Guatemala Pictures

More Photos

Now that I have faster Internet at Sea-Tac airport I'll share a few more photos.

Day 4 - Thursday

Part 1 - The Visit to Headquarters

The bus drive from the hotel to the Compassion headquarters for Guatemala was so short I didn't even get settled in! It was the shortest drive of the trip - couldn't have been more than 10 minutes.

After we greeted and passed the security guard our guides for the week (two wonderful Guatemalans both named Claudia) we were taken to a conference type room for a short presentation on Compassion in Guatemala.

Part of the reason for the trip was so that we could see first hand how Compassion works - from the projects with the children to the main office. They were very open with us and I'm impressed with the many layers of accountability the organization has. I'm confident in assuring you that your monthly gift truly does reach those it is intended for.

Compassion began working in Guatemala in 1976 after the big earthquake that took the lives of over 20,000 people. At that time the help offered was immediate relief work. In 1980 Compassion officially opened an office in Guatemala. The Compassion program in this country has grown steadily since.

There are 134 projects in the country right now with 13 more being put together now. In all, over 31,000 children are being helped - over 27,000 of them have personal sponsors. Just imagine, as those children receive the education, nutrition, life skills they need and as they learn about Jesus it is literally changing a country. I continue to be awed by what God is doing here.

Accountability... the local Compassion projects are audited at least every 24 months, more often if the risk is higher - up to several times a year. (This is a real audit - of course Compassion headquarters keeps the local projects accountable through regular staff visits and detailed monthly financial and program reports.) I won't go into the detail but let me just say that the level of accountability is high. Compassion understands well that as donors, we expect our donations to get where they are intended.

Letters... Each month, over 4,000 letters are written by Guatemalan children to their sponsors in the U.S. and around the world. Each month, around 1,000 letters are received from sponsors to their sponsored child. Each week, a team of 16 translators translates the letters. I found it interesting that each letter has a sticker with a bar code on it while it's being processed. Just like FedEx tracks packages so not one is lost, Compassion tracks the letters so not one is lost.

The communication between sponsors and their sponsored children is a key element of the Compassion model. It's something they take very seriously. And with good reason. When we visited the hut home of a Compassion child on the second day he was proud to show us a picture of his sponsor, holding one of his beautiful drawings that he had sent her.

Each Compassion child writes a letter to their sponsor every 4 months. I'm sorry to have to report that the sponsors don't do nearly as good a job at communicating with their children. The staff at Compassion encouraged us to write our sponsored children and to let our listening family at Positive Life Radio know how important this is to the children. (As soon as I get home our family will be writing another letter to our child. I'm looking forward to it.)

They gave us a tour of the offices - very humble digs (as a friend of mine would phrase it) nothing fancy here. But very professional with all the necessary equipment in place to conduct business. About 40 people work at the main office for Guatemala in Guatemala City.

Side note here... One of the staff that works in communications was with us for the first 3 days. Sam took a lot of pictures! And he writes stories on what's happening as well. I got to know Sam quite well - we enjoyed talking together. When we got to his office cubicle he showed me on his computer screen how he had pulled up Positive Life Radio and was listening. Way to go Sam!


Part 2 - Some free time in Antigua

We drove straight to Antigua from the Compassion country headquarters. It was a beautiful drive. We enjoyed a marvelous traditional Guatemalan restaurant and then headed to the Antiqua market for some shopping! This was our first chance to hunt down some gifts for the family - what a blast.

I'll admit that my haggling skills need a lot of refinement. But I was told by our hosts that I got good prices so I felt pretty good. But then when we gathered together and my friend Jarrod showed me his treasures I saw that I had plenty of room for improvement. He got a seller to come down from around $15 to $1.20 for a hand-painted bamboo rain stick. It was great! If I would have had time, I would have gotten one as well, it was beautiful and even at $15 it was a steal so to speak.

I picked up gifts for the family and even for the Positive Life Radio staff including some Guatemalan coffee for the coffee lovers on our team. I think we could have spent an entire day at the market just looking at the beautiful hand-crafted items much less having fun haggling over price with them. (Note that the haggling is fun for both them and us - they love it.)

We headed back to Guatemala City for a final dinner together and some time to debrief on all we had seen and experienced. Several staff from the Compassion office joined us.

It was another amazing and wonderful day in a country I've grown to appreciate much more than I would have anticipated.

