A memory.

Alison and I are sitting at the dinner table with Don Elario y Doña Dolores, Rosaldo y Noel. It's our last week with this precious family. Last dinner we would eat with them, I think. Doña Dolores (loving, wonderful woman that she is) gives us each a parting gift. A cute little bag with a Quetzal embroidered onto the bright colored fabric. It's their national bird, the Quetzal. National everything it seems. They're proud of this green bird with the long, bright tail. Proud of their small home. Proud of their family. We talk about the Quetzal. About where he lives and how quiet you have to be to even hope to see him. Don Elario makes his little humming noise as he talks, his hands moving to further describe whatever scene he's spinning for us. They ask if we have national symbols. Always equally curious about our culture as we are of theirs. A national bird? Do you have one? Yes! Something to share. It's an eagle. A...how do you say bald? We try to describe it. It has white...what's the word for feathers again? We look at each other helplessly. Black. The body is black. And his head is white. So he looks...pelón! Doña Dolores understands what we're trying to say. It isn't really bald, just looks like it. And she laughs. What a precious laugh that woman had. She covers her face and she laughs. And mutters pelón under her breath. And we laugh. Because her laugh is infectious. And she has the giggles because of the bird that looks bald and is our national bird. She stops for a moment, and then it comes back and we hear pelón again with that delightful laughter. Don Elario laughs too. And we laugh. And Rosaldo plays with Noel and she laughs. And we're a family, of unusual sorts, sitting around a small table in a small house in Guatemala. And we're leaving soon. But we laugh with this family, because that's what they've become. And we hope one day we'll be able to come back and talk about birds with bald heads so we can laugh with them some more.

What I learned, Final Edition

It's been awhile. Sorry about that. Just been trying to process everything that went on. I don't know that I ever fully will...Here's what I shared in church on Sunday (find the earlier segments of Things I Learned here, here, and here.).

What I learned, Final Edition

I learned Spanish! I was fully submersed and received one-on-one training giving me some of the best Spanish lessons I have had in eight years of studying.

I learned the climb can be brutal, and the journey tough, but the view from the top is always worth it.

I learned Guatemalan history from a Guatemalan perspective, both recent and from many, many years ago. I saw this history come to life as I stood in front of Tikal for my second Star Wars filming location shot.

I learned to listen to people's stories. I learned about Juliana and Rosaldo who make their living selling trinkets in the park. I learned about Sergio whose son is head of the Obama campaign and who assured my roommate and I that we were proof that our generation could be more than what we've settled for. I met Alfondo who is about 70 and plays the accordian in the park simply because he loves to make music and make people happy. I learned about Dolores, Beatriz, Elario, and Nellie and I learned about their lives, how we're different, but more often how we're the same.

I learned how to love, even when it's hard, or you don't speak the language well, or when you have to tell Alejandro for the 5th time to stop eating his colored pencil box. Every child, every grown-up too wants to be loved. Even when I'm at my worst, God helps us love.

I learned that smiles are beautiful, but sometimes as you're learning to love and learning people's stories, you find hurt beneath smiles. You find broken hearts, homes, and relationships. And it becomes hard to love the mom who abandoned four sweet smiles. But through it all the smiles stay and you remember the importance of showing love to every smile.

I learned God is bigger than our cultural differences. I don't speak perfect Spanish, but I can read out of my Bible in front of an all Spanish speaking church, because He is bigger than my inadequacies. I can sit with a host family who doesn't know me from any other gringo and have wonderful discussions about God because he's the same for me and for them. I can attend a Baptismal Service and feel completely at home because we serve the same God. And we know that He is bigger than our language barriers, our differences and our separate lives. He is big. And He is good.

I learned the importance the Latin American Catholic Church places on Christ on the cross. And this is good. It's important to celebrate this. But far more important is the Risen Lamb. For without the resurrection, He's just another man.

I learned to listen. Everyone has a story to tell. And all every child wants is someone to tell those stories to. Even when they're speaking too fast for any native speaker to understand, and when when you've already asked for clarification 4 times, they still want to be held and listened to. So when Roxi plops in your lap and says, "let's gossip" and starts to tell you about her new pet turtle, you listen. And you show her she's important and valued.

