Tuesday April 9, 2019

Greenbank-Seagrave Mission Team

Tuesday April 9, 2019

Breakfast at 7:30 again this morning.  Hot Guatemalan coffee followed up with eggs, sausages and black beans.  Most of us enjoyed our morning coffee on the back porch serenaded by chipper Central American birds.  It was a lovely but humid day.  It is about 23’C here during the day plus humidity but drops in the evening to about 14’C.  Our ride arrived for 8am and we were off to The School of Hope to drop of Brian so that he could teach English with Carlos again today.  

Brian’s second day teaching English  K-3 was very rewarding. Very few Indigenous children from Guatemala make it to college or university since government rules require students to be fluent in English to pass the entrance exams. Brian re-capped lesson design for Carlos and introduced him to “The Third Teacher” concept. In which classroom materials are thoughtfully added to the environment to promote creativity, thinking and problem solving skills, questions, experimentation and open-ended experiences. Second language learners can be sponges if given the right conditions. Brian and Carlos are having fun learning together. However, after exhausting day, Brian was in bed by 7:15 pm. 

The rest of the team headed to Cajagualten School – a remote village,  built into the mountain side, that has never had a team visit before.

We were greeted by about 175 students, who were standing at attention during their national anthem.  Their morning assembly was about Racial Discrimination, and they were being instructed to be polite, respectful and welcoming to the Canadians who were here to visit.  Their poster depicted different colored people, and clearly with the staring eyes and skeptical looks at our skin, colored eyes, light hair and 67’ tall Stan with a beard, that they had seen very little, if any at all “white” Canadians.  The Principal welcomed us and Juli had the opportunity to speak with the kids and introduce the team.  Our intention today was to build relationships, extend trust and lay a foundation for future teams to continue support in their community and school down the road.

It didn’t take long for the children to open up, welcome us in…soccer has a way of bridging all social gaps!  Rod was in charge of the ever popular “futbol” game. He divided the children into teams of 8 and handed them either a blue or yellow soccer jersey. The level of enthusiasm and talent was amazing not only with the boys but with the girls as well. The last team of the day had fewer players so one of the teachers played goalie for the blue team and Rod got to play goalie for the yellow team and judging by the smiles on their faces they had just as much fun as the kids.

Kelly and Dianne had the parachute, sidewalk chalk, skipping ropes and Velcro tennis ball toss. They loved all of the activities. The boys liked skipping as much as the girls. Dianne showed them how to step into the rotating rope to skip. Some accomplished this and they were very proud of themselves. Kelly tried to play tic-tac-toe with a small group but found they had never seen it before. They watched with great interest but never really grasped the game. It was a great  morning of fun and games with the kids.

The children were eager to sit in a grand circulo (big circle) and learn a new craft.  As we've seen in the last few days - some kids picked it up immediately, and right away started helping their classmates.  Working so closely with the kids we saw how extreme poverty has affected them.  Some children had skin conditions, others had severe respiratory infections - but all were happy to be in school with us.  Many of the older children were so excited to finish their craft that, although they didn't finish during the session, they gobbled up their lunches so they could work on them before classes resumed.

In the side of a mountain was the best place to talk about structures. We had four large groups of students to work through the structures center.  Again they amazed us with their building skills. They were even making structures by weaving sticks together that were secure and stable.  It was organized chaos to say the least, but the children loved the LEGO and seemed to really grasp how to engineer a stable structure.

Fitting shoes on the feet of over 150 students this morning was a challenge both logistically and emotionally. Our inventory of shoes was somewhat limited after yesterday's shoe distribution and the need for shoes was great. As the morning proceeded it became more and more challenging to find a proper fit for the children. They were all very appreciative and polite - even the few we were unable to fit. Those children were given the option of a larger size or a pair of shoes for a sibling, Mom or Dad. We worked hard to ensure each and every child left with a pair of socks and shoes even if not exactly their current size. 