Final Day - Traveling Home

When I got to the hotel lobby this morning I discovered I wasn't the only one who didn't sleep much last night. For various reasons, many of our team got at best, 3-4 hours sleep. Some weren't feeling well, others were nervous about missing their 4 a.m. alarm and others were just plain excited to head back home.

After some chatting and snacking we headed out to the bus - said goodbye to our wonderful Compassion hosts - Claudia and Claudia - and left for the airport at 5:30.

In the night a thunderstorm rolled through - I enjoyed the sound of the rain and the distant thunder. But it made for one muggy morning. We had been blessed with very moderate temperatures and humidity the whole trip. And we discovered just how blessed we had been as we headed to the airport and the AC on the bus couldn't keep up. The AC at the airport couldn't keep up either - we were sweating just standing in place! And it was 6 o'clock in the morning! It's the first time in a while I've appreciate the cold, dry air on an airplane.

It was about a 3 hour flight from Guatemala City to Dallas/Fort Worth and what a great feeling when the wheels set down on our home-country soil. I had to really rush through customs, getting my bag - re-checking it and going through security screening again. I grabbed some water and a burrito and when I got to my gate they were boarding the plane. Not much room for error!

I landed in Seattle after a 4 hour flight and am writing now as I wait for my flight home.

It was great to eat lettuce again! Because of the high-probability that we'd get sick, they told us not to eat anything fresh that wasn't peeled. That meant no fresh salads. By last night I was really craving a good home-made salad.

I'm eager to discover how this trip changes my thinking over the coming weeks and months. Experiences like this tend to stick with me and become a part of who I am on a deep level. I'm looking forward to sharing more stories and experiences on the air with the Positive Life Radio family.

Thank you for your prayers for safety and good health while on this trip.

Next... Cambodia! I leave June 10th.

Day 3 - Back to Guatemala City

The day began by getting ready to hop back on the 21 seat plane to fly back to Guatemala City. It was a good trip. It's amazing to see the land from the air - the hills, mountains, crops, communities, and forests. It's such a diverse country. And I don't know how many times I've heard people in our group express their amazement at the huge volcanic mountain we've been able to see from virtually everywhere we've gone in Guatemala.

Once back in Guatemala City we headed to a Compassion project within the city itself. What an afternoon!

As we arrived they were serving the children lunch. They invited us right in to help serve so we carried trays to the classrooms where the eager children ate it right up! It was fun to help out in a practical way like this. It was a reminder of how the children in the project get great nourishment. I thought of the many children in Guatemala who are not getting the good food they need to help them grow and develop properly.

As we finished serving their lunch, several of our team started a pick-up game of soccer with some of the older kids. What fun! They all played hard and had a good time with the international communication tool of sports.

As they were playing, a number of younger children were brought out to meet us. They lined up on the steps. I didn't realize it right away but soon found out that these 25 children didn't have sponsors. I took so many pictures... I'll share a couple here but hope to get more on-line as soon as I can. It was a tearful moment for many of us as we talked with the young children (through interpreters or through trial and error Spanish) and thought of how their lives would, or I should say will, be different when they are sponsored.

One little boy in particular caught our eye - Antonio - or Tonio for short. He couldn't have been more than 3. (About the same age as my youngest child.) It was his first day at the Compassion project and he was very, very sad. He was crying - with no end in sight. Several of the team held him, rocked him, talked with him and joked with him but for at least an hour or so he was just so sad.

Our team stuck with it - just letting the little guy know he wasn't alone - that he was loved. After an hour or maybe more, the tears stopped. He wasn't happy - still sad, but he stopped crying.

The team kept engaging him, now with things like blowing bubbles and stickers. And slowly, ever so slowly, he came around - and he smiled. Then he laughed. Then he played.

It hit me as a great illustration of what happens with the children who are sponsored and go through the Compassion program.

When they first arrive - life is very hard for them. They're not sure how to cope.

As they participate in the education, as they learn about Jesus, as they are well-nourished - they gain hope, they begin to see light at the end of the tunnel.

After they've been in the program for a while - they have hope and they begin to dream. Where before there was no dream - it was all about where their next meal would come from, now they can dream, dream about being a doctor, a teacher, a pastor, a policeman. And once the dream starts, there's no telling how far they'll go. The cycle of poverty is broken. Their life and in many cases their families lives are changed - permanently - for generations.

