Return to Guatemala: Day 6 - Returning home

   It is a morning of mixed emotions as we head to the airport this morning (at 4:30 am). On one side, I cannot wait to get home and see Kayman and have some of the comforts of home. On the other hand, my heart breaks to leave these people and to leave Antigua. We have already had several conversations about planning our next trip, and I hope it will not be too long from now. We had such an amazing time serving the people of Guatemala. Especially the children! When we got on the plane and took off, I looked at Karter and he began to cry. He was crying because he did not want to leave. He wanted to stay and help more people. I know he wants to go home and see his sister and play with his toys, but I could not be more proud of his heart to want to stay and help his people of Guatemala. I simply told him "hey, if we go home, we can start raising money for our next trip and help even more people.

   I want to stop and say thank you. Many of you donated money to help us help other people. Because of you we were able to make a difference in many lives this week. We gave shoes to children without shoes, beds to children without beds, and food to children without food. We played with children who can't see beyond the walls of the orphanages, held babies that don't know there is even a world outside the walls. We watched as children lit up when we handed the toys, pizza, craft projects, crayons, and toy cars. We were able to hand little girls a brand new Barbie doll when they had never had one before. We took pictures of kids who had never had their picture taken, hugged kids that don't get hugs. We played soccer and frisbee and volleyball, but most of all, we were able to show them love... We were able to show them that there were people willing to travel great distances just to share in their lives. We were able to love on them in ways they may not see very often. Most importantly, we were able to share the love the God has for each of us.

   I know they will not forget our team visiting them, but I also know our team will not forget them. So from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you for anything you did to help us change the world!

   I hope you will be watching for future posts and blogs from our family as we continue to dream about making an impact in our world. If anyone reading this feels prompted to donate to the needs in Guatemala, please feel free to contact us. You can donate online through Paypal at our families foundation to help children in need. Just go to www.KartersDream.com and click on the donate button at the left hand side.

   Again, thank you all for being part of our journey!

Return to Guatemala: Day 5 - Free Day

   Part of our team had to head home today, so for the rest of us it was a free day in Antigua. For Heather, Karter and I, we started our day taking one of our new friends Nestor out for coffee. Then it was still too early for many of the shops to be opened, so Nestor took us to see some of the sites in Antigua. We walked through a church that now lays in ruins after an earthquake in 1773 that devastated Antigua. Before the earthquake Antigua had been the capital of Guatemala. After the quake, the government decided to abandon the site and more to what is now Guatemala City. That decision pretty much made Antigua become a ghost town for many years. Now, Antigua has become one of the most visited cities in Guatemala. It is an amazingly beautiful city with lots to offer. But, I will post more about that later. For now, back to our free day!

   After touring the churches, we went to the chocolate museum. I know, some of you are thinking maybe you need to make travel plans right now just for that museum! Since I do not like chocolate much, I was able to pass by the smells of fresh chocolate being made on the counter, and continue on to see how they make chocolate. It was a pretty interesting journey through this small museum, and I would say a must see if you travel to Antigua.

   After the museum, Nestor had to leave for a little bit and we went back to the hotel briefly before lunch. Since it was just the three of us for lunch, we decided to go way out of our comfort zone and go to....... Yip you guessed it, Burger King! Since we had Dominoes pizza with some of the kids, and McDonald's earlier in the week, we figured we should hit the last American fast food we saw. 

   After lunch, we went back to join up with the other members of our group for a day of shopping and fun. We had a great afternoon and evening. Sadly, this would be our last day together as we had to head home early in the morning.

Return to Guatemala: Day 4 - Behrhorst Foundation

   Toady was a little different kind of day but very rewarding in a little different way. Today we met up with a representative of Behrhorst.  Behrhorst is a foundation that raises money to bring clean water, restrooms, and cooking stoves to remote Mayan villages up high in the mountains. The representative was going to take our group to two remote villages. The first village would be one they were still trying to raise money to help, and the second one would be a village that they had helped about three years ago. Heather and I were very excited to get to go see the villages because that quite possibly could be what it was like where Karter was born. We loaded the bus and headed up the mountain. 

