Saturday
Good evening to all,
As I write this, we are again at the hostel in Guatemala City. Let me catch you up on a few things that have happened in the last day or so...
First of all, I forgot to mention this the other day, but Sunday at church, Emilio pulled our group aside and introduced us to a man who'd had a terrible accident and lost one of his eyes. His wife has been working hard in the last week to make up for her husband being out of work. He wanted to know if we'd be interested in buying some purses that his wife makes, to help their family out. We said yes, and two evenings later the wife showed up at the school with her goods. I was SO stinkin' proud of our youth that night... they JUMPED on the opportunity to help this family out. Boys were buying purses just because, and saying that they'd find someone to give them to as a gift when they got home. The girls were buying them even though they may not have been exactly what they'd wanted. The woman was crying - in shock, really - at how, without blinking, these kids bought almost every bag she brought that night. Needless to say, I was fighting bad the tears myself... What a precious moment.
Speaking of giving... Our group had another opportunity to bless a family, one of the families that we had dinner with this week. This family has found themself in a rough situation monetarily, and they didn't know how to get out of the situation they were in. Their story was told to me not as one where they were asking for money, but because they know that I care about them, and that they covet my prayers, they wanted me to know their situation. It's can be easy for one to be taken advantage of down here as the people think we have a lot of money, but this was FAR from one of those situations. On my own, after talking with Scott, we agreed that we'd let the group know about this need, and that only if they felt as if they wanted to help, could they give me some money to pass on to this family. We left it at that - no pressure! Scott and I had some money already set aside that we gave the family this afternoon, and then out of the corner of my eye as others were telling them goodbye, I noticed SEVERAL of the kids handing the dad some money. He had tears in his eyes as he timidly put his hand out to accept it. I could hardly hold back tears as some of these kids later told me that they wanted to give it directly to him because they wanted him to know that THEY cared about the situation his family was in, and they - of their own accord - wanted to help him; to bless him. What gracious hearts... And again, what a precious moment... I imagine those are some moments where God is watching his children intently, smiling - maybe with a tear of joy in his eyes as well - thinking, "Well done... well done..."
As our last project yesterday, after everything else was finished, there was a sewing project Emily Allen had been assigned to that she needed some help with. Being that she hadn't had much help all week since everyone was off doing other projects they'd been assigned to, she had a lot left to do. So, I set out to rally the troops, and you should have seen it! We had almost our whole team pinning fabric to be sewn, cutting out fabric to be pinned - the GUYS were showing the other guys how to pin fabric! Quite the sight! I loved it! Most everyone was more than willing to jump in and help, even if it WAS a "girly" project... : ) AND, we got SO much done.... This team rocks!
Then there's last night... Wow. It was our last night in San Pedro, and Emilio and Ester always put together a special dinner for the groups. We eat at the school, and this year we ate with the teachers from the school. We've had lots of opportunities to interact with the teachers this week, and it proved to be a wonderful (even though that word just doesn't seem to do it justice...) evening spent with them. We ate, and then began the good stuff... Several of the teachers spoke, saying how much they appreciated all the work we did, how they enjoyed the time we spend with them, and how blessed they were to have had the opportunity to get to know us, feeling as if they known us for years, not merely day. They sang a song for us (while we all got nice and teary!), and then came time for our group to share some words with them. Was I ever shocked at what followed....... Let me tell you that normally a few people in the groups are brave enough to get up and share, while the rest are content to stay in their seats. This group would have none of that. I think every person in our group got up and spoke. But that wasn't even what impressed me, as much as what they had to say did... We have a lot of youth with some rough backgrounds on this trip, and they were ALL touched SO deeply by the love that was shown them through the people of San Pedro, most could hardly compose themselves long enough to talk. Some sobbed, as they confessed that this was the first time they'd REALLY felt LOVED - love that they recognized was like that of Jesus... unconditional. Some couldn't get over the fact that these people really don't know us, yet they treat us as if we're family. There was not ONE person who got up and spoke who wasn't brought to tears by the overwhelming sense of Jesus love between us and the brothers and sisters of San Pedro - all the leaders included. There is no way that I can express in words in an email how special a night it was, and how "touched" EVERYone was. Let's just say that Emilio had to run to the house for more napkins because there weren't enough to dry up all our tears! Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of realization of the love that Jesus has for us and what that can look like when we reach out in relationship with one another, tears of when we reach out beyond what we're comfortable with and God meets us there in those moments in ways that He knows we need most.