Day 2

A celebration of Christian believers. I've been wondering all day how to write this next segment. I've had over a day to think about it but it's still hard to put in words. What an amazing welcome we received at the Belen Student Center at Canton Juchanep, 87 km south of Huehuetenango in Guatemala.

We drove up, up and up. Way up into the beautiful mountains of Guatemala. Pine trees were abundant, the air was clear.

As we pulled to a stop outside the church/school our welcoming committee lit off a 2 foot long string of fire crackers! What a welcome! But that was just the beginning. As we walked in the marimba music was playing, the children lined the walkway the floor was covered with long, fresh pine needles to cushion our walk (and add a great scent!). And in place at the end of the child lined walkway we were taken by the hand by one of the children, greeted and led to our seats. They blessed us with a nice traditional dance number, introduced us to the projects staff and shared a few stats with us on the success of the program.

And that was only the beginning of a wonderful day. They served us a beautiful lunch (one that is traditionally served at wedding celebrations) and kept us fed with snacks of fruit and homemade bread all day long. I could write a small book describing all we experienced. We played with the kids, they taught us a traditional dance, and we took a wonderful tour of their classrooms.

In addition to the usual classroom education they showed us their music class (they practice and play for worship at church), sewing class (they were sowing polo shirts at the time), typing class, baking class (this one looked fun!) computer class and a special ed class.

Many of the boys and girls in the baking class are looking forward to one day opening their own bakery business. Which is possible because of micro-loans which are available to some. This, of course, breaks the cycle of poverty for this family which is simply amazing.

I mentioned the special ed class. It's taught by a psychology student from the university as an unpaid 6-month internship. This is a good example of how the $32 a month that sponsors pay buys so much - many people donate their time and talent in helping these beautiful children.

Note: The rest of this blog post was written yesterday (Tuesday) but posted today because we're now back in Guatemala City and have Internet access.

Leadership Development Program presentation.

Four amazing young people that were specifically selected for Compassion’s leadership development program – studying to be a doctor, psychologist, human resource specialist, lawyer. To hear their stories about how they got into the LDP program was fantastic. The way they are leading in their churches and communities (even before they graduation from college) is amazing. Their trust in God was evident. This special training will not only change their lives, but also their families. It’s a key component in breaking the cycle of poverty. Many times in the evening they shared with us how their dreams are coming true, thanks to their sponsors and Compassion. It was a privilege to pray for them after the presentation was concluded. Dreams coming true…

As I’ve observed the children in the Compassion projects the last two days and as I heard from and talked with the older students in the leadership development program I’m convinced that most of us as sponsors understand to only a small degree how much this changes their lives. And I don’t think we fully comprehend how that one changed life causes ripples of change in their families and their communities and their country.

We visited the home (built over 100 years ago with adobe and stones) of a young man today who is close to finishing the Compassion program. He’s 17. His mother shared with us how much it means to her that he was able to be in the Compassion program. Her husband had died just a few years ago from sirosis of the liver. Alcohol is a problem with many men in Guatemala. But before he died, he passed along his love of art to his son who has taken drawing up whole heartedly. He’s a very talented young man. In fact, he made a drawing for each of us. Beautiful! His father and his sponsorship in Compassion gave him the confidence and knowledge to proceed with his art ability. When asked if he’s sold any of his art he said yes. He also said that his friends sometimes come to him with a request. They ask him to draw something that will express their feelings for girls they want to impress. He laughed as he shared this. We laughed too.

Bethania Student Center in Pasac L, Cantal

Note: This blog post was written Monday evening. It was posted today because I didn't have Internet access until now.

Unprepared. I’ve heard the stories many times of what it’s like to visit the children at a Compassion project. I’ve seen the pictures, even video, but I was unprepared. And actually, I don’t believe a person can be prepared. It knocked the wind out of me. As we drove up in the small rental bus many of the children were outside getting ready for us. The teacher was putting the final touches on a welcome sign above the school doorway and there was a lot of excitement in the air.

Then I looked into the faces of the children and it hit me. I was holding back the tears. I’m glad no one tried to talk with me much for the first hour or so we were there – I couldn’t have done it. I was choked up the whole time. Knowing what these children have been through and what they’re going through and still they laugh, play, and make faces for the camera.

