Day 3

Today was our first day of work and probably my first day hard labor in a year that didn’t include a basketball. This week we are working in Canalitos, zone 23, which is an impoverished community on the outskirts of Guatemala City. The drive to the community took about thirty minutes. As we winded through the mountainous landscape we took in the beautiful views of volcanoes in the far off distance and the more realistic view of the community we had come to serve. Homes were scattered throughout the hills, all of them extremely modest and most of them made of sheets of tin. The reality that this is all many of the people of Guatemala City have to call home is still sinking in. The drive out to Canalitos was just as much of a learning experience as the actual work we put in today.

Our project for the week is working at a school in the community of Canalitos. It is there that we began preparations for rebuilding a wall that surrounds the playground and keeps the children safe during recess and the afterschool program Pastor Jaime runs. The wall was taken out not too long ago by the heavy rainfall, which accompanied a tropical storm that swept through Guatemala. The work was really tough. A one meter deep trench is needed to lay the foundation for this wall. The dirt however is moist and quite heavy. Also, we began putting a fresh coat of paint on parts of the wall that still exist. This was no easy task either. The wall needed to be cleaned and the chipping paint scrubbed away.

Okay, so I have so much to say but this is the last thing I promise. Today I saw God in so many places. In the children I played with, the warm smiles of people passing on the streets, the relationships being built among our team, but mainly I saw Him in the woman who started this school up about 36 years ago. She began this school in her home and gradually expanded as more students came in. God provided her with the resources to build this school in Canalitos where she now provides 200 students with an education. She is using her life savings to make this school possible. God gave her a vision and her perseverance and desire to fulfill it amazes me and I don’t even know half the story I’m sure. I have so much more to say, but I’ll save it for my journal.
-Kate