And finally, I learned I am capable of far more than I thought. Or rather, God is capable of doing things far greater than I ever could have imagined. Like taking a girl who does not want to teach* and showing her that not only is she capable of teaching, but that He will give her strength she didn't know she had and make teaching be one of the best experiences of her life. He's bigger than my doubts, bigger than my fears, bigger than my plans, and bigger than my inadequacies. And He is far bigger than the box I try to put Him in. He is big. And so, so good. He is at work in this world.

*side note. Still don't feel that I'm being called to be a teacher. Just for further clarification.

Character Profiles: Kindergarten Class

Meet My Kindergarten Class! :)

1st up: Mayerli. (Pronounced My-air-lee) No, this isn't the typical Monroy school uniform; she was dressed up here for the class' take on Pinocchio. Mayerli's a little sweetheart, but she's also got a bit of spunk to her. She's also not the most task-orientated kindergartner, so there was often sounds of, "Mayerli, sigue trabajando por favor." "Mayerli, keep working please." Perhaps it's because she's too task orientated. Everything was ultra-carefully done, to the point where she worked painfully slow. But she also got distracted easily, so that could have been some of the problem. Occasionally too focused on the work of her table-mates. Slow working and distractions aside, this little girl has a smile that will melt your heart. You'll probably be seeing me say that, oh about 9 more times this post. :)

Next up: Carlitos. Carlitos is my little mono, my monkey. The kid can do the monkey bars for sure better than the rest of the kindergarteners, and probably better than most of the kids in the school. He is absolutely adorable, but he can't sit still for anything. He's the kid that is running around, doing a million and one things the entire recess time. While some of my kids are cuddlers, Carlitos typically isn't one of those, mostly because he has the attention span of a goldfish. But you can chase him and try to atrapar trap him all day and he'll be perfectly content. Carlitos is smart, but he's an instigator. He typically knew all the answers, but would be the one hiding his folder saying, "¡yo no tengo!" "I don't have one!" He's also 100% indigenous, and is one of the few that is still fluent in Kaqchikel. He was too shy to teach me any though...

Thirdly, let me present to you: Lynzi. Lynzi is one of the smartest of my class of ten. She could catch on to the English words quickly, and usually knew the right one to assign with the picture. She's clearly a leader in the group. What Lynzi says, everyone else faithfully repeats, because she probably knows what's up. She's got a lot of spunk and fire, which I love. You can also see from this picture, she's another instigator. Chasing the boys, keeping everyone in line, making her presence known...she's got a lot of personality. Perhaps a bit too much sometimes. :) Lynzi is a hard worker too, as are her two older siblings. Their mom makes sure they are working for the education they are receiving, something that not all the parents in the school do. I was always impressed with how much she knew, even if she was sometimes a bit too vocal with her knowledge! 

Next, I would like to introduce: Andre. Andre is your classic case of a kid being in his own world. All the time. He knew the answers...most of the time. But he was often too focused on who even knows what to realize that it was his turn. And then when he realized it, there would be this little look of panic, and a mad scramble to figure out what we were studying. :) Andre is a runner. At recess that's all he does. You can hardly get him to sit still long enough to eat all of his snack. He runs, he falls, and he bounces back up and keeps going. He's not a troublemaker though, his mom being the 3rd/4th grade teacher makes sure of that. Just full of energy, and always in his own little world. But he's a doll, and again just melts my heart when he smiles!

And here we have Abi. Abi is one of the most precious little girls I've ever seen. She's quite and a touch shy, but once you've won her heart, you've got it forever. She's a snuggler. Recess, snack, work time, you name it...she's content to sit in your lap, or hold your hand, or just be close to you. I'm a physical touch person, so I love it. :) She doesn't say a ton, but she'll give you the sweetest little smile and then take your hand to take you wherever it is she wanted to go. Abi's smart, but she's not as vocal as Lynzi (hard to be...). She's got a more inner intelligence and smartness. When you call on her, out comes that little smile, and a quiet response, followed by a huge smile when she gets it right. Which is typically the case. Then she'll proudly  march back to her seat as if she's saying, "Yep. I did know that answer." Going to miss cuddling with this little sweetheart!