The children with their teachers provided a wonderful program that included a lot of singing, poems, Bible verses, presentation of gifts to us, and so much more it’s hard to describe. It was very special for all of us visitors. But they wanted to make it clear, they were overwhelmingly grateful for our visit – and for our sponsorship. They told us how they pray for us daily – did you get that – they pray for us.

After the program several of us went with 8 year old Ilvia on what they call a home visit. She took us about half a mile to a home that had been wonderfully straightened and cleaned up for us, but to be blunt, many of us in America wouldn’t keep our farm animals in this place. It was a home, only because a family lived there and a family is what makes a home, not because the structure qualified for the title.

It was up on the side of a hill. The floor was dirt, the walls were some kind of adobe with stone. It looked like it may have been built a hundred years ago. There were three very small rooms (each maybe 8X10 feet). Two small beds in one, a small kitchen in one, and the third was filled almost entirely with a weaving loom. As we walked in you could hear the clunk of the loom. Turns out, 14 year old Elvin, the oldest in the family that’s still home, works at the loom weaving cloth 12 hours a day, 5 days a week. He sells the cloth to someone else who sells it at the market. He goes to school on Saturdays and Sundays he studies. He’s the primary income earner of the family.

There is no father – he passed away some time ago. There are 6 children in the family, 5 still at home. The mother, Victoriana, broke into tears as we walked up to where they live. She was crying tears of joy and thankfulness for our visit. While none of us in the small group were personally sponsoring her children, we represented the children’s sponsors. She hugged each of us and welcomed us in.

We talked with her (through an interpreter) for quite a while. It was an amazing experience. One I’m finding hard to relate here with a computer keyboard. She told us how she felt so alone (since her husband died) and how she has a lot of pain at times when it’s cold and damp with her bones. She broke into tears again as she was telling us this and as she wondered out loud, “God do you care, why is my family in this situation, are you punishing me?” As she talked, several of us began to tear up again – hearing the pain of a mother in this situation is a heart wrenching experience.

I was honored when the Compassion director with us asked if I would pray for the family. We all put our arms around each other and in a spirit of Christian love prayed together. It was an exceptional experience – an amazing experience – a once in a lifetime experience to be able to pray for them as the tears flowed from Victoriana’s eyes and heart.

We took a bunch of pictures together said good-byes and left to return to the school.

Back at the school I took some great video of the children singing songs to Jesus in their classrooms. What a great way to brighten things up! I hope to get the video footage on Positive Life Radio’s website. I’ll keep you posted.

So at the end of the day, I’m physically very tired and emotionally exhausted. It’s going to take some time for my mind and heart to process all I’ve seen.

Traveling to Quetzaltenango

After breakfast we got ready to leave Guatemala City for Quetzaltenango and then our first visit to a Compassion project village. We found out we had a 25 pound limit for our bags so quickly scaled back what we would take. The representative for K-Dove from Visalia, CA. had a big bag so I put a few things in his – we left that bag in Guatemala City and he put some things in my smaller bag for the two day trip – we’re good!

The flight was a great experience. It was a chartered small plane – seating 21 seats or so. As we took off we got a good view of Guatemala City – over 3 million people live there. And right to our left was an amazing conical volcano. We all took a bunch of pictures out the windows and in the plane as well. As we traveled over the countryside I was struck by how different everything looked. The structures – houses, apartments, business buildings – all looked like they were half built. Perhaps build many years ago then partly added on to. Many were in severe disrepair and crumbling.

The small bus ride from the airstrip in Quetzaltenango was spectacular. It was truly what you might expect – like out of the movies – for Central America. Hundreds of small shops in buildings that looked a couple of hundred years old. People everywhere – they live outside here. And the older women were almost always in a traditional blouse and skirt, very colorful. They often carried bags or baskets on their heads. Many of the women, young and old, had braided their hair into one long braid down the back.

And interesting side note… I saw two radio station vehicles – like station vans – with big speaker horns on the top and the radio frequency on the side. Unfortunately I was too slow with the camera as the sped by.

It’s obviously a poor country, the people don’t seem to have a lot when you look at the surface. But as I’ve talked with our hosts and interacted with locals at the hotels and restaurants it’s apparent that they don’t need “things” to be happy and content. I’m reminded that simple is good. And I’m reminded that even the poor in America are rich by much of the world’s standards.