That night is always difficult for me because I know that I must once again leave these people that have, over the last 11 years, truly become my family. The thought that always comes to mind now, though, is that I can say that I truly look forward to the day that Jesus comes to "take us home" - those of us who have a relationship with Him - because I won't have to say "goodbye" anymore...... I really believe that we experience a little bit of what heaven must be like while down here. To be in relationship with brothers and sisters, while the love of Jesus COMPELS us to reach out to those in need and to literally be His hands and feet, and to also be on the receiving end of that love..... is indescribable.
This morning, we got up early, packed, and headed to the dock where most tears awaited us. San Pedrans came to see us off, and we said goodbye to those we'd loved on and been loved by all week. One of the boys really broke down at this point... It was one who, when sharing his testimony, mentioned how he'd never REALLY felt truly loved his whole life; and at that moment, saying goodbye, I think it hit him hard that he had REALLY been loved this week. Oh how the love of Jesus works miracles in lives... if only we'd make room for it and allow it to flow out of us instead of guarding it and only giving it out when someone deserves it....
It was a quiet boat ride over to Panajachel, but then began some fun for everyone. Panajachel is a tourist attraction, and there's LOTS of shopping to be done and fun things to see. Kids bought gifts and souveniers, and then it was back on the bus for us. Five hours later, we arrived here in Guatmala City and ate pizza for dinner. It's going to be an interesting night as some are going to bed, and some are going to try to stay up, being that we leave at 4 am to walk to the airport. (Yikes!) Please pray for us that all goes well checking in tomorrow (sometimes they like to tear open our luggage and rummage around), and that we all stay healthy through our day of travel. (STILL no one has been sick this trip - thank you Jesus!)
And with that... I'm off to collect money for the yummy coffee your kids are bringing home to you!
We'll see you sooner than later!
-Liz Luber
Friday
Well.... this is the beginning of the end... We are all starting to feel that our time her is drawing to an end. It's a sad time, but sweet too, as you really start to see that our time here has meant something and has impacted us all.
Yesterday was more of the same - tortillas, firewood, stoves, maintenance of stoves, painting doors, covering desks. We worked the kids hard, knowing it was pretty much the last of the hard work we had to do.
Last night we went to the house of Dora and Elias (Dora is who I worked in the kitchen with 5 years ago, and Scott and I sponsor one of their boys). Dora and I were - once again - in the kitchen cooking while everyone else chatted and swapped stories with the rest of their family. We ate "pupusas." They are oh-so-yummy! They are the typical food of El Salvador, and are made of two tortillas cooked together with cheese, meat, beans, or whatever you'd like inside, then topped with a fresh saurkraut. (For those of you who are cringing in disgust, I'll tell you what I tell everyone - you have to TRY them! It never sounds good, but most everyone is pleasantly surprised when they actually try the saurkraut on top.... We even have a "Pupuseria" there in Anchorage. It is owned by people that go to FCC. Worth a stop in sometime.......) Anyways... it was a lot of fun, but most were pretty worn out, so we called it a night and went to bed.
This morning we ate breakfast and headed to the school where they had a "goodbye" assembly in our honor. It's very sweet - one of the few ways the people here feel that they can express their gratitude to us. Part of the assembly is a time where the kids sing praise songs - some fun and upbeat, and some very...... I'm at a loss of words as to how to even try to explain it. We would call them "worship songs," but I don't care for that term, and to call it that just doesn't seem to do it justice. There was hardly a dry eye in our group as we watched these little - LITTLE - kids with their eyes closed sooo tightly and hands raised as they belted out their hearts to our God. Quite humbling to watch.... and precious, so so precious.