Next up: Alejandra. Alejandra was another one of those I always had to remind to keep working. "Alejandra, guarda sus cosas por favor." "Alejandra, put away your things, please." She was always playing with something, and rarely focused on what the rest of the class was doing. Alejandra loved the monkey bars, but always needed help with them. "¡Seño, ayudame pasar los manos!" "Help me do the monkey bars!" A sometimes cuddler, always follower, and always in need of a reminder to keep working, but a sweetheart none the less.

This here is Darlyn. She fills the leadership roll when Lynzi isn't around, or when she doesn't know the answer. When that's the case, Darlyn's quick to step up and fill the roll. She typically knew the answers, though pronunciation was usually a problem. Rectangle usually came out something like septimo (seventh). But she was enthusiastic at least! Fascinated with our cameras she loved to take pictures, see pictures of herself, and direct where we should take pictures next.

Eighth up: Ixi. (Pronounced ih-shi) Ixi, when she was paying attention, knew the answers. But most of the time she wasn't. It was clearly much more interesting to see what Andre was doing, or what Alejandra was doing, or what she could do with her box of crayons, or any number of other things. When you call on her she stares at you for awhile saying, "Es que..." "It's like, um..." And then she'll just wait till you give her the answer. She's a bit sassy, and liked to wear black shoes (part of the uniform) with just a teensy heel. :)

This is Jonathan. Doesn't he just have the best eyes? He's a smarty-pants, though he's not rude about it. But he almost always knew the answer and would be one of the first to shout it out. He always seemed wise to me. Not smart, though like I said, he was. But wise. Like he could see more than just what was going on in front of him. He could sit there quietly and take it all in, and you knew there was a lot going on in that brain of his, just working out problems to himself. I think he's going to be an engineer someday. 

Last, but not least, is my little Fernando! Fernando is an absolute doll. He's smart and works hard, always knows the answer when called on. Well usually. :) He's another quiet strength one. While he usually joins in playing at recess, he also will just sit there and take in everything around him. When he isn't playing, he'll occasionally come and snuggle up with me. I just love it! He doesn't like pictures though, so it was a bit of a struggle to get a good one with him! While it hasn't been set in stone yet, I'm pretty sure I'm going to sponsor this little guy, which will provide for his education for a long time! I'm really excited about it, but again it hasn't been set in stone yet. (If you'd like information of sponsorship, let me know! I can get you in touch with those in charge of the program!)

love them.

Thoughts on teaching from a non-education major perspective:

Shortly after arriving in Guatemala so many weeks ago, I was thrust into my first week of ministry sites: teaching English at a local elementary school. It was somewhere around oh...day 1 when I remembered, I am not an education major. And I thought to myself on that first day oh so long ago, what on earth am I doing! If you had asked my before I came here what I want to do with my life, I would have told you, "I don't know exactly, but I don't want to teach!"I've never wanted to teach. Ok fine. When I was little I ultra-loved school. And then I probably wanted to teach. But I also wanted to be a superhero, so we'll go with I've never really wanted to teach. :)

And then I came to Guatemala and realized that I had signed up for six weeks of playing teacher. And I thought to myself, oh no.


Tomorrow's my last day of teaching. If you were to ask me now, I would still probably tell you that I don't want to teach. But I say that, and I don't want to at all undermine the incredible experience I have had while working in the school this semester. Hold on, though. I'm getting ahead of myself.

I think somewhere in the application process I read something about the work at this school being something along the lines of one-on-one work, maybe like tutoring, or small-scale ESL (English as a Second Language) education. I don't know if I actually read that or if I made it up, but I thought huh. I could probably do that. At Greenville I'm getting TESOL certified (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and so this seemed like a good option for the six weeks I would spend working with Students International as the ministry part of the semester. And so that was the site I chose. Looking back, that has God's hands all over it. Had I known it was going to be actually teaching, in a school/classroom setting, I probably would have quickly reevaluated my options and picked something different.

