Guatemala 2007

Guatemala was such an awesome trip this year, nothing what I expected, but still awesome. Sunday we left to Guatemala City and started getting ready for VBS that was going to start the next day. Well the first day of VBS started with a kaboom, it was a very good start to VBS. The whole week of VBS was great. Some of the kids I had to discipline, but they are such great kids that just need love and the attention they don’t receive from their parents. I’m telling you that the kids in the US are such materialistic people that I feel sorry for our future. Anyway, VBS was totally tiring, but very rewarding. Ann Marie and Lauren said that I should be an aerobics teacher, lol. Anyway, to sum up VBS, it was totally better than VBS at church, no offense to the church I attend.
When it wasn’t VBS we got to rest and check out the mall and the medical building that the church has. After the mall I think it was Wednesday we went to Hiper, like a Walmart and we had to get stuff for the youth. Well the bus wasn’t going to park inside the parking lot because it wouldn’t have been able to get out, but at the end of it all we had to go in the parking lot. What a mission. It took about 20 minutes to get to the exit and even when we got there we couldn’t go through the thing, and they figured that out after 10 of trying to go through there. So they finally opened a gate to the road, wish they had done that in the beginning, but whatever. I had plenty of times to take a nap, but I ended up either reading my bible or the Harry potter book. I got sick at times either with a headache or a stomach aches, but I survived. I got a little bit of a soar throat, but it’s almost gone, I probably got it from either Genie or Yannick, but whatever.
At the end of the Guatemala mission’s trip I got to stay in Antigua for two nights, totally awesome. My flight left a day after everyone else, but it was totally worth it. The hotel had a spa, and two pools, a gym, and plenty of other things. Much bad music was played; I and Yannick had our ears plugged because it was that bad. I got to buy things at Antigua, but I had to buy food much of the time in Antigua because it wasn’t covered with the whole price of the trip. In Guatemala City I got to bunk with Ann Marie, Lauren, and genie, that was totally fun, I wouldn’t have changed it. We shared each others clothes at time I felt like we were sisters that got along.
It was warmer than I thought it would be. Last year when I went to Guatemala it was cold most of the time, but this time it wasn’t that much cold.

I had two things stuck to me after this trip. One was that when we were saying our good bye’s to the kids they started crying and hugging us saying “Te quiero mucho” meaning I love you. P. Dave told Valentine that some of the kids are neglected by their parents or never see there parents because their working. I overheard it and it hit me like a professional baseball player throwing a ball at my head. Love is all they want and we gave it to them. I had once gotten into the discussion with my dad about going to Guatemala last year and he was telling me that I’m just spending the money to go over there instead of sending it to them so they could have food and such. I totally agree with that, but I had to argue, they don’t just need that. My dad also said that I’m just going their for fame, I’m not saying that I’m a totally selfless person, but I would never think to go there for fame. I love my dad, but I had to disagree with him. These kids just need so much love and taking care of, they just need to know that their important. It burns at my heart that I had to leave. I just want to go back there and just love them.
Another thing that hit me was how the people there rely on God and prayer so much. They pray for everything, for food, for each other. You see kids praying over each other, kids man. I don’t see many people praying much any more. I’ve also been slacking on prayer as well, but once it hit me, I saw how I leave God out of my life sometimes. Usually I just ask God for the big things like patience over my sister, but these kids pray for food, food! Something that I take advantage of. Sometimes I feel like screaming out to America and saying “stop what you’re doing, everything, stop thinking of what you’re doing and look at what’s happening.”
Also, at the end of VBS the administrator of the school asked all the VBS workers to go up on stage and they gave us a drawing of us. And the lady just started crying and saying that she wishes that they could give more for what we were doing for them. I attempted to not cry and succeeded, but I couldn’t stop moving my fingers, which means I’m nervous or attempting not to cry.
I got to see Rigo again, but it wasn’t the same he didn’t seem interested in anything, I don’t know, but I got meet two other kids Mario, and this other girl whom I called “chama”, which means friend in Venezuelan Spanish. I hope I have pictures of them.
Today I felt so out of it. Like I feel how I felt before I went to the mission’s trip, but I feel more depressed, in lack of better word. In Guatemala I felt like I was on a mission, here I just feel like I’m in limbo and God told us not to be lukewarm, but that’s how I kind of feel right now. I hate feeling like this. I wish I could just go back to Guatemala and be with those kids, tell them that their important, that they could do anything they set their mind to do. Just encourage them. I just feel like eating because I just feel this hole in my heart and I just want it to be filled. I feel like God is testing me with something, but I have no idea what. Maybe it has to do with my sister or just taking advantage of rest because I might not have enough of it later in life. I don’t know. I just want to feel on fire for God, not lukewarm.