It’s a quiet Sunday morning here in San
Pedro la Laguna. I’m up before the rest this
morning because I didn’t want to risk not witnessing a sunrise over the lake on
our last day here. My view from a big rock on the lakeshore didn’t give me the
best seat in the house for the breaking of day, but I still had an amazing view
and some really good quiet time to myself, taking in everything around me and
talking with God. I watched a big crow-like bird snatch a fish out of the
water, a woodpecker dash around the sides of a tree, Guatemalan women in the
cold lake scrubbing their laundry with strong arms, an old man paddling in a
canoe, and a sparrow feeding crumbs from my granola bar to her young. Oh, and
on my way back to the hotel, a wandering fellow approached me gently, shook my
hand, and asked me out to coffee. He was sincere and seemed pretty harmless,
but I declined. He looked like he needed a friend, so I feel a little bad and
hope he finds another! haha.
I really can’t believe Zach and I have 3
days left of our international adventures this year. It has seriously gone so
fast. We’ll be hugging family and friends in a short while, Zach will graduate
in less than a week, and we’ll start our jobs shortly after that. I’ll go back
to the culture I know, the ways of life I was raised in, but I do often wonder
if I’ll feel different. I’m positive I
will, but I perhaps won’t know the extent of it until I’ve been home for a few
weeks. Will I jump right back into the life I used to know in the States? Will
it be hard to readjust after the things I’ve experienced here? What I’m most
excited about is living in the same city as Ryan, Marc, Mandy, & Nicole! My
siblings are the best. What’s most difficult about leaving Guate is parting
ways with people who Zach and I now consider family. Also the nature girl in me
will desperately miss those mountains and the farm animals walking around
everywhere. J
I haven’t really posted lately because I
haven’t really had the motivation and because our last weeks have been so busy.
I remember a few things that I would love to share with you; some memories that
were very emotional. Recollections I want to stick with me forever:
·
- Witnessing two cultures come together as a team to paint and roof a house for a widow and her family who resides in the city’s dump. The widow cried and told us she didn’t have anything to give us in return, but the thankful tears in her and her daughter’s eyes were more than enough.
- A 93-year old woman, blind and bedridden, also living in the neighborhood at the dump, had prayed for a chair to sit in because she didn’t have one. When one of my dear friends realized this need, she immediately found a way to get a chair from her home to the old woman. I had the privilege of helping get this chair to the woman, who received it with great joy and laughter! She took hold of my arms to better “see” me and kept repeating that she wanted me to stay with her. J
- Became friends with perhaps the Tracks’ oldest residents, a sweet couple living in a teeny tiny home the size of a walk-in closet. Passing their home on many occasions during Saturday trips to this community, I secretly always wanted a reason to be let inside their make-shift fence and meet them. Well, when the husband stopped me our way back to the car one afternoon to show me his wife’s empty tube of hydrocortisone cream, I found my reason. The next couple trips we made to the Tracks, I got to see them and bring them a few things, and it always blessed me to be greeted so warmly by them and see their cute toothless smiles!
- My heart wept for two little girls no older than 5 years old, running from my friend who called out to them when we saw them downtown in the capital. They were very dirty. One was going to the bathroom right there in the weeds and the dirt, and then she was frightened by us and started crying as she ran away. We wanted to help but lost sight of them. I had never seen such small homeless children like that before right here in the city, but I know there are many. I am saddened and angered at the thought.
- Zach and I having the chance to watch a first-time mom undergo a C-section was pretty awesome. Getting to know our friend, Dr. Rivera, this semester has been even better. Life has not always treated him kindly, but his attitude and devotion to God through it all is incredibly inspiring. His goodbye is going to be one of our hardest!
- Introducing my husband to the clinic in Palín I’ve been working with and seeing him excited and running with ideas for supporting them in the near future continues to leave me awestruck. As a couple, to have the same heart and passion and vision for something truly brings you closer together. I am so thankful for this guy.