Towards the end of the assembly, the women who received stoves this week thanked us and passed by us all to hug and kiss us, and Alex told me later that it was all he could do to not burst out in tears as he hugged and kissed the women he'd spent time with this week. I just love that....... I picture Jesus so content, smiling at moments like that...
Another neat moment today was when Pam told Alex (who'd asked about a kid that needed sponsored, being that he wanted to sponsor one...) about a kid who needed sponsored. The kid's name is Axel, and he is the son of one of the teachers at the school. Alex was so happy to find a kid that NEEDED sponsored, and Axel was beside-himself-happy to find out that he now had a sponsorer and that that sponsorer just so happens to be here NOW. As I write this, Axel is helping Alex sand and paint doors in the school. I know how special it is for a child to have a sponsorer (having had 3 of my own, and hearing their stories and words of gratitude over the years), and being present for and translating for the situation with Alex brought tears to my eyes. How special for both Alex AND for Axel... Thanks God........
Right now everyone is finishing up last minute projects before our "goodbye" dinner tonight at the school. We all are well, but reality is definitely setting is, knowing that our hours here are dwindling. Tomorrow will be a sad day for us - for your kids - so please keep them in your prayers. It's a good sadness, though..... one that changes us and never leaves us the same. One that makes me look forward to the day that we, who know Jesus, will all be together, and when we never HAVE to say goodbye again.....
-Liz Luber
Thursday
I can't believe it's Thursday already! Where has the time gone! I don't have much time, so sorry if this sounds hurried...
Two nights ago, Scott and I had a neat thing happen.... We were on our way back to the hotel to change before supper when we ran into a friend of ours (someone I was close with when I was living here, and someone who has now become good friends with Scott - his name is Bartolo, and he used to be the gym teacher at Colegio Bethel). We didn't think that we would get to see him this year because he's working elsewhere, so it was quite the pleasant surprise! We talked in the street for a few moments, and, knowing that we were now late for supper, asked him to join us. What a treat for both him, and for us! He agreed, of course, and we chatted all through supper, catching up on what's happened in the last year for all of us. It was quite special, and definitely not long enough, but such a treat to catch up with him. He's a dear friend.....
After supper, we all headed to the school where we got a little chat from the pastor, Emilio, about Mayan culture, and then got a lesson in the Mayan number system from Campa, the director of the "junior high." (Their school system is a bit different from ours, hence the quotes.) Boy did we have the time of our lives learning how to count the Mayan way! I've never seen youth so excited to do math! It's impossible to explain over the internet, so you'll just have to ask your kids to show you how it's done....
Yesterday was another early morning for us. Boys headed off to the volcano to cut firewood, girls went to make tortillas, most went to build stoves, Scott went to work on a special project that Pam needed a "handyman" for, and I, once again, found myself working in the kitchen. (For those who don't know, when I was living here, I spent most of my time in the school's kitchen, as my job was to plan and get up and running a food program for the elementary kids at the school.) It was neat to see how far the food program has come since Dora and I got it up and running 5 years ago.
In the later afternoon, we had games of basketball and soccer - the Alaskans against the teachers of the school. I think this was the first year that we've won a game of basketball in YEARS! BUT.... we got "schooled" when it came to soccer! All had a great time playing, laughing, teasing, and chatting. Afterwards we all - teachers and Alaskans - ate burgers and hotdogs at the school. The youth kept saying how much fun they had afterwards. I think it was a highlight for some. There's something special that happens here when we're intentional about being relational with the people. Sometimes, though, all that looks like is trying to say in one's best Spanish, "Do you want some mustard?" It's not complicated... In fact, we had the best time watching Scott try to teach David, one of the teachers, to say, "Who's your daddy?" in English. If only you could have heard the laughter......
