Gatekeepers

It's not uncommon to be walking down the street here and stroll by an armed guard--outside of banks, parking lot entrances (which, on average, might hold 10 cars) and businesses.  Sometimes if, for example, there begin to be too many people in the bank waiting room, they'll ask you to wait outside and eventually direct you to enter.  Sometimes the position seems unnecessary; however, it tends to keep things a little more orderly and equitable. 

(Back to Texas) A few years ago the women in my family suffered a slight bout of insanity and decided to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving.  Do you know who the shining stars are on this day?!?! The doorkeepers!....or whichever employee is brave enough to approach the doors with a key, as the crazies wait in line outside.. at 4 in the morning..under a cold drizzle.  Hail the mighty (humble) doorkeeper!! 

As our year as YAVS began, we were challenged to think of ourselves as gate keepers.  Gate keepers.  People who opened a gate, an ebb and flow between those in the dominant center and those in the margins...I would say the old "have and have-nots", but i think it would be more accurate to say the "have and have-too-muchers."  (But that's another ramble.)  

I recently had the pleasure of giving my first teacher training and (per the request of the teachers [!]) am in the process of planning another for next week.  And yes, google search, youtube, and translation.com work miracles, but today I have been especially grateful for friends and co-workers who are also just a click away, generously sharing their expertise and resources.  Thank you Lauren, Joan, Ana, Kelly, Kay, Annie, and the rest of the Caldwell crew!  It's curious that, when I shared what i would be doing this year, many of my teacher friends expressed how they had always wanted to do something similar (eh hem... Debbie Merritt).  And thanks to technology, you really can.  Debbie and I are cooking up a plan to have teachers here observe her giving a writing lesson to her class via Skype. 

Gatekeeping.  I feel like I'm coming into my role as a gate keeper (though I can't decide if it has a hyphen or a space or is, indeed, a compound word).  It's nothing glamorous.  Once the shoppers have their hands on that 60% off Playstation, old mister who unlocked the door couldn't be farther from their minds (now it's the CASHIER!!)   As we arrived in Guatemala months ago, we shared our hopes for the year but doing so we also realized that we were most likely not going to turn the world upside down in a year... we're not going to change the system....
but we can open a door...or a gate.  And we can do it with love.

Feliz Navidad!

12 days of Christmas---Guatemalan style.



to witness true talent visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80IS1HNrt0Y

An advent prayer

Healing God, stir me from my indifference. Though the world’s brokenness sometimes feels overwhelming, give me strength to accept the challenge of pursuing your perfect peace. Amen.

(for a daily advent reflection go to: http://www.d365.org/followingthestar/)

Waiting.

Advent is a time of waiting.  My mom has a little sign at home that says
"God give me patience... but hurry.'

It reminds me of the highly acclaimed "Bruce Almighty".  A begruntled and jaded Jim Carrey grasps his steering wheel while driving down the road on a rainy night and pleads, "God.. please, give me a sign."  Immediately a truck with danger signs passes him--Yield, Wrong Way, Dead End, Do Not Enter, STOP.  But Bruce is oblivious and when his car, de repente, smashes into a pole, he smites god, thinking his prayer unanswered.   (Enter Garth Brooks in the background.)

Similarly, when we pray for patience, or peace, it doesn't necesarily come in the tangible form of a dove, or instant enlightment. Maybe, as for my friend Juli (http://www.julierinsmith.blogspot.com/) it comes in the form of being one of eight people at the breakfast table, waiting for their pancakes to be served...one...at...a...time.  Now that's an opportunity for patience!  That feeling of perturbance that starts to fester---let us see it as a signal, a sign---here's the answer to your prayer.  A chance to practice patience. How will I do?  Will I be thankful, receptive to this form of answered prayer?

There is an African Proverb that I love:

When you pray,

               move your feet. 


We can't pray for signs
without actively looking for them
or for patience
without practicing it
or for peace
without pursuing it.

move your feet.

move my feet.

peace.

Thank you

To all of my family, friends, supporters I share this blessing from the chicken bus--


May God multiply for you what you wish for me.


Love to all, Laura





Water is the theme

Wednesday Andrew and I hopped in a van outside of Pollo Campero not really sure of where we were going or what we would be doing. (Don't panic.. we went with Cedepca employees http://www.cedepca.org/) We picked up Juli, Tina and Katharine on our way to visit a tiny community outside of Huehuetenango.  Last year, before the country was pounded by tropical storm Agatha, this community was suffering terribly from a drought.   