   Our journey was a couple hours long so we ate sandwiches on the bus because there would not be anywhere else to eat. As we climbed the mountain, the view was absolutely amazing. We began to get into more of the farming areas and could see the work that went in to raising their crops. We saw small fields of lettuce, cabbage, carrots, peas, corn, squash, watermelons, as well as other crops... all planted, cared for, and harvested by hand. We would see workers out in the fields with hand tools taking care of the crops. When they saw out bus, many of them would stop, smile and wave to us. Again, there was no hint of complaining, frustration, or felling sorry for themselves. They were simply doing their job and taking time to smile and wave to some people driving by.

   We continued up the mountain as the road turned to stone pavers and then to dirt. After a couple hours, we arrived at our first destination. A small village of about 60 homes. We got off the bus and we were greeted by the President of the village who would show us around and explain some of their needs and ways of life. He took us to a large concrete "pool" that was probably 3 feet tall, 8 or 9 feet wide, and 10 - 15 feet long. It was filled with water and had some concrete "pads" on the top. There was another structure much the same right behind it. As we approached, we noticed a lady there washing clothes on one of the pads in the water. Then, they began to explain that this was the only water in the village. They used this water for everything including cooking, drinking, cleaning, washing clothes, bathing, watering crops, drinking water for animals, and anything else they needed water for. 

   The water supply came from a spring higher up on the mountain and was brought down to this "pool" by what appeared to be a garden hose. Where the water entered the "pool" there was a small PVC pipe. This is where the women filled their jars with water for their homes.

   The President had one of the women come fill a jar like she would twice a day so we could see what they had to do to have water in their home. She came in with a child strapped to her back (which is how they normally carry their children) and a water jug on her head. She them filled the jug and put it back on her head to show us. Then she removed the jug and invited any of our team to come put the jug on their heads to see what it was like. We found out that this jug, full of water, weighed about 25 pounds. I cannot imaging walking around with that on my head, and she did it twice a day, everyday, and had to walk up and down the mountain to get from her home to the pool, and back to her home. And don't forget, she also did this with a 20-30 pound child on her back. Then, we found out that this was just the medium sizes jug she uses... There is an even bigger one.

   She told us that sometimes the jugs will fall off of the women's heads if they stumble or something. When this happens, she said many times it will hit their babies they are carrying and hurt them. I am sure that makes these women very sad, but there is no other way for them to get the water right now.

   Then the President showed us how a man would carry water when he comes to get it. A man came walking in with a jug that looked to me like one of the gas cans you might see strapped to the back of a Jeep. I am not sure how much water it held, but I would guess 10 gallons or more. There were a couple ropes fastened around the tank to form a kind of sling to hold it in. Then there was a small pad on part of it that we learned wrapped around the forehead, and that is how he would carry the water. No hands, just all that weight around his forehead with the tank on his back.

   After watching how they have to get water, we went to look at one of their homes. It was a one room home made with adobe walls and a tin roof. As we approached, I noticed smoke coming out from under the roof. It actually looked like the home was on fire, but when we went in, we observed a woman sitting on the floor in a completely smoke filled room, cooking in what we would call a fire pit. There was no chimney, or any way for the smoke to get out. It just filtered out through whatever cracks there were in the celling and walls. The smoke was so bad, that some of our team members could not even go in. Back home, if I rolled up on that sene in our firetruck, we would not even consider going in to a situation like that without an air pack on so we could breathe! Yet there sat this little lady cooking away. It is what she does every day in those conditions. This cause a lot of long term damage to the people including problems with their eyes and lungs.

   Again, I was blown away by the face that these were happy people! This lady who had absolutely nothing began offering us fresh avocados from the tree by here house. She smiled and made sure to welcome each one of us. I have found myself whining about my DVR not recording a show properly, or burning my popcorn in the microwave. We have so much more than what these people could probably even comprehend.... Yet time after time, these people continued to be happy, thankful, and wanting to share what they had with us.

   We then visited their school to deliver a suitcase full of school supplies and a couple boxes of Legos for the kids. their playground consisted of a few tires, A wooden slide (even the slide part was wood) and a 2x4 with a couple other pieces of wood attached that I am guessing was supposed to be a teeter-totter. Again, we saw children smiling, laughing and having fun.