Our first full week in Guatemala was to be our first week of ministry sites. And as I sat down with our site leader on that first day of sites, and as I read through her description of the site, and as I walked down the hill to the school, and as I entered the school building, and as I prepared to help with that first day of classes I progressively got more and more panicky, and more and more overwhelmed. Oh no. What on earth am I doing here?? I can't teach. I'm not meant to be a teacher. I'm not called to be a teacher. Right God? You're not calling me to this! Please say no. Hundreds of thoughts like this coursed through my head all that 1st week. Overwhelmed doesn't really even begin to cover how I was feeling. Our schedule was to be 1 week of ministry sites, 4 weeks of language school, 2 weeks of ministry sites, 4 more weeks of language school (plus a week of spring break), and then ending with 3 weeks at ministry sites. The first week we were basically just assisting in the classrooms, but were told that during the next set we would be taking our own class, and in the final three weeks doing the lesson plans ourselves. As much as I loved all the little kiddos, I was dreading what the next weeks would bring.

Like always, God was working in me, even though I didn't realize it right away. Overwhelmed as I was, I kept telling myself you can do this. You are able to do this. This may not be what you want to do, but you can do this. And you need to make the most of it. That was as much of His voice as it was mine. Child, you can do this. I have put you here, and will give you the strength to do this. Don't worry. I have put you here for a reason, and you will grow from this experience. I'm here too. You will be fine. Somedays it's easier to not listen to that little voice. His little voice. Somedays I like to whine and complain and pretend my way's better, and think that another ministry site would be better. But that little voice was right. The time I've spent working in Monroy (name of the school) has been an incredible time of growth for me, and an amazing experience overall. Like I mentioned, I still don't feel like I will be a teacher after graduation. But as the weeks went on I could see the growth in my life, and feel my confidence rising. I may not want to teach someday, but I am capable of doing this. 

The second set of ministry sites was a lot better than the first. I was less overwhelmed in general (being out of the country does put you in a bit of a funk for awhile!), and more ready to make the most of the time I had to spend in the school. I even started enjoying what I was doing. And I completely fell in love with the kids at this school. I took over a class of 10 precious kindergarteners, started doing the lessons Abbey, my site leader, had prepared, and discovered that I had strengths and abilities I didn't know I had. Every day, God helped me to grow a little bit further. I stopped feeling overwhelmed. I started looking forward to the days at the school. I started forming relationships with my kiddos. And I realized everyday that the strength it took for me, a non-education major who doesn't want to teach after graduation, to teach these students could only come from Him. None of what I have done here has been on my own strength. It took me playing the role of teacher, to realize how much I still have yet to learn in life.

This third set of ministry sites has been fantastic. I've done the lesson planning myself, which is pretty amazing for someone who's never taken an education course (beyond the TESOL courses). My kindergarteners, and every other kid in the school, have completely stolen my heart, and I'm going to be so sad to leave them at the end of this week. I just want to steal them all and bring them home with me! Kidding... I realized that I can, in fact, teach. I don't plan on being a teacher, but would enjoy having a class or group of ESL students. I realized that I like to limit God, but that he's so much bigger than me, my plans, and fears. I realized I like to be in control, but it's always better to let him. I realized I am capable of much more than I let myself think I can do. I realized once again that His plan is always better than mine.

I don't know where He's calling me, or what I will end up doing after college next year. But I realized that if I trust Him and listen to that little voice, He'll put me exactly where he wants me. And will give me the strength to make it through ANY situation. After all, I'm not an education major. But I've just spent six weeks teaching English. In a school. In Latin America. He's big, folks. And He's good. And He'll see us through. Amen and Amen. :)