Agua is el tema--Water is the theme, shared Roberto, who years ago approached the community, only to find 2 families living there.  The rest had followed the water...leaving their homes during the dry season in search of work on coffee plantations, or for some, beginning the journey North in hopes of providing for their family.

Cedepca has also accompanied this community over the past year, providing psycho-social support, training members to know how to respond to disasters but also just giving them a space to communicate and heal from crisis small and large.  This visit would be the review and celebration of a year of healing.  As we gathered in a  bilingual (Spanish and Mayan dialect, Aguacateco) classroom decorated with children's workthe men gravitated toward one side of the circle and the women on the other.  We began with a relaxation exercise, as most participants affirmed that they have chronic aches and often don't sleep well. 

Here we are participating in a visualization.  We were holding an orange in our hand, extending our arm, one at a time.  Rotating it to feel it's shape. Then we began to squeeze "feeling" the scent, imagining the juice running through our fingers..all of this is interupted by giggles, of course, and peeking.  Finally we drop the remains and shake off the juice, releasing tension from the body... and the room. 

   

After we relaxed our bodies and significantly 'broke the ice', we partnered up for an active listening activity in which we took turns speaking and listening.  Each partner shared an interest of theirs, and a goal for the future.  My partner, Pascual, shared that he was enjoying working on his reading and writing and hoped to continue.  He also shared that 'before' the community members fought a lot, and were very stressed because there was no money and very little food for the children.  It is difficult, he said. He was grateful for Cedepca's partnership because they help "sacar las cosas del mente"--take the things out of the brain.  Pascual shared that now families are able to understand each other and support each other.

     

The last activity that we did we each named what color of candle we were (I felt like this was a cool and respectful connection between ancient Mayan spiritual practice...and the Bible, turns out) As we were 'lit' our 'flames' danced around in the wind.  Once the leader's flame 'went out' and a member of the community came and lit it again.  We ended by bringing that flame into our hearts, to share with others and be a source of light. 

Time to eat!!!   the kitchen...

the dining room

learning about ways that they are 'trying to make the water last'.  

There is the saying:
Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish ; and you have fed him for a lifetime.
and I think there is great importance in that...building ownership, self-esteem, etc.  But this project has another saying:  

"The project doesn't teach how to fish, but to cultivate fish, because fish, there aren't any..."

Ironically this is where we ended our day... in the next town over where there is a 'nacimiento del rio'--birth of a river, or spring, gushing from the mountainside.  I was reminded of these lyrics, inspired by Amos 5:24
Let the rain go
Let the healing river flow
Let justice roll like water
Let the day begin when new life enters in
and let your people come

More Lessons from the Classroom

I was just reading Sleeping with Bread which describes the Examen—a daily practice of reflection, which in it’s most simple form answers two questions: What gave life and what drained life today?

I realized that we have incorporated this practice into our summer school program here by ending our day with the “circulo de amistad” (friendship circle) where each student has the opportunity to share what they liked most about the day, and what they liked least. This not only helps the teachers to informally assess the day but also provides a space for each individual to be heard. The girls seem to especially appreciate this time, as they often take a passive role in classroom discussion. What I hadn’t considered before that this was perhaps the sprouting of a lifelong process of reflection, which is critical for self-knowledge and growth. Reflection and self-evaluation are skills that can easily be left unfertilized and that have to be taught and developed just as we teach addition and subtraction…and I like that we have slipped it in so naturally that even I didn’t realize that we were teaching it at first 

In the circle, we’re also practicing respect. Showing respect by listening and taking turns, but also by acknowledging that what was the best part of the day for one person might be the worst part of the day for another. The practice of seeing things from other people’s perspective.

Complete this phrase: If you don’t have something nice to say…. (Don’t say anything at all.)

I can’t tell you how many times that I heard this growing up (thanks, Carol Ann :) or how grateful I feel that I did. Here the equivalent of this is one of my new favorites, for the way that it translates: No se vale decir. Basically, it is not worth saying. It is in the passive form, but it’s message is powerful. There is no value in the words that you are using. And when delivered softly, “Eso no se vale decir, mi amor,” it causes one to reflect.. Why did I say that? How does it make the recipient feel? What does it say about me?

Our words, whether directed to students or co-workers, or shared between friends, families and loved ones have great power. They have the power to build up, or to tear down. They reflect the state of our hearts and minds, how we feel about ourselves, and how we know God. What are your words saying today? And is there value in what they say?