   Before we left this village, we began asking what it would take to bring them water, restrooms, and cooking stoves. We found out that they have been raising money and they are only $8,000 away from being able to do all of the projects. I hope that when I return, this village is done and they will be raising money for another village.

   After all the good bye's, we got back on the bus and headed to the next village. It was even farther up the mountain. In fact, it was pretty foggy at the village. Not because of fog, but because we were actually in the clouds.

   This village already had clean water, restrooms, and cooking stoves as part of the project that had been completed about 3 years ago. It was amazing to see the differences between the two villages. The people still had the same smiles, they welcomed us just like before... but you could see that they were much healthier. They had good clean safe water to drink, a restroom (instead of just going on the ground somewhere), and wood stoves to cook on so their homes were not filled with smoke. Also, with the clean water part of the project, they run water to every home and give them a sink. Then they take the water that goes down the drain and run it through pipes that will take it to the fields to water the crops. It has completely changed this village. The women have been able to be more a part of the village instead of carrying water all day. That has also allowed the school to better teach the children. In fact, at this village we found that they are even teaching them some English.

   So, how much does it really cost to completely transform a village? That is a good question. Of corse every village is different because of the number of homes and how spread out they might be, but for this village of 90 homes it took around $45,000. Now, that is a lot of money to be, but when you compare it to how much work is done for that price... I think it is actually very cheap.

   Then it was time to head back to Antigua for the rest of our day....

Return to Guatemala: Day 3 - Back to Hogar Rosa de Amor & the Market

   The third day of our trip we were privileged to return to Rosa de Amor to play with the kids. When we arrived, our leader suggested we walk next door and see where "The Kids on the Wall" lived and we could see where a couple of the bunk beds had been delivered to families on other visits. Again, the conditions were horrible for our standards, yet the people were very friendly and happy. 

   We were immediately greeted by a Guatemalan woman who told us good morning and invited us to come see her home. Her home consisted of some cinderblock walls with a tin roof, yes she was as happy as could be and was excited to show us around. Walking up to her house we saw that it was a two room home with a covered "porch" area and a dirt floor. The covered area was actually her kitchen. All cooking had to be done outside because the home only had two rooms and those were bedrooms. this lady was a recipient of the bunk bed project around Christmas for her two young children. Even though their beds were all ready showing  signs of wear and the mattresses were already getting to be in rough shape, the little kids had huge smiles on their faces as they showed off their beds. In talking to this lady, we learned that she was hoping that sometime she would be able to get another bed. You see, even though she had nothing by our standards, she saw another woman in need and offered to take her in and help her out. She then learned that this lady had some medical problems and needed more assistance. So now, she is really struggling to take care of her family, as well as a stranger with multiple needs.

   It was amazing to me that over and over what we kept seeing was the heart of these people. So many of us in the US would just shut the door and ignore there might be someone in need, but here in Guatemala, we see over and over that even though they have a huge need, they are still willing to help someone else. I began to realize where Karter gets his big heart from, and I am honored to be able to help him help other Guatemalan families. It is a process that I plan to continue until I cannot do it anymore... Then, I hope Karter will continue helping the less fortunate forever.

   When we walled back to the orphanage, we saw that the Orphan Resource truck had come by and dropped off the monthly food supplies for the orphanage. This consisted of four or five 50 pound bags of rice, beans, some flour and some oil. That is it! That is all they got to feed however many kids came to the orphanage that month. My heart broke and We immediately asked our leader if we could take the bus to the store and help out with that problem. She said yes, and Heather, myself, and a few other team members jumped on the bus. It was very exciting at the store to begin filling carts with food. We split up and had one group fill a cart with fresh fruit and we took a cart to fill with whatever else we could find. We bought 30 bags of pasta, 4 giant cans of powered milk, I think 8 dozen eggs, several pounds of chicken and beef, pancake mix, syrup, soup mix, and much more. Our cart was completely full so we headed to the front to check out. When we got there, the clerk had to call her manager over because we were making such a large purchase and she had to approve it as well as take the money and put it in a bank bag instead of leaving it in the cash register. As I loaded the bags in the cart, I noticed the security guard laughing and pointing to the cart and telling the other security guard to look at how much we had purchased. It did not take long to figure out that they were not use to seeing anyone purchase anywhere near this much stuff. As we totaled it all up and paid out, we began figuring out the amount of money we spent in US dollars. The total cost... Just $249! For an entire cart of food.