Vivian, one of the sixth graders

Lynzi and Fernando, two of my kindergarteners

Andre, another one of my kindergarten babies 

A Tale of Q15

After a Bible Study last Thursday we were all given an assignment. An assignment and Q5. (5 quetzales or roughly 75ish cents) The assignment was to go give away the Q5 by our next meeting, which was to be that coming Sunday. We were also supposed to use the Q5 as means of conversation starting. It was a way of not just throwing money at someone who is poorer than ourselves simply because we have money, but to humanize the individual and learn something about their lives. Like the good college students that we were, my two good friends and I procrastinated on this until Sunday morning on our way to church. Not because we meant to, necessarily. Just because it happened that way. So as we were walking to church on Sunday, we decided that we would pool our resources and instead of giving three people Q5 each, we would find one person and give them Q15. As we were walking, we noticed an older woman attempting to cross the street. Our assignment was to  give our money to someone poorer than ourselves, and this woman clearly fit the bill. She was wearing old, tattered sweats, carrying garbage, and didn't have on shoes. Side note, Antigua's probably not the place I would choose to walk around without any shoes on. The ground is more uneven than you can imagine, and there's broken glass and garbage everywhere. So for this woman to be making her way through the streets without shoes of any kind was a pretty clear mark that she does not have the money to purchase shoes. Because if you had the means to wear shoes, you wouldn't choose to not to in Antigua.  Without speaking to each other, we all decided that this was the woman we would give our money to. I don't really know what we were thinking would happen. Q15 is not much by any means. Roughly $2? Hardly anything. But I think maybe somewhere in the back of our minds there was a little thought of this woman being ultra appreciative, that she would tell us how much she needed it, or how much it meant to her, that maybe we'd be able to pray with her...I'm also fairly certain we were hoping for a good story to tell when we went to meet with our group later that day. That is what it's all about, right? Having a good story to tell about how awesome and generous we are? So we look like super Christians? Right?? Well, we did get a good story, but before I get into that let me just point out a few flaws in our thinking:
1) It wasn't our money. So we weren't really making a sacrifice.
2) We're not really being generous (I mean, we are, but only kind of...) when it's someone else's money.
3) You can't save the world with Q15.

But like I said, we did get a good story. Just not quite the one we were thinking on. And not quite in the save this woman from poverty and be super Christians kind of way. Our story was more of a lesson in humility than anything else. Which, is probably a lot better than what we were thinking would happen. :) After silently deciding to give her our money, we went up to her, tapped her on the shoulder and started to ask questions like, "What's your name? How are you doing today?" Stuff like that. It quickly became apparent that this woman was not all there mentally, and has had a hard, hard life. Based on what we know about people in similar situations in Antigua, she probably doesn't have family or anyone to take care of her, and she just wanders the streets from place to place. Her lack of teeth, and her deteriorated mental abilities made it hard to understand anything she was saying. We caught snippets here and there, but nothing to tell us her name or anything about her life. There was a few times she would point to her feet, and we caught the word zapatos [shoes] once or twice. It was around this point we tried to give her our money. We each had our Q5 in our hands, and as we went to hand it to her we told her it was a gift for her, to help her out. And here's where it started to get weird...for some reason that seems to have gotten lost in translation, this woman who was in obvious need, wouldn't take our money. Specifically she wouldn't take Beth's money. She would point at Alison and I and say she could take our money, "pero no ella." [but not her] Several times she would point at Beth and say, "no ella." [not her] Eventually we got all Q15 into her hands, but before we knew it she was giving 10 of it away to this guy that was just passing by. "Do you want this?" she asked him. His face spoke his answer as he took the money. Uh yeah?! And then he took our money and walked off, leaving us feeling ultra confused, and not as much like super Christians as we had hoped. The thought, "wait, what just happened?" crossed our minds more than once. Things not having gone how we imagined, we took our leave of the woman with no shoes, and went on to puzzle out what just happened.

The focus of our Bible Studies this semester has been on giving to and taking care of the poor. As Christians we are called to do this. All throughout the Bible there are stories of how we are to take care of the poor, the destitute, the widows and orphans. Old Testament, New Testament, prophets, and Jesus directly. We're told to be good stewards of our money, because it's not actually ours. It's God's. And with it we are to take care of his people. His children. Yet how many times have I read these passages and turned a blind eye? How many times have I walked past a person begging on the street and looked away, basing whether or not I give them money on the judgment I make of their lives? Also, how many times have I given and felt, "Man, I am an awesome Christian. God will really bless me because of this." I don't have all of this giving stuff figured out (does he really mean give away ALL my possessions? Surely not. And yet the scriptures say...), but these last few months have really caused me to think about these things. About what I've been given, and what I choose to do with this money. Looking back, I can't say I've been all too generous with what I've been given. Not at all actually. That's my money. I earned it. I deserve to keep it. And yet, it's not mine. And it can be taken away just as easily as it has been given to me. Who am I to hold on to it without giving a passing thought to those far worse off than myself?