A Kindergartener’s Lesson on Grace

A few years ago I was teaching summer school, and those who have also had the opportunity to teach summers school know that..hmm… how do I put this?... the students need academic support, but can also use a good daily dose of love (which surprisingly can be shared by providing them structure…and at least two meals for the day). So one of the structures that I used were these little craft sticks with each student’s name. From these we would chose who would be the line leader, who would guide us through the calendar activity, who was privileged enough—oh, yes—to flip the oversized pages of the big book as the teacher read. Good stuff. That day, we were reading 5 Little Ducks and while reading, several of my little summer angels were basically break dancing, they were so wiggly. (We’ll call them Shadrach, Meshach, and a billy goat.) “We” decided that sitting in chairs would be a better option until they could sit and listen attentively on the rug. And oh man, being exiled from the rug, however gently, was a sobering experience.
After reading the book, we decided to act it out…and for that we would need ducklings. (And if you think 5 year olds get excited about being the page-flipper for the day, getting to dramatize a duckling is an entirely different category) 20 arms flair into the air---hands flapping, accompanied with strained expressions of pleading. I reach for my name sticks—who would be the lucky ones?? Shuffling…shuffling.. (might as well make this dramatic).. aaaaaannndd???? Shadrach. Oh boy. Me against the masses. After all, Shadrach hadn’t been behaving!! Why should HE get to be a duckling?! That wouldn’t be fair. I pause and exchange a glance with Leti, our aide. Okay, Shadrach. Let’s go. Next name… shuffling.. shuffling… oh, let’s get a drumroll going! Pat pat pat pat pat pat… aaaaaannnddd??!!?! Pause. Meshach. I fight a grin of consternation. C’mon Meshach. Man.. Mister “I have all of the answers” (albeit for summer school) on the front row is not pleased by this. The strained expressions for those waiting to be chosen, sitting as properly and patiently as possible is becoming comical. I begin to shuffle again, shaking my head a bit, already feeling what is about to happen. Still, I muster a cal for the drumroll , and…. Yep, a billy goat.

Leti and I laugh as the 3rd duckling takes his place and I say “Welp, that was a good lesson on God’s grace from Kindergarteners.” I pull the names of two more equally unworthy, but equally loved ducklings, and then we just all had fun together.

Retreat!!!

 Ahh... a good old patio.  This is where we spent most of our time at our most recent retreat at the Coffee Finca (plantation) Santa Elena outside of Quetzaltenango.  Before coming we read a book called Silence on the Mountain on the history of coffee fincas and the attempted (and then violent) Agrarian reform just decades ago.  
We did get to do some physical labor also, and learn about the coffee production process:

From bush to basket.  This day the workers were picking Robusto coffee.   To the untrained eye, there are green and red berries, but to those for whom coffee is life, there are many shades in between...including yellow (??).  We ended up only picking the red.



These were my teachers.  While we were picking, Mari, on the right, began to hum 'I have decided to follow Jesus' (she was humming in Spanish :)  I started to whistle the tune and she asked me if I was 'evangelica' (aka protestant).  I said yes, Presybterian, although it was a little different here than...  Before I could finish she said, "Yeah.. but there's only one God."  Yep.  There's only one God.  Then we sang together:
He decidido seguir a Cristo
He decidido seguir a Cristo
He decidido seguir a Cristo
No voy atras.  No voy atras. 



From basket to bag.  Families work all day to fill these bags and at the height of coffee season, get paid 40 quetzales ($5.00) per 100 pounds.  This is much better than what it used to be, but still under Guatemalan minimum wage. 



The bags are brought back in a truck and workers walk back to begin sorting the beans...or join in on a game of futbol.

After sorted, leaving some out to fullen ripen, the beans are sent through a pulping process where quality control is done by sinking and floating (good beans sink, bad beans float).   I'm obvioulsy not an expert on this, but after many steps, the 'cafe de oro', or just the unroasted seed is left.



The cafe en oro is spread out to dry naturally for a day,  and then heads to a tumbler to release the rest of the humity. 
From here, this particular coffe is sold--mostly exported.  And THEN starts the roasting and the blending, probably more shipping and the brewing!  Hope that this small insight to the process helps you appreciate your next cup of Starbucks and perhaps is an inspiration to become an educated consumer. 
For more information on this particular finca you can visit http://www.fincasantaelena.com/. 



