Like I mentioned before, Casa Verde is located in Santo Tomas, Guatemala, which is adjacent to Puerto Barrios (where we do most of our ministry and get our team name!), and it's a lot different than what I expected. I was expecting to live in huts in the jungle with dirt floors, having to make our own meals, take bucket showers... and much more. But God has blessed us with so much! We have beds, running water, a cook, and toilets that flush (though you do have to throw the paper away...). The only thing we don't have is warm water (which is perfectly okay with me!) or air conditioning (which I'm actually okay with because it would make going outside awful...). There's also a mall, a wal-mart type store, and a McDonald's all within walking distance. All with air conditioning! So my expectations were totally turned upside down about what we would find. I was actually sad that we were being so "spoiled" on the field. But one of the adventures we went on held all of the expectations I had imagined.
One day we headed to a church in the jungle with the wife of our contact, and two other locals in the back of a white utility van. I was able to ride up front on the way there so I could see the view while we were driving. Let me tell you, it was one of the most beautiful things I've seen at the time (I feel like things keep getting even more beautiful as time goes on...). When we finally stopped in the street near the church we got out and walked across a concrete walkway suspended over a stream/vegetation. There were lime-scented bushes alongside of it, so some of us picked the leaves to bring back to the house to try to alleviate some of the smell of sweat (which is another thing, it's super hot so we basically sweat constantly).
Anyways, so we got to the church and split up into different groups of five people plus a native Guatemalan. We ended up walking back down the road to different houses to tell them about a childrens' program we were putting on at 2:00 that afternoon. The houses were exactly what I had imagined we would be staying in. Most of the roofs were made out of dried palm branches, though I think a couple had tin, and all of the floors were made of dirt and were not level. The first house we went to another girl and I helped the family to finish getting dried beans out of the pods so they could plant them later. A few of the other girls helped to do laundry in the "pila" which is where they wash their laundry by hand. The third house we went to was where we learned what generosity really was.
We had to walk down a semi-steep slippery path to get to the house, which was mainly made of bamboo-type poles and dried palm branches. The family welcomed us in immediately and as soon as our guide saw that they were preparing tortillas for lunch, she told us to help. So four of us went and learned how to form tortillas. There were a few mishaps at first as we dropped dough on the ground, made very odd shapes, and just in general were not doing a very good job. But we eventually got the hang of it and made the rest of them. It took a lot longer than it would have for them to do it... And then the grandmother and mother told us to sit down because they were going to feed us lunch. We all stared at each other, wondering how to politely not accept because it was clear they needed the food more than we did. But in this culture it is very rude to not accept food when offered. They were even going to give each of us a separate bowl of soup, but we managed to convince them that we could share. And it was delicious. Corn tortillas (that had a light hint of... hand sanitizer?) with limes and avocado to put on top, and a bowl of vegetable soup. We felt so blessed by them because they were so willing to share with us.
And then the biggest, and strangest, surprise of all came. The ice cream truck drove by. So two of the girls in my group quickly ran up the path and bought ice cream for the family. As we were leaving they asked for us to give them a call sometime (they did have a phone, but that's the only electrical thing they had) and that we were welcome to go back anytime.
Every day it seems like my mind gets blown by how welcoming and open the people of Guatemala are. Where ever we go people are really willing to let us come in and pray with them. A good example of this is when we went to the Puerto Barrios market to pray with the vendors. In my group of two other girls and a local pastor that floated around between us and another group, only four or five people said no to being prayed for. The pastor informed us later that this was a special day because usually most of the people say no. This has really affected me because I have been praying since before Guatemala that God would open people's hearts to receive us and His message of Truth, and He certainly has! So I also thank all of you who have been praying for the people of Guatemala! This has certainly been an amazing trip so far and I wish I could share more with you, but that might be a little much for one blog! So I will say farewell until next Thursday! I'll just leave you with this:And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
