. Three of the students were dressed in “devil” and “grim reaper” costumes. One of the boys carried a giant fireworks display on his back and they all moved to the music as the firecrackers exploded. The story they were telling was about a man who went to the devil to ask permission to commit a terrible transgression.

I believe Satan has the power to influence events in our lives, and I also believe that when we are truly convinced of something (ex. an illness that will be healed) we can overcome tribulations. Though, these things are quickly fleeting and inconsistent.

Here in Tactic I am reminded of the darkness and hopelessness in our world. These people are clearly seeking to be healed, to be fulfilled, and to be loved, and all they seem to find is empty rituals and futile promises of good things to pass. We experience this in Canada as well, though the darkness is not quite as evident. We become trapped in our routines and lose purpose in our lives. We continuously seek for fulfillment, whether through the love of another, or through material things…do we ever find what we are looking for?

The greatest thing I have learned in my life is this: the only thing that can fill the void in my heart is the love of God. There is nothing more in this world that could ever make me feel abundantly loved, happy, and accepted. My prayer is that the people in Tactic will find this joyous hope as well, and that the light that comes with loving Jesus will cause the darkness of oppression to subside.

Feliz Cumpleaños

Today the girl I sponsor (Hulda) turned 12. We celebrated her birthday by eating hamburgers, playing in the park, and purchasing a brand new bicycle :)