Dia de los Santos

Well, October 31st came and went and I didn’t dress up, or trick or treat, and I’m pretty sure I was asleep by 9:30! But November 1st, Dia de los Santos was a real celebration. Andrew and I took a bus to Antigua, then a bus (headed to Guate) to San Lucas and finally a bus to Santiago, Sacatepequez. (I’m just really diggin’ the public transportation—new life skill!!) There we followed the crowd through winding roads, past vendors of every sort, to the party at the top of the hill-- in the cemetery. Surely cemeteries all over Latin America were filled with families, flowers, and food on this day. And from any rooftop, in any town, on any day you can almost always spot a kite… but only a few communities host kite festivals on this special day. For Santiago, this was the 110th year of kite flying. Many people view the tradition as a means of communication with their ancestors..a connection between the worldly realm and the deceased. The tradition of the giant kite making is passed down through families and is a great source of pride. So… It was the day of the dead but my senses were completely alive. We had to stop wandering around. We just sat and took in the grandness of the day—the colors, sounds, smells… the balance between stillness and movement, life and death.

From the cemetery we watched the 16 foot kites take wing…while only the tops of the gigantic 60 foot kites peered up over the hill below. It was so much to take in. As if the intricate, colorful designs weren’t enough beauty, they were framed by a celestial blue sky and pure white clouds…until they plummeted past the rolling, patch worked hills, mountaintops, and sometimes fell into a cushion of cornfields.

At one point Andrew asked me, “Is it part of this also to make a lot of noise?” Ha! No.. I think that is just a natural product of life here—the constant clinging of the ice cream man’s bell as he rolls his cart over the graves. Bombas---BOOM!! Painfully strong sound, followed by the delicate swishing of tissue paper and the flickering of kite tails (which are believed to scare away evil spirits, giving good spirits the freedom to enjoy the day with their living relatives). Noisemakers for sale—eery noises, oopy loopy noises, cranking, whistling, etc, etc. The only sound that wasn’t in the cemetery was silence.

(enter, Mariachi)

And the smells. Smoke that had absorbed the smells of roasting corn, seasoned meat, onions, blue tortillas. Mmmmm…

Taste. We couldn’t put a name to the taste of the traditional candies…except for tasty. Rich, perhaps. But we did a loooot of tasting throughout the day.

What I also noticed is that we were especially sensitive to the wind. It’s absence was felt when it died down and anticipation grew as it picked up.

So, the challenge for today: Sit somewhere—anywhere—for a few minutes and use all 5 senses. And if, on Halloween weekend, you did more trick-or-treating than remembering of the saints that have molded your life, do so with peace...

Common Hope

I've just finished a 2 week orientation at Common Hope (which is Spanish is known as "Familias de Esperanza", "Families of Hope") The family is made up of over 100 employees, more than 2,000 active sponsored students, their families, alumni and their families, sponsors (known as 'padrinos', which is also the word for 'God-parent'), long and short term volunteers, and work teams that come and serve for a week at a time (I hope that a lightbulb just went off in your head :).  Each new employee is required to meet and work with each department to get a sense of how the organization functions as a whole.  There was a work team here from the Best Buy central office this week, and I got to accompany them and serve as a translator for some of thier activities.

  

Best Buy work team and 6th grade class painting one of our partner (public) schools.

I took this one for you, mom.  Detail work!!

 The mission of Common Hope is Common Hope to promote hope and opportunity in Guatemala, partnering with children, families, and communities who want to participate in a process of development to improve their lives through education, health care, and housing.

They do this by frist identifying children who are not attending school.  A social worker is assigned to the family and the child(ren) are matched with a donor.  Needs are also assessed and many times bring light to why it is that the children were not attending school.  The current government has prohibited any kind of inscription fees for public schools or solicitation of funds from families...but there are still costs for uniforms (which supposedly the gavernment has also banned, but everyone still uses them) and materials. 

Other families are teaching their children the agrarian lifestyle and depend on their labor to provide for the family.  Still, others are suffereing from inadequate living conditions and are sick more often than not.  You don't have to be able to name Maslow's heirarchy of needs to know that healthy bodies and full bellies come before active brains.

So that brings me back to orientation.  I spent the first day in construction, with Felix, Pedro and Maura.  Affiiated families can apply for housing assistance, but the problem is that many families don't own their own land.  Common Hope has developed "casas moviles" (that look a little different from our 'mobile homes').  Teams that come down fill molds that make large, concrete tiles which are used for the floor and assemble walls.  If for some reason the family has to move, they can break apart the tiles and take ther floor with them.. same goes for the wall and the tin roof.  Some families are starting from scratch, some only need floors, some just an oven.  Families contribute hours (similar to Habitat for Humanities "sweat equity" ) working with teams to construct thier own homes or at the foundation.  It is also common to see mothers working in the flowerbeds, big brothers painting, etc at Common Hope in order to aquire hours. 




the evolution of the oven.


