And breathe new life into these bones

You know that feeling that you are about to overflow, that feeling of being overwhelmed and filled to the brim with tears, that at any point could seep out and expose your weakness? Well that's where I'm at and it's where I've been at for most of the day. Sometimes it hits you like a ton of bricks. Knowing that the child in my arms is starving and her clothes are torn up and dirty, knowing that her daddy never comes home and that she shows signs of abuse that would be redflagged in any kindergarden back home, but then knowing that it may not get better, knowing that she might live like this her whole life, knowing it might get worse... Well, that kills me, it angers me, its sadens me.

We are working to get a feeding program in place and running and it's a project that takes time and patience, but once it's in place, the kids at el gorrion school will receive a substancial, formal snack everyday. Nutrtion classes are in the works and cooking classes to teach parents About the effects of eating only tortilla an beans, to help them learn to mak other foods that will provide more nutrtion. Vitamins are now in all the classrooms and there will hopefully be some improvement. El gorrion, thanks to pastor Mario will now have running water for the first time since they were relocated there after hurricaine Mitch 11 years ago and that is truly going to make a huge difference. But the homes are still broken, poverty is present here in a very real way. There's enough food and money on this planet to feed everyone, solving world hunger is not imposssible...we need to be outraged and constructive because its not okay.

We visited a home today. All the children were unwell, but the smallest one was the worst. He lives in a home with 17 other people and he is very sick. He has respitory problems and anemia that is so severe, if left untreated will turn into leukemia. His family cannot afford medicine or food to make it better an I know that once the problem
escalates for that child, there will be even less that can be done. Now some si staff are working to provide some care for him but it shakes me to know that a problem so easily fixable could lead to a death here because of poverty and hunger...that this 5 year old boy may have a shorter life because there wasn't enough money for vitamins. This is just one of billions of cases like this world wide and that fact alone makes me desire change, makes me unablen to ignore what I now know.

Come and break this heart of stone

Maybe a dance or painting or poem or music might stand a chance at speaking the beauty of the souls here but words certainly cannot. I have fallen deeply in live with Guatemala and I want more than anything to bring pieces of it home with me. I don't mean souvenirs or fashion items, but an attitude. Relationships with God and with people stand as the most important things here and the people here pour their love and time into eachother. People will stop to ask you how you are and they mean it. Problems like having a hard time being loved in a normal way become obvious because they are put to the test. Here nobody is worried about getting out of church at 12:15 sharp because they have more important things to do...instead they linger just to love on eachother. Thats what I want to bring to my home, my church family. That's where Jesus is. God is love and somehow that slips away from us and we forget what that means, we forget what God intented love to look like in our lives. I am so incredibly blessed by my church and my family and that's where I want my focus to be. 1 John had changed my heart.

We have been visiting the homes of families whose children are sponsored by si and although we bring them baskets with basic food items, they give us their stories, their hearts, their lives and it's so much more than I could ever give. I work in the schools everyday with children who have nothing in their bellies but still have hearts of love and joy and sometimes it just blows me out of the water.

In love,

allie

Come thou fount

It's another beautiful day here in Guatemala. This week my team is working with monroy school. We are trying to get some information accross to the parents of the children. As I've said in earlier posts, si provides benefits such as eye glasses and vitamins to the kids here, but often times the parents have difficulty understanding why their children need these things; so the goal with the parent meeting this week is to try to explain why the vitamins and eyeglasses are positive things and to encourage parents to encourage their children.

I've Been here a month and a week and I can't believe that time has just flown by, I love it here and everyday I spend here I can feel God opening my heart to the field of missions. I'm the kind of person that likes to know what's in the cards but god doesn't do it that way.

On Tuesday we visited a woman who's father in law just died. The father in law had a large morgage And a previous wife that he never divorced. This woman and her husband were living in a on room home that was a part of the morgage. Here in Guatemala, when a father dies, his debts are passed on to his son, so that's a large source of stress for her and her family because they barely have enough money to feed the family in the first place. They are also living in fear that the previous wife could claim the land because she is still technically married to the father in law. The father has fallen in to a deeply depressive state and there's no relief in site. Si is going to put together a food basket and offer some support, but the truth is that this is just one of the stories that ive seen since I got here. The truth is that these situation are incredibly common and because of them millions of kids go to school hungry everyday here. Even though this woman is struggling though, she still spoke thanking god and let us pray with her...I long to have that kind of devotion and once again the people here have given me something I could never give them.

