Week 1. Wait, week 1??

Well, it’s been a week since I left Winnipeg. It doesn’t make sense because it feels like I’ve always been here.

I was met at the airport by the Beene family. Michael and Rocky Beene are missionaries here in Guatemala , and they do AMAZING work in a few mountain villages outside of the capital (for more information about what they do, you have to check out their website - look for Faith In Action Ministries). They’ve got four kids - Tiffany, Chelsea, Kayla and Travis. I’m here with Kayla, Chelsea and Travis currently. They are all so amazing, kind, loving, and have such a passion for helping people! It’s very humbling and inspiring to me.

Once I got in, we spent the night at their house in the city and the next morning we were off to the city of Zacapa, about four hours from Guatemala City. They built student dorms here, so that children from up in the mountain can come down and finish their high school education (as it regularly only goes until grade six). The dorm is fantastic, and the Beenes and others working on it have really poured themselves into making it a sanctuary and home for the kids. Right now the kids are still on summer break, but they’ll be coming down to stay in the next couple weeks. I cannot wait to meet them all!

From Zacapa we drove up the mountain to the village of Pinalito. Driving there and back was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. The “roads” were crazy! Actually, we drove the first half up the mountain on a two-way road that had room for one car, gravel, with precarious cliffs on every side. Then Kayla told me that was the highway, and the next half was gonna get pretty sketchy. I believed her when we came up to a river/stream, and just when I was about to ask how we were going to cross, she turned into it and I realized this was our road. It was SO beautiful! The mountains and streams and everything are just serene.

The village itself is also beautiful. It’s right in the mountains and borders the rainforest. Orange, coffee, macadamia nut, and banana trees grow everywhere! It’s so cool! The Beenes have set up a mission base there with a medical/dentist clinic and coffee factory. We arrived with a ton of care packages and items for the people there. That evening we set up a New Years event, complete with games for the kids, coffee, candy, and TONS of fireworks. We handed out the packages and blankets to whoever we could at the event. It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it. See facebook for pictures, as the internet is too slow to upload onto here.

Back in Zacapa we had the opportunity to visit a lady that the Beenes knew in the hospital. She was suffering from malnutrition and tuberculosis. Her young daughter had a baby (Sarah), who was also in the hospital. This 3-month old baby girl weighs around 5-7 pounds and looks like a newborn. You can see her ribs poking through. There’s a good chance she has tuberculosis as well, and she’s enemic. Her grama (the malnourished one in the hospital) had previously been taking care of her. Her mom, who is unmarried and poor, feels unable to take care of the child and isn’t sure if she wants her or if that’s the best thing for the baby. Right now the Beenes are trying to find a home for her. Please keep the situation in your prayers, that God’s will would be done in where the child finds her home. Also, the condition of the hospital is crazy! It’s completely open air, which is a good thing for how the hospital is. They found out that the lady had tuberculosis, and they kept her in a room with another patient, they didn’t check the baby (who most likely contracted it) and put her in the pediatricia wing with other babies. There was no precautionary testing or quarantining or anything like that, it was crazy!

This place is amazing, the work the Beenes are doing is fantastic, and it’s very exciting to be able to live with them. I’m looking forward to an adventurous next 5 weeks with them.