I learned a few things from this experience with the woman with no shoes, and from the Bible studies that preceded this experience:
-sometimes we think we're going to save the world, and God uses that experience to humble us instead. I imagine if that woman would have had a different response we would have walked away feeling pretty good about ourselves. But the thing is, it's not about me. It's about Him. Ever only all for Him.
-we don't know people's needs. It's easy to judge and make assumptions. But all I can see is a little glimmer of one part of their lives. I have no clue what is going on on the inside.
-I tend to judge before I give. There's such a stigma against people who beg, the homeless, those without good jobs... and I buy into it all the time. But it's not for me to judge. No where in those Bible passages do we find, choose who you think deserves money and help. We're just told to give. To take care of those in need. Not judge for ourselves who is needy and give only to those people. Just give.
-Money won't solve all the world's problems. And throwing our money at a person won't either. We have to be willing to humble ourselves in order to treat someone with the dignity and respect they deserve. No matter what their situation is, they are still humans. And I often forget, or choose to ignore that.

And that's the story of the Q15.

Adventures in the lost world: Tikal

The whole time I've been in Guatemala I've been excited for one thing: Tikal. Ok, fine. I've been excited for a lot of things, but I was really super excited for Tikal! I've always heard of people who have gone there, or who have put in on their bucket lists to visit before they die. And in every history book I think I've ever opened, there's been at least one picture of the Temple of the Jaguar Priest, or a paragraph or two on the innovations of this civilization. The schedule we were given early in the semester had the date listed for the Tikal visit, and I kept thinking, "That's so long from now!" But then all of a sudden, it was time to board a tiny little plane, in which I really thought my head might explode from the pressure, and go explore some Mayan ruins!

We left last Saturday at around 4am. Awesome, right? No. Not at all actually...Took a bus to Guate (Guatemala City) where we boarded the afore mentioned tiny plane. I'm not sure if it wasn't pressurized or what exactly, but I've never been in so much pain while on a plane. It simultaneously felt like my head was being crushed and ready to explode. Luckily that didn't last too long, and before too long we were in the region of Petén. From the airport it was about an hour and a half drive to the Tikal National Park, including a stop to learn about how gum was made. Look it up, kind of interesting. And then, Tikal!

I don't think I ever realized how much jungle would be around the ruins. I mean, I've seen Star Wars and I guess there was jungle on the Fourth Moon of Yavin... ;) but I kind of just assumed we'd pull up and there would be the ruins! Not so much. First you have to take a walk through the jungle, which was pretty cool too. Don't think I've ever been in a jungle before. Saw some monkeys swinging around, some cool plants... And then after awhile you start to find the ruins. Let me just tell you. They are incredible. Without you visiting, my words will not do them justice, unfortunately. Huge, amazingly preserved pyramids. Built by a society that had no machinery. No horses. Not even a donkey. Just pure manpower. And brilliance. Every pyramid in the park is perfectly aligned with a specific constellation. They all have perfect acoustics, so that when a big festival or something was being held, the common people who weren't anywhere close to the pyramids could hear what was going on just as if they were standing in front of it themselves. (They area surrounding the pyramids was specifically for royalty and priests. The commoners would have lived away from the main plaza, closer to the jungle, which at that time would not have been anywhere close to the pyramids.) And it's not like these are little pyramids that didn't take much work to create. They're huge, towering way above your heads, and built with giant stones that they dug out of quarries miles away. Keep in mind, no machinery. No horses. Just brute strength. They've only uncovered some of the pyramids because nearly every pyramid has an exact counterpart. Since it can take anywhere from 5-15 years to uncover a pyramid, costs a lot to go through this process and even more to maintain, most of the pyramids remain, and may forever remain covered by  a layer of earth. A lot haven't even been discovered yet. They just found another set of pyramids in another area of Guatemala that are proving to be the biggest pyramids on the planet. The ones they have uncovered you can climb up, and the view from the top of each one is amazing (Well, I guess you can't climb up all the ones they've uncovered. They're worried people will fall off or something so they closed a few off to the public. Lame.) And yes, the view from Temple IV looks just like it does in Star Wars: Episode IV. :)

I've seen a lot of cool things in my travels. But so far, nothing has compared to Tikal. I was absolutely blown away by the pyramids, their size and the ingenuity behind them. I can't imagine the thought it took to create these monuments, nor can I understand how exactly this so called "primitive" civilization was able to build things of such magnitude. I can understand now why the locals here say they had help from aliens. It's positively unreal. Here's a few pics, but keep in mind they in no way do the park justice.