Carrying a Guatemalan pharmacy

Hey all,

I just wanted to give a quick update on my health issues. I saw the doctora yesterday and got my lab results back. I do, in fact have a parasite, which was causing the flu like symptoms, but I also have an infection that I now know was causing my white blood cell count to be high ish and thus causinh fever and other aches. The good news is doctora Sara hooked me up with some medication and I'll hopefully be better in the next day or two. Parasites are kind of par for the course over here so i guess I'm glad it's out of the way! I spoke to my parents and they are glad I'm on medication and not planning on bringing home a new pet (thanks danica:)).
I'm very anxious to get out of bed and back to work; there's so much to do here And as an extravert, I don't handle this much alone time gracefully. My students this past two weeks were really supportive, they sent me an adorable get well card with Canadian flags all over it and a picture of my boyfriend in a kayak to make me feel better...it did. Oddly enough I've experienced a lot more culture shock between americans and myself then between Guatemalans and myself this past week. We have some very different views and beliefs and while it hasn't been easy to be the odd man out, I think it's been good to tAke a step back and just listen. Loving my neighbor has never been such a precious lesson.

I'll keep you all posted!

God bless

Week 4

Hey everyone!!

Things are great here in Guatemala, we are coming to the end of this team and anxious to mee the next one on Saturday. I unfortunately don't have a ton of updates because I've caught something, so I've been in bed for the last few days, but the good news is that I'm being tested for parasites today and i think that's what I have, so then I'll get the medication and be as right as rain in no time. Meanwhile I'd appreciate prayer because I'm in some pain and I don't have my mom or dad to whine to... Something about saying MOOOOM MOm MooooM Mommm just makes you feel better.

Anyways, I'll keep you posted

Allie

New team

Today was our first day on sites with the new team. There's about 45 of them, all from california, most of them in highschool. I'm feeling the pressure of being the only Canadian here and when I spoke to my mom yesterday she told me she could hear and American accent... On a more serious note: the team spent the day in el gorrion at the school, we were helping out the kindergarden teacher. Crafts aren't exactly my forte, but I kept the glue out of their precious little mouths and that was enough. Lizbeth is a 5 year old, beautiful little girl whose father is out of the picture and whose mother works all day. Today she was one of the kids who didn't have any q to purchase a snack. Everyday at school the kids receive their ricemilk cup and if they have 1 q they can buy a snack... A lot of them go home to nobody and even if there's someone, they may not necessarily get anything to eat until school the following day. When I was handing Lizbeth 2 q for a snack, it occured to me that a sponsorship program can be created in which people or churches could possibly sponsor a classroom and provide them with some nutrition and calories. Almost all the kids here are malnourished, they are pale, small, their eye sight is awful, but I really feel that a guarenteed meal on school days could make such a health difference and help them have a better chance to succeed in their schooling. A q is about 12 cents here, so for 25cents, 1 kid could eat for a day, so for 150$ from a sponsor or multiple sponsors a month, the 20 kindergardeners would have some basic nutrition every day. This is my project.

PARAsitos

Wooo, it has been a crazy week. We have. Team up here from IV Canada and a team from Greenville Illinois and they've been totally fantastic. At my site, the child sponsorship site
, we've just about finished the eye tests on all 179 kids, the majority of which will need to see the doctor for an exam. Most of the children at the school in el gorrion are very malnourished, their skin in is pasty, they wear the same ripped clothing every day and they receive very little to eat. The school provides them with a cup of mosh each day, which is basically rice milk and for some of the kids, they may not get more than that. Still the children are filled with joy and laughter and they wrap their little arms around us whenever they see us. It's been such a blessing to see kids like that every day. Yesterday we handed out vitamins for the year to the first 79 kids, si is providing for all the kids, even
the unsponsored ones. I hope that will make a differnce in imrpoving their health. The sponsored kids receive presents every birthday and christmas, they receive school supplies, most of their tuition in paid, their uniform, 80% of their medical bill and dental. Si b
does home visits to check on the kids and provides so much one on one support, it's really tremendous. I keep thinking about the sketchy guy from world vision on tv and wondering what their program provides for kids worldwide. Now I'm here and I'm seeig the benefits occur first hand and it's pretty awesome. God has made a lot possible here.


Allie