Another few weeks in Guatemala have come and gone, and I may just finally have a blog. We are continuing to do ministry every day and still have the two time slots (morning and afternoon) in which we go out into the community. Recently, the group has been going to an orphanage and more frequently helping out at a children’s hospital. I’ve seen things here that have made me think twice about the many opportunities and privileges that I have in the States. By no means is that intended to insinuate that America is better, in fact it’s the exact opposite. I can’t express to you how much we could learn from the people in Guatemala. With that being said, however, I have seen things that change the way you view humanity as a whole. I have seen sick kids with more happiness than I have had on my best day. I have seen orphans playing with friends without a care in the world, even though their problems far exceed those of the average child. I have seen newborn babies that have legs smaller than my pinky finger, and it doesn’t seem to amaze any Guatemalan that they are still alive, unlike me. The people are ignorant to the destruction and pain that they have caused to their youth, their elderly, and their county as a whole. Here, no one looks towards what they could be; instead they’re content with the impending future, no matter how dreadful it may look. We, as Americans, are unaware of the life we have. I didn’t know what the other side of the coin looked like until I was forced to see it, and Guatemala is much more than a beautiful landscape. It is a nation in need, the people need help, and anything that you can do is going to make a difference. I’ve learned recently that just spending time with people can make a huge difference, something I didn’t realize before. In the first few weeks of the trip, I was solely focused on the language barrier that seemed to stand in my way every time i tried to start a conversation with a local. I felt like me being here was pointless, because I couldn’t have a meaningful conversation with a child, or the parent that seemed so torn down by their circumstances. Then the children’s carnival happened. One of the girls on our team had a great idea that on our next visit to the children’s hospital, we would take all of the sick and injured kids out of the hospital and let them play games we had set up prior to taking them out. Basically, we just let the kids act like kids. At one point, I stopped what I was doing and just took time to observe the kids. And what I realized changed my whole outlook on the trip. A language barrier is nothing. Human beings are human beings, and every child here, is the same as any child that I can carry on a conversation with. They all like to laugh, play games, and eat candy. It was as simple as that. The first month and a half of the trip I was so distraught that my five years of Spanish I took in high school meant absolutely nothing here, that I couldn’t see what I needed to see. It doesn’t matter if people can understand what you’re trying to say to them or not, or whether you can understand them, what matters is how you show them love. It can be playing games with sick kids, bringing food to people living in garbage dumps, or holding an orphan baby. That’s not the only lesson I’ve learned here, but it’s the most worthy to blog about.
Also, I don’t know if any of you know, but after I leave this trip in Guatemala that I’m currently on, I will be going on the Africa Expeditions Passport Trip in January. I need to raise 5600 for that trip and if you feel like praying for my success or donating to my funds, it would be greatly appreciated:
Go to this address http://adventures.org/ Click on the donate tab and then the Mission Trip Participants link. Choose Passport from the program drop-down box. Enter “Derek Unrau” in the participant’s box and the rest is easy to follow.
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