My Daughter's Trip to Guatemala

[Guest]

Earlier this week I mentioned that my daughter, Rachel, was on a mission trip to Guatemala and Rick asked for a mission report. I picked Rachel up at the airport in Los Angeles yesterday and drove her to her home in Orange County with a stop for lunch on the way. That whole time, about 3 hours, she couldn't stop talking, so I think I'm pretty clear on what she did there.

Guatemala is an extremely poor country that is just starting to stabilize after the devastation of a long civil war. In fact, the Guatemalan Civil War wins the distinction of being the longest war in Latin American history, lasting 36 years from 1960 - 1996. Wars bring horrors and this one was one of the worst, with the government forces committing astounding abuses of human rights and perpetrating genocide against indigenous people.

While the larger cities have begun to rebuild their economy and society there has begun to restructure itself, the small villages are devastated. Rachel worked for two weeks in a village, Xela, where most of the adult men were killed in battle, "disappeared" during the war, have made their way north to find work to earn money to send back to their families, or sometimes have just deserted their families. Therefore, Xela is populated mostly by single-mothers, teenagers, and children, and their lives are difficult. The organization she went with, whose name I'm unsure of, has started a weaving co-op for the women to earn money using their skills as weavers of beautiful designs. The also have a school and a clinic. She worked at the school and clinic doing what young people on short term missions do: painting, working at a preschool, and helping with a school writing project where the teenagers documented their culture and life. I think the preschool was her favorite place. During lunch, she showed me picture after picture of adorable children playing around like children everywhere do.

Interspersed with the pictures of the children, were landscapes of amazing tropical beauty. Xela is surrounded by volcanos and is prone to seismic activity. There was an earthquake last week which measured 4.9 and even made the Californian young people take notice, but the Guatemalans took it in stride.

My daughter was deeply moved by her experience there. I was totally surprised by her decision to go there, since her faith is kind of moment-by-moment and I'm never really sure where shes stands. Now that it's over, I'm glad for her experience and I'm glad that she went; the 17 days she was gone, however, were excruciating for me. I would love it if the calendar could turn back and she was the adorable child telling me stories she'd made up and snuggling up in bed to read books. I thought I'd be way past this by now, but apparently I'm not.

[Guest]

Thanks, Michelle, for Rachel's Mission Trip Report!

Xela sounds like a pretty place...and the kids sound even more beautiful.

I'm sure this will change Rachel's life for the better, something she will never forget. Experiencing these kinds of things first-hand; there's no replacement for that. I'm glad Rachel could go!

You may come to appreciate Rachel's Guatemala Story more as time goes by.
It's a real story...her story...and not made up!

Prayers for the people in Xela and Guatemala.
(I wish I could do more, like Rachel did).
Thanks again, Michelle.

[Guest]

Wonderful story and a wonderful experience for your daughter I am sure. To see humanity in a different setting is so sobering and makes one mature awfully fast. We just don't see these things often enough on average. We USAians are so blessed that we have become blind.

Thanks for sharing, Michelle.

[Guest]

That's awesome Michelle. And especially that she is home safe and sound. It is so hard sitting back and watching our kids go out into the great big dangerous world! I bet this experience will shape her life though.

A 36-year civil war, huh? How horrible. I wonder why we heard so little about it here in the U.S. of A.?