Guatemala, July 2010, Day 2

Wow, the first amazing day is complete. One of our volunteers passed out a little flyer to help us start our journey. Jack didn’t say it was all his words but what it implies sums up what is in my heart to which I paraphrase:

Today begins our trip in Guatemala City and while many of us have been on this journey before, we know that this trip will be different that those other trips we have taken! Many experiences will be new; we will meet and serve new people. It is always a true adventure in faith! God has blessed you and will lead you to bless others during this time. You may be excited. You may feel nervous. You will get to watch the Lord unfold his plans right before your eyes! He brings us all together to laugh together, and maybe even cry together too. You will learn and you will teach.

The day began with Uncle Don grabbing my leg – man did I have a good nights sleep. John, a doctor, had mysteriously filled the third bed sometime in the night without me knowing it. Both Don and John claimed I was the snorer in the group. My earplugs seemed to have worked to perfection for the first night.

I decide the coffee is really good here.

The 45 minute ride is quick as I watch out the window. Love the landscape. As we approach the school it is not too different than any other part of the city. The only reminder of the nearby dump is the constant thump of dump trucks passing by the front of the school.

As it turns out, the clinic is run kind of the way I thought it might. There are several teams that function to check the kids in from the school, check height and weight, vision test, physicals, lab and pharmaceutical distribution. Several people branch out from the clinic to help in a local nursery and a camp set up to help recent volcano victims.

I am part of the vision team. Fortunately, I am working with two vision professionals and I get to make small talk, in very limited Spanish, with elementary age kids and point to rows of letters. For me, the day is slower than I expected – there are actually times I get to look out at the street life from my second story school window - I am told the real fun will be later in the week anyway.

I am pretty amazed at the story, means and ways that people work to help other people from around the world. We are but a part of an international team that is helping this school in Guatemala thrive. I am reminded in a video that the school would be nothing without the sounds of children’s laughter in the hallways. I look forward to the rest of the week.

Warren