Friday, Nov. 29^th

It has been a productive last day for all of us at San Lucas.

Our day started for some with mass with Father Kurt followed with breakfast.  Jaclyn, Katherine, Tim, Karen, Sillviano & Sherry hiked the mountain across from Lake Alitlan .  The hike took two hours and from the top there was a beautiful of San Lucas. Coming down was very interesting. J

Today we finished the stove we had started earlier in the week. Some of us also went to the medicinal herb garden and the Women’s Center. In the herb garden the herb’s that we shucked turned our hands bright orange! They will probably still be orange when we get back.

This is the last day we will spend with the wonderful people of San Lucas but it was also the beginning for two Guatamalens. Nichole Paladie was on a mission here four years ago and she made a promise to two San Lucas residents. Today that promise was fulfilled. Nichole, with the group, delivered two pet carts and now these two people have means to get around without the use of their legs. God bless you Nichole. You gave two people hope and so much love, the love radiated from their faces and their families.

We have all had some awesome experiences throughout the week. It has been a blessing for all of us.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

               Happy Thanksgiving! J

               We started this special day traveling to a nearby town called Santiago, where an American, missionary priest, named Father Stan Rother, served. He was assassinated during the civil war. He is considered a hero and martyr by all. He followed Christ’s example, “A shepherd does not abandon his sheep.” Father Stan laid down his life for his people.

               Jesus asks us all to take care of poor. Sometimes we are afraid to truly give up ourselves to others. As Americans, we do this to make ourselves feel safe and comfortable. The people of Guatemala do not think of themselves as poor, even though they do not have many material goods. Most are grateful for a simple meal and roof over their head. We are learning to appreciate the simple things in life and to let go of our tangible desires.

               The youth took part in an avid soccer tournament and had a great time! They played with the other group of kids as well as a few locals. Compared to locals, the Americans were not very good. It was a great way to experience their culture and develop relationships.  

               This Thanksgiving was not the typical day for us. Americans from neighboring towns all came to the mission to celebrate. The Americans who live here currently were very excited to celebrate our tradition together. One family came from an hour away!

               This Thanksgiving we are truly thankful and it is a day we will never forget.

November 27

 

We started the day celebrating mass with Fr. Kurt. Our work day started at

9:00 with a group going back to finish up the stoves and the rest worked in the medicinal herb gardens and coffee bean sorting. The herbs turned everyone's hands bright orange and the cement from the stoves just made everyone dirty. It was completely worth it. Jaclyn and Katherine made sure that a soccer ball was taken to the children they had met the day before when making stoves. The kids had a lot of fun playing with their new ball.

Karen met a new family of children and was very tired from running around playing freeze tag with them. All of the children here are so happy and can entertain themselves by doing the simplest things.

Victor from the medicinal garden has written a book on natural remedies. We will be purchasing the book but unfortunately it is in spanish. Most of us will need it translated even though our spanish is improving.

We spent the afternoon sorting coffee and also deciding how much coffee we all wanted to buy. so look forward to having a nice cup of Guatemalan coffee.

 

Everyone is fine. The week is going quickly and the experience is beyond our expectations. Dios vayan contigo!



Tuesday November 26, 2013

We started our day with Fr. Kurt celebrating mass with us. After breakfast we loaded into the back of a pickup and proceeded to a village 20 minutes out of San Lucas. Our project today was building stoves. We were supposed to build two stoves but there was confusion and only enough materials for one stove. The family we visited was a joy to be around. There were four little girls who really opened up to us and we had a great day playing with them. We even played some soccer with a few little boys. Returning to San Lucas we observed a funeral procession going down the street. The children lead the procession carrying beautiful flowers as they carry the casket from the church to the cemetery.

Some of the group went to visit one of Nichole’s friends, Bonafossia, from her last visit to Guatemala. They took a “tuk tuk” ( a little vehicle) which was pretty fun. Seeing his house was a very humbling experience as him and his family of eight practically live in a hut, but a hut full of love. His family is looking forward to the cement house they are going to have built soon.

Another group went to the cemetery in San Lucas where Fr. Greg is buried. This is a very interesting cemetery as everything is above ground. There are cement huts in which everyone is buried.

We also celebrated two birthdays today. Eileen and Hannah’s (a senior from the other group). Jaclyn and Katherine frosted a big, round chocolate cake that Chona (the cook) had made. It was delicioso! Also, Happy Birthday to Torey in Minnesota. Your mom loves you.