Towing a 737

Almost forgot to mention... We all looked at each other on the plane last night after we landed in Guatemala City and taxied a bit the pilot came on and said they'd be shutting down the engines, hooking up a generator and they would tow us to the gate. Huh? That was a new one. We all left our speculative thoughts to ourselves.

First Morning in Guatemala

We're closer to the airport than I thought! An hour or so after I turned out the light (maybe 1 or so this morning) a large plane flew overhead! Sounded like it was going to land on the hotel. On the other hand, around 4 this morning, before the traffic kicked up, I heard some great bird calls - some I've never heard before. Enjoyed that and look forward to more.

And thanks to something we take for granted these days I've been listening to Positive Life Radio this morning as I'm getting ready - the Netcast at www.plr.org. Nice to hear the familiar music. Although when Steven Curtis Chapman's "Cinderella" came on this morning it made me miss my two little girls at home. My morning worship today was listening to "Breath" by Micheal W. Smith (among other great PLR songs!)

I can tell I'm at a higher elevation (about the same as Denver) and we're going even higher here in a couple hours and will be at 11,000 feet for a few days.

We head back to the airport in a couple hours and fly to Quetzaltenango. This afternoon we'll visit the Bethania Student Center, at Pasac I, Cantal, 10km south of Quetzaltenango. It's a small community of about 1700. Half the adults there are unemployed. Some work in factories and earn the equivalent of $75 a month. It's a mountainous community where a typical house is constructed of cement floors, adobe walls and sheet metal roofs. The primary ethnic group and language is Quiche.

Arrived in Guatemala City

Made it! After getting to know the Dallas airport a bit and having a good meal at a Mexican restaurant I met up with 13 others from around the U.S. who are on the Compassion trip as well. We were all on the same flight from Dallas to Guatemala City. We arrived just a bit late and all made it through customs ok.

The local Compassion staff was there to meet us with a small bus and took us to the hotel. It was fun to hear some of the people in the group (especially some of the kids - there are 3) get excited when they saw a Burger King and a McDonalds. Nothing like a little bit of home. Then they saw the Porche dealer. Only two cars in the showroom that I could see as we drove by.

They had bottled water waiting for us so we're set! We've been warned - "Don't forget - used bottled water when you brush your teeth." I'll try to remember...

Looking forward to traveling again tomorrow morning then seeing our first Compassion project in the afternoon.

Seattle

Interesting flight to Seattle. My normal routine is to sit tight on an early morning flight and either read a bit or rest. This morning was different. The guy I sat next to asked if I was headed out on work or personal so I told him I was headed to Guatemala on a Compassion International trip.

As it turned out, he not only knows of Compassion but he’s a believer as well so we had a good conversation about kids, Christian radio, and his family a bit. He had been in town for his grandmother’s funeral and was headed home – back to Tampa, FL. I introduced him to Positive Life Radio (he’s going to listen on-line) and we talked about Compassion as well and the good work they’re doing.

When we got off the plane another guy came up to me (he had been sitting just a couple people away on the same row.) He asked who I was, “I thought so!” he said. “I listen to you on Positive Life Radio!” Didn’t get to talk with him much but was able to wish him safe travels.

It was a ministry opportunity – before I even got to Seattle! God is going to do great things through this trip. Pray with me that more opportunities will come up to talk with others about Christ.

In Seattle now so had to get some coffee – right? Had a extra dark Mocha from a Mocha Café (my kind of place.) Very nice.

I’m a little apprehensive about food on this trip. So many people have cautioned me about what I eat and drink. Seems like at least a couple people in a group this size always get sick. I don’t want to be one of them. I’ve been sick on the road before – so miserable. But still others have said, “No big deal – you’ll be fine!” I’ll go with the latter.

Traveling to Guatemala City

After some late night packing and a 4 hour rest I kissed my two precious little girls good bye as they slept. With my wife waving at the door I left home at 5:30 this morning, headed for Guatemala City to see Compassion International in action.

It's a decent schedule today but anything over 4 hours seems long to me these days. It'll take 14 hours or so - door to door. I'm ready for it and looking forward to sharing some of the toys my girls put together for the children in Guatemala.

They're just about ready to board the flight to Seattle - better get going...

From here to Seattle. Seattle to Dallas. Dallas to Guatemala City.