Bringing Hope Amidst Despair

We are struggling to post photos due to slow Internet connections.  We will do our best but appreciate your understanding.  We hope our words will create a mental picture for you and look forward to retelling our experience with photos at our sharing evening.   This is a photo of us on the wall of dirt we moved for our work project.  The new classroom will be built here.

We awoke early yesterday morning to get ready for the full day that was awaiting us.  After a hearty breakfast we loaded into the vans to go to Chixim.  It was a short but steep ride up the mountainside.  Les Peters met us at the top to take us on a tour of Chixim, a temple named after the corn god chixim.  This temple can be seen from all areas of Tactic as it is very high up the mountain and is white in colour.  Les then began to explain the purpose of this place and how syncretism runs rampant.  Many people in Guatemala practice ritualistic activities that mix Catholicism, Mayan traditions and witchcraft together. We were able to witness first hand some of these rituals as some of the Guatemalan people offered up sacrifices of food and plants to the corn god chixim.  They do this to earn their way into heaven and to gain healing and blessings.   There was a very eerie and heavy feeling as we watched what was happening and listened to Les explain the lies that these precious people have bought into.  We went into the temple and heard more of the history of Chixim. We talked about how syncretism has also crept into our culture as often we see truth mixed with lies taking people’s eyes off of Jesus.   Les then took us in a back room that had statues and plaques hanging on the wall.  The plaques were dedicated to the god chixim thanking him for provision and other things.  We felt heaviness in this small room and knew that it was spiritual.  We began to declare the truth of Jesus in that room and each person randomly expressed what Jesus is to them.  Jesus is Lord; Jesus is King; Jesus is truth; Jesus is love; Jesus is my salvation; Jesus is freedom, and Jesus is my everything were some of the statements expressed by the group.  The heaviness lifted and we knew God’s presence was in that place.  The light and power of God dispels the darkness. Our God is greater. 

After our tour of Chixim we made our way back into Tactic where the students participated in a market activity.  They were split into teams and were given a list, in Spanish, telling them the items they needed to buy.  They had to complete their task with only a small amount of money and within a time limit.  This was their opportunity to experience what the life of a missionary would be like, having to communicate with people of another language and finding what they need.  The market place was quite busy and it was gratifying to see the teams work together to complete their tasks.  The groceries that were bought in the market would later be used to feed us at the guest house.  The students had a great time roaming the streets of the market trying to communicate with the people of tactic. Some may even come back home with a new haircut. J  It was definitely an unforgettable experience for them.

We went back to the guest house for lunch and then got ready to go to the hospital in Coban.  This small hospital is the only hospital that services many villages, thousands of people.  People will travel days to go to the hospital and many only go there to die.  It is really difficult to find words to capture the experience at the hospital.  As we walked up to the entrance, people were lined up outside the door waiting to get in. We knew that we were entering a place of desperation.  People stared as we walked by with a look in their eyes that begged for help.   Once inside we noticed burnt out lights and wires hanging from the ceilings; walls were stained and needing paint.  There was a musty smell that we knew was the stench of filth and sickness.  As we went into the children’s ward, we passed a baby being wheeled on a stretcher with nurses using a hand pump to pump oxygen into his tiny lungs.  The parents of the baby followed closely behind with looks of helplessness and despair on their faces.  We separated into five groups and went from bed to bed visiting and praying for each child. We gave them each a stuffed toy, which made them smile and their eyes lit up.  There were many children in the hospital that were battling pneumonia or other lung infections and many of the team realized that if these children had the same medical care that we have in Canada, they’re chances of recovery would be much better.  The hearts of our students were touched as we walked through and saw how our prayers were bringing hope to these families.  We serve a God of miracles, a God where nothing is too difficult.  The faith of a mustard seed is enough, and we truly believe that prayers were answered today.  We made our way to the maternity ward where there were twenty six new moms.  We brought each of them a gift and gave our congratulations.  Although it was a joyous time to see the smiles on these new mom’s faces our hearts were extremely troubled as there were four ladies that had lost their babies.  Their empty arms and look of pain in their eyes was very difficult to witness. We can’t even imagine what that must be like to be in and amongst new moms with their babies after experiencing a loss like that.  As we were walking through the maternity ward, we could hear a woman giving birth in the next room and then we were able to see the baby in the nursery just minutes after. This was very exciting for many of the team members.  

When we returned to the guest house we had a debriefing session with Les to help us process what we had just experienced.  Each team member shared parts of their experience and we were able to pray, talk and cry together.  It was a very emotionally difficult day, but a very important time in our spiritual growth.  More and more we are emptying ourselves of our own selfish ambitions and realizing that there is a world that needs the love of Jesus.  It was amazing to have the opportunity to share Christ’s love to some very hurting people and to bring some hope to a situation that seems hopeless.  Please continue to pray for the people of Guatemala, that their hearts would continue to be open to the Gospel.  Also, please pray for our team as some are battling sore throats, itchy sore bug bites, nausea and fatigue.  We look forward to all that God has for us and are looking forward to sharing more with you.  God bless! Dios te bendiga!!!