Monday, November 25

Monday morning started with breakfast at the mission.  We have all our meals together with whoever is here working – this week we have a group from St. Paul –Cretin-Derham hall.  They do this through their school – wonderful kids who are full of joy & fun (just like our SCHS kids).

First off we went on a tour to all the different sites at the mission. The Women’s Center was really neat. It is a place where women can come with their children and learn how to weave, cook, and sew and to find a peace of mind in a place of their own. The women work inside while the children are outside at the playground. We plan on going and playing with the children this week. Next we went to the clinic. We met the doctors and looked at the surgery rooms. The other group was there building a wall around the clinic. At the Reforestation Center we learned about lots of different plants, especially some of the different herbs used for medicines. Then we learned about the coffee process. From the planting to the harvesting. This is a major source of income for many people.

The remaining of the day was spent learning the history of San Lucas. It is unbelievable to know that only sixteen years ago there was a civil war going on here. The grief and terror that the people here experienced was far from anything that we can imagine happening to us. The mission has been so important in maintaining the livelihood of the people of San Lucas and many neighboring towns. But as we all know everything passes away and moves on except for the Kingdom of God.

Sunday, November 24, 2013        

Today was our first full day at the mission in San Lucas. The scenery here is muy bonita. We are surrounded by rounded mountains and there might have been a few volcanoes (were not really sure because to us all the mountains look like volcanoes). The clouds are so low and cover the tips of the mountains. Everything is green and lots of flowers. Our leader at the mission, Katie, says that it is “perpetual spring” here and everything is always blooming. That’s pretty impressive to us Minnesotans. We are also right next to Lake Atitlan which is 2,000 ft. deep.

We all are feeling a little bit better after getting a full night of sleep. Yesterday we had quite a long van ride which consisted of 15 people sandwiched in a van for a three hour long roller coaster ride. Oh and we got a flat tire too. This was miraculously fixed in 5 minutes with a plug! We did eventually get to the mission around 5 in the evening.

We live in hotel Iquita which is three blocks from the mission church. There is a great balcony that overlooks Lake Atitlan. The staircase has a very low overhang but it’s okay because only a few of us have goose eggs on our heads.:) There is a sign that says watch you head (in English) but who reads those anyway.

               Today is our free/tourism day. Mass was held at 7:30 this morning and ALMOST everyone attended. Father Kurt led mass entirely in Spanish, which was a totally new experience for most of us. I’m pretty sure everyone at least got the Amens. Breakfast was held at 8:30 and we went on a boat trip at 9:30. We travelled in a suped-up fishing boat across a lake in the middle of mountains. STUNNING! Our first stop was to a town called San Antonio. We visited a clothing shop were most things were hand-made. We may or may not have spent a lotttt of quetzals there. The next store we “climbed” to was a pottery store. Everything was hand painted and pretty amazing!!!  Next we ate lunch at a neighboring town and ate some local Guatemalan cuisine. We watched a soccer game and then headed back to San Lucas. In San Lucas we went to the market and found lots of little treats. The ice cream was very good! We also had to get our chocolate fixes.  We then had supper and spent some time playing games and getting to know the other group (from St. Paul!) at the mission. Then devotions and to bed to get rested for our first day of work!!!

Meeting the Guatemalans and starting to understand how they live has been both a beautiful and humbling experience. They are rich in their own way and not by the standards we set. There is something for each of us to learn from these people.

Friday November 22, 2013.  We journey up to the Twin Cities this afternoon!

What a blessing it has been to prepare for this great journey to San Lucas Mission the past year!

We wanted to share with you about the donations received...

We were able to donate over $3500.00 to help build tile stoves for families and to meet the missions immediate needs.  Without your generosity, none of this would have been possible!

As you can see from the photo (attached) we are also bringing 6 suitcases full of supplies.  One suitcase is full of  toothpaste for Casa Shalom , an orphanage we will be visiting a couple of days, and it is located just outside of San Lucas Toliman.  We also are bringing new baby sleepers, quality toys, new sporting equipment for the mission school and orphanage, medical supplies, and special supplies the mission requested.

We are also blessed to bring over 100 homemade rosaries and lap blankets! 

Thank you to everyone who have helped make this trip possible!

What a privilege it is to be able to travel with Fr. Kurt, my own priest and to share this trip with my friends~ my brothers and sisters in Christ!

Pray for us that the Spirit would lead us, protect us and that we would be instruments of Christ's love.

 

Pax et Bonum,