itty bitty plane!

some really amazing plants and trees make their home in the jungles of Guatemala

Star Wars: Episode IV: Rebel Base on the Fourth Moon of Yavin

they're just a tad steep

Jaguar Pyramid!

incredible.

hope you enjoyed! :)

Because He lives: Semana Santa

Well, I’ve successfully completed my first Lent and Easter time afuera de los EE.UU [outside of the U.S.]. (PS. This post will come with a small Spanish lesson! Hope you're ready. Look for the square brackets [ ] for new words!) I thought about adding to my list of "things I’m learning in Guatemala" something along the lines of, “Lent and Easter are celebrated in vastly different ways here than they are back home.” But let’s be honest, that really doesn’t even begin to cut it. After having experienced this world renown celebration time, I can now not only detail for you this time of year, but can also share my thoughts and opinions on the matter. Spending Easter here has caused me to think about what exactly I believe, and how this holiday in Guatemala fits into that. I don’t claim to have all the answers, nor do I claim to have this whole celebration figured out, but I can share with you what I’ve been observing and working out in my brain.

Semana Santa:

I say Semana Santa, but I actually refer to the whole Cuaresma [Lent] period that I’ve now lived through. Let me just start off by saying, it’s a BIG deal here. You cannot even begin imagine. I’ll attempt to give you a taste, but without being here, it will inevitably fall short. Sorry. Plan a trip to Guate? And if you do, let me know so I can come with? :) Anyways. We have to look back approximately 40 days to find the start of these aforementioned Lenten celebrations. Makes sense, right? Since that’s when Lent started? Right. So anyways... Guatemala, like the majority of Latin America, is predominantly Catholic. In my limited understanding of Catholicism, I think I can safely say that the Lenten season is kind of important. And it is here even more so than other places perhaps. Approx. 40 days ago, as previously mentioned, brought the start of what I will from here on out refer to as Semana Santa ([Holy Week], but it kind of encompasses all of Lent. At least in my mind...). Every weekend, in the weeks leading up to Easter, brings something different. Processions leaving from one church or another, consisting of large platforms [andas] carried by at least 30-40 men dressed in purple robes (or women depending on the figure on top) and carrying a figure of either Jesus in one of the various stages of the cross, or the virgin Mary crying for her son. Velaciones [translates to wake, but it's more of a display] are displayed in the various Catholic churches, depicting scenes from Jesus life and death. And alfombras [carpets]. Always alfombras. Think Rose Bowl, but carpets instead of floats and cartoon characters. They’re usually made in the streets so that the processions can pass over them, but they are also found in the churches in front of the velaciones. I don't entirely understand their purpose, other than tradition. As you get closer to the actual Semana Santa, the processions get bigger, the velaciones have more special affects, and more and more work gets put into the alfombras. And every weekend, more and more people arrive in Antigua. Miles de miles de personas [thousands upon thousands of people, pronounced meeles rather than miles], as our host dad commonly says. And he’s right. I thought they were joking when I first heard how many people come to this little ten block by ten block city, but in all actuality, they weren’t kidding at all. I’ve never seen such a large concentration of people in such a small area in my whole life. Miles de personas indeed. After all the hustle and bustle in the weeks leading up to Semana Santa, all the hotel rooms being reserved, all the venders getting ready their wares, the REAL festivities begin. I’ve never been to Brazil for Carnival, but I imagine it’s a lot like Semana Santa in Antigua, only I guess Semana Santa has a slightly more religious flavor. At least in theory... These miles de personas begin to arrive Wednesday of Semana Santa. There’s processions every day during the week, velaciones with lines so long you may never actually see the velación, and alfombras so ornate you might think it was a rug imported from Persia. We're talking work all night to make these alfombras. Sometimes there are dramatizations where people in period dress act out various stages of the cross in the streets of Antigua. The processions keep getting bigger, and they go for longer periods of time. Some of the processions leave their respective churches in the wee early hours of the morning, and walk the streets of Antigua for up to 15 hours; they just keep switching people in and out every couple of blocks. My host dad told us he used to carry the andas, and that they are HEAVY. You pay to get your spot in the procession (not sure where that’s Biblical?) and the more you can pay the “holier” you are. Behind every procession follows a band blasting the same type of somber music. The biggest processions are Thursday- Saturday, but the real party is Holy Thursday night, or as I like to call it: Stay up all night and walk around Antigua Fest. Because that’s pretty much what everyone does. And since we want to embrace the culture as much as possible, so did we. I’m pretty sure that was my first successful all nighter. I don’t typically do well with no sleep, but I had to try it. Had to be like the Guatemaltecos [Guatemalans]. I’m not sure how religious Holy Thursday actually is, because mostly it’s just a big party. You walk around, look at alfombras or you help make one if your family or a family you know is making one, there’s a big procession that leaves at 4am, you look at more alfombras, you eat street food (well the Guatemalans do. That’s one part of the culture I’ll leave to the locals. Because as fun as a parasite sounds...), you eat cake and drink coffee at all hours of the night at one of the cafes that stays open all night, you watch a dramatization of the Romans reading the sentence, and you party. Again, we didn’t do that, because drinking and discotecas are frowned upon on the Bethel trip. ;) Like I said, I don’t know how much of a spiritual significance there is to all of that. But that’s the cultural thing to do. And in theory, it's a religious/spiritual time. And then if you make it all the way to Friday morning, you promptly go to sleep. For many hours. At least that’s what I did...I can’t speak for the rest of the population, because I was oblivious to the world until shortly before lunch, and then for much time after lunch. 