   We loaded the bus and went back to the orphanage. We began unloading the food at the orphanage, and the looks on the directors faces was priceless. You see, as far as I know, we had not told them what we were going to do. Buying the food was not part of why we went back to this orphanage. It was an awesome feeling as we piled sack after sack of food on their kitchen counters. In fact, we took up all of the counter space and then some. I think the amount of food we were able to purchase was as much if not more than what they had received for the month.

   Then the sad part came... We had to tell these children good bye for the last time this week. I would love to go back and see them again, but there is no way to know if any of these children will still be there when we get to return. They are amazing children who just need a chance tin life. I know if they could, they would change the world. What they do not realize is that just by our chance to meet them, they have already helped change the world through us.

   That afternoon, we had a chance to go to one of the handicraft markets in Antigua. I love the market with shop after shop filled with the bright colored textiles and trinkets of Guatemala. It is so much fun looking at everything, and occasionally even running into a woman sitting there weaving. We purchased a few items and walked back to the hotel. Then it was off to dinner to reminisce about another amazing day in the always beautiful Guatemala.

Return To Guatemala: Day 2 - El Amor de Patricia & Bunk Bed Project

   Day two of our service here in Guatemala began with a trip to El Amor de Patricia which is an orphanage for babies and toddlers. We took suitcases full of Crocs, balls, sidewalk chalk, baby dolls, crayons, and other items. We also stopped at the grocery store before we went to buy items like formula, diapers, and other items for the babies. I think we almost bought out the store of the sizes of diapers we were buying. When we were looking for the formula, we were told we had to go to a counter and tell them how much we wanted because it was all locked up. The formula was fairly expensive (for Guatemala) so our guess was that many people had stolen formula because they could not afford to purchase it for their baby. With our carts overflowing, it was time to pack it in the bus and head out. 

   Once we arrived we began unloading the supplies. As we were putting the diapers away, the director was pretty excited because they had just ran out of the sizes we bought and when they had gone to buy diapers the last time, the store was out of the smaller sizes. Although no one really said it, I think we all probably agreed that we serve an amazing God who can lead us to supply needs that we don't even know about.

   Then it was time to just hold and love on the little ones... I think we all fell in love with at least one of the kids. Even some of our younger kids were holding and playing with the kids. It was amazing to watch them having fun. After the children ate lunch, we took each child individually and fit them with new Crocs and let them pick out a baby doll. The smiles and joy on their faces was worth every penny it took to get here. We wrote their names on the back of their shoes and began realizing that these were probably the first shoes any of them could really call their own.

   As much fun as our morning was, it was just the beginning. After we ate a wonderful lunch prepared by the orphanage, we loaded up a truck full of the supplies for the bunk beds, and loaded up our suitcases full of sheets for the beds, and other items for the children. Then it was off for what I think quickly became one of the best times so far on our trip.

   The area we delivered our beds to was a place dear to one of our guides hearts. We went to help a lady named Abuela and her neighbors, many of whom were part of her family. This lady took in one of our guides after he had aged out of the orphanage and had no where else to go. Despite the fact she could hardly make it on her own and she was helping to take care of her 12 kids and 38 grandkids. When he returned a few weeks ago to tell her we were going to come help, she was very excited, and the others in the neighborhood were even more excited. It was such an exciting time to watch the families as we build the beds and then gave them to the children.

   After we finished the beds, we gathered the children in one area and began handing out toys, shoes, and clothes. It was absolutely amazing to watch their families as we helped. You could tell they were overwhelmed with the love our team showed them. It was amazing how thankful they were even though we did not even come close to meeting all of their needs. In face, just in that area, we found out that they actually need at least 30 more beds. I would love to be able to come back and help deliver beds to those families as well. They are such a loving and caring group of people. It is amazing to me to watch over and over again how happy these families are who don't having anything... at least, they don't have what we tend to think we need to make us happy..... I love my "stuff", but I think maybe we could learn a little from the people we are serving.