That night we did a devotion on the roof of the hotel, and afterwards Scott told the kids that we were halfway through the trip and that he wanted to know what had touched them so far... The youth chimed in with all sorts of things, but among them were how grateful and joyous the people are here in spite of the lack of "things"; how we don't even know these people, yet they always greet us with kisses and hugs; how they treat us as if they love us, which is hard to comprehend since they don't even know us; how it was impressive that the youth were willing to give up their spring break (normally a time to hang out with friends and do whatever one wants) to come and WORK; and how great it was to be really relational with others - others in the group as well as those we're here serving. It was great to hear the youth share - even those who've been here before, and were still seeing God in new ways.
And with that, we sent them to bed. It's quite obvious that everyone is tired. A couple of the youth even asked to go back and take a nap at one point yesterday. We wanted to say yes because WE wanted a nap too, but knew we couldn't - there was still work to be done! So... parents, give 'em a little bit of a break if all they want to do when they get home is sleep!
Okay.... I'm off again! I don't know if you guys are praying for our health or not, but it's working if you are! : ) All our guts have been a little fussy, but no one has been SICK so far. The trip isn't over, but this is the healthiest trip we've had in a while... PLEASE keep praying for us! What a blessing - for those who are on the receiving end of our work - to have ALL of us healthy and able to serve.
Okay! Adios.....
-Liz Luber
Tuesday
Hello to all again!
This email should be quick as I don't have tons to share....
Last night we went to dinner at the house of a family of whom Scott and I sponsor one of their little boys. His name is Agustin. Last year our group had dinner at their home as well, and we had a blast. This year was no different! The hours passed quickly as we played, laughed, and talked with their family. Cultures swapped ''magic tricks,'' the Alaskans learned how to whistle Guatemalan style (parents beware!), and we all laughed 'til our bellies hurt watching Scott and their youngest boy (Luis, who just turned 4) blow a little ping pong ball back and forth across the table. (You had to be there to see their faces... priceless!)
It was quick to bed, and quick to rise - two of the boys had to be at the school at 545am to eat a bowl of cereal before heading up to the mountains with a local to chop firewood with machetes. This is a highlight of the trip for these boys, but especially for the families that receive the wood. The boys work their tails off, but just beam when they present the wood to the families. It's a great experience... Also, two of the girls made tortillas to bring to the families that received stoves today. Being that we are building the stoves during the times that the women are typically cooking, they have nothing for lunch when we finish the stoves.... until we present them with a basket of fresh tortillas, just in time for lunch.
Speaking of, we just finished lunch, and are heading back to the school to start on some ''special projects'' Pam has for us. Some gals are covering desks (to protect them from little fingers that like to doodle...), and some boys are painting some doors that need fresh coats. Others are being dropped off at homes that received stoves in past years to check that the maintenance is being done on them and to fix any problems they might be having.
With that, that's all I have for now! We're tired, but doing well. Some aren't feeling 100%, but nothing bad enough to prevent us from working. Please continue to pray for us.
-Liz
Monday
Hello to all!
It´s been a good couple days for us - here´s a quick recap for you...
Saturday afternoon we worked on some projects around the school - the boys put a lot of new fixtures in the bathrooms, along with a soap dispenser. This morning they announced that the new soap dispensers were installed in the bathrooms to the kids, and it was obvious that it was a BIG deal. They were even told that if they treated the dispenser well and used them properly, they might even get free toilet paper in the bathrooms next! Pretty interesting, huh? Here everyone brings their own toilet paper - it´s a hot commodity! Don´t leave any around either, or it´s likely to disappear...
Sunday morning, after breakfast, the group had a chance to wander around San Pedro and do some shopping and culture-experiencing. The Sunday market is always an intriguing sight to see. Around here, the cultural thing to do when in a cramped place is to push your way through, but (thankfully, I guess) our crew is too polite to do so, so a handful of us ended up stranded in the middle of the madness of the market as old women with beautiful weather-worn faces shoved us aside to get past. Gotta love the different cultures......