The children loved the goody bags and soccer backpacks! We presented the Principal and the teachers with supplies for their school, soccer balls and skipping ropes and a set of soccer jerseys.  They were so happy and excited, they invited us to come back every year!  They explained that the school is comprised of children from 4 different Indigenous communities, each one having a different dialect and that their resources for learning are very lean.  We extended an invite to the teachers to join us later in the week for Brian’s teacher training session at the School of Hope.  They were excited to be included and kept saying “God Bless You.”  It was an emotional exchange that was full of gratitude on both sides.

There were a few tears in the van on the way back for lunch.  Many of us needed to take a moment to decompress after seeing the extreme poverty.  There were moments that were so raw, but we have to push through to serve the kids, and be inconspicuous with our expressions and emotions so that we are not offensive.  It isn’t because we are being judgemental, it is because life here is so vastly different than home for us.  Sometimes, we have to compartmentalize those shocking moments, and when we are safe with each other again, we can debrief and share our experiences to find a place to put our experiences.

Lunch was Ah-mazing!  We ate on the balcony with a beautiful breeze – hamburgers with corn tortillas, veggies, fruit and snacks. So far, we have had no complaints about the food here, our Loving Arms hosts are treating us so well!   It was a quick turn-around to get to our afternoon activities.

Rod and Dianne made their way to the school construction work site at the School of Hope property. They were instructed to measure the planks that were dropped off and separate them into 3 piles for the cement forms. Once this was complete they joined the build a home team that were loading the walls, doors, windows and roof materials. 

Judy, Doug, Kelly and Stan were excited to complete construction of the last two walls, a door and two windows today! With the help of our lead carpenter, Miquel, they loaded 14 wall panels, a door, two windows as well as the metal roofing and roof strapping into the back of a 1 ton pickup truck and transported it to the Build site in the town of Parramos. Assembly of the new home is set to go right on schedule for tomorrow afternoon! 

Juli and Stephanie worked with four women from the sewing co-op. Today they learned how to make a school uniform from start to finish. Their sewing skills have improved immensely over the years. They competed two uniforms, size 6 and size 8. The women were very proud of their work. While the women were sewing away Juli and Stephanie “MacGyvered” the ironing board which was no longer useable, after some twisting and pulling of metal they converted it into a table top model. Juli and Stephanie had taken sewing lessons with Deb Ward before coming to Guatemala – they were thankful for the patterns and instructions that Deb provided so that they could be the instructors for this project.  Our team over the last 6 years have made more than 60 uniforms for The School of Hope.  Today, we passed this project over to the women’s co-op so that they will sustain this project from now on.  It was so rewarding to see their growth, initiative and excitement to take on this new responsibility!

The women from the Crochet Co-op proudly returned to the School of Hope in the afternoon to show off the work they had completed at home the night before.  One of the women had raced ahead on the market bag project and completed it - making her own design for the handle.  The other women talked about different designs they could make on the bags to customize them.  Everyone had a good grasp on the project and they decided as a group that they wanted to learn how to make slippers. Krista made a design on the fly and with the help of one of the women, explained it to the group.  Two of the ladies completed a full slipper before we ended for the day - and before they left, they arranged a day to meet at one of their homes to complete the pair of slippers and the bags.  The ladies were sent home with a bag of yarn for additional projects as well as a hygiene kit in a backpack made by the Church ladies back home.  They were very grateful.

We travelled back to Antigua arriving at 5:30. Carmen had dinner ready for us at 6 – chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables.  We are so blessed to have a great cook…she has a knack for unique sauces and spices…needless to say we have not one complaint!  The rest of the evening has been spent chatting, blogging, debriefing our day and enjoying each other’s company.  The team has really gelled nicely and the relationships forming will last a lifetime.  

We close out with a thank you for following us, praying for us, and supporting us in this journey.  We are so grateful to be here.

GS Mission Team