What saddens me about all these festivities, is that they’re virtually over come Saturday. The celebrations all but stop with the death of Christ, and part of me, well a lot of me actually, wants to shout out, “You’re missing the most important part!” Yeah, there is a procession on Resurrection Sunday celebrating the risen Lord, but it’s small, and by that time most people who came to Antigua for the festivities have already gone home. True, they light of fireworks throughout the day on Sunday to further celebrate his resurrection, but I’ve seen bigger displays for a little kid’s birthday than for the risen Lord. I don’t understand everything about Catholicism, and so I don’t know for sure that they always place more emphasis on Christ’s death than his resurrection, but to me Christ’s rising from the dead is the most important thing. It’s the pinnacle of what we believe. Dying for our sins is important, and I’m not trying to undermine his death. But without the resurrection, is he anything more than another man who died? Death comes to us all, but if you check my grave a few days after I’ve died, chances are you’ll find my body. (Please don’t think this is an invitation to dig up my body after I’ve died. Not that I’d care so much... so I guess if you really want to, feel free.) That isn’t the case with Christ. They found the tomb empty. “He’s not here, he is risen!” Christ has conquered the grave. So that I, and you, and anyone else who believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, can live in heaven with our Savior. Forever. By dying, and then rising again He broke the barrier that stood between Him and I, between Him and humanity. I’m not saying the people of Guatemala don’t believe in the risen Lord, obviously that is key to what we all believe. And it’s not that I disagree with all the celebrations that go on during this time. I don’t understand them all, and I’m not sure that I agree with some of the things that go on. But I like that they do celebrate this time. We should celebrate Easter, at least to the extent of recognizing that it’s about more than a bunny who gives out candy in brightly colored eggs. I just feel like maybe the celebrations should focus on the resurrection just as much as the death of Christ. Both are key to what I believe, and one without the other doesn’t really work. Death without a resurrection after is just another man who was buried in a grave. And you can’t very well raise someone from the dead if they haven’t died first. You can’t separate the two, and maybe that’s the issue I have with the Semana Santa celebrations. We should, by all means celebrate what Christ did for us. His death and resurrection broke down the barrier that stood between us and God. Where we did not have access previously, now we can enter freely. Yes, please let us celebrate this fact. With everything we have in us we should daily celebrate this, not just at Easter.  Nothing I’ve done, or ever can hope to do is enough to give me the access to God that Christ provided by going willingly to his death. For me. So that I may have life, and have it to the full. So that I may be able to experience the amazing love of God. So that I may be able to live eternally with Him. 

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, my life is worth the living just because he lives. 

And that, my friends, is worth celebrating.

For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, shall we be saved through his life! Romans 5:10

working on an alfombra late Thursday night

one of my favorite alfombras of the night. So ornate and pretty! All made out of layers and layers of sand.

part of one of the processions

procession that left at 4:30 am and went the rest of Friday