Day 4 Getting Used to Guatemalan Work

Day 4: Getting used to Guatemalan Work Tuesday 3/10/09
Woke up even earlier today to meet for breakfast at 7:30am G-time. This was the second night in a row I couldn’t sleep because my bed was so uncomfortable. Because of that, I was sick all day today. The weather here is pretty predictable but it was definitely the hottest day so far. No breeze. Dust everywhere (there’s no such thing as mud in the dry season here). I had a headache, was nauseous and totally dizzy from the heat. But I did the best I could at the construction site. I shoveled dirt and rock to make cement, I rolled the infamous wheelbarrow full of rocks uphill through the cornfield to the site. When I say middle of nowhere, I mean it! I mixed home-made cement, and measured, cut and bent rebar. I know it sounds like a lot but I really just kept rotating and taking frequent breaks. We ate lunch and then it was time for VBS. The 30 min walk uphill was brutal!! It got to the point where Geronimo (the pastor of Chontalá) drove by and gave me a ride to the church. My team took so much care of me. They were such a blessing! I wound up sleeping ½ way through VBS even though I was supposed to narrate Noah’s ark. But when I did wake up, there were MANY more children than yesterday. They got used to us giving them things, so they began to bombard us and steal stickers, chalk, play-doh, jump ropes, Frisbees and crayons. We are going to give it to them when we leave, but it needs to be received through an act of humility and kindness, not greed. I understand they are so excited and Wesley has given them these things in the past, but, I don’t want to feel used.
On another note, Tomasa (my favorite little girl wasn’t there today!). So, I had to keep myself entertained (not that it was hard with 60 kids running around). I looked over and I saw that teenagers came today and were bored! So I called them all over and we started talking. There was this one girl that stole my heart completely. She is an older girl, possibly and older woman, it’s hard to tell because they are so small. Her name was Maria, she had a lazy/blind eye and people were afraid to come up to her, but she got the courage to come to me. We spoke for a while and she told me that her dream was to learn English. So… I began to teach her! All the women laughed at how funny English sounded and how hard it was to say the words. But they caught on quick! It really touched me because only 24 hours before that, I was asking Geronimo how to say words in Quiché because I genuinely long to learn their language. And suddenly the student becomes the teacher. It is so amazing how God grants us these gifts so we can bless others with them. I know it sounds cheesy, but I wrote Maria a note telling her how much I loved it here and how I want to return again to visit her. On one side, it was in Spanish, and the other… in English. She was so moved by it, she wrote me one back. All we had we crayons to write with and it is something that I will treasure forever.
Bethany and I decided that on our way out we would give her a Spanish-English dictionary. It nearly brought her to tears! I think that’s one of my favorite memories so far… hands down.
The construction team got a chance to see the kids at work before we left and they loved it!! We then got on the bus to head to another city to find water. We drove 30 min to Santa Cruz Del Quinche. It was totally different from Chichi! They were much more westernized! In Santa Cruz women wore jeans, listened to mp3 players, they were more light skinned and much more urbanized. I loved it there. It wasn’t overwhelming but it still had the main characteristics of Guatemala. I just find it so fascinating that in every place you go, you hear Spanish and then their own dialect. So far I’ve heard Quiché, Kakchiquel and Spanish. The first two remind me of African tribes with their clicking of the tongues and now I know some! I mean, I guess it’s like that in the U.S. we all speak the same language but the south has a very different dialect from the north as the east from the west. This whole trip, God has been showing me a central theme. Every time I see the natives, I feel God’s warmth and hear Him say, “My people.” As I gaze at the mountains as we drive by after a hard day’s work, I feel God’s majesty and hear Him say, “My people.” It’s so amazing how our God is SO BIG! And He cares for each and every one of us the same. Tonight, I gave my testimony and we all talked about spiritual Gifts. I have never felt so welcomed and comforted with my story. God is using each and every one of us in a very special way to fulfill his mission. I can’t wait to see what comes out of this!
<3 Sabie Q.