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.