While walking around that morning, Scott noticed an old man making trips back and forth taking firewood to his house, so he and Kris helped the old man, much to the dismay of all those locals passing by. Some laughed, some mouths dropped open a bit, some stood to watch... not a normal sight around here. It was neat to take advantage of the opportunity God put in front of us to just love on the people. If only that came as easy to us all back home......
That afternoon we went to visit a few homes of some of the teachers from Colegio Bethel (our school down here), and it was a very neat experience. Not only do you get to see some typical homes, but all the teachers mentioned how they had never had anyone come to visit their homes, and how they were so blessed to simply have the opportunity to have us in their homes, to pray over them. (Culturally, people don´t normally have people over to their homes, say, for supper. Having family over is somewhat normal for certain occasions, but to have others outside your family over is definitely NOT the norm. These visits become very special for this reason.)
Home visits ran late, so as soon as we got back to the hotel from them, we changed and booked it up to the church for the service. (The main church service here is in the evening. Churches have Sunday School - which is for kids through adults - in the morning, and then the preaching service in the evening.) Our whole group was pretty whooped by this time, and that was very apparent by the bobbing of a few heads during the loooong service. While some fought to stay awake, the others of us got a good laugh out of watching them. Also, Alex gave his testimony, and it went over very well. Emily D translated and the crowd responded with claps and ¨Amen´s.¨
After the service, we went to a local pizza place for supper. Pastors Emilio and Giovanni joined us, and it was a lot of fun. This night we eat pizza always seems to be fun. Emilio is good at entertaining a crowd - especially of unsuspecting youth - and the kids are always excited to eat something that looks more like what they`re used to eating at home.
It wasn´t hard to convince our group to go to bed that night. Most went more than willing. We had one that wasn´t feeling good at all (thought we might need to start antibiotics), but this morning she is feeling MUCH better. Thanks Jesus... Please continue to pray for our health. We have one that has a pretty miserable cold, and a few tummies that are still adjusting to the food. No major illnesses though. Let´s keep praying that Jesus allows us to continue on with good health, and that He would heal those who aren`t quite 100%.
This morning was an early one. Breakfast at 630 am, then to the school to participate in their Monday morning time of singing songs. It´s always a precious sight to see the wee little ones with their eyes closed SO tightly and their hands raised and them singing with all they have within them... Precious... absolutely precious. You almost can´t help but catch glimpses of our God in their little faces...
The rest of this morning has been spent listening to a presentation from the organization that makes the stoves we are installing this week. After the presentation, the women got to start a fire in a stove and make tortillas on it. It was a fun time as the kids wanted to learn how to make tortillas. The local women got some good laughs out of our inabilities and out of the boys trying to make them as well (guys do NOT make tortillas here... the women do).
And with that, we are about to head to lunch. Speaking of... we had a few scares with our meals lately... Yesterday for lunch, they put a bowl of watery mushroom soup in front of us, and we began to panic as a lot of the kids chimed in saying that they didn´t like mushrooms, but also that that might be all we were getting for lunch. I have to say that I´m very proud of a lot of our kids for eating the soup in spite of their dislikes. This was an issue last year, and a lot of kids went without food at times. So, Scott and I were delighted to see kids being willing to go out of their comfort zones and do something that wasn´t comfortable or pleasant. Good growing moments.... BUT, shortly after we all had most of our soup consumed, they delivered mashed potatoes and BBQ´d chicken. It was excellent! Again, this morning, they put a bowl of watered down cream of wheat in front of us, and - again - most kids sighed, disappointment and worry written all over their faces, but they began to eat nonetheless. Then came the scrambled eggs and toast! We´ll see what lunch has in store for us today!
Wow, this got long in a hurry!
-Liz
Saturday
To Everyone,
Wow... these foreign computer keyboards are challenging! Forgive me if when you receive this email there are several errors. Nothing is in the same spot on the keyboard as it is in the States.
Well, yesteray was a long day of travel. We woke early, ate a great breakfast of black beans, eggs, and bread, had a small devotion to get the kids thinking about what they were about to experience and that really, this trip isn´t for THEM - it´s for the people we´re coming to serve. I think we´ve trained our youth to look for what THEY can get out of these kinds of spiritual experiences, but we´re trying to shift their focus a bit and take the focus off of US and put it on the people that we´re here to serve and love on. It was a good chat.... I think it got the youth thinking a bit..... Keep praying that they would be able to maintain a selfLESS focus during our trip. We know that in doing this God will bless their socks off beyond anything they could have imagined or hoped for.
After devos, we hopped on the bus that took us on a 4 hour drive through the mountains of Guatemala, from Guatemala City to Panajachel, where we then loaded all our totes and bags onto a boat that took us to San Pedro. The hour boat ride was beautiful and gave time for the excitement to build as we grew closer and closer to the dock where many of the village people awaited us. We were greeted in English with, ¨Welcome to San Pedro¨by a lot of the school kids. Lots of hugs (and some joyful tears from a few of us), and then we all headed for the hotel. We got somewhat settled in our rooms, and then headed to dinner. After dinner, we went back to the hotel for an evening devotion. A short time later, it was bedtime! And we didn´t hear one complaint! We all were ready to call it a day.
This morning we got to sleep in until about 7 (that´s sleeping in for our youth trips!), then went to breakfast, and now as I write this the group is at the school learning how to build the stoves that we will be installing in families´homes later in the week. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. We´re working alongside the women of the families that will be receiving the stoves, and so far everyone seems to really be enjoying interacting with each other. We love to see this, as sometimes people tend to be very shy, especially with the language barrier, but not this group! They´re jumping right in...... Love it.....
So far no sicknesses. We had two whose tummies were a bit rumbly yesterday early on, but they are doing well now. Could have just been nerves. Some of the youth had told us that they were pretty nervous about this trip. (We know they´ll be fine, so Scott and I kinda like a little nervousness - means they´re stepping out of their comfort zones! And that´s typically when they see God move the most...)
And with that... I think that´s all I have for you for now. We have a BUSY schedule, but it´s good for us. We like to pack as much as we can into these few short days we have here. Parents, get ready to bring home a very tired youth! They have a lot of hard work ahead of them!
Okay, please continue to pray for our health (I know we always pray about this for these trips, but our prayer isn´t so much that we just don´t want to be sick, it´s that we want to be able to make the most of our time here and serve these people as hard and as much as we can. And it´s hard to do that from bed! So, please join us in prayer for that...).
Alrighty, I´m going to head back to the group... Hope this email finds you all doing well.¨
-Liz
Thursday
Well, hello to all! We´re here in Guatemala City, and the ¨kiddos¨are getting ready for bed as we speak. We´re all tired, though most were able to get some sleep on the flights. We´ve got a group of troopers. They´ve been great to travel with. I can´t explain, but there´s a real ¨relaxed¨feeling with this group of kids - they´re very well behaved, they pay attention, are quick to help out, and it makes our jobs as leaders FAR easier. Some trips it seems as if we´re herding cats, but not this team - they´ve been great so far. Thanks parents! You play a big role in that!
All our flights went well - not one glitch. Gracias a Dios! Seems God really made the way for us... When going to customs here in Guatemala City, they liked us so much that they even stamped Scott and my passports with a tax exempt stamp so we don´t have to pay their tax for bringing supplies into the country.
Well, I can´t think of anything else that exciting to pass on. Thankfully, our travels were quite uneventful. So... with that, we´re off to bed! We have an early morning tomorrow - up, showered, and ready to go at 730am. Then it´s a 4 hour bus ride to our 1 hour boat ride, and THEN... then we reach San Pedro. So, please keep us in your prayers! We´ve got a special week ahead of us!
Okay..... Good night! Let´s hope the bed bugs don´t bite!
- Liz Luber
