Guatemala Story #1

It's hard to know where to start, but I have to start somewhere! First, I'll give you some facts. Guatemala is the third poorest country. There are 7 million people in Guatemala City, 54% of those live in poverty and 38% live in extreme poverty. 3 million live in "squatter villages". The city is divided into "zones" and we did most of our work with zone 18, or the poorest zone in the city. There are two hospitals in the city, one built in 1942, the other in 1980. We saw many children with rotten teeth-a result of being fed sugar water from birth because formula is too expensive. Many had no shoes. Several times our group gave children their food because they asked for money to buy food.



It has been eight years since I have been in Guatemala. I did notice a few changes. I saw a couple of baby strollers and infant carriers, but for the most part babies are still carried on the backs of their mothers. Knowing sign language, I was hopeful that I would find a child to "talk" to, but at that time, I was told I would never see a deaf child because they would not be allowed to be in public. That proved to be true, and I did not see handicapped children in public. However, THIS time, I did! One of our first days of ministry was in a "park" area of a squatter village. I was unprepared and certainly a bit rusty, but I saw a little girl talking to her parents in sign language. I immediately jumped right in and started talking to her. She was so sweet, and it was obvious that she and her parents were thrilled to have someone able to talk to her! She told me that she went to church and had asked Jesus into her heart. I have now been able to talk to someone through sign language in Equador, Romania and Guatemala! Carissa found a baby to hold. We did our program in this area, Carissa was in the skit called "park bench" (the blue mat). As we watched, we saw this lady pass by many times carrying cement blocks on her head. These ladies arrived at the park, the one carrying the huge bag on her head. I'm not sure what was in it! They seemed to enjoy the program-even the adults do, seeing puppets and skits is not something that happens often in their lives. This lady accepted a Bible, but you never know if they are able to read or not. On another day I talked with a lady who shared her umbrella with me to protect us from the heat. She was older, and I talked with her through one of our interpreters. When I asked her if she knew about Jesus she told me that she hadn't heard much because she couldn't read or write. Our conversation was cut short because a HUGE rain storm came and she ran with her umbrella! She was so captivated by the program and I knew that it was being presented in a way that she could understand.