The Ravine

Today’s guest blogger is Jane VB.  Jane loves sleep and Guatemalan children.

Today was a whirlwind of a day. We started out just like the rest of the week; trudged out of bed, had an amazing breakfast, waited for what felt like hours, and then left for zone 7. As soon as we made it to Mario’s church the kids were climbing on Cam, playing soccer with Nate, and hugging on Ellen. Their beautiful smiles never cease to amaze me. These children have close to nothing and yet I feel they have more joy than all of us combined. The little things like soccer balls and piggy-back rides are the things that will be engraved in these kid’s minds forever; and that’s why we are here. We are here to bless these children and show them that our love comes from the love of Christ. I said we are here to encourage them, but I believe these children have encouraged all of us more than we ever imagined.

Later in the afternoon Pastor Fernando took us to a community located in a ravine, also known as Zone 6. This part of the city is one of the most desolate. These houses, which are built on the sides of the cliff, are made of tin or sometimes cinder blocks. Most families have a one room house, which includes their kitchen and sleeping areas. Most of the residents in the barranco lose their homes due to the rainy season that occurs annually.  Like our other home visits, we were able to bless these incredible people with prayer and a small amount of food. Our third or fourth visit was to the home of a lady named Blanca, who introduced herself saying “Hi my name is white, but I am not white,” which made us laugh and made us feel comfortable. Blanca is the mother of 3 children and works in one of Clubhouse’s feeding programs. 16 months ago her husband was electrocuted working on power lines, but came to Christ after leaving the hospital. Since then, all of her children have been sick, her husband’s employers no longer want him, her mother got sick, and Blanca was diagnosed with diabetes. After telling us her story, Blanca said “I want to encourage you students to stay faithful to God. God has always provided for me and God will continue to provide for us and meet our needs.” I immediately started to tear up and ask God for forgiveness. None of us have ever known the hardships that these people face. We are not starving, or living in a tin home, or worrying about our homes being washed away in a storm. I believe we can all learn something from Blanca. We can all start to apply her knowledge in our lives. God has always provided, and God will continue to provide. We must stay faithful. We must be more like Blanca.