On any given day you can also find families gathered outside of the health clinic--another available resource for students and their families.  Teams of doctors and dentists also come to serve. 
So... housing, health, aaaand... education!  Common Hope has been matching sponsors with students for over 20 years, but last year began  an exciting new partnership with local public schools, that will in turn benefit entire communities. I am working with another "Educational Promoter" at a Primary (Elementary) school of over 700 students.

6th grade class.  Another work team led a craft activity at our school...
it was during exam week so it was a nice break for them! 

We plan and model interactive, objective-driven reading lessons for all grade levels.  The school year just ended so we've been preparing lessons and materials for a summer school program.

I will never take another teacher store for granted again!!!

 We are excited to see how teh students respond to the opportunity to express themselves creatively and work cooperatively.  Traditional Guatemalan classrooms are very teacher-driven and rely heavily on memorization of material and repetive practice. 

Centers!!! 



The staff at Common Hope is also like a family--a great big Guatemalan family! :) ha.  The day starts out with besitos and greetings.  ("Como amaneciste?"  Love this.. 'amanecer' is the verb for the sunrise, so it's like asking "How did you wake up?")  All throughout the day, whether entering or exciting a room, or just passing someone on a sidewalk you, at the least, exchange a greeting.  Eventually everyone gets settled into work and then at 10ish everyone takes a break--"refa".  I think of this as the equivelant to the Spanish tapas.  It is a light snack, a simple pleasure, but it just seems to keep everything in balance.





Little ones at Common Hope day care sharing 'refa'. 

At 1 O'clock we break for lunch.  Anyone who enters the dining room where people are eating will say "Buen Provecho!" Which.. sadly doesn't really have a literal translation into English.. it's more like "Bon Appetit"... wishing the recipeint that they find their meal tasty and pleasing.  So.. "Buen Provecho!" to which you respond "Graaacias!"   Or.. if you've shared a meal and are excusing yourslef you say "Gracias!" and everyone says "Buen provecho!" 

Meal sharing here takes on an entirely new meaning here.  As soon as we open our lunches that we brought from home, the containers are passed around and everyone grabs a bite of everyone else's something.  I think that there is great value in meal sharing.. it's something very common, but there's a mystical connection

 that happens at the table. 

Speaking of mystical connections.. they can also happen ont he soccerfield! ha.  We have 2 soccerfields at Common Hope, Nestle factory down the road has one, every school playground has, as its base a soccerfield.. and when all else fails ANY area--busy, cobblestone streets, church plazas, or steep, brush-filled hilltops can serve as a soccerfield.  And there is no limit to how many can play and there is no definate beginning or end to the game. I wasn't sure that I wanted to stay on the day that the staff and work team got a game together, but Paty, the head of the Promoters, said "Reimos mucho"--"We laugh a lot."  I'm in. 

That's me in the back playing defense. haha.  I scored the first goal of the game though!!

This post  has been a bit of a ramble, but as I get into the swing of everyday life here, I want to share the little things with my loved ones.  I hope this day brings, to whoever is reading, much laughter, a shared meal or two, and a common hope. 

A good morning

I was up early one morning hanging my laundry out to dry when I realized that I had never climbed the inviting spiral steel staircase that begins on the third level of my house.  I knew that I was in for a treat. As I was climbing up, Fuego was also waking up and greeted his friend, the sun, with a little smoke.

I watched the sky change from a grey blue pre-dawn color to light blue to whitish to yellow to pink, and back to blue. This is the view from my terrace.

Oh God you are my God and I will ever praise you

Oh God you are my God and I will ever praise you

I will seek you in the morning

and I will learn to walk in your ways

and step by step you'll lead me

and I will follow you all of my days

Nisperos!!!

 Wednesday, Oct 20 (Happy Birthday, Dad) is Dia de la Revolucion in Guatemala, so we had a day off from work.  But according to my family in San Juan, there is no day off from harvesting nisperos!  It was so good to go back and visit this family 





If grapes and peaches fell in love and had babies, they might turn out to be nisperos.

 

abuelita



mama blanca and abuelita sorting the nisperos according to size.  they get about 25 quetzales per basket.
 that is about $3.



my sister pointed out this shoe to me!! 



good thing i'd been practicing.