Return to Guatemala: Day 1 - Hogar Rosa de Amor

After a full day of travel and unpacking yesterday, We woke up this morning and enjoyed a breakfast of fresh fruit and fresh orange juice at our hotel in Antigua. After breakfast, we gathered with our team to begin separating our donations for were they were going to go. It was awesome to see suitcase after suitcase of donations being dumped out on the floor and then to begin to repack for the different locations.While the adults worked on the donations, Karter and his new friends ran and played all through the courtyard. Something we would never have let him do at home, but here it is the normal thing, plus we were just a few steps away in a room with an open door and windows to we could keep an eye on them. Then we went for a short walk to get a Coke to drink. Oddly, I think after being in China for two weeks, and now here, I am actually starting to like the foreign Coca Cola more than the U.S. version. I guess maybe I will just have to travel more and enjoy the flavors of the world.

After our walk, it was time to pack the bus and head to the orphanage. Today was very fun because we also planned a pizza party for the kids at the orphanage, so we stopped at Dominoes pizza on the way and picked up twenty pizzas and drinks for the kids. When we arrived at the orphanage, the children were very excited to see us. I think they got even more excited when they began to see us unload all of the pizzas and other things.It was amazing to get the privilege to serve pizza and drinks to the children and watch them enjoying every bite of it.

After lunch we began unpacking some of the fun items we brought for the children which included a volleyball net, several new volleyballs (which quickly became soccer balls), frisbees, and some new soccer balls. It was amazing to watch as the children began playing right along side out children like they had been friends forever. As I was standing there taking pictures and watching, one of our volunteers cam up to me with a little nine year old girl who specifically asked if I would go play soccer with her. I immediately quit what I was doing and got Karter to come play with us. We did not have a chance against her, but we had a great time playing and listening to her laugh as she schooled us over and over and over... 

As we were playingI began to learn more about this little girl. I learned that she is not actually part of the orphanage, but part of a group of kids they have named kids on the wall. As I inquired more about the kids on the wall, my heart began to break even more for some of these children. You see, the kids on the wall are actually a group of kids that live next to the orphanage in houses that really don't hardly qualify to be called a house. It is basically a metal shed that is probably smaller than my garage. They have been named "the kids on the wall" because many times they will climb the security wall of the orphanage and watch the kids at the orphanage because the conditions inside the orphanage are so much better than what they have. I don't know about you, but that just slapped me in the face... We came here to help with children inside the orphanages because of the conditions they live in everyday, yet there are children that live right beside the orphanage that wish they could have the life of the children inside the wall. Sadly, that is the case all across this country and the needs are huge. Thankfully, Rosa (the lady who runs the orphanage) began to recognize these kids and began inviting them in to play and be involved with some of the activities that take place in the orphanage, and that is why this little girl was there. We had already decided that we wanted to make a difference for as many kids as possible so we had already asked Rosa to include all of these other children as well.

The more I found out, the more this little girl tugged at my heart. You see what I found out just before we left is that she is the little girl in the picture I saw months ago who had crocs on that were destroyed, yet she would not let them go because they were her only shoes. She is the girl who cried when someone gave her new crocs and threw her old ones over the wall so one of her friends could have a pair of shoes. She is the one that inspired my family to purchase 24 pairs of crocs to bring to Guatemala to help other children not have to go without shoes. So although this little girl may never know it, she has touched my life in a way I will never forget. Although she may not be able to change her world around her, her story for me, was the beginning of something I hope and pray will continue for years to come. She will always hold a special place in my heart and I am very glad I had the privilege to meet her.

And that is just day one! On day 2 we will get to go to an orphanage with smaller children and babies and then we will get to deliver bunk beds our team purchased for families with children who have never had a bed... I am so blessed to get to be a part of some incredible life altering events... I'm just not quite sure who gets more out of it, me or the children.