Slides, Soccer and Salsa

This last week I felt like I was starting to settle into a routine. Language classes in the morning, various activities in the afternoon and then down time for the evening. I would like to think my spanish is improving even if just slightly in the last two weeks. My brain just processes what i want to say soooo slowly. Xela is surrounded by mountains and we drove up to see a really pretty view of the city. It was a cloudy day, but still a nice view. There also were these steep concrete slides built side by side on this large hill. How do you slide down a slide made of concrete, you ask? By sitting on a flattened plastic bottle of course! They were flattened out 2 liter bottles and boy they worked a little too good!

German got a soccer team together of several boys that work in the park for a tournament. Saturday was their first game and though it didn't go well, they started having practices. It is fun to watch teenage boys be teenage boys despite the hard life and hard work they experience. At the park on Friday we took some games to the park, Jenga, chutes and ladders, memory and some coloring pages. We spent an hour and half playing with whatever kids were around. There is a brother and sister who work in the park I think all day now, because school is out. He is 10 and she is 12 and they help their mom by selling bird seed for the pigeons. When they have school I usually see them in the afternoon. It has been fun to see them and stop and talk for a little while. They are patient with my Spanish or they just like to ask me how to say lots of different things in english. Either way it is entertaining for us both.

Over the weekend I experienced a bit of the nightlife here in Xela. I went out with my spanish teacher and some of her friends/co-workers. We went to two different dance clubs. One played more American/electric dance music and the other more latin music. I don't ever go out dancing, but here it so popular that I think if i go again I prefer the salsa music :)

My first week in Xela.

This was my first, M-F week trying to grasp a routine and schedule between spanish classes, meetings, ministry and tutoring. I have started 5 days a week of spanish classes for 5 hours a day, which if it sounds like a lot, it is. It is one-on-one which is really nice and completely in spanish if that wasn't obvious. I get along great with my teacher who is just a few years younger than me. I have taken a week of spanish classes, why am I not fluent yet??

This week there was tutoring in the afternoons. My greatest contribution to this was playing basketball and fútbol with the kids after homework. I can play, homework help, not so much. Now they have like 2 months off (winter break) so I don't know what our afternoons will be like. On fridays we have a more formal ministry in the park with handing out food and playing games with the kids. This week we went in the morning so some of the kids that work in the park were at school. It was mostly the littles like 5 and under who are with their moms who are selling snacks, fruit and etc. Some of the women walk around and others have carts they stand by. Talk about working moms! In the afternoon you see the older kids maybe 8-12 years old helping their mom. The shoe-shine boys are a bit older and around off and on all day. German is trying to get a fútbol team together of these older boys that work in the park for a tournament this month.

2 heartbreaking issues important to me.. Child abuse/ Human trafficking and Addiction.

My first two days we had a training on child sexual abuse and human sex trafficking. Talk about a vocabulary lesson!  It was put on by a great organization that works with youth who come into Mexico without papers and are sent to detention centers in Mexico. As you can imagine this is a very vulnerable population. Anyone, but especially young girls without resources or away from their family are specifically targeted by predators who manipulate them and exploit them. They do it by earning their trust with gifts and empty promises, basically appearing to be the man of their dreams before forcing them into prostitution through violence. They are sociopaths, really. It is a sobering reality that is no longer happening somewhere else, "out there" but a risk for girls in my backyard. I am forced to confront the gut wrenching burden of fighting and bringing awareness to this injustice.

I mentioned a friend of the team who is addicted to glue and literally wasting away. I amend my statement that their are not many good places for rehab. For her, there are NONE! There are several for men and one for women who struggle with alcohol but who won't take her due the vicious withdrawal symptoms of drugs. She needs help, wants help and there is no where for her to go. It is so hard for me to believe and accept this reality. What does she do? What does our team do to help  keep this from killing her? In Karla's words, "We trust God and we fight for her." This is such an emotional burden on my team because they have known her for years. Our only option is detoxing her at someone's house which is INSANE, but not impossible. I'm sure she is not the only female in the whole city who is addicted to drugs and wants to get clean. Such a lack of options and resources because she is a female!

Being here is part, what we "do" the first part of this blog and part "how" we love and care for those we  meet who are vulnerable or who would ordinarily go unnoticed.  I am blessed greatly by both.

The little things,' like a warm(er) shower

I anticipated a learning a curve that's for sure. Mistakes, taboos, mishaps, etc when learning a new language or entering a new culture. The funny thing is you expect them to happen, but you don't actually know they are happening, without help or luck. I have been taking luke-warmish showers. Like with a shiver here and there, a quick in and out but not impossible type of shower. Of course I don't want to complain because maybe that is just the way it is. I mean there is one valve to turn. I give it a few turns until what seems like a reasonable flow and well, it is just not very hot. I was not looking forward to washing my hair but I did, and I mentally told myself,  I will get used to this. It is not that bad. insert *shiver* Wanting to experience the warmth for as long as possible I stood under it as I slowly turned the valve off expecting it to become increasingly colder. But, NO! It got hotter. The more turns towards "off", righty-tighty, the warmer it got. As the flow slowed, the temperature went up! Obviously this was an amazing discovery, but one I would have never guessed. Think about it with me now, at home, the more we turn a knob or valve on, the more the water temperature will increase. If I was to turn the one knob in my shower just a little, the water would be freezing. In fact I turn it "on" all the way to get hot water. But alas, Guatemala, you are the opposite. I'm so glad it only took me a couple days to learn to this. I'm going to try it with the sink now when I wash my hands.

It is these little things and obviously much bigger things that amaze me about culture and the way people do things in different places. It is so fascinating, I love it!!!!

Bienvenidos! (Day 1)

I'm going to make a concentrated effort to be consistent with this blog. It is my first day so I have plenty of time, but writing here or in my journal is a good spiritual practice to adopt.  I wanted to record first impressions and thoughts because even just a month from now they will change. In a way all the buildings and streets look so similar. Last time I was here I tried to walk to the park by myself with a mental note of landmarks however this was hindered by stores being closed and not looking quite the same. Like any new place, I have to learn to get places without the added benefit of GPS, but with landmarks and memory. I'm determined to improve in this area however the perfectionist in me doesn't understand why I don't know it already!! silly...

That this is my new home and not just a visit hasn't sunk in yet, but as things become more familiar and my spanish hopefully improves it will start to feel like home without too much effort. There is so much to learn, not just about the place and language, but the people and the culture. So exciting! Monday the team had a big celebration for the day of the children. I was here for it 2 years ago but this year they had 75 kids! They were kids from the neighborhood and from the park. What a cool thing to love on so many kids. It goes to show much the team loves what they do. I can't wait to slowly become a part of it. There is the other side of it too, walking by a couple women who prostitute on the corner where I'm staying and being visited by a friend of theirs who is a addict. She is addicted to sniffing glue, she was looking skinny and dirty and not able to stand well. Liz has befriended her and shared some food with her and is hoping to get her to rehab, but there aren't many good choices. The team fasted and prayed for her a couple weeks ago. She is one to keep in your prayers. Thanks for all you have done. Your love, prayers and support to both me and family is